Devices, systems, and methods for relaying voice messages to operator control units of remote control locomotives

1. An operator control unit for a locomotive, the operator control unit comprising:

a user interface configured to receive one or more commands from an operator for controlling a locomotive;

a wireless communication interface configured to transmit command data to and receive feedback data from a locomotive control unit (LCU) of the locomotive, via data radio frequency (RF) packets;

memory configured to store multiple voice messages corresponding to the locomotive, each of the multiple stored voice messages corresponding to a different message number; and

a processor configured to receive a voice message number from the feedback data RF packet received from the locomotive control unit of the locomotive via the wireless communication interface, retrieve one of the multiple stored voice messages from memory corresponding to the received voice message number, and transmit the retrieved voice message to the operator via a wired transmission and/or near-field wireless transmission to allow the operator to listen to the retrieved voice message.

2. The operator control unit of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication interface includes at least one radio frequency (RF) channel configured to transmit the voice message number.

3. The operator control unit of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication interface includes at least one radio frequency (RF) channel configured to transmit an actual voice message content from the locomotive control unit to the operator control unit.

4. The operator control unit of claim 1 , further comprising a near-field wireless communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the retrieved voice message to an earpiece of the operator via the near-field wireless communication interface of the operator control unit.

5. The operator control unit of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless radio, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the retrieved voice message to the operator via the wireless radio of the operator control unit.

6. The operator control unit of claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to transmit the retrieved voice message via the wireless radio over a voice channel at a power level that is below a specified threshold, to inhibit reception of the transmitted voice message by operators other than the operator associated with the operator control unit.

7. The operator control unit of claim 1 , wherein the operator control unit is configured to:

transmit a status request to the locomotive control unit to request a current status of the locomotive; and

in response to the transmitted status request, receive a voice message number from the locomotive control unit corresponding to a voice message indicative of the status of the locomotive.

8. A system for relaying voice messages to an operator control unit of a locomotive, the system comprising:

an operator control unit having a user interface configured to receive one or more commands from an operator, and a wireless interface configured to transmit the one or more commands to a locomotive via one or more command data radio frequency (RF) packets; and

a locomotive control unit (LCU) coupled to the locomotive and configured to receive the one or more commands from the operator control unit,

wherein the locomotive control unit is configured to transmit voice message content to the operator control unit via the wireless interface of the operator control unit, the voice message content included in one or more feedback data RF packets transmitted from the locomotive control unit to the operator control unit via the wireless interface; and

wherein the operator control unit is configured to transmit the received voice message content to the operator via a wired transmission and/or near-field wireless transmission to allow the operator to listen to the retrieved voice message.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein:

the operator control unit is configured to transmit a status request to the locomotive control unit to request a current status of the locomotive; and

the locomotive control unit is configured to, in response to receiving the status request from the operator control unit, transmit voice message content to the operator control unit indicative of the status of the locomotive.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the locomotive control unit is configured to:

determine whether a predefined event has occurred; and

in response to a determination that the predefined event has occurred, transmit voice message content to the operator control unit indicative of the predefined event.

11. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a repeater, wherein the repeater is configured to relay the voice message content transmitted from the locomotive control unit to a remote monitoring device.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the remote monitoring device is configured to play the voice message content when the voice message content is received from the repeater, thereby allowing a yard manager to monitor operation of the locomotive.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the remote monitoring device is configured to store a text version of the voice message content when the voice message content is received from the repeater, thereby allowing for storage of the voice messages for later review.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the repeater is configured to relay the voice message content to the remote monitoring device via at least one of a fiber optic link, a network link, a co-axial link, and an Ethernet link.

15. The system of claim 8 , wherein the wireless interface is a BLUETOOTH wireless communication interface configured to transmit the received voice message content to a BLUETOOTH receiver of the operator.

16. The system of claim 8 , wherein:

the operator control unit includes memory configured to store multiple voice messages corresponding to the locomotive; and

the operator control unit includes a processor configured to receive a voice message number from the locomotive control unit of the locomotive via the wireless communication interface, retrieve one of the multiple stored voice messages from memory corresponding to the received voice message number, and transmit the retrieved voice message to an earpiece, headset, or remote device of the operator.

17. A method of relaying voice messages to an operator control unit associated with a locomotive control unit, the method comprising:

receiving a voice message number from a locomotive control unit (LCU) of a locomotive at a wireless interface of an operator control unit, the operator control unit storing multiple voice messages corresponding to the locomotive with each of the multiple stored voice messages corresponding to a different message number;

retrieving one of the multiple stored voice messages from memory corresponding to the received voice message number; and

transmitting the retrieved voice message to the operator via a wired transmission and/or a near-field wireless transmission to allow the operator to listen to the retrieved voice message.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein transmitting the retrieved voice message includes transmitting the retrieved voice message to an earpiece, headset, or remote device of the operator.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein transmitting the retrieved voice message includes transmitting the retrieved voice message via a BLUETOOTH near-field wireless transmission to a BLUETOOTH receiver of the operator.

20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

receiving the voice message at a repeater; and

relaying the voice message to a remote monitoring device.