A charging module for an electric vehicle includes an enclosure having a plurality of sides and an at least partially open top, the enclosure defining a hollow interior; a conductor rail disposed in the at least partially open top of the enclosure, the conductor rail being configured to be placed in electric communication with an electrical power source; and at least one external insulator disposed in the at least partially open top of the enclosure adjacent to the conductor rail. The at least one external insulator is disposed between the conductor rail and at least one of the sides of the enclosure. The conductor rail is configured to transmit electrical energy from the electrical power source to the electric vehicle.

An apparatus comprises a conductor bar operable to form a portion of a track. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of carriers. Each of the plurality of carriers comprises a collector shoe operable to engage the conductor bar to enable each of the plurality of carriers to advance along the track. The apparatus further comprises a motor power control device configured to deliver power to the collector shoes associated with each of the plurality of carriers to drive the plurality of carriers along the track.

An apparatus comprises a conductor bar operable to form a portion of a track. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of carriers. Each of the plurality of carriers comprises a collector shoe operable to engage the conductor bar to enable each of the plurality of carriers to advance along the track. The apparatus further comprises a motor power control device configured to deliver power to the collector shoes associated with each of the plurality of carriers to drive the plurality of carriers along the track.

A ground equipment for a transport system includes a track for a land transport vehicle; an external power supply device including a plurality of power supply segments arranged sequentially along the track, the plurality of power supply segments forming an external power supply zone, at least one end segment being situated in vicinity to one end of the external power supply zone adjacent to a zone with no external power supply, to be traveled with an onboard power supply device, a communication antenna being associated with the or each external power supply segments; and a controller adapted to power on the end segment and adapted to send, using an antenna associated with that end segment, a signal indicating the end of a zone with an external power supply in response to a presence signal of the land transport vehicle received by said antenna.

A guide track includes a guide rail having a guide groove opened upward in which guide wheels are inserted, and formed with guide surfaces for causing each of the guide wheels to roll at both sides of a traveling course in a width direction; conductor rails that are placed at both sides of an outside of the traveling course in the width direction with respect to the guide groove to perform contact electricity supply by pressing a power collection shoe of a power collector of a track-based vehicle; a first insulator that supports the conductor rails with respect to the guide rail; and insulation plates that are provided at both sides of the conductor rail in the width direction, and are provided in parallel to the conductor rail and in parallel to a pressing direction of the power collection shoe.

A guide track includes a guide rail having a guide groove opened upward in which guide wheels are inserted, and formed with guide surfaces for causing each of the guide wheels to roll at both sides of a traveling course in a width direction; conductor rails that are placed at both sides of an outside of the traveling course in the width direction with respect to the guide groove to perform contact electricity supply by pressing a power collection shoe of a power collector of a track-based vehicle; a first insulator that supports the conductor rails with respect to the guide rail; and insulation plates that are provided at both sides of the conductor rail in the width direction, and are provided in parallel to the conductor rail and in parallel to a pressing direction of the power collection shoe.

If a failure of components of a transport-system sliding contact can be predicted, preventive maintenance that is sometimes unnecessary is eliminated and an alternative run-to-failure approach associated with downtime can be avoided. A system and a method detect wear of a transport system, which system has a sliding contact with a current collector and a current-carrying conductor. A current-collector vibration sensor mounted on the current collector is configured to register vibrations produced by driving motion of the vehicle along the current-carrying conductor and to wirelessly transmit the vibrations to a background system. The background system is configured to subject data transmitted to the background system, in particular the registered vibrations, to an analysis and to signal wear of the transport system, in particular wear of the current collector and/or of the current-carrying conductor, on the basis of the analysis.

A current collector has a sliding contact for making electrical contact with a conductor profile of a conductor line and an antenna for insertion into a longitudinal slot, running in a longitudinal direction of the conductor line. The sliding contact and the antenna can be moved jointly towards the conductor profile in a feed direction by a feed device of the current collector. A conductor line has a conductor profile running in a longitudinal direction, having an elongate cavity and a longitudinal slot adjoining the cavity and running in the longitudinal direction. The conductor profile has at least one sliding contact groove for the sliding contact of the current collector. The antenna is mounted on the current collector so as to be moveable with respect to the sliding contact in the feed direction, and the conductor profile has at least one spacer slide surface running in the longitudinal direction, for a spacer slide of the current collector.

The invention relates to a greasing device for a contact wire which can be clamped into a conductor rail for the electrical energy supply of a pantograph of a rail vehicle, comprising: a basic body extending in a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and perpendicular to the transverse direction, a passage opening penetrating the basic body from a front side, seen in the longitudinal direction, to a rear side, seen in the longitudinal direction, through which the contact wire can be pushed in the longitudinal direction, and a supply line leading into the passage opening for introducing a grease which can be applied to the contact wire, wherein the passage opening as seen in the longitudinal direction after the supply line.

The invention concerns a method for greasing a contact wire for the electrical power supply of a pantograph of a rail vehicle comprising: inserting the contact wire into a passage opening of a base body extending in a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a height direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and perpendicular to the transverse direction, whereby the passage opening penetrating the base body in the longitudinal direction as seen from a front side to a back side as seen in the longitudinal direction, and accelerating the base body in the longitudinal direction so that the contact wire is moved through the passage direction, characterized by introducing grease into the passage opening through which the contact wire moves at a feed rate at which the introduced grease exits the passage opening at the back of the base body under a predetermined condition.