Abstract: A railway vehicle parking brake that can provide the appropriate tension to the braking system using a motor, a brake chain drum interconnected to the motor to take up or release a brake chain, a load arm deflects in response to tension in the brake chain, and a switch that is closed by the load arm when it deflects. A movable sheave interconnects the brake chain and the load arm and is positioned between the brake chain drum and a fixed sheave over which the brake chain is looped. A control method considers the position of the first switch to determine whether to the motor off when applying the brakes and the amount of current being drawn by the motor to determine whether to the motor off because of a system failure.

Abstract: Diagnosing whether controllers of internal vehicle systems are the source of failures detected by a system control managing a vehicle such as a spacecraft. Highspeed data is received via at a field programmable gate array (FPGA) embedded in an assembly of the vehicle. The FPGA includes a controller and a digital diagnostic interface. In one embodiment, the diagnostic interface utilizes Very Highspeed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) for performance modeling of a controller configured to control at least one internal system within the vehicle. The VHDL performance models the controller. Upon receiving an indication of a failure, the performance modeling of the controller is used to ascertain whether or not the controller is the source of the failure. Disassembly of the assembly housing the internal system is not required in order to ascertain whether or not the controller is the source of the failure.

Abstract: Diagnosing whether controllers of internal vehicle systems are the source of failures detected by a system control managing a vehicle such as a spacecraft. Highspeed data is received via at a field programmable gate array (FPGA) embedded in an assembly of the vehicle. The FPGA includes a controller and a digital diagnostic interface. In one embodiment, the diagnostic interface utilizes Very Highspeed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) for performance modeling of a controller configured to control at least one internal system within the vehicle. The VHDL performance models the controller. Upon receiving an indication of a failure, the performance modeling of the controller is used to ascertain whether or not the controller is the source of the failure. Disassembly of the assembly housing the internal system is not required in order to ascertain whether or not the controller is the source of the failure.

Abstract: A railway vehicle parking brake that can provide the appropriate tension to the braking system using a motor, a brake chain drum interconnected to the motor to take up or release a brake chain, a load arm deflects in response to tension in the brake chain, and a switch that is closed by the load arm when it deflects. A movable sheave interconnects the brake chain and the load arm and is positioned between the brake chain drum and a fixed sheave over which the brake chain is looped. A control method considers the position of the first switch to determine whether to the motor off when applying the brakes and the amount of current being drawn by the motor to determine whether to the motor off because of a system failure.

Abstract: A railway vehicle parking brake that can provide the appropriate tension to the braking system using a motor, a brake chain drum interconnected to the motor to take up or release a brake chain, a load arm deflects in response to tension in the brake chain, and a switch that is closed by the load arm when it deflects. A movable sheave interconnects the brake chain and the load arm and is positioned between the brake chain drum and a fixed sheave over which the brake chain is looped. A control method considers the position of the first switch to determine whether to the motor off when applying the brakes and the amount of current being drawn by the motor to determine whether to the motor off because of a system failure.

Abstract: A railway vehicle parking brake that can provide the appropriate tension to the braking system using a motor, a brake chain drum interconnected to the motor to take up or release a brake chain, a load arm deflects in response to tension in the brake chain, and a switch that is closed by the load arm when it deflects. A movable sheave interconnects the brake chain and the load arm and is positioned between the brake chain drum and a fixed sheave over which the brake chain is looped. A control method considers the position of the first switch to determine whether to the motor off when applying the brakes and the amount of current being drawn by the motor to determine whether to the motor off because of a system failure.