Vehicle brake control system and method
AssigneeWestinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
InventorsWilliam John Potter, Edward W. Gaughan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A brake control system includes one or more processors communicatively connected to at least one sensor configured to output at least one property measurement of air in a brake pipe of a vehicle braking assembly. The one or more processors are configured to determine, based on the at least one property measurement, a pressure reduction lower limit (PRLL) in the brake pipe. The one or more processors are further configured to control movement of a vehicle system that includes the brake pipe to enforce the PRLL by preventing a pressure reduction in the brake pipe that is less than the PRLL while one or more air reservoirs of the vehicle braking assembly are at a reduced charge state.
Claims20
A brake control system comprising:
- one or more processors configured to be communicatively connected to at least one sensor configured to output at least one property measurement of air in a brake pipe of a vehicle braking assembly, the one or more processors configured to determine, based on the at least one property measurement, a pressure reduction lower limit (PRLL) in the brake pipe,
- the one or more processors further configured to control movement of a vehicle system that includes the brake pipe to enforce the PRLL by preventing a pressure reduction in the brake pipe that is less than the PRLL while one or more air reservoirs of the vehicle braking assembly are at a reduced charge state.
A method comprising:
- receiving at least one property measurement of air in a brake pipe of a braking assembly on a vehicle system;
- determining, based on the at least one property measurement, a pressure reduction lower limit (PRLL) in the brake pipe;
- and
- controlling movement of the vehicle system to enforce the PRLL, by not allowing a pressure reduction in the brake pipe that is less than the PRLL, during time periods that one or more air reservoirs of the braking assembly are at a reduced charge state.
A brake control system comprising:
- a flow sensor configured to generate a flow rate measurement of air in a brake pipe of a braking assembly on a vehicle system;
- and
- one or more processors configured to be communicatively connected to the flow sensor and to determine, based on the flow rate measurement received from the flow sensor, that one or more air reservoirs of the braking assembly are at a reduced charge state, the one or more processors further configured to determine, based on the flow rate measurement, a pressure reduction lower limit (PRLL) in the brake pipe, and
- responsive to receiving a brake application command during one of the time periods that the one or more air reservoirs are at the reduced charge state, the one or more processors are configured to control movement of the vehicle system to enforce the PRLL by venting the brake pipe to cause a pressure reduction in the brake pipe that is no less than the PRLL.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.