Patent ID: 8914189
Filing Date: 2014-12-16
Classification: B61K,B61L,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: determining an operative state of one or more operational devices in a second group of operational devices, wherein the second group of operational devices are coupled with a second router disposed onboard a second vehicular unit of a vehicle consist; based on the operative state that is determined, communicating a registration message from the one or more operational devices to the second router; responsive to receiving the registration message at the second router, registering at least one of the operational devices in the second group with the second router based on the operative state that is determined using the second router, wherein registering the at least one of the operational devices in the second group includes assigning one or more network addresses to the at least one of the operational devices in the second group; communicating a data message from at least one operational device in a first group of operational devices to the second router via a first router and a communication pathway of the vehicle consist, wherein the first group of operational devices is coupled with the first router disposed onboard a first vehicular unit of the vehicle consist, and wherein the operational devices in the first and second groups are configured to perform one or more functions of the respective first vehicular unit and second vehicular unit, the first and second routers connected with each other by the communication pathway; and communicating the data message to the at least one of the operational devices in the second group that are registered with the second router based on the one or more network addresses that are assigned.