Rail breakage detection device and rail breakage detection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11325623-B2
Application number	US-201716475792-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 13, 2017
Priority date	Jan 13, 2017
Publication date	May 10, 2022
Grant date	May 10, 2022

Abstract

A purpose of the invention is to provide a rail breakage detection device mountable also on a vehicle. The invention is directed to a rail breakage detection device that receives: transmission-device state information indicating whether a rail signal transmission device that sends a rail signal is normal; reception-device state information indicating whether a rail signal reception device that receives a voltage induced by the rail signal is normal; and reception state information indicating whether a voltage induced by the rail signal reception device is received, and the rail breakage detection device performs rail breakage detection on the basis of the transmission-device state information, the reception-device state information, and the reception state information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rail breakage detection device, wherein
the rail breakage detection device receives:
transmitter state information indicating whether a rail signal transmitter to send a rail signal is normal,
receiver state information indicating whether a rail signal receiver, mounted on a train, to receive a voltage induced by the rail signal is normal, and
reception state information indicating whether an induced voltage is received by the rail signal receiver, and

the rail breakage detection device performs rail breakage detection on a basis of the transmitter state information, the receiver state information, and the reception state information,
wherein the rail breakage detection device determines that rail breakage occurs in a case where the transmitter state information and the receiver state information are normal, and the reception state information is abnormal, unless there are a plurality of trains in a same insulating section of the rail and the train is not a first train in the same insulating section.

2. The rail breakage detection device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where the reception state information is abnormal, a vehicle location at a time point when the induced voltage is not received by the rail signal receiver is identified as a rail breakage location.

3. A rail breakage detection device, comprising:
a seam detector which detects passage of a joint of a rail and outputs seam detection information;
a train position detector which detects a position of a vehicle of a train and outputs train Position information;
a map storage which stores information on map information including information associating parts of the rail with joints of the rail, and outputs the map information;
the rail breakage detection device receives transmitter state information, receiver state information, and reception state information, the transmitter state information indicating whether a rail signal transmitter to send a rail signal is normal, the receiver state information indicating whether a rail signal receiver to receive a voltage induced by the rail signal is normal, the reception state information indicating whether an induced voltage is received by the rail signal receiver,
the rail breakage detection device performs rail breakage detection on a basis of the transmitter state information, the receiver state information, and the reception state information,
wherein the rail breakage detection device determines that rail breakage occurs in a case where the transmitter state information and the receiver state information are normal, and the reception state information is abnormal,
wherein, in a case where the transmitter state information and the receiver state information are normal and the reception state information is normally received, a location where a voltage induced by the rail signal crosses a preset voltage threshold is identified as a rail breakage location, and wherein when the identified rail breakage location coincides with a particular joint of the rail in the map information, a determination is made that a cable interconnecting parts of the rail has been cut.

4. A rail breakage detection system comprising:
a rail signal transmitter to send a rail signal while checking an operational state of the rail signal transmitter and outputting transmitter state information;
a rail signal receiver, mounted on a train, to receive a voltage induced by the rail signal and output reception state information while checking an operational state of the rail signal receiver and outputting receiver state information; and
a rail breakage detector to detect breakage of a rail on a basis of the transmitter state information, the receiver state information, and the reception state information,
wherein the rail breakage detector determines that rail breakage has not occurred in a case where the transmitter state information and the receiver state information are normal, and the reception state information is abnormal, when there are a plurality of trains in a same insulating section of the rail.

5. The rail breakage detection system according to claim 4 , wherein the rail breakage detector is mounted on a vehicle of the train.

6. The rail breakage detection system according to claim 5 , further comprising a train speed controller to limit a speed of the train at a location of the breakage of the rail, the train speed controller being disposed on a ground or a vehicle.

7. The rail breakage detection system according to claim 4 , further comprising a train speed controller to limit a speed of the train at a location of the breakage of the rail, the train speed controller being disposed on a ground or a vehicle.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Koshino Daisuke
• Asuka Masashi
• Tsujita Wataru
• TAKEWA Tomoaki
• Sawa Yoshitsugu

Classifications

• B61L27/04

  Automatic systems, e.g. controlled by train; Change-over to manual control · CPC title

• B61L2205/04

  Satellite based navigation systems, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] · CPC title

• B61L25/025

  Absolute localisation, e.g. providing geodetic coordinates · CPC title

• B61L1/18

  Railway track circuits (rail joints E01B11/00, e.g. insulated rail joints E01B11/54) · CPC title

• B61L3/18

  using electric current passing between devices along the route and devices on the vehicle or train · CPC title