ELECTRIC RAILROAD NETWORK AND ASSOCIATED ENERGY EXCHANGE PROCESS

• US 20150008733A1
• Filed: 03/05/2013
• Published: 01/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alstom Transport Technologies
• Original Assignee: Alstom Transport Technologies
• Inventors: Saiz, Jose, Periot, Robert, Jamet, Dominique
• Granted Patent: US 9,987,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/9.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/30 using propulsion power stored mechanically, e.g. in fly-wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/53 in combination with an external power supply, e.g. from overhead contact lines
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/10 Dynamic electric regenerative braking B60L7/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/14 for vehicles propelled by ac motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/00 Electric propulsion with power supply external to the vehicle electric propulsion for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways B60L13/00; in combination with batteries or fuel cells within the vehicle B60L50/53
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/24 fed from ac supply lines
• CPC Class Codes: B60M 3/06 Arrangements for consuming regenerative power
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 17/06 Power storing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 3/02 with electric accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

A railroad network (10) having a track (12), a network energy supply (14) and a plurality of trains (16) that are connectable to the network energy supply (14) via means (20) for connecting the train (16) to the network energy supply (14) and each have an internal energy storage system (24) for receiving and storing energy originating from said train (16) or from trains (16) of the railroad network (10) and for supplying energy to said train (16) or to trains (16) of the railroad network (10). Each train (16) is able to switch from an operational state in which it is able to move along the system of rails (12) and an idle state in which it is unable to move along the system of rails (12) and vice versa.

At least one of the trains (16) of the railroad network (10) is in the idle and energized state at the same time, its internal energy storage system (24) being connected to the network energy supply (14).

Claims

1. A railroad network (10) of the type having:

a track (12),

a network energy supply (14), and

a plurality of trains (16), each train (16) having;

propulsion means (22) able to generate electric energy by braking,

an internal electric energy storage system (24) designed to store electric energy originating from the propulsion means (22) of said train (16) and from the network energy supply (14) and to supply electric energy to said train (16) and to said supply (14),

a set of ancillary equipment (25), and

means (20) for connecting the train (16) to the network energy supply (14), each train (16) being energized when it is connected to the network energy supply (14) via the connecting means (20), its internal electric energy storage system (24) then being connected to said supply (14), and powered down when it is not connected thereto, each train (16) being able to switch between an operational state in which its set of ancillary equipment (25) is connected to the network energy supply (14) or to the internal electric energy storage system (24) of said train (16) and the train (16) is able to move along the track (12), and an idle state in which said set of ancillary equipment (25) is disconnected from the network energy supply (14) and the internal electric energy storage system (24) and the train (16) is unable to move along the track (12),

wherein at least one of the trains (16) is in the idle and energized state at the same time, its internal electric energy storage system (24) being connected to the network energy supply (14).

2. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, once a plurality of trains (16) of the railroad network (10) are in the operational state, the percentage of trains (16) of the railroad network (10) that are in the idle and energized state at the same time is between 1% and 10%, and is in particular 10%.

3. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, during peak hours of the railroad network (10), the percentage of trains (16) of the railroad network (10) that are in the idle and energized state at the same time is between 1% and 10%, and is in particular 5%.

4. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, during off-peak hours of the network (10), the percentage of trains (16) of the railroad network (10) that are in the idle and energized state at the same time is between 5% and 10%, and is in particular 10%.

5. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, which comprises at least one long-term parking location (38) chosen from the following group:

a shop, a maintenance site, a parking area, a garage, a depot, a station, and wherein the or each train (16) that is in the idle and energized state at the same time is located in said at least one long-term parking location (38).

6. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means (20) for connecting at least one of the trains (16) comprise a controllable switch (440) able to disconnect the propulsion means (22) from the network energy supply (14) and its internal electric energy storage system (24) when said train (16) is energized and in the idle state.

7. The network (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the set of ancillary equipment (25) of each train (16) comprises an ancillary controllable switch (35) able to connect said set of ancillary equipment (25) to the network energy supply (14) and/or to the internal electric energy storage system (24), on the one hand, and to disconnect said set of ancillary equipment (25) from the network energy supply (14) and from the internal electric energy storage system (24), on the other hand.

8. An energy exchange process (40) on a railroad network (10) as defined in claim 1, each train (16) of the network (10) being:

energized when it is connected to the network energy supply (14) via the connecting means (20), its internal electric energy storage system (24) being connected to said supply (14),

powered down when it is not connected to the network energy supply (14) via the connecting means (20), its internal electric energy storage system (24) not being connected to said supply (14),

in the operational state when its set of ancillary equipment (25) is connected to the network energy supply (14) or to its internal electric energy storage system (24) and the train (16) is able to move along the track (12), its propulsion means (22) being able to generate electric energy by braking,

in the idle state when its set of ancillary equipment (25) is disconnected from the network energy supply (14) and from its internal electric energy storage system (24) and the train is unable to move along the track (12),

the energy exchange process (40) comprising;

a step (310) of braking of a train (16) in the operational and energized state,

a step (320) of storing all of part of the electric energy resulting from the braking of said train (16) in the internal electric energy storage system (24) of one or more trains (16) that are in the idle and energized state,

a step (330) of supplying, via the network energy supply (14), all or part of the energy stored in the internal electric energy storage system (24) of the or each train (16) that is in the idle and energized state at the same time to one or more other trains (16) of the railroad network (10) that are in the operational state.