# US 12,179,816 B2 · Recognition system for determining a position of a braking control device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,179,816 B2 - Document ID: US12179816B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/204,628 - Filed: 2021-03-17 - Published: 2021-07-01 - Granted: 2024-12-31 - Earliest claimed: 2019-09-18 - Assignees: Faiveley Transport Italia S.P.A. - Applicants: Faiveley Transport Italia S.P.A. - Inventors: Stefano Serri; Giovanni Sica; Roberto Tione - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12179816B2 ## CPC - B61L 25/028: {Determination of vehicle position and orientation within a train consist, e.g. serialisation} - B60T 8/1705: {for rail vehicles} - B60T 8/1893: {especially adapted for railway vehicles} - B60T 17/228: {for railway vehicles} - G06K 7/1413: {1D bar codes} - G06K 7/1417: {2D bar codes} - B61L: GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC (brakes or auxiliary equipment B61H, B61K; point or crossing construction E01B) - B60T: VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL (electrodynamic brake systems for vehicle, in general B60L; brakes per se, i.e. devices where braking effect occurs, including ultimate brake actuators, F16D); ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES - G06K: GRAPHICAL DATA READING (image or video recognition or understanding G06V); PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS ## Abstract A recognition system of a position of a mechatronic braking control device associated with a railway vehicle along a train is described. The recognition system includes a sustaining and fixing support installed on the railway vehicle, an identifying binary coding of the position along the train, and a mechatronic braking control device adapted to be fixed to the sustaining and fixing support and including an optical reading device arranged to detect the identifying binary coding. The mechatronic braking control device determines the position along the train according to the binary coding that is read by the optical reading device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A recognition system comprising: an identifying information coupled with a support onboard a railway vehicle in a train, wherein the identifying information is representative of a position of the railway vehicle along the train; and a braking control device comprising an optical reading device that is configured to detect the identifying information; wherein a position of the braking control device along the train can be determined according to the identifying information read by the optical reading device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the identifying information is composed of symbols in a vector or matrix. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the braking control device includes a microprocessor circuit and the optical reading device is electrically connected to a logic input port of microprocessor circuit. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the optical reading device is configured to be fixed in the braking control device to read the identifying information. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the identifying information includes at least one read error symbol. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The recognition system according to claim 5, wherein the at least one read error symbol is configured to provide error recognition according to a designated safety level. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the braking control device is configured to identify the position of the braking control device from among several additional braking control devices located onboard the train. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the identifying information is further arranged to indicate one or more of a type of the train or a fleet to which the train belongs. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the braking control device is configured to self-configure software parameters for operation of the braking control device based on the identifying information. ### Claim 10 A system comprising: an arrangement of different symbols disposed on a surface of a vehicle in a multi-vehicle system, wherein the arrangement of different symbols represents encoded information of one or more characteristics of the vehicle; and one or more optical sensors configured to detect reflection of light off the symbols in the arrangement and communicate the reflection that is detected to a braking control device for operation of the braking control device based at least in part on the one or more characteristics of the vehicle as determined from the detected reflection. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the different symbols in the arrangement include one or more first symbols that reflect light and one or more second symbols that reflect less light than the one or more first symbols. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more characteristics of the vehicle include a location of the vehicle in the multi-vehicle system, and the different symbols in the arrangement are positioned to represent a binary coding of the location of the vehicle in the multi-vehicle system. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the different symbols in the arrangement represent one or more other characteristics of the vehicle in addition to the location of the vehicle that are used to control braking by the braking control device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more other characteristics of the vehicle represented by the different symbols in the arrangement include one or more of a tare and full load value of the vehicle, a blending curve, a communication protocol configuration, or operation of an anti-lock system. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more optical sensors include one optical sensor for each of the symbols. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the arrangement of the different symbols is a first arrangement of plural, different arrangements of the different symbols onboard different vehicles of the multi-vehicle system. ### Claim 17 A system comprising: a braking control device configured to be disposed onboard a first railway vehicle of a train having the first railway vehicle and one or more additional railway vehicles, the braking control device configured to control braking of the first railway vehicle based on a location of the braking control device along a length of the train; and one or more optical sensors configured to be coupled with the braking control device and to optically detect a coding disposed on a surface in the first railway vehicle, the braking control device configured to determine the location of the braking control device based on the coding that is detected and to control braking of the first railway vehicle based on the location that is determined. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more optical sensors are configured to detect the coding as a binary coding formed in a pattern of different symbols disposed on the surface in the first railway vehicle. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the braking control device is configured to determine the location and one or more braking parameters used to control the braking of the first railway vehicle based on the coding that is detected by the one or more optical sensors. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The system of claim 17, wherein the coding includes plural different symbols disposed on the surface of the first railway vehicle, and the one or more optical sensors include one optical sensor for each of the symbols disposed on the surface of the first railway vehicle.