CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR ELECTRICALLY OPERATED RAIL-MOUNTED VEHICLES

PANTOGRAPHE DE VEHICULE FERROVIAIRE ELECTRIQUE

English Abstract

The aim of the invention is to significantly reduce the construction space
required for the current collector head and at the same time reduce noise
emission and wear on the wearing strip. To this end, the rocker (4) consists
of at least two single-piece angle levers (10) which are oriented parallel to
the contact wire and arranged perpendicular to each other and which form an
angle (8, 9) and have lever arms (8, 9) of different lengths. Said rectangular
levers are each arranged in such a way that they can pivot about a common,
fixed centre of rotation, against the force of a tension spring (12) of slight
rigidity which acts approximately vertically on the shorter lever (9). The
longer lever arm (8) presses directly against the wear strip arrangement and
moves the latter in an approximately vertical direction on a part of a
circular path with a very large diameter as it rises and falls. A hydraulic
rotation damper (13) is located between the angle levers (10) and is actively
connected to the same.

French Abstract

L'invention a pour objet de réduire considérablement l'encombrement de la tête du pantographe tout en réduisant l'usure de sa plaque d'usure et les émissions sonores. Pour ce faire, l'archet (4) est composé d'au moins deux leviers articulés (10) parallèles au fil de contact, formant un angle et constituant des bras (8, 9) qui sont réalisés d'une seule pièce, lesquels sont perpendiculaires l'un par rapport et de longueurs différentes. Ces leviers articulés (10) sont montés pivotants autour d'un pivot fixe commun respectivement à l'encontre d'un ressort de traction (12) de faible rigidité qui s'applique perpendiculairement sur le levier court (9). Le bras long (8) appuie directement sur le dispositif plaque d'usure et, lors du soulèvement et de l'abaissement, déplace ce dernier dans une direction approximativement verticale sur un segment de cercle de très grand diamètre. Un amortisseur rotatif (13) hydraulique, placé entre les leviers articulés (10), est en liaison active avec les leviers articulés.

Claims

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Claims:
1. Current collector for an electrically powered, rail-
mounted vehicle, with a rocker body that supports a wearing
strip, is formed as a housing, and incorporates horns, and is
rigidly attached to the insulator body, and with a rocker that
is arranged in the housing, characterized in that the rocker
(4) is made up of at least two bell-crank levers (10), each of
which comprises at least two one-piece lever arms (8, 9) of
different lengths that are parallel to the direction of travel,
subtend an angle with each other, and are perpendicular to
each other, each bell-crank lever being arranged so as to pivot
about a fixed point of rotation (Dp) against the force of a
draw spring (12) that is of low stiffness and that acts more or
less perpendicularly to the shorter lever arm (9), the longer
lever arm (8) pressing directly against the wearing strip (11),
and moving this vertically or approximately so on part of a
circular path of very large diameter as it rises and falls; and
in that a hydraulic rotary damper (13) is arranged between the
bell-crank levers (10) and actively connected to the bell-crank
levers (10).
2. Device as defined in Claim 1, characterized in that
there are elongated slots (15), which are aligned with each
other, in the longer lever arm (8).
3. Device as defined in Claim 1 and Claim 2,
characterized in that the active connection between the rotary
damper (13) and the bell-crank levers (10) is an operating
element (14) that fits in the elongated slots (15) as a sliding
block.

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4. Device as defined in Claim 1 to Claim 3,
characterized in that the longer lever arm (9) has one end that
is curved upward towards the wearing-strip system.
5. Device as defined in Claim 1 to Claim 3,
characterized in that the bell-crank levers are made of punched
steel.
6. Device as defined in Claim 1 to Claim 5,
characterized in that a mechanical rotary damper is used in
place of an hydraulic rotary damper (13), this comprising lever
arms which at one end are arranged so as to be vertically
aligned with the point of rotation (Dp) on the shorter lever
arm (8) so as to be able to pivot about another fixed point of
rotation, and at the other end is arranged on the wearing-strip
system, beneath the articulation point of the longer lever arm
(8), so as to be able to pivot.
7. Device as defined in Claim 1 to Claim 6,
characterized in that the draw spring (12) is secured to the
insulator flange (3) so as to be adjustable.
8. Device as defined in one or more of the preceding
claims, characterized in that the rocker- body housing is of
glass-fibre reinforced plastic or carbon-fibre reinforced
plastic.

Description

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Current Collector- For Electrically Operated
Rail-Mounted Vehicles
The present invention relates to a current collector
for electrically operated, rail-mounted vehicles, with a
streamlined rocker body that is formed as a housing that
supports a wearing-strip system, that has horns, and is mounted
rigidly on the insulator flange of an insulator.
It is known that the maximum speed that high-speed
vehicles, in particular rail-mounted vehicles, can achieve is
to a very large extent governed by current collection from the
contact wire by way of the current collector that is pressed
against the contact wire. There is a contact force between
the contact wire and the current collector, and this force can
vary over a wide range because of the dynamic interaction
between the contact wire and the current collector.
The magnitude of the contact force is greatly
influenced by the friction between the wearing strips and the
contact wire, the stiffness of the upper conductor, local or
temporal changes in geometry caused by different heights of the
contact wire and zigzag placement of the contact wire, wear on
the wearing strip and the contact wire, different aerodynamic
influences that result from changes in the direction of
movement and changing vehicle shapes, wind and vehicle speed,
vibration of the current collector and of the contact wire, as
well as by the changes in flow velocities that are caused by
oncoming traffic in tunnels.
Particularly in applications that involve high
speeds, these complex factors lead to pronounced variations in
the contact forces and thus to interruptions in the supply of
electrical energy.

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DE-A 28 30 027 attempts to solve these problems in
that the parts of the current collector that are exposed to the
air flow are fitted with flow-stabilizing fairings, the current
collector head being surrounded by a fairing-like, flow-
s stabilizing cover that is lightly constructed from insulating
material, the wearing strips of the current collector
extending from this.
JP-A 274304-1995 describes a skate support system for
railroad-car current collectors. This comprises a skate of
elliptical or spherical cross section, whose long axis lies in
the direction of travel, a wearing piece that is mounted on the
skate and touches the contact wire, a pressure device that
presses the wearing piece against the contact wire, a
supporting spring that imparts springiness to the skate, and a
damper that damps the range of movement of the axis of rotation
of the skate. By mounting a relative-wind stabilizing plate to
the rear of the skate, the point of contact with the contact
wire is shifted behind the axis of rotation of the skate, and
the mid-point of the relative wind of the skate is moved behind
the point of contact with the contact wire.
It is also known that the skate of a current
collector can be arranged either rigidly, or vertically and
directly sprung in the current-collector head (EP-A 635 392,
JP-A 7123508, EP-A 697 304, DE-A 195 40 914). Common to all of
these current collectors is the disadvantage that they require
a relatively large amount of installation space and a great
deal of material, and generate a great deal of noise. The
rigid arrangement of the wearing strips in the current-
collector head is of only limited suitability for handling the
high-frequency oscillations of the contact wire. One the one
hand, at high speeds the great mass of the skate carrier leads

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to excessive wear and, on the other hand-because of the large
amount of lift-to the danger of departure from the contact
wire, which could result in arcing that can damage the skate.
Given this prior art, it is the objective of the
present invention to bring about a marked reduction in the
amount of installation space needed for the current-collector
head, the amount of noise that is generated, and the amount of
wear on the wearing strips.
This objective has been achieved by a device of the
type referred to in the introduction hereto, which has the
features set out in Patent Claim 1. Advantageous developments
of the present invention are set out in the secondary claims.
The present invention makes it possible to house the
rocker with all the other components in the streamlined housing
of the rocker body, and do this in a compact way, using very
little space. At the same time, this ensures a much lower
level of noise emission. One significant advantage of the
present invention is that the much smaller mass of the current
collector means that the wearing strip is subjected to far less
wear, and can balance out the high-frequency oscillations of
the contact wire without losing contact with it.
Another advantage is that the current collector
according to the present invention can be used in the high-
speed and the low-speed ranges, so that cost-effective
retrofitting of current collectors currently in use is possible
without any major modifications having to be made.
The present invention will be described in greater
detail below on the basis of the drawings appended hereto.
These drawings show the following:

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Figure 1: a perspective view of the rocker body, with
the wearing strip and insulator;
Figure 2: a side view of the rocker with the wearing
strip;
Figure 3: a plan view of Figure 2;
Figure 4: a cross section through the wiper body on
the line A-A in Figure 3.
As is shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, an insulator 1
is mounted rigidly on an insulator carrier 2 on the roof of a
high-speed vehicle. The insulator flange 2 supports a rocker 4
with a streamlined rocker body 5 in which the wearing strip 6
is installed.
Between the wearing strip 6 and the insulator flange
3 there is a spring damper unit 7 (see Figure 3 and Figure 4).
This spring damper unit 7 is made up of two bracket-like, one-
piece bell-crank levers 10 that are space apart by the width of
the wearing strip 6, each of which has two lever arms 8, 9 that
are perpendicular and joined to each other. Both the lever
arms 8, 9 can rotate about a common, fixed point of rotation
Dp, the lever arm 8, which is somewhat longer relative to the
lever arm 9, being hinged by its slightly upturned end to the
wearing strip system 11. The shorter lever arm is secured at
the other end to a draw spring 12 that is secured to the
insulator flange 3 so as to be adjustable. Between the two
bell-crank levers that are positioned so as to be parallel to
each other there is an hydraulic damper 13, the operating
element 14 of which engages in an elongated slot 15 made in the
bell-crank lever 10. When a force acts on the wearing strip 6,
the draw spring 12 permits a rotary movement of the lever 10,
so that the lever arm 8 that is angled slightly upwards

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completes a rotary or pivoting movement towards the wearing
strip system. This pivoting movement is continuously absorbed
and damped by the rotary damper 13. The draw springs 12 are not
particularly stiff. This spring damper 7 permits only a
5 vertical springing motion. The rigid attachment of the rocker
body 5 on the insulator 1 ensures that wind loading is absorbed
by the streamlined rocker body, so that only a very small
aerodynamic part acts on the wearing strip.
The rocker 4 incorporates horns 16 (see Figure 1)
that can be adjusted to various rocker widths, for example,
1950 mm and 1600 mm, by a pneumatic drive system 17 that is
mounted in the rocker body 5.
Key to Reference Numbers Used in the Drawings
1 insulator
2 insulator carrier
3 insulator flange
4 rocker
5 rocker body
6 wearing strip
7 spring damper unit
8 long lever arm
9 short lever arm
10 bell-crank lever
11 wearing-strip holder

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12 draw spring
13 rotary damper
14 operating element
15 slot
16 horn
17 pneumatic drive system
Dp point of rotation

Representative Drawing