Wireless Device for Railcar Tracking

Abstract

In certain embodiments, a system comprises a railcar and a wireless device coupled to the railcar. The railcar is configured to travel a track and is associated with identification information that indicates an identity of the railcar. The wireless device comprises memory and processing circuitry. The memory is configured to store the identification information associated with the railcar. The processing circuitry is configured to provide status information to one or more trackside automatic equipment identification (AEI) readers and to one or more wireless network nodes. The status information that the processing circuitry is configured to provide to the one or more trackside AEI readers comprises the identification information associated with the railcar.

1 . A system, the system comprising:
 a railcar, the railcar configured to travel a track, the railcar associated with identification information that indicates an identity of the railcar; and   a wireless device coupled to the railcar, the wireless device comprising:   memory configured to store the identification information associated with the railcar; and   processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to provide status information to one or more trackside automatic equipment identification (AEI) readers and to one or more wireless network nodes, wherein the status information that the processing circuitry is configured to provide to the one or more trackside AEI readers comprises the identification information associated with the railcar.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , the wireless device further configured to:
 receive a signal from a positioning system; and   determine location information associated with the railcar based on the signal received from the positioning system;   wherein the status information that the processing circuitry is configured to provide to the one or more wireless network nodes comprises the location information.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , the wireless device further configured to:
 determine whether the railcar is stationary or in motion;   while the railcar is in motion, provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a pre-determined periodicity; and   while the railcar is stationary, abstain from providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the wireless device is further configured to determine when to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a proximity of the railcar to one of the trackside AEI readers. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the wireless device is configured to:
 determine the proximity of the railcar to the one of the trackside AEI readers based on a geofence region associated with the one of the trackside AEI readers;   in response to exiting the geofence region, determine whether the status information was provided to the one of the trackside AEI readers associated with the geofence region; and   in response to determining that the status information was not provided to the one of the trackside AEI readers associated with the geofence region, provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the wireless device is configured to:
 provide the identification information to one of the trackside AEI readers at a first time; and   determine whether to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at a second time based on whether the second time is within a pre-determined time period of the first time;   wherein, in response to determining that the second time is within the pre-determined time period of the first time, the wireless device is configured to wait to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes, and in response to determining that the second time is outside the pre-determined time period of the first time, the wireless device is configured to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at the second time.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises one or more sensors coupled to the railcar or to cargo of the railcar, and wherein the wireless device is further configured to:
 receive one or more signals from the one or more sensors; and   determine sensor information based on the one or more signals;   wherein the status information that the processing circuitry is configured to provide to the one or more wireless network nodes comprises the sensor information.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the status information that the processing circuitry is configured to provide to the one or more trackside AEI readers further comprises location information and/or sensor information. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a second wireless device coupled to the railcar. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the status information to provide to the one or more trackside AEI readers or to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on information that facilitates coordination with the second wireless device coupled to the railcar. 
     
     
         11 . A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:
 storing identification information associated with a railcar in memory of the wireless device;   receiving a signal from a positioning system;   determining location information associated with the railcar based on the signal received from the positioning system;   providing first status information to one or more trackside automatic equipment identification (AEI) readers, the first status information comprising the identification information associated with the railcar; and   providing second status information to one or more wireless network nodes, the second status information comprising the location information associated with the railcar.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining whether the railcar is stationary or in motion;   while the railcar is in motion, providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a pre-determined periodicity; and   while the railcar is stationary, abstaining from providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises determining when to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a proximity of the railcar to one of the trackside AEI readers. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 providing the identification information to one of the trackside AEI readers at a first time; and   determining whether to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at a second time based on whether the second time is within a pre-determined time period of the first time;   wherein, in response to determining that the second time is within the pre-determined time period of the first time, the method comprises waiting to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes, and in response to determining that the second time is outside the pre-determined time period of the first time, the method comprises providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at the second time.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving one or more signals from one or more sensors coupled to the railcar or to cargo of the railcar;   determining sensor information based on the one or more signals; and   including the sensor information in the second status information.   
     
     
         16 . One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a wireless device, cause the performance of operations comprising:
 storing identification information associated with a railcar in memory of the wireless device;   receiving a signal from a positioning system;   determining location information associated with the railcar based on the signal received from the positioning system;   providing first status information to one or more trackside automatic equipment identification (AEI) readers, the first status information comprising the identification information associated with the railcar; and   providing second status information to one or more wireless network nodes, the second status information comprising the location information associated with the railcar.   
     
     
         17 . The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of  claim 16 , the operations further comprising:
 determining whether the railcar is stationary or in motion;   while the railcar is in motion, providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a pre-determined periodicity; and   while the railcar is stationary, abstaining from providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes.   
     
     
         18 . The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise determining when to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes based at least in part on a proximity of the railcar to one of the trackside AEI readers. 
     
     
         19 . The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of  claim 16 , the operations further comprising:
 providing the identification information to one of the trackside AEI readers at a first time; and   determining whether to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at a second time based on whether the second time is within a pre-determined time period of the first time;   wherein, in response to determining that the second time is within the pre-determined time period of the first time, the operations comprise waiting to provide the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes, and in response to determining that the second time is outside the pre-determined time period of the first time, the operations comprise providing the location information to the one or more wireless network nodes at the second time.   
     
     
         20 . The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of  claim 16 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving one or more signals from one or more sensors coupled to the railcar or to cargo of the railcar;   determining sensor information based on the one or more signals; and   including the sensor information in the second status information;   wherein at least one of the one or more sensors comprises a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a cargo volume sensor, a cargo weight sensor, a gate open sensor, or a hatch open sensor.