The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 30, 2003
Filed:
Jun. 04, 2001
Daniel F. Wolf, Erie, PA (US);
Gerald James Hess, Jr., Erie, PA (US);
John Louis Caporale, Jr., Erie, PA (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A locomotive monitoring system defines several mutually exclusive operating states for a locomotive. The amount of time the locomotive operates in each state is preferably determined and recorded. This recorded information can then be evaluated with a view towards improving locomotive operations. For example, a plurality of mutually exclusive idle states can be defined and monitored to determine how long a locomotive idles under certain conditions instead of automatically shutting down for the purpose of conserving fuel. In this manner, the sources of lost fuel savings can be readily identified, quantified and addressed. An event log is also provided for chronicling certain operating events of interest over time, such as those relating to the starting, stopping and/or idling of the locomotive's engine.