Method of determining railyard status using locomotive location
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring a status of railcars and locomotives in a railyard using a system that tracks the location of a plurality of railcars each constituting a dependent object based on known locations of locomotives each constituting an independent object, the system including a comparator algorithm and a computer programmed with the comparator algorithm, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating an independent object itinerary based on the requirements on the scheduled activities of the dependent objects;
moving the dependent objects with the independent objects in accordance with the independent object itinerary;
tracking the locations of the independent objects;
comparing the tracked independent object locations with the independent object itinerary; and
determining the locations and status of the dependent objects based on the locations of the independent objects.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining the status of a railyard includes a locomotive itinerary, a computer configured with a comparator algorithm used to compare a locomotive location to the locomotive itinerary, and at least one manager console configured to communicate with the computer. Railcar information is input to the manager console and communicated to the computer, which generates a locomotive task list from the railcar information. The computer then generates a locomotive itinerary, tracks the location of the locomotive and uses the comparator algorithm to determine the schedule status of the railcar.
162 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring a status of railcars and locomotives in a railyard using a system that tracks the location of a plurality of railcars each constituting a dependent object based on known locations of locomotives each constituting an independent object, the system including a comparator algorithm and a computer programmed with the comparator algorithm, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating an independent object itinerary based on the requirements on the scheduled activities of the dependent objects;
moving the dependent objects with the independent objects in accordance with the independent object itinerary;
tracking the locations of the independent objects;
comparing the tracked independent object locations with the independent object itinerary; and
determining the locations and status of the dependent objects based on the locations of the independent objects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
communicating a set of dependent object information to the manager console, the manager console configured to communicate with the computer;
generating an independent object task list based on the set of dependent object information;
creating a sequence of locations the independent object will occupy;
identifying each of the locations in reference to a network of paths; and
determining a start time and an end time for the independent object to occupy one of the determined locations.
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6. A method in accordance with claim 5 wherein said step of computing an independent object task list further comprises the step determining at least one task to be performed by the independent object, the at least one task including positioning a dependent object at a predetermined location on a predetermined path at a predetermined time.
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7. A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein said step of comparing the location further comprises the step of utilizing the comparator algorithm to compare the location of the independent object with the independent object itinerary.
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8. A system for monitoring a status of railcars and locomotives in a railyard to determine the location of a plurality of railcars each constituting a dependent object based on determined locations of locomotives each constituting an independent object, the dependent objects being selectively associated with and moved by the independent objects, said system comprising:
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an independent object itinerary established based on the requirements on the scheduled activities of the associated dependent object;
a list associating the dependent objects to the independent objects for predetermined segments of the independent object itinerary;
an independent object location tracking system for determining the locations of the independent objects;
a comparator algorithm for comparing the tracked independent object locations to the independent object itinerary and determining the location and status of the associated dependent objects;
a computer configured to use said comparator algorithm; and
at least one manager console configured to communicate with said computer to display the status of the locomotives and railcars in the railyard. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for monitoring the status of scheduled activities for a plurality of railcars each constituting a dependent object based on determined locations of locomotives each constituting an independent object, the dependent objects being selectively associated with and moved by the independent objects, said system comprising:
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a dependent object activity schedule;
a comparator algorithm for comparing the independent object locations and the dependent activity schedule to determine the location of the dependent objects; and
a computer configured to use said comparator algorithm. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification