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DE-102025118563-B3 - Methods for deterring people from track areas and systems for this purpose

DE102025118563B3DE 102025118563 B3DE102025118563 B3DE 102025118563B3DE-102025118563-B3

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of protecting track areas from unauthorized access. In particular, the invention relates to a method and a device for deterring people from the vicinity of rails, tracks, and track systems using high voltage. The inventive method for deterring people from track areas is characterized in that a pulsed high voltage is introduced into an electrical conductor located in the track area, so that a person feels pain upon contact with the conductor and leaves the area of the electrical conductor. The system according to the invention for deterring people from track areas is characterized in that it comprises a device for generating pulsed high voltage, as well as a device for transmitting the same into an electrical conductor located in the track area.

Inventors

  • Erfinder gleich Patentinhaber

Assignees

  • Ralph Müller

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20250514

Claims (11)

  1. Method for deterring persons from track areas, wherein a pulsed high voltage is introduced into an electrical conductor located in the track area, such that a person feels pain upon contact with the conductor and leaves the area of the electrical conductor, characterized in that the pulsed high voltage is introduced into at least one rail (5) of the track.
  2. Procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein the energy required to generate the pulsed high voltage is taken from the overhead line voltage via a converter (3) or provided by a rail vehicle (2).
  3. Procedure according to Claim 2 , wherein the generation of the pulsed high voltage and its transmission into the electrical conductor in the rail vehicle (2) takes place.
  4. Procedure according to Claim 1 , whereby the generation of the pulsed high voltage and transmission The same is installed in the electrical conductor in a stationary installation.
  5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the introduction of the pulsed high voltage into the electrical conductor takes place permanently, or only upon detection of an unauthorized person in the track area.
  6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the voltage is between 2 kV and 15 kV, and wherein each pulse lasts between 0.1 and 0.3 ms, and wherein the pause between successive pulses is 1 ± 0.5 s.
  7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the insulation properties of the rails (5) relative to the earth (10) are determined experimentally and stored in a digital map for the purpose of adjusting the level of the pulsed high voltage as required.
  8. System for deterring persons from track areas, comprising a device for generating pulsed high voltage and a device for transmitting the same into an electrical conductor located in the track area, characterized in that the system comprises the electrical conductor in the form of the rails (5) of the track.
  9. System according Claim 8 , wherein the device for generating pulsed high voltage and the device for transmitting the same into the electrical conductor are arranged in a rail vehicle (2).
  10. System according Claim 9 , wherein the device for transmitting the pulsed high voltage to the rails (5) includes copper wire brushes (6) that can be lowered as required.
  11. System according Claim 8 , wherein the same comprises a stationary device for generating the pulsed high voltage and transmitting it into the electrical conductor.

Description

Introduction The invention relates to the field of protecting track areas from unauthorized access. In particular, the invention relates to a method and a system for deterring people from the vicinity of rails, tracks, and track systems using high voltage. State of the art and disadvantages It is well known that the presence of unauthorized persons in track areas is highly problematic in two respects. On the one hand, these individuals endanger themselves; fatal accidents involving contact with passing trains are a frequent consequence of failing to maintain a safe minimum distance. On the other hand, the mere awareness of an unauthorized person on or even in the track often leads to disruptions in train operations for a train driver (e.g., very slow speeds or precautionary emergency stops), which can even result in a temporary suspension of service. Besides fences and other barriers, which involve construction work and are not always feasible, acoustic methods are also known. These methods use very unpleasant sounds to drive away people near the facility being protected. However, such devices can be heard even at a considerable distance, which is not inherently harmful, causing an undesirable disturbance to uninvolved parties. This is the case even if the sounds are only activated when needed, for example, when a person is detected by a proximity sensor or similar device. Solutions for protecting railway tracks using electric fences are also known from the literature. These require an additional power supply and also involve corresponding construction work. Problem of the invention and solution The invention is based on the objective of providing a method and a device which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. The method and the device are intended to reduce the probability of a person being on or in the track without having to make costly structural changes or additions to the tracks, and without disturbing uninvolved third parties through the operation of the invention. The problem is solved by a method according to claim 1 and a system according to dependent claim 8. Advantageous embodiments can be found in the respective dependent claims, the following description, and the figures. Description First, the method according to the invention is described. This is followed by a description of the system according to the invention. This method is used to deter people from railway tracks, preventing them from being endangered by passing trains, as well as disruption to train traffic caused by slow-moving or even stopped trains. The method involves applying a pulsed high voltage to an electrical conductor located in the track area, causing pain upon contact and prompting a person to leave the area. The pulsed high voltage is selected in such a way that any health risk to the person is excluded, but at the same time leads to a certain sensation of pain when touching the conductor, so that the person automatically moves away from the area of the conductor and thus from the track system. According to the invention, the pulsed high voltage is introduced into at least one rail of the track. Preferably, the introduction actually takes place in both rails, whereby the rails must be electrically insulated from the ground and at their ends in the track section to be protected. The rails must necessarily allow the return flow of the traction and heating current of an (electrically operated) train via suitable devices (frequency filter, low-pass filter, dual-current transformer). The high-voltage pulses can also be superimposed on the return current. Since today the interference-sensitive track circuits used to detect a train for a signaling system are often replaced by axle counters, the described principle of a pulsed high voltage can be applied without interfering with the signaling technology. The advantage of this design lies in the absence of any structural changes, since rails are an integral and always present part of a track system. The invention thus avoids the disadvantages known from the prior art. Depending on the specific design, structural changes may be unnecessary. No modifications or additions to the track system are necessary, meaning the method can be used on virtually any track system. Furthermore, the application produces practically no noise, ensuring that uninvolved third parties are not disturbed. Various embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below. In one embodiment, the energy required to generate the pulsed high voltage is drawn from the overhead line voltage via a converter. It is clear that this is only possible on electrified sections of track. The advantage of this embodiment is that a virtually unlimited energy supply is available, which can be used to apply the method according to the invention. In another embodiment, the energy required to generate the pulsed high voltage is supplied by a rail vehicle in the train (in particular a locomotive, control car, or mu