Motorized railway safety cart and deployment system thereof

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a motorized railway safety cart, comprising a) a chassis adapted with rail-guided carriages configured to travel along rails, and interconnected by a base frame, b) a driving unit for driving wheels attached to at least one of said rail-guided carriages, c) a control module for controlling the operation of said motorized railway safety cart, and d) a communication module, said cart is configured to automatically travel along a railway track to a designated location thereof and is further configured with one or more safety measures for performing safety tasks thereat, such as alerting or triggering preventive measures that can restrict passage into a predefined track work zone. Also disclosed herein is a deployment system that facilitates a remotely controlled deployment of said motorized railway safety cart.

1 . A motorized railway safety cart, comprising:
 a) a chassis adapted with rail-guided carriages configured to travel along rails, and interconnected by a base frame;   b) a driving unit for driving wheels attached to at least one of said rail-guided carriages;   c) a control module for controlling the operation of said motorized railway safety cart; and   d) a communication module,   
       wherein said cart is configured to automatically travel along a railway track to a designated location thereof and is further configured with one or more safety measures for performing safety tasks thereat, such as alerting or triggering preventive measures that can restrict passage into a predefined track work zone. 
     
     
         2 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein the control module is enclosed within a control box that comprises a local control and display for locally configuring the operation of the motorized railway safety cart. 
     
     
         3 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein the safety measures are selected from the group consisting of: a warning such as a stop sign, a self-illuminated sign, a signaling module capable of transmitting radio signals, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         4 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart further comprises one or more track monitoring sensors capable of providing various indications related to the surroundings of said cart, said track monitoring sensors are selected from the group consisting of: a camera, a RADAR device, a LiDAR device, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart further comprises a GPS unit with a GPS antenna. 
     
     
         6 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart further comprises illumination means. 
     
     
         7 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart is foldable. 
     
     
         8 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart further comprises a temporary rail attachment arrangement to securely hold said cart in a stationary position, such as by rail-hugging elements. 
     
     
         9 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart is constructed of lightweight high-strength materials selected from the group consisting of: aluminum, stainless-steel alloys, composite materials, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein the wheels are made of or coated with materials selected from the group consisting of: steel, polyurethane, rubber, silicone, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein the control module is capable of storing and executing preconfigured autonomous operational scripts that establish autonomous operation of the cart. 
     
     
         12 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart is designed in a three-wheel configuration. 
     
     
         13 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more wheels comprises conical contours. 
     
     
         14 . A cart according to  claim 1 , wherein said cart further comprises one or more lifting and carrying handles. 
     
     
         15 . A railway safety cart remote deployment and operation system, comprising:
 a) one or more motorized railway safety carts according to  claim 1 ; and   b) one or more remote control devices.   
     
     
         16 . A system according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the one or more remote control devices is selected from a group consisting of: a remote controller, terminals or computers installed at a control and operations center, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . A system according to  claim 16 , further comprises one or more units of an auxiliary unit ( 430 ) comprising communication, detection, and monitoring means selected from the group consisting of: a network communication device, a camera, a RADAR device, a LiDAR device, and any combination thereof.