Importance

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Abstract

A method for controlling power consumed by a plurality of subsystems on a multi-car train having a plurality of power supplies connected in parallel for supplying power to the subsystems. The train has a train wide communication network which includes a vehicle bus in each car of the train communicating with the power supplies and subsystems on the car, a train bus extending through the entire train, and communication nodes in each car interconnecting the train bus with each one of the vehicle buses. One of the communication nodes in one of the cars constitutes a master node and the other communication nodes in the other cars constitutes slave nodes, each slave node communicating status information about power supplies and subsystems on its vehicle bus to the master node and communicating control information to the power supplies and subsystems on its vehicle bus. The method includes using the communications network to periodically determine the number of functional power supplies connected in parallel, determining from the number of functional power supplies available for supplying power at any given time a variable corresponding to the total power available for power consuming subsystems on the train and selectively reducing subsystems on the train by way of the communications network in accordance with the variable determined by the determining step.

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First Claim