EP3309036B1 - Control device for a railway vehicle and railway vehicle comprising said control device - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a control device for a railway vehicle. The invention also relates to a railway vehicle comprising this control device.

In known manner, there are control devices for a railway vehicle, comprising a driving manipulator provided with a movable part, for example in the form of a gripping handle and movable relative to a fixed part. Such a driving manipulator is for example intended for a driver of the rail vehicle, to enable him to control the traction chain and / or a braking system of the rail vehicle.

Generally, this control is carried out by means of electromechanical relays which are interfaced with low voltage electrical lines of the rail vehicle, these electrical lines being suitable for controlling equipment of the rail vehicle. These relays are arranged at the level of a shaft, integral with the movable part and which moves in rotation when the movable part is moved. This shaft is provided with cams which cooperate with the relays, so as to modify the state in which the relay is located as a function of the angular position of the moving part.

However, these known control devices are not entirely satisfactory. In particular, they have reduced evolution capacities. In particular, the addition of an additional relay requires a structural modification of the shaft of the pipe manipulator, because it is necessary to lengthen this shaft, so as to accommodate this additional relay, and to add a corresponding cam, to order this additional relay. In addition, the addition of additional relays induces an excessive bulkiness of the pipe manipulator, insofar as these relays must necessarily be arranged at the level of the shaft.

Also, these relays cannot easily be reprogrammed. Indeed, the state of the relay is controlled by the shape of the cam linked to the shaft, such that a reconfiguration of the relay requires modifying the cam, and therefore the shaft itself.

For example, the document EP 2 712 783 A1 shows a control device comprising a manipulator provided with a movable part and a rotary servomotor adapted to move the movable part and further comprising a position sensor coupled to the manipulator, a programmable computing unit as well as a network interface.

It is these drawbacks that the invention more particularly intends to remedy, by proposing a control device for a railway vehicle comprising relays which can be modified and reprogrammed in a simplified manner while having a reduced bulk for the control manipulator.

• un capteur de position, couplé au manipulateur de conduite pour mesurer la position de la partie mobile, et
• une unité de supervision comportant :
  • une unité de calcul programmable, raccordée au capteur de position et programmée pour acquérir des valeurs de position mesurées par le capteur de position, et
  • une interface réseau, adaptée pour être raccordée à un bus de données d'un véhicule ferroviaire.

To this end, the invention relates to a control device for a rail vehicle, this control device comprising a driving manipulator provided with a movable movable part and a rotary servomotor, adapted to move the movable part. In accordance with the invention, this control device further comprises:

• a position sensor, coupled to the pipe manipulator to measure the position of the moving part, and
• a supervision unit comprising:
  • a programmable computing unit, connected to the position sensor and programmed to acquire position values measured by the position sensor, and
  • a network interface, adapted to be connected to a data bus of a railway vehicle.

The supervision unit is separate from the driving manipulator and is placed at a distance from the driving manipulator.

Thanks to the invention, the equipment of the railway vehicle is controlled by means of the supervision unit, without the need to use relays mechanically coupled to the traction manipulator. This reduces the size of the traction manipulator. In addition, thanks to the invention, it is easier to reprogram the device without needing to structurally modify the driving manipulator and without having to increase the size of this driving manipulator.

• Le capteur de position comporte un codeur rotatif agencé pour mesurer une position angulaire de la partie mobile du manipulateur de conduite.
• Le dispositif comporte un module d'interfaçage destiné à être connecté au bus de données et à au moins un équipement commandable du véhicule ferroviaire, le module d'interfaçage étant programmé pour commander ledit au moins un équipement commandable en fonction de valeurs de position mesurées par le capteur de position et reçues par l'unité de supervision.

According to advantageous but not mandatory aspects of the invention, such a control device can incorporate one or more of the following characteristics, taken in any technically acceptable combination:

• The position sensor comprises a rotary encoder arranged to measure an angular position of the movable part of the driving manipulator.
• The device comprises an interface module intended to be connected to the data bus and to at least one controllable item of equipment of the rail vehicle, the interface module being programmed to control said at least one controllable item of equipment as a function of position values measured by the position sensor and received by the supervision unit.

According to another aspect, the invention relates to a railway vehicle comprising controllable equipment, and a control device suitable for controlling the equipment, the control device being as described above and the railway vehicle further comprising a data bus to which are connected them equipment, the supervision unit being connected to the data bus to control the equipment according to the position values measured by the position sensor.

According to an advantageous but not mandatory aspect of the invention, such a control device may include an interface module connected to the data bus and to at least one of the controllable items of equipment, the interface module being programmed to control said at least a device that can be controlled as a function of position values measured by the position sensor and received by the supervision unit.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the following description of an embodiment of a control device given solely by way of example and made in reference to the appended drawing in which the single figure schematically represents a railway vehicle comprising a control device according to the invention.

The figure 1 shows a railway vehicle 2 provided with a control device 4.

For example, the rail vehicle 2 is a passenger train or an urban transport vehicle, such as a metro or a tram.

The control device 4 is suitable for controlling at least one item of equipment of the rail vehicle 2. For example, the device 4 is configured to control an item of equipment such as a traction chain and / or a braking system of the rail vehicle 2.

To this end, the control device 4 comprises a driving manipulator 6 intended to be used by a driver of the rail vehicle 2. For example, this driving manipulator 6 is placed inside a driver's cabin of the railway vehicle. 2.

The pipe manipulator 6 is provided with a movable part 8 and a fixed part 10. The movable part 8 is movable relative to the fixed part 10. Advantageously, the movable part 8 has the shape of a gripping handle intended to be held in the hand by the driver.

The movable part 8 is here mounted to pivot relative to the fixed part about a fixed articulation axis X1. The movable part 8 is also here secured to a shaft 12 aligned and movable in rotation along the articulation axis X1.

Advantageously, the pipe manipulator 6 also comprises a controllable rotary servomotor 11, adapted to exert a motor torque on the shaft 12 so as to drive the shaft 12 in rotation along the articulation axis X1. For example, the servomotor 11 is adapted to exert on the moving part 8 a force which opposes the less partially to the force exerted by a driver of the rail vehicle 2 to move the mobile part 8.

The pipe manipulator 6 also comprises position sensors 14 and 16, to measure the position of the pipe manipulator 6, that is to say the angular position of the movable part 8 relative to the fixed part 10. For example , the position sensors 14, 16 are mechanically coupled to the mobile part 8.

The position sensors 14 and 16 are here adapted to measure an angular position of the movable part 8, relative to a reference position, by measuring the rotation of the shaft 12 around the articulation axis X1.

Here, the position of the pipe manipulator 6 is quantified by an angular position value, that is to say an angle of rotation between the mobile part 8 relative to a reference position around the articulation axis X1 .

Alternatively, the number of position sensors 14, 16 can be different. In particular, it is possible to use only one position sensor. For example, position sensor 16 is omitted. The corresponding data link 18 is then omitted.

Also as a variant, it is possible to use other additional position sensors, which play the same role as the position sensors 14 and 16. All that is described with reference to the position sensors 14 and 16 then applies. to these additional position sensors.

The position sensors 14 and 16 are here adapted to measure the position of the mobile part 8, independently of one another. Thus, the measurement of the position of the pipe manipulator 6 is carried out redundantly, which increases the reliability of the control device 4.

For example, position sensors 14 and 16 are rotary encoders. Preferably, the position sensors 14 and 16 are identical.

Each of the position sensors 14 and 16 is electrically connected, by means of a data link 18, to a supervision unit 20 of the control device 4.

For example, the data link 18 is a serial link of the RS422 type.

Advantageously, in the case where the data link 18 is liable to be exposed to electromagnetic disturbances, the data links 18 between the position sensors 14 and 16 and the supervision unit 20 are produced with so-called inverted signals.

The supervision unit 20 is programmed to collect the position values measured by each of the position sensors 14 and 16 and to transmit these values position for the equipment 34 of the rail vehicle 2 which is controlled by the control device 4.

To this end, the supervision unit 20 comprises a programmable logic calculation module, such as a microprocessor or a programmable microcontroller, as well as a network interface 24.

The network interface 24 is connected to a common data bus 26 of the rail vehicle 2.

For example, the data bus 26 is a computer network of the Ethernet type. The network interface 24 then comprises an Ethernet network controller as well as a suitable connector.

Alternatively, the data bus 26 may be different. It may in particular be a field bus, for example of the Ethercat type, or of the CAN type, for “Controller Area network” in English, or of the MVB type, for “Multifunction Vehicle Bus”, or of the type FIP, for "Factory Instrumentation Protocol" in English. The network interface 22 is then adapted accordingly.

For example, the supervision unit 20 comprises an electronic card on which the module 22 and the network interface 24 are arranged.

Preferably, the supervision unit 20 is physically separate from the pipe manipulator 6 and is placed at a distance from the pipe manipulator 6. In particular, the supervision unit 20 is placed away from the shaft 12 and n 'is not mechanically coupled to the shaft 12. For example, when the driving manipulator 6 is attached to a driving console of the rail vehicle 2, the supervision unit 20 can be placed outside this driving console.

This arrangement makes it possible to overcome the limitations of known control devices, which include electromechanical relays mechanically coupled to the shaft 12 of the pipe manipulator 6.

The data bus 26 is connected to equipment of the rail vehicle 2 intended to be controlled by the control device 4, here to first and second equipment of the rail vehicle 2.

In this example, the data bus 26 is directly connected to the first item of equipment, here a traction computer 28. This traction computer 28 is configured to control a traction chain of the rail vehicle 2 as a function of the position values measured by the sensors. position 14 and 16.

Thus, the supervision unit 20 sends to this traction computer 28, via the data bus 26, the position values measured by the position sensors 14 and 16.

Advantageously, the control device 5 further comprises an interface module 30, also called an input / output module, connected to the data bus 26. The interface module 30 is programmed to control the second equipment item 34 of the rail vehicle. as a function of the position values received by the supervision unit 20, these position values being measured by the position sensors 14, 16. Thus, the data bus 26 is indirectly connected to the second equipment item 34.

For example, the interface module 30 is connected to the second equipment item 34 via an electric line 32, here a low voltage line. The interface module 30 generates and transmits control instructions to the equipment 34 by modifying an electric voltage value on this electric line, as a function of the position values measured by the position sensors 14 and 16 that it receives from the supervision unit 20. By way of example, the interfacing module comprises for this purpose a programmable calculation unit such as a microcontroller or else controllable switches.

As a variant, the rail vehicle 2 may include several second items of equipment 34, intended to be controlled by the control device 4. These second items of equipment 34 are then connected to the data bus 26 by means of the interface module 30 and to the using 32 additional power lines.

As a variant, the rail vehicle 2 can include more than one interface module 30.

The embodiments and the variants envisaged above can be combined with one another to form new embodiments.

Claims (5)

1. A control device (4) for a railway vehicle (2), said control device (4) comprising a driving manipulator (6) provided with a displaceable moving part (8) and a rotating servomotor (11), adapted to displace the moving part (8), said control device further comprising:

   - a position sensor (14, 16), coupled to the driving manipulator (6) to measure the position of the moving part (8), and

   - a monitoring unit (20) comprising:

   ∘ a programmable computing unit (22), connected to the position sensor (14, 16) and programmed to acquire position values measured by the position sensor, and

   ∘ a network interface (24),

   said control device being characterized in that the network interface (24) is adapted to be connected to a data bus (26) of a railway vehicle (2),
   and in that the monitoring unit (20) is distinct from the driving manipulator (6) and is placed a distance away from the driving manipulator (6).
2. A control device (4) according to claim 1, characterized in that the position sensor (14, 16) comprises a rotating encoder arranged to measure an angular position of the moving part (8) of the driving manipulator (6).
3. A control device (4) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an interfacing module (30) intended to be connected to the data bus (26) and to at least one controllable equipment (34) of the railway vehicle (2), the interfacing module (30) being programmed to control said at least one controllable equipment (34) based on position values measured by the position sensor (14, 16) and received by the monitoring unit (20).
4. A railway vehicle (2) comprising controllable equipment (28, 34), and a control device (4) adapted to control the equipment (28, 34), characterized in that the control device (4) is according to any one of the preceding claims and in that the railway vehicle (2) further comprises a data bus (26), to which the equipment (28, 34) is connected, the monitoring unit (20) being connected to the data bus (26) to operate the equipment (28, 34) based on the position values measured by the position sensor (14, 16).
5. A railway vehicle (2) according to claim 4, characterized in that the control device (4) comprises an interfacing module (30) connected to the data bus (26) and to at least one of the controllable equipment (34), the interfacing module (30) being programmed to control said at least one controllable equipment (34) based on position values measured by the position sensor (14, 16) and received by the monitoring unit (20).

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