Chamfered Contact Strip Corners Mitigate Slider Impact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current contact strip designs for high-speed electric trains, such as the Shinkansen, experience impacts due to the division of contact strips into multiple pieces, leading to collisions with sliders, which result in inefficiencies and potential damage during current collection.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an impact mitigating structure at the corners of contact strip pieces, specifically chamfered or rounded sections, to reduce the impact force when these pieces collide with sliders, maintaining functionality until a predetermined abrasion loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the contact strip is divided into multiple contact strip pieces, then the current collection performance is improved and separation lines are reduced, but impact forces are generated when pieces collide with sliders
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by providing a cushioning portion (protrusion) at the corner of each contact strip piece before collision occurs. This protrusion makes contact with the slider first, cushioning the impact and preventing direct collision between the main body of the contact strip piece and the slider, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining segmented structure for current collection performance and reducing impact forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful impact force into a beneficial cushioning action. The corner protrusion is designed to make intentional contact with the slider, transforming the harmful collision into a controlled cushioning interaction that protects both the contact strip pieces and sliders while maintaining the segmented structure necessary for good current collection performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If the contact strip pieces have sharp corners, then manufacturing is simpler, but impact damage occurs during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by modifying only the corner regions of the contact strip pieces while keeping the rest of the structure simple. The cushioning portion (protrusion) is added specifically at the corners where impact occurs, providing localized impact protection without complicating the overall manufacturing process or design of the entire contact strip piece.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively mitigates impacts between contact strip pieces and sliders, enhancing current collection efficiency and reducing wear, while allowing the contact strip pieces to maintain their impact-mitigating functionality until they reach a prescribed abrasion limit.
Implementation Method 1
a cushioning portion configured to cushion an impact which occurs when the contact strip piece collides with the slider
Data Source
AI summary
A slider is slightly moved in a direction in which both side surfaces of the slider come in contact with inclined surfaces of impact mitigating parts of neighboring contact strip pieces. For this reason, the inclined surface of the impact mitigating part of the contact strip piece which the slider approaches is relatively downwardly slid with respect to one side surface of the slider. In addition, the inclined surface of the impact mitigating part of the contact strip piece from which the slider moves away is relatively upwardly slid with respect to the other side surface of the slider. As a result, since an impact generated between the contact strip piece and the slider is mitigated by the impact mitigating part without fitting the slider into a stepped section between the neighboring contact strip pieces, the slider is smoothly transferred from the one contact strip piece of the neighboring contact strip pieces to the other contact strip piece.