Automatic switching system for track-bound freight cars

An automatic switching system for track-bound freight cars equipped with a controllable brake device, for controlling and regulating speed of freely shunting freight cars, for use in switching yards with a shunting hump, comprising:

• a) a distance sensor mountable on the freight cars;
• b) an automatic control device (48) mountable on the freight cars, which control device is operative to slow freight cars reaching or travelling on a sorting track (42) to a permissible speed such that, taking into account attainable brake deceleration, the freight cars slow to a safe coupling speed within a range of the distance sensor acting in a direction of freight car travel, whereby
• c) the larger the attainable brake deceleration is, the higher the permissible speed of the freight cars selected,
• d) the larger the range of the distance sensor is, the higher the speed selected, and
• e) the greater the deceleration time of the freight car brakes is, the lower the speed selected, the permissible speed being calculated automatically by the automatic control device on the basis of the equation
• v.sub.max =(a.sub.v .multidot.t.sub.v).sup.2 +2.multidot.a.sub.v .multidot.d.sub.sen -a.sub.v .multidot.t.sub.v
• whereby v.sub.max is the permissible speed of the freight cars or groups of cars on the sorting track, a.sub.v is the attainable brake deceleration of the freight cars or groups of cars, t.sub.v is the deceleration time of the freight car brakes, and d.sub.sen is the range of the distance sensor.

An automatic switching system for track-bound freight cars equipped with controllable brake equipment, for controlling and regulating the speed of freely shunted freight cars, for use at switching yards with a shunting system, comprising:

• a) an automatic control and regulating device (46), which is operative to slow the freight cars travelling through a shunting zone (41) to a uniform and presettable total deceleration (a.sub.vs), whereby
• b) the total deceleration is the sum of running deceleration and braking deceleration, and
• c) the total deceleration is approximated to the running deceleration of an unbraked shunting freight car with a higher running resistance, the permissible speed of freight cars reaching or travelling on the sorting track being automatically determined by the control unit of the freight cars using the equation
• v.sub.max =(a.sub.v .multidot.t.sub.v).sup.2 +2.multidot.a.sub.v .multidot.d.sub.sen -a.sub.v .multidot.t.sub.v,
• whereby v.sub.max is the permissible speed of the freight cars on the sorting track, a.sub.v is the attainable brake deceleration of the freight cars, t.sub.v is the deceleration time of the freight car brakes, and d.sub.sen is the range of the distance sensor.

A process for automating switching of track-bound freight cars, equipped with a control unit and a braking device in a switching yard with a shunting zone and a sorting track, comprising the steps of:

• slowing the freight cars when travelling through the shunting zone with an automatic control and regulating device to one of a pre-programmable shunting speed and a target acceleration that is uniform for all the freight cars, the pre-programmable shunting speed being substantially a speed curve of a freight car shunted freely and unbraked with a high running resistance;
• maintaining a minimum distance between the freight cars when the freight cars approach one another in the shunting zone with an automatic distance regulator whereby the minimum distance is such that switches in the switching yard can be set without hindrance;
• slowing down individual freight cars upon reaching the sorting track with the automatic control and regulating device to a permissible speed from which, taking into account attainable brake deceleration, the freight cars can be slowed to a safe coupling speed within a range of distance sensors on the freight cars;
• and
• cooperatively activating the automatic control and regulating device, a transmission of values for the target shunting speed, decoupling of the freight cars, releasing of the braking device, checking of functional readiness of the freight car brakes and automatically coupling cars, via a control station and data transmission means.

A combination of track-bound freight cars and an automatic switching system for the track-bound freight cars, for automating switching operation at a switching yard with a shunting system, comprising:

• track-bound freight cars each having a brake device;
• an automatic control unit integrated into the freight cars, which is operative to slow the freight cars travelling through a shunting zone to one of a presettable target speed (v.sub.abl) that is uniform as possible for all sections and is close to the speed of an unbraked freely running freight car with higher running resistance, and a presettable target acceleration (a.sub.soll);
• an automatic control device which is operative to slow the freight cars reaching or travelling on a sorting track after the shunting zone to a permissible speed from which, taken into account attainable brake deceleration, the freight cars can be slowed within a range of a distance sensor acting in the direction of freight car travel to a safe coupling speed;
• and
• an automatic control and regulating device that has a control circuit which
• a) given an adequate freight car distance (d.sub.ist >d.sub.min) in the shunting zone activates the control unit provided for slowing the cars to the target shunting speed;
• and
• b) slows freight cars reaching or travelling on the sorting track to the permissible speed determined by the control device, the switching yard having a control station which is equipped to activate the automatic control and regulating device of the freight cars to transmit the value of the target shunting speed, to identify the arriving freight cars, to initiate decoupling of the freight at planned separation points, to release the brakes and to monitor by remote control coupling and braking functions of the freight cars, and further comprising one of a transmitting and receiving device and a train data line operatively arranged to exchange data between the control station and the freight cars, the control device being operative to automatically slow the freight cars running onto the sorting track, in the event of malfunction or nonavailability of the distance sensor, to a low speed such that upon bumping impacts without prior goal breaking no damage is done to the freight cars.