Method for ensuring that a section block of a railway section is free of the last unit of a train

Abstract

A method for ensuring that a section block of a railway section is free of the last unit of a train, wherein each train travelling into the section block is equipped with at least one train terminal (OTU—On Train Unit) at the end of the train, defined by the direction of travel of the train, which OTU is used for the periodic position detection of the train. The method comprises storing at least one polygon, which is defined by a plurality of geo-data, for each section block is stored in the OTU, registering the respectively traveled polygon at least once by the OTU by means of Global Navigation Satellite System, and sending the identification of the respectively traveled polygon with the OTU at least once to an electronic data processing system for evaluation.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A method for ensuring that a section block of a railway section is free of a last unit of a train, comprising:
 equipping each train travelling into the section block with at least one train terminal (OTU—On Train Unit) at an end of the train defined by a direction of travel of the train;   using the OTU for a periodic position detection of the train;   storing at least one polygon, which is defined by a plurality of geo-data, for each section block in the OUT;   registering a respectively traveled polygon at least once by the OTU by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) if the position of the OTU is within the polygon; and   using the OTU to send an identification of the respectively traveled polygon at least once to an electronic data processing system for evaluation.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the evaluation of the identification includes a time and an order of traveled polygons and a time when the OTU moves from one section block to an adjacent section block. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identification of the respective polygon includes geo-data, the identification of the respective section block and the respective track identification. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising storing a polygon in the OTU for each section block at both ends of the section block. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising storing a plurality of adjoining polygons in the OTU over the entire length of the section block. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the distance between a first polygon which is stored at the end of a first section block, and a second polygon adjacent to the first polygon, which second polygon is stored at the end of a second section block facing the first section block, corresponds to a maximum braking distance of the train. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the train at its tip, defined by the direction of travel, is equipped with an additional OTU and when the direction of travel changes, the additional OTU is recognized by the electronic data processing system as the OTU at the end of the train. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein in addition to the identification, the OTU sends the polygon identification, the direction of travel of the train and a status of a power supply to the electronic data processing system. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein for a given clocking of the position determination, the OTU determines a minimum length of the polygon by a maximum speed of the train and a maximum length of the polygon is defined by the length of the section block for which the polygon is stored in the OTU. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein a width of a first polygon corresponds at least to a maximum width of the train and in a case of a multi-track railway section, the width of the first polygon is dimensioned in such a way that the first polygon is free of overlaps from further third polygons which are stored in the OTU for further tracks. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identification of a second polygon causes the second section block assigned to the second polygon to be reported by the electronic data processing system as being occupied or blocked and the first section block previously traveled by the train is reported as free by the electronic data processing system. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein a train integrity is determined by the OTU changing from one section block to another section block. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the OTU and the additional OTU are synchronized by the electronic data processing system in order to calculate a distance between the OTU and the additional OTU in the electronic data processing system and to send a change in a distance between the OUT and the additional OUT. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the OTU and the additional OTU are synchronized by the electronic data processing system to calculate a distance between the OTU and the additional OTU in the electronic data processing system and to send a change in a distance between the OUT and the additional OUT caused by a coupling breakage of the train to the train's electronic data processing system. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein a start and an end of an area of a section block at which the GNSS reception of the OTU is not sufficient is stored in the OTU with a start polygon or an end polygon and that an area is considered as passed through when the polygon identification of the end polygon is received by the OTU via the electronic data processing system. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the car identifications of the individual cars of a train are transmitted to the OTU in order to be able to send a relevant position and time of individual cars to the electronic data processing system. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the car identification is linked to at least one freight document of the respective car. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein polygons stored in the OTU contain information on positioning of railway signals, and positions of the railway signals can be visualized in the driver's compartment of the train.