Method and mechanism for reduction of within-train reported data
US5621417A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 1995 |
| Grant date | Apr 15, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S2205/002
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A tracking system for railcars is configured as a dynamic local area network having a master tracking unit and a plurality of slave tracking units, each tracking unit being affixed to a separate railcar. To improve reliability of communications between railcars, the distance from a master unit to a slave unit is estimated by comparing phase of a transmitted signal with that of the transmitted signal returned by another tracking unit in the network. Optionally, a determination is made as to whether the slave unit is "ahead" of or "behind" the master unit. Communication path loss between the master and slave units due to frequency selective fading may also be determined. A spectrum survey determines quality of the channel as to its capacity for passing data from the slave unit to the master unit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.