AU2006289136A1

AU2006289136A1 - System architecture for controlling and monitoring components of a railway safety installation

Info

Publication number: AU2006289136A1
Application number: AU2006289136A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andreas Dalnodar; Matthias Holzmuller; Blake Kozol
Original assignee: Siemens AG
Current assignee: Siemens AG
Priority date: 2005-09-07
Filing date: 2006-09-01
Publication date: 2007-03-15
Also published as: CA2621393A1; DE102005043305A1; PE20070484A1; BRPI0615566A2; WO2007028772A1; AR055413A1

Description

IN THE MATTER OF an Australian Application corresponding to PCT Application PCT/EP2006/065916 RWS Group Ltd, of Europa House, Marsham Way, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England, hereby solemnly and sincerely declares that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, the following document, prepared by one of its translators competent in the art and conversant with the English and German languages, is a true and correct translation of the PCT Application filed under No. PCT/EP2006/065916. Date: 29 February 2008 N. T. SIMPKIN Deputy Managing Director - UK Translation Division For and on behalf of RWS Group Ltd PCT/EP2006/065916 - 1 2005P13498WOIN Description System architecture for controlling and monitoring components of a railroad safety installation The invention relates to a system architecture for controlling and monitoring components, in particular light signals, switches, rail circuits, rail junctions, passenger information systems, of a railroad safety installation. Microcomputer-based systems are predominantly used for controlling and monitoring railroad safety installations, in particular signal boxes, whose signaling is designed to be safe. In addition, railroad operators frequently in parallel demand control and monitoring whose signaling is not safe and which are provided either by means of a separate microprocessor system or by means of appropriate extension to the functionality of the existing microprocessor system. These microprocessor systems typically comprise CPUs, power supplies, input and output devices as well as specific interfaces which are matched to the components to be controlled. Because of the large number of very different railroad safety installations with different peripheral components, a large number of application-specific system architectures exist and, in particular, have highly specialized interfaces. The requirements for the system architecture are in some cases specified by Norms and Standards, for example in the USA by AREMA, AAR, IEEE, MIL, FRA, and in some cases result from operator-specific requirements, which are frequently derived from the existing railroad infrastructure. As a result of the very high degree of diversification of the system architectures, which are based on different basic logic, adaptations to changing conditions, for example to components to be newly included in the external installation, are associated with major difficulties. Changes such as these can frequently not be implemented by the railroad operator.

PCT/EP2006/065916 - 2 2005P13498WOIN The invention is based on the object of specifying a system architecture of this generic type which allows a high degree of standardization of the basic logic, with the aims including improvement to the availability and simpler adaptability to changing environmental conditions. According to the invention, the object is achieved in that an automation platform which comprises a plurality of modules, in particular a CPU, a power supply, a module for safety-relevant signal processing, a module for non-safety-relevant signal processing and a communication module is connected via specific interfaces to safety-relevant and non-safety-relevant components of the railroad safety installation. The existing automation platform, for example the SIMATIC platform from Siemens, is a modular system for industrial automation installations, and has not been used until now for railroad control and monitoring. The predetermined software structure of the automation platform is normally organized on a modular or hierarchical basis such that the logistics of the railroad safety installation, in particular the signaling box logistics, can be organized in function-specific software programs. The software for these functions can effectively be reused for very different environmental conditions. This makes it possible for railroad operators to adapt to this basic logic appropriately. The required engineering effort is considerably less than in the case of discrete, highly-specialized systems which have been developed for the specific environmental conditions. Furthermore, greater availability and better performance of the system hardware can be achieved with an existing automation platform, since it can be assumed that the automation platform represents a proven system of a robust nature and with high production margins. In this case, capabilities are frequently configured which can be used highly advantageously for railroad safety installations, require very high investment for the development of specialized systems, and are frequently PCT/EP2006/065916 - 3 2005P13498WOIN susceptible to faults. This relates, for example, to remote monitoring, special control principles, modular programming capabilities and fault diagnosis. Furthermore, consistent automation on the basis of microprocessor-based systems is advantageous,. so that there is no need for electromechanical and, in particular, relay-based mechanisms, which conventionally require a high degree of maintenance effort. According to claim 2, the CPU in the automation platform should be able to store programs for safety-relevant applications and for non-safety-relevant applications. There is therefore no need for splitting into two different systems, that is to say for safe applications and for non-safe applications. Safe and non-safe programs can be separated in a simple manner on the basis of memory space, so that it is possible to preclude non safe programs having any influence on safe programs. The automation platform that is used should, according to claim 3, have means for component-specific fault diagnosis. Until now, problems when faults occur have been solved by switching off all the system components completely. The component specific fault diagnosis results in simple localization of the fault, so that only those system components in which a fault has occurred need be switched off. Furthermore, the improved fault localization in conjunction with scaleable hierarchical reactions allows categorization to be carried out, which in the end allows a very practical fault management and fault reaction. A communication module which is normally available in the automation platform can also advantageously be used for railroad safety installations. According to claim 4, the communication module is connected to a control center for bidirectional data transmission, in particular for control, monitoring and fault diagnosis, via at least one communication network, in particular by radio and/or by a landline network.

PCT/EP2006/065916 - 4 2005P13498WOIN This simplifies the normal complexity for control and monitoring. For example, fault messages can be analyzed and processed by remote diagnosis, and there is frequently no need for on-site expert assessment of components, in particular of field elements such as light signals, switches, rail circuits or rail junctions. The automation platform that is used should, according to claim 5, have a module for safety-relevant signal processing, which additionally has component-specific functional units, in particular rail circuit functional units, which offers the capability to carry out tasks for component-specific functional units, in particular rail circuit functional units, in addition to the signal processing. The integration of rail-circuit specific assemblies makes it possible to combine two intrinsically different systems, specifically a rail circuit and a signaling box, in a single modular platform. The invention will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated as a figure. The single figure shows a block diagram, illustrating the use of an automation platform for a railroad safety installation. The automation platform 1 in this case essentially comprises a CPU 2, a power supply 3, a module for safety-relevant signal processing 4, a module for non-safety-relevant signal processing 5, and a communication module 6. These modules 2 to 6 in their own right offer significant basic functions for control and monitoring of components of the railroad safety installation, in which case necessary adaptations are possible relatively easily by means of the modular configuration. The appropriately adapted modules 2 to 6 as well as further interfaces 7 together with a control panel 8 and appropriate connections 9 for components of the external installation form the major functional units of a signal box 10. The connections PCT/EP2006/065916 - 5 2005P13498WOIN 9 are connected to the components of the railroad safety installation to be controlled and to be monitored, with the figure illustrating, by way of example, a signal 11, a switch 12, a rail circuit 13 and a non-safety-relevant component 14, for example a passenger information system 14.

Claims

1. A system architecture for controlling and monitoring components, more particularly light signals (11), switches (12), rail circuits (13), rail junctions, passenger information systems, of a railroad safety installation, characterized in that an automation platform (1) which comprises a plurality of modules, more particularly a CPU (2), a power supply (3), a module for safety-relevant signal processing (4) , a module for non-safety-relevant signal processing (5) and a communication module (6) is connected via specific interfaces (7) to safety relevant and non-safety-relevant components (11 to 14) of the railroad safety installation.

2. The system architecture as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the automation platform (1) has a CPU (2) which has program memory for safety-relevant and non-safety-relevant applications.

3. The system architecture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automation platform (1) has means for component specific fault diagnosis.

4. The system architecture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automation platform (1) has a communication module (6) which is connected to a control center for bidirectional data transmission, in particular for control, monitoring and fault diagnosis, via at least one communication network, in particular by radio and/or by a landline network. PCT/EP2006/065916 - 7 2005P13498WOIN

5. The system architecture as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automation platform (1) has a module for safety relevant signal processing (5), which additionally has component-specific functional units, in particular rail circuit functional units.