Patent Issued for Anti-Collision Device And System For Use With A Rail Car (USPTO 10,272,932)

2019 MAY 15 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Information Technology Business Daily -- Railserve Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia, United States) has been issued patent number 10,272,932, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Roberts, John (Chicago, IL); Benjamin, Timothy J. (Newnan, GA); Bartek, Peter M. (Ledgewood, NJ).

This patent was filed on April 20, 2016 and was published online on May 13, 2019.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “A rail yard, railway yard or railroad yard is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic. Railroad cars are moved around by specially designed yard switchers, a type of locomotive. Cars in a railroad yard may be sorted by numerous categories, including Railroad Company, loaded or unloaded, destination, car type, or whether they need repairs. Railroad yards are normally built where there is a need to store cars while they are not being loaded or unloaded, or are waiting to be assembled into trains. Large yards may have a tower to control operations.

“Many railway yards are located at strategic points on a main line. Main line yards are often composed of an Up yard and a Down yard, linked to the associated railroad direction. There are different types of yards, and different parts within a yard, depending on how they are built.

“In all railway yards, a very dangerous action is performed when bringing railcars together and or apart. This action may be called a Shove Move which is the process of pushing a cut of cars or pushing a train from the rear and then coupling the cars together. Coupling utilizes a device located at both ends of all cars in a standard location to provide a means for connecting one railcar to another. A switching crew uses the locomotive to couple to and uncouple from railcars. The switching crew must communicate by radio, as the engineer in the cab of the locomotive usually cannot see where a long cut of cars is going, and relies on the crew member on the ground guiding them into position.

“In these situations, there is always an opportunity for human error whenever a significant amount of verbal communication is required, and this will sometimes result in damage to person or property. The danger is that the locomotive engineer has no idea when the cars are being shoved or coupled without the assistance of ground personnel. Because of the danger of the shove and coupling move, the locomotive engineer also has no idea of the impact speed and the distance of the railcar. If the impact speed or distance is improperly determined by the locomotive engineer or ground personnel, the impact and coupling can cause damage to thousands of freight cars and millions of dollars of damage to couplers. In several cases, these accidents can cause injuries and even death to employees.

“An objective standard to determine whether the railcars are moved safely is a desirable check to make sure the crew will not be impacting anything other than the next railcar targeted for coupling. A need exists for having equipment that will prevent the crew from continuing a move at an unsafe speed or direction and would prevent damage to person or property.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, an anti-collision system for use with a railcar is disclosed. The anti-collision system may include an object detector device attached to a railcar or a locomotive a train display device electrically connected to the object detector device. The object detector device may detect objects in a path of the railcar and the locomotive. The object detector device may include a remote sensor, a radio, and a microprocessor programmed to include data-logging to record and log all data from the anti-collision system. The train display device may include a screen and a horn. The screen may display one or more of a separation distances between the railcar and the locomotive, objects, and a speed of the railcar or locomotive. The horn may be activated when the object detector device detects objects in the path of the railcar and the locomotive. The radio may transmit train information between the object detector device and the train display device. The remote sensor may include an object-detection system to determine one or more of the following: a range, an altitude, a direction, or a speed of objects.

“In another embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, method of an anti-collision system is disclosed. The method may include one or more of the steps of: 1) attaching an object detector device to a locomotive or a railcar, the object detector device including a remote sensor, a radio, and a microprocessor programmed to include data-logging to record and log all data from the anti-collision system; 2) emplacing a train display device in a cab of the locomotive, the train display device including an antenna for communication with the object detector device; 3) detecting, from the remote sensor of the object detector device, movements of the locomotive through a rail yard to include a speed of the locomotive and objects in a path of the locomotive to ensure there is safe movement of the locomotive; 4) if actions are proper and no object are detected as unsafe, no warnings will occur; 5) if actions are not proper and an unsafe movement begins to occur, detecting, from the remote sensor and the object detector device, the unsafe movement, and communicating to the train display device; 6) sending, by the train display device, a warning to a locomotive operator; and if the locomotive operator does nothing to stop the unsafe movement, sending, by the train display device, a signal to activate an emergency action system which will immediately stop the locomotive.

“In yet another embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, an anti-collision system for use with a railcar or a locomotive is disclosed. The anti-collision system may include an object detector device attached to a railcar or a locomotive, a train display device electrically connected to the object detector device, and an emergency action device which enables a crew member to stop the railcar or locomotive without communication to a locomotive operator when a hazard is recognized. The object detector device may detect objects in a path of the railcar and the locomotive. The object detector device may include a remote sensor, a radio, and a microprocessor programmed to include data-logging to record and log all data from the anti-collision system. The train display device may include a screen and a horn. The screen may display one or more of a separation distances between the railcar and the locomotive, objects, and a speed of the railcar or locomotive. The horn may be activated when the object detector device detects objects in the path of the railcar and the locomotive. The emergency action device may include a transmitter with an emergency stop button and a locomotive transceiver located within a cabin of the locomotive. The locomotive transceiver may receive a signal sent from the transmitter and may further send an emergency stop signal to a set of brakes on the locomotive to stop. The radio may transmit train information between the object detector device and the train display device. The remote sensor may include an object-detection system to determine one or more of the following: a range, an altitude, a direction, or a speed of objects.

“The details of these and other embodiments of the present invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the descriptions below. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and the drawings.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“We claim:

“1. An anti-collision system for use with a railcar, the system comprising: an object detector device attached to a railcar or a locomotive that detects objects in a path of the railcar and the locomotive, the object detector device including a remote sensor, a radio, and a microprocessor programmed to include data-logging to record and log all data from the anti-collision system; a reflector attached to a top of a derail, wherein the object detector device detects if the derail is in an open position or a closed position by sensing the reflector; and a train display device electrically connected to the object detector device, the train display device including a screen and a horn, wherein the screen displays one or more of a plurality of separation distances between the railcar and the locomotive, locations of objects, and a speed of the railcar or the locomotive, and wherein the horn is activated when the object detector device detects objects in the path of the railcar and the locomotive; wherein the radio transmits train information between the object detector device and the train display device, wherein the remote sensor includes an object-detection system to determine one or more of the following: a range, an altitude, a direction, or a speed of objects.

“2. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the object detector device includes various magnets to magnetically attach the object detector device to the locomotive or the railcar.

“3. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the object detector device includes a mechanical coupling system to attach the object detector device to the locomotive or the railcar.

“4. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the train information includes speed, direction, distance, and a type of object.

“5. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the remote sensor includes radar that uses radio waves and transmits pulses of radio waves or microwaves that bounce off any object in the path.

“6. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the remote sensor measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing a reflected light from the laser.

“7. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the object detector device provides a distinction between objects in sideswipe avoidance, tangent track situations, derails, and couplings.

“8. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the train display device includes multiple connections to include a power connector and a data connection.

“9. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the horn begins beeping at a first distance defined as a separation distance between the railcar or the locomotive and an object and then the horn speeds up beeping until a solid tone at a second distance smaller than the first distance.

“10. The anti-collision system of claim 1, wherein the train display device further includes a horn silence button that silences the horn when it is pressed.

“11. The anti-collision system of claim 1, further including an automatic stop that automatically stops the locomotive if the anti-collision system detects an imminent danger and proper action is not taken manually.

“12. An anti-collision system for use with a railcar or a locomotive, the system comprising: an object detector device attached to a railcar or a locomotive that detects objects in a path of the railcar and the locomotive, the object detector device including a remote sensor, a radio, and a microprocessor programmed to include data-logging to record and log all data from the anti-collision system; a reflector attached to a top of a derail, wherein the object detector device detects if the derail is in an open position or a closed position by sensing the reflector; a train display device electrically connected to the object detector device, the train display device including a screen and a horn, wherein the screen displays one or more of a plurality of separation distances between the railcar and the locomotive, locations of objects, and a speed of the railcar or the locomotive, and wherein the horn is activated when the object detector device detects objects in the path of the railcar and the locomotive; and an emergency action device which enables a crew member to stop the railcar or locomotive without communication to a locomotive operator when a hazard is recognized, the emergency action device including a transmitter with an emergency stop button and a locomotive transceiver located within a cabin of the locomotive, wherein the locomotive transceiver receives a signal sent from the transmitter and further sends an emergency stop signal to a set of brakes on the locomotive to stop; wherein the radio transmits train information between the object detector device and the train display device, wherein the remote sensor includes an object-detection system to determine one or more of the following: a range, an altitude, a direction, or a speed of objects.

“13. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the emergency stop signal is sent to a relay valve causing air to be released from a brake pipe, thereby immediately applying the set of brakes and bringing the train to an immediate stop.

“14. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the transmitter is attached to a reflective safety vest.

“15. The anti-collision system of claim 13, wherein the emergency action device is reset only when the crew member pushes the emergency stop button which sends a reset signal closing the relay valve and releasing the set of brakes, indicating that the hazard has been resolved.

“16. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the object detector device includes various magnets to magnetically attach the object detector device to the locomotive or the railcar.

“17. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the object detector device includes a mechanical coupling system to attach the object detector device to the locomotive or the railcar.

“18. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the train information includes speed, direction, distance, and a type of object.

“19. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the remote sensor includes radar that uses radio waves and transmits pulses of radio waves or microwaves that bounce off any object in the path.

“20. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the remote sensor measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing a reflected light from the laser.

“21. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the object detector device provides a distinction between objects in sideswipe avoidance, tangent track situations, derails, and couplings.

“22. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the train display device includes multiple connections to include a power connector and a data connection.

“23. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the horn begins beeping at a first distance defined as a separation distance between the railcar or the locomotive and an object and then the horn speeds up beeping until a solid tone at a second distance smaller than the first distance.

“24. The anti-collision system of claim 12, wherein the train display device further includes a horn silence button that silences the horn when it is pressed.

“25. The anti-collision system of claim 12, further including an automatic stop that automatically stops the locomotive if the anti-collision system detects an imminent danger and proper action is not taken manually.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Roberts, John; Benjamin, Timothy J.; Bartek, Peter M. Anti-Collision Device And System For Use With A Rail Car. U.S. Patent Number 10,272,932, filed April 20, 2016, and published online on May 13, 2019. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,272,932.PN.&OS=PN/10,272,932RS=PN/10,272,932

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