Patent ID: 7413265

Claim:
A braking control system with anti-slip and anti-lock functions for the wheels, for a railway or tramway vehicle provided with a pneumatic braking system including brake control apparatus connected to a plurality of electro-pneumatic valve units, each controlling brake cylinders associated with a respective axle of the vehicle; said valve units being controlled by control means to apply a braking pressure to the associated brake cylinders, to hold the braking pressure, or to release the pressure of said cylinders; each axle of the vehicle having associated therewith one first and, respectively, one second angular speed sensor, independent from one another sensing the speed of a same rotating portion of the axle; the said electro-pneumatic valve units including respective first and second solenoid control valves with first and second independent control inlets; and the control means comprising first and second independent electronic control units, connected to the respective first and second speed sensors of each axle and to the respective first and second control inlet unit of the said valve units, and predisposed to transmit from one to the other a respective state signal or vital signal indicative of its operating condition of the control unit; the first control unit being arranged to initially perform only a wheel anti-slip procedure; the second control unit being arranged to perform only a wheel anti-lock procedure when the state signal transmitted to the second control unit from the first control unit indicates that first control unit is functioning normally, and to perform both the wheel anti-lock procedure and an anti-slip procedure when the state signal transmitted to the second control unit from the first control unit is indicative of a malfunction or breakdown condition of the first control unit.