Portable rail code setter

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of railway transport, devices for testing locomotive safety devices, namely testing the operability of the reception and decoding of codes of automatic locomotive signaling. The technical result is achieved due to the fact that the claimed device contains a closed electrical circuit consisting of a conductive part and a current pulse generating unit, the conductive part, consisting of an electric cable located in the form of a rectangle, is a test loop, the long sides of the rectangle are located in a rigid cable channel, preventing sagging of the cable and placed during the operation of the device parallel to each other on the heads of the rails, and also having a disconnectable unit in the middle for bringing the device to the transport position, the smaller sides of the conductive part are placed in protective casings to prevent cable breakage during operation or transportation,the current pulse generation unit is made in the form of a housing including a digital board containing a programmable microcontroller for automatic operation of the device and reconfiguration of the sequence of generated signals depending on the requirements of the technical conditions for testing ALSN and CLUB, an output board for amplifying the generated signals, an indication panel for the generated signals, the color of the LEDs corresponds to the color of the coded signals that are being tested, a control panel that contains physical buttons corresponding to different types of signals for generating signals in manual mode, a battery unit that ensures the autonomy of the device, including several power elements, a charge level indicator and a battery charge control board with a corresponding connector for connecting the power supply. The technical problem solved by the utility model is the creation of an autonomous device,providing the ability to check the reception of ALSN and KLUB signals in any location of traction rolling stock, including on tracks outside the depot, having small dimensions and weight to ensure its mobility.

Description

[0001] Technical field

[0002] The utility model relates to the field of railway transport, devices for testing locomotive safety devices, namely testing the operability of receiving and decoding codes of automatic locomotive signaling (hereinafter - ALSN).

[0003] Technology Level

[0004] Since the main idea of ​​developing the utility model was to create a cheap to manufacture, repairable, compact, and most importantly autonomous device for testing the operability of the reception and decoding of ALSN codes and the "Integrated Locomotive Safety Device" (hereinafter referred to as CLUB), then the comparison with analogues will mainly come down to identifying the advantages achieved during the development of the utility model in these areas.

[0005] A current state-of-the-art device is the "Loop-less Test Device" manufactured by JSC Izhevsk Radio Plant. Operating Manual 36998-00-00 RE for this device is publicly available and can be downloaded from https: / / i.irz.ru / uploads / files / 348.pdf. This utility model differs from the "Loop-less Test Device" in that it can operate without an external power source, thanks to a built-in battery, and has a significantly lower overall weight (1.5 kg versus 17 kg).

[0006] The most common device for testing automatic locomotive signaling is (Leonov, A.A., Maintenance of Automatic Locomotive Signaling. 5th Edition, Revised and Supplemented. Moscow: Transport, 1982, pp. 217, 220). The device comprises a closed loop cable laid along the rails and electrical and measuring equipment housed in a cable rack for monitoring parameters and feeding coded signals into the cable loop. The advantage of this utility model over the present device is its compact size and the ability to use it regardless of the location of the traction rolling stock.

[0007] Also known from the prior art is a utility model, "A test rig for technological testing of continuous automatic locomotive signaling devices (ALSN)," comprising a device for generating primary signals and signals simulating interference, implemented in the form of a control PC equipped with digital controllers and a built-in analog-to-digital / digital-to-analog converter (ADC / DAC). A disadvantage of the known technical rhenium is its stationary design, which limits its application possibilities, preventing testing of automatic locomotive signaling with any arrangement of traction rolling stock. RU 72669 U1 B61L 3 / 20 (2006.01).

[0008] One of the most similar devices is the "Automatic Locomotive Signaling Testing Device (UP-ALS)," which includes a housing designed for electrical connection to a portable test loop, a programmable microelectronic device, a power amplifier whose output is loaded onto the test loop via a current measuring device, power supplies, and controls. A disadvantage of this device is that it operates from a power supply, which limits its scope of application due to the need for an external power source. RU 230924 U1 B61L 3 / 20 (2006.01).

[0009] A "Universal Portable Device for Testing Locomotive Signaling" is known, implemented in the form of a portable device containing a signal generator for the ALSN and ALS-EN floor-standing devices with the ability to generate code packet signals in an order and sequence meeting the requirements of the technical specifications of the ALSN, KLUB, KLUB-UP, KLUB-P, KLUB-U locomotive safety devices in automatic and manual modes with the ability to switch the carrier frequencies of the code packet signals and the ability to regulate the current in the loop, characterized in that the carrier frequency signal has the form of a sine wave and a portable loop electrically connected to it in the form of a loop of an insulated conductor. A disadvantage of this utility model is the lack of an indicator panel designed for self-testing the device for the accuracy of the generated signals; control can only be carried out based on the readings of the locomotive traffic light located in the cab of the traction rolling stock.Also, according to the description, the primary power supply for this device is assumed to be from the rolling stock's on-board electrical system, with switching to an uninterruptible power supply only during inspections conducted on tracks not equipped with fixed ALSN code feeders. The vast majority of uninterruptible power supplies are heavy, leading to the conclusion that the estimated total weight of all components of this device is greater than that of the claimed utility model, making it less mobile and a disadvantage. RU 160398 U1 B61L 25 / 00 (2006.01).

[0010] The "Mobile Continuous Automatic Locomotive Signaling (ALSN) Code Transmitter with Smartphone Control, Loop Current Monitoring and Regulation" is housed in a compact enclosure with a magnetized surface. It contains a double-sided board with a programmable microcontroller, connected to a control signal input device, a device operating mode indicator, a Bluetooth module for controlling and exchanging data between the device and a smartphone, and a circuit for generating the ALSN code current. A current transformer connected via a matching circuit to the microcontroller's analog-to-digital converter input for measuring the loop current is a drawback of this device: it cannot be controlled from a mobile device with a pre-installed program via Bluetooth. Under conditions of widespread data channel restrictions, the device's functionality may be impossible due to the blocking of this communication channel.Another disadvantage of its use is the need for a specialist who is checking the functionality of the ALSN to have a mobile device with pre-installed special software, while the mobile device must be based on the Android operating system, which also limits the possibilities of its use, creating additional requirements for equipment. RU 2843407 C1 B61L 3 / 24 (2006.01), B61L 27 / 60 (2022.01), G01M 17 / 08 (2006.01).

[0011] The "Device for monitoring and predictive diagnostics of on-board equipment of automatic locomotive signaling of continuous action" RU 2715101 C1 B61L 25 / 02 (2006.01), B61L 25 / 02 (2006.01), B61L 15 / 00 (2006.01) and "Device for diagnostics of relay locomotive equipment ALSN" RU 2725829 C1 B61L 3 / 10 (2006.01) are known, intended only for setting up the operation of ALSN, while the claimed utility model, in addition to checking ALSN, also makes it possible to check the transmission of codes to the CLUB device.

[0012] The technical problem solved by the claimed utility model is the creation of an autonomous device that provides the ability to check the reception of ALSN and KLUB signals in any location of traction rolling stock, including on tracks outside the depot, having small dimensions and weight to ensure its mobility.

[0013] Disclosure of the essence of the utility model. The technical result is achieved due to the fact that the claimed device contains a closed electrical circuit consisting of a conductive part and a current pulse (signal) generating unit, the conductive part, consisting of an electric cable located in the form of a conditional rectangle, is a test loop and is characterized in that the long sides of the conditional rectangle are located in a rigid cable channel that prevents the cable from sagging and is placed during the operation of the device parallel to each other on the rail heads, and also has a disconnectable unit in the middle for bringing the device to the transport position, the smaller sides of the conductive part are placed in protective casings to prevent cable breakage during operation or transportation, the current pulse (signal) generating unit is made in the form of a housing that includes a digital board, characterized in that,which contains a programmable microcontroller for the automatic operation of the device and the reconfiguration of the sequence of generated signals depending on the requirements of the technical conditions for checking the ALSN and CLUB, an output board for amplifying the generated signals, an indication panel for the generated signals, characterized in that the color of the LEDs corresponds to the color of the coded signals that are being checked, a control panel, characterized in that it contains physical buttons corresponding to different types of signals for generating signals in manual mode, a battery unit that ensures the autonomy of the device, including several power elements, a charge level indicator and a battery charge control board with a corresponding connector for connecting the power supply.

[0014] The application materials also include drawings Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4.

[0015] Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic representation of the components of a portable track code generator, which contains: 1 - a pulse (signal) generation unit, 2 - a test loop, 3 - disconnectable cable channel nodes.

[0016] Fig. 2 illustrates the layout diagram of the component parts of the ALSN and CLUB testing process using a portable rail code setter, which contains: a portable rail code setter (1) and elements of the safety devices being tested (9). The portable rail code setter (1) includes a pulse generation unit (2), consisting of a digital board (4), an output board (5), a control panel (6), an indication panel (7), a battery unit (8), and a test loop (3). The elements of the safety devices being tested (9) include ALSN receiving coils (10) and a locomotive signal indicator or CLUB indication panel (11).

[0017] Fig. 3 illustrates the electrical circuit diagram of the digital board.

[0018] Fig. 4 illustrates the electrical circuit diagram of the output board.

[0019] Implementation of a utility model

[0020] The utility model consists of a pulse (signal) generating unit and a test loop, which is an electrical cable.

[0021] The pulse generation unit includes:

[0022] a digital board with a PIC16F628 microcontroller, programmed with specially developed software so as to generate a pulse current in the cable in accordance with the code sequence specified in the Operating Manual of the “Integrated Locomotive Safety Device” (CLUB RE 36991-300-00), namely “KZ-KZ-B-Zh-B-KZh-KZ-B-Zh-B-KZh”;

[0023] digital board indicator panel consisting of LEDs indicating the color corresponding to the pulse during its action period, to monitor the correctness of the test progress;

[0024] output board for pulse amplification;

[0025] A control panel combined with an indicator panel containing physical buttons corresponding to different types of signals for performing manual checks;

[0026] 3.7V battery pack, 12 pcs., connected to a discharge control board, a charge level indication board and a connector for connecting a power supply from a 220V network.

[0027] The test loop consists of a PVGN cable with a cross-section of at least 6 mm placed on a flat metal angle iron, around the perimeter of a rectangular structure. To reduce the structure's dimensions during transportation, the angle iron is cut in the middle of its long sides to allow for folding. To prepare the utility model for operation or movement, PVC tubes of varying diameters are secured at the cut points. The "Portable Rail Code Setter" operates as follows:

[0028] The pulse generation unit generates signals in the form of current pulses, due to which an EMF is induced in the test circuit;

[0029] ALSN receiving coils on the locomotive read the change in EMF in the closed loop of the loop;

[0030] After the pulse is transmitted, the ALSN or KLUB system decodes the signal and displays the specified signal on the locomotive signal light. If the indication was carried out in the order of the transmitted pulses "KZ-K-Z-B-Z-BKZ-K-Z-B-Z-B-KZ," then the ALSN is operational.

[0031] The battery pack provides autonomous operation of the device.

[0032] In order to maintain the integrity of the assembled equipment during movement and for compact storage, a transport tube made of PVC pipe with a diameter of 120 mm was developed and manufactured.

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