The present invention concerns a method and an interlocking track device for managing an interlocking according to claims 1 and 7.
In particular, the present invention relates more generally to the management of train routes at interlocking areas and preventing conflicting train movements.
An interlocking is conventionally an arrangement of switch, lock and signal devices, i.e. a group of track devices, that is located where rail tracks cross, join, separate, and so on. Said devices are interconnected in such a way that their movements succeed each other in a predefined order, thereby preventing opposing or conflicting train movements and establishing a specific route for each train having to pass said interlocking. Said track devices are usually controlled by wayside interlocking control systems which are responsible for handling and managing the devices of the interlocking according to an interlocking logic and train movements while assuming train safety. Thus, the interlocking logic is at the basis of the management of the state of the interlocking, and thus of its devices. The document
Consequently, there is a standing need for developing a simple, cost effective and efficient interlocking control system allowing train routes management.
It is therefore an objective of the present ivention to provide a method and a system for managing an interlocking at an interlocking area in an efficient, flexible, cost effective way, having a simple architecture, and which avoid the above-mentioned problems.
This objective is achieved by an interlocking track device according to claim 7 and a method according to claim 1. In particular, the intelligent control system is able to control and command the interlocking track device so that its status, i.e. lock or release, over time is conformed to a time dependent status comprised in the reservation for the approaching guided vehicle.
The expression "guided vehicle" refers to a vehicle configured for following a guide or a succession of guides which determine at least one route for the guided vehicle. Said guide is for example a rail, or a line on the ground, or specific panels/signals defining a route for the guided vehicle, etc., and said guided vehicle is for example a train, a metro, a bus, a tram, or an automatic guided vehicle. The interlocking track device is a track device configured for establishing a route for an approaching guided vehicle. Typical track devices are switches, lock and signal track devices.
According to the present invention, each track device of an interlocking an interlocking area is able to self-handle the management of its usage for a route for an approaching guided vehicle. In particular, the interlocking track device is able to handle several requests of several approaching guided vehicles at the same time. Therefore the interlocking track device itself is self-sufficient for determining its status (lock or release over time) in function of the received reservations and for handling a request of an approaching guided vehicle.
A reservation according to the invention comprises an identification of the approaching guided vehicle, a temporal starting point T1 and duration D1 for locking the interlocking track device from said temporal starting point T1 for said duration D1 for the approaching guided vehicle. In particular, said reservation comprises data for configuring the route at the interlocking area, and notably determining the status over time, i.e. lock or release, of each interlocking track device at said interlocking area and in function of said route.
Preferentially, the interlocking track device is autonomous in that it has its own intelligence through said intelligent control system for handling requests of approaching guided vehicles. It is for example also capable to communicate with another interlocking track device of said interlocking area for determining if the requested route defined at said interlocking area for the approaching guided vehicle is not conflicting with another route defined at the same interlocking area and requested by another approaching guided vehicle.
Preferentially, the method according to the invention comprises a cancellation of a recorded reservation for a specific approaching guided vehicle, and returning to said specific approaching guided vehicle a high priority message announcing said cancellation. For example, such a cancellation might be done if conflicted routes are detected at an interlocking area by the intelligent control system of the interlocking track device.
Preferentially, the command module of the intelligent control system is able to release the interlocking track device once the approaching guided vehicle passed said interlocking device. In particular, a reception of a message sent by the approaching guided vehicle once it passed the interlocking comprising said interlocking track device, or a verification performed by the interlocking track device that the approaching guided vehicle passed said interlocking, or both the reception and the verification, may activate the release of the interlocking track device by the command module. Therefore, the intelligent control system is capable of commanding the release of the route at the interlocking area once the approaching guided vehicle passed said interlocking, for instance upon reception of said message or upon detection that the guided vehicle passed the interlocking track device.
Preferentially, the communication device of the interlocking track device is wirelessly connectable to an approaching guided vehicle. Indeed, said communication device is in particular able to wirelessly and directly communicate with an onboard communication device of a guided vehicle for directly receiving from said approaching guided vehicle said request for reservation, or for directly sending to the approaching guided vehicle a message configured for confirming or rejecting the request, or for directly sending to the approaching vehicle a high priority message for cancelling a reservation. Preferentially, temporally successive requests are treated by the interlocking track device in their temporal order of succession, i.e. in their order of reception at the wireless communication device, and/or according to a priority ranking. In particular, simultaneous requests are treated according to a priority ranking, and if they have a same rank of priority, according to a position of the approaching guided vehicle (3) compared to the position of the interlocking area (1), wherein the position refers to a geographic location.
Finally, the present invention is also related to a system for managing a route for a guided vehicle approaching an interlocking area, wherein the system comprises:
The present invention will be better understood through the following drawing:
According to the present invention, if another guided vehicle requests the usage of the interlocking track device 11, 12, said interlocking track device 11, 12 will reject its request if there is some overlap in the time frame of the reservation recorded in its memory, or otherwise, will add the reservation to its memory. Finally, once the guided vehicle passed the interlocking track device 11, 12, said interlocking track device 11, 12 releases its status from locked to released, being thus ready for establishing a new route for a new approaching guided vehicle.
To summarize, the method and the interlocking track device according to the present invention have the following advantages:
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