Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
  • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
  • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
  • G05B19/042—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using digital processors
  • G05B19/0423—Input/output
  • G05B19/0425—Safety, monitoring
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61L—GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC; ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RAILWAY TRAFFIC
  • B61L15/00—Indicators provided on the vehicle or train for signalling purposes
  • B61L15/0072—On-board train data handling
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B9/00—Safety arrangements
  • G05B9/02—Safety arrangements electric
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
  • B60L2200/00—Type of vehicles
  • B60L2200/26—Rail vehicles
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
  • H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
  • H03K17/00—Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking
  • H03K17/18—Modifications for indicating state of switch

Definitions

• Method and device for controlling a setting of a switching state of an electrical switching system related to the guide of guided vehicles are described.
• the present invention relates to a method and a device for dynamically controlling a secure, ie safer, setting of a binary switching state, for example open or closed, of at least one electrical switching system, according to the preambles of claims 1 and 10.
• the invention relates to the reliability and maintainability of electrical switching systems integrated with automation equipment related to the field of guided vehicles (for example, the railway domain), said electrical switching system driving at least an actuator by means of a control circuit delivering an on / off output relating to the respectively open or closed switching state of the switching system.
• guided vehicles refers in particular to means of public transport such as buses, trolleybuses, trams, subways, trains or train units, etc., for which the security aspect is very important.
• This safety aspect is particularly related to the proper functioning of automation equipment internal or external to the vehicle.
• Examples of internal and external automatic control equipment are the automatic closing of the doors of a train and, respectively, the control of switching of a subway.
• vehicle and / or the movement of other vehicles for example, obstruction of other vehicles due to a technical failure of the automation equipment).
• the switching system is in an open state while it is controlled in a closed state
• the switching system is in a closed state when it is controlled in an open state.
• the electromechanical relay is a particular electrical switching system, consisting mainly of an electromagnet for mechanical contact by displacement of a moving part called the contactor, an upstream electrical circuit and a downstream electrical circuit.
• the contactor is provided with a main contact and an auxiliary contact, the main contact serving to control the actuator and the auxiliary contact to read the state of the relay.
• this method only applies to the particular case of electromechanical relays and is not applicable, for example, to a static relay, for which an auxiliary contact is no longer possible.
• a major disadvantage of this method is that it only works if the auxiliary contact is in the same state as the main contact, which is not always the case with an ordinary relay, especially during a failure bonding type, and therefore requires the use of special relays with integral and non-overlapping contacts, one of which is used to control the actuator, and the other is looped back to the control module.
• the method does not cover with certainty glue failures.
• this method makes it possible, by comparing the state read with the commanded state, to detect faults up to the electromagnet, but very rarely makes it possible to detect a failure of the contactor, hence a lack of reliability.
• An object of the present invention is to propose a reliable dynamic control method for the secure setting of a binary open or closed switching state of at least one electrical switching system integrated with automation equipment related to the field of vehicles guided and driving at least one actuator, in order to secure the switching system and to improve the reliability and maintainability of the automation equipment.
• Another object of the invention is to guarantee a small bulk of the automation equipment, as well as a low probability of reading error of said state independently of the electrical design of the control of the actuator (electrical switching system and / or control circuit and / or electrical circuit internal to the actuator), the method must not in any way disturb said control of the actuator, and conversely, the operation of the actuator must not alter the reading of the actuator. switching state.
• provision will also be made to provide a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state of at least one electrical switching system integrated with automation equipment. vehicle guided and driving at least one actuator.
• a dynamic control method for the secure setting of a binary switching state (open or closed) of at least one electrical switching system integrated with automation equipment related to the field of guided vehicles Ie-dit switching system controlling at least one actuator by means of a control circuit providing power supply to the actuator by means of at least one digital output (corresponding to the binary switching state), said method comprising the following steps: - a transmission of a status command from a control module to the electrical switching system,
• the method according to the invention is characterized in that said reading is performed downstream of the switching system on a signal extracted from the control circuit, said signal indicating whether the control circuit is in either active (ie closed) or inactive (ie open) mode.
• the method according to the invention is characterized in that the reading is performed by coupling the control circuit with at least one transformer as an isolation component.
• the transformer can advantageously be miniaturized in order to occupy a small space in the automation equipment and moreover, it guarantees a good electrical insulation so as not to disturb the operation of the actuator and not to alter the electrical characteristics of the all or nothing output.
• the transformer may advantageously provide a power supply allowing an optocoupling reading to the control circuit.
• the optocoupling takes place only when the switching system is closed, thus allowing the transmission of a control signal correlated to the closed state of the switching system to the control module.
• the optocoupling does not take place, allowing the transmission of a read signal correlated to the open state of the switching system.
• the optocoupling thus guarantees the transmission of two different control signals depending on whether the switching system is open or closed.
• the binary characteristic of the state of the switching system is thus retranscribed in the control signal via the optocoupling.
• the method according to the invention is further characterized in that the reading is performed by current measurement or impedance measurement via the transformer.
• the reading and the electrical insulation are performed by a single component, the transformer, which not only saves space, but also costs.
• the method according to the invention is also characterized in particular by the fact that said control module is able to compare the controlled state with the read state and to signal a divergence between the read state and the commanded state, said divergence being the characteristic of a probable failure.
• said divergence can be advantageously communicated in real time by means of an alert signal to a maintenance station comprising a maintenance team ready to intervene at the location of said divergence in order to remedy it.
• the alert signal is specific to the control module from which it originates, thus allowing a quick and easy location of the location of the divergence.
• the method according to the invention is characterized in that at least one of said transmissions (transmission of a command or transmission of a control signal) is performed by a remote link.
• the underlying advantage is remote control of the electrical switching system and / or remote transmission of the switching state of the switching system. This may be for example the remote control by a train of the correct routing of a channel, but also, a remote transmission of information concerning the opening / closing of doors, the transmission of said information can for example, to be linked to a vehicle start-up condition.
• a remote control of the control and control modules makes it possible to exchange information concerning the switching state of the switching system.
• the switching state of the switching system can be controlled remotely via the control module.
• control module receives, by a remote communication means, information or an order concerning a state to be controlled, and then transmits a status command, relating to the order or the information received, to the switching system.
• a status command relating to the order or the information received
• the state actually executed by the electrical switching system can be known remotely via the control module which transmits information relating to the switched switching state by means of a remote link.
• a dynamic control device for the secure setting of a binary switching state of at least one electrical switching system integrated with automation equipment related to the field of guided vehicles, said switching system controlling at least one actuator by means of a control circuit providing an electrical supply to the actuator by means of at least one digital output (corresponding to the binary switching state), said device comprising:
• control module controlling the state of the electrical switching system
• the device according to the invention is characterized in that said reading device is arranged downstream of the electrical switching system and is coupled to the control circuit of the actuator.
• the device according to the invention is characterized in that the reading device comprises at least one transformer as an isolation component coupled to the pilot circuit.
• the transformer allows a free coupling of galvanic contacts between an electronics part of the reading device and an electronic part of the control circuit of the actuator.
• the transformer can be advantageously miniaturized, the place taken by the reading device in the automation equipment is low.
• the device according to the invention is characterized in that the reading device comprises an optocoupler powered by said transformer.
• the optocoupler makes it possible to transmit a different signal depending on whether the switching system is in a closed or open state.
• the reading device will thus transmit a control signal correlated to the binary characteristic of the state of the switching system.
• Another advantage of using an optocoupler is to be able to isolate, from a galvanic point of view, an electronics linked to the reading device of an electronics linked to the control circuit.
• the transformer can be advantageously used to deliver a signal adapted to the reading of the switching state by current measurement or by impedance measurement.
• the transformer is not only used as a galvanic insulator, but also as a switch state reader, ensuring, by its dual function of insulating component and reading component, a small space requirement of the automation equipment .
• the device is characterized in that the control module comprises a state comparator comparing the state controlled to read state able to signal and transmit information relating to a divergence between the commanded state and the read status.
• This comparison between the commanded state and the actually executed state ie the read state
• control module comprises an intelligent circuit, such as, for example and non-exhaustively, a microprocessor, an FPGA component (ie an array of programmable gates In situ or Field Programmable Gate Array in English), or else an ASIC (ie a specialized integrated circuit or Application-Specific Integrated Circuit in English), it is then possible to multiplex the signals coming out of several (at least two) reading devices and to have a single comparator, this to save space and allow a small footprint by reducing the number of comparators.
• the control module is able to signal said divergence so that maintenance of the automation equipment is facilitated and quickly achievable due to a location of the fault by an identification of the faulty switching system.
• control module and / or the control module comprise a device capable of remotely transmitting and receiving data relating to the switching state of the switching system.
• the switching state can be controlled remotely via the control module, and then the actually executed state, ie the read state, can be transmitted remotely to a control station.
• a train can remotely control the switch of a track, and then receive feedback confirming or reversing the commanded switch.
• a new lane can be chosen in time in order to avoid the problematic routing and thus guarantee the smooth running of the vehicle.
• FIG. 1 embodiment of a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state
• FIG. 2 exemplary embodiment of a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state by reading said state via an optocoupler
• FIG. 3 exemplary embodiment of a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state by reading said state via a current measurement
• FIG. 4 embodiment of a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state by reading said state via an impedance measurement.
• FIG. 1 shows a device for dynamically controlling the secure setting of a binary switching state of at least one electrical switching system (12) integrated with automation equipment (1), said system switching device (12) controlling at least one actuator (2) by means of a control circuit (13).
• the device comprising:
• control module (11a) controlling the state of the electrical switching system, in particular by means of a state control (15),
• a reading device (14) capable of reading the switching state of the electrical switching system (12), and transmitting to a control module (Hb) a control signal (Sc) relating to the switching state read, is characterized in that the reading device (14) is arranged downstream of the switching system (12) electrical and is coupled to the control circuit (13) of the actuator (2).
• said read-out coupling (16) may comprise at least one transformer as an isolation component and an optocoupler as a readout component, or alternatively, in another variant, said transformer may act as a as isolation and reading component, thus combining two functions.
• a control signal (Sp) is transmitted by the electrical switching system (12) to the actuator (2) via said piloting circuit (13), said control circuit being able to configure the control signal (Sp) according to the (electrical) characteristics of the actuator (2).
• the characteristics of the control module (11a) and the control module (Hb) can be grouped into a single secure adjustment module (11) able to control and control the adjustment of the switching system and the actuator, in particular , by means of remote links.
• Figures 2 to 4 are detailed embodiments according to Figure 1. They respectively show a reading of the switching state via an octocoupling, via a current measurement and via an impedance measurement.
• FIG. 2 shows an actuator (2a) controlled by means of a control circuit (13a) by an electrical switching system (12a) which receives a status command (15) from a module secure setting (11).
• a control signal (Sc) containing information on the state actually executed, is transmitted to the security adjustment module.
• a reading device (14a) which performs an octocoupler (DQ) reading of the state of the switching system.
• the reading device (14a) is itself configured and controlled by a control signal (St) from the secure control module (11), in particular the control signal (ST) supplies a transformer (T1). of the reading device (14).
• the octocoupler (DQ) comprises in particular at least one light emitting diode and a phototransistor.
• the reading device (14a) comprises, among other things, the transformer (Tl) coupled to a diode bridge (D1, D2, D3, D4, D7) supplying voltage (Vi, OVi) through a resistor (R1). ) the light emitting diode of the octocoupler (DQ).
• the switching system (12a) is closed, the light-emitting diode of the octocoupler (DQ) is fed by the isolated voltage (Vi) through the resistor (R1): the photocoupler of the octocoupler (DQ) is conductive.
• the automation equipment (1) can drive several actuators (2) using a multiplexing technique: a family (la) formed of a switching system (12a), a control circuit (13a).
• n families will each drive at least one actuator. Also, a redundancy technique for which several families, ie two or more families, can command the same or, at least one, actuator advantageously allows a securing of the switching system. Although the number of families is not restricted in quantity, they are nevertheless controlled and controlled by a single secure adjustment module (11).
• the control (St) and control (Sc) signals of each family are coupled to each other so that the control signals (St) control / feed the transformers in turn. (Tl) reading devices.
• the secure control module (11) first generates a first control signal (St) which generates a signal on the transformer T1 of the reading device (14a) of the family (la). and in return, the secure adjustment module (11) receives a first control signal (Sc) from the reading device (14a).
• the secure module (11) generates a second control signal (St) which generates a signal on the transformer T1 of the reading device (14b) of the family (Ib) and in return, the module of secure setting (11) receives a second control signal (Sc) from the reading device (14b).
• the actuators are thus controlled and the relays controlled one after the other, families (14a) up to (14n) continuously or discontinuously.
• another advantage of this device is that the manipulation of normally open (NO) or normally closed (NC) contacts outside the automation equipment (1), but belonging for example to the actuators (2), does not cause no errors in reading the state of the switching system.
• FIG. 3 Another embodiment according to FIG. 1 is given in FIG. 3, characterized in that the state of the electrical switching system (12) is read by a current measurement via the transformer (Tl) belonging to the reading device (14).
• the reading device (14) of FIG. 3 is on the one hand controlled by the secure control module via a control / command signal (St) and, on the other hand, unlike FIG. 2, it comprises inter alia resistors (R1, R2), diodes (D1, D2, D3), capacitance (C1) and transformer (T1) for reading the switching state of the switching system (12) by measuring current on the control circuit (13).
• the current measurement has different values depending on the open or closed state of the electrical switching system.
• This difference in the value of the current measurements allows the transmission of a control signal (Sca) correlated to the open or closed state of the switching system (12).
• This control signal (Sca) is transmitted by the reading device (14) to a state comparator (111) forming part of the secure control module (11).
• the status comparator (111) compares the control signal (Sca) with a reference signal, which comparison makes it possible to deduce whether the controlled state corresponds to the read state.
• the secure adjustment module is able to transmit (remotely) to a maintenance team an alert signal making it possible to locate and define the failure of the command. automation equipment.
• the automation equipment (1) can control several actuators (2) in particular by using a multiplexing technique: a family (1a) formed of a switching system (12), a driving circuit (13) and a reading device (14) driving a first actuator (2a) is connected to the secure adjustment module (11) in parallel with a second family (Ib) identical to the family ( la) and driving a second actuator (2a). While the family (1a) allows the transmission of a control signal (Sca) to the comparator (111), the family (Ib) allows the transmission of a second control signal (Scb) to the same comparator (111).
• a multiplexing technique a family (1a) formed of a switching system (12), a driving circuit (13) and a reading device (14) driving a first actuator (2a) is connected to the secure adjustment module (11) in parallel with a second family (Ib) identical to the family ( la) and driving a second actuator (2a). While the family (1a) allows the transmission of a control signal (Sca) to the comparator (111), the family (Ib
• the comparator (111) makes it possible to compare each control signal (Sca, Scb, ..., ScX) with said reference signal, and thus to deduce the state actually executed by the "
• the comparator (111) can compare the control signals iteratively (one after another) by means of iterative state control sent to the different electrical switching systems by the control module.
• the state comparator is able to process the comparison of the different control signals with a reference signal simultaneously, advantageously allowing a faster reading of the switching state of the electrical switching systems.
• FIG. 4 is identical to FIG. 3 and thus has the same characteristics, with the difference that the reading device (14) allows reading by measurement of the impedance variation in the control circuit (13) downstream of the electrical switching system (12) to which it is connected.
• the advantage of this embodiment over the previous one is that the device does not give false alarms in the case where the current in the actuator is not that expected due to an event outside the automation equipment, such as, for example and non-exhaustively, a maneuver on push buttons, a failure of an actuator, a short circuit or a cut in a wiring train.
• the method and the device according to the invention have several advantages over existing methods and devices in that: - They improve the reliability of the control of the operation of the automation equipment and allow a fast, localized and secure detection of faults,

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Safety Devices In Control Systems (AREA)
• Electric Propulsion And Braking For Vehicles (AREA)

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• 2008
  • 2008-12-16 US US13/140,180 patent/US20110260552A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-12-16 KR KR1020117016633A patent/KR20110103426A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2008-12-16 BR BRPI0823349-7A patent/BRPI0823349A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2008-12-16 CA CA 2746969 patent/CA2746969A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-12-16 WO PCT/FR2008/001754 patent/WO2010070209A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2008-12-16 EP EP08875635A patent/EP2368162A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-12-16 CN CN2008801328035A patent/CN102317875A/zh active Pending

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