Patent Application
20250153751
The invention relates to rail transit signal systems, in particular to a autonomous sensing system for train. autonomous sensing system for train
Rail transit safety concerns the life and property safety of participants and is a major focus in the rail transit industry. It is found that, from statistics of rail transit faults over several years, that obstacle invasions in rail operation regions is a main cause of accidents. Obstacles include various foreign objects that should not appear in the rail operation regions, such as passers-by, automobiles, trains in front, various tools and devices left after construction, civil defense doors, drill bits, collapsed trackside facilities, trees, landslides and mudslides. At present, manual observation and peripheral systems are used together to protect against these obstacles, and one of the important roles of train drivers during driving is to determine driving safety according to the surrounding and brake trains when necessary. In a driverless mode, an enclosed environment or an exclusive right of way is adopted to prevent obstacles from appearing in rail regions. In addition, some other measures such as slope protection and weather prediction are adopted for preventative protection.
All these protection measures are applied to trains from the outside, and the train itself has no obstacle detection ability. For example, on an unattended train operation line, a signal system for controlling train operation determines the operation state of a train according to the relative position of the train and the state of the line. In a case where an obstacle appears in the rail operation region, the signal system cannot detect the obstacle, so protection measures will not be taken, leading to a train operation accident, for example, the train collides with a civil defense door, or a drill bit pierces through the tunnel and scratches the train. If the train can be endowed with an autonomous obstacle perception ability to autonomously perceive obstacles and brake, the accident rate of the train will be greatly reduced, improving train operation safety.
Traditional train obstacle perception techniques mainly include contact obstacle perception systems and non-contact obstacle perception systems. The contact obstacle perception systems, such as various foreign object lever feelers, are installed in front of train wheels and will be displaced or deformed when touching an obstacle, related sensors acquire and monitor the displacement or deformation, a processing host determines and perceives the obstacle according to data of the sensors and informs a train control system, and then the train control system controls the train to decelerate to stop. The non-contact obstacle perception systems, such as various derail detection systems, detect an accident by means of various strenuous vibrations generated in case of a derail, the displacement of sensors with respect to the rail, and changes of other parameters and then control the train to decelerate to stop. Such traditional perception techniques can detect an accident that has occurred and cannot predict an accident. In addition, for various manned trains, the train operation safety is ensured by visual observation of drivers, the drivers have to stay focused in the whole train operation process and easily get tired due to the high labor intensity, and the response time and concentration ability of the drivers are easily disturbed by various factors, leading to negligence.
The advance in technology in recent years has led to the emergence of active obstacle detection techniques based on video processing, and particularly, the development of the artificial intelligence technology and the improvement of the related operational capacity make machine learning-based obstacle recognition techniques become possible. In the rail transit field, obstacles are recognized generally by recognizing a rail operation region first, then recognizing various objects, considering intersections of the rail operation region and the objects as obstacles, and outputting position information. The maturation of the laser radar technology and the millimeter-wave radar technology improves the accuracy of 3D distance measurement and speed measurement, obstacle information added with distance information further improves the practicability of the information, and different measures can be taken according to the distance information. Upon inquiry, patents related to obstacle detection in the rail transit field in recent years center on video cameras which are used together with millimeter-wave radar, laser radar or binocular vision imaging, and mainly discuss the improvement and combination of various detection methods, such as obstacle detection methods based on an on-board system, a trackside auxiliary detection system proposed by some manufacturers, as well as systems formed by the on-board systems, the trackside auxiliary detection system and a server. Most of these patents lay emphasis on obstacle detection algorithms or the composition of systems, and rarely describe operations to be performed after obstacles are detected. Upon patent search, Chinese Patent Publication No.CN114572279A provides an intelligent protection system for remote driving of rail transit, which is used, when a train control signal system is degraded or disabled, as a back-up system to remotely authorizes train movement on the ground, and once an obstacle detection system, as safety protection, detects an obstacle, the train will be stopped instantly. Moreover, Chinese Patents Publication No.CN113954911A and Publication No.CN110027592A add a train control system for obstacle detection and use the obstacle detection technique and the trackside detection technique to replace on-board and trackside devices of an existing train control signal system; however, these patents have great technical difficulties, thus being difficult to implement.
Therefore, how to realize an autonomous perception ability of trains and trigger a series of protection linkages by means of sensors and software becomes an issue to be addressed.
The objective of the invention is to overcome the abovementioned defects in the prior art by providing a autonomous sensing system for train.
The objective of the invention can be fulfilled by the following technical solution:
In a first aspect, the invention provides a autonomous sensing system for train, comprising:
an on-board subsystem installed on a train in operation and used for acquiring rail operation region information and obstacle information in front by means of sensors to recognize an obstacle in a rail operation region;
As a preferred technical solution, the autonomous sensing system for train further comprises a handheld mobile terminal subsystem which is carried and operated by a train attendant, and after being bound to the on-board subsystem, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem communicates with the on-board subsystem to check the operating state of the on-board subsystem, displays related alarm information and confirms the obstacle.
As a preferred technical solution, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem is suitable for a driverless train, and the train attendant binds a handheld mobile terminal of an on-board host computer of the train to the handheld mobile terminal subsystem to check an operating state and alarm information of the autonomous sensing system for train and checks detailed alarm information and handling suggestions by means of the handheld mobile terminal if there is an obstacle alarm when the attendant is on duty.
As a preferred technical solution, the key regions comprise curve regions, ends of ramps, entrances and exits of tunnels, overpasses, platform regions and terminal regions.
As a preferred technical solution, the on-board subsystem communicates with the trackside subsystem through a network to obtain obstacle information within a detection range of the trackside subsystem, such that a detection range and distance of the on-board subsystem are extended.
As a preferred technical solution, multiple trackside subsystems are arranged in a region with a series of curves, and the on-board subsystem synchronously communicates with the multiple trackside subsystems to extended the detection distance.
As the preferred technical solution, the on-board subsystem of multiple trains obtains each other's position and speed through the central server, and the trains judge the probability of collision according to the relative position of each other to maintain a safe running interval.
As a preferred technical solution, multiple connected trackside subsystems communicate with each other to exchange rail operation region detection information to obtain a long detection distance by information fusion and send the long detection distance to the on-board subsystem.
As a preferred technical solution, the dispatching terminal subsystem uniformly checks the obstacle alarm information of each train in the operation control center, assigns personnel to clear the obstacle and resume the train running.
As a preferred technical solution, the dispatching terminal subsystem receives various abnormal obstacle alarm information reported by the trackside subsystem. At the same time, the dispatching terminal subsystem can set filtering conditions according to the time, so as to avoid false alarm caused by maintenance workers entering the railway track during a specific construction reservation period. (Abnormal obstacles are all kinds of objects that invade the range of the railway track, other than the normal passage of trains.)
As a preferred technical solution, the center server subsystem receives and records various alarms and operation logs of other subsystems, which actively initiate network connection to the center server subsystem and report device and system self-inspection states after being powered on to boot up, the on-board subsystem needs to report its position in real time, and the center server subsystem is able to forward various messages, such that a protection linkage mechanism between multiple subsystems is formed.
As a preferred technical solution, the on-board subsystem outputs the obstacle information by means of a signal system interface L1, a train interface L2 or a man-machine interface L3 according to configuration;
As a preferred technical solution, the specific configuration is as follows:
As a preferred technical solution, when the CBTC system fails, unable to control the train due to a fault, it turns to manual driving mode, at this moment, the train is driven by a driver, the driver drives the train to pass through the signal light or stops the train in front of the signal light according to a state indication of the signal; in this case, a signal indicating “no-passing” is also considered as an “obstacle”, the on-board subsystem recognizes the color of the signal light, and when recognizing that the color of the signal light is red, which indicates “no-passing”, the on-board subsystem outputs special obstacle information by means of L3 to remind the driver not to drive across the red light.
As a preferred technical solution, the autonomous sensing system for train adopts a two-out-of-two safety mechanism to satisfy requirements of SIL4.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following advantages:
1. The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention has most outstanding characteristic of endowing trains with the perception ability, such that the trains can find obstacles actively and take measures according to the condition of the obstacles; the trains can be braked before collision to avoid collision or reduce the extent of injuries caused by collision, thus reducing losses.
2. The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention can work together with an unattended train operation signal system to provide safer and more reliable unmanned operation services; the safety speed and position information of trains can be obtained by the signal system, thus improving the rail operation region detection capacity and the obstacle detection capacity of the on-board subsystem; the braking distance and the level of braking of trains can be more reasonably determined by means of the ATO function of the signal system, thus improving the train operation comfort.
3. The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention can flexibly configure the obstacle information output mode, thus being suitable for manned and unmanned operation of urban mass transit, trams, local railways and other rail transit industries.
4. The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention enhances the protection linkage between multiple subsystems and comprehensively combines the on-board subsystem, the trackside subsystem, the dispatch center subsystem, and the mobile handheld terminal subsystem to form a safety protection system with a high degree of automation, thus endowing trains with the ability to detect the obstacle intruded into the railway boundary and improving train operation based on instructions of the train control system into train operation based on autonomous perception.
The technical solutions of the embodiments of the invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the invention. Obviously, the embodiments in the following description are merely illustrative ones, and are not all possible ones of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those ordinarily skilled in the art according to the following ones without creative labor should also fall within the protection scope of the invention.
The invention provides a autonomous sensing system for train, which explains in detailed, by a systematic description, how a train control system and a back-up mode act when an obstacle detection system finds an obstacle. Compared with existing patents, the “autonomous sensing system for train” is designed to co-exist and cooperatively work with a signal system, and is an intelligent improvement of the existing signal system. By adopting such an operating mode, the existing train control signal system will be slightly changed, and both the advantages of the autonomous sensing system for train and the advantages of the signal system can be brought into full play. For example, speed detection and positioning of the signal system are highly safe and reliable, and the obstacle detection system can be arranged flexibly, thus being suitable for different application scenarios and adaptable to different signal system devices. The autonomous sensing system for train can be used together with an unmanned train control system, a manned train control system or a traditional train control system, and can also be used independently without the train control system.
The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention can endow trains with the autonomous perception ability, can detect an obstacle from a distance in a non-contact manner before collision, and can trigger braking of a train by means of a train control interface, thus preventing collision or reduce the extent of injuries caused by collision. For an unmanned train, the autonomous sensing system for train can give a response instantly when an obstacle is detected. For a manned train, the autonomous sensing system for train can give an alarm to remind a driver or trigger train braking, improve the observation ability of the driver, reducing the labor intensity, and avoid accidents caused by negligence when the driver is tired.
In addition, in a case where the signal system is cut off due to a fault, the autonomous sensing system for train can work independently to recognize the state of a train and route signal in front and give an alarm or stop the train to assist the driver in driving, thus improving the operation efficiency and safety.
As shown in
The functions of the subsystems are as follows:
(1) The on-board subsystem is installed on a train in operation and acquires rail operation region information and obstacle information in front by means of sensors to recognize an obstacle in a rail operation region.
(2) The trackside subsystem is installed beside a track and used for making up limitations in detection distance of the sensors of the on-board subsystem and enhancing detection in key regions out of sight, such as curve regions, ends of ramps, entrances and exits of tunnels, overpasses, platform regions, terminal regions and other regions needing to be emphatically detected, to improve the obstacle detection capacity.
(3) The handheld mobile terminal subsystem is carried and operated by a train attendant, and after being bound to the on-board subsystem, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem communicates with the on-board subsystem to check the operating state of the on-board subsystem, displays related alarm information and confirms the obstacle.
(4) The center server subsystem is generally installed at a dispatch center/operation control center, communicates with the on-board subsystem, the trackside subsystem, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem and the dispatch terminal subsystem to acquire operating states and warning information of the on-board subsystem, the trackside subsystem, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem and the dispatch terminal subsystem, and performs combinational logic processing based on global state data.
(5) The dispatch terminal subsystem is generally installed at the dispatch center/operation control center, communicates with a center server to acquire and display operating states of lineside subsystems and devices, displays the position of the train and the installation position of the trackside subsystem, checks alarm information of the subsystems and manages the devices of the subsystems.
The interaction process of the subsystems is as follows:
(1) The on-board subsystem communicates with the trackside subsystem through a network to obtain obstacle information within the detection range of the trackside subsystem, such that the detection range and distance of the on-board subsystem are extended, and detection beyond visual range is realized. Multiple trackside subsystems may be arranged in a region with a series of curves, and the on-board subsystem synchronously communicates with the multiple trackside systems to extend the detection distance.
(2) The on-board subsystems of multiple trains can obtain positions and speeds of the trains by means of the center server, and the trains can determine a probability of collision according to their relative positions and keep a safe operation distance therebetween.
(3) Multiple connected trackside subsystems can communicate with each other to exchange rail operation region detection information to obtain a long detection distance by information fusion and send the long detection distance to the on-board subsystem, thus simplifying the communication function of the on-board subsystem.
(4) The handheld mobile terminal subsystem is mainly applied to a driverless train, which eliminates a driver at a fixed seat and is not provided with a display screen specifical for the autonomous sensing system for train. The train attendant can bind a handheld mobile terminal of an on-board host computer of the train to the handheld mobile terminal subsystem to check the operating state and alarm information of the autonomous sensing system for train and check detailed alarm information and handling suggestions by means of the handheld mobile terminal if there is an obstacle alarm when the attendant is on duty. In this way, the attendant can walk around in the train and does not need to stay at the front end of the train all the time.
(5) The dispatch terminal subsystem can check, at the operation control center, obstacle alarm information of all trains, assign personnel to remove the obstacle, and then resume train operation. In addition, the dispatch terminal subsystem can receive various abnormal obstacles reported by the trackside subsystem, wherein the abnormal obstacles are various obstacle invasions other than normal trains, such as foreign objects of overhead lines, drill bits which pierce through a tunnel and detected by a trackside monitoring device and passers-by entering the rail operation region. The dispatch terminal subsystem can set filter alarms by time to avoid false alarms given by construction personnel in a traffic break time.
(6) The center server subsystem can receive and record various alarms and operation records of the other subsystems, such as the on-board subsystem, the trackside subsystem, the handheld mobile terminal subsystem and the dispatch terminal subsystem, for later analysis and monthly statistics. After being powered on to boot up, the other subsystems actively initiate network connection to the center server subsystem and report device and system self-inspection states to the center server subsystem, and the on-board subsystem needs to report its position in real time. The center server subsystem can forward various messages, such that a protection linkage mechanism between multiple subsystems is formed.
When detecting an obstacle, the autonomous sensing system for train performs the following process:
The on-board subsystem outputs the obstacle information by means of a signal system interface L1, a train interface L2 or a man-machine interface L3 according to configuration. The obstacle information is output by means of L1, L2 and L3, or by two of L1, L2 and L3, or by one of L1, L2 and L3, and the specific configuration depends on interface configuration of the train and customer requirements.
(1) In a case where a signal system operates normally, the on-board subsystem can send the obstacle information to the signal system by means of the signal system interface L1, and the on-board signal system determines, according to the position of the obstacle and the position of an end of current movement authority, whether braking is needed and a level of braking. By adopting the signal system interface L1, the obstacle information can be processed more flexibly, disturbance to train operation is reduced, and the train operation comfort is improved.
(2) In a case where the signal system interface L1 is cut off or disabled, the on-board subsystem can generate an emergency braking instruction according to the obstacle information and output the emergency braking instruction by means of the train interface L2 to trigger emergency braking of the train to decelerate the train until the train stops
(3) In a case where the signal system interface L1 and the train interface L2 are both disabled, the on-board subsystem can output a warning prompt by means of the man-machine interface L3 to remind a driver and a dispatcher on duty to pay attention to the obstacle in front. The human-machine interface may be a screen, an audible and visual alarm, a handheld mobile terminal, or the like.
For a train control system in a CBTC mode, a signal light is normally off. In a case where the train control system in the CBTC mode is unable to control the train due to a fault, a signal light works, at this moment, the train is driven by a driver, the driver drives the train to pass through the signal light or stops the train in front of the signal light according to a state indication of the signal. In this case, a signal indicating “no-passing” is also considered as an “obstacle”, the on-board subsystem recognizes a color light of the signal, and when recognizing that the color of the signal light is red, which indicates “no-passing”, the on-board subsystem outputs special obstacle information by means of L3 to remind the driver not to drive across the red light.
Established based on high safety, the autonomous sensing system for train adopts a two-out-of-two safety mechanism to satisfy requirements of SIL4, thus ensuring train operation safety.
The on-board subsystem outputs obstacle information by means of the signal system interface L1, and
The autonomous sensing system for train provided by the invention comprises five subsystems, but not all the subsystems need to be installed and configured. In actual application, the subsystems can be flexibly configured according to the field condition and customer requirements. One comprehensive embodiment and one simple embodiment are described below.
In one specific embodiment of the invention as described below, the autonomous sensing system for train is configured on a CBTC-based unattended train operation line, and the following devices need to be added:
1. The on-board subsystem is installed on each train to perceive obstacles in the rail operation region in front, the on-board subsystem automatically selects a detector in the forward direction as an obstacle detection input according to the activated head of the train, and a detector at the tail of the train does not work. The on-board subsystem sends obstacle information to an on-board train control system by means of the signal system interface, and the train control system determines whether the train needs to be braked and a braking method and level.
2. The trackside subsystem is installed at a sharp turn of the line and is connected to a private network to 24 hours continuously monitor a section where the trackside subsystem is located. When the train passes through this section, the trackside subsystem can recognize the train according to obstacle features, at this moment this section is in an occupied state; when the train completely runs out of this section, this section is in a vacant state. In the vacant state, if a foreign object is detected, this section will be marked as the occupied state, and alarm information is sent to a server and displayed on a dispatch terminal. A dispatcher on duty can check videos or pictures of the obstacle as prompted and confirm the obstacle information; and the obstacle will be removed according to a foreign object removal process if necessary. Each train that will pass through this section will communicate with the trackside subsystem to check the state of this section; if this section is vacant, the train can normally pass through this section; if this section is occupied, the train will modify the end of movement authority (MA) according to the position of the obstacle, and the end of MA should be in front of the obstacle to ensure that the train can stop in front of the obstacle. The train will not be allowed to pass through this section until the obstacle is removed.
3. The server and the dispatch terminal subsystem are installed at an operation control center to provide large-screen full-section display to monitor the state of trains and trackside devices on the whole line and process warning information in time if any, and can also actively communicate with a specified train or the trackside subsystem to obtain field condition data and videos for manual confirmation of the condition of the obstacle on the scene.
4. Optionally, an attendant may be dispatched onto some trains for preventative attendance. The attendant carries a portable handheld mobile terminal to obtain the operating state of the on-board subsystem after binding the portable handheld mobile terminal to an on-board device on the train. The attendant can walk back and forth in the compartments to inspect the compartments. In case of an obstacle alarm, the attendant will be reminded by the handheld mobile terminal, such that the attendant can quickly walk to the head of the train to check and confirm the obstacle and contact the operation control center to handle exceptions.
In another embodiment of the invention as described below, the autonomous sensing system for train is configured on a manned local rail freight train, and the following devices need to be added:
1. The on-board subsystem is installed on the freight train to perceive an obstacle in a rail operation region in front, the on-board subsystem automatically selects a detector in the forward direction as an obstacle detection input according to the operating direction of the train, and a detector in the backward direction does not work. The on-board subsystem is equipped with a DMI display screen and an audible and visual alarm. When the autonomous sensing system for train detects an obstacle, the on-board subsystem displays obstacle information by means of the DMI display screen; when the level of danger of the obstacle is high, the on-board subsystem gives an audible and visual alarm to remind the driver to pay attention to the obstacle in front.
2. The trackside subsystem is installed at a crossing or in other areas where the sight is blocked to monitor at the crossing or a curved rail section and is connected to a private network. When the train approaches the crossing, the on-board subsystem establishes connection with the trackside subsystem in advance (1000 m), the obstacle condition at the crossing is displayed in real time on an HMI display screen. If the trackside subsystem monitors an obstacle, the obstacle will be displayed on the HMI display screen of the on-board subsystem, and the driver is reminded by a synthesized speech to pay attention to the obstacle.
The autonomous sensing system for train has been applied in different rail transit operation scenarios and has been accepted by users.
The embodiments described above are merely specific ones of the invention and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the invention. Any skilled in the art can easily obtain various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the invention, and all these modifications or substitutions should fall within the protection scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202211113407.6 | Sep 2022 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2022/135646 | 11/30/2022 | WO |
