JP2018114790A - Railway control system using optical cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a railway control system which can detect a position of a train including a train length without causing a great cost increase, and controls railway-related equipment having high resistance against electromagnetic noise.SOLUTION: A railway control system includes an optical cable 11 laid along a railway track 12, light detection means 21 which detects scattered light in a light source that is connected to the optical cable and emits a laser beam to the optical cable, and in the optical cable, frequency analysis means 22 which frequency-analyzes of an optical signal detected by a photodetector, and control means 30 which detects a train position based on a signal from the frequency analysis means and controls the railway-related equipment, where the optical cable is disposed at a point intended to detect that the train passes in the railway track so that loops 11a to 11d determined related to resolving power of the optical cable cross the track, and the system detects a change in scattered light accompanied by vibration of the optical fiber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to position detection technology for trains and the like using optical fiber sensing technology, and in particular, to detect the position of a train using an optical fiber cable (hereinafter simply referred to as an optical cable) laid along a track, The present invention relates to a technology that is effective when used in a railway control system having a function of controlling trains (including trains).

  Conventionally, in order to control traffic lights and turning machines and to secure the distance between trains on railway tracks, every certain distance (several hundred meters to several kilometers; even within several tens of meters within a station premises) There is a technique for detecting the presence or absence of a train on the rail by passing a detection current through the rails separated by (a) and short-circuiting the rails by the train axle.

  Also, in recent years, the radio train control system that has been put into practical use is the one where the train itself detects the position of the train, which was originally performed by the track circuit. Install the control device, calculate the travel position based on the signal from the speed generator, and correct the current position of the train by reading the ID of the ground element installed on the track by the upper element installed in the train The position information is transmitted to the ground control device.

  The ground control device manages each train based on the position information sent from each train, and controls the position information of the preceding train of each train and the information indicating the stop limit based on the route on-board control of each train. Send to device. Then, the on-board controller creates a brake pattern signal based on the received information and performs brake control. The brake pattern signal is a pattern signal indicating a speed control characteristic according to the distance to the position to be stopped. When the train approaches the preceding train, the brake is automatically applied to avoid a collision. As an invention relating to such a train control system, there is one described in Patent Document 1, for example.

  On the other hand, as an invention for detecting the position of an object using an optical fiber vibration sensor, there is an invention described in Patent Document 2, for example. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical fiber intrusion monitoring apparatus, and includes an optical fiber vibration sensor including two light sources having different wavelengths and two types of light receiving units that detect interference light of an optical fiber corresponding to the two light sources. And a detection device. The present invention is characterized in that the optical cable for detecting the disconnection of the optical cable is accommodated in the optical cable for the vibration sensor so that the cutting and cutting position of the optical cable for the vibration sensor can be detected.

JP 2006-232221 A JP 2007-226440 A

  In railways, passenger trains and freight trains with different knitting growth may travel on one route. A freight train has a different number of vehicles each time. Therefore, on such a route, control in consideration of the length of the train is desirable. However, in the technique of detecting the presence / absence of a train line using the track circuit device described above, it can be detected only in track circuit units. In addition, in an insulated traveling vehicle such as a maintenance vehicle, the left and right wheels are insulated from each other, so the traveling position cannot be detected by the track circuit device.

  On the other hand, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the vehicle upper element reads the ID of the ground element, and the vehicle upper control device calculates the current position from the track map data based on the ID, and uses this position information. Based on this, the travel distance obtained by integrating the train speed information (the number of rotations of the wheels) is corrected to calculate the leading position associated with the traveling of the train. In addition, the wireless train control system in Patent Document 1 uses the length obtained by adding the train length to the head position as the occupied section of the running train, and manages this as the train location, It is possible to perform control in consideration.

  However, the control considering the train length is possible only when the train length is fixed (when the number of trains on the route is the same). In addition, the radio train control system is a very large system that requires a ground device arranged along the track and an on-board device mounted on each train. Incurs a significant cost increase. Moreover, there exists a subject that the tolerance with respect to electromagnetic noise is low.

  On the other hand, it is conceivable to detect the position of the train including the train length using an optical fiber vibration sensor such as that used in the intrusion monitoring device described in Patent Document 2, but the railway track is The monitoring range is very wide, reaching several tens of kilometers. In the case of detecting a train position by installing an optical fiber vibration sensor in such a wide range, a conventional general optical cable laying method in which an optical cable is simply laid along a track detects about several meters (for example, 5 m to 10 m). There is a problem that an error occurs.

The present invention has been made paying attention to the problems as described above, and the object of the present invention is to detect the position of the train including the train length without incurring a significant cost increase, and electromagnetic noise. It is to provide a railway control system having high resistance to the above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a train position detection technique capable of detecting the position of an insulated traveling work vehicle without affecting railroad crossing control.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a railway control system that has functions not found in existing systems and can perform highly accurate operation control and is highly resistant to electromagnetic noise.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of detecting an abnormality in a railway facility without attaching a sensor that is vulnerable to electromagnetic noise or water inundation to the existing railway facility such as a turning machine. .

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to the present application is
An optical cable laid along the railroad track,
A light source connected to the optical cable and emitting laser light to the optical cable; and a light detecting means for detecting scattered light in the optical cable;
Frequency analysis means for analyzing the frequency of the optical signal detected by the photodetector;
In a railway control system comprising a control means for detecting a train position based on a signal from the frequency analysis means and controlling railway related equipment,
The optical cable is arranged such that any section determined in relation to the resolution of the optical cable crosses the track at a point where it is desired to detect passage of the train on the railroad track.

According to the railway control system configured as described above, since the section corresponding to the resolution of the optical cable intersects the track at the point where the position of the train is to be detected, there is an error based on the resolution of the optical cable. Even so, the position of the train (that the train has passed) can be detected regardless of the error. In addition, since the optical cable can be obtained at a relatively low cost, a system capable of accurately detecting the position of the train can be constructed without causing a significant cost increase. In addition, since no electrical signal is used, resistance to electromagnetic noise can be increased.
Furthermore, it is a method of detecting the train position by detecting the vibration. In order to detect the position of the train, it is not necessary to pass a current through the rail as in the track circuit or the ATC control system, and between the rails with an axle or the like Since it is not necessary to short-circuit, the position of the insulated traveling work vehicle can be detected without affecting the level crossing control.

Here, preferably, the optical cable is configured to be arranged in a loop shape including a portion crossing the track.
According to the configuration as described above, since one loop crosses the track at two locations, compared to a case where the track crosses the track at one location, a train passing through the location or a railway facility existing inside the loop Can be detected more accurately.
Whether the train is approaching or moving away from the railroad equipment and whether there is an abnormality in the equipment of the railroad equipment by setting the loop so that the equipment of the railroad equipment exists inside the loop Can be detected. Furthermore, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the railway facility without attaching a sensor that is sensitive to electromagnetic noise or water inundation to the railway facility such as a turning machine.

Preferably, the optical cable is arranged in a loop shape so as to cross the track at two points where it is desired to detect the passage of the train on the rail track.
According to such a configuration, it can be detected with high accuracy that the train is passing at each of the two points, so that the speed of the running train can be grasped.

Further, preferably, the optical cable is configured such that a branching device exists inside the loop.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to detect an abnormality of the turning machine and an abnormality of the head portion constituting the branching device without attaching a sensor that is weak against electromagnetic noise or water immersion.

Preferably, the control device calculates the length of the train traveling on the railroad track based on the train passage timing at the two points, and the distance between the tail of the preceding train and the head of the following train And a function of calculating the speed of the following train and transmitting control information to the following train.
According to such a configuration, since the length of the train passing through the predetermined point can be calculated, the distance between the tail of the preceding train and the head of the succeeding train is grasped, and the train is appropriate for the following train. Since control information can be transmitted, more accurate control can be performed so that the preceding train and the following train do not approach abnormally.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to detect the position of a train, without causing a big cost increase, the railroad control system with high tolerance with respect to electromagnetic noise is realizable. Further, the position of the insulated traveling work vehicle can be detected without affecting the level crossing control. Furthermore, it is possible to detect an abnormality in the railway facility without attaching a sensor that is vulnerable to electromagnetic noise or water inundation to the existing railway equipment such as a turning machine. Moreover, since the function which is not in the existing system which can detect the position of a train including a train length is provided, there exists an effect that operation control with high precision can be performed.

(A) is a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of the entire train position detection system using the optical cable according to the present invention, (B) is a loop configuration explanatory diagram showing a part of (A) in an enlarged manner, and (C) is an optical cable. It is loop structure explanatory drawing which shows the structural example in the case of forming this loop in the part of a branching device. (A) is a system block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the railroad control system using the train position information detected by the train position detection system of FIG. 1 (A), (B) is a structural example of the control system applied to the station equipment. FIG. (A) is a system configuration diagram showing another configuration example of a railway control system using the train position information detected by the train position detection system of FIG. 1 (A), and (B) is a control system for station equipment as railway equipment. It is a system configuration figure showing other examples. FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a railway control system having a train position detection function using an optical cable according to the present invention, in which (A) is an overall system configuration diagram, and (B) is a key point of the second embodiment. FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating another arrangement example of the optical cable according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a railway control system having a train position detection function using an optical cable according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A is a system configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system for realizing a train position detection function using an optical cable.
In the system for detecting a train position in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, one optical cable 11 is laid along a track 12 over a plurality of stations 10A-10B-10C. In addition, the optical cable 11 is laid while forming the loops 11a, 11b,. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), a local loop 11a in the vicinity of the device controlled by the interlocking device, such as the switch of the branching device 13 or the traffic lights 14a, 14b. , 11b...

  At one end of the optical cable 11, as shown in FIG. 1A, a light source that emits laser light to the core of the optical fiber constituting the optical cable 11 and an optical that detects scattered light in the core. An optical device (optical device) 21 having a photodetector such as an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) is connected. In the present embodiment, an OTDR capable of detecting Rayleigh scattered light in an optical fiber is used as a photodetector. When vibration is applied, a small deformation (distortion) is caused, thereby causing a phenomenon in which scattered light changes. An optical fiber is used as a vibration sensor to detect, and the detected optical signal is processed by the frequency analysis unit 22 so that the vibration detected by the optical fiber is a vibration based on the passage of a train or an abnormality of a device such as a switch. It is configured to determine whether or not there is.

As described above, the optical cable 11 is laid so as to form a loop at a location where it is desired to detect the passage of the train. In the case of detecting a change in scattered light accompanying the vibration of the optical fiber, the length of the optical fiber is increased. This is because although it depends on the sheath thickness, the detector performance, etc., the distance at which vibration is generated can be measured in units of several meters, that is, the resolution is several meters.
In this embodiment, the optical cable 11 is divided along the length direction with a length corresponding to the above resolution, and one of the sections is substantially orthogonal to the track at a point (about kilometer) where it is desired to detect the passage of the train. The optical cable is arranged so as to cross the track in the reverse direction at a point slightly returned to form a loop. Specifically, when the length of the section is N and the width of the track is M (M <N), as shown in FIG. What is necessary is just to arrange | position, adjusting so that may not change.

  According to the result of studying the case where the detection method and the analysis method selected by the present inventors are applied, when the total length of the optical cable is several kilometers to several tens of kilometers, the resolution, that is, the length N of one section is about 5 m to 10 m. there were. On the other hand, the width of the track is an average of 5 m or less even in the double-track section, and the above-described optical cable can be sufficiently arranged transversely. If the optical cable to be used is determined, the resolution, that is, the length N of one section, is also uniquely determined. Therefore, a table indicating which section crosses the track at which point when the optical cable is installed (correspondence table). By using this table, it is possible to determine the passage of the train from the analysis result of the vibration and the information of the section where the vibration is detected.

By disposing the optical cable as described above, the resolution of the sensor is several meters, and an error of several meters occurs simply by laying the optical cable along the track. Passing, that is, the position of the train can be detected with an accuracy of 1 m or less (several centimeters to several tens of centimeters).
Further, when there are two points where it is desired to detect the passage of the train and the two points are relatively close to each other, the optical cable 11 is arranged so as to cross the track in a direction substantially orthogonal to each other, thereby loop 11a. It is good to form. Thereby, the passage of the train at two points can be detected by one loop 11a or 11b.

At the place of the branching device, the optical cable 11 may cross the track 12 before and after the branching device 13 so as to form a loop surrounding the branching device. Thereby, it is possible to detect that the branching device has been operated, and it is also possible to detect an abnormality of the branching device. Whether the train is passing or the branching device is abnormal can be determined from the difference in time during which the vibration continues and the difference in the vibration pattern.
Further, at the place where the branching device 13 is installed, as shown in FIG. 1 (C), two loops are provided so as to separately surround the turning machine portion 15 and the tip portion 16 including the turning device 15a. The optical cable 11 may be disposed so as to form 11a and 11b. Thereby, it is possible to distinguish and detect the abnormality of the turning machine 15a and the abnormality of the head portion 16.

Next, a railway control system using the train position detection function using the optical fiber sensor will be described with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, a control unit 30 is connected to the frequency analysis unit 22, and the control unit 30 determines the position of the train based on the signal from the frequency analysis unit 22. Instead of the conventional interlocking device, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the switch 15a and the traffic lights 14a, 14b,...
The frequency analysis unit 22 can be constructed by a program and an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (central processing unit) that executes the program. Although not shown, the control unit 30 includes an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a data storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

Further, when the control unit 30 such as a switch or a traffic light is provided as a station control device 30A, 30B, 30C,... For each station as shown in FIG. Train position detection information based on a signal from the frequency analysis unit 22 provided in the device 30A is passed to a host control device 40 such as a train operation management device, and the station control devices 30B, 30C... Can be configured to transmit to.
Note that the station control device 30A may directly transmit the train position detection information to the other station control devices 30B, 30C,... Without using the host control device 40. As shown in FIG. 3 (B), the station control devices 30A, 30B, 30C,... Respectively control the turning machines and traffic lights under their own control based on the received train position detection information.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is applied to a system that controls a train based on train position information detected using the sensing technology described above.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), a single optical cable 11 is laid along a track 12 across a plurality of stations, and the optical cable 11 particularly detects a passage of a train. Laid while forming the loops 11a and 11b. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the optical cable 11 is laid so as to form a local loop 11c by crossing the track at two points A and B separated by a predetermined distance L1.

  The train 50 includes an on-board control device including a wireless communication unit 51 that wirelessly transmits and receives data to and from the train operation management device 40 ′, and a control unit 52 that controls the speed of the train and the like. It is installed. The train operation management device 40 ′ grasps the distance between the trains based on the train position information from the train position detection device including the optical cable 11, the optical device, and the frequency analysis unit. For example, the subsequent train seems to have approached the preceding train too much. In such a case, a stop command (including stop route information) is transmitted to the following train 50, and the control unit 52 performs stop control. The train operation management device 40 ′ includes a wireless communication unit 41 that can communicate with the wireless communication unit 51 on the train side.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the train operation management device 40 ′ is based on the time required for the train to pass the distance L1 between the two points detected using the optical cable loop 11c shown in FIG. 4B. Can calculate the speed of the train and create stop route information when sending a stop command.
In addition, the train operation management device 40 ′ determines the speed of the train from the time required for the train to pass the distance L1 between the two points detected using the loop 11c and the vibration continuation time at one of the points. Also, the train length L2 is calculated, the distance between the preceding train (last) and the following train (lead) is accurately grasped, and stop route information when a stop command is sent is created.

In the conventional wireless train control system, since there was no means for grasping the train length, the train length was uniformly treated to calculate and control the distance between trains. Therefore, train control can be performed by creating more accurate stop route information.
In the above description, the position of the train is detected by the loop of the optical cable 11 provided at a predetermined point. However, some existing trains are provided with a speed generator (tacho generator). For such trains, the train calculates the travel distance based on the signal from the speed generator and transmits it to the train operation management device 40 ′, and the travel distance received by the train operation management device 40 ′, You may make it grasp | ascertain the position of a train from the time and speed detected using the loop shown in FIG.4 (B).

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the form which laid along the track | orbit while forming the loop in the middle of one optical cable over several stations, it does not form a loop, but in FIG.4 (C). As shown, the optical cable 11 may be laid so as to extend in one direction along the track while meandering so that the optical cable 11 crosses the track 12 in the orthogonal direction at predetermined points A and B. At this time, as described above, if only one section of the optical cable is arranged so as to cross the track (rail), the position of the train (that the train has passed a predetermined point) can be detected with high accuracy. .

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible. For example, when laying an optical cable along a track, instead of laying a predetermined portion (section) of the optical cable in advance so as to cross the track at a predetermined point, first laying the optical cable without worrying about the section of the optical cable, In addition, measurement may be performed to obtain a relationship between each section of the optical cable and the distance between the crossing points, and a table (correspondence table) used in the control unit 30 may be created.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the optical cable is arranged so as to cross the trajectory in a direction substantially orthogonal to the trajectory. However, in relation to the allowable error, the trajectory is at an angle such as 45 degrees (hereinafter, for example, 30 degrees). You may arrange | position so that it may cross and cross.

10 station 11 optical cable 11a, 11b, 11c loop 12 track 13 branching device 14a, 14b, 14c traffic light 15 switch part 16 tess part 21 optical device (light source and light detection means)
22 Frequency analysis unit 30 Control unit 30A, 30B, 30C Station control device 40 Host control device (train operation management device)
50 trains

Claims (6)

An optical cable laid along the railroad track,
A light source connected to the optical cable and emitting laser light to the optical cable; and a light detecting means for detecting scattered light in the optical cable;
Frequency analysis means for analyzing the frequency of the optical signal detected by the photodetector;
A railroad control system comprising: control means for detecting a train position based on a signal from the frequency analysis means and controlling railroad related equipment,
The railroad control system, wherein the optical cable is arranged so that any section determined in relation to the resolution of the optical cable crosses the track at a point where it is desired to detect passage of the train on the railroad track.   The railway control system according to claim 1, wherein the optical cable is arranged in a loop shape including a portion crossing the track.   The railway control system according to claim 1, wherein the optical cable is arranged in a loop so as to cross the track at two points where it is desired to detect passage of the train on the railroad track.   4. The railway control system according to claim 2, wherein the optical cable is disposed so that a branching device exists inside the loop. 5.   A control device is provided that calculates the distance between the preceding train and the following train and the speed of the following train that travel on the railway track based on the passage timing of the train at the two points, and transmits control information to the following train. The railway control system according to claim 3.   The control device calculates the length of the train traveling on the railroad track based on the train passage timing at the two points, the distance between the tail of the preceding train and the head of the succeeding train, and the speed of the succeeding train The railway control system according to claim 5, further comprising: a function of calculating control information and transmitting control information to the subsequent train.

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