FR3096951A1 - Railway vehicle data communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

S system data communication system for rail vehicles The invention relates to a data communication system for a rail vehicle comprising at least one bogie (2) for a rail vehicle adapted to be fixed under a body (4) of said rail vehicle, and an electronic control device (6) of said rail vehicle. on board the rail vehicle, said bogie (2) comprising at least one sensor (18) adapted to obtain operating data and / or at least one actuator (20) adapted to control a physical function of said rail vehicle, said electronic control device control (6) comprising a control and command module (34). The bogie comprises a connection device (32), connected to said sensors (18) and to said actuators (20), and adapted to communicate according to a predetermined communication protocol, via a single bidirectional communication link (36), with the module (34 ) control and command on board said rail vehicle. The invention also relates to an associated bogie and an associated railway vehicle. Figure for abstract: Figure 1

Description

Rail vehicle data communication system

The present invention relates to a bogie for a railway vehicle, adapted to be fixed under a body of said railway vehicle, a data communication system for a railway vehicle and a railway vehicle comprising such a communication system.

The invention lies in the field of railway vehicles, and in particular in the field of communication between electronic equipment on board railway vehicles.

Conventionally, a railway vehicle is adapted to run on rails by means of wheels driven by a traction chain comprising at least two motors. Such a vehicle comprises at least one car, each car comprising one or more bogies, comprising a structure, called the bogie frame, on which are linked at least two axles supporting each of the wheels of the vehicle, and a body fixed above the frame , for example by means of suspensions.

Modern rail vehicles, trains or metros, include various on-board electronic equipment to perform vehicle operating and control control functions, in particular sensors and actuators at chassis level, for example: distance sensors, rotation sensors, sensors, speed or angular position encoders, obstacle detectors, acoustic sensors for noise measurement. Each of these on-board electronic equipment is suitable for picking up or receiving data in the form of an electrical signal, these data being processed in a control device of the rail vehicle, generally embedded in the body of the rail vehicle accessible to human operators. Conventionally, each on-board electronic equipment is connected by a wired link to such a control device.

The proliferation of on-board electronic equipment makes the management of the connections to be made costly, complex and cumbersome.

The aim of the invention is to facilitate the connection of electronic equipment on board railway vehicles.

To this end, the invention proposes a bogie for a railway vehicle, adapted to be fixed under a body of said railway vehicle, the bogie comprising at least one sensor adapted to obtain operating data and/or at least one actuator adapted to control a physical function of the railway vehicle. This bogie comprises a connection device, connected to said sensors and to said actuators, and adapted to communicate according to a predetermined communication protocol, via a single bidirectional communication link, with a control and command module on board said railway vehicle.

Advantageously, the railway vehicle bogie is equipped with a connection device, adapted to communicate according to a predetermined communication protocol, via a single bidirectional communication link, with a control and command module embedded in a body of said railway vehicle. Thus, the on-board electronic equipment, sensors and actuators, are connected to the control and command module located in the body of the rail vehicle via a single link.

The size and the cost of connection and maintenance are reduced. In addition, advantageously, the addition of sensors and/or actuators is also facilitated.

The railway vehicle bogie according to the invention may have one or more of the characteristics below, taken independently or in all their technically acceptable combinations.

The connection device is configured to communicate according to the Ethernet protocol, said single bidirectional communication link being a wired link.

The connection device comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer configured to combine data from at least two sensors and/or actuators to form a multiplexed data stream suitable for being transmitted to said control and command module.

The bogie comprises at least two sensors, at least a first sensor supplying data in the form of an analog signal, the connection device further comprising an analog-digital converter, connected to the multiplexer/demultiplexer, configured to convert said analog signal into a digital signal .

The multiplexer/demultiplexer is further configured to separate data from a data stream received via said single bidirectional communication link into a plurality of control and command signals intended for at least one sensor and/or at least one actuator connected to said connection device.

According to another aspect, the invention proposes a data communication system for a railway vehicle, comprising at least one bogie adapted to be fixed under a body of said railway vehicle, and an electronic control device for said railway vehicle on board the body of the vehicle railway, said bogie comprising at least one sensor suitable for obtaining operating data and/or at least one actuator suitable for controlling a physical function of said railway vehicle, said electronic control device comprising a control and command module, said bogie being of the type briefly described above, making it possible to produce a single bidirectional communication link between said sensors and said actuators, on the one hand, and said control and command module on the other hand.

In this communication system, said control and command module comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer suitable for extracting, from a multiplexed data stream, a plurality of digital signals originating from sensors and/or actuators connected to the bogie connection.

In this communication system, said electronic control device comprises at least one module, connected to the control and command module via a communication bus and adapted to transmit at least one command to a sensor or to an actuator of said bogie via the module command and control and said single two-way communication link.

According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a railway vehicle comprising a communication system as defined above.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description given below, by way of indication and in no way limiting, with reference to the appended figures, among which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a communication system between the bogie and the body of a railway vehicle according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a connection device according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a second embodiment of a connection device according to the invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows, in cross section, a bogie 2 which supports a body 4 comprising an electronic control and command device 6.

The representation of the body 4 is schematic, and only elements useful for the description of the invention are represented. In practice, body 4 is supported by bogie 2 via secondary suspensions 14, 16, adapted to damp mechanical movements between bogie 2 and body 4.

The bogie 2 comprises a frame 8, on which are fixed axles (not shown) supporting each of the wheels of the vehicle 10, 12 of the railway vehicle.

The bogie 2 comprises a plurality of sensors 18 and actuators 20, represented schematically in FIG. 1. For example, the sensors comprise: distance, rotation, vibration sensors, an obstacle detector, a speed encoder or angular position, an acoustic noise measurement sensor. These various sensors, adapted to obtain data relating to the operation of the railway vehicle, are for example distributed on the chassis 8 in a dimension perpendicular to the plane of the representation of the chassis in FIG. 1. The actuators are adapted to control at least one function physics of the railway vehicle, these are for example brake panel solenoid valves.

The various sensors 18 and actuators 20 are connected by wired links 22, 24, 26, 28, 30 to a connection device 32, connected via a single bidirectional communication link to a module 34 for controlling and controlling the electronic device of control 6 located in the box 4.

In one embodiment, a single connection device 32 is provided for a bogie 2, for example placed in the center of the bogie.

Alternatively, several connection devices 32 are provided for a bogie, each connection device 32 being connected by a single two-way communication link to a module 34.

The connection device 32 is connected to the control and command module 34 via a cable 36, forming a single bidirectional communication link, suitable for transporting data according to a chosen communication protocol. In one embodiment, the cable 36 is an Ethernet cable, the chosen communication protocol being the Ethernet communication protocol, preferably an Industrial Ethernet (IE for “Industrial Ethernet”) protocol.

The control and command module 34 is connected, via a communication bus 37, to other modules forming part of the electronic control device 6, comprising for example: a central processor 38, an electrical power management device 40, a sensor control module 42 and an actuator control module 44.

The connection device 32 performs a connection and communication gateway function between the sensors 18, actuators 20 and the various modules of the electronic control device 6.

The connection device 32 comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer 46 and an analog-digital converter ADC 48.

Indeed, the various sensors 18 are capable of providing data in various formats, for example in the form of an analog signal on the one hand and in the form of a digital signal on the other. For example, a speed sensor provides an analog signal, other sensors provide digital signals, for example obstacle detectors. It is the same for the actuators 20, for example solenoid valves for brake panel.

ADC 48 is configured to convert analog signals to digital signals, which are then passed to multiplexer/demultiplexer 46, which is configured to combine digital signals from multiple sources into a single digital signal. Multiplexing is known in the field of signal processing and is carried out according to any known method.

The data encoded in this digital signal is encapsulated in a multiplexed data stream, in the form of digital data packets, formatted according to the chosen communication protocol. This data stream is transmitted, via the two-way communication link 36, to the control and command module 34 .

In addition, the multiplexer/demultiplexer 46 is also configured to separate data from a data stream received via said two-way communication link 36 into a plurality of control and command signals intended for at least one sensor 18 and/or at least one actuator 20 connected to said connection device 32.

The control and command signals are validated and transmitted to control the sensors 18 and actuators 20, in other words any on-board electronic, electrical or mechanical equipment.

The control and command module 34 comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer 52 adapted to extract, from the multiplexed data stream received from the connection device 32, a plurality of digital signals comprising data from sensors and/or actuators connected to the connection device 32, and to transmit them to one or more of the modules 38, 42, 44 of the electronic device for processing. In particular, it concerns data from sensors which are useful for controlling the operation of the rail vehicle.

The connection device 32, the control and command module 34 and the two-way communication link 36 form a communication system 50 of the railway vehicle, advantageously making it possible to carry out two-way communication between sensors and actuators on board the bogie 2 and the device control electronics 6 on board the railway vehicle, for example in a locomotive.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates a first embodiment of a connection device 32.

In this first embodiment, the connection device 32 is an electronic card specifically manufactured to perform the functions described above of analog-digital conversion, multiplexing/demultiplexing and formatting according to a chosen communication protocol.

The connection device 32 comprises in this embodiment a power supply 60, an input/output connection module 64, associated with physical inputs/outputs 66a, 66b, 66c, 66d to which the sensors/actuators are connected (not shown in FIG. 2), a microprocessor 68, configured to perform calculations, associated with a connection 70 of network cable 36. The microprocessor 68 performs the multiplexing/demultiplexing and formatting functionality according to the communication protocol chosen, for example according to Ethernet protocol.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates a second embodiment of a connection device 32.

In this second embodiment, the connection device 32 comprises an assembly of electronic cards.

It comprises one or more electronic cards 74 each comprising one or more microprocessors, suitable for carrying out calculations, and in particular multiplexing/demultiplexing and formatting of data for transmission/reception according to the chosen communication protocol.

The device 32 also comprises one or more power supply cards 76, and several input/output cards 78, 80, 82, 84 associated with inputs/outputs, not shown, to which the sensors/actuators are connected.

Of course, the number of input/output cards given as an example is not limiting, this number being in practice chosen according to the number of sensors/actuators to be commanded and monitored.

This second embodiment is modular, and makes it possible to connect a variable number of sensors/actuators to the connection device 32.

Advantageously, the connection device 32 is compatible with the IEC61508 standard and makes it possible to achieve a predetermined level of safety integrity (or SIL for “ Safety Integrity Level ”), for example SIL 2 or SIL3.

Advantageously, the communication according to the Ethernet communication protocol is performed substantially in real time.

Advantageously, the architecture of the communication system is simplified, and the number of connection cables is reduced, which makes it possible to reduce the bulk, and the costs of setting up and maintaining this system.

Claims (9)

Bogie for a railway vehicle, adapted to be fixed under a body (4) of said railway vehicle, the bogie comprising at least one sensor adapted (18) to obtain operating data and/or at least one actuator (20) adapted to control a physical function of the railway vehicle,
characterized in that it comprises a connection device (32), connected to said sensors (18) and to said actuators (20), and adapted to communicate according to a predetermined communication protocol, via a single bidirectional communication link (36), with a control and command module (34) on board said railway vehicle. Bogie according to claim 1, wherein the connection device (32) is configured to communicate according to the Ethernet protocol, said single bidirectional communication link (36) being a wired link. Bogie according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said connection device (32) comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer (46) configured to combine data from at least two sensors (18) and/or actuators (20) to form a multiplexed data stream adapted to be transmitted to said control and command module (34). Bogie according to Claim 3, comprising at least two sensors (18), in which at least a first sensor supplies data in the form of an analogue signal, the connection device further comprising an analogue-digital converter (48), connected to the multiplexer / demultiplexer (46), configured to convert said analog signal into a digital signal. A bogie according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said multiplexer/demultiplexer (46) is further configured to split data of a data stream received via said single two-way communication link (36) into a plurality of control signals and control intended for at least one sensor (18) and/or at least one actuator (20) connected to said connection device (32). Data communication system for railway vehicle comprising at least one bogie (2) for railway vehicle adapted to be fixed under a body (4) of said railway vehicle, and an electronic control device (6) of said railway vehicle on board the railway vehicle , said bogie (2) comprising at least one sensor (18) suitable for obtaining operating data and/or at least one actuator (20) suitable for controlling a physical function of said railway vehicle, said electronic control device (6) comprising a control and command module (34),
characterized in that said bogie (2) complies with any one of Claims 1 to 5, and makes it possible to create a single bidirectional communication link (36) with said control and command module (34). Communication system according to claim 6, in which said control and command module (34) comprises a multiplexer/demultiplexer (52) adapted to extract, from a multiplexed data stream, a plurality of digital signals coming from sensors (18) and/or actuators (20) connected to the connection device (32) of the bogie. Communication system according to Claim 7, in which the said electronic control device (6) comprises at least one module (42, 44), connected to the control and command module (34) via a communication bus and adapted to transmit to the at least one command to a sensor (18) or to an actuator (20) of said bogie via the control and command module (34) and said single bidirectional communication link (36). Railway vehicle comprising a data communication system according to any one of claims 6 to 8.