Vehicle and traffic system

A vehicle to be occupied and driven by person(s) for travel on road, comprising:

• an electric power collector adapted for receiving and collecting an electric power supplied from overhead line(s) arranged at said road;
• a lifting device operable for vertical movement with respect to the overhead line(s) to which said electric power collector is made accessible;
• a battery capable of storing said electric power therein;
• a drive mechanism for causing movement of said vehicle;
• a power supply/distribution control unit which, responsive to the electric power being supplied from said electric power collector, operates to cause said electric power to supply to one or both of said battery and said drive mechanism, or alternatively operates to cause electric power stored in said battery to supply to said drive mechanism, responsive to no electric power supplied from the electric power collector;
• and
• an overhead line detection sensor for detecting presence and absence of said overhead line(s), said overhead line detection sensor being workable such that, upon detecting said overhead line(s), the overhead line detection sensor outputs one signal for calling for contact of said electric power collector with said overhead line(s) and sends said one signal to said lifting device, and that, upon detecting no overhead line, the overhead line detection sensor outputs another signal for prohibiting contact of said electric power collector with said overhead line(s) and sends said another signal to said lifting device.

A vehicle to be occupied and driven by person(s) for travel on road, comprising:

• an electric power collector adapted for receiving and collecting an electric power supplied from overhead line(s) arranged at said road;
• a lifting device operable for vertical movement with respect to said overhead line(s) to which said electric power collector is accessible;
• a battery capable of storing said electric power therein;
• a drive mechanism for causing movement of said vehicle;
• a power supply/distribution control unit which, responsive to said electric power being supplied from said electric power collector, operates to cause said electric power to supply to one or both of said battery and said drive mechanism, or alternatively operates to cause the electric power stored in said battery to supply to said drive mechanism, responsive to no electric power supplied from the electric power collector;
• a steering wheel sensor for detecting movement of a steering wheel of the vehicle;
• an overhead line detection sensor for detecting presence and absence of said overhead line(s);
• and
• a lifting control means workable in such a manner that, while said overhead line(s) is/are being detected by said overhead line detection sensor, if said steering wheel sensor detects rotation of said steering wheel by an angle exceeding a predetermined angle, the lifting control means outputs one signal for prohibiting contact of said electric power collector with said overhead line(s) and sends said one signal to said lifting device, and that, upon said steering wheel having been rotated reversely from the thus-rotated state back to a normal home position, the lifting control means outputs another signal calling for contact of said electric power collector with said overhead line(s) and sends said another signal to said lifting device, wherein said lifting control means is also workable such that, if no overhead line is detected by the overhead line detection sensor, the lifting control means positively works to prohibit contact of said electric power collector with said overhead line(s), irrespective of any detection result received from said steering wheel sensor thereto.