Abstract
An electrified road transport system includes a contact line system having a plurality of masts with support cables and contact wires suspended thereon. The contact line system has structural modifications for reducing the horizontal and/or vertical positional tolerances of the contact wires. In the context of the structural modifications, section separators are fastened directly to masts or to cantilevers of the masts, skewed overhead lines are disposed in straight section segments and/or in curves, and the support cables and/or contact wires have smaller cross-sections and/or higher longitudinal tensile forces. A method for stabilizing a contact line system of an electrified road transport system is also provided.
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. An electrified road transport system, comprising: at least one electrified transport vehicle having a pantograph; and a contact line system having a plurality of masts and overhead lines suspended on said masts, said overhead lines including support cables and contact wires suspended on said support cables; said contact line system having structural modifications for reducing at least one of horizontal or vertical positional tolerances of said contact wires, said structural modifications including: masts or cantilevers of said masts and section separators fastened directly to said masts or said cantilevers; and said overhead lines being skewed in at least one of straight section segments or curves; and at least one of said support cables or said contact wires having at least one of reduced cross-sections or increased longitudinal tensile forces.
11. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said structural modifications include at least one of: additional line feeders on said masts or two-span anchoring devices without parallel spans.
12. The electrified road transport system according to claim 11, wherein said section segments with skewed overhead lines have mast distances being unchanged compared to mast distances in straight-running overhead lines.
13. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has a reduced vertical working range.
14. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has a reduced horizontal working range.
15. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has at least one of a reduced vertical or horizontal working range, and said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle assumes an invariable position in at least one of a lateral or a vertical direction.
16. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has at least one of a reduced vertical or horizontal working range, and said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has at least one of a passive air spring system or a passive mechanical spring system for vertical position adjustment.
17. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle assumes an invariable position in at least one of a lateral or a vertical direction, and said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle has at least one of a passive air spring system or a passive mechanical spring system for vertical position adjustment.
18. The electrified road transport system according to claim 10, wherein said electrified transport vehicle has an automatic switching device for changing an energy supply of said electrified transport vehicle, said automatic switching device being triggered when said pantograph of said electrified transport vehicle no longer has a secure contact with said contact wire.
19. A method for stabilizing a contact line system of an electrified road transport system, the method comprising the following steps: providing at least one electrified transport vehicle having a pantograph; providing a plurality of masts and overhead lines suspended on the masts, the overhead lines including support cables and contact wires suspended on the support cables; and structurally modifying the contact line system to reduce horizontal and vertical positional tolerances of the contact wires, the structural modifications including: fastening section separators directly to the masts or cantilevers of the masts, and skewing the overhead lines in at least one of straight section segments or curves, and providing at least one of the support cables or contact wires with at least one of reduced cross-sections or increased longitudinal tensile forces.
Description
[0034] The invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the accompanying figures on the basis of exemplary embodiments. In the drawings:
[0035] FIG. 1 shows a side view and a plan view of a section separator,
[0036] FIG. 2 shows a side view of an arrangement of a section separator according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention in a curve,
[0037] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2,
[0038] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3,
[0039] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of an arrangement of an overhead line according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention over a straight-running road,
[0040] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the overhead line arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5,
[0041] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a two-span anchoring device without parallel spans,
[0042] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart, which illustrates a method for stabilizing a contact line system of an electrified road transport system according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention.
[0043] FIG. 1 shows a conventional arrangement of what is known as a section separator 15 in a side view 10a and a plan view 10b. Section separators are used to separate different feed sections of a contact line network from each other. The section separator 15 is suspended on a support cable 11 with the aid of suspension units 14. The suspension units 14 are stabilized in the horizontal direction by a longitudinal stabilizer 13. A contact wire of a different feed section is arranged at the two ends of the section separator respectively. The two contact wires are electrically insulated from each other by the section separator.
[0044] FIG. 2 shows a side view of an arrangement 20 of a section separator 15 according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. As can be seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, an arrangement 20 of a section separator 15 is shown in a curve region. The section separator 15 is not suspended on a support cable 11 as in the conventional arrangement in FIG. 1 but is suspended with the aid of two suspension cables 14a directly on a cantilever 24 of an overhead line mast 23. The two suspension cables 14a and the section separator 15 form an isosceles triangle. Also connected to the cantilever 24 of the overhead line mast 23 are support cables 11, on which contact wires 12 are suspended with the aid of vertically-running suspension cables 25. For the sake of simplicity, only one contact wire 12 respectively is shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 7 for one lane. This is intended to symbolize two parallel contact wires with different polarity, however. As already mentioned, two parallel direct current lines with different polarity are used in electrified road transport systems to supply power. The support cables 11 together with the suspension cables 25 and the contact wires 12 form a chain mechanism. The two illustrated contact wires 12 are separated from each other by the section separator 15. The section separator 15 is better protected against undesired movements by the direct suspension of the section separator 15 on the cantilever 24. A movement of the overhead line is therefore also reduced when the section separator is in contact with a pantograph of a vehicle. A lateral movement can be prevented by a side holder 26 designed as a cantilever (see FIG. 4), so the section separator 15 is also not moved in the lateral direction when in contact with the pantograph.
[0045] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the arrangement 20 of a section separator 15 illustrated in FIG. 2 in a curve. A curved section of a road having two lanes can be seen schematically in FIG. 3, with an overhead line being tensioned over a lane 22 by way of example. For this purpose, support cables 11 are arranged on cantilevers 24, on which cables contact wires 12 are suspended with the aid of suspension cables 25. The two illustrated contact wires 12 are electrically separated from each other by the section separator 15 already shown in FIG. 2. As already mentioned, the section separator 15 is also suspended on a cantilever 24. The contact wires 12, together with the support cables 11 and suspension cables 25, form a skewed arrangement for improved stabilization. In the case of such a skewed arrangement, the support cables 11 are arranged so as to be offset, viewed in the transverse direction, on cantilevers of adjacent overhead line masts, so in plan view there is a zig-zag course of the support cables 11. The contact wires 12 themselves are not arranged in a zig-zag manner, but follow the course of the road 21, wherein they form chords of a curve section running between two overhead line masts. It should be noted once again in this connection that with the two-pole arrangement conventional in electrified road systems, two contact wires having different poles respectively are tensioned in parallel and in the inventive embodiment these are designed therefore with additional, parallel second overhead lines having contact wires, support cables and suspension cables running parallel to contact wires, support cables and suspension cables shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 7.
[0046] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the arrangement 20, illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, of a section separator 15 in a curve. As can be seen in FIG. 4, in addition to the cantilevers 24 of the overhead line masts 23, on which both the section separator 15 and the support cables 11 are suspended, side holders 26 are mounted on the overhead line masts 23, which stabilize the contact wires 12 and the section separator 15 in the lateral direction. The skewed arrangement of the overhead line can also be seen in the perspective view of FIG. 4, and this is achieved in that the position of the suspension of the support cables 11 on the cantilevers 24 varies in the transverse direction.
[0047] A skewed arrangement of an overhead line is also possible on straight-running section segments. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an arrangement 50 of this kind. FIG. 5 shows a plan view of a straight section segment with an overhead line. The section segment comprises a road 21 with two lanes, with an overhead line being tensioned above a lane 22 by way of example. For this purpose, support cables 11 are arranged on cantilevers 24, on which contact wires 12 are suspended with the aid of suspension cables 25. The contact wires 12 are stabilized by a skewed arrangement of the overhead line for improved stabilization. In the case of such a skewed arrangement, the support cables 11 are arranged so as to be offset, viewed in the transverse direction, on the cantilevers 24 of adjacent overhead lines, so in plan view there is a zig-zag course of the support cables 11. The contact wires 12 themselves are not arranged in a zigzag manner, but follow the course of the road, in other words, they also extend straight ahead above the straight-running road 21.
[0048] The arrangement 50 shown in FIG. 5 is illustrated in perspective in FIG. 6. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the support cables are suspended on cantilevers 24 of the overhead line masts 23, with the suspension point being different in the transverse direction with cantilevers 24 of adjacent overhead line masts 23. In addition to the cantilevers 24 of the overhead line masts 23 on which the support cables 11 are suspended, side holders 26 are mounted on the overhead line masts 23 and stabilize the contact wires 12 in the lateral direction. The skewed arrangement of the overhead line can clearly be seen in the perspective view of FIG. 6, and this is achieved in that the position of the suspension of the support cables 11 on the cantilevers 24 vary in the transverse direction. An additional stabilization of the arrangement is achieved by contact wires 12 with smaller cross-sections. Smaller cross-sections lead to smaller targets for wind. In addition, thinner contact wires can also be held better in a straight, definite position by mechanical tension. In order to compensate for the lower current flow through the thinner contact wires 12, what are known as line feeders 27 are fastened to the cantilevers 24, and these are in electrical contact with the support cables 11 of the overhead line at the attachment points.
[0049] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a two-span anchoring device 70 without parallel spans. An arrangement for tensioning contact wires 12a, 12b is to be understood as an anchoring device in this context. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 7, a first contact wire 12a coming from the right is guided diagonally outwards at a cantilever 24b of a central overhead line mast up to a cantilever 24a of a left overhead line mast, away from the road 21 and is anchored on the left overhead line mast. A second homopolar contact wire 12b coming from the left is also guided diagonally outwards at the cantilever 24b of the central overhead line mast, but in this case in the direction of a cantilever 24c of a right-hand overhead line mast. A vehicle coming from the left firstly travels with contact with the second contact wire 12b up to the point at which the cantilever 24b of the central overhead line mast is located. It then travels with contact with the first contact wire 12a further to the right. With this arrangement it is possible to dispense with a parallel span, in other words a parallel guidance of the first and second homopolar contact wires. In this way, the positional tolerance of the pantograph can be reduced in the lateral direction since the arrangement does not have homopolar contact wires which are adjacent in the lateral direction.
[0050] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart, illustrating a method for stabilizing a contact line system of an electrified road transport system according to one exemplary embodiment of the invention. In step 8.1, firstly skewed contact line constructions (see FIG. 2 to FIG. 6) are assembled both on straight sections and in curves. Section separators present in curves are positioned on cantilevers of overhead line masts in order to obtain increased stability of the overhead line. The use of the skewed contact line constructions is effected without lengthening the mast distances in order to improve the stability of the positioning of the contact wires. In step 8.II, an automatic switchover of an electrified vehicle is set up, which is triggered when the pantograph of the electrified vehicle no longer has secure contact with the contact wire. The automatic switchover can be carried out, for example, as a function of continuously updated measurement information. This can comprise either directly the current flow which is present or indirect measurement information, for example in respect of a wind speed or the like.
[0051] In step 8. III, the support cables and contact wires are modified in respect of better tensibility. The cross-sections of the support cables and the contact wires are reduced in the process, materials are selected and optimized in respect of improved tensile strength and the support cables and the contact wires are subject to higher tensile stress, so the susceptibility of the arrangement to side wind is reduced.
[0052] As a further measure, the mast distances between the overhead line masts are reduced in a step 8.IV, and this also reduces the influence of the side winds on the position of the contact wires and support cables.
[0053] In step 8.V, additional line feeders (see FIG. 6), which are guided on the overhead line masts, carrying electrical current are installed, with which the cross-sections, reduced in step 8. III, of the support cables and the contact wires, which each carry electrical current, are compensated.
[0054] Finally, in step 8.VI, two-span anchoring devices without parallel spans are implemented in the overhead line system. Due to the omission of the parallel spans, the lateral positional tolerance of two adjacent electrically homopolar contact wires, including their lateral movements, is reduced to the lateral positional tolerance of a single contact wire.
[0055] A necessary vertical and lateral tolerance range for the contact of a pantograph with the contact wires of an overhead line system is greatly reduced with said measures. The limitation of the tolerance range allows the demands on an adjustment of the pantograph to a position of the contact wires variable in the tolerance range to also be reduced.
[0056] The pantograph can therefore be constructed in a simplified manner since fewer actuators can be used to cover the reduced tolerance range. An elimination even of a degree of freedom of movement of the pantograph can potentially be possible in the process. In addition, a simplified spring system can also be used for the pantograph due to the reduction in the tolerance range. The lower level of complexity of the pantograph leads to a smaller number of components, a lower outlay in the production and maintenance of the system, a longer service life of the entire system and to lower operating costs.
[0057] In conclusion, it should be pointed out once again that the above-described methods and devices are only preferred exemplary embodiments and that a person skilled in the art can vary the invention without departing from the scope of the invention insofar as it is specified by the claims. As already mentioned, the invention is intended not only for overhead line systems having one line, but preferably also for overhead line systems having two parallel, differently polarized direct current lines. It is also pointed out for the sake of completeness that the use of the indefinite articles a or an does not preclude the features in question from also being present several times.
