System and method for detecting and managing conductive gaps
AssigneeTransportation IP Holdings, LLC
InventorsAjith Kuttannair Kumar, Jeffrey John Wolff, Henry Todd Young, Haris Memic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method detect and manage conductive gaps between collector devices onboard vehicles and conductive pathways extending along routes traveled by the vehicles. The collector devices are conductively couplable to the conductive pathways. The system and method respond to a detected drop in an amount of electric current being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device of a vehicle with a responsive action prior to or during a subsequent drop in voltage being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device.
Claims18
A method involving a conductive pathway extending along a route traveled by a vehicle and a collector device onboard the vehicle that is conductively couplable to the conductive pathway, the method comprising:
- responding to a detected drop in an amount of electric current being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device with a responsive action prior to or during a subsequent drop in voltage being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device;
- and
- correlating the drop in the amount of electric current to a conductive gap between the collector device and the conductive pathway.
A method involving a system having a conductive pathway extending along a route traveled by a vehicle and a collector device onboard the vehicle that is selectively conductively couplable to the conductive pathway, the method comprising:
- monitoring electric current conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device;
- and
- detecting a conductive gap in the conductive pathway based on a drop in the electric current that is monitored.
A system comprising:
- a collector device configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle that travels along a route and conductively couplable to a conductive pathway extending along the route;
- and
- one or more processors configured to detect a drop in an amount of electric current being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device, and respond to the drop in the amount of electric current with a responsive action prior to or during a subsequent drop in voltage being conducted from the conductive pathway to the collector device,
- wherein the one or more processors are configured to identify a conductive gap between the collector device and the conductive pathway based on the drop in the amount of electric current, the one or more processors configured to control a rate of change in the electric current received from the conductive pathway upon the vehicle exiting the conductive gap by changing a load-variable electrical resistance of one or more loads of the vehicle prior to the vehicle exiting the conductive gap.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.