Patent ID: 9718485
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: B61K,B61L

Claim:
1. An apparatus for providing a warning of potentially exceeding a speed limit in a railway vehicle, the apparatus comprising: an estimation unit that estimates a future speed of the railway vehicle based on a current speed of the railway vehicle and operational information related to an environment in which the railway vehicle operates; an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system that automatically applies a braking force to reduce a current speed of the railway vehicle when the current speed exceeds a preset braking speed limit, the automatic braking unit having a corresponding preset ATP warning speed limit at which an automated first warning signal is generated; a determination unit that utilizes the estimated future speed to determine a time period from a current time to a time when the railway vehicle will reach the preset braking speed limit speed; and a warning generation unit that provides a second warning signal when the determined time period is less than a preset reference period, wherein the estimation unit receives the operational information and estimates the future speed based on at least a constant tractive force and a constant braking force applied to the railway vehicle, wherein the operational information comprises at least the tractive force, the braking force, the current speed, track gradient information and track curvature information, and wherein the warning generation unit provides the second warning signal at a speed that is greater than the preset ATP warning speed such that the railway vehicle operates at a speed greater than the preset ATP warning speed without the second warning signal being generated.