JP7478603B2 - Train control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control device for trains traveling on railroad tracks, and in particular to providing position and other information.

Conventionally, to obtain position information for a moving train, the number of wheel revolutions is integrated using an AC signal output from a tachograph attached to the train's axles, and the distance traveled by the train is calculated. With this method of detecting the train's running position using the number of wheel revolutions, if the wheels spin or slide while the train is moving, the distance traveled by the train cannot be calculated accurately, and the accuracy of the position information decreases.

In response to this, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, the running position of a train is corrected each time the train passes a ground coil, ID tag, transponder, etc. installed on the ground. However, when correcting the running position in this way, the more precision is sought, the more ground coils, etc. that need to be installed, resulting in large costs. In addition, if corrections are made too frequently, the computational load of the process becomes an issue.

That is, the above-mentioned ground coils, ID tags, transponders, etc., are equipped with wired or wireless communication devices to provide various information, including their location information, and are therefore relatively expensive. If only location information is to be obtained, it is conceivable to detect magnetic markers buried along the tracks using a magnetic sensor; for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a system that uses magnetic markers to support the driving of automobiles.

In the system disclosed in Patent Document 2, numerous magnetic markers are embedded in the road along the direction in which the vehicle is traveling, and these are not only used as guidance markers, but also in specific sections (sections where road driving support information is provided) the polarity (N/S) of the magnetic markers is changed in a predetermined pattern to provide driving support information to the vehicle. For example, if eight magnetic markers are used, eight bits of information can be provided.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-157957 JP 2003-109182 A

However, in the system of Patent Document 2, the magnetic markers are aligned along the direction in which the vehicle is traveling. This is done to take into account that the vehicle's path usually changes from side to side (in the width direction of the road). However, if the magnetic markers are spaced 2 m apart, for example, the vehicle must travel 14 m to detect 8 markers (8 bits of information), which means that the amount of information obtained is small relative to the distance traveled by the vehicle.

In contrast, in the case of a train, the wheels roll on a pair of rails (tracks), so the train's course does not change left or right relative to the direction of travel. Therefore, it is conceivable to line up multiple magnetic markers across the width of the track, i.e., extending between the rails, and also to arrange magnetic sensors on the train across its width, thereby reading the polarity (N/S) pattern of the multiple magnetic markers.

However, if magnetic markers aligned across the width of the track are detected all at once, a large amount of information will be lost due to detection errors. In other words, in order for a magnetic sensor mounted on a moving train to detect magnetic markers on the track, the change in the magnetic sensor's output must be read when the train reaches the point where the marker is buried, but depending on the train's speed, the timing may not be right and a detection error will occur. When this happens, eight bits of information are lost at once, making correction difficult.

The present invention takes the above problems into consideration, and its purpose is to reduce detection errors while increasing the amount of information provided per travel distance when reading information from the patterns of multiple magnetic markers embedded in railway tracks.

(1) One aspect of the present invention is a train control device in which an information provision section in which magnetic markers are buried is set on the track along which a train runs, and the magnetic markers are detected by a magnetic sensor mounted on the train to read specified information, wherein the train is provided with a plurality of the magnetic sensors lined up in the width direction of the car, and in the information provision section, a plurality of the magnetic markers are buried in a line between a pair of rails in the width direction of the track, and a front-side magnetic marker is buried just before the information provision section, and after detecting the front-side magnetic marker, the magnetic sensor is activated in accordance with the traveling speed of the train.
(2) In the above aspect (1), the information provision section may have two or more rows of markers formed by a plurality of the magnetic markers lined up in the width direction of the track, spaced a predetermined distance apart in the direction of train travel, and may be equipped with a vehicle speed deviation calculation unit that calculates the deviation between a reference speed that is preset in accordance with the spacing between the marker rows and the running speed of the train.
(3) In the above aspect (2), a vehicle speed correction unit may be provided that corrects the running speed of the train so as to reduce the deviation from the reference speed calculated by the vehicle speed deviation calculation unit.
(4) In the above aspect (1), the interval at which the magnetic sensor is activated may be changed based on the distance between the marker rows, based on the train's running speed when the front magnetic marker is detected.
(5) In any of the above aspects (1) to (4), the front magnetic marker may consist of a first and a second front magnetic marker buried at a distance from each other in the direction of train travel, and a vehicle speed calculation unit may be provided which calculates the running speed of the train from the output of the magnetic sensor which detects each of the first and second front magnetic markers.

The train control device of the present invention can reduce detection errors while increasing the amount of information provided per travel distance when reading information from the patterns of multiple magnetic markers embedded in the tracks.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a train control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of magnetic markers in an information provision section. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a detection error of a magnetic marker. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of an on-board device. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of a control device of a train.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments of this specification, identical components are designated by the same reference numerals throughout.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the train control device of the present invention. In this embodiment, a train 1, for example a tram, is equipped with on-board equipment 2 that performs running control, etc., and exchanges information with ground equipment 3 via wireless communication, etc. The ground equipment 3 generates running control information for the train 1 and operation control information for signals S and points T, etc., based on information on the position of the train 1 and information on its course (obtained from an interlocking device not shown) transmitted from the on-board equipment 2.

The on-board equipment 2 is a so-called computer device, and is equipped with a processing arithmetic unit (CPU) that executes specified programs to perform various processes, and memories such as ROM and RAM that store the programs and data used in this processing arithmetic unit. The on-board equipment 2 performs processing to obtain position information of the train 1 and specified information for driving control using signals from a GPS receiver 4 and a magnetic sensor 5 mounted on the train 1. The GPS receiver 4 is a well-known device that detects the position by communicating with an artificial satellite, and a description of it will be omitted.

The magnetic sensor 5 detects its position and polarity (N/S) through interaction with the magnetic marker 6. As an example, the magnetic sensor 5 is a known magneto impedance (MI) sensor that is arranged on the floor of the train 1, etc., and detects magnetism using a magneto impedance element including a magnetic sensitive body whose impedance changes in response to an external magnetic field. In this embodiment, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, multiple magnetic sensors 5 are arranged side by side in the width direction of the train 1, forming a horizontally long sensor unit.

On the other hand, the magnetic marker 6 is, for example, a columnar magnet, and an isotropic ferrite rubber magnet is used, in which iron oxide magnetic powder is dispersed in a polymeric material base material. This magnetic marker 6 is laid down, for example, housed in a hole drilled in the road surface, and is buried in two configurations, one with the north pole facing up and one with the south pole facing up. A protective layer made of a resin mold may be provided on the outer surface of the magnetic marker 6, or a resin mold reinforced with glass fiber may be formed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, an information provision section P is set at a predetermined location on the track (in front of switch T in the illustrated example). Here, multiple magnetic markers 6 (five in the illustrated example) are embedded in a row across the width of the track between a pair of rails R to form a marker row, and in the illustrated example, four marker rows 60A to 60D are provided at a predetermined interval d1 in the direction of travel of the train 1. Each marker row 60A, 60B, ... can provide various information to the on-board device 2 depending on the polarity (N/S) pattern of the magnetic marker 6.

In other words, in the case of a train whose wheels roll on a pair of rails R, the course does not change left or right relative to the running direction, so multiple magnetic markers 6 are lined up in the width direction of the track, i.e., extending between the rails R, and an equal number of magnetic sensors 5 are correspondingly lined up in the width direction of the train 1, so that various information can be obtained by reading the polarity (N/S) pattern of the magnetic markers 6.

For example, as shown in Figure 2, if N/S are represented by black circles/white circles, the first marker sequence 60A in the direction of travel of train 1 will be [01000], the second marker sequence 60B will be [00100], the third marker sequence 60C will be [00010], and the fourth marker sequence 60D will be [01010], and each sequence can provide 5 bits x 4 = 128 different pieces of information. This information can be, for example, information on the position of the information provision section P and operation information of train 1 that is pre-linked to this.

More specifically, as shown in Figure 1, the information provision section P is set just before the switch T, at a distance that allows the switch T to complete operation before the train 1 that has passed through it arrives. The on-board device 2 detects position information from the output of the magnetic sensor 5 in this information provision section P, and transmits this position information to the ground device 3, which switches the switch T as necessary. In the information provision section P, the output of the magnetic sensor 5 can also be used to provide information such as the curvature of the course when turning left (upper side of the figure) after a branch, and traveling information such as speed limits.

However, as described above, if multiple magnetic markers 6 are lined up across the width of the track and detected all at once by corresponding magnetic sensors 5 lined up across the track, a larger amount of information can be provided, but a larger amount of information is lost in the event of detection failure. In other words, in order to detect the magnetic markers 6 on the track with the magnetic sensors 5 mounted on the train 1, it is first necessary to reach the location where the magnetic markers 6 are buried and read the change in the sensor output at the time when the magnetic sensors 5 react.

In the case of this embodiment, since there are four marker rows 60A to 60D as described above, the magnetic sensor 5 is activated (output reading) when it reaches each of the marker rows 60A, 60B, etc. in the order of the first, second, etc., as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3(a). The activation of the magnetic sensor 5 is controlled by the on-board device 2, and the timing is adjustable, but when repeatedly activating in response to the arrival of the marker rows 60A, 60B, etc. as described above, there is a preferred activation interval from the viewpoint of signal processing, etc.

Here, the spacing d1 between the four marker rows 60A-60D is constant, so the timing at which the marker rows 60A, 60B, ... are reached varies depending on the running speed of the train 1, and may deviate from the desired activation spacing. For example, if the running speed of the train 1 is too high, the timing at which the marker rows 60A, 60B, ... are reached gradually becomes earlier, and as shown in FIG. 3(b), the waveform of the output signal gradually shrinks on the time axis (horizontal axis of the figure).

For this reason, when looking at the second magnetic marker 6 from the top of the figure, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the output signal gradually becomes smaller when it reaches the marker rows 60A, 60B, ... and while there is no problem with the second marker row 60B, there is a clear drop in output with the third marker row 60C and a noticeable drop in output with the fourth marker row 60D. When the output of the magnetic sensor 5 drops in this way, it may fail to be read (detection error).

In light of this, in this embodiment, the running speed of the train 1 is adjusted before it enters the information provision section P so that the magnetic markers 6 can be suitably detected in each of the four marker rows 60A to 60D. To achieve this, a long and wide magnetic marker 7 (the near side magnetic marker, hereafter referred to as the long magnetic marker) is first buried in front of the information provision section P with a preset interval d2 between them. In this embodiment, first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B are buried at a distance in the direction of travel of the train 1, and the interval d3 between them has been determined through experiments, etc. as being suitable for calculating the running speed of the train 1.

As shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 4, the on-board device 2 is equipped with a vehicle speed calculation unit 21 that calculates the running speed of the train 1 from the output of the magnetic sensor 5 that detects the first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B while the train 1 is running, a vehicle speed deviation calculation unit 22 that determines the deviation ΔV between the running speed of the train 1 and a reference speed, and a running control unit 23 that controls the running speed of the train 1 according to this deviation ΔV. Note that the reference speed is the running speed of the train 1 that is set in advance when the train 1 passes through the information provision section P, and the preferred operating interval of the magnetic sensor 5 is determined from the interval d1 between the four marker rows 60A-60D and the preset running speed (reference speed).

The running control unit 23 originally controls the running speed of the train 1 according to operation information, etc., but in this embodiment, it also functions as a speed correction unit that corrects the running speed of the train 1 so as to reduce the deviation ΔV from the reference speed. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the on-board device 2 also includes a GPS position detection unit 24 that detects the position of the train 1 based on a signal from the GPS receiver 4, and a running position calculation unit 25 that calculates the position of the train 1 by integrating the speed signal from the speed generator 11.

The magnetic sensor 5 controlled by the on-board device 2 described above detects the first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B before the train 1 traveling on the tracks enters the information provision section P, and the train speed calculation unit 21 calculates the running speed of the train 1 accordingly. The running speed is then corrected by the running control unit 23 to match the reference speed, so that the magnetic sensor 5 can read each of the four marker rows 60A to 60D provided in the information provision section P at the appropriate timing.

The process of the on-board device 2 that acquires various information, such as the position information of the train 1, from the magnetic markers 6 in the information provision section P in the train control device of this embodiment will be specifically described below with reference to the flowchart in Figure 5. Note that this process is repeatedly executed at preset time intervals (e.g., 100 milliseconds).

First, the routine starts as train 1 moves, and in step S1, a signal is input from GPS receiver 4 to acquire information on the position of train 1 (GPS position information). Next, it is determined whether the position of train 1 thus acquired is within a specified section before information provision section P (step S2). If it is not within the section (NO), the flow ends, whereas if it is within the section (YES), the flow proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, it is determined whether the first long magnetic marker 7A has been detected by the signal from the magnetic sensor 5. If not (NO), the flow ends. If detected (YES), the flow proceeds to step S4, where it is determined whether the second long magnetic marker 7B has been detected. If not (NO), the flow waits for a predetermined time. If detected (YES), the flow proceeds to step S5, where the running speed of the train 1 is calculated from the waiting time. Since the distance d3 between the two long magnetic markers 7A and 7B is known, the running speed can be calculated from the time between them.

Then, in step S6, the deviation ΔV between the calculated running speed of train 1 and the reference speed is calculated, and the running speed is corrected by adjusting the output of the prime mover (such as an electric motor) of train 1 according to this vehicle speed deviation ΔV (step S7). That is, if the running speed is higher than the reference speed, the output of the prime mover is reduced to reduce the running speed, and if the running speed is lower than the reference speed, the output of the prime mover is increased to increase the running speed. This brings the running speed of train 1 closer to the reference speed.

In step S8 after starting the speed correction in this manner, the magnetic sensor 5 is activated (the sensor output is read) in accordance with the timing of entering the information provision section P based on the running speed of the train 1 calculated in step S5. The second long magnetic marker 7B is buried at a preset distance d2 just before the information provision section P, so that this distance d2 and the running speed of the train 1 can be used to activate the magnetic sensor 5 in time to arrive at the first marker row 60A.

Furthermore, in step S8, the magnetic sensor 5 is repeatedly operated at a constant operation interval to detect the first marker row 60A followed by the second, third and fourth marker rows 60A-60D, and the process ends. As described above, the running speed of the train 1 is corrected to the reference speed in advance, so that each of the four marker rows 60A-60D provided in the information provision section P is read by the magnetic sensor 5 at the appropriate timing.

As described above, according to the train control device of this embodiment, first, in the information provision section P on the track, a large amount of information can be acquired at once from the marker row 60A-60D, in which multiple magnetic markers 6 are lined up in the width direction of the track. In addition, by detecting the long magnetic markers 7A, 7B installed just before the information provision section P, the magnetic sensor 5 can be activated at an appropriate timing depending on the distance to the information provision section P and the running speed of the train 1. In other words, it is possible to reduce detection errors while increasing the amount of information provided per distance traveled by the train 1.

Furthermore, by calculating the running speed of the train 1 before it enters the information provision section P and correcting it according to the deviation from the reference speed, the running speed of the train 1 when the magnetic sensor 5 passes through the information provision section P can be maintained at approximately the reference speed. This allows each of the magnetic markers 6 in the four marker rows 60A to 60D provided in the information provision section P to be detected at the appropriate time, more reliably preventing detection errors.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the running speed of the train 1 is calculated from the time interval at which the first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B are detected, respectively, so that the running speed can be calculated with high accuracy. Moreover, the first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B are long and wide, and GPS position detection is also used, so that detection errors of the first and second long magnetic markers 7A, 7B can also be prevented.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the first and second long magnetic markers 7A and 7B are placed just before the information provision section P, but this is not limited to this and only the second long magnetic marker 7B may be placed. In this case, the running speed of the train 1 can be obtained, for example, by a signal from a speed generator 11. Also, the first and second long magnetic markers 7A and 7B do not necessarily have to be long, but making them long and wide makes it easier to prevent detection errors.

In the above embodiment, the driving control unit 23 corrects the output of the prime mover of the train 1 so as to reduce the vehicle speed deviation ΔV calculated by the vehicle speed deviation calculation unit 22 of the on-board device 2, but this is not limited to the above. A display device may be provided that displays the vehicle speed deviation ΔV calculated by the vehicle speed deviation calculation unit 22 to the driver of the train 1, and the driver who sees this display may be prompted to adjust the driving speed.

In addition, the speed at which the magnetic sensor 5 is repeatedly activated may be changed based on the running speed of the train 1 calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit 21, without using the vehicle speed deviation ΔV calculated by the vehicle speed deviation calculation unit 22. In other words, the activation interval of the magnetic sensor 5 may be determined from the distance d1 between the four marker rows 60A-60D and the running speed of the train 1.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in the information provision section P, four marker rows 60A-60D are formed by five magnetic markers 6 lined up in the width direction of the track, but the number of magnetic markers 6 lined up in the width direction may be two to five, or six or more. The number of marker rows may also be one to three, or five or more. In the case of one row, it is not necessary to calculate the deviation ΔV between the running speed of the train 1 and the reference speed, and it is not necessary to correct the running speed in accordance with this vehicle speed deviation ΔV.

In the above embodiment, the position information of the train 1 is obtained from a signal from the GPS receiver 4 to determine whether it is within a specified section just before the information provision section P, but this is not limited to this, and it is sufficient to communicate that it is just before the information provision section P. For example, a long magnetic marker 7 may be added as a third long magnetic marker 7C and a fourth long magnetic marker 7D, which are placed at an interval just before the first long magnetic marker 7A (on the train 1 side), and the train 1 may be determined to be just before the information provision section P by detecting [11111] twice in succession, thereby determining that the train 1 is just before the information provision section P.

1; train 2; on-board device 5; magnetic sensor 6; magnetic marker 60; marker row 7: long magnetic marker 21; vehicle speed calculation unit 22; vehicle speed deviation calculation unit 23; running control unit (vehicle speed correction unit)
P: Information section R: Rail

Claims (5)

A train control device in which an information provision section in which a magnetic marker is embedded is set on a track on which a train runs, the magnetic marker is detected by a magnetic sensor mounted on the train, and predetermined information is read,
A plurality of the magnetic sensors are provided on the train in a line along the width direction of the train,
In the information provision section, a plurality of the magnetic markers are embedded between a pair of rails in a line width direction of the track,
a front-side magnetic marker is embedded in front of the information provision section at a predetermined first interval from the information provision section ;
The front magnetic markers are embedded at intervals in the running direction of the train and comprise first and second front magnetic markers that are elongated in the width direction of the train,
a train speed calculation unit that calculates a running speed of a train from outputs of the magnetic sensors that detect the first and second front magnetic markers,
and after detecting the near side magnetic marker, the magnetic sensor is activated in accordance with the timing of entering the information provision section based on the train running speed calculated by the train speed calculation unit, a preset reference speed, and the first interval.
A train control device comprising: In the information provision section, two or more rows of markers formed by a plurality of the magnetic markers arranged in a width direction of the track are provided at a predetermined second interval in the traveling direction of the train,
a vehicle speed deviation calculation unit that calculates a deviation between the reference speed that is preset in accordance with the second interval between the marker rows and the running speed of the train calculated by the vehicle speed calculation unit,
2. A train control device according to claim 1. a vehicle speed correction unit that corrects the running speed of the train so as to reduce a deviation from the reference speed calculated by the vehicle speed deviation calculation unit ;
The interval at which the magnetic sensor is operated in the information provision section is preset based on the reference speed and the second interval.
3. A train control device according to claim 2. the information provision section is set in front of the switch by a distance such that a train that has passed through the information provision section can complete the operation of the switch before reaching the switch;
4. The train control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is a control device for a train. The information provision section provides travel information including at least one of information on the curvature of a route to be turned after a branch and a speed limit based on an output of the magnetic sensor.
5. A train control device according to claim 4 .

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