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US 11,904,707 B2Granted
Rail transport vehicle electric energy storage and charging system
AssigneeFirst Greater Western Limited
InventorMason Peter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
According to some embodiments, a rail transport vehicle electric energy storage and charging system is presented. The system may include an energy storage sub-system and a charging system having a charging rail which only charges a vehicle when the rail is covered. The system may also include a battery-powered rail vehicle having a rail-contacting charging shoe.
Claims19
A rail transport vehicle charging system comprising:
- a charging rail dimensioned to be fully coverable by a train carriage;
- a power supply for charging an electric train battery, the power supply being configured to selectively supply a charging current to the charging rail;
- a sensor configured to detect at least one of the position and the movement of a train carriage over the charging rail,
- wherein the sensor is connected to the power supply such that the charging current is only supplied to the charging rail when the train carriage at least partially covers the charging rail;
- a driver input sensor configured to:
- detect input from a driver of the rail transport vehicle to select vehicle power or to release vehicle brakes;
- and
- responsive to detecting the input, end supply of the charging current to the charging rail;
- and
- a digital electronic handshake module configured to:
- responsive to receiving a broadcast address, transmit a response;
- wherein the charging current is only supplied to the charging rail when the response has been received by the power supply.
9 more elements
A rail transport vehicle charging system, comprising:
- a charging rail;
- a rail transport vehicle comprising a train carriage, an on-board battery, and an electrical contact for contact with the charging rail;
- a power supply for charging the on-board battery, the power supply being configured to selectively supply a charging current to the charging rail;
- a sensor positioned on one of the charging rail and the rail transport vehicle and configured to detect at least one of the position and the movement of the rail transport vehicle over the charging rail,
- wherein the sensor is connected to the power supply such that the charging current is only supplied to the charging rail when the rail transport vehicle at least partially overs the charging rail;
- a driver input sensor configured to:
- detect input from a driver of the rail transport vehicle to select vehicle power or to release vehicle brakes;
- and
- responsive to detecting the input, end supply of the charging current to the charging rail;
- and
- a digital electronic handshake module configured to:
- responsive to receiving a broadcast address, transmit a response;
- wherein the charging current is only supplied to the charging rail when the response has been received by the power supply.
10 more elements
An electric rail transport vehicle comprising:
- an electric motor for propelling the vehicle;
- a battery arranged to power the electric motor;
- a rail contact electrode extending from the vehicle and configured to contact a rail, wherein the rail contact electrode is connected to the battery to provide a charging current from the rail to the battery in use;
- a driver input sensor configured to:
- detect input from a driver of the electric rail transport vehicle to select vehicle power or to release vehicle brakes;
- and
- responsive to detecting the input, end supply of the charging current;
- and
- a digital electronic handshake module configured to:
- responsive to receiving a broadcast address, transmit a response;
- wherein the charging current is only supplied to the charging rail when the response has been received by the power supply.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.