Harris Corporation

Ge Harris Railway Electronics, Inc.

Milton C Deno

Dale Henry Delaruelle

Eugene A Smith, Jr

Eugene Andrew Smith

Don Keith Johnson

Carl Hines

Dale H Delaruelle

A brake pipe overcharge detection scheme determines when an overcharge situation occurs followed by an interruption of the brake pipe slow pressure reduction process of the brake system assimilation. When the slow pressure reduction process is interrupted, the rail cars may be left in an overcharged state (i.e., the car braking system is charged to a pressure greater than the normal brake pipe pressure). When the brake pipe pressure is set to its normal brake-release value, the pressure of the car braking systems will be greater than the brake pipe pressure. The car braking system will interpret this positive pressure differential as a request to set the car brakes, and will therefore partially apply the car brakes. As a result, additional drag forces will be encountered by the locomotive as it moves the train, which may result in train separations, and overheating of the car brake shoes and wheels may result in cracked wheels and derailments.

Railroad brake pipe overcharge and separation detection system

Method and apparatus for compensating for transient effects in pneumatically operated air brake system for a railway vehicle. A look up table or experimentally determined second order correction values is stored in a memory. Based on the magnitude of a previous application of the brakes, a correction value is selected from the look up table having a magnitude to compensate for transient errors in the system. The correction value is then diminished by fixed decrements at fixed intervals. Upon a subsequent application of the brakes, the diminished correction value is used to adjust the pressure communicated to braking mechanisms located on the train cars.

Adaptive air braking system with correction for second order transient

An adaptive brake control system monitors a plurality of brake pipe/air line parameters, such as fluid path volume and air flow rate, and controllably modifies action taken by the engineman or performs emergency control of the brakes, in order to continuously enable the brake system to adapt itself to dynamic operating conditions and anomalies in the integrity of the fluid path. In accordance with a pressure reduction modification mechanism, the application of a pressure reduction to the equalizing reservoir is precisely controlled by taking into account the actual state of the brake pipe, so as to ensure that the requested brake application is effected as intended. The control mechanism also monitors the integrity of the fluid flow path of the brake pipe/train air line, so that the engineman may be alerted and a prescribed train safety measure may be effected in the event of a potentially hazardous anomaly in the link. It also provides the engineman with a precise indication that the brake of the train have been fully released or applied.

Adaptive air brake control system

An adaptive brake control system monitors a plurality of brake pipe/air line parameters, such as fluid path volume and air flow rate, and controllably modifies action taken by the engineman or performs emergency control of the brakes, in order to continuously enable the braking system to adapt itself to dynamic operating conditions and anomalies in the integrity of the fluid path. In accordance with a pressure reduction modification mechanism, the application of a pressure reduction to the equalizing reservoir is precisely controlled by taking into account the actual state of the brakepipe, so as to ensure that the requested brake application is effected as intended. The control mechanism also monitors the integrity of the fluid flow path of the brake pipe/train air line, so that the engineman may be alerted and a prescribed train safety measure may be effected in the event of a potentially hazardous anomaly in the link. It also provides the engineman with a precise indication that the brakes of the train have been fully released or applied.

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Satellite Beach, FL, United States of America

Milton C Deno