Road vehicle with current collector

Abstract

The invention relates to a road vehicle (1) having a traction drive (13) and a current collector (14) for supplying traction energy from a two-pole overhead line installation. The current collector (1) has a supporting rod (15) which can be erected and which carries, for each contact pole, a friction strip (19) for electrically contacting a respective contact line (4) of the overhead line installation. By means of the lifting drive (20), the support rod (15) is lifted to the upper working position of the friction strips (19), and there can be a stroke difference (H) between the friction strips (19) of different contact poles. According to the invention, the road vehicle (1) comprises an inertial measurement unit (21) fixed relative to the vehicle for detecting acceleration components (ax, ay, az) and rotational rate components ([omega] x, [omega] y, [omega] z). A control unit (22) coupled to the lifting drive (20) is configured to trigger the lowering of the support bar (15) as a function of at least one of the detected acceleration components (ax, ay, az) and at least one of the detected rotational rate components ([omega] x, [omega] y, [omega] z). As a result, the road vehicle (1) is operated with the maximum travel difference (H) as large as possible while maintaining the clear space profile (P).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a road vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1 .

[0002] Such a road vehicle is known, for example, from the international publication WO 2019 / 042843 A1. It comprises an electric or hybrid electric traction drive and a current collector, which is used to input traction energy from a two-pole overhead line facility with a contact wire per contact pole. The current collector has an erectable support rod with a fixed end and a free end, at which the support rod is hingedly supported on a rod seat, and at the free end the support rod carries at least one friction strip for each contact pole for electrically contacting the corresponding contact wire. The current collector also has a lifting drive for erecting and lowering the support rod between a lower resting position and an upper working position of the friction strip. The support rod is constructed in such a way that it achieves a stroke difference between the friction strips of different contact poles in the upper working position.

[0003] Since road vehicles are not restricted to lanes, they can leave the electrified lane from the side at any time, on which the contact wires of the electrical overhead wire facilities extend essentially symmetrically relative to the center of the lane. This is done, for example, on multi-lane roads during overtaking maneuvers or when leaving the road at an exit. The current collector is lowered when leaving the electrified lane. In order to avoid collisions between the current collector and the infrastructure arranged on the side of the lane, the so-called clear space profile (Lichtraumprofil) on the sides and above the contact wire is defined as the free space for movement allowed for the current collector. For this purpose, the current collector of a road vehicle known from document WO2019 / 042843A1 has a measuring device, which detects contact of the contact wire on the end contact elements arranged on the side of the friction strip and automatically triggers an adjustment signal for lowering the current collector.

[0004] But leaving the electrified lane can also occur suddenly, for example triggered by a detour action in a dangerous situation. At this point, the current collector contacting the contact wire must be lowered early and very quickly in order not to violate the clear space contour, because the road vehicle and therefore the current collector have reached high lateral speeds until the lowering is triggered by its end contact elements. To this end, European publication EP3974234A1 discloses equipping the current collector with an acceleration sensor for detecting the lateral acceleration of the current collector during vehicle operation. A control unit connected to the lifting drive is designed to trigger the lowering of the support rod as a function of the detected lateral acceleration. Therefore, depending on the lateral speed that must be generated by the lateral acceleration, the lowering of the current collector is started early to varying degrees, so that essentially the same free space is required in each driving situation with lateral steering movements.

[0005] However, a violation of the clear space contour can occur when leaving the electrified lane laterally, that is, at least one friction strip of one contact pole is still in contact with the contact line, while at least one friction strip of the other contact pole is already floating freely and rising upward with the permissible stroke difference between the contact poles. The stroke difference can be limited in comparison. For this purpose, the above-mentioned type of collector is known from the open document DE102018215816A1, whose support rod has a lower arm and two upper arms that carry the friction strips of the corresponding contact poles. In order to compensate for the height difference between the friction strips of different contact poles, a compensating rocker arm is provided, which has a rocker arm bracket and a rocker arm beam rotatably connected thereto by a rocker arm joint. The rocker arm bracket is connected to the rod seat by a base joint, and the rocker arm beam is rotatably connected to the coupling rod by compensation joints arranged on both sides of the rocker arm joint. The rotation of the rocker arm beam around the rocker arm joint axis of the rocker arm joint is limited by a stop element for the rocker arm beam.

[0006] The stroke difference can be limited to an extent that enables a vertical compensating movement between the friction strips of the two contact poles in order to offset the height difference between the contact line heights of the two contact lines at the track level in order to compensate for the track superelevation and the rolling movement of the collector relative to the contact line due to lateral movements of the road vehicle and wind shear on the road vehicle. Although a strict limitation of the stroke difference allows the clear space contour to be maintained, it limits the availability of the overhead line facility in certain driving situations. Thus, strong rolling movements of the road vehicle can occur due to one-sided driving over obstacles on the track or one-sided driving over recesses in the track, for example due to large rocks on the track of a mining facility or deep potholes in the track. By limiting the stroke difference, the friction strip of the contact pole can lose contact with its contact line, which is associated with an undesirable interruption of the supply of electrical power to the road vehicle.

[0007] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a road vehicle of the type mentioned at the outset which can be operated with the greatest possible maximum travel difference between the friction strips of different contact poles while maintaining the clearance contour.

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention by a road vehicle having the characterizing features of claim 1 .

[0009] According to the invention, a road vehicle comprises an electric or hybrid electric traction drive and a current collector for inputting traction energy from a two-pole overhead line installation with a contact wire per contact pole. The current collector comprises an erectable support rod with a fixed end and a free end, at the fixed end the support rod is hingedly supported on a rod seat, and at the free end the support rod carries at least one friction strip for each contact pole for electrically contacting the corresponding contact wire. The current collector also comprises a lifting drive for erecting and lowering the support rod between a lower resting position of the friction strip and an upper working position. The support rod is designed in such a way that in the upper working position it achieves a travel difference between the friction strips of different contact poles.

[0010] According to the invention, the road vehicle comprises an inertial measurement unit fixed relative to the vehicle for detecting the acceleration component of its acceleration vector and the rotation rate component of its rotation rate vector. The vector components are determined in an orthogonal coordinate system formed by the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the transverse direction of the vehicle and the height direction of the vehicle. The longitudinal direction of the vehicle here points to the driving direction of the road vehicle. The measuring unit can be fixed and arranged with a fixed part of the collector, such as a rod seat, or directly in the road vehicle, such as on the frame of the road vehicle. A control unit coupled to the lifting drive is configured to trigger the lowering of the support rod according to at least one of the detected acceleration components and at least one of the detected rotation rate components. By evaluating the motion state of the road vehicle with the collector given by the linear acceleration and angular velocity, not only is the lowering of the collector triggered according to the lateral position of the road vehicle relative to the contact line and the lateral speed of the road vehicle to avoid the destruction of the clear space profile, but the linear acceleration and angular velocity of the road vehicle are taken into account as additional variables so that the collector is not unnecessarily lowered in a determined driving situation. The availability of power from the overhead line facility is thereby increased and the destruction of the clear space profile is avoided at the same time.

[0011] In an advantageous embodiment of the road vehicle according to the invention, the control unit is designed to integrate the detected acceleration component and the detected rotation rate component over time to form an integral value and to trigger the lowering of the support rod as a function of exceeding a threshold curve predetermined for the integral value. This avoids triggering the lowering of the current collector only when temporary peaks of the acceleration and rotation rate components occur. The threshold curve is stored for individual or all vector components, so that the lowering of the current collector is only triggered when the threshold curve is exceeded.

[0012] In a further advantageous embodiment of the road vehicle according to the invention, the threshold value curve for the integrated value is time-dependent and preferably decreases hyperbolically over time. Below the threshold value curve, no lowering process is triggered, and above it, the current collector is disconnected from the line. By taking into account the product of the vector components of the acceleration and / or the rotation rate and time, higher component values ​​lead to a lowering after a shorter time, lower component values ​​lead to a lowering after a longer time.

[0013] In another advantageous embodiment of the road vehicle according to the invention, the control unit is designed to trigger the lowering of the support rod if the values ​​of the rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the acceleration component in the transverse direction of the vehicle have different signs. For example, when the road vehicle tilts outwards due to centrifugal force in a left-hand curve and the measuring unit therefore rotates in the clockwise direction around it as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle has a positive sign. The sign of the rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle also applies when the wheel arranged on the left side is lifted by an obstacle when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, or when the wheel arranged on the right side falls into a lane depression when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In contrast, when the road vehicle is driving on a left-hand curve, the acceleration component in the transverse direction of the vehicle has a negative sign, because part of the acceleration component from the centrifugal acceleration points away from the center of the curve. However, the sign of the acceleration component in the transverse direction of the vehicle is positive in the other two driving situations, because the acceleration vector acting on the measuring unit points to the lower left in the case of driving over an obstacle on the left and to the upper left in the case of driving over a depression on the right. During an evasive maneuver in a left-hand curve, after reaching the maximum travel difference, the friction strips that are no longer in contact can disrupt the clear gap profile, so that the conditions "the rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is positive" and "the acceleration component in the transverse direction of the vehicle is negative" lead to a reduction in the current collector according to the invention. This condition is not met in the other two driving situations, because the rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and the acceleration component in the transverse direction of the vehicle have the same sign. In this case, the current collector is not reduced according to the invention in order to use the large travel difference to maintain the contact of the two contact lines.

[0014] In a further advantageous embodiment of the road vehicle according to the invention, the control unit is configured to trigger the lowering of the support rod if the rotation rate component about the vehicle transverse direction exceeds a predetermined positive maximum value and / or the acceleration component in the vehicle longitudinal direction exceeds a predetermined negative maximum value. If the road vehicle performs a strong braking action which should lead to the lowering of the current collector (for example in order to bring the current collector to an electrically safe state in its rest position in the event of a possible collision of the road vehicle), the measuring unit experiences a large negative acceleration component in the vehicle longitudinal direction and, due to a pitching movement of the measuring unit associated therewith in the clockwise direction about the vehicle transverse axis, a large positive rotation rate component about the vehicle transverse direction. If said acceleration component and / or rotation rate component or their integrated value exceeds a predetermined maximum value, the lowering of the support rod is triggered.

[0015] By evaluating the acceleration vector and the rotation rate vector, conditions for lowering or not lowering the current collector can also be defined for other driving situations, including the magnitude, sign and integral value of the vector components.

[0016] Further advantages and properties of the road vehicle according to the invention emerge from the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1 Shows road vehicles located on multiple lanes as viewed in the direction of travel;

[0018] Figure 2 shows a coordinate system for a measurement device with exemplary acceleration and rotation rate vectors;

[0019] Figure 3 A diagram showing the time course of a threshold value curve for an integrated value of an acceleration or rotation rate component;

[0020] Figure 4 A table showing conditions for lowering the current collector in the case of a positive rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;

[0021] Figure 5 A table showing conditions for lowering the current collector in the case of a negative rotation rate component about the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;

[0022] Figure 6 A road vehicle is shown in a "left turn avoidance maneuver" driving situation,

[0023] Figure 7 shows a road vehicle in the driving situation "driving over an obstacle on the left", and

[0024] Figure 8 The road vehicle is shown in the driving situation "driving over a depression in the road on the right".

[0025] according to Figure 1 , a road vehicle 1 according to the invention travels on a multi-lane 2, for example a motorway with right-hand traffic, whose continuous traffic areas are divided by lane markings. Therefore, the road vehicle 1 uses an electrified lane formed by a right-hand lane 3, above which the contact wires 4 of a two-pole overhead line facility designed as outgoing and return conductors are arranged parallel to each other and symmetrically with respect to the center of the lane. The overhead line facility has two contact poles, because the road vehicle 1 has rubber tires and therefore has wheels 23 that are insulated relative to the ground. Such overhead line facilities are known per se, so that supporting cables and hangers for the contact wires 4 as well as suspension rods, towers and tensioning devices and transformer substations are not shown. Since it does not travel on rails, the road vehicle 1 can also use the middle lane 5 extending between the right-hand lane 3 and the left-hand lane 6 to overtake or avoid, or use the speed bump 7 at the exit to leave the lane 2. An emergency strip 8 extends to the right of the speed bump 7, and a vehicle arresting system 9 designed as a guardrail is arranged on its outer side. A green belt 10 extends outside the roadway 2 , on which infrastructure equipment is arranged, such as a tower 11 for traffic signs 12 , for measuring and monitoring equipment, etc.

[0026] A road vehicle 1, such as a truck or a bus, comprises an electric or hybrid electric traction drive 13 and a current collector 14 for supplying traction energy to the traction drive 13 from an overhead line installation. The current collector 14 comprises an erectable support rod 15 with a fixed end 16 and a free end 18, at the fixed end of which the support rod is supported in an articulated manner on a rod seat 17 on the vehicle side, and at the free end of which the support rod 15 carries at least one friction strip 19 for each contact pole for electrically contacting the corresponding contact wire 4. In order to erect and lower the support rod 15, which is designed, for example, in the form of a pantograph, between a lower rest position in which the friction strip 19 is located in the area of ​​the vehicle roof and an upper working position in which the friction strip 19 is connected to the contact wire 4, the current collector 14 comprises a lifting drive 20, which can be designed, for example, as an air bellows. By opening the throttle valve, air can escape thereby and thereby trigger the lowering of the support rod 15. The support rod 15 is designed in such a way that in the upper working position it achieves a travel difference between the friction strips 19 of the different contact poles (see Figures 6 to 8 ).

[0027] Due to its lateral extent and the height that can be reached in its operating position, the current collector 14 represents a source of danger in terms of collisions and jams compared to vehicles of conventionally permitted vehicle dimensions, both with respect to overhead line components and with respect to other line-side infrastructure. A clear space contour is thus defined with respect to the electrified carriageway 3, the limits of which are at Figure 1 , which is shown as a dash-dot line and is selected such that the current collector 14 does not exceed this limit P during the raising and lowering of the road vehicle 1 in the right lane 3 and the adjacent lanes 5 and 7 .

[0028] According to the invention, a road vehicle 1 comprises an inertial measurement unit 21 which is fixed relative to the vehicle. The measurement unit 21 is based on Figure 2 Detect the acceleration component a of its acceleration vector a x 、a y 、a z and the rotation rate component ω of its rotation rate vector ω x ,ω y ,ω z . Vector component a x 、a y 、a z ,ω x ,ω y ,ω z The measuring unit 21 is fixed and oriented directly in the road vehicle 1, for example on its frame, but can also be fixed to a fixed part of the collector 14, for example on the rod seat 17. The control unit 22 coupled to the lifting drive 20 is designed to detect the acceleration component a according to the detected acceleration component a. x 、ay 、a z At least one of the detected rotation rate component ω x ,ω y ,ω z At least one of the triggers a lowering of the support rod 15, which is also referred to below as a lowering of the current collector 14. By evaluating the motion state of the road vehicle 1 with the current collector 14 given by the linear acceleration a and the angular velocity ω, the lowering of the current collector 14 is triggered not only by the lateral position of the road vehicle 1 relative to the contact wire 4 and the lateral velocity of the road vehicle 1 to avoid a clear space profile violation, but also the angular velocity ω of the road vehicle 1 is taken into account as a further variable so that the current collector 14 is not lowered unnecessarily in certain driving situations. The availability of power consumed from the overhead line facility is thereby increased and at the same time a violation of the clear space profile P is avoided.

[0029] In order to avoid the situation where only the acceleration a x 、a y 、a z and the rotation rate component ω x ,ω y ,ω z When a temporary peak of the current collector 14 is triggered, the control unit 22 is configured to detect the acceleration component a x 、a y 、a z and the detected rotation rate component ω x ,ω y ,ω z according to Figure 2 The integration is done over time to form an integrated value Ia, Iω, and the lowering of the support rod 15 is triggered according to exceeding a threshold curve I(t) predetermined for the integrated value I. Here, the abbreviations I, Ia, Iω, I(t) are for all vector components. The threshold curve I(t) is stored for selected or even all vector components, so that the lowering of the current collector is triggered only when the threshold curve is exceeded.

[0030] In order not to trigger a reduction at the occurrence of a single peak of the measured vector component, the integrated value I is compared with the value according to Figure 3The hyperbolic time-dependent threshold curve I(t) is compared. The triggering of the lowering process therefore depends on the product of the vector component and the time t. If the acceleration or rotation rate component measured within a short time t (e.g. 0.2 units) accumulates to a higher integral value I (e.g. greater than 2.5 units), the lowering is triggered. A lower integral value I (e.g. 0.25 units) triggers the lowering only if it is produced by the integration of the vector component under consideration over a longer time period t (e.g. 1.9 units). Therefore, depending on the situation, the lowering of the collector 14 can be started early to varying degrees. The advantage is that the space requirement on the side of the contact wire 4 is independent of the driving situation and therefore improves safety even in rare but dangerous driving maneuvers.

[0031] according to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The control unit 22 of the road vehicle 1 is configured such that if the rotation rate component ω about the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle x and the acceleration component a along the vehicle's lateral y direction y With different positive and negative signs, the lowering of the support rod 15 is triggered. Figure 4 , the rotation rate component ω around the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle x has a positive sign, and has a negative sign in the vehicle lateral direction y (right half plane a y <0) y The lowering of the support rod 15 has a positive sign in the vehicle transverse direction y (left half plane a y >0) y If the reduction is not triggered, Figure 5 , the rotation rate component ω around the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle x has a negative sign, then it has a negative sign in the vehicle lateral direction y (right half plane a y <0) y does not lead to a lowering of the support rod 15, but has a positive sign in the vehicle transverse direction y (left half plane a y >0) y The trigger is lowered in case of

[0032] Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 The driving situations described in the above have in common that there is a rotation rate component ω with a positive sign about the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle. x .

[0033] according to Figure 6, the road vehicle 1 is traveling on a left curve (driving direction pointing to the paper), for example because it must evade the electrified right lane 3 to the middle lane 5 and the friction strip 19 of the left contact pole loses contact with the contact line 4. The friction strip 19 rises and forms a height difference H with the friction strip 19 of the right contact pole that is still in contact with its contact line 4. In order not to destroy the clear space profile P, the support 14 should be lowered in this case. The control device 22 receives a rotation rate component ω with a positive sign about the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle from the measuring unit 21 in this driving situation x , because the measuring unit 21 is tilted outwards together with the road vehicle 1 due to the centrifugal force in the left bend, it rotates clockwise around it when viewed in the vehicle longitudinal direction x. At the same time, the control unit 22 receives from the measuring unit 21 a linear acceleration component a having a negative sign in the vehicle transverse direction y y , because the road vehicle 1 has an acceleration component a in the left curve y , which, like the centrifugal force, points away from the center of the curve. Therefore, there is Figure 4 The situation in the right half plane, according to which the lowering of the support 15 is triggered according to the invention.

[0034] according to Figure 7 , the road vehicle 1 passes an obstacle O, such as a stone, located on the lane 2 by the wheel 12 on the left side as viewed from the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle. By raising the left wheel 23, the measuring unit 21 provides the control unit 22 with a rotation rate component ω having a positive sign about the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle. x and the linear acceleration component a with a positive sign in the vehicle's lateral direction y y , so that according to Figure 4 The support 14 is not lowered. For this reason, a larger stroke difference H can thus be formed while maintaining the power consumption from the contact wire 4, without the clear space contour P being destroyed.

[0035] according to Figure 8 , the road vehicle 1 passes through a depression D, such as a deep pothole, in the lane 2 with the right wheel 23 viewed from the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle. By the fall of the right wheel 23, the measurement unit 21 provides the control unit 22 with a rotation rate component ω having a positive sign about the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle. x and the linear acceleration component a with a positive sign in the vehicle's lateral direction y y , so that according to Figure 4 The support 14 is not lowered. For this reason, a larger stroke difference H can also be formed while maintaining the power consumption from the contact wire 4, without the clear space contour P being destroyed.

Claims

1. A road vehicle (1) comprising - an electric or hybrid electric traction drive (13) and - a current collector (14) for inputting traction energy from a two-pole overhead line installation having a contact wire (4) per contact pole, the current collector having - an erectable support rod (15) having a fixed end (16) and a free end (18), at the fixed end of which the support rod is articulated on a rod seat (17), and at the free end of which the support rod carries at least one friction strip (19) for each contact pole for electrically contacting the corresponding contact wire (4), and - a lifting drive (20) for raising and lowering the support rod (15) between a lower resting position of the friction strip (19) and an upper working position, wherein the support rod (15) is designed in such a way that in the upper working position it realizes a travel difference (H) between the friction strips (19) of different contact poles, It is characterized in that - an inertial measurement unit (21) fixed relative to the vehicle is provided for detecting acceleration components (a) of its acceleration vector (a) in a coordinate system formed by the longitudinal direction (x), the lateral direction (y) and the height direction (z) of the vehicle respectively x 、a y 、a z ) and the rotation rate component (ω) of its rotation rate vector (ω) x ,ω y ,ω z ), - a control unit (22) coupled to the lifting drive (20) and configured to control the acceleration component (a) according to the detected acceleration component (a x 、a y 、a z ) and at least one of the detected rotation rate components (ω x ,ω y ,ω z ) triggers the descent of the support rod (15).

2. A road vehicle (1) according to claim 1, -in, The control unit (22) is configured to detect the acceleration component (a x 、a y 、a z ) and the detected rotation rate component (ω x ,ω y ,ω z ) is integrated over time into the integral value (Ia x , Ia y , Ia z ;Iω x ,Iω y ,Iω z ), and triggers the lowering of the support rod (15) according to the exceeding of a threshold curve (I(t)) predetermined for the integral value (I).

3. A road vehicle (1) according to claim 2, -in, The threshold curve (I(t)) for the integrated value (I) is time-dependent, preferably decreasing in a hyperbolic manner over time (t).

4. A road vehicle (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, -in, The control unit (22) is configured to: if the rotation rate component (ω) about the longitudinal direction (x) of the vehicle x ) and the acceleration component (a) along the vehicle lateral direction (y) y ) has different signs, the lowering of the support rod (15) is triggered.

5. A road vehicle (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, -in, The control unit (22) is configured to: if the rotation rate component (ω) about the vehicle lateral direction (y) y ) exceeds a predetermined positive maximum value and / or the acceleration component (a) in the longitudinal direction (x) of the vehicle x ) exceeds a predetermined negative maximum value, the lowering of the support rod (15) is triggered.

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