Transportation IP Holdings, LLC

General Electric Company

Ge Global Sourcing LLC

Leland Stanford Junior University

Hudsonalpha Institute for Biotechnology

James D Brooks

Harry Kirk Mathews, Jr

Ajith Kuttannair Kumar

Brian Nedward Meyer

Dan Dai

Joseph Daniel Wakeman

Hullas Sehgal

David Allen Eldredge

Ramu Sharat Chandra

Lalit Keshav Mestha

Peter Henry Tu

Paul Kenneth Houpt

So Young Kim

Anup Menon

Robert James Foy

John William Brand

William Cherrick Schoonmaker

Derek Kevin Woo

Daniel Joseph Rush

Kevin Kapp

Jared Klineman Cooper

Joseph Forrest Noffsinger

Mark Bradshaw Kraeling

Glenn Robert Shaffer

Jeffrey Donald Kernwein

Milan Palinda Karunaratne

Nidhi Naithani

Dattaraj Jagdish Rao

Nathan Thomas North

Richard M Myers

Neeraja Subrahmaniyan

Gayathri Seenumani

Robert Johnston

Kaitlyn Ann Hrdlicka

Kristopher Ryan Smith

Anthony D Paul

Eric Vorndran

Gabriel De Albuquerque Gleizer

Bernardo Adrian Movsichoff

Saravanan Thiyagarajan

Jeffrey A Twichel

William Martin

Juli-Ann Luther

Swapna Rameshbabu Gaikwad

James Andrew Napolitano

Adam Franco

Jeffery Armstrong

Guangliang Zhao

Weina Ge

Anju Bind

Sreyashi Dey Chaki

Sharath Sridhar Aramanekoppa

Shannon Joseph Clouse

Michael Scott Miner

Olugbenga Moses Anubi

Carlos Gonzaga

Lucas Vargas

Bruno Paes Leao

Marie K Kirby

Ankit Mathur

Jason M Nichols

Matthew Price

Gnouma Diagana

Thomas Lewis

Amit Kenjale

Gabriel De A Gleizer

Jeffrey Armstrong

Jeremy Blackwell

Jr Mathews Harry Kirk

A system that includes a controller that may receive one or more input characteristics related to upcoming movement of a group of vehicles, the one or more input characteristics indicative of an amount of energy needed to move the group of the vehicles along a segment of a route. The controller may also calculate a threshold range of tractive effort needed to move the group of the vehicles along the segment of the route based on the one or more characteristics and to monitor the tractive effort expended by a propulsion-generating vehicle of the vehicles in the group to move one or more of the vehicles in the group, and determine whether the vehicles in the group are coupled with each other or whether two or more of the vehicles are not coupled with each other based on the tractive effort that is monitored and the threshold range.

Controller and method for coupling vehicles of a vehicle system

Display screen with a graphical user interface

A system and method can include determining a location of a locating device disposed onboard a vehicle system, identify a size of the vehicle system, calculate a duration that the vehicle system has been blocking or will be blocking an intersection between at least two intersecting routes based at least in part on the location of the locating device and on the size of the multi-vehicle system, and implement one or more responsive actions to clear the intersection responsive to the calculation of the duration. Optionally, the system and method can predict or forecast whether a vehicle system approaching or moving through the intersection will come to a stop in a locking that blocks the intersection, and implement one or more responsive actions.

Vehicle control system

Various methods and systems are provided for a railyard system. In one example, a method for managing a railyard comprises, within the railyard, positioning a cargo unit on a multi-directional pad and moving the pad multi-directionally based on a requested order for the cargo unit relative to other cargo units, where the requested order corresponds to an order of cargo units on railcars of an outbound train. The multi-directional pad may operate within an arena, where the arena includes a concrete surface depressed into the ground such that a surface of the pad is level with a surface of the ground surrounding the arena, thereby allowing railcars to be pushed onto the pad by a locomotive of a train.

Method and systems for an automated railyard

A system includes a controller, an activation device, and a communication device. The controller may control movement of a first vehicle system absent an operator input onboard the first vehicle system. The controller may control a propulsion system and a braking system of the first vehicle system. The controller may be positioned off-board the first vehicle system. The activation device may receive a status signal indicating a presence of a work marker proximate to the first vehicle system. The communication device may communicate a lockout signal from the activation device to the controller to direct the controller to prevent activation of the propulsion system and engage the braking system to prevent movement of the first vehicle system.

Vehicle control system and method for implementing safety procedure

A system and method generate a trip plan for a trip of a vehicle system along a route. The usage of an engine or fuel cell during the trip is determined based on engine operational parameters, energy storage device operational parameters, and one or more objectives of the trip desired to be achieved. The usage of the energy storage device during the trip is also determined based on the engine operational parameters, the energy storage device operational parameters, and the one or more objective, including when to charge or discharge the energy storage device during the trip.

Control system and method for a vehicle system

A method and system controller includes determining a power requirement for a vehicle system to complete a planned trip over a route. The method includes determining whether an amount of available power from the vehicle system is sufficient to propel the vehicle system to complete the planned trip by comparing the available power with the power requirement that is determined. The method includes changing one or more operational aspects of the planned trip based on the comparison between the amount of available power and the power requirement that is determined to generate a newly planned modified trip.

System and method for managing vehicle operations

A vehicle system having processors configured to determine regions of a trip where the vehicle system is permitted for a first mode of control. The permissible regions of the trip are determined based on one or more of parameters of a route, a trend of operating parameters of the vehicle system, or a trip plan that designates one or more operational settings of the vehicle system at different locations, different times, or different distances along a route. The processors also are configured to control transition of the vehicle system between a second mode of control and the second mode of control in the regions by alerting an operator of the vehicle system, automatically switching between the modes of control, or modifying conditions on which the transition occur.

Adaptive vehicle control system

A method may include determining time-variable risk profiles for plural separate vehicle systems that are remotely controlled by operators that are located off-board the separate vehicle systems. The time-variable risk profiles represent one or more risks to travel of the separate vehicle systems. The method may include assigning the operators to remotely monitor or control the separate vehicle systems during the trips based on the time-variable risk profiles. The operator assigned changes with respect to time while the one or more separate vehicle systems is moving along one or more routes during the trip. A system may include one or more processors that may determine time-variable risk profiles for plural separate vehicle systems that are remotely controlled and assign the operators to remotely monitor or control the separate vehicle systems during the trips based on the time-variable risk profiles.

Remote vehicle operator assignment system

A system and method generate a trip plan for a trip of a vehicle system along a route. The usage of an engine during the trip is determined based on engine operational parameters, energy storage device operational parameters, and one or more objectives of the trip desired to be achieved. The usage of the energy storage device during the trip is also determined based on the engine operational parameters, the energy storage device operational parameters, and the one or more objective, including when to charge or discharge the energy storage device during the trip.

System and method for controlling a vehicle system to achieve objectives during a trip

A distributed control system includes a remote control system configured to be communicatively coupled with plural separate vehicle systems. The remote control system is configured to remotely control operation of the vehicle systems and/or communicate with the local vehicle control system or operator. The remote control system also is configured to one or more of change how many of the vehicle systems are concurrently controlled by the remote control system or change how many remote operators of the remote control system concurrently control the same vehicle system of the vehicle systems.

Distributed vehicle system control system and method

System includes a controller comprising one or more processors configured to generate alertness requests to an operator of a vehicle system during a trip. The alertness requests are generated according to a determined routine. The controller is further configured to receive reactive inputs from the operator that are responsive to the alertness requests. The controller is further configured to determine whether the trip includes a permissible route segment for suspending the determined routine. The permissible route segment has a route characteristic of one or both of: a reduced likelihood of operator-required events occurring or a predicted workload for the operator that is less than a defined workload threshold.

Vehicle control system and method

A system and method that includes determining a relationship between a moving resistance of a vehicle system and one or more characteristics of the vehicle system. A trip plan may be generated based at least in part on the relationship for movement of the vehicle system through one or more sections of one or more routes based at least in part on the relationship. One or more operational settings of the vehicle system are then designated for implementing the trip plan to drive movement of the vehicle system to achieve one or more objectives.

An alerter augmentation system includes one or more processors that determine an alertness of an operator of a vehicle system. The one or more processors also generate operator input requests that are separated in time by a temporal delay. These input requests seek responses or action by the operator in an attempt to keep or make the operator alert. The one or more processors change one or more of the temporal delay between the input requests and/or a type of the input requests that are generated based at least in part on the alertness of the operator that is determined.

Alerter augmentation system

A system includes a safety mode activation device disposed onboard a vehicle system and operatively connected to a controller of the vehicle system. The safety mode activation device is configured to receive a status signal indicating a presence of one or more of an operator or an active work marker in a location proximate to the vehicle system. The safety mode activation device is further configured to transmit a lockout signal to the controller to prevent movement of the vehicle system along a route responsive to receiving the status signal.

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

James D Brooks