Railroad virtual track block system
AssigneeBNSF Railway Company
InventorsJerry Wade Specht, Ralph E. Young, Mitchell Wayne Beard, Kent Robert Shue
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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.
Claims20
A railroad track control system for maintaining a braking distance onboard a locomotive comprising:
- a plurality of control systems each disposed at a corresponding end of a corresponding physical track block, each control system operable to:
- partition 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;
- position a signal control house proximate each insulated joint and associate each signal control house with a group of virtual track blocks to the left of the corresponding insulated joint and a group of virtual track blocks to the right of the corresponding insulated joint;
- provide a first current from a first signal control house in front of a train to detect the front wheels of the train and provide a second current from a second signal control house behind the train to detect the rear wheels of the train;
- determine whether a virtual track block is occupied or unoccupied via a vital logic controller interfacing with Electrocode equipment;
- and
- combine multiple virtual track block occupancy indications into one common view of train occupancy using both the front and rear axles of a train and validating track occupancy.
A method of railroad track control, comprising:
- partition 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;
- position a signal control house proximate each insulated joint and associate each signal control house with a group of virtual track blocks to the left of the corresponding insulated joint and a group of virtual track blocks to the right of the corresponding insulated joint;
- provide a first current from a first signal control house in front of a train to detect the front wheels of the train and provide a second current from a second signal control house behind the train to detect the rear wheels of the train;
- determine whether a virtual track block is occupied or unoccupied via a vital logic controller interfacing with Electrocode equipment;
- and
- combine multiple virtual track block occupancy indications into one common view of train occupancy using both the front and rear axles of a train and validating track occupancy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.