Propulsion system for a powered rail vehicle and method of adapting the propulsion system between different configurations
First Claim
1. A propulsion system of a powered rail vehicle comprising:
- a fuel engine disposed in the powered rail vehicle;
an alternator coupled with and driven by the engine to produce a fuel-based electric current; and
a tractive circuit including a traction motor and a conductive bus coupled with the alternator, the conductive bus configured to couple with a power conditioning circuit to receive an external electric current from an external electric power source via the power conditioning circuit, wherein the tractive circuit has a fuel-powered only configuration, a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and an electric-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the fuel-based electric current in the fuel-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with at least one of the fuel-based electric current or the external electric current in the fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the external electric current in the electric-powered only configuration, andwherein the tractive circuit is configured to be electrically coupled with a utility power grid by the power conditioning circuit and to supply at least some of the fuel-based electric current to the utility power grid.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A propulsion system for a powered rail vehicle includes a fuel engine, an alternator, and a tractive circuit. The alternator is coupled with and driven by the engine to produce a fuel-based electric current. The tractive circuit includes a conductive bus coupled with the alternator and a traction motor. The conductive bus is configured to couple with a power conditioning circuit to receive an external electric current from an external electric power source via the power conditioning circuit. The tractive circuit has a fuel-powered only configuration, a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and an electric-powered only configuration. The tractive circuit supplies the traction motor with the fuel-based electric current in the fuel-powered only configuration, with the fuel-based electric current or the external electric current in the fuel- or electric-powered configuration, and with the external electric current in the electric-powered only configuration.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A propulsion system of a powered rail vehicle comprising:
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a fuel engine disposed in the powered rail vehicle; an alternator coupled with and driven by the engine to produce a fuel-based electric current; and a tractive circuit including a traction motor and a conductive bus coupled with the alternator, the conductive bus configured to couple with a power conditioning circuit to receive an external electric current from an external electric power source via the power conditioning circuit, wherein the tractive circuit has a fuel-powered only configuration, a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and an electric-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the fuel-based electric current in the fuel-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with at least one of the fuel-based electric current or the external electric current in the fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the external electric current in the electric-powered only configuration, and wherein the tractive circuit is configured to be electrically coupled with a utility power grid by the power conditioning circuit and to supply at least some of the fuel-based electric current to the utility power grid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A propulsion system of a powered rail vehicle comprising:
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a fuel engine disposed in the powered rail vehicle; an alternator coupled with and driven by the engine to produce a fuel-based electric current; and a tractive circuit including a traction motor and a conductive bus coupled with the alternator, the conductive bus configured to couple with a power conditioning circuit to receive an external electric current from an external electric power source via the power conditioning circuit, wherein the tractive circuit has a fuel-powered only configuration, a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and an electric-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the fuel-based electric current in the fuel-powered only configuration, the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with at least one of the fuel-based electric current or the external electric current in the fuel- and electric-powered configuration, and the tractive circuit supplying the traction motor with the external electric current in the electric-powered only configuration, and wherein the power conditioning circuit is disposed outside of the powered rail vehicle.
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10. A method for reconfiguring a powered rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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adapting a propulsion system of the powered rail vehicle from a fuel-powered only configuration of the propulsion system to a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, the propulsion system having a tractive circuit with a traction motor, wherein in the fuel-powered only configuration the traction motor is powered using only fuel-based electric current at least partly provided to the traction motor by an alternator coupled to and driven by a fuel engine of the powered rail vehicle, and wherein in the fuel- and electric-powered configuration the traction motor is powered using both the fuel-based electric current and external electric current received from an external electric power source; wherein the propulsion system is adapted at least in part by coupling the tractive circuit with a power conditioning circuit that is configured to couple with the external electric power source, the power conditioning circuit configured to supply the external electric current from the external electric power source to the tractive circuit, and wherein adapting the propulsion system comprises electrically coupling the tractive circuit with the power conditioning circuit disposed in a trailing unit that is coupled with and propelled along a track by the powered rail vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method for reconfiguring a powered rail vehicle, the method comprising:
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adapting a propulsion system of the powered rail vehicle from a fuel-powered only configuration of the propulsion system to a fuel- and electric-powered configuration, the propulsion system having a tractive circuit with a traction motor, wherein in the fuel-powered only configuration the traction motor is powered using only fuel-based electric current at least partly provided to the traction motor by an alternator coupled to and driven by a fuel engine of the powered rail vehicle, and wherein in the fuel- and electric-powered configuration the traction motor is powered using both the fuel-based electric current and external electric current received from an external electric power source; wherein the propulsion system is adapted at least in part by coupling the tractive circuit with a power conditioning circuit that is configured to couple with the external electric power source, the power conditioning circuit configured to supply the external electric current from the external electric power source to the tractive circuit; and adapting the propulsion system from the fuel- and electric-powered configuration to an electric-powered only configuration by decoupling the tractive circuit from the alternator, wherein in the electric-powered only configuration of the propulsion system the traction motor is powered using only the external electric current. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A propulsion system of a powered rail vehicle, the system comprising:
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a fuel engine disposed in the powered rail vehicle; an alternator coupled with and driven by the engine to produce a fuel-based electric current; and a conductive bus coupled with the alternator, the conductive bus configured to couple with a power conditioning circuit to receive an external electric current from an external electric power source via the power conditioning circuit, wherein the conductive bus supplies at least one of the fuel-based electric current or the external electric current to a traction motor to propel the powered rail vehicle along a track, and wherein the conductive bus is configured to be electrically coupled with a utility power grid by the power conditioning circuit and supplies at least some of the fuel-based electric current to the utility power grid. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification