EP3889001A1 - Method for locating a rail vehicle and devices for carrying out the method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method for sending location signals to rail vehicles (SF1 ... SF2) in a route network (SN). Periodically generated basic data signals (BDS) of a cellular mobile radio network are used to generate the locating signals, with a trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3), which is fixedly arranged in the route network (SN), the basic data signals (BDS) of at least one of the trackside locating devices (SO1 ... SO3) associated base station (BS) of the cellular mobile radio network receives. Process data signals (VDS) belonging to the basic data signals (BDS) are generated, which include the respective transmission time of the relevant basic data signal (BDS) in the base station and the identity of the relevant base station (BS1 ... BS2), and the process data signals (VDS) are output periodically . A method for locating a rail vehicle (SF1... SF2), a computer program product and a provision device are also described.

Description

The invention relates to a method for sending location signals to rail vehicles in a route network, with periodically generated basic data signals (BDS) of a cellular mobile radio network being used to create the location information. The invention also relates to a method for locating a rail vehicle, in which a vehicle-side locating device arranged in the rail vehicle determines the location of the rail vehicle and the locating device determines the distance to at least one base station (BS) of a cellular mobile network when determining the location. The invention also relates to a trackside locating device for arrangement on a rail line. The invention also relates to a vehicle-side locating device for installation in a rail vehicle. Finally, the invention relates to a computer program product and a provision device for this computer program product, the computer program product being equipped with program commands for carrying out this method.

In the WO 2019/086208 A1 describes a method for locating rail vehicles on the basis of GSM and a route atlas, which uses the transmission time control for mobile radio devices used within GSM mobile radio, called timing advance or TA for short, to determine the distance between the vehicle and the GSM outside the GSM system Carry out transmitting stations and on this basis to create the route atlas (almanac), which enables both a location of the rail vehicle and a validation of measurement data from other location sensors in the vehicle. Due to the process, the GSM-internal transmission time control has a tolerance of 550 meters via the TA parameters, which directly affects the accuracy that can be achieved with the location method affects. However, many applications in the vehicle require a more precise location determination.

The object of the present invention is therefore to specify a method for locating rail vehicles that enables more precise location determination in a cellular mobile radio network such as the GSM network, with the same level of security. In addition, it is the object of the invention to specify a method for sending location signals to rail vehicles using a cellular mobile radio network, with which the more precise location of the rail vehicle is made possible. The object of the invention is also to specify a trackside location device and a vehicle location device with which the aforementioned method can be carried out. Finally, the object of the invention is to provide a computer program product and a provision device for this computer program product with which the aforementioned method can be carried out.

• die Basisdatensignale mindestens einer der Ortungseinrichtung zugeordneten Basisstation (BS) des zellulären Mobilfunknetzes empfängt,
• zu den Basisdatensignalen gehörige Verfahrensdatensignale generiert, die den jeweiligen Sendezeitpunkt des betreffenden Basisdatensignals in der Basisstation und die Identität der betreffenden Basisstation umfassen,
• die Verfahrensdatensignale periodisch ausgibt, d. h. die Verfahrensdaten den Fahrzeugen zur Verfügung stellt. Dies kann über eine kabelgebundene Schnittstelle oder über Funk erfolgen (hierzu im Folgenden noch mehr).

The first-mentioned object is achieved with the above-mentioned method for sending location signals in that a trackside location device, which is arranged in a stationary manner in the route network,

• receives the basic data signals of at least one base station (BS) of the cellular mobile radio network assigned to the locating device,
• Process data signals belonging to the base data signals are generated, which include the respective transmission time of the base data signal in question in the base station and the identity of the base station in question,
• periodically outputs the process data signals, ie makes the process data available to the vehicles. This can be done via a wired interface or via radio (more on this below).

• von der mindestens einen Basisstation periodisch generierte Basisdatensignale empfängt, und deren Empfangszeitpunkt ermittelt,
• von mindestens einer streckenseitigen Ortungseinrichtung nach dem Verfahren gemäß dem vorstehend erläuterten Verfahren zum Senden periodisch generierte Verfahrensdatensignale empfängt,
• die Identität der Basisstation abruft, der die Verfahrensdatensignale jeweils zuzuordnen sind, und die Verfahrensdatensignale den zugehörigen Basisdatensignalen zuordnet,
• die mit den Verfahrenssignalen übermittelten Sendezeitpunkte und die ermittelten Empfangszeitpunkte zur Berechnung der Laufzeit der Basisdatensignale von der Basisstation zum Schienenfahrzeug verwendet,
• den ermittelten Abstand zu der mindestens einen Basisstation unter Berücksichtigung der berechneten Laufzeit neu berechnet.

In addition, the stated object is achieved by a method for locating in that the locating device on the vehicle

• receives base data signals periodically generated by the at least one base station and determines their time of reception,
• receives periodically generated method data signals from at least one trackside location device according to the method according to the method explained above for sending,
• retrieves the identity of the base station to which the process data signals are to be assigned and assigns the process data signals to the associated base data signals,
• uses the transmission times transmitted with the process signals and the determined reception times to calculate the transit time of the basic data signals from the base station to the rail vehicle,
• the determined distance to the at least one base station is recalculated taking into account the calculated transit time.

As will be explained in more detail below, the first-mentioned method creates the prerequisite for using the method data to create the possibility of carrying out a more precise location determination by means of a running time measurement that is as exact as possible. The second-mentioned method forms the implementation of processing the method data generated according to the first-mentioned method using the transit time measurement and thus performing the advantageously more precise location determination.

According to the invention, the higher accuracy in determining the location according to the transit time method results from the fact that with the method according to the invention the time at which the base data signals are sent out by the base station is known much more precisely as a kind of time stamp than the mobile radio standard would guarantee without using the method according to the invention.

In order to correct the error due to the transit time from the base station to the trackside locating device, the signals received from the assigned base station are corrected (pre-dated) with a location-dependent offset. The offset corresponds to the signal propagation time between the respective base station and the mobile radio antenna of the trackside locating device plus internal propagation times in the trackside locating device. The signal propagation time can be derived or measured from the known distance between the devices. By means of a comparison with the time measuring device, the exact transmission time of the relevant basic data signal (the said time stamp) can thus be determined, taking into account the offset. The basic data signals are provided by the mobile communications provider who, as explained below, can be involved in the implementation of the method in different ways.

The location method proposed here includes the implementation of a first location step (referred to below as preliminary location), in particular rough location, and supplements this with at least one new location, in particular fine location. The terms coarse localization and fine localization are to be understood within the scope of the invention to the effect that the spatial resolution of the fine localization is higher than the spatial resolution of the coarse localization.

In order to improve the measurement tolerance resulting from the preliminary location so that vehicle location can be carried out with sufficient accuracy, for example in areas with high traffic and infrastructure density, additional trackside location devices are installed on the route, i.e. in the route network, according to the invention.

According to the invention, the distances to the base station are determined by a transit time method which is known per se. A highly accurate time measurement is necessary to carry out the runtime method. In track-side and vehicle-side location systems, this can be done, for example, on the basis of GPS-disciplined clocks are carried out. If the sending and receiving times of the basic data are measured with GPS-disciplined clocks, the tolerance of the determined distances between the vehicle and base stations is in the range of a few meters.

The basic data and the basic data signals generated from it have the following properties:
Selected mobile radio signals are used to measure the signal propagation time between the base station and the mobile radio device. The implementation of the rough location (preliminary location) is based on the use of the TA signals periodically transmitted by the base stations. The TA signals can also be used advantageously for fine localization, since they are transmitted with a suitable period and are already evaluated for rough localization in any case. However, other periodically transmitted mobile radio signals can also be used as an alternative.

The mobile radio signals used as basic data remain unchanged in the proposed method. They are filtered in the vehicle by the mobile radio device in the vehicle-mounted locating device and transferred to the on-board computer of the vehicle-mounted locating device. In the trackside locating device, the basic data are also filtered from the mobile radio signals and their transmission time is determined.

1. 1. Sendezeitpunkt der Basisdaten in der Basisstation
2. 2. Identifikation der sendenden Basisstation

The process data and the basic data signals generated from it have the following properties:
Process data are process-specific data that are continuously transmitted from the trackside location device to mobile radio devices in the vehicle location devices (directly or indirectly via a base station) and form the basis for the more precise location calculation in the vehicle. Process data contain at least the following content:

1. 1. Time of sending the basic data in the base station
2. 2. Identification of the sending base station

Furthermore, the transmission times of the cyclically transmitted process data must be clearly assignable to the associated basic data (e.g. TA signals). This means that, on the one hand, process data must not be sent too often, in order to avoid misinterpretation of the sending time due to duplicates, and, on the other hand, should be sent sufficiently often in order to have sufficient support points for fine localization. It is particularly advantageous to match the periodicity of the process data signals precisely to the periodicity of the basic data signals, since a one-to-one assignment of the process data signals to the basic data signals is then possible. Particularly when using the TA signals, it is recommended to send the process data with the cycle of the TA signals.

Unless otherwise stated in the following description, the terms “create”, “calculate”, “calculate”, “determine”, “generate”, “configure”, “modify” and the like preferably relate to actions and / or Processes and / or processing steps that change and / or generate data and / or convert the data into other data. The data are in particular available as physical quantities, for example as electrical impulses or also as measured values. The necessary instructions / program commands are summarized in a computer program as software. Furthermore, the terms “receive” “send”, “read in”, “read out”, “transmit” and the like relate to the interaction of individual hardware components and / or software components via interfaces. The interfaces can be implemented in terms of hardware, for example wired or as a radio link, and / or in software, for example as interaction between individual program modules or program parts of one or more computer programs.

In connection with the invention, “computer-aided” or “computer-implemented” can be understood to mean, for example, an implementation of the method in which a Computer or a plurality of computers executing or executing at least one method step of the method. The term "computer" is to be interpreted broadly, it covers all electronic devices with data processing properties. Computers can thus be, for example, personal computers, servers, handheld computer systems, pocket PC devices, mobile radio devices and other communication devices that process data with the aid of computers, processors and other electronic devices for data processing, which can preferably also be connected to a network. In connection with the invention, a “memory unit” can be understood to mean, for example, a computer-readable memory in the form of a random access memory (RAM) or data memory (hard disk or a data carrier).

In connection with the invention, a “processor” can be understood to mean, for example, a machine, for example a sensor for generating measured values or an electronic circuit. A processor can in particular be a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor or a microcontroller, for example an application-specific integrated circuit or a digital signal processor, possibly in combination with a memory unit for storing program commands, etc. . A processor can also be, for example, an IC (integrated circuit), in particular an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or act as a DSP (digital signal processor). A processor can also be understood to be a virtualized processor or a soft CPU. For example, it can also be a programmable processor that is equipped with a configuration for executing a computer-aided method.

Cooperation with provider (cell phone provider)

According to one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the process data signals are transmitted by the trackside locating device to the base station by radio or wired, and the base station forwards the process data signals by radio to the vehicle's locating device.

The trackside locating device then advantageously does not need a transmitting antenna because the process data can be transferred to the base station, for example via a wired interface.

The trackside locating device is arranged and operated in a stationary manner and coupled to a base station of the mobile radio provider. There is a direct connection between the trackside locating device and the base station assigned to it, for example via a local network. In this case, the trackside locating device can either be integrated into an assigned base station and thus arranged at the same location, or it can be installed in the immediate vicinity of the assigned base station and coupled with it in terms of communication technology.

The trackside location system must be able to receive and decode mobile radio. To this end, the trackside locating device can advantageously use the antenna system of the assigned base station if a cooperative provider is available. The transmission of mobile radio by the trackside location device is not required.
Via a cable-based or radio-based data connection between the trackside locating device and the assigned base station, measurement data are continuously sent from the trackside locating device to the assigned base station about the results of the signal transit time measurement carried out continuously in the trackside locating device.

The assigned base station continuously receives data from the trackside location device and forwards it to mobile radio devices. In the case of the GSM mobile radio standard, the GSM-internal broadcast control channel (BCCH) can preferably be used for this purpose. Alternatively, it is possible to use a data service for GSM users such as GPRS or SMS for data transmission. In both cases, the cooperation of the GSM provider is necessary in order to initiate the integration of the data received from the trackside locating device into the GSM mobile radio.

Operation without the cooperation of the provider

According to one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the process data signals are sent by the trackside location device by radio directly to the vehicle location device.

The trackside locating device requires a suitable transmitting antenna for transmission by radio. This represents an additional constructive effort. However, cooperation with the provider is not required. In addition, it can advantageously be more cost-effective during operation if the provider does not have to use any additional services.

The trackside locating device is arranged and operated in a stationary manner and independently of the base stations of the mobile radio provider. In this arrangement, the trackside locating device requires its own mobile radio antenna for receiving the radio signals from one or more assigned base stations.

In this case, the data is not transmitted from the trackside location device to the vehicle location device indirectly via an assigned base station, but directly via mobile radio. For example, a data connection based on GPRS or LTE can be used for this. The process data signals must be different from the However, basic data signals cannot be transmitted using the mobile radio standard.

Instead of GPS, an alternative satellite navigation system, such as GLONASS, can be used in the trackside location system and in the vehicle location system for the location method. It is necessary to provide synchronous, highly accurate clocks in the trackside location device and in the vehicle location device.

Instead of GSM, other cellular mobile radio systems can also be used. Instead of TA signals, alternative system-specific radio signals can be used, for example to determine the distance between mobile radio devices and base stations. The requirements for the GSM signals used (basic data) are limited to a suitable transmission period and the emission at each base station. In addition, the identification of the base station must be able to be determined.

According to one embodiment of the invention, provision is made for first location information determined from the newly calculated distance to be compared with second location information and for the second location information to be corrected in the event of discrepancies. It is preferably provided that a position of the rail vehicle is determined as the first location information, a position of the one base station or also of several base stations being specified. The method according to the invention can therefore be used to improve the location described under preliminary location. It can also be used to check the plausibility or improve the accuracy of the data from other positioning systems. For example, the location data of a GPS location in the vehicle can be checked with the results of the location according to the invention. This makes security-critical location applications possible.

Another possibility is to correct or create a route plan (hereinafter referred to as the almanac) in which, in particular, the positions of the base stations can also be determined.

By comparing the distance data obtained from different transmitters, the locations of the GSM base stations are checked for plausibility and thus trustworthy. An attacker who intercepts the GSM signals and feeds them back in (man in the middle attack) would in any case cause a delay in the signal propagation time, which would result in at least one contradicting distance measurement. In this way, a high level of security can advantageously be achieved when locating. The procedure is explained in more detail below.

The calculated, highly precise distance values between the vehicle and GSM base stations are used to set up and maintain the vehicle's own route almanac. As described in the preliminary location application, the route almanac can have a 1D or 2-D characteristic. Mixed versions are also possible. In contrast to the measurement method for preliminary location information, location information in the almanac is only corrected with the help of highly precise distance data in order to improve the quality of the almanac. For this purpose, the method according to this embodiment of the invention is used to the effect that a position of the base station is determined as the first location information, which position is calculated from several positions of the rail vehicle. This assumes that the distance between the rail vehicle and the base station has been determined or that the position of the rail vehicle has been determined, in particular, by another location method.

For a 1D alarm system, the determined distances to GSM base stations are recorded directly as a location reference or used to check the plausibility of existing location references.

For a 2D alamanch, the distances between the vehicle and a specific GSM base station must be measured at at least 3 different points along the route. the For this purpose, distance values are kept in a temporary memory. If the distance values are available in the temporary storage for at least 3 location coordinates of the same base station, the exact position of the GSM base station is determined by triangulation of the distance values and then transferred to the 2D almanac or used to check the plausibility of an existing location of the GSM base station.

With repeated journeys by a train over the same route, the existing data in the almanac becomes increasingly trustworthy due to the repeated plausibility checks. The trust in the data in the almanac can advantageously be identified by additional trust attributes that are stored together with the location data.

There are various options for the data channel between the trackside location device and the vehicle location device. Numerous variants are possible with regard to the radio system, the data channel used (system, user) and the type of communication (connection-oriented, connectionless, broadcast). In addition, it is possible to set up one or more central points at which the data from the different trackside location devices are merged (for example via the Internet). Vehicles can register with the central office (s) and continuously call up the process data (central information). The route map can also be saved here.

According to one embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the route covered by the rail vehicle between the transmission times and the reception times is taken into account. The decisive factor is namely the location of the rail vehicle at the time of reception, even if the method was initiated at the location of the rail vehicle at the time of transmission.

In the case of fast moving vehicles, the distance covered may have to be used to determine the exact location must be taken into account, which took place during the data transmission and signal processing in the vehicle-mounted location device. This can be determined, for example, by distance measurement (odometry) or by taking into account the speed of the train during the measurement and calculation. An even higher level of accuracy can advantageously be achieved in this way.

The invention is also achieved according to the invention by the trackside location device specified at the beginning and the location device on the vehicle side in that they are set up to carry out the methods according to the invention named at the beginning. The advantages associated with the use of the trackside location device and the vehicle location device have therefore already been mentioned above in the context of the explanation of the method according to the invention.

Furthermore, a computer program product with program instructions for carrying out the mentioned method according to the invention and / or its exemplary embodiments is claimed, the method according to the invention and / or its exemplary embodiments being able to be carried out in each case by means of the computer program product.

In addition, a provision device for storing and / or providing the computer program product is claimed. The provision device is, for example, a data carrier that stores and / or provides the computer program product. Alternatively and / or additionally, the provision device is, for example, a network service, a computer system, a server system, in particular a distributed computer system, a cloud-based computer system and / or virtual computer system, which the computer program product preferably stores and / or provides in the form of a data stream.

It is provided, for example, as a download in the form of a program data block and / or command data block, preferably as a file, in particular as a download file, or as a data stream, in particular as a download data stream, of the complete computer program product. This provision can, for example, also take place as a partial download, which consists of several parts and is downloaded in particular via a peer-to-peer network or made available as a data stream. Such a computer program product is read into a system, for example using the supply device in the form of the data carrier, and executes the program commands so that the method according to the invention is carried out on a computer.

Further details of the invention are described below with reference to the drawing. The same or corresponding drawing elements are each provided with the same reference numerals and are only explained several times insofar as there are differences between the individual figures.

The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another, which also develop the invention independently of one another and are thus also to be regarded as part of the invention individually or in a combination other than the one shown. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.

• Figur 1 ein Ausführungsbeispiel des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens schematisch in einer dreidimensionalen Übersicht.
• Figur 2 und 3 Ausführungsbeispiele der erfindungsgemäßen streckenseitigen Ortungseinrichtung und der erfindungsgemäßen fahrzeugseitigen Ortungseinrichtung als Blockschaltbilder.

Show it:

• Figure 1 an embodiment of the method according to the invention schematically in a three-dimensional overview.
• Figures 2 and 3 Embodiments of the trackside location device according to the invention and the vehicle location device according to the invention as block diagrams.

Process flow on the track side

On the track side, a suitable number of trackside locating devices SO1 ... SO3 are installed in a fixed location in a track network SN and assigned to respective base stations BS1 ... BS2. The assignment of each trackside locating device (e.g. SO1) to the base station (e.g. BS1) can take place cooperatively or non-cooperatively. Mixed variants are also possible. To carry out the procedure, the GPS-disciplined clock of the trackside location device must be synchronized with the GPS time.

The trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3) continuously receives the GSM signals from the assigned base stations (BS1 ... BS2) via a GSM antenna (GSMA). From the GSM signals of the individual base stations (BS1 ... BS2), the fixed basic data signals (BDS) are first selected in the trackside locating device. The exact time of reception is also recorded for each basic data signal (BSD) received.

In the next step, the transmission time of the received basic data signal BSD is determined in the computer of the trackside locating device SO1... SO3. For this purpose, the computer evaluates the identifier of the base station BS1... BS2 and the time of receipt of the respective base data signals BSD. With knowledge of the distance between the respective base station BS1 ... BS2 stored in the trackside locating device SO1 ... SO3 and the trackside locating device SO1 ... SO3, the transmission time of a basic data signal BSD in the base station BS1 can be calculated from the known receive time. The process data signals VDS are then generated by the computer of the trackside locating device SO1 ... SO3, which contain at least the transmission time (calculated in the trackside locating device) and the identifier of the base station BS1 ... BS2.

The trackside locating device SO1 ... SO3 cyclically generates the process data signals VDS for all assigned base stations BS1 ... BS2. The cycle period is based on that of the basic data signals BDS. The process data signals VDS are then sent or made available to the rail vehicles SF1... SF2. The required data channel to the rail vehicle can be set up in various ways. According to Figure 1 the VDS process data signals are sent according to the GSM standard.

However, there are also other transmission options (in Figure 1 not shown). If, for example, a broadcast data service such as WLAN is available, the trackside locating device sends the process data simultaneously to all vehicles that are in the reception area. If a point-to-point data service, such as LTE, is available, the trackside location device sends the process data individually to those vehicles that have established a data connection to the trackside location device.

For the trackside location device SO2, in Figure 1 Another way of transmission is shown. The process data signals VDS can be transmitted via a cable KB to the base station BS2, which is located in the vicinity. The base station BS2 then broadcasts the process data signals VDS to the rail vehicle SF2 via its GSM antenna GSMA. The GSM antenna GSMA of the trackside locating device SO2 therefore only has to be designed for receiving the basic data signals BSM from the base station BS2, but does not have to send any process data signals VDS to the rail vehicle SF2.

As an alternative, a navigation system according to FIG Figure 1 the GPS can be used. A satellite SAT is shown, which sends satellite signals STS to GPS antennas GPSA from trackside positioning devices SO1 ... SO3 or vehicle-side positioning devices FO1 ... FO2.

Procedure on the vehicle side

Vehicles that carry out the method according to the invention require a location device FO1... FO2 on the vehicle. Furthermore, for example, the TA-based method described as preliminary location is used as an alternative to rough location determination, which determines the vehicle location with a location error of up to 550 meters. The distance is then determined in the on-board computer in the rail vehicle SF1 ... SF2. With the TA method after the preliminary location, a rough determination of the distances from the receivable base stations BS1... BS2 is initially carried out in a first stage of the method. In the fine localization method, the distance to receivable base stations BS1... BS2 is precisely determined and, with knowledge of these values, the results from the rough localization are corrected.

For the method according to the invention, the GSM receiving device of the vehicle-mounted locating device must be able to determine the time of receipt of the basic data signals with high precision. For this purpose, a GPS-disciplined clock (GDO, cf. Figures 2 and 3 ) used. Successful synchronization of the GPS disciplined clock is a prerequisite for the procedure to be carried out in the vehicle.

The mobile radio device of the vehicle-mounted locating device FO1 ... FO2 continuously receives the basic data signals BDS of all receivable base stations BS1 ... BS2. The basic data signals BDS are either analyzed in the mobile radio device or transferred to the on-board computer of the vehicle-mounted locating device FO1... FO2 for evaluation. An exact reception time is assigned to each basic data signal BDS received. Furthermore, there is an unambiguous assignment of each basic data signal BDS to the transmitting base station BS1... BS2.

In addition to the basic data signals BDS, the mobile radio device receives the vehicle-mounted locating device FO1 ... FO2 via a suitable one Mobile radio data service, for example via BCCH in the case of a cooperative provider, or for example GPRS in the case of a non-cooperative provider, continuously receives the process data signals VDS generated by one or more trackside locating devices SO1... SO3.

If a separate data channel to a trackside locating device SO1 ... SO3 is required for receiving the process data signals, this is set up by the vehicle's locating device FO1 ... FO2. The on-board computer of the vehicle-side locating device FO1 ... FO2 determines the address of the trackside locating devices SO1 ... SO3 necessary for setting up the data channel, preferably from the connection data of the trackside locating devices SO1 ... SO3 along the route of the route network SN and stored in the route almanac from the known (rough) location of the rail vehicle SF1 ... SF2.

Depending on the connection data of the trackside locating devices SO1 ... SO3 stored in the route almanac and the current location of the rail vehicle SF1 ... SF2, the vehicle-mounted locating device FO1 ... FO2 builds one or more parallel data connections to the trackside locating devices SO1 located in the vicinity. .. SO3 on. The process data signals VDS sent by the trackside locating devices SO1... SO3 arrive continuously via these data connections. The received process data signals VDS are transferred to the on-board computer of the vehicle-side locating devices FO1... FO2 for evaluation.

The evaluation of the basic data signals BDS and the process data signals VDS takes place in several steps:
In a first step, the currently received process data signals VDS are assigned to the currently received basic data signals BDS in terms of time and individually for each base station.

After successful assignment, the respectively registered time of reception of the basic data signals BDS and their associated transmission time transmitted by means of process data signals VDS are evaluated in the second step. The difference between the time at which the basic data signals BDS are received and sent provides the exact signal propagation time between the base station BS1 ... BS2 and the mobile radio device in the rail vehicle SF1 ... SF2 at the time the basic data signals BDS are received.

From the signal propagation time and the known coordinates of the base stations BS1 ... BS2 stored in the route almanac, the exact distance between the rail vehicle SF1 ... SF2 and the base station BS1 ... BS2 at the time of receiving the basic data signals BDS is determined in the third step.

This algorithm is carried out in parallel in the locating device FS1... FS2 on the vehicle for all base stations BS1. This makes it possible to determine the exact location, for example by means of triangulation. With the exact distances to the receivable base stations, the vehicle location roughly determined according to the preliminary location is continuously specified.

The functional units described below are used for the procedure:
Trackside locating device according to Figure 2
A trackside locating device SO1 consists of a stationary special computer system OC with at least one receiving device EM for the cellular mobile network (in particular GSM radio), a receiving device EG for GPS and a highly accurate time measuring device GDO (in particular GPS-disciplined clock). The trackside locating device SO1 communicates on the one hand with one or more base stations (BS1, BS2, cf. Fig. 1 ) of the cellular network and, on the other hand, directly or indirectly with rail vehicles (SF1, SF2, cf. Fig. 1 ) who perform the proposed location procedure.

The technical implementation basis is, for example, a microcomputer C with SDR (software-defined radio) software, which is synchronized by means of a GPS disciplined oscillator (GDO). The GDO receives GPS signals and provides a frequency standard (usually 10 MHz) and a PPS pulse (pulse-per-second) on the output side. This technology is marketable and inexpensive.

For the proposed method according to Figure 1 Any number of trackside locating devices SO1 ... SO3 can be provided, for example along a railway line. The number of trackside locating devices required depends on the topology of the cellular network and the topology of the route to be traveled.

Each trackside locating device SO1 is logically assigned to one or more selected base stations BS1. The trackside locating device SO1 continuously receives the radio signals from the logically assigned base station BS1 and evaluates them in a process-specific manner. It is advantageous to arrange another trackside location device SO2 in close proximity to one or more base stations BS2 (cf. Fig. 1 ), firstly to ensure good radio reception and secondly to achieve short signal propagation times between base station BS2 and trackside locating device SO2.

Furthermore, as a result of the evaluation of received mobile radio signals, the trackside locating device continuously sends data to rail vehicles or makes this information available to rail vehicles. The data can be transmitted in various ways, for example via GSM mobile radio.

Locating device on the vehicle according to Figure 3
The vehicle-mounted locating device FO1 consists of a mobile computer system MC with at least one Receiving device EM for mobile radio, a receiving device EG for GPS, a high-precision time measuring device GDO (for example a GPS disciplined oscillator) and the microcomputer C, which is housed in a vehicle. The high-precision time measuring device can advantageously be integrated in a mobile radio device or can be designed as an independent technical component.

Furthermore, it is advantageous to use the vehicle-side device FE (for example an odometer) used in the preliminary location also when operating the vehicle-side location device FO1. As part of the method, any number of rail vehicles can each be equipped with a vehicle-side locating device (not shown).

The vehicle-mounted locating device FO1 continuously receives data from the radio-technically accessible base stations BS1 and evaluates them with regard to certain mobile radio-specific signals, the basic data signals BDS. Furthermore, the vehicle-side locating device FO1 continuously receives the process data signals VDS from one or more track-side locating devices (not shown) and evaluates them in a process-specific manner. The vehicle location, which has already been roughly determined after the preliminary location, is determined considerably more precisely by the evaluation. This achieves the object specified at the beginning.

List of reference symbols

BS1 ... BS2

Base station

SO1 ... SO3

trackside location device

OC

fixed computer system

FO1 ... FO2

Locating device on the vehicle

GSMA

GSM antenna

GPSA

GPS antenna

MC

mobile computer system

GDO

Timing device

EM

Receiving device for mobile radio

EG

Receiving device for GPS

C.

Microcomputers

SAT

Satellite (GPS)

SF1 ... SF2

Rail vehicle

SN

Route network

FE

On-board facility

BDS

Basic data signal

VDS

Process data signal

STS

Satellite signal

Claims (14)

Method for sending location signals to rail vehicles (SF1 ... SF2) in a route network (SN), using periodically generated basic data signals (BDS) of a cellular mobile network to generate the location signals,
characterized,
that a trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3), which is fixed in the route network (SN), • receives the basic data signals (BDS) of at least one base station (BS1 ... BS2) of the cellular mobile radio network assigned to the trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3), • Process data signals (VDS) belonging to the base data signals (BDS) are generated, which include the respective transmission time of the relevant base data signal (BDS) in the base station (BS1 ... BS2) and the identity of the base station (BS1 ... BS2) concerned, • periodically outputs the process data signals (VDS). Method according to claim 1,
characterized by
that the periodicity of the process data signals (VDS) is precisely matched to the periodicity of the basic data signals (BDS). Method for locating a rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2) in which • a locating device (FO1 ... FO2) arranged in the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2) determines the location of the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2), • the vehicle-mounted locating device (FO1 ... FO2) determines the distance to at least one base station (BS1 ... BS2) of a cellular mobile network when determining the location, characterized,
that the on-board locating device (FO1 ... FO2) • receives periodically generated basic data signals (BDS) from the at least one base station (BS1 ... BS2) and determines their time of reception, • receives from a trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3) according to the method according to claim 1 periodically generated process data signals (VDS), • retrieves the identity of the base station (BS1 ... BS2) to which the process data signals (VDS) are to be assigned and assigns the process data signals (VDS) to the associated operating data signals, • uses the transmission times transmitted with the process signals and the determined reception times to calculate the runtime of the basic data signals (BDS) from the base station (BS1 ... BS2) to the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2), • the determined distance to the at least one base station (BS1 ... BS2) is recalculated taking into account the calculated transit time. Method according to claim 3,
characterized,
that the process data signals (VDS) are sent by the trackside location device (SO1 ... SO2) by radio directly to the vehicle location device (FO1 ... FO2). Method according to one of Claims 3 or 4,
characterized,
that the process data signals (VDS) are transmitted by the trackside locating device (SO1 ... SO3) to the base station (BS1 ... BS2) by radio or wired and the base station (BS1 ... BS2) the process data signals (VDS) by radio forwards to the locating device (FO1 ... FO2) on the vehicle. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 5,
characterized,
that first location information determined from the newly calculated distance is compared with second location information and in the event of discrepancies, the second location information is corrected. Method according to claim 6,
characterized,
that a position of the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2) is determined as the first location information, a position of the base station (BS1 ... BS2) being specified. Method according to claim 7,
characterized,
that the first location information is used to create and / or correct an almanac describing the route. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 6,
characterized,
that a position of the base station (BS1 ... BS2) is determined as the first location information, a position of the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2) being specified. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 9,
characterized,
that the route covered by the rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2) between the transmission times and the reception times is taken into account. Track-side locating device (SO1 ... SO3) for the arrangement of a rail line,
characterized,
that this is set up to carry out a method according to claim 1 and claim 5. On-board locating device (FO1 ... FO2) for installation in a rail vehicle (SF1 ... SF2),
characterized,
that this is set up to carry out a method according to claim 5. Computer program product with program instructions for performing the method according to one of Claims 1 to 10. 13. Provision device for the computer program product according to claim 13, wherein the provision device stores and / or provides the computer program product.

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