ES2418929B1 - PROCEDURE AND SYSTEM FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ASFA DIGITAL SYSTEM INCORPORATING VIRTUAL ASFA BEAMS, BEHAVIOR PROFILE AND TRAIN POSITIONING - Google Patents

Abstract

Procedure and system to improve the performance of the ASFA Digital system without the need to introduce any modification to it, through the inclusion of virtual ASFA? that replace or complement the information of the physical ASFA beacons, allowing the temporary speed limitation control to be carried out even in the absence of physical ASFA beacons. Any physical ASFA beacon is identified on the road with malfunction, and a report is generated, this information being sent, via radio, to the facilities located on the ground. This new conception of train traffic is based on each railway mobile unit storing an updated digital map (Profile of Road Beacons) which includes, among others, the mileage and mileage of physical and virtual ASFA beacons, meaning of circulation, speed allowed in the sections, etc.

Description

Procedure and system for the improvement of the digital ASFA system incorporating virtual ASFA beacons, beacon profile and train positioning

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Companies related to rail transport are increasingly interested in developing technologies that allow for increased reliability, availability, safety and maintainability (RAMS: Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety).

Within this general objective, it is worth mentioning those technologies related to the ASFA systems (Signal Announcement and Automatic Braking) used in Spanish railway infrastructure, and the most recent ASFA Digital. To meet the RAMS increase objectives, a number of elements have been added to the ASFA system, which do not imply hardware modifications to the current system or modifications to the road infrastructure. The objective of this extension is the elimination of the risks of the ASFA Digital system, mainly caused by the non-detection of defective physical ASFA beacons, due to their absence, particularly those that indicate temporary speed limitation (LTV), or due to circumstances that require different speed limitations than those monitored by the ASFA system. Currently, the detection of physical ASFA beacons on the track is carried out through a magnetic coupling system between an on-board system (aperiodic amplifier) and the physical ASFA beacon located on the track. If for some reason there is no detection of the physical ASFA beacon on track by the on-board ASFA Digital Equipment, there is no possibility of verifying such circumstance, which may cause situations of danger to the movement.

With this invention, the possibility of locating virtual ASFA beacons at any point of the track is created, in such a way that those not detected can be supplied when there is installation of physical ASFA beacons on the track or generated in a timely manner in sections of the Railway Line where there is no installation of physical ASFA beacons on track associated with the ASFA system road infrastructure, allowing in turn to add information on specific speed limits in the sections that require it. These options that can be enabled from a checkpoint, greatly facilitate and make flexible the possibilities of railway control. Thus, for example, the possibility of locating virtual ASFA beacons at the points of interest of the track, allows the driver to be notified (by means of beeps, phonic messages) about the signals located on the track and that he has to keep in mind to make a correct control.

To the possibilities described, we must add the ease of detection of defective real ASFA beacons, which makes the proposed solution contribute significantly to rail safety.

The general objectives of this patent are, on the one hand, to solve the problems related to the possibility and ease of including virtual ASFA beacons that substitute or complement the information of physical ASFA beacons on the way, allowing the controls to continue being carried out. specific speed of each section. In addition, any physical ASFA beacon on track with malfunction is identified, and from this information a report is generated, for each path, of the defective physical ASFA beacons. On the other hand, a new conception of train traffic is created, which bases its operation on boarding the system, the information of the different speed controls that the driver must respect on the way.

To achieve these objectives, the solution described here includes infrastructure on land and on board trains, as well as data communication solutions between the two.

Both for the generation of virtual ASFA beacons and for the detection of defective physical ASFA beacons it is necessary to have knowledge at all times of the train's location. Therefore, the system described here includes a system that allows to know the position of the train from the integration of the information provided by GPS's, orthometric and inertial systems, and the information provided by the ground system (GIS, System of Geographic Information) to the train, each time a tour begins.

SECTOR OF THE TECHNIQUE

This invention has its application within the service sector, specifically in rail transport.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

Rail transport is becoming more and more important worldwide due to the commitment that different countries are making for this means of transport. Among the reasons that justify this commitment is the contribution of the railroad to the policy of sustainable transport, to the improvement of the competitiveness and economic stability of the industry and of the railway sector. All this favored by the incorporation of new technologies, which allow increasing every day the benefits (reliability, availability, security and maintainability) of this type of transport.

In this sense, the Digital ASFA (Signal Announcement and Digital Automatic Braking) is a train driving assistance system [web 1], which provides the driver with information on track signaling (from the

ES 2 418 929 A1

detection of electromagnetic ASFA beacons physically located between the track rails), which monitors the driver's actions, the maximum train speed and the braking curve profile. In the event that the train exceeds the maximum allowed speed or that the driver does not recognize certain signals, the embarked ASFA Digital Equipment automatically requests the emergency brake to be applied.

At present there is a significant threat in the train-track interaction, in relation to the detection of physical ASFA beacons on track by the embarked equipment, and therefore in the determination of the security control to be executed at all times by the ASFA Team Digital on board. This threat is the loss or non-detection of physical ASFA beacons in the path, which can occur for a variety of reasons, such as coupling outside the ideal conditions of physical ASFA-beacon interaction, theft of the physical ASFA beacon , wrong frequency detection, etc. To this threat the ASFA Digital system is not able to solve itself. The system proposed in this patent allows new functionalities capable of mitigating these threats to be incorporated into current ASFA Digital systems, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by global positioning systems (GPS) [Kaplan, Hegarty, 2006] and new technologies Wimax / 3G / GSMR and Wifi [Arroyo, Fernández, 2003] for data transmission via radio.

The new concept of the Digital ASFA described here is based on getting each railway mobile unit to store a Road Beacon Profile (PBT) that shows the mileage and mileage of all existing ASFA beacons along the route that said mobile unit must detect, aspect of the ASFA beacon (the aspect identifies the action that the driver must carry out at all times) and the speed allowed in the sections in which a Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV) has been imposed for reasons of security.

For the generation and updating of said PBT, the centralized information available in the ground infrastructures is used, which can be generated by an auscultation vehicle equipped with the system included in this patent.

For the transfer of information between mobile units and terrestrial infrastructures (Traffic Control Centers, CTCs, CRCs, Stations, etc.), Wimax / 3G / GSM / GPRS radio solutions are used. On the other hand, from the GPS geo-positioning system, the position (kilometer point) of the mobile unit can be determined in a safe and precise way, as well as the direction of movement within the railway track, which together with the Profile of Road Beacons embarked allows to detect, auscultate and record information on the quality of the detection of physical ASFA beacons on track, and in case of threat detection due to lack of detection or there is a need to execute a certain control (such as a Temporary Limitation of Speed) we proceed to the generation of the virtual ASFA beacon that supplants the information that the physical ASFA beacons on track transmitted to the on-board ASFA Digital equipment. An important case is that of mobile ASFA beacons, since these are the most likely to turn the latent threat into failure, due to poor quality of the coupling or even because of its absence because they are not positioned in the right place for detection.

This functionality allows the driver's assistance and the speed monitoring of the railway unit in the sections with a Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV control) imposition even if the ASFA Beacon is not physically installed on the track between the rails or there is a failure of detection of any type of physical ASFA beacon. With the proposed solution it can be ensured, in any circumstance, that the control imposed by the interlocking for the safety in the movement of the trains will be transmitted to the ASFA Digital team, executing the relevant security controls.

To obtain the position of the train and the relative distance between ASFA beacons on the track, the information provided by the GPS mapping system is used, by the Train Odometry System [Dudek, Jenkin, 2008], [Mazl, PfeuEil, 2003 ], [Malvezzi] and Inertial System (gyroscope and accelerometer). The correct integration of the information provided by these systems allows obtaining sufficiently accurate information, even in those sections of the railway track where the use of GPS is not possible due to lack of coverage (in the case of tunnels, trenches, etc.).

To achieve these objectives and functionalities, new ground infrastructure, geographical information systems (GIS) [Akhil], [hby, Judd, 1994], on-board systems, global positioning systems (integrating odometry and inertial systems), and Design generation of speed monitoring systems (including emergency actions).

However, on the part of the applicant, there is no knowledge of the existence of an invention that has similar characteristics to those described herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present specification refers to a system and a procedure to improve the current ASFA Digital system, which achieves four fundamental aspects that affect the improvement of the benefits offered by the ASFA Digital system currently in use. And consequently they contribute to the improvement, in the broadest sense (safety, availability, reliability and maintainability) of Spanish and international rail transport.

ES 2 418 929 A1

The essence of the invention proposed here is based on the improvement of the performance of the ASFA Digital system, through the possibility and ease of including “virtual” ASFA beacons that substitute or complement the information of physical ASFA beacons located on track , and especially those of temporal speed limitation (LTV), allowing the controls of temporary speed limitations to continue. In addition, any physical beacon on the road with malfunction is identified, generating a report in this regard. This new concept of the Digital ASFA is based on getting each railway mobile unit to store a Road Beacon Profile (PBT) that includes, among others, the mileage and mileage of all existing physical ASFA beacons along the path, ASFA beacon link data, direction of movement, aspect of the beacon, speed allowed in the sections where a temporary speed limitation has been imposed for safety reasons, etc.

With the solution proposed in this patent, four fundamental objectives are achieved.

First, the risks of the ASFA Digital system caused by the defective detection or absence of detection of physical ASFA beacons on the road are eliminated, particularly those that indicate Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV). To achieve this objective, virtual ASFA beacons are used (generated) that replace or complement the information of physical ASFA beacons on track, allowing the execution of Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV) controls and speed control in the associated track section , without the need to install new physical ASFA beacons on the road or, even in their presence, due to a failure to detect them. In addition, within this objective, the auscultation of physical ASFA beacons on track and the detection of those with malfunction are contemplated. This allows to launch predictive and corrective maintenance tasks of the physical ASFA beacons, which allows to drastically reduce the response times to breakdowns, automate various processes related to the operation in the movement of railway vehicles (such as the optimization of rise and fall of pantograph in neutral areas), decrease the journey time, assist with new visual or acoustic information to the driver, increase safety in the movement of the units, etc. For the generation of virtual ASFA beacons, the information provided by the on-board GPS geo-positioning system, the odometry and inertial system, and the database of the Beacon Profile in Path (PBT) obtained at the beginning of the journey is used. The interest of this objective is justified by the need to have accurate and up-to-date information at all times that allows a correct supervision of the train speed, taking into account the track section, signaling, particular conditions of each section, etc. This will eliminate many of the potential risk situations that may occur in the circulation, in fact currently, a large percentage of rail accidents are related to the lack of detection of physical ASFA LTV beacons on track.

Second, a digital map of maximum speeds of the different sections of track is available on the train. In most of the controls these speeds are constant and are associated with the control that is established, but some such as the LTV have variable limits. The interest of this objective is that, for example, in the case of the LTV, the on-board ASFA Digital Equipment always monitors a predetermined maximum speed, and in many cases the limit established is lower, so that the supervision is not correct. The dynamic adjustment of this limit allows supervision in any case, thus increasing the safety in the movements of the railway units.

Third, a Geographic Information System (GIS) is created for the geographical position of the physical ASFA track beacons on the railway track and their operating status. The GIS may be located in different facilities of the ground infrastructure (CTCs, CRCs, Stations, etc.). Within each GIS two large blocks of information are contemplated, one referring to the ASFA beacons that indicate Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV) and the other for the rest of the ASFA beacons. The update of the information in the GIS of the ASFA beacons that indicate Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV), will be carried out by the managers of the railway infrastructures, and that of the rest of the ASFA beacons will be carried out based on the information obtained by the unit on board vehicles. To achieve this specific objective, a Management and Download Communications System (using Wimax / 3G / GSM / GPRS technologies or even Wifi) is used between the on-board unit and the GIS. The Security Control of any of the processes involved in the incorporation of new beacon units in ASFA, beacon aspect, etc., of the railway layout is also contemplated. The interest of this objective is justified by the need for rail mobile units to know a priori the location of ASFA beacons, and especially those that impose Temporary Speed Limitation, which together with the positioning system of the mobile unit will guarantee the correct control of these even in degraded conditions of the physical ASFA beacons on track. It also allows the detection of defective physical ASFA beacons and thus a better maintenance of the railway infrastructures migrating from the corrective maintenance (once the fault has occurred) to a predictive maintenance (based on the supervision of certain characteristic parameters to predict when it will occur a fail). To assess the state of the physical beacons, two parameters are used: detected frequency and capture time during which the frequency corresponding to each physical beacon has been detected. The "detection distance" is obtained from the pick-up time and the train speed, which is used to estimate the state of the physical beacons.

Fourth, the incorporation into the current ASFA Digital systems of all the possibilities offered by the availability of the Road Beacon Profile (map) and the generation of virtual ASFA beacons that replace the physical ASFA beacons on the way, when these are not available detected or erroneously detected. All this without the need to modify the hardware of the current ASFA Digital Equipment on board, ensuring 100% compatibility. To this end, a solution is proposed that allows the new functionalities object of this patent to be inserted in the current ASFA Digital systems.

ES 2 418 929 A1

The essence of the invention proposed here is intended to add new functionalities to the Digital ASFA systems, eliminating, among others, the threats and risks derived from the absence of detection of physical ASFA beacons on track. Thus, on the one hand, it allows to define from the ground control post (CTCs, CRCs, Stations, etc.) virtual ASFA Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV) beacons that ensure that the speed of the railway mobile units does not exceed the value of speed limitation established in each section by the Railway Authority. On the other hand, it allows detecting physical ASFA beacons in defective or even badly located via the matching analysis between the physical ASFA beacons detected during the route and those existing in the database of the control post, previously loaded (with brake applied and before starting the march) to the railway units through the so-called Path Beacon Profile (PBT).

To achieve these objectives, the system that is intended to be patented contemplates an infrastructure on land and another on board the railway units.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complete the description that is being made, and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a descriptive sheet is attached as an integral part thereof, with an illustrative character and not limiting, the following has been represented:

A general illustrative scheme of the architecture of the system to be patented is shown in Figure 1, which includes the Ground System (1) and the On-Board System (2).

The following subsystems are included within the ground system: GIS Server (1.1); Storage Unit (Legal Registry) (1.2); Video-Graphic Representation Unit (1.3); Operation Post (1.4); Man-Machine Interface (1.5); Train-Ground Communications Module (1.6); and Control Center Operator Identification Unit (1.7).

In the system embarked on the railway unit the following subsystems are distinguished: Data Fusion Unit (2.1), Odometric Systems (2.1.1), Inertial (2.1.2), Geo-positioning (GPS) (2.1.3), ASFA Digital (2.3), Roadmap Profile Map (PBT) (2.2.1), Control and Process Unit (2.2), Track and virtual ASFA Beacon Management (2.2.2), Database of a Board (2.2.3).

MODE OF REALIZATION

In view of Figure 1, it can be seen that the solution for the improvement of the ASFA Digital includes infrastructure on the ground and on board the railway units.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) (1) containing the Beacon Profile of each Path (PBT) is managed from the ground infrastructure. The following basic subsystems are included within the GIS:

a) GIS server (1.1), on which the management software is executed.

b) Storage Unit (Legal Registry) (1.2), which stores an updated digital map (PBT, Road Beacon Profile), ASFA beacon link data to act as a watchdog, direction of movement, beacon aspect ASFA and permitted speed in the sections in which a Temporary Speed Limitation (LTV) has been imposed.

c) Video-graphic Representation Unit (1.3), where you can visualize, ASFA beacons, paths, PBTs, etc.

d) Operation Post (1.4), through which the entire land system is managed.

e) Man-Machine Interface (1.5), through which the operation of the GIS is facilitated.

f) Train-Ground Communications Module (1.6), contemplating different communications alternatives: Wimax / 3G / GSM / GPRS.

g) Control Center Operator Identification Unit, to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the GIS.

The PBT is transmitted, via the radio communication system, from the GIS to the on-board unit (2) before the corresponding railway unit starts the journey (with brake applied and before starting the march).

The on-board unit (2) is responsible for:

a) Obtain the overall position of the train at each moment (kilometric point and direction of movement: this functionality is carried out by the Data Merger Unit (2.1), from the data from the Odometer Systems (2.1.1 ), Inertial (2.1.2) and Geo-positioning (GPS) (2.1.3).

ES 2 418 929 A1

b) Perform the matching between the physical ASFA beacons on the road that are detected along the way, through the on-board ASFA Equipment (2.3), and those contained in the geographical position map of beacons (PBT) (2.2.1 ): This functionality is performed by the Control and Process Unit (2.2), through the functionality of physical ASFA Beacon Management on-line and virtual (2.2.2).

c) Generate a report with the incidents produced during a certain route of the railway units: this functionality is also carried out by the Control and Process Unit (2.2), using the information obtained from the embarked ASFA Team (2.3) and the Unit of Data Fusion (2.1). The generated report contains the incidents produced during the tour. This incident and event report is stored in the On-Board Database (2.2.3), as is the Map of Beacon Profile in Path (PBT) and speed limits.

d) Communication of incidents: at the end of a tour (or even at intermediate points with radio coverage), the on-board communications unit (2.4) will communicate to the GIS (1) (located in CTCs, CRCs, Stations, etc.) incidents detected in the path (absence of physical ASFA beacons on track at the points defined in the PBT, location errors of physical ASFA beacons on track, as well as physical ASFA beacons detected on the path and not contemplated in the PBT).

The GPS and Control and Process Units are duplicated, in order to increase the reliability of the system.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[Web 1] http://ferrocarriles.wikia.com/wiki/Asfa

[Kaplan, Hegarty] Elliott D. Kaplan, Christopher J. Hegarty, “Understanding GPS: Principles And Applications”, Artech House, 2006, ISBN 1580538940, 9781580538947

[Arroyo, Fernández] Luis Arroyo Galán, Fernando Fernández Méndez de Andes “Mobile technology: GSM, GPRS, UMTS and Wi-fi”, Anaya Multimedia, 2003, ISBN 8441515824, 9788441515826

[Dudek, Jenkin] Gregory Dudek and Michael Jenkin “Springer Handbook of Robotics: Inertial Sensors, GPS, and Odometry”, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-23957-4, 978-3-540-30301- 5, Pages: 477-490

[Malvezzi] Monica Malvezzi, ODOMETRY ALGORITHMS FOR RAILWAY APPLICATIONS, PhD Thesis, Universit`a degli Studi di Bologna, Dottorato di Ricerca in Meccanica Applicata

[Mazl, PfeuEil] Roman Mazl, Libor PfeuEil, “Sensor Data Fusion for Inertial Navigation of Trains in GPS-dark areas”, IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium 2003, pages 345-350

[Akhil] Akhil Agrawal1, Nirupama, “Geographical Information System - A perfect tool for improving Quality of Services (QOS) in railways”, http://www.gisdevelopment.net

[hby, Judd] hby L.J. and Judd A.M., “Integrating GPS and GIS technologies for effective management of railways,” EGIS, 1994.

ES 2 418 929 A1

Claims (2)

one)

Procedure and system for the improvement of the Digital ASFA system incorporating virtual ASFA beacons composed of: a) A Ground System that includes the following subsystems: GIS Server (1.1), Storage Unit (1.2), Video-Graphic Representation Unit ( 1.3), Operation Post (1.4), Man-Machine Interface (1.5), Train-Ground Communications Module (1.6) and Operator Identification Unit of the Control Center (1.7). b) An Onboard System embarked on the railway unit that is composed of the following subsystems: Data Fusion Unit (2.1), Odometer System (2.1.1), Inertial System, composed of accelerometers and gyroscopes (2.1.2) , Geo-positioning System (GPS) (2.1.3), ASFA Digital (2.3), Control and Process Unit (2.2), Map of Beacon Profile in Path (PBT) (2.2.1), Management Unit of ASFA track and virtual beacons (2.2.2) and On-Board Database (2.2.3).

2)

Method and system, according to claim 1, comprising the generation of a digital map called the Profile of Road Beacons (PBT) characterized by including information on: Photography and kilometric point of all existing physical ASFA beacons along a path railway, virtual ASFA beacons, ASFA beacon link data, direction of movement, aspect of the beacon, permitted speed in the sections where a temporary speed limitation has been imposed for safety reasons, etc.

3)

Method and system, according to claim 1, characterized in that the overall position of the train is obtained at any time from the fusion of information provided by an Odometric System (2.1.1), an Inertial (2.1.2) and a Geo -positioning (GPS) (2.1.3).

4)

Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that it is possible to perform the matching between the physical ASFA beacons that are detected along the path, through the digital ASFA (2.3) and those contained in the Map of Road Beacon Profile (PBT) ) (2.2.1).

5)

Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that it generates a report with the incidents produced during a certain route of the railway units, including information on the incidents produced during the route (physical ASFA beacons not detected, defective or incorrectly located).

6)

Method according to claim 1, characterized by the use of virtual ASFA beacons that replace or complement the information of physical ASFA beacons on track, allowing the execution of temporary speed limitation (LTV) controls and speed control in the section of associated route, without the need to install new physical ASFA beacons on the track or, even in their presence, due to a failure to detect them.

7)

Method, according to claim 1, characterized by the auscultation of the physical ASFA beacons on track and the detection of those with malfunction by analyzing the collection time and measuring the frequency that the beacon responds.

8)

Method according to claim 1, characterized by the generation of virtual ASFA beacons using the information provided by the train positioning system, obtained by merging the information provided by the orthometric system (2.1.1), by the inertial system, composed of accelerometers and gyroscopes (2.1.2), by the Geo-positioning system (GPS) (2.1.3) and by the database of the Beacon Profile in Path obtained at the beginning of the journey.

9)

Method, according to claim 1, characterized by facilitating the incorporation into the ASFA Digital systems of all the possibilities offered by the availability of the Road Beacon Profile (PBT) and the generation of virtual ASFA beacons that replace the physical ASFA road beacons when these are not detected or erroneously detected, and all this without the need to modify the current ASFA Digital Equipment on board, thus ensuring 100% compatibility.

ES 2 418 929 A1  FIGURE 1 SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201230212 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 10.02.2012 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: B61L23 / 26 (2006.01) B61L25 / 02 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

Y

WO 94/22704 A1 (GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL CO.) 10/13/1994, the whole document. 1-9

Y

EP 1642801 A1 (ALSTOM BELGIUM SA) 04/05/2006, the whole document. 1-9

TO

EP 0825418 A2 (SIEMENS AG) 02/25/1998, the whole document. 1-9

TO

WO 2006/136786 A1 (GROENEWALD) 12/18/2006, the whole document. 1-9

TO

US 6371416 B1 (HAWTHRONE) 04/16/2002, the whole document. 1-9

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 24.07.2013

Examiner Manuel Fluvià Rodríguez Page 1/5

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Minimum documentation searched (classification system followed by classification symbols) B61L Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI  WRITTEN OPINION Date of Written Opinion: 29.07.2013  Statement Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986) Claims 1-9 YES Claims NO  Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986) Claims YES Claims 1-9 NO The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. WRITTEN OPINION  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D1

WO 94/22704 A1 (GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL CO.) 13.10.1994

D2

EP 1642801 A1 (ALSTOM BELGIUM SA) 05.04.2006

D3

EP 0825418 A2 (SIEMENS AG) 25.02.1998

D4

WO 2006/136786 A1 (GROENEWALD) 18.12.2006

D5

US 6371416 B1 (HAWTHRONE) 04/16/2002

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement NOTE: Patent Law, Article 4.1: New inventions are patentable, which involve inventive activity and are susceptible to industrial application, .... Patent Law, article 6.1. An invention is considered to be new when it is not included in the state of the art. Patent Law, article 8.1. An invention is considered to involve an inventive activity if that does not result from the prior art. in an obvious way for an expert in the field. (Patent Regulations Article 29.6. The report on the state of the art shall include a written opinion, preliminary and without obligation, about whether the invention object of the patent application apparently meets the patentability requirements set forth in the Law, and in particular, with reference to the search results, if the invention can be considered new, it implies inventive activity and is susceptible of industrial application. Royal Decree 1431/2008, of August 29, BOE no. 223 of September 15, 2008,) The technical characteristics claimed in this application are grouped into 9 claims, on whose novelty, inventive activity and industrial application will be expressed, according to the Patent Regulations. The first independent claim specifies the technical object, in an automatic signaling and braking system that uses virtual beacons complementing the ground system and with an on-board system with orthometric, inertial, GPS systems, map of beacon profiles in database and beacon management. The remaining claims add to the previous one that the map of beacon profiles has the photograph of the physical and virtual beacons, directions of movement and maximum allowed speed, that the position of the vehicle is obtained by GPS, and orthometric and inertial systems, which are verifies the beacons detected with those registered, that an incident report is generated, that the virtual beacons allow the control by absence or failure (which is detected) of the physical beacons, that the virtual beacons are generated based on the position of the vehicle and from the profile database, and that is compatible with current physical beacon systems. According to the content of the application, and in particular of its 9 claims, the invention can apparently be considered to be capable of industrial application, since its object being a vehicle safety control, it can be used in the transport industry (the expression "industry" understood in its broadest sense, as in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property). Depending on the content of the application, and in particular of its 9 claims, the object of the invention could be evident from the prior art for an expert in the field of vehicles, therefore, D1 before the request for patent, disclosed a signal announcement system (page 1, lines 25-27) and automatic braking (page 13, lines 4-9), which uses physical beacons (page 6, lines 9-16), with distance traveled indicator –Drometer- (12 in summary), map of beacon profiles in database (page 6, lines 1-7, and 106 in figure 4) and beacon management (page 15, line 17 page 16, line 19). The map of beacon profiles has the photograph of the physical beacons, directions of movement and maximum speed allowed (page 16, lines 10-18), the position of the vehicle is obtained by means of an orthometric system, and databases of beamed positions (page 15, lines 17-24), the equipment detected with those registered is verified (page 13, lines 23-26; page 14, lines 21-25), an incident report is generated (page 15, lines 6-15). D2 disclosed before the priority date a signaling system (title) through the use of virtual beacons complementing the ground system (paragraph 21) and with an on-board system with positioner, GPS (paragraphs 5, 9 and 14), the virtual beacons allow the control by absence or failure (which is detected) of the physical beacons (paragraphs 19-21), that the virtual beacons are generated in a reference system with vehicle locations, within a database (paragraph 7), and that it is compatible with current physical beacon systems (example in paragraph 4).  WRITTEN OPINION The above are all the characteristics of the 9 claims. The combination of D1 with D2, prior to the application date, was evident to an average expert in the field of vehicle safety control, since they belong to said technical field, solving the same problem of signaling, control and location of vehicles, Therefore, given the joint disclosure of D1 and D2, the 9 claims of the patent application could apparently be considered as not involving inventive activity, as they have been evident to an expert in the field (patent law, article 8), confronting the state of the art represented by the aforementioned two technical documents.