Energy-saving mode for a rail system signaling system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9720481-B2
Application number	US-201314428428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 5, 2013
Priority date	Sep 14, 2012
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

In order to save energy, it is proposed that parts of a signaling system be switched off, for example, by an operating system. The computers to be switched off store data which are relevant to railway safety, preferably on a central storage medium, for example, an NAS hard drive. When they have been reactivated, the computers read the safety-relevant data and operation can continue. This solution also enables computers which work with data relevant to railway safety to be switched to an energy-saving mode without endangering the safety of the railway.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for operating a signaling system of a rail system, which comprises the steps of:
providing the signaling system with a first computer and at least one second computer;
initiating, via the first computer, a storage of safety-relevant data of the at least one second computer externally from the at least one second computer;
initiating, via the first computer, a transfer of the at least one second computer into an energy-saving mode;
storing safety-relevant data of the first computer externally from the first computer; and
switching the first computer into the energy-saving mode.

2. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises activating the first computer based on a wake-up signal and the first computer loads the safety-relevant data.

3. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises initiating an activation of the at least one second computer via the first computer and the at least one second computer restores the safety-relevant data.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the energy-saving mode includes a shutting-down of the first and second computers by switching-off the first and second computers.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the switching-off of the first and second computers includes an interruption to a power supply which is carried out a controllable switching element.

6. The method according to claim 5 , which further comprises activating the controllable switching element via a network.

7. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises storing at least one of the safety-relevant data of the first computer or the safety-relevant data of the at least one second computer on a common storage medium.

8. The method according to claim 7 , which further comprises selecting the storage medium from the group consisting of a hard drive, a memory card, an internal memory, an external memory, a memory which is accessible via a network connection, a memory connected to a power network and a network attached storage hard drive connected to the power network.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the safety-relevant data of the first computer and the safety-relevant data of the second computer each contain at least one of:
information regarding closures of the rail system or of components of the rail system;
information regarding specific instructions;
information regarding closed lines;
information regarding states of components of a rail operation;
information regarding printed texts requiring acknowledgement;
information regarding states of the first computer; and
information regarding states of the at least one second computer.

10. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises connecting the first computer and the at least one second computer to a network.

11. The method according to claim 10 , which further comprises storing the safety-relevant data on at least one component connected to the network.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first computer or the at least one second computer is a secure or protected computer.

13. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises storing the safety-relevant data with a check sum.

14. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises storing at least one of the safety-relevant data of the first computer or the safety-relevant data of the at least one second computer on different storage media.

15. A device for an energy-saving operation of a signaling system of a rail system, the device comprising:
a first computer configured to initiate a storage of safety-relevant data of at least one second computer externally from the at least one second computer and to transfer the at least one second computer into an energy-saving mode;
said first computer having safety-relevant data, said first computer configured to be switched into an energy-saving mode after the safety relevant-relevant data of said first computer stored externally from said first computer a transfer of the at least one computer into an energy saving mode.

16. A signaling system of a rail system, comprising:
a first computer; and
at least one second computer;
said first computer configured to initiate a storage of safety-relevant data of the at least one second computer externally from the at least one second computer and to transfer the at least one second computer into an energy-saving mode;
said first computer having safety-relevant data, said first computer configured to be switched into an energy-saving mode after the safety relevant-relevant data of said first computer stored externally from said first computer.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• St Pierre Andreas
• Steffens Christian
• Saeuberlich Matthias

Classifications

• B61L15/0063 Primary

  Multiple on-board control systems, e.g. "2 out of 3"-systems · CPC title

• G06F1/3287

  by switching off individual functional units in the computer system · CPC title

• G06F1/3234 Primary

  Power saving characterised by the action undertaken · CPC title

• B61L7/08

  Circuitry · CPC title

• B61L27/0066

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic