DE20303275U1 - Sand controller system for rail vehicles stores and processes one or more input signals which serve for engaging of rail vehicle's sand spreading operation and can be connected separately to sand spreading system - Google Patents

Abstract

The sand controller system stores and processes one or more input signals which serve for the engaging of the rail vehicle's sand spreading operation. The construction is designed in such a way that the system can be connected separately to a sand spreading system, or the system can be integrated in an existing control system on the vehicle. The duration of the signal, type of signal and number of signals give information about the economical efficiency, reliability, function and technique of the system and to enable an accurate calculation for sand consumption.

Description

Sand spreading system for rail vehicles

l. Modern rail vehicles usually have anti-skid and anti-spin protection. This is activated by the drive control unit (ASG) during acceleration or braking. Wheels can slide or skid (spin) when a vehicle is accelerating or braking. If the anti-skid and anti-spin protection is activated, the vehicle's sanding system can be triggered automatically. In addition to this automatic control, the driver can usually trigger the sanding system using a switch (Figure 1). If the sanding system is automatically activated, sand is spread as long as the signal is present. If the driver triggers the sanding signal, it remains present as long as the driver operates the switch and thus triggers the signal.

Modern sand spreading systems are now air-operated. This means that either a small compressor starts up when the signal is given to build up excess pressure, or the system uses compressed air from a pressure vessel on the vehicle. Both types of operation require a reaction time (= time from receipt of the control signal to the arrival of the first grains of sand in front of the wheel), which can be between 0.4 and 2 seconds depending on the sand spreading system, distance between the sand container and outlet nozzle, and length and position of the sand hose (Figure 2).

Request impulses that only respond to the sand spreading system for a short time and may be below the response time of a system are problematic. The response time is the time from the signal being given until the sand arrives at the wheel. In this case, controlling the sand spreading system has either no or only a small effect. However, the sand hose is completely or partially filled with sand. This can only drain off with difficulty or not at all due to the short pulse duration. A sand hose filled with sand is particularly dangerous when driving in the rain due to the possible

The combination of sand and moisture is the main reason for blockages, which can only be removed with great effort.

The IBEG sand controller (Sand Controller, Figure 4) ensures that the impulse on the sand spreading system is present at least until a continuous sand flow has been established.

The duration of the pulse is adjustable (programmable). This ensures that the duration of the pulse allows a sufficient amount of sand to hit the wheel and rail and that a continuous flow of sand is established, at least for a short time. This reduces the amount of sand remaining in the hose and prevents blockages.

If the vehicle provides different signals for braking, starting or other processes, the Sand Controller can process these signals differently. For example, when the signal "sanding when starting" is received, it waits a short time to see whether the signal "longer" (adjustable) is present and only then processes it further, or it gives the signal "sliding when braking" high priority and immediately triggers the first impulse.

Depending on the vehicle, one or more signals can be made available to the sand controller. These can be processed differently and can also result in different actions.

2. Sand storage containers are adapted to the individual vehicle conditions. They differ significantly in size and shape. In order to determine the fill level of a sand container, sight glasses are installed that allow a view into the interior of the container and/or sensors are inserted into the container that give a signal when the fill level falls below a certain level. Since the position and surface contour of the sand in the sand container are constantly changing due to dynamic forces of the vehicle and the operation of the sand system (Figure 3), sensors (especially if there are only a small number of them) can only

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provide rough indications of the fill level. Sight glasses integrated into the container are always subject to the subjective impression of the observer, can easily become dirty and are very difficult to check.

The sand controller can store very specific data that provides the operator with interesting information about the fill level and operation of the system. This can be stored by storing the duration (time measurement) and the type (is it an initial pulse or a subsequent pulse). By entering specific parameters (amount of sand spread per initial pulse, amount of sand per subsequent pulse per second), very specific data can be determined that can provide information about sand consumption and thus the remaining content of the sand container. In addition, other data (e.g. number of pulses) can be stored and managed. This data can either be made available to a vehicle-side management system or communicated to an external evaluation system via an appropriate interface.

3. The structure of the sand controller is designed in such a way that a control board is integrated into a control housing as in Figure 5 or that the control board can also be mounted separately at another location. One or more input signals can be fed to the sand controller (see Figure 5, e.g. braking input and starting input). The processed control signal is fed to the "sanding data output". Stored and processed data is made available to the "vehicle management data output".

The input signal braking is either extended to a minimum signal duration (Tsmin). If the input signal is longer than Tsmin, it is transferred to the Sanden output in its "original length". In order to respond to an input signal at the Start input, the signal must be present for an adjustable minimum duration (tamin). However, the minimum signal duration at the Sanden output (Tsmin) is greater than the minimum signal duration at the Start input.

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The innovation of the invention consists in particular in the fact that the sand controller system processes and optimizes incoming signals which are used to initiate sand spreading on rail vehicles in such a way that the signal is either suppressed or extended to a minimum duration which then also has an effect.

The innovation of the invention is further that the incoming signals for a vehicle management system are processed in such a way that

Duration of the signal

Type of signal Number of signals

Provide information about the economic efficiency, safety, function and technology of the plant and also provide the most accurate possible information about sand consumption.

Claims (1)

The innovation of the invention is in particular that the sand controller system stores and processes one or more input signals that are used to initiate sand spreading on rail vehicles and passes them on to the signal output in an optimized manner so that the function and operation of sand spreading systems is improved. The structure is designed in such a way that the system can be connected separately to a sand spreading system or that the system can be integrated into the existing vehicle control system.
The innovation of the invention is further that the incoming signals for a vehicle management system are processed in such a way that the - Duration of the signal - Type of signal - Number of signals Provide information about the economic efficiency, safety, function and technology of the plant and also provide the most accurate possible information about sand consumption.