Shunt frequency check and transmit system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11945484-B2
Application number	US-201817051566-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 5, 2018
Priority date	May 10, 2018
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

To locate a shunt, the shunt includes an RF transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit an identifier of the shunt such as the configured shunt frequency. The shunt may include switches or memory locations that may be configured by an installer to correspond to the configured shunt frequency. Other embodiments employ switches or sensors influenced by jumpers installed in the shunt to configure the frequency of the shunt. A portable device receives a transmission including the identifier and displays it along with an indication of the received signal strength of the transmission, and maintenance personnel move the portable device along the track to locate the highest received signal strength, which indicates the location of the shunt. The shunt may also include a test circuit that may be configurable to generate a test frequency, determine a parameter indicative of shunt performance, and output a signal based on the parameter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A shunt comprising:
a pair of terminals for connecting to rails of a train track,
a network comprising at least one inductor and a plurality of capacitors, the network being configurable to a desired frequency,
a radio frequency transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit an identifier of the shunt,
a controller, and
a plurality of jumper indicators connected to the controller,
wherein the desired frequency is configured by placing one or more jumpers across terminals of the network, and
wherein the controller is configured to determine a configuration of the one or more jumpers from the plurality of jumper indicators and to control the radio frequency transmitter to wirelessly transmit information indicative of the desired frequency based on the configuration of the one or more jumpers,
wherein the plurality of jumper indicators comprises a plurality of sensors, each sensor being positioned between respective terminals of the network and configured to detect a presence or an absence of a jumper across the respective terminals of the network, and
wherein the plurality of sensors are magnetometers and wherein the plurality of jumper indicators comprises a ferromagnetic material.

2. The shunt of claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of jumper indicators comprises a plurality of memory cells configurable by a shunt installer.

3. The shunt of claim 1 , further comprising:
a frequency generator connected to the controller and configurable to generate a test signal, an output of the frequency generator being connectable to the network,
a resistor connectable to the network, and
an analog to digital converter connected to the resistor,
wherein the controller is configured to analyze samples from the analog to digital converter to determine a parameter and output the parameter to a portable device.

4. The shunt of claim 3 , further comprising:
a first reed switch connected between a first input of the network and a first rail of the train track, and
a second reed switch connected between a second input of the network and a second rail of the train track, the first and second reed switches being configured to isolate the network from the first and second rails of the train track in the presence of a magnetic field.

5. The shunt of claim 3 , further comprising:
a first reed switch connected to a first input of the network and a second reed switch connected to a second input of the network, the first and second reed switches being configured to couple an output of the function generator to the network in the presence of a magnetic field.

6. The shunt of claim 3 , further comprising:
an opto-isolator connected between an output of the frequency generator and the network.

7. The shunt of claim 1 ,
wherein the identifier is a serial number or a model number.

8. The shunt of claim 1 , further comprising:
a storage battery connected to power the radio frequency transmitter, and
a charging circuit connected to draw power from the pair of terminals and configured to charge the storage battery.

9. The shunt of claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of jumper indicators comprises a plurality of switches configurable by an installer.

10. The shunt of claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of jumper indicators comprises a plurality of switches positioned between respective terminals of the network such that a setting of each switch is determined by a presence or an absence of a jumper across the respective terminals of the switch.

11. A method for locating a shunt along a railroad track, the method comprising:
moving a device between multiple locations along a train track,
receiving, at the device, a transmission from at least one shunt at each of the multiple locations, each transmission comprising at least a frequency for which the shunt is configured,
displaying, on the device, a signal strength of each transmission along with the frequency of the shunt received in the transmission, wherein a highest received signal strength for the frequency of the shunt indicates the location of the shunt with that frequency.

12. The method of claim 11 ,
wherein the signal strength is a relative received signal strength.

13. The method of claim 11 ,
wherein the signal strength is an absolute signal strength.

14. The method of claim 11 ,
wherein each transmission from a shunt includes additional information identifying the shunt, and wherein the additional information is displayed along with the frequency.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving at the shunt a command from the device to test the shunt,
generating, by the shunt, a test frequency and applying the test frequency to the network,
obtaining samples of a signal output from the network,
determining using the samples a parameter indicating a performance of the shunt, and
outputting a signal to the device, the signal being based on the parameter.

16. The method of claim 15 ,
wherein the test frequency is the frequency for which the shunt is configured.

17. The method of claim 15 ,
wherein the test frequency is specified using the device.

Assignees

• Siemens Mobility Inc

Inventors

• Harp Brian

Classifications

• H02J7/70

  characterised by the mechanical construction · CPC title

• B61L29/226 Primary

  using track-circuits, closed or short-circuited by train or using isolated rail-sections · CPC title

• H02J7/0042

  Electricity · mapped topic

• B61L1/181 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• B61L1/187

  Use of alternating current · CPC title