Battery-powered all-electric locomotive and related locomotive and train configurations

• US 8,342,103 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2012
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Norfolk Southern Corporation
• Original Assignee: Norfolk Southern Corporation
• Inventors: Barbee, Gibson V, Thelen, Gerhard A, Runyon, Robert S, Vander Klippe, Derick
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, MARK T
• Application Number:
  US13/411,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20120160124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• Field of Search: 105/26.05, 105/35, 105/49, 105/50, 105/61, 318/52, 701/19, 320/116, 320/118, 320/119, 320/125, 320/127, 320/132, 320/134, 320/135, 320/136, 320/150
• US Class Current: 105/50
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/22 Balancing the charge of battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/24 with additional mechanical or electromagnetic braking
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 3/00 Electric locomotives or railcars characterised by power transmission B61C9/00; electrical features B60L; H02
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 3/02 with electric accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 5/00 Locomotives or motor railcars with IC engines or gas turbines characterised by power transmission B61C9/00; engines F02
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0013 acting upon several batteries simultaneously or sequentially H02J7/1423 takes precedence
• 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 10/92 Energy efficient charging or discharging systems for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors specially adapted for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

Designs for a battery-powered, all-electric locomotive and related locomotive and train configurations are disclosed. In one embodiment, a locomotive may be driven by a plurality of traction motors powered exclusively by a battery assembly which preferably comprises rechargeable batteries or other energy storage devices. The locomotive carries no internal combustion engine on board and receives no power during operation from any power source external to the locomotive. A battery management system monitors and equalizes the batteries to maintain a desired state of charge (SOC) and depth of discharge (DOD) for each battery. A brake system may be configured to prioritize a regenerative braking mechanism over an air braking mechanism so that substantial brake energy can be recovered to recharge the battery assembly. Many locomotive or train configurations involving battery-powered or battery-toting locomotive(s) may be implemented, including the combination of a battery assembly and a diesel-electric engine on separate locomotive platforms.

Claims

1. A locomotive comprising:

a first locomotive platform carrying no internal combustion engine on board;

a battery assembly including strings of batteries wherein each said string has batteries connected in series;

a plurality of traction motors powered exclusively by the battery assembly to drive the first locomotive platform, the plurality of traction motors receiving no power supplied from any power source external to the locomotive during operation;

a DC bus coupling the battery assembly to the plurality of traction motors;

a battery management system comprising a plurality of BMS units, each said BMS unit comprising a microcontroller or microprocessor, a charge equalization circuit comprising a bi-directional DC-DC converter operatively connecting to a temporary buffer for battery equalization, and at least one temperature sensor, and each said BMS unit being operatively connected with one of the strings of batteries and configured to;

(a) measure electrical parameters including voltage of said string of batteries,

(b) monitor temperatures of said string of batteries, and

(c) equalize charges among the batteries of said string to maintain a desired state of charge (SOC) and depth of discharge (DOD) for each battery; and

a motor control circuitry in cooperation with the battery management system to draw currents, within throttle-dependent limits, from the battery assembly to drive the plurality of traction motors.

2. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein each said BMS unit further comprises a controller-area network (CAN) bus interface to communicate with other microcontrollers and devices without a host computer.

3. The locomotive according to claim 1, further comprising:

a brake system comprising both a regenerative braking mechanism and an air braking mechanism, the regenerative braking mechanism recovering brake energy to recharge the battery assembly; and

a controller configured to prioritize the regenerative braking mechanism over the air braking mechanism and to only activate the air braking mechanism when additional braking force is needed.

4. The locomotive according to claim 1, further connecting to a second locomotive platform separate from, and coupled to, the first locomotive platform, the second locomotive platform carrying at least one diesel-electric engine.

5. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein each of the strings comprises the same number of identical batteries, and wherein the strings are connected to the DC bus in parallel.

6. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the battery management system causes batteries in each of the strings to be equalized with one another within that string.

7. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the battery management system further commands cooling or air-circulation equipment to equalize temperatures of the batteries.

8. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the battery management system further control charging or discharging of the batteries based on temperatures of the batteries.

9. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the motor control circuitry comprises one chopper circuit module for controlling armature current of each of the plurality of traction motors.

10. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the motor control circuitry comprises one chopper circuit module for controlling a current in serially-connected field windings of the plurality of traction motors.

11. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the battery assembly comprises batteries selected from a group consisting of:

lead-acid batteries, lead-carbon batteries, lithium-titanate batteries, zinc-bromine batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, lithium polymer (Li-poly) batteries, and lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries.

12. The locomotive according to claim 1, wherein the motor control circuitry is configured to limit a traction motor armature current to the least of:

(a) a target armature current value based on a desired throttle position;

(b) an amount needed to maintain a total current of the one or more strings based on the desired throttle position; and

(c) a temporarily reduced amount needed to limit a rate of current increase when the throttle position is advanced.

13. A locomotive comprising:

a first locomotive platform carrying no internal combustion engine on board;

a battery assembly including strings of batteries;

a plurality of traction motors that can be powered by the battery assembly to drive the locomotive, the plurality of traction motors receiving no power supplied from any power source external to the locomotive during operation;

a DC bus coupling the battery assembly to the plurality of traction motors; and

a battery management system comprising a plurality of BMS units, each said BMS unit comprising a microcontroller or microprocessor, a charge equalization circuit comprising a bi-directional DC-DC converter operatively connecting to a temporary buffer for battery equalization, and at least one temperature sensor, and each said BMS unit being operatively connected with one of the strings of batteries and configured to;

(a) measure electrical parameters including voltage of said string of batteries, (b) monitor temperatures of said string of batteries, and (c) equalize charges among the batteries of said string to maintain a desired state of charge (SOC) and depth of discharge (DOD) for each battery.

14. The locomotive according to claim 13, wherein an operator cabin or compartment is located towards the rear end of the first locomotive platform or on another platform separate from the first locomotive platform.

15. The locomotive according to claim 14, wherein the battery assembly is positioned in a forward position on the first locomotive platform to utilize a natural air flow during train movement to cool the battery assembly, the locomotive further comprising video and/or computer monitoring equipment for train operation from other than said forward position occupied by the battery assembly.

16. The locomotive according to claim 13, wherein the battery management system includes one sensor for every three batteries.

17. The locomotive according to claim 13, further connecting to a second locomotive platform separate from, and coupled to, the first locomotive platform, the second locomotive platform carrying at least one diesel-electric engine.

18. A train comprising:

a first locomotive platform carrying at least one diesel-electric engine to drive the train;

a second locomotive platform separate from the first locomotive platform, the second locomotive platform carrying no internal combustion engine on board;

a battery assembly including strings of batteries carried on the second locomotive platform;

a plurality of traction motors that can be powered by the battery assembly to drive the train; and

a battery management system comprising a plurality of BMS units, each said BMS unit comprising a microcontroller or microprocessor, a charge equalization circuit comprising a bi-directional DC-DC converter operatively connecting to a temporary buffer for battery equalization, and at least one temperature sensor, and each said BMS unit being operatively connected with one of the strings of batteries and configured to;

(a) measure electrical parameters including voltage of said string of batteries, (b) monitor temperatures of said string of batteries, and (c) equalize charges among the batteries of said string to maintain a desired state of charge (SOC) and depth of discharge (DOD) for each battery.