EP0375553A1 - Transport system with an automatic vehicle movement control - Google Patents

Abstract

The transport system, especially for urban transport, comprises separate automatic control units (14, 16), each assigned to the management of a particular section of the track, each section being equipped with means of communication between the fixed automatic management control unit of this section and the vehicles travelling on the section. Each section (18, 20) is broken down by immaterial means into a plurality of blocks of fixed and arbitrary length, means being provided for detecting the block occupied by each of the vehicles (10) travelling on the section and for indicating it to the corresponding automatic control unit, and the automatic control units being designed to supply each vehicle located on the section with information in the form of block indications on the spacing to be maintained relative to the preceding vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to transport installations with automatic control of the movement of vehicles along a track, of the type comprising separate control automations each assigned to the management of a specific section of the track, each section being provided with means communication between the fixed automation for managing this section and the vehicles in circulation on the section. The term "vehicle" should be interpreted to mean both a simple vehicle and a vehicle made up of several cars (such as a train).

Installations of the type defined above are already known. The track is generally separated into cantons delimited by fixed track equipment. The presence of a vehicle in a specific block is detected by shorting a track circuit by the vehicle's axles. Installations are also known in which the presence of a vehicle is detected by transmission of signals from the vehicle to loops carried by the track. To achieve high throughput, vehicles must be driven at short intervals. This involves short cantons. When they are delimited by switches and crossings, the investment they represent is high and the modification of the installation involves significant dismantling and reassembly. As for the existing solutions with complex automatisms requiring the emission of signals by the vehicles, they considerably hamper the breakdown service of faulty vehicles.

One might think that it is possible to obtain maximum performance by providing the track with means allowing each vehicle to locate itself precisely with respect to the track and by making the ground equipment so that they transmit to each vehicle indications on the vehicle in front in the direction of travel, so that computer equipment mounted on the vehicle controls its spacing from the previous vehicle according to its own speed. This solution requires extremely reliable software and in principle prohibits the circulation on the installation of vehicles not fitted with appropriate automation.

The invention aims to provide a transport installation of the type defined above, the track equipment of which has a reduced material complexity and which nevertheless allows performance comparable to that of installations provided with complex automatisms, making it possible to adjust the spacing between each vehicle and that which precedes it as a function of speed, that is to say of installations using a technique which can be described as "adaptable mobile blocks".

To this end, the invention proposes in particular an installation in which each section is divided, by immaterial means, into several cantons of fixed and arbitrary length, in that means are provided for detecting the canton occupied by each of the vehicles in circulation on the section and indicate it to the corresponding automated system, and in that the automatic systems are provided to provide each vehicle located on the section with information in the form of cantonal indications, on the spacing to be maintained with the vehicle which precedes.

The spacing information provided to a vehicle may be limited to the indication that the vehicle may exceed the canton it occupies or, on the contrary, must stop before the end of the canton.

Thanks to the arrangement according to the invention, it is possible to detect the presence of a vehicle of a nature other than that normally used within an automatic control installation with little equipment. additional. Each section may carry physical devices for detecting the presence of vehicles unable, by construction or following breakdowns, to communicate with the control automatisms. These automatic mechanisms then allow operation which can be described as degraded: they then simply acquire the information coming from the hardware devices and control signaling equipment of a conventional nature carried by the track, for the use of the driver of vehicles incapable of operating. automatically, either by construction or following breakdowns.

Insofar as the sections have a significant length and where, consequently, they would require, in manual driving, an excessive spacing between vehicles, it is possible to associate with the fixed cantonment by immaterial means, a definite "cantonment" by means of track and signaling devices which may be conventional (at least some over-cantons corresponding to several cantons and not just one) allowing vehicle tracking in manual driving. The cutting into over-cantons can be rough, which makes its cost and the requirements of its reliability low, because these over-cantons are rarely used.

Although the invention is capable of very numerous applications, it is of particular interest in the case of urban or suburban transport installations, in which the stations are relatively close to one another. In this case, it will often be necessary to adopt for the sections a length of the order of a kilometer, corresponding to the interval between two successive stations. The intangible cantons may have a length of the order of 10 meters at a station, where the speed is slow, and a length of 100 m or more outside stations. The over-cantons may also have a variable length depending on the location: at the station, the over-cantons may have a length equal to that of the station; between stations, the over-cantons may have a length of a few hundred meters.

The invention also aims to provide an installation of the above type having a device for transferring control of a vehicle from an automatic management of a section to the next automatic at the border between the two sections and to guarantee , with a high degree of security, that a vehicle is always controlled by at least one of the two fixed automations.

To this end, the invention provides an installation of the type defined above, characterized in that each section comprises an end portion constituting an airlock and provided with fixed means allowing the vehicle to be placed in communication not only with the automation of the section to which belongs the terminal portion, but also with the automation managing the adjacent section and comprises means controlled by the vehicle during its passage through a determined location of the terminal portion, causing the transfer of control from one automation to another.

Such a device not only makes it possible to achieve the desired results, but also makes it possible to increase the modular nature of the fixed automations by reducing the exchanges between them. The nature of the mode of transmission between vehicles and fixed automations is immaterial insofar as this transmission is continuous and bidirectional.

The implementation of the device according to the invention also makes it possible to design the transport installation so that a disturbance during the transfer of control between two fixed automations does not cause a generalized alarm immobilizing all the vehicles present in an entire area containing the section.

• - la Figure 1 est un schéma de principe montrant une zone d'une installation suivant un mode particulier de réalisation de l'invention, prévue pour un seul sens de circulation des véhicules ;
• - la Figure 2 est un schéma destiné à illustrer le principe de fonctionnement de l'installation, lorsqu'elle utilise le cantonnement immatériel ;
• - les Figures 3, 4 et 5 montrent des exemples de séquences de fonctionnement de l'installation, res­pectivement en marche normale avec utilisation du cantonnement immatériel, en marche avec utilisation du sur-cantonnement, et avec cantonnement sécable en vue de l'accostage d'un véhicule en panne ;
• - la Figure 6 est une représentation synoptique d'un équipement embarqué et d'un automatisme fixe conformes au schéma de la Figure 1 ;
• - la Figure 7 est un schéma de principe d'un dispositif suivant un mode de réalisation de l'inven­tion, à sas qu'on peut qualifier de "matériel" ;
• - la Figure 8, similaire à la Figure 7, montre un dispositif à sas "virtuel", prévu pour une installa­tion où les véhicules ont un seul sens de circulation ;
• - la Figure 9 est une représentation synoptique des parties fixes d'un dispositif selon la Figure 8 ;
• - la Figure 10 est une représentation synoptique des parties portées par un véhicule d'un dispositif conforme au schéma de la Figure 8, utilisable en liaison avec les moyens montrés en Figure 9.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of a particular embodiment, given by way of non-limiting example. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• - Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an area of an installation according to a particular embodiment of the invention, provided for a single direction of movement of vehicles;
• - Figure 2 is a diagram intended to illustrate the operating principle of the installation, when it uses the immaterial cantonment;
• - Figures 3, 4 and 5 show examples of operating sequences of the installation, respectively in normal operation with use of the immaterial cantonment, in operation with use of over-cantonment, and with breakable cantonment for docking d '' a broken down vehicle;
• - Figure 6 is a block diagram of on-board equipment and fixed automation in accordance with the diagram in Figure 1;
• - Figure 7 is a block diagram of a device according to an embodiment of the invention, with an airlock that can be described as "hardware";
• - Figure 8, similar to Figure 7, shows a "virtual" airlock device, intended for an installation where vehicles have only one direction of traffic;
• - Figure 9 is a block diagram of the fixed parts of a device according to Figure 8;
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the parts carried by a vehicle of a device in accordance with the diagram of FIG. 8, usable in conjunction with the means shown in FIG. 9.

The transport installation of which an area is shown schematically in Figure 1 implements vehicles 10 traveling on a guide track 12. The track 12 is divided into successive sections each provided with a management automation. Figure 1 shows two successive automations 14 and 16 assigned to two successive sections 18 and 20 of the track which will be considered, for simplicity, as an upstream section and a downstream section in the direction of circulation f of the vehicles 10. The automatisms 14 and 16 are fixed and can have a known constitution. Each automation is connected to transmission means allowing a bidirectional and continuous exchange of information with the vehicles traveling on the corresponding section. Examples of transmission means are described below. They are represented in FIG. 1 in the form of loops 22 and 24 and of transceivers 30 and 32. These transmission means can use a free microwave beam (at a frequency of 10 to 20 GHz for example), transmission by induction with a track mat with regular localization wiring, transmission by waveguide, etc.

Inlet and outlet control means separate the adjacent sections. They are advantageously constituted by a light curtain 26 (this qualifier simply signifying that the barrier does not prevent the movement of the vehicle) which makes it possible to determine the moment when a vehicle 10 leaves a section, 18 for example, to enter the next section 20.

The communication means 24 allow the automation 16 to enter into communication with a vehicle only when it has entered the section 20; but the communication means 22 maintain communication between the automation 14 and the vehicle beyond the barrier 26, on an initial portion of the section 20 which can be considered as an airlock transition 28. A description of a possible structure of such a transition airlock and its operation will be given below. It should only be noted here that the automation 16 provides the automation 14 with the state of occupation of the "airlock" 28 and the authorization, for the vehicles 10 traveling in the direction of the arrow f , to enter the airlock. Such airlocks are provided downstream of each section. When the installation is intended for vehicle traffic in one direction or the other, airlocks are provided on both sides.

Each section is divided into fixed immaterial detection cantons. The section 18 for example is cut into six cantons 18 a , ..., 18 f . These cantons do not necessarily have the same length. In general, they are much shorter in the station than in the current part of the track. Each airlock will frequently correspond to one or more of the entry cantons of a section.

An example of the constitution of the automatic mechanisms will be given below. Each of them, such as 14, contains, in memory, an ordered list of all the cantons 18a, ..., 18 f of the corresponding section. For its part, each vehicle carries on-board equipment having a calculation unit and a memory which contains the complete list of all the cantons of the lane on which the vehicle is brought to run.

In the immaterial cantonment which has just been described, a physical division can be superimposed, by signaling equipment for the use of drivers, in "material" over-cantons: all of the over-cantons constitute a superset of the intangible cantons with common limits, as indicated by the switches and signals 34 in Figure 1.

The operation of the installation can take place according to the principle corresponding to the following example, in the case where two vehicles 10 x and 10 y are follow inside a same section 18, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Each vehicle is provided with a device (an example of which will be given later) enabling it to be located geographically on the track and, therefore, of the fact that the list of cantons and their length are memorized on board the equipment on board the vehicle, to provide the corresponding fixed automation 14 with the indication of the canton it occupies, by a link shown diagrammatically by the dashed line 40. The automated system 14 managing the section therefore knows, on the one hand, the existence of each vehicle on the section, on the other hand, its approximate position. As a general rule, it is the automated system which interrogates the vehicles located on the section (known to the automated system from the fact that they were identified when the entry barrier 26 passed) and receives the numbers of the cantons occupied , 18 b for the 10 x vehicle and 18 e for the 10 y vehicle. The automation systems therefore decide, for each canton:
- if it is free for a given direction of traffic, which is indicated by the letter L in table L below,
- if it is actually occupied by a vehicle of number x , which is indicated by Ox,
- if it is "fictitiously" occupied by a 10 x vehicle, this fictitious occupation constituting a Vx reservation intended to protect the vehicle against traffic in the opposite direction. Canton 18a 18b 18c 18d 18th 18f 18g Real occupation L Ox L L Oy L L Fictitious occupation Vx Vx Vy Vy

The fixed automation 14 is then able to communicate, to all vehicles 10 x and 10 y occupying the section, the status of different districts of the list. The equipment of each vehicle, such as 10 × , can therefore at any time, depending on its location and the instructions provided by the corresponding fixed automation 14,
- check its direction of travel in relation to the direction of traffic f to be observed (check that it corresponds to a movement towards a block identified Vx);
- command their own movement, taking into account the state of occupation of the cantons to which they are heading.

The rules applied by the equipment on board the vehicle 10 x can then be as follows:
- A 10 x vehicle located in a block of order i can only enter a block i + 1 if it is declared free (L), for the chosen direction of traffic, by the fixed automations 14. In the case on the contrary, i.e. if it is declared occupied (O), the vehicle stops at a safe distance from the entrance to block i + 1.
- A 10 x vehicle which has been able to cross the stop point at the safety distance mentioned above, due to the free state of the block i + 1, may continue to drive on this block to the stop point end of block security, protecting the next block i + 2.

The fixed automation 14 keeps the occupation status of the cantons on its list up to date by applying the following rules:
- A block i is declared occupied (O) by a vehicle 10 x when the vehicle 10 x indicates to the automation that it occupies block i , after this block has been considered as free, or already occupied by the vehicle 10 x , during a previous interrogation.
A block i is released when the vehicle 10 x which occupied the block i communicates that it occupies the next block i + 1, in the direction of traffic f selected.

As the presence of vehicles is detected and their spacing is controlled by computer, the information exchanged between the on-board equipment and the fixed automations must be refreshed with sufficient recurrence to ensure that the information used reflects the instantaneous state of the installation. For this, vehicle equipment and fixed automation systems use dated information and check that the dates change sufficiently within a given period of time. The equipment of the vehicles or the fixed automations are provided to order an emergency stop of the movement of the vehicles on the section in the contrary case.

The operating sequence of the system can be that symbolized in Figure 3 in the form of the list of cantonal occupation states, stored in the fixed section automation. To simplify the representation, a single list is symbolized with the following conventions:
L signifies that the block is free for direction f (direction of traffic selected) and opposite direction -f
; Ox means that the block is occupied by the vehicle 10 x for the direction f and for the direction - f ;
Vx means that the block is free for the direction f but fictitiously occupied, as a reservation, for the direction -f.

Line A of Figure 3 shows a complete section 18 and the airlock 28 of the next section 20, each airlock having four cantons. It corresponds to the case where an automated vehicle 10 x tried to enter the section 18 while another automated vehicle 10 is already on the stretch and still Inthe porch.

The device (light curtain 26) controlling the entry of the vehicles initiates the communication between the vehicle 10 x and the fixed automation 14.

As long as the dialogue between vehicle 10 x and the automation 14 has not been able to be initiated, the vehicle can advance in the "airlock" 28 of entry of the section 18 only if it is still under the control of the automation fixed upstream or is in manual operation: with the spacing 10 is thus controlled by the automation fixed upstream or driver. The upstream fixed automation uses for this the state of the entry cantons of the "airlock" 28 and of the section 18 and the authorization to drive in the "airlock", provided by the fixed automation of the approached section 18. It gives to the vehicle 10 x authorization to drive in automatic mode, except for any alarms.

In the event of failure to establish communication with the automation 14, the vehicle 10 x stops before the end of the "airlock", the state of the block immediately followed by the "airlock" 28 cannot be supplied to the vehicle : in the case of passenger transport, it is advantageous to make this stop point correspond to the nominal stop point in the station.

During this time, the downstream fixed automation 14, informed by the input control 26 of the penetration of the vehicle 10 x , occupies:
- actually the first block 18 has O _NI section, and
- fictitiously, as a reservation, all of the free cantons before it V _NI considering that it is processing a vehicle Not yet Identified NI (line B).

So :
- the vehicle 10 x is protected, entering the "airlock", from any movement of other vehicle, from the rear and from the front;
- it allows the vehicle 10 has, if automated, to advance in the "lock" 28 normally under the control of the upstream fixed automation until the downstream automation could establish communication with him .

As soon as the dialogue is established between the vehicle 10 x and the fixed automation 14 of the section 18, the latter assigns to the canton i corresponding to the occupation declared by the vehicle 10 x the mention "occupied" Ox (line C). It possibly releases the previous cantons separating it from the entry control device 26 by assigning them the mention L, insofar as the entry device, capable of discriminating the penetration of two different vehicles, has detected no new penetration , posterior to that of the vehicle 10 x .

The direction of traffic selected being f , the automation considers as fictitiously occupied, as a reservation, the free blocks Vx in front of the vehicle 10 x : these blocks are declared free for the vehicle 10 x moving in the direction f , but are declared occupied for any vehicle moving in the opposite direction -f. The fixed automation provides the vehicle with 10 x authorization to drive in automatic mode, except for any alarms.

In its progression in direction f , the vehicle 10 x occupies the next block i + 1 and communicates this occupation to the fixed automation. The latter indicates then block i as free (L) and block i + 1 as occupied (Ox).

As the vehicle 10 y progresses in front of the vehicle 10 x , the fixed automation releases the block left by the vehicle 10 y , but immediately occupies it, fictitiously and as a reservation by (Vx). Line D indicates this situation, with another vehicle 10 z occupying the first canton of the following section 20.

In summary, during the progression of the vehicles 10, the fixed automatisms release behind them, by the indication L, the cantons that they leave, protect their rear by occupying, by O, the cantons where they are; protect their front by fictitiously occupying, by V, the following free cantons in direction f .

At the end of each section, 18 for example, the automated vehicle 10 x can enter the "airlock" 28 of the following section 20 if the entry block of this section 20 is signaled as free by the downstream fixed automation 16. The vehicle 10 x receives (from the upstream fixed automation 14) the authorization to drive in the "airlock" insofar as the downstream automation 16 authorizes it: the latter protects the vehicle 10 x from a possible setback d another vehicle 10 y from the downstream section 20, not controlled by the automation 14 of the upstream section 18 (line E).

If communication cannot be established between the vehicle 10 x and the downstream automations 16, the upstream automation 14 no longer frees the cantons preceding the vehicle 10 x when the latter declares that it occupies the following cantons of the "airlock", but locks the occupied state Ox of these cantons, which prohibits access to the "airlock" 28, until the downstream automation 16 releases these following cantons. All the cantons of the "airlock" 28 therefore remain strictly under the control of the downstream fixed automation 16.

Finally, when the communication is established between the vehicle 10 x and the downstream automation 16 upon interrogation of the latter, the vehicle 10 x indicates it to the upstream automation 14, which then suspends its interrogations for the vehicle 10 x .

If the direction of traffic is reversed, the process is reversed. If the initial condition is that of line D, the fixed automations occupy all the free cantons in front of the vehicle 10 x as a reservation for the new direction of traffic -f. During the turnaround, as long as the vehicle 10 x has not given, in response to a query, information which is subsequent to the sending of the reversal decision and which specifies the occupation of the block and the taking into account of the new direction of traffic, the fixed automations continue to take into account the previous fictitious occupations Vx protecting direction f (line F).

After confirmation by the vehicle, the fixed automations remove the previous fictitious occupations Vx and free behind the vehicle 10 x the cantons affected with the mention V so that they can be occupied by a new following vehicle (line G).

In summary, we note that:
- the presence of automated vehicles is detected by information,
- the fixed automations and the on-board equipment share the spacing control operations, the exchange of instructions and processing being also informational.

Addition of material over-cantonment

An over-cantonment, that is to say a division into over-cantons longer than the immaterial cantons and corresponding to an integer number of the latter, can be designed to facilitate manual driving without excessive degradation of transport efficiency. The cantons are delimited by material means 34 and make it possible to follow the progress of vehicles not equipped with automatic mechanisms in working order and to ensure the safety of spacing between these vehicles and the automated vehicles.

For this, fixed automations such as 14, 16, ... are provided to also use the vehicle presence detection information in order to control conventional signaling for the use of drivers of vehicles not equipped or whose equipment is broken down (panels 34 in Figure 1).

They have for this, in memory, an ordered list of over-cantons which constitute a superset of the informational cantons 18, 20, ..., having common geographical limits.

The operating principle illustrated in Figure 3 is then supplemented by another operating sequence, which can be that illustrated in Figure 4 with the same notations; the occupancy states of the over-cantons, obtained by hardware detection, are indicated on the different lines in Figure 4.

We have already seen that, when a vehicle 44 enters the airlock of the section 18, the automated system 14, alerted by the entry control device, attempts to enter into communication with the entering vehicle (lines A). Without establishing communication, fixed automation declare the first informational township has 18 of the 18 actually occupied section by an unidentified vehicle (statement M _NI) and as a book, to affect all free cantons before him the mention V _NI , that is to say the declarants occupied by an unidentified NI vehicle (lines B), on the first two over-cantons up to the end of 42 b . They also note the occupation of the first canton of the material over-canton 42 a , corresponding to the "airlock" (lines B).

If the communication is established, the fixed automation 14, as described above, actually occupies the canton i corresponding to the occupation declared by the vehicle 44 and fictitiously the cantons free in front of the vehicle, for the direction f . The operation is that previously described.

If on the contrary the communication is not established (vehicle 44 not equipped), it advances under the command of the driver and the control of the incoming vehicles concludes that a non-equipped vehicle has entered. The fixed automation then protects this vehicle 44:
- in relation to automated vehicles: the automation declares "occupied" all the information cantons corresponding to the material over-canton 42 b for example, and to the preceding material canton 42 a so as to provide, behind the unequipped vehicle 44, a canton "buffer" not containing a vehicle; it therefore releases the information cantons corresponding to a whole material canton when this material canton and the following are declared free thanks to the hardware detection devices fitted to the track, for direction f (second line D). But it fictitiously occupies, by way of reservation, the information cantons free in front of the unequipped vehicle (in direction f ) and corresponding to the over-canton, or material canton, on which the vehicle 44 is located, and to the following over-canton ;
- compared to other unequipped vehicles: the automation controls the traffic signs 34 associated with over-cantons, providing a free "buffer" over-canton behind each unequipped vehicle 44 (first line D).

The free "buffer" over-cantons in front of and behind the unequipped vehicle 44 make it possible to detect any dangerous maneuvering of the driver in the direction or against the direction of traffic f. These alarms can lead to an emergency stop of the vehicles in the section or to vigilance of the entry controls making it possible to detect without fail that an unequipped vehicle possibly pursues an automated vehicle.

At the end of the section 18, the upstream automation 14 abandons the tracking of the unequipped vehicle 44 in manual driving when the two over-cantons of the next section 20 (over-canton corresponding to the "airlock" and over-canton following ) are released.

The upstream automation 14 controls and controls the maneuvers of unequipped vehicles until they abandon them in favor of the downstream automation 16. It also takes into account the authorization to drive in the "airlock" provided by the 'downstream fixed automation 16. This arrangement makes it possible to pass on the upstream alarm following a dangerous maneuver on the downstream (reversing of an unequipped vehicle for example).

If the direction of flow is reversed, the process is reversed. The fictitiously occupied informational cantons (Vni) for direction f are only released, for direction -f after reversal, when the material over-canton occupied by vehicle 44 and the following over-canton, for the new direction of circulation - f, are declared free by the hardware detection devices.

This adaptation has several advantages.

1. It makes it possible not only to take into account a vehicle 44 devoid of automations, but also to manually evacuate a vehicle whose automations have broken down, without heavy intervention of the operating personnel and by minimizing the disturbances. For this, any major failure of the on-board automations of a vehicle leading to a resumption of manual driving has the following consequences: the fixed automations consider the broken down vehicle as a non-NI equipped vehicle, irreversibly, and then resorts to the control of 'matching spacing.

As long as there is no unequipped vehicle on the track, the installation does not use the information from the hardware detection devices and is therefore not affected by their possible failures: it is therefore unnecessary to give redundancy in these materials to maintain the availability required during operation in full automation.

2. It makes it possible to safely control the spacing around an automated vehicle which would be taken up in manual driving and placed in an operating state which puts the on-board equipment for automatic and safe movement control out of service. It is sufficient for this that the equipment is provided for the vehicle placed in this state to insert, in its message to the fixed automation, the information in this sense. Upon receipt of this information, the stationary automation considers the automated vehicle as an unequipped vehicle and then resorts to the corresponding spacing control.

Addition of a breakable sliding block

To resolve certain cases of vehicle breakdowns without sending personnel or heavy on-site troubleshooting means, the installation may include means allowing the breakdown of the vehicle by the following vehicle, by implementing the principle illustrated. in Figure 5 and which can be described as a breakable sliding block.

In Figure 5, a vehicle 10 x must dock a vehicle 10 y located on the block of order j (line A). The stop point for the follower vehicle 10 x , fixed by the fixed equipment spacing control, is located at a safety distance d from the entrance to block j, and this in block j-1. To bring the 10 x vehicle into contact, a TC docking remote control (x, y) must be sent by an operator from a Centralized Control Station supervising the installation at the fixed automation concerned. This remote control is transmitted to the vehicle 10 there that its on-board equipment immobilizes until the end of the docking maneuver and until the resumption of automatic piloting, by the equipment of the vehicle 10 × of the train consisting of the vehicles 10 x and 10 y .

After immobilization, the vehicle 10 transmits there to the fixed automation 14 its position X _acc on the block j. The fixed automation then virtually and temporarily cuts the canton j into two sub-cantons j ′ and j˝, the common limit of which corresponds to X _acc and can therefore slide depending on the stop position of the vehicle 10 y (line B) .

The fixed automation then communicates to the vehicle 10 x follower the position X _acc , limit of sub-canton j ′ and the equipment of the vehicle 10 x causes the latter to move at nominal speed to a safety distance d from new breakpoint X _acc .

Then, the speed of the vehicle 10 x is securely limited to a low docking speed if the docking maneuver is automatic: the fixed automation 14 inhibits during this time the alarm corresponding to the detection of penetration of a vehicle onto an occupied township. The vehicle 10 x stops immediately after having noted the end of the docking maneuver.

The train thus formed can then start again under the control of the vehicle 10 x and the fixed equipment eliminates the sub-cantonment at j ′ and j˝ (line C).

If the breakdown of vehicle 10 y no longer allows communication with the fixed automation, the latter can still control an automatic docking maneuver: the speed of the vehicle 10 x is then securely limited to the docking speed throughout the whole period. approach of the vehicle 10 y , and not only during the final phase.

We will now describe, by way of example, a possible installation arrangement making it possible to implement the invention.

The means of communication of the equipment on board each vehicle and of the fixed automations can have the general constitution which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. The fixed part of the transmission means can consist of lines 50 arranged in a flat sheath or "carpet" placed between the rails or parallel to the track. The information is transmitted from the fixed automations to the lines by transmission modules 52 which ensure the formatting of the information coming from the fixed automations 14 and are intended to generate interrogations intended for vehicles whose presence has been detected on the section considered or the "airlock" located downstream. Each emission module 52 is, therefore, connected to the two light curtains delimiting the corresponding section, constituting devices for controlling the entry and exit of vehicles. These barriers and their ancillary elements can have a known constitution (reference can for example be made to documents DE-A-2 902 238 and FR-A-2 566 349) or that described in patent application FR n ° EN 88 16891 .

The ground transmission means also comprise reception modules 54 comprising means for filtering, demodulating and deformatting the information received before transmission to the associated fixed automation 14.

The on-board part of the transmission means comprises a transmission chain and a reception chain having symmetrical constitutions. The transmission chain, that is to say the transmission chain from the fixed automations to the on-board equipment, comprises a sensor 56, such as an antenna, and a receiver module 58 containing means of filtering, demodulation and deformatting before transfer to the on-board equipment 60. Symmetrically, the reception chain, that is to say the transmission chain to the automation systems, comprises a module 62 for formatting, modulation and amplification, attacking an antenna 64.

As indicated above, the transmission is carried out by a protocol for interrogation from the ground automation systems and for response by the on-board equipment 60.

This on-board equipment comprises an input-output coupler 66 making it possible to acquire the information coming from the reception module 58, to transmit it to a calculation unit 68 with microprocessor ensuring the management of the information. This unit provides, on an output 70, the vehicle control orders and, in particular, information for authorization to continue the movement. The coupler 66 also sends the information coming from the unit 68 to the transmission module 62.

The barrier 26 shown schematically in Figure 6 consists for example of an ultrasonic transmitter located on one side of the track and a receiver placed on the other side, so that the passage of a vehicle is detected by the beam interruption. Safety is thus guaranteed since the presence of a vehicle results in an absence of signal.

As mentioned above, any signal indicating the crossing of the barrier by a vehicle is sent to the transmission module 52. It is also sent to the fixed automation 14 of the section concerned. This automation then generates a specific interrogation, intended for the vehicle placed at the location of the barrier. If, in fact, a vehicle is located to the right of the barrier, it responds, via the channel consisting of the transmission module 62, the antenna 64 of the line 50 and the reception module 54, by sending a message containing a number vehicle-specific identification.

The fixed automation 14, like the on-board equipment 60, must be of the security type, that is to say include means protecting all of the software processing and of the information exchanged by coding for detection and / or correction of fault. For this, the safety automations or a separate component must ensure appropriate coding. The calculation unit 68 of the on-board equipment comprises a code controller 72. The fixed automation comprises, according to a layout symmetrical to that of the on-board equipment, a coupler 74, a microprocessor-based calculation unit 76 and a code controller 78. The computing unit 76 is connected, by an interface 80 and a safety receiver 82, to the light curtain 26 so as to send a request for identification of any vehicle passing through the barrier.

The means of locating the vehicles, making it possible to determine the immaterial cantons on which they are located, can use point specific active locating beacons formed by a sequence of crossings of a transmission line from the ground to the vehicle, providing, when moving of the vehicle, alternating binary digits 0 and 1. A transmission module 84, which can be confused with the module 52, supplies the beacons. The crosses are detected, by the equipment on board each vehicle, from an antenna 86. This antenna 86, possibly merged with the antenna 56, can be constituted by two coils placed one behind the other in the direction of travel of the vehicle and attacking a crossing detection circuit 88 having filtering means and a phase comparator. A pulse generator 90 can be interposed between the detector circuit 88 and the calculation unit 68 to supply calibrated pulses, representing the presence of a crossing, directly usable by the calculation unit.

The locating means shown in FIG. 6 are completed by a wheel 92 driven by a vehicle wheel and making it possible to provide a safe measurement of displacement, that is to say a relative measurement, to the on-board equipment 60. This wheel can be of a known type, for example that described in document FR-A-2 577 666: it provides an indication of the distance traveled by the vehicle, via a security interface 94.

It can be seen that the installation according to the invention makes it possible to use a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles, without catastrophic reduction of the flow rate insofar as an over-cantonment is planned. It is not necessary for the vehicle location means on the track to have extreme precision: a location relative to a simple regular wiring is sufficient. Due in particular to the permanent exchange of information in the form of dialogue between the ground automation systems and the on-board equipment, great operational safety can be achieved.

We will now describe, by way of examples, various possible constitutions of the transition lock control device, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.

We will first describe, with reference to Figure 7, which corresponds to a particular case, the operating principles of the device according to the invention. FIG. 7 shows a transport installation zone using vehicles 10 traveling on a guide track 12. This track is separated into successive sections each provided with a management automation. Two automations 14 and 16 are shown. They are assigned to two successive sections 18 and 20 of the track, which will be considered first of all, for simplicity, as an upstream section and a downstream section in the direction of travel f of the vehicles 10. The automated systems 14 and 16 are fixed and may have the constitution already described. Each of them is connected to means carried by the track and making it possible to communicate with a vehicle traveling on the corresponding section of track. These transmission means, which must allow a continuous bidirectional exchange of information, have been represented in FIG. 1 in the form of simple loops 22 and 24. A light curtain 26 (the qualifier "non-material" simply signifying that the barrier does not not oppose the circulation of the vehicle) makes it possible to determine the instant when a vehicle 10 leaves the section 18 to enter the section 20. While the communication means 24 only allow the automatic systems 16 to enter into communication with a vehicle that when it has entered the section 20, the communication means 22 maintain communication between the automated systems 14 and the vehicle beyond the barrier 26, on an end portion of the section 20 which can be considered as an airlock 28 of transition.

We see that a vehicle 10 located in the section 18 and moving towards the section 20 remains in permanent communication with the automation 14 which manages the section 18 and which authorizes the vehicle to travel to the end 130 of the airlock 28, insofar as the the road is clear of vehicle to this end. However, as soon as the vehicle 10 crosses the light curtain 26, the fixed automation 16 interrogates the vehicle present in the airlock 28 (without interrupting the dialogue between the vehicle 10 and the fixed automation 14).

The automatic systems are known for the following sequence of operations to take place, insofar as communication can be established between the automatic system 16 and the vehicle 10 while the latter is still in the airlock 28.
- the automation 16 takes charge of the vehicle 10 and gives it authorization to drive on the section 20;
- The vehicle 10, while it is still under the control of the automation 14, in the airlock 28, transmits to the automation 14 the information that it is taken into account by the automation 16;
- the automation 14 gives up its control over the vehicle 10.

The automated system 14 is designed so as to stop the vehicle 10 upstream of the point 130 (insofar as this vehicle operates automatically) or to give a stop order to the driver (in the event of manual driving) if the communication is not 'is not established between the fixed automation 16 and the vehicle 10.

The vehicle stopped in this case in the airlock 28 remains in connection with the automation 14, so that any alarms on board the vehicle are taken into account by the installation: it consequently becomes unnecessary to generate, as a preventive measure, a generalized alarm in the installation, since the vehicle remains under control.

Various embodiments of the invention are possible by implementing the principles illustrated in Figure 7.

A first embodiment uses an airlock which can be described as "hardware": the transmission loops 22 and 24 are superimposed at the level of the airlock 28, the transmission channels used not being the same for the two lines 22 and 24. It corresponds to the case shown diagrammatically in Figure 7. The loops can in particular be constituted by transmission lines transposed into low frequency.

As long as the vehicle 10 is controlled by the automation 14, it communicates with the latter via the channel corresponding to the transmission loop 22. When it crosses the light curtain 26, the fixed automation 16 enters into communication with him by the channel corresponding to the transmission loop 24 and the vehicle responds on this new channel.

Other embodiments use an airlock which can be described as "virtual". The arrangement illustrated in Figure 8 is intended for an installation in which the vehicles 10 travel in one direction, for example that of arrow f. The transmission loops 22 and 24 corresponding to two successive adjacent sectors are separated and respectively connected to transmission equipment with transceiver 30 and 32. The fixed automation 14 is connected to the transceivers 30 and 32 while the automation 16 is connected to the transceiver 32 and to the transceiver (not shown) located downstream of the section 20. The transceivers may or may not use the same transmission channel.

This time, the fixed automation 14 dialogues with the vehicle 10 either through the transceiver 30 or through the transceiver 32.

We will now describe more fully, with reference to Figures 9 and 10, a possible constitution of the device according to the diagram in Figure 8, that is to say:
- with virtual airlock,
- admitting only one direction of vehicle traffic, and using transmission lines transposed into low frequency as a transmission medium between vehicles and automations.

Figure 9 shows the general structure of the fixed parts of the device. In a section, the transmission loop comprises two lines 140 and 142 arranged on the same support, in the middle of the track. One of the lines, 140, is intended for the transmission of the ground equipment to the vehicle, the other, 142, for the reception of messages originating from the vehicles by the ground equipment. Each line is closed at its ends on an adaptation impedance 144, 146 on the one hand, 148 and 150 on the other hand. These latter impedances are only attacked by the lines through transformers whose role will appear below.

Each line consists of two conductors regularly transposed to compensate for the effects of crosstalk, the crossing points can also be used as benchmarks allowing the vehicle to approximately determine its position on the traffic lane.

The transmission of information between lines 140 and 142 and the vehicle is carried out by electromagnetic coupling. Lines having such a constitution are already known, used for example in the "VAL" transport system in Lille.

The device comprises fixed equipment, carried by the track, and equipment carried by each vehicle.

Fixed equipment includes, for each section, the input light curtain 26. This barrier can have various constitutions, for example that described in French patent application No.EN 88 16890. This barrier comprises an ultrasonic transmitter 152 and a receiver 154 placed on either side of the track, so that the ultrasonic beam is interrupted by the presence of a vehicle. The barrier also includes an associated electronic circuit 156 indicating the presence of a vehicle, revealed by the interruption of the ultrasonic beam. Circuit 156 is safe because it indicates the presence of a vehicle by cutting the beam and canceling an output signal.

We will now describe, in succession, a possible constitution of fixed equipment and on-board equipment.

Fixed equipment includes, for each section, the components shown in Figure 9. This equipment incorporates transmitter-receiver transmission means.

They can be viewed as having a module for transmitting from the ground to the mobiles, comprising:
- A processing unit 158 intended to format the information applied to an input 160 and coming from the fixed automation associated with the section considered, and information applied to an input 162 and coming from the automation associated with the section placed upstream. This processing unit 158 is provided for systematically generating a interrogation of the vehicle entering the segment considered when the light curtain detects an obstacle and applies a signal corresponding to the processing unit 158. The secure electronic circuit 156 can be provided for, not only send a presence signal to the processing unit 158, but also provide general information on the crossing of a barrier by a vehicle.
- A modulator 164 supplied by an oscillator not shown and providing a frequency modulated signal adapted to be transmitted on line 40.
- A power amplifier 166, which attacks the line via the adaptation impedance 48 and an isolation transformer 68.

The modules assigned to reception have functions that are substantially symmetrical to those of the transmission modules. In Figure 9, they include:
- an isolation transformer 170;
- A circuit 172 for shaping and filtering;
- a demodulator 174;
a processing unit 176 provided for deformatting the information and transferring it, either to the fixed automation associated with the section concerned (outlet 178), or to the fixed automation associated with the upstream section, via a transmission 180.

Each fixed automation 14 or 16 (Figure 8) may include a secure computer, that is to say all of whose processing is protected by coding the information against the risk of error. The computer of an automated system 14 is provided for dialoguing:
on the one hand, with the transmission equipment 30 of the sector which it equips;
- on the other hand, with the transmission equipment 32 of the section located downstream.

It has an input for receiving information from the light curtain located at the entrance to the section.

Before describing the equipment on board the vehicle, it may be useful to define the mode of management of the transmissions between the ground and the mobiles.

Transmission is systematically carried out by an "interrogation-response" sequence. It is the ground equipment that manages the transmission. The vehicles respond when they receive a query they recognize as being addressed to them. Each fixed automation 14 receives the list of identification numbers of vehicles likely to be present in the sector. Each stationary automation communicates these numbers to the corresponding transmission equipment, which addresses successive interrogations each assigned to a vehicle. The responses from each vehicle are forwarded to the fixed automation for the section concerned.

When a barrier 26 detects the passage of a vehicle, the corresponding transmission equipment, for example 32 (FIG. 8), generates a specific interrogation, to which the vehicle located at the location of the barrier, and only it, answer. This implies that the equipment located on board the vehicle can determine that this vehicle is at the barrier: we will describe later on-board equipment on the vehicle that can fulfill this function. The equipment carried by the vehicle then sends a response:
on the one hand, to the automation of the section, for example, into which the vehicle enters to give it the vehicle identification number,
- on the other hand, to the automation 14 of the section placed upstream, which is thus informed that the dialogue with the vehicle transits by new transmission equipment 32 (and no longer 30).

Thereafter, as long as the control of the vehicle has not passed from the upstream section 18 to the new section concerned 20, the fixed automation of the upstream section requests the transmission equipment of the section now concerned to address the vehicle located in the transmission lock 28.

The management of the fixed automations 14 and 16 follows from the management of the transmission equipment.

At a given moment, the fixed automatisms have a list of vehicles present in the respective sections they manage, this information must be provided in a secure manner. This list is made up of the identification codes specific to each particular vehicle.

Each piece of equipment periodically communicates the list of identification codes to the respective transmission equipment and, in return, receives the responses from the vehicles present in their section. If there is no response from a vehicle displayed as present in the section, the automation system triggers a local alarm.

When a vehicle enters a section, for example:
- its presence is indicated by the corresponding light curtain 26,
the transmission equipment 32 of the section into which the vehicle enters provides the corresponding fixed automation 16 with the identification code of this vehicle, which is added to the list of codes memorized by the automation.

The vehicle can then be taken over by the fixed automation, which transmits to the vehicle concerned control transfer information.

The vehicle which enters a new section 20 does so through an airlock zone 28 downstream of the section 18 which it leaves. This passage in the airlock is communicated by the transmission equipment 32 to the automation 14 of the sector left.

If the mobile is actually supported by the automation 16 of the downstream section, its on-board equipment indicates to the automation 16 and 14 that the transition has been successfully completed: its identification code is then deleted from the list managed by the upstream automation 14: from this moment, the downstream automation 16 becomes the only one to manage the vehicle.

If the upstream automation 14 has not received, before the vehicle has left the airlock 28, the order transfer information, it sends the vehicle a stop order before the end of the airlock: thus, the vehicle remains permanently under the control of an automation.

The equipment on board a mobile can have the constitution shown in Figure 10.

This equipment includes a secure computer 182, that is to say all of whose processing is protected by detection and, possibly, error correction coding, this computer being able to be similar to the computer 158 of fixed automations. The computer 182 receives, from means located on board the vehicle, information indicating the absolute position of the vehicle on the track. This information 84 can be produced by means which are known per se. The computer 182 also receives the vehicle identification code, coming from a module 186. It is desirable that the vehicle identification code remains immutable, even in the event of the exchange of on-board equipment. For this reason, it is advantageous to provide a replaceable device 186, but developing the identification code from a reference number represented by a wiring 188 permanently fixed to the vehicle.

The computer 182 is provided for developing and supplying, on an output 190, vehicle control orders and, in particular, information for authorization to continue the movement beyond the airlock 28. The computer 182 is also provided for receiving, vehicle driving equipment (not shown), information 192 to be transmitted to fixed installations and alarm signals.

The computer 182 is connected to the on-board transmission equipment, allowing information to be exchanged with the fixed parts of the installation. In the case illustrated in Figure 10, the on-board transmission equipment comprises a transmission chain and a reception chain, having similar constitutions. The chain used for transmission, that is to say for the transmission of fixed equipment to on-board equipment, comprises a sensor 194, constituted by a coil of vertical axis located above the transmission line 142 The current at frequency fe flowing in this line induces a voltage at the terminals of the sensor 194. The chain then comprises a module 96 for formatting and bandpass filtering around the frequency fe, a demodulator 198 and a deformatization module. 100. Symmetrically, the other chain comprises a formatting module 102, a modulator 104 of a wave with carrier frequency fr, different from fe, and a power stage 106 which drives a transmission coil 108 with vertical axis, placed above reception line 40.

• 1. Le véhicule reçoit les messages issus de l'automatisme, 14 par exemple, gérant le tronçon sur lequel il se trouve et destiné à tous les véhicules se trouvant dans le tronçon concerné 18.
• 2. Lorsqu'un message comporte le code d'identification propre à un véhicule se trouvant dans le tronçon, le calculateur 182 du véhicule adresse le message aux automatismes de conduite embarqués. En retour, le véhicule renvoie son code d'identification, et éventuellement les messages d'alarme fournis par les automatismes de conduite embarqués.
• 3. Lorsque le véhicule est à proximité d'un sas 28 de transmission, il se met à l'écoute des messages d'interrogation fournis par les automatismes fixes en réponse au franchissement d'une barrière immatérielle 26.
• 4. En réponse à un tel message d'interrogation, le véhicule envoie son code d'identification et, éventuellement, un message élaboré par des automatismes de conduite embarqués, destinés à l'automatisme du tronçon 20 dans lequel pénètre le véhicule, décrivant l'état du véhicule.
• 5. Au cours d'une phase de transition, qui doit s'achever avant que le véhicule n'ait quitté le sas 28, le véhicule est interrogé par les deux automatismes 14 et 16. Dès que le véhicule est pris en charge par l'automatisme 16 du tronçon aval, cet automatisme lui envoie un message spécifique de transfert de prise en charge. A partir de ce moment, le véhicule répond à tout message reçu de l'automatisme 14 du tronçon qu'il vient de quitter par un message d'acquittement, ce qui inter­rompt définitivement le dialogue avec l'automatisme 14.
• Le message de prise en charge par l'automatisme 16 du nouveau tronçon se traduit par la fourniture aux automatismes de conduite d'une autorisation de rouler dans le nouveau tronçon 20. Si ce message n'est pas reçu, le calculateur adresse aux automatismes de con­duite, un ordre d'arrêt avant l'extrémité aval du sas 28, avant perte de dialogue avec l'automatisme 14 du tronçon précédent.

On-board equipment having the constitution shown in Figure 10 can be managed as follows.

• 1. The vehicle receives messages from the automated system, 14 for example, managing the section on which it is located and intended for all vehicles located in the section concerned 18.
• 2. When a message includes the identification code specific to a vehicle in the section, the vehicle's computer 182 sends the message to the on-board driving automations. In return, the vehicle returns its identification code, and possibly the alarm messages provided by the on-board driving automations.
• 3. When the vehicle is near a transmission lock 28, it listens to the interrogation messages provided by the fixed automations in response to the crossing of a light curtain 26.
• 4. In response to such an interrogation message, the vehicle sends its identification code and, optionally, a message prepared by on-board driving automations, intended for the automation of the section 20 into which the vehicle enters, describing the vehicle condition.
• 5. During a transition phase, which must end before the vehicle has left the airlock 28, the vehicle is interrogated by the two automatic systems 14 and 16. As soon as the vehicle is taken over by the automation 16 of the downstream section, this automation sends it a specific transfer of care message. From this moment, the vehicle responds to any message received from the automation 14 of the section that it has just left with an acknowledgment message, which definitively interrupts the dialogue with the automation 14.
• The message taken over by the automation 16 of the new section results in the supply to the driving automations of an authorization to drive in the new section 20. If this message is not received, the computer addresses the automatisms of driving, a stop order before the downstream end of the airlock 28, before loss of dialogue with the automation 14 of the previous section.

Claims (12)

1. Transport installation with automatic control of the movement of vehicles (10) along a track, of the type comprising separate control automations (14, 16) each assigned to the management of a specific section of the track, each section being provided with means of communication between the fixed automation for managing this section and the vehicles in circulation on the section, characterized in that each section (18, 20) is divided, by immaterial means, into several cantons of length fixed and arbitrary, in that means are provided for detecting the block occupied by each of the vehicles (10) in circulation on the section and indicating it to the corresponding automated system, and in that the automated systems are provided for supplying each vehicle located on the section of information in the form of block indications, on the spacing to be maintained with the preceding vehicle. 2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the information supplied to a vehicle is limited to the indication that the vehicle may exceed the block it occupies or, on the contrary, must stop before the end of the block, safe distance from this end. 3. Installation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each section also carries hardware devices (27) for detecting the presence of vehicles incapable, by construction or following breakdowns, of communicating with the control automations, and signaling. 4. Installation according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that each section is cut, not only in intangible cantons, but also in over-cantons defined by track and signaling devices (34) which can be conventional, some at least over-cantons corresponding to several cantons and not just one, allowing vehicle tracking in manual driving. 5. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cantons (18 a , 18 b , ..., 18 f ) are shorter in the station than in the running part of the track. 6. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of the automatic systems (14, 16) comprises a calculation unit (76) having a memory containing an ordered list of all the cantons (18 a , ... , 18 f ) of the corresponding section and, possibly, of over-cantons of the section. 7. Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each vehicle is provided with on-board equipment having a calculation unit (68) provided with a memory which contains the complete list of all the cantons of the track on which the vehicle is to travel. 8. Installation according to claim 7, characterized in that the fixed automations are provided for interrogating the on-board equipment at a rate sufficient to reflect the instantaneous state of the installation. 9. Installation according to claim 8, characterized in that each section is delimited by a light curtain (26) making it possible to determine the instant when a vehicle (10) leaves a section to enter the next section and which transmits said information to fixed automatisms of the sections it separates. 10. Installation according to claim 9, characterized in that the fixed automation of each section is provided to address each vehicle entering the section, detected by the barrier immaterial, an identification request, and in that the equipment of each vehicle is designed to send, in response, an identification and, optionally, an indication of position. 11. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that each section comprises an end portion constituting an airlock (28) and provided with means allowing the vehicle to be put in communication not only with the automation (16) of the section (20) to which belongs the terminal portion, but also with the automation (14) managing the adjacent section (18), as soon as the vehicle enters the airlock, means (26) controlled by the vehicle during its passage in a determined location of the part terminal, causing the transfer of control from one automation to another, and means for verifying that the transfer is made and triggering an alarm in the event of no transfer in the airlock. 12. Installation according to claim 11, characterized in that the means of communication include a transmission loop per section, the loops of two adjacent sections having an overlap defining a material lock.

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