B61L 1/00
Devices along the route controlled by interaction with the vehicle or train
Official title: Devices along the route controlled by interaction with the vehicle or train (detonators B61L5/20; operation of points or signals by passage of the vehicle B61L11/00, B61L13/00; operation of gates, or gates and signals, by approaching vehicle B61L29/18)
B61L1/00 (Devices along the route controlled by interaction with the vehicle or train) appears on 532 US grants and 451 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in B61L- Granted patents
- 532
- Published applications
- 451
- Assignees
- 246
- Inventors
- 940
- Latest grant
- 22 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 12 | 0 |
| 1977 | 5 | 0 |
| 1978 | 9 | 0 |
| 1979 | 3 | 0 |
| 1980 | 5 | 0 |
| 1981 | 11 | 0 |
| 1982 | 9 | 0 |
| 1983 | 11 | 0 |
| 1984 | 7 | 0 |
| 1985 | 5 | 0 |
| 1986 | 7 | 0 |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 |
| 1988 | 6 | 0 |
| 1989 | 7 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 6 | 0 |
| 1992 | 6 | 0 |
| 1993 | 4 | 0 |
| 1994 | 8 | 0 |
| 1995 | 5 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| 1998 | 7 | 0 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 |
| 2000 | 8 | 0 |
| 2001 | 6 | 2 |
| 2002 | 6 | 4 |
| 2003 | 3 | 2 |
| 2004 | 1 | 5 |
| 2005 | 4 | 6 |
| 2006 | 6 | 12 |
| 2007 | 11 | 10 |
| 2008 | 2 | 12 |
| 2009 | 4 | 6 |
| 2010 | 9 | 7 |
| 2011 | 6 | 17 |
| 2012 | 10 | 7 |
| 2013 | 14 | 13 |
| 2014 | 12 | 22 |
| 2015 | 18 | 16 |
| 2016 | 11 | 22 |
| 2017 | 16 | 19 |
| 2018 | 14 | 33 |
| 2019 | 27 | 31 |
| 2020 | 28 | 29 |
| 2021 | 23 | 34 |
| 2022 | 30 | 40 |
| 2023 | 24 | 30 |
| 2024 | 35 | 30 |
| 2025 | 32 | 34 |
| 2026 | 18 | 8 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- B61L 1/18Railway track circuits233
- B61L 1/02Electric devices associated with track130
- B61L 1/16Devices for counting axles113
- B61L 1/20Safety arrangements for preventing or indicating malfunction of the device110
- B61L 1/14Devices for indicating the passing of the end of the vehicle or26
- B61L 1/12Electric devices associated with overhead trolley wires3
Recent patents
- Sensor to sensor edge traffic inference, system and method22 Sep 2026US 12,741,683 B2Konux GmbH
- Grade crossing system including grade crossing predictor in electrified propulsion territory1 Sep 2026US 12,722,676 B2Siemens Mobility GmbH
- Rail bond monitor18 Aug 2026US 12,709,313 B2Modular Railway Systems
- System and method for mover self-navigation in an independent cart system7 Jul 2026US 12,673,704 B2Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
- System and method for virtual block stick circuits7 Jul 2026US 12,673,707 B2BNSF Railway Company
- Railroad virtual track block system8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307691 A1BNSF Railway Company
- Monitoring system and method8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307694 A1Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
- Axle counter decommissioning system23 Jul 2026US 2026/0208777 A1Dual Inventive Holding B.V.
- Alert device23 Jul 2026US 2026/0212748 A1
- Vehicle control system11 Jun 2026US 2026/0159142 A1Transportation IP Holdings, LLC
Most cited
By later US patents
- Electrical utility communications and control system378US 7,274,305 B1Carina Technology, Inc. · 2007
- Detector for sensing motion and direction of a railway device107US 6,087,950 AUnion Switch & Signal Inc. · 2000
- Thermal imaging-based vehicle analysis78US 8,335,606 B2International Electronic Machines Corp. · 2012
- Microprocessor based track circuit for occupancy detection and bidirectional code communication71US 4,498,650 AGeneral Signal Corporation · 1985
- Method and apparatus for determining the overall length of a train69US 6,081,769 AWabtec Corporation · 2000