Importance

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Abstract

Occupancy of a railroad track detection zone by one or more trains is determined using sensor devices located at gateways into and out of the track detection zone. Each sensor device has a sensing range that includes a portion of the railroad track in the detection zone and the sensor device generates data used to uniquely identify each train passing through a gateway and thus the sensing range of one or more sensor devices. Data from the detection zone's sensor device array is collected and evaluated to monitor or track the status of any detected trains and the occupancy of the zone. In some embodiments, the sensor devices utilize anisotropic magnetoresistive sensor elements whose analog waveform data is the basis of magnetic flux peak detection and mapping to generate unique train identification signature data that is transmitted to and evaluated by a detection zone processor, which in some cases can control crossing signals and/or other control apparatus related to the railroad track detection zone. The unique train identification signature data can include digitized amplitude peaks and their sequence for each train, based on that train's generated analog waveform data.

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First Claim