Inductive Control System

For use on busy lines various safety devices are additionally available. One of these is the inductive train control. Each signal on a section of line equipped with this system has a device which activates the brakes of a passing train. The locomotive is provided with ”a transmitter” which has an iron-core coil and a condenser. This oscillating circuit is tuned to 2000 cycles/sec and is supplied with current from a high-frequency generator to which the coil of an electromagnet for a relay is connected. The high-frequency generator is driven by an electric motor or a small steam turbine which also drives a 24-volt direct-current dynamo. A second relay and two pilot lamps are connected to this dynamo. When the system is in operation, the high-frequency generator supplies current to the oscillating circuit of the locomotive and to the high-frequency relay, so that the armature of the latter is attracted by the electromagnet and allows current to flow through the 24-volt direct-current relay. When thus energized, the relay interrupts a flow of current to the actuating electromagnet of a valve.

The signal beside the railway track is also equipped with an oscillating circuit tuned to 2000 cycles/sec. When the signal is at “safe”, its oscillating circuit is short-circuited and has no effect on the passing locomotive. However, if the signal is at “stop” and the train nevertheless fails to stop, the oscillating circuit of the signal will resonate in tune with that of the passing locomotive and withdraw so much energy from the latter circuit that the armature of the high-frequency relay is no longer sufficiently strongly attracted by the electromagnet and is therefore released. This in turn cuts off supply of current to the 24-volt relay, which then likewise releases its armature. This completes the electric circuit to the electromagnet that controls the monitoring valve. When this happens, the monitoring valve causes the brakes to be applied and the driving motor of the locomotive to be switched. At the same time, the pilot lamp “a” goes out and the lamp “b” lights up.

Ex. 9. Consult text A and finish the following definitions:

1. A device that transmits is called …

2. A device for accumulating electric charge, usually consisting of two conducting surfaces separated by a dielectric is called …

3. An electrical conductor wound (to wind – наматывать) into the form of a spiral, sometimes with a soft iron core, to provide inductance or a magnetic field is called …

4. An automatic device that controls the setting of a valve, switch, etc., by means of an electric motor, solenoid, or pneumatic mechanism is called …

5. Any device that converts one form of energy into another form is called …

6. A soft iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent magnet to close the magnetic circuit when it is not in use is called …

7. A machine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid (water, steam, air, or combustion products of a fuel) is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate is called …

Ex. 10. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What is the inductive train control system used for? 2. What does an oscillating circuit consist of? 3. What device supplies current to the oscillating circuit? 4. Where is the signal with the same oscillating circuit situated? 5. When does the oscillating circuit of the signal have no effect on the passing locomotive? 6. When will the oscillating circuit of the signal resonate in tune with that of the passing locomotive? 7. What device causes the brakes to be applied?

Ex. 11. Translate the following text from Russian into English. Do it in written form.

Индукционная система автоматического управления торможением Indusi I60R гарантирует безопасное движение поездов. Она включает в себя путевое оборудование и бортовое оборудование. Путевое оборудование состоит из путевого индуктора (track magnet); бортовое оборудование содержит бортовой прибор, магнит и генератор, систему управления и дисплей.

В определенных местах, например у сигналов или перед участками с ограничением скорости движения, оборудование Indusi I60R передает информацию с рельсового пути в кабину машиниста. Одно из многих преимуществ данного оборудования заключается в том, что оно надежно при любых климатических условиях.

Ex. 12. Copy the following words. One word in line doesn’t belong to the group. Cross out the odd word and explain your choice.

1) a train, a plane, an automobile, a rail car.

2) steam, diesel, electric, air.

3) a second, an hour, a mile, a minute.

4) current, voltage, time, resistance.

5) relay, transistor, diode, photo.

6) turbine, motor, generator, electron.

7) a railway, a highway, a runway, a road.

Text B. Scan the text and write down all the unknown words. Read the text trying to guess the meaning of the unknown words. Retell the text in Russian.

A bullet train twisted down the track on autopilot after its driver left the cockpit (cab) to find his hat. The train, which can reach 167 mph, ran very-very slowly along on autopilot at 13-18 mph for about five minutes while its controls were unattended. Company rules at the Central Japan Railway require drivers to always wear their hats, but the driver “left the driver's seat to look for his hat after he realized he wasn't wearing it,” a spokesman said. Isn't there any sort of rule about leaving the cockpit while the train is running? There is now: “We have notified all drivers that they should continue driving until they reach a station, after which they should report that they have misplaced his or her hat.” (Reuters) .How reassuring for the passengers to learn that the drivers needed to be told that.

Text С. Scan the text and write down all the unknown words. Read the text trying to guess the meaning of the unknown words. Retell the text in Russian.