Scalable Tractive-Power System For Electric Railway-Vehicles Integrated into All-Wheel Electric Steering and Electric Braking Systems, Deriving 90% To 99% Traction and Dynamic Efficiency

An electric scalable tractive power system for a railway-vehicle, comprising:

• a plurality of electronic controlled clutches, coupled to selected electric traction-motors:
• wherein an electronic controlled clutch-system is configured to:
• perform coupling and de-coupling of selected electric traction-motors to and from wheels in the locomotive and in selected articulated cars;
• further wherein the electronic controlled clutches are fully automated within the railway-vehicle scalable tractive power system;
• wherein electronic, electromagnetic, and mechanical procedures is utilized to carry out precision coupling and de-coupling of the electric motors.

a plurality of energy resources for a railway-vehicles:

• an energy storage unit[s] comprising:
• a battery-pack energy storage with at least one energy storage-unit, coupled to a DC bus;
• a secondary energy storage with plurality of ultra-capacitors, coupled to a DC bus;
• a third energy storage-units with a flywheel, comprising power levels greater than 3 MW and electricity storage capacities greater than 5 MWh, may use radial gap magnetic bearings to store kinetic energy, coupled to a DC bus;
• an energy producing unit[s] comprising:
• a fuel-cell coupled to a selected electric traction-motor and to a DC bus;
• an array of photovoltaic cells installed on top and along the side of articulated cars and trailers, coupled to a DC bus;
• a holistic controller, comprising power management logic is:
• configured to monitor and manage the state-of-charge in all energy storage units, which includes voltage and current sensing capacities of all battery-cells and all ultra-capacitors and flywheels.

The tractive-system with electric-motors may operate as regenerative system, comprising:

• a holistic controller is:
• configured to couple all or less than all de-coupled electric traction-motors to wheels, to:
• assist the railway-vehicle in generating additional electricity in all stages of slowing down with the assistance of all or less than all electric traction-motors;
• configured to reconnect the power supply to a de-coupled electric traction-motors just before coupling an electric traction-motors in a locomotive or in articulated car wheels;
• wherein an electric traction-motor is:
• operating as a generator to produce electric energy;
• wherein the regenerated electric energy is routed to a bi-directional DC/AC inverters;
• a holistic controller is further:
• configured to control all be-directional DC/AC voltage inverters and to:
• convert AC voltage received from electric traction-motors during regenerative braking into DC voltage and supply the DC voltage to a corresponding DC bus;
• configured to control all bi-directional DC/DC converters to buck voltage of the respective DC bus and supply the bucked voltage to a respective energy storage units;
• configured to utilize multi-objective optimization design (MOOD) programs to distribute braking efforts unequally among all electric traction-motors, and among all electric brake-calipers to:
• provide optimal dynamic stability, in wet weather, in turning procedures, and in any other driving conditions that require uneven braking procedures for optimal stability;
• whereas wastage of brake-discs and brake-pads is curtailed.

An electric scalable tractive power system integrated into all-wheel steering system for a railway-vehicle, comprising;

• a track divergence-sensor, located in front of the locomotive, utilizes an array of inductive metal detectors;
• wherein the track divergence-sensor is:
• configured to identify with electromagnetic means the upcoming deviation of the track ahead of the locomotive, and transmit the information to the holistic controller by electronic means;
• a GPS-sensor, connected to a GPS-receiver connected to the holistic controller is:
• configured to provide the holistic controller the commencing point of the track divergence from straight;
• provide the exact geometry of the comprehensive curve;
• and
• provide the point of exit from the curve to a straight track;
• a single steering-motor fixed to the frame of a bogie is:
• configured in each bogie in the locomotive and in all articulated cars;
• wherein a single steering-motor actuates all-wheels in 1- 2- or 3-axle bogies configurations;
• a large ball-bearing screw is:
• driven by a steering-motor with a spur- or helical-gear, with belt, or with chain configuration, wherein the large ball-bearing screw:
• converts the rotational energy of the steering-motor into linear movement of the large ball-bearing screw to the left or to the right;
• a ball-bearing screw head is:
• configured in one end of a large ball-bearing screw in a 1-axle bogie configurations, and in both ends of ball-bearing screw in 2 and 3 axle bogie configurations;
• a steering-rod is:
• configured in one end with a convex form that encapsulates the ball-bearing screw head to form a ball-and-socket-joint with the steering-rod;
• whereas the other end of the steering-rod is connected with a simple joint to one end of a tie-rod;
• a steering tie-rod is:
• configured with length-adjustment nut, and is connected to a fixed short extension perpendicular to the tie-rod,
• whereas the other end of the short extension is inserted through a yaw-sensor cylinder;
• a single yaw-sensor is:
• configured in 1, 2 or 3 bogies in a locomotive and in each bogie of all articulated cars;
• configured with two main parts:
• a yaw-sensor housing fixed to the top of a long spur- or helical-gear column, and
• a yaw-sensor cylinder is:
• configured inside a yaw-sensor housing;
• whereas the tie-rod short extension is inserted into the yaw-sensor cylinder;
• wherein any incremental angular change between the yaw-sensor cylinder and the yaw-sensor housing is proportional to the change of the angle of all-wheels within a specific bogie;
• a yaw-sensor is further:
• moving to the left or to the right, which triggers movement of a pointer-head on the face of the yaw sensor,
• whereas transmitting the monitored change of resistance on the face of the yaw sensor by electronic means to the holistic controller;
• the holistic controller is:
• interpolating the change of resistance readings into the computation, with which the holistic controller generates an instant position for each wheel in a 1, 2 or 3 axle bogie configurations:
• a long, spur- or helical-gear-column is:
• meshed with a molded gear-rack on the outer-walls between two traction-motor-wheel-units;
• wherein any incremental rotation of the yaw-sensor housing triggers the same incremental angular rotation of the long spur- or helical-gear-column that is:
• moving the two-opposing electric traction-motor-wheels-units into a proportional incremental rotation,
• wherein the two opposing wheels are positioned precisely perpendicular to the rail and perpendicular to the geometric turning center;
• a large steering-ball is:
• configured in each wheel axle-box, located in the primary suspension of each bogie;
• whereas the outer wheel-axle is centrally positioned inside a large steering-ball, it is:
• configured with two or more large ball-bearings;
• whereas a large steering-ball is not rotating, the large steering-ball is:
• configured to afford incremental movements of the outer wheel-axle to the left or to the right inside the steering-ball whenever the wheel is steered.

A railway-vehicle scalable traction system, integrated in the braking system, comprising:

• an intricate, fast-deceleration system, generating electric energy, comprising:
• a holistic controller is:
• configured to converts the locomotive engineer stop-lever analog signal into digital signal, and is:
• configured to utilize multi-objective optimization design (MOOD) procedures to compute the energy size needed, and the number of electric traction-motors to be coupled to wheels to initiate a fast decelerating-procedure;
• configured to first manage the railway-vehicle ‘fast-deceleration’ phase;
• wherein selected de-coupled electric traction-motors is:
• coupled to the wheels to produce the computed kW braking-power;
• the holistic controller is:
• further configured to diminish the current supply from the bi-directional DC/AC inverters to the electric traction-motor, while the role of the traction-motors changes from driving the wheels, into being actuated by the wheels through the massive kinetic energy of the railway-vehicle;
• wherein the electric traction-motors coupled to the wheels is:
• acting as generators;
• converting kinetic energy into electric energy, and
• decelerating the railway-vehicle.

An electronic coupler for articulated cars in railway-vehicles, comprising:

• a plurality of electronic-couplers is;
• connected between articulated cars in railway-vehicles and in semi-trailers;
• an electronic-coupler is:
• configured with polymer or steel spring wedge system;
• configured with multipart shaft;
• configured with an IC hall-effect sensor;
• configured with a readable plate having small metal projections, fixed to the shaft of the electronic coupler inside the draft gear unit that serve the IC hall-effect sensor to read the instant changing position of the electronic-coupler shaft;
• an IC hall-effect sensor is:
• configured to monitor the changing position of projections fixed to the plate fixed to the electronic-coupler shaft;
• configured to monitor the instant changing status of the ‘free slack;’
• configured to instantly transfer the monitored information to the holistic controller;
• the holistic controller is:
• configured to utilize multi-objective optimization design (MOOD) procedures;
• configured to compute from the information received from the IC hall-effect sensor, the instant distance change between each end-to-end articulated cars along the railway-vehicle, and
• activate the electric traction-motor and the brake-calipers in specific sequence to keep the best possible ‘free-slack’ between articulated cars, and to prevent a “run-in” or a “run-out” scenarios.