Patent Publication Number: US-2006015224-A1

Title: Systems and methods for delivery of railroad crossing and wayside equipment operational data

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims priority of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/588,079 filed Jul. 15, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates generally to railroad operation and, more specifically, to systems and methods for delivery of railroad crossing and wayside equipment operational data.  
      Railroad grade crossings and other track side (wayside) equipment typically includes electronic devices for operating crossing gates and lights, identifying approaching locomotives, and providing adjacent automotive traffic control equipment with information regarding train movement. These devices are designed to be as fail-safe as possible, for the safety of the public. To try to maximize public safety, department of transportation regulations enforce regular inspection, testing, and record keeping regarding operation of these electronic devices.  
      With the nature of railroads, these electronic devices are dispersed over a wide geographic area, and every crossing site must be inspected, on site, every month, to verify and record functions such as crossing activation timing, warning light operation and voltage, and shunt detector operation.  
      Crossing controllers and train predictor devices maintain internal data logs to allow verification of their performance—both as a part of regular maintenance and inspections and in the event of a major or minor equipment malfunction. These logs and data verifying operational history are lengthy, and acquiring these data requires either a costly communications link to the remote site or a trip out to the site with a laptop computer or other portable device in order to connect to the crossing equipment and download the data logs. While the need to acquire and analyze these data is periodic, the availability of this information on a timelier basis is thought to be beneficial, especially if the data can be archived in a manner that allows on-line access by individuals associated with responsibility for operating and maintaining the equipment and the grade crossings.  
      At the same time there is a desire to reduce the frequency of on-site maintenance inspections and tests. Accordingly, crossing controller and monitoring equipment is becoming available that can automatically conduct tests and store data relating to many, if not all, of the monthly FRA tests. One example of such a test is acquiring and storing performance data during each activation of the crossing equipment. While the automated testing provides a significant time and labor savings, the data must still be retrieved to be of value. Currently, retrieval of such data includes communications through a long distance communication network (telephone, wireless, packet, or other similar data network), or traveling to the equipment site to manually download the operational data event logs relating to the testing data.  
      A more cost effective solution for amassing this test data at a central point is sought by the industry, to fully realize the savings an automated remote crossing test capability could offer. Currently, railroad organizations are reluctant to install commercially available communications networks in order to gather data and to receive notification of alarm situations from crossings and wayside equipment, due to the high cost and very infrequent use of these networks. In some cases, wayside equipment cannot economically access available wired or wireless data connections. As a result, railroads have resorted to low cost alarm notification systems such as cellular control channel communications equipment that cannot transport the high volume of information associated with operational data event logs resulting from testing activities.  
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      In one aspect, a method for delivery of railroad crossing and wayside equipment operational data is provided. The method comprises collecting operational data relating to railroad crossing equipment and wayside equipment in a data server, receiving the operational data from the data server with a data delivery device when the data server is in proximity to the data delivery device, and transmitting the operational data from the data delivery device to an external communication system.  
      In another aspect, a system for delivering railroad crossing and wayside equipment operational data is provided. The system comprises at least one data server, at least one data delivery device, and an external communication system. The data servers are configured to collect operational data relating to railroad crossing equipment and wayside equipment, configure the operational data into operational data files, and transmit the operational data files. The data delivery device is configured to receive the operational data files from the data server when the data server is in proximity to the data delivery device and transmit the operational data files. The external communication system comprising at least one of a computer system attached to the data delivery device and a reception point in proximity to the data delivery device. The reception point is communicatively coupled to a computer system, and the external communication system is configured to receive the operational data files and store the operational data files in a database. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating communications between a data server and various railroad crossing and wayside equipment.  
       FIG. 2  is an illustration of the data server of  FIG. 1  transmitting stored test data to a data delivery device mounted on a passing train.  
       FIG. 3  is an illustration of the data delivery device of  FIG. 2  transmitting testing data to a reception point, the reception point configured to communicate on a network to a centralized database. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  10  where the various devices in a railroad grade crossing or wayside equipment enclosure are communicatively connected to a data server (DS)  12 . In the embodiment illustrated the various devices include a train detector  14 , an event recorder  16 , a crossing performance monitor  18 , and a video surveillance system  20 . In one embodiment, data server  12  communicates with the above described electronic equipment at the site (i.e., crossing or equipment enclosure) to collect operational data files using protocols and sequences that are native to the individual pieces of equipment. Data server  12  includes a memory (not shown) providing an ability to store a high volume of centralized data based on user configured schedules, other triggering data communicated to the site, or generated by other equipment sensing parameters stored within the crossing or wayside equipment. In one embodiment, each operational data file includes a data time stamp and a source equipment identifier. In addition, each operational data file carries a data field that indicates what portions of the file, if any, have been successfully delivered from data server  12  to an external communication system (described below) in a fragmented form.  
      Examples of data retrieved for later delivery by data server  12 , and archiving and analysis by an external system can include crossing activation performance such as times, duration, equipment response times and images, either still or streaming video, to verify crossing equipment performance during crossing activation. Other example data includes external parameters, such as, vehicle detection in the crossing island area, vehicles driving around gates, for instance, from a trapped vehicle monitoring system, and internal parameters, such as, train prediction and gate timing, shunt detection response, commercial power status and battery voltages, and warning light performance, for instance, from a lamp performance monitoring system.  
      Instead of connecting a high cost communications network to data server  12 , in one embodiment, data server  12  stores the operational data files until a data delivery device (DDD) is within proximity, for example, mounted on a train that eventually will travel past the crossing or wayside equipment where data server  12  is located.  FIG. 2  illustrates a data server  12  transmitting operational data files to a data delivery device (DDD)  30  which is mounted on a rear of a passing train  32 . Upon detection of DDD  30 , data server  12  broadcasts as many of the operational data files as it can while DDD  30  is within range. In various embodiments, data server  12  and DDD  30  utilize a spread spectrum radio link or similar short range RF data network, allowing authentication of each file or file segment&#39;s reception by DDD  30 . Portions of each data file successfully transmitted to any number of passing DDDs  30  is noted by data server  12 . For purposes of redundancy, data server  12  causes each file or file fragment to be delivered to a passing DDD  30  more than one time, improving the chances of successful file reconstruction and providing additional means of error detection at a centralized database node in the network, at which wholly-delivered files may be archived and made available through any conventional network means for users and reports.  
      In one embodiment, the location for DDD  30  is at the end (rear) of the train ‘consist’, for example, as a part of the end of train device (EOT) or redman. The EOT is typically located at the end of the train and contains a flashing red marker light and a terminator for the train&#39;s air brake line. It responds to polls from a radio at the head-end of the train by transmitting telemetry including air line pressure and speed of the train measured by GPS location technology. The EOT location provides power sufficient to operate DDD  30 , and signals are available, for example, at a grade crossing or other wayside equipment area which inform data server  12  when the last car of a train has passed the boundaries of the grade crossing, thus notifying data server  12  that DDD  30  is in an ideal position to receive stored, undelivered operational data files and data file fragments.  
      In an alternative embodiment, DDD  30  is located at the head of the train, where a more favorable electronic equipment environment may be found, and where power is also readily available. If DDD  30  is located at the head of train location, different methods of determining the adequate proximity of data server  12  to DDD  30  are employed, such as, continuous or periodic radio polling by data server  12 , continuous or periodic radio polling by DDD  30 , and reception of the head-of-train transponder by data server  12 , typically in the VHF band. Additional methods of determining the adequate proximity of data server  12  to DDD  30  include detection of an audible horn signal of the approaching locomotive (required action by the train operators), and detection of crossing activation signal from the crossing controller equipment (by data server  12 ).  
      Depending upon the configuration of data server  12 , the operational data files that are to be delivered are eventually transmitted, either in whole or in part, to multiple passing DDDs  30 . Therefore, the multiple trains passing grade crossings and wayside equipment enclosures equipped with data servers  12  are utilized to collect and transport the operational data files. The trains physically transport harvested data files and file fragments until such time as each train passes in close proximity to designated sites or wayside equipment that include a reception point  50 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . As train  32  passes such reception points  50 , the operational data files (in whole or in part) are offloaded from the traveling DDD  30 . Reception point  50  utilizes similar methods of detecting the necessary proximity of a DDD  30  loaded with data to a reception point  50  to those described above for determining a proximity of a DDD  30  to a data server  12 .  
      In one embodiment, reception point  50  retrieves the operational data files and data file fragments for delivery through a conventional data network  52  which includes a centralized database. Once the transported operational data has been transmitted to a reception point  50 , the DDDs  30  are once again utilized to collect operational data files from other data servers  12  encountered in the continued movement of train  32 .  
      Data files and file fragments from numerous DDDs  30  each collecting operational data from numerous data servers  12  are ultimately delivered to the centralized database through network  52 . In one embodiment, the centralized database is a portion of a computer system that is configured to parse all operational data, associate operational data files and file fragments with particular remote sites, eliminate redundant files or fragments, resolve any errors, and reconstruct the original operational data files from each of the remote sites that include a data server  12 . Once reconstructed, the complete operational data files then available to users over the Internet or a company intranet to make assessments as to the operation and maintenance of grade crossing and wayside equipment.  
      In a particular embodiment, a separate, low-cost, low data volume communication system, for example, a cellular control channel based network, can trigger data servers  12  to request and capture operational data logs and event files from crossing equipment in order to sequester data associated with a particular event or time period. In addition, communications between data servers  12  and DDDs  30 , and alternatively between DDDs  30  and reception points  50 , can utilize one or more forms of wireless data communications, for example, spread spectrum, UHF and VHF, UWB, or light based data communications.  
      In another embodiment, operational data may be off loaded from DDDs  30  at a locomotive depot level, allowing delivery to a centralized database for reconstruction and consolidation with or without the use of a reception point  50 .  
      While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.