Apparatus for power transmission and for inductive communication

• US 9,172,435 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENRX IPT GmbH
• Original Assignee: Conductix-Wampfler GmbH (Delachaux Group SA)
• Inventors: Green, Andrew, Schnurbusch, Wolfgang, Rhein, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Wendell, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US13/983,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20140323040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 5/005 without mechanical contact between the collector and the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2038/143 for signals
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/40 using two or more transmitting or receiving devices H02J50/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/70 involving the reduction of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic leakage fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Apparatus for power transmission and for inductive communication with a track or rail-guided moving object, with a power transmission line which extends along an envisaged path of movement of the object—with which a current collector can make contact—for supplying power to moving loads, a separate data line, at least one communication inductance on the object coupleable magnetically to the data line, and with a communication device which is connected to the communication inductance. The communication device has a modem which operates on the basis of an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing method at a data rate of at least 50 MBit/s. One end of the data line is connected to a communication device connected to a central control unit and containing a modem of the same type as the communication device in the moving object.

Claims

1. Apparatus for power transmission to and data communication with a track-bound or rail-bound moving object which receives power from a transmission line running along an intended movement path of the object, in particular in the form of a collector line that can be contacted by a current collector to supply moving loads, from which line electric power can be withdrawn by the object during movement, the apparatus comprising:

a separate data line running parallel to the power transmission line;

at least one communication inductance that is arranged on the object and that can be magnetically coupled to the data line;

a communication device connected to the communication inductance including a modem that operates according to an orthogonal frequency multiplex method at a data rate of at least 50 Mbit/sec; and

a metallic shield surrounding the data line and forming an interior space, the metallic shield separating the data line from the power transmission line, the metallic shield having a slot extending along its longitudinal direction through which the communication inductance can be introduced into the interior space to a position adjacent to the data line to thereby magnetically couple the communication inductance to the data line while the object is moving.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mode of operation of the modem complies with a standard for data transmission via power supply networks.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mode of operation of the modem complies with the ITU G.9960 standard or the IEEE P1901 standard or the HomeplugAV standard or the G.hn standard.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the modem is connected via an amplifier and or a transformer to the communication inductance.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end of the data line is connected to a communication device connected to a central control unit and containing a modem of the same type as the one that the communication device of the moving object has.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the modem of the communication device connected to the central control unit is connected to the data line via an amplifier and/or a transformer.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the modem of the communication device and/or the modem of the communication device has an Ethernet LAN port according to the IEEE 802.3 standard as the user interface.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data line is constructed as an untwisted symmetric two-wire line with a longitudinal axis, and the communications inductance is constructed as a coil that has a symmetrical cross-sectional shape.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coil is constructed as a multilayer circuit board and the individual wirings are arranged on different layers of the circuit board and are connected to one another in series by means of through-hole contacts, or wherein the coil has only a single winding and is arranged on one layer of a circuit board.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coil is constructed as a wire loop with one turn or as a wire winding with several turns.

11. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coil is arranged on a moving object in such a manner that its cross-sectional surface is parallel in operation to the plane defined by the wires of the data line, and wherein the length x in m of the data line, the lateral distance y in mm of the central axis of the coil from the longitudinal central axis of the data line, the shortest distance z in mm of a coil end face from the plane defined by the wires of the data line and the sum L in m of the lengths of a supply line connecting the coil to the communication device of the moving object and of a supply line connecting the communication device connected to the central control unit to the data line satisfy at least approximately the condition

(100·

e′

)·

(b·

y³+c·

y²+d·

y+1)·

(e·

(z−

10)³+f·

(z−

10)²+g·

(z−

10)+1)·

(h·

L²+i·

L+1)≧

5

wherein, the following applies to the parameters a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h and i;

−

0.13≦

a≦

−

0.11

−

1.75·

10<sup>−

5</sup>≦

b≦

−

1.45·

10<sup>−

5</sup>

3.0·

10<sup>−

4</sup>≦

c≦

3.6·

10<sup>−

4</sup>

−

3.4≦

d≦

−

2.7·

10<sup>−

3</sup>

−

3.9·

10<sup>−

5</sup>≦

e≦

−

3.1·

10<sup>−

5</sup>

2.7·

10<sup>−

3</sup>≦

f≦

3.3·

10<sup>−

3</sup>

−

9.5·

10<sup>−

2</sup>≦

g≦

−

7.7·

10<sup>−

2</sup>

2.5·

10<sup>−

5</sup>≦

h≦

3.1·

10<sup>−

5</sup>

−

8.4·

10<sup>−

3</sup>≦

i≦

−

6.8·

10³.

12. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coil is arranged on the moving object in such a manner that the cross-sectional surface of the coil during operation is perpendicular to the plane defined by the wires of the data line and wherein the length x in m of the data line, the lateral distance y in mm of the central axis of the coil from the plane defined by the wires of the data line, the shortest distance z in mm of a coil end face from the closest wire of the data line and the total L in m of the lengths of a supply line connecting the coil to the communication device of the moving object and a supply line connecting the communication device, which is connected to the central control unit, to the data line satisfy at least approximately the condition

(100·

e<sup>a·

x</sup>)·

(c·

y²+d·

y+1)·

(e·

(z−

10)³+f·

(z−

10)²+g·

(z−

10)+1)·

(h·

L²+i·

L+1)≧

5

wherein, the following applies to the parameters a, c, d, e, f, g, h and i;

−

0.13≦

a≦

−

0.11

1.6·

10<sup>−

4</sup>≦

c≦

2.1·

10⁴

−

2.6·

10<sup>−

2</sup>≦

d≦

−

2.1·

10<sup>−

2</sup>

−

2.4·

10<sup>−

5</sup>≦

e≦

−

2.0·

10<sup>−

5</sup>

1.8·

10<sup>−

3</sup>≦

f≦

2.2·

10<sup>−

3</sup>

−

7.5·

10<sup>−

2</sup>≦

g≦

−

6.1·

10<sup>−

2</sup>

2.5·

10<sup>−

5</sup>≦

h≦

3.1·

10<sup>−

5</sup>

−

8.4·

10<sup>−

3</sup>≦

i≦

−

6.8·

10−

3.

13. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data line is constructed as an untwisted symmetrical two-wire line and is arranged inside the shield laterally offset relative to the slot in such a manner that the communication inductance can be introduced by a straight-line movement into the position adjacent to the data line in the interior of the shield.

14. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shield is a hollow profile made of at least one of metal and metal-coated plastic, which simultaneously functions as a mechanical carrier for the data line.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shield and a mount of the communication inductance are respectively mechanically connected to a carrier of the power line and to a mount of a current collector.

16. A method for power transmission to and data communication with a track-bound or rail-bound moving object, the method comprising:

providing a communication device including a modem that is configured for communication between stationary subscribers via power supply lines of a building and which operates according to an orthogonal frequency multiplexing method with a data rate of at least 50 Mbit/sec;

providing a data line extending along a movement path of the object, the data line connected to the communication device and disposed parallel to and separate from a power transmission line, the power transmission line including a collector line that can be contacted by a current collector of the object for electrically supplying moving loads wherein electrical energy can be extracted by the object and data can be picked up during movement of the object; and

introducing at least one communication inductance connected to the object, wherein the communication device is a component of an apparatus according to claim 1.

17. A method for power transmission to and data communication with a track-bound or rail-bound moving object, the method comprising:

providing a communication device including a modem that is configured for communication between stationary subscribers via power supply lines of a building and which operates according to an orthogonal frequency multiplexing method with a data rate of at least 50 Mbit/sec;

providing a data line extending along a movement path of the object, the data line connected to the communication device and disposed parallel to and separate from a power transmission line, the power transmission line including a collector line that can be contacted by a current collector of the object for electrically supplying moving loads;

introducing a communication inductance connected to the object into a metallic shield surrounding the data line and forming an interior space, the metallic shield separating the data line from the power transmission line, the metallic shield having a slot extending along its longitudinal direction through which the communication inductance can be introduced into the interior space to a position adjacent to the data line to thereby magnetically couple the communication inductance to the data line while the object is moving.