EP3854940B1 - Switch heating validation system - Google Patents

Switch heating validation system Download PDF

Info

Publication number: EP3854940B1
Authority: EP; European Patent Office
Prior art keywords: switch; heating; switch heating; railway; railway switch
Prior art date: 2020-01-24
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.): Active

Application number

EP21152983.9A

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German (de)

English (en)

French (fr)

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EP3854940A1 (en

Inventor

Lex Josephus Maria Van Der Poel

Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

Dual Inventive Holdings BV

Original Assignee

Dual Inventive Holdings BV

Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)

2020-01-24

Filing date

2021-01-22

Publication date

2023-09-13

2021-01-22 Application filed by Dual Inventive Holdings BV filed Critical Dual Inventive Holdings BV

2021-07-28 Publication of EP3854940A1 publication Critical patent/EP3854940A1/en

2023-09-13 Application granted granted Critical

2023-09-13 Publication of EP3854940B1 publication Critical patent/EP3854940B1/en

Status Active legal-status Critical Current

2041-01-22 Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
- E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
- E01B7/00—Switches; Crossings
- E01B7/24—Heating of switches

Definitions

the invention concerns a switch heating validation system for validating the operating state of a railway switch heating system for heating a railway switch, in order to keep railway switches free from snow and ice.
Railway switches comprise switch actuators via which the tips of the switch are operated and moved in position, whereby a rail vehicle can change its direction of travel. This does not mean a forward and return direction, but a change from one track to another, from a main line to a branch line. Switches may be regarded as one of the basic elements of modern rail infrastructure. Modern rail infrastructure, certainly in the dense Dutch railway landscape, comprises a multiplicity of switches.
switches are equipped with a switch heating system.
a switch heating validation system for validating the operating state of a railway switch heating system for heating a railway switch.
Validation in the context of the present description means establishing whether or not the railway switch heating system is functioning correctly.
the railway network is used ever more intensively and the density of the railway network is increasing.
Single-track railway sections are being extended into multi-track railway sections, new routes are being created and new villages and towns connected.
railway sections are track portions between two usually larger stations. These railway sections may consist of one track but usually comprise several tracks. If there are several tracks, also known as multi-track sections, trains travelling in opposite directions have their own track, for example double-track sections. This contrasts with single-track sections, wherein trains in both directions must use one and the same track.
railway sections which have three or sometimes even four mutually parallel tracks, and at least in the Netherlands there are also some six-track sections.
the railway sections may be divided into so-called blocks using the block system. Only one rail vehicle may be present in each block, and a section usually consists of various inter-connected blocks, but a short railway section may in principle also consist of a single block.
switches are kept free from snow and ice by activating said systems when a specific preset temperature is reached.
the switch heating often does not function or does not function fully, or it appears that the quantity of snow or ice is greater than that for which the switch heating system was designed. In such cases, the switch heating system will fail and the switch malfunction.
at present many maintenance engineers are employed to test and inspect the switch heating system on site in order to establish whether it is providing sufficient heat. If necessary, if it is found this is not the case, the necessary maintenance activities can then be carried out directly or at a later time.
the switch heating validation system therefore comprises, in a first aspect, a sensor unit, a control interface and a communication interface, via which it can be established with certainty (and therefore validated) that the switch heating system is operating correctly.
the sensor unit of the system is configured for fixing to a rail or a switch tip of the railway switch for measuring a momentary temperature of the railway switch.
the control interface is configured for communication with a control unit of the railway switch heating system, for establishing the operating state of the railway switch heating system, which defines whether one or more heating units of the railway switch heating system are activated or deactivated.
the communication unit is configured for transmitting the momentary temperature and operating state of the railway switch heating system to a remotely located central processing unit.
the switch heating validation system is here configured to validate the operating state of the railway switch heating system on the basis of the established momentary temperature and the establishing, via the control interface, of the activation of the railway switch heating system.
the validation takes place remotely and therefore by the remotely located central processing unit.
the momentary temperature and the operating state of the railway switch heating system which determines whether or not the railway switch heating system is activated, are then perceived locally as sensor data and transmitted to the remotely located central processing unit.
the latter interprets the sensor data and establishes whether or not the railway switch heating system is functioning correctly, and hence validates the operating state of the railway switch heating system.
validation may also take place locally, and therefore the sensor data are processed and interpreted locally.
the validated result, and hence the establishing of whether or not the railway switch heating system is functioning correctly, is then transmitted to the remotely located central processing unit.
Remote validation has various advantages. Obtaining sensor data takes less energy than interpreting data, and therefore it is possible to power the sensor and possibly also the control interface by battery. In addition, interpretation of the data may require a great deal of processing capacity, in contrast to obtaining the sensor data. By carrying out interpretation remotely, locally a simpler microcontroller is sufficient, and/or more sensor data may be obtained or may be obtained more quickly, since the microcontroller in the sensor unit has only one dedicated task to perform, i.e. obtaining the sensor data.
Another important advantage of remote validation is that it is thereby possible to enrich the sensor data and the operating state of the railway switch and/or railway switch heating system further with additional data. Examples of this are the momentary external weather information, weather forecasts, but also data from the rail network such as the state of switches, signals, and operating parameters of trains such as speed, location etc.
the sensor unit and the control interface are preferably accommodated in separate housings, but may also be received in one and the same housing.
the sensors are furthermore provided with sensor probes which are attached to the rail or the switch tip of the railway switch.
the sensor unit To measure the temperature and in particular the momentary temperature of the railway switch, the sensor unit must be attached to one or more rails or switch tips of the railway switch.
the control interface of the switch heating validation system is the central control unit of the system, and in one example may be configured firstly to actuate the sensor unit to (temporarily) store the momentary temperature values locally, optionally to process these and transmit them on to a remotely located central processing unit.
the system is provided with a wireless communication unit.
the control interface is configured to communicate with the switch control unit and from this establish whether one or more heating units of the railway switch heating system are activated.
control interface is configured not only to establish the status of the heating unit but also to activate this. This means that via the control interface, via the remotely located central processing unit, a command may be received to activate the processing unit(s). Therefore a possibility is provided for testing the railway switch heating system remotely.
the control interface receives from the remotely located central processing unit a command to carry out a test and activate the heating unit on the basis thereof, whereupon from the sensor data received by the sensor unit it can be established whether the temperature of the switch is increasing.
the sensor unit allows the switch heating validation system to establish a momentary or current temperature of the railway switch. Thus it can not only be determined that the switch heating system is in operation, but also its operating state can be validated.
Validation according to the invention may take place in several ways, for example by comparing the momentary temperature with a previously measured (momentary) temperature, for example the last measured temperature or several last measured temperatures. If a deviation from the trend line can be established here, it is concluded that the switch heating is activated and functioning well (in other words, is in operation). This deviation preferably exceeds at least one threshold value for improving the fault sensitivity.
the switch heating is in operation.
the system according to the invention may be provided with a temperature sensor which is mounted in the vicinity of the switch as a weather station. This may measure the ambient temperature and provide this to the switch heating validation system.
the temperature of the environment may also be established by being obtained by means of an interface to an online weather application.
the remotely located central processing unit means a single server, but may also be a server cluster. If it is established that the switch heating system is not in operation, an alarm may be issued.
the central processing unit or control interface may be configured to adapt the number of measurements per time unit.
the system may start with a previously entered, fixed time interval between two measurements, which time interval is then adapted depending on whether or not the correct function of the switch heating system is established.
the time interval may be gradually extended if, for a predefined number of measurements, it is established that the switch heating system is functioning correctly. This has the advantage that the number of measurements can be reduced, and less data need be transmitted. This has a positive effect on the energy consumption of the system.
switch heating validation system With the switch heating validation system, in addition a possibility is created for switching the switch heating system on and off remotely and wirelessly. No physical wiring is necessary for the control. In this way, irrespective of the function and presence of a hard-wired connection, the switch heating system can always be actuated. Also, the status of the switch can be read at all times, even if this cannot be powered.
the system is made suitable for being centrally actuated and controlled without a change to the service schedule being required. This is however not the case with a non-wireless switch heating system, because a maintenance engineer must physically enter the track in order to check the function of the switch on site.
the switch heating validation system is preferably configured as two separate physical units: on one side, the sensor unit which is in direct contact with the switch, and on the other side, the control interface which is in direct contact with the control unit of the switch and therefore present at some distance from the switch next to the track.
this control unit or switch box there is a possibility of providing power to the control interface of the switch heating validation system.
the control interface of the switch heating validation system also comprises a communication unit for communication with the remotely located central processing unit.
This communication may be hard-wired via a fixed communication connection of the switch control unit, or preferably wireless by establishing a direct connection with the remotely located central processing unit via a cellular network.
the sensor unit and the control interface may also be in direct communication with each other, for example via a local area network, a personal area network or another suitable local communication system.
the actual communication with the remotely located central processing unit is then established only by one of the sensor unit or the control interface. In fact, in this way one of the two components functions as a gateway for the other.
a wireless system which can be operated remotely in this way has various advantages over the currently known autonomous powering of a switch heating system. Firstly, the wiring, at least for control, is superfluous, which benefits the robustness and hence the rail infrastructure. Secondly, there are secondary advantages such as the central, remote readout and actuation of the switch heating system.
control interface is configured for activating and deactivating the one or more heating units of the railway switch heating system if the momentary temperature of the railway switch, measured by the sensor unit, exceeds a predefined threshold value, wherein one or more of a moment of activation and the moment of deactivation of the one or more heating units of the railway switch heating system, and a number of heating units of the railway switch heating system to be activated or deactivated, can be adjusted via the control interface.
the control interface Via the threshold value, the control interface provides a hysteresis which prevents an on-off oscillation of the heating units.
the control interface may react adaptively to the measured momentary temperature.
the moment of activation of the heating units can be delayed or advanced. Also, depending on an established necessary heating need, a limited number of heating elements may be activated. This has the advantage that less energy is used in comparison with a simple on/off operating state of the railway switch heating system.
the adjustment of the control interface is actuated by the remotely located central processing unit.
the adjustment of actuation of the railway switch heating system may also be made by the local control interface, wherein the necessary heat need as described above is established locally, or it may be established remotely by the central processing unit, wherein the latter variant has the advantage that thus less energy is required locally for calculation.
the sensor unit or a probe of the sensor unit is configured to be fixed to the rail or switch tip of the railway switch so that direct measurement can be carried out, and it can be established whether the component of the switch to be heated is actually heated by the heating units.
the sensor unit is received in a closed housing, wherein the closed housing is provided with at least one magnet for fixing to the rail or the switch tip of the switch.
a communication unit is furthermore configured for interfacing with a control unit of the railway switch, for establishing via the interface the operating parameters of the railway switch.
the operating parameters comprise at least one or more of the position of the movement rods of the railway switch and the operating state of the railway switch motor.
Various parameters may be established through an interface with the railway switch. Thus for example it may be established whether the movement rods have changed position. If this is not the case and the switch is powered, it must be concluded that the switch has frozen and activation of the switch heating system is desired. Other parameters which may give information on the state of the switch are the parameters of the switch motor. If the motor consumes more power than a predefined normally consumed power, it must also be concluded that the switch is frozen. Also, when a stepper motor is used, it may be established whether the position of the motor is as it should be, and hence on the basis of this, a frozen switch can be concluded.
the communication unit is furthermore configured for interfacing with a control unit of the railway switch heating system, for establishing via the interface the operating parameters of the railway switch heating system.
the operating parameters comprise at least one or more of the availability of fuel and the availability of a heat source.
Various parameters may be established through an interface with the railway switch heating system. Thus for example it may be established whether there is sufficient fuel. This applies for example in the case of a railway switch heating system which is provided with a gas burner as a heating unit. Thus for example it may also be established whether there is sufficient supply of electricity. This applies for example in the case of a railway switch heating system which is provided with an electric heating unit.
the system according to the invention is not limited by the type of switch heating, but is designed to be used for all switch heating systems currently available and in use.
this includes the above-mentioned gas burner system but also heating on the basis of a central piped gas supply (CBG), electric heating, ground source heating systems and other forms comprising a heat exchanger or other heat transfer means.
CBG central piped gas supply
the system according to the invention measures the object to be heated instead of the heating system itself, which has the advantage that it is thereby suitable for all present and future types of heating systems.
the system according to the invention concerns a retrofit solution, which means that an existing switch with a switch heating system may be made suitable for the existing application without the need to make changes to the original design of the switch and the switch heating system.
control interface and the sensor unit are furthermore configured for comprising a grouping identification with which control interfaces and sensor units of a plurality of switch heating validation systems can be grouped, for validating railway switch heating systems in groups.
control interface and the sensor unit are furthermore configured for comprising a grouping identification with which control interfaces and sensor units of a plurality of switch heating validation systems can be grouped, for activating and deactivating railway switch heating systems in groups.
a railway switch heating system may not only be actuated remotely, but also groups of railway switch heating systems can be formed. In this way, an authorised person may remotely, by means of a single command, simultaneously measure, read but also activate a large group of railway switch heating systems.
the wireless communication unit is configured for wireless mobile communication over a cellular mobile network, in particular a 2G GSM, 2.5 G GPRS or EDGE, 3G UMTS, HSDPA or LTE, 4G LTE Advanced, 5G, GSM-R or FRMRS network.
a cellular mobile network in particular a 2G GSM, 2.5 G GPRS or EDGE, 3G UMTS, HSDPA or LTE, 4G LTE Advanced, 5G, GSM-R or FRMRS network.
Figure 1 a switch heating validation system for use in a railway infrastructure.
Figure 1 shows a railway switch 10 which is provided with a switch heating system 16, 18, and a switch heating validation system 17, 19 for establishing the operating state of a railway switch heating system 16 for heating a railway switch 10.
the switch 10 shown in figure 1 consists of a left rail 11 and a right rail 12, and a left switch tip 13 and a right switch tip 14.
the switch 10 is provided with a switch actuator 15.
the switch actuator contains the motor and motor control of the switch 10.
the motor may in particular be a motor in which features of the control system can be derived from the motor control, such as the consumed power, activation current, deactivation residual current and internal resistance. From these properties, the function of the switch 10 can be derived directly or indirectly. This means that in normal use, in which there is no ice or snow present on the switch, the motor displays a specific nominal power consumption. The power may increase as the motor encounters resistance in moving the switch tips.
the heating unit 18 of the switch heating system 16, 18 activates the heating element 16 in order to ensure that one or more of the rails 11, 12 and left and right switch tips 13, 14 are heated.
the switch heating system is preferably provided with several heating units 16 or heating elements 16.
the heating elements are electric heating elements, but this may also be a heating system which works with ground source heat or gas burners or other forms of heating.
the heat transfer in the case of a gas burner takes place by means of a controlled combustion of a gas/air mixture close to the target on the outside of the (contact) rail 12. The heat is then transferred via radiation and hot combustion gases to the rail 12, 11, and also to the direct environment.
the gas may be obtained either from a local gas store or via a pipeline network to which several switch heating systems are connected.
an indirect heating system with a heat exchanger may also be provided. This is often described as central heating of a heating medium such as water which, after heating in a boiler or along a heat exchanger, is transported to the rails and/or switch tips.
the switch heating validation system shown in figure 1 provides a control interface 19, a sensor unit 17 and a communication unit for communication with the remotely located processing unit.
the remotely located processing unit is a server or several servers which may be active in a cloud solution in some cases. These are available from the applicant of the present invention and are provided as such in the MT info system with which includes communication, readout and control of track components.
the system according to the invention is provided with a preferably wireless communication unit which is preferably situated in the control interface, but in addition in the sensor unit.
This switch heating validation system solves the above-mentioned problems since, in this way, it can actually be measured whether the switch heating 16, 18 is functioning.
a modern switch heater may be configured to give feedback on the state of the system, it can only be concluded from this that the system is powered. But this does not necessarily mean that the switch is being heated. Rather, in practice problems may arise with the heat source, supply, wiring, ignition etc. In such cases, the heating system may indeed be activated but heating does not take place.
By fitting sensor units with temperature sensors 17 to the switch tips and/or rails, preferably attached by a magnet it is possible to establish an actual temperature rise. Thus the control interface or the server may establish that the heating system is functioning correctly.
communication of the control interface and sensors with the server takes place wirelessly.
the sensors are also shown as separate sensor units, and as such are provided with their own power supply. Preferably by means of a battery.
this communication is hard-wired, whereby the sensors may be configured as passive sensor probes.
all units according to the invention i.e. the sensor, control unit and communication unit, may be accommodated in one and the same housing.
the system is able not only to carry out momentary temperature measurements at fixed or adjustable time intervals, but also by means of the control interface, communicate with the control unit or heating unit 18 of the switch heating system and from this establish the state, and preferably also activate and deactivate these.
the switch heating validation system may continuously monitor or observe the switch heating and hence the status of the switch. If the temperature falls below a specific threshold value to be established, it may be concluded that the switch heating system is not functioning correctly.
a real-time or near real-time switch heating monitoring system is obtained with which faults in the switch heating system can be established in good time and alarms issued, so that faults and blockades on the railway switch as a result of snow and ice can be prevented.

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Train Traffic Observation, Control, And Security (AREA)

EP21152983.9A 2020-01-24 2021-01-22 Switch heating validation system Active EP3854940B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number	Priority Date	Filing Date	Title
NL2024757A NL2024757B1 (nl)	2020-01-24	2020-01-24	wisselverwarmingsvalidatiesysteem

Publications (2)

Publication Number	Publication Date
EP3854940A1 EP3854940A1 (en)	2021-07-28
EP3854940B1 true EP3854940B1 (en)	2023-09-13

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Application Number	Title	Priority Date	Filing Date
EP21152983.9A Active EP3854940B1 (en)	2020-01-24	2021-01-22	Switch heating validation system

Country Status (5)

Country	Link
EP (1)	EP3854940B1 (da)
DE (1)	DE202021100313U1 (da)
DK (1)	DK3854940T3 (da)
NL (1)	NL2024757B1 (da)
PL (1)	PL3854940T3 (da)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
CN114002524A (zh) *	2021-10-21	2022-02-01	内蒙古集铁工程技术有限公司	道岔融雪电加热元件监测系统和工作方法
CH720940A1 (de) *	2023-07-12	2025-01-31	Backer Elc Ag	Nachrüsteinrichtung und Verfahren zum Nachrüsten, Steuern, Überwachen und für das Energiemanagement von bestehenden Weichenheizsystemen
CN220210466U (zh) *	2023-11-09	2023-12-19	北京全路通信信号研究设计院集团有限公司	道岔融雪控制系统

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number	Priority date	Publication date	Assignee	Title
DE19849637C1 (de) *	1998-10-28	2000-10-05	Esa Elektroschaltanlagen Grimm	Einrichtung zur zentralen Steuerung, Überwachung und Diagnose von Weichenheizungen
SE531380C2 (sv) *	2007-05-04	2009-03-17	Swedesafe Marketing Ab	Värmesystem
EP2720513B1 (de) *	2012-10-15	2015-04-22	IFF GmbH	Induktive Weichen- und/oder Schienenheizvorrichtung

2020
- 2020-01-24 NL NL2024757A patent/NL2024757B1/nl active
2021
- 2021-01-22 DE DE202021100313.8U patent/DE202021100313U1/de active Active
- 2021-01-22 DK DK21152983.9T patent/DK3854940T3/da active
- 2021-01-22 PL PL21152983.9T patent/PL3854940T3/pl unknown
- 2021-01-22 EP EP21152983.9A patent/EP3854940B1/en active Active

Also Published As

Publication number	Publication date
NL2024757B1 (nl)	2021-09-09
DK3854940T3 (da)	2023-12-18
EP3854940A1 (en)	2021-07-28
PL3854940T3 (pl)	2024-03-04
DE202021100313U1 (de)	2021-02-23

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