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| Summary / Description | Patent publication of a train movement scheduling method. |
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | WO03097425 |
| Kind Code | World Intellectual Proper... - Publ.of the Int.Appl. with Int... - A1 |
| Patentee Name | PUDNEY, Peter, John; HOWLETT, Philip, George; TMG INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | page 3 lines 9-16, |
| URL | |
| Filing Date | May 20, 2003 |
| Additional Information | |
| Notes | Prior art identified by Susan Murray, and submitted by Diane Willis. |
Excerpt FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a method and system for calculating a plan for moving trains on a network that reduces the cost of delays or late running. The invention is useful for timetable development, for real- time dynamic rescheduling of the trains on a network, and for assessing proposed changes to network infrastructure. Page 3 lines 9-16: Station: A station is a subset of track segments, at one geographical location, where trains may make scheduled stops and whence dispatch decisions are made. Stations are connected to each other by sequences of track segments with each feasible alternative sequence defining a path. A feasible path joining two stations is referred to as a link. Link: A link is a sequence of track segments joining two stations in the track graph. The first and last segment in a link between stations s(i) and s(j) must be a track segment in station s(i) and s(j) respectively. Page 3 lines 22- Page 4 line 1: Train Network: A train network is a track digraph, a set of trains and a set of mappings related to train dynamics through the network.... The state of the network is a representation of the location of each train in the system. The scheduling process is represented by the changing state of the system at a sequence of discrete timepoints or stages where decisions are made. .... The normal scheduling task is to move each train through the network from its origin to destination. A train moves from station to station on a sequence of links joining intermediate stations on its selected path. The goal is to develop a scheduling procedure which optimises some objective measure of system performance......... |
A method of controlling the movement of plural trains along a network of track, comprising: (a) dividing the network into plural planning areas (10), with each pair of adjacent planning areas sharing at least one common boundary element (20) on track common to said adjacent pair of planning areas;. (b) developing a local movement plan (24) for each planning area independently of the movement plan for other planning areas to control the movement of trains into and out of the selected boundary elements associated with the planning area;.(c) evaluating the local movement plans for adjacent planning areas to identify conflicts at the respective boundary element; and (d) modifying the local movement plans for adjacent planning areas to resolve the identified conflicts.
| Relevance | See the Excerpt. 'plural planning areas' in the patent application is represented by 'stations' in the prior art. 'common boundary element' in the patent application is represented by 'link' in the prior art. |
The method of Claim 1 further comprising :(e) monitoring the actual movement of the plural trains over the network of track; (f) periodically updating the local movement plans as a function of the actual movement of the trains.
| Relevance | See the Excerpt and from FIELD OF THE INVENTION: The invention is useful for .... for real- time dynamic rescheduling of the trains on a network, ..... |
A computer program product for use with a railway computer assisted train movement planner, wherein the railway network is divided into a plurality of planning areas with each planning area having at least one boundary element of common track resources shared by an adjacent planning area, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium for planning the movement of trains between adjacent planning areas; said computer readable program code modules comprising: computer readable first program code module (26) for causing a computer to generate a local movement plan for a planning area specifying the movement of trains into and out of the boundary elements associated with the planning area; computer readable second program code module (27) for causing a computer to evaluate the local movement plans for adjacent planning areas to detect conflicts at the respective boundary elements; computer readable third program code module (28) for causing a computer to identify resolutions for the detected conflicts; and computer readable fourth program code module (29) for causing a computer to modify the respective local movement plans in accordance with the identified resolutions.
| Relevance | See the Excerpt and Page 2 Lines 22-24: 'Typically the invention is implemented in the form of computer software operable to provide an operator of a train network with data for reducing the cost of delays or running late.' |
A computer program product for use with a railway computer assisted train movement planner, wherein the railway network is divided into a plurality of planning areas with each planning area having at least one boundary element of common track resources shared by an adjacent planning areas, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium for resolving conflicts in the use of a boundary element; said computer readable program code modules comprising: computer readable first program code module (80)for causing a computer to generate a database of planned usage of the boundary element; computer readable second program code module (82) for causing a computer to identify scheduling conflicts in the database; computer readable third program code module (83) for causing a computer to identify the trains involved in the conflict of the planned usage of the boundary element; and computer readable fourth program code module (84) for causing a computer to plan a delay in the movement of at least one of the identified trains to resolve the identified conflict.
| Relevance | See the Excerpt and Claim 6. |
A method of planning the movement of plural trains in two adjacent planning areas, where the adjacent planning areas contain at least one boundary element having common track resource such that only one of the plural trains may use the boundary element at a time, comprising: (a) determining the sequence of movement of the plural trains through the boundary element; and (b) generating a local movement plan for each of said adjacent planning areas as a function of the determined sequence of movement of trains through the boundary element.
| Relevance | See Claim 1. |
A computer program product for use with a railway computer assisted train movement planner, wherein the railway network is divided into a plurality of planning areas; each planning area having at least one boundary element of common track resources shared by an adjacent planning area, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code modules embodied in said medium for resolving conflicts in the use of a boundary element; said computer readable program code modules comprising: computer readable first program code module 29 for causing a computer to determine the sequence of movement of the plural trains through the boundary element; and computer readable second program code module 23 for causing a computer to generate a local movement plan for the adjacent planning areas as a function of the determined sequence of movement of trains through the boundary element.
| Relevance | See Claim 6. |
United States