Rail Vehicle Communication Network Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rail vehicles face challenges with Ethernet-based communication networks due to cable length limitations and the need for multiple active network components, which can compromise fire safety and network stability.
Innovation Solution
A communication network design for rail vehicles with two lines running through carriages, where one line is in a first area and the other in a spatially separate second area, with network components for signal refreshment only in the first area, allowing for reduced active components and enhanced redundancy and fire protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If Ethernet-based communication networks are used in rail vehicles, then cost and component availability are improved, but cable length limitations and fire safety compliance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The communication network is divided into multiple segments separated by network components (repeaters, switches, or bridges) that regenerate data signals. This segmentation allows the total cable length to exceed 100 meters by creating multiple shorter segments connected through active components, thus resolving the cable length limitation while maintaining Ethernet technology benefits
Solution Approach 2:
Active network components are introduced as intermediaries between cable segments. These components receive, regenerate, and retransmit data signals, enabling communication over distances greater than the standard 100-meter Ethernet limit while maintaining signal integrity and compliance with fire safety requirements
2Reliability
If network components are installed in both first and second areas, then signal refreshment is improved, but device complexity and cost worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The functions of network components in both the first and second areas are merged into a single location (the first area). By placing repeaters, switches, or bridges only in the first area, the patent achieves signal refreshment for both cable runs while reducing the total number of active components by approximately half, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Network components installed in the first area serve dual purposes: they refresh signals for the cable running in the first area and simultaneously refresh signals for the cable running in the second area. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components in both areas, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining full signal refreshment capability
3Reliability
If more active network components are installed, then signal refreshment is improved, but immunity to interference and power supply failures worsens
Solution Approach 1:
Active network components are extracted from the second area and concentrated in the first area. This extraction reduces the number of components exposed to potential interference and power supply issues in the second area, thereby improving overall immunity to harmful factors while maintaining necessary signal refreshment through the remaining components in the first area
Data Source
AI summary
A track-bound vehicle, in particular a railborne vehicle, has a plurality of rail cars and a communication network for transmitting data signals. The communication network has two lines which run through the rail cars of the vehicle. The vehicle is designed in such a way that in each case one of the lines runs in the cars in a first region, and the other of the lines runs in a second region which is spatially separate from the latter, in at least one of the cars the course of the respective one line changes from the first region into the second region, and the course of the respective other line changes from the second region into the first region. Network components for refreshing the data signals that are transmitted in the lines are provided in the first region.