Current collector and road vehicle equipped with same

Abstract

The invention relates to a current collector (2) for an electric or hybrid electric drive road vehicle (1) for feeding traction energy from a bipolar overhead line system, each contact pole of which has a contact line (3, 4). According to the invention, the current collector comprises an erectable bearing link (5) which is supported on the vehicle side by means of a base joint (8) on a link base (9) and which supports at least one trolley bar (15) for each contact pole on the trolley feed side for electrically contacting a trolley feed (3, 4) associated with the respective contact pole. The invention relates to a slide bar (15) having a bearing link (5), via which there is exactly one lower arm (6) connected to a base joint (8), exactly one upper arm (7) connected to the lower arm (6) via a knee joint (10), and exactly one cross-member (11) connected to the upper arm (7) via a bearing joint (12), on which cross-member (11) each of the slide bars (15) is mounted in a resilient manner via a spring element (16, 17), the structure of the current collector (2) can be simplified and the contact behavior of the current collector with overhead line equipment can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a current collector according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a road vehicle according to claim 7 . Background Art

[0002] Such a vehicle is known, for example, from the publication DE 10 2017 203 046 A1. It comprises a collector for feeding traction energy from a bipolar overhead line device, each contact pole of the overhead line device having a sliding feeder. The collector has a pantograph-type upright support link, which is supported on the link base in an articulated manner on the vehicle side and supports a rocker device on the sliding feeder side. The support link comprises a lower arm and two upper arms, which are independently connected to the lower arm in an articulated manner in a rotatable manner. The rocker device has a rocker bracket for each of the two contact poles. Each rocker bracket is hinged so as to be connected to one of the two upper arms in a rotatable manner around the vehicle transverse axis respectively, and supports two sliding contact strips, which are arranged one after another on the vehicle longitudinal axis parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis, and the sliding contact strips are used to electrically contact the sliding feeder associated with the contact pole.

[0003] Such current collectors have a large mass, which has a negative impact on their pivoting behavior, and a complex structure, which is associated with an increased risk of failure in operation, production and installation. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a current collector of the type mentioned in the introduction which has a simpler structure and an improved contact behavior with the overhead line system.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention by a current collector of the type mentioned in the introduction having the features indicated in the characterizing part of claim 1 .

[0006] The collector for a road vehicle driven by an electric or hybrid electric drive is constructed and arranged to be used for feeding traction energy from an overhead line device. The road vehicle can be constructed as a heavy-duty operating vehicle, such as a truck or a bus, for example. The overhead line device is constructed to be bipolar, and each contact pole has a sliding feeder. The sliding feeders are arranged approximately parallel to each other and arranged at the same height above the electrified lane of the carriageway used by the road vehicle. The feeder section of the overhead line device is supplied with electric energy through a transformer substation, and the electric energy is provided to the road vehicle through two sliding feeders. The collector includes a supporting link that can stand upright. The supporting link can be constructed as a pantograph, for example, and can be erected by a pneumatic lifting drive. The supporting link is supported on the link base by a base joint on the vehicle side. The supporting link supports at least one sliding contact strip for each contact pole on the sliding feeder side for electrically contacting the sliding feeder associated with the corresponding contact pole. The contact strip is oriented horizontally and transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and can be formed by an elongated contact made of graphite, which is fixed in a contact carrier. The downwardly bent telescopic feeler can be arranged at the outer end of the contact carrier.

[0007] According to the invention, the support link has exactly one lower arm connected to the base joint, exactly one upper arm connected to the lower arm via a knee joint, and exactly one crossbar connected to the upper arm via a support joint. Here, each of the sliding contact strips is elastically supported on the crossbar by a spring element. For example, each contact pole can have two sliding contact strips elastically supported on the crossbar, which extend parallel to the vehicle transverse direction and are arranged one after another in the vehicle longitudinal direction. More precisely, by using their own sliding contact strips for the two contact poles, but not using separate rockers, but only using a common crossbar, the moving mass of the current collector can be significantly saved. By replacing the two upper arms known so far (the two upper arms respectively support the rockers associated with the corresponding contact poles) with only one upper arm supporting the crossbar, an additional mass reduction of the current collector is achieved. The reduction of components reduces the moving mass of the current collector, so that the contact force fluctuations caused by vertical vibrations can be compensated more quickly, which improves the quality of the pressing force of the sliding contact strip on the sliding feeder and reduces the wear of the sliding contact strip. Furthermore, since the number of current collector components is smaller, its structure is simplified, which reduces the possibility of failure during the manufacture and operation of the current collector.

[0008] In an advantageous embodiment of the current collector according to the invention, each contact pole is assigned exactly one sliding contact strip. Thus, by dispensing with two sliding contact strips per contact pole and dispensing with a rocker support supporting two sliding contact strips, the moving mass of the current collector can be further saved. As a result, not only the pivoting dynamics of the current collector are further improved, but also the complexity of its structure is simplified. Preferably, in this case, sliding contact strips can be used whose sliding contact pieces have a width of at least 6 cm measured in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

[0009] In another advantageous embodiment of the collector according to the present invention, the spring element is constructed as a leaf spring and / or a coil spring. Leaf springs and coil springs are particularly suitable for applications in public road spaces due to their high availability of very different spring characteristic curves and their robustness. Each contact strip or contact strip pair of the contact pole can have two spring elements arranged on the opposite ends of the contact strip. Here, only leaf springs can be used, or only coil springs can be used, or leaf springs and coil springs can also be used in combination. The restoring force when the spring element is compressed can be set, for example, by selecting a spring constant so that it increases linearly. By pre-tensioning the spring element, the minimum initial value of the restoring force can be pre-set. Stop elements, such as stop elements with a shock-absorbing effect, can also limit the compression stroke of the spring element, thereby limiting the deflection of the contact strip relative to the crossbeam. The spring constant of the spring element is selected so that the pivoting of the contact strip caused by vehicle vibration and the height difference between the contact strips of different contact poles caused by different sliding feeder heights are balanced so as to achieve high contact quality between the contact strip and the sliding feeder.

[0010] In another advantageous embodiment of the collector according to the present invention, the spring characteristic curve of the spring element has a first spring constant on the first compression stroke, and has a second spring constant greater than the first spring constant on the second compression stroke thereafter. A second compression stroke is set for overload conditions, on which the damage to the collector (for example, caused by the sliding contact strip hitting the crossbeam) can be mitigated by a more significantly increased restoring force. In order to balance the greater height difference between the sliding contact feeder, another spring stroke can also be added between the first and second compression strokes, on which the restoring force, for example, remains constant. This effect can be provided by a spring element constructed as a constant force spring. The spring elements cascaded in this way form a passive and robust spring assembly with a self-centered spring characteristic curve. This spring assembly balances the changes caused by the vibration movement of the vehicle in the high-frequency variation range and the height difference of the sliding contact feeder in the low-frequency variation range. The individual spring elements can be replaced separately and mutually, and it is possible to achieve targeted characteristic curve settings for each spring level.

[0011] In another advantageous embodiment of the current collector according to the invention, the spring element electrically insulates the contact strip relative to the crossbeam. The support point of the spring element on the contact strip and / or on the crossbeam or the spring element itself can be designed to be electrically insulating. In both cases, the spring element can form an important part of the electrically insulating path between the high voltage level of the contact feeder and the potential of the vehicle support. In addition, the connecting rod base of the current collector can be fixed to the road vehicle by means of an electrical support insulator.

[0012] In another advantageous embodiment of the current collector according to the invention, a mechanical bridging component is mounted on the crossbeam so as to prevent the trolley feeder from falling off between the trolley bars of different contact poles. The bridging component can be constructed as an insulating bow, for example, and is arranged and formed so that the trolley feeder that slides from the trolley bar toward the center of the vehicle cannot enter the gap between adjacent trolley bars below the trolley bar. This prevents the trolley feeder from passing under the trolley bar and avoids damage to the current collector or overhead line equipment caused by this.

[0013] Furthermore, the invention relates to an electric or hybrid electric drive road vehicle comprising a current collector according to any one of claims 1 to 6. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Further features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention are apparent from the following description of a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1 Schematically showing a front view of a first embodiment of a current collector according to the present invention,

[0016] Figure 2 schematically shows a side view of a second embodiment of a current collector according to the present invention,

[0017] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a sliding contact strip with compression Figure 1 The current collector in

[0018] Figure 4 Schematically showing a front view of a third embodiment of a current collector according to the present invention,

[0019] Figure 5 schematically shows a first characteristic curve of a spring element of a current collector according to the invention, and

[0020] Figure 6 A second characteristic curve of a spring element of a current collector according to the invention is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] exist Figures 1 to 4, only a portion of a vehicle frame of a non-railway, electric or hybrid electric driven road vehicle 1, such as a heavy freight vehicle, or another vehicle part supported thereon indirectly or directly is shown. The vehicle 1 has a current collector 2 for feeding in traction energy from an overhead line system. The overhead line system is designed to be bipolar, and each contact pole has a sliding feeder 3 and 4 designed as an output conductor and a return conductor. The current collector 2 has a supporting link 5 that can stand upright in the vehicle height direction Z, and the supporting link 5 is implemented as a pantograph with a single lower arm 6 and a single upper arm 7. The supporting link 5 is supported by its lower arm 6 via a base joint 8 on a link base 9 that is fixedly connected to the road vehicle 1. The upper arm 7 is connected to the lower arm 6 via a knee joint 10. The upper arm 7 is in turn connected to a crossbeam 11 via a supporting joint 12. The base joint 8, the knee joint 10 and the supporting joint 12 are designed as revolute joints, whose joint axes are oriented parallel to the vehicle transverse direction Y of the road vehicle 1. The coupling rod 13 is connected to the link base 9 and the upper arm 7 in an articulated manner, so that when the lower arm 6 is erected, the upper arm 7 is also forced to stand up by a lifting device (not shown), such as an air bellows, wherein the knee angle opened by the upper arm 7 and the lower arm 6 increases. In addition, the guide rod 14 is connected to the lower arm 6 and the crossbeam 12 in an articulated manner, so that when the supporting link 5 is erected, the crossbeam 12 is guided so that the sliding contact strip 15 supported elastically on the crossbeam 12 remains facing the sliding power supply lines 3 and 4. For each contact pole, at least one sliding contact strip 15, preferably exactly one sliding contact strip 15, is supported elastically on the crossbeam 11 via a spring element 16 or 17. The current collector 2 contacts the sliding power supply lines 3 and 4 associated with the corresponding contact pole via the sliding contact strip 15, thereby forming an electrical sliding contact during the travel of the road vehicle 1 for energy transmission. The sliding contact strip 15 is oriented horizontally and transversely to the vehicle longitudinal axis X of the road vehicle 1. A downwardly bent telescopic feeler 18 is integrally formed on the contact strip 15 at its end outside the vehicle.

[0022] In accordance with Figures 1 to 3 In the embodiment of the invention, the upper arm 7 is constructed in a T-shape and has a top tube 19 at its end on the sliding feeder side extending in the vehicle transverse direction Y. The cross member 11 is connected to the top tube 19 in an articulated manner via a bearing joint 12. Figure 4 In the embodiment of , the upper arm 7 is V-shaped and has, at its end on the sliding feeder side, a top tube 19 extending in the vehicle transverse direction Y, in which two bearing joints 12 for connecting the cross member 11 are integrated.

[0023] In accordance with Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, the spring element is configured as a leaf spring 16. Figure 2In the embodiment of the present invention, the spring element is configured as a helical spring 17. Each sliding contact strip 15 can have two spring elements 16 or 17 arranged at opposite ends of the sliding contact strip 15. Here, only leaf springs 16 can be used, or only helical springs 16 can be used, or a combination of leaf springs 16 and helical springs 17 can also be used.

[0024] The restoring force F when the spring element 16 or 17 is compressed can be set, for example, by selecting the spring constant K so that it is Figure 5 It increases linearly with increasing compression travel S. A minimum initial value F0 of the restoring force can be predetermined by pretensioning the spring element 16 or 17. The spring constant K of the spring element 16 or 17 is selected so that the pivoting of the sliding contact strip caused by vehicle vibrations and the height difference between the different sliding contact wires 3 and 4 are compensated, so that a high contact quality is achieved between the sliding contact strip 15 and the sliding contact wires 3 and 4.

[0025] according to Figure 6 , the spring characteristic curve KL of the spring element 16 or 17 can have a first spring constant K1 in a first compression stroke S1, and a second spring constant K2 greater than the first spring constant K1 in a second compression stroke S2 ​​thereafter. The second compression stroke S2 ​​is provided for overload situations, at which damage to the current collector 2 (for example, caused by the contact strip 15 hitting the crossbeam 11) can be reduced by a more significantly increased restoring force F.

[0026] The spring elements 16 and 17 electrically insulate the busbar 15 relative to the crossbar 11 , for example by virtue of the bearing points of the spring elements 16 and 17 on the busbar 15 and / or on the crossbar 11 or by virtue of the spring elements 16 and 17 themselves being designed to be electrically insulating.

[0027] On the crossbeam 11, in all embodiments, a mechanical bridging component 20 is mounted on the crossbeam to prevent the sliding feeder 3 or 4 from falling off between the sliding contact strips 15 of different contact poles. The bridging component 20 can be constructed as an insulating bow, for example, and is arranged and formed so that the sliding feeder 3 or 4 sliding from the sliding contact strip 15 to the center direction of the vehicle cannot enter the gap ZR between the adjacent sliding contact strips 15 below the sliding contact strip 15. In this way, the sliding feeder 3 or 4 is prevented from passing under the sliding contact strip 15, and the damage to the collector 2 or the overhead line equipment caused by this is avoided.

[0028] The core of the invention is to achieve a reduction in the moving mass of the current collector according to the invention, thereby making it possible to more quickly compensate for fluctuating contact forces. The improved quality of the contact force also reduces the wear of the sliding contact strip 15. By reducing the number of components, the current collector 2 according to the invention also reduces faults during manufacture, installation and operation.

Claims

1. A current collector (2) for an electric or hybrid electric road vehicle (1) for feeding in traction energy from a bipolar overhead line installation, each contact pole of the overhead line installation having a sliding feeder (3, 4), the current collector comprising: - an upright supporting link (5) which is supported on the vehicle side via a base joint (8) on a link base (9) and which, on the trolley side, carries at least one contact strip (15) for each contact pole for electrically contacting the trolley supply line (3, 4) associated with the respective contact pole, It is characterized in that - the supporting link (5) has exactly one lower arm (6) connected to the base joint (8), exactly one upper arm (7) connected to the lower arm (6) via a knee joint (10), and exactly one crossbar (11) connected to the upper arm (7) via a supporting joint (12), - wherein each of the contact strips (15) is supported elastically on the cross member (11) via a spring element (16, 17).

2. The current collector (2) according to claim 1, In this case, each contact pole is assigned exactly one contact strip (15).

3. Current collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, - wherein the spring element is designed as a leaf spring (16) and / or a helical spring (17).

4. Current collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, - wherein the spring characteristic curve (KL) of the spring element (16, 17) has a first spring constant (K1) in a first compression stroke (S1) and has a second spring constant (K2) which is greater than the first spring constant (K1) in a subsequent second compression stroke (S2).

5. The current collector (2) according to claim 3 or 4, - wherein the spring elements (16, 17) electrically insulate the contact strip (15) from the crossbar (11).

6. Current collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, -in, A mechanical bridging element (20) is mounted on the crossbeam (11) to prevent the trolley wires (3, 4) from falling off between the trolley strips (15) of different contact poles.

7. An electric or hybrid-electric road vehicle (1), in particular a truck or a bus, comprising a current collector (2) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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