Tapered Guide Surfaces for Vehicle Power-Receiving Section Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing overhead wireless traffic systems face challenges in maintaining an excellent contact state between the contactor and power-supply shoe due to unbalanced tire pressures, vehicle inclination, and positional variations, leading to inefficient power supply.
Innovation Solution
A traffic system with a power-receiving section and a power-supply section that utilize guide surfaces and a biasing mechanism to ensure consistent contact, regardless of the vehicle's position, including tapered surfaces to facilitate smooth alignment and a fail-safe design with multiple power sections for stable power supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a contactor and power-supply shoe are used for power supply, then power can be supplied from ground facility to vehicle, but the contact state deteriorates when vehicle is inclined due to unbalanced tire pressures, weights, or road slope
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved guide surfaces (tapered surfaces) instead of flat surfaces to guide the power-supply shoe onto the contactor. These curved surfaces automatically align the shoe with the contactor regardless of lateral position variations, ensuring reliable contact even when the vehicle is inclined or positioned unevenly on the track.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the contact interface by introducing tapered guide surfaces with specific angles. These parameter changes allow the system to accommodate position variations and vehicle inclination while maintaining excellent contact state between the power-supply shoe and contactor.
2Reliability
If the power-receiving section is positioned on the roof of the vehicle, then power supply is achieved, but thermal deformation and degradation occur due to direct sunlight exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the power-receiving section from the roof (top surface) to the lateral portion or floor portion of the vehicle, changing the spatial dimension of power reception. This dimensional change allows the vehicle to receive power from the side or bottom, avoiding direct sunlight exposure while maintaining effective power supply.
3Ease of operation
If guide surfaces with tapered surfaces are used to guide power-supply shoe, then smooth alignment is achieved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide surfaces with tapered surfaces serve multiple functions: they guide the power-supply shoe laterally, provide mechanical alignment, and ensure consistent contact pressure. By combining these functions into a single structural element, the patent achieves smooth alignment without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
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
The system achieves stable and efficient power supply by ensuring an excellent contact state between the power-receiving and power-supply sections, allowing for reliable charging even when the vehicle is inclined or positioned unevenly, with a fail-safe mechanism to maintain power delivery.
Implementation Method 1
One of the power-receiving section and the power-supply section includes a biasing part which applies biasing force to the one of the power-receiving section and the power-supply section
Data Source
AI summary
A traffic system includes: a vehicle having a power-receiving section on an outer surface thereof; and a ground facility having a power-supply section for supplying the power-receiving section with power by coming in contact with the power-receiving section. The power-supply section has a spring for applying a biasing force to a power-supply shoe in the power-supply section toward the power-receiving section. The power-receiving section has a flat surface that extends along the outer surface of the vehicle, and tapered surfaces that are connected to the flat surface in the forward and backward moving directions of the vehicle and guide the power-supply shoe to the flat surface against the biasing force to bring the power-supply shoe into contact with the flat surface when the vehicle moves backward and forward.