Transportation system with a non-rail-bound vehicle to be supplied with electrical energy through an overhead conductor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10023074-B2
Application number	US-201514865218-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Sep 25, 2014
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

A transportation system with a non-rail-bound, electrically or diesel-electrically driven vehicle, has a two-pole overhead conductor system with contact wires forming supply and return conductors. The vehicle has a current collector for the supply of electrical energy through sliding contact with the contact wires. A video detector on the vehicle determines a position of the contact wires relative to the vehicle. Marking elements mark the position of the contact wires. The video detector is oriented for taking video images of the marking elements, and an evaluation unit recognizes from a recorded video image whether contact wires are present above the vehicle and, when they are present, determines their position relative to the vehicle. Through the improved recognition of the position of the vehicle relative to the overhead conductor the operational safety of the transportation system is improved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transportation system with a non-rail-bound, electrically or hybrid-electrically driven vehicle, comprising:
a two-pole overhead conductor system for providing electrical energy disposed at least in segments along a track of the vehicle, the conductor system having contact wires constructed as supply and return conductors;
marking elements disposed on said overhead conductor system for marking a position of the contact wires;
a current collector carried on the vehicle for a supply of the electrical energy through sliding contact with said contacts wires;
a video detector disposed on the vehicle for determining a position of said contact wires relative to the vehicle, said video detector being oriented for taking video images of said marking elements associated with said contact wires, said video detector being disposed within a driver cab of the vehicle and an acquisition axis of said video detector being oriented in a direction of travel of the vehicle or at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel; and
an evaluation unit operatively connected to said video detector and configured to recognize from a recorded video image whether contact wires are present above the vehicle and, when said contact wires are present, to determine the position of said contact wires relative to the vehicle.

2. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein said video detector is a stereo camera and/or a transit-time camera.

3. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein said video detector includes an illumination unit constructed for sending infrared light in a direction of an acquisition axis thereof.

4. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein each of said marking elements is formed with a retroreflective reflection surface for incident light.

5. The transportation system according to claim 4 , wherein said marking elements are angle pieces having a first limb with said reflection surface and a second limb with an attachment interface, and wherein said marking elements are attached to one or both of said contact wires or suspension clamps of said contact wires.

6. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein said marking elements are elongated profile pieces formed with a roof-shaped cross-section and a reflection surface pointing downwards for incident light and said profile pieces are attached to said contact wires, to a retaining cable running parallel to said contact wires, and/or to booms of said overhead conductor system.

7. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein said marking elements are made from plastic or light metal.

8. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein said evaluation unit takes said marking elements and a position of said video detector into account to determine the position of said contact wires relative to the vehicle.

9. A transportation system with a non-rail-bound, electrically or hybrid-electrically driven vehicle, comprising:
a two-pole overhead conductor system for providing electrical energy disposed at least in segments along a track of the vehicle, the conductor system having contact wires constructed as supply and return conductors;
marking elements disposed on said overhead conductor system for marking a position of the contact wires;
a current collector carried on the vehicle for a supply of the electrical energy through sliding contact with said contacts wires;
a video detector disposed on the vehicle for determining a position of said contact wires relative to the vehicle, said video detector being oriented for taking video images of said marking elements associated with said contact wires; and
an evaluation unit operatively connected to said video detector and configured to recognize from a recorded video image whether contact wires are present above the vehicle and, when said contact wires are present, to determine the position of said contact wires relative to the vehicle;

said overhead conductor system including masts disposed alongside the track of the vehicle, said marking elements being attached to said masts, and said video detector being configured for measuring a distance thereof to a respective marking element.

10. The transportation system according to claim 9 , wherein said marking elements are disposed at a lower height level than said video detector and an acquisition axis of said video detector is inclined downwards relative to the horizontal.

11. The transportation system according to claim 9 , wherein said video detector has an acquisition axis oriented transversely to a direction of travel.

12. The transportation system according to claim 9 , wherein each of said marking elements includes an optically readable encoding area for location information and said evaluation unit is configured for reading an information code represented by said encoding area from a recorded video image.

13. The transportation system according to claim 12 , wherein said evaluation unit is configured to retrieve, through a use of the information code thus obtained, a location information from a database in or external to the vehicle.

14. The transportation system according to claim 12 , wherein the location information includes information selected from the group consisting of a running mast number, geographical mast coordinates, and information about the route.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Buehs Florian
• Francke Juergen
• Gerstenberg Frank
• Graebner Oliver
• Saenger Goeran

Classifications

• B60M1/23

  Arrangements for suspending trolley wires from catenary line · CPC title

• B60L5/36

  with means for collecting current simultaneously from more than one conductor, e.g. from more than one phase · CPC title

• B60L2200/36

  Vehicles designed to transport cargo, e.g. trucks · CPC title

• B60M1/02 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• B60M1/13

  Trolley wires · CPC title