Method and devices for operating a rail vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates, inter alia, to a method of a rail vehicle (10), wherein information about the surroundings travelled by the rail vehicle (10) is detected and forwarded to a track-side receiving device (130) by means of a vehicle-side transmitting device (14), and image data is displayed on the track side on a display device (110) on the basis of the information forwarded on the vehicle side in such a way that track-side remote control of the rail vehicle (10) can be carried out by a track-side operator by means of a track-side operating device (120). According to the invention, during operation, objects located on, next to or in the vicinity of the track on which the vehicle is travelling are detected on the vehicle side and a vehicle-side safety reaction, for example a vehicle-side braking command (BF), is generated on the vehicle side autonomously and independently of the track-side remote control if a possible collision with one of the detected objects is identified.

Description

[0001] 202409575

[0002] 1

[0003] Description

[0004] Procedures and equipment for operating a railway vehicle

[0005] The invention relates to a method for operating a rail vehicle, in particular a remotely controlled rail vehicle, a rail vehicle as such, and a remote control device for controlling a rail vehicle.

[0006] Known methods exist for operating a rail vehicle in which image or video data of the surroundings traversed by the rail vehicle are captured on the vehicle itself and transmitted to a trackside receiving device via a vehicle-mounted transmitter. The data received on the trackside is displayed on a screen, thus enabling a trackside operator to remotely control the rail vehicle using a trackside control device.

[0007] Typically, an image of the track section ahead of the rail vehicle is shown, so that the remote control of the rail vehicle can be carried out analogously or very similarly to vehicle control from the driver's cab of the rail vehicle.

[0008] The invention is based on the objective of providing a method for operating a rail vehicle which is particularly advantageous with regard to the described possibility of remote control.

[0009] This problem is solved according to the invention by a method with the features according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0010] According to the invention, a method for operating a rail vehicle is provided in which information about the environment traversed by the rail vehicle is acquired and transmitted by means of a vehicle-side transmitter to a trackside receiver. Based on the information transmitted by the vehicle, image data is displayed on a trackside display device in such a way that remote control of the rail vehicle can be carried out by a trackside operator using a trackside control device. Furthermore, it is provided that objects located on, beside, or near the track during operation are detected by the vehicle and are processed autonomously and independently of the 202409575

[0011] 2. A vehicle-side safety reaction is generated by the trackside remote control if a possible collision with one of the detected objects is detected.

[0012] A significant advantage of the operation of the rail vehicle according to the invention is that, in the event of danger, a control intervention, such as triggering a braking command, does not have to be carried out exclusively remotely, but can also be initiated autonomously by the remotely controlled rail vehicle itself. The additional autonomous vehicle-side safety reaction provided for in the invention, for example, of the otherwise remotely controlled rail vehicle, considerably increases operational safety because, for example, interruptions in the data connection between the trackside remote control unit and the rail vehicle do not lead to dead times in which a necessary safety reaction does not occur or occurs only with a delay because the necessary data could not be exchanged between the rail vehicle and the trackside remote control unit, or not in a timely manner.

[0013] The vehicle's safety response preferably includes a reduction in speed, for example by generating a vehicle-side braking command, and / or the issuance of warnings by activating the horn and / or the output of light signals.

[0014] It is advantageous if, in the event of a detected potential collision or a vehicle-generated braking command, collision and / or braking command information is transmitted to the trackside receiving device.

[0015] On the vehicle side, it is preferably possible to cancel the vehicle-side braking command using the trackside control device.

[0016] The information transmitted to the trackside receiving equipment may advantageously include encoded video data showing at least the traversed tunnel.

[0017] The encoding of the video data to create the encoded video data is preferably carried out using a codec optimized for railway vehicle operation.

[0018] For example, it is advantageous if the encoding of the video data or the codec optimized for rail vehicle operation is taken into account when creating the encoded video data, 202409575

[0019] 3 that the area of ​​the driving hose is transmitted with a higher image quality than the area outside the driving hose.

[0020] It is also considered advantageous if a fatigue and / or attention check of the operator is carried out on the trackside and if the operator's remote control of the rail vehicle is aborted if a predetermined minimum attention threshold is not met.

[0021] It is also advantageous if the information received by the rail vehicle is enhanced along the route, in particular by increasing the resolution and / or the frame rate in the case of received information that describes the environment traveled by the rail vehicle in the form of video information.

[0022] With regard to hazard detection or the recognition of the necessity of a braking process desired or forced by the rail vehicle, it is considered advantageous if object recognition information is generated for each of the detected objects, and the object recognition information is evaluated with the inclusion of a track data set in which known stationary objects that are not critical for the movement of the rail vehicle are defined, whereby, within the scope of the evaluation, collision checking is carried out on the vehicle side only for such object recognition information that cannot be assigned to any of the objects defined in the track data set.

[0023] It is advantageous if, for object recognition information that cannot be assigned to any of the objects defined in the track data set, an object-related warning message is generated and forwarded to the trackside receiving device, while object recognition information that can be assigned to objects defined in the track data set is excluded from being forwarded to the trackside receiving device. A significant advantage of this latter design is that the transmission of object-related data from the rail vehicle to the trackside receiving device can be limited to objects whose existence is not predictable.The invention is based on the idea that data relating to stationary objects, whose location and appearance are known and for which object data are already available in the route atlas and thus also on the route side, do not need to be transmitted to the receiving device on the route side, since the 202409575.

[0024] The corresponding object-related data only needs to be read from this track atlas. By omitting objects when transmitting object-related data, the bandwidth requirement for transmitting this data can be significantly reduced. For example, if all objects ahead in the direction of travel are registered in the track atlas, remote control is possible with only knowledge of the train's location and speed. Object-related data transmission, such as video signals showing the upcoming track section, can be completely dispensed with, since, for example, generating a trackside image of the upcoming track section for remote control purposes can be done solely by rendering the track data set.

[0025] It is therefore considered advantageous if, based on the track data set, the current location of the rail vehicle, and the object-related warning information transmitted by the rail vehicle, virtual image data is generated by rendering. This image data depicts a section of track ahead in the direction of travel of the rail vehicle, including the objects described by the warning information. Such rendered image data can enable remote control by the operator, as mentioned at the beginning.

[0026] The virtual image data preferably shows a three-dimensional image of the virtual environment of the rail vehicle, in a view that would correspond to the view of a rail vehicle driver of the upcoming track section. Alternatively or additionally, the virtual image data can show a different viewpoint or a bird's-eye view.

[0027] When generating the virtual image data, the stationary objects defined in the route data set are preferably included by additionally integrating the objects located ahead in the direction of travel of the rail vehicle into the image data.

[0028] When generating virtual image data, objects reported by detection devices from other vehicles or stationary detection devices are preferably also included, either through the transmission of raw or processed measurement data, in particular object data derived therefrom. 202409575

[0029] 5

[0030] The detection devices can, for example, each include a measuring device in the form of a camera that generates image data as measurement data, and / or an infrared camera that generates infrared image data as measurement data, and / or a laser device that generates laser scan data as measurement data, and / or a radar device that generates radar data as measurement data.

[0031] It is particularly advantageous if the virtual image data is generated trackside during the journey of the rail vehicle by real-time rendering, creating a virtual video stream.

[0032] The image data is preferably displayed on a trackside display device in such a way that remote control of the rail vehicle can be carried out by a trackside operator using a trackside control device.

[0033] The object-related warning information preferably includes a location indication of the detected object and / or the speed and direction of movement of the detected object and / or additional information that signals a risk of collision if the speed and direction of movement of the detected object indicate a possible collision, and / or an object type indication or a part of measurement data relating to the object.

[0034] The additional information or object type specification can, for example, include information on whether the object (e.g., based on the detected clothing or other recognized characteristics) is a track worker who, upon perceiving the train, can be expected to cooperate. In this case, a warning by using the horn would suffice, provided that cooperative behavior allows enough time to leave the danger zone.

[0035] On the vehicle side, measurement data from a measuring device or a detection device of the rail vehicle are preferably subjected to an identification procedure, and an object type identifier that identifies the respective object group is preferably assigned to those components of the measurement data to which an object from a predefined object group can be assigned. The object type identifier can be, for example, "car", "person", or "animal", provided that the detected object is a passenger car, a person, or an animal. 202409575

[0036] 6

[0037] The object-related warning information preferably includes the associated object type information if the assignment to one of the predefined object groups was successful.

[0038] The object-related warning information preferably contains the portion of the measurement data belonging to the respective object (e.g., image pixels in the case of image data) if the assignment to the predefined object groups was unsuccessful. Alternatively, instead of the portion of the measurement data belonging to the respective object, an object type indication specifying an unknown object type can be transmitted, for example, if insufficient bandwidth is available to transmit the object-related measurement data.

[0039] The comparison of the object recognition information with the route data set is preferably carried out on the vehicle side, taking into account the object type information.

[0040] When transmitting object-related warning information, the available bandwidth is preferably taken into account by assigning a hazard potential rating to each object-related warning information piece and by either omitting the transmission of object-related warning information with a hazard potential rating below a bandwidth-dependent hazard threshold or transmitting it only in a reduced form. For example, instead of object-related measurement data, an object type rating indicating an unknown object type can be transmitted.

[0041] Preferably, a detected object is assigned a high hazard potential if it is located in the track area, i.e., on the preceding track section or within an immediately adjacent danger zone, and a low hazard potential otherwise. If the bandwidth falls below a predetermined minimum, preferably only object-related warning information for detected objects with a high hazard potential is transmitted in a reduced form.

[0042] The invention also relates to a rail vehicle. According to the invention, the rail vehicle is remotely controllable and additionally comprises a collision detection device designed to detect objects located on, beside, or near the track during operation and to generate a braking command autonomously and independently of any trackside remote control when it detects a potential collision with one of the detected objects. 202409575

[0043] 7

[0044] Regarding the advantages of the rail vehicle according to the invention and advantageous embodiments of the rail vehicle according to the invention, reference is made to the above statements in connection with the method according to the invention and its advantageous embodiments.

[0045] The collision detection device is preferably designed to transmit collision and / or braking command information to the trackside receiving device in the event of a detected potential collision or a vehicle-side braking command.

[0046] The rail vehicle, in particular its collision detection device or vehicle control device, is preferably designed to accept a cancellation command generated on the trackside as part of remote control to cancel the braking command and to cancel the braking command when the cancellation command is present.

[0047] The rail vehicle is preferably designed in such a way that the information it transmits to the trackside receiving device includes coded video data that shows at least the track section being traveled.

[0048] It is advantageous if the rail vehicle includes: at least one object detection device that detects objects located on, beside, or near the track during operation and generates object recognition information for each detected object; a track data set in which known stationary objects that are not critical to the rail vehicle's operation are defined; and a filtering device that compares the object recognition information with the track data set and outputs only that object recognition information which cannot be assigned to any of the objects defined in the track data set, either processed or unprocessed, as object-related warning information. The filtering device can, for example, forward the object-related warning information to the collision detection device so that it can perform the collision check and, if necessary, generate the braking command.

[0049] A vehicle-side receiving device is preferably designed to receive remote control commands from the trackside, and the vehicle control unit of the rail vehicle is preferably designed to control the rail vehicle according to the received remote control commands. 202409575

[0050] It is advantageous if the rail vehicle, in particular its object detection device, has a measuring device that measures the environment of the rail vehicle and generates measurement data.

[0051] It is advantageous if the measuring device includes a camera that generates image data as measurement data, and / or an infrared camera that generates infrared image data as measurement data, and / or a laser device that generates laser scan data as measurement data, and / or a radar device that generates radar data as measurement data.

[0052] It is advantageous if the object detection device includes an object identification device, and the object identification device subjects the measurement data of the measuring device to an identification procedure and assigns an object type specification that identifies the respective object group to those components of the measurement data to which an object from a given object group can be assigned.

[0053] It is advantageous if the object-related warning information includes the corresponding object type specification if the assignment to one of the predefined object groups was successful.

[0054] It is advantageous if the object-related warning information contains the part of the measurement data belonging to the respective object, if the assignment to the specified object groups was unsuccessful.

[0055] It is advantageous if the filter system compares the object recognition information with the route data set, taking into account the object type information.

[0056] The invention also relates to a remote control device for controlling a rail vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle as described above, and for carrying out a method as described above.

[0057] Regarding the advantages of the remote control device according to the invention and advantageous embodiments of the remote control device according to the invention, reference is made to the above explanations in connection with the method according to the invention and its advantageous embodiments. 202409575

[0058] 9

[0059] It is advantageous if the remote control device includes a testing device for checking the fatigue and / or attention of the operator, whereby the testing device is designed to terminate the operator's remote control of the rail vehicle if a predetermined minimum attention threshold is not met.

[0060] It is advantageous if the remote control device includes an enhancement device for trackside enhancement of the information received by the rail vehicle, in particular by increasing the resolution and / or the frame rate in the case of received video information showing the environment traveled by the rail vehicle.

[0061] It is advantageous if the remote control device includes: a trackside receiver for receiving object-related warning information from a vehicle-side transmitter of the rail vehicle to be controlled, a track data set in which known stationary objects that are not critical for the movement of the rail vehicle are defined, and a visualization device that generates virtual image data based on the track data set and the received object-related warning information, which visualizes the movement of the rail vehicle taking into account the known stationary objects that are not critical for the movement of the rail vehicle as well as the received object-related warning information.

[0062] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments; the following are shown as examples:

[0063] Figure 1 Components of a first embodiment for a device according to the invention

[0064] Rail vehicle

[0065] Figure 2 Components of a second embodiment of a device according to the invention

[0066] Rail vehicle

[0067] Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a remote control device according to the invention, and

[0068] Figs. 4-5 illustrate the operation of the rail vehicle and the remote control unit using two images that can be displayed by the remote control unit. 202409575

[0069] 10

[0070] For the sake of clarity, the same reference symbols are always used in the figures for identical or comparable components.

[0071] Figure 1 shows components of an embodiment of a rail vehicle 10 according to the invention in the form of a schematic block diagram.

[0072] The rail vehicle 10 includes a measuring device 11, for example in the form of a camera, which generates image or video data (MD) as measurement data and transmits this data to a downstream object identification device 12. The camera is oriented forward in the direction of travel (FR) and thus captures the track ahead in the direction of travel (FR) as well as the adjacent part of the surroundings. As already mentioned, the measuring device 11 can alternatively or additionally include an event camera, an infrared camera, a lidar or radar, ultrasonic sensors, or similar sensors.

[0073] The measuring device and the object identification device 12 together form an object detection device of the rail vehicle.

[0074] The object identification device 12 is designed to subject the measurement data MD to an object recognition procedure and to generate object recognition information Ol for each detected object. For this purpose, the object identification device 12 can be equipped with artificial intelligence, for example, in the form of a neural network. Examples of neural networks suitable for object recognition include ImageNet, Clip network, DINO network, and SAM network.

[0075] The object identification device 12 preferably also determines an object type identifier TYP for each detected object and adds this, if possible, to the respective object recognition information Ol. The object type identifier TYP can be, for example, "car", "person", or "animal", provided that the detected object is a passenger car, a person, or an animal.

[0076] The object recognition information Ol is forwarded to a filter device 13 downstream of the object identification device 12, which is equipped with or connected to a track data set SDS. Known stationary objects that are not critical for the movement of the rail vehicle 10 are defined in the track data set SDS and are preferably stored in a location-dependent manner. 202409575

[0077] 11

[0078] The filter unit 13 compares the object recognition information Ol received by the object identification unit 12 with the objects stored in the track data set SDS and filters out those object recognition information Ol that describe objects stored in the track data set SDS and are therefore classified as non-critical. Only those object recognition information Ol relating to objects that are not found in the track data set SDS and could therefore potentially be relevant for an operator remotely controlling the rail vehicle 10 are forwarded or output in the form of warning information Wl.

[0079] The warning information Wl issued by the filter device 13 or the corresponding object recognition information Ol are sent to a transmitter 14 of the rail vehicle 10 and are transmitted by this as part of a transmission signal SS to a trackside remote control device 100 (see Figure 3).

[0080] The object-related warning information Wl preferably includes a location indication of the detected object, the speed and direction of movement of the detected object, additional information that signals a collision hazard if the speed and direction of movement of the respective detected object indicate a possible collision, and the object type indication TYP characterizing the respective object or - if no object type indication TYP can be determined - that part of the measurement data MD that relates to and characterizes the respective object.

[0081] It is possible to transmit all warning information Wl issued by the filter unit 13 to the trackside remote control unit 100. However, to reduce the amount of data to be transmitted, it can be advantageous to perform data reduction using an intermediate data reduction unit 15. The data reduction unit 15, shown as an example in Figure 1, assigns a hazard potential value to each object-related warning information Wl and either omits the transmission of object-related warning information Wl that has a hazard potential value below a bandwidth-dependent hazard threshold, or transmits it only in a reduced form. For example, instead of object-related measurement data MD for objects of unknown object type, an object type value indicating an unknown object type can be transmitted.

[0082] Preferably, a detected object is assigned a high hazard potential if it is located in the track corridor, i.e., on the preceding track area or within a 202409575

[0083] 12. The device is located in an immediately adjacent danger zone, or otherwise has a low danger potential. If the bandwidth available for data transmission falls below a predetermined minimum, preferably only object-related warning information (Wl) for detected objects with a high danger potential is transmitted, and this in a reduced form.

[0084] The rail vehicle 10 is also equipped with a vehicle-side receiver 16 for receiving trackside remote control commands FSB from the trackside remote control unit 100. The remote control commands FSB received by the receiver 16 are transmitted to a vehicle control unit 17 of the rail vehicle 10, which controls the rail vehicle 10 according to the received remote control commands FSB.

[0085] To prevent collisions in the event of an interrupted or disrupted data connection between the rail vehicle 10 and the remote control unit 100, the rail vehicle 10, as shown in Figure 1, is additionally equipped with a collision warning device 18. This device is connected between the filter unit 13 and the vehicle control unit 17 and evaluates the warning information Wl from the filter unit 13 with regard to an imminent collision or a high risk of collision. If the collision warning device 18 detects a risk of collision above a predetermined danger threshold, it generates a braking command BF and transmits it to the vehicle control unit 17. The collision warning device 18 preferably also transmits braking information indicating the output of the braking command BF to the trackside remote control unit 100.

[0086] To avoid unnecessary braking, it is advantageous if the vehicle control unit 17 is designed to ignore the braking command BF of the collision warning device 18, and / or the collision warning device 18 is designed to cancel the braking command BF when an operator-side cancellation command RBB is received from the trackside remote control unit 100.

[0087] As an alternative to or in addition to the warning information Wl, the measurement data MD can be transmitted as such or in compressed form with the transmission signal SS to the trackside remote control unit 100. The extent of the transmission of the measurement data MD is preferably determined by a compression device 19 depending on the available bandwidth of the data connection between the rail vehicle 10 and the trackside remote control unit 100. 202409575

[0088] 13

[0089] Compression device 19 encodes or compresses the measurement data MD preferably using a codec optimized for railway vehicle operation.

[0090] The encoding of the measurement data MD, optimized for rail vehicle operation, can, for example, stipulate that the area within the track tube is transmitted with higher data quality or a higher measurement rate than the area outside the track tube. The measurement data MD, which is compressed by the compression unit 19, can, for example, be video data.

[0091] It may also be provided that the collision warning device 18 determines the risk of collision (additionally or alternatively) directly on the basis of the measurement data MD of the measuring device 11 or on the basis of the coded measurement data MD of the compression device 19.

[0092] Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the rail vehicle 10 shown in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the object identification device 12, the filter device 13, the data reduction device 15, the collision warning device 18, the vehicle control device 17, and the compression device 19 are formed by software modules SW12, SW13, SW15, SW17, SW18, and SW19, which are stored in a memory 21 of a vehicle computer 20 of the rail vehicle 10 and can be executed by a computing unit 22 of the vehicle computer 20. Otherwise, the above statements relating to Figure 1 apply accordingly to the embodiment according to Figure 2.

[0093] Figure 3 shows components of an embodiment of a remote control device 100 according to the invention. The remote control device 100 comprises a display device 110 for displaying trackside image data, which enables remote control of a rail vehicle 10, for example, the rail vehicle 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2. For remote control, the remote control device 100 has an operating device 120 with which a trackside operator can generate remote control commands.

[0094] The remote control unit 100 also includes a trackside receiver 130 for receiving the SS signals from the rail vehicle 10 and a trackside transmitter 140 that can forward the remote control commands FSB to the vehicle-side receiver 16. 202409575

[0095] 14

[0096] The control of the display device 110, the evaluation of the transmission signals SS of the rail vehicle 10 and the output of the remote control commands FSB to the rail vehicle 10 is controlled or managed by a control unit 150 of the remote control device 100.

[0097] In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the control unit 150 comprises a visualization device 151, which evaluates the transmission signal SS of the rail vehicle 10 and generates an image or video signal for display on the display device 110. The image or video signal shows the track section ahead in the direction of travel FR, in particular the guide tube, and thus enables the operator to remotely control the rail vehicle 10.

[0098] The visualization device 151 is equipped with the route data set SDS and can therefore also take its information into account when evaluating the transmitted signals SS.

[0099] If, for example, the rail vehicle 10 transmits only the object-related warning information Wl, the visualization device 151 can read the environmental information describing the environment traveled by the rail vehicle 10 from the track data set SDS and use this information and the object-related warning information Wl to generate virtual image or video data by rendering, which represent the track section ahead in the direction of travel FR of the rail vehicle 10, including the objects described by the warning information Wl.

[0100] If the rail vehicle 10 also transmits other data, such as the measurement data MD as such in compressed or uncompressed form, the visualization device can also take this measurement data MD into account.

[0101] If the MD measurement data consists of image or video data, the visualization device can enhance this data before displaying it, for example by incorporating the environmental information of the SDS route data set, by increasing the resolution and / or the frame rate of the image or video data.

[0102] It may also be provided that the control unit 150 includes a testing device 152 for checking the operator's fatigue and / or attention. The 202409575

[0103] 15

[0104] Test device 152 is preferably designed to abort remote control of the rail vehicle 10 if a predetermined minimum attention threshold is not reached.

[0105] The visualization device 151 and the testing device 152 for fatigue and / or attention testing can be formed by software modules SW151 and SW152 respectively, which are stored in a memory 210 of a trackside computer system 200 and can be executed by a computer system 220 of the trackside computer system 200.

[0106] Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the operation of the rail vehicle 10 and the remote control unit 100 using two images B1 and B2, respectively, which the remote control unit 100 can display on its display unit 110. Figures 4 and 5 each show the same view of the travel tube ahead in the direction of travel FR.

[0107] Figure 4 shows a situation in which no objects relevant to a collision risk are present and all objects detected by the object identification device 12 are stored in the route data record SDS. The filter device 13 therefore does not generate any warning information Wl and does not output any object recognition information Ol, so no data needs to be transmitted with the transmit signal SS in this regard. The transmit signal SS can therefore be empty.

[0108] SS = {}.

[0109] Figure 5 shows another situation in which an object 300, not stored in the track data set SDS and potentially relevant with regard to a collision risk, has been detected. The filter device 13 thus generates a corresponding warning information Wl with the object information Ol, which is transmitted to the remote control device 100 with the transmit signal SS:

[0110] SS = {Wl (01(300))}.

[0111] Finally, it should be mentioned that the features of all the embodiments described above can be combined with each other in any way to form further embodiments of the invention.

[0112] Furthermore, all features of dependent claims can each be combined with each of the dependent claims, either individually or in combination.

[0113] 16 any combination with one or more other dependent claims to obtain further other embodiments.

[0114] Regardless of the grammatical gender of a particular term, persons with male, female or other gender identities are included.

[0115] 202409575

[0116] 17

[0117] Reference symbol list

[0118] 10 Rail vehicle 11 Measuring device

[0119] 12 Object identification device 13 Filter device

[0120] 14 Transmitting device 15 Data reduction device

[0121] 16 Vehicle-side receiving device 17 Vehicle control device

[0122] 18 Collision warning device 19 Compression device

[0123] 20 vehicle computers 21 memory

[0124] 22 Computing unit 100 Trackside remote control unit 110 Display unit 120 Operating unit 130 Trackside receiving unit

[0125] 140 Trackside transmitting equipment 150 Control unit 151 Visualization equipment 152 Testing equipment 200 Trackside computer system

[0126] 210 Storage 220 Computing equipment 300 Object

[0127] B1 Image B2 Image

[0128] BF Brake command FR Direction of travel FSB Trackside remote control command MD Measurement data Ol Object detection information

[0129] RBB revocation order 202409575

[0130] 18

[0131] SDS route data set

[0132] SS transmission signal

[0133] SW12 Software Module

[0134] SW13 software module SW15 software module

[0135] SW17 Software Module

[0136] SW18 Software Module

[0137] SW19 Software Module

[0138] SW151 software module SW152 software module

[0139] TYPE Object description

[0140] Wl warning notice

Claims

202409575 19 Patent claims 1. A method for operating a rail vehicle (10), wherein information about the environment traveled by the rail vehicle (10) is acquired and transmitted by means of a vehicle-side transmitter (14) to a trackside receiver (130), and based on the information transmitted by the vehicle, image data is displayed on a display device (110) on the trackside in such a way that remote control of the rail vehicle (10) can be carried out by a trackside operator using a trackside control device (120), characterized in that objects located on, beside or near the track being traveled are detected by the vehicle, and a vehicle-side safety reaction is generated autonomously and independently of the trackside remote control when a possible collision with one of the detected objects is detected.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the event of a vehicle-side safety reaction in the form of a vehicle-side generated braking command (BF), braking command information is transmitted to the trackside receiving device (130).

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that it is made possible on the vehicle side to withdraw the vehicle-side braking command (BF) by means of the trackside control device (120).

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information transmitted to the trackside receiving device (130) comprises coded video data showing at least the traversed tunnel.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the encoding of the video data to form the encoded video data is carried out using a codec optimized for railway vehicle operation. 202409575 20 6. Method according to one of the preceding claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the encoding of the video data or the codec optimized for rail vehicle operation takes into account that the area of ​​the travel hose is transmitted with a higher image quality than the area outside the travel hose.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a fatigue and / or attention check of the operator is carried out on the trackside and the operator's remote control of the rail vehicle (10) is aborted if a predetermined minimum attention threshold is not reached.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the information received by the rail vehicle (10) is enhanced on the trackside, in particular by increasing the resolution and / or the frame rate in the case of received information that exceeds the information received by the rail vehicle. (10) Describe the area being traveled on in the form of video information.

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - for each of the detected objects, an object recognition information (Ol) is generated, and - the object recognition information (Ol) is evaluated using a route data set (SDS) in which known stationary objects that are not critical for the movement of the rail vehicle (10) are defined, - whereby, as part of the evaluation, a collision check is carried out on the vehicle side only for such object recognition information (Ol) that cannot be assigned to any of the objects defined in the route data set (SDS).

10. Rail vehicle (10), characterized in that the rail vehicle (10) is remotely controllable and additionally comprises a collision warning device (18) which is designed to detect objects located on, beside or near the track during operation on the vehicle side and autonomously and independently of a 202409575 21. To generate a vehicle-side safety response, for example a braking command (BF), from the trackside remote control when it detects a possible collision with one of the detected objects.

11. Rail vehicle according to claim 10, characterized in that the collision warning device (18) is designed to transmit collision information and / or braking command information to a trackside receiving device (130) in the event of a detected potential collision.

12. Rail vehicle (10) according to claim 11, characterized in that the rail vehicle (10), in particular its collision warning device (18) or vehicle control device (17), is designed to accept a trackside cancellation command (RBB) to cancel the braking command (BF) and to cancel the braking command (BF) when the cancellation command (RBB) is present.

13. Rail vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the rail vehicle (10) is designed such that the information it transmits to the trackside receiving device (130) includes coded video data showing at least the traversed track section.

14. Rail vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the rail vehicle (10) comprises: - at least one object detection device that detects objects located on, beside or near the track in operation and generates object recognition information (Ol) for each detected object, - a route data set (SDS) in which known stationary objects that are not critical to the movement of the rail vehicle (10) are defined, and - a filter device (13) that compares the object recognition information (Ol) with the route data set (SDS) and only for such object recognition information (Ol) that does not correspond to any of the items in the route data set (SDS) 202409575 22 defined objects are assigned, and an object-related warning information (Wl) is issued, in particular to the collision warning device (18) for subsequent collision checking.

15. Remote control device (100), characterized in that it is configured for controlling a rail vehicle (10), in particular a rail vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims, and for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims.

Images