Railcar location using mutter networks and locomotive transmitter during transit
US5682139A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 28, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S2205/002
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method of tracking railcars in transit using global positioning techniques involves determining the location of a railcar by using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and a satellite transceiver on board the locomotive, and a local area network of railcar tracking units. Instead of computing the GPS solution independently and transmitting it to a central station, the railcar tracking units transmit their unique identifications (IDs) to one of the tracking units in the local area network acting as an administrator tracking unit. The administrator tracking unit maintains a list of IDs and periodically transmits the list of IDs to the locomotive. The locomotive locates itself using the GPS system and periodically transmits its position and velocity to the central station.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.