Active Train Control

Abstract

An active train control system is disclosed, comprising: an information receiving module, used to receive first information through ultra-wideband communication, and send the first information to an information processing module; an information sending module, used to send second information through ultra-wideband communication; an information processing module, used to process the first information to obtain the distance between two trains, compare the distance between the two trains with a first threshold and a second threshold to obtain a comparison result and transmit the comparison result to an active control module; and an active control module, which performs active control based on the comparison result, and the active control includes alarm and / or braking. In this way, the active train control system is completely independent of the existing train signal system, and realizes high-safety active train control in a simple manner and at a low cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of train control, and more specifically, to an active train control system. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of passenger dedicated line construction in my country, the train speed is constantly increasing, and the requirements for train operation safety are also constantly increasing. The existing train signal system uses signal blocking to ensure driving safety. The ground equipment is responsible for controlling the operation, and the on-board equipment does not control the operation. It is a passive train operation protection method. However, the train signal system equipment is bound to have external environmental interference, personnel misoperation, equipment failure, etc., which may lead to the failure of the train signal system operation, which can easily lead to train collisions and other accidents that endanger the safety of train operation.

[0003] The "Yongwen Line" railway collision traffic accident also shows that in addition to the train signal system, it is necessary to design an active train control system that is completely independent of the train signal system, can work autonomously, and can work around the clock and all-weather, including active train control devices and base stations. This system serves as a redundant backup for the train signal system. When the train signal system fails, the active train control system works in real time according to the active train control method to improve the safety assurance capability of train operation.

[0004] Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved active train control system. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application is proposed. The embodiment of the present application provides an active train control system, which communicates through ultra-wideband communication to measure the distance between vehicles, thereby performing active control based on the distance between vehicles, realizing active train control that is completely independent of the existing train signal system, and improving safety.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present application, an active train control system is provided, comprising: an information receiving module, for receiving first information via an ultra-wideband communication method, and sending the first information to an information processing module; an information sending module, for sending second information via an ultra-wideband communication method; an information processing module, for processing the first information to obtain a distance between two trains, comparing the distance between the two trains with a first threshold and a second threshold to obtain a comparison result and transmitting the comparison result to an active control module; and an active control module, performing active control based on the comparison result, wherein the active control includes alarming and / or braking.

[0007] In the above-mentioned active train control system, the active control module includes a display unit, a voice unit and a braking control unit, and the active control module is used to: in response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is greater than a first threshold, control the display unit to display a first icon indicating safety; in response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than a second threshold, control the display unit to display an alarm message, the alarm message includes the distance between the two trains and / or a second icon indicating a warning; and / or control the voice unit to issue a voice alarm, the voice alarm includes the distance between the two trains and / or a warning prompt voice; and, in response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to the second threshold, the active control module controls the braking control unit to issue a braking command to the braking system of the train to control the braking of the train.

[0008] In the above-mentioned active train control system, the active control module is further used to: in response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to a second threshold, control the display unit to display an alarm message, the alarm message includes the distance between the two trains and / or a third icon indicating a warning; and / or control the voice unit to issue a voice alarm, the voice alarm includes the distance between the two trains and / or a warning prompt voice.

[0009] In the above-mentioned active train control system, it further includes a power supply module, which is used to draw power from the train power supply and supply power to the information receiving module, the information sending module, the information processing module and the active control module.

[0010] In the above active train control system, the first information comes from other trains or base stations.

[0011] In the above active train control system, the base station is arranged at a curve in the track on which the train travels.

[0012] In the above active train control system, the first information includes the distance between the base station and other trains.

[0013] In the above active train control system, the information receiving module is located at at least one of the front and rear of the train.

[0014] In the above active train control system, the information sending module is located at least one of the front and rear of the train.

[0015] The active train control system provided in the present application communicates via ultra-wideband communication to measure the distance between vehicles, thereby performing active control based on the distance between vehicles, achieving active train control that is completely independent of the existing train signal system and improving safety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] By describing the embodiments of the present application in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the present application and do not constitute a limitation of the present application. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0017] Figure 1 A block diagram of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 2A and Figure 2B A schematic diagram of an example of ranging of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 3A and Figure 3B A schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement example of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 4 The diagram shows a schematic diagram of bidirectional bilateral three-message communication ranging adopted by an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Below, the exemplary embodiments according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described here.

[0022] Application Overview

[0023] As mentioned above, the existing train signal system uses signal blocking to ensure driving safety, which has high reliability. However, it is inevitable that dispatching errors by dispatchers in the train control center and damage to the train control system equipment due to extreme weather such as lightning will occur.

[0024] When the above-mentioned train signal system does not operate according to the established normal mode, it is usually impossible to ensure that the front and rear trains run at a safe distance, which can easily lead to the risk of collision between the front and rear trains, so additional safety mechanisms are needed.

[0025] In response to the above technical problems, the basic concept of this application is to design an active train control system, which is arranged on the train, measures the distance with other trains through ultra-wideband communication, and performs active control based on the distance with other trains, so that the train has active control functions such as autonomous distance measurement, early warning, alarm, and braking.

[0026] Specifically, the present application provides an active train control system, including: an information receiving module, used to receive first information through an ultra-wideband communication method, and send the first information to an information processing module; an information sending module, used to send second information through an ultra-wideband communication method; an information processing module, used to process the first information to obtain the distance between two trains, compare the distance between the two trains with a first threshold and a second threshold to obtain a comparison result and transmit the comparison result to an active control module; and an active control module, which performs active control based on the comparison result, and the active control includes alarm and / or braking.

[0027] In this way, since the active train control system provided by the present application is completely independent of the existing train signal system and can realize autonomous ranging, early warning, alarm, braking and other active control functions, when the existing train signal system fails due to faults or omissions caused by various reasons, the active train control system provided by the present application can actively control the train and reduce the risk of train operation.

[0028] In addition, the active train control system provided in the present application uses ultra-wideband communication to measure the distance between two trains, which can obtain high-precision distance data in a simple manner, achieve low power consumption and low cost, and make the overall design of the system simple and light.

[0029] After introducing the basic principles of the present application, various non-limiting embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Exemplary Systems

[0031] Figure 1 A block diagram of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the active train control system 100 according to the embodiment of the present application includes the following modules.

[0033] The information receiving module 110 is used to receive first information through an ultra-wideband communication method, and send the first information to the information processing module.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present application, the information receiving module 110 is used to receive the first information for vehicle-to-vehicle ranging through an ultra-wideband communication method. Here, vehicle-to-vehicle ranging belongs to a one-dimensional ranging problem. Common ranging technologies include Wifi ranging, ultrasound, Bluetooth, etc. However, these technologies have shortcomings such as poor anti-interference ability, high power consumption, or only line-of-sight signal transmission. Relatively speaking, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology does not need to use the carrier in the traditional communication system. It transmits data by sending and receiving extremely narrow pulses with nanoseconds or below, thus having a bandwidth of the order of GHz, and has many advantages such as strong penetration, low power consumption, good anti-multipath effect, high security, low system complexity, and high positioning accuracy.

[0035] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, by using an ultra-wideband communication method in the scenario of distance measurement between high-speed trains, a significantly better effect than other distance measurement methods can be achieved.

[0036] In addition, the information receiving module 110 may send the first information to the information processing module through an inter-module communication method within the system, such as a system bus.

[0037] The information sending module 120 is used to send the second information via an ultra-wideband communication method.

[0038] As described above, due to the significant advantages of ultra-wideband communication in the scenario of distance measurement between high-speed trains, the information sending module 120 is used to send the second information via ultra-wideband communication, so that other trains other than the train can perform distance measurement between the train and the train based on the second information.

[0039] The information processing module 130 is used to process the first information to obtain the distance between two trains, compare the distance between two trains with a first threshold and a second threshold to obtain a comparison result, and transmit the comparison result to the active control module.

[0040] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, a first threshold and a second threshold less than the first threshold are set to obtain a comparison result for indicating different types of active control. For example, the first threshold corresponds to a safety alarm value for the distance between two trains, and the second threshold corresponds to an emergency braking value for the distance between two trains.

[0041] The active control module 140 performs active control based on the comparison result, where the active control includes warning and / or braking.

[0042] Specifically, based on the comparison result of the information processing module 130 , the active control module 140 performs the following active control.

[0043] Regarding the type of the active control operation, the active control module may include a display unit, a voice unit and a brake control unit.

[0044] In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is greater than a first threshold, the active control module 140 controls the display unit to display a first icon indicating safety, such as a green square icon indicating safety.

[0045] In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, the active control module 140 controls the display unit to display an alarm message, wherein the alarm message includes the distance between the two trains and / or a second icon indicating a warning, such as a flashing red square icon indicating an alarm.

[0046] Alternatively, the voice unit may be controlled to issue a voice alarm, the voice alarm including the distance between two trains and / or a warning prompt voice. Of course, the display unit may also be controlled to display the alarm information and the voice unit may be controlled to issue a voice alarm at the same time.

[0047] In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to a second threshold, the active control module 140 controls the braking control unit to issue a braking command to the braking system of the train to control the braking of the train.

[0048] In addition, while controlling the train braking, a warning can be further issued. That is, the active control module is further used to: in response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to the second threshold, control the display unit to display an alarm message, the alarm message includes the distance between the two trains and / or a third icon indicating a warning; and / or control the voice unit to issue a voice alarm, the voice alarm includes the distance between the two trains and / or a warning prompt voice.

[0049] That is, the display unit can be implemented as an on-board display device for displaying the real-time distance between the front and rear trains, and for example, if there is no vehicle within the measuring range, the distance is not displayed, and is replaced by a green square to indicate safety, and if the vehicle distance is within a dangerous threshold, in addition to displaying the distance, a red flashing square for warning is also displayed.

[0050] Furthermore, the voice unit can be implemented as an in-vehicle voice module, which can cooperate with the function of the in-vehicle display module. When the distance between vehicles is within the danger threshold, the voice module will automatically alarm "pay attention to the distance between the vehicles in front / behind". In addition, the in-vehicle voice module can also support voice recognition to achieve intelligent dialogue. For example, the driver can use voice commands such as "report the distance between the vehicles in front / behind" to make the voice module automatically broadcast the corresponding information.

[0051] In the above-mentioned active train control system, it further includes a power supply module, which is used to draw power from the train power supply and supply power to the information receiving module, the information sending module, the information processing module and the active control module.

[0052] For example, the power module can draw power from inside the vehicle and support 12-24V power supply. Due to the use of ultra-wideband communication, the power consumption of the information receiving module and the information sending module is less than 5W, thereby achieving low power consumption.

[0053] Figure 2A and Figure 2B A schematic diagram of an example of ranging of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0054] like Figure 2A As shown, the first train directly measures distance with the second train through the active train control system, that is, when the second train is within the communication range of the active train control system, the active train control system directly communicates and measures distance to determine the distance between the first train and the second train.

[0055] like Figure 2B As shown, when the first train and the second train are at a curve on the train track, the second train may not be within the communication range of the active train control system of the first train, so it is necessary to transfer the distance measurement information through the base station. That is, the first train and the second train respectively perform distance measurement based on ultra-wideband communication with the base station through their active train control systems to determine the distance between the first train and the second train and the base station respectively. Then, the distance information is sent from the base station to the first train and the second train, so that the first train and the second train can indirectly calculate the distance between them for active control.

[0056] Therefore, in the active train control system according to the embodiment of the present application, the first information comes from other trains or base stations.

[0057] Furthermore, in the case where the first information comes from a base station, in the active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application, the base station is arranged at a turn in the track on which the train is traveling.

[0058] In this way, when the first information comes from a base station, in the active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application, the first information includes the distance between the base station and other trains.

[0059] Figure 3A and Figure 3B A schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement example of an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application is illustrated.

[0060] like Figure 3AAs shown, according to the active train control system of the embodiment of the present application, a locator for positioning and a display for displaying distance information can be arranged at the front and rear of the train. Here, the locator can be the information receiving module, information sending module and information processing module as described above, or one or more of the above modules. For example, the locator only includes an information receiving module, so that the information sent by the front and rear vehicles are received at the front and rear of the train respectively, and transmitted to the centralized information processing module for distance measurement. In addition, a unique information sending module can also be used to send the vehicle information to the front and rear vehicles.

[0061] It is worth noting that the active train control system according to the embodiment of the present application can also be arranged at one of the front and rear of the train, such as the front or the rear, with a locator for positioning and a display for displaying distance information.

[0062] Therefore, in the active train control system according to the embodiment of the present application, the information receiving module is located at least at the front and the rear of the train.

[0063] Furthermore, in the active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application, the information sending module is located at at least one of the front and rear of the train.

[0064] In the specific implementation process, the positioning substation can be installed inside the cab at the front and rear of the train as a vehicle-mounted locator to achieve ranging with other vehicle-mounted locators and track positioning base stations. For example, the vehicle-mounted locator is installed in a fixed position on the upper part of the front windshield of the train, and the installation position of all trains is as similar as possible.

[0065] At the same time, industrial control computers are deployed at the front and rear of the train. The computers are connected to the car cards via Ethernet cables to realize the location calculation of the positioning data.

[0066] like Figure 3B As shown, when the front and rear of the train are both equipped with locators for positioning and displays for displaying distance information, the locator at the rear of the front train can directly measure distance with the locator at the front of the rear train, thereby facilitating direct acquisition of distance information for active control of the train.

[0067] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to improve the ranging accuracy, a two-way bilateral 3-message method can be adopted. Figure 4 The diagram shows a schematic diagram of bidirectional bilateral three-message communication ranging adopted by an active train control system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0068] like Figure 4As shown, communication body A initiates communication ranging and automatically sends a communication ranging command. After receiving the command after the command transmission time Tprop, communication body B responds to the command of communication body A, delays Treply1, and replies corresponding information to communication body A. After the information transmission time Tprop, after communication body A receives the information, Tround1 is calculated, and after a delay of Treply2, communication body A sends a command to communication body B again. The command includes Tround1 and Treply2. After the information transmission time Tprop, system B receives the command and calculates Tround2.

[0069] Communication body B determines the system distance L with communication body A according to:

[0070] L=C×Tprop (1)

[0071] Where C is the speed of light, L is the distance between communication body A and communication body B, and Tprop is as follows:

[0072]

[0073] Communicator B sends distance information L to communicator A, and communicator A can also obtain distance L.

[0074] Therefore, when the active train control systems of the first train and the second train correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the following can be performed: Figure 4 The communication ranging shown is performed to obtain the distance L, that is, the distance between the first train and the second train.

[0075] Alternatively, when the active train control system of the first train and the base station correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the active train control system of the first train performs the following communication with the base station: Figure 4 The communication ranging shown determines the distance L1, ie the distance between the first train and the base station.

[0076] Furthermore, when the active train control system of the second train and the base station correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the active train control system of the second train and the base station perform the following operations: Figure 4 The communication ranging shown determines the distance L2, which is the distance between the second train and the base station.

[0077] Then, the base station may send the distance L2 to the active train control system of the first train, which receives the information through the information receiving module and determines the distance L between the first train and the second train based on L1 and L2, for example, determines L=L1+L2.

[0078] Compared with unilateral ranging, the two-way bilateral three-message communication ranging method can eliminate the influence of the clock deviation of the communicating parties on the ranging accuracy, and has high ranging accuracy; compared with the two-way bilateral four-message communication ranging method, the communication efficiency is higher while achieving the same ranging accuracy.

[0079] The basic principles of the present application are described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, strengths, effects, etc. mentioned in the present application are only examples and not limitations, and it cannot be considered that these advantages, strengths, effects, etc. are required by each embodiment of the present application. In addition, the specific details disclosed above are only for the purpose of illustration and ease of understanding, not for limitation, and the above details do not limit the present application to being implemented by adopting the above specific details.

[0080] The block diagrams of the devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems involved in this application are only illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, and configured in the manner shown in the block diagram. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these devices, apparatuses, equipment, and systems can be connected, arranged, and configured in any manner. Words such as "including", "comprising", "having", etc. are open words, referring to "including but not limited to", and can be used interchangeably with them. The words "or" and "and" used here refer to the words "and / or" and can be used interchangeably with them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The words "such as" used here refer to the phrase "such as but not limited to", and can be used interchangeably with them.

[0081] It should also be noted that in the apparatus, device and method of the present application, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present application.

[0082] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0083] The above description has been given for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the forms disclosed herein. Although multiple example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, changes, additions and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. An active train control system, characterized in that: include: An information receiving module, configured to receive first information via an ultra-wideband communication method, and send the first information to an information processing module; An information sending module, used for sending second information via an ultra-wideband communication method; an information processing module, configured to process the first information to obtain a distance between two trains, compare the distance between the two trains with a first threshold and a second threshold to obtain a comparison result, and transmit the comparison result to an active control module; as well as A positioning substation for positioning is arranged at the front and rear of the train as a locator, the locator includes the information receiving module, the information sending module and the information processing module, the locator at the rear of the front train directly measures the distance with the locator at the front of the rear train, and directly obtains the distance information used for active control of the train, the locator is installed at a fixed position on the upper part of the front windshield of the train, and the installation position of all trains is as similar as possible; and Industrial computers are deployed at both the front and rear of the train. The computers are connected to the train cards via Ethernet cables to calculate the train positioning data; and an active control module, performing active control based on the comparison result, wherein the active control includes alarming and / or braking; and The first information comes from other trains and a base station. When the first information comes from the base station, the base station sends the first information to the leading train and the trailing train respectively, so that the leading train and the trailing train indirectly calculate the distance between them for active control; as well as The base station is arranged at a turn in the track on which the train travels; Wherein, the first information includes the distance between the base station and other trains; Wherein, the information receiving module is located at least one of the front and rear of the train; The processing of the first information to obtain the distance between two trains includes: The communication body A initiates communication ranging and automatically sends a communication ranging command. After receiving the command after the command transmission time Tprop, the communication body B responds to the command of the communication body A, delays Treply1, and replies the corresponding information to the communication body A. After the information transmission time Tprop, the communication body A receives the information and calculates Tround1. After a delay of Treply2, the communication body A sends a command to the communication body B again. The command includes Tround1 and Treply2. After the information transmission time Tprop, the communication body B receives the command and calculates Tround2. The communication body B determines the distance L from the communication body A according to: L=C×Tprop (1) Where C is the speed of light, L is the distance between the communication body A and the communication body B, and Tprop is as follows: The communication body B sends the distance L to the communication body A, and the communication body A can also obtain the distance L; Wherein, when the active train control systems of the first train and the second train correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the distance L, i.e. the distance between the first train and the second train, can be obtained; Alternatively, when the active train control system of the first train and the base station correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the active train control system of the first train and the base station determine a distance L1, that is, a distance between the first train and the base station; Furthermore, when the active train control system of the second train and the base station correspond to the communication body A and the communication body B respectively, the active train control system of the second train and the base station determine a distance L2, that is, a distance between the second train and the base station; Then, the base station can send the distance L2 to the active train control system of the first train, and the active train control system of the first train receives the information through the information receiving module and determines the distance L between the first train and the second train based on L1 and L2.

2. The active train control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The active control module includes a display unit, a voice unit and a brake control unit, and the active control module is used to: In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is greater than a first threshold, controlling the display unit to display a first icon indicating safety; In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, controlling the display unit to display an alarm message, the alarm message including the distance between the two trains and / or a second icon indicating a warning; and / or controlling the voice unit to issue a voice alarm, the voice alarm including the distance between the two trains and / or a warning prompt voice; In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to a second threshold, the active control module controls the brake control unit to issue a brake command to the brake system of the train to control the braking of the train.

3. The active train control system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The active control module is further used for: In response to the comparison result indicating that the distance between the two trains is less than or equal to a second threshold, the display unit is controlled to display an alarm message, wherein the alarm message includes the distance between the two trains and / or a third icon indicating a warning; and / or the voice unit is controlled to issue a voice alarm, wherein the voice alarm includes the distance between the two trains and / or a warning prompt voice.

4. The active train control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further includes a power supply module, which is used to draw power from the train power supply and supply power to the information receiving module, the information sending module, the information processing module and the active control module.

5. The active train control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The information sending module is located at at least one of the front and rear of the train.

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