On-Board Device for Autonomous Train Route Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional signaling systems for moving vehicles, such as trains, require a centralized control center with large, expensive devices for safety functions, leading to high costs, complex operations, and reduced transportation capacity due to redundant configurations and lengthy information transmission processes.
Innovation Solution
An on-board device equipped with a traveling route securement determining section and a traveling determining section, which autonomously secures and manages traveling routes using station-related and vehicle-related data, reducing the need for centralized devices and enabling efficient communication through radio LAN, allowing for autonomous operation and simplified facility management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized control center with protection devices is used, then function safety is realized, but device space and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized protection function into distributed protection devices located at individual stations. Each station's protection device independently manages safety for trains in its vicinity, eliminating the need for a large centralized control center while maintaining overall system safety through distributed decision-making
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the protection function from the centralized control center and places it directly at the stations where trains operate. This extraction allows safety functions to be performed locally without requiring centralized processing, reducing the space and cost of central facilities
2Reliability
If a centralized control center with multiple protection devices is used, then function safety is realized, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the centralized control architecture into multiple independent station-level protection devices. Each device performs safety functions locally, reducing the need for expensive centralized hardware and long communication infrastructure, thereby lowering overall system cost while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
Each station's protection device autonomously performs safety monitoring and control decisions for its local area without requiring constant centralized intervention. This self-service capability reduces communication overhead and centralized processing requirements, lowering system complexity and cost
3Ease of operation
If centralized control devices are used, then traveling route control is achieved, but information transmission time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized route control function into distributed station-level protection devices that make local routing decisions. This segmentation eliminates long communication paths to a central controller, reducing information transmission time while maintaining effective route control through localized autonomy
Solution Approach 2:
Station protection devices pre-establish traveling routes and prepare control decisions in advance based on local conditions and train requirements. This preliminary action at the station level eliminates the need for time-consuming centralized processing and communication, enabling faster route establishment
Data Source
AI summary
An on-board device is loaded in a moving vehicle traveling on a track. The on-board device determines whether or not a traveling route has been secured, based on station related data indicating data related to a branch on the traveling route of the moving vehicle and acquired from a station interface device of a station to which the branch belongs, and different moving vehicle related data indicating data related to a different moving vehicle acquired from the different moving vehicle on the traveling route. The on-board device determines the traveling of the moving vehicle on the secured traveling route based on the different moving vehicle related data.