US20040129840A1 - Remote control system for a locomotive - Google Patents

Remote control system for a locomotive Download PDF

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Publication number
US20040129840A1
US20040129840A1 US10/739,009 US73900903A US2004129840A1 US 20040129840 A1 US20040129840 A1 US 20040129840A1 US 73900903 A US73900903 A US 73900903A US 2004129840 A1 US2004129840 A1 US 2004129840A1
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operational status
portable communications
communications unit
command
holder
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US10/739,009
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English (en)
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Folkert Horst
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Cattron Theimeg Inc
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Individual
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Priority to US10/739,009 priority Critical patent/US20040129840A1/en
Assigned to CANAC INC. reassignment CANAC INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HORST, FOLKERT
Publication of US20040129840A1 publication Critical patent/US20040129840A1/en
Assigned to BELTPACK CORPORATION reassignment BELTPACK CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CANAC INC.
Assigned to ARGOSY INVESTMENT PARTNERS II, L.P. reassignment ARGOSY INVESTMENT PARTNERS II, L.P. SECURITY INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CATTRON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION
Assigned to CATTRON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION reassignment CATTRON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BELTPACK CORPORATION
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61L—GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC
    • B61L3/00—Devices along the route for controlling devices on the vehicle or train, e.g. to release brake or to operate a warning signal
    • B61L3/02—Devices along the route for controlling devices on the vehicle or train, e.g. to release brake or to operate a warning signal at selected places along the route, e.g. intermittent control simultaneous mechanical and electrical control
    • B61L3/08—Devices along the route for controlling devices on the vehicle or train, e.g. to release brake or to operate a warning signal at selected places along the route, e.g. intermittent control simultaneous mechanical and electrical control controlling electrically
    • B61L3/12—Devices along the route for controlling devices on the vehicle or train, e.g. to release brake or to operate a warning signal at selected places along the route, e.g. intermittent control simultaneous mechanical and electrical control controlling electrically using magnetic or electrostatic induction; using radio waves
    • B61L3/127—Devices along the route for controlling devices on the vehicle or train, e.g. to release brake or to operate a warning signal at selected places along the route, e.g. intermittent control simultaneous mechanical and electrical control controlling electrically using magnetic or electrostatic induction; using radio waves for remote control of locomotives
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61L—GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC
    • B61L27/00—Central railway traffic control systems; Trackside control; Communication systems specially adapted therefor
    • B61L27/70—Details of trackside communication
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
    • G08C2201/00—Transmission systems of control signals via wireless link
    • G08C2201/10—Power supply of remote control devices

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to remote control systems for locomotives and, more particularly, to remote control systems in which a designated one of several portable transmitter units has the authority to issue locomotive commands at a given time.
  • the unit is essentially a battery-powered transmitter communicating by way of a radio link with a slave controller that is either on-board the locomotive or in communication therewith.
  • a slave controller that is either on-board the locomotive or in communication therewith.
  • the operator carries this unit along with him or her and can perform duties such as coupling and uncoupling cars while remaining in control of the locomotive movement at all times. This allows for placing the point of control at the point of movement thereby potentially enhancing safety, accuracy and efficiency.
  • a single operator may effectively and safely control a consist that includes a limited number of cars remaining at all times well within the visual range of the operator.
  • two operators may be required, each person being physically close to and monitoring one end of the train.
  • remote control systems have been designed whereby a locomotive controller is capable of receiving inputs from a designated one of two or more hand-held transmitters.
  • An example of such a remote control system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,507 to Horst et al., the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
  • each operator is provided with a portable transmitter unit. Circuitry within each unit obtains the current setting of various switches and levers on the unit, resulting in the generation of a digital command word sent periodically via radio frequency (RF) to the locomotive controller.
  • RF radio frequency
  • the locomotive controller will accept, at any given point in time, commands from only one of the portable transmitter units, namely the one unit said to hold “command authority”. Commands received from any other portable transmitter unit are rejected by the locomotive controller.
  • the exception is a limited set of emergency and signaling commands that are available to a portable transmitter unit irrespective of whether it holds command authority.
  • Also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,507 is a handoff procedure for transferring the designation of command authority holder from one portable transmitter unit to another.
  • the present invention recognizes that battery power can be conserved and airwave congestion reduced by precluding the transmission of commands that will be rejected because of the lack of command authority of an originating portable communications unit. Meanwhile, it is recognized that a portable communications unit which holds command authority must continue to be able to send a complete set of commands. In order to allow this dual transmission capability to take place, each portable communications unit is made aware of its operational status, which is either that of a command authority holder or that of a command authority non-holder. If the operational status is that of a command authority holder, then a full set of commands will be transmitted to the locomotive controller, while if the operational status is that of a command authority non-holder, then only a limited set of commands will be transmitted. This results in a reduction in the bandwidth used by a portable communications unit whose operational status is that of a command authority non-holder, which in turn allows the conservation of battery power.
  • the invention provides a system for controlling a locomotive.
  • the system includes a plurality of portable communications units, each unit adapted to generate signals conveying commands indicative of functions to be performed by the locomotive.
  • Each unit is also associated with an operational status; the signals generated by each unit have a characteristic dependent on the operational status associated with that unit.
  • the system includes a controller adapted to receive the signals generated by the plurality of portable communications units, to decode the commands conveyed by the received signals and to control the locomotive on the basis of the decoded commands.
  • the present invention seeks to provide a portable communications unit for use in a remote control system having a controller for controlling a locomotive.
  • the portable communications unit includes a user interface for allowing a user to specify functions to be performed by the locomotive and a command generator adapted to generate commands indicative of the functions specified by the user via the user interface, the command generator being further adapted to determine an operational status assigned to the portable communications unit.
  • the portable communications unit further includes a transmitter connected to the command generator, the transmitter is adapted to send signals conveying the commands generated by the command generator to the controller, wherein the signals generated by the transmitter have a characteristic dependent on the operational status associated with that unit.
  • the present invention provides a controller for controlling a locomotive.
  • the controller includes a transceiver for receiving commands from a plurality of remote communications units and for sending messages to the remote communications units.
  • the controller further includes a processing unit connected to the transceiver, the processing unit being operative for assigning to each remote communications unit an operational status selected from the group consisting of a command authority holder operational status and a command authority non-holder operational status.
  • the processing unit is further adapted to control the locomotive on the basis of the commands received from the remote communications units and on the basis of the operational status of each remote communications unit from which commands are received, the processing unit is further adapted to allow transfer of command authority holder operational status between the remote communications units.
  • the processing unit Upon a transfer of command authority from a first remote communications unit to a second remote communications unit, the processing unit sends a message to the first and second remote communications units indicative of the change in the operational status of the respective remote communications unit.
  • the present invention may be summarized according to a fourth broad aspect as a method implemented by a portable communications unit used for instructing a locomotive controller to control a locomotive.
  • the method includes determining an operational status associated with the portable communications unit; assembling commands indicative of functions to be performed by the locomotive; and generating signals conveying the commands, the signals having a characteristic dependent on the operational status associated with the portable communications unit.
  • FIG. 1 shows in schematic form a remote control system composed of a controller and a plurality of portable communications units
  • FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one of the portable communications units of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the portable communications units of FIG. 1, including a command generator;
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps in the operation the command generator of FIG. 3;
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the controller of FIG. 1, including a processing unit;
  • FIGS. 6A and 6B show a flowchart describing steps in the operation the processing unit of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a locomotive control word generated by the command generator of FIG. 3.
  • a remote control system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, including a plurality of portable communications units 10 , each of which generates a digitally encoded radio frequency (RF) signal to convey operator commands to a controller for controlling a set of locomotives 13 , 15 .
  • RF radio frequency
  • Separate controllers may be mounted on-board each of the locomotives 13 , 15 or, as illustrated, a single controller 46 may be located in a central station which communicates with the various locomotives 13 , 15 .
  • the controller 46 detects the various RF signals transmitted by the plurality of portable communications units 10 , decodes their contents and causes operation of various actuators on the locomotives 13 , 15 to carry into effect the commands remotely issued by the operators (not shown).
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the physical layout of a portable communications unit 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the unit 10 comprises a housing 12 enclosing electronic circuitry and a battery supplying electric power to operate the circuitry as well as other components on and within the housing 12 .
  • the main user interface is made up of a plurality of manually operable levers and switches 14 - 28 , which project outside the housing to allow adjustment of parameters such as locomotive speed, rate of acceleration, sounding of horn, etc.
  • the various manually operable switches, levers and buttons briefly described above are constituted by electric contacts whose state of conduction is altered when the control settings are changed.
  • the push-buttons 18 and 28 and the toggle switches 22 and 24 have electric contacts that can assume either a closed condition or an opened condition.
  • the multi-position dials 14 and 16 , and the multi-position switches 20 and 26 have a set of electric contact pairs, only a single pair being closed at each position of the lever or switch. By reading the conduction state of the individual electric contact pairs, the commands issued by the operator can be determined.
  • a display panel 34 that visually echoes the control settings of the portable transmitter 10 , as determined from the conduction state of the individual electric contact pairs.
  • the display panel 34 includes an array of individual light sources 36 , such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), corresponding to the various operative conditions of the locomotive that can be selected by the operator. Hence, a simple visual observation of the active LEDs 36 allows the operator to determine the current position of the controls 14 - 28 .
  • LEDs light emitting diodes
  • a select subset of commands are available to all portable communications units, regardless of their operational status. For example, of the five types of brake control commands (release, low, medium, full, and emergency) the emergency brake command is available to all the portable communications units 10 , including those that have a “command authority non-holder” operational status. The remaining four brake commands (release, low, medium and full) are only available to the portable communications unit 10 that has a “command authority holder” operational status. Also included in the subset of commands that are available to all the portable communications units is the “ring bell/horn” command, which is self-explanatory. Certain other commands relate to controls specifically directed to those portable communications units that have command authority non-holder operational status. Such commands include the “reset” command, which is indicative of an operator's desire to gain a “command authority holder” operational status for his or her portable communications unit.
  • the portable communications unit 10 can be equipped with an indicator 37 of the current operational status assigned to the unit 10 .
  • the indicator 37 may take the form of an LED which conveys the operational status of the portable communications unit 10 in a visual manner.
  • the binary distinction between “command authority holder” operational status and “command authority non-holder operational status” may be visually conveyed by way of the presence or absence of light, a light intensity, a rate of blinking, color of light, for example.
  • the sensory indicator 37 indicates the current operational status of the unit 10 by means of an audible sound or a physical movement (e.g., vibration).
  • the sensory indicator 37 may be adapted to emit a signal only when there has been a change in the operational status of the unit 10 .
  • Myriad other ways of providing a sensory indication of the operational status (or of a change in the operational status) of the portable communications unit 10 will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present specification and need not be described in further detail herein.
  • FIG. 3 provides a functional diagram of the electronic circuitry within the portable communications unit 10 . Specifically, there is provided a command signal generator 38 and a transmitter 40 , and optionally, a receiver 41 .
  • the command signal generator 38 scans at short intervals the state of conduction of each pair of contacts.
  • a microprocessor within the command signal generator 38 assembles the results of the scan into a binary sequence, hereinafter referred to as a “locomotive control word”.
  • the transmitter 40 receives the locomotive control word from the command signal generator 38 and generates an RF signal for transmission of the coded sequence by a suitable modulation scheme, such as frequency shift keying (FSK).
  • FSK frequency shift keying
  • Other suitable modulation schemes known in the art may be used without detracting from the spirit of the invention.
  • the transmitter 40 sends out the modulated locomotive control word in repetition at a fixed rate (e.g., selected in the range from two (2) to five (5) times per second).
  • a fixed rate e.g., selected in the range from two (2) to five (5) times per second.
  • each of the communication entities meaning each portable communications unit 10 (and the controller 46 in the cases where the controller 46 is able to transmit signals to either the portable communications units 10 or to the locomotives 13 , 15 ) is assigned a time interval within a TDMA frame during which it is able to transmit signals.
  • a portable communications unit 10 is able to transmit a locomotive control word during its respective time interval in the TDMA frame.
  • Such a protocol avoids collisions between transmissions by assigning only one entity per time interval.
  • a locomotive control word 700 includes a function component 710 A, 710 B, an identifier component 720 and an integrity component 730 .
  • the function component 710 A, 710 B is indicative of the desired operative state of the locomotive being controlled by the operator of the portable communications unit 10 .
  • the function component 710 A, 710 B is determined on the basis of the state of conduction of each pair of contacts corresponding to the switches, levers and buttons 14 - 32 of the unit 10 .
  • the function component 710 A, 710 B has a length that may be dependent on the operational status (command authority holder or command authority non-holder) of the portable communications unit 10 .
  • commands relative to speed and braking except for emergency braking controls
  • commands relative to speed and braking need not be transmitted, as such commands would in any event be rejected by the controller 46 .
  • a majority of the information gained from the positions of the levers, switches and buttons 14 - 32 can be omitted from the function component when the portable communications unit 10 has “command authority non-holder” operational status.
  • the function component 710 A is illustrative of the case where the portable communications unit 10 has “command authority holder” status
  • the function component 710 B is illustrative of the case where the portable communications unit 10 has “command authority non-holder” status.
  • emergency commands brake and horn settings
  • the “reset” control i.e., a request to assume “command authority holder” operational status
  • the integrity component 730 which is optional, is used to assist the controller 46 in determining whether it has correctly received the function component 710 A, 710 B and the identifier component 720 of the locomotive control word 700 .
  • the integrity component 730 may take the form of a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).
  • an embodiment of the present invention provides the command signal generator 38 with a microprocessor that runs a program stored on a computer-readable medium.
  • the command signal generator 38 may be constituted by an array of hardwired logic gates that generate the locomotive control word upon actuation of the controls.
  • the microprocessor records the state of conduction of the electric contacts of the transmitter controls. This may be done on a periodic basis or upon a change being detected in one of the actuators.
  • the microprocessor checks the operational status of the portable communications unit 10 . On the basis of the identity of the closed contacts, and on the basis of the operational status of the portable communications unit 10 , the microprocessor will produce either the full-length function component 710 A or the shortened function component 710 B of the locomotive control word 700 .
  • step 420 the microprocessor determines that the operational status of the portable communications unit 10 is that of a “command authority holder”, then the microprocessor proceeds to step 430 , where the full-length function component 710 A is assembled.
  • the function component 710 A will be indicative of the various settings selected by the operator, including speed, brake, power and horn settings, among others.
  • the microprocessor then proceeds to step 450 .
  • step 420 if at step 420 , it is determined that the operational status of the unit 10 is that of a command authority non-holder, then the microprocessor proceeds to step 440 , where the shortened function component 710 B is created on the basis of a restricted subset of the controls selected by the operator. This subset may be limited to emergency controls, such as an emergency brake control 16 , as well as the control indicative of a desire to gain command authority holder operational status, which could be conveyed by the operator via the reset push-button 18 , or any other input, or sequence of inputs. The microprocessor then proceeds to step 450 .
  • emergency controls such as an emergency brake control 16
  • the control indicative of a desire to gain command authority holder operational status which could be conveyed by the operator via the reset push-button 18 , or any other input, or sequence of inputs.
  • a data security code enabling the controller 46 to check for transmission errors may be created and appended in the form of the integrity component 730 .
  • the integrity component 730 can be appended to an operational-status-invariant location with respect to the remainder of the locomotive control word, such as the “front” of the identifier component 720 or between the identifier component 720 and the function component 710 A, 710 B.
  • the completed locomotive control word 700 is supplied to the transmitter 40 , which handles modulation and radio frequency transmission of the locomotive control word to the controller 46 . It will be appreciated that the use of shorter words when the portable communications unit 10 has “command authority non-holder” operational status results in quicker completion of the transmission and hence uses less bandwidth on the wireless link and allows the unit 10 to conserve power.
  • the microprocessor returns to step 410 and waits for the next occasion to record the state of conduction of the electric contacts of the transmitter controls.
  • the portable communication units 10 it is not necessary for the portable communication units 10 to generate locomotive control words having shortened function components 710 B.
  • the repetition rate of transmission may be lessened for the portable communication units 10 having a “command authority non-holder” operational status, while the function component 710 B of the locomotive control words 700 generated by the portable communication units 10 having a “command authority non-holder” operational status is of the same length as the locomotive control words 700 generated by the portable communications unit 10 having a “command authority holder” operational status.
  • the portable communications unit 10 having a “command authority holder” operational status in the case where the portable communication units 10 use TDMA, or spread spectrum protocols, it is possible for the portable communications unit 10 having a “command authority holder” operational status to be assigned a time interval in the TDMA frame having a longer length than the time intervals assigned to the portable communications units 10 having a “command authority non-holder” operational status.
  • the portable communication unit 10 having the “command authority holder” operational status to be assigned more time intervals in the TDMA frame than the portable communications units 10 having the “command authority non-holder” operational status.
  • the portable communications units 10 do not include a receiver 41 for receiving signals from the controller 46 , or from other portable communications units 10 .
  • the portable communications units 10 include a memory in which is stored a profile associated to the “command authority holder” operational status, and the “command authority non-holder” operational status. Depending on the operational status of the portable communication unit 10 , the memory is set to select either one of the “command authority holder” operational status, or the “command authority non-holder” operational status.
  • the portable communications units 10 send signals to the controller 46 indicative of the desire to switch operational status.
  • the portable communications units 10 do not receive confirmation from the controller 47 or from the other portable communication units 10 as to the change, or current status, of their respective operational status.
  • the portable communication units 10 include a receiver 41 , and the operational status of the unit 10 (command authority holder or command authority non-holder) is communicated to the receiver 41 by the controller 46 , e.g., via a wireless link.
  • the receiver 41 Upon receipt of a signal from the controller at the receiver 41 , the receiver 41 is configured to distribute the operational status to the other components of the portable communications unit 10 , namely the command signal generator 38 , the transmitter 40 and the sensory indicator 37 .
  • the current operational status of the portable communication unit 10 is checked at step 420 , as described above with respect to FIG.
  • the sensory indicator 37 has been described above as being in the form of a light or a sound, any type of display, such as text or pictograph, could also be used to indicate the operational status to an operator, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
  • the interface 72 will typically connect the processing unit to a driver unit 52 and to a plurality of sensors 78 situated on the locomotive. Otherwise, if the controller 46 is mounted remotely from the locomotive, the interface 72 will be connected to another transceiver unit (not shown) which maintains communication with a driver unit 52 and a plurality of sensors 78 located on board the locomotive.
  • a received locomotive control word might have been sent out by a portable communication unit that is not allowed to control a particular locomotive.
  • the operational status i.e., command authority holder or command authority non-holder
  • the transceiver should be capable of decoding both types of locomotive control words, namely those originated by a portable communications unit having “command authority holder” operational status as well as those originated by a portable communications unit having “command authority non-holder” operational status.
  • the lack of a priori knowledge of the operational status of the originating portable communications unit is inconsequential to design or operation of the transceiver 48 .
  • the mere presence of certain superfluous bits at the tail end of a locomotive control word issued by a portable communications unit that does not have command authority holder operational status will not affect the validity of the initial bits which may contain emergency commands or a command indicative of a desire to assume command authority holder operational status. It is therefore acceptable to allow the transceiver 48 to feed the processing unit 50 with a full-length locomotive control word without knowledge of the operational status of the originating portable communications unit.
  • the CPU 66 upon reception of a locomotive control word 700 at step 610 , the CPU 66 will identify the full-length function component, as well as the identifier component and the integrity component. It will of course be appreciated that the function component actually transmitted may have been a shortened version of the function component, in the event that the originating portable communications unit has command authority non-holder operational status. Although the length of the function component will be an important factor later on (see steps 660 , 670 ), this is still not relevant at the present stage of processing.
  • the CPU 66 compares the identifier component of the locomotive control word to a list of two or more possible identifiers stored in the memory 68 .
  • the list of acceptable identifiers contains the identifiers of all the portable communications units allowed to control the locomotive.
  • the portable communication units 10 having the “trainer” operational status would be slightly different from the portable communication units 10 having the “authorized command non-holder” operational status. More specifically, the operator of the portable communication units 10 having the “trainer” operational status would only provide inputs via the switches, levers and buttons when it is desired to override the commands sent by the operator of the portable communication unit 10 having the “student” operational status. As such, the command signal generator 38 of the portable communication units 10 having the “trainer” operational status would scan the contacts of the controls 14 - 28 and would only generate a locomotive control, when there is a change in the controls 14 - 28 , thereby indicating that the operator has entered a command.
  • the remote control system is able to conserve bandwidth by only transmitting a locomotive control word issued by a portable communications unit 10 having the “trainer” operational status when the operator of the portable communications unit 10 having the “trainer” operational status desires to overide a command sent by a portable communication units 10 having the “student” operational status.
  • the portable communication unit 10 having the “trainer” operator status may send periodic contact messages of the type “I am alive”.
  • the controller 46 is adapted to continue to implement commands issued by the portable communication unit having the “student” operational status only as long as it receives the periodic “I am alive” message from the “trainer”.
  • this prevents the controller 46 from implementing commands from the “student” when the “trainer” is unable to override the commands.
  • each portable communications unit can be supplied with its own spreading code or its own Walsh code, allowing interference-free communications to occur contemporaneously and within a common frequency range.
  • CDMA code division multiple access

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  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
  • Electric Propulsion And Braking For Vehicles (AREA)
US10/739,009 2002-12-20 2003-12-19 Remote control system for a locomotive Abandoned US20040129840A1 (en)

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US20180273069A1 (en) * 2017-03-22 2018-09-27 Alstom Transport Technologies System and method for controlling a level crossing
US20180273062A1 (en) * 2017-03-22 2018-09-27 Alstom Transport Technologies System and method for controlling a level crossing
US10308265B2 (en) 2006-03-20 2019-06-04 Ge Global Sourcing Llc Vehicle control system and method
US10569792B2 (en) 2006-03-20 2020-02-25 General Electric Company Vehicle control system and method
US11854309B2 (en) 2021-10-30 2023-12-26 Cattron North America, Inc. Systems and methods for remotely controlling locomotives with gestures

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