A drive system for raising or lowering a sliding piece of a current collector for rail vehicles. The sliding piece is disposed on a positioning device of the current collector, and the sliding piece is configured to be brought into contact with an overhead line using contact pressure. The drive system includes a bellows drive which is actuated by compressed air to actuate the positioning device, and a pneumatic control unit having a control valve for supplying or withdrawing compressed air to/from the bellows drive. The drive system includes a detection line and a lowering valve for venting the bellows drive when pressure drops in the detection line, the lowering valve being a 3/2-way valve disposed in a pneumatic supply line between the control valve and the bellows drive.

A hybrid dump truck for surface mining, comprising a cyber-physical system including a sensing system and a control system, and a driving unit for performing autonomous driving of the dump truck along a travel path using at least the sensory data of the sensing system, wherein the closed cycle path is determined based on topographical data, wherein the control system is configured to control a cyclic energy level of the electric energy storage unit, wherein rates of change of power during autonomous or semi-autonomous driving of the hybrid dump truck from a predetermined reference point of the closed cycle path along said closed cycle path are controlled based on a desired velocity such as to reduce a difference in energy levels of the electric energy storage unit at the reference point of the closed cycle path.

Electrical power systems and methods of controlling electrical power systems are described. One such electrical power system comprises: a first ac bus and a first generator set configured to supply the first ac bus with ac electrical power; a second ac bus and a second generator set, configured to supply the second ac bus with ac electrical power; an interconnecting transformer connected between the first and second ac busses; a primary electrical load connected to both the first and second ac busses via a converter arrangement; an auxiliary load connected to the first ac bus; and a controller configured to control the first generator set according to a first droop control profile and to control the second generator set according to a second droop control profile, the first and second droop control profiles relating respective generator operating frequencies of the first and second generator sets to respective output powers of the first and second generator sets.

A window arrangement for a rail vehicle includes a window pane disposed in a movable sliding frame and having at least one open position, a closed position and a transport position. The movable sliding frame is disposed in a window guiding frame, and the window pane has a larger surface than a corresponding window opening of the window guiding frame.

An integrated electromagnet comprises a magnetic yoke and magnetic poles in two rows. An axis of magnetic core in the magnetic pole is perpendicular to the magnetic yoke. The magnetic poles comprise first and second magnetic poles that are arranged alternatively in a row. The first magnetic pole in any row is adjacent to the second magnetic pole in the other row. The first magnetic poles in a row are connected to a one-way output controller and the second magnetic poles in a row are connected to a bidirectional output controller. In a guiding state, the magnetic poles in a row have a same polarity, and a polarity of the magnetic poles in one row is opposite to that in the other row; current output by the bidirectional output controller in a braking state has direction opposite to current output by the bidirectional output controller in the guiding state.

A monitoring device of the open or closed state of an electric line is disclosed. The device includes a first connection terminal and a second terminal connected to the electric line, a current generator that provides a non-zero reference current when there is a voltage greater than a predetermined minimum voltage Vmin at its ends and provides a zero current when there is a voltage less than the predetermined minimum voltage Vmin at its ends, at least one opto-isolator means including a lighting device and a respective photosensitive semi-conductor element, and a current detection and power supply module that detects current flowing therein, supplies a supply current to the lighting device when the detected current is equal to or greater than the reference current, and supplies a zero supply current to the lighting device when the detected current is less than the reference current.

Systems and methods are described for securely monitoring a shipping container for an environmental anomaly using elements of a wireless node network of sensor-based ID nodes disposed within the container and a command node associated with the container. The method has the command node identifying which of the ID nodes are confirmed as trusted sensors based upon a security credential specific to each of the ID nodes; monitoring only the confirmed ID nodes for sensor data broadcast those ID nodes; detecting the anomaly based upon the sensor data from at least one of the confirmed ID nodes; automatically generating an alert notification related to the detected environmental anomaly for the shipping container; and transmitting the alert notification to the external transceiver to initiate a mediation response related to the detected environmental anomaly.

Systems and methods are described for securely monitoring a shipping container for an environmental anomaly using elements of a wireless node network of sensor-based ID nodes disposed within the container and a command node associated with the container. The method has the command node identifying which of the ID nodes are confirmed as trusted sensors based upon a security credential specific to each of the ID nodes; monitoring only the confirmed ID nodes for sensor data broadcast those ID nodes; detecting the anomaly based upon the sensor data from at least one of the confirmed ID nodes; automatically generating an alert notification related to the detected environmental anomaly for the shipping container; and transmitting the alert notification to the external transceiver to initiate a mediation response related to the detected environmental anomaly.

A surface conditioning device for railway track rails and/or railway vehicle wheels includes a DC power supply, a supply of gas, a plasma delivery head connected to receive DC power from the power supply and gas from the gas supply, and an igniter for igniting the gas in the plasma delivery head. In use, plasma is generated within the delivery head by ignition of the gas in the delivery head. Plasma with gas is blown from the delivery head onto a railway track rail and/or railway vehicle wheel, thereby conditioning the rail and/or wheel.

A method and apparatus for controlling an airflow. The method draws air through a group of inlets. The group of inlets is located in a group of locations on the vehicle such that the group of inlets actively controls the airflow relative to an aircraft when drawing the air. The method compresses the air drawn by the group of inlets in a group of air compressor units located in an aircraft structure to form pressurized air. Further, the method sends the pressurized air through a group of exit ports in the aircraft structure. The pressurized air flowing out of the group of exit ports actively controls the airflow for an aircraft, enabling an improved performance of the aircraft.