IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,545,117
Granted Patent B2
US 12,545,117 · App. 17/793,120 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Road-guided motor vehicle and method for raising the pantograph of a power collector of a road-guided motor vehicle

Inventors: Steffen Moelle (Magdeburg, DE); Per Wallentin (Wolfsburg, DE)
Assignee: Siemens Mobility GmbH
B60L5/28B60L5/10B60L5/19B60L5/24B60L5/30B60L5/32B60L2200/18B60L2200/36B60L2200/40B60L2250/16
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,545,117
App. No.
17/793,120
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A road-guided motor vehicle includes a power collector for an overhead line and an actuator arrangement. The power collector is controlled by the actuator arrangement from a first, pantograph-lowered into a second, pantograph-raised position or vice versa. The power collector is assigned a sensor arrangement having a data connection to a control unit of the actuator arrangement. The control unit is configured such that a contact pressure of power collector against overhead line is detected or determined using sensor arrangement data, a memory with spatially resolved contact pressures for the power collector and a position ascertaining unit. At a motor vehicle position determined by the position ascertaining unit, an associated contact pressure is read out from the memory and automatically set by the control unit or signaled to a motor vehicle driver. A method for raising a power collector pantograph onto an overhead line is also provided.

Claims (20)

1 . A road-guided motor vehicle, comprising:

a pantograph having at least one power collector for at least one overhead line;

at least one actuator arrangement controlling said at least one power collector from a first pantograph-lowered position into a second pantograph-raised position or vice versa;

a control device for said at least one actuator arrangement;

at least one sensor system associated with said at least one power collector, said at least one sensor system having a data connection to said control device;

said control device configured to detect or determine a contact pressure of said at least one power collector at the at least one overhead line by using data of said at least one sensor system, a storage device with spatially resolved contact pressures for said at least one power collector and a position determination unit;

said control device reading out from said storage device and automatically setting or signaling to a motor vehicle driver an associated contact pressure at a position of the motor vehicle determined by said position determination unit; and

the motor vehicle being configured to detect errors during contacting and positions/coordinates where height differences occur between said at least one power collector and the at least one overhead line in a spatially resolved manner, and a contact pressure counteracting the detected errors being written into said at least one storage device.

2 . The road-guided motor vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor vehicle is configured to set a previously defined contact pressure for a position, upon contact pressures being absent in said storage device.

3 . The road-guided motor vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the previously defined contact pressure is a minimum permissible contact pressure.

4 . The road-guided motor vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the previously defined contact pressure is an average permissible contact pressure.

5 . The road-guided motor vehicle according to claim 1 , which further comprises a control center, and an air interface configured to at least one of transfer updated contact pressures to at least one of said control center or other motor vehicles or receive and store updated contact pressures from at least one of said control center or other motor vehicles.

6 . A method for raising a pantograph of a power collector of a road-guided motor vehicle at an overhead line, the method comprising:

determining a position of the motor vehicle;

storing contact pressures for the determined position; and

using a control device to actuate an actuator arrangement, for automatically setting the stored contact pressure or signaling the stored contact pressure; and

detecting errors during contacting and positions/coordinates where height differences occur between the power collector and the overhead line in a spatially resolved manner, and writing a contact pressure counteracting the detected errors into at least one storage device.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , which further comprises setting a previously defined contact pressure upon an absence of contact pressures for a position.

8 . The method according to claim 7 , which further comprises using a minimum permissible contact pressure as the previously defined contact pressure.

9 . The method according to claim 7 , which further comprises using an average permissible contact pressure as the previously defined contact pressure.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 13, 2022
From: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
To: SIEMENS MOBILITY GMBH
Reel/Frame 062065/0793 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 12, 2022
From: MOELLE, STEFFEN; WALLENTIN, PER
To: VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
Reel/Frame 062051/0040 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2020 200 449.8 · Jan 15, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230050922A1 · Feb 16, 2023
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