Device for testing cab signaling system and a method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a device and a method for testing cab signaling system. The device comprises a cart body, a shunt element, an antenna, an audio/visual unit, and a processing system. The cart body of the device comprises two or more wheels that are coupled at a lower end of the cart body and engaged with rails of railroad. Further, the shunt element is configured to shunt the rails of railroad to simulate a train on the railroad. The antenna receives one or more analog signals transmitted by the cab signaling systems into the rails of the railroad. Furthermore, the processing system converts the received one or more analog signals into corresponding one or more speed commands.

1 . A device for testing a cab signaling system, the device comprising:
 a cart body comprising two or more wheels coupled to a lower end of the cart body, wherein the two or more wheels are configured to be engaged with rails of a railroad;   a shunt element configured to be coupled to the cart body, the shunt element configured to shunt the rails of the railroad to simulate a train car on the railroad by forming an occupancy circuit;   an antenna configured to be coupled to the cart body, the antenna configured to receive one or more analog signals transmitted by the cab signaling system through the rails; and   a processing system configured to convert the received one or more analog signals into one or more speed commands and/or provide corresponding track circuit occupancy frequency, wherein the processing system is communicatively coupled to the antenna.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to determine strength of the track circuit occupancy frequency. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to assist in troubleshooting of the railroad by determining a portion on the rails where the one or more analog signals and the corresponding track circuit occupancy frequency is null. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein an engine is configured to be coupled to the cart body, the engine receiving the one or more movement commands from the processing system for moving the at least two or more wheels of the device that are engaged with the rails of the railroad. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the shunt element may be any one of a conductive wire, at least two or more wheels connected on the opposite sides of a metal axle, copper paddle scraper, a conductive object, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the occupancy circuit comprises an m-position selector switch having m number of configurations. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the m-position selector switch configured to select any one of the following configurations:
 i) No Shunt configuration   ii) Hard Shunt configuration   iii) 0.06 Ohm Shunt configuration   iv) 0.25 Ohm Shunt configuration.   
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the antenna is positioned between 1 to 12 inches above the rails and at an offset −10″ to +10″ inches inside the rails. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the antenna is configured to transmit one or more interference wave frequencies for cancelling out the occupancy circuit. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the antenna is configured to receive very low frequency (VLF) waves in the range of 100 Hz to 9000 Hz. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , comprising an audio/visual unit to communicate the one or more speed commands and the tract circuit occupancy frequency by the device. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing system comprises an analog amplifier, an analog to digital (A to D) converter, a filter and a processor:
 the filter is configured to filter the unwanted frequency components and pass the desired frequency components from the received one or more analog signals to the analog amplifier;   the analog amplifier is configured to amplify the filtered one or more analog signals and further provide the amplified one or more analog signals to the A to D converter;   the A to D converter configured to convert the one or more analog signals into corresponding one or more digital signals; and   the processor operably coupled to a memory and capable of executing machine-readable instructions to convert the received one or more digital signals into the corresponding one or more speed commands.   
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the cart body is any one of a three-wheeled rail cart or a four-wheeled rail cart. 
     
     
         14 . A method for testing a cab signaling system, wherein the method is being performed by a device comprising a cart body, a shunt element, an antenna, an audio/visual unit and a processing system, the processing system is communicatively coupled to the antenna and the audio/visual unit, the method comprising:
 placing onto rails of a railroad the cart body having two or more wheels configured to be engaged with rails;   selecting, by a technician, a configuration of an occupancy circuit using the shunt element;   receiving, by the antenna, one or more analog signals transmitted by a cab signaling system on rails of railroad;   sensing, by the processing system, a track circuit occupancy frequency corresponding to the received one or more analog signals;   converting, by the processing system, the one or more analog signals into one or more speed commands; and   communicating, by the audio/visual unit, the one or more speed commands and/or the track circuit occupancy frequency to the technician.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method comprises determining strength of the track circuit occupancy frequency. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method comprises assisting in troubleshooting of the railroad by determining a portion on the rails where the one or more analog signals and the corresponding track circuit occupancy frequency is null. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method comprises moving by an engine the cart body comprising two or more wheels that coupled to a lower end of the cart body and are engaged with the rails of the railroad, the two or more wheels are configured for movement of the cart body when the one or more speed commands are received by the engine. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the shunt element is configured to shunt the rails of the railroad to simulate a train car on the railroad. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the processing system comprises an analog amplifier, an analog to digital (A to D) converter, a filter and a processor, the step of converting one or more analog signals into one or more speed commands comprises:
 filtering by the filter unwanted frequency components from the one or more analog signals to pass the desired frequency components to the amplifier;   amplifying the filtered one or more analog signals by the analog amplifier and providing the amplified one or more analog signals to the A to D converter;   converting by the A to D converter, the one or more analog signals received from the amplifier into corresponding one or more digital signals; and   receiving by the processor, the one or more digital signals from the A to D converter for converting into the corresponding one or more speed commands.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the shunt element may be any one of a conductive wire, at least two or more wheels connected on the opposite sides of a metal axle, copper paddle/scrappers, a conductive object, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the occupancy circuit comprises an m-position selector switch having m number of configurations. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the m-position selector switch configured to select any one of the following configurations:
 i) No Shunt configuration   ii) Hard Shunt configuration   iii) 0.06 Ohm Shunt configuration   iv) 0.25 Ohm Shunt configuration.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the antenna is positioned between 1 to 12 inches above the rails and at an offset −10″ to +10″ inches inside the rails. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the antenna is configured to transmit one or more interference wave frequencies for cancelling out the occupancy circuit. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the antenna is configured to receive very low frequency (VLF) waves in the range of 100 Hz to 9000 Hz. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the cart body of the device is any one of a three-wheeled rail cart or a four-wheeled rail cart.