Radio-based electro-pneumatic control communications system
US5681015A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 1996 |
| Grant date | Oct 28, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 20, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D30/70
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A radio-based, Electro-Pneumatic (EP) rail car braking system supports both End-of-Train (EOT) and Distributed Power Control (DPC) communication systems. The EP rail car braking system operates within existing frequency allocations and meets operational reliability needs by adopting a hybrid, two-band communications scheme. The EP rail car braking system uses a broadcast band for transmitting commands to all cars in the train. Selected cars spaced through the train are designated as repeaters, and a predetermined number of cars are assigned to each repeater for form a group of cars that act as a Local Area Network (LAN). The cars in a group communicate with each other using a low power, spread spectrum band. In response to a command broadcast by a lead locomotive, cars in a group act on the command and transmit status information to their repeater car. The repeater car, in turn, sends back status messages to the lead locomotive on the broadcast band based on consolidation of data received from the cars in its group.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.