RU2284939C1 - Device to prevent emergency situations on railway crossings - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: railway transport; railway signaling and communication.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to crossing signaling control devices. Proposed device contains video cameras installed at different sides of railway crossing and connected with video camera operation control unit which, in its turn, is connected with railway crossing signaling control unit and with video camera signal transmitter. Optical sensors connected with unit to determine averaged parameters of illumination and contrast range and unit for recording and storing reference signal, additionally installed at crossing. Outputs of said units are connected with video camera operation mode control unit. Transmitter is connected by communication channel to receiver installed in room of station operator on duty. Output of receiver is connected with computer which is connected to monitors, video recording device and emergency situation recording unit through obstacle discrimination unit. Outputs of emergency situation recording unit are connected to operating mechanisms control unit and to unit transmitting information of source of danger. Transmitter is connected by communication channel to receiver installed on rail vehicles whose output is connected with computer to which obstacle detecting unit is connected which, in its turn, is connected with monitors and obstacle recording unit and output of the latter is coupled with operating mechanism control unit.

EFFECT: improved reliability and safety on railway crossings.

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Description

The invention relates to railway automation and telemechanics, and in particular to control devices for crossing signaling.

A device (1) is known from the patent literature for detecting vehicles on moving. The essence of this device lies in the fact that on both sides of the junction, a microwave transmitter and receiver are mounted at the focal points of the ellipse, as well as a support element (reflection mirror), the longitudinal axis of which is parallel to the axis of moving and the main axis of the ellipse. Object detection is based on a change in the delay time of the reflection signals from the reference element and from the object (vehicle) at the crossing, which is fixed by the comparison unit, the output of which is connected to the blocking alarm control unit.

The disadvantage of this device is the low reliability of detecting obstacles due to the low level of the signal from objects having a small effective area of reflection of the radio signal.

The closest in technical essence is the on-board system for detecting foreign objects in the size of the contact suspension (2), developed in the Research and Technology Center (FTZ) of the German Railways (DBAG), which contains three cameras, offset from each other in a horizontal plane, two computer, one of which is used to save video information arriving at a frequency of 10 images per camera per second, which corresponds to 30 MB / s, and the other for control and analysis, as well as a device for measuring I distance. In any case, more than one camera is needed in order to obtain a third size from a two-dimensional image using triangulation, namely the distance to the observed objects. Only in this way is it possible to detect obstacles in the passage zone of current collectors.

It is taken as a prototype. However, the circuit solutions used here and the algorithm for detecting foreign objects in the control zone do not directly allow this device to be used to ensure safety at level crossings.

The technical result is to increase the reliability and safety at level crossings.

The invention consists in expanding the functionality of the device: by increasing the reliability of detection of foreign objects in a controlled area, taking into account the parameters of the external environment; timely braking of the train approaching the move if there are foreign objects in the controlled area and registration of the source of the dangerous situation at the railway crossing.

For this purpose, a known device (2) comprising video cameras, transmitters and receivers of video camera signals, computers, monitors, obstacle detection units, control units for actuating mechanisms, additionally includes a unit for recording and storing a reference signal, a control unit for the operation mode of video cameras, a control unit for moving the work alarm systems, optical sensors, a unit for determining the average parameters of illumination and contrast in the control zone, an obstacle registration unit, a video recorder, directly at the crossing, cameras and optical sensors are connected in a certain way, connected to the unit for determining the average parameters of illumination and contrast in the control zone, connected to the unit for controlling the operation mode of the cameras, also connected to the unit for recording and storing the reference signal, and the unit for determining the average parameters of illumination and contrast in the control zone and the signal transmitter of the cameras, directly on the locomotive, an additional receiver and a computer connected obstacle allocation, the last two elements are connected to the locomotive driver’s monitors, and the output of the obstacle separation unit is also connected to the emergency registration unit and to the actuator control unit - hazard warning and pre-braking of the train, an additional receiver has been added to the station duty signals of video cameras, the output of which is connected to a computer connected to an obstacle separation unit, monitors, a video recording unit and a registration unit variynoy situation, the outputs of the latter to block transmission of the danger of the source of information.

Figure 1 presents a structural diagram of the device, figure 2 presents a block diagram of additional equipment on-duty station.

The inventive device contains an approach section, within which the appearance of train 1 is controlled. It is known from the technical literature that the length of the approach section depends on the type of signaling and the maximum permissible speed of the train. The minimum length of the approach section is chosen so that the notification time is at least 42 s. Figure 1 shows the block 2 control the work of the cross-country alarm connected to the traffic lights 3 and 4, as well as to the block 5 control the operating mode of the cameras 6 and 7, installed in a certain way relative to the move, optical sensors 8 and 9, connected to the block 10 determine the average the parameters of illumination and contrast in the control zone, the outputs of the last block is also connected to the block 5 control the mode of operation of the cameras, which is connected to the block 11 for recording and storing the reference signal and to the transmitter 12, connected by radio with receiver 13 of vehicle 1, the outputs of receiver 13 are connected to a computer 14 and an obstacle separation unit 15, which in turn is connected to monitors 16 and an emergency registration unit 17, the outputs of which are in turn connected to an actuator control unit 18 — an alarm about the danger and the inclusion of preliminary braking of the train, the transmitter 12 is also connected with additional equipment 19 of the station duty officer. In the composition of the additional equipment 19 of the station attendant, as indicated in FIG. 2, a receiver 20 is connected to the computer 21, which in turn is connected to the monitors 23, the video recording unit 24, the emergency recording unit 25 through the obstacle separation unit 22, block 26 control actuators - alarm about danger and block 27 for transmitting information about the source of danger.

The inventive device operates as follows. When the train 1 enters the approaching section, the crossing signaling operation control unit 2 turns on inhibit signals at traffic lights 3 and 4, and also through the operation mode control unit 5, the video cameras 6 and 7 are set in a certain way relative to the crossing. The location of the cameras is designed in such a way as to maximize the clarity and reliability of the registration of objects in the control zone. Information is also received from the optical sensors 8 and 9 to the operating mode control unit 5; after preliminary processing, the average illumination and contrast parameters in the control zone are determined by means of unit 10. The operation mode control unit 5 also provides for reading information from the recording and storage unit 11 of the reference signal.

In general, the approaching rail vehicle 1 from the transmitter 12 through the operating mode control unit 5 receives: a reference signal from each of the cameras 8 and 9, actual video signals in real time, supplemented by averaged parameters of illumination and contrast. The reference signals of each of the cameras 8 and 9 are recorded by means of the unit 11 for recording and storing the reference signal and is carried out under the direct supervision of the operating personnel (signaling or signaling mechanics), thereby eliminating the distortion of the reference signal due to the presence of foreign objects in the control zone. These signals are received by the receiver 13 of the vehicle, from which they are sent to the computer 14, where, in accordance with the algorithms (2), the transmitted image is analyzed, after which all received and pre-processed information is transmitted through the block 15 allocation of obstacles to the monitors of the vehicle. If obstacles are found in the monitored area that pose a potential threat to traffic safety, then in the image transmitted by the monitors 16, dangerous objects are highlighted by color signals. In addition, from the other output of the obstacle separation unit 15, a command is sent to the emergency registration unit 17 by the signal from the outputs of the actuator control unit 18, an audible and light alarm is turned on in the vehicle cabin and a preliminary braking command is transmitted to the brake elements.

The locomotive driver receives: firstly, a warning about the presence of a foreign object at the crossing; secondly, video information directly from the move indicating the potential source of danger; thirdly, due to the preliminary automatic activation of the brakes, a time margin is created for a final decision. If after the expiration of time τ no active actions are taken by the driver, then the vehicle brakes will be switched on 100% and the rail vehicle will be completely stopped.

If the driver decides either to brake or to cancel the brake, any action will be recorded by the emergency registration unit 17, from which the relevant information is transmitted to the driver’s alertness control device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the signal from the crossing from the transmitter 12 also arrives at the receiver 20 of the station duty officer. Next, this signal is transmitted to a computer 21, where, in accordance with the algorithms (2), the transmitted image is analyzed, after which all received and pre-processed information is transmitted through the block 22 highlighting obstacles to the monitors 23 installed in the duty room of the station. When obstacles are detected, as indicated above, they are highlighted in color signals. On command from the block 22 of the selection of obstacles turns on the block 24 of the video and at the same time block 25 registers an emergency. The signal from the outputs of the latter by the block 26 control actuators includes sound and light alarm in the premises of the duty station. Upon confirmation by the station attendant of a safety violation by the driver of the power-driven vehicle, video information about the violation through the hazard information transfer unit 27 is transmitted to the local traffic safety department.

Thus, the operational connection of the station attendant in the event of emergency conditions at the railway crossing will minimize possible negative socio-economic consequences.

Literature

1. V.V. Grigorin-Ryabov, V.I. Shelukhin, O.I. Shelukhin. Device for detecting an object at a control point. A.S. No. 510402 by class In 61 L 29/00, publ. in B.I. No. 14, 1976

2. N. Möller, B. Hulin. On-board detection system of foreign objects in the size of the contact suspension. Elektrische Bahnen, No. 12, 2001. - S. 484-489.

Claims (1)

A device for preventing emergencies at level crossings, containing video cameras located on opposite sides of the level crossing and connected to a video camera operating mode control unit, which, in turn, is connected to a level signaling operation control unit and a video camera signal transmitter, the latter being connected via a communication channel to a receiver installed in the room of the station duty officer, the output of which is connected to a computer connected to monitors and to a video recorder, the fact that at the move there are additionally installed optical sensors associated with the unit for determining the average parameters of illumination and contrast, and a unit for recording and storing the reference signal, the outputs of these units are connected to the control unit for the operation mode of the cameras, and the transmitter of the signals of the cameras is connected to the receiver via a communication channel, installed on a rail vehicle, the output of which is connected to a computer, to which an obstacle detection unit is connected, which in turn is connected to monitors and a regis unit radio obstacles out of the last associated with the actuators control unit in the duty room of the station additionally installed block allocation obstacles associated with the computer and the monitor and recording unit emergency exits latter are connected to the control actuator and the transmission unit of the dangers of the source of information.

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