Method for operating a rail vehicle network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11753053-B2
Application number	US-201816643662-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2018
Priority date	Sep 1, 2017
Publication date	Sep 12, 2023
Grant date	Sep 12, 2023

Abstract

A method for operating a rail vehicle network, in which a plurality of rail vehicles travel. The rail vehicles determine their respective position in the rail vehicle network by forming position information. Each of the rail vehicles transmits its position information to a route-side central unit, and the central unit forwards the received position information to all rail vehicles in the rail vehicle network. The rail vehicles each have their own collision monitoring unit, which checks the received position information for a possible risk of a collision with one or more of the other rail vehicles, and generates a collision warning signal in the event that a collision risk is established.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for operating a rail vehicle network in which a multiplicity of rail vehicles are traveling, the method comprising:
determining with each of the rail vehicles a respective position in the rail vehicle network by creating position information;
transmitting the position information from each of the rail vehicles to a track-side central apparatus;
forwarding the position information from the central apparatus to all of the rail vehicles in the rail vehicle network; and
checking with a rail vehicle-specific collision monitoring apparatus provided in each rail vehicle the position information with regard to a potential collision risk of a collision with one or more other rail vehicles and, when a collision risk is established, generating a collision warning signal;
when the collision risk is established, transmitting the collision warning signal from the respective rail vehicle to the central apparatus;
forwarding the collision warning signal from the central apparatus to at least the rail vehicles concerned by the collision risk; and
sending the collision warning signal within each rail vehicle from the rail vehicle-specific collision monitoring apparatus of the rail vehicle to a brake activation apparatus of the rail vehicle to activate automatic braking of the rail vehicle when the collision risk is established.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the rail vehicles is equipped with a mobile radio apparatus and each of the rail vehicles transmits its position information to the central apparatus by way of the mobile radio apparatus.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the rail vehicles is equipped with a GSM-R mobile radio apparatus and each of the rail vehicles transmits its position information to the central apparatus by way of the GSM-R mobile radio apparatus.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the rail vehicles is equipped with a dedicated satellite-assisted positioning apparatus and each of the rail vehicles determines its position information on a basis of the positioning data of the positioning apparatus or forwards the positioning data of the positioning apparatus to the central apparatus as its position information.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the satellite-assisted positioning apparatus is a GPS or a Galileo positioning apparatus.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the rail vehicles transmit collision risk data to the central apparatus in the event of an established collision risk; and
the central apparatus forwards the collision risk data so received to at least those rail vehicles that are concerned by the collision risk.

7. The method according to claim 6 , which comprises:
transmitting from each of the rail vehicles, in addition to the position information, speed information that specifies a respective speed of the rail vehicle to the track-side central apparatus;
forwarding from the central apparatus the position and speed information so received to all of the rail vehicles in the rail vehicle network; and
causing the collision monitoring apparatuses of the rail vehicles to take the received position and speed information into consideration when determining the collision risk, when generating the collision warning signal, and/or when generating the collision risk data.

8. The method according to claim 1 , which comprises checking the received position information with a central apparatus-side collision monitoring apparatus with regard to a potential collision risk and sending a central apparatus-side collision warning signal to all concerned rail vehicles when a collision risk is established.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the rail vehicles are each equipped with an optical and/or acoustic warning apparatus in a driver's cabin or in the driver's cabins, and the method further comprises activating the warning apparatus by sending the collision warning signal within the rail vehicle to the warning apparatus when the collision warning signal is generated by the rail vehicle-specific collision monitoring apparatus.

10. The method according to claim 9 , which comprises additionally triggering automatic braking and the acoustic warning apparatus upon receiving a collision warning signal from the central apparatus.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the central apparatus is equipped with an optical and/or acoustic warning apparatus that is activated upon receiving the collision warning signal from one of the rail vehicle-specific collision monitoring apparatuses or when a collision warning signal is present at the central apparatus.

Assignees

• Siemens Mobility GmbH

Inventors

• Hammer Walter
• Stroessner Christian

Classifications

• B61L23/041 Primary

  Obstacle detection · CPC title

• B61L15/0072 Primary

  On-board train data handling · CPC title

• B61L25/025 Primary

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

• B61L25/026

  Relative localisation, e.g. using odometer · CPC title

• B61L2205/02

  Global system for mobile communication - railways [GSM-R] · CPC title