MONITORING AND CONTROLLING OF DISTRIBUTED MACHINES

• US 20170001653A1
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Published: 01/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cattron North America, Inc. (Cattron Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Laird Technologies Incorporated (DuPont de Nemours, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ferencz, Donald Cyril Jr., Hostelley, Kevin David, Conrad, Justin Wesley
• Granted Patent: US 10,516,737 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0018 Communication with or on the vehicle or train
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/0072 On-board train data handling
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/02 Details, e.g. indicating degree of track filling
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2027/204 using Communication-based Train Control [CBTC]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2205/04 Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 25/025 Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/40 Handling position reports or trackside vehicle data
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/57 for vehicles or trains, e.g. trackside supervision of train conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/70 Details of trackside communication
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 3/127 for remote control of locomotives remote control of locomotives within a train consist B61C17/12
• CPC Class Codes: G16Y 10/40 Transportation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/06 Message adaptation to terminal or network requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

According to various aspects, exemplary embodiments are disclosed of apparatus and methods for monitoring and controlling distributed machines. In an exemplary embodiment, a network includes machines each having sensor(s) and/or actuator(s). Each machine has a node resident on the machine and/or in communication with the machine and that provides raw data from the sensor(s) and/or actuator(s). Each node has a network interface, and a processor and memory configured as a node agent to embed the raw data in message(s) without reformatting the raw data. An engine receives and reformats messages from the node agents without reformatting raw data embedded in the messages. The engine directs the reformatted messages including the raw data to user device(s) for use in managing machine activity and/or status. The engine also sends a message from a user device to a node of a given machine, for use in controlling activity and/or status of the given machine.

Claims

1. A network comprising:

a plurality of machines each having one or more sensors and/or one or more actuators, each machine having a node resident on the machine and/or in communication with the machine, each node having a network interface and configured to provide raw data from the one or more sensors and/or one or more actuators, each node having a processor and memory configured as a node agent to embed the raw data in one or more messages without reformatting the raw data; and

an engine configured to;

receive and reformat messages from the node agents without reformatting raw data embedded in the messages;

direct the reformatted messages including the raw data to one or more user devices for use in managing machine activity and/or status; and

send a message from one of the user devices to a node of a given machine, for use in controlling activity and/or status of the given machine.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein the engine is further configured to communicate with each of the node agents using one or more of the following:

point-to-point communication, and WebSocket protocol.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein the node agents are configured to push the messages to the engine.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein the engine is configured to push the reformatted messages to the one or more user devices.

5. The network of claim 1, wherein the engine is configured to perform as a broker of a publish/subscribe messaging system in which the agents and/or one or more user applications on the one or more user devices are configured to subscribe as clients.

6. The network of claim 5, wherein the broker receives and sends raw data in accordance with a topic specified in a message in which the raw data is embedded.

7. The network of claim 1, further comprising a data handler configured to:

obtain the raw data included in a message reformatted by the engine; and

process the raw data into a format interpretable by an application on a user device to which the message is directed.

8. The network of claim 7, wherein the data handler is configured to add units to the raw data in the message.

9. The network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of machines comprise a plurality of locomotives.

10. The network of claim 1, wherein one or more of the following are provided as raw data from the one or more sensors and/or one or more actuators:

GPS coordinates, velocity, velocity set point, direction, brake pressure, and throttle.

11. A network comprising:

a plurality of machines each having one or more sensors and/or one or more actuators;

a plurality of nodes resident on and/or in communication with the machines, each node configured to provide, in a message, raw data from the one or more sensors and/or actuators of a machine associated with the node;

an engine configured to receive and reformat the messages from the nodes, and send the reformatted messages without reformatting the raw data, the engine further configured (a) to communicate with each node using a point-to-point protocol, or (b) to communicate as a broker with one or more of the nodes;

the network further comprising a data handler in communication with the engine and configured to;

process the raw data into one or more formats interpretable by one or more user applications on one or more user devices to which the messages are directed by the engine; and

push the processed data to the one or more user applications.

12. The network of claim 11, wherein each node has a network interface, and a processor and memory configured as a node agent to embed the raw data in the message without reformatting the raw data.

13. The network of claim 11, wherein the engine is configured as a broker of a publish/subscribe messaging system in which the node agents and/or the one or more user applications are configured to subscribe as clients.

14. The network of claim 11, wherein the engine is configured to communicate with each node using a WebSocket point-to-point protocol.

15. The network of claim 11, wherein the engine is further configured to send a message from one of the one or more user devices to one of the nodes, for use in controlling activity and/or status of the machine associated with the node.

16. The network of claim 11, wherein the nodes are configured to push the messages to the engine.

17. A method of managing a plurality of distributed machines, the method comprising the following steps:

embedding in a message raw data from one or more sensors and/or one or more actuators of one of the machines, the embedding performed by a node residing on and/or in communication with the one of the machines;

receiving the message from the node and reformatting the message without reformatting the raw data, and directing the reformatted message including the raw data to a user device, the receiving, reformatting and directing performed by an engine of a network that includes the node and the user device; and

the user device sending a message responsive as to the raw data through the engine to the node for use in controlling performance of the one of the machines.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the engine performs the receiving, reformatting and directing steps as a broker of a publish/subscribe message system in which an agent of the node publishes the message.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the engine and node communicate with each other using one or more of the following:

point-to-point communication, and WebSocket protocol.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of distributed machines includes a plurality of locomotives.