Power supply re-input device for railway crossing gate

Abstract

To provide a power supply re-input device for a railway crossing gate, which can automatically recover a control circuit by determining timing of no problem even when a power supply is re-inputted when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit.SOLUTION: A power supply re-input device 11 comprises a motor rotation information generation circuit 30, a shutdown rod raising monitoring circuit 31, a rotation stop detection circuit 32, and a power supply re-input circuit 33. The motor rotation information generation circuit 30 generates rotation information of a motor 21. The shutdown rod raising monitoring circuit 31 defines a monitoring time for monitoring raising of a shutdown rod upon reception of a raising instruction. The rotation stop detection circuit 32 detects non-rotation of the motor 21 for a fixed time. The power supply re-input circuit 33 cuts off, when the rotation stop detection circuit 32 detects non-rotation of the motor 21 for the fixed time within the monitoring time from the reception of the raising instruction, driving power input to the primary side of a power supply circuit 24, and re-inputs the driving power to the primary side of the power supply circuit 24 after the passage of the monitoring time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power reactivation device for a railroad crossing barrier equipped with a control circuit. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, railroad crossing gates have been driven by a motor to raise and lower the barrier. A control circuit equipped with a microcomputer is used to control the motor. This control circuit can malfunction due to external noise, such as inductive lightning, transient radio interference, or cosmic rays, and can cause the motor to become uncontrollable.

[0003] Railroad crossing barriers are designed so that the barrier rod will descend under its own weight in the event of a power outage, an abnormality in the control circuit, or a malfunction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-201270 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As mentioned above, railroad crossing barriers are designed so that the barrier bar will descend under its own weight if an abnormality occurs, but to release the barrier bar from a lowered state, a safety officer must go to the site, confirm safety, and then re-apply power to the crossing barrier (by physically operating a switch).As a result, the crossing will remain closed for an extended period of time until the maintenance officer arrives, causing traffic disruptions and requiring the dispatch of a safety officer.

[0006] It is also possible to turn the power back on remotely, but because the on-site situation cannot be grasped remotely, it is difficult to determine the timing to turn the power back on without causing any problems.

[0007] The problem to be solved by this invention is to provide a power re-start device for a railroad crossing gate that can determine the timing when it is safe to restart the power when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit and can automatically restore the control circuit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The power re-on device for a railroad crossing barrier of the present invention is a power re-on device for a railroad crossing barrier comprising: a motor for raising and lowering a barrier, a drive circuit for driving the motor, a control circuit for controlling the drive circuit in response to an external raise command to raise and lower the barrier, and a power supply circuit for converting drive power input to the primary side into a predetermined control power and supplying it to the control circuit, and is further equipped with a motor rotation information generation circuit for generating rotation information of the motor, a barrier lift monitoring circuit for specifying a monitoring time for monitoring the lifting of the barrier after receiving the raise command, a rotation stop detection circuit for detecting that the motor has not rotated for a certain period of time, and a power re-on circuit that cuts off the drive power input to the primary side of the power supply circuit when the rotation stop detection circuit detects that the motor has not rotated for the certain period of time within the monitoring time after receiving the raise command, and re-applies drive power to the primary side of the power supply circuit after the monitoring time has elapsed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power reactivation device for a railroad crossing gate that automatically recovers when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a circuit diagram of a railroad crossing gate and a power re-on device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of the power reactivation device before and when a train passes. [Figure 3] 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of the power reactivation device after a train has passed and in the event of an abnormality. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a railroad crossing barrier 10 and a power reactivation device 11 installed on the railroad crossing barrier 10.

[0013] The crossing barrier 10 opens and closes the crossing by raising and lowering the barrier in response to a lift command signal input from an external crossing control device, which commands the raising or lowering of the barrier. After a train has passed, the crossing control device shorts the contacts of the crossing barrier control relay TER, inputting control power of, for example, DC 24 V, thereby inputting a lift command signal, and when a train has passed, the crossing control device opens the contacts of the crossing barrier control relay TER, cutting off the control power, thereby inputting a lower command signal.

[0014] The lift command signal is input to lift control relay CR1 of control condition circuit 20. Lift control relay CR1 has contacts a and b, and is de-energized when the control power from the crossing control device is cut off when a train passes, and is energized by the control power input from the crossing control device after the train has passed. In other words, lift control relay CR1 is de-energized by a descent command when a train passes, with contact a open and contact b shorted, and is energized by a raise command after the train has passed, with contact a shorted and contact b open.

[0015] Furthermore, drive power of, for example, DC 24 V is supplied from a drive power source to the railroad crossing barrier 10. The drive power supplied to the railroad crossing barrier 10 is supplied to each component within the railroad crossing barrier 10 via the power switch SW that is turned on.

[0016] A drive circuit 22 for driving a motor 21 for raising and lowering the barrier rod, and a power supply circuit 24 for supplying control power to each circuit including a control circuit 23 are connected to the secondary side of the power switch SW.

[0017] The motor 21 is, for example, a servo motor that can rotate forward and backward, and moves the barrier rod up and down via a transmission mechanism.

[0018] The drive circuit 22 converts the drive power supplied from the drive power supply into predetermined motor drive power using, for example, a power MOSFET, and supplies this motor drive power to the motor 21 to drive it.

[0019] The control circuit 23 is an integrated circuit having, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and is configured by a microcomputer that operates according to a program. The control circuit 23 drives the gate of the power MOSFET of the drive circuit 22 via a photocoupler 25, and controls the rotation of the motor 21 to raise and lower the barrier rod.

[0020] The power supply circuit 24 is configured by, for example, a DC-DC converter, and converts, for example, drive power of DC 24V into a predetermined control power such as 5V and supplies it to each circuit.

[0021] Furthermore, control circuit 23 receives input of the value of the current flowing from drive circuit 22 to motor 21, detected by current sensor 26, and rotational position information (sine signal, cosine signal) of motor 21, detected by detector 27 installed on motor 21, and performs feedback control of the rotation of motor 21 by drive circuit 22. Control circuit 23 outputs an excitation signal to detector 27, and acquires the rotational position information (sine signal, cosine signal) of motor 21 detected by detector 27 via A / D converter 28.

[0022] The control circuit 23 controls the raising of the barrier rod when the lift control relay CR1 is excited and the contact a is shorted after a train has passed, and controls the lowering of the barrier rod when the lift control relay CR1 is de-excited and the contact b is shorted while a train is passing.

[0023] Furthermore, this type of railroad crossing barrier 10 is configured so that in the event of, for example, a power outage, an abnormality or failure in the control circuit 23, etc., the barrier will descend under its own weight and close the railroad crossing, whether the barrier is in the raised stop position or in the middle of being raised.

[0024] Furthermore, the power reactivation device 11 is configured to reactivate the power supply to the control circuit 23 when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit 23, thereby automatically restoring the control circuit 23.

[0025] The power re-supply device 11 comprises a control condition circuit 20 that receives a lift command from the crossing control device, a motor rotation information generation circuit 30 that generates rotation information of the motor 21, a barrier bar lift monitoring circuit 31 that specifies the monitoring time for monitoring the lifting of the barrier bar after receiving the lift command, a rotation stop detection circuit (rotation stop detection time element circuit) 32 that detects that the motor 21 has not rotated for a certain period of time, and a power re-supply circuit 33 that cuts off the drive power input to the primary side of the power supply circuit 24 when the rotation stop detection circuit 32 detects that the motor 21 has not rotated for a certain period of time within the monitoring time after receiving the lift command, and re-supplies the drive power to the primary side of the power supply circuit 24 after the monitoring time has elapsed.

[0026] The power re-supply device 11 performs a power re-supply when the rotation information of the motor 21 indicates that power re-supply is necessary, provided that the control power input from the railroad crossing control device after the train has passed excites the lift control relay CR1 of the control condition circuit 20 and the b contact (back contact) of the lift control relay CR1 is opened.

[0027] In the motor rotation information generating circuit 30, a sine signal and a cosine signal, which are rotational position information of the motor 21 detected by the detector 27, are input to an integrating / differentiating circuit 35, which generates a DC waveform. The generated DC waveform is input to one input terminal of a comparator CO, and a reference voltage of, for example, 24 V DC is input to the other input terminal via a resistor 36. A rotation information relay R1 is connected to the output terminal of the comparator CO. When the motor 21 is rotating, an excitation current is output from the output terminal of the comparator CO, exciting the rotation information relay R1. When the motor 21 stops rotating, the output of the excitation current from the output terminal of the comparator CO is stopped, and the rotation information relay R1 is de-energized. The rotation information relay R1 has an a-contact and a b-contact; when energized, the a-contact is shorted and the b-contact is open; when de-energized, the a-contact is open and the b-contact is shorted.

[0028] The barrier rod rise monitoring circuit 31 has a one-shot circuit 38 connected to a power supply path, for example, of 24 V DC, via the a-contact of the lift control relay CR1. In the one-shot circuit 38, a series circuit of a resistor 39 and a capacitor 40 and a series circuit of a resistor 41 and a thyristor 42 are connected in parallel to the power supply path. The gate of the thyristor 42 is connected between the resistor 39 and the capacitor 40 via a resistor 43, and is also connected between the capacitor 40 and the cathode of the thyristor 42 via a resistor 44. A series circuit of a capacitor 45 and a diode 46 is connected across the thyristor 42, and a series circuit of a diode 47 and a monitoring relay R2 is connected across the diode 46. The monitoring relay R2 has a contact a and a contact b; when energized, the contact a is shorted and the contact b is open; and when de-energized, the contact a is open and the contact b is shorted.

[0029] When the a-contact of the lift control relay CR1 is short-circuited, one-shot circuit 38 causes excitation power to flow to monitoring relay R2 via capacitor 45 and diodes 46 and 47 for a monitoring time of, for example, about 4 seconds until capacitor 40 is charged, exciting monitoring relay R2, and when capacitor 40 is fully charged, thyristor 42 turns on, stopping the flow of excitation power to monitoring relay R2 and switching monitoring relay R2 to a de-energized state. The monitoring time is shorter than the time it takes for the barrier rod to rise from the lowered position to the raised position.

[0030] The rotation stop detection circuit 32 includes a rotation stop detection relay RY1 connected to a power supply path of, for example, DC 24 V via a parallel circuit of the b-contact of the lift control relay CR1 and the a-contact of the rotation information relay R1. The rotation stop detection relay RY1 has an a-contact and a b-contact, and when energized, the a-contact is shorted and the b-contact is open, and when de-energized, the a-contact is open and the b-contact is shorted. A time element circuit 51 including a resistor 49 and a capacitor 50 is connected in parallel to the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in order to delay the switching of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 from an energized state to a de-energized state by a time element time of, for example, 0.5 seconds.

[0031] The power reactivation circuit 33 is on the primary side of the power supply circuit 24, and is provided in the power supply path between the power switch SW and the power supply circuit 24, and is configured by connecting the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 and the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 in parallel to the power supply path.

[0032] Next, the operation of the railroad crossing barrier 10 and the power re-applying device 11 will be described.

[0033] Figure 2 shows the timing chart before and when a train passes.

[0034] When the barrier is in the raised stop position before a train passes, control power (raise command) is input from the crossing control device, the lift control relay CR1 is excited, and the b-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 is open. Because the motor 21 is not rotating, the rotation information relay R1 in the motor rotation information generation circuit 30 is in a de-excited state, and the a-contact of the rotation information relay R1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 is open. Therefore, the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 is in a de-excited state, and the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the power re-closing circuit 33 is open. Furthermore, because the barrier lift monitoring circuit 31 is in a state after the monitoring time has elapsed, the monitoring relay R2 is in a de-excited state, and the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 in the power re-closing circuit 33 is short-circuited. In this state, external drive power is supplied to the drive circuit 22, power supply circuit 24, etc. through the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2.

[0035] Furthermore, when a train passes (timing t1 when the train approaches in Figure 2), the control power from the crossing control device is cut off (lowering command), the lift control relay CR1 switches from energized to de-energized, and the b contact of the lift control relay CR1 is short-circuited, causing the control circuit 23 to execute processing to lower the barrier bar. The control circuit 23 controls the drive circuit 22 to rotate the motor 21, and lowers the barrier bar.

[0036] The b-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from open to short-circuited. As the motor 21 rotates, the rotation information relay R1 in the motor rotation information generation circuit 30 switches from non-excited to excited, and the a-contact of the rotation information relay R1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from open to short-circuited. As a result, the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from non-excited to excited, and the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the power re-open circuit 33 switches from open to short-circuited. In this state, external drive power is supplied to the drive circuit 22, power supply circuit 24, etc. through the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 and the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1.

[0037] When the circuit breaker rod reaches the lowering stop position (timing t2 in Figure 2), the rotation of motor 21 is stopped. As the rotation of motor 21 stops, rotation information relay R1 of motor rotation information generation circuit 30 switches from energized to de-energized, and the a-contact of rotation information relay R1 in rotation stop detection circuit 32 is opened, but because the b-contact of elevation control relay CR1 in rotation stop detection circuit 32 is short-circuited, the excitation of rotation stop detection relay RY1 continues, and the a-contact of rotation stop detection relay RY1 in power re-open circuit 33 continues to be short-circuited. In this state, external drive power is supplied to drive circuit 22, power supply circuit 24, etc. through the b-contact of monitoring relay R2 and the a-contact of rotation stop detection relay RY1.

[0038] Figure 3 shows the timing chart after the train has passed.

[0039] After the train has passed (timing t3 when the train passes in Figure 3), control power (a lift command) is input from the crossing control device, the lift control relay CR1 switches from non-excited to excited, and the a-contact of the lift control relay CR1 is short-circuited, causing the control circuit 23 to perform the lifting process of the barrier bar. The control circuit 23 controls the drive circuit 22 to rotate the motor 21, and lifts the barrier bar.

[0040] When the lift control relay CR1 is energized, the b-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from short-circuited to open. As the motor 21 rotates, the rotation information relay R1 in the motor rotation information generation circuit 30 switches from non-excited to excited, and the a-contact of the rotation information relay R1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from open to short-circuited. As a result, the rotation stop detection relay RY1 remains energized, and the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the power re-open circuit 33 remains short-circuited.

[0041] When the lift control relay CR1 is energized, the a-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the barrier rod rise monitoring circuit 31 switches from open to short-circuited, and the one-shot circuit 38 outputs for a monitoring time of, for example, 4 seconds. The output from this one-shot circuit 38 switches the monitoring relay R2 from unexcited to excited, and the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 in the power re-start circuit 33 switches from short-circuited to open.

[0042] As the motor 21 continues to rotate, the rotation information relay R1 remains energized. When the monitoring time of the one-shot circuit 38, for example, 4 seconds, has elapsed (timing t4 in Figure 3), the output from the one-shot circuit 38 is stopped, the monitoring relay R2 switches from energized to de-energized, and the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 in the power re-start circuit 33 switches from open to short-circuited.

[0043] Thereafter, when the rising barrier bar is stopped normally at the raised stop position (timing t5 in FIG. 3), the barrier bar returns to the state it was in before the train passed, as described above.

[0044] Next, the operation of the power reactivation device 11 when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit 23 due to the influence of external noise will be described.

[0045] In the level crossing barrier 10, in the event of a power outage, abnormality, or breakdown, including when an abnormality occurs in the control circuit 23, the barrier will descend under its own weight and close the level crossing, regardless of whether the barrier is in the raised stop position or in the middle of raising.

[0046] After the train passes (timing t6 when the train passes in Figure 3), control power (up command) is input from the crossing control device, the lift control relay CR1 switches from non-excited to excited, and the a contact of the lift control relay CR1 is short-circuited. However, if an abnormality occurs in the control circuit 23, the motor 21 will not rotate, or even if the motor 21 rotates temporarily, it will stop within a monitoring time of, for example, 4 seconds.

[0047] When the lift control relay CR1 is energized, the b-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 switches from short-circuited to open. If the motor 21 does not rotate, or if it rotates temporarily but stops within a monitoring time of, for example, 4 seconds, the rotation information relay R1 becomes de-energized, and the a-contact of the rotation information relay R1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 opens. As a result, power to the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the rotation stop detection circuit 32 is cut off. The rotation stop detection relay RY1 is switched from energized to de-energized by the time element circuit 51 after a time element time of, for example, 0.5 seconds has elapsed (timing t7 in Figure 3), and the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 in the power re-start circuit 33 switches from short-circuited to open.

[0048] When the lift control relay CR1 is energized, the a-contact of the lift control relay CR1 in the barrier rod rise monitoring circuit 31 switches from open to short-circuited, the one-shot circuit 38 operates for a monitoring time of, for example, 4 seconds, and the output from this one-shot circuit 38 switches the monitoring relay R2 from unexcited to excited, and the b-contact of the monitoring relay R2 in the power re-start circuit 33 switches from short-circuited to open.

[0049] As a result, the a contact of the rotation stop detection relay RY1 and the b contact of the monitoring relay R2 in the power re-start circuit 33 are both opened, the power path from the power switch SW to the power circuit 24 is cut off, and the power to the control circuit 23 is cut off.

[0050] When the monitoring time of, for example, 4 seconds specified by the barrier rod rise monitoring circuit 31 has elapsed (timing t8 when the power is restarted in Figure 3), monitoring relay R2 switches from energized to de-energized, the b-contact of monitoring relay R2 in the power restart circuit 33 switches from open to short-circuited, external driving power is supplied to the power supply circuit 24 via the b-contact of monitoring relay R2, and power is restarted for the control circuit 23. This resets (power-on reset) the control circuit 23 and other electronic circuits and restores them, after which the barrier rod rise process described above is carried out normally.

[0051] In this way, by equipping the railroad crossing barrier 10 with the power re-off device 11, if an abnormality occurs in the control circuit 23, the timing can be determined when it is safe to re-off the power to the control circuit 23, and the power can be re-off to the control circuit 23, thereby automatically restoring the control circuit 23. This eliminates problems such as keeping the railroad crossing closed for a long period of time until maintenance personnel arrive at the scene, causing traffic disruptions, or requiring the dispatch of security personnel.

[0052] Furthermore, since the power re-start circuit 33 uses the b contact (back contact) of the monitoring relay R2, even if a failure occurs in the power re-start device 11 and the monitoring relay R2 cannot be excited, the b contact of the monitoring relay R2 is in a short-circuited state, so there is no effect on the operation of the crossing gate 10, and the operability of the crossing gate 10 can be ensured.

[0053] Although the embodiment of the present invention and its modified examples have been described above, various combinations of configurations, partial omissions, substitutions and modifications are also possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 10 Railroad crossing barrier 11 Power cycle device 21 Motor 22 Drive circuit 23 Control circuit 24 Power circuit 30 Motor rotation information generation circuit 31 Barrier lift monitoring circuit 32 Rotation stop detection circuit 33 Power cycle circuit CR1 Lift control relay R1 Rotation Information Relay R2 Monitoring relay RY1 Rotation stop detection relay

Claims

1. A power reactivation device for a railroad crossing barrier, comprising: a motor for raising and lowering a barrier; a drive circuit for driving the motor; a control circuit for controlling the drive circuit in response to an external raising command to raise and lower the barrier; and a power supply circuit for converting drive power input to the primary side into predetermined control power and supplying it to the control circuit, a motor rotation information generating circuit for generating rotation information of the motor; a barrier rod rise monitoring circuit that defines a monitoring time for monitoring the rise of the barrier rod after receiving the rise command; a rotation stop detection circuit that detects when the motor has not rotated for a certain period of time; a power re-on circuit that cuts off drive power input to the primary side of the power supply circuit when the rotation stop detection circuit detects that the motor has not rotated for a certain period of time within the monitoring time after receiving the lift command, and re-applies drive power to the primary side of the power supply circuit after the monitoring time has elapsed; A power reactivation device for a railroad crossing barrier, comprising:

2. the barrier rod lift monitoring circuit has a monitoring relay whose b-contact is opened for the monitoring time after receiving the lift command, the rotation stop detection circuit has a rotation stop detection relay whose b-contact is opened when the motor has not rotated for a certain period of time after receiving the lift command, The power reactivation circuit has the a-contact of the rotation stop detection relay and the b-contact of the monitoring relay connected in parallel to the primary side of the power supply circuit.

2. A power reactivation device for a railroad crossing barrier according to claim 1.

3. a lift control relay having an a-contact short-circuited and a b-contact open when receiving the lift command to lift the barrier rod; the motor rotation information generating circuit has a rotation information relay whose a-contact is shorted when the motor rotates; In the rotation stop detection circuit, the b-contact of the lift control relay and the a-contact of the rotation information relay are connected in parallel to the rotation stop detection relay.

3. A power reactivation device for a railroad crossing barrier according to claim 2.

Images