Device for cleaning a contact line assembly

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for cleaning a contact line assembly (1), comprising parallel busbars (13) which are arranged one over the other on a common plane on a support (14) and comprising a car (2) that can be moved along the support (14) and has a cleaning head (4) with contact bodies (15) that engage into the busbars (13), which have a U-shaped cross-section and are open on the side facing away from the support (14), and a suction device (6) with suction channels (21) that open into the busbars (13). In order to achieve advantageous cleaning properties, the invention proposes that the support (14) forms a rolling path (25) for at least one pressure roller (24) which is paired with the cleaning head (4) and has an axis that is perpendicular to the common plane of the busbars (13), the pressure roller (24) is mounted in an application head (26) in a movable manner perpendicularly to the rolling path (25) against the force of an application spring (27) in a limited manner by means of stops, and the application head (26) can be driven perpendicularly to the rolling path (25) by means of a slider-crank mechanism (31).

Description

[0001]

[0002] Technical area

[0003] The invention relates to a device for cleaning a conductor rail arrangement with parallel conductor rails arranged one above the other on a support in a common plane and with a carriage which can be moved along the support and which has a cleaning head with grinding bodies which engage in the conductor rails which are U-shaped in cross section and open on the side facing away from the support, and a suction device with suction channels opening into the conductor rails.

[0004] State of the art

[0005] In conductor rail arrangements, the current collectors engage with the U-shaped, open-ended conductor rails via collector brushes. The inevitable wear of the collector brushes during operation leads to contamination of the contact rails and poses the risk of contact failure. For this reason, such conductor rail arrangements must be cleaned of deposits, particularly coal dust, at regular maintenance intervals. To avoid having to perform this cleaning manually, various devices for cleaning such conductor rail arrangements have already been proposed.These known devices consistently comprise a carriage movable along the support for the parallel conductor rails, said carriage having a cleaning head connected to a suction device designed to extract the abrasion of the carbon brushes deposited in the conductor rails and loosened by rotating brushes (DE 35 18 789 A1, DE 102 08 507 A1, DE 10 2010 013 364 A1). Instead of rotating brushes, driven grinding wheels can also be used (DE 20 2018 101 460 U1). However, it has been shown that, regardless of the rotating cleaning tools used, the cleaning result remains unsatisfactory because, particularly in the connection area between the individual conductor rail sections, carbon dust deposited cannot be adequately removed.This does not change if the brush drive is frequency-controlled (DE 102 08 507 A1) in order to be able to transmit certain resonances to the busbars to be cleaned via the brush rotation.

[0006] To improve the cleaning results, it is known (DE 10 2004 008 572 A1) to equip the cleaning head with grinding wheels that engage the busbars. These wheels themselves are equipped with suction channels that open into the busbars, so that the deposits dislodged from the busbars by the grinding wheels can be effectively extracted. A disadvantage, however, is that the suction channels that open into the area of ​​the grinding surfaces reduce the grinding surfaces, which adversely affects the cleaning results. Furthermore, cleaning is limited to the removal of deposit layers in the immediate area of ​​the grinding wheels.

[0007] Description of the invention

[0008] The invention is therefore based on the object of designing a cleaning device for conductor rail arrangements in such a way that extensive removal of deposits by the abrasion of the carbon brushes can be ensured even in conductor rail areas that are not directly accessible by a removal tool, as is the case, for example, in the connecting area of ​​conductor rail sections.

[0009] Starting from a cleaning device of the type described at the outset, the invention achieves the stated object in that the carrier forms a roller track for at least one pressure roller assigned to the cleaning head with an axis perpendicular to the common plane of the conductor rails, in that the pressure roller is mounted in a loading head so as to be displaceable perpendicular to the roller track against the force of a loading spring with a stop limit, and in that the loading head can be driven perpendicular to the roller track by a slider-crank mechanism.

[0010] The periodic application of pressure and the resulting elastic deformation of the carrier in the area of ​​the cleaning head, in conjunction with the grinding wheels, largely removes the carbon dust deposits in the U-shaped cross-section busbars, so that the particles detached from the busbars can be removed from the busbars using the suction device. Since the pressure roller, which is movably mounted in the application head, is held against the carrier's roller track by the application spring, regardless of the movement of the application head, the movement of the application head only periodically changes the preload of the application spring, with the effect that the carrier is caused to oscillate along the roller track as part of its elastic behavior, which assists in the detachment of the deposits from the busbars.The mechanical loading of the loading head by a slider-crank mechanism allows easy adjustment of the stroke frequency of the loading head, so that by selecting the stroke frequency in conjunction with a corresponding preload of the loading spring, an advantageous adaptation of the cleaning device to the respective mechanical properties of the conductor rail arrangement is possible.

[0011] To effectively vacuum the loosened deposits from the busbars, the cleaning head can have a housing connected to the suction device. This housing has an insert with grinding wheels that protrude beyond the housing and engage with the busbars. The housing forms suction channels that open into the busbars on both sides of the insert. This measure allows the particles to be vacuumed out of the busbars immediately after they have been detached, preventing them from accumulating on the busbars. The suction channels that open into the busbars on both sides of the grinding wheels make it easy to vacuum the loosened deposit particles regardless of the carriage's direction of travel.

[0012] To ensure that the cleaning head is guided in alignment with the conductor rail arrangement, the housing can be provided with guide wheels that engage in the conductor rails.

[0013] To ensure consistent alignment of the grinding wheels regardless of wear, the insert can be equipped with holders for the grinding wheels, which are mounted so that they can be moved against the force of pressure springs. Providing such an insert also facilitates the replacement of the grinding wheels due to wear.

[0014] The removal efficiency of the grinding wheels can be further improved if the cleaning head housing is equipped with at least one vibration motor. The vibrations generated by the vibration motor periodically apply pressure to the grinding wheels, which improves the removal efficiency of the grinding wheels.

[0015] To monitor the cleaning process, the carriage can be equipped with a digital surface sensor for the conductor rails and a control device that switches the carriage's feed direction and controls the cleaning head based on the surface data of the conductor rails detected by the surface sensor. These measures allow the cleaning effect of the cleaning head to be monitored. If cleaning is insufficient, the cleaning process can be repeated by moving the cleaning head back and forth over the contaminated section of the conductor rail arrangement several times, if necessary. Since the contamination of the conductor rails primarily occurs in the connection area between the individual conductor rail sections and these conductor rail connections are easy to detect, the required control effort can be comparatively low.If a contamination cannot be removed after a specified number of cleaning steps, the cleaning process can be interrupted and the contaminated area indicated. For this purpose, the trolley can be equipped with a marking device for the busbars that can be controlled by the control unit based on the recorded surface data of the busbars. For marking, for example, paint can be applied to the carrier or the busbars.

[0016] Brief description of the invention

[0017] The drawing shows an example of the subject matter of the invention.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows a simplified plan view of a device according to the invention for cleaning a conductor rail arrangement,

[0019] Fig. 2 shows the cleaning head of the device according to the invention in a partially opened view of the side facing the conductor line arrangement on a larger scale,

[0020] Fig. 3 is a section along the line III-III of Fig. 2 on a larger scale, Fig. 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2 on a larger scale and

[0021] Fig. 5 shows a section along the line VV of Fig. 4.

[0022] Way to implement the invention

[0023] A device according to the invention for cleaning a conductor rail arrangement 1 comprises a carriage 2 which can be moved along the conductor rail arrangement 1 and which, in the exemplary embodiment, is driven on a rail arrangement 3 separate from the conductor rail arrangement 1, although this is by no means mandatory. The carriage 2 is provided with a cleaning head 4 which is connected to a suction device 6 via a hose 5. For positioning the cleaning head 4 against the conductor rail arrangement 1, a carriage 8 is provided which can be moved on a transverse guide 7 of the carriage 4 and which has a lifting guide 9 for a lifting carriage 10 on which the cleaning head 4 is mounted by means of links 11 which are acted upon in the positioning direction by positioning springs 12.For cleaning the busbars 13, which are U-shaped in cross-section and arranged parallel one above the other in a common plane on an electrically insulated support 14 and are open on the side facing away from the support 14 for the engagement of current collectors, the cleaning head 4 is equipped with grinding wheels 15 engaging in the busbars 13. These grinding wheels 15 are provided in an insert 16 of a housing 17 of the cleaning head 4. The arrangement is such that the grinding wheels 15, held in holders, are guided by means of the holders in receptacles 18 of the insert 16 so as to be displaceable perpendicular to the common arrangement plane of the busbars 13 and are acted upon by pressure springs 19.In the working position shown, the cleaning head 4, held in contact with the conductor rail arrangement 1 by the adjusting springs 12, is supported by guide wheels 20 mounted in the housing 17, which structurally determine a predetermined distance between the cleaning head 4 and the conductor rails 13. The pressure springs 19 for the grinding wheels 15 thus ensure an appropriate grinding pressure while compensating for any wear on the grinding wheels 15.

[0024] To extract the deposit particles released from the conductor rails 13, suction channels 21 are formed laterally next to the insert in the housing 16. These channels open into the flow rails 13 and are subjected to negative pressure via the hose 5 connected to the suction device 6. The housing cover 22, which closes the housing 16 opposite the conductor rail arrangement 1, forms, in addition to the passage openings for the grinding wheels 15, mouth projections 23 for the suction channels 21 that engage in the conductor rails 13.

[0025] The cleaning head 4 connected to a suction device 6 is necessary for cleaning the busbars, but is not yet sufficient because the deposits cannot be sufficiently removed from the busbars 13 using the grinding wheels 15. For this reason, the carrier 14 holding the busbars 13 is additionally excited to periodic vibrations in the elastic range in the engagement area of ​​the cleaning head 4. For this purpose, at least one pressure roller 24 is provided, which rolls on a roller track 25 of the carrier 14. According to the illustrated embodiment, two pressure rollers 24 are provided. Each of these pressure rollers 24 is mounted in a loading head 26 so as to be displaceable perpendicular to the roller track 25 and is loaded by a loading spring 27 provided in the loading head 26. For this purpose, an elongated hole 30 is provided in the bearing body 28 for the pressure roller 24, through which a guide pin 29 of the loading head 26 passes.

[0026] Since the loading head 26 is driven back and forth by a slider-crank drive 31 via a motor 32, the pressure roller 24, which is held in contact with the roller track 25 by the loading spring 27 between the loading head 26 and the bearing body 28, is subjected to periodic pressure oscillations. The preload of the loading spring 27 changes with the movement of the loading head 26 relative to the pressure roller 24 supported on the roller track 25.

[0027] The connecting rod 34 of the slider-crank drive 31, which is linked to a connecting rod 33, is mounted on an eccentric 35 driven by the motor 32, thus creating a simple, space-saving design. In order to accommodate the respective spacing conditions, each pressure roller 24 with the slider-crank drive 31 is arranged on a carriage 36, which is slidably mounted in a lifting guide 37 and can be locked in various lifting positions. Since the lifting guide 37 is provided on a cross member 38 of the lifting carriage 10 for the cleaning head 4, the pressure roller 24 can also be vertically displaced relative to the cleaning head 4 for fine adjustment. If the lifting guide 37 is also slidably guided along the cross member 38, additional adjustment of the pressure rollers 24 in the axial direction, i.e., perpendicular to the common arrangement plane of the busbars, is also possible.The cleaning effect of the cleaning head 4 can be improved by vibrating motors 39, which are arranged on the housing 17 and ensure vibration excitation of the grinding bodies 15.

[0028] To monitor the cleaning process, the carriage 2 can be equipped with a digital surface sensor 40, for example a three-dimensional digital scanner, which scans the busbars 13 in order to detect deposits on the busbars 13 that need to be cleaned based on the data obtained from the busbar surfaces. Using a control device 41, the feed direction of the carriage 2 can then be repeatedly switched depending on the detected surface data to repeat the cleaning process, if necessary, until the surface data indicate a corresponding cleaning of the busbars 13. If such cleaning is not achieved within a predetermined sequence of cleaning steps, the contaminated area can be indicated by the control device, preferably by color marking the contaminated busbar area.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Device for cleaning a conductor rail arrangement (1) with parallel conductor rails (13) arranged one above the other on a support (14) in a common plane, and with a carriage (2) movable along the support (14), which has a cleaning head (4) with grinding bodies (15) which engage in the conductor rails (13) which are U-shaped in cross-section and open on the side facing away from the support (14), and a suction device (6) with suction channels (21) opening into the conductor rails (13), characterized in that the support (14) forms a roller track (25) for at least one pressure roller (24) assigned to the cleaning head (4) and having an axis perpendicular to the common plane of the conductor rails (13),that the pressure roller (24) is mounted in a loading head (26) against the force of a loading spring (27) so as to be displaceable perpendicular to the roller track (25) with a stop limit, and that the loading head (26) can be driven perpendicular to the roller track (25) by a slider-crank mechanism (31).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cleaning head (4) has a housing (17) connected to the suction device (6), which has an insert (16) with the grinding bodies (15) projecting beyond the housing (17) and engaging in the busbars (13) and forms the suction channels (21) opening into the busbars (13) on both sides of the insert (16).

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the housing (17) is provided with guide wheels (20) engaging in busbars (13).

4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the insert (16) has receptacles (18) for the grinding bodies (15) which are displaceably mounted in the receptacles (18) against the force of pressure springs (19).

5. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the housing (17) of the cleaning head (4) is equipped with at least one vibrating motor (39).

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the carriage (2) has a digital surface sensor (40) for the busbars (13) and a control device (41) which, depending on surface data of the busbars (13) detected by the surface sensor (40), switches the feed direction of the carriage (2) and controls the cleaning head (4).

7. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the carriage (2) a marking device for the busbars (13) which can be controlled by the control device (41) as a function of the detected surface data of the busbars (13).

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