Predictive railroad crossing safety notification and traffic control system and methods
AssigneeAJ Technologies LLC
InventorThomas N. Hilleary
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A predictive railroad crossing system proactively improves railroad safety notification and traffic control decisions to avoid crossing-associated delays for a plurality of operating trains. The system is configured to iteratively respond to real-time operating data for the trains and identify public or private railroad crossings that each respective operating train will approach. An estimated time of arrival and estimated of blocked crossing duration time is made predictively for each of identified public or private railroad crossings without any physical train detection in at least some of the identified public or private railroad crossings.
Claims61
A predictive railroad crossing system operable with respect to a plurality of operating trains to proactively improve railroad safety notification or traffic control decisions to avoid crossing-associated delays attributable to each of the plurality of operating trains for the benefit of interested persons affected by the plurality of operating trains along railroad corridors, the predictive railroad crossing system comprising:
- at least one processor-based device configured to iteratively respond to real-time operating data for each of the plurality of operating trains and identify one or more public or private railroad crossings that each respective one of the plurality of operating trains will approach;
- wherein the at least one processor-based device is further configured to:
- estimate a time of arrival for each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- and
- estimate a blocked crossing duration time after an arrival of each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- wherein the estimated time of arrival and the estimated blocked crossing duration time are made predictively for each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings without any physical train detection in at least one of the identified one or more public or private railroad crossings.
A predictive railroad crossing system operable with respect to a plurality of operating trains to proactively improve railroad safety notification or traffic control decisions to avoid crossing-associated delays attributable to each of the plurality of operating trains for the benefit of interested persons affected by the plurality of operating trains along railroad corridors, the predictive railroad crossing system comprising:
- at least one processor-based device configured to iteratively respond to real-time operating data for each of the plurality of operating trains and identify one or more public or private railroad crossings that each respective one of the plurality of operating trains will approach;
- wherein the at least one processor-based device is further configured to:
- estimate a time of arrival for each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- and
- estimate a blocked crossing duration time after an arrival of each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- wherein the estimated time of arrival and the estimated blocked crossing duration time are made predictively for each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings without any physical train detection in at least one of the identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- and
- processor-based electronic signage alongside at least one roadway route associated with one of the identified one or more public or private railroad crossings, the electronic signage configured to display a message including the estimated time of arrival or the estimated blocked crossing duration time for one of the identified public or private railroad crossings.
A predictive railroad crossing system operable with respect to a plurality of operating trains to proactively improve railroad safety notification or traffic control decisions to avoid crossing-associated delays attributable to each of the plurality of operating trains for the benefit of interested persons affected by the plurality of operating trains along railroad corridors, the predictive railroad crossing system comprising:
- at least one processor-based device configured to iteratively respond to real-time operating data for each of the plurality of operating trains and identify one or more public or private railroad crossings that each respective one of the plurality of operating trains will approach;
- wherein the at least one processor-based device is further configured to:
- estimate a time of arrival for each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- and
- estimate a blocked crossing duration time after an arrival of each respective one of the plurality of operating trains at each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- wherein the estimated time of arrival and the estimated blocked crossing duration time are made predictively for each of the respectively identified one or more public or private railroad crossings without any physical train detection in at least one of the identified one or more public or private railroad crossings;
- and
- at least one processor-based personal device, the at least one personal device responsive to the estimated time of arrival or the estimated blocked crossing duration time for one of the identified public or private railroad crossings to provide a crossing status or to effect a change in route.
A railroad crossing system operable with respect to a plurality of operating trains, the system comprising:
- at least one processor-based device configured to:
- predictively determine, without requiring a train-detection system at each of a plurality of different railroad crossings, an estimated time of train arrival and a respective estimated duration of blocked crossing for all of the plurality of different railroad crossings affected by a respective one of the plurality of trains on approach;
- and
- communicate the estimated time of train arrival and a respective estimated duration of blocked rail crossing to locations of persons traveling toward or already in the vicinity of one or more of the plurality of different railroad crossings, whereby an ample lead time is provided to make a decision and take an action to avoid the train on approach at one or more of the plurality of different railroad crossings.
An estimation system for a plurality of railroad crossings, the system comprising:
- at least one processor-based device configured to:
- predictively determine an estimated time of train arrival and a corresponding estimated duration of blocked crossing for each of the plurality of railroad crossings in advance of an actual arrival of an operating train, wherein at one or more of the plurality crossings no railroad-operated train detection system exists;
- and
- communicate the predictively determined estimated time of train arrival and the predictively determined estimated duration of blocked rail crossing to persons traveling toward or already in the vicinity of any of the plurality of railroad crossings in order to make a decision and take an action to improve personal safety or avoid a personal delay associated with a blocked crossing.
A computer-implemented estimation system for persons potentially affected by a plurality of railroad crossings each including an intersection of railroad tracks and a roadway, the system comprising:
- a first processor-based device at a first centralized location, the first processor-based device configured to predictively estimate, with respect to each one of the plurality of railroad crossings, a time arrival of a train at the railroad crossing and a duration of blockage of the roadway by the train after arrival at the railroad crossing, wherein at one or more of the plurality of railroad crossings no train detection capability is present;
- and
- a second processor-based device at a second location remote from the first location, the second processor-based device being configured to receive the predictively estimated time of train arrival and duration of blocked rail crossing in order to address a risk of delay in travel on the roadway or a risk of safety at the railroad crossing posed by the train at a time starting from the estimated time of arrival through an expiration of the blocked crossing duration.
A computer-implemented estimation system for persons navigating in an area a plurality of railroad crossings successively distanced from one another and each including an intersection of railroad tracks and a roadway, the system comprising:
- a centralized processor-based device configured to iteratively sample detected information concerning the operation of at least one locomotive along the railroad tracks, the sampled detected information including location data, speed data, and train length data;
- wherein the centralized processor-based device is further configured to:
- based on the received location data, determine a distance to each one of the plurality of railroad crossings;
- based on the determined distances and the speed data, predictively estimate a time of arrival of the train for each one of the plurality of railroad crossings;
- and
- based on the speed data and the train length data, predictively estimate a blocked crossing duration for each one of the plurality of railroad crossings;
- and
- a plurality of processor-based devices remotely located from the centralized processor based device and each receiving the predictively estimated time of arrival of the train and blocked crossing duration for respectively different ones of the plurality of railroad crossings, thereby facilitating specific decisions and actions to be taken in advance of the respective predictively estimated time of arrival of the train to improve safety on the roadway at each of the plurality of railroad crossings or to avoid blocked roadways during the predictively estimated blocked crossing duration at each of the plurality of crossings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.