DK3024713T3

DK3024713T3 - Method and device for detecting a change of position of at least partially disengaged vehicle

Info

Publication number: DK3024713T3
Application number: DK14758837.0T
Authority: DK
Inventors: Andre Lehmann; Thomas Lindner; Karsten Rahn; Frauke Schossig; Steffen Ueckert
Original assignee: Siemens Ag
Priority date: 2013-09-10
Filing date: 2014-08-28
Publication date: 2018-03-12
Also published as: DE102013218040A1; HUE038559T2; EP3024713B1; ES2665147T3; EP3024713A1; WO2015036254A1; CN105531172B; HK1222828A1; CN105531172A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method, which allows a reliable detection of a position change of a vehicle (10) and which at the same time can be realized with comparatively low expenditure, for detecting a position change of an at least partially deactivated vehicle (10), in particular a track-bound vehicle. To this end, according to the invention, prior to an at least partial deactivation of the vehicle (10), a first image of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is taken by means of a recording device (30). During a re-activation or after the re-activation of the vehicle (10), a second image of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is taken by means of the recording device (30). A change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle (10) is detected on the basis of an at least partial comparison of the second image with the first image. The invention further relates to a device for detecting a change in position of an at least partially deactivated vehicle (10).

Description

Method and apparatus for detecting a change in position of an at least partially deactivated vehicle

It may be necessary or least desirable in various types of vehicle to identify or detect a change in position of the respective vehicle, when said change occurs in a state in which the vehicle is completely or at least partially deactivated. Although the following description relates substantially to the example of rail-bound vehicles, the invention is not restricted to these and can also be applied to other types of land-based, water-based or airborne vehicles .

In the field of rail-bound vehicles, there is a basic requirement to be able to deactivate or switch off a vehicle, preferably completely, during an operating pause. On one hand this has the advantage that the energy consumption and hence the operating costs are reduced; on the other hand it also means that specific facilities for supplying energy to the parked vehicle may be dispensed with if applicable. Therefore e.g. rail-bound vehicles in the form of electrically driven rail vehicles usually have batteries which allow a basic electrical supply to the respective vehicle, at least for a certain time period, in the event that the traction voltage is deactivated, e.g. due to maintenance work.

Deactivation of those components of a vehicle which are required to determine the position thereof proves particularly difficult. In addition to the actual position determining facilities, e.g. in the form of odometer pulse generators or radar facilities, this can affect onboard control computers in particular, in the form of vehicle devices of train protection systems. As a rule, it is also preferable for these components to be deactivated during operating pauses of the vehicle. In this context, it is however also routinely necessary following the deactivation and reactivation of the vehicle for positionfinding information which characterises the current position of the vehicle to remain available in order to allow a rapid and largely automatic restart of the vehicle. With regard to train protection, the problem however exists here that it is not easily possible from onboard the vehicle automatically to detect whether a movement or a change in position of the vehicle occurred during the period of the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle, i.e. during the time in which a vehicle device of a rail vehicle was deactivated. This means in particular that it is impossible or only possible at corresponding additional expense to assess from onboard the vehicle whether position-finding information captured prior to the deactivation of the vehicle is still valid. Ascertaining a change in position of a deactivated or at least partially deactivated vehicle in a corresponding manner is also referred to as "Cold Movement Detection" (CMD). As part of this activity, it must therefore be established whether the vehicle in the deactivated state was moved in relation to the known position at the time it was switched off. In this case, a corresponding change in position may occur as part of a shunting or towing operation, for example. A method for detecting a change in position of a vehicle for the purpose of CMD is disclosed in the unexamined German application DE 10 2011 077 760 A1. In this case, a state memory provided for this purpose interacts with an axle sensor on a wheel axle of the vehicle and with means which switch the state memory into a predefined state when the vehicle is turned off, i.e. switched off. In this case, the known apparatus is designed such that a change in position of the switched-off vehicle results in the modification of the saved state of the state memory as a function of the rotation of the wheel axle. By checking the state of the state memory when the vehicle is reactivated or turned on, it is therefore possible to detect any change in position of said vehicle when it is in a switched-off state. A further method for detecting a change in position of a vehicle for the purpose of CMD is disclosed in the published European patent application EP 2 502 800 A1. In this case, the range dependency of the magnetic force is utilised such that in the event of a movement of the vehicle concerned, indicator elements change their position as a result of the effect of gravity. By comparing the positions of the indicator elements, it is therefore possible to establish whether the vehicle has been moved in the meanwhile.

The object of the present invention is to specify a method for detecting a change in position of a vehicle that is at least partially switched off, which method allows reliable detection of a change in position of the vehicle and can at the same time be realised at comparatively modest expense.

This object is inventively achieved by a method for detecting a change in position of an at least partially deactivated vehicle, in particular a rail-bound vehicle, wherein prior to an at least partial deactivation of the vehicle a first recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of a recording facility, during a reactivation or following the reactivation of the vehicle a second recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility, and a change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle is detected on the basis of an at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording.

According to the inventive method, in a first step, prior to an at least partial deactivation of the vehicle a first recording of the environment of the vehicle is therefore made by means of a recording facility. This often takes place as part of deactivating or turning off the whole vehicle. It is however also possible in principle for specific components of the vehicle to remain activated or at least not completely deactivated or switched off. In preparation for a corresponding at least partial deactivation of the vehicle, a first recording of the environment of the vehicle is therefore made, wherein said first recording can be a corresponding image or photograph, for example.

According to the second step of the inventive method, a second recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility during a reactivation or following the reactivation of the vehicle. A corresponding reactivation of a vehicle is also referred to as turning on or turning on again, particularly in the context of rail vehicles.

According to the third step of the inventive method, a change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle, i.e. a change in position which occurred during the time in which the vehicle was at least partially deactivated, is then detected on the basis of an at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording. The inventive method here is based in particular on the insight that in the event that the vehicle did not change its position during the period of its at least partial deactivation, the second recording of the environment of the vehicle should correspond completely or at least in essential parts to the first recording of the environment. Conversely, any intermediate change in the position of the vehicle results in the second recording of the environment of the vehicle not corresponding to the first recording of the environment of the vehicle made prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle .

It should be noted that the comparison between the second recording and the first recording in the context of the inventive method may be partial, to the extent that instead of a complete comparison of the recordings only selected sections of the recordings are included in the comparison. Accordingly, it is not necessary for the first recording to be saved in its entirety for the purpose of subsequent comparison with the second recording; it is instead possible to save only parts or sections of the first recording or data relating thereto or extracted therefrom.

The inventive method is advantageous because a change in position of the deactivated vehicle can be detected with am high level of reliability on the basis of the at least partial comparison of the two recordings. It is moreover advantageous that recording facilities which can be used in the context of the inventive method are available at comparatively low cost or may even be available already for other purposes. Furthermore, powerful algorithms are available as such for the purpose of evaluating and/or comparing recordings or images, and therefore the inventive method can be realised with comparatively little expense.

Consequently, the inventive method makes it possible to reduce the costs incurred in the operation of vehicles, in particular traction units, by largely or completely deactivating the components of the vehicle during operating pauses, since any change in position of the vehicle which occurs during the period of the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle can be reliably detected even if the components required to detect a corresponding change in position during the operation of the vehicle are likewise deactivated during the operating pause.

According to a particularly preferred development, the inventive method is embodied such that prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle, an item of positionfinding information characterising the current position of the vehicle is saved and the validity of the saved positionfinding information is confirmed, so long as the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording reveals that the position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle has not changed. This has the advantage that the knowledge of whether a change in position of the vehicle occurred during the period of its deactivation can be used to check the validity of saved position-finding information. The saved position-finding information in this case is an item of location information or position-finding information which characterises the current position of the vehicle in relation to the time point of the deactivation of the vehicle. This item of information may have been determined by various conventional position-finding facilities, e.g. using an odometer pulse generator, a facility for satellite-aided determination of the location, or a radar facility.

By virtue of the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording allowing the validity of the saved position-finding information to be confirmed or alternatively rejected as no longer valid, it is advantageously unnecessary under normal circumstances in which no change in position of the vehicle has occurred to redetermine the position of the vehicle before a full vehicle restart. It must also be taken into consideration in this case that in particular for vehicles in the form of rail-bound vehicles, e.g. rail vehicles, maglev railways or rail-guided vehicles with rubber tyres, the position of the respective vehicle is an essential parameter of a corresponding protection system. This applies to e.g. train protection systems such as the European train protection system ETCS (European Train Control System). In this context, the preferred embodiment variant of the inventive method as described has the particular advantage that following the reactivation of the vehicle no additional actions by operating personnel are required in order to obtain a valid position of the vehicle. In particular, it is therefore unnecessary to input current position-finding information manually or e.g. to determine the position-finding information again, e.g. by reading position-finding markers (e.g. balises) while moving the vehicle in a restrictive operating mode.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment variant, the inventive method can also be developed such that following a completed confirmation of the saved positionfinding information and a subsequent change in position of the vehicle, a further recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility and the validity of the saved position-finding information is rejected, so long as no change in the position of the vehicle is ascertained during an at least partial comparison between the further recording and the first and/or the second recording. It is advantageously thereby possible to detect errors in the recording facility or in the further processing of the recordings, e.g. during the at least partial comparison between the first and the second recording. In this context, on the basis of the evidently complete change in position of the vehicle (following the reactivation), it is known that the further recording should not correspond to the first or second recording if the apparatus is functioning correctly. Therefore if in the context of this validation step, contrary to expectations, no change is ascertained in the position of the vehicle by the at least partial comparison between the further recording and the first and/or second recording, a malfunction is thereby revealed in the recording facility or in a further vehicle component involved in the processing or in the at least partial comparison of the recordings. In particular, this makes it possible subsequently to reject the saved position-finding information which initially, due to the malfunction, was incorrectly confirmed as still valid. This means that the reliability of the inventive method is advantageously increased further thereby.

The inventive method can advantageously also be developed in such a way that the recordings are made by means of a recording facility which comprises at least one of the following components: a photo camera, a video camera, an infrared camera, an optical sensor, a laser scanner. In this context, the recording facility may comprise one or more of the cited components according to the respective application scenario and the respective requirements. In the latter case, there may be a plurality of components of the same type, i.e. a plurality of video cameras for example, or a plurality of components of different types, i.e. a video camera and an infrared camera or a laser scanner for example, whereby it is possible further to increase reliability and failure protection of the method if applicable. As mentioned above, the components comprised by the recording facility will preferably depend on the respective application scenario. This relates firstly to the question of which region of the vehicle environment will be captured by the recording facility, i.e. how or at what the recording facility will be aimed. In addition to this, consideration must be given to the respective conditions of use, e.g. in respect of light ratios and weather conditions. It may therefore be appropriate, for example, for the recording facility to comprise an infrared camera or a laser scanner in order to ensure independence from daylight or artificial lighting.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment variant of the inventive method, the recordings are made using by means of a recording facility arranged on the vehicle side and/or track side. In this case, it is on one hand conceivable for the recording facility to be arranged completely on the vehicle side. For example, a photo camera or video camera can therefore be attached onto or under the vehicle. This has the advantage that all of the information required for the method is available or can be established on the vehicle side, and therefore communication with an apparatus which is arranged outside the vehicle, i.e. on the track side, is advantageously unnecessary. Alternatively, it is however also conceivable in principle for the recording facility to be arranged completely on the track side. This relates to the case, for example, in which a track region is monitored by means of a recording facility in the form of a photo or video camera on the track side, and the corresponding recordings are used to detect possible changes in position of vehicles. In this case, it is however necessary for the completed recordings or at least the results of the at least partial comparison between the recordings to be transferred to the vehicle. Furthermore, it is also conceivable in principle for a combination to the effect that the recording facility comprises components on both the vehicle side and the track side. In this case, recordings or images from components of the recording facility on the track side can be used, for example, if corresponding components on the track side are already available for other purposes .

It is generally appropriate for the method for detecting a possible change in position of the vehicle to be sufficiently robust in relation to changes in the environment of the vehicle. This may concern e.g. animals or people in the field of view captured by the recording facility, weather-related effects such as rain or even varying light ratios. For this reason, it is often advantageous to perform not a pixel-bypixel comparison of the recordings, but to perform the at least partial comparison on the basis of determined specific characteristics or distinguishing features of the recordings.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment of the inventive method, at least one distinguishing feature is determined from the first recording and the second recording in each case and the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording is performed on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature. This means that said distinguishing features are formed by extracting those partial regions or aspects of the recordings or images which, in spite of possible interference effects, allow particularly robust yet reliable detection of a change in position of the vehicle.

In this case, the inventive method can preferably be further developed such that at least one distinguishing feature in the form of a fixed marker of the environment of the vehicle is determined from the first recording and the second recording in each case. Corresponding fixed markers in the environment of the vehicle are preferably those which are normally expected at possible holding positions of the vehicle. These may include signal boards, kilometre markers or signals, for example. In this case, any determination of corresponding fixed markers in the environment of the vehicle will generally be relevant in particular if recordings of the further environment of the vehicle are captured or made by means of the recording facility. This can apply if, for example, the relevant recording facility is a camera which is also used for the purpose of observing platforms and therefore the captured recordings can in some circumstances contain many moving objects in the form of people. In this case, provision is advantageously made for defining in a manner which is known per se an image evaluation algorithm such that the fixed markers of the environment of the vehicle are determined and these fixed markers are used for the at least partial comparison of the recordings.

In this case, the inventive method can advantageously operate such that when determining the at least one distinguishing feature, the position of the respective fixed marker within the recordings is determined and/or a content-orientated interpretation of the respective fixed marker is performed, in particular by means of text recognition. In this case, a corresponding content-oriented interpretation can be effected in particular by means of text recognition, i.e. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for example. Consequently, a distinguishing feature may be that a sign with a specific text is depicted or can be recognised at a specific position of the recording, i.e. at a specific place in the image. So long as the relevant sign is now present in the second recording with the same text in the same place as in the first recording, it is possible therefrom, taking further distinguishing features into consideration if applicable, and even if changes exist in other fields of view due to e.g. the presence or absence of people, to infer as a result of the at least partial comparison of the two recordings that no change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle has occurred.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment variant, the inventive method can also be embodied such that for a vehicle which is provided for advancing along a track having a track bed, in particular a ballast bed, recordings of the track bed are made by the recording facility. In this case, the recording facility or the respective component thereof can therefore preferably be arranged underneath the vehicle. Irrespective of the position of the recording facility, the cited development of the inventive method offers the advantage that the image region captured by the recording facility will usually be exposed to comparatively limited state changes, and therefore in particular impairments due to moving objects such as e.g. birds or people will have only comparatively little or no effect on the result of the at least partial comparison of the recordings. In addition to a ballast bed, the track in the context of the described preferred development of the inventive method can also comprise a track bed in the form of a fixed roadway. In this type of configuration, the rails are usually mounted directly onto an existing fixed surface of concrete or asphalt, for example .

In this case, the inventive method can preferably be further developed such that at least one distinguishing feature relating to the track bed is determined from the first recording and the second recording in each case by means of edge extraction, and the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording is performed on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature thus determined. This is advantageous because the track bed, in particular in the case of a ballast bed, will routinely have a characteristic edge pattern which can be reliably captured and subsequently compared by means of edge extraction, for which various algorithms and methods as such are known. This means that it is therefore possible to compare the characteristic edge pattern of the ballast at the deactivation position with the edge pattern which is extracted following the reactivation of the vehicle. If significant differences are evident in the edge patterns, the possibility that the at least partially deactivated vehicle has been moved and therefore changed its position can at least not be excluded.

According to a further particularly preferred development, the inventive method is configured such that in the case of a vehicle in the form of a rail-bound vehicle the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle includes the deactivation of a vehicle device of a train protection system. This is advantageous because until now corresponding vehicle devices in particular would often remain activated even during operating pauses of the relevant vehicle, in order to be able to detect in particular any possible change in position of the vehicle during the operating pause. The inventive method now offers precisely the advantage that this is not necessary, whereby in particular a reduction in operating costs can be achieved. Moreover, it also offers advantages in particular with regard to situations in which, e.g. due to deactivation of the traction voltage caused by maintenance work, the electrical power supply of the vehicle device cannot be guaranteed or can only be guaranteed at additional expense, e.g. by providing batteries.

Concerning the apparatus for detecting a change in position of an at least partially deactivated vehicle, the object of the present invention is to specify a corresponding apparatus which allows reliable detection of changes in position and at the same time can be realised at comparatively low expense.

This object is inventively achieved by an apparatus for detecting a change in position of an at least partially deactivated vehicle, in particular a rail-bound vehicle, wherein said apparatus has a recording facility and is embodied such that prior to an at least partial deactivation of the vehicle a first recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility, during a reactivation or following the reactivation of the vehicle a second recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility, and a change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle is detected on the basis of an at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording.

The advantages of the inventive apparatus correspond essentially to those of the inventive method, and therefore reference is made to the foregoing explanations in this regard. The same applies to the preferred developments of the inventive apparatus cited below in relation to the corresponding preferred developments of the inventive method, and therefore reference is again made to the corresponding foregoing explanations in this regard.

According to a particularly preferred development, the inventive apparatus is so embodied as to save an item of position-finding information characterising the current position of the vehicle prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle, and to confirm the validity of the saved position-finding information, so long as the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording reveals that the position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle has not changed.

According to a further particularly preferred embodiment variant of the inventive apparatus, the apparatus is embodied such that, following a completed confirmation of the saved position-finding information and a subsequent change in position of the vehicle, a further recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by means of the recording facility and the validity of the saved position-finding information is rejected, so long as no change in the position of the vehicle is ascertained during an at least partial comparison between the further recording and the first and/or the second recording.

The inventive apparatus can also be preferably embodied such that the recording facility comprises at least one of the following components: a photo camera, a video camera, an infrared camera, an optical sensor, a laser scanner.

According to a further particularly preferred development of the inventive apparatus, the recording facility is arranged on the vehicle side and/or on the track side.

The inventive facility can preferably also be embodied to determine at least one distinguishing feature from the first recording and the second recording in each case, and to perform the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature.

Furthermore, the inventive apparatus can also be developed such that the apparatus is embodied to determine at least one distinguishing feature in the form of a fixed marker of the environment of the vehicle from the first recording and the second recording in each case.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment variant of the inventive apparatus, the apparatus is embodied to determine, when determining the at least one distinguishing feature, the position of the respective fixed marker within the recordings and/or to perform a content-oriented interpretation of the respective fixed marker, in particular by means of text recognition.

The inventive apparatus can preferably also be embodied such that, for a vehicle which is provided for advancing along a track having a track bed, in particular a ballast bed, the recording facility is embodied to make recordings of the track bed.

According to a further particularly preferred development of the inventive apparatus, the apparatus is embodied to determine at least one distinguishing feature relating to the track bed from the first recording and the second recording in each case by means of edge extraction, and to perform the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature thus determined.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the inventive apparatus, for a vehicle in the form of a rail-bound vehicle, said apparatus comprises a vehicle device of a train protection system, which vehicle device is deactivated as part of the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle.

The invention is explained in greater detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment, wherein the figure shows a schematic diagram of a vehicle comprising an exemplary embodiment of the inventive apparatus in order to illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the inventive method.

The figure shows a vehicle 10 in the form of a rail vehicle which is provided for advancing along a route section or a track 100. The vehicle 10, which can be e.g. a tractive unit with or without other coupled driven or non-driven vehicles, has a control facility 20 which is designed as a vehicle device of a train protection system in the context of the exemplary embodiment described here. In this case, the corresponding train protection system can be e.g. a national train protection system or the European train protection system ETCS. Alternatively, it is also conceivable for the vehicle 10 to be a rail vehicle in the form of a metro or underground train, and for this vehicle to be controlled or monitored and protected using a proprietary train protection system, and for the control facility 20 to be a vehicle device of such a train protection system.

Let it be assumed that an operating pause is due for the vehicle 10, which can be controlled by a driver or operated driverlessly during normal operation. This may be the case, for example, if the operational mode is terminated or reduced at night time or if for other reasons use of the vehicle 10 is not required at the given time point. With a view to reducing the operating costs of the rail-bound vehicle 10 it would now be desirable to deactivate, in addition to other consumer units of the vehicle 10 such as e.g. lighting, air conditioning, heating or other auxiliary operational units, also the control facility 20 such that it has little or no energy consumption. At the same time, it is however desirable in this context for an existing item of position-finding information, which characterises the position of the vehicle 10 on the route section 100, to be retained in order to allow the vehicle 10 to be quickly restarted or turned on again.

With regard to train protection, the problem now arises that possible changes in the position of the vehicle during the period of the deactivation of the control facility 20 must be detected before operation of the vehicle 10 is resumed, as an unchanged position of the vehicle 10 is a prerequisite for the existing position-finding information or location information to remain valid and therefore remain usable as part of the control and protection of the vehicle 10. If it is not possible to guarantee the validity of the existing positionfinding information which was valid prior to the deactivation of the control facility 20, it follows that the corresponding position-finding information must be determined again following the reactivation of the control facility 20 or of the vehicle 10. This can be achieved by moving the vehicle 10 in a restrictive operating mode for the purpose of reading position-finding markers, for example, or having the corresponding position-finding information entered manually by a driver. This however gives rise to a comparatively high expense in both cases, which reduces the efficiency of the operational mode and therefore ultimately results in additional expenses and costs.

In order that a possible change in the position of the vehicle 10, this being completely or at least partially deactivated during the operating pause, can now be detected in a reliable and comparatively inexpensive manner, the control facility 20 in the form of the vehicle device is connected via technical communication means to a recording facility 30 in the form of a video camera and to a storage facility 40 and a position determining facility 50.

The apparatus shown can now be operated in such a way that a first recording of the environment of the vehicle is made by the recording facility 30 and saved in the storage facility 40 prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle 10, i.e. in particular prior to deactivation of the control facility 20 on the vehicle side in this case. As an alternative to the illustration in the figure, it is naturally also possible in this context for the storage facility 40 to be connected directly to the recording facility 30 or even be a component part thereof or of the control facility 20.

Furthermore, an item of position-finding information which characterises the current position of the vehicle 10 is preferably also saved prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle 10. Let it be assumed in the context of the described exemplary embodiment that this item of position-finding information is transferred from the position determining facility 50, which can also be embodied as a component part of the control facility 20, to the latter and is likewise saved or stored in the storage facility 40 from there.

At the end of the operating pause of the vehicle 10 and as part of the reactivation of the vehicle 10, i.e. during or following the reactivation of in particular the control facility 20, the recording facility 30, the storage facility 40 and if applicable the position determining facility 50, a second recording of the environment of the vehicle 10 is now made by means of the recording facility 30. On the basis of an at least partial comparison of this second recording with the first recording saved in the storage facility 40, it is now possible to detect a change in position of the at least partially deactivated vehicle 10, i.e. a change in position of the vehicle 10 during the period of the at least partial deactivation thereof.

The detection of a corresponding change in position, or specifically ascertaining that such a change in position has not occurred, makes it possible in a further step to confirm the validity of the position-finding information which is also saved in the storage facility 40, so long as the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording reveals that the position of the deactivated vehicle 10 has not changed, i.e. that the vehicle 10 has not been moved during the period of the deactivation, in particular of the control facility 20 also. In this case, it is not necessary to redetermine the position of the vehicle 10 by means of the position determining facility 50, which may comprise e.g. components such as an odometer pulse generator or a facility for satellite-aided determination of the position and/or which may be embodied for the purpose of reading balises, in advance of the operational mode being started up by the vehicle 10.

This has the advantage that no corresponding expenses are incurred and therefore delays are avoided when the operational mode is resumed by the vehicle 10. In order to detect possible errors in the control facility 20, the recording facility 30 and/or the storage facility 40, a further recording of the environment of the vehicle 10 can be made here by means of the recording facility 30 following the completed confirmation of the saved position-finding information and a subsequent change in position, i.e. after the vehicle 10 has left its parked position. If no change in the position of the vehicle 10 is again ascertained in the context of an at least partial comparison of this further recording with the first and/or second recording, a malfunction is thereby revealed. This makes it possible subsequently to reject the validity of the saved position-finding information, since in this situation the possibility cannot be excluded that a movement or change in position of the vehicle 10 did indeed occur in the deactivated or at least partially deactivated state.

According to the exemplary embodiment in the figure, the recording facility 30 is attached to the vehicle 10. In this case, the recording facility 30 can be e.g. a camera which is already present for the purpose of observing a platform. Alternatively, it is however naturally also possible for the recording facility 30 to be provided exclusively for the purpose of detecting possible changes in the position of the vehicle 10 in the at least partially deactivated state of the vehicle 10. If necessary, the recording facility 30 in this case can also comprise a daylight-independent component such as an infrared camera, for example.

In the context of the exemplary embodiment in the figure, let it be assumed that in order to increase the resilience of the method against external influences, use is made of a digital image processing method for the purpose of evaluating the recordings, wherein at least one distinguishing feature is determined from the first recording and the second recording in each case and the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording is performed on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature. In particular, fixed markers in the environment of the vehicle 10, e.g. in the form of signal boards, kilometre markers or signals, can be used as distinguishing features in this case. As part of this activity, provision is preferably made for the position of the respective fixed marker or of the respective distinguishing feature in the respective recording to be captured and a content-oriented interpretation, e.g. character recognition, performed using e.g. text recognition. If the extracted fixed markers or text contents, i.e. the distinguishing features, including their respective positions within the recordings before and after the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle 10 differ, the possibility can at least not be excluded that the vehicle 10 was moved while it was deactivated, and therefore position-finding information which was saved before the vehicle 10 was turned off should be rejected.

It should be noted that in the event that the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording in accordance with the foregoing description is performed on the basis of at least one distinguishing feature, it is not necessary for the entirety of the first recording to be saved in the storage facility 40. It is sufficient in principle for the first recording to be saved in part, such that either only data relating to the at least one determined distinguishing feature or only a section of the first recording depicting the respective distinguishing feature is saved. Irrespective of the type and extent of the saved first recording or data relating to the at least one distinguishing feature thereof, this is then used in each case for the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording on the basis of the respective distinguishing feature or the respective distinguishing features.

It should be noted that, as an alternative to the illustration in the figure, the recording facility 30 can e.g. also be so embodied as to make recordings of the track bed of the route section 100. In this case, it is possible using a digital image processing method in the form of edge extraction to determine in each case at least one distinguishing feature relating to the track bed (i.e. the ballast surface here) from the first recording and the second recording, and thereupon to perform the at least partial comparison between the second recording and the first recording on the basis of the at least one distinguishing feature thus determined. This is advantageous because corresponding methods for edge extraction are known per se from the prior art and in particular in the case of a ballast bed allow a reliable detection of possible changes in the position of the vehicle 10 during its at least partial deactivation.

Finally, it should be noted that the recording facility 30 or components thereof can also be arranged on the track side. In this case, for example, recordings can be transferred to the vehicle 10 from cameras which are provided for the purpose of monitoring a track region. Alternatively, the at least partial comparison between the first recording and the second recording can likewise be performed on the track side. Depending on the respective conditions, this could nonetheless have a certain disadvantage in that the vehicle 10 in this case is not able itself, i.e. autonomously, to detect a change in its position that occurred during its at least partial deactivation .

As per the foregoing explanations, the method described in the context of the exemplary embodiment and the associated apparatus offer the advantage in particular that changes in position of the vehicle 10 which occur in the switched-off state of the vehicle 10 and/or the control facility 20 can be reliably be detected following the reactivation of the control facility 20. It is advantageously possible in this type of configuration to use commercially available recording facilities 30, e.g. in the form of cameras, additional components being largely unnecessary otherwise. As a result, reliable reuse or continued use of an item of position-finding information which was saved prior to the at least partial deactivation of the vehicle 10 is therefore possible in particular, whereby it is ultimately possible in particular to achieve a faster operational startup and therefore also a corresponding reduction in the operating costs of the vehicle 10 .

Claims

A method of detecting a change of position of at least partially disengaged vehicle (10), in particular a tracked vehicle, wherein - prior to at least partially disengaging the vehicle (10), a first recording of the environment of the vehicle (10) is made by means of a recording device (30), - during a reconnection or after the reconnection of the vehicle (10), another recording of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is made by the recording device (30) and - a change of position of the at least one is recorded. partially decoupled vehicle (10) by means of at least a partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording.

Method according to claim 1, characterized in that - before the at least partial decoupling of the vehicle (10) is stored a location information which characterizes the current position of the vehicle (10), and - the validity of the stored location information is confirmed if it is in the least partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording shows that the position of the at least partially disconnected vehicle (10) has not changed.

Method according to claim 2, characterized in that - after a confirmation of the stored location information and subsequent change of position of the vehicle (10), a further recording of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is made by means of the recording device (20), and - the validity of the stored location information is discarded if no change of position (10) of the vehicle (10) is detected by at least partial comparison of the additional recording with the first and / or second recording.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recordings are made by a recording device (30) comprising at least one of the following components: - a photo camera, - a video camera, - an infrared camera, - an optical sensor , - and laser scanner.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recordings are made by means of a recording device (30) on the vehicle side and / or on the stretch side.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - from the first recording and the second recording, at least one separation characteristic is determined, and - the at least partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording. the at least one separation characteristic.

Method according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one separation characteristic in the form of a fixed mark for the environment of the vehicle (10) is determined from the first recording and the second recording.

Method according to claim 7, characterized in that - the position of the fixed mark in question is determined within the recordings within the framework of the determination of the at least one separation characteristic, and / or - a substantive interpretation of the fixed mark in question is made, in particular by using text recognition.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, on a vehicle (10) provided to be moved along a road (100) having a shear support, in particular a ballast bearing, recordings of the shear support are made. with the recording device (30).

Method according to claim 9, characterized in that - from the first recording and the second recording, respectively, at least one separation characteristic relating to the shear substrate is determined by means of an edge extraction and - the at least partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording is made by means of the at least one separation characteristic thus determined.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least partial decoupling of the vehicle (10) by a vehicle (10) in the form of a tracked vehicle comprises the decoupling of a vehicle device (20) by a train safety system.

Apparatus for detecting a change of position of at least partially disengaged vehicle (10), in particular a tracked vehicle, wherein said device has a receiving device (30) and is designed in such a way that - before at least partially disconnecting the vehicle (10), a first recording of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is made by means of the recording device (30), - during a reconnection or after the reconnection of the vehicle (10), a second recording of the surroundings of the vehicle (10) is made and - a change of position of the at least partially decoupled vehicle (10) is recorded by means of at least a partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording.

Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the device is designed to - prior to at least partially disengaging the vehicle (10), store location information which characterizes the current position of the vehicle (10), and - to confirm the validity of the stored location information, if the at least partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording shows that the position of the at least partially disconnected vehicle (10) has not changed.

Device according to claim 13, characterized in that the device is designed to: - after a confirmation of the stored location information and subsequent change of position of the vehicle (10), a further recording of the environment of the vehicle (10) is made by the recording device ( 30), and - the validity of the stored location information is discarded if no change of position (10) of the vehicle (10) is detected by at least partial comparison of the additional recording with the first and / or second recording.

Method according to one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the recording device (30) comprises at least one of the following components: - a photo camera, - a video camera, - an infrared camera, - an optical sensor, - a laser scanner.

Method according to one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that the pickup device (30) is arranged on the vehicle side and / or on the stretch side.

Device according to one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that the device is designed to - from the first recording and the second recording respectively to determine at least one separation characteristic and - to make the at least partial comparison of the second recording with the first recording using the at least one separation characteristic.

Method according to claim 17, characterized in that the device is designed to determine at least one separation characteristic in the form of a fixed mark for the environment of the vehicle (10) from the first uptake and the second uptake respectively.

Device according to claim 18, characterized in that the device is designed to - within the framework of determining the at least one separation characteristic, determine the position of the fixed mark within the recordings and / or - to make a substantive interpretation of the fixed brand, especially using text recognition.

Method according to one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that the receiving device (30) of a vehicle (10) is provided to be moved along a roadway (100) having a shear support, in particular a ballast bearing, is designed to record the splice base.

Device according to claim 20, characterized in that the device is designed to - from the first recording and the second recording respectively, determine at least one separation characteristic relating to the cutting substrate by means of an edge extraction and - to make it at least partially comparing the second recording with the first recording using the at least one separation characteristic thus determined.

Method according to one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that the device of a vehicle (10) in the form of a tracked vehicle comprises a vehicle device (20) of a train safety system which is disconnected within the framework of the at least partial disconnecting the vehicle (10).