METHOD FOR OPERATING AN LED SIGNAL GENERATOR, LED SIGNAL GENERATOR AND TRAFFIC SYSTEM

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for operating an LED signal generator for rail or road traffic, in which measured values ​​of at least one operating parameter of an LED light source of the LED signal generator are recorded and evaluated.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to an LED signal generator for rail or road traffic, comprising an LED light source, at least one sensor device designed to detect measured values ​​of at least one operating parameter of the LED light source, and at least one evaluation device connected to the sensor device, which is designed to evaluate the measured values ​​of the at least one operating parameter.

[0003] Finally, the invention also relates to a traffic engineering system with at least one LED signal generator, wherein the LED signal generator has an LED light source, at least one sensor device designed to detect measured values ​​of at least one operating parameter of the LED light source, and with an external location connected to the LED signal generator, in particular a signal box, and with at least one evaluation device designed to evaluate the measured values ​​of the at least one operating parameter.

[0004] Methods and devices of this type are known from the prior art and are described, for example, in EP 2 589 264 B1, WO2015073954A1, or WO 2007 / 036509 A1. These documents describe LED signaling devices that transmit a fault signal to a signal box in the event of a failure in order to prevent any danger to the operation of the traffic systems.

[0005] The LED light sources of conventional LED signal heads are replaced after a defined period of use to prevent failure. However, the maximum period of use used is relatively short, so that failure before the end of the period can be ruled out with a very high degree of certainty. This, of course, has the disadvantage that the LED light sources are often replaced too early, even though their service life is not yet complete. This leads to increased maintenance effort and overall increased maintenance costs for the traffic system.

[0006] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide methods and devices of the type mentioned above by means of which the maintenance costs of a traffic system can be reduced.

[0007] The method of the type mentioned at the outset solves the problem by the subject matter of claim 1.

[0008] The LED signal generator of the type mentioned at the outset solves the problem by the subject matter of claim 5.

[0009] Finally, the traffic engineering system of the type mentioned at the outset solves the problem by the subject matter of claim 7.

[0010] The inventive solution has the advantage that, by utilizing the future failure time of the LED signaling device, the operator can plan maintenance of the LED signaling device very well in advance. The invention allows a maintenance call, for example, replacing the LED light source, to be scheduled well in advance. This allows deployment plans to be drawn up much more accurately than before, and short-term emergency calls can be avoided. By avoiding spontaneous maintenance, the operator's operating costs can be reduced.

[0011] The solution according to the invention can be further developed by advantageous embodiments which are described below.

[0012] Thus, in an advantageous development of the method according to the invention, the temperature, generated light intensity, and / or LED current can be recorded as at least one operating parameter of the LED light source. This has the advantage that these specific operating parameters, individually or together, are particularly suitable for predicting the time of failure of the LED signal generator. Recording all three operating parameters together has proven particularly advantageous.

[0013] To improve the accuracy of the predicted failure time, at least one time series of measured values ​​can be generated during the evaluation, which are then taken into account when predicting the failure time. It has been shown that creating and evaluating time series allows for a simple and reliable prediction of the failure time. Furthermore, the prediction can determine when the luminous intensity of the LED light source will fall below a permissible level.

[0014] In order to make the failure time of the respective LED signal generator according to the invention available to the operator centrally, the predicted failure time, a signal representative of the predicted failure time or the measured values ​​of the at least one operating parameter are transmitted from the LED signal generator to an external location, in particular a signal box.

[0015] According to the invention, the LED signaling device is operated in such a way that it is essentially compatible with an incandescent signaling device. This has the advantage that the invention is also suitable for so-called retrofit solutions and can be used in older, existing systems without modifications or adaptations.

[0016] In order to report the determined failure time to the external location in older systems as easily as possible, the representative signal is transmitted by signaling a main filament / secondary filament switchover to the external location. Main filament / secondary filament switchover was and is possible with incandescent lamp signal heads. This means that the necessary signal lines and evaluation devices are present in the external location, e.g., in the signal box, in older systems. This design creates a particularly cost-effective way of communicating the predicted failure time to the external location. For example, a switchover from a main filament signal to a secondary filament signal occurs as soon as the predicted failure time of the LED signal head falls within a predetermined relative time span into the future. This time span is chosen to ensure sufficient time for planned maintenance and replacement of the LED signal head.The main thread / secondary thread switching can be easily detected in the external location because the necessary equipment for detecting the switching is available.

[0017] The LED signal generator according to the invention has at least one interface, and the evaluation device is designed to provide a signal representative of the time of failure at the interface. This has the advantage that the representative signal can be easily communicated to the external location via the interface.

[0018] In an advantageous further development of the traffic system according to the invention, the LED signal generator can be designed according to one of the previously mentioned embodiments.

[0019] In order to transmit as much data as possible, the interface can be designed as a bi-directional digital interface.

[0020] The invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] They show: Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a traffic system according to the invention in a first exemplary embodiment; Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of a further embodiment of the traffic system according to the invention.

[0022] First, the invention will be described with reference to the exemplary embodiment in Figure 1 described.

[0023] Figure 1shows a traffic system 1 according to the invention, which comprises an LED signal head 2 and a signal box 3. A traffic system is understood here to be a railway system; alternatively, it could of course also be a system with other rail-bound vehicles, such as trams or subways, or a system with road vehicles. The signal box 3 represents a location external to the LED signal head 2.

[0024] In Figure 1 For simplicity, only one LED signal head 2 is shown. Naturally, the traffic control system has several LED signal heads 2, as is generally the case. The LED signal heads 2 are typically used to display light signals, such as red or green, to indicate to a driver, for example, whether a road is clear or occupied.

[0025] The LED signal generator 2 has an LED light source 4 and a control device 5 connected to the LED light source 4, which is designed to control the LED light source 4. The control device 5, in turn, comprises a sensor device 6 and an evaluation device 7 connected to the sensor device 6, as well as a switching device 8 and an interface 9.

[0026] The LED light source 4 is designed in a conventional manner and is supplied with the necessary electrical voltage during operation via the control device 5. The LED light source 4 generates the light required by the LED signal generator 2 to generate the desired signal aspect.

[0027] The sensor device 6 is designed to record measured values ​​of operating parameters of the LED light source 4. In the Figure 1In the exemplary embodiment shown, the sensor device 6 comprises sensors or measuring devices that generate measured values ​​for the operating parameters temperature, generated light intensity, and LED current. The measured values ​​of these operating parameters are transmitted from the sensor device 6 to the evaluation device 7.

[0028] The evaluation device 7 is designed, for example, as a microcontroller designed to evaluate the measured values ​​of the aforementioned operating parameters. During operation, the evaluation device 7 generates a time series of the measured values ​​from the measured values ​​for temperature, generated light intensity, and LED current supplied by the sensor device 6. Using, for example, a common forecast algorithm, the evaluation device 7 determines when the light intensity of the LED light source 4 will fall below a permissible level. This point in time is used by the evaluation device 7, for example, as the predicted failure time for the LED light source 4 and thus for the LED signal generator 2.

[0029] The determined failure time of the LED signal generator 2 is then transmitted in coded form to the signal box 3 as described below. In the exemplary embodiment, the signal box 3 is Figure 1an external location as seen from LED signal generator 2.

[0030] For communication with the signal box 3, the LED signal generator 2 has the interface 9, which in the exemplary embodiment is Figure 1 is designed as an analog interface.

[0031] The LED signal generator 2 is in the exemplary embodiment in Figure 1 designed to be essentially compatible with a bulb signal head. The traffic control system 1 shown was originally designed for use with bulb signal heads. Therefore, a connection 10 between the signal box 3 and the LED signal head 2 is still designed for connection with a bulb signal head. Figure 1Connection 10 consists of two wires that enabled main filament and secondary filament operation in a light bulb signal generator. Therefore, the wires of connection 10 can also be referred to as main filament wire 11 and secondary filament wire 12.

[0032] The evaluation device 7 continuously predicts the time of failure of the LED signal generator 2 during operation. If this time of failure moves closer to the present and falls below a predetermined limit, for example, only two weeks in the future, this is signaled to the signal box 3. For this purpose, the evaluation device 7 activates the switching device 8 in order to switch from a so-called main thread operation to a secondary thread operation. This is communicated to the signal box 3 via the connection 10. For this purpose, in the embodiment shown in Figure 1the current required for the operation of the LED light source 4 is no longer drawn via the main filament line 11, but via the secondary filament line 12. This is registered in the signal box 3 and thereby recognized that the failure time of the LED signal generator 2 has fallen below the predetermined threshold.

[0033] Alternatively, the connection 10 can, of course, also be implemented in a different way, e.g. in new systems, for example as a wireless connection via WLAN or GSM-R.

[0034] In the embodiment in Figure 1 The analog interface 9 has two analog inputs, which are necessary for connecting the main thread line 11 and the secondary thread line 12.

[0035] The embodiment in Figure 1has the additional advantage that it can be retrofitted into existing systems designed for the operation of incandescent signal heads without any further modifications to the existing infrastructure. Nevertheless, the predicted failure time of LED signal head 2 can be reported to signal box 3. This eliminates any conversion costs for the operator of traffic system 1.

[0036] In the following, the further embodiment of a traffic system 1 according to the invention, which is shown in Figure 2 schematically shown. For the sake of simplicity, only the differences to the Figure 1 described in the embodiment shown.

[0037] In the exemplary embodiment in Figure 2 The connection 10 is designed as a bi-directional connection for transmitting digital information. Accordingly, the interface 9 of the LED signal generator is Figure 2 designed as a bi-directional digital interface. In contrast to the embodiment in Figure 1 can be accessed via connection 10 in Figure 2 more information, ie a larger amount of data, is transmitted. Unlike in Figure 1 is in the embodiment in Figure 2 The evaluation device 7 is arranged in the signal box 3. In the signal box 3, more computing power is available, so that the evaluation device 7 in the embodiment in Figure 2 capable of performing complex calculations with more complex algorithms. For this purpose, the embodiment in Figure 2 All measured values ​​of the various operating parameters of the LED light source 4 recorded by the sensor device 6 are transmitted to the evaluation device 7 in the signal box 3 via the connection 10. The evaluation of the measured values ​​and the determination of the future failure time of the LED signal generator 2 are carried out in the embodiment in Figure 2in signal box 3. This means that in the embodiment in Figure 2 No separate evaluation device is required. Since the LED signal generator 2 in the embodiment in Figure 2 does not have to replace a bulb signal generator and therefore does not use the main thread / secondary thread switching, the design in Figure 2 No switching device is necessary either.

[0038] Even if it is in the Figures 1 and 2 is not shown, it is nevertheless possible that even in the embodiment in Figure 2 the evaluation device 7 is arranged in the LED signal generator 2 and the predicted failure time of the LED signal generator is reported to the signal box 3 via the more powerful connection 10.

Claims

1. Method for operating an LED signal emitter (2) for rail or road traffic, in which measurement values of at least one operating parameter of an LED light source (4) of the LED signal emitter (2) are recorded and evaluated, wherein the LED signal emitter (2) is operated such that it is essentially compatible with an incandescent bulb signal emitter and wherein a failure time point of the LED signal emitter (2) which lies in the future is ascertained while taking into consideration the measurement values of the at least one operating parameter and, if the ascertained failure time point lies below a predetermined limit, then this is signalled to a signal box (3) by shifting from main filament operation to auxiliary filament operation.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that temperature, generated light intensity and / or LED current are recorded as the at least one operating parameter of the LED light source (4).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that during the evaluation, at least one time series of measurement values is generated, which is taken into consideration during the ascertaining of the failure time point.

4. Method according to one of the claims cited above, characterised in that it is ascertained when a light intensity of the LED light source (4) will fall below a permissible level.

5. LED signal emitter (2) for rail or road traffic, with an LED light source (4), with at least one sensor facility (6), which is embodied to record measurement values of at least one operating parameter of the LED light source (4), and with at least one evaluation facility (7) which is connected to the sensor facility (6) and is embodied to evaluate the measurement values of the at least one operating parameter, wherein the LED signal emitter (2) is operated such that it is substantially compatible with an incandescent bulb signal emitter, and wherein the evaluation facility (7) is embodied to ascertain a failure time point of the LED light source (4) which lies in the future while taking into consideration the measurement values of the at least one operating parameter and the signal emitter (2) has at least one interface (9) and the signal emitter (2) comprises at least one switchover facility (8) which is connected to the interface (9) and by means of which it is possible to switch over from main filament operation to auxiliary filament operation, wherein the evaluation facility (7) activates the switchover facility (8) if the failure time point lies below a predetermined limit, in order to shift from the main filament operation to the auxiliary filament operation.

6. LED signal emitter according to claim 5, characterised in that the interface (9) is embodied as an analogue interface.

7. Traffic engineering installation with at least one LED signal emitter (2), wherein the LED signal emitter (2) has an LED light source (4) and at least one sensor facility (6) embodied to record measurement values of at least one operating parameter of the LED light source (4), and with a signal box (3) connected to the LED signal emitter (2), and with at least one evaluation facility (7) embodied to evaluate the measurement values of the at least one operating parameter, characterised in that the evaluation facility (7) is embodied to ascertain a failure time point of the LED signal emitter (2) which lies in the future while taking into consideration the at least one operating parameter and the LED signal emitter (2) is embodied according to one of claims 5 to 6 cited above.