EP3250437B1

EP3250437B1 - System and method for coupling/uncoupling moving guided vehicles during operation

Info

Publication number: EP3250437B1
Application number: EP15725256.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Indalecio CARBONELL PASCUAL
Original assignee: Siemens Rail Automation SA
Current assignee: Siemens Rail Automation SA
Priority date: 2015-01-30
Filing date: 2015-05-12
Publication date: 2020-07-01
Anticipated expiration: 2035-05-12
Also published as: ES2820763T3; EP3250437A1; PT3250437T; WO2016119912A1

Description

The present invention concerns a system and a method for coupling/uncoupling moving vehicles, said vehicle being preferentially a guided vehicle.
The present invention is related to vehicles comprising multiple units (or cars/coaches) that need to be coupled to, or respectively uncoupled from, each other, each unit comprising moving means, like a motor, so that it can move independently from another unit when they are uncoupled. From a general point of view the present invention concerns all kinds of vehicles comprising multiple units or cars, but is preferentially directed to multiple unit guided vehicles, wherein "guided vehicle" refers to public transport means such as subways, trains or train subunits, etc., as well as load transporting means such as, for example, freight trains, for which safety is a very important factor and which are guided along a route or railway by at least one rail, in particular by two rails.
Coupling and uncoupling guided vehicle units of a multi-unit guided vehicle, like a train, is an operation carried out in a highly manual way, with little automation and at a very low speed or when at least one of the guided vehicles that has to be coupled/uncoupled is stationary. For instance, document US 4 723 737 A proposes to regroup vehicle units at speeds ranging from 14 to 33 km/h and to separate vehicle units over a divergent switch using very small radii and a reduced speed. Another example is provided by document AU 2009 202 470 B2 in connection with long consists wherein a banker consist is coupled or uncoupled from an end wagon of a train consist.
An objective of the present invention is to propose a system and a method for coupling, or respectively uncoupling, two uncoupled, or respectively coupled, guided vehicle units in movement during service operation, for example between two stations and while they are operating, i.e. in service.
Said objective is achieved according to the present invention by a method for coupling/uncoupling guided vehicles units and an on-board signaling system according to the object of the independent claims. Dependent claims present further advantages of the invention.
The invention is also focused in ensuring the safety of the coupling and/or uncoupling (hereafter coupling/uncoupling) operations from the signaling point of view so that for instance a coupling/uncoupling operation can be carried out with passengers in the guided vehicle units.
The present invention provides a method for coupling/uncoupling two guided vehicle units of a multi-unit guided vehicle while said guided vehicle units are operating and moving on a track network according to a predefined itinerary, for example moving at high speed on said track, each guided vehicle unit comprising an on-board signaling system and a rolling stock system, the track comprising trackside devices, the method comprising:

a. Receiving a command for coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicles units, wherein said command might be manually given by an operator of one of said guided vehicle units, or automatically predefined in at least one, or each, of said on-board signaling system. Preferentially, the guided vehicle unit receiving said command communicates said command to the other guided vehicle unit, i.e. the vehicle unit to which it will be coupled or from which it will be uncoupled. Preferentially, a coupling/uncoupling information related to said command is communicated to a trackside device, e.g. at least to an interlocking and a zone controller for ensuring that sufficient track space is available (authorized routes ahead are available for the coupling/uncoupling operation). In particular, according to the present invention, route cancelling or modification might only take place if the coupling/uncoupling operation is finalized;
b. Checking by means of at least one, preferentially each, of said on-board signaling systems coupling/uncoupling conditions, preferentially the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit that is in the front of each other guided vehicle unit proceeds with the check of said coupling/uncoupling conditions, wherein said conditions comprise preferentially at least one, or in particular all, of the following:
1. i. a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition defined for ensuring that the on-board signaling system will not request braking during a time period equal to the time needed for the coupling/uncoupling operations of said two guided vehicle units;
2. ii. a first set of redundancy conditions, wherein said first set of redundancy conditions depends on the on-board signaling system and defines a minimum level of availability of systems and redundancy of the guided vehicle unit it equips in order to ensure that a single failure of the on-board signaling system will not cause a braking of the guided vehicle unit equipped with said on-board signaling system;
3. iii. a second set of redundancy conditions, which are checked by means of each of said rolling stock system. Preferentially, said second set of redundancy conditions depends on the rolling stock system and defines a minimum level of availability of systems and redundancy of the guided vehicle unit it equips in order to ensure that a single failure of the rolling stock system will not cause a braking of the guided vehicle unit equipped with said rolling stock system. Preferentially, the rolling stock system of a guided vehicle unit is able to transmit to the on-board signaling system of said guided vehicle unit an information related to the fulfillment of the second set of redundancy conditions;
4. iv. a free track distance ahead condition that comprises a verification, by a trackside device, of an availability of a dedicated and protected track section for ensuring the coupling/uncoupling operation, said availability being confirmed or infirmed by the trackside device to the on-board signaling system;
c. Locating, by means of at least one of said on-board signaling system, preferentially by each on-board signaling system of each guided vehicle unit, a coupling/uncoupling track section on the itinerary of the guided vehicle units, wherein the coupling/uncoupling track section is a track section fulfilling criteria defined for ensuring the safety of the coupling/uncoupling operation. Each on-board signaling system according to the invention is in particular capable of determining, notably by cooperating with the trackside device (e.g. a wayside signaling system), if a track section fulfills said criteria and might be classified as a "coupling/uncoupling track section". The coupling/uncoupling track section is according to the invention a section of track wherein a braking of said guided vehicle units is not required, in other words, it is a section of track fulfilling a non-braking criterion of the guided vehicle units over a predefined length of said section. The non-braking criterion ensures the safety of the coupling/uncoupling operations of the guided vehicle units of the multi-unit guided vehicle. Thus, the present invention proposes to carry out said coupling/uncoupling operations only at track sections fulfilling specific criteria and called coupling/uncoupling track sections. Said criteria ensure that the track section is appropriate for carrying coupling/uncoupling operations. The "non braking" criterion of a track section ensures that there is no braking need for the guided vehicle units when moving over the length of said track section when considering the topology and infrastructure of said section, and therefore they may perform the coupling/uncoupling operations in safe condition. Each on-board signaling system is capable to determine if a track section is configured for ensuring the safety of the coupling/uncoupling operations. Preferentially, another criterion that has to be fulfilled by each coupling/uncoupling track section according to the invention, together with the fulfillment of the non-braking criterion, is that the coupling/uncoupling track section comprises at least one protection trackside device. The protection trackside device according to the invention is in particular capable of communicating with each guided vehicle unit and determining if the coupling/uncoupling track section is safe for performing coupling/uncoupling operations. The protection trackside device is notably capable of:
- determining if the coupling/uncoupling track section is free of any obstacle in order to prevent any coupling/uncoupling if any obstacle is detected. For example, it can determine if the coupling/uncoupling track section is free of any non-authorized person; and/or
- determining if each rail of the coupling/uncoupling track section is continuous in order to prevent that a broken rail causes a guided vehicle unit disruption; and/or
- checking if physical criteria and availability criteria of the coupling/uncoupling track section are fulfilled in order to avoid any braking of the guided vehicle units during their displacement on the coupling/uncoupling track section;
d. if a coupling/uncoupling track section has been located and the coupling/uncoupling conditions are fulfilled, then automatically performing the coupling/uncoupling of the guided vehicle units when the guided vehicle units enter said coupling/uncoupling track section, by controlling each guided vehicle unit by means of its on-board signaling system, otherwise moving the coupled/uncoupled guided vehicles units according to the itinerary until a coupling/uncoupling track section is located or a station where at least one of the guided vehicle units has to stop is reached. After coupling, the guided vehicle units are coupled to each other and move at a same speed according to said itinerary, while after uncoupling, the guided vehicle units are uncoupled from each other and their respective on-board signaling system are configured for keeping a separation distance between the guided vehicle units, for example the on-board signaling system of a guided vehicle unit A2 located behind a guided vehicle unit A1 is configured for decreasing the speed of said guided vehicle unit A2 once the guided vehicle units A1, A2 are uncoupled, while the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit A1 may command an increase of the speed of guided vehicle unit A1.

According to the present invention and in particular, each on-board signaling system is configured for managing the coupling/uncoupling of the guided vehicle units in function of the location of, and criteria fulfilled by, the track section, so that the coupling/uncoupling takes place and is only allowed during the moving of the guided vehicle units on a track section fulfilling the criterion. According to the present invention, performing the coupling/uncoupling operations takes place once each guided vehicle unit enters the coupling/uncoupling track section. Preferentially, performing the coupling/uncoupling operations comprises the following steps:

a communication, during the whole coupling/uncoupling operations, from the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit which is ahead compared to a direction of displacement of said guided vehicle units (hereafter guided vehicle unit A1) to the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit which is behind (hereafter guided vehicle unit A2) the guided vehicle unit A1 of information regarding a deceleration state. Preferentially, if the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 detects an activation of brakes of the guided vehicle unit A1 or a reduction of its speed, information regarding said activation and/or speed reduction is automatically and immediately communicated to the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2. Preferentially, the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 is able to transmit said information in high priority and at a very high rate to ensure a quick reaction of guided vehicle unit A2;
a communication, during the whole coupling/uncoupling operations, preferentially a periodical communication, of the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 with the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 of the position and speed of guided vehicle unit A1. Advantageously, the position and speed of guided vehicle unit A1 allows the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 to calculate a coupling and/or uncoupling deceleration curve for guided vehicle unit A2 in case of coupling/uncoupling of guided vehicle unit A2 to/from guided vehicle unit A1, said calculation being based on the assumption that guided vehicle unit A1 does not brake during its displacement along the coupling/uncoupling track section. Preferentially, the position and speed of guided vehicle unit A2 is also used by the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 for the calculation of said coupling and/or uncoupling deceleration curve for guided vehicle unit A2. In case of coupling, guided vehicle unit A2 has first a speed higher than guided vehicle unit A1 and then smoothly decelerates according to the coupling deceleration curve in order to approach guided vehicle unit A1. In case of uncoupling, the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle A2 is configured for decreasing the speed of guided vehicle A2 according to said uncoupling deceleration curve once the guided vehicles are uncoupled. Consequently, the present invention proposes in particular to control the relative position of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 by means of the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 in function/according to a calculated coupling/uncoupling deceleration curve for the coupling as well as for the uncoupling. The on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 is in particular capable of controlling guided vehicle unit A2 according to the deceleration curve, i.e. so that the speed of guided vehicle unit A2 in function of the time has a same profile as the deceleration curve. Preferentially, if the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 detects a speed reduction of guided vehicle unit A1 or a loss of the communication with the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1, then the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 automatically triggers an emergency brake of guided vehicle unit A2;
controlling the relative position of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 by controlling, by means of the on-board signaling device of guided vehicle unit A2, the speed of guided vehicle unit A2 according to the coupling/uncoupling deceleration curve and automatically coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicles units A1 and A2 by means of a coupling device, said coupling device being preferentially configured for mechanically coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicle units A1 and A2;
Optionally, a measurement, during the coupling/uncoupling operations, of the distance separating the rear end of guided vehicle unit A1 and the front end of the guided vehicle unit A2 by means of a proximity sensor of the on-board signaling system, said proximity sensor being preferentially installed on guided vehicle unit A2 and cooperating with the on-board signaling system of said guided vehicle unit A2. Preferentially, the proximity sensor is configured for continuously measuring the distance separating guided vehicle unit A2 from guided vehicle unit A1 during coupling/uncoupling operations and for communicating said measurement to the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2. During uncoupling, if said distance does not continuously decrease, then the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 might be configured for triggering an emergency brake, or a continuous increase of the braking intensity until a decrease of the distance between the guided vehicle units detected. During coupling, said measurement of the distance might be used by the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 for approaching guided vehicle unit A1 according to the coupling deceleration curve.

The present invention also concerns an on-board signaling system configured for equipping a guided vehicle unit, the latter being configured for being coupled to or uncoupled from another guided vehicle unit of a multi-unit guided vehicle, the on-board signaling system comprising:

a) a connection to a database defining an itinerary for the guided vehicle unit and the multi-unit guided vehicle, or, more generally speaking, a connection to any source of information that may provide a movement authority for the guided vehicle units and track profile conditions for the calculation of speed and braking curves to protect and control the guided vehicle unit movement and the multi-unit guided vehicle;
b) a controller configured for:
- ∘ controlling coupling/uncoupling conditions, wherein said conditions are preferentially a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition, and/or said first set of redundancy conditions, and/or said second set of redundancy conditions, and/or the free track distance ahead condition, as previously disclosed, all of said above-mentioned conditions being preferentially checked;
- ∘ locating a coupling/uncoupling track section by determining if a track section belonging to the itinerary of the multi-unit guided vehicle fulfills the previously described criteria defined for ensuring the safety of the coupling/uncoupling operation;
- ∘ controlling the guided vehicle unit during coupling/uncoupling operations as previously described, notably controlling the coupling device for coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicle unit with said another guided vehicle unit;
c) communication means for communicating with said another guided vehicle unit of the multi-unit guided vehicle and exchanging data/information with the latter in order to manage the coupling/uncoupling operations. Said communication means are in particular configured for automatically exchanging information with a protection trackside device equipping the coupling/uncoupling track section;
d) optionally, a proximity sensor configured for being installed on a front end of the guided vehicle unit and capable of measuring a distance separating the front end of the guided vehicle unit from the rear end of said another guided vehicle unit.

Further aspects of the present invention will be better understood through the following drawings, wherein like numerals are used for like and corresponding parts:

Figure 1: schematic representation of uncoupling operations of guided vehicle units according to the invention.
Figure 2: schematic representation of braking curves in a coupling/uncoupling track section for uncoupling operations.

The present invention concerns a multi-unit guided vehicle 1 composed of several guided vehicle units, and more precisely the coupling/uncoupling of guided vehicles units of said multi-unit guided vehicle 1. Each multi-unit guided vehicle 1 according to the invention comprises at least one guided vehicle unit. The present invention refers thus to the coupling of a guided vehicle unit with a multi-unit guided vehicle, i.e. with a guided vehicle unit of said multi-unit guided vehicle, or the uncoupling of a guided vehicle unit from a guided vehicle unit of said multi-unit guided vehicle 1.
Figure 1 shows in particular a multi-unit guided vehicle 1 comprising 3 guided vehicle units indicated respectively by A1, A2, A3. A multi-unit guided vehicle according to the invention may comprise n guided vehicle units, successively called A1,...,An, wherein the guided vehicle unit A_i precedes the guided vehicle unit A_i+1 compared to the direction of displacement of the multi-unit guided vehicle. In other words, the guided vehicle unit A_i is in front of the guided vehicle unit A_i+1 compared to the direction of displacement of the multi-unit guided vehicle i.e. compared to the direction of displacement of the units of the multi-unit guided vehicle. In Figure 1, the guided vehicles units A1, A2, and A3 move from the "left" to the "right" according to the arrow D indicating the direction of displacement of said guided vehicle units A1, A2, A3.
Figure 1 shows the positions of the guided vehicle units A1, A2, A3 at six different times in chronological order, respectively T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6, and has thus to be read from the top to the bottom. Figure 1 schematically describes the displacement of guided vehicle units A1, A2, A3 of a multi-unit guided vehicle 1, e.g. a train, wherein guided vehicle unit A1 moves from a first station S1 to a fourth station S4 without stopping, guided vehicle unit A2 moves from the first station S1 to a third station S3 without stopping and will stop in the third station S3 at time T6, and guided vehicle unit A3 moves from the first station S1 to a second station S2 without stopping, but will stop at second station S2 at time T4. The events taking place at each time T1,...,T6 will be described now in more details.
At time T1, the multi-unit guided vehicle 1 is stationary at the first station S1. For instance, boarding of passengers may take place, wherein passenger's seats are defined in function of their destination, i.e. passengers going to second station S2 are seated in guided vehicle unit A3, passengers going to third station S3 are seated in guided vehicle unit A2, and passengers going to the fourth station S4 are seated in guided vehicle unit A1. Preferentially, an intelligent ticketing system is used for determining passenger's seat in the units of the multi-unit guided vehicle in function of their destination station. At time T1, the multi-unit guided vehicle 1 comprises thus three guided vehicle units, respectively A1, A2, and A3, wherein guided vehicle unit A1 is in front of the multi-unit guided vehicle 1 and is coupled to guided vehicle unit A2, which is itself coupled to guided vehicle unit A3 representing the rear of the multi-unit guided vehicle 1 compared to the direction of displacement indicated by the arrow D.
According to the invention, coupling/uncoupling of two guided vehicle units takes place while said guided vehicle units are operated and moving on a track 2 according to a predefined itinerary. According to the present invention, each guided vehicle unit A1,...,A3 comprises an on-board signaling system and a rolling stock system. Preferentially, one and only one of the guided vehicle units composing a multi-unit guided vehicle takes the lead over the other guided vehicle units for controlling the multi-unit guided vehicle. For this purpose, the on-board signaling system of one of the guided vehicle units of the multi-unit guided vehicle is automatically granted a master function, while the other on-board signaling systems equipping the other guided vehicle units have a slave function. Preferentially, the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit in front of the multi-unit guided vehicle takes said lead and is thus able to wholly control the multi-unit guided vehicle 1.
After leaving the first station S1, at least one of guided vehicle units, more precisely at least one on-board signaling system equipping one of the guided vehicle units receives a command for coupling/uncoupling a guided vehicle unit to/from the multi-unit guided vehicle 1. According to figure 1, the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit A1 receives a command for uncoupling the guided vehicle unit A3 from the multi-unit guided vehicle 1.
While the multi-unit guided vehicle is moving and thus during service operation of the guided vehicle units, the on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit A1 is able to check coupling/uncoupling conditions in order to ensure that safety conditions are satisfied for uncoupling guided vehicle unit A3 from guided vehicle unit A2, and to locate a coupling/uncoupling track section 31 on the itinerary of the guided vehicle units A1,...,A3, wherein the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 is a track section fulfilling criteria defined for ensuring safe coupling/uncoupling operation. The coupling/uncoupling track section shall satisfy the criteria (a) and preferentially at least one of the following criteria, preferentially each of the criteria (b), (e), (c), or each of the criteria (a), (b), (e), (d), or each of the criteria (a)-(e), wherein said criteria are given by:

a) the so-called "non-braking" criterion;
b) it shall comprise at least one protection trackside device;
c) it is a covered area (e.g. a tunnel);
d) it is restricted area, and/or an area protected by a ceiling;
e) it fulfils predefined track and topology conditions like gradient, curves, existence of points, maximum speed profile, etc. that are designed to allow a safe coupling/uncoupling operation. Said predefined track and topology conditions are for example:
- Gradient: the gradient of the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 is flat as far as possible;
- Curves: the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 does not comprise a curve needing a guided vehicle braking;
- Points: the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 is free of points, or comprises at least a limited number of points, e.g. less than two points, said points being in particular locked throughout the coupling/uncoupling operation;
- Maximum speed profile: the maximum speed profile defined for the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 is defined by the lowest speed restriction throughout the coupling/uncoupling track section 31;
- Length of the coupling/uncoupling track section: the on-board signaling system is configured for checking that the guided vehicle has enough free track sections ahead so that each guided vehicle involved in the coupling/uncoupling operation can get coupled/uncoupled and for instance, in the case of uncoupling operation, gain enough separation to ensure normal safe operation once they are out of the uncoupling track section.

Preferentially, the on-board equipment of each guided vehicle unit is automatically informed by the on-board signaling system about the coupling/uncoupling operation so that they drive the guided vehicle unit according to predefined driving conditions, e.g. not driving close to the maximum speed authorized on said coupling/uncoupling track section in order to avoid the necessity of braking. A coupling/uncoupling track section according to the invention is preferentially equipped by at least one protection trackside device that may comprise a camera system, and/or a rail continuity checking device, and/or a net of sensors for protecting the coupling/uncoupling track section, and/or a mechanism to ensure that no obstacle is or comes on the track. Preferentially, the protection trackside device is able to communicate with the on-board signaling system of each guided vehicle unit approaching the coupling/uncoupling track section 31.
If the on-board signaling system is able to find/locate a coupling/uncoupling track section and if the latter fulfills the coupling/uncoupling conditions, then the coupling/uncoupling of the guided vehicle units is automatically performed when the guided vehicle units enter said coupling/uncoupling track section, otherwise the guided vehicle units continue moving according to said itinerary and direction of displacement until another coupling/uncoupling track section is located or a station wherein at least one of the guided vehicle units of the multi-unit guided vehicle has to stop is reached.
At time T1, the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 is for example able to locate the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 and to determine if the latter satisfies the coupling/uncoupling conditions. At time T2, all guided vehicle units of the multi-unit guided vehicle are located within the coupling/uncoupling track section 31 and the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 is in particular capable of controlling the automatic uncoupling of guided vehicle unit A3 from guided vehicle unit A2. The invention proposes in particular to carry out mechanical coupling/uncoupling operations free of any intervention of an operator, i.e. the mechanical operation is carried out automatically upon a command of the on-board signaling system.
Preferentially, simultaneously to the uncoupling, the on-board signaling system of the uncoupled guided vehicle unit, i.e. guided vehicle unit A3 for instance, takes the lead of the guided vehicle unit it equips and controls the latter. The same applies if a multi-unit guided vehicle is separated in two multi-unit guided vehicles: simultaneously to the uncoupling, an on-board signaling system of one of the guided vehicle units of the uncoupled multi-unit guided vehicles takes the lead and controls the uncoupled multi-unit guided vehicle. The on-board signaling system which controls the guided vehicle units from which a guided vehicle unit has been uncoupled is in particular configured for continuously controlling each guided vehicle unit coupled to the guided vehicle unit it equips.
At time T3, the guided vehicle unit A3 is uncoupled from guided vehicle unit A2 and moves independently from the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 composing the multi-unit guided vehicle 1. At this time T3, the guided vehicle unit A3 is for example controlled by its on-board signaling system, while the guided vehicles units A1 and A2 are controlled preferentially by the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1.
At time T4, the guided vehicle unit A3 reaches its destination station, i.e. the second station S2, while the multi-unit guided vehicle composed now of guided vehicle unit A1 and guided vehicle unit A2 is located in a coupling/uncoupling track section 32 located between the second station S2 and the third station S3. As previously described at time T2, automatic uncoupling of the guided vehicle units A2 and A1 takes place mutatis mutandis at time T4.
At time T5, guided vehicle unit A2 and guided vehicle unit A1 are moving independently since their uncoupling, guided vehicle unit A1 having passed the third station S3 without stopping.
At time T6, the guided vehicle unit A2 stops at the third station S3, while guided vehicle unit A1 continues moving in direction of its destination station, namely the fourth station S4.
Figure 2 shows in more details the coupling/uncoupling section 31 and the uncoupling operations taking place between the time T2 and a time T2', wherein T2 < T2' < T3. During the whole uncoupling operations, the on-board signaling system of each uncoupled guided vehicle unit, e.g. the guided vehicle unit A3 according to the preferred embodiment of Fig. 2, is configured for calculating an uncoupling deceleration (or braking) curve 41 in function of the speed of guided vehicle unit to which it was previously coupled, i.e. in function of guided vehicle unit A2 according to Figure 2, and based on the assumption that the guided vehicle unit to which it was previously coupled does not brake. Figure 2 also shows the uncoupling braking/deceleration curve 42 for the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 composing the multi-unit guided vehicle 1. Dotted rectangles represent the position of the guided vehicles units A3, A2 and A1 in case of emergency braking at time T2'.
To summarize, the present invention proposes a method and system for automatically coupling/uncoupling a guided vehicle unit to/from one or several other guided vehicle units composing a multi-unit guided vehicle, wherein the guided vehicle units is configured for coupling/uncoupling in motion during service operation, for example leaving behind at least one guided vehicle unit that has been uncoupled and that is configured for serving a station at which the multi-unit guided vehicle does not stop.
The present invention has in particular the following main advantage compared to prior art techniques: it allows reducing the travelling time between a first station S1 and a third station S3. Indeed a guided vehicle unit A1 coupled to a guided vehicle unit A2, wherein guided vehicle unit A1 is in front of guided vehicle unit A2 compared to a direction of displacement of the multi-unit guided vehicle 1, runs faster from the first station S1 to the third station S3 since the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 might be uncoupled during move, i.e. without stopping the guided vehicle unit A1, while serving nevertheless a second station S2 by means of the guided vehicle unit A2, the latter stopping at said second station S2 between first station S1 and third station S3 while guided vehicle unit A1 may keep moving until reaching the third station S3.

Claims

Method for coupling/uncoupling a guided vehicle unit A2 to/from a guided vehicle unit A1 while said guided vehicle units A1 and A2 are operating and moving on a track (2) according to a predefined itinerary, the guided vehicle unit A1 being located ahead the guided vehicle unit A2, each guided vehicle unit comprising an on-board signaling system and a rolling stock system, the method comprising:
- a reception by at least one of the guided vehicle units of a command for coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicles units A1 and A2;

- checking coupling/uncoupling conditions by means of at least one of the on-board signaling systems;

- locating, by means of at least one of the on-board signaling systems, a coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32) on the itinerary of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2, wherein the coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32) is a track section fulfilling criteria defined for ensuring safe coupling/uncoupling operation, wherein the on-board signaling system is configured for determining whether the track section fulfills said criteria;

- if a coupling/uncoupling track section has been located and the coupling/uncoupling conditions are fulfilled, then automatically performing the coupling/uncoupling of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 when the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 enter said coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32), otherwise moving the coupled/uncoupled guided vehicles units A1 and A2 according to said itinerary until a coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32)
is located or a station (S1, S2, S3) reached, characterized in that said criteria comprise a non-braking criterion defined for the whole length of the coupling/uncoupling track section for the guided vehicle units, said non-braking criterion ensuring that there is no braking need for the guided vehicle units when moving over the length of the track section when considering the track section topology and infrastructure.
Method according to claim 1, wherein the coupling/uncoupling conditions are at least one of the following:
- a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition;

- a first set of redundancy conditions, wherein said first set of redundancy conditions depends on an on-board signaling system;

- a second set of redundancy conditions, wherein said second set of redundancy conditions depends on a rolling stock system.
Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coupling/uncoupling conditions are all of the following conditions:
- a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition;

- a first set of redundancy conditions, wherein said first set of redundancy conditions depends on an on-board signaling system;

- a second set of redundancy conditions, wherein said second set of redundancy conditions depends on a rolling stock system.
Method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein said criteria are at least one of the following:
- protection trackside device equipping the coupling/uncoupling track section;

- a determination that the coupling/uncoupling track section is free of any obstacle;

- a determination that each rail of the coupling/uncoupling track section is continuous;

- physical criteria and availability criteria.
Method according to one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein said criteria are all of the following criteria:
- protection trackside device equipping the coupling/uncoupling track section;

- a determination that the coupling/uncoupling track section is free of any obstacle;

- a determination that each rail of the coupling/uncoupling track section is continuous;

- physical criteria and availability criteria.
Method according to one of the claims 1-5, wherein performing the coupling/uncoupling comprises the following steps:
- a communication, during the whole coupling/uncoupling operation, from an on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit A1 to an on-board signaling system of the guided vehicle unit A2 of information regarding a deceleration state of guided vehicle unit A1;

- a communication, during the whole coupling/uncoupling operations, of the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A1 with the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 of the position and speed of guided vehicle unit A1;

- automatically coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicles units A1 and A2 by means of a coupling device, wherein the relative position of the guided vehicle units is controlled by the on-board signaling system of guided vehicle unit A2 according to a calculated coupling/uncoupling deceleration curve and a control of the speed of guided vehicle unit A2.
Method according to one of the claims 1-6, wherein performing the coupling/uncoupling comprises measuring, during the coupling/uncoupling operations, a separation distance separating the rear end of guided vehicle unit A1 from the front end of the guided vehicle unit A2 by means of a proximity sensor.
On-board signaling system configured for equipping a guided vehicle unit A2 designed for being coupled/uncoupled to/from a guided vehicle unit A1, the on-board signaling system comprising:
- a connection to a source of information enabling the definition of an itinerary for the guided vehicle unit A2 and said another guided vehicle unit A1;

- means configured to receive a command for coupling/uncoupling the guided vehicles units A1 and A2;

- a controller configured to check coupling/uncoupling conditions, the controller being configured to locate a coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32) on the itinerary of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2, wherein the coupling/uncoupling track section is a track section fulfilling criteria defined for ensuring safe coupling/uncoupling operation, and configured to control the guided vehicle unit A2 during coupling/uncoupling operations so that if a coupling/uncoupling track section has been located and the coupling/uncoupling conditions are fulfilled, then automatically performing the coupling/uncoupling of the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 when the guided vehicle units A1 and A2 enter said coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32), otherwise moving the coupled/uncoupled guided vehicles units A1 and A2 according to said itinerary until a coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32) is located or a station (S1, S2, S3) reached;

- communication means configured to communicate with said guided vehicle unit A1,
characterized in that said criteria comprise a non-braking criterion defined for the whole length of the coupling/uncoupling track section for the guided vehicle units, said non-braking criterion ensuring that there is no braking need for the guided vehicle units when moving over the length of the track section when considering the track section topology and infrastructure.
On-board signaling system according to claim 8, wherein coupling/uncoupling conditions are at least one of the following: a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition; a first set of redundancy conditions; a second set of redundancy conditions.
On-board signaling system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein coupling/uncoupling conditions are all the following conditions: a track profile condition and a speed limitation condition; a first set of redundancy conditions; a second set of redundancy conditions.
On-board signaling system according to one of the claims 8 to 10, wherein the controller is capable of calculating a coupling/uncoupling deceleration curve for the guided vehicle unit A2 and of controlling the relative position of said guided vehicle unit A2 compared to said another guided vehicle unit A1, by controlling the speed of guided vehicle unit A2 according to the deceleration curve.
On-board signaling system according to one of the claims 8 to 11, wherein the communication means are configured for automatically exchanging information with a protection trackside device equipping the coupling/uncoupling track section (31, 32).
On-board signaling system according to one of the claims 8 to 12 comprising a proximity sensor.
A guided vehicle unit A2 comprising the on-board signaling system according to one of the claims 8-13.