Railway condition monitoring device, rail car bogie, rail car

Abstract

To provide a state monitoring device for a railway vehicle capable of improving the versatility.SOLUTION: A state monitoring device 20 for a railway includes: an acquisition unit 30 mounted on a truck of a railway vehicle 100 to acquire state information about one or more states of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflection light, image, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter; a determination unit 44 mounted on a truck to determine a state of a track 8 on which the a truck travels or a state of a truck 10 based on the state information acquired by the acquisition unit 30 and provide the determination result; a transmission unit 48 mounted on the truck to transmit the determination result to the outside of the truck; and a power supply unit 70 mounted on the truck to supply power to the acquisition unit 30 and the transmission unit 48.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a railway condition monitoring device, a bogie for a railway vehicle, a railway vehicle, and a railway brake control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Detection devices that detect flat wear and the like on wheels are known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The detection device described in Patent Document 1 comprises a wheel detector and an impact vibration detection element installed at a fixed distance along the longitudinal direction of the rail, and a processing unit that processes the output signals of the axle detector and the impact vibration detection element. The processing unit determines the presence of flat wear and spalling from the magnitude of the vibration signal from the impact vibration detection element and the duration of the impact vibration. The processing unit also processes the output signal from the wheel detector to identify the wheel or bogie on which the flat wear or spalling exists. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-000311 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present inventors have come to the following realization regarding means for detecting the condition of rails, wheels, etc. of railways. When rails, wheels, etc. of railways wear and break down, this may affect operation. From the viewpoint of reducing these breakdowns, it is conceivable to shorten the maintenance interval so that maintenance such as replacement can be performed before a breakdown occurs. In this case, the maintenance man-hours and replacement materials are extra, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost. On the other hand, if the maintenance interval is lengthened, there is a high possibility of a breakdown occurring if wear progresses faster than expected. For this reason, it is desirable to detect the condition of rails, wheels, etc. and determine the timing of maintenance based on the detection results.

[0005] It is desirable for the means for detecting the state of rails, wheels, etc. to be versatile. The detection device described in Patent Document 1 uses output signals from wheel detectors and impact vibration detection elements installed on the rail at a fixed distance related to the distance between cars, so it cannot be said to be versatile as it can only detect on the rail where they are installed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and has as its object to provide a railway vehicle condition monitoring device that can be made more versatile. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a railway condition monitoring device of one embodiment of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit attached to the bogie of a railway vehicle and acquiring status information relating to one or more of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, images, temperature, humidity and wheel diameter, a determination unit attached to the bogie and determining the status of the track on which the bogie runs or the status of the bogie based on the status information acquired by the acquisition unit and providing the determination result, a transmission unit attached to the bogie and transmitting the determination result to an outside of the bogie, and a power supply unit attached to the bogie and supplying power to the acquisition unit and the transmission unit.

[0008] In addition, any combination of the above, or mutual substitution of the components or expressions of the present invention among methods, devices, programs, temporary or non-temporary storage media recording programs, systems, etc., are also valid aspects of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a railway vehicle condition monitoring device that can enhance versatility. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a railway vehicle as viewed from the front. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the railway vehicle of FIG. 1 as seen from a side. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a state monitoring device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data set of a learning model of the state monitoring device of the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a learning model of the state monitoring device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a state monitoring device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data set of a learning model of the state monitoring device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a learning model of the state monitoring device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a brake control device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the brake control device of the third embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data set of a learning model of the brake control device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a learning model of the brake control device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a state monitoring device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the swinging of a carriage in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of inclination information by axle and by point according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a state monitoring device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a bogie according to a fifth embodiment passes through a track surface. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing vibration information of a bogie and another bogie in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the state monitoring device according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 20]FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a state monitoring device according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the brake control device of the sixth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a braking force ratio of a contact brake according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 23] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the operation of a contact brake according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 24] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the operation of a contact brake according to the sixth embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a brake control device according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 26] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the brake control device of the seventh embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the brake control device according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a state monitoring device according to an eighth embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a bogie according to an eighth embodiment as seen from the front. [Diagram 30] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a side view of the bogie of the eighth embodiment. [Diagram 31] FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a state monitoring device according to a ninth embodiment. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a bogie according to a ninth embodiment as seen from the front. [Diagram 33] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a side view of the bogie of the ninth embodiment. [Diagram 34] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a side view of the bogie of the ninth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments and modified examples, the same or equivalent components and members are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The dimensions of the members in each drawing are enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted in each drawing.

[0012] In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, but these terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, and the components are not limited by these terms.

[0013] [First embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "status monitoring device 20") and a railway brake control device 80 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "brake control device 80") according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a railway vehicle 100 as viewed from the front. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the railway vehicle 100 as viewed from the side. Fig. 3 is a block diagram generally showing the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 according to this embodiment. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 according to this embodiment are mounted on the railway vehicle 100. In particular, the status monitoring device 20 is mounted on a bogie 10 of the railway vehicle 100.

[0014] Each functional block shown in each diagram of the present disclosure, including Fig. 3, can be realized in hardware terms by electronic elements and mechanical parts such as a computer CPU, and in software terms by a computer program, but here, functional blocks realized by cooperation between them are depicted. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by combinations of hardware and software.

[0015] Hereinafter, the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100 will be simply referred to as the front-rear direction, and the width direction of the vehicle 100 will be simply referred to as the width direction. The vehicle 100 includes a car body 2, a bogie 10, a brake 18, a state monitoring device 20, and a brake control device 80. The state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, a transmission control unit 42, and a model generation unit 45. The brake 18 is composed of a contact brake 18d and a regenerative brake 18e.

[0016] The car body 2 is supported by a plurality of bogies 10 via air springs 12s, and is connected to each bogie 10 by a traction device 12p. The car body 2 has a driver's cab 2d. The vehicle 100 is equipped with a motor (not shown) as a prime mover, and the motor drives wheels 16 provided on the bogies 10 to travel on the track 8. The vehicle 100 of this embodiment is equipped with two bogies 10 arranged at a distance from each other in the front and rear.

[0017] The bogie 10 includes a bogie frame 12, an axle spring 12j, and an unsprung portion 14. The bogie frame 12 supports the car body 2 from above. The unsprung portion 14 is supported from the bogie frame 12 via the axle spring 12j. The axle spring 12j is a coil spring that is provided in two portions spaced apart in the width direction. The axle spring 12j may include a type of spring other than a coil spring.

[0018] The unsprung portion 14 includes an axle box 14b, a bearing 14c, a wheel 16, an axle 16s, and a contact brake 18d. Two axle boxes 14b are provided corresponding to the two coil springs of the axle spring 12j. The axle box 14b is box-shaped and supported by the bogie frame 12 from above via the axle spring 12j. The bearing 14c is housed in the axle box 14b and rotatably supports the axle 16s. The number of coil springs is not limited to two and may be two or more.

[0019] Two wheels 16 are provided spaced apart in the width direction, with an axle 16s provided in the center. Wheel 16 has a cylindrical or conical tread 16b that rolls on track 8, and a flange 16c. Axle 16s passes through the center of wheel 16, and the part that protrudes outward in the width direction of wheel 16 is supported by bearing 14c in axle box 14b. Contact brake 18d has actuator 18a and brake shoe 18b. The actuator 18a is driven by the action of air pressure for driving the brake, and brake shoe 18b is pressed against tread 16b, generating a braking force on wheel 16.

[0020] (Brake control device) The vehicle 100 of this embodiment is equipped with a regenerative brake 18e in addition to the contact brake 18d. The brake control device 80 changes how the brake 18 is applied based on control information from the state monitoring device 20 and other control units. In particular, when the brake control unit 60 receives a brake control signal Bc transmitted in response to the determination result E1, it changes the activation timing of the contact brake 18d and the regenerative brake 18e. The brake control unit 60 is disposed in the cab 2d of the vehicle 100.

[0021] (Condition monitoring device) The following describes the status monitoring device 20. As described above, the status monitoring device 20 includes the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, the power supply unit 70, and the position information acquisition unit 82, and the information processing unit 40 includes the determination unit 44, the storage unit 46, the transmission unit 48, the transmission control unit 42, and the model generation unit 45.

[0022] The information processing unit 40 is attached to the bogie 10. In this example, the information processing unit 40 is fixed to the bogie frame 12. In this case, the influence of vibration of the wheels 16 can be reduced. The acquisition unit 30 acquires state information J1 relating to one or more states of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, image, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter. As described later, the determination unit 44 determines whether the state information J1 satisfies a preset condition based on the state information J1 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The position information acquisition unit 82 acquires position information Jp relating to the vehicle 100.

[0023] (Power supply section) The power supply unit 70 will be described. The power supply unit 70 supplies power to the status monitoring device 20 and the acquisition unit 30. In other words, power is supplied from the power supply unit 70 to the acquisition unit 30 and the information processing unit 40. The power supply unit 70 may supply power to the position information acquisition unit 82. The power supply unit 70 has a generator 70g, a battery 70b, and a power control unit 70m. The generator 70g supplies generated power. As an example, the generator 70g can be configured to include a device (including a power generation element) capable of converting physical energy, such as the vibration energy of the bogie 10 and the rotational energy of the wheels 16, into electric power.

[0024] The generator 70g of this embodiment is configured to supply power from eddy currents generated by the rotation of the wheels 16 based on electromagnetic principles. By providing the generator 70g, wiring for power supply between the car body 2 can be omitted, and the space, materials, and labor required for wiring can be reduced. Furthermore, information can be acquired and transmitted to the outside only by the device attached to the bogie 10. The power supply unit 70 may supply the car body power transmitted from the car body 2 via the wiring to the status monitoring device 20. In this case, the power supply unit 70 may or may not use the generator 70g in combination.

[0025] (Battery) The power generated by the generator 70g may be limited due to factors such as space limitations and weight limitations. Furthermore, the power consumption of the state monitoring device 20 varies greatly over time. If the power generated by the generator 70g is smaller than the peak power consumption of the state monitoring device 20, the state monitoring device 20 may malfunction due to a power shortage. Therefore, the power supply unit 70 of this embodiment has a battery 70b that is charged by the power generated by the generator 70g or the vehicle body power. In this case, even if the power generated by the generator 70g is weak, a large amount of power can be supplied for a certain period of time by charging the battery 70b, so that malfunctions can be suppressed even if the power generated by the generator 70g is smaller than the peak power consumption of the state monitoring device 20.

[0026] (Power control section) The information processing unit 40 consumes a lot of power when the transmitting unit 48, which will be described later, transmits predetermined information. When the remaining charge of the battery 70b is low, the transmitting unit 48 may erroneously transmit due to a power shortage during transmission. Therefore, the power supply unit 70 of this embodiment has a power control unit 70m that monitors the remaining charge of the battery 70b, the generated power of the generator 70g, and the like. The power control unit 70m judges whether or not a power shortage occurs during transmission by the transmitting unit 48 based on information on the power of the dolly 10, position information Jp of the dolly 10, and the like, and provides the judgment result to the information processing unit 40 as power information Je. Examples of the information on the power of the dolly 10 include the generated power of the generator 70g, the remaining charge of the battery 70b, and the transmission schedule of the transmitting unit 48. The judgment result of the power control unit 70m may include information on the presence or absence of a power shortage during transmission, a time when sufficient power can be supplied, and the like. The power information Je may include the remaining charge of the battery 70b, the generated power of the generator 70g, and the like.

[0027] (Location information acquisition unit) The position information acquisition unit 82 will be described. As described above, the position information acquisition unit 82 acquires position information Jp relating to the position of the vehicle 100. The position information Jp can be acquired by a method of acquiring the position information from a position information measurement system using an artificial satellite such as the Global Positioning System, a method of acquiring the position information from a sign indicating the distance in kilometers from the starting point of the railway, a method of acquiring the position information by integrating the speed of the vehicle, or a combination of these methods. The position information acquisition unit 82 of this embodiment acquires the position information Jp by using the Global Positioning System. The position information acquisition unit 82 transmits the acquired position information Jp to the information processing unit 40. The position information Jp is stored in the memory unit 46.

[0028] (Acquisition Department) The acquisition unit 30 will now be described. In the acquisition unit 30, vibration information relating to vibration is acquired by a vibration sensor 30b based on a known principle. The vibration sensor 30b can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. In this embodiment, the vibration sensor 30b is provided in the axle box 14b and acquires vibrations of the bogie 10. There is no limitation on the object from which vibration information is acquired, but in this embodiment, the object is the wheel 16, the axle 16s or the axle box 14b. The surface condition of the object, such as wear, deformation (including peeling; the same applies below), and surface roughness, can be ascertained based on the vibration information.

[0029] From the viewpoint of facilitating comparison, it is desirable that the vibration information is acquired when the vehicle speed is in a preset state. This state of the vehicle speed includes, for example, an acceleration region where the vehicle is in a preset acceleration state, a constant speed driving region (including coasting) where a preset speed is maintained, and a deceleration region where the vehicle is in a preset deceleration state. This also applies to not only the vibration information, but also to the state information J1 related to the state of the speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, image, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter.

[0030] In the acquisition unit 30, speed information relating to the speed is acquired by a speed sensor 30c based on a known principle. The speed sensor 30c can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. In this embodiment, the speed sensor 30c is provided in the axle box 14b, and acquires information relating to the forward / rearward speed of the bogie 10. Based on the history of the speed information, the accumulated state of stress applied to the bogie 10 and its constituent members (hereinafter referred to as the "stress state") can be grasped.

[0031] In the acquisition unit 30, acceleration information relating to acceleration is acquired by an acceleration sensor 30d based on a known principle. The acceleration sensor 30d can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. In this embodiment, the acceleration sensor 30d is provided in the axle box 14b, and acquires information relating to the acceleration in the front-rear direction of the bogie 10. The stress state can be grasped based on the history of the acceleration information.

[0032] In the acquisition unit 30, sound information related to the sound is acquired by a sound sensor 30e based on a known principle. The sound sensor 30e can be provided on the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung part 14. The sound sensor 30e of this embodiment is provided on the axle box 14b and acquires information related to the sound of the bogie 10. There is no limitation on the object from which sound information is obtained, but in this embodiment, the object is the space around the track 8 or the wheels 16. The surface condition of the object, such as wear, deformation, and surface roughness, can be grasped based on the sound information. The sound sensor 30e may be a microphone.

[0033] In the acquisition unit 30, the reflected light information on the reflected light is acquired by an optical sensor 30f based on a known principle. The optical sensor 30f can be provided on the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. The optical sensor 30f of this embodiment is provided on the bogie frame 12 and acquires information on the reflected light of the bogie 10. The optical sensor 30f may irradiate an external light such as sunlight or external illumination light to the target and detect the reflected light. In order to obtain the reflected light, the optical sensor 30f of this embodiment irradiates light such as a laser from a light irradiation unit 32 provided on the bogie 10 to the target and detects the reflected light. There is no limitation on the target from which the reflected light is obtained, but in this embodiment, the target is the upper surface of the track 8 or the tread surface 16b of the wheel 16. The surface condition of the target, such as wear and deformation, can be grasped based on the reflected light information.

[0034] In the acquisition unit 30, image information related to the image is acquired by an image sensor 30g based on a known principle. The image sensor 30g can be provided on the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. The image sensor 30g of this embodiment is provided on the bogie frame 12 and acquires information related to the image of the bogie 10. The image sensor 30g may detect an image of the object by irradiating the object with external light such as the sun or external lighting. The image sensor 30g of this embodiment detects an image of the object by irradiating the object with light from a light irradiation unit 32 provided on the bogie 10 to obtain an image. There is no limitation on the object from which an image is obtained, but in this embodiment, the object is the upper surface of the track 8 or the tread surface 16b of the wheel 16. The surface condition of the object, such as wear and deformation, can be grasped based on the image information.

[0035] In the acquisition unit 30, temperature information relating to temperature is acquired by a temperature sensor 30h based on a known principle. The temperature sensor 30h can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 30h is provided in the axle box 14b and acquires information regarding the temperature of the bogie 10. There is no limitation on the object from which temperature information is obtained, but in this embodiment, the object is the temperature of the track 8 or the wheels 16 or the ambient temperature. The stress state of the object can be grasped based on the temperature information. The thermal expansion state of the object can be grasped based on the temperature information. The accumulated stress state of the object can be grasped based on the history of temperature information.

[0036] In the acquisition unit 30, humidity information relating to humidity is acquired by a humidity sensor 30j based on a known principle. The humidity sensor 30j can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. The humidity sensor 30j in this embodiment is provided in the bogie frame 12 and acquires information relating to the humidity of the bogie 10. There is no limitation on the object from which humidity information is acquired, but in this embodiment, the target is the atmospheric humidity of the track 8 or the wheels 16. The state of the friction coefficient of the object can be grasped based on the humidity information. The rust state of the object can be grasped based on the history of the humidity information.

[0037] In the acquisition unit 30, wheel diameter information related to the radius of the wheel 16 is acquired by a distance sensor 30k based on a known principle. The distance sensor 30k can be provided in the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung portion 14. The distance sensor 30k in this embodiment is provided in the bogie frame 12, and acquires wheel diameter information based on the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the tread 16b of the wheel 16, based on reflected light such as infrared light or laser light. Since the braking force varies depending on the wheel diameter, the state of the braking force can be grasped based on the wheel diameter information. Based on the grasped braking force, the pressing force of the brake shoe 18b and the activation timing of the contact brake 18d can be adjusted to obtain a more appropriate braking force.

[0038] There is no limitation on the timing of information acquisition by each of the sensors 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e, 30f, 30g, 30h, 30j, and 30k. Each of the sensors 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e, 30f, 30g, 30h, 30j, and 30k in this embodiment may acquire information when the vehicle 100 is not in operation and there are no passengers or luggage on board. In this case, the influence of passengers and luggage on the acquired information can be reduced.

[0039] The acquisition unit 30 may constantly acquire the status information J1, but in this example, the status information J1 is acquired at a preset timing, when the vehicle 10 is in a preset state, or when the vehicle 10 is in a preset position. In this case, acquiring information at a fixed timing or at a fixed position allows easy comparison with past information, and power consumption can be reduced. The status information J1 includes errors due to the influence of differences in road conditions. Examples of road conditions include tunnels, curves, railway bridges, and slopes. From the viewpoint of reducing the influence of differences in road conditions, the acquisition unit 30 can acquire the status information J1 at a preset position based on the position information Jp.

[0040] (Storage part) The storage unit 46 temporarily stores the status information J1 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the status information J1 in association with the timing of its acquisition. In this case, the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10 can be determined based on the history of the status information J1. The storage unit 46 stores a learning model M1, which will be described later. The storage unit 46 stores the determination result of the determination unit 44 regarding the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10. The storage unit 46 stores the position information Jp transmitted from the position information acquisition unit 82. The storage unit 46 temporarily stores this information. By storing information in the storage unit 46 in this manner, data can be collected and transmitted in a state suitable for transmission.

[0041] (Judgment Department) The determination unit 44 determines the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 based on the status information J1. According to the inventor's study, it is suggested that there is a certain correlation between the status information J1 and the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10. By using this correlation, the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10 can be determined from the status information J1. The determination unit 44 may determine the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10 using a preset reference value (hereinafter referred to as a "threshold value"). For example, the determination unit 44 may determine that the status information J1 is normal when it is equal to or less than the threshold value, and may determine that the status information J1 is abnormal when it exceeds the threshold value. The determination unit 44 may determine the status of the track 8 and the bogie 10 using the reference status information J1 acquired in the past. For example, the determination unit 44 may set a threshold value by adding a predetermined margin to the reference status information J1, and may determine that the status information J1 is normal when it is equal to or less than the threshold value, and may determine that the status information J1 is abnormal when it exceeds the threshold value.

[0042] The determination unit 44 may determine the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 using the learning model M1 stored in the memory unit 46. Hereinafter, these determination results of the determination unit 44 are collectively referred to as the determination result E1. The determination unit 44 may use multiple thresholds, and the state information J1 may be classified into multiple categories from normal to abnormal based on the multiple thresholds. In this case, the determination result E1 may be the category after classification.

[0043] The determination unit 44 may determine the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 at random timing, but in this example, the determination unit 44 determines the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 at a preset timing, when the bogie 10 is in a preset state, or when the bogie 10 is in a preset position. The determination unit 44 can determine the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 at a preset position based on the position information Jp. In this case, the influence of differences in the conditions of the travel path can be suppressed.

[0044] (Learning model) The learning model M1 will be described. The judgment unit 44 in this example uses the learning model M1 to judge the state Ck of the track 8 and the bogie 10. The learning model M1 is an AI model generated by machine learning based on previously acquired reference state information and actual measurement data of the state of the track or the state of the bogie corresponding to the reference state information. The use of the learning model M1 is advantageous for speeding up data processing, and high judgment accuracy can be obtained. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data set Ds1 of the learning model M1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the learning model M1. As shown in FIG. 5, the learning model M1 provides output data corresponding to input data based on the input data.

[0045] The learning model M1 can be generated using a known machine learning method such as a support vector machine, a neural network (including deep learning), or a random forest. The learning model M1 is stored in the storage unit 46. The learning model M1 may be generated based on actual measurement data collected in the past about other trolleys of the same type, but in this embodiment, the learning model M1 is generated by a model generation unit 45 provided in the trolley 10 using actual measurement data collected about the trolley 10 itself to be judged as a data set Ds1.

[0046] (Model generation part) The model generation unit 45 will be described. The model generation unit 45 generates a learning model M1 in advance by machine learning based on the state Ck of the track 8 and the bogie 10 and the state information J1 corresponding to the state Ck. In this example, the model generation unit 45 sets the state Ck (Ck(0), Ck(1)...) and the state information J1 (J1(0), J1(1)...) acquired in advance as a data set Ds1, and generates the learning model M1 by machine learning (supervised learning) using this data set Ds1 as teacher data.

[0047] In this description, an example is shown in which the state information J1 and the state Ck are each unitary data, but the state information J1 and the state Ck may each be multi-dimensional data. Also, the state information J1 and the state Ck may be numerical data quantified in a predetermined unit.

[0048] Although the collection conditions of the measured data of the data set Ds1 are not limited, in this example, the measured data of the data set Ds1 is collected at a preset position based on the position information Jp. In this case, the influence of differences in road conditions can be suppressed.

[0049] The judgment unit 44 inputs the newly acquired state information J1 as input data to the learning model M1, and obtains the state Ck of the track 8 and the cart 10 as output data from the learning model M1. The judgment unit 44 outputs the state Ck of the track 8 and the cart 10 obtained from the learning model M1 as a judgment result E1.

[0050] The learning model M1 may be used without updating in the initial setting state, but is updated in this example. The model generation unit 45 updates the learning model M1 by machine learning based on the newly acquired new state information and the actual measurement data of the state of the track or the state of the cart corresponding to the new state information. In this case, even if the relationship between the state information J1 and the state Ck of the track 8 and the cart 10 changes due to factors such as the season and years of use, the judgment accuracy can be maintained. The model generation unit 45 may update the learning model M1 at random timing, but in this example, the learning model M1 is updated at a preset timing when it is in a preset state. For example, the model generation unit 45 can update the learning model M1 according to a schedule set according to the season.

[0051] (Transmitter) The transmission unit 48 transmits the determination result E1 to the outside of the bogie 10 (hereinafter, in this specification, may simply be referred to as "outside"). The determination result E1 transmitted from the transmission unit 48 may be received by the cab 2d, or may be received by a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or a cloud system. The determination result E1 may be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 when the determination result E1 satisfies a preset condition. For example, the brake control unit 60 changes the activation timing of the contact brake 18d and the regenerative brake 18e in response to the brake control signal Bc.

[0052] The transmitting unit 48 can transmit information via a bus line, a network line, a dedicated line, or a general-purpose line using a wire or wirelessly. The transmitting unit 48 may transmit information using a standardized communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). In this embodiment, the transmitting unit 48 transmits information to the outside wirelessly.

[0053] (Transmission control unit) Although the transmission timing of the transmitting unit 48 is not limited, in this embodiment, the transmission timing of the transmitting unit 48 is controlled by the transmission control unit 42. As an example, the transmission control unit 42 controls the transmitting unit 48 to transmit the determination result E1 in a case described below. The transmitting unit 48 transmits the determination result E1 under the control of the transmission control unit 42. In this case, the amount of transmission data can be reduced compared to the case where data is transmitted at any time.

[0054] The transmitting unit 48 transmits the judgment result E1 when the judgment result E1 of the judging unit 44 satisfies a preset condition, and does not transmit the judgment result E1 when the condition is not satisfied. For example, the transmitting unit 48 may not transmit the judgment result E1 when the judgment result E1 indicates normal, and may transmit the judgment result E1 when the judgment result E1 indicates abnormality. The transmitting unit 48 may also transmit the judgment result E1 when it has changed from a previous judgment result.

[0055] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E1 when the amount of information of the determination result E1 by the determiner 44 is greater than a preset level, and does not transmit the determination result E1 when the amount of information of the determination result E1 is less than the level. In this case, the total amount of transmission data can be suppressed.

[0056] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E1 when the power generated by the generator 70g is greater than a preset level, and does not transmit when the power is less than the level. The transmitter 48 also transmits the determination result E1 when the remaining charge of the battery 70b is greater than a preset level, and does not transmit when the remaining charge is less than the level. In this case, erroneous transmission due to insufficient power during transmission can be prevented. Specifically, the transmission control unit 42 may control the transmitter 48 based on the power information Je of the power control unit 70m.

[0057] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E1 when the cart 10 is at a preset transmission position based on the position information Jp. Also, the transmitter 48 does not transmit the determination result E1 when the cart 10 is at a non-transmission position that is separately set in advance based on the position information Jp. Examples of non-transmission positions include places that are obstacles to transmission, such as tunnels, the shadows of mountains, and the shadows of buildings.

[0058] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E1 when the communication state with the communication partner is higher (good) than a preset level, and does not transmit when the communication state is lower (bad) than the level. For example, the transmitter 48 does not transmit when the communication state is poor due to being in a tunnel, behind a mountain, in the shadow of a building, etc., and transmits when the communication state is good. For example, the communication state can be determined according to the occurrence rate of communication errors in mutual communication with the ground command center 84.

[0059] The transmitting unit 48 transmits the determination result E1 at a transmission timing according to a preset transmission schedule. Examples of the transmission timing include a time period when there is little external vibration or noise, such as early morning or late night. In this case, the influence of external vibration or noise can be reduced. Furthermore, by transmitting at a fixed time, the influence of temperature variations in the track 8 can be reduced. Furthermore, the transmitting unit 48 does not transmit the determination result E1 at a non-transmission timing that is separately set in advance.

[0060] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E1 when there is a transmission request from the cab 2d or the ground control center 84. For example, when the ground control center 84 receives a determination result indicating an abnormality from the preceding vehicle, it can request the following vehicle to transmit the determination result E1 at the position where the preceding vehicle determined that there was an abnormality. For example, the ground control center 84 can transmit a transmission request signal (hereinafter simply referred to as a "transmission request signal") to the following vehicle to request the transmission of the determination result E1.

[0061] (Ground Command Center) An example of the ground command center 84 will be described. The ground command center 84 includes a computer 84c and can communicate with the information processing unit 40. For example, the computer 84c receives the determination result E1 and status information J1 from the information processing unit 40, and transmits a transmission request signal to the information processing unit 40 to request transmission of the determination result E1 and status information J1. The computer 84c includes a re-determination unit 84j, a learning model 84m, and a model generation unit 84g.

[0062] The re-determination unit 84j re-determines the states of the track 8 and the bogie 10 based on the state information J1 transmitted from the transmission unit 48. By performing the re-determination, it is possible to check whether there is an error in the determination by the information processing unit 40. Although there is no limitation on the configuration of the re-determination unit 84j, in this example, the re-determination unit 84j re-determines the states of the track 8 and the bogie 10 based on the state information J1 by using the learning model 84m.

[0063] The learning model 84m may be the same as the learning model M1, but is different in this example. Since the computer 84c is capable of high-speed and large-volume data processing compared to the information processing unit 40, the model generating unit 84g can generate the learning model 84m in advance by machine learning based on the state of the track 8 and the bogie 10 collected by a large number of vehicles and the corresponding state information. The learning model 84m may be larger in scale than the learning model M1. The learning model 84m may be used without updating in the initial setting state, but is updated in this example. The model generating unit 84g updates the learning model 84m at a preset time.

[0064] According to this embodiment, the power supply unit 70 is provided, which is attached to the bogie 10 and supplies power to the acquisition unit 30 and the transmission unit 48, so that predetermined information can be transmitted to the outside without receiving power supply from the car body 2. In addition, since this embodiment includes the storage unit 46, data can be transmitted collectively, and a timing when the communication state is good can be selected for transmission. In addition, since this embodiment includes the location information acquisition unit 82, a location when the communication state is good can be selected for transmission. In addition, since this embodiment transmits the determination result E1 when the determination result E1 satisfies a preset condition, the total communication amount can be suppressed. In addition, since this embodiment transmits the determination result E1 according to the remaining amount of stored power of the battery 70b, a time when the remaining amount of stored power is large can be selected for transmission.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the judgment result E1 is transmitted according to the communication state, so that it is possible to transmit the result when the communication state is good. In addition, in this embodiment, the judgment is made using the learning model M1, so the judgment accuracy is high. In addition, in this embodiment, the model generation unit 45 is provided, so that the learning model M1 suitable for each bogie can be generated. In addition, in this embodiment, the learning model M1 is updated, so that the deterioration of the judgment accuracy due to seasonal fluctuations and changes over time can be suppressed. In addition, in this embodiment, the transmission unit 48 is fixed to the bogie frame 12, so that it is less susceptible to the vibration of the wheels 16.

[0066] Next, the second to ninth embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the drawings and explanations of the second to ninth embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for components and members that are the same as or equivalent to those of the first embodiment. Explanations that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the explanation will focus on the configurations that differ from the first embodiment. Therefore, the explanation of the first embodiment is applied to components and members in the second to ninth embodiments that are the same as or equivalent to those of the first embodiment. In the application of this explanation, the symbols J1, E1, and M1 in the explanation of the first embodiment will be replaced with the symbols J2 to J9, E2 to E9, and M2 to M9 in the second to ninth embodiments, unless a contradiction occurs.

[0067] [Second embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 6 to 8. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 6 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 6, the condition monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The acquisition unit 30 includes a vibration sensor 30b and a speed sensor 30c. The description of the first embodiment applies to the configuration and operation of each of these elements unless otherwise specified.

[0069] The state monitoring device 20 of this embodiment judges the flat occurrence state of the tread 16b of the wheel 16 and the wear state of the flange 16c based on the vibration information Jv related to the vibration in the bogie 10 and the speed information Js of the vehicle 100, and provides the judgment result. The vibration information Jv and the speed information Js are collectively referred to as state information J2. The flat occurrence state of the wheel 16 and the wear state of the flange 16c are collectively referred to as the wear state Sw. The wear state Sw includes abnormal wear such as tread peeling and thermal cracks on the tread 16b of the wheel 16. That is, the state monitoring device 20 checks whether the speed of the vehicle 100 is a preset speed (hereinafter referred to as "judgment speed") based on the speed information Js, and judges the wear state Sw based on the vibration information Jv when the speed of the vehicle 100 is the judgment speed. The flat of the wheel 16 is one form of uneven wear of the tread 16b of the wheel 16 caused by friction with the track 8.

[0070] The storage unit 46 temporarily stores the vibration information Jv acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the vibration information Jv in association with the timing of its acquisition. The storage unit 46 can also classify the vibration information Jv into a plurality of ranks according to its level, and store the classified ranks in association with the timing of its acquisition. The storage unit 46 can also store the position at which the vibration information Jv was acquired in association with the vibration information Jv based on the position information Jp. The transmission unit 48 can transmit the contents stored in the storage unit 46 to the outside.

[0071] The acquisition unit 30 is attached to the bogie 10 and acquires vibration information Jv related to vibrations in the bogie 10 and speed information Js of the vehicle 100. The vibration information Jv is acquired by a vibration sensor 30b, and the speed information Js is acquired by a speed sensor 30c. The vibration sensor 30b may be attached to the bogie frame or the axle box. The speed sensor 30c may be anything capable of detecting the speed of the vehicle 100, and may be, for example, an encoder that outputs a number of pulses according to the rotation of the axle. The speed of the vehicle 100 can be calculated by counting the pulses of the encoder. The speed sensor 30c may also be a Doppler sensor that uses laser reflection.

[0072] The following describes the determination unit 44. The determination unit 44 determines the wear state Sw of the wheels 16 of the carriage 10 based on the vibration information Jv and the speed information Js acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides a determination result E2.

[0073] According to the study by the inventors, it has been found that as wear on the flats or flanges 16c of the wheels 16 increases, the vibration of the bogie 10 also increases. It has also been suggested that, when the vehicle speed is in a predetermined state, there is a certain correlation between the vibration information Jv of the bogie 10 and the occurrence of flats on the wheels 16 or the wear state of the flanges 16c. Therefore, the wear state of the flats or flanges 16c of the wheels 16 can be determined from the vibration information Jv.

[0074] The determination unit 44 may determine the wear state of the flat or flange 16c of the wheel 16 using a preset threshold value or a threshold value set by adding a predetermined margin to reference vibration information acquired in the past (for example, at the time of shipment, at the time of the previous maintenance, on the same day, the day before, or for a certain period in the immediate past, etc.). In this case, errors caused by individual differences in vehicles or bogies can be reduced, and the determination accuracy can be improved.

[0075] For example, the determination unit 44 can determine that the wear of the flat or flange 16c is within the allowable range when the acquired vibration information Jv is equal to or less than a threshold value, and can determine that the wear of the flat or flange 16c is beyond the allowable range when the acquired vibration information Jv exceeds the threshold value. The preset threshold value, previously acquired vibration information, and the occurrence state of the flat or the wear state of the flange 16c are stored in the storage unit 46.

[0076] In addition, by comparing the vibration information Jv with reference vibration information obtained in the past, the change in the vibration information over time can be calculated. Based on this change over time, future wear of the flat or flange 16c of the wheel 16 can be predicted.

[0077] A first example of the determination operation will be described below. In this example, the wear state is determined using a preset threshold value. (1) First, when the vibration information Jv acquired while the vehicle 100 is in a traveling state exceeds a preset threshold, the information processing unit 40 stores the vibration information Jv together with the elapsed time in the storage unit 46. The threshold may be multiple. The traveling state of the vehicle 100 may be a powered state, a coasting state, or a braking state. (2) The determination unit 44 measures the period at which the vibration information Jv exceeds the threshold value based on the stored result of the storage unit 46 (hereinafter, referred to as the “vibration period”). (3) When the vibration period is inversely proportional to the speed of the vehicle 100, the judgment unit 44 judges that a flat has occurred on the tread 16b of the wheel 16, or abnormal wear such as tread peeling or thermal cracking has occurred.

[0078] When the determination unit 44 determines that the wheel 16 is worn as described above, it classifies the vibration information Jv into a plurality of ranks according to its level and provides the rank after classification as a determination result E2. The determination result E2 is stored in the memory unit 46.

[0079] A second example of the judgment operation will be described. In this example, the wear state Sw is judged using a learning model M2 generated by machine learning. The learning model M2 is generated by machine learning based on the reference vibration information Jv acquired in advance and the actual measurement data of the flat occurrence state of the wheel 16 or the wear state of the flange 16c corresponding to the reference vibration information Jv at a predetermined vehicle speed for the bogie 10. In this case, the judgment accuracy is high because the learning model M2 is used. The learning model M2 may be generated based on the actual measurement data of the bogie 10 itself to be judged, or may be generated based on the actual measurement data of a bogie other than the bogie 10 to be judged. The learning model M2 is stored in the storage unit 46.

[0080] An example of the data set Ds2 of the learning model M2 is shown in FIG. 7. A schematic diagram of the learning model M2 is shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the learning model M2 provides output data corresponding to input data based on the input data. The learning model M2 is generated in advance by machine learning based on the wear state Sw of the wheel 16 and the vibration information Jv corresponding to the wear state Sw. In this example, the wear state Sw (Sw(0), Sw(1)...) and the vibration information Jv (Jv(0), Jv(1)...) that are actually measured in advance are set as the data set Ds2, and the learning model M2 is generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using this data set Ds2 as teacher data.

[0081] In this description, an example is shown in which the vibration information Jv and the wear state Sw are each unitary data, but the vibration information Jv and the wear state Sw may each be multi-dimensional data. Also, the vibration information Jv and the wear state Sw may be numerical data quantified in a predetermined unit.

[0082] Although the collection conditions of the measured data of the data set Ds2 are not limited, in this example, the measured data of the data set Ds2 is collected at a preset position based on the position information Jp. In this case, the influence of differences in road conditions can be suppressed.

[0083] A third example of the determination operation will be described. In the third example, the determination unit 44 determines the occurrence of a flat on the wheel 16 or the wear state of the flange 16c based on a plurality of pieces of vibration information Jv acquired for a plurality of locations spaced apart from one another on the bogie 10. In this case, since the plurality of pieces of vibration information Jv can be compared, it is possible to remove in-phase components and improve the determination accuracy.

[0084] Specifically, another vibration sensor that acquires vibration information is provided on another wheel separated in the longitudinal direction of the same vehicle 100, and the wear state of the wheel 16 to be judged is judged by referring to the vibration information of the other wheel. For example, when the time difference between the timing of the peak of the vibration information Jv of the wheel 16 and the timing of the peak of the vibration information of the other wheel is substantially the same as the time obtained by dividing the separation distance between the two wheels by the vehicle speed, this peak can be identified as being due to abnormal vibration caused by the condition of the track, such as a joint of the track, wear of the track, or damage to the track, and can be excluded from the judgment result E2. In this case, erroneous judgment due to abnormal vibration caused by the condition of the track can be reduced. The number of the other wheels is not limited to one, and may be two or more wheels separated in the longitudinal direction. Note that the peak of the vibration information Jv in this disclosure is not limited to a maximum value, and includes a region where the vibration information Jv is large beyond a threshold value.

[0085] A fourth example of the determination operation will be described. In the fourth example, the rotational position of the wheel 16 at the timing when a peak occurs in the vibration information Jv (hereinafter referred to as the "peak position") is detected, and the wear position is determined based on the peak position. If the peak positions over multiple rotations are random, it can be determined that the vibration is caused by the state of the track, and if the peak positions are approximately constant, it can be determined that the vibration is caused by wear of the wheel 16. If the peak positions are approximately constant, it can be determined that abnormal wear such as flats, tread peeling, and thermal cracks has occurred on the wheel 16 at that position. The rotational position of the wheel 16 can be obtained by counting the pulses of the encoder of the speed sensor 30c.

[0086] In this embodiment, the vibration information Jv is acquired by a vibration sensor 30b attached to the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10 or to the unsprung part 14 supported by the bogie frame 12 via the axle spring 12j. In this case, the vibration sensor 30b can be disposed in the vicinity of the wheel 16, so that the vibration can be acquired with high accuracy. In this example, the vibration sensor 30b is provided on the axle box 14b, and detects the vibration of the wheel 16 via the axle box 14b. The vibration sensor 30b may be provided on the axle 16s or on the bogie frame 12.

[0087] The determination unit 44 in this embodiment is provided outside the bogie frame 12 or the bogie 10. In this case, the determination unit 44 can be disposed in a location with less vibration, and therefore the influence of vibration can be mitigated. In this example, the determination unit 44 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The determination unit 44 may be provided in the driver's cab 2d of the car body 2 or outside the vehicle 100.

[0088] The determination unit 44 may determine the wear state Sw at random timing, but in this example, the determination unit 44 determines the wear state Sw at a preset timing, when the carriage 10 is in a preset state, or when the carriage 10 is in a preset position. In this case, the influence of differences in road conditions can be suppressed.

[0089] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E2 of the determiner 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E2 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2.

[0090] In this example, the transmission unit 48 transmits the determination result E2 to the cab 2d of the vehicle body 2 and displays it on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmission unit 48 may transmit the determination result E2 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. The cab 2d and the vehicle monitor 2e exemplify devices that receive the determination result E2 of the determination unit 44. The transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 of the brake control device 80 when the determination result E2 satisfies a preset condition.

[0091] The brake control device 80 changes how the brakes 18 are applied based on the brake control signal Bc. In particular, the brake control unit 60 changes the operation timing of the contact brakes 18d and the regenerative brakes 18e upon receiving the brake control signal Bc. The brake control unit 60 is disposed in the cab 2d of the vehicle 100.

[0092] The transmission control unit 42 controls the timing of transmitting the determination result E2. Under the control of the transmission control unit 42, the transmitter 48 can transmit the determination result E2 to the outside of the cart 10 in the following cases. (1) The transmitting unit 48 transmits the determination result E2 when the determination result E2 of the determining unit 44 satisfies a preset condition, and does not transmit the determination result E2 when the condition is not satisfied. (2) The transmitting unit 48 transmits the determination result E2 when it has changed from the previous determination result, and does not transmit the determination result E2 when it has not changed. (3) The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E2 when the amount of information of the determination result E2 of the determiner 44 is greater than a preset level, and does not transmit the determination result E2 when the amount of information is less than the level. (4) The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E2 when the carriage 10 is in a preset transmission position based on the position information Jp, and does not transmit the determination result E2 when the carriage 10 is in a non-transmission position separately set in advance. (5) The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E2 when the communication state with the communication partner is higher than a preset level, and does not transmit the result when the communication state is lower than the preset level.

[0093] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E2 when a transmission request is received from the cab 2d or the ground command center 84. For example, the ground command center 84 can transmit a transmission request signal to the information processing unit 40 to request the transmission of the determination result E2.

[0094] The bogie 10 of the present embodiment is equipped with a vibration sensor 30b and a determination unit 44. In this case, it is possible to obtain vibration information Jv and determine the wear state of the wheels 16 on the bogie 10.

[0095] [Third embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 9 to 12. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 9 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0096] Brake squeal may occur when the contact brake 18d is activated. Brake squeal is an abnormal sound that occurs when vibrations from the friction surface caused by the brake shoe 18b touching the braking member 18c during braking are amplified through the brake shoe 18b or the braking member 18c, and is sometimes called braking noise. Brake squeal occurs due to wear of the friction surface between the brake shoe 18b and the braking member 18c. If brake squeal occurs and is left as it is, the brake shoe 18b or the braking member 18c may be damaged, so it is desirable to replace them as soon as possible. If brake squeal occurs, it can be suppressed by changing the material of the friction material of the brake shoe 18b, the curvature of the friction material, and the pressing force of the brake shoe 18b.

[0097] According to the study by the present inventors, it is suggested that there is a certain correlation between the sound information acquired by the sound sensor 30e (hereinafter referred to as "sound information Jn") or the vibration information acquired by the vibration sensor 30b (hereinafter referred to as "vibration information Jv") and the brake squeal occurrence state (hereinafter referred to as "occurrence state Sn"). Therefore, the brake squeal occurrence state Sn can be determined from the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv.

[0098] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. The state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, and a power supply unit 70. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a brake control unit 60, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The brake 18 includes a contact brake 18d and a regenerative brake 18e. The acquisition unit 30 includes at least one of a vibration sensor 30b and a sound sensor 30e. The acquisition unit 30 acquires sound information Jn related to sound or vibration information Jv related to vibration in the bogie 10 when the brake shoe 18b is pressed against the tread surface 16b of the wheel 16, which is the braking member 18c, in the bogie 10 of the vehicle 100 to generate a braking force. The sound information Jn and the vibration information Jv are collectively referred to as state information J3. The configuration and operation of each of these elements are the same as those described in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0099] The determination unit 44 determines the brake squeal occurrence state Sn of the brake shoe 18b or the braking member 18c based on the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides the determination result E3. The determination result E3 is a result of classifying the brake squeal occurrence state Sn into a plurality of ranks according to its level. For example, the determination result E3 may be a result of classification into two ranks, that is, whether or not brake squeal is actually occurring, or may be a result of classification into three or more ranks more finely. If the brake squeal is small and can be ignored in practical use, it is not treated as brake squeal. If the determination unit 44 determines that brake squeal is occurring, the brake control unit 60 changes the braking force so that the brake squeal is reduced. The brake control unit 60 in this example changes the braking force according to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the information processing unit 40.

[0100] The status monitoring device 20 will be described. When the brake shoe 18b is pressed against the braking member 18c in the bogie 10 to generate a braking force, the status monitoring device 20 detects brake squeal of the brake shoe 18b or the braking member 18c based on the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv in the bogie 10. The determination unit 44 of the information processing unit 40 determines the occurrence state of brake squeal based on the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv, and provides the determination result E3.

[0101] The operation of the brake control device 80 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation S110 of the brake control device 80. The operation S110 is started when a brake command is turned ON by the driver's operation (step S111).

[0102] When the brake command is turned ON, the determination unit 44 determines whether the regenerative brake 18e is operating (step S112). The acquisition unit 30 acquires the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv when the contact brake 18d is operating and the regenerative brake 18e is not operating.

[0103] If the regenerative brake 18e is in operation (Y in step S112), the determination unit 44 returns the process to the beginning of step S112 and repeats step S112 until the regenerative brake 18e is in operation.

[0104] When the regenerative brake 18e is not operating (when not operating) (N in step S112), the acquisition unit 30 acquires sound information Jn or vibration information Jv (step S113). If the acquisition period is too short, the determination accuracy decreases, so the acquisition unit 30 acquires sound information Jn or vibration information Jv continuously or intermittently for a preset period. The memory unit 46 temporarily stores at least one of the sound information Jn and the vibration information Jv acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The memory unit 46 can also store at least one of the sound information Jn and the vibration information Jv in association with the acquisition timing. The memory unit 46 can store at least one of the sound information Jn and the vibration information Jv in association with the position information Jp of the acquired position.

[0105] After acquiring the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv, the determination unit 44 determines the occurrence state of brake squeal of the brake shoe 18b or the braking member 18c based on the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv acquired by the acquisition unit 30. In this example, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not brake squeal is occurring (step S114). In this step, the determination unit 44 provides a determination result E3 classified into two ranks: whether or not brake squeal is occurring.

[0106] If brake squeal is occurring (Y in step S114), the determination unit 44 provides a determination result E3 indicating that brake squeal is occurring to the transmission unit 48. The transmission unit 48, which has received the determination result E3, transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60.

[0107] The brake control unit 60, which has received the brake control signal Bc, adjusts the braking force so as to reduce brake squeal (step S115). In this step, the adjustment pattern of the braking force is not limited as long as it reduces brake squeal. For example, the brake control unit 60 may reduce or increase the braking force, or may increase or decrease it according to a preset pattern. The braking force can be increased or decreased by changing the force pressing the brake shoe 18b against the braking member 18c. In this step, the amount of change in the braking force is set within a range in which the change in braking distance does not cause practical problems.

[0108] After adjusting the braking force, the process returns to the beginning of step S113 and repeats steps S113 to S115 until the brake squeal stops. During this repetition, the braking force may be gradually increased.

[0109] If brake squeal is not occurring (N in step S114), the judgment unit 44 provides a judgment result E3 indicating that brake squeal is not occurring, and operation S110 ends. This operation S110 is merely an example, and the order of steps may be changed, and some steps may be added, deleted, or modified. Operation S110 makes it possible to detect brake squeal, suppress brake squeal, and notify the outside that brake squeal is occurring.

[0110] The vibration sensor 30b is attached at a position where it can detect the vibration of the brake shoe 18b. The sound sensor 30e is attached at a position where it can detect the sound near the brake shoe 18b. For example, the vibration sensor 30b and the sound sensor 30e are attached to the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10 or to a portion supported from the bogie frame 12 via a spring. In this example, the sound sensor 30e or the vibration sensor 30b is provided on the axle box 14b and detects the sound or vibration of the wheel 16 via the axle box 14b. The sound sensor 30e or the vibration sensor 30b may be provided on the axle 16s or on the bogie frame 12. The vibration sensor 30b can detect the frequency and amplitude of the vibration of the brake shoe 18b. The sound sensor 30e can detect the frequency and amplitude of the sound of the contact brake 18d.

[0111] The determination unit 44 in this embodiment is provided outside the bogie frame 12 or the bogie 10. In this example, the determination unit 44 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The determination unit 44 may be provided in the driver's cab 2d of the car body 2 or outside the vehicle 100.

[0112] The speed sensor that acquires the vehicle speed may be, for example, an encoder that outputs a number of pulses according to the rotation of the axle. The speed of the vehicle 100 can be calculated by counting the pulses of the encoder. The speed sensor may also be a Doppler sensor that uses laser reflection. The braking force can be acquired from a brake command device of the contact brake 18d. The braking force may also be acquired based on the pressure of the brake cylinder of the contact brake 18d.

[0113] A first example of the determination method of the determination unit 44 will be described. In the first example, the determination unit 44 determines that brake squeal is occurring when the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv satisfies a preset determination condition. This determination can be made, for example, based on the degree of agreement between the frequency spectrum of the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv and a frequency spectrum specific to brake squeal that has been analyzed in advance. The determination may be made at a constant vehicle speed, or may be made by shifting the frequency spectrum according to the vehicle speed. The determination conditions, such as the frequency spectrum of brake squeal, can be set by experiments or simulations. The determination conditions are stored in the storage unit 46.

[0114] A second example in which the learning model M3 is used in the determination unit 44 will be described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. In the second example, the determination unit 44 determines the occurrence state Sn of brake squeal using the learning model M3 that is generated in advance by machine learning based on the reference sound information Jn or the reference vibration information Jv and actual measurement data of the occurrence state of brake squeal. The reference sound information Jn or the reference vibration information Jv is actual measurement data acquired in advance for the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv.

[0115] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a data set Ds3 of the learning model M3. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing the learning model M3. In this example, the brake squeal occurrence state Sn (Sn(0), Sn(1)...), sound information Jn (Jn(0), Jn(1)...), and vibration information Jv (Jv(0), Jv(1)...) that are actually measured in advance are set as the data set Ds3, and the learning model M3 is generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using this data set Ds3 as teacher data.

[0116] In this description, the sound information Jn, the vibration information Jv, and the occurrence state Sn are each an example of unitary data, but they may each be multi-dimensional data. Also, the sound information Jn, the vibration information Jv, and the occurrence state Sn may be numerical data quantified in a predetermined unit.

[0117] The learning model M3 may be generated based on actual measurement data of the target vehicle 10 itself, or may be generated based on actual measurement data of a vehicle other than the target vehicle 10. The learning model M3 is stored in the storage unit 46.

[0118] Although the collection conditions of the measured data of the data set Ds3 are not limited, in this example, the measured data of the data set Ds3 is collected at a preset position based on the position information Jp described later. In this case, the influence of the difference in the road conditions can be suppressed.

[0119] It has been suggested that the brake squeal occurrence state Sn is influenced by the material of the brake shoe 18b, the shape of the brake shoe 18b, the pressing force of the brake shoe 18b, etc. For this reason, the learning model M3 may be generated by referring to at least one of the actual measurement data of the material of the brake shoe 18b, the shape of the brake shoe 18b, the pressing force of the brake shoe 18b, the speed of the vehicle 100, the vibration frequency of the brake shoe 18b, and the braking force. In this case, by referring to these, the accuracy of the judgment can be improved.

[0120] The brake shoe 18b wears with use, and its shape and natural frequency change, so the frequency spectrum of the brake squeal changes. For this reason, the judgment conditions or learning model M3 of the judgment unit 44 may be updated at regular intervals according to the wear of the brake shoe 18b. This update period can be set according to conditions such as the weight of the vehicle 100, the running speed, and the distance between stations. The initial settings of the judgment conditions or learning model M3 of the judgment unit 44 can be set according to the shape of the brake shoe 18b at the time of manufacture. In this embodiment, the judgment conditions or learning model M3 of the judgment unit 44 are updated when the brake shoe 18b wears to a preset degree. The updated judgment conditions or learning model M3 are stored in the storage unit 46.

[0121] The configuration of this embodiment will be further described. The storage unit 46 can store at least one of the sound information Jn and the vibration information Jv in association with the location where the information was acquired, based on the position information Jp. The storage unit 46 can also store previously acquired sound information or vibration information in association with the occurrence state Sn of past brake squeal. The transmission unit 48 can transmit the contents stored in the storage unit 46 to the outside.

[0122] The determination unit 44 can calculate the change in the brake noise over time by comparing the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv with reference sound information or vibration information acquired in the past. The determination unit 44 can predict the occurrence time of future brake squeal based on this change over time.

[0123] This embodiment includes a transmission unit 48 that transmits the determination result E3 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E3 can be used outside. In this example, the transmission unit 48 transmits the determination result E3 to the cab 2d of the car body 2 and causes it to be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmission unit 48 may transmit the determination result E3 to a computer 84c of an external ground command center 84 or a cloud system.

[0124] The features of the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. When the determination unit 44 determines that brake squeal is occurring, the brake control device 80 changes the braking force so that the brake squeal is reduced, so that the brake squeal can be suppressed. In addition, the determination accuracy is high by making a determination using a determination condition. In addition, a more advanced determination can be made by making a determination using the learning model M3. In addition, the determination accuracy is improved by generating the learning model M3 with reference to actual measurement data of any of the material of the brake shoe 18b, the shape of the brake shoe 18b, the pressing force of the brake shoe 18b, the speed of the vehicle 100, the vibration frequency of the brake shoe 18b, and the braking force. In addition, by acquiring the sound information Jn or the vibration information Jv when the regenerative brake 18e is not operating, the device is less susceptible to the effects of sound and vibration caused by the regenerative brake 18e.

[0125] Furthermore, by updating the learning model M3 when the brake shoe 18b is worn down to a preset level, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the judgment accuracy due to wear of the brake shoe 18b. By attaching the acquisition unit 30 to the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10 or to a portion supported by the bogie frame 12 via a spring, it is possible to arrange a sensor near the wheel 16 and acquire sound and vibration with high accuracy. By providing the judgment unit 44 outside the bogie frame 12 or the bogie 10, it is possible to arrange the judgment unit 44 in a place where there is less vibration and reduce the effects of vibration.

[0126] A modified example of the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. When adjusting the braking force so as to reduce brake squeal, the regenerative brake 18e may be temporarily operated. In this case, an increase in the braking distance can be suppressed.

[0127] [Fourth embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 13 to 15. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 13 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0128] When the sway of the bogie 10 increases, the ride quality decreases. Causes of the sway of the bogie 10 include abnormalities in the wheel condition (hereinafter referred to as "wheel abnormality" in the description of this embodiment) and abnormalities in the track condition (hereinafter referred to as "track abnormality" in the description of this embodiment). Wheel abnormality refers to a case where the condition related to the wear state of the wheels (hereinafter referred to as "wheel condition" in the description of this embodiment) is worse than a preset standard. Wheel abnormality in the description of this embodiment refers to a case where the difference in wheel diameters of the wheels 16 fixed to the axle 16s on both sides in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as "wheel diameter difference" in the description of this embodiment) is large, and is mainly caused by uneven wear or unequal wear of the wheels 16 on both sides in the width direction. Therefore, the wheel diameter difference can be measured, and if the wheel diameter difference is large, it can be evaluated as a wheel abnormality.

[0129] A track abnormality refers to a state in which the unequal condition on both sides of the track in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as "track condition" in the description of this embodiment) is worse than a preset standard. In the description of this embodiment, the track abnormality is an unequal deformation of the track surface on both sides in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as "track imbalance" in the description of this embodiment), and is mainly caused by uneven wear or uneven waviness of the track surface on both sides in the width direction. Therefore, by measuring the track imbalance, if the track imbalance is large, it can be evaluated as a track abnormality.

[0130] The wheel diameter difference can be calculated from the measurement results, for example, by measuring the wheel diameter of each wheel when the vehicle 100 is parked at a vehicle depot. Also, the track unbalance can be evaluated based on the measurement results of track images and vibrations of a running vehicle. However, measuring the wheel diameter difference and track unbalance requires special measurement work using special measuring equipment, which is cost-inefficient.

[0131] In this embodiment, the wheel diameter difference between the wheels 16 on both sides in the width direction is calculated using measurement data collected during normal running of the vehicle 100, and the wheel condition is evaluated from the result. In particular, this embodiment uses inclination information from an inclination sensor attached to the bogie 10 to calculate the wheel diameter difference and evaluate the wheel condition. Furthermore, this embodiment calculates track imbalance based on this measurement data, and evaluates the track condition.

[0132] According to the study by the present inventors, it is suggested that there is a certain correlation between the inclination information of the axle with respect to the horizontal acquired by the inclination sensor (hereinafter, in the description of this embodiment, it will be referred to as "inclination information Jm") and the wheel condition of the wheel 16. Therefore, based on this correlation, the wheel condition can be evaluated from the inclination information Jm. It is also suggested that there is a certain correlation between the inclination information Jm and the track condition of the track 8. Therefore, based on this correlation, the track condition can be evaluated from the inclination information Jm.

[0133] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. The state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The configuration and operation of each of these elements are the same as those of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. The acquisition unit 30 includes an inclination sensor 30m that acquires inclination information Jm of the axle 16s with respect to the horizontal plane, and a vibration sensor 30b that acquires vibration information Jv of the bogie 10. The acquisition unit 30 provides the inclination information Jm and the vibration information Jv to the information processing unit 40 as acquired information J4.

[0134] In this embodiment, the information processing unit 40 acquires stroke information Jq from the yaw damper stroke sensor 34. The information processing unit 40 also acquires other axle tilt information Jr relating to another axle from the other axle tilt sensor 36. The other axle tilt information Jr may be tilt information of one other axle, or may be tilt information of multiple other axles. The other axle tilt sensor 36 will be described later.

[0135] The rocking of the bogie 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the rocking of the bogie 10. This diagram mainly shows the unsprung part 14 supported by the bogie frame 12 via the axle spring 12j. In this diagram, an X-axis extending in the front-rear direction on the horizontal plane, a Y-axis extending in the width direction on the horizontal plane perpendicular to the X-axis, and a Z-axis extending in the up-down direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis are defined. Rocking around the X-axis is called rolling, rocking around the Y-axis is called pitching, and rocking around the Z-axis is called yawing.

[0136] The yaw damper stroke sensor 34 will now be described. The yaw damper stroke sensor 34 acquires stroke information Jq relating to the stroke of the yaw damper device. One end of the yaw damper device is attached to an end of the car body 2, and the other end is attached to the side of the bogie 10, and suppresses yawing of the bogie 10 relative to the car body 2. If the yawing is large, the stroke information Jq becomes large, and if the yawing is small, the stroke information Jq becomes small. In other words, the magnitude of yawing can be determined from the stroke information Jq.

[0137] The inclination sensor 30m will be described. Although there is no limitation to the inclination sensor 30m, the inclination sensor 30m of this embodiment is an angle sensor that detects the angle of the axle 16s with respect to the horizontal plane based on a known principle. The inclination sensor 30m detects the vertical distance at multiple points in the width direction of the axle 16s with a distance sensor, and calculates the inclination of the axle 16s from the difference in the distances. In the following description, an example will be shown in which the inclination sensor 30m is a sensor that measures the inclination angle in the rolling direction.

[0138] As shown in Fig. 14, the inclination sensor 30m of this embodiment is attached to the unsprung portion 14 of the axle 16s, for example, to the axle box 14b. The separate axle inclination sensor 36 is attached to the axle box 14b(2) of another axle 16s(2), for example. The inclination sensor 30m and the separate axle inclination sensor 36 may be attached to the bogie frame 12. The vibration sensor 30b is attached to the bogie frame 12.

[0139] If the period for acquiring the tilt information Jm and the vibration information Jv is too short, the determination accuracy decreases, so the acquisition unit 30 acquires the tilt information Jm and the vibration information Jv continuously or intermittently for a preset period. The storage unit 46 of the information processing unit 40 temporarily stores the tilt information Jm and the vibration information Jv acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the tilt information Jm and the vibration information Jv in association with the timing of their acquisition. The storage unit 46 can store the tilt information Jm and the vibration information Jv in association with position information Jp of the acquired position.

[0140] The determination unit 44 determines the wheel condition of the wheel 16 or the track condition of the track 8 based on the tilt information Jm acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides the determination result E4. The determination result E4 is a result of classifying the wheel condition or the track condition of the wheel 16 into a plurality of ranks according to their levels. For example, the determination result E4 may be a result of classifying the wheel condition or the track condition of the wheel 16 into two ranks, or may be a result of classifying the wheel condition or the track condition of the wheel 16 into three or more ranks. The determination result E4 in this embodiment indicates whether or not there is a wheel abnormality in the wheel 16, or whether or not there is a track abnormality in the track 8.

[0141] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E4 of the determiner 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E4 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E4 to the cab 2d of the car body 2. The determination result E4 may be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E4 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system.

[0142] When the determination result E4 of the determination unit 44 indicates a wheel abnormality or a track abnormality, the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 to adjust the braking force. The brake control unit 60 adjusts the braking force according to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48. By operating in this manner, the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and the brake control unit 60 function as a brake control device 80.

[0143] (First example) A first example of the judgment method of the judgment unit 44 in the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the first example, when the inclination information Jm exceeds a preset threshold, the judgment unit 44 judges that the wheel diameter difference is excessive and that a wheel abnormality exists. The inclination information Jm also includes inclination caused by track imbalance and track cant (hereinafter referred to as "track elements" in the description of this embodiment). Therefore, it is desirable to make this judgment while taking into consideration the track elements. The track cant refers to the difference in elevation of the track on both sides in the width direction, which is designed to increase the stability of the vehicle on curves, etc.

[0144] An example of reducing the influence of the orbital elements will be described. For example, the tilt information Jm acquired at a plurality of positions may be averaged and used. Alternatively, the tilt information Jm may be acquired at a position where the orbital elements are small. These methods can reduce the judgment error caused by the orbital elements.

[0145] Alternatively, the tilt information Jm may be obtained at a position where the orbital elements are known, and the known orbital elements may be subtracted from this tilt information Jm. For example, the known orbital elements can be obtained by collecting orbital elements corresponding to positions in advance to create a database, and inputting the position information Jp to this database. This method can reduce judgment errors caused by the orbital elements.

[0146] (Second example) A second example of the determination method of the determination unit 44 will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of inclination information by axle and point, and an example of a design cant value of a track by point. In this diagram, standard deviations S1, S2...Sn indicate the standard deviation of axle data in one vertical column (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "column") at the same point, and standard deviations Z1, Z2...Z20 indicate the standard deviation of axle data in one horizontal row (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "row") of the same axle.

[0147] In a second example, the judgment unit 44 judges the wheel condition of the wheels 16 and the track condition of the track 8 using inclination information related to multiple axles acquired at multiple points for multiple axles (hereinafter referred to as "multiple axle inclination information Mt" in the description of this embodiment), and provides a judgment result E4. The judgment result E4 includes the presence or absence of a wheel abnormality and the presence or absence of a track abnormality. The multiple axle inclination information Mt includes inclination information Jm of axle number 1, which will be described later, and other axle inclination information Jr of axle numbers 2-20, which will be described later. Hereinafter, when the inclination information Jm, the other axle inclination information Jr, and the multiple axle inclination information Mt are collectively referred to, they will be simply referred to as inclination information.

[0148] 15 shows data on multiple axle tilt information Mt acquired at point n for a train consisting of five cars and having 20 axles 16s (two bogies per car, two axles per bogie). The multiple axle tilt information Mt acquired for each axle 16s at point number 1 is shown by a single vertical column of data for point number 1, and the tilt information acquired for each axle 16s at point number n is shown by a single vertical column of data for point number n.

[0149] In this diagram, A1, A2...A20 are wheel components of the tilt caused by the wheel elements of each axle 16s, and B1, B2...Bn are track components of the tilt caused by the track elements at each point. As shown in this diagram, the multi-axle tilt information Mt is obtained as the sum of the wheel components and track components. Therefore, the wheel components A1, A2...A20 and the track components B1, B2...Bn cannot be obtained individually.

[0150] From this, the inventors have devised a method for estimating the wheel components A1, A2...A20 using inclination D1, D2...Dn derived from the design value of the track cant at one or more of the n measured points. For example, in an area where the track wear and deformation are small and the track imbalance is small, the track components B1, B2...Bn are almost equal to the inclination D1, D2...Dn. Therefore, data calculated by subtracting the inclination D1, D2...Dn from the multi-axle inclination information Mt can be used as the wheel components A1, A2...A20. Note that an inclination derived from a target value of the cant may be used instead of the design value of the cant.

[0151] In the second example, when the calculated wheel components A1, A2,...A20 exceed a preset threshold, the determination unit 44 determines that the wheel diameter difference is excessive and that the wheel is abnormal, and when the calculated wheel components A1, A2,...A20 are equal to or smaller than the threshold, the determination unit 44 determines that the wheel is not abnormal. In this case, the determination result E4 indicates the presence or absence of a wheel abnormality.

[0152] Also, by statistically processing the data for each axle in a vertical row at the same location, if the deviation of the data for each axle from the average value for the vertical row (=data - average value) is large, it can be evaluated that the wheel diameter difference of that axle is larger than that of the other axles. For example, if the result of dividing this deviation by the standard deviation S1, S2...Sn and normalizing it exceeds a preset threshold value, it can be determined that the wheel diameter difference is excessive and that there is a wheel abnormality, and if it is below the threshold value, it can be determined that there is no wheel abnormality.

[0153] Also, by statistically processing axle data for the same axle in one horizontal row, if the deviation of the data for each point from the average value for that horizontal row (= data - average value) is large, it can be determined that the track unbalance at that point is greater than at other points. For example, if the result of normalizing this deviation by dividing it by the standard deviations Z1, Z2...Z20 exceeds a preset threshold, it can be determined that the track unbalance is excessive and that there is a track abnormality, and if it is below the threshold, it can be determined that there is no track abnormality.

[0154] Also, for the data in Figure 15, the wheel diameter difference or track imbalance may be evaluated based on the results of comparing previously acquired and stored data with newly acquired new data. If the wheel of axle number 2 wears and the wheel diameter difference increases, this affects all of the data in the row that includes wheel component A2. If the track imbalance increases at point number 2, this affects all of the data in the column that includes track component B2.

[0155] For example, the amount of change in new data relative to past data is compared for each row, and if the amount of change in a particular row is significantly greater than the amount of change in the other rows, it can be determined that the wheel diameter difference of the axle corresponding to that particular row is excessively large and there is a wheel abnormality.

[0156] In addition, the amount of change in the new data relative to the past data is compared for each column, and if the amount of change in a specific column is significantly greater than the amount of change in other columns, it can be determined that there is an orbit abnormality.

[0157] The above-mentioned judgment method of the judgment unit 44 can be modified in various ways. In the above explanation, an example was shown in which the judgment was made based on the data of the multiple axle tilt information Mt of a single train, but for example, wheel abnormality or track abnormality may be judged based on the data of the multiple axle tilt information of multiple trains at the same point. In this case, the amount of data for each train increases, and the judgment accuracy improves.

[0158] In the above explanation, an example was given in which the determination was made based on data of inclination information acquired at an arbitrary point (track position), but the determination may be made based on data of inclination information acquired at a specific track position such as a reference station, a depot, a base, etc. In this case, the influence of track elements is reduced, and the determination accuracy is improved.

[0159] In the above description, an example has been given in which the determination unit 44 makes a determination using only the tilt information, but the determination unit 44 may make a determination based on the tilt information and the vibration information Jv. For example, the characteristics of the vibration information Jv when the wheel diameter difference is large may be specified in advance, and the determination may be made using these characteristics. For example, a wheel abnormality may be determined when the characteristics of the vibration information Jv when the wheel diameter difference is large appear, regardless of a specific acquisition point (track position). Also, when the characteristics of the vibration information Jv appear only at a specific acquisition point (track position), that point may be determined to be a track abnormality. Note that examples of the characteristics of the vibration information Jv include the vibration frequency spectrum, the vibration amplitude fluctuation pattern, and the like.

[0160] The determination unit 44 may also determine a trajectory abnormality based on the tilt information and the stroke information Jq. As described above, the stroke information Jq is acquired from the yaw damper stroke sensor 34. For example, when the amount of change in newly acquired new data with respect to past data acquired and stored in the past for the stroke information Jq at the same acquisition point (trajectory position) exceeds a preset threshold, it may be determined that the trajectory imbalance is excessive and that a trajectory abnormality has occurred.

[0161] In the above description, an example of determining the wheel state and the track state by statistical analysis has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The determination unit 44 may determine the wheel state and the track state by using a learning model M4 generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M4 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using the actual measurement data of the reference tilt information and the reference vibration information acquired in advance and the occurrence status of the wheel abnormality or the track abnormality as teacher data. In this case, the teacher data may include any one of the vibration level of the reference vibration information, the frequency spectrum of the vibration, and the variation pattern of the vibration amplitude. The learning model M4 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0162] In the above description, an example has been shown in which the data of the tilt information is acquired while the train is traveling, but the data may be acquired, for example, while the train is stopped at a station, etc. The tilt information may be acquired when the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor is zero. The tilt information may be acquired at any time, or at a preset time such as the start or end of work.

[0163] Wear and deformation progress according to the travel distance of the bogie 10, and the wheel diameter difference and track imbalance increase. If the wheel diameter difference becomes too large, it may cause problems in traveling, so it is desirable to perform maintenance on the wheels 16 and the track 8 before that happens. For this reason, the transmitter 48 notifies the outside of the determination result E4.

[0164] In the above description, an example was given in which the inclination information was the inclination in the rolling direction (inclination in the width direction), but the inclination information may also include the inclination in the pitching direction (inclination in the front-rear direction). The inclination in the rolling direction makes it possible to evaluate the difference in the degree of uneven wear of the wheels 16 on both sides in the width direction. The inclination in the pitching direction makes it possible to evaluate the difference in the degree of uneven wear of the wheels 16 on the front and rear of the cart 10.

[0165] In the above description, an example was given in which the inclination information is an inclination with respect to a horizontal plane, but the inclination information may be an inclination relative to the road surface. For example, the inclination information can be obtained based on the difference in the measurement results (vertical distance) of the vertical distance between two points on the road surface or an object on the road surface, using two distance sensors arranged apart in the front-rear or width direction.

[0166] In the above explanation, an example has been shown in which tilt information is obtained using an angle sensor, but the tilt information may also be obtained from image data viewed from the direction of the axle 16s of the bogie 10 or wheel 16 by installing a camera at a predetermined position, such as in front of a vehicle depot.

[0167] The features of the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment will be described below. The condition monitoring device 20 judges the wheel condition or track condition based on tilt information, so that it can grasp the wheel condition or track condition with few man-hours, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0168] In this embodiment, the determination is made by referring to tilt information of another axle, so that it is possible to determine that there is a wheel abnormality when the difference between multiple axles is large. In this embodiment, the determination is made by referring to tilt information of another point, so that it is possible to determine that there is a wheel abnormality when the difference between multiple points is large. In this embodiment, the determination is made by referring to past tilt information acquired in the past, so that it is possible to determine that there is a wheel abnormality when there is a large change over time.

[0169] In this embodiment, the inclination information of the preceding or following vehicle is referenced for the judgment, so that it is possible to judge the wheel abnormality when the difference between the plurality of vehicles is large. In this embodiment, the inclination information of the reference point for comparison is referenced for the judgment, so that it is possible to judge the wheel abnormality when the difference from the reference point is large.

[0170] In this embodiment, the determination is made with reference to vibration information acquired by the vibration sensor, so that it is possible to determine that a wheel abnormality exists when the vibration information exhibits characteristics that are characteristic of a large wheel diameter difference.

[0171] [Fifth embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 16 to 19. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 16 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0172] As railway vehicles travel, unevenness on the track surface increases due to wear, scratches, deformation, and the like, and the track deteriorates. If the condition of the unevenness on the track surface (hereinafter referred to as the "track condition" in the description of this embodiment) is worse than a preset standard (hereinafter referred to as the "track abnormality" in the description of this embodiment), the bogie 10 shakes more and the ride quality deteriorates. Furthermore, if the track abnormality is left unattended, the deterioration of the track will progress further, leading to an interruption to vehicle operation. For this reason, it is important to detect track abnormalities early and perform maintenance, etc.

[0173] One way to detect track anomalies is to run a dedicated diagnostic device on the track to measure the deterioration of the track, but this requires special measurement work using a special dedicated device, which requires extra work hours and costs.

[0174] For this reason, in this embodiment, the track abnormality is detected using the measurement data of the vibration of the bogie measured during normal running of the vehicle 100. For example, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of a track abnormality from vibrations of a magnitude exceeding a preset threshold (hereinafter, referred to as "abnormal vibration" in the description of this embodiment). However, since abnormal vibrations occur not only in the case of track abnormalities but also due to temporary factors such as pinching of foreign objects such as pebbles, there is a possibility of erroneous determination. Therefore, in this embodiment, abnormal vibrations due to temporary factors are eliminated and determined using other vibration information acquired at another time. In this case, the work man-hours and costs can be reduced, and the accuracy of determining the presence or absence of a track abnormality can be improved. Here, the other time may be a different time on the same day, or may be a different day. In addition, the other vibration information may be acquired by the same bogie, a different bogie, a different vehicle, or a different train.

[0175] According to the study by the present inventors, it is suggested that there is a certain correlation between vibration information related to the vibration of the carriage acquired by the vibration sensor (hereinafter, referred to as "vibration information Jv" in the description of this embodiment) and the track condition of the track 8. Therefore, based on this correlation, the track condition can be evaluated from the vibration information Jv.

[0176] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. The state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The configuration and operation of each of these elements are the same as those of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified. The acquisition unit 30 includes a vibration sensor 30b that acquires vibration information Jv related to the vibration of the bogie 10. The acquisition unit 30 provides the vibration information Jv and image information Jg, which will be described later, to the information processing unit 40 as acquired information J5.

[0177] In this embodiment, the information processing unit 40 acquires the other bogie vibration information Jvb related to the vibration of the other bogie 11 from the other bogie vibration sensor 35 that acquires the vibration information of the other bogie 11. The information processing unit 40 also acquires the position information Jp from the position information acquisition unit 82. The other bogie 11 may be another bogie of the vehicle 100 to which the bogie 10 belongs, or may be a bogie of another vehicle of the train to which the vehicle 100 belongs. The other bogie vibration sensor 35 may have the same configuration as the vibration sensor 30b, and may be attached to the other bogie 11 by the same mounting structure as the vibration sensor 30b. In the description of this embodiment, the other bogie 11 is a bogie of another vehicle 101 following the vehicle 100 in a certain train. Therefore, the bogie 10 passes the same point on the track 8 at an earlier timing than the other bogie 11. The vibration sensor 30b and the other bogie vibration sensor 35 in this embodiment are provided in the axle box 14b.

[0178] The acquisition unit 30 acquires the vibration information Jv and the other bogie vibration information Jvb and provides them to the information processing unit 40. The storage unit 46 temporarily stores the vibration information Jv and the other bogie vibration information Jvb acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the vibration information Jv and the other bogie vibration information Jvb in association with the timing of their acquisition. The storage unit 46 can store the vibration information Jv and the other bogie vibration information Jvb in association with the acquired position information Jp of the point on the track.

[0179] The judgment unit 44 judges the track condition of the track 8 based on the vibration information Jv and the other bogie vibration information Jvb, and provides the judgment result E5. The judgment result E5 is a result of classifying the track condition into a plurality of ranks according to its level. For example, the judgment result E5 may be a result of classifying the track condition into two ranks, or may be a result of classifying the track condition into three or more ranks more finely. The judgment result E5 in this embodiment indicates whether or not there is a track abnormality in the track 8.

[0180] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E5 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E5 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E5 to the cab 2d of the car body 2. The determination result E5 may be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E5 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. In other words, the transmitter 48 can report the determination result E5 to the outside of the bogie 10.

[0181] When the determination result E5 of the determination unit 44 indicates a track abnormality, the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 to adjust the braking force. The brake control unit 60 adjusts the braking force according to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48. By operating in this manner, the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and the brake control unit 60 function as a brake control device 80.

[0182] (First example) A first example of the judgment method of the judgment unit 44 in the thus configured state monitoring device 20 of this embodiment will be described. In the first example, when the vibration information Jv exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that abnormal vibration has been observed and that there is a track abnormality. Note that in the first example, there is a possibility of erroneous judgment due to abnormal vibration caused by temporary factors such as a foreign object, so it is desirable to remeasure at the same point or recheck visually.

[0183] (Second example) A second example of the determination method of the determination unit 44 will be described with reference to Figs. 17, 18, and 19. In this method, in order to avoid erroneous determination due to temporary factors, determination is made by referring to other vibration information acquired at another time. Specifically, when the track condition at the same point is evaluated as having an abnormality based on the vibration information and the track condition is also evaluated as having an abnormality based on the other vibration information, the determination unit 44 determines that a track abnormality exists at the point. In the example of Fig. 17, the other vibration information is acquired by measuring with another following bogie 11.

[0184] Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the bogie 10 and another bogie 11 are subjected to vibrations due to unevenness 8p on the track surface and foreign matter 8q on the track surface at points P and Q. As shown in Fig. 17(A), the bogie 10 is the front bogie of the preceding vehicle 100, and the other bogie 11 is the front bogie of the following vehicle 101. The vehicle 100 and the other vehicle 101 are coupled together to form one train 3.

[0185] The unevenness 8p is caused by deterioration of the track 8, and is not lost when the carriage 10 passes. The foreign matter 8q is a temporary object that is lost when the carriage 10 passes.

[0186] When the train 3 travels in the forward direction, first, as shown in FIG. 17(B), the bogie 10 runs over the uneven portion 8p at point P and detects abnormal vibration. Next, as shown in FIG. 17(C), another bogie 11 runs over the uneven portion 8p at point P and detects abnormal vibration. Next, as shown in FIG. 17(D), the bogie 10 runs over a foreign object 8q at point Q and detects abnormal vibration. At this time, the foreign object 8q is bounced off by the wheels and lost. Next, as shown in FIG. 17(E), the other bogie 11 does not detect abnormal vibration when it passes point Q.

[0187] Fig. 18 is a diagram showing vibration information Jv of bogie 10 and other bogie vibration information Jvb of another bogie 11. In this diagram, the horizontal axis indicates the position on the track (hereinafter, referred to as "point" in this embodiment), and the vertical axis indicates the vibration level. As shown in Fig. 18(A), the vibration information Jv shows that abnormal vibration is observed at points P and Q. As shown in Fig. 18(B), the other bogie vibration information Jvb shows that abnormal vibration is observed at point P, but not at point Q.

[0188] At point P where abnormal vibrations are observed in agreement between the bogie 10 and the other bogie 11, it can be determined that there is a track abnormality. At point Q where abnormal vibrations are not observed in agreement between the bogie 10 and the other bogie 11, it can be determined that there is no track abnormality.

[0189] With reference to Fig. 19, an example of the operation of the status monitoring device 20 according to the second example will be described. Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation S120 of the status monitoring device 20. This operation is executed while the train 3 is traveling. When the operation S120 is started, abnormal vibration of the leading bogie 10 is detected (step S121). In the example of Fig. 17, the status monitoring device 20 detects abnormal vibration of the bogie 10 at points P and Q.

[0190] Next, the state monitor 20 detects abnormal vibration of another following cart 11 (step S122). In the example of FIG.

[0191] Next, the state monitoring device 20 judges whether or not the points of the abnormal vibration of the cart 10 and the abnormal vibration of the other cart 11 coincide with each other (step S123).

[0192] When the detection point of the abnormal vibration of the bogie 10 and the abnormal vibration of the other bogie 11 coincides (Y in step S123), the status monitoring device 20 notifies the outside that a track abnormality has occurred (step S124). In the example of Fig. 17, the bogie 10 and the other bogie 11 coincidently detect abnormal vibrations at point P, so the status monitoring device 20 transmits to the outside as a judgment result E5 that a track abnormality has occurred at point P.

[0193] If the detection points of the abnormal vibration of the bogie 10 and the abnormal vibration of the other bogie 11 do not match (N in step S123), the status monitoring device 20 ends operation S120. Moreover, the status monitoring device 20 ends operation S120 after executing step S124. This operation S120 is merely an example, and the order of the steps may be changed, and some steps may be added, deleted, or changed.

[0194] Various modifications are possible to the determination method of the above-mentioned determination unit 44. In the above explanation, an example was shown in which the determination was made based on vibration information data of multiple bogies of a single train, but for example, track abnormalities may be determined based on vibration information data at the same point of multiple trains.

[0195] In the above description, an example was given in which the magnitude (vibration level) of the vibration information Jv was used to make the judgment, but the characteristics of the vibration information Jv may also be used to make the judgment. For example, the characteristics of the vibration information Jv in the case where there is a track abnormality may be stored in advance, and a point where this characteristic appears in the data of the actually measured vibration information Jv may be judged to be a track abnormality. Note that examples of the characteristics of the vibration information Jv include the frequency spectrum of the vibration information Jv (hereinafter referred to as "spectrum" in the description of this embodiment), the amplitude fluctuation pattern, and the like.

[0196] For example, the spectrum can be obtained by performing a Fourier transform on the time-domain waveform of the data and converting it into the frequency domain. For example, a learning model can be generated by machine learning using the track state at the time of the past track anomaly occurrence and the spectrum of past measured data as training data, and the track state can be grasped by inputting the spectrum of new measured data into this learning model.

[0197] In the above description, an example of determining the track state from the vibration information Jv using a threshold value has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The determination unit 44 may determine the track state using a learning model M5 generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M5 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using the actual measurement data of the reference vibration information acquired in advance and the occurrence status of track abnormalities as teacher data. In this case, the teacher data may include any one of the vibration level of the reference vibration information, the vibration spectrum, and the variation pattern of the vibration amplitude. The learning model M5 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0198] In the above description, an example of judging the track condition based on the vibration information Jv of the vibration sensor 30b has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image sensor 30g that acquires an image of the track surface and outputs image information Jg may be provided on the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10, and the judgment unit 44 may judge the track condition based on the image information Jg acquired by the image sensor 30g. For example, when an image different from the images before and after the imaging area appears in the image information Jg of the track surface, it may be judged that an image abnormality has been observed and that a track abnormality has occurred. In this case, since an erroneous judgment due to a temporary factor may be considered, it is desirable to remeasure at the same point or recheck visually.

[0199] In order to avoid erroneous judgment due to temporary factors, judgment may be made by referring to other image information acquired at another time. For example, in addition to the image sensor 30g, another image sensor may be provided at another position in the train away from the direction of travel, and a track abnormality may be judged to exist if the judgment point of image abnormality based on the image information of the image sensor 30g coincides with the judgment point of image abnormality based on the image information of the other image sensor.

[0200] For example, when the track condition of the same point is evaluated to have an abnormality based on image information and also evaluated to have an abnormality based on different image information, the judgment unit 44 may judge that a track abnormality exists at that point.

[0201] In addition, when the amount of incident external light is large, such as in the front or rear cart, it may cause erroneous detection. In this case, the image sensor 30g may be placed in an intermediate cart that is not the front or rear cart. In order to reduce the influence of the amount of incident external light, multiple image sensors 30g may be provided, and the image information acquired by the image sensor 30g with the least amount of incident external light may be used for judgment. In order to obtain good image information, a light irradiation unit 32 that illuminates the track 8 may be provided.

[0202] The features of the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment will be described. The condition monitoring device 20 judges the track condition based on vibration or image information acquired during travel, so it can grasp the track condition with fewer man-hours, which is cost-effective. In addition, in this embodiment, the track condition is judged by referring to different information acquired at different times for the same point on the track 8, so erroneous judgment due to temporary factors can be prevented.

[0203] In this embodiment, when the track condition judgment based on one piece of information and another piece of information for the same point coincides, it is judged that there is a track abnormality at that point, so that erroneous judgment can be reduced. In this embodiment, the judgment result of the judgment unit is notified to the outside of the bogie, so that the judgment result can be used to perform early maintenance. In this embodiment, the information acquired by the sensor installed on the bogie is used, so that the directly acquired information can be used.

[0204] In this embodiment, different information is acquired by a sensor provided in a different bogie of a different car of the same train, so that the system can be completed within the train. In this embodiment, the acquisition unit 30 is attached to the bogie frame 12 or the unsprung part 14, and the determination unit 44 is attached to the bogie frame 12, so that the wiring distance between the acquisition unit 30 and the determination unit 44 can be shortened.

[0205] [Sixth embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 20 to 24. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 20 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0206] The brake 18 of the vehicle 100 stops the vehicle within a predetermined braking distance by allocating the necessary braking force to the regenerative brake 18e and the contact brake 18d. The contact brake 18d presses the brake shoe 18b against the tread 16b of the wheel 16, generating friction between them, which decelerates and stops the vehicle 100. However, when the smoothness of the tread 16b is smoother than a preset standard (hereinafter, in the description of this embodiment, this will be referred to as an "overly smooth state"), sufficient friction cannot be obtained and the braking distance will be long. If the braking distance is long, it can lead to an overrun or other problems that can disrupt vehicle operation, so it is important to detect and respond to the overly smooth state.

[0207] The excessively smooth state occurs, for example, when the surface roughness of the tread surface 16b is excessively small, or when the surface of the tread surface 16b becomes mirror-finished even if the surface roughness is equal to or greater than a certain level. Therefore, the excessively smooth state in this embodiment includes a mirror-finished state and a state in which the surface roughness is excessively small but not mirror-finished.

[0208] According to the study by the inventors, it is suggested that there is a certain correlation between the tread information regarding the surface quality of the tread 16b acquired by the optical sensor 30f that detects the reflected light of the tread 16b (hereinafter, referred to as "tread information J6" in the description of this embodiment) and the smoothness of the tread 16b. Therefore, based on this correlation, the smoothness of the tread 16b can be evaluated from the tread information J6. Also, if the smoothness of the tread 16b indicated by the tread information J6 is smoother than a preset standard, it can be determined that the tread 16b is in an overly smooth state. The optical sensor 30f irradiates the tread 16b with a laser from the light irradiating unit 32 provided on the cart 10 and acquires the reflected light.

[0209] Furthermore, according to the inventors' study, it has been found that by strongly pressing the brake shoe 18b against the tread 16b determined to be in an excessively smooth state, the tread 16b can be roughened and put into a state that is not excessively smooth (hereinafter, in the description of this embodiment, this will be referred to as a "non-overly smooth state"). Therefore, when the tread 16b is determined to be in an excessively smooth state, the tread 16b can be roughened and the frictional force can be restored by controlling the brake shoe 18b to increase the pressing force.

[0210] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 20, the state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a brake control unit 60, a power supply unit 70, a position information acquisition unit 82, a speed sensor 30c, and a light irradiation unit 32. The brake control device 80 includes the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and the brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The configurations and operations of these elements are the same as those of the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0211] In this embodiment, the information processing unit 40 acquires speed information Jc from the speed sensor 30c, and acquires position information Jp from the position information acquisition unit .

[0212] The acquisition unit 30 includes an optical sensor 30f that acquires tread information J6 related to the surface properties of the tread 16b on the bogie 10. The acquisition unit 30 provides the tread information J6 to the information processing unit 40. The memory unit 46 temporarily stores the tread information J6 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The memory unit 46 can store the tread information J6 in association with speed information Jc at the time of acquisition. The memory unit 46 can store the tread information J6 in association with the timing of acquisition. The memory unit 46 can store the tread information J6 in association with position information Jp of the acquired point on the track.

[0213] The determination unit 44 determines the smoothness of the tread 16b based on the tread information J6 acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides the determination result E6. The determination result E6 is a result of classifying the smoothness into a plurality of ranks according to its level. For example, the determination result E6 may be a result of classifying the smoothness into two ranks, or may be a result of classifying the smoothness into three or more ranks more finely. The determination result E6 in this embodiment indicates whether the tread 16b is in an overly smooth state.

[0214] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E6 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E6 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E6 to the cab 2d of the car body 2. The determination result E6 may be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E6 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. In other words, the transmitter 48 can report the determination result E6 to the outside of the bogie 10.

[0215] When the determination result E6 of the determination unit 44 indicates an excessively smooth state, the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 to adjust the braking force. The brake control unit 60 adjusts the braking force according to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48. By operating in this manner, the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and the brake control unit 60 constitute a brake control device 80. The operation of the brake control device 80 will be described later.

[0216] The acquisition unit 30 is attached to the bogie 10. In this case, the positional relationship between the acquisition unit 30 and the wheels 16 is kept constant, and the tread information J6 can be acquired with high accuracy. The determination unit 44 and the brake control unit 60 are provided on the bogie 10 or the car body 2. In this case, these can be arranged in a place with little vibration, so that the effects of vibration can be mitigated.

[0217] The operation of the condition monitoring device 20 will be described. If the smoothness of the tread 16b indicated by the tread information J6 acquired by the acquisition unit 30 is smoother than a preset standard, the determination unit 44 determines that the tread 16b is in an over-smooth state. If the smoothness is less than the standard, the determination unit 44 determines that the tread 16b is in a non-over-smooth state (not in an over-smooth state). The determination unit 44 provides a determination result E6.

[0218] An example of the operation of the brake control device 80 will be described with reference to Figs. 21, 22, 23, and 24. Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation S130 of the brake control device 80. Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the ratio of the braking force of the contact brake 18d to the braking force of the brake 18. Graph A in this figure shows the ratio of the braking force of the contact brake 18d (e.g., 30%) when the desired braking force of the brake 18 during normal operation (non-brake control) is set to 100%. Graph B shows the ratio of the braking force of the contact brake 18d (e.g., 40%) during roughing operation (brake control). Figs. 23 and 24 are diagrams that typically show the operation of the contact brake 18d.

[0219] This operation is executed while the brake 18 is operating while the vehicle 100 is traveling. When operation S130 is started, it is determined whether the regenerative brake 18e is operating (step S131). If the regenerative brake 18e is not operating (N in step S131), the brake control unit 60 ends operation S130. In other words, when 100% of the braking force of the brake 18 is the braking force of the contact brake 18d, brake control is not executed. This is because there is a risk of skidding if the braking force of the contact brake 18d is too strong.

[0220] If the regenerative brake 18e is operating (Y in step S131), the determination unit 44 determines whether the tread surface 16b is in an overly smooth state (step S133). In this step, the determination unit 44 provides the brake control unit 60 with the determination result E6 through the above-mentioned operation.

[0221] If the tread surface 16b is in an overly smooth state (Y in step S133), the brake control unit 60 increases the braking force of the contact brake 18d to increase its ratio (step S134). In this step, for example, as shown in graph B of Fig. 22, the braking force of the contact brake 18d is increased to increase its ratio to 40%. At this time, the braking force of the regenerative brake 18e may be weakened to keep the braking force of the brake 18 constant.

[0222] If the tread surface 16b is in an excessively smooth state (Y in step S133), the condition monitoring device 20 may notify the outside that an excessively smooth state has occurred.

[0223] As shown in Figs. 23 and 24, when the braking force of the contact brake 18d is increased in step S134, the brake shoe 18b is pressed strongly against the tread 16b, and the tread 16b in an overly smooth state can be roughened to a non-overly smooth state.

[0224] After step S134 is executed, the process returns to the beginning of step S131, and the loop of steps S131 to S134 is repeated. While this loop is being repeated, including while step S134 is being executed, the determination of the tread surface 16b continues.

[0225] When the over-smooth state is resolved over the entire tread surface 16b and the non-over-smooth state is restored (N in step S133), the brake control unit 60 reduces the braking force of the contact brake 18d to the braking force during normal operation, and ends operation S130. At this time, the braking force ratio of the contact brake 18d drops to the ratio during normal operation. This operation S130 is merely an example, and the order of the steps may be changed, and some steps may be added, deleted, or changed.

[0226] The operation of the brake control device 80 described above can be modified in various ways. In the above description, the determination unit 44 makes a determination using the tread information J6, but the determination may also be made using features of the tread information J6. For example, the features of the tread information J6 in the case of an overly smooth state may be stored in advance, and if these features appear in the data of the actually measured tread information J6, it may be determined that the road is in an overly smooth state. Note that an example of the features of the tread information J6 is a fluctuation pattern of the tread information J6.

[0227] In the above description, an example has been shown in which the smoothness of the tread surface 16b is determined from the tread surface information J6 using a criterion, but this is not limiting. The determination unit 44 may determine the smoothness of the tread surface 16b using a learning model M6 that has been generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M6 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using the fluctuation pattern of the tread surface information J6 when a past overly smooth state occurred as teacher data. The learning model M6 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0228] In the above description, an example has been shown in which the condition monitoring device 20 uses the detection result of the optical sensor 30f as the tread information J6 to determine the smoothness of the tread 16b, but this is not limiting. For example, the condition monitoring device 20 may use the imaging result of the image sensor 30g that images the tread 16b as the tread information J6 to determine the smoothness of the tread 16b. For example, the condition monitoring device 20 may use the surface roughness of the tread 16b acquired by a contact or non-contact surface roughness meter as the tread information J6 to determine the smoothness of the tread 16b.

[0229] In the above description, an example has been given in which the braking force of the contact brake 18d is increased when the tread 16b is in an excessively smooth state, but this is not limiting. For example, when the tread 16b is in an excessively smooth state, the brake control unit 60 may advance the timing at which the contact brake 18d starts to operate. By advancing the timing at which the contact brake 18d starts to operate, the time during which the brake shoe 18b contacts the tread 16b becomes longer, and the roughening of the tread 16b can be promoted.

[0230] The frictional force tends to decrease as the circumferential speed of the wheels 16 increases. For this reason, the brake control unit 60 may refer to the speed of the vehicle 100 (speed information Jc) to change the braking force ratio of the contact brake 18d or the activation timing of the contact brake 18d and the regenerative brake 18e.

[0231] The features of the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment will be described. The condition monitoring device 20 judges the smoothness state of the tread 16b based on the tread information J6 related to the surface properties of the tread 16b, so that the smoothness state of the tread 16b can be grasped with a small number of steps, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0232] The features of the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. The brake control device 80 judges the smoothness of the tread 16b based on the tread information J6 related to the surface properties of the tread 16b, and changes the braking force or activation timing of the contact brake 18d based on the judgment result, so that the braking force can be restored by roughening the tread 16b.

[0233] In this embodiment, when the determined smoothness is smoother than a preset reference, the braking force of the contact brake 18d is increased, so that the tread surface 16b is roughened and the braking force can be restored. In this embodiment, after the braking force of the contact brake 18d is increased, when the smoothness is no longer smoother than the reference, the braking force of the contact brake 18d is decreased, so that the balance with the braking force of the regenerative brake 18e can be restored to a steady state.

[0234] In this embodiment, the detection result of the optical sensor 30f or the image capture result of the image sensor 30g is provided as the tread information J6, which is advantageous in terms of cost and size reduction. In this embodiment, the braking force or activation timing of the contact brake 18d is changed by referring to the vehicle speed, so that more appropriate control can be performed according to the vehicle speed.

[0235] [Seventh embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 25 to 27. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 25 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0236] Excessive wear on the track (hereinafter, referred to as "excessive wear" in this embodiment) makes the ride uncomfortable. For this reason, it is important to identify the wear location on the track and perform maintenance. It is possible to use a dedicated track inspection car to inspect the track wear, but in this case, the track inspection car is expensive and additional work is required. For this reason, it is important to monitor the wear state so as not to cause excessive wear on the track.

[0237] Therefore, the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires information regarding wear of the track 8 on which the railway vehicle 100 runs (hereinafter referred to as "track information J7" in this specification), and a transmission unit 48 that transmits the track information J7 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. In this case, the wear state of the track 8 can be monitored based on the track information J7.

[0238] Furthermore, the inventors' studies have suggested that wear of the track is likely to progress at the braking start position of the contact brake 18d (hereinafter, in this embodiment, simply referred to as the "braking start position"), and that if the braking start positions are concentrated at the same position, wear is likely to progress at that position. In this way, if wear progresses faster at a specific position than at other positions, the frequency of track replacement increases. For this reason, it is desirable to distribute the braking start positions forward and backward from the viewpoint of dispersing the wear positions and reducing the frequency of track replacement.

[0239] Therefore, the brake control device 80 of this embodiment acquires track information Jx relating to wear of the track 8 from the track information providing device 90 by the information acquiring unit 30x, acquires position information Jp of the vehicle 100 (host vehicle) by the position information acquiring unit 82, and determines the braking start position of the contact brake 18d based on the track information Jx and the position information Jp. In this case, the braking start positions are dispersed to slow down the progress of wear and reduce the frequency of replacing the track.

[0240] The track information Jx includes information on wear that is greater than or equal to a certain level (hereinafter, in this embodiment, referred to as "specific wear") and the position of the specific wear (hereinafter, in this embodiment, referred to as "specific position") on the track 8. Note that specific wear includes excessive wear and wear that is not excessive but has progressed to a certain level or greater.

[0241] According to the brake control device 80, the braking start position of the contact brake 18d can be dispersed in the front-rear direction of a specific position based on the track information J7 and the position information Jp of the vehicle 100 itself, thereby dispersing wear on the track 8. In addition, the braking start position of the contact brake 18d can be set to avoid the specific position. Dispersing the wear positions can reduce the frequency of replacing the track 8.

[0242] The orbit information providing device 90 is not limited as long as it can provide the orbit information Jx, and examples thereof include the following. (1) A preceding vehicle capable of imaging the preceding position of the track 8 and providing track information Jx (2) A drone or other flying object capable of imaging the preceding position of orbit 8 and providing orbit information Jx (3) Ground equipment capable of providing track information Jx based on the detection results of strain sensors installed at various points on track 8 and acquiring strain information on the strain of track 8. (4) Ground equipment capable of providing track information Jx from the imaging results of fixed cameras installed at various points on track 8 to obtain image information related to wear on track 8. (5) Ground equipment including a database that stores the orbit information Jx provided in the above 1 to 4 and capable of providing the orbit information Jx

[0243] In the description of this embodiment, an example will be described in which the track information providing device 90 is a preceding vehicle capable of providing track information Jx. The track information providing device 90 (preceding vehicle) includes an image sensor 90g, a position information acquiring unit 90p, a wear determining unit 90j, and an information transmitting unit 90x.

[0244] The image sensor 90g captures an image of the preceding position of the track 8 and acquires image information. Specifically, the image sensor 90g is provided on the bogie of the preceding vehicle, and acquires image information relating to the wear state of the track 8 from the reflected light of light irradiated onto the track 8. This image information may be a still image or a video. The configuration of the image sensor 90g is the same as that of the image sensor 30g of the first embodiment.

[0245] The position information acquiring unit 90p acquires position information relating to the position of the track information providing device 90 (leading vehicle). The configuration of the position information acquiring unit 90p is the same as that of the position information acquiring unit 82 in the first embodiment.

[0246] The wear determination unit 90j determines the presence or absence of specific wear based on the image information acquired by the image sensor 90g. The wear determination unit 90j identifies a specific position from the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 90p. The information transmission unit 90x transmits the determination result of the wear determination unit 90j regarding the presence or absence of specific wear and the specific position to the outside as trajectory information Jx.

[0247] In particular, when specific wear is present, the information transmission unit 90x transmits the trajectory information Jx at the position (specific position) where the specific wear is detected. The information transmission unit 90x transmits the trajectory information Jx when requested by another vehicle such as a following vehicle, the ground command center 84, or other external sources. The information transmission unit 90x may also transmit the trajectory information Jx autonomously even when there is no external request.

[0248] The track information providing device 90 (the preceding vehicle) can be modified in various ways. For example, the track information providing device 90 may be provided with a contact or non-contact surface roughness meter instead of the image sensor 90g, and the surface roughness of the track 8 acquired by the surface roughness meter may be used as the track information.

[0249] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 25, the state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, a position information acquisition unit 82, and a light irradiation unit 32. The brake control device 80 includes an information acquisition unit 30x, an information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The description of the first embodiment applies to the configuration and operation of each of these elements unless otherwise specified.

[0250] The information acquisition unit 30x receives the track information Jx transmitted from the track information providing device 90 and provides it to the information processing unit 40. The information acquisition unit 30x may request the track information providing device 90 to transmit the track information Jx. The position information acquisition unit 82 provides the position information Jp to the information processing unit 40. The acquisition unit 30 includes an image sensor 30g that is provided on the bogie 10 and acquires track information J7 related to wear of the track 8. The acquisition unit 30 provides the track information J7 to the information processing unit 40.

[0251] The memory unit 46 temporarily stores the trajectory information J7 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The memory unit 46 can store the trajectory information J7 in association with the timing of its acquisition. The memory unit 46 can store the trajectory information J7 in association with the acquired position information Jp of the position on the trajectory. The memory unit 46 temporarily stores the specific wear information of the trajectory information Jx in association with the specific position.

[0252] The determination unit 44 determines whether or not there is specific wear on the track 8 on the route of the vehicle 100, based on the track information Jx transmitted from the track information providing device 90 (preceding vehicle). Specifically, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not a specific position of the track information Jx exists on the route of the vehicle 100, and provides the determination result E7. Therefore, the determination result E7 in this embodiment indicates whether or not there is specific wear on the route.

[0253] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E7 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E7 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E7 to the cab 2d of the car body 2. The determination result E7 may be displayed on the vehicle monitor 2e of the cab 2d. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E7 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. In other words, the transmitter 48 can report the determination result E7 to the outside of the bogie 10.

[0254] When the determination result E7 of the determination unit 44 indicates that there is specific wear, the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60 to control the braking start position. The brake control unit 60 controls the braking start position in response to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48. The operation of the brake control device 80 will be described later.

[0255] The determination unit 44 and the brake control unit 60 are provided on the bogie 10 or the car body 2. In this case, they can be disposed in a place where there is little vibration, so that the effects of vibration can be mitigated.

[0256] The operation of the status monitoring device 20 will be described. The determination unit 44 determines the presence or absence of specific wear from the track information J7 acquired by the image sensor 30g of the acquisition unit 30. The determination unit 44 identifies the specific position from the position information Jp of the position information acquisition unit 82. When the determination unit 44 determines that specific wear is present, the transmission unit 48 transmits information on the specific wear and the specific position to the outside. In other words, the status monitoring device 20 functions as a track information providing device 90 (leading vehicle) for the following vehicle, and the description of the track information providing device 90 may be applied.

[0257] An example of the operation of the brake control device 80 will be described with reference to Figs. 26 and 27. Fig. 26 is a flowchart showing the operation S140 of the brake control device 80. Fig. 27 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the operation S140 of the brake control device 80. This operation is an operation for controlling the braking start position. "Braking" in the explanation of the operation S140 refers to braking by the contact brake 18d unless otherwise specified. In addition, the track information providing device 90 is another preceding vehicle 101. This operation is executed while the vehicle 100 is traveling.

[0258] 27(A) shows a case where a specific wear 8d is present on the track 8, and another vehicle 101 ahead of the other vehicle 101 and a vehicle 100 following the other vehicle 101 travel in the direction of travel on the track 8. As shown in this figure, when the other vehicle 101 detects the specific wear 8d, it transmits track information Jx at the position (specific position) where the specific wear 8d was detected. The vehicle 100 receives the track information Jx.

[0259] In normal driving without receiving the track information Jx, the vehicle 100 starts braking at a preset set position T, as shown in the first pattern of Fig. 27. In automatic driving, the set position T is the same every time, and specific wear may occur at this position. The set position T is stored in the memory unit 46.

[0260] When operation S140 is started, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not there is specific wear 8d on the track 8 on the route (step S141). In this step, the determination unit 44 makes a determination based on the presence or absence of specific wear 8d in the track information Jx transmitted from the track information providing device 90 (the other preceding vehicle 101). If there is no specific wear 8d (N in step S141), the brake control unit 60 ends operation S140.

[0261] If the specific wear 8d is present (Y in step S141), the brake control unit 60 determines whether or not the specific position where the specific wear 8d is present is the set position T of the vehicle 100 (step S142). If the specific position is not the set position T (N in step S142), the brake control unit 60 ends operation S140.

[0262] If the specific position is the set position T (Y in step S142), the brake control unit 60 determines whether or not the vehicle 100 can stop within the allowable stopping range without using excessive braking when braking is started at a position ahead (later position) of the specific position (step S143). For example, it can be determined that the vehicle can stop if the braking distance by normal braking is shorter than the distance to the allowable stopping range.

[0263] If the vehicle 100 can be stopped within the allowable stopping range (Y in step S143), the brake control unit 60 starts braking after the vehicle 100 passes the specific position (step S144), as shown in the second pattern in Fig. 27. After executing step S144, the brake control unit 60 ends the operation S140.

[0264] If the vehicle 100 cannot be stopped within the allowable stopping range (N in step S143), the brake control unit 60 starts braking at a position before (early position) the specific position, as shown in the third pattern in FIG. 27 (step S145).

[0265] When braking is started, the brake control unit 60 determines whether the vehicle 100 has reached a specific position (step S146). If the vehicle 100 has not yet reached the specific position (N in step S146), the brake control unit 60 returns the process to the beginning of step S145 and maintains the braking state.

[0266] When the vehicle 100 reaches the specific position (Y in step S146), the brake control unit 60 stops braking (step S147). In this case, stopping braking includes stopping braking in the narrow sense and substantially stopping braking in which a slight braking force is generated.

[0267] When braking is stopped, the brake control unit 60 judges whether the vehicle 100 has passed the specific position (step S148). If the vehicle 100 has not passed the specific position (N in step S148), the brake control unit 60 returns the process to the beginning of step S147 and maintains the braking stop state.

[0268] If the vehicle 100 has passed the specific position (Y in step S148), the brake control unit 60 resumes braking (step S149). After executing step S149, the brake control unit 60 ends operation S140. This operation S140 is merely an example, and the order of the steps may be changed, and some steps may be added, deleted, or modified. In this way, according to operation S140, the braking start position can be dispersed before and after the specific position. This makes it possible to slow down the progression of wear and reduce the frequency of track replacement.

[0269] The operation of the brake control device 80 can be modified in various ways. For example, the determination in step S143 may be made using a learning model M7 that has been generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M7 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using past actual measurement data of the vehicle speed, braking start position, and braking distance as teacher data. The learning model M7 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0270] The operation of the brake control device 80 is particularly effective for an automatically operated vehicle, but can also be applied to a non-automatically operated vehicle driven by a driver. In this case, a notification unit (not shown) may be provided to notify the driver of the braking start position. The driver can operate the contact brake 18d at the notification timing of the notification unit.

[0271] The features of the condition monitoring device 20 of this embodiment will be described. In the condition monitoring device 20, the acquisition unit 30 includes an image sensor attached to the bogie 10 of the vehicle 100. When the image sensor 30g is attached to the bogie 10, adhesion of foreign matter from outside the bogie 10 can be suppressed. In the condition monitoring device 20, the acquisition unit 30 may include a strain sensor that acquires strain information related to the distortion of the track 8. In this case, the braking start position is dispersed based on the distortion of the track 8, and wear can be made uniform.

[0272] [Eighth embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 28 to 30. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 28 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0273] In railway vehicles, the vehicle weight affects the motion characteristics such as acceleration and deceleration, so a brake receiver is used to control regenerative braking and contact braking according to the vehicle weight. For this reason, it is important to grasp the vehicle weight with high accuracy. For example, it is possible to use an air spring 12s arranged between the bogie 10 and the car body 2 to calculate the vehicle weight based on the displacement and spring constant of the air spring 12s. However, with this method, the air spring 12s has a dead zone of the leveling valve and a rattle of the detection link device, so the spring constant becomes nonlinear and the error becomes large.

[0274] For these reasons, the inventors focused on the axle spring 12j arranged between the bogie frame 12 and the unsprung portion 14, and devised a technique for calculating the vehicle weight based on the displacement and spring constant of the axle spring 12j.

[0275] Therefore, the state monitoring device 20 of this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires information on the distance between the bogie 10 of the railway vehicle 100 on the track 8 and the track 8 (hereinafter referred to as "distance information J8" in this specification), and a determination unit 44 that determines the weight of the vehicle 100 based on the distance information J8 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. In this case, the vehicle weight on the track 8 can be monitored based on the distance information J8. With this technique, the calculation accuracy of the vehicle weight can be improved compared to the case where the air springs 12s are used. This technique can also be applied to vehicles that do not have air springs.

[0276] For example, the vehicle weight (=change in the number of passengers) can be calculated from the change in displacement of the axle spring 12j based on the actual measurement value when the number of passengers is zero. Specifically, since the axle spring 12j flexes and expands and contracts vertically in response to the change in the vehicle weight, the vehicle weight can be calculated by measuring the vertical distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8.

[0277] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the bogie 10 as viewed from the front. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing the bogie 10 as viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 29, the acquisition unit 30 is attached to the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10 and includes a plurality of distance sensors 30ka, 30kb that measure the distance to the track 8 on both sides in the width direction. Since a plurality of distance sensors 30ka, 30kb are used, it is possible to reduce errors when the weight balance of the car body 2 is biased to one side in the width direction. The distance sensors 30ka, 30kb of this embodiment are attached to the lower surfaces of the side beams 12e, 12f on both sides in the width direction, respectively.

[0278] The distance sensor 30ka measures the distance Hka to the upper surface (tread) of the track 8 from the lower surface of one side beam 12e, and the distance sensor 30kb measures the distance Hkb to the upper surface (tread) of the track 8 from the lower surface of the other side beam 12f. The distance sensors 30ka and 30kb are laser type displacement sensors that obtain the separation distance based on the reflected light of an irradiated laser. The distance sensors 30ka and 30kb may be known sensors such as ultrasonic sensors and optical sensors instead of laser type displacement sensors. The measurement results of the distances Hka and Hkb are provided as distance information J8.

[0279] As shown in FIG. 30, the multiple distance sensors 30ka, 30kb measure the distance to the track at the center position between the front and rear wheels of the bogie 10. In this embodiment, the center position is not limited to the exact center position, and includes cases where the center position can be determined visually. Since the distance is measured at the center position, it is possible to reduce errors when the weight balance of the car body 2 is biased to one side, either front or rear. Furthermore, in this case, since the distance is measured at a position away from the wheels, it is possible to reduce the influence of the state of the contact surface between the wheels 16 and the track 7. Note that the distance sensors 30ka, 30kb may be disposed at positions offset forward or backward from the center position.

[0280] 30, the side beams 12e, 12f have their central portions located lower than both ends in the front-rear direction. The distance sensors 30ka, 30kb may be provided in portions located lower than both front-rear ends of the side beams 12e, 12f, or in portions closest to the track 8.

[0281] 28, this embodiment has a transmitting unit 48 that transmits a determination result E8 of the determining unit 44 to the outside of the dolly 10. The transmitting unit 48 functions as a notifying unit that notifies the outside of the determination result E8.

[0282] As shown in Fig. 28, this embodiment includes a brake control device 80 that changes how the brakes 18 are applied depending on the determination result E8 of the vehicle weight. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires distance information J8 related to the distance between the bogie 10 of the railway vehicle 100 on the track 8 and the track 8, a determination unit 44 that determines the weight of the vehicle 100 based on the distance information J8 acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and a brake control unit 60 that changes the braking force or operation timing of the brakes 18 of the vehicle 100 based on the determination result E8 of the determination unit 44. In this case, the way the brakes 18 are applied can be changed depending on the distance information J8. The brake control operation will be described later.

[0283] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 28, the state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, a determination unit 44, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The description of the first embodiment applies to the configuration and operation of each of these elements unless otherwise specified.

[0284] The position information acquisition unit 82 provides the position information Jp to the information processing unit 40. The acquisition unit 30 is provided on the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10, and provides the information processing unit 40 with distance information J8 including the distances Hka and Hkb.

[0285] The storage unit 46 temporarily stores the distance information J8 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the distance information J8 in association with the timing of acquisition. The storage unit 46 can store the distance information J8 in association with the position information Jp of the acquired position on the orbit. The storage unit 46 can store, with respect to the distance information J8, past data acquired in the past, initial data at the time of manufacture or maintenance, and design data in the design.

[0286] The determination unit 44 determines the vehicle weight based on the distance information J8 acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides the determination result E8. Specifically, the determination unit 44 determines the vehicle weight calculated from the distance information J8 using a preset threshold. The determination result E8 is a result of classifying the calculated vehicle weight into a plurality of ranks according to its level. For example, the determination result E8 may be a result of classifying the distance information J8 into two ranks, or may be a result of classifying the distance information J8 into three or more ranks. The determination result E8 of this embodiment indicates whether the vehicle weight is greater than a threshold.

[0287] In addition, the vehicle weight-related parameters for powering control and braking control may be automatically changed according to the vehicle weight without classifying the vehicle weight. For example, the vehicle weight may be input to a brake receiver that performs control so as to exert a constant deceleration according to a brake command. The brake receiver controls regenerative braking and contact braking according to the vehicle weight.

[0288] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E8 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E8 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E8 to the driver's cab 2d of the car body 2. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E8 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. In other words, the transmitter 48 can report the determination result E8 to the outside of the bogie 10.

[0289] When the determination result E8 of the determination unit 44 indicates that the vehicle weight is greater than the threshold value, the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60. The brake control unit 60 increases the braking force of the contact brake 18d or controls the contact brake 18d to start braking earlier, depending on the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48. The operation of the brake control device 80 will be described later.

[0290] The determination unit 44 and the brake control unit 60 are provided on the bogie 10 or the car body 2. In this case, they can be disposed in a place where there is little vibration, so that the effects of vibration can be mitigated.

[0291] An example of the operation of the status monitoring device 20 will be described. Regarding the distance information J8, the status monitoring device 20 uses any one of past data, initial data, and design data when the number of passengers is zero as a reference value, and calculates the vehicle weight by the difference between the distance information J8 and newly acquired distance information J8. The status monitoring device 20 determines whether the calculated vehicle weight is greater than a threshold value, and transmits the determination result E8 to the outside of the bogie 10. This operation of the status monitoring device 20 may be executed at regular time intervals.

[0292] From the viewpoint of reducing errors, it is desirable that the operation of the condition monitoring device 20 is performed at a specific position set in advance. The specific position may be a reference position, and for example, a position where the track is horizontal may be selected. The condition monitoring device 20 may operate based on the position information Jp.

[0293] The operation of the condition monitoring device 20 may be executed while the vehicle 100 is stopped or traveling. In order to avoid the influence of local wear of the wheels 16 and to increase the measurement accuracy, a value (e.g., an average value) obtained by statistically processing data acquired during at least one revolution of the wheels 16 may be used as the distance information J8. In this case, the influence of local wear of the wheels 16 can be suppressed.

[0294] An example of the operation of the brake control device 80 will be described. The brake control device 80 inputs the calculated vehicle weight into a brake receiver and calculates the necessary braking force according to the vehicle weight. The brake control device 80 also transmits the calculated vehicle weight to the outside and performs powering control and braking control of the vehicle using the vehicle weight as a control parameter. This operation of the brake control device 80 may be executed at regular time intervals.

[0295] There are cases where the relationship between the displacement of the axle spring 12j and the vehicle weight is nonlinear, making it difficult to calculate the vehicle weight from the detection results of the distance sensors 30ka and 30kb. For example, the vehicle weight may be calculated using a learning model M8 that has been generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M8 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using the detection results of the distance sensors 30ka and 30kb and past actual measurement data of the vehicle weight as teacher data. The learning model M8 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0296] [Ninth embodiment] A railway status monitoring device 20 and a railway brake control device 80 according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 31 to 34. The status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment are mounted on a railway vehicle 100. Figure 31 is a block diagram that shows a schematic diagram of the status monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment.

[0297] When the wheels 16 of the railway vehicle 100 run on the track 8, the treads 16b of the wheels 16 become worn (including damaged) due to factors such as friction with the track 8, friction with the brake shoes 18b, skidding due to rain, etc. Such wear can progress unevenly, and if wear progresses excessively, the ride becomes uncomfortable and may have a detrimental effect on the vehicle 100. For this reason, it is desirable to grasp the amount of wear on the wheels 16 and perform maintenance on the wheels 16, such as wheel turning, before the wear progresses excessively.

[0298] In addition, the diameter of the tread 16b of the wheel 16 (hereinafter, referred to as "wheel diameter" in this embodiment) is set as an important parameter in the powering control and braking control of the vehicle 100. For this reason, it is desirable to grasp the wheel diameter and change the parameters according to the amount of change in the wheel diameter before the wheel diameter changes excessively.

[0299] In order to measure the amount of wear and the amount of change in wheel diameter of the wheels 16 (hereinafter collectively referred to as "amount of change in wheel shape" in this embodiment), it is conceivable to carry out special measurement work using a dedicated device such as a wheel diameter measuring device in a garage. However, this method requires complex calculations to improve the measurement accuracy, and is disadvantageous in terms of cost because it requires a large-scale dedicated device.

[0300] Based on these findings, the inventors have devised a technique for calculating the amount of change in wheel shape from the change in the newly measured distance between the bogie 10 and the track 8 relative to the reference distance between the bogie 10 and the track 8.

[0301] Therefore, the state monitoring device 20 of this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires information regarding the distance between the track 8 and the bogie 10 of the railway vehicle 100 on the track 8 (hereinafter referred to as "distance information J9" in this specification), and a determination unit 44 that determines the amount of change in shape of the wheels 16 of the bogie 10 based on the distance information J9 acquired by the acquisition unit 30 and preset reference distance information Js. In this case, the amount of change in the wheel shape of the track 8 can be monitored based on the distance information J9.

[0302] For example, the reference distance information Js may be the distance between the bogie 10 and the track 8 that is actually measured or set when the track 8 is empty and the number of passengers is zero and the track 8 is horizontal. The reference distance information Js may be any of past data actually measured in the past, initial data at the time of manufacture or maintenance, and design data set at the time of design. The reference distance information Js in this embodiment is set based on the initial data at the time of manufacture or maintenance.

[0303] FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the bogie 10 as viewed from the front. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing the bogie 10 as viewed from one side. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the bogie 10 as viewed from the other side. As shown in FIG. 32, the acquisition unit 30 includes a first distance sensor 30p and a second distance sensor 30s that are attached to the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10 and arranged at a distance from each other on both sides in the width direction, and each of the first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s measures the distance to the track 8. Since the first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s that are arranged at a distance from each other on both sides in the width direction are used, it is possible to reduce errors when the weight balance of the car body 2 is biased to one side in the width direction. The first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s of this embodiment are attached to the lower surfaces of the side beams 12e and 12f on both sides in the width direction, respectively.

[0304] The first distance sensor 30p includes a plurality (two) of sensor units 30pa, 30pb spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions between the front and rear wheels 16f, 16r of the bogie 10. The sensor units 30pa, 30pb measure distances Hpa, Hpb from the lower surface of one side beam 12e to the upper surface (tread surface) of the track 8. The second distance sensor 30s includes a plurality (two) of sensor units 30sa, 30sb spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions between the front and rear wheels 16f, 16r of the bogie 10. The sensor units 30sa, 30sb measure distances Hsa, Hsb from the lower surface of the other side beam 12f to the upper surface (tread surface) of the track 8.

[0305] The sensor units 30pa, 30pb, 30sa, and 30sb are laser displacement sensors that obtain the separation distance based on the reflected light of an irradiated laser. The sensor units 30pa, 30pb, 30sa, and 30sb may be known sensors such as ultrasonic sensors and optical sensors instead of laser displacement sensors. The measurement results of the distances Hpa, Hpb, Hsa, and Hsb are provided as distance information J9.

[0306] 33 and 34, the sensor units 30pa and 30sa are disposed closer to the front wheel 16f than the center position of the cart 10, and the sensor units 30pb and 30sb are disposed closer to the rear wheel 16r than the center position of the cart 10. In this way, by disposing the sensor units corresponding to each of the four wheels 16, it is possible to measure the amount of change in the wheel shape of each of the four wheels 16. In addition, by disposing the sensor units closer to the wheels 16, it is possible to reduce measurement errors in the amount of change in the wheel shape.

[0307] 33 and 34, the side beams 12e and 12f have their middle portions located lower than their both ends in the front-rear direction. The sensor units 30pa, 30pb, 30sa, and 30sb may be provided in portions located lower than both front-rear ends of the side beams 12e and 12f, or in portions closest to the track 8.

[0308] 31, this embodiment has a transmission unit 48 that transmits a determination result E9 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the dolly 10. The transmission unit 48 functions as a notification unit that notifies the outside of the determination result E9.

[0309] As shown in Fig. 31, the present embodiment includes a brake control device 80 that changes how the brake 18 is applied depending on a determination result E9 of the wheel shape change amount. The brake control device 80 includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires distance information J9 related to the distance between the bogie 10 of the railway vehicle 100 on the track 8 and the track 8, a determination unit 44 that determines the shape change amount of the wheel 16 of the bogie 10 based on the distance information J9 acquired by the acquisition unit 30 and preset reference distance information Js, and a brake control unit 60 that changes the braking force or operation timing of the brake 18 of the vehicle 100 based on the determination result of the determination unit 44. In this case, the application of the brake 18 can be changed depending on the distance information J9. The brake control operation will be described later.

[0310] The main configurations of the state monitoring device 20 and the brake control device 80 of this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 31, the state monitoring device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30, an information processing unit 40, a power supply unit 70, and a position information acquisition unit 82. The brake control device 80 includes the acquisition unit 30, the information processing unit 40, and a brake control unit 60. The information processing unit 40 includes a determination unit 44, a storage unit 46, a transmission unit 48, and a transmission control unit 42. The description of the first embodiment applies to the configuration and operation of each of these elements unless otherwise specified.

[0311] The position information acquisition unit 82 provides the position information Jp to the information processing unit 40. The acquisition unit 30 is provided on the bogie frame 12 of the bogie 10, and provides the information processing unit 40 with distance information J9 including the distances Hpa, Hpb, Hsa, and Hsb.

[0312] The storage unit 46 temporarily stores the distance information J9 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The storage unit 46 can store the distance information J9 in association with the timing of acquisition. The storage unit 46 can store the distance information J9 in association with the position information Jp of the acquired position on the orbit. The storage unit 46 can store, as reference distance information Js, past data acquired in the past, initial data at the time of manufacture or maintenance, and design data.

[0313] The determination unit 44 determines the wheel shape change amount based on the distance information J9 and the reference distance information Js acquired by the acquisition unit 30, and provides the determination result E9. The determination result E9 may be the wheel shape change amount calculated as the difference between the distance information J9 and the reference distance information Js. The determination result E9 may also be a result of classifying the calculated wheel shape change amount into a plurality of ranks using a preset threshold value. For example, the determination result E9 may be a result of classifying the distance information J9 into two ranks, or may be a result of classifying the distance information J9 into three or more ranks.

[0314] The judgment result E9 in this embodiment is a result of classifying the amount of wear among the amount of change in the wheel shape into three ranks: "small amount of wear," "medium amount of wear," and "large amount of wear." For example, if the judgment result E9 indicates "small amount of wear," it can be predicted that the time for maintenance will not come soon. For example, if the judgment result E9 indicates "medium amount of wear," it can be predicted that the time for maintenance such as wheel rolling will come in six months. For example, if the judgment result E9 indicates "large amount of wear," it can be predicted that the time for maintenance such as wheel rolling will come within three months.

[0315] The determination result E9 in this embodiment is a result of classifying the amount of change in wheel diameter, among the amount of change in wheel shape, into three ranks: "small amount of change," "medium amount of change," and "large amount of change." For example, when the determination result E9 indicates that the wheel diameter is "medium amount of change" or "large amount of change," parameters related to the wheel diameter for the powering control and braking control of the vehicle 100 may be changed according to the amount of change.

[0316] Furthermore, the wheel diameter change amount among the wheel shape changes may not be ranked, and the parameters related to the wheel diameter for the powering control and the brake control may be automatically changed according to the wheel diameter change amount. For example, the wheel diameter change amount may be input to a brake receiver that performs control so as to exert a constant deceleration according to a brake command. The brake receiver controls the regenerative brake and the contact brake according to the wheel diameter change amount.

[0317] The transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E9 of the determination unit 44 to the outside of the bogie 10. In this case, the determination result E9 can be used outside. In this example, the transmitter 48 is provided in the bogie frame 12. The transmitter 48 may be provided in the car body 2. In this example, the transmitter 48 transmits the determination result E9 to the cab 2d of the car body 2. The transmitter 48 may transmit the determination result E9 to a computer 84c of a ground command center 84 outside the vehicle 100 or to a cloud system. In other words, the transmitter 48 can report the determination result E9 to the outside of the bogie 10.

[0318] When the determination result E9 of the determination unit 44 indicates that the wheel diameter has a "medium amount of change" or a "large amount of change," the transmission unit 48 transmits a brake control signal Bc to the brake control unit 60. In response to the brake control signal Bc transmitted from the transmission unit 48, the brake control unit 60 increases the braking force of the contact brake 18d or controls the contact brake 18d to start applying brakes earlier.

[0319] The determination unit 44 and the brake control unit 60 are provided on the bogie 10 or the car body 2. In this case, they can be disposed in a place where there is little vibration, so that the effects of vibration can be mitigated.

[0320] An example of the operation of the state monitoring device 20 will be described. The state monitoring device 20 operates to acquire distance information J9 at every preset period, and determine the amount of change in shape based on the acquired distance information J9 and reference distance information Js. The preset period may be one day, one week, one month, etc. In this embodiment, this operation is performed at the start or end of work each day.

[0321] From the viewpoint of reducing errors, it is desirable that the operation of the status monitoring device 20 is performed at a preset specific position. The specific position may be a reference position such as a garage (including a pit and a storage line), and is desirably a position where the track is horizontal. The status monitoring device 20 may operate based on the position information Jp. The operation of the status monitoring device 20 may be performed outside the garage as long as the vehicle is empty on a horizontal track.

[0322] The operation of the condition monitoring device 20 may be executed while the vehicle 100 is stopped or traveling. In order to avoid the influence of local wear of the wheels 16 and to increase the measurement accuracy, the distance information J9 may be a value (e.g., an average value) obtained by statistically processing data acquired during at least one revolution of the wheels 16. In this case, the influence of local wear of the wheels 16 can be suppressed.

[0323] An example of the operation of the brake control device 80 will be described. The brake control device 80 may input the calculated amount of change in wheel shape to a brake receiver and calculate the necessary braking force according to the amount of change in wheel shape. In addition, the calculated amount of change in wheel shape may be transmitted to the outside, and the vehicle powering control and braking control are performed using the amount of change in wheel shape as a control parameter. This operation of the brake control device 80 may be executed at regular time intervals.

[0324] There are cases where the relationship between the detection results of the first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s and the wheel shape change amount (amount of wear or wheel diameter change amount) is nonlinear, making it difficult to calculate the wheel shape change amount from the detection results of the first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s. For example, the wheel shape change amount may be calculated using a learning model M9 generated in advance by machine learning. The learning model M9 can be generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using the detection results of the first distance sensor 30p and the second distance sensor 30s and past measured data of the wheel shape change amount as teacher data. The learning model M9 may be stored in the storage unit 46.

[0325] Above, examples of the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. The above-mentioned embodiments merely show specific examples of implementing the present invention. The contents of the embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many design changes such as changing, adding, and deleting components are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. In the above-mentioned embodiments, the contents for which such design changes are possible are described with the notation "of the embodiment" or "in the embodiment", but this does not mean that design changes are not permitted for contents without such notation.

[0326] [Variations] The following describes the modified examples. In the drawings and description of the modified examples, the same or equivalent components and members as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Explanations that overlap with the embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the description will focus on the configurations that differ from the first embodiment.

[0327] In the explanation of the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the wheel diameter information is acquired based on the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the tread surface 16b of the wheel 16, but the present invention is not limited to this. The wheel diameter information may be acquired based on the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8. By measuring the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8, a change in the weight of the vehicle 100 (= a change in the number of passengers) can be detected. The weight of the vehicle 100 can be determined from the difference with the measured value when the number of passengers is zero.

[0328] Since the axle spring 12j flexes and expands and contracts vertically in response to changes in the weight of the vehicle 100, the weight of the vehicle 100 can be determined by measuring the vertical distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8. The vertical distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8 can be measured using an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, or the like. When the weight of the vehicle 100 is constant, the flexure of the axle spring 12j is constant, and the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8 changes in response to changes in the wheel diameter. Therefore, the wheel diameter can be calculated by measuring the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8 under conditions where the weight of the vehicle 100 is constant.

[0329] The distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8 is desirably measured at the widthwise center and the longitudinal center of the bogie frame 12. In this case, the influence of the axle 16s can be suppressed. Also, the current wheel diameter can be grasped by comparing the distance from the bogie frame 12 to the track 8 at two different times under the same weight of the vehicle 100 and calculating the difference from the reference wheel diameter. By comparing the wheel diameters of the multiple wheels 16, the multiple wheels 16 can be milled to match the minimum wheel diameter.

[0330] Although each of the above-described embodiments has shown an example in which a tread brake is provided, a disc brake may be provided instead of the tread brake as long as it does not contradict the description of the embodiment.

[0331] The above-described modified examples provide the same functions and effects as the respective embodiments.

[0332] Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present invention. A new embodiment resulting from the combination has the combined effects of the respective embodiments and modifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0333] 2 car body, 8 track, 10 bogie, 12 bogie frame, 14 unsprung part, 16 wheel, 16b tread, 18 brake, 18b brake shoe, 18c braking member, 18d contact brake, 18e regenerative brake, 20 condition monitoring device, 30 acquisition unit, 30b vibration sensor, 30c speed sensor, 30d acceleration sensor, 30e sound sensor, 30f light sensor, 30g image sensor, 30h temperature sensor, 30j humidity sensor, 30k, 30p, 30s distance sensor, 30m inclination sensor, 44 determination unit, 46 memory unit, 48 transmission unit, 60 brake control unit, 70 power supply unit, 80 brake control device, 100 vehicle.

Claims

1. A first acquisition unit that is attached to a bogie of a railway vehicle having a contact brake that generates a braking force by pressing a brake shoe against a tread surface and a regenerative brake, and that acquires status information regarding one or more of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, images, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter; A second acquisition unit that acquires tread information related to a surface property of the tread; a first determination unit attached to the carriage, determining a state of the track on which the carriage runs or a state of the carriage based on the state information acquired by the acquisition unit, and providing a determination result; A second determination unit that determines a smoothness state of the tread surface based on the tread surface information acquired by the second acquisition unit; a brake control unit that changes a braking force or an actuation timing of the contact brake based on the smooth state determined by the second determination unit; a transmission unit attached to the dolly and configured to transmit a determination result of the first determination unit to an outside of the dolly; a power supply unit attached to the dolly and supplying power to the first acquisition unit and the transmission unit; A railway condition monitoring device comprising:

2. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage unit for temporarily storing the information acquired by the first acquisition unit.

3. a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information relating to a position of the railway vehicle, The railway status monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission unit transmits the judgment result of the first judgment unit to an outside of the bogie when the bogie is in a predetermined position based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit.

4. 4. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the determination result of the first determination unit to an outside of the bogie when the determination result of the first determination unit satisfies a predetermined condition.

5. the power supply unit includes a generator attached to the carriage and a battery charged by the generator; 5. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the determination result of the first determining unit to an outside of the bogie when the remaining charge of the battery is greater than a preset level.

6. 6. A railway status monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the judgment result of the first judgment unit to an outside of the bogie when the communication state with the communication partner is higher than a preset level.

7. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting unit is attached to a bogie frame, and the first acquiring unit is attached to an unsprung part supported from the bogie frame via a spring.

8. The railway status monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first determination unit determines the state of the track or the state of the bogie using a learning model generated by machine learning based on previously acquired status information and the state of the track or the state of the bogie corresponding to the status information.

9. a model generation unit attached to the cart and generating the learning model; 9. The railway status monitoring device according to claim 8, wherein the model generation unit updates the learning model based on newly acquired status information and a track status or a bogie status corresponding to the status information.

10. a first acquisition unit that acquires state information relating to one or more of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, image, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter; A second acquisition unit that acquires tread information related to a surface property of a tread in a bogie of a railway vehicle having a contact brake that generates a braking force by pressing a brake shoe against a tread and a regenerative brake; a first determination unit that determines a state of a track on which the bogie runs or a state of the bogie based on the state information acquired by the first acquisition unit, and provides a determination result; A second determination unit that determines a smoothness state of the tread surface based on the tread surface information acquired by the second acquisition unit; a brake control unit that changes a braking force or an actuation timing of the contact brake based on the smooth state determined by the second determination unit; A transmitter that transmits a determination result of the first determination unit to an outside of the bogie; a power supply unit that supplies power to the first acquisition unit and the transmission unit; A railway vehicle bogie on which the bearing is mounted.

11. A bogie of a railway vehicle having a contact brake that generates a braking force by pressing a brake shoe against a tread surface and a regenerative brake, a first acquisition unit that is attached to the cart and acquires status information relating to one or more of vibration, speed, acceleration, sound, reflected light, images, temperature, humidity, and wheel diameter; A second acquisition unit that acquires tread information related to a surface property of the tread; a first determination unit that is attached to the carriage and determines a state of the carriage or a state of the track on which the carriage runs based on the state information acquired by the first acquisition unit, and provides a result of the determination; A second determination unit that determines a smoothness state of the tread surface based on the tread surface information acquired by the second acquisition unit; a brake control unit that changes a braking force or an actuation timing of the contact brake based on the smooth state determined by the second determination unit; a transmission unit that is attached to the cart and transmits the determination result of the first determination unit to an outside of the cart; a power supply unit that is attached to the dolly and supplies power to the first acquisition unit and the transmission unit; A railway vehicle equipped with:

12. 10. A railway condition monitoring device as described in claim 1, wherein the brake control unit increases the braking force of the contact brake when the smooth state judged by the second judgment unit is smoother than a preset standard.

13. 13. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 12, wherein the brake control unit reduces the braking force of the contact brake when the smooth state becomes less smooth than the reference state due to an increase in the braking force of the contact brake.

14. A railway status monitoring device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 and 12 to 13, wherein the second acquisition unit provides as the tread information the detection result of an optical sensor that detects reflected light from the tread or the imaging result of an image sensor that images the tread.

15. 15. A railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the brake control unit changes the braking force or the operation timing of the contact brake by referring to the speed of the railway vehicle.

16. The railway condition monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the second acquisition unit is attached to the bogie.

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