Method and system for the automated determination of the train integrity of a train

Abstract

A method for automated determination of train integrity of a train includes determining the rear car of the train, transmitting data of the rear car to a first central control unit of the train during train movement, the data being transmitted continuously over the entire movement, the data being transmitted such that the data can be associated with the rear car, and information based on the data of the rear car is generated. If correct data of the rear car are received by the first central control unit, status information indicating correct train integrity is generated and, if correct data of the rear car are not received by the first central control unit within a predefined time period, status information indicating loss of train integrity is generated. The status information is output. A corresponding system, train, computer program product and computer-readable storage medium are also provided.

1 - 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . A method for the automated determination of train integrity of a train, the method comprising:
 determining a rear car of the train;   transmitting data of the rear car to a first central control unit of the train during a movement of the train, the data being transmitted continuously throughout the movement and the transmission of the data being configured to permit the data to be assigned to the rear car;   generating status information based on the data of the rear car, status information indicating correct train integrity being generated upon the first central control unit receiving correct data from the rear car, and status information indicating loss of train integrity being generated upon the first central control unit not receiving correct data from the rear car within a predetermined period of time; and   outputting the status information.   
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises determining the rear car by determining which car of the train is not coupled at one of its two couplings and whether the car which is not coupled at one of its two couplings is occupied by a driver and, in an event that a car does not have one of its two couplings coupled and the car which does not have one of its two couplings coupled is not occupied, the car which does not have one of its two couplings coupled is determined to be the rear car. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises transmitting the data transmitted by the rear car via a communication channel being at least one of configured to be assigned to the rear car or including identification information configured to be assigned to the rear car. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises determining the rear car and the first central control unit, after a coupling operation in which a plurality of cars have been uncoupled from the train or a plurality of cars have been coupled to the train. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises forming the train with a plurality of multiple units, each multiple unit including at least one central control unit and selecting the central control unit of the multiple unit or end car having an occupied driver's cab during the train movement as the first central control unit. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , which further comprises transmitting the data from the rear car from a central control unit of the multiple unit including the rear car to the first central control unit of another multiple unit. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises at least one of transmitting at least the data of the rear car from a car hierarchy to a train hierarchy using a data transmission protocol or outputting the status information from a train hierarchy to a car hierarchy using a data transmission protocol. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 22 , which further comprises using a multiple unit hierarchy as the car hierarchy, using a multiple unit hierarchy as the train hierarchy, verifying the data of the rear car or the status information by checksums, and transmitting the data of the rear car or the status information using architecture patterns having been defined for a specific safety integrity level SIL 2. 
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises entirely carrying out the generation of the status information and the outputting of the status information in less than one second. 
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , which further comprises setting time intervals separating a transmission of successive sets of data of the rear car to be shorter than 1 second, and setting the predetermined time period after which status information indicating loss of train integrity is generated if no data from the rear car is received by the first central control unit to be longer than a time required for transmission of consecutive sets of data of the rear car. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises outputting the status information to a European Vital Computer control unit. 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 16 , which further comprises carrying out the generation of the status information by additionally checking an emergency brake loop assigned to the rear car. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 27 , which further comprises upon the emergency brake loop being open or defective, generating status information indicating loss of train integrity and, upon the emergency brake loop being intact, again implementing a predefined wait time for data from the rear car. 
     
     
         29 . A system for the automated determination of train integrity of a train, the system comprising:
 a determination unit configured to determine a rear car of the train;   a data transmission unit configured to transmit data of the rear car to a first central control unit of the train during a movement of the train, the data being transmitted continuously throughout the movement and the transmission of the data being configured to permit the data to be assigned to the rear car;   the first central control unit configured to generate status information based on the data of the rear car, status information indicating correct train integrity being generated upon the first central control unit receiving correct data from the rear car, and status information indicating loss of train integrity being generated upon the first central control unit not receiving correct data from the rear car within a predetermined period of time; and   a data interface configured to output the status information.   
     
     
         30 . A train, comprising a plurality of multiple units, and the system according to  claim 29 . 
     
     
         31 . The train according to  claim 30 , wherein each multiple unit includes a respective central control unit configured to receive status information based on the data of the rear car, in an event that data from the rear car is received by the first central control unit, status information is generated indicating correct train integrity, and in the event that no data from the rear car is received by the first central control unit, status information is generated indicating loss of train integrity. 
     
     
         32 . The train according to  claim 30 , wherein each end car of a multiple unit is configured to determine the status of its couplings and the occupancy status of a driver's cab and to transmit data to a central control unit. 
     
     
         33 . A non-transitory computer program product, comprising instructions which, upon the program being executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to  claim 16 . 
     
     
         34 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions which, upon the program being executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to  claim 16 .