Patent Application
20230219433
This patent application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 22150994.6, filed on Jan. 11, 2022, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present disclosure relates to the field of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, particularly for large vehicles, e.g. busses or trucks, which are charged via a pantograph.
For a so-called “opportunity charging,” e.g. of electric busses, in at least some cases a multipole pantograph is used. The pantograph may be mounted on an overhead system comprising a stationary pole. As an alternative, the pantograph may be arranged on the bus, going upwards to the overhead fixed arrangement. To use this system, a bus may be placed underneath the pantograph, and after the bus being positioned correctly, the pantograph may move down (or up, in the alternative) to connect with electrical contacts on the roof of the bus, for initiating a charging process. This pantograph-based system is in many cases positioned outdoor, and thus exposed to weather, e.g., to rain. Hence, measures for improving an electric isolation between the pantograph's poles may be useful.
In a general aspect, the present disclosure describes an improved electric isolation between the pantograph's poles. More specifically, a disclosed embodiment relates to a pole separating arrangement for a multipole pantograph or a multipole fixed arrangement for charging an electric vehicle, the pole separating arrangement comprising: a first conducting pole, arranged on an isolating carrier and configured for contacting a corresponding first pole on the electric bus; a second conducting pole, arranged on the isolating carrier and configured for contacting a corresponding second pole on the electric bus; and an isolating pole separator, arranged between the first conducting pole and the second conducting pole, wherein the pole separator has at least one upward pointing arc.
A multipole pantograph in accordance with the disclosure may comprise a plurality of so-called poles, i.e. contacts that are used for charging. For instance, the poles may comprise connections for DC+, for DC−, for Protected Earth (PE) or another ground line, and a signal line, which may, e.g., control the charging process, which may comprise a communication and safety verification process. The poles are arranged on a pantograph, e.g. to make sure that the poles are kept essentially horizontal when moving down to connect with electrical contacts on the roof of the vehicle. As an alternative, the pantograph may be arranged on the bus, so that the poles are kept essentially horizontal when moving up to connect with electrical contacts on an overhead multipole fixed arrangement—sometimes called “hood”—, which is configured for delivering the charging power. In this case, the features of the multipole pantograph may be applied to the multipole fixed arrangement. The vehicle may be a bus, a truck, and/or another vehicle that is configured for carrying corresponding poles to the pantograph's poles, e.g. on its roof. Furthermore, the vehicle needs to be compatible with respect to electrical and further aspects, e.g. to support an adequate charging protocol.
At least two of the poles (a first and a second conducting pole) may be arranged on one bar, e.g. an electrically isolating bar or carrier, on which at least two electrically conducting poles—e.g. in form of rails—are mounted. Humidity, e.g. caused by rain, snow, etc., may lead to electric creepage between the poles. To prevent, or at least reduce the creepage, an isolating pole separator is arranged between the first and the second conducting pole. The pole separator has at least one upward pointing arc. The upward pointing arc may be of any form, e.g. a kind of an upside down “V” or “U”, a sine, or of a similar form. The pole separator may have the same width (or a different width) as the isolating carrier. This may depend on mechanical restrictions.
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The pole separator brings a lot of benefits. For instance, it prolongs a surface-distance between the poles. Thus, an electrical resistance between the poles is increased, even in dry weather. Moreover, in wet weather, humidity, e.g. in form of drops, may be led downward by the upward pointing arc. These effects may be more effective when the pole separator has or comprises a plurality of upward pointing arcs.
In various embodiments, the upward pointing arc is formed as a triangle, a rectangle, a segment of a circle, as a sine and/or as a sinusoidal curve. An example for the segment of a circle may be a half circle. The selection of one of these forms may depend on an ease of manufacturing, stability considerations—e.g. to avoid a predetermined breaking point—and/or further aspects.
In various embodiments, the pole separator has or comprises a plurality of upward pointing arcs. The plurality of upward pointing arcs may advantageously contribute to a better electrical separation between the poles and/or to a higher electrical resistance between them.
In various embodiments, each two vertices of the upward pointing arcs have a distance between 1 cm and 10 cm, preferably between 2 cm and 5 cm. These distances turned out to be particularly advantageous, e.g. in regards to manufacturing and/or behaviour in wet weather.
In some embodiments, the isolating pole separator is formed in one piece with the isolating carrier. The may be particularly advantageous with regard to manufacturing and/or storage costs.
In various embodiments, the pole separating arrangement further comprises a third conducting pole that is arranged above the isolating carrier.
The third conducting pole may be a chassis or a part of the chassis, which may mechanically connect the “scissor-like” part of the pantograph with the isolating carrier, on which to poles are mounted. The isolating mounting element may thus connect third conducting pole with the isolating carrier. The third conducting pole may be connected to protected earth, PE, or another electric ground.
In various embodiments, the pole separating arrangement further comprises an isolating mounting element, arranged between the third conducting pole and the isolating carrier. The isolating mounting element comprises a bracket, configured for mechanically connecting the third conducting pole with the isolating carrier, wherein the bracket comprises a downward pointing protrusion.
The isolating mounting element may, besides the bracket, further comprise mounting means, such as screws, rivets, or the like. However, there may be further mounting means, for example for a positive-locking, force-locking, or a firmly bonded connection between the bracket, the third conducting pole, and the isolating carrier. The bracket comprises a downward pointing protrusion, and/or the downward pointing protrusion is mounted on the bracket.
This may advantageously prevent humidity—e.g. rain drops or droplets—from forming a continuous path between the third conducting pole and the isolating carrier, which carries the poles. This may be achieved by the downward pointing protrusion, because, by this, they have a defined point where they can glide off. The downward pointing protrusion may, e.g., be formed as a flared out section, e.g. on a bottom or a lower edge of the bracket. For further preventing that the droplets do not accumulate towards the sides, the flared out section may be lower in the middle and taper up towards the edges.
In some embodiments, the downward pointing protrusion is arranged horizontally along a lower edge of the bracket. The downward pointing protrusion may cover at least a part of the lower edge of the bracket. The downward pointing protrusion may be slightly inclined, e.g., to move the droplets to one corner. Said features may advantageously contribute to bring the droplets away from the pantograph and/or its parts.
In some embodiments, the pole separating arrangement further comprises a further downward pointing protrusion that is arranged horizontally along a mid portion of the bracket. Optionally, multiple of these “barriers” (the downward pointing protrusions) may be introduced on this bracket. Said “barriers” may not only contribute to bring the droplets away from the pantograph and/or its parts, but they may further contribute to prolong a surface-distance between the poles, thus increasing an electrical resistance between the parts, even in dry weather.
In various embodiments, the downward pointing protrusion and/or the further downward pointing protrusion has an outer angle of more than 90° and an inner angle of less than 90°. This may advantageously contribute to make the above-mentioned benefits particularly effective.
In various embodiments, the third conducting pole is configured for a connection to a ground contact, particularly to protected earth, PE. This may advantageously contribute to have good electrical conditions, particularly a high safety at the pantograph.
An aspect relates to a use of a pole separating arrangement as described above and/or below for protecting conducting poles from an electric creepage path between the poles of a multipole pantograph. The creepage between the poles may, for instance, be caused by rain or another kind of humidity, possibly in combination with conducting particles in the air, e.g. pollution. This may bring a risk for reduced resistance between the poles, which may be prevented, at least partly, by the pole separating arrangement described above and/or below.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “at least one” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of the term “at least one” followed by a list of one or more items (for example, “at least one of A and B”) is to be construed to mean one item selected from the listed items (A or B) or any combination of two or more of the listed items (A and B), unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22150994.6 | Jan 2022 | EP | regional |
