Abstract:
The invention relates to a control system for controlling the movement of passenger access doors in railway vehicles and method for operating them based on said system, the object of which is to reduce the number of incidents occurring in said doors and it basically comprises power control means of the motor ( 5 ) operating the doors in charge of regulating the voltage, reversing the polarity or rotation of and applying a brake to said motor ( 5 ) and state and position control means of said doors which perform a triple-check of the state and position of said doors.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    A control system for controlling the movement of passenger access doors in railway vehicles and a method for operating them based on said system. 
         [0002]    More specifically, the invention reduces the number of incidents occurring in said doors such that they reduce the disturbances caused in circulation for this reason, increasing reliability and reducing the corrective maintenance tasks. 
         [0003]    This reduction of the number of incidents is aimed, on one hand, at performing a specific operating method for operating the doors in each of their operational and non-operational phases, supported by a specific system for controlling the power of the motor and another one for controlling the state and position sensors of said doors. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    The high number of doors that railway vehicles currently have and the high number of operations which said doors perform throughout the day is known. 
         [0005]    This high number of operations causes, on more occasions than desired, malfunctions due to different causes, especially due to the electromechanical nature of their components and therefore to their vulnerability to vibrations, dirt, etc. 
         [0006]    More specifically, the electronic systems for controlling the motor moving the doors of railway vehicles today are based on three different stages:
       An electronic power stage the function of which is to provide the supply voltage level of the motor according to the required speed.   A second electromechanical stage, formed by relays, or by power electronics, formed by semiconductors, such as MOSFET transistors for example, which allows reversing the polarity of the motor in order to fix the rotation direction.   An electronic power stage the function of which is to apply a brake to the motor by means of, for example, a load resistance.       
 
         [0010]    These configurations present, however, as previously stated, the problem of using electromechanical components, such as relays, which offer low reliability. 
         [0011]    Said stages are also performed independently, so a high number of transistors is needed. 
         [0012]    On the other hand, in addition to the mentioned problems, it is necessary to consider the fact that in order to obtain information about the state and position of the doors, the solution typically adopted is that of using micro mechanical circuit breakers positioned along the travel, which has the drawbacks indicated above, and/or low-resolution encoders which give a very rough indication of the position of the door, not being valid for detecting small movements thereof. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0013]    The control system for controlling doors of the present invention thus solves the problems discussed above, minimizing the electromechanical elements used and therefore reducing the number of incidents. 
         [0014]    The improvements of the present invention are mainly carried out by two essential aspects in the operating method for operating the doors, specifically in the power control means of the direct current motor in charge of the opening and closing, as well as in the state and position control means of said doors. 
         [0015]    In relation to the power control means of the motor, said means comprise a single bridge of four transistors capable of unifying the three stages that are typically performed independently, thus reducing the number of elements, which results in simplifying the assembly, reducing the number of breakdowns, etc. 
         [0016]    On the other hand, the state and position control means of the doors comprise a triple-check for said state and position, which allows a high degree of certainty with respect to the actual position of the door. 
         [0017]    The control system for doors of the invention is generally based on a microprocessor which processes the external controlling open and close signals, as well as those of the state and position control means of said doors, and from this information, it controls the motor through the power control means of said motor. 
         [0018]    With respect to the operating method for operating the doors, based on both the mentioned state and position control means of the doors and the power control means of the motor, such method comprises the following stages:
       Switching the system on:       
 
         [0020]    Given that in the moment power is supplied to the system it is impossible to know beforehand the exact situation of the door since it may have been displaced, for example, manually while there was no voltage, the location of said door is performed. 
         [0021]    To that end, voltage is applied to the direct current motor such that the latter displaces the door at a low speed in the open or close direction until it reaches the end of travel, as a result of the state and position control means, taking said position as a reference.
       Standby situation:       
 
         [0023]    Once the doors are located and they are in the idle situation, the system is prepared to perform the relevant opening or closing maneuvers that are demanded, whichever is required. If the last order received was to close the doors, the motor remains stopped and the attempt to forcefully open the doors manually is watched and prevented, detecting if the doors are displaced, no matter how little, as a result of the state and position control means of doors.
       Open order:       
 
         [0025]    The microprocessor commands the bridge of transistors to operate the motor in the door open direction and such that the speed is controlled in the travel thereof in order to achieve a quick opening and end damping and braking preventing the doors from hitting against the stops. When the open cycle ends, the bridge of transistors remains open, whereby the motor offers no retention and allows the doors to be free, being able to be closed manually if needed, for example due to a breakdown of the system.
       Close order:       
 
         [0027]    The microprocessor commands the bridge of transistors to operate the motor in the door close direction and such that the speed is controlled in the travel thereof in order to achieve a quick closing and end damping and braking preventing the doors from hitting one another. When the close cycle ends, the bridge of transistors is in the brake mode (the ends of the motor are short-circuited), whereby the motor offers great resistance to displacement in order to hinder the manual movement of the doors. The system is in the standby situation according to the previously described stage.
       Closed door check:       
 
         [0029]    The most critical part of the working of the train doors is that of assuring that the doors are closed when the train is circulating, so the triple-check of said state and position is performed by the state and position control means. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0030]    To complement the description that is being made and for the purpose of aiding to better understand the features of the invention according to a preferred practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description in which the following has been depicted with an illustrative and non-limiting character: 
           [0031]      FIG. 1  shows a flowchart of the different stages of the operating method of the invention. 
           [0032]      FIGS. 2 to 6  show the different working states of the full bridge in the power control of the motor of the doors. 
           [0033]      FIG. 7  shows a schematic block diagram of the position and state control of the doors. 
           [0034]      FIG. 8  shows a schematic block diagram of the additional safety measures. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0035]    As can be seen in the drawings, particularly in  FIG. 1 , the operating method for operating doors of the invention goes through several working states or stages which determine the correct and safe working, covering all the possible situations and contingencies, all based, according to the preferred embodiment that is described below, on using the control system of the present invention, which comprises both power control means of the direct current motor ( 5 ) in charge of opening and closing said doors, as well as on the state and position control means thereof. 
         [0036]    With respect to the power control means of the motor ( 1 ), and as can be seen in  FIGS. 2 to 6 , these means comprise a bridge of four transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 ), specifically a bridge of the type referred to as a “full bridge” which, due to its operating mode, is capable of integrating the three stages of regulating the voltage of the motor ( 5 ), reversing the polarity or rotation and applying a brake in a single stage, without needing to use relays in the commutations. According to a possible embodiment, said transistors could be MOSFET-type transistors, or in other alternatives they could be bipolar transistors, etc. 
         [0037]    Therefore, the mentioned operation of the four transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) forming the mentioned full bridge typology capable of integrating the three stages of regulating the voltage of the motor ( 5 ), reversing the polarity or rotation of and applying a brake to said motor ( 5 ) in a single stage is performed as follows: 
         [0038]    a) To activate the rotation of the motor ( 5 ) in one direction, and as can be seen in  FIG. 2   a , transistor ( 4 ) is tripped and transistor ( 2 ) is kept off or in “OFF”. Transistors ( 1 ) and ( 3 ), which are both in the same side branch of the bridge, are tripped in push-pull by means of a pulse width modulation (PWM), in which the working cycle of said PWM is fixed depending on the voltage which is to be applied to the motor, which will determine the speed and pressure of the doors. 
         [0039]    On the other hand, said PWM modulation for transistor ( 1 ) and the one corresponding to transistor ( 3 ) S 3  may or may not be exactly the conjugated one and it may or may not leave dead times between them, as required. 
         [0040]    More specifically, the choice of the type of PWM modulation will depend on the study of the characteristics of the motor ( 5 ) and on the specific application. This is because when the motor ( 5 ) stops applying a voltage during the PWM modulation cycles, it behaves like a generator and it is necessary to provide a circulation path for its current or high voltage pulses which translate into interferences with other equipment are otherwise generated. Therefore according to an embodiment of the invention, by acting on the conduction time of transistor ( 3 ) it is possible to control how much energy will be returned to the supply and how much will be recirculated until the following cycle. 
         [0041]    More specifically, and as can be seen in said  FIG. 2   a , when transistor ( 1 ) is driving and transistor ( 3 ) is off, the supply voltage is applied to the motor ( 5 ), producing a current circulation. However, as can be seen in  FIG. 2   b , when transistor ( 1 ) is switched off and transistor ( 3 ) is switched on by means of the PWM modulation, the wires of the motor are short-circuited and the current recirculates because a motor has an inductive behavior and the current therefore cannot abruptly stop. 
         [0042]    b) To activate the rotation of the motor ( 5 ) in the other direction, and as can be seen in  FIG. 3   a , transistor ( 3 ) is tripped, keeping transistor ( 1 ) off or in “OFF”. Now it is transistors ( 2 ) and ( 4 ), which are both in the same side branch of the bridge, which are tripped in push-pull by means of pulse width modulation PWM, fixing the working cycle of said PWM depending on the voltage which is to be applied to the motor ( 5 ) and therefore on the desired rotation speed thereof, which, as in the previous case, will determine the speed and pressure of the doors. 
         [0043]    As in the previous case, said PWM modulation for transistor ( 2 ) and the one corresponding to transistor ( 4 ) may or may not be exactly the conjugated one and it may or may not leave dead times between them for the same reasons explained above. 
         [0044]    Therefore, and as can be seen in  FIG. 3   a , when transistor ( 2 ) is driving and transistor ( 4 ) is off, supply voltage is applied to the motor ( 5 ), producing a current circulation. However, as can be seen in  FIG. 3   b , when transistor ( 2 ) is switched off and transistor ( 4 ) S 4  is switched on, zero volts are applied to the motor ( 5 ) and the current recirculates. 
         [0045]    c) To apply the brake to the motor ( 5 ), and as can be seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the transistors of the upper or lower branches can be kept simultaneously off or on, i.e., either keeping transistors ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of the upper branches on and transistors ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) of the lower branches off or in “OFF”, or vice versa. 
         [0046]    In this situation, the current of the motor ( 5 ) recirculates and its direction depends on the rotation direction of said motor ( 5 ). Given that the circuit is not ideal, a small voltage will occur due to losses, which voltage, with the necessary time, will end up de-magnetizing the motor ( 5 ) and the current will be canceled. Furthermore, if the attempt is made to move the door manually, the motor ( 5 ) will become a generator with the terminals short-circuited, whereby it puts up great resistance to displacement. 
         [0047]    More specifically, the application of the brake quickly reduces the speed of the doors when they are being displaced, further hindering the manual movement thereof once they are closed. Therefore if someone attempts to open the doors when they must be closed, he will need to exert tremendous effort and the opening will be minimal before the motor ( 5 ) acts in close mode. 
         [0048]    d) Finally, there is a situation in which the door is to be free of the brake so that it can manually be displaced, for example in a situation of being trapped. To that end, as can be seen in  FIG. 6 , the four transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) of the full bridge are opened, whereby the motor ( 5 ) is in the brake release or free situation. 
         [0049]    Therefore, in the event that this manual displacement occurs, the current generated by the motor ( 5 ) is again driven by the intrinsic diodes ( 6 ) of the transistors towards the supply, the circuit being closed through the capacitors thereof, which have not been depicted. 
         [0050]    However, upon switching between the different operating modes of the motor ( 5 ) described above, i.e., from rotation in one direction to the other, from rotation to brake release situation or from rotation to brake application situation, overcurrents and voltage peaks occur in switching states that are generated by said motor ( 5 ) due to its predominantly inductive component and to the mechanical inertia it has, making it act like a voltage generator, for example, when it switches from one rotation direction to another. 
         [0051]    Therefore, when the door in its open or close cycle encounters an obstacle, it is necessary for the door to stop and be freed of force in order to allow moving it manually and freeing the obstacle. To perform this operation, it is necessary to open the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) so that the motor ( 5 ) is in the brake release situation or free, but if the attempt is made to open said bridge as it is commutating, the energy stored in the coil of the motor ( 5 ) will make the current continue to circulate through it with the same intensity and direction. This causes the voltage to increase in terminals thereof to maintain the current circulation, and it is reflected in the form of electric noise or even in the breaking of components due to an overvoltage. 
         [0052]    To solve this problem, and provided that it is necessary to open the bridge of transistors during a running cycle, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a short time period in brake mode according to operating mode c) described above and shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  is introduced between the cutoff of the modulation of the transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) and the complete opening thereof, simultaneously keeping the transistors of the upper or lower branches off or on, i.e., either keeping transistors ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of the upper branches on and transistors ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) of the lower branches off, or vice versa. 
         [0053]    The current of the motor ( 5 ) is thereby recirculated and the stored energy is dissipated as heat due to the losses caused by the intrinsic resistance of the circuit (winding of the motor, cable resistances, resistances of the commutating devices etc.). The four transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) of the bridge can then be opened without any problem, making much less noise and making the process safer. 
         [0054]    In the same manner, when it is necessary to reverse the rotation direction of the motor ( 5 ), a similar process is followed, applying the braking configuration explained above, which is composed of simultaneously keeping the transistors of the upper or lower branches off or on, which allows recirculating the current of the motor ( 5 ) and the motor stopping. Once said motor ( 5 ) has stopped, the control can be applied with the required rotation direction without any problem. 
         [0055]    On the other hand, in addition to the control which the microprocessor ( 7 ) has over the power control means of the motor, processing the external controlling open and close signals emitted by the operator, it also has control over the state and position control means of said doors, which compile the specific situation the door is in at all times. 
         [0056]    According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and as has been described, said state and position control means of the doors comprise a triple-check of said state and position, which allows a high degree of certainty with respect to the actual position of the door. 
         [0057]    More specifically, and as can be seen in  FIG. 7 , said means comprise a high-resolution encoder ( 8 ) coupled to the shaft of the motor ( 5 ) which allows determining the exact position of the door as well as its displacement speed and direction, which allows reacting with precision in critical situations such as when the attempt is made, for example, to forcefully open the doors manually when there is a close order, immediately acting accordingly. 
         [0058]    As a second check, said means furthermore comprise a contact-free magnetic sensor ( 9 ) which acts like a limit switch to detect the complete closing of the door and its mechanical anchoring. 
         [0059]    As a third check of said state and position of the doors, said means comprise the determination of the limit switches of the door due to overcurrent measured in the motor ( 5 ), to which end, according to a preferred embodiment, an analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ) which samples the voltage applied to said motor ( 5 ), the current circulating therethrough obtained by means of a sensor, for example a Hall effect sensor ( 11 ), as well as the open-circuit voltages of the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ), is used to detect a possible break thereof. 
         [0060]    This information obtained by means of the analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ) described is additionally used to recognize the general state of the electrical system and to thus protect the assembly from possible overloads or in a malfunction situation. 
         [0061]    Therefore, according to the described embodiment, data are obtained from three different sensors to assure safety in the control of the doors, which data are: the position calculated from the information of the high-resolution encoder ( 8 ), the magnetic sensor ( 9 ) indicating that the safe mechanical anchoring of the door was activated and, finally, the measurement through the analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ) of the overcurrent occurring in the motor ( 5 ) due to the locking of the shaft occurring when the door reaches the end of its travel. 
         [0062]    All this information is used to interrupt the application of energy to the motor ( 5 ) during the closing maneuver, considering said maneuver to be concluded. 
         [0063]    Therefore when the door has to be closed, such as when the train is running for example, if an attempt to open said door is detected, the level of influence of such attempt is analyzed and the corresponding action is performed. If the door is displaced, this displacement is detected by means of the high-resolution encoder ( 8 ) and voltage is applied to the motor ( 5 ) to force the closing, but if only a maneuver has been performed on the opening actuator which releases the mechanical anchoring of the door indicated by the magnetic sensor ( 9 ), the system increases its sensitivity to the movement, but it does not act as long as the door is not displaced. The sensitivity to displacement is readjusted according to the indication of said magnetic sensor ( 9 ) of the anchoring being in place or removed. 
         [0064]    The sensitivity to Without removing the mechanical anchoring the door cannot be opened, but due to mechanical allowances there is a small margin of travel that the system must allow, but when the anchoring is released, this allowance must be much less. 
         [0065]    With respect to the basic operation of the control system described in  FIG. 1 , and according to the preferred embodiment described, the latter can be explained as follows:
       Switching the system on:       
 
         [0067]    To locate the door, voltage is applied to the motor ( 5 ) such that the latter displaces the door at a low speed in the appropriate open or close direction until it reaches the end of travel, taking said position as a reference. This end of travel is determined by the measurement of the overcurrent occurring when the door reaches the limit switch stop of the door, as a result of the analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ) and it is confirmed, in the case of closing, with the magnetic sensor ( 9 ) which acts upon closing the door.
       Standby situation:       
 
         [0069]    Once the doors are located and they are in the idle situation, the system is prepared to perform the relevant opening or closing maneuvers that are demanded, whichever is required. If the last order received was to close the doors, the motor ( 8 ) remains stopped and the attempt to forcefully open the doors manually is watched and prevented, detecting if the doors are displaced, no matter how little, as a result of the high-resolution encoder ( 8 ), applying energy to the motor only if there is an actual attempt to open the doors, eliminating unnecessary actions.
       Open order.       
 
         [0071]    The microprocessor ( 7 ) commands the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) to operate the motor ( 8 ) in the door open direction. The speed is controlled in the travel thereof in order to achieve a quick opening and end damping and braking preventing the doors from hitting against the stops. When the open cycle ends, the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) remains open, whereby the motor ( 8 ) offers no retention and allows the doors to be closed manually if needed.
       Close order.       
 
         [0073]    The microprocessor commands the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) to operate the motor ( 5 ) in the door close direction. The speed is controlled in the travel thereof in order to achieve a quick opening and end damping and braking preventing the doors from hitting one another. When the close cycle ends, the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) is in the brake mode offering great resistance to displacement in order to hinder the manual movement of the doors.
       Closed door check.       
 
         [0075]    To determine this critical situation, the triple-check of the state of the doors is performed by means of the three mentioned sensors, i.e., the door closed position is verified through the high-resolution encoder ( 8 ), it is verified through the magnetic sensor ( 9 ) that the mechanical closing acted, and it is furthermore checked that an overcurrent occurs due to the inability of the motor to advance by means of the analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ). 
         [0076]    Additionally, and according to a practical embodiment of the invention, the system of the invention incorporates additional safety measures protecting it from a malfunction of any of its parts, which malfunction is susceptible of occurring because the system is, after all, an electronic system. 
         [0077]    Generally, and according to said  FIG. 8 , it is observed how, in order to open the doors, the operator, or in the absence thereof, the control system of the train, selects the side of the train on which the doors will be open and gives the authorization to open them by activating the open line OL and deactivating the close line CL, of all the doors on said side. This enables the doors and allows the passengers who want to get out to open each of them by means of a local actuator (handle, button, etc.). 
         [0078]    The closing operation is performed in this manner, this time activating the line CL and deactivating OL. All the doors that are open will close automatically. 
         [0079]    A possible embodiment can also been seen in said  FIG. 8  which prevents, when a doors closed order is given activating line CL, a malfunction in the system from being able to make said doors open accidentally. 
         [0080]    Specifically, the command control over the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) is the responsibility of the software of the microprocessor ( 7 ), but in order to respond to said possible malfunction situations it is necessary to have a redundancy which assures the correct response despite said malfunction. To that end a hardware device ( 13 ), such as a transistor, switch, etc., operated by the close line train CL, preventing the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) from being able to command the motor ( 5 ) in open mode when a physical closing order is given, is used. 
         [0081]    Said hardware device ( 13 ) causes the blocking of the transistor ( 1 ) of the upper branch of the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) which must be modulated in PWM in order to be able to open the door according to the previously described sequence. Specifically, the close line train CL makes the hardware device ( 13 ) drive and the latter shunts the door of the power transistor ( 1 ) to ground, preventing the latter from being able to drive and therefore preventing it from being able to command the motor in open mode. 
         [0082]    On the other hand, as a result of the information about the voltage and current of the motor provided by the different sensors of the system, such as the high-resolution encoder ( 8 ), the magnetic sensor ( 9 ) or especially the analog-to-digital converter ( 10 ) and/or others, as well as other similar information, such as that obtained, for example, with respect to the state of the power supply, the system is capable of determining, by implementing the corresponding logic analyzer software in the microprocessor ( 7 ), the proper working of the entire assembly, making it stay in a safe state when any problem is detected and thus preventing breakdowns or major problems. 
         [0083]    Out of all the components forming the system of the invention, it is especially necessary to watch or verify the state and the proper working of both the power bridge formed by the four transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) and of the elements involved in blocking the opening of the doors when there is a close order. 
         [0084]    Specifically, this watching or verification of the bridge of transistors ( 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ) can be done, according to a possible embodiment, by verifying that the voltages thereof correspond with a high impedance (floating lines) when none of said transistors is activated, so the voltage in any of the wires of the motor ( 5 ) will be a fraction of that of the supply thereto. 
         [0085]    With regard to watching or verifying the blocking of the opening with a close order, this is done by switching the system on and when the first close order is received. At this time, an attempt is made to move the motor in the open direction and it is verified that said maneuver is impossible to perform when the protection is actuated. 
         [0086]    Finally, the system can have software watch means for watching the remaining elements of the system, specifically the memory, internal logs, watch-dog, peripherals, etc., that are capable of paralyzing the system when any anomaly is detected, taking it to a safe state.