Railway rolling stock formation maintainability management method, railway rolling stock formation maintainability management device, and railway rolling stock formation maintainability management system

Abstract

Aspects relate to providing a low-cost, reliable rail consist integrity management technique for facilitating determining the integrity of a rail consist using existing rail infrastructure. A rail consist integrity management method includes transmitting a first analog signal from a first car of a rail consist to a second car of the rail consist over a power conductor disposed separate from the rail consist, determining an integrity status of the rail consist by analyzing a frequency of the first analog signal, and outputting a rail consist integrity notification indicative of the integrity status of the rail consist.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a railway vehicle formation maintainability management method, a railway vehicle formation maintainability management device, and a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, a "formation" of railway vehicles is a group of two or more railway vehicles that are mechanically connected to each other to move as a single unit on a railway line defined by a rail or rail set that supports and advances the vehicles. A train is an example of such a railway vehicle formation and typically features the function of moving itself along a line to transport goods or passengers.

[0003] In recent years, as the complexity of the railway network has increased, the importance of reliably monitoring, collecting, and transmitting information regarding the operation of railway vehicles in a railway vehicle formation has similarly increased. By analyzing the operation information collected from vehicle systems, useful insights regarding operation efficiency and safety can be obtained.

[0004] Conventionally, techniques for facilitating data communication between railway vehicles in a railway vehicle formation have been considered. As an example of railway vehicle formation communication technology, U.S. Patent No. 963714B2 (Patent Document 1) discloses that "a data communication system is configured to acquire operation data related to a control system of a vehicle formation. This operation data is acquired by a first vehicle of the formation. The operation data is transmitted from the first vehicle to one or more second vehicles within the formation. In response to a loss of the operation data in the first vehicle, at least the operation data lost in the first vehicle can be transmitted from one or more of the second vehicles to the first vehicle. In the first vehicle, the operation ability of the formation to execute a movement event can be determined using the operation data lost in the first vehicle and transmitted from at least one of one or more second vehicles to the first vehicle."

Prior Art Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 9637147 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] Monitoring the status of railway train sets in order to quickly detect and respond to abnormalities in the maintainability of railway train sets (for example, whether one or more railway cars are separated from the train set) is an important aspect of maintaining railway safety.

[0007] Conventionally, techniques have been proposed to verify the maintainability of a railway train set using wireless communication from the last car to the first car. Here, characteristics such as brake pressure or geographical location can be measured at the rear of the train and then reported to the first car via wireless communication, and the first car can verify the maintainability of the railway train set based on whether the reported characteristics correspond to the expected values. In addition, the integrity of a railway train set can also be determined by detecting electrical signals transmitted from the rear of the train through one or more wires that are installed along each of the train cars in the train set, at the leading car of the train set.

[0008] However, when wireless communication is used to monitor the maintainability of a railway train set, the wireless signals may be affected by electromagnetic interference or disconnections due to inclement weather or loss of line of sight between the lead and last cars in tunnels, etc. On the other hand, conventional wired communication methods are not affected by such problems, but dedicated wires must run through each intermediate railway car, and further through junctions or couplings between railway cars, and may not be available on existing railway vehicles such as freight cars or older distributed power trains that are being added for use with wireless-based train detection. This problem can be solved by making significant modifications to existing vehicles, but this may lead to a significant increase in cost and is therefore not usually carried out.

[0009] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which router transceiver units positioned in each railway car of a railway train set transmit and receive operational data relating to the operational capabilities (e.g., braking system effectiveness) of both railway train sets via existing distributed power (MU) cables connecting the leading and trailing cars.

[0010] However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operational data is transmitted through the MU cable in the form of network data packets in TCP / IP or SIP format, i.e., digital signals. Therefore, digital signal processing equipment installed on the railway vehicle is required, but this requires additional installation and can be extremely expensive for freight vehicles and the like.

[0011] Therefore, the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a low-cost and reliable railway rolling stock maintainability management technology to facilitate the determination of the maintainability of railway rolling stock using existing railway infrastructure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] A typical example of this disclosure is a railway vehicle maintenance management method that includes transmitting a first analog signal from a first vehicle of a railway vehicle train to a second vehicle of the railway vehicle train via a power conductor installed separately from the railway vehicle train, determining the maintainability status of the railway vehicle train by analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal, and outputting a railway vehicle train maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway vehicle train. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a low-cost and reliable railway vehicle maintenance management technology that facilitates the determination of the maintainability of railway vehicle formations using existing railway infrastructure.

[0014] Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will become clear from the following description of embodiments for carrying out the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process according to the first embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] In this specification, embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described in this specification are not intended to limit the present invention according to the claims, and it should be understood that each of the elements described in the embodiments and combinations thereof are not strictly necessary for implementing aspects of the present invention.

[0017] In the following description and related drawings, various aspects are disclosed. Alternative aspects can be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure are not described in detail or are omitted in order not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0018] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used in this specification to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described in this specification as "exemplary" and / or "example" should not necessarily be construed as being more preferred or beneficial than other aspects. Similarly, the expression "aspect of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the features, advantages, or characteristics being discussed in terms of operation.

[0019] Furthermore, for example, with regard to the order of actions performed by elements of a computing device, many aspects are described. It will be recognized that the various actions described in this specification can be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), program instructions executed by one or more processors, or a combination of both. Additionally, the order of actions described in this specification can be considered to be embodied in its entirety within any form of computer-readable storage medium that stores a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, can cause the associated processor to perform the functions described in this specification. Therefore, the various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, all of which are intended to be within the subject matter recited in the claims.

[0020] As described herein, generally, a "formation" of railway vehicles is a group of two or more railway vehicles mechanically coupled to each other to move as a single unit on a railway line defined by a rail or rail set that supports and advances the vehicles. A train is an example of such a railway vehicle formation and is typically characterized by the ability to move itself along a line to transport goods or passengers. A train may be of the on-board power supply type in which one or more of the railway vehicles provide power from an on-board power source, or may be of the off-board power supply type in which one or more of the railway vehicles can use power but the power source is located off-board.

[0021] Some forms of the following off-board power supply type trains, hereinafter referred to as "trams", collect power in the form of electricity from power conductors located within a reachable range of some or all of the railway vehicles that are electrically insulated from the rails that support and advance the railway vehicles and move along a route. A section of a route is considered "energized" if a tram designed to operate on the route can move through sections designated by continuous or substantially continuous access to power via one or more power conductors. These power conductors usually supply power to the tram semi-continuously for most or all of the length of the energized section of the route and often involve interruptions in the conductors to provide space for the associated infrastructure or to achieve separation between sections of the route where electricity is supplied from separate power sources.

[0022] Typical examples of power conductors include rigid metal rails known as “third rails” located below or laterally to the railway vehicle and mechanically separated from the rails that support and propel the train, and overhead rails or wiring that are kept under tension above the railway vehicle. These overhead rails, known as “overhead track equipment,” may be supported using suspension structures. Physical contact is made between “current collector” devices on the train and power conductors that supply the flow of electricity through the train. The return path for the collected current is typically provided through the rails that support and propel the vehicle, although some systems may provide one or more isolated rigid rails for that return path, each in contact with an isolated current collector.

[0023] As described herein, in routes utilizing wireless-based train detection systems, it may be desirable for each train on the route to report its own position to an offboard control system and to recognize the train's maintainability status (i.e., whether any railcars or train sets that cannot independently report their own position to the offboard control system have been detached from the train).

[0024] A wide variety of technologies have been proposed to verify the maintainability of railway rolling stock formations, but these conventional technologies face challenges related to reliability (e.g., interference in the case of wireless signals) and cost (e.g., the additional introduction of wiring or digital signal processing equipment, such as in Patent Document 1, into railway rolling stock formations). Therefore, the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a low-cost and reliable railway rolling stock maintainability management technology to facilitate the determination of the maintainability of railway rolling stock using existing railway infrastructure.

[0025] In a first embodiment of this disclosure, a railway train set maintainability management system is provided for detecting the maintainability of a train set of two or more railway cars on a powered route. This railway train set maintainability management system includes a transmitter unit in the last car of the train. The transmitter unit may be electrically coupled to a power conductor in the powered route via a current collector which may be located on the last car. In addition, a receiver unit may be located in the leading car, similarly electrically coupled to a power conductor via a current collector. The current collector electrically coupled to the receiver unit may be located in the leading car and may be separated from the current collector to which the transmitter unit is connected. In addition, a detector unit that decodes the signal received from the receiver unit may be located in the lead car. The transmitter unit and the receiver unit may be connected by electrical wires located at least partially within or on the railcars of the railcar train. The transmitter unit may be configured to transmit an analog signal through a power conductor, from which the receiver unit receives the signal, separates it through an electrical filter, and then sends the separated signal to the detector unit. The detector unit analyzes the signal for information related to train maintainability, such as the presence of a Doppler shift due to relative movement along the route between the lead and rear cars, and based on this, makes a determination of train maintainability or loss of maintainability. The receiver unit and the detector unit may be separate devices connected by electrical connections, or they may be combined into a single unit in the lead car. The determined state of train maintainability is then supplied to the onboard safety system.

[0026] In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a railway train set maintainability management system is provided for detecting the maintainability of a train set of two or more railway cars on a powered route. This railway train set maintainability management system includes a transceiver unit in the last car of the train. This transceiver unit may be electrically coupled to a power conductor in the powered route via a current collector which may be located on the last car. In addition, a transceiver unit similarly electrically coupled to a power conductor via a current collector may be located in the leading car. The current collector electrically coupled to the transceiver unit in the leading car may be separated from the current collector to which the transceiver unit located in the last car is connected.

[0027] In addition, the leading car may include a decoder unit that decodes signals received from a transceiver unit located in the trailing car. The transceiver unit may or may not be connected by electrical wires located at least partially within or on the railway vehicle. The transceiver unit located in the leading car is configured to transmit an analog signal, or multiple analog signals, intermittently or continuously, over a power conductor. The transceiver unit located in the trailing car, upon receiving this signal, transmits isolated analog signals intermittently or continuously over a power conductor. The signals from the leading car and the trailing car may be at different frequencies or the same frequency.

[0028] A transceiver unit located in the lead car filters the signals detected on the power conductor to isolate signals related to the train maintainability detection function, and sends the isolated signals to a detector unit. The detector unit analyzes the signals for information related to train maintainability, such as the relative movement along the route between the lead and rear cars or the presence of a Doppler shift due to the time difference between the transmission of a signal from the lead car and the reception of a corresponding signal from the rear car, and based on this, makes a determination of train maintainability or loss of maintainability. The receiver unit and detector unit may be separate devices connected by electrical connections, or they may be combined into a single unit in the lead car. The determined state of train maintainability is then supplied to the onboard safety system.

[0029] In this specification, a detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure will be given with reference to the drawings.

[0030] An exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system according to the first embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 1.

[0031] Figure 1 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 according to the first embodiment relates to a configuration in which the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation is determined based on an analog signal transmitted unidirectionally from a first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) to a second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) of the railway vehicle formation.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 may be applied to a railway vehicle formation 110. As used herein, a railway vehicle formation 110 refers to a group of vehicles, such as railway cars, that are mechanically coupled or connected to each other and move along a railway track extending along a route. Alternatively, these vehicles may not be mechanically coupled to each other but can communicate with each other, thereby coordinating their movement, and the group of vehicles moving together along the route in a coordinated manner. These vehicles may be used in operations described as freight rail, passenger rail, high-speed rail, commuter train, rail transport, subway, light rail, streetcar, tram, or tramtrain. For the sake of explanation, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 according to the first embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to an example in which the railway vehicle formation 110 includes three railway vehicles. However, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 is not limited to such a configuration, and railway vehicle formations having two railway vehicles, or four or more railway vehicles, are also possible.

[0033] The railway train set 110 shown in Figure 1 includes a rear car (e.g., a first car) 02, an intermediate car 06, and a leading car (e.g., a second car) 04. These railway cars may be connected using railway couplers. The railway train set 110 may be configured to move along a powered route. The powered route on which the railway train set 110 moves may include an external power conductor 20, which provides power to the railway train set 110 and a main rail 22 that supports and propels the railway cars of the railway train set 110. In this embodiment, an example is illustrated in which the power conductor 20 is implemented using overhead line equipment, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and other types of power conductors 20, such as a third rail power conductor, may be used.

[0034] One or more of the railway cars in the railway car train set 110 may include a current collector 24 that contacts the power conductor 20 to supply power to the railway car train set 110. Each railway car in the railway car train set 110 is supported and propelled by a plurality of wheelsets 26 extending on the main rail 22. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the current drawn from the power conductor 20 is returned to the conductive main rail 22 via the conductive wheelsets 26, but it is also possible to configure the current to be returned by using an additional current collector with one or more additional power conductors isolated from the power conductor 20 and the main rail 22.

[0035] The last car (e.g., the first car) 02 may include a transmitter unit 10 configured to transmit a first analog signal 102. The transmitter unit 10 may include any existing device for transmitting analog signals (e.g., non-network, non-packet-based, non-digital signals). The first analog signal 102 may include, but is not limited to, an analog signal (e.g., an audible frequency signal) having a frequency in the range of 20 to 20,000 Hz, and higher frequency signals are also possible. For example, in certain embodiments, to facilitate reliable railway train formation maintainability determination, the first analog signal 102 may be a high-frequency analog signal (e.g., a signal with a frequency greater than 20,000 Hz) because Doppler shifts are more easily detected at higher frequencies. In embodiments, the frequency of the first analog signal may be determined based on the speed of the railway train formation.

[0036] The transmitter unit 10 may transmit a first analog signal 102 continuously or intermittently (for example, at periodic intervals). The frequency of the first analog signal 102 may be selected to avoid interference with other connected infrastructure such as power supplies and track circuit equipment. In embodiments, the transmitter unit 10 may be electrically coupled to the power supply conductor 20 via a current collector 24 (e.g., a first current collector) which may be located on the same railway vehicle as the transmitter unit 10, so that the transmitted first analog signal 102 travels through the power supply conductor 20.

[0037] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the transmitter unit 10 may be configured to transmit an error verification signal in addition to the first analog signal 102, as a means for the detector unit 14 to compensate for fluctuations in the original frequency of the first analog signal 102. This error verification signal may have a fixed frequency, a frequency related to the original frequency of the first analog signal 102 with a fixed offset, or a fixed number of original frequencies of the first analog signal 102. The detector unit 14 may compare the first analog signal 102 with the error verification signal, or measure the difference in frequency between these two signals, in order to determine the frequency fluctuation of the received first analog signal 102 from the original frequency used at the time of transmission. Alternatively, the difference between these two signals can be used to detect the maintainability of the train.

[0038] The leading vehicle (e.g., the second vehicle) 04 may include a receiver unit 12 and a detector unit 14. The receiver unit 12 may include any existing device for receiving analog signals. In some embodiments, the receiver unit 12 and the detector unit 14 may be implemented as separate devices. In certain embodiments, the functions of the receiver unit 12 and the detector unit 14 may be combined or implemented using a single device.

[0039] The receiver unit 12 may be coupled to the power conductor 20 via a current collector 24 (e.g., a second current collector) which may be disposed on the leading vehicle 04, or it may be the same current collector 24 used when the transmitter unit 10 is coupled to the power conductor 20, or it may not be. The receiver unit 12 may be configured to filter the signal received via the power conductor 20 in order to isolate the first analog signal 102 transmitted by the transmitter unit 10. This isolated first analog signal 102 may then be sent to the detector unit 14.

[0040] The detector unit 14 may analyze the frequency of the first analog signal 102 to determine the maintainability status of the railway train set. Here, the maintainability status of the railway train set refers to information indicating whether the maintainability of the railway train set is normal (e.g., no train cars are detached from the railway train set 110, and the last car 02 and the first car 04 are continuously connected, either directly or indirectly through the intermediate car 06) or whether an abnormality has occurred (e.g., a train car is detached from the railway train set 110). In response to the determination of the maintainability status of the railway train set, the detector unit 14 may output a railway train set maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway train set to an onboard safety system 30, which may be part of a wireless-based occupancy detection system, a railway signaling system, etc. If the railway train set maintainability notification indicates that an abnormality has been detected regarding the maintainability of the railway train set 110, the operator of the onboard safety system 30 may take measures to resolve or mitigate the loss of maintainability (e.g., contact a remote operator, stop the train, double-check maintainability).

[0041] In this embodiment, determining the maintainability status of a railway train set may involve analyzing the frequency of a first analog signal 102 to detect the effect of Doppler shift, and then the detector unit 14 may determine the relative speed between the last car 02 and the first car 04 along the route. If the relative speed or relative distance (calculated as the time integral of the relative speed) between the last car 02 and the first car 04 exceeds some threshold, it can be determined that the railway train set 110 has separated at some point between the last car 02 and the first car 04, and that an anomaly has occurred with respect to the maintainability of the railway train set 110. Details of this process are explained with reference to Figure 3 and are therefore omitted here.

[0042] According to the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 of the first embodiment, the maintainability of a railway vehicle formation can be verified using an analog signal transmitted unidirectionally from a first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) to a second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) of the railway vehicle formation. Since this analog signal is transmitted using existing infrastructure such as power conductors provided along the route of the railway vehicle formation, the introduction of additional railway vehicle formations is unnecessary. Furthermore, since the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation can be determined based on frequency changes of the analog signal due to the Doppler effect, the installation of digital signal processing equipment is unnecessary, and reliable maintainability determination can be achieved at low cost.

[0043] Next, an exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 2.

[0044] Figure 2 shows an exemplary hardware configuration of a railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to the second embodiment relates to a configuration in which the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation is determined based on analog signals transmitted bidirectionally between a transceiver unit located in a first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) of the railway vehicle formation and a second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle). In addition, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 includes an onboard conductor connecting the last vehicle and the leading vehicle, and a current collector to which the transceiver unit located in the last vehicle is connected may be located on a vehicle separated from the last vehicle.

[0045] For the sake of explanation, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to the second embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to an example in which the railway vehicle formation 210 includes three railway vehicles. However, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 is not limited to such a configuration, and railway vehicle formations with two vehicles or four or more vehicles are also possible. In addition, components substantially corresponding to the components shown in the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 of Figure 1 will be referred to using the same reference numerals.

[0046] The railway train set 210 shown in Figure 2 includes at least a rear car (e.g., a first car) 02, an intermediate car 06, and a leading car (e.g., a second car) 04. The railway train set 210 may be configured to move along a powered route. The powered route on which the railway train set 210 moves may include an external power conductor 20, which provides the railway train set 210 with power and a main rail 22 that supports and propels the railway cars of the railway train set 210. In this embodiment, an example is illustrated in which the power conductor 20 is implemented using overhead line equipment, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and other types of power conductors 20, such as a third rail power conductor, may be used.

[0047] One or more of the railway cars in the railway car train set 210 may include a current collector 24 that contacts the power conductor 20 to supply power to the railway car train set 210. Each railway car in the railway car train set 210 is supported and guided by a plurality of wheelsets 26 extending on the main rail 22. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the current drawn from the power conductor 20 is returned to the conductive main rail 22 via the conductive wheelsets 26, but a configuration is also possible in which the current is returned by using an additional current collector with one or more additional power conductors isolated from the power conductor 20 and the main rail 22.

[0048] The last car (e.g., the first car) 02 may include a transceiver unit 16 configured to transmit a first analog signal 106 in response to receiving a first analog signal 104 from the first car (e.g., the second car) 04. The transceiver unit 16 may include any existing devices for transmitting and receiving analog signals. The first analog signal 106 may include an analog signal having a frequency in the range of 20 to 20,000 Hz. For example, in a particular embodiment, to facilitate reliable railway vehicle formation maintainability determination, the first analog signal 106 may also be a high-frequency analog signal (e.g., a signal with a frequency greater than 20,000 Hz) because Doppler shifts are more easily detected at higher frequencies. The transceiver unit 16 may transmit the first analog signal 106 continuously or intermittently (for example, at periodic intervals). In addition, the frequency of the first analog signal 106 may be the same as or different from the frequency of the first analog signal 104 and may be selected to avoid interference with other connected infrastructure such as power supplies and track circuit equipment. More specifically, the transceiver units 16, 18 may identify a set of frequencies in use that could cause interference with the transmission of the first analog signal 104 and the first analog signal 106 (for example, by using frequency manipulation) and may set the frequencies of the first analog signal 104 and the first analog signal 106 to avoid interference with the set of frequencies in use.

[0049] In the embodiment, the transceiver unit 16 may be electrically coupled to the power conductor 20 via a current collector 24 which may be disposed on the same railway vehicle as the transceiver unit 16 or on a different railway vehicle (as shown in Figure 2) so that the first analog signal 106 travels through the power conductor 20. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the transceiver unit 16 may be an active device that uses onboard logic to determine whether a zero analog signal 104 has been received and actively transmits the first analog signal 106 in response, or it may be a passive device consisting only of passive components that are energized by the received zero analog signal 104 and, in response, return the first analog signal 106 using only the energy absorbed from the received zero analog signal 104.

[0050] The leading vehicle (for example, the second vehicle) 04 may include a transceiver unit 18 and a detector unit 14. In some embodiments, the transceiver unit 18 and the detector unit 14 may be implemented as separate devices. In certain embodiments, the functions of the transceiver unit 18 and the detector unit 14 may be combined or implemented using a single device.

[0051] The transceiver unit 18 may be coupled to the power conductor 20 via a current collector 24 which may be disposed on the leading car 04, and may or may not be the same current collector 24 used when the transceiver unit 16 of the trailing car 02 is coupled to the power conductor 20. The transceiver unit 18 of the leading car 04 may transmit a zero analog signal 104 to the transceiver unit 16 of the trailing car 02 via the power conductor 20, and then receive a transmission of a first analog signal 106 from the transceiver unit 16 of the trailing car 02. The transceiver unit 18 may transmit the zero analog signal 104 continuously or intermittently (for example, at periodic intervals). In addition, the frequency of the zero analog signal 104 may be the same frequency as or different from the frequency of the first analog signal 106, and may be selected to avoid interference with other connected infrastructure such as power and track circuit equipment.

[0052] The transceiver unit 18 of the leading vehicle 04 may be configured to filter the signal received via the power conductor 20 in order to isolate the first analog signal 106 transmitted by the transceiver unit 16 of the last vehicle 02. This isolated first analog signal 106 may then be sent to the detector unit 14.

[0053] The detector unit 14 may analyze the frequency of the first analog signal 106 to determine the maintainability status of the railway train set. Here, the maintainability status of the railway train set refers to information indicating whether the maintainability of the railway train set is normal (e.g., no train cars are detached from the railway train set 210, and the last car 02 and the first car 04 are continuously connected, either directly or indirectly through the intermediate car 06) or whether an abnormality has occurred (e.g., a train car may have been detached from the railway train set 210). In response to the determination of the maintainability status of the railway train set, the detector unit 14 may output a railway train set maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway train set to an onboard safety system 30, which may be part of a wireless-based occupancy detection system, a railway signaling system, etc.

[0054] In the embodiment, determining the maintainability status of the railway train set may include analyzing the frequency of a first analog signal 106 to detect the effect of Doppler shift, and then the detector unit 14 may determine the relative speed between the last car 02 and the first car 04 along the route. If the relative speed or relative distance (calculated as the time integral of the relative speed) between the last car 02 and the first car 04 exceeds some threshold, it may be determined that the railway train set 210 has separated at some point between the last car 02 and the first car 04, and that an anomaly has occurred with respect to the maintainability of the railway train set 210.

[0055] Furthermore, in addition to the method described above, the railway vehicle formation 210 of the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 has a configuration in which both the last car 02 and the first car 04 have transceiver units 16 and 18 for bidirectional communication. As a result, it becomes possible to determine the railway vehicle formation maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation 210 based on the flight time of the transmitted signals. Details of this process will be explained with reference to Figure 4, and therefore will be omitted here.

[0056] In addition, in certain embodiments, a railway train set according to the first or second embodiment may be configured to transmit an error verification signal to determine whether the transmission of the first analog signal 104 or the first analog signal 106 was successful. More specifically, as an example, a transceiver unit 16 in the last car 02 may transmit an error verification signal having a predetermined frequency difference with respect to the first analog signal 106 from the last car 02 (e.g., the first car) to the leading car 04 (e.g., the second car). The error verification signal may be transmitted from the last car 02 to the leading car 04 using a power conductor or a transmitting medium isolated from the power conductor (e.g., an isolated wireless or wired connection). In addition, the error verification signal may be transmitted by the transceiver unit 16 substantially simultaneously with the transmission of the first analog signal 106.

[0057] Subsequently, the transceiver unit 18 of the lead vehicle 04 may receive an error verification signal, and the detector unit 14 may determine whether the frequency difference between the received first analog signal 106 and the error verification signal substantially corresponds to a predetermined frequency difference (for example, whether it matches or falls below an acceptable threshold). If the frequency difference between the received first analog signal 106 and the error verification signal substantially corresponds to a predetermined frequency difference, the detector unit 14 may determine that no transmission error has occurred (for example, it can be inferred that no interference has occurred because the frequency difference between the two signals corresponds to the expected difference). On the other hand, if the frequency difference between the received first analog signal 106 and the error verification signal does not substantially correspond to a predetermined frequency difference, the detector unit 14 may determine that a transmission error has occurred (for example, it can be inferred that interference may have occurred because the frequency difference between the two signals does not correspond to the expected difference). If it is determined that a transmission error has occurred, the detector unit 14 may output a transmission error notification to the onboard safety system 30 to facilitate further verification or repair.

[0058] According to the second embodiment of the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200, the maintainability of a railway vehicle formation can be verified using analog signals transmitted bidirectionally between a first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) and a second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) of the railway vehicle formation. Since these analog signals are transmitted using existing infrastructure such as power conductors provided along the route of the railway vehicle formation, no additional railway vehicle formation is required. In addition, since the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to the second embodiment relates to a configuration having transceiver units 16, 18 in both the last vehicle and the leading vehicle for bidirectional communication, it becomes possible to determine the railway vehicle formation maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation 210 based on the time of flight of the transmitted signals. The time-of-flight maintainability determination may be performed in place of, or in addition to, the Doppler effect-based maintainability determination described with reference to the first embodiment. Performing a time-of-flight maintainability determination in addition to the Doppler effect-based maintainability determination can further improve the accuracy and reliability of the maintainability determination results.

[0059] Next, a method for determining the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation will be explained with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0060] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 300 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As described herein, aspects of the present disclosure relate to determining the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation based on frequency shifts of analog signals transmitted between railway vehicles due to Doppler shifts. Details of this process will be described later. For the sake of explanation, the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 300 will be described in relation to the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 according to the first embodiment of this disclosure. However, it should be noted that the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 300 is not limited thereto and can be appropriately adapted for execution by the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to the second embodiment.

[0061] First, in step S310, the transmitter unit 10 installed in the first car of the railway train (for example, the last car) can transmit a first analog signal from the first car to the second car (for example, the leading car) via a power conductor.

[0062] Next, in step S320, a receiver unit 12 installed in the second car of the railway train (e.g., the leading car) may receive the first analog signal from the transmitter unit 10 via a power conductor, and the detector unit 14 may analyze the frequency of the first analog signal in order to calculate the frequency shift of the first analog signal due to the Doppler effect on the transmission of the first analog signal via the power conductor. For example, the detector unit 14 can calculate the frequency shift by comparing the frequency of the received first analog signal with a predefined baseline frequency to which the first analog signal is transmitted.

[0063] Next, in step S330, the detector unit 14 may calculate the relative speed difference between the first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) and the second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) based on the frequency shift calculated in step S320.

[0064] Next, in step S340, the detector unit 14 may determine whether the relative velocity difference calculated in step S330 reaches a first velocity difference threshold. If the relative velocity difference calculated in step S330 reaches a first velocity difference threshold, the process proceeds to step S350. If the relative velocity difference calculated in step S330 does not reach a first velocity difference threshold, the process proceeds to step S340. Here, the first speed difference threshold may include a predetermined threshold for the speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, such that a speed difference greater than the first speed difference threshold is considered to reach the first speed difference threshold. In the embodiment, the first speed difference threshold may be determined based on historical data in the event of an anomaly, or by statistical analysis.

[0065] In step S340, if the relative speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle does not reach the first speed difference threshold, the detector unit 14 may determine that the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation is normal.

[0066] In step S350, if the relative speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle reaches a first speed difference threshold, the detector unit 14 may determine that an abnormality has occurred regarding the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation.

[0067] Next, in step S360, the detector unit 14 outputs a railway train set maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway train set determined in step S340 or step S350. In the embodiment, the detector unit 14 may output the railway train set maintainability notification to an onboard safety system, which may be part of a wireless-based occupancy detection system, a railway signaling system, etc.

[0068] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 400 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. As described herein, aspects of the present disclosure relate to determining the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation based on the flight time of transmitted signals. Details of this process will be described later. For the sake of explanation, the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 400 will be described in relation to the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 according to a second embodiment of this disclosure, but the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 400 is not limited thereto, and other configurations are possible. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200 may be configured to perform the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 300 described with respect to Figure 3, instead of or in addition to the railway vehicle formation maintainability status determination process 400 shown in Figure 4.

[0069] First, in step S410, the transceiver unit 18 installed in the second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) may transmit a zero analog signal from the second vehicle to the first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) via a power conductor.

[0070] Next, in step S420, in response to receiving a first analog signal from the second vehicle, the transceiver unit 16 installed in the first vehicle of the railway train (e.g., the last vehicle) may transmit a first analog signal from the first vehicle to the second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) via a power conductor.

[0071] Next, in step S430, the transceiver unit 18 installed in the second vehicle may receive a first analog signal from the transceiver unit 16 installed in the first vehicle via a power conductor, and the detector unit 14 may calculate the signal round trip time based on the transmission time of the 0th analog signal from the second vehicle and the reception time of the first analog signal in the second vehicle. That is, the detector unit 14 calculates the time it takes to receive a response after transmitting the 0th analog signal to the first vehicle.

[0072] Next, in step S440, based on the signal round-trip time calculated in step S430, the detector unit 14 may calculate the relative distance between the second vehicle and the first vehicle.

[0073] Next, in step S450, the detector unit 14 may determine whether the relative distance calculated in step S440 reaches a first distance threshold. If the relative distance calculated in step S440 reaches a first distance threshold, the process proceeds to step S470. If the relative distance calculated in step S440 does not reach a first distance threshold, the process proceeds to step S460. Here, the first distance threshold may include a predetermined threshold for the distance between a first vehicle and a second vehicle, such that a relative distance greater than the first distance threshold is considered to reach the first distance threshold (for example, the distance between two railway vehicles is greater than a certain value indicating that the railway vehicles may be separated from each other). In an embodiment, the first distance threshold may be specified as a range defining an acceptable distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

[0074] In step S460, if the relative distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle does not reach the first distance threshold, the detector unit 14 may determine that the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation is normal.

[0075] In step S470, if the distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle reaches a first speed difference threshold, the detector unit 14 may determine that an abnormality has occurred regarding the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation.

[0076] Next, in step S480, the detector unit 14 outputs a railway train set maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway train set determined in step S460 or step S470. In the embodiment, the detector unit 14 may output the railway train set maintainability notification to an onboard safety system, which may be part of a wireless-based occupancy detection system, a railway signaling system, etc.

[0077] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, it is possible to provide low-cost and reliable railway rolling stock maintainability management methods, devices, and systems for facilitating the determination of the maintainability of railway rolling stock using existing railway infrastructure. For example, according to the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 100 of the first embodiment, the maintainability of a railway vehicle formation can be verified using an analog signal transmitted unidirectionally from the first vehicle (e.g., the last vehicle) to the second vehicle (e.g., the leading vehicle) of the railway vehicle formation. Since this analog signal is transmitted using existing infrastructure such as power conductors provided along the route of the railway vehicle formation, the introduction of additional railway vehicle formations is unnecessary. Furthermore, since the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation can be determined based on frequency changes of the analog signal due to the Doppler effect, the installation of digital signal processing equipment is unnecessary, and reliable maintainability determination can be achieved at low cost.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment of the railway vehicle formation maintainability management system 200, since transceiver units 16 and 18 for bidirectional communication are provided in both the last and first cars, it becomes possible to determine the railway vehicle formation maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation 210 based on the time of flight of the transmitted signals. The time-of-flight maintainability determination may be performed in place of, or in addition to, the Doppler effect-based maintainability determination described with reference to the first embodiment. By performing time-of-flight maintainability determination in addition to the Doppler effect-based maintainability determination, it is possible to further improve the accuracy and reliability of the maintainability determination results.

[0079] The present invention may also be a system, method, and / or a computer program product. This computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

[0080] A computer-readable storage medium can be a tangible device capable of holding and storing instructions used by an instruction execution device. A computer-readable storage medium may, but is not limited to, electronic storage devices, magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, electromagnetic storage devices, semiconductor storage devices, or any suitable combination of the above. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of computer-readable storage media includes portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVDs), memory sticks, floppy disks, mechanical encryption devices such as punched cards or grooved raised structures on which instructions are recorded, and any suitable combination of the above. As used herein, a computer-readable storage medium should not be interpreted as a transient signal such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through waveguides or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through optical fiber cables), or electrical signals transmitted by wires.

[0081] Aspects of the present invention will be described herein with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that each block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, as well as any combination of blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions.

[0082] The computer-readable program instructions described above may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or another programmable data processing device for manufacturing a machine, so as to create a means for instructions executed via the processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device to perform functions / operations explicitly shown in the blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram. These computer-readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can be made to function in a particular way for computers, programmable data processing devices, and / or other devices, such that the computer-readable storage medium storing the instructions comprises a product containing instructions that perform the modes of functions / operations explicitly shown in the blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0083] The computer-readable program instructions described above may be further loaded onto a computer, other programmable device, or other device so that the instructions executed on the computer, other programmable device, or other device perform the functions / operations explicitly shown in the blocks of the flowchart and / or block diagram, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer, other programmable device, or other device to create a computer-executed process.

[0084] The flowcharts and block diagrams in the drawings illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions containing one or more executable instructions for performing a specialized logical function. In some alternative embodiments, the functions described in the blocks may occur in an order different from the order shown in the drawings. For example, two blocks shown consecutively may actually be executed almost simultaneously, or the blocks may be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions they relate to. It will also be recognized that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented by a system based on specialized hardware that performs a specialized function or operation, or a combination of specialized hardware and computer instructions.

[0085] While the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other further embodiments of the present invention may be conceived without departing from the basic scope of the invention, the scope of which will be determined by the claims set forth below. Although the descriptions of the various embodiments of this disclosure are provided for illustrative purposes, they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terms used herein have been chosen to describe the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or improvement of existing technologies, or to enable others with ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0086] The terms used herein are for the sole purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the various embodiments. Where used herein, unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. "~set," "~group," "~bundle," etc., are intended to include one or more. Furthermore, where used herein, the words "include" and / or "include" indicate the presence of the described features, integers, steps, actions, elements, and / or components, but it will be understood that they do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. In the above detailed descriptions of exemplary embodiments of various embodiments, attached drawings forming that part (similar numbers indicate similar elements) have been referred to, but only specific exemplary embodiments are shown as examples, and various embodiments are possible. The above embodiments have been described in enough detail that a person skilled in the art can practice the embodiments, but other embodiments are also available, and logical, mechanical, electrical and other modifications may be made, provided they do not deviate from the scope of the various embodiments. Numerous specific details have been included in the above description to ensure a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. However, various embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the embodiments. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0087] 02 Last car 04 Lead car 06 Intermediate car 10 Transmitter Unit 12 Receiver Unit 14 Detector Unit 16,18 Transceiver Unit 20 Power Conductors 22 Main rail 24 Current collector 26 wheel set 100,200 Railway Vehicle Formation Maintenance Management System 102,106 First analog signal 104 Analog signal number 0 110,210 Railway car formations

Claims

1. A method for managing the maintainability of railway rolling stock formations, The transmitter unit transmits a first analog signal from the first car of the railway train set to the second car of the railway train set via a power conductor that is separated from the railway train set. A railway vehicle maintenance management method comprising: determining the maintainability status of a railway vehicle train set by analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal using a detector unit; and outputting a railway vehicle train set maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway vehicle train set.

2. The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 1, wherein the power supply conductor is an overhead catenary that supplies power to at least one vehicle of the railway vehicle formation.

3. The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 1, wherein the power supply conductor is a third rail that supplies power to at least one vehicle of the railway vehicle formation.

4. Furthermore, by analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal, the maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation can be determined. To calculate the frequency shift of the first analog signal due to the Doppler effect on the transmission of the first analog signal, Based on the frequency shift, the relative speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is calculated, When the relative speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle reaches a first speed difference threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred regarding the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation. This includes determining that the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation is normal if the relative speed difference between the first vehicle and the second vehicle does not reach a first speed difference threshold. The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 1.

5. The railway vehicle formation maintainability management method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission of the first analog signal occurs in response to the first vehicle receiving a zero analog signal having a different frequency from the second vehicle from the first analog signal.

6. By analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal, the maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation can be determined. Based on the transmission time of the first analog signal from the second vehicle and the reception time of the first analog signal in the second vehicle, the analog signal round trip time is calculated. Based on the analog signal round trip time, the relative distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is calculated, When the aforementioned relative distance reaches a first distance threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred regarding the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation. The further includes determining that the maintainability of the railway vehicle formation is normal if the relative distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle does not reach the first distance threshold, The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 5.

7. Identifying a set of operating frequencies that may cause interference between the transmission of the 0th analog signal and the 1st analog signal, The further includes setting the frequencies of the 0th analog signal and the 1st analog signal so as to avoid interference with the set of frequencies in use, The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 5.

8. With respect to the first analog signal, an error verification signal having a predetermined frequency difference is transmitted from the first vehicle to the second vehicle. In the second vehicle, in response to receiving the first analog signal and the error verification signal, it is determined that no transmission error has occurred if the frequency difference between the first analog signal and the error verification signal corresponds to the predetermined frequency difference. The second vehicle further includes determining that a transmission error has occurred if, in response to receiving the first analog signal and the error verification signal, the frequency difference between the first analog signal and the error verification signal does not correspond to the predetermined frequency difference, The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 1.

9. The railway vehicle formation maintenance management method according to claim 8, wherein the error verification signal is transmitted from the first vehicle to the second vehicle via a transmitting medium separated from the power conductor.

10. A railway vehicle formation maintenance management device, A first transceiver unit is installed in the first car of a railway train set and is configured to transmit a first analog signal from the first car to the second car of the railway train set via a power conductor installed separately from the railway train set. A second transceiver unit configured to receive the first analog signal from the first vehicle via the power conductor, A railway vehicle maintenance management device comprising: a detector unit configured to determine the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation by analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal, and to output a railway vehicle formation maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation.

11. A railway vehicle formation maintenance management system, A railway vehicle formation including at least a first vehicle and a second vehicle physically connected to the first vehicle by rail coupling, A first current collector disposed on the first vehicle and a second current collector disposed on the second vehicle for collecting the current supplied to the aforementioned railway vehicle formation, In order to supply power to the railway vehicle train, it comprises a power conductor, which is arranged separately from the railway vehicle train so as to be in contact with the first current collector and the second current collector, The aforementioned first vehicle, The system includes a first transceiver unit configured to transmit a first analog signal from the first vehicle to the second vehicle via the power conductor, The second vehicle mentioned above, A second transceiver unit configured to receive the first analog signal from the first vehicle via the power conductor, The system includes a detector unit configured to determine the maintainability status of a railway vehicle formation by analyzing the frequency of the first analog signal, and to output a railway vehicle formation maintainability notification indicating the maintainability status of the railway vehicle formation. Railway rolling stock formation maintenance management system.

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