Supply system for an electric traction vehicle

• US 6,294,886 B1
• Filed: 08/30/1999
• Issued: 09/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alstom Transport SA (Alstom SA)
• Original Assignee: Alstom France SA (Alstom SA)
• Inventors: Gibard, Philippe
• Primary Examiner(s): Nappi, Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Leykin, Rita
• Application Number:
  US09/384,979
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 318/150, 318/140, 318/139, 318/325, 318/326, 318/382, 318/161, 180/65.2, 180/65.3
• US Class Current: 318/161
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 5/42 for collecting current from individual contact pieces connected to the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/30 using propulsion power stored mechanically, e.g. in fly-wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/32 by charging in short intervals along the itinerary, e.g. during short stops
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/06 for vehicles propelled by ac motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/24 fed from ac supply lines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/16 Mechanical energy storage, e.g. flywheels or pressurised fluids
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

Supply system for an electric traction vehicle equipped with electric traction motors (M1 to M4) supplied by a traction system and pantograph means (2) for connecting the traction system (1) to a catenary (3), characterized in that it furthermore comprises in combination, an autonomous supply device carried on board a vehicle and including a kinetic accumulation of energy system (5) having a rotating machine with rotor forming a flywheel and operating either as a motor, or as a generator, means (2, 18) for connecting the kinetic accumulation of energy system (5) in the charging regime to the mains supply during stoppages of the vehicle in stations, and in the discharging regime, to the traction system (1), the said kinetic accumulation of energy system (5) being a system for recovering the braking energy of the vehicle.

Claims

1. Supply system for an electric traction vehicle comprising:

electric traction motors supplied by a traction system and pantograph means (2) for connecting the traction system to a catenary;

an autonomous supply device carried on board the vehicle comprising;

a kinetic accumulation of energy system having a rotating machine with a rotor forming a flywheel operable either as a motor or as a generator; and

a backup reserve system which can be selectably connected either to a main electrical supply to allow recharging of the backup reserve system or to the traction system to supply power to the traction system in a degraded mode, the backup reserve system comprising a traction battery, a charger adapted to charge the traction battery from the main electrical supply, and means for switching the backup reserve system to one of the main electrical supply and the traction system; and

means for connecting the kinetic accumulation of energy system during charging to the main electrical supply during stoppages of the vehicle in stations, and for connecting the kinetic accumulation of energy system to the traction system during discharging;

wherein said kinetic accumulation of energy system is a system for recovering braking energy of the vehicle, said supply system further comprising;

means for managing energy of the kinetic accumulation of energy system to enable the vehicle to make best use of the energy of said system so as to enable the vehicle to travel between recharging from the main electrical supply in two successive stations,

a sensor of current drawn by the kinetic accumulation of energy system and fed to the traction system,

tachometer means for determining a speed of rotation of at least two of the electric traction motors of the vehicle and a distance traveled by the vehicle, and

a sensor of the speed of the flywheel of the rotating machine of the kinetic accumulation of energy system associated with said management means;

wherein said management means comprises an on-board central computer linked by an on-board computerized network to an electronic control circuit of the traction system and an electronic control circuit of the kinetic accumulation of energy system;

wherein the on-board central computer of the vehicle contains speed values corresponding to amounts of energy remaining to be provided until a next stoppage of the vehicle in a station, said energy values being compared with energy still available in the kinetic accumulation of energy system so as to deliver, to the traction system, speed limitation preset instructions when the vehicle is in the traction state.

2. Supply system according to claim 1, further comprising, in each said station, a contact wire for supplying the kinetic accumulation of energy system from the main electrical supply by way of said means for connecting the traction system to the catenary.

3. Supply system according to claim 2, further comprising a means for controlling the pantograph connection means to place it in contact with the contact wire as soon as the vehicle arrives in a station and means for controlling withdrawal of the pantograph connection means with respect to the contact wire when the vehicle leaves the station.

4. Supply system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control circuit of the kinetic accumulation of energy means comprises means for actuating the means for switching the backup reserve system over to the traction system when the energy available in the kinetic accumulation of energy system reaches a predetermined minimum value below which the kinetic accumulation of energy system is no longer rechargeable in-station during a normal duration of stoppage.