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Argenia Axle Counter System Technical Manual 05-31
Argenia Axle Counter System Technical Manual 05-31
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This document contains information proprietary to Argenia Systems Inc. No part of this document shall be reproduced or
disclosed to others or used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied without the prior written permission from
Argenia Systems Inc.
Argenia Axle Counter System
Table of Contents
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Block Occupancy
Detecting the occupancy of track blocks is one of the primary applications of wheel sensors. Sensors are
fastened to the rail at the ‘check-in’ and ‘check-out’ points at either end of a section of track creating a
‘block’. The WCU collects waveforms from the sensors and sends digital data to the EVU for processing.
The EVU counts the axles of the train as it enters the block, and again as it leaves, based on the output
of the sensors. The EVU will indicate that the block is ‘occupied’ when the first axle passes the ‘check-in’
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point. Once the EVU has counted the same number of axles leaving the ‘check-out’ point as it counted at
the ‘check-in’, the block is deemed vacant and safe for another train to enter.
Axle-counting-based block occupancy systems are used as an alternative to fixed blocks handled with
track circuits. They are also an efficient and effective backup solution for more sophisticated moving
block systems common with communications-based train control (CBTC).
1,000 ft / 300 m
Check-in Check-out
6 ft / 2 m 6 ft / 2 m
SYS-RS
Evaluator
Crossing Activation
Wheel sensors are used at the ‘farpoints’ of the approaches (typically 4,000 feet from the crossing),
‘nearpoints’ (about 2,000 feet away), and at the ‘island circuit’ of the crossing (about 200 feet on each
side of the road). Additional wheel detection points may be used to monitor switches or multiple track
systems where required.
Two wheel sensors are placed six feet apart at each detection point to compensate for variations in the
depth and position of the wheel flange. This creates space and time diversity which mitigates wheel
hunting, electrical noise, and vibrations to ensure both wheels of the axle are counted.
As wheels are counted by the two separated sensors, the speed is measured extremely accurately. Train
position is calculated based on the speed-time integration, allowing the calculation of the progression
into the crossing zone. This provides a constant warning time of 25 seconds for any train speed.
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R R
R R
VIOS-RS
SYS-SW
ERD-RS
Evaluator
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WCU-RS WCU-RS
Yard
SYS-RS
Systems
Quadrature Outputs
The quadrature outputs are 5V logic levels that indicate the occupancy of the sensors. The output levels
are driven by an isolated input voltage and are clamped to protect against voltage leaking into
connected equipment.
The quadrature outputs can also be used to drive a load of up to 50mA or up to 5A with an isolated high
current circuit.
See the ‘Quadrature Wiring’ sections under WCU Wiring for details of the various output modes for the
quadrature outputs.
Each WCU-RS / WCU-SW module terminates two sensors and has four quadrature outputs. Each output
is used to indicate occupancy of coil 1 and coil 2 of each sensor.
Figure 1 below shows the quadrature output from coil 1 and coil 2 of a sensor generated in response to
the detection of a wheel. Four phase detection is used to determine direction and count wheels.
Overlap results where coil 1 and coil 2 both produce an output when a wheel is in the center of the
sensor and both coils are activated.
See the Quadrature Wiring section for details on how to configure these outputs.
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The SHU-SM
The SHU-SM is the standard size Sensor Head Unit. It is designed to fit most modern rail profiles.
The SHU-C
The compact Sensor Head Unit is designed for lower profile rail such as the ASCE75 or 90 ARA-A profiles.
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3.94 cm /
1.55 in
The wheel sensor cable must be protected in conduit or by other means of protection from the
elements as it is not intended for direct burial. A length of flexible 1/2” ID hose (such as is shown below)
must be attached to the barbed fitting to protect the cable from the elements and the SHU housing
from stress from the weight and vibration of the cable.
In an ideal installation, the 50’ cable supplied with the sensor head is sufficient to be routed directly to
the WCU Terminator. If this is not possible, care must be made to ensure a robust and element-proof
connection of the cabling to ensure the proper operation of the wheel sensor.
Parts
Brackets are provided with the required hardware shown below. You may received nylon locking nuts in
place of lock washers for the long bolts.
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Tools
You will need an 8 mm hex/Allen key and a 14mm wrench or socket.
Step 1
Put the large washers or lock washers on the long bolts and place them through the holes on the small
side plate. Rest the bolts in the slots of the bottom plate as shown below. The top of the side plate is the
larger surface which angles upwards. This angled surface clamps onto the base of the rail.
The base plate should be positioned such that the bends on the sides are facing downwards. The bend in
the base plate nestles under the bend on the side plate.
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Step 2
Clear space under the rail and slide the bottom plate under holding the bottom plate and side plate
together. The small side plate goes on the outside of the rail so that the bolts are pointing toward the
other rail.
Step 3
Place carriage bolts in the slots on the large side plate so that the bolts are pointing away from the rail
you are mounting to. Position large side plate so that the bottom bend tucks under the base plate.
Position long bolts through the holes on the large side place and fasten with lock washers and nuts or
locking nuts using the 8mm hex key or 14mm wrench on one side and the 14mm wrench or socket on
the other.
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Step 4
Place the carriage bolts through the holes on each side of the sensor. Fasten with the large washers or
lock washers and nuts using the 14mm wrench or socket. For the SHU-C sensor showing below, the
cable should be coming out to the left when you are facing the rail to ensure that the sensor is right-side
up.
Step 5
Place the vibration supressing bolts in the holes to either side of the sensor. These should be tightened
until they make contact with the rail. Tighten the nut against the bracket to hold these bolts firmly in
place.
Step 6
Adjust the height of the sensor by sliding it up and down within the slots in the large side plate. The
sensor should be raised such that the top of the sensor is 40 – 45mm from the ball of the rail head and
the nuts tightened down against the mounting tabs of the sensor.
SHU-C Mounting
To mount the SHU-C sensor right-side up, the cable should be coming out to the left when you are facing
the rail. The correct orientation is shown in Figure 1.
Sensor Direction
The direction of the wheel sensor is critical to the correct operation of the system. The direction of
wheel strikes must be counted consistently (e.g. all wheel sensors register a given direction as positive
and negative in the opposing direction) and in the correct orientation for the application to function. As
such, it may be necessary to install the sensor in one physical orientation, but then reverse the polarity.
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This can be accomplished by a wiring change at the WCU and is outlined in the WCU Terminator section
of this manual.
Electronic Modules
This section describes the hardware and connectors for the GCS.
SYS-RS LEDs
The following table describes the SYS-RS (wired system controller) LEDs from left to right
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SYS-SW LEDs
The following table describes the SYS-SW (wireless system controller) LEDs from left to right
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To create a compatible serial cable, see the wiring for the Serial Console above.
Connect the green connector to the ‘Serial Console’ port on the SYS module. Launch a serial port
application such as PuTTY to access the console. The serial settings are:
38,400 baud
8 Data Bits
1 Stop Bit
No Parity
No Flow Control
Note: A USB to RS232 serial converter cable is required if you do not have a computer with a serial
port.
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1) Find your Ethernet Adapter in Windows Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network
Connections
2) Right-click on the adapter and click Properties
3) Open the Internet Protocol Version 4 properties of your adapter
4) Click ‘Use the following IP address:’ and enter an address on the 192.168.2.x network (e.g.
192.168.2.111)
5) Enter the subnet mask 255.255.255.0
6) Enter the gateway 192.168.2.1
7) Enter the Preferred DNS server 192.168.2.1
8) Enter the Secondary DNS server 192.168.2.2
9) Reboot your computer (optional)
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An 8 conductor cable of up to 60 m (200 feet) in length is used to connect the wheel sensor to the
Terminator, as shown in the table below. 15m (50 feet) of cable is supplied with each sensor.
Identifying Revisions
Revision 1.1 has 8 LEDs adjacent to the quadratre output connector. The additional LEDs are used as
status indication for the second RS-485 bus on Pins 7&8.
WCU-RS LEDs
The following table describes the WCU-RS (wired terminator) LEDs from left to right, assuming Sensor A
and Sensor B are on opposing rails. See the wiring for opposing rails in the WCU Wiring section below.
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WCU-SW LEDs
The following table describes the WCU-SW (wireless terminator) LEDs from left to right, assuming
Sensor A and Sensor B are on opposing rails. See the wiring for opposing rails below.
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When in motion detection mode, each of the quadrature outputs will stay high for approximately 10
seconds following the detection of motion over the sensor and coil that corresponds with each output.
For example, if you apply metal to Coil 1 of Sensor A, L3 and Quadrature Out 3 will stay high for 10
seconds.
When in long pulse mode, L1 and Quadrature Out 1 will go high when metal passes over Sensor A and
will stay high until metal passes over Sensor B. Going the other direction, L2 and Quadrature Out 2 will
go high when metal passes over Sensor B and stay high until metal passes over Sensor A.
Long pulse mode can be used to calculate speed by recording the time that the pulse is high for and
dividing that time by the distance between the sensors.
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When in short pulse mode, L1 and Quadrature Out 1 will go high when metal passes over Sensor A Coil 1
and will go low when metal passes over Sensor A Coil 2. Going the other direction, L2 will go high when
metal passes over Sensor A Coil 2 and go low when metal passes over Sensor A Coil 1.
Short pulse mode can be used to calculate speed with a signal sensor with accuracy up to about 30 mph
/ 50 kph by recording the time that the pulse is high for and dividing that time by 4 ¼ inches / 10.8 cm
which is the distance between the two coils.
WCU Wiring
Wheel Sensor Head (SHU) to Terminator (WCU) Wiring (Sensor A and Sensor B)
If sensors are placed on opposite rails, both sensor connectors are wired the same as shown in column 3
below. If the sensors are placed on the same rail, the polarity of sensor B must be reversed for the
direction to work properly. This wiring is shown in column 4.
Sensor Signal Wire Color Sensor A/B (Opposing Rails) Sensor B (Same Rail)
COIL B WHT w/ BLK 1 2
COIL A GRN 2 1
NC 3 (Empty) 3 (Empty)
OSC B BLU 4 4
OSC A RED w/ BLK 5 5
TEST B WHT 6 7
TEST A ORN 7 6
POWER RED 8 8
GND + SHIELD BLK 9 9
BUS+POWER Wiring
SIGNAL PIN
LOG BUS A 1
LOG BUS B 2
POWER 3
GND 4
GND 5
GND 6
SYSTEM BUS A 7
SYSTEM BUS B 8
For the correct orientation of the SHU-SM, the sensor cable should be coming out to the right if you are
facing the rail it is mounted on (see Figure 2).
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For the correct orientation of the SHU-C, the sensor cable should be coming out to the left if you are
facing the rail it is mounted on (see Figure 5).
SIGNAL PIN
POWER 1
GND 2
Sensor B Coil 1 3
Sensor B Coil 2 4
Sensor A Coil 1 5
Sensor A Coil 2 6
PTC Pin 3, 4, 5, 6 /
TB2G$3,4,5,6
+
Pin 2 /
TB2G$2
WCU-RS / WCU-SW User Interface
Terminator
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Pin 3, 4, 5, 6 /
TB2G$3,4,5,6 12 V Power Supply
Separate from WCU Power
Load
4.7K 50mA
max
Pin 2 /
TB2G$2
WCU-RS / WCU-SW User Interface
Terminator
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The VIOS module listens on the wired or wireless bus for system status packets from the SYS module. If
it does not receive a status, it will fail safe (turn all outputs off) after a six second timeout. If it receives a
status packet it will process the status and change states if necessary and then report its health and the
states of the inputs back to the SYS module.
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It is advisable to supply power directly to the VIOS-RS from a nearby supply instead of supplying it from
the same wires as the WCU-RS modules as the VIOS-RS can consume a considerable amount of power
depending on your particular application.
Identifying Revisions
Revision 1.0 and 1.1 hardware is identical except for the addition of bus status LEDs which are tied to
the primary RS-485 bus or wireless interface (if installed). The 5V output pin has been discontinued in
Revision 1.1.
VIOS-RS LEDs
The following table describes the VIOS-RS (wired VIOS) LEDs from left to right.
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VIOS-SW LEDs
The following table describes the VIOS-RS (wired VIOS) LEDs from left to right.
The following table describes the output LEDs on both the VIOS-RS and VIOS-SW from left to right.
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LED 3 Output 3 On when Output 3 is steady state, off when output is passed
The four position dip switch on the VIOS is used to set the module’s address and enable/disable the 45
FPM flasher output as follows. To access the dip switches, you must remove the white lid from the
module.
Address SW 3 SW 4
E0 ON ON
E2 ON OFF
E4 OFF ON
E6 OFF OFF
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BUS+POWER
SIGNAL PIN
SYSTEM BUS A 1
SYSTEM BUS B 2
POWER 3
GND 4
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A CMU-RP is shown below; the SMA-RP connector on the right hand side communicates with the SYS
card and the connector on the left communicates with the far point WCU or other far away device.
SIGNAL PIN
Not used 1
Not used 2
POWER 3
GND 4
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When connecting two FIB-RP modules, they must be connected optically on complementing optical
interfaces – for example, FIB-RP “A” and FIB-RP “B” are connected via a single optical cable between
Port 0 of “A” and Port 1 of “B”. If a third module, FIB-RP “C” was to be connected to “A” it would need
to be connected between Port 1 of A and Port 0 of B.
Figure 18 The leftmost fiber module is Port 0 with Port 1 adjacent to the right.
FIB-RP Wiring
BUS+POWER
SIGNAL PIN
RS4851A - FIBER 0 1
RS4851A - FIBER 0 2
12V IN 3
Ground 4
RS4852A - FIBER 1 5
RS4852B - FIBER 1 6
FIB-RP Connectors
Connector Part Number Details
Bus+Power Phoenix Contact 1748011 6 POS 3.81mm
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Grade Crossing System with two separate RS-485 buses connected by FIB-RP Fiber Repeaters:
ERD-RS Wiring
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GPS Antenna
The ERD-RS utilizes a GPS module for accurate time reporting. An external amplified GPS antenna must
be connected for this functionality. The recommended antenna is the Taoglas A.01.C.301111.
Software Interfaces
There are four methods by which the user can communicate with the ERD-RS Event Recorder:
Telnet
This interface is used to check the capacity and usage as well as format the onboard MicroSD card. The
default port is 10002. We recommend the free PuTTY tool as the interface for Telnet.
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Web Interface
This web interface is used to set the network settings and IP address of the unit.
The default user/password combination for this interface is left blank – it is highly recommended that
this is changed before deploying the unit to the field.
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More information about the Lantronix XPort Module can be found here:
http://www.lantronix.com/pdf/XPort_UG.pdf
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Wired Interface
Wired modules (WCU-RS and VIOS-RS) communicate with the SYS module over an RS485 bus. The bus
cable contains 12-24V DC power for use with WCU-RS, ground and two pairs of differential RS485
communication wires.
Wired Accessories
Argenia recommends the following accessories for completing a wired setup.
NOTE: It is critical to protect the cable and all connections appropriately from the environment as well
as consider the cable distance and corresponding voltage drop for your particular application.
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Wireless Interface
Argenia wireless modules use 2.4GHz Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum radios to ensure long range
reliable communications.
All wireless modules use the RM024 RAMP module from Laird.
Please see this web link for more information on how to configure your antennas. Or ask your Argenia
contact for the Wireless Antenna Installation Guide.
Wireless Accessories
Argenia recommends the following accessories for completing a wireless setup.
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