FIELD OF APPLICATION
The present invention relates to a high-speed intelligent vehicle positioning
system for rail borne vehicles like coke plant machines, coil cars, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In rail borne vehicle systems having vehicles which move on rails an error free
positioning and identification is one of the most essential requirements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention therefore, is to provide an error free
positioning and identification of vehicles moving on rails.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a high speed, intelligent
vehicle positioning system.

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Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle positioning
system with error detection and self-correction features.
These objects are achieved by using an interrupted beam principle. Position
identification is achieved by interruption of the signal from a transmitter of a
sensing element to its receiver by a marker plate.
Thus the present invention provides a high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning
system for rail borne vehicles like coke plant machines, said system comprising:
a sensing element with an optical transmitter / receiver unit having a plurality of
infra-red and photo diodes; and a logic processing module interfaced with said
sensing element, and a binary coded marker plate; said receiver generating a
signal indicating position and identification of said rail borne vehicle, when a
beam from the transmitter to the receiver is intercepted by said marker plate.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The invention can now be described in detail with the help of the figures of the
accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows the front and side view of the enclosure for the vehicle
positioning system.
Figure 2 (a) shows in block diagram form the vehicle positioning system.
Figure 2 (b) shows a binary coded marker plate.
Figure 2 (c) shows the sensing elements.
Figure 2 (d) shows the data and alignment photo sensors.
Figure 2 (e) shows the marker plates of value 0,1 and 2.
Figure 2 (f) shows outputs of the data photo sensors.
Figure 2 (g) shows the logic processing module.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Figure 1 shows in schematic form the enclosure for the vehicle positioning
system of the present invention. The system comprises a side cover 1, support
plate 2 bracket 3, clamp 4, photo sensor 5, connector 6, PCB bracket 7, PCB 8,
top cover 9, nut and bolt 10, 11 and washer 12.
The system comprises of mainly three elements - a sensing element, a logic
processing module and a marker plate.
As shown in Figure 2 (c), the sensing elements comprise photo sensor 5
consisting of a pair of a transmitter T and a receiver unit R.
On receiving a signal (through beam) from the transmitter T the receiver R
generates a O V signal (GROUND).
When this signal from the transmitter is intercepted by a marker plate M, the
receiver R generates an output of 12 V DC as shown in Figure 2 (c).

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As the marker plate M approaches the positioning sensors, the leading edge of
the marker plate M is sensed. This generates a reading pulse, which in turn
triggers the reading of the code for identification.
As shown in Figure 2 (d) the system uses ten photo sensors. Two are used as
alignment photo sensor bits A and eight are used as data bits D for position
number generation. The marker plate M has eight holes aligned to the eight
data photosensors D.
The length of the marker plate M is such that both the alignment sensors
(transmitter receiver pairs) are just completely blocked simultaneously.
Marker plates can be prepared of values 0 to 255 by blocking the hole
corresponding to that particular bit.

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The transmitter / receiver unit can have an operating temperature of 150° C.
The positioning accuracy can be ± 5 mm reproducible. It can have a scanning
cycle of 20 ms. The permissible position tolerance ± 25 mm vertical and ± 50
mm Horizontal. Power supply required for the transformer / receiver unit is 10
to 30 V DC.
The transmitter / receiver is housed in a strong, corrosion-proof enclosure. The
enclosure is highly rugged and protects the transmitter / receiver heads against
brief temperatures, such as when exposed to a naked flame. The transmitter
heads are mounted on one side of the U - tunnel that runs through the sensing
element and the receiver heads on the other. The transmitter and receiver are
tip of the fiber optic. The transmitter / receiver each incorporates 10 infrared
diodes and 10 photo diodes. Two of each are used for positioning and eight of
each type for identification.

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The logic processing module 100 of Figure 2 (a) processes the system signals
and provides the transmitter / receiver with the necessary power supplies.
The logic processing module is a micro controller based signal processing module
like DS 5000 T type which interfaces the sensors and processes the code in
accordance with a required logic. It powers the transmitter / receiver for the
sensing element and connects the open collector outputs of the two positioning /
alignment sensors A and eight identification / data sensors D.
The logic processing unit 100 carries out logical processing of the coded marker
plate with the generation of a read pulse. It outputs leading, trailing edge and in
position signal for higher level control. If generates 8 bit parallel output coded
data for the higher-level control for identification and generates logical faults
during the misinterpretations of coded data.

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Apart from the switching and enabling the transmitter / receiver, the logic
processing module also derive from the sensing element signals for marker plate
leading / trailing edge in position signal, signal for operation fault and
identification code. The coded output from the logic-processing module is
binary.
The logic processing module captures the output of the data photosensors as
soon as both the alignment photosensors output 12 V i.e. when both these
alignment photosensors are simultaneously blocked.
In the Example 1 of Figure 2 (f) the output = 00000000 (binary) = 0 (decimal).
In Example 2 of Figure 2 (f) the first 7 photosensors are through and the last
one is blocked. So, output = 00000001 (binary) = 1 (decimal).

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In logic processing module both the alignment photosensors outputs are logical
AND and the output is used for the hardware interrupt to microcontroller.
For the direction detection the sequence of blocking of the alignment
photosensors outputs is captured, i.e. if the alignment photosensor output 1
blocks first followed by the another alignment photosensor then the vehicle is
moving in one direction, (left to right) depending upon our assumption). On the
contrary if the photosensor output 2 blocks first then the vehicle is moving in the
opposite direction, right to left.
The marker plate M contains a series of rectangular holes in alignment with each
other along the length of the plate. The holes in combination represent a binary
number. Hence eight holes have the ability to represent a total of 256 discrete
numbers. The marker plate is designed to take into account the sway of
machine and the variation in elevation. It can be made from 2 mm thick
stainless steel (AISI 316). Binary Slot can be of height 68 mm, width 26 mm.
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WE CLAIM
1. A high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system for rail borne vehicles
like coke plant machines, said system comprising:
- a sensing element with an optical transmitter / receiver unit having
a plurality of infra-red and photo diodes; and
- a logic processing module interfaced with said sensing element,
and a binary coded marker plate;
said receiver generating a signal indicating position and identification of said
rail borne vehicle, when a beam from the transmitter to the receiver is
intercepted by said marker plate.

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2. The high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system as claimed in claim
1, wherein said plurality of infrared and photodiodes comprise two each
for positioning and eight each for identification purposes.
3. The high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system as claimed in claim
1, wherein said logic processing module is a microprocessor based
hardware for powering said transmitter / receiver sensing elements.
4. The high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system as claimed in claim
3, wherein said logic processing module generates 8 bit parallel output
coded data for identification.
5. The high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system as claimed in claim
3, wherein said logical processing module is a DS 5000 T processing unit
for sensor interface for processing the code according to required logic.

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6. The high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system as claimed in claim
1, wherein said marker plate comprises a series of rectanglular holes in
alignment with each other representing a binary number in combination.
7. A high speed, intelligent vehicle positioning system for rail borne vehicles
like coke plant machines, said system, substantially as herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 18th day of July 2006