Patent Application
20080011185
There will be described below the preferred embodiments of the present invention into details with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like members or elements will be designated by like reference characters.
Description is now made of an electric rolling stock driving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention, with reference to
The driving truck 9 is provided with a main motor 14 for driving a set of wheels 16 to rotate as drive wheels, a VVVF inverter 13 for driving the main motor 14 in a controlling manner, and a brake controller 12 adapted for control of braking forces of brake shoes 15 acting on the wheels 16. On the other hand, the trailing truck 10 is simply provided with a brake controller 12. The command transmitter 7 is adapted for transmission and reception by radio communications of control commands to, as well as part of responses from, the VVVF inverter 13 and the brake controller 12 in the driving truck 9 and the brake controller 12 in the trailing truck 10.
There is a connector 11 provided for connections between driving truck 9 and car body 1, where power supply positive lines and ground lines as well as compressed air lines for brake control are installed. As is for driving truck 9, for the side of trailing truck 10 also an identical connector 11 is provided, where power supply positive lines are installed, as well.
To the VVVF inverter 13 is fed a positive (+) side of dc power supply from the car body 1 side. For wheels 16 and rails 17 as a ground concurrently serving as a negative (−) side, connections are made to the negative (−) side inside the driving truck 9.
At the car body 1 side, dc power supply (+) is received through the pantograph 2, and distributed from the LC filter circuit 3 to the connectors 11. Further, compressed air AIR for brakes are also distributed from the compressor 4 to the driving truck 9 and the trailing truck 10 via the connectors 11.
According to the present embodiment, in an electric rolling stock driving apparatus, a driving truck 9 has accommodated therein all of a main motor 14, a VVVF inverter 13 and, a brake controller 12, as a combination configured for generation as well as control of accelerating forces and decelerating forces to act on a rolling stock. Accordingly, in the event of a trouble, each truck can be handled as a unit of replacement to thereby achieve a complete restoration. Thus, for identification of the cause, the time can be saved, allowing for a rapid restoration with an enhanced contribution to a rolling stock system to be reliable. Further, the installation of wiring is facilitated in a simplified manner at the car body 1 side, and for each of trucks 9 and 10, as a unit, the wiring installation may be implemented in advance, so that for processes after assembly of an entire rolling stock, the man-hours can be reduced. It also is facilitated to render services for renewal of an old rolling stock, as well as for replacement with a new truck with an enhanced performance or of equipment, such as a VVVF inverter.
Moreover, according to the present embodiment, for truck 9 or 10 and car body 1, the wiring and piping to be extended in between can be reduced in number, and concurrently, they can be concentrated on a connector 11, allowing for a rapid truck replacement. In this respect, as well, the MTTR (mean time for trouble restoration) can be shortened, with an enhanced contribution to a rolling stock system to be reliable.
Further, according to the present embodiment, for VVVF inverter 13, the dc negative (−) side can be connected to a ground line of truck 9 or 10, enabling a reduction of redundant wiring, and a facilitated implementation of wiring installation, allowing for a shortened fabrication term of rolling stock, and a contribution to the maintenance to be simplified.
Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, at the car body 1 side, common connectors 11 are provided, as necessary, for connection to be possible whether to a driving truck 9 or a trailing truck 10. Accordingly, for a rolling stock in service, the performance can be modified in a facilitated manner in accordance with the condition of use. A comparison is now supposed between a rolling stock in a normal train and a rolling stock in an express train, for example. Relative to the latter, the former tends to run by low speeds with which cooling effects are not expectable, and repeats accelerations and decelerations with great heat generation. In other words, between a rolling stock for a normal service and a rolling stock for an express service, the required performances are different from each other. Therefore, in some cases in a relevant art, a rolling stock designed for either service is unable to be used for the other service. However, according to the present embodiment, such a use can be implemented simply by substituting a driving truck 9 for a trailing truck 10 in a car body 1. It therefore is allowed for railway companies to control the traffic of trains in a facilitated manner, with a possible reduction of redundant investment for facilities to reserve extra rolling stocks in dependence on required services.
Still more, according to the present embodiment, the driving truck 9 has a single main motor 14 and a VVVF inverter 13 mounted thereto, with ample margins secured in a space within the truck. For a current model of rolling stock, the ratio between numbers of axles provided with and without drive motor resides about 1:1, and the present embodiment is reasonable in that a single truck (to be provided with two axles) is given a single main motor. For railway companies, controlling identical trucks is more advantageous in cost and safety than controlling different trucks.
Yet more, according to the present embodiment, the provision of LC filter circuit 3 and compressor 4 as common equipment on a roof of the car body 1 enables effective utilization of a space under a floor of the car body 1. For example, the space under the floor may preferably be extended wide, for application to a double decker. The double decker may provide railway companies with such benefits as congestion mitigation in commute hours by an increased passenger capacity, and earnings recovery by an increased transport capacity.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, communications of control commands to the driving truck 9 and trailing truck 10, as well as part of responses therefrom, are made in a wireless manner by a command transmitter 7. This enables removal of light electrical wires that need a careful handling and troublesome implementation of wiring installation, either, thus allowing for a facilitated and simplified wiring installation, a reduced maintenance service, and a facilitated truck replacement, as well as contributions such as to the MTTR to be reduced for enhancement of reliability, and a flexible replacement to be implemented between driving trucks and trailing trucks.
Description is now made of an electric rolling stock driving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, with reference to
The paired driving trucks 9 have a power supply as a common circuit, which is composed of an LC filter circuit 3 and a DC/DC converter 18. The DC/DC converter 18 serves to boost or drop a dc output voltage of the LC filter circuit 3.
According to the present embodiment, a plurality of driving trucks 9 have their VVVF inverters 13 installed therein, which do not have their dc power supply input circuits as equipments separately installed in the trucks, but have the common dc power supply as a concentrated equipment for a common use over the trucks, which allows for the provision of compact light-weight equipment at the car body 1 side, with a corresponding reduction of production cost.
Description is now made of an electric rolling stock driving apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, with reference to
According to the present embodiment, a combination of a brake controller 12 and a VVVF inverter 13, to be disposed under a floor of a car body 1 in a relevant art, are installed together with a main motor 14 inside the driving truck 9, thus having a large space secured under a floor of the car body 1. There have been proposed various rolling stocks having an energy accumulator 19, for merits such as energy saving and autonomous travel of rolling stock, with no provision of a space practically available for their installation in a relevant art. However, according to the present embodiment, a free under-floor space is available for installation of a large capacity of energy accumulator 19, producing such effects as energy saving and autonomous travel of rolling stock, besides the effects of the first embodiment.
Description is now made of an electric rolling stock driving apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, with reference to
According to the present embodiment, such components as a brake controller 12 and a VVVF inverter 13, to be installed under a floor of a car body 1 in a relevant art, are installed inside the driving truck 9, allowing for an enlarged space secured under a floor of the car body 1, in combination with employment of a coupling truck system yet allowing for liberation of a greater vacant space secured under the floor of the car body 1. Then, the wide vacant space under the floor of the car body 1 is utilized for provision of an energy accumulator 19, allowing for the installation with a greater capacity than the third embodiment.
According to the present embodiment, a wide vacant space can be set under the floor of the car body 1, which allows an increased passenger capacity by employment of a double decker. The under-floor space may not be used for installation of a new device, but may be utilized for provision of a barrier-free low floor, allowing for configuration of a human-friendly railway system in consideration of a graying society. Further, the low-floor system may be applied to a subway, allowing for a reduced cross section of rolling stock, with an expectable effect of great reduction in civil engineering.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-168853 | Jun 2006 | JP | national |
