Railroad virtual track block system
AssigneeBNSF Railway Company
InventorsJerry Wade Specht, Ralph E. Young, Kent Robert Shue, Mitchell Wayne Beard
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Abstract
A method of railroad track control includes partitioning a physical track block into a plurality of virtual track blocks, the physical track block defined by first and second insulated joints disposed at corresponding first and second ends of a length of railroad track. The presence of an electrical circuit discontinuity in one of the plurality of virtual track blocks; is detected and in response a corresponding virtual track block position code indicating the presence of the discontinuity in the one of the plurality of virtual track blocks is generated.
Claims14
A method of railroad track control for maintaining a braking distance onboard a locomotive, comprising:
- partitioning a physical track block into a plurality of virtual track blocks, the physical track block defined by first and second insulated joints disposed at corresponding first and second ends of a length of railroad track;
- detecting a position of an electrical circuit discontinuity in one of the plurality of virtual track blocks;
- in response to detecting a presence of the electrical circuit discontinuity in the one of the plurality of virtual track blocks, generating a corresponding virtual track block position code indicating the position of the electrical circuit discontinuity in the one of the plurality of virtual track blocks;
- and
- transmitting the virtual track block position code to the locomotive.
A method of maintaining a braking distance onboard a locomotive for controlling railroad track, comprising:
- partitioning each of a plurality of physical track blocks into a plurality of virtual track blocks;
- detecting a presence of a train within a physical track block;
- in response to detecting the presence of a train within a physical track block, determining a virtual track block within the physical track block in which the train is present;
- and
- transmitting a code identifying the virtual track block in which the train is present to the locomotive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.