Data collection apparatus and train monitoring system

An apparatus for monitoring the operation of a railroad train, comprising:

• a first housing, including means for mounting said first housing in a railroad train in position to be viewed by an operator of the railroad train;
• motion monitoring means, mounted in said first housing, for determining speed, rate of change of speed, and distance traveled data of the railroad train;
• a second housing, including means for mounting said second housing in the railroad train;
• data collecting means, mounted in said second housing, for collecting data from binary and analog input signals representing operational parameters of the railroad train, said data collecting means including transmission means for providing an external communication link through which the collected data is transferred;
• and
• interface means, mounted in said first housing in communication with said motion monitoring means, for connecting to said transmission means and communicating with said data collecting means so that the collected data is transferable from said data collecting means to said motion monitoring means through said interface means.

An apparatus for collecting data from binary and analog inputs, comprising:

• binary input means for receiving a plurality of binary inputs each in the form of a respective binary electrical signal;
• analog input means for receiving a plurality of analog inputs each in the form of a respective analog electrical signal;
• transmission means for providing a communications link connectible to a separate device to which the data collected by said apparatus are to be transmitted;
• a memory;
• microcomputer means for controlling the transfer of said binary and analog inputs to said memory and for controlling the transfer of the contents of said memory to said transmission means for transmission to the separate device;
• support means for supporting said binary input means, said analog input means, said transmission means, said memory, and said microcomputer means;
• and
• a housing, including:
• a container member having a cavity defined therein;
• and
• a lid member removably attached to said container member, said lid member having said support means connected thereto so that said support means is removed from within said cavity when said lid member is removed from said container member.

A train-mountable housing for holding electronic circuitry, comprising:

• a container member having a cavity, which is open through a mouth thereof, defined therein, and having a port defined therethrough so that an electrical conductor connected to a component of a train can be fed through said port into said cavity;
• means for mounting a line termination board in said container member within said cavity so that the electrical conductor fed through said port is connectible to the line termination board;
• a lid member;
• means for removably attaching said lid member to said container member at the mouth of said cavity;
• and
• means for mounting electronic circuitry to said lid member so that said lid member and the electronic circuitry are together removable from said container member and the termination board.

An apparatus for monitoring the operation of a railroad train which includes an electrical train line and a plurality of pressure transducers, said apparatus comprising:

• a first housing mounted in the railroad train;
• motion monitoring means for determining speed, rate of change of speed, and distance traveled data of the railroad train, said motion monitoring means mounted in said first housing and electrically connected to at least a portion of the train line;
• a second housing mounted in the railroad train;
• data collecting means, mounted in said second housing, for collecting data from binary and analog input signals representing operational parameters of the railroad train, said data collecting means including transmission means for providing an external communication link through which the collected data is transferred;
• interface means, mounted in said first housing and electrically connected to said motion monitoring means, for communicating with said data collecting means so that the collected data is transferable from said data collecting means to said motion monitoring means through said interface means;
• first electrical conductor means for electrically connecting said data collecting means to at least a portion of the electrical train line and the plurality of pressure transducers to provide said binary and analog input signals;
• and
• second electrical conductor means for electrically connecting said transmission means of said data collecting to said interface means.