JP7548828B2 - Method for measuring the length of the controlled section of a level crossing control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for measuring the controlled section length of a railroad crossing control device, and in particular to a technology that is effective when applied to a measurement method using a controlled section length measuring device mounted on an electrical inspection vehicle.

Railway crossings are equipped with a crossing control device that controls the operation of crossing equipment such as crossing gates and crossing warning devices based on signals from a pair of crossing control devices installed at both ends of a specified section that sandwiches the crossing.
When a train enters the train detection range of the crossing controller, the crossing controller stops or starts outputting a signal voltage (relay output voltage) that activates an electromagnetic relay (controller response relay) provided in the crossing control device. The crossing control device starts a crossing warning when the control relay drops due to the relay output voltage from the crossing controller on the train's entering side, and ends the operation of the crossing warning when the control relay operates as the train passes the detection range of the crossing controller on the train's leaving side.

Conventionally, there are two types of crossing controllers that detect the entry or exit of trains: closed circuit type (HC type) and open circuit type (HO type). For example, there is a crossing control system in which a closed circuit type crossing controller is installed on the side where the train enters and an open circuit type crossing controller is installed on the side where the train leaves, and when a train is detected, a signal is sent to the crossing control device.
In the above-mentioned railroad crossing control system, when it is detected that a train has passed the installation position (starting point) of the railroad crossing controller on the approaching side, the change in voltage or current output by the railroad crossing controller causes a controller reaction relay installed near the railroad crossing to drop, initiating a railroad crossing warning from the railroad crossing control device, and when it is detected that a train has passed the installation position (end point) of the railroad crossing controller on the exiting side, the output voltage returns to its original state, activating the relay and ending the railroad crossing warning.

In crossing control devices that use the above-mentioned controller, a specified distance (e.g., 30 m) is specified for the distance of the train detection range (hereinafter referred to as the "control section length"). If the performance of the crossing controller deteriorates, the control section length becomes shorter and it becomes more difficult to detect trains. For this reason, inspection work is carried out to periodically measure the control section length of the crossing controller in order to prevent malfunction of the crossing control device due to a deterioration in the train detection performance of the crossing controller.

Conventionally, with regard to measuring the controlled section length, an invention has been proposed that includes an operation detection means for detecting the train detection state of a crossing controller, a time measurement means for measuring the time during which the crossing controller detects a train based on the detection result detected by the operation detection means, a speed measurement means for measuring the running speed of the train, and a controlled section length calculation means for calculating the controlled section length based on the time measured by the time measurement means and the running speed of the train measured by the speed measurement means (see Patent Document 1).

An invention has also been proposed for a control section length measurement device that includes a train detection state detection unit, a train detection time measurement unit, an extreme point detection unit, an extreme point interval measurement unit, a train speed calculation unit, and a control section length calculation unit, in which the train detection time measurement unit measures the time that the crossing controller detects a train based on the detection result by the train detection state detection unit, the extreme point interval measurement unit measures the time interval between extreme points of the track transmission voltage detected by the extreme point detection unit, the train speed calculation unit calculates the train speed based on the extreme point interval measured by the extreme point interval measurement unit, and the control section length calculation unit calculates the control section length based on the train detection time measured by the train detection time measurement unit and the train speed calculated by the train speed calculation unit (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2011-73645 A JP 2018-192922 A

However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, the train speed used to calculate the control section length is measured using a speed measuring device such as a speed gun, which requires the installation and removal of the speed measuring device near the track, and therefore the manpower required for measuring the control section length cannot be sufficiently reduced. In addition, there is a problem that the train speed is constantly changing, and if the train accelerates or decelerates while passing through a railroad crossing control, the error becomes large and it is not possible to obtain a highly accurate measurement value. Moreover, if the speed measuring device is a permanent device, there is a problem that the system becomes large-scale, leading to increased costs.
Similarly, the control section length measuring device in Patent Document 2 needs to be installed at each level crossing where the control section length needs to be measured, which increases costs. In addition, the waveform analysis results show that there is a problem in that the waveform is distorted by the type of train (light vehicle/heavy vehicle) and external influences, making it impossible to calculate the control section length accurately.

Therefore, currently, the control section length is mainly measured by an electrical inspection car, but in the measurement by the electrical inspection car, many points are judged to be out of the specified value due to measurement errors, and every time out-of-spec data occurs, a signaling staff member goes to the site and measures it manually using a rail short circuit, which increases the workload of the field staff. In order to enable the measurement by the electrical inspection car, a control section length measurement support transmitter (hereinafter referred to as the "measurement adapter") is provided near the H-type crossing control switch to send a signal for measuring the control section length to the rail.
As a result of thorough investigation into the causes of measurement errors, the inventors have found that the main causes are deterioration of the time element and the measurement adapter used to prevent the crossing control lever from being tilted (two-stage operation).

The present invention has been made with attention to the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a method for measuring the controlled section length of a crossing controller that can measure the controlled section length with high accuracy without being affected by the response time of time elements or relays used to prevent tailgating of crossing controllers, thereby reducing the workload of operational workplaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing controller, which can reduce the effect of deterioration of the measurement adapter and measure the control section length with high accuracy.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
A measurement method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing controller using a control section length measuring device mounted on the vehicle, the method comprising: a first receiving unit and a second receiving unit, respectively, at the front and rear of a vehicle, for receiving a first signal current sent from the railroad crossing controller to the rail and a second signal current sent to the rail from a control section length measurement support transmitter, which is provided corresponding to the railroad crossing controller and transmits a signal in response to detection of a vehicle;
determining a current value of the first signal current a predetermined time before a time point when it is determined that the current value of the second signal current detected by the first receiving unit has reached a predetermined detection level or a current change amount of the second signal current has reached a predetermined value as an operating current value of the railroad crossing controller, and storing the operating current value and vehicle position information at that time;
determining a vehicle position at the time when the current value of the first signal current received by the second receiving unit is equal to or lower than the operating current value as the vehicle position at the time when the railroad crossing control panel fell;
The control section length of the railroad crossing controller is calculated based on the vehicle position information at the time of determining the operating current value and the vehicle position at the time of the drop.

More specifically,
a first receiving unit provided in the leading vehicle for receiving a first signal current sent from the crossing controller to the rail and a second signal current sent to the rail from a control section length measurement support transmitter provided in correspondence with the crossing controller and transmitting a signal in response to detection of a vehicle;
a second receiving unit provided in a rearmost car and configured to receive the first signal current and the second signal current;
a calculation processing unit that calculates a length of a control section of the railroad crossing controller based on the first signal current and the second signal current received by the first receiving unit and the first signal current and the second signal current received by the second receiving unit;
a vehicle position detection unit that detects a position of a vehicle;
A method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing control device using a control section length measuring device comprising:
a first step of starting to store position information detected by the vehicle position detection unit and a current value of the first signal current received by the first receiving unit in response to the first receiving unit detecting the first signal current;
a second step of determining, as an operating current value of the crossing controller, a current value of the crossing controller stored a predetermined time before a time point when it is determined that the current value of the second signal current detected by the first receiving unit has reached a predetermined detection level or a current change amount of the second signal current has reached a predetermined value, and storing the operating current value and vehicle position information at that time;
a third step of storing vehicle position information, in response to detection that the current value of the first signal current detected by the second receiving unit has become equal to or lower than the operating current value, as the vehicle position at the time when the railroad crossing control lever fell;
a fourth step of calculating a control section length of the railroad crossing controller based on the vehicle position information stored in the second step and the vehicle position information stored in the third step;
The above is included.

According to the above-mentioned control section length measurement method, the end point of the control section is not determined by comparing the measured current value of the signal current with a relatively gentle fall sent from the control section length measurement support transmitter (measurement adapter) to the rail with a preset judgment value, so that the control section length can be measured with high accuracy by a device mounted on a vehicle such as an electrical inspection car without being affected by the response time of a time element or relay for preventing the crossing control device from tailgating. In addition, the control section length can be measured with high accuracy not only when the measurement adapter is not deteriorated, but also when the measurement adapter is deteriorated. Furthermore, the positions of the start and end points of the control section can be determined by using the functions originally provided in the device mounted on the vehicle, so that the increase in cost of the control section length measurement device due to the addition of functions can be avoided.

Here, preferably, the control section length measurement device includes a memory unit, and information on the length of the train set is stored in the memory unit,
In the fourth step,
The vehicle's traveling distance is calculated from the vehicle position information when the crossing controller is operating, which is stored in the second step, and the vehicle position information when the crossing controller falls, which is stored in the third step, and the control section length of the crossing controller is calculated by subtracting the length of the train from the calculated traveling distance.
According to this method, the control section length of the crossing controller is calculated by subtracting the length of the train set from the running distance, so that the control section length can be calculated with higher accuracy.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the level crossing controller is a level crossing controller in which the point at which a signal current is sent to the rail and the point at which a signal current is received from the rail are at the same location.
As described above, if the signal current sending point and signal current receiving point are at the same location on the crossing controller, the current path does not change when the inspection vehicle approaches the crossing controller and when the inspection vehicle passes the crossing controller and moves away, so that the current value flowing through the axle does not change, thereby avoiding a decrease in the measurement accuracy of the controlled section length.

The method for measuring the controlled section length of a crossing control device according to the present invention makes it possible to measure the controlled section length with high accuracy without being affected by the response time of time elements or relays for preventing crossing control device tailgating, thereby reducing the workload of the field workplace. It also has the effect of reducing the effect of deterioration of the measurement adapter, making it possible to measure the controlled section length with high accuracy.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a railroad crossing control system to which a control section length measuring method according to the present invention is applied; 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control section length calculation device for a railroad crossing controller mounted on an electrical inspection vehicle; 10 is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from the railroad crossing controller and the change in the signal current value output from the inspection adapter observed by the control section length measuring device of the inspection car. FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram showing changes in signal current values output from a normal inspection adapter and a deteriorated inspection adapter observed in a control section length measuring device of an inspection vehicle. FIG. 10 is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from a railroad crossing controller and the signal current value output from a normal inspection adapter observed by a control section length measuring device of an inspection car to which the control section length measuring method of the present invention is applied. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a control section length measuring method according to the present invention. 11 is a diagram showing a comparison of measurement timing and measurement results obtained by a conventional control section length measurement device and a control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied when the measurement adapter is not deteriorated. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a comparison of measurement timing and measurement results obtained by a conventional control section length measurement device and a control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied when the measurement adapter is deteriorated. FIG. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the current path when the inspection vehicle approaches the control section, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the current path when the inspection vehicle moves away from the control section.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in Figure 1, the railroad crossing control system to which the control section length measurement method of the present invention can be applied comprises a railroad crossing control device 11 which is installed near the railroad crossing and controls the barriers and alarms, and an HC type railroad crossing controller 12A and an HO type railroad crossing controller 12B which are arranged at a predetermined distance from the railroad crossing on either side of the railroad crossing, and the relay outputs of the HC type railroad crossing controller 12A and the HO type railroad crossing controller 12B are transmitted to the railroad crossing control device 11 via cables 13A, 13B, causing the internal relays to trip or be operated.

In Fig. 1, the arrow A indicates the direction in which the train travels, and a closed-circuit HC-type crossing controller 12A is disposed several hundred meters to several kilometers on the side of the crossing where the train enters, and an open-circuit HO-type crossing controller 12B is disposed several tens of meters on the side of the crossing where the train leaves. In addition, near the HC-type crossing controller 12A and the HO-type crossing controller 12B, there are provided measurement adapters 14A and 14B, respectively, which receive train detection signals from the receivers of the respective controllers 12A and 12B and send signals for measuring the control section length (48 kHz, 49 kHz for the HC type, 46 kHz, 47 kHz for the HO type) to the rails.
Although not shown, in order to operate the HC type crossing controller 12A and the HO type crossing controller 12B, a power supply voltage is supplied to each of them via a cable from a power supply device arranged near the crossing.

The HC type crossing controller 12A detects whether a train is on the line by transmitting an AC signal (approximately 10 kHz) from a signal current sending point via a pair of cables to the rail R and receiving the signal via a pair of cables connected to a slightly distant location (signal current receiving point), and when a train is on the line, it is no longer possible to receive the AC signal, thereby detecting the passage of the train.On the other hand, the HO type crossing controller 12B has a signal current sending point and a signal current receiving point at the same location, applies an AC signal to the rail R via a pair of cables, and when a train is on the line, a current flows through the axle to form a closed circuit, which is detected to detect the passage of the train.
In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 20 denotes an electrical inspection vehicle, and this electrical inspection vehicle 20 is equipped with a control section length measuring device 21 that receives signals for measuring the control section length transmitted from the inspection adapters 14A, 14B and performs control section length measurement processing.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the control section length measuring device 21 mounted on the electrical inspection vehicle.
As shown in Figure 2, the control section length measuring device 21 comprises receivers 22A, 22B that receive signal currents sent from the level crossing controllers 12A, 12B and the inspection adapters 14A, 14B, connectors 23A, 23B that have the function of separating the received signals into level crossing controller signals and inspection adapter signals using a bandpass filter, a control section length calculation unit 24, a memory unit 25 that stores data necessary for calculating the control section length, such as the length of the train (more precisely, the axle distance), and an output unit 26 consisting of a monitor such as an LCD (liquid crystal display panel) that displays the calculation results, or a printer.

The receivers 22A and 22B are mounted on the bogies at the front of the leading car and at the rear of the last car. In this embodiment, the control section length measuring device 21 receives the signal current (first signal current) passed to the rail by the crossing controllers 12A and 12B and the signal current (second signal current) passed to the rail by the inspection adapters 14A and 14B at the receivers 22A and 22B, and transmits them to the control section length calculation unit 24 via the connections 23A and 23B.

The control section length calculation unit 24 comprises a level crossing control signal detection unit 24A that detects a level crossing control signal based on the signals received by the receivers 22A, 22B, an adapter signal detection unit 24B that detects the signal current of the inspection adapter, and an arithmetic processing unit 24C consisting of a microcomputer, an arithmetic logic circuit, etc. The level crossing control signal detection unit 24A has a function of level converting and A/D converting the level crossing control signal from the signals received by the receivers 22A, 22B, and the adapter signal detection unit 24B has a function of level converting and A/D converting the adapter signal from the signals received by the receivers 22A, 22B.
Furthermore, the electric inspection car is equipped with a speed generator 31 that is provided on an axle and outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation speed of the axle, a connector 23C that transmits the signal from the speed generator 31, and a speed/kilometre calculation unit 32 that calculates the speed and running distance (kilometres) of the train (inspection car) based on the signal from the speed generator 31, separately from the control section length measuring device 21. The speed and running distance calculated by the speed/kilometre calculation unit 32 are supplied to an arithmetic processing unit 24C.

Next, a method for measuring the controlled section length by the controlled section length measuring device 21 of this embodiment will be described. Before that, however, a problem with measuring the controlled section length by a conventional inspection vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
In Fig. 3, (a) is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from the crossing controller 12A or 12B measured by the control section length measuring device of the inspection car, with the distance on the horizontal axis, (b) is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from the inspection adapter 14A or 14B measured by the control section length measuring device of the inspection car, (c) is a correct control section length measurement value obtained by manual inspection, (d) is a control section length measurement value by a conventional inspection car, and (e) is a diagram showing the proportion of each cause of measurement error such as time element and response time included in (c) and (d).

In (a), Ps is the start point of the control section, Pe is the end point of the control section, Lt is the length of the train set, and Ph is the end point of detection. The signal current value of the crossing controller at the start point Ps of the control section corresponds to the judgment level (operation level) when train detection starts, and the signal current value of the crossing controller at the end point Ph of detection corresponds to the judgment level (drop level) when train detection ends.
In addition, in Figures 3 (a) and (b), the waveform to the left of the Lt section is the current value detected by receiver 22A provided on a bogie near the front of the leading car, and the waveform on the right is the current value detected by receiver 22B provided on a bogie near the rear of the last car.

As shown in Figure 3(a), the signal current value of the crossing controller observed by the inspection vehicle increases as the inspection vehicle approaches the start point Ps of the control section, drops rapidly halfway through the control section, then rises rapidly and then decreases. Also, as shown in Figure 3(b), the signal current value of the inspection adapter observed by the inspection vehicle rises immediately after the start point Ps of the control section, drops once, then rises again, and the level gradually decreases until it reaches a position quite far from the end point Pe of the control section. Therefore, the control section length measurement value by the inspection vehicle in (d) is longer than the correct control section length measurement value in (c).

The inventors have studied in detail the cause of the difference between Figures 3(c) and (d). As a result, they have found that five error factors are included, as shown in Figure 3(e). The error factors shown in Figure 3(e) are, from the left, the response time of the crossing controller output required from when the crossing controller signal reaches the operating level until the relay output voltage is output (#1), the relay operating time required from when it is determined in the measurement adapter that the detection level has been exceeded until the internal relay is turned on (#2), the time element due to hysteresis, which is the difference between the crossing controller operating level and the drop level (#3), the time element for preventing trolling (two-stage operation) (#4), and the relay drop time required from when it is determined in the measurement adapter that the detection level has been exceeded until the internal relay is turned off (#5).

In addition to the above-mentioned time elements, deterioration of the inspection adapter is also considered as a cause of errors in the control section length measurement value by the inspection vehicle. In Fig. 4(a), the change in the signal current value output from a normal inspection adapter observed by the control section length measurement device of the inspection vehicle is shown by a solid line, and the change in the signal current value output from a deteriorated inspection adapter is shown by a dashed line. Fig. 4(b) shows the correct control section length measurement value obtained by manual inspection, (c) shows the control section length measurement value in the case of a normal inspection adapter by a conventional inspection vehicle, and (d) shows the control section length measurement value in the case of a deteriorated inspection adapter. In (d), #6 and #7 are errors that cannot be detected due to a decrease in the current value caused by the deterioration of the adapter.
As is clear from a comparison of (c) and (d) in Figure 4, the signal current value output from a deteriorated measurement adapter becomes smaller, whereas the detection level at the measurement vehicle remains constant, and therefore the control section length is measured as shorter than when the measurement is normal.

Based on the above findings, the inventors have considered countermeasures and developed the control section length measurement method of this embodiment. The control section length measurement method will be described in detail below with reference to the waveform diagram in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows the current waveform observed in the control section length calculation unit 24 of the inspection car, where (a) is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from the crossing controller 12A or 12B with distance on the horizontal axis, and (b) is a waveform diagram showing the change in the signal current value output from the inspection adapter 14A or 14B.

Due to the characteristics of the railroad crossing controller (hereafter abbreviated as controller), the controller current (hereafter referred to as the operating current value) ion measured by the control section length calculation unit 24 when the controller detects a train (timing t1) and the controller current (hereafter referred to as the off-timing current) ioff measured by the inspection car when the controller no longer detects a train (timing t3) are considered to be approximately the same current value. In addition, the time Δt1 (corresponding to #1 + #2 in Figure 3 (e)) from timing t1 when the controller detects a train to timing t2 when it is determined that the output current of the inspection adapter has started up does not depend on the speed of the train, so the measurement length traveled in Δt1 time can be known in advance by a running test, etc.

Therefore, if the current ion at the control element operation timing t1 is known, the drop timing t3 can be known, and the controlled section length can be calculated from the distance the train traveled between t1 and t3. The controlled section length measurement method of the present invention was developed based on the above concept, and the specific steps are explained in detail below using the flowchart in Figure 6.

When the inspection car's control section length measuring device starts the process of FIG. 6, it first reads the signal current (controller current) from the crossing controller received by the receiver 22A of the leading car (step S1) and determines whether the controller current has been detected (step S2). If it determines that a current has been detected (Yes), it stores the current value from the controller together with the vehicle position (kilometers) at that time (step S3). Specifically, because the calculation of the train's travel distance based on the signal from the tachograph is performed in a predetermined unit (e.g., 10 cm), it stores the current value from the controller and the distance (kilometers) at that time at a timing that matches the unit of distance.

Next, the signal current (adapter current) received by the receiver 22A of the leading vehicle from the measurement adapter is read (step S4), and it is determined whether or not the adapter current has reached a preset detection level (step S5). If it is determined that the adapter current has reached the detection level (Yes), the process proceeds to step S6, where the current value (controller current) of the receiver 22A stored Δt1 before the timing (t2) at which it is determined that the measured current value of the measurement adapter has reached the detection level is determined as the operating current value i on of the controller, and the current value i on and the distance (kilometers) L1 at that time are stored.
Then, the signal current (controller current) from the crossing control received by the receiver 22B of the last vehicle is read (step S7), and it is determined whether the control current has become less than the operating current value ion stored in step S6 (step S8).

If it is determined in step S8 that the controller current is equal to or less than ion (Yes), the process proceeds to step S9, where the vehicle position (kilometers) at that time is stored. Next, the running distance Lr (=L3-L1) from t1 to t3 in Figure 5(a) is calculated from the distance (kilometers) L1 stored in step S6 and the distance (kilometers) L3 stored in step S9, and the control section length is determined by subtracting the length Lt of the train set from the running distance Lr (step S10).
The reason why the length of the formation Lt is subtracted from the running distance Lr is that receivers that receive signal currents are provided corresponding to the front axle of the leading car and the rear axle of the last car, and the determination in step S1 is made based on the signal from the receiver on the axle of the leading car, and the determination in step S8 is made based on the signal from the receiver on the axle of the last car.

According to the processing in accordance with the above flowchart, as shown in (c) and (d) of Figure 5, it is possible to calculate an accurate control section length with almost no influence from the time elements and response times contained in the railroad crossing controller.
In addition, when the measurement adapter is not deteriorated, the adapter current is compared with the detection level in the judgment of step S5 to accurately calculate the control section length, but instead of comparing with the detection level, the difference (current change amount) between the read adapter current and the adapter current a certain distance (e.g., 2 m) before is calculated, and a method is used to judge whether the current change amount reaches a preset value, so that an accurate control section length can be calculated even when the measurement adapter is deteriorated. Furthermore, by using a method of determining the judgment of step S5 as final when the state where the preset change amount is reached continues for a certain distance, it is also possible to prevent momentary erroneous detection of noise. Hereinafter, the reason why an accurate control section length can be calculated by the process according to the flowchart of FIG. 6 will be explained with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

Figure 7 shows a comparison of the measurement timing and measurement results when a conventional control section length measurement device and a control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied use a judgment based on the amount of change in step S5 when the inspection adapter is not deteriorated. Figures 7(a) and (b) show the same signal current waveforms of the crossing control device and the inspection adapter as Figures 3(a), (b) and 5(a), (b). Figure 7(c) shows the measurement results by manual inspection, Figure 7(d) shows the measurement results by the conventional measurement device, and Figure 7(e) shows the measurement results when a judgment based on the amount of change is used in step S5 in a measurement device to which the present invention is applied.

In Figure 7, Figure 7(d) is the same as Figure 3(e), and includes error factors #1 to #5 as described above. On the other hand, in the control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied, the start point Ps of the control section is set to Δt1 before the time when the signal current of the inspection adapter is detected, the current value at that time is set to the operating current value ion, and the same current value is set to the off timing current ioff, and the timing when the signal current of the crossing controller becomes ioff is measured as the end point Pe of the control section. In this case, Figure 7(e), which shows the result of applying the present invention, matches (c) of manual inspection, so it can be seen that almost the same control section length measurement value is obtained as in the case of manual inspection.

Meanwhile, Figure 8 shows a comparison of the measurement timing and measurement results when a conventional measurement device and a measurement device to which the present invention is applied use a judgment based on the amount of change in step S5 when the measurement adapter is deteriorated, with Figure 8(a) showing the signal current waveform of the crossing control device, and Figure 8(b) showing the signal current waveform of the deteriorated measurement adapter, the same as the dotted line in Figure 4(a). Also, Figure 8(c) shows the measurement results from manual inspection, Figure 8(d) shows the measurement results from the conventional measurement device, and Figure 8(e) shows the measurement results when a judgment based on the amount of change is used in step S5 in the control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied.

In Figure 8, Figure 8(d) is the same as Figure 4(d), and as mentioned above, it contains undetectable errors #6 and #7. On the other hand, in the control section length measurement device to which the present invention is applied, the start point Ps of the control section is set to Δt1 before the time when the signal current of the inspection adapter is detected, the current value at that time is the operating current value ion, and the same current value is the off timing current ioff, and the timing when the signal current of the crossing controller becomes ioff is measured as the end point Pe of the control section. In this case, too, Figure 8(e) matches (c) of manual inspection, so it can be seen that by applying the present invention, a control section length measurement value that is almost the same as that of manual inspection can be obtained.

Incidentally, the flowchart in Figure 6 can be applied as is to HO-type crossing controllers without any problems, but if it is applied as is to HC-type crossing controllers, the measurement accuracy will decrease, so measures are required. The reason for this will be explained below with reference to Figure 9.
Figure 9 (A) shows the path CP1 of the track short-circuit current when an inspection vehicle approaches the control section of an HC-type crossing controller, and Figure 9 (B) shows the path CP2 of the track short-circuit current when the inspection vehicle passes through the control section of the HC-type crossing controller and moves away.

As shown in Fig. 9(A), when the inspection vehicle approaches the crossing controller, most of the current i2 sent from the signal current sending point (rail bond) P1 of the crossing controller 12A to the rail flows through the leading axle of the inspection vehicle, but some of the current i1 also flows through the receiving point P2. On the other hand, when the inspection vehicle passes the crossing controller and moves away, most of the current i4 sent to the rail flows through the rearmost axle of the inspection vehicle, and the current i3 flowing through the receiving point P2 becomes smaller, as shown in Fig. 9(B).
As described above, in the HC-type crossing controller, the axle and the controller receiver form a parallel circuit, so the detection current flowing through the axle differs when the inspection vehicle is on the receiving point side (vehicle entry side) of the crossing controller 12A and when it is on the transmitting point side (vehicle exit side). Therefore, the method of the above embodiment (flowchart in FIG. 6) cannot accurately detect the drop point, and there is a risk of a decrease in measurement accuracy.

In contrast, in an HO-type crossing controller, the signal current sending point and the signal current receiving point are at the same location, so the same detection current flows through the axle whether the inspection vehicle is on the approaching or exiting side of the crossing controller 12B. Therefore, in an HO-type crossing controller, in step S4 of Fig. 6, the controller current value stored Δt1 before the timing (t2) at which the current from the inspection adapter was detected is determined as the operating current value i on of the controller, and in step S7, it is determined whether the signal current from the controller has become equal to or less than the operating current value i on, thereby making it possible to accurately detect the drop point and calculate the control section length with high accuracy.
In addition, when applying the above embodiment to an HC type railroad crossing controller, it is also possible to calculate the control section length by taking into account the difference in the axle current values in Figures 9 (A) and (B), for example by correcting the detected current value.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, receivers 22A and 22B are provided on the front bogie of the leading car of the inspection car and the rear bogie of the last car, respectively, but if the inspection car is a one-car train, the leading car and the last car are the same car. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the signal current sent from the crossing controller to the rail and the signal current sent from the inspection adapter to the rail are received by the same receiver, but they may be received by separate receivers.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the position of the inspection vehicle is determined by the distance traveled (in kilometers), but the control section length may be calculated using the position information of the inspection vehicle received by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver installed in the inspection vehicle or information from the railway GIS (Geographic Information System).

11: Railroad crossing control device 12A: HC-type railroad crossing controller 12B: HO-type railroad crossing controller 13A, 13B: Cable 14A, 14B: Inspection adapter (transmitter for supporting measurement of control section length)
20 Electrical inspection vehicle 21 Control section length measuring device 22A, 22B Receiver 23A, 23B, 23C Connector 24 Control section length calculation unit 24A Controller signal detection unit 24B Inspection adapter signal detection unit 24C Arithmetic processing unit 25 Memory unit 26 Output unit 31 Speed generator 32 Speed/kilometer calculation unit

Claims (4)

A measurement method for measuring a control section length of a crossing controller using a control section length measuring device mounted on the vehicle, the method comprising: a first receiving unit and a second receiving unit, respectively, at the front and rear of a vehicle, for receiving a first signal current sent from the crossing controller to the rail and a second signal current sent to the rail from a control section length measurement support transmitter, which is provided corresponding to the crossing controller and transmits a signal in response to detection of a vehicle;
determining a current value of the first signal current a predetermined time before a time point when it is determined that the current value of the second signal current detected by the first receiving unit has reached a predetermined detection level or a current change amount of the second signal current has reached a predetermined value as an operating current value of the railroad crossing controller, and storing the operating current value and vehicle position information at that time;
determining a vehicle position at the time when the current value of the first signal current received by the second receiving unit is equal to or lower than the operating current value as the vehicle position at the time when the railroad crossing control panel fell;
A method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing controller, characterized in that the control section length of the railroad crossing controller is calculated based on vehicle position information at the time of determining the operating current value and the vehicle position at the time of the fall. a first receiving unit provided in the leading vehicle for receiving a first signal current sent from the crossing controller to the rail and a second signal current sent to the rail from a control section length measurement support transmitter provided in correspondence with the crossing controller and transmitting a signal in response to detection of a vehicle;
a second receiving unit provided in a rearmost car and configured to receive the first signal current and the second signal current;
a calculation processing unit that calculates a length of a control section of the railroad crossing controller based on the first signal current and the second signal current received by the first receiving unit and the first signal current and the second signal current received by the second receiving unit;
a vehicle position detection unit that detects a position of a vehicle;
A method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing control device using a control section length measuring device comprising:
a first step of starting to store position information detected by the vehicle position detection unit and a current value of the first signal current received by the first receiving unit in response to the first receiving unit detecting the first signal current;
a second step of determining, as an operating current value of the crossing controller, a current value of the crossing controller stored a predetermined time before a time point when it is determined that the current value of the second signal current detected by the first receiving unit has reached a predetermined detection level or a current change amount of the second signal current has reached a predetermined value, and storing the operating current value and vehicle position information at that time;
a third step of storing vehicle position information, in response to detection that the current value of the first signal current detected by the second receiving unit has become equal to or lower than the operating current value, as the vehicle position at the time when the railroad crossing control lever fell;
a fourth step of calculating a control section length of the railroad crossing controller based on the vehicle position information stored in the second step and the vehicle position information stored in the third step;
A method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing controller, comprising: The control section length measurement device includes a storage unit, and information on the length of a train set is stored in the storage unit.
In the fourth step,
A method for measuring the control section length of a railroad crossing controller as described in claim 2, characterized in that the vehicle's traveling distance is calculated from the vehicle position information when the railroad crossing controller is operating stored in the second step and the vehicle position information when the railroad crossing controller falls stored in the third step, and the control section length of the railroad crossing controller is calculated by subtracting the length of the train from the calculated traveling distance. The method for measuring the controlled section length of a crossing controller according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the crossing controller is a crossing controller in which the point at which the signal current is sent to the rail and the point at which the signal current is received from the rail are the same location.

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