Automated wireless preventive maintenance monitoring system for magnetic levitation (MAGLEV) trains and other vehicles

An automated maintenance system for a train including a plurality of cars, comprising:

• a plurality of mobile units provided in the cars for automatically sensing the operational conditions of the cars and independently transmitting electrical data signals corresponding thereto respectively in response to polling signals;
• a plurality of fixed receiver units located at stations through which the train passes for automatically transmitting polling signals to the mobile units, and receiving said data signals when the cars pass proximate thereto;
• a base unit for processing said data signals received by the receiver units to determine said operational conditions, said base unit comprising a prognostic unit for determining said operational conditions of the cars in accordance with said data signals;
• and a diagnostic unit for scheduling maintenance actions for the cars in accordance with said operational conditions.

An automated maintenance system for a train including a plurality of cars, comprising:

• a plurality of mobile units provided in the cars for automatically sensing the operational conditions of the cars and independently transmitting electrical data signals corresponding thereto respectively in response to polling signals;
• a plurality of fixed receiver units located at stations through which the train passes for automatically transmitting polling signals to the mobile units, and receiving said data signals when the cars pass proximate thereto;
• and
• a base unit for processing said data signals received by the receiver unit to determine said operational conditions, said base unit further comprising a message generator for generating messages in accordance with said operational conditions and transmitting said messages through the receiver units to the cars as the train passes proximate thereto.

An automated maintenance system for a vehicle, comprising:

• a mobile unit provided in the vehicle for automatically sensing the operational condition of the vehicle and transmitting electrical data signals corresponding thereto in response to a polling signal;
• a fixed receiver unit for automatically transmitting the polling signal and receiving said data signals when the vehicle passes proximate thereto;
• and
• a base unit for processing said data signals received by the receiver unit to determine said operational condition, and to automatically schedule maintenance action in accordance with said operational condition.

An automated maintenance system for a vehicle, comprising:

• a sensor for sensing an operational signature of the vehicle;
• a mobile unit provided in the vehicle for transmitting electrical data signals corresponding to the signature;
• a fixed receiver unit for automatically receiving said data signals when the vehicle passes proximate thereto;
• and
• a base unit for comparing the signals to a predetermined characteristic signature to determine the operational condition of the vehicle, said base unit predicting subsequent failures from the comparison of the sensed and characteristic signatures, and scheduling preventive maintenance action in order to correct the vehicle prior to failure.