US-12623700-B2 - Braking system and method

Abstract

A system and a method includes one or more processors to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle. The one or more processors may communicate one or more command messages to the braking devices to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices.

Inventors

• Carl L. Haas
• Charles L. Wolf

Assignees

• TRANSPORTATION IP HOLDINGS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20210407

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A system comprising: one or more processors configured to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle, the one or more processors configured to identify an initiation point at which braking efforts are configured to originate, the initiation point defined by a location along a length of the vehicle system and associated with at least one of the plural braking devices or at least one of the different vehicles of the vehicle system, the one or more processors configured to communicate one or more command messages to the braking devices to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices based on a location of each of the braking devices relative to the initiation point.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate one of the one or more command messages to each of the plural braking devices.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices along the vehicle system by controlling the plural braking devices based on locations of the plural braking devices.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the rate of the braking effort propagation along the vehicle system in order to control bunching or stretching between two or more vehicles of the vehicle system.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the braking devices of a first portion of vehicles of the vehicle system to control braking efforts of the braking devices of the first portion at a first rate and control the braking devices of a second portion of vehicles of the vehicle system to control braking efforts of the braking devices of the second portion at a different, second rate.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more command messages include a vehicle identifier associated with one or more of the braking devices or the different corresponding vehicles, wherein a first command message comprising a first vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a first braking device, and a second command message comprising a second vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a second braking device.
7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the first command message is different than the second command message to control operation of the first vehicle in a way that is different than the second vehicle.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to be disposed onboard the vehicle system.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more command messages include an instruction of implementation to the one or more braking devices.
10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the instruction of implementation is based on one or more of a time or a location of the braking devices.
11. 11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate the one or more command messages including the instruction of implementation ahead of a time of a braking event of the vehicle system.
12. 12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to automatically communicate the one or more command messages to the braking devices.
13. 13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to wirelessly communicate the one or more command messages to the braking devices.
14. 14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the braking effort propagation to propagate in two or more directions along the vehicle system from the initiation point within the vehicle system, wherein the braking efforts in the air brake system are configured to propagate in a first direction from the initiation point and the braking efforts in the air brake system are configured to propagate in a second direction from the initiation point.
15. 15 . A system comprising: one or more processors configured to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle, the one or more processors configured to identify an initiation point at which braking efforts are configured to originate, the initiation point defined by a location along a length of the vehicle system and associated with at least one of the plural braking devices or at least one of the different vehicles of the vehicle system, the one or more processors configured to communicate one or more command messages to the plural braking devices, the one or more command messages being based at least in part on a location of one or more of the braking devices or the different vehicles relative to the initiation point, the one or more command messages including a vehicle identifier associated with one or more of the plural braking devices or the different corresponding vehicles, wherein a first command message comprising a first vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a first braking device, and a second command message comprising a second vehicle identifier is configured to be received by a second braking device, wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices along the vehicle system by controlling the plural braking devices based on locations of the plural braking devices.
17. 17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the rate of the braking effort propagation along the vehicle system in order to control a distance between two or more vehicles of the vehicle system.
18. 18 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the first command message is different than the second command message to control operation of the first vehicle in a way that is different than the second vehicle.
19. 19 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the control system is configured to control the braking effort propagation to propagate in two or more directions along the vehicle system from the initiation point within the vehicle system, wherein the braking efforts in the air brake system are configured to propagate in a first direction from the initiation point and the braking efforts in the air brake system are configured to propagate in a second direction from the initiation point.
20. 20 . A method comprising: identifying an initiation point at which braking efforts are configured to originate, the initiation point defining a location along a length of a vehicle system; communicating one or more command messages to plural braking devices of an air brake system, each of the plural braking devices disposed on a different vehicle of the vehicle system, the one or more command messages being based at least in part on a location of one or more of the braking devices or the different vehicles relative to the initiation point, the initiation point associated with one or more of at least one of the plural braking devices or at least one of the different vehicles of the vehicle system, the one or more command messages configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle, wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control a direction of a braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices in one or more directions from the initiation point by controlling the braking devices based on locations of the plural braking devices, and wherein the one or more command messages are configured to control a rate of the braking effort propagation along the vehicle system in one or more directions from the initiation point in order to control a distance between two or more vehicles of the vehicle system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/010,184, filed Apr. 15, 2020, and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND Technical Field The subject matter described relates to braking systems and methods. Discussion of Art Vehicle systems may move together in the form of a consist where two or more vehicles may be mechanically coupled together. For example, a rail vehicle system may include two or more rail vehicles that may move together along a track. As the rail vehicle system moves along the track, the system may need to slow or stop movement. Some known rail vehicle systems include traditional pneumatic brake systems that operate based on an amount of brake pipe pressures within an airbrake conduit that extends along the length of the vehicle system. When a braking application is made, the car behind the lead vehicle begins to apply brakes first, then the second car, then the third car, etc., as the brake application signal (e.g., a change in the air pressure of the airbrake conduit) propagates down the length of the train. One technical limitation with traditional pneumatic braking systems is that when the braking application starts at the lead vehicle and moves towards the rear vehicles, the train bunches up as the front of the train slows faster than the rear of the train, and slack between rail vehicles is compressed within the draft gears. Another technical limitation is the propagation of a release of the brake command along the vehicle system. When a brake release application is made with traditional pneumatic braking systems, the same front-to-rear braking signal propagation causes the brakes of the front of the train to release before the brakes at the rear, causing the train to stretch as the front of the train begins to move or move faster than the rear of the train. Furthermore, vehicle systems may be equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking systems that command all cars within a train via an electronic signal. With ECP systems, all cars apply and release brakes together, resulting in a status-quo of train slack between cars. For example, if a train is bunched before an ECP brake application, it will remain bunched after the application. Alternatively, if the train is stretched before the ECP brake application, it will remain stretched after the brake application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION In one or more embodiments, a system includes one or more processors to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle. The one or more processors may communicate one or more command messages to the braking devices to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices. In one or more embodiments, a system includes one or more processors to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed onboard a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle. The one or more processors may communicate one or more command messages to the braking devices. The command messages may include a vehicle identifier associated with one or more of the braking devices or the different corresponding vehicles. A first command message including a first vehicle identifier may be received by a first braking device and a second command message comprising a second vehicle identifier may be received by a second braking device. The one or more command messages may control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices. In one or more embodiments, a method includes communicating one or more command messages to plural braking devices of an air brake system. Each of the plural braking devices may be disposed onboard a different vehicle of a vehicle system. The one or more command messages may control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle. The one or more command messages may control a direction of a braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices by controlling the braking devices based on locations of the plural braking devices. The one or more command messages may control a rate of the braking effort propagation along the vehicle system in order to control a distance between two or more vehicles of the vehicle system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The inventive subject matter may be understood from reading the following description of non-limiting embodiment