Train control and management system

Abstract

The present invention provides a train control and management system that is capable of reducing power consumption of a communication port, and suppressing power consumption by setting a smaller settable communication band to the communication port when traffic volume is light. A train control and management system (1) includes traffic measurement units (102, 202, 22) for measuring, in an in-train network, a traffic volume flowing through a transmission source, a destination, and a communication port provided between the transmission source and the destination, a band managing unit (103) for deciding to set a communication band that is smaller than the above communication band to the communication port in a case in which a result of comparing the communication band set to the communication port with the traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement units is that the traffic volume is smaller, and band setting units (104, 204, 24) for setting the communication band of the communication port to the communication band decided by the band managing unit.

Description

Train integrated management device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an integrated train management device.

[0002] A train control and management system (TCMS) is installed on a train and manages the status of onboard equipment installed on the train. The train information management system includes a central unit, devices such as terminal devices, communication ports connecting each device, and a network connected by the communication ports. Each device, including the central unit, communicates over the network using its own communication port. Communication between devices over the network is performed by sending and receiving data. Data is transmitted and received as traffic within the network using the route control functions of a source device, a destination device, and devices installed between them. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a data transmission system that controls the route of traffic flowing within the network. The data transmission system includes a route control device that can set an upper limit on traffic for each source address, and the route control device transmits information such as a railroad crossing monitoring image to an approaching train, thereby enabling a train driver to quickly identify the cause of an abnormality.

[0003] JP 2009-89122 A

[0004] However, in such a routing control device, although the upper limit of traffic is limited and priority traffic is transmitted, there is a problem that the power consumption of the data transmission system is not reduced.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an integrated train management device that can reduce power consumption according to traffic volume.

[0006] The train integrated management device according to the present disclosure includes a traffic measurement unit that measures the amount of traffic flowing through a source, a destination, and a communication port provided between the source and the destination in an in-train network; a bandwidth management unit that compares the communication bandwidth set for the communication port with the traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit and, if the traffic volume is smaller, determines to set a communication bandwidth smaller than the communication bandwidth for the communication port; and a bandwidth setting unit that sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port to the communication bandwidth determined by the bandwidth management unit.

[0007] According to the train integrated management device of the present disclosure, when the traffic volume is small, the power consumption of the communication port can be reduced by setting a smaller configurable communication bandwidth to the communication port, thereby reducing the power consumption of the train integrated management device.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a train integration management device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 2 is a flowchart of traffic volume measurement of the train integration management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 3 is a bandwidth management table and a flowchart of bandwidth management of the train integration management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 4 is a flowchart of bandwidth setting of the train integration management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 5 is a bandwidth management table of bandwidth management of the train integration management device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] First Embodiment Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an integrated train management device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the integrated train management device 1 includes a central unit 10, a terminal unit 20, and a cab display (not shown), and is installed in a train together with on-board equipment 2. Note that, although Fig. 1 shows the devices connected in series one by one, the number of devices and the connection method are not important.

[0010] The on-board equipment 2 is, for example, a propulsion control device or a braking device, and the integrated train management device 1 has a vehicle control function for controlling the powering and braking of the train. As another example, the on-board equipment 2 is an interior light or an air conditioning device, and the integrated train management device 1 has a service equipment control function for controlling service equipment such as the interior light. As yet another example, the integrated train management device 1 has a monitoring function for displaying the vehicle status, a maintenance support function for detecting and recording faults, and a vehicle inspection function for automatically testing the on-board equipment 2.

[0011] The central unit 10 aggregates the functions of the train integrated management device 1, and the central unit 10 realizes the functions of the train integrated management device 1 by transmitting data to the on-board equipment 2 via the terminal unit 20 and receiving status data of the on-board equipment 2 from the on-board equipment 2.

[0012] The terminal device 20 is specialized for the data transmission function, and has the function of transmitting data sent and received between the central device 10, the in-vehicle device 2, and the cab display.

[0013] The cab display is provided in the driver's cab of the train, and by transmitting and receiving data from the central device 10 via the terminal device 20, the driver and conductor can check the vehicle status monitored by the train integrated management device 1 on the screen of the cab display. Furthermore, the driver and conductor can control the train from the cab display.

[0014] The central unit 10 includes a data transmission / reception unit 101 , a traffic measurement unit 102 , a bandwidth management unit 103 , and a bandwidth setting unit 104 .

[0015] The data transmission / reception unit 101 transmits data generated by the central unit 10 to other devices via a communication port that the central unit 10 has, and receives data from other devices.

[0016] The traffic measurement unit 102 measures the traffic volume by dividing the amount of data per unit time transmitted and received by the data transmission / reception unit 101 into train control traffic and other traffic for each communication port. The traffic measurement unit 102 periodically transmits the measured traffic volume for each communication port to the bandwidth management unit 103 together with flag information indicating whether the traffic is train control traffic or other, the source IP address, and the destination IP address.

[0017] Train control traffic refers to traffic necessary for the safe running of trains, such as running and stopping. A value indicating that it is train control traffic is stored in a specific location within the traffic data, so by extracting and checking this value, it is possible to determine whether the data is train control traffic or not.

[0018] The bandwidth management unit 103 manages traffic using a combination of the source communication port, the transit communication port, the destination communication port, the currently set bandwidth of the communication port, and the total measured bandwidth of the train control traffic volume and other traffic volume of the communication port. The bandwidth management unit 103 updates the traffic information it manages using information periodically notified from the traffic measurement unit 102. For each communication port of the traffic, the bandwidth management unit 103 compares the bandwidth set for that communication port with the total measured bandwidth. If the comparison shows that the measured bandwidth of the communication port is smaller than the bandwidth of the set communication port, the bandwidth management unit 103 notifies the bandwidth setting unit 104 to change the bandwidth to a smaller communication bandwidth than the currently set communication port.

[0019] When the central unit 10 is powered on and starts up, the bandwidth setting unit 104 sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port that transmits and receives data as the initial setting bandwidth value to a communication bandwidth value that can be set by a physical communication device that realizes data transmission and reception of the communication port. For example, if data transmission and reception is performed using Ethernet (registered trademark) and the physical communication device is capable of setting predetermined bandwidth values ​​of 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and 10 Mbps, the bandwidth setting unit 104 sets 100 Mbps as the initial setting bandwidth value. When a bandwidth setting change notification is received from the bandwidth management unit 103, the bandwidth setting unit 104 changes the bandwidth value of the communication port to the specified bandwidth value. If the communication port to be changed is the device itself, the bandwidth setting unit 104 changes the communication port setting directly. If the communication port to be changed is a device other than the central unit 104, the bandwidth setting unit 104 sends a communication port bandwidth setting notification to the target device. The other device that receives the setting change notification changes the bandwidth value of the communication port to the specified bandwidth value.

[0020] The terminal device 20 includes a data transmitting / receiving unit 201 , a traffic measuring unit 202 , and a bandwidth setting unit 204 .

[0021] The data transmission / reception unit 201 transmits data generated by the terminal device 20 to other devices via a communication port that the terminal device 20 has, and receives data from other devices.

[0022] The traffic measurement unit 202 measures the amount of data transmitted and received by the data transmission / reception unit 201 of the terminal device 20, dividing it into train control traffic and other traffic for each communication port. The traffic measurement unit 202 periodically transmits the measured traffic amount for each communication port, together with flag information indicating whether the traffic is train control traffic or other traffic, the source IP address, and the destination IP address, to the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central unit 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 201 of the terminal device 20 and the data transmission / reception unit 101 of the central unit 10.

[0023] When the terminal device 20 is powered on and starts up, the bandwidth setting unit 204 sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port that transmits and receives data as an initial setting bandwidth value to a communication bandwidth value that can be set by a physical communication device that realizes data transmission and reception of the communication port. For example, if data transmission and reception is performed using Ethernet (registered trademark) and the physical communication device can set predetermined bandwidth values ​​of 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and 10 Mbps, the bandwidth setting unit 204 sets 100 Mbps as the initial setting bandwidth value. When a bandwidth setting change notification is received from the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central unit 10, the bandwidth value of the communication port is changed to the specified bandwidth value.

[0024] The in-vehicle device 2 includes a data transmitter / receiver 21, a traffic measuring unit 22, and a bandwidth setting unit 24.

[0025] The data transmitter / receiver 21 transmits data generated by the in-vehicle device 2 to other devices via a communication port of the in-vehicle device 2, and receives data from other devices.

[0026] The traffic measurement unit 22 measures the amount of data transmitted and received by the data transmission / reception unit 21 of the on-board device 2, dividing it into control traffic and other traffic for each communication port. The traffic measurement unit 22 periodically transmits the measured traffic amount for each communication port together with flag information indicating whether the traffic is train control traffic or other traffic, the source IP address, and the destination IP address to the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central unit 10 via the data transmission / reception unit 201 of the terminal device 20 and the data transmission / reception unit 101 of the central unit 10.

[0027] When the in-vehicle device 2 is powered on and activated, the bandwidth setting unit 24 sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port that transmits and receives data to a communication bandwidth value that can be set by a physical communication device that realizes data transmission and reception at the communication port as an initial setting bandwidth value. For example, if data transmission and reception are performed using Ethernet (registered trademark) and the physical communication device can set predetermined bandwidth values ​​of 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and 10 Mbps, the bandwidth setting unit 24 sets 100 Mbps as the initial setting bandwidth value. When a bandwidth setting change notification is received from the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central device 10, the bandwidth value of the communication port is changed to the specified bandwidth value.

[0028] 2 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of traffic volume measurement by the integrated train management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the central device 10 and terminal device 20 of the integrated train management device 1, and the on-board device 2 periodically measure traffic volumes using traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22.

[0029] 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, 22 analyze the data content of the data transmitted and received by the data transmission / reception units 101, 201, 21. For example, when the TCP / IP protocol is used for data transmission and reception, information such as the source IP address, destination IP address, and port number indicating the data source, destination, and protocol is stored in headers such as the IP header, TCP header, and UDP header, and by extracting and analyzing this information, it is possible to determine the data source, destination, whether it is train control traffic, and so on.

[0030] In S202 of Fig. 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 determine whether the data is control traffic. By analyzing the header contents, if TRDP (Train Real-time Data Protocol) is used as the protocol for transmitting and receiving vehicle control data, it can be determined that the data is train control traffic. If the data is train control traffic, the process of S203 is performed. If the data is not train control traffic, the process of S204 is performed.

[0031] In S203 of FIG. 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 measure the train control traffic volume.

[0032] In S204 of FIG. 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 measure the amount of traffic other than train control traffic.

[0033] In S205 of FIG. 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 extract the source IP address and destination IP address of the transmitted and received data.

[0034] In S206 of FIG. 2, the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 notify the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central unit 10 of a train control traffic flag indicating whether the traffic is train control traffic or not, the measured traffic volume, the source IP address, and the destination IP address.

[0035] 3 is a diagram illustrating a bandwidth management table and a flowchart of bandwidth management of the integrated train management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the central device 10 of the integrated train management device 1 includes a bandwidth management unit 103, and manages the bandwidth of all traffic in the bandwidth management table 301.

[0036] The bandwidth management unit 103 has a bandwidth management table 301 shown in Figure 3. The bandwidth management table 301 manages traffic by traffic unit, and each traffic has data on the source communication port, the transit communication port, the destination communication port, the currently set bandwidth, and the total measured traffic volume of train control traffic and other traffic. Traffic A in the bandwidth management table 301 consists of data that has the source communication port as communication port a1 of the central unit 10, passes through communication ports a2 and a3 of the terminal device, and has communication port a4 of the on-board device as the destination communication port. The set bandwidth and measured traffic volume information are recorded and updated using traffic information measured and notified by the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 of the central unit 10, terminal device 20, and on-board device 2.

[0037] 3, the bandwidth management unit 103 compares the measured traffic volume of each communication port of traffic A with the set bandwidth, and checks whether the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the set bandwidth. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the set bandwidth, the process proceeds to S302. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is equal to or greater than the set bandwidth, the process of the communication port is terminated.

[0038] 3, it is confirmed whether the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the settable communication bandwidth, which is smaller than the currently set bandwidth. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the currently set bandwidth, the process proceeds to S303. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is equal to or greater than the currently set bandwidth, the process terminates. For the in-vehicle device communication port a4 in the bandwidth management table 301, the measured bandwidth of the communication port is 5 Mbps, which is smaller than the settable communication bandwidth of 10 Mbps, which is smaller than the currently set bandwidth, which is the initially set bandwidth of 100 Mbps, so the process proceeds to S303.

[0039] 3, the communication port information and the settable communication bandwidth are notified. The bandwidth management unit 103 notifies the in-vehicle equipment communication port 1 to change the bandwidth to the settable communication bandwidth of 10 Mbps from among the settable communication bandwidth values ​​of 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and 10 Mbps that are predetermined as physical communication devices.

[0040] When the processing of traffic A is completed, the processing of S301 is performed for the next communication port in the bandwidth management table 301. These processing steps are repeated for all communication ports and traffic managed in the bandwidth management table 301.

[0041] 4 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of bandwidth setting in the integrated train management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the central device 10 and terminal device 20 of the integrated train management device 1, and the on-board device 2 initially set and change the bandwidth of the communication port using bandwidth setting units 104, 204, and 24.

[0042] 4, when the power of the device is turned on and the device starts up, the bandwidth setting unit 104, 204, 24 sets an initial bandwidth for the communication port of the device. The bandwidth setting unit 104 sets 100 Mbps as the initial bandwidth value for the communication port from among 1 Gbps, 100 Mbps, and 10 Mbps, which are communication bandwidth values ​​that can be set as a physical communication device.

[0043] In S402 of FIG. 4, the bandwidth setting units 104, 204, and 24 receive a bandwidth change notification from the bandwidth management unit 103 of the central unit 10.

[0044] In S403 of FIG. 4, the bandwidth setting unit 104, 204, 24 extracts the bandwidth setting value from the bandwidth change notification and sets the specified bandwidth value to the specified communication port.

[0045] As described above, the train integrated management device 1 according to this embodiment includes traffic measurement units 102, 202, 22 that measure the amount of traffic flowing through a source, a destination, and a communication port provided between the source and the destination in a train network; a bandwidth management unit 103 that, when comparing the communication bandwidth set for the communication port with the traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit and finding that the traffic volume is smaller, determines to set a communication bandwidth smaller than the communication bandwidth for the communication port; and a bandwidth setting unit 104, 204, 24 that sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port to the communication bandwidth determined by the bandwidth management unit.

[0046] As a result, when the traffic volume is small, the communication bandwidth of the communication port can be set to a small value, thereby reducing the power consumption of the communication port, thereby reducing the power consumption of the train integrated control device.

[0047] Second Embodiment An integrated train management device 1 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment indicate the same or corresponding parts.

[0048] 5 is a bandwidth management table for bandwidth management of the integrated train management device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 5, the bandwidth management unit 103 included in the central device 10 of the integrated train management device 1 includes a bandwidth management table 501 that manages only the train control traffic volume, instead of the total measured traffic volume in the bandwidth management table 301.

[0049] The bandwidth management unit 103 manages the bandwidth table 501 by using only the train control traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement units 102, 202, and 22 as the measurement bandwidth of each communication port.

[0050] Furthermore, in S301 of Fig. 3, the bandwidth management unit 103 compares the measured traffic volume of each communication port of traffic A with the set bandwidth, and checks whether the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the set bandwidth. At this time, the measured traffic volume used by the bandwidth management unit 103 for comparison is only the train control traffic volume. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is smaller than the set bandwidth, the process proceeds to S302. If the measured traffic volume of the communication port is equal to or greater than the set bandwidth, the process ends for the communication port.

[0051] As described above, in the integrated train management device 1 according to the second embodiment, the bandwidth management unit 103 is configured to include the bandwidth management table 501 instead of the bandwidth management table 301. This allows the power consumption of the integrated train management device 1 to be further reduced.

[0052] The configurations described in the above embodiments are merely examples of the contents of the present disclosure, and may be combined with other known techniques. Furthermore, parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0053] 1 Train integrated management device, 2 On-board equipment, 10 Central device, 101, 201, 21 Data transmission / reception unit, 102, 202, 22 Traffic measurement unit, 103 Bandwidth management unit, 104, 204, 24 Bandwidth setting unit, 20 Terminal device, 301, 501 Bandwidth management table

Claims

1. A train integrated management device comprising: a traffic measurement unit that measures the amount of traffic flowing through a source, a destination, and a communication port provided between the source and the destination in an in-train network; a bandwidth management unit that determines, when a communication bandwidth set for the communication port is smaller than the traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit as a result of comparing the communication bandwidth set for the communication port with the traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit, and determines to set a communication bandwidth smaller than the communication bandwidth for the communication port; and a bandwidth setting unit that sets the communication bandwidth of the communication port to the communication bandwidth determined by the bandwidth management unit.

2. The integrated train management device according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth management unit determines to set a predetermined communication bandwidth for the communication port.

3. The integrated train management device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the traffic volume is only the train control traffic volume flowing through a communication port within the train, measured by the traffic measurement unit.

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