# US 2014/0156117 A1 · Distributed control system for a locomotive > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0156117 A1 - Document ID: US20140156117A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/690,797 - Filed: 2012-11-30 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30 - Assignees: Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. - Applicants: Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. - Inventors: James Fredrick Wiemeyer; Michael Patrick Deitz; Dale Alexander Brown; Lawrence Stanley Przybylski; Wayne Allen Rudolph - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140156117A1 ## CPC - B61C 17/12: Control gear; Arrangements for controlling locomotives from remote points in the train or when operating in multiple units (control from points outside the train B61L3/00; fluid-actuated telemotors, servomotors F15B; control devices in general G05) - B61C: LOCOMOTIVES; MOTOR RAILCARS (vehicles in general B60; frames or bogies B61F; special railroad equipment for locomotives B61J, B61K) ## Abstract The present disclosure is directed to a distributed control system for a locomotive. The distributed system may include a network and a plurality of electronic modules distributed within a locomotive. Each of the electronic modules is communicatively coupled to the network in a standardized scalable architecture. Each of the electronic modules may include at least a configurable controller that is reconfigurable to implement at least one control function associated with distributed control of the locomotive. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A distributed control system for a locomotive, comprising: a network disposed within the locomotive; and a plurality of electronic modules spatially distributed within the locomotive, each of the electronic modules communicatively coupled to the network in a standardized scalable architecture, wherein each of the electronic modules comprises at least a configurable controller that is reconfigurable to implement distributed control of the locomotive. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The distributed control system of claim 1, wherein the configurable controller is configured to implement at least one of a plurality of control functions associated with the distributed control of the locomotive. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The distributed control system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the electronic modules further includes a programmable controller in communication with each of the configurable controller and the network, the programmable controller being removably connected to the electronic module, and wherein the configurable controller is communicatively connected to one or more control elements disposed within the locomotive. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The distributed control system of claim 3, wherein the programmable controller is adapted to provide computational support for a control function associated with the at least one of the electronic modules, the control function being at least one of a plurality of control functions associated with the distributed control of the locomotive. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The distributed control system of claim 4, wherein the configurable controller includes logic gates that may be reconfigured in how the logic gates are interconnected when providing analog or digital control that implements the control function relative to the one or more control elements. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) The distributed control system of claim 3, wherein the programmable controller is a programmatically controlled device implemented by at least one of a microprocessor, a microcontroller, and a system-on-module. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The distributed control system of claim 1, wherein the configurable controller is a reconfigurable device implemented by a field programmable gate array. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The distributed control system of claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of electronic modules is configured to host a plurality of software applications, and when a consumption of processing capacity of a first electronic module exceeds a threshold value, the first electronic module is configured to offload a subset of its software applications to a second electronic module. ### Claim 9 (depends on 3) The distributed control system of claim 3, wherein the one or more control elements include at least one of a sensor, an actuator, a communication device, a navigation device, and a human-to-machine interface device, and the human-to-machine interface device being at least one from a group consisting of a monitor, a light emitting diode, an indicator, a switch, a button, a keypad, a keyboard, a touchpad, a joystick, a speaker, a microphone, and a credential reader. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The distributed control system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the electronic modules further includes: a standardized main board on which the configurable controller is formed; and at least one daughter board connected to the main board via a communication port, the daughter board includes one or more I/O ports to be connected to one or more control elements spatially distributed within the locomotive, the configurable controller being configured to communicate with the one or more control elements via the one or more I/O ports. ### Claim 11 A method for controlling a locomotive, the method comprising: receiving a message by a first of a plurality of electronic modules coupled to a network disposed within the locomotive, each of the electronic modules spatially distributed within the locomotive and operatively coupled to the network in a standardized scalable architecture; processing the message by a programmable controller or a configurable controller in the first of the electronic modules to identify a first control command; based upon the identified first control command, generating a control signal by the configurable controller, the control signal associated with at least one of a plurality of control functions as part of distributed control of the locomotive; and applying the generated control signal to one or more control elements disposed within the locomotive. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further including operatively monitoring the one or more control elements using the configurable controller. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, further including receiving a monitored locomotive signal from the one or more control elements. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, further including processing the monitored locomotive signal within the first of the electronic modules and altering the generated control signal applied to the one or more control elements disposed within the locomotive. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the receiving further includes monitoring a second of the electronic modules by the programmable controller. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the receiving further includes monitoring the second of the electronic modules by the configurable controller. ### Claim 17 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, further including reconfiguring the configurable controller to cause the configurable controller to implement an alternative one of the control functions. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein reconfiguring the configurable controller alters interconnections of a plurality of programmable logic gates to implement the alternative one of the control functions. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein each one of the plurality of electronic modules is configured to host a plurality of software applications, and the method further including, when a consumption of processing capacity of the first electronic module exceeds a threshold value, offloading, by the first electronic module, a subset of its software applications to the second electronic module. ### Claim 20 A consist, comprising: a plurality of locomotives, each locomotive comprising: a locomotive engine disposed within the locomotive; a plurality of control elements that monitor and control the locomotive; a network disposed within the locomotive; and a plurality of electronic modules distributed within the locomotive, each of the electronic modules communicatively coupled to the network in a standardized scalable architecture, wherein each of the electronic modules comprises at least: a configurable controller that is reconfigurable and adapted to implement at least one of a plurality of control functions associated with distributed control of the locomotive, and a programmable controller adapted to provide computational support for the at least one control function, and wherein the configurable controller of each of the electronic modules is operatively connected at least one of the control elements.