Air brake test device with remote control

Abstract

A testing device for conducting the Initial Terminal Inspection of the air brake system of a made-up train includes a first valve assembly for at least charging and applying the brakes through the test device operable from the location at which the device is coupled between the train brake pipe and a supply of compressed air, and it also includes a second valve assembly for releasing the brakes actuated by receipt of a remotely-transmitted signal. The Initial Terminal Inspection requires that the brakes of a train be inspected in both their applied and their released positions. A testing device is normally connected to the train brake pipe at the locomotive end. The inspection of the brakes in their applied position requires the inspector to walk the length of the train, usually from the locomotive end to the far end of the train. This can be a distance of a half mile or a mile or more. When the inspector reaches the far end of the train, completing the inspection of the brakes in their applied positions, the release of the brakes can be triggered by transmitting a signal to the second valve assembly from the inspector's remote location at the end of the train. The signal is received by the second valve assembly, for instance at a solenoid valve within the second valve assembly. Upon this release of the brakes, the inspector returns to the locomotive end of the train, inspecting the brakes along the route.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.