FR2728856A1 - DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REGULATING A GUIDE TRANSPORT MEANS - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for regulating a guided transport means, the device comprising control means, each of these means defining a control point Pi. The present invention also relates to a method of regulating a guided means of transport, the method is such that the walking of said vehicle is slaved with respect to several steps precalculated as a function of a schedule to be observed.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A TRANSPORT MEANS

  GUIDE The present invention relates to regulating devices, in general, and relates, more particularly, to a device and a method of regulating a means.

guided transport.

  State-of-the-art control devices and methods for a guided means of transport

  use centralized supervision means.

  These centralized supervision means have in memory all the schedules of the vehicles of the network and provide a regulation order & each of the

network vehicles.

  These regulatory orders are therefore derived from

centralized.

  These regulation commands make it possible to deduce a speed reference taken into account by the vehicle

concerned between two stations.

  A major disadvantage of the state of the art devices and control methods is that if a disturbance, due to the driver, passengers or other trains, occurs between the receipt of the regulation order and the arrival in the next station, the

schedules are no longer respected.

  Another disadvantage of the state of the art devices and control methods is that they are not very accurate because they make it possible to follow a limited number of speed commands, namely: a slow speed corresponding to a step vehicle, a reduced speed, corresponding to a reduced vehicle speed and a fast speed, corresponding to a

fast walking of the vehicle.

  Also an object of the invention is it a device and a method for regulating a guided means of transport, making it possible to respect the schedules of arrival at the stations. Another object of the invention is a device and a method for regulating a guided transport means that does not have the disadvantages of the methods of the state.

of the technique.

  According to the invention, the device for regulating a guided transport means comprises control means, each of these means defining a

Pi control point.

  The device of the invention also satisfies one of the following characteristics according to which the control points Pi are arranged in the following manner: a first control point P1 is located at the station stop point, 15. a second check point P2 is located after the station at the position at which the vehicle has reached its maximum speed, and the following control points Pi are separated from each other by a distance close to the distance traveled by the vehicle during a given time difference, when the vehicle is running relaxed, finally - the given time difference is equal to thirty seconds. According to the invention, the method for regulating a guided transport means is such that the regulation is obtained by servoing the schedule

said means of transport.

  According to the invention, the method of regulating a guided transport means comprises the following steps: calculating, at a given control point with respect to a time estimated at the previous checkpoint, the delay or the advance time of said means of transport, and determination of a speed to be respected according to said delay or said hourly advance so that said means of transport has reduced its

  delay or advance, at a next checkpoint.

  The method of the invention also satisfies one of the following characteristics: the operation of said transport means is slaved, according to a time to be respected, with respect to several precalculated steps, the determination of the speed of setpoint Vc to be respected as a function of said delay or of said hourly advance results from said precalculated steps and is carried out by applying to them a deviation / time coefficient X, - said difference / time coefficient X is given by the expression: T-Tl Xd T - T. T ,. i-Tun o Trmd is the travel time remaining in slow precomputed operation, Trmt is the travel time remaining in fast precomputed operation, Tr is the remaining travel time to respect the schedule, - said setpoint speed Vc is given by the expression: Vc = Vi +1. (VCut-Va.) O Vc is the set speed provided by the time-controlled regulation method, Vcmd is the set speed for monitoring the relaxed running, Vcmt is the set speed for following the running. tense, and

X is the deviation / time coefficient.

  Other goals, features and benefits of

  the invention will appear on reading the description

  of the regulation process, description made in liaison

  with the drawings in which: FIG. 1 represents an example of two extreme reference steps used by the control method of a guided transport means, in accordance with the invention, and FIG. 2 represents an algorithm of a finite state machine allowing the implementation of the

  control method according to the invention.

  Transport vehicles, for example a metro or a tram, are slaved between stations by means of a central control unit allowing the vehicle

  to arrive at a station at a given time.

  The central control unit makes use of two extreme reference steps known as tense step 6 and

relaxed walking 7.

  Tense walking 6 is the shortest travel time and relaxed walking 7 is the delay

the longest route.

  An example of these two reference walks

  extremes are shown in Figure 1.

  This FIG. 1 therefore represents speed curves V as a function of the route I of the transport means and more particularly an example of two extreme reference rungs used by the method of regulating a guided transport means, in accordance with FIG. invention. The control method of the invention is a

  regulation process by time servo.

  This method of regulating the invention completes the

  central regulation method of the state of the art.

  The two extreme reference markets are

  predefined or real-time calculated walks.

  Unlike the central control method which is aware of all the schedules of the network vehicles, the time control method of the invention is aware of only the schedules of the vehicle that it is likely to regulate. The method of regulating a guided transport means, according to the invention, is such that the step 8A or 8B of the transport means is slaved with respect to several precalculated steps according to a time schedule.

respect.

  The precalculated steps, if they are two in number, consist only of the two steps of

extreme references 6 and 7.

  In the case of more than two pre-calculated steps, the two extreme reference steps 6 and 7 are completed by at least one other intermediate reference step. The implementation of the clock control method of the invention is obtained by means of control points Pi distributed along the path

predefined means of transport.

  The control method according to the invention comprises the following steps: - calculating, at a given control point with respect to a previous control point, the delay or the time advance of the regulated transport means, and - determination of a speed to be respected according to the delay or the time advance so that the means of transport has, at a checkpoint

  next, a predetermined goal speed.

  Taking into account the regulation of the vehicle concerned by means of the central control method, the clock control method of the invention calculates the speed setpoint Vc by applying a difference / time coefficient X to the speed instructions allowing to get tense walking or

relaxed walking.

  By way of example, this coefficient deviation / time X is given by the expression: T.d-T,

T- T =

  o Trmd is the remaining travel time in the precomputed slow, Trmt is the remaining travel time remaining in the fast precomputed, and Tr is the remaining travel time to respect the schedule. The remaining travel time remaining in the relaxed travel Trmd and the remaining travel time running Tm are precalculated values. These values are contained in control means defining the control points Pi. The control means are constituted, for example, by ground beacons known from the state of the

technical.

  The set of control points Pi defined by the control means describe the relaxed walk and

the tense walk of the vehicle.

  The difference / time coefficient X is calculated after

  each pass on a control point Pi.

  The set speed Vc supplied by means of the time-controlled regulation method of the invention is given by the expression: Vc = Vd oe + Z (V ^ -V VW) where Vc is the set speed supplied by means of the time-controlled regulation method, Vcmd is the set speed for following the relaxed step, Vcmt is the set speed for following the tense gait, and

  is the difference / time coefficient defined above.

  It appears from this expression that when the deviation / time coefficient X is equal to 0, the vehicle will follow the relaxed gait and when the deviation / time coefficient X is equal to 1, the vehicle will follow the tense gait. When the deviation / time coefficient X is between the values 0 and 1 not including these two values, the vehicle will be moving between the relaxed walking and

the tense walk.

  As mentioned above, examples of extreme reference and vehicle running are

shown in Figure 1.

  The step 8A of the transport means represented in FIG. 1 corresponds to a regulation for which the

  coefficient deviation / time X is equal, for example, to 0.5.

  This value corresponds to a step for which there is no

has no disturbance.

  The step 8B of the transport means represented in FIG. 1 corresponds to a regulation for which the difference / time coefficient X oscillates between the values 0 and 1. This regulation corresponds to a step for which a perturbation P occurs, for example between the point

  P2 control and control point P3.

  It emerges from the step 8B of the means of transport that, following the disturbance P, the control method imposes a deviation / time coefficient X close to the value 1 and therefore a set speed Vc close to the speed in a tightly controlled manner. to allow the means of transport to catch up on schedule and to arrive at station S, except disturbance

exceptional, on schedule.

  At each control point Pi are associated information relating to the position of the control point Pi, to the distance separating the control point Pi to the following control point Pi + 1, the remaining time to travel the distance separating the point of control Pi at the next station and at the speed, called target speed, that the vehicle must have at the next control point Pi + l-I1 is evident that the more points of

  Pi control is high better will be the regulation.

  However, it is not necessary to have control points Pi too close together to allow calculations to be carried out before the vehicle passes.

  at the next checkpoint Pi + ,.

  By way of example, the control points Pi are arranged in the following way: a first control point P1 is located at the station stopping point, the second control point P2 is located after the station at the position at which the vehicle has its maximum speed, - the following control points Pi are separated from each other by a distance close to the distance traveled by the vehicle for a period equal to thirty seconds when the vehicle is in relaxed operation. In all cases, the operation of the vehicle defined by means of the clock control method of the invention is recorded in the steps defined by means of the central control method and corresponding to the extreme reference steps, to

  to know the relaxed walk and the tense walk.

  FIG. 2 represents an algorithm of a finite state machine enabling the implementation of the method of

regulation according to the invention.

  This figure 2 shows five states 1 to 5 of the automaton, only one of these states can be active at a

given moment.

  Each state is identified by means of a number 1 & 5, the status of the outputs and the actions performed are

also indicated.

  The state denoted 1 is the initialization state and is active when the PLC is activated. Transitions are noted between two successive states and indicate the event involving the

change of state.

Claims (9)

  1. Device for regulating a guided transport means, the device being capable of being used for implementing the method according to the   Claims 4 to 9, including means for   control, each of these means defining a point Pi control.   2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said control points Pi are arranged as follows: a first control point P1 is located at the station stopping point, a second control point P2 is located after the station at the position at which the vehicle has its maximum speed, and - the following control points Pi are separated from each other by a distance close to the distance traveled by the vehicle during a given time difference, when the vehicle is relaxed walking.   3. Device according to any one of   claims 1 and 2, wherein the time difference given is equal to thirty seconds.   4. A method of regulating a guided transport means, wherein the regulation is obtained by servocontrol of the schedule of said means of transport. 5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the operation of said means of transport is slaved, according to a schedule to be respected, compared to several precalculated steps.   6. Method according to any one of claims 4   and 5, comprising the following steps: - calculating, at a given control point with respect to a time estimated at the previous checkpoint, the delay or the time advance of said means of transport, and determining a set speed Vc according to said delay or said hourly advance so that said means of transport has reduced its delay or its advance, to a next checkpoint.   7. Method according to any one of claims 4   and 6, wherein the determination of the speed to be complied with as a function of said delay or said hourly advance results from said precalculated steps and is carried out by applying them a coefficient deviation / time X-   8. Method according to any one of claims 4   at 7, wherein said deviation / time coefficient X is given by the expression: T.W - Tl T, _- T   o Trmd is the remaining travel time in relaxed travel Trmt is the remaining travel time in tense running,   Tr is the remaining travel time in controlled operation.   9. Method according to any one of claims 4 to   7, in said setpoint speed Vc is given by the expression: Vc = Vcu + Z. (VW-V-) where Vc is the setpoint speed supplied by means of the time-controlled regulation method, Vcmd is the set speed to follow the relaxed walking, Vcmt is the set speed to follow the walking, and X is the deviation / time coefficient.