Electrical equipment arranged in the roof of an electrically driven railway vehicle

• US 8,151,955 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2008
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alstom Transport SA (Alstom SA)
• Original Assignee: Alstom Transport SA (Alstom SA)
• Inventors: Aubigny, Christophe, Quentin, Nicolas
• Primary Examiner(s): Morano, S. Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Jason C
• Application Number:
  US12/526,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20100006385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• Field of Search: 191/2, 191/45.R, 191/50
• US Class Current: 191/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/00 Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposes; Monitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption methods or circuit arrangements for monitoring or controlling batteries or fuel cells B60L58/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/04 Voltage dividers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/142 Arrangements for simultaneous measurements of several parameters employing techniques covered by groups G01R15/14 - G01R15/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/18 using inductive devices, e.g. transformers

Abstract

Electrical equipment EE arranged in the roof of an electrically driven railway vehicle, said vehicle being equipped with at least one pantograph (2) and a roof line L conveying the current, received from an catenary line (1), from the connection to said pantograph (2) to the electrical driving devices (4) of the vehicle, said electrical equipment EE comprising a circuit-breaking device (3) for protecting said electrical driving devices and being arranged on a mechanical support (40), characterized in that said electrical equipment EE comprises a measuring device DM comprising at least means (33) for measuring the amperage of the current transmitted from the catenary (1) to the roof line L, which means are arranged on said mechanical support (40), and in that said electrical equipment EE comprises a computer (D) which controls the actuation of said circuit-breaking device (3).

Claims

1. Electrical equipment arranged on a roof of an electrically driven railway vehicle, said vehicle being equipped with at least one pantograph and with a roof line conveying a supply current, received from a catenary line, from a connection to said pantograph to electrical driving devices of the vehicle,

wherein said electrical equipment comprises, arranged on a mechanical support fixed on the roof of the vehicle:

a circuit-breaking device for protecting said electrical driving devices;

a measuring device comprising at least means for measuring the amperage and means for measuring the voltage of the supply current transmitted from the catenary line to the roof line, said voltage measuring means and amperage measuring means being mounted within a single insulator; and

a computer which controls the actuation of said circuit-breaking device based on a first signal representing the value of the amperage of the supply current of the catenary line delivered by the means for measuring the amperage and a second signal representing the voltage present on the catenary line delivered by the means for measuring the voltage, and

wherein said measuring device is connected, on the one hand, directly to the pantograph by a first single connection and, on the other hand, to the circuit breaker by a second single connection.

2. Electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device comprises a high-voltage environment confined within a first recess provided in an insulator and a low-voltage environment confined in a second recess of said insulator.

3. Electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following pieces of protective equipment is arranged on the mechanical support:

an isolating switch for earthing,

an overvoltage protective device,

an AC circuit breaker.

4. Electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein it comprises electrical connections between the equipment arranged on the support.

5. Electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device measures the current at a hot spot.

6. Electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein the circuit breaker is a single-phase circuit breaker.