A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives

Abstract

The utility model relates to railway signal equipment detection technical field discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing module, power management module and man -machine interface circuit of encapsulation in, the utility model discloses a portable shunting signal tester of railway locomotive shunting, including portable shell, and the high accuracy signal acquisition front end circuit, central processing

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of railway signal equipment testing technology, and in particular to a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives. Background Technology

[0002] As crucial instructions for directing locomotive operations within railway marshalling yards, the accuracy and reliability of shunting signals directly impact transportation safety and operational efficiency. To ensure their proper functioning, regular inspections and maintenance of the signaling equipment are necessary. Currently, such inspections largely rely on visual observation by on-site personnel, or are aided by simple handheld lux meters for judgment.

[0003] However, this traditional testing method has inherent limitations. The human eye's perception of color and brightness is easily affected by various unstable factors such as weather conditions, viewing angle, and the physiological state of personnel, leading to highly subjective judgments and making it impossible to accurately quantify the optical performance of signal lights. Furthermore, traditional methods struggle to effectively measure important dynamic parameters such as signal light flashing frequency and duty cycle, resulting in incomplete testing and potential omissions of safety hazards. Simultaneously, this testing mode often requires multiple people to coordinate between the signal lights and control consoles, a cumbersome process that is particularly inefficient when conducting rapid surveys of numerous signal lights in large marshalling yards. More importantly, test results are mostly recorded handwritten on paper, making it difficult to create systematic and traceable electronic health records. This not only hinders long-term trend analysis of equipment status for preventative maintenance but also creates difficulties in fault tracing and liability determination. Utility Model Content

[0004] To overcome the above shortcomings, this utility model provides a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives, aiming to improve the technical problems of strong subjectivity, low efficiency, and inability to accurately quantify and trace test results in existing manual shunting signal detection methods.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model adopts the following technical solution: a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives, comprising: a portable housing, and a device encapsulated within the portable housing: A high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit is configured to receive and condition analog electrical signals from an external optical sensor; The central processing module, whose analog-to-digital conversion port is electrically connected to the output of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit, is configured to analyze and judge the acquired signals. A power management module is configured to provide operating voltage to the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit and the central processing module. The human-computer interaction interface circuit is electrically connected to the central processing module and is configured to output the results of the analysis and judgment.

[0006] As a further description of the above technical solution: The internal circuit of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit consists of a constant current drive circuit, a transimpedance amplifier circuit, and a multi-stage filter amplifier circuit connected in series.

[0007] As a further description of the above technical solution: The internal circuit of the power management module consists of a charging management chip connected to a rechargeable lithium battery pack and a DC-DC boost / buck converter circuit.

[0008] As a further description of the above technical solution: It also includes a data storage module, which is electrically connected to the central processing module and is used to store preset railway signal standard parameters and the results of the analysis and judgment.

[0009] As a further description of the above technical solution: The data storage module consists of an EEPROM chip and a Flash memory chip. The EEPROM chip is used to store device calibration parameters and railway signal standard parameters, while the Flash memory chip is used to store test reports.

[0010] As a further description of the above technical solution: It further includes a communication interface circuit, which is electrically connected to the central processing module, providing the central processing module with a physical channel for external data exchange.

[0011] As a further description of the above technical solution: The communication interface circuit includes at least an RS232 level conversion chip and an RS485 transceiver chip.

[0012] As a further description of the above technical solution: The internal circuit of the human-computer interaction interface circuit consists of an LCD screen and at least one physical button located on the portable casing.

[0013] This utility model has the following beneficial effects: 1. In this utility model, the built-in high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit is composed of a constant current drive circuit, a transimpedance amplifier circuit and a multi-stage filter amplifier circuit connected in series. It can stably and accurately convert the weak and noisy analog electrical signal generated by the external optical sensor into a pure digital signal suitable for quantitative analysis by the central processing module, thereby completely eliminating the subjective error and environmental interference caused by traditional manual visual inspection and ensuring the high reliability of the test results.

[0014] 2. In this utility model, by integrating all functional modules into a portable casing and using a power management module consisting of a rechargeable lithium battery pack and a DC-DC boost / buck converter circuit for power supply, testers can hold the device with one hand, move freely within the shunting yard without an external power source, and conduct rapid tests. This greatly simplifies the operation process, reduces manpower requirements, and makes the inspection of a large number of signal devices more efficient and convenient. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall frame structure of a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives proposed in this utility model. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the frame of a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives proposed in this utility model; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the functional modules of a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives proposed in this utility model. Figure 4 This invention presents a circuit diagram for a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0017] Reference Figures 1-4 One embodiment of this utility model is a portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives, comprising: The portable housing, along with a core main control circuit board and related accessories encapsulated within it, is a portable device. The housing is preferably made of high-strength ABS engineering plastic or aluminum alloy, and its ergonomic design allows for one-handed operation by the tester. A human-machine interface is located on the front of the housing, while a window for signal acquisition is located at the front end.

[0018] The core control circuit board integrates the various core circuits of this utility model in a modular manner, including: a high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit, a central processing module, a power management module, a human-machine interface circuit, and a data storage module and a communication interface circuit as preferred options.

[0019] The central processing module is the core of the entire tester's control and computation. In this embodiment, a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 core microcontroller (MCU) is preferably used as the central processing module. This MCU features low power consumption and high performance, integrating a high-speed multi-channel 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), multiple hardware timers, and various serial communication controllers including UART, I2C, and SPI. These integrated peripherals provide the hardware foundation for the various functions of this invention. The MCU's analog-to-digital conversion port specifically refers to the analog signal input pin of its internal ADC. This pin is electrically connected to the final output of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit through circuit board wiring, and is used to receive the conditioned analog voltage signal.

[0020] The high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit is the key physical structure for achieving accurate measurement in this invention. It is configured to receive and condition analog electrical signals from an external optical sensor. The external optical sensor can be a photodiode array integrating multiple channels such as red, green, blue, and white. The internal circuitry of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit consists of a constant current drive circuit, a transimpedance amplifier circuit, and a multi-stage filter amplifier circuit connected in series.

[0021] Constant current drive circuit: Its main function is to provide a stable and accurate reverse bias current for the external photodiode sensor, ensuring that the sensor operates in the linear region, thereby obtaining the best sensitivity and response speed.

[0022] Transimpedance amplifier circuit: Since the photodiode generates a weak current signal (typically in the nA to μA range) that is proportional to the light intensity under illumination, a transimpedance amplifier circuit (usually composed of an operational amplifier and a feedback resistor) is needed to linearly convert it into a voltage signal. This is the core component for achieving current-to-voltage conversion.

[0023] Multi-stage filtering and amplification circuit: The voltage signal output from the transimpedance amplifier circuit may still contain noise, and its amplitude may not be suitable for the optimal range of the MCU's internal ADC. Therefore, this voltage signal is then fed into a multi-stage filtering and amplification circuit. This circuit typically includes a second-order active low-pass filter to filter out power frequency interference and high-frequency noise; followed by a programmable gain amplifier (PGA), whose amplification factor the MCU can dynamically adjust according to the signal strength to ensure that the signal is always within the ADC's optimal resolution range.

[0024] The series connection of the three circuits ensures high precision and high signal-to-noise ratio throughout the entire conversion and conditioning process, from weak photocurrent to a pure voltage signal with appropriate amplitude.

[0025] The power management module is fundamental to ensuring the portability and stable operation of the device. Its internal circuitry consists of a charging management chip connected to a rechargeable lithium battery pack and a DC-DC boost / buck converter circuit.

[0026] Rechargeable lithium battery pack: It is preferred to use two 18650 lithium-ion batteries in series, providing a nominal voltage of 7.4V and sufficient capacity to ensure that the equipment can work continuously for more than 8 hours.

[0027] Charging management chip: Charges via a USB Type-C port located on the portable casing. This chip features comprehensive lithium battery protection functions, including overcharge protection, over-discharge protection, overcurrent protection, and short-circuit protection.

[0028] DC-DC boost / buck converter circuit: Employing a high-efficiency switching power supply chip, it efficiently converts the unstable 7.4V battery voltage into two or more stable operating voltages required by the system. For example, one +5V voltage is dedicated to powering analog circuits (such as operational amplifiers in high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuits), while another +3.3V voltage powers digital circuits (such as central processing modules and memory chips).

[0029] The human-computer interface circuit serves as a bridge for communication between the user and the device, and it is electrically connected to the GPIO (General Purpose Input / Output) pins of the central processing module and the display controller. In this embodiment, its internal circuitry consists of an LCD screen and at least one physical button located on the portable casing.

[0030] LCD screen: Preferably a 3.5-inch TFT color LCD screen, used to display in real time the measured signal color, brightness value, frequency value, final result of pass / fail, equipment power and system menu information.

[0031] Physical buttons: At least four physical buttons are provided on the portable casing, such as "Power On / Off", "Start / Stop Test", "Data Save", and "Menu / Confirm". These buttons use highly reliable tactile switches, and their signals are connected to the MCU's external interrupt pin after passing through a simple debouncing circuit to achieve sensitive operation response.

[0032] This invention also includes a data storage module. It is electrically connected to the central processing module via an SPI or I2C bus. To balance the absolute reliability of critical data and the storage requirements of massive amounts of test data, this module consists of an EEPROM chip and a Flash memory chip.

[0033] EEPROM chips (such as the AT24C02): These have small capacities but a very high number of erase / write cycles. They are used to permanently store the device's serial number, calibration parameters, and preset railway signal standard parameters (such as brightness and frequency standard thresholds for different color signals). These data do not change frequently but are crucial.

[0034] Flash memory chips (such as W25Q64): These have a large capacity (e.g., 8MB) and are used to store detailed reports generated from each test in batches. Each report is automatically appended with test time, signal parameters, and test conclusions by the central processing module and written into the Flash chip.

[0035] This invention also includes a communication interface circuit. It provides a physical channel for the central processing module to exchange data with external systems. In this embodiment, the circuit includes at least an RS232 level converter chip and an RS485 transceiver chip.

[0036] RS232 level conversion chip (such as MAX232): Connects to a UART controller of the MCU to convert the MCU's TTL / CMOS level to RS232 standard level, which is brought out through a DB9 interface for easy connection to a PC for low-level firmware burning or device debugging.

[0037] RS485 transceiver chips (such as MAX485): Connect to another UART controller of the MCU, providing a half-duplex differential signal interface. RS485 features long-distance transmission (up to 1200 meters) and high anti-interference capability, and supports multi-point networking, making it possible for this device to connect to the industrial bus of the railway site or connect to other external modules.

[0038] Working Principle: During use, the operator holds the tester, aligns the front-end acquisition window with the shunting signal light to be tested, and presses the "Start Test" physical button. Upon receiving the command, the central processing module immediately drives the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit to start working and activates the internal ADC to continuously acquire the voltage signal output by the front-end circuit at a high sampling rate, for a duration of, for example, 2 seconds. After acquisition, the central processing module processes the data sample sequence stored in RAM, analyzes the various parameters of the signal, and compares them with the standard values ​​stored in the EEPROM chip to determine a "pass / fail" conclusion. This conclusion and detailed parameters are displayed on the LCD screen through the human-machine interface circuit. If the user presses the "Save Data" button, the complete record will be stored in the Flash memory chip. Test data can be subsequently exported through the communication interface circuit.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model. Although the present utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives, characterized in that, Includes: a portable housing, and a component encapsulated within the portable housing: A high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit is configured to receive and condition analog electrical signals from an external optical sensor; The central processing module, whose analog-to-digital conversion port is electrically connected to the output of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit, is configured to analyze and judge the acquired signals. A power management module is configured to provide operating voltage to the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit and the central processing module. The human-computer interaction interface circuit is electrically connected to the central processing module and is configured to output the results of the analysis and judgment.

2. The portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 1, characterized in that: The internal circuit of the high-precision signal acquisition front-end circuit consists of a constant current drive circuit, a transimpedance amplifier circuit, and a multi-stage filter amplifier circuit connected in series.

3. The portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 1, characterized in that: The internal circuit of the power management module consists of a charging management chip connected to a rechargeable lithium battery pack and a DC-DC boost / buck converter circuit.

4. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a data storage module, which is electrically connected to the central processing module and is used to store preset railway signal standard parameters and the results of the analysis and judgment.

5. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 4, characterized in that: The data storage module consists of an EEPROM chip and a Flash memory chip. The EEPROM chip is used to store device calibration parameters and railway signal standard parameters, while the Flash memory chip is used to store test reports.

6. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further includes a communication interface circuit, which is electrically connected to the central processing module, providing the central processing module with a physical channel for external data exchange.

7. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 6, characterized in that: The communication interface circuit includes at least an RS232 level conversion chip and an RS485 transceiver chip.

8. A portable shunting signal tester for railway locomotives according to claim 1, characterized in that: The internal circuit of the human-computer interaction interface circuit consists of an LCD screen and at least one physical button located on the portable casing.

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