Vehicle control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11208125-B2
Application number	US-201916262438-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2019
Priority date	Aug 8, 2016
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A control system dictates operational settings of a rail vehicle system based a transitory second speed limit that is no faster than a current first speed limit and which is issued for a determined segment of the track for a determined time period. The control system obtains a current time, determines whether the transitory second speed limit has started, is in effect, or has expired based on the current time relative to the determined time period, and, in response to such determination, performs one or more of (a) generate a prompt to indicate that the determined time period has expired, (b) operate the rail vehicle system at the first speed limit, and/or (c) modify the operational settings of the rail vehicle system to exceed the second speed limit in the determined segment but not exceed the first speed limit for the determined segment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control system for a vehicle system having one or more propulsion vehicles moving along a route under a first speed limit, the control system configured to:
dictate operational settings to be implemented by the one or more propulsion vehicles based at least in part on a transitory second speed limit that is less than or equal to the first speed limit and which is issued for a determined segment of the route and for a determined time period, the time period having a start time and a stop time;
obtain a current time as the one or more propulsion vehicles approaches, enters, or moves through the determined segment;
determine whether the transitory second speed limit has started, is in effect, or has expired based on the current time relative to the determined time period; and
in response to such determination, perform one or more of:
generate a prompt to indicate that the determined time period has expired,
operate the one or more propulsion vehicles at the first speed limit, or
modify the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles to exceed the second speed limit in the determined segment but not exceed the first speed limit for the determined segment.

2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to dynamically modify the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles while the one or more propulsion vehicles is moving within the determined segment responsive to determining that the determined time period expired while the one or more propulsion vehicles moves in the determined segment.

3. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system also is configured to communicate a signal to one or more other vehicle systems also traveling within the determined segment, the signal notifying the one or more other vehicle systems of expiration of the determined time period of the transitory second speed limit.

4. The control system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is configured to communicate the signal that instructs the one or more other vehicle systems to speed up for avoiding collision between the one or more propulsion vehicles and the one or more other vehicle systems.

5. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system also is configured to:
dictate the operational settings to be implemented by the one or more propulsion vehicles based at least in part on a transitory third speed limit that is less than or equal to the second speed limit and which is issued for at least part of the determined segment of the route and for at least part of the determined time period;
determine whether the transitory third speed limit has started, is in effect, or has expired; and
in response to such determination, perform one or more of:
generate another prompt to indicate that the transitory third speed limit has expired,
operate the one or more propulsion vehicles at the first speed limit or the second speed limit, or
modify the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles to exceed the third speed limit but not the second speed limit in the determined segment.

6. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the determined time period of the transitory second speed limit is based on one or more of a holiday schedule, a peak demand time of a utility grid, a traffic rush hour, or one or more weather conditions.

7. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to also modify one or more of the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles other than a throttle setting or a brake setting of the one or more propulsion vehicles based on determining that the transitory second speed limit is in effect.

8. The control system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more operational settings other than the throttle setting or the brake setting include one or more of activation of a light of the one or more propulsion vehicles, an amount of emissions generated by the one or more propulsion vehicles, a type of fuel or energy consumed by the one or more propulsion vehicles, or an amount of acoustic noise generated by the one or more propulsion vehicles.

9. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system also is configured to receive one or more positive vehicle control signals and perform the one or more of generate the prompt, operate the one or more propulsion vehicles, or modify the operational settings based on the one or more positive vehicle control signals that are received.

10. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
store the transitory second speed limit issued for the determined segment of the route and for the determined time period, and
store the first speed limit or another speed limit for the determined segment of the route for at least one of before the start time or after the stop time.

11. A method comprising:
determining operational settings to be implemented by a vehicle system having one or more propulsion vehicles moving along a route under a first speed limit, the operational settings determined based at least in part on a transitory second speed limit that is less than or equal to the first speed limit and which is issued for a determined segment of the route and for a determined time period, the time period having a start time and a stop time;
obtaining a current time as the one or more propulsion vehicles approaches, enters, or moves through the determined segment;
determining whether the transitory second speed limit has started, is in effect, or has expired based on the current time relative to the determined time period; and
in response to such determination, performing one or more of:
generating a prompt to indicate that the determined time period has expired,
operating the one or more propulsion vehicles at the first speed limit, or
modifying the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles to exceed the second speed limit in the determined segment but not exceed the first speed limit for the determined segment.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the operational settings are dynamically modified while the one or more propulsion vehicles is moving within the determined segment responsive to determining that the determined time period expired while the one or more propulsion vehicles moves in the determined segment.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
communicating a signal to one or more other vehicle systems also traveling within the determined segment, the signal notifying the one or more other vehicle systems of expiration of the determined time period of the transitory second speed limit.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
determining the operational settings to be implemented by the one or more propulsion vehicles based at least in part on a transitory third speed limit that is less than or equal to the second speed limit and which is issued for at least part of the determined segment of the route and for at least part of the determined time period;
determining whether the transitory third speed limit has started, is in effect, or has expired; and
in response to such determination, performing one or more of:
generating another prompt to indicate that the transitory third speed limit has expired,
operating the one or more propulsion vehicles at the first speed limit or the second speed limit, or
modifying the operational settings of the one or more propulsion vehicles to exceed the third speed limit but not the second speed limit in the determined segment.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the determined time period of the transi

Assignees

• Ge Global Sourcing Llc
• Transp Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Thiyagarajan Saravanan
• Sharma Ankit
• Paritosh Prakarsh
• Eldredge David Allen
• Schoonmaker William Cherrick
• Hrdlicka Kaitlyn Ann
• Wakeman Joseph Daniel

Classifications

• B61L27/14

  Following schedules · CPC title

• B61L3/02

  at selected places along the route, e.g. intermittent control {simultaneous mechanical and electrical control} · CPC title

• B61L3/006 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B61L3/008

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B61L27/0022

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic