Equipment asset with liquid runoff charge control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12589939-B2
Application number	US-202318458772-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2023
Priority date	Sep 27, 2022
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

An equipment asset may include a body, one or more current collector rails, and a grounding element. The body may have a top side and a power transfer zone. The power transfer zone may include at least an electrically non-conductive top surface. The one or more current collector rails may be mounted to the top side of the body within the power transfer zone. The grounding element may be electrically conductive and disposed on the top side of the body. The grounding element may surround the power transfer zone and be spaced apart from the one or more current collector rails. The grounding element may receive liquid that is runoff from the power transfer zone and electrically ground charged portions of the liquid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An equipment asset comprising:
a body having a top side and a power transfer zone, the power transfer zone including at least an electrically non-conductive top surface; one or more current collector rails mounted to the top side of the body within the power transfer zone; and a grounding element that is electrically conductive and disposed on the top side of the body, the grounding element surrounding the power transfer zone and spaced apart from the one or more current collector rails, the grounding element configured to receive liquid that is runoff from the power transfer zone and to electrically ground charged portions of the liquid, the grounding element comprising a gutter configured to receive the liquid from the power transfer zone on the top side of the body and to direct the liquid to one or more drains that direct the liquid away from the gutter and the top side of the body.

2 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the grounding element includes a thin, flat layer of at least one of a metal material or an electrically conductive polymer.

3 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the grounding element surrounds an entire perimeter of the power transfer zone.

4 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the grounding element is vertically disposed below the power transfer zone along the top side of the body.

5 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the power transfer zone is at least partially convex to direct the liquid that is within the power transfer zone away from a defined center of the power transfer zone and outwards towards the grounding element.

6 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the equipment asset is a vehicle, and the top side of the body is a roof of the vehicle.

7 . The equipment asset of claim 6 , wherein the one or more current collector rails are electrically couplable to at least one of an energy storage device onboard the vehicle or an electric motor onboard the vehicle, and the one or more current collector rails are configured to receive electrical power from an external power system to at least one of charge the energy storage device or power the electric motor.

8 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the grounding element is spaced apart from perimeter edges of the top side of the body, the top side of the body including an insulated boundary area disposed between the grounding element and the perimeter edges of the top side.

9 . The equipment asset of claim 1 , wherein the grounding element is electrically connected to a structural element of the equipment asset below the top side to electrically ground the grounding element to the structural element.

10 . An equipment asset comprising:
a body having a top side and a power transfer zone, the power transfer zone including at least an electrically non-conductive top surface; one or more current collector rails mounted to the top side of the body within the power transfer zone; and a grounding element that is electrically conductive and disposed on the top side of the body, the grounding element surrounding the power transfer zone and spaced apart from the one or more current collector rails, the grounding element including a gutter configured to receive liquid that is runoff from the power transfer zone and to direct the liquid to one or more drains that direct the liquid away from the gutter and the top side of the body, the grounding element spaced apart from perimeter edges of the top side of the body such that an insulated boundary area of the top side is disposed between the grounding element and the perimeter edges of the top side.

11 . The equipment asset of claim 10 , wherein the gutter is electrically conductive and is configured to electrically ground charged portions of the liquid.

12 . The equipment asset of claim 10 , wherein the gutter is electrically non-conductive.

13 . The equipment asset of claim 12 , wherein the grounding element includes an electrically conductive layer along the top side, and the gutter surrounds the electrically conductive layer such that the liquid from the power transfer zone flows across the electrically conductive layer prior to entering the gutter.

14 . The equipment asset of claim 10 , wherein the grounding element is vertically disposed below the power transfer zone along the top side of the body.

15 . A method comprising:
applying a grounding element that is electrically conductive on a top side of a body of an equipment asset, the grounding element applied to surround a power transfer zone that includes at least an electrically non-conductive top surface, the equipment asset including one or more current collector rails mounted to the top side of the body within the power transfer zone, wherein the grounding element is applied such that the grounding element is spaced apart from the one or more current collector rails and comprises a gutter configured to receive liquid that is runoff from the power transfer zone to electrically ground charged portions of the liquid and to direct the liquid to one or more drains that direct the liquid away from the gutter and the top side of the body.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein applying the grounding element on the top side comprises applying a thin, flat layer of at least one of a metal material or an electrically conductive polymer on the top side to surround an entirety of the power transfer zone.

17 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising connecting a respective drainage conduit to each of the one or more drains, the respective drainage conduit configured to receive the liquid from the corresponding drain.

18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising forming the electrically non-conductive top surface of the power transfer zone to be at least partially convex for directing the liquid that is within the power transfer zone away from a defined center of the power transfer zone and outward towards the grounding element.

Assignees

• Transp Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Kumar Ajith Kuttannair
• Worden Bret

Classifications

• B65D2590/22

  Safety features · CPC title

• B60L5/38

  for collecting current from conductor rails (B60L5/40 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02T10/70

  Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries · CPC title

• Y02T10/7072

  Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors · CPC title

• B65D90/46 Primary

  Arrangements for carrying off, or preventing the formation of electrostatic charges (carrying-off, or preventing the formation of electrostatic charges in general H05F) · CPC title