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US 4,763,267 AGranted
System for indicating track sections in an interlocking area as occupied or unoccupied
AssigneeAlcatel
InventorsAlan C. Knight, Helmut Uebel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for indicating occupancy of track sections in an interlocking area is disclosed comprising a multicomputer system which is assigned to several track circuits and processes the "unoccupied" or "occupied" indications of these track circuits. The multicomputer system, which is of a fail-safe design, also checks the operation of the associated track circuits and transfers an "unoccupied" or "occupied" indication of an associated track section to the interlocking station only if the test of this track circuit was positive. Any failures detected are also signaled to the interlocking station.
Claims10
System for indicating whether each of at least two track sections in an interlocking area is unoccupied or occupied to a remote interlocking station, said system comprising:
- at least one track circuit associated with each of the individual track sections, each said track circuit comprising
- a track-circuit transmitter for transmitting an ocupancy detection signal, each said transmitter including switching means responsive to a check signal applied to a test signal input for causing the occupancy detection signal from the individual track-circuit transmitter to be temporarily switched off, and
- one or more track-circuit receivers each having an input for receiving said occupancy detection signal, each said track circuit receiver having an unoccupancy-indicating output and an occupancy-indicating output responsive to changes in the received occupancy detection signal caused by a change in the occupancy condition of the associated track section, said receiver outputs in a properly functioning track circuit also being responsive to the switching off of the associated transmitter to indicate an occupied condition, thereby providing the capability to distinguish a failure condition from a true non-occupancy condition;
- a multi-computer system having at least two independent computers operating in parallel, each having a plurality of inputs respectively connected to all the unoccupancy-indicating outputs and occupancy-indicating outputs of all the track-circuit receivers in the interlocking area and at least one of said computers having at least one test signal output connected to the test signal inputs of all the track-circuit transmitters in the interlocking area, for generating the check signal and for analyzing and checking said receiver outputs in normal operation and in response to the switching off of an associated transmitter and for generating output data indicative of the unoccupied or occupied or failed condition of the individual track circuits, each of said computers responsive to the output data from another of said computers for comparing its own output data for agreement with said output data from another of said computers and for providing a failure indication if a disagreement is detected therebetween;
- and
- a communication link between the multi-computer system and the interlocking station for communicating said output data and any said failure indication to the interlocking station.
3 more elements
System for indicating whether each of at least two track sections in an interlocking area is unoccupied or occupied to a remote interlocking station, said system comprising:
- at least one track circuit associated with each of the individual track sections, each said track circuit comprising
- a track-circuit transmitter for transmitting an occupancy detection signal, and
- one or more track-circuit receivers each having an input for receiving said occupancy detection signal, each said track circuit receiver having an unoccupancy-indicating output and an occupancy-indicating output responsive to changes in the received occupancy detection signal caused by a change in the occupancy condition of the associated track section, said receiver comprising a test resistance and receiver test switching means responsive to a check signal applied to a test signal input for causing the test resistance to be connected to the respective receiver input to thereby reduce the received occupancy detection signal to a level indicative of an occupied track section, whereby the proper threshold response of the receiver may be checked to provide the capability to distinguish a possible failure condition from a vertified non-occupancy condition;
- a multi-computer system having at least two independent computer operating in parallel, each having a plurality of inputs respectively connected to all the unoccupancy-indicating outputs and occupancy-indicating outputs of all the track-circuit receivers in the interlocking area and at least one of said computers having a plurality of outputs respectively connected to the test signal inputs of all the track-circuit receivers in the interlocking area, for generating the check signal and for monitoring and checking and for generating output data indicative of the unoccupied or occupied or failed condition of the individual track circuits, each of said computers responsive to the output data from another of said computers for comparing its own output data for agreement with said output data from another of said computers and for providing a failure indication if a disagreement is detected therebetween;
- and
- a communication link between the multi-computer system and the interlocking station for communicating said output data and any said failure indication to the interlocking station.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.