Rail vehicle braking device and method for braking a rail vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9707951-B2
Application number	US-201314382061-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2013
Priority date	Feb 29, 2012
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

A rail vehicle braking device has at least one electrodynamic brake, which comprises a drive unit, which has at least one drive motor and a power supply unit for supplying the drive motor when the drive unit is in a traction mode. The rail vehicle braking device has at least two brake control units in order to increase the safety of the electrodynamic brake. In a first braking mode, a first brake control unit in an active state controls the power supply unit for providing a braking effect, a first brake effect monitoring unit and a switching unit, which serves to switch, depending on a brake effect parameter in the first braking mode, into a second braking mode, in which the second brake control unit in an active state controls the power supply unit for providing a brake effect.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rail vehicle braking device, comprising:
a first electrodynamic brake having:
a first drive unit with at least one first drive motor and a first power supply unit for supplying power to said at least one first drive motor in a traction mode of said first drive unit, and having at least two braking control units including a first braking control unit and a second braking control unit, wherein, in a first braking mode, said first braking control unit, in an active state, controls said first power supply unit such that said first drive unit causes said first electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect, wherein the braking effect is a braking effect achieved by means of the first electrodynamic brake or a braking effect which can be achieved by operation of a braking control unit,
a first braking effect monitoring unit and a switching unit configured for, depending on a braking effect in the first braking mode, switching over to a second braking mode, in which said second braking control unit, in an active state, controls said first power supply unit such that said first drive unit causes said first electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect; and
a first braking closed-loop unit including said first power supply unit and at least said first braking control unit and said second braking control unit; and

a second electrodynamic brake having:
a second drive unit with at least one second drive motor and a second power supply unit for supplying power to said second drive motor of said second electrodynamic brake in the traction mode of said second drive unit, and having at least two braking control units including a third braking control unit and a fourth braking control unit, wherein, in the first braking mode, said third braking control unit controls said second power supply unit such that said second drive unit causes said second electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect, and
a second braking closed-loop unit including said second power supply unit and at least said third braking control unit and said fourth braking control unit;
wherein said at least one first braking closed loop unit of said first electrodynamic brake forms a first braking monitoring apparatus assigned to said second electrodynamic brake; and
wherein said at least one second braking closed-loop unit of said second electrodynamic brake forms a second braking monitoring apparatus assigned to said first electrodynamic brake.

2. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 1 , wherein said first braking control unit is inactive in the second braking mode.

3. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 1 , wherein the first braking effect monitoring unit is used for monitoring the first braking control unit, and in that at least one second braking effect monitoring unit is provided for monitoring at least the second braking control unit.

4. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 3 , comprising a further braking apparatus and a further switching device, wherein, in the second braking mode, said further braking apparatus is actuated by said further switching device depending on a braking effect characteristic quantity detected in the second braking mode.

5. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 4 , wherein said braking apparatus is a parking brake.

6. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 1 , wherein said at least two braking control units of said first drive unit differ from one another with respect to a structural and/or algorithmic design thereof.

7. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 6 , wherein software for executing at least one control function is implemented differently in said second braking control unit than in said first braking control unit.

8. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 6 , wherein one of said at least two braking control units of said first drive unit is in the form of a purely hardware-based control.

9. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 1 , which comprises a test mode, in which said switching unit is tested.

10. The rail vehicle braking device according to claim 1 , comprising an interface to a vehicle emergency brake line for enabling emergency braking by way of said first electrodynamic brake to be initiated.

11. A method of braking a rail vehicle, the method comprising:
providing a first electrodynamic brake having a first drive unit with at least one first drive motor and a first power supply unit for supplying power to the at least one first drive motor in a traction mode of the first drive unit, and having at least two braking control units including a first braking control unit and a second braking control unit;
in a first braking mode, controlling the first power supply unit with the first braking control unit, in an active state, such that the first drive unit causes the first electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect, wherein the braking effect is a braking effect achieved by means of the first electrodynamic brake or a braking effect which can be achieved by operation of a braking control unit;
providing the first electrodynamic brake with a first braking effect monitoring unit and a switching unit;
with the switching unit, depending on a braking effect in the first braking mode, switching over to a second braking mode, in which the second braking control unit, in an active state, controls the first power supply unit such that the first drive unit causes the first electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect;
providing the first electrodynamic brake with a first braking closed-loop unit including the first power supply unit and at least the first braking control unit and the second braking control unit;
providing a second electrodynamic brake having a second drive unit with at least one second drive motor and a second power supply unit for supplying power to the second drive motor of the second electrodynamic brake in the traction mode of the second drive unit, and having at least two braking control units including a third braking control unit and a fourth braking control unit;
in the first braking mode, controlling the second power supply unit with the third braking control unit such that the second drive unit causes the second electrodynamic brake to provide a braking effect; and
providing the second electrodynamic brake with a second braking closed-loop unit including the second power supply unit and at least the third braking control unit and the fourth braking control unit;
wherein the at least one first braking closed loop unit of the first electrodynamic brake forms a first braking monitoring apparatus assigned to the second electrodynamic brake; and
wherein the at least one second braking closed-loop unit of the second electrodynamic brake forms a second braking monitoring apparatus assigned to the first electrodynamic brake.

12. The method according to claim 11 , which comprises:
detecting a braking effect characteristic quantity in the second braking mode; and
in the second braking mode, actuating a further braking apparatus by way of a switching apparatus depending on the braking effect characteristic quantity.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Foerster Till
• Hassler Stefan
• Heilmann Reiner
• Schwinn Jean-Pascal
• Stuetzle Thorsten
• Wiesand Manfred

Classifications

• B60T17/228 Primary

  for railway vehicles · CPC title

• B60L2200/26

  Rail vehicles · CPC title

• B60T8/1705

  for rail vehicles · CPC title

• B60L7/00 Primary

  Electrodynamic brake systems for vehicles in general · CPC title

• B61H13/34

  Details · CPC title