HK1209391B - Locating of vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Vehicle positioning

The invention relates to a method having the features of the preamble of claim 1.

A process of this type is known from international patent application WO 2011/027166 a 1. In this known method, a wave guide is provided for positioning the rail vehicle along a rail section, which wave guide runs along the rail section. Electromagnetic pulses are input into the waveguide sequentially in time. For each emitted pulse, at least one backscatter pattern produced by vehicle-induced backscatter of the electromagnetic pulse is received and evaluated. The rail vehicle on the rail section is positioned by processing the backscatter pattern.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method for positioning a vehicle, which enables reliable and particularly precise positioning.

The object is achieved according to the invention by a method having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention are provided by the dependent claims.

According to the invention, the waveguide has at least one locating section along the travel section, in which the sensitivity of the waveguide to vibrations and/or the vibrations acting on the waveguide are greater or smaller than in regions outside the locating section, the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern is evaluated, and a position signal is generated when the time profile of the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern increases or decreases.

The method according to the invention has the main advantage that the vehicle localization can be carried out independently of the time interval between the emission of the electromagnetic pulse and the reception of the backscatter pattern. In the method according to the invention, the vehicle positioning is carried out independently of the time interval. This is achieved in that at least one positioning section changes the backscatter pattern, i.e. the amplitude, so that the vehicle can be positioned on the driving section by means of the change in the backscatter pattern, i.e. the change in the amplitude. Even if temporal fluctuations occur, for example due to delays in the generation of the pulses and/or in the processing of the backscatter patterns, this does not affect the accuracy of the positioning of the vehicle, since the vehicle always generates backscatter patterns in the region of one or more positioning segments, whose amplitude characteristics show the positioning segment and are independent of the time interval that elapses between the input of the pulses into the waveguide and the reception of the associated backscatter pattern and the processing.

In order to be able to position the vehicle at different positions of the travel path or in the region of different positions of the waveguide, it is advantageous if the travel path is equipped with a plurality of positioning sections which are arranged at a distance from one another in the waveguide.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the method, the rail vehicle traveling on the rail section is positioned, wherein the vibrations acting on the wave guide are increased in the positioning section by means of a local mechanical coupling between the wave guide and the rail section or are reduced by means of a vibration damping device.

Alternatively or additionally, when a waveguide material with a higher or lower vibration sensitivity than the two waveguide sections before and after the spacer is used in the spacer, then the vibration sensitivity of the waveguide may be increased or decreased in said spacer.

Preferably, an additional locating signal is additionally generated which provides the position of the rail vehicle.

The additional locating signal can be formed, for example, by measuring reflections from interference locations that are mounted in the waveguide and whose positions are known, and by generating the additional locating signal when the reception of the backscatter pattern and the reflection occurring via such interference locations occur simultaneously in time. The arrangement of the interference locations and/or the respective lengths of the interference locations preferably form a position code.

Alternatively, the additional locating signal can also be formed by measuring the time interval between the input of the electromagnetic pulse into the wave guide and the detection of the associated backscatter pattern and generating a distance signal, which provides the position of the vehicle, as the additional locating signal as a function of the time interval.

The plausibility of the position signal and the additional locating signal is preferably detected.

This plausibility check is carried out in a particularly simple manner and is thus advantageously carried out by comparing the vehicle position provided by the additional locating signal (e.g. distance signal) with the position of the known locating section, while forming the position signal.

An error signal is advantageously generated when the distance between the vehicle position provided by the additional locating signal and the position of the known locating section exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

It is also preferred that the waveguide has a plurality of locating sections along the travel section, in which the sensitivity of the waveguide to vibrations and/or the vibrations acting on the waveguide are greater or smaller than the two waveguide sections located before and after the respective locating section, and that the position signal is generated when the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern increases or decreases in the time direction, respectively.

When the vehicle enters the driving section, the position signals which continue to appear after the first generation of position signals are counted and the position information is formed by the corresponding counter reading.

It is also preferred that the arrangement of the locating segments and/or the respective lengths of the locating segments form a position code, and that the position code is recognized when processing the time characteristic curve of the backscatter image, and that the locating segments are differentiated by means of the position code.

The invention further relates to a positioning device for positioning a vehicle along a travel section, comprising a waveguide arranged along the travel section; pulse generating means for generating and inputting electromagnetic pulses into the waveguide successively in time; and detecting means for detecting an electromagnetic backscatter pattern produced by backscatter induced by the vehicle; and a processing device for processing the backscatter pattern.

In this case, it is provided according to the invention that the waveguide has at least one locating section along the travel section, in which the sensitivity of the waveguide to vibrations and/or the vibrations acting on the waveguide are greater or smaller than in regions outside the locating section, and that the processing device is designed such that it carries out the locating of the vehicle taking into account at least the amplitude of the backscatter pattern.

The advantages of the positioning device according to the invention are referred to above in the description of the embodiment of the method according to the invention, since the advantages of the method according to the invention correspond substantially to the advantages of the positioning device according to the invention.

Preferably, the waveguide is arranged beside the track section and the vibrations acting on the waveguide are increased in the positioning section by means of local mechanical coupling between the waveguide and the track section or reduced by means of vibration damping means.

Additionally or alternatively, the waveguide may have a waveguide material within the positioning section with a higher or lower vibration sensitivity than the two waveguide sections before and after the positioning section.

It is particularly advantageous if the waveguide has a plurality of locating sections along the travel section, in which the sensitivity of the waveguide to vibrations and/or the vibrations acting on the waveguide are greater or smaller than the two waveguide sections located before and after the respective locating section.

Preferably, the arrangement of the positioning segments and/or the respective lengths of the positioning segments form a position code.

The invention will be further elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter, which are exemplary in the drawing,

figure 1 shows an embodiment of a positioning device according to the invention for positioning a vehicle along a driving stretch,

figures 2-4 show exemplary backscatter patterns produced by a vehicle on a roadway according to figure 1,

fig. 5 shows an embodiment of the positioning device according to the invention, in which the positioning segments form a position code,

figure 6 shows a further embodiment of a positioning device according to the invention,

figures 7-9 illustrate the backscatter patterns produced by a vehicle on a roadway according to figure 6,

figure 10 shows a further embodiment of a positioning device according to the invention,

fig. 11 shows a detailed view of an embodiment of the connector.

For the sake of overview, the same reference numerals are used throughout the figures for identical or similar components.

Fig. 1 shows a positioning device 10 comprising a pulse generating device 20, a detection device 30, an optical coupling device 40, a waveguide 50, for example in the form of an optical waveguide, and a processing device 60.

The pulse generating device 20 preferably has a laser, not shown in detail, which can regularly generate short electromagnetic, in particular optical, pulses, for example at a fixed, predetermined pulse rate, and which is fed into the waveguide 50 via the coupling device 40. The pulse generating device 20 is preferably controlled by the processing device 60 in such a way that the processing device 60 knows at least approximately the point in time at which the pulse is generated.

The detection means 30 have, for example, a photodetector, which can detect electromagnetic radiation. The detection device 30 transmits its measurement signals to the processing device 60, where the evaluation takes place.

As can be seen in fig. 1, waveguide 50 is disposed along track segment 100. On the track section 100, a rail vehicle 110 is driven from left to right along arrow P. In the illustration according to fig. 1, the movement of the rail vehicle 110 along the arrow P is marked by two further positions (see rail vehicle positions 110' and 110 ").

Fig. 1 shows that the wave guide 50 is equipped with positioning segments 51, 52 and 53 in which the vibrations generated by passing rail vehicles acting on the wave guide 50 are larger than the vibrations outside the positioning segments 51, 52 and 53. The increase in vibrations in the spacer sections 51, 52 and 53 is due, for example, to the fact that the wave guide 50 is mechanically coupled in these spacer sections with the rails of the track section 100 by means of one or more rods, tubes, pins or similar type of connection 115 (see fig. 11). Additionally or alternatively, waveguide materials may also be used in the positioning sections 51 to 53, which themselves have a higher vibration sensitivity than the waveguide materials outside the positioning sections 51, 52 and 53.

The positioning device 10 according to fig. 1 performs the positioning of the rail vehicle 110, for example, as follows:

the processing device 60 controls the pulse generating device 20 in such a way that the electromagnetic pulses Pin are supplied to the waveguide 50 by the coupling device 40 one after the other in time. The generated electromagnetic pulse propagates in the direction of the arrow P from left to right in fig. 1 and is preferably absorbed by the absorption means 200 at the waveguide end 50 a.

The wave guide 50 is locally dithered or otherwise set in vibration by a rail vehicle 110 traveling on the rail segment 100; this is illustrated in fig. 1 by the arrow labeled Ms. Due to the vibration or vibration of the wave guide 50, backscattering of electromagnetic radiation occurs locally in the region of the rail vehicle 110. The backscattered radiation has a backscatter pattern that characterizes the chatter caused by the rail vehicle 110 and introduced into the waveguide 50.

The backscattered radiation is transmitted counter to the direction of travel P of the rail vehicle in the direction of the coupling device 40 and the detection device 30 and is detected there by the detection device 30. The detection device 30 is designed such that it measures the intensity of the backscattered radiation and transmits corresponding measurement signals to the processing device 60. The intensity of the backscattered radiation is marked ir (t) in fig. 1.

The processing means 60 analyze the processed backscattered radiation ir (t) and the backscatter pattern contained therein. When the time profile of the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern increases, it is determined that it has passed through one of the positioning segments 51 to 53 and a position signal So is generated. This is further illustrated in fig. 2 to 4.

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary backscatter pattern Rm1, which backscatter pattern Rm1 emerges in the processing device 60 when an electromagnetic pulse is injected into the waveguide 50 from the pulse device 20 at the time t equal to 0. The length of the received backscatter pattern Rm1 is labeled dt1 in fig. 2.

The backscatter pattern Rm1 relates to the position of the rail vehicle according to fig. 1, which is marked with a solid line and is marked with 110.

The rail vehicle 110 now moves further in the direction of the arrow P according to fig. 1 and reaches the position designated 110', whereby the positioning section 51 of the wave guide 50 is brought into mechanical oscillation. But in the region of the spacer 51 the vibrations acting on the waveguide 50 and/or its vibration sensitivity is much larger than in the regions outside the spacers 51-53, resulting in an increase in the amplitude of the backscatter pattern. This is shown in fig. 3.

When the rail vehicle 110 leaves the locating section 51 again and reaches the region between the two locating sections 51 and 52 in fig. 1 (see the rail vehicle position marked 110 "in fig. 1), the amplitude of the backscatter pattern decreases again to the normal value. Correspondingly, the amplitude of the backscatter pattern Rm3 (see fig. 4) is again equal to the original amplitude of the backscatter pattern Rm1 according to fig. 2.

In summary, the processing unit 60 thus determines the position of the rail vehicle 110 on the rail section 100 by means of the amplitudes of the backscatter images Rm1, Rm2 and Rm3, since the positioning positions of the positioning sections 51 to 53 along the rail section 100 are known.

The travel of the rail vehicle can be tracked by counting the position signals So generated from the output side of the processing device 60.

The arrangement of the positioning segments and/or the length of the individual positioning segments preferably forms a position code.

In addition to the positioning of the rail vehicle 110 by means of the positioning sections 51 to 53, the probe device 30 can also be positioned by means of the time intervals between the emission of the electromagnetic pulses Pin into the waveguide 50 and the detection of the respective associated backscatter patterns Rm1, Rm2 and Rm 3.

As can be seen in fig. 2 to 4, the time intervals between the individual electromagnetic excitation pulses Pin and the associated backscatter patterns Rm1, Rm2 and Rm3 increase when the rail vehicle 110 travels on the rail section 100; this is because the operating time of the electromagnetic pulse and the operating time of the electromagnetic backscatter pattern in the waveguide 50 increase with increasing distance of the rail vehicle 110 from the pulse device 20 or the detection device 30.

The processing device 60 thus determines the distance by means of the time intervals T1, T2 and T3 and thus the position of the rail vehicle 110 and generates a distance signal Se which forms an additional locating signal. In fig. 1, the distance Ls of the rail vehicle 110' can be calculated, for example, in such a way that:

Ls＝1/2*T2/V

where V is equal to the velocity of the pulse within the waveguide 50. The time interval T2 may be obtained from the measurements of fig. 3. The factor 1/2 takes into account that a ray must pass through the corresponding waveguide section twice, i.e., once in the go direction and once in the return direction. The speed V is for example equal to:

V＝c0/n

where c0 is the speed of light and n is the index of refraction within waveguide 50.

The probe device 30 thus additionally determines the position of the rail vehicle 110 by means of the time intervals T1, T2 and T3 between the emission of the pulses Pin and the reception of the corresponding backscatter patterns Rm1, Rm2 and Rm 3.

It is particularly advantageous if the processing device 60 detects the plausibility when the rail vehicle 110 is located in the region of one of the locating sections 51 to 53 and generates a corresponding position signal So.

This plausibility check can be carried out, for example, in such a way that, when one of the locating segments 51 to 53 is detected and the position signal So is generated, the processing device 60 calculates the time interval between the generation of the pulse and the generation of the backscatter pattern (see time interval T3 according to fig. 3) and determines the distance Ls of the rail vehicle 110. Subsequently, the processing device 60 may detect whether the distance signal Se coincides with the generated position signal So.

The processing means 60 generate an error signal F, for example, when the difference between the position Ls provided by the distance signal Se and the known position of the identified positioning segment 51 exceeds a predetermined threshold. The reliability detection is correspondingly applied to other positioning sections.

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment of a positioning device 10 according to the invention, in which a waveguide 50 has a plurality of positioning sections 51 to 55, which are arranged in such a way that they form a position code. The position of the rail vehicle 110 on the rail section 100 can be determined by this position coding without the need to monitor and count the number of entries into the locating section.

For overview reasons, the position code formed by the arrangement of the positioning segments 51 to 55 is represented by only a few positioning segments; of course, if a large number of positioning segments are used, the position coding can be optimized in terms of accuracy and processability.

The position coding formed by the positional arrangement of the positioning segments can be realized, for example, in that a binary coding pattern is formed by the positioning segments.

Fig. 6 shows an embodiment of the positioning device 10, wherein the wave guide 50 is equipped with positioning segments 51-55, in which the vibrations caused by passing rail vehicles acting on the wave guide 50 are smaller than the areas outside the positioning segments 51-55. The vibration in the positioning sections 51 to 55 is damped, for example, because the waveguide 50 is completely or at least substantially mechanically decoupled in this section from the rails of the track section 100 by one or more damping elements 116, each forming a vibration damping device. In addition or alternatively, waveguide materials which are less sensitive to vibrations than waveguide materials outside the positioning sections 51 to 55 can also be used in the positioning sections 51 to 55.

When the rail vehicle 110 moves in the direction of arrow P of fig. 6, the positioning section 51 of the waveguide 50 is brought into mechanical vibration. However, in the region of the spacer 51, the vibrations acting on the waveguide 50 and/or its sensitivity to vibrations are substantially smaller than in regions outside the spacer 51-55, resulting in a reduction of the amplitude of the backscatter pattern. This is shown in fig. 8.

When the rail vehicle 110 leaves the locating section 51 again and reaches the region between the two locating sections 51 and 52 (see the rail vehicle position marked 110 in fig. 6), the amplitude of the backscatter pattern rises again to the normal value. Correspondingly, the amplitude of the backscatter pattern Rm3 (see fig. 9) is again equal to the original amplitude of the backscatter pattern Rm1 according to fig. 7.

Fig. 10 shows an embodiment of the locating device 10 in which the reflection of a disturbance site 117 mounted in the waveguide and whose position is known is measured and an additional locating signal ZOS is generated when the reception of the backscatter pattern coincides with the reflection generated by such a disturbance site.

Fig. 11 shows an embodiment of the connection 115, wherein a steel rail 400 of the track segment 100 is locally mechanically coupled to the waveguide 50. The connector 115 may be, for example, a rod, pin, or tube. The connectors are guided perpendicular to the rails 400 through the track bed 410 to the wave guide 50.

While the details of the present invention have been shown and described in detail in the preferred embodiments, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the disclosed embodiments, and other variations may be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (15)

1. Method for positioning a rail vehicle (110) along a rail section (100), along which rail section (100) a wave guide (50) is arranged, wherein, in the implementation of the method, electromagnetic pulses (Pin) are fed into the wave guide (50) in time succession, and for each emitted pulse at least one backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) produced by vehicle-induced backscatter of the electromagnetic pulses is received and evaluated separately,

-the wave guide (50) has at least one locating section (51-55) along the track section (100), in which locating section (51-55) the vibration sensitivity of the wave guide (50) and/or the vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are larger or smaller than the area outside the locating section (51-55),

-analyzing the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) and

-generating a position signal (So) when a time profile of the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) increases or decreases.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that a rail vehicle (110) travelling on a rail section (100) is positioned, wherein vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are increased in the positioning section (51-55) by means of local mechanical coupling between the wave guide (50) and the rail section (100) or reduced by means of vibration-damping means.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the vibration sensitivity of the waveguide (50) is increased or decreased in the positioning section (51-55) by using a waveguide material in the positioning section (51-55) having a higher or lower vibration sensitivity than the two waveguide sections before and after the positioning section (51-55).

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that an additional locating signal (ZOS) is additionally generated which provides the position (Ls) of the rail vehicle (110).

5. The method of claim 4,

-measuring the reflection of a disturbance site (117) mounted within the waveguide and whose position is known, and

-generating said additional localization signal (ZOS) when the reception of a backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) and the reflection by such a disturbing location (117) occur simultaneously in time.

6. The method of claim 4,

-measuring the time interval (T1, T2, T3) between the input of an electromagnetic pulse into the waveguide (50) and the detection of the respective associated backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3), and

-generating a distance signal (Se) providing a position (Ls) of the rail vehicle (110) as the additional positioning signal (ZOS) in dependence on the time interval (T1, T2, T3).

7. Method according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that an error signal (F) is generated when the distance between the position of the vehicle (110) provided by the additional locating signal (ZOS) and the position of the known locating section (51-55) exceeds a preset threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2,

-the wave guide (50) has a plurality of positioning segments (51-55) along the track segment (100), within which positioning segments (51-55) the vibration sensitivity of the wave guide (50) and/or the vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are larger or smaller than two wave guide segments before and after the respective positioning segment (51-55), and

-generating a position signal (So) when the time profile of the amplitude of the received backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) increases or decreases, respectively.

9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that, when the rail vehicle (110) enters the rail segment (100), the position signals (So) which continue to appear after the first generation of the position signals (So) are counted and the locating information is formed by the corresponding counter reading.

10. The method of claim 8,

-the arrangement of the positioning segments (51-55) and/or the respective lengths of the positioning segments (51-55) constitute a position code, and

-identifying the position code during processing of the time characteristic curve of the backscatter image (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3), and distinguishing the localization segments (51-55) by means of the position code.

11. A positioning device for positioning a rail vehicle (110) along a rail section (100) has

-a wave guide (50) running along the track segment (100),

-pulse generating means (20) for generating and inputting electromagnetic pulses (Pin) into said waveguide (50) in time succession,

-detecting means (30) for detecting an electromagnetic backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3) produced by backscatter induced by the vehicle, and

-a processing device (60) for processing the backscatter images (Rm1, Rm2, Rm3),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

-the wave guide (50) has at least one locating section (51-55) along the track section (100), in which locating section (51-55) the vibration sensitivity of the wave guide (50) and/or the vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are larger or smaller than the area outside the locating section (51-55), and

-designing the processing device (60) such that the positioning of the rail vehicle (110) is carried out at least also taking into account the amplitude of the backscatter pattern (Rm1, Rm2, Rm 3).

12. The positioning device of claim 11,

-the wave guide (50) is arranged beside a track section (100), and

-the vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are increased within the positioning section (51-55) by means of local mechanical coupling between the wave guide (50) and the track section (100), or reduced by means of vibration attenuation means.

13. The positioning device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the wave guide (50) has a wave guide material within the positioning section (51-55) with a higher or lower vibration sensitivity than the two wave guide sections in front of and behind the positioning section (51-55).

14. The positioning device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the wave guide (50) has a plurality of positioning segments (51-55) along the track segment (100), within which positioning segments (51-55) the vibration sensitivity of the wave guide (50) and/or the vibrations acting on the wave guide (50) are larger or smaller than the two wave guide segments in front of and behind the respective positioning segment (51-55).

15. The positioning device according to claim 14, characterized in that the arrangement of the positioning segments (51-55) and/or the respective lengths of the positioning segments (51-55) constitute a position code.