Railway rolling stock – Locomotives – Electric
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-26
2001-10-30
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railway rolling stock
Locomotives
Electric
C105S061000, C105S133000, C105S026050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308639
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to the field of locomotives and more particularly to locomotives powered by electric motors in which electric power is supplied by batteries charged by a fuel-powered generator.
BACKGROUND ART
Existing railroad locomotives are typically powered by diesel electric engines in which a diesel motor drives an electric generator to produce electric power to drive electric motors which in turn drive the drive wheels of the locomotive. The present inventor has disclosed the use of gas turbine engines fuelled by compressed natural gas in substitution for the traditional diesel engine in his U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,328 issued Jul. 14, 1992, and as a booster unit for the diesel engine in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,944 issued Feb. 13, 1990.
The use of electric batteries in combination with a heat engine is known for automobiles, buses and other road and highway vehicles. Such hybrid engines for vehicles are advantageous due to their increased fuel efficiency and reduced pollution. In those applications, it is important to minimize the weight of the batteries to maintain fuel efficiency. Electric batteries have been used to store electric power to drive electric locomotives. See Manns U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,087 issued May 3, 1921. In Manns, three standard diesel engines are used to drive generators to charge the storage batteries. Such a system has not achieved commercial acceptance over existing diesel electric locomotives due to the added cost and complexity of providing multiple diesel engines in addition to the storage batteries.
There is therefore a need for a fuel-efficient locomotive which uses a hybrid combination of storage batteries and a fuel-powered generator.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention provides a locomotive in which a gas microturbine generator provides recharging for the batteries. More particularly, the invention provides a locomotive comprising: i) a plurality of traction motors for driving a plurality of axles; ii) a traction power controller for controlling the traction motors; iii) battery storage means for storing electric energy and supplying the electric energy to the traction motors, having an energy capacity; iv) a generator electrically connected to the battery storage means for maintaining the battery storage means in a charged state; v) means for controlling the operation of the generator by monitoring the state of charge of the battery, initiating the operation of the generator when the state of charge is below a certain limit and terminating the operation of the generator when the state of charge is above a certain limit; wherein the ratio of the charging power of the generator to the energy storage capacity is between 4 and 40 hours. Preferably the energy storage capacity is between 500 and 2000 kW hours; and the charging power of the generator is between 25 and 250 kW. Preferably the generator is one or more gas microturbines or a fuel cell/microturbine combination.
The invention also provides a method of operating a locomotive which comprises: i) a plurality of traction motors for driving a plurality of axles; ii) a traction power controller for controlling the traction motors; iii) battery storage means for storing electric energy and supplying the electric energy to the traction motors, having an energy capacity; iv) a generator electrically connected to the battery storage means for maintaining the battery storage means in a charged state; and v) means for controlling the operation of the generator by monitoring the state of charge of the battery, initiating the operation of the generator when the state of charge is below a certain limit and terminating the operation of the generator when the state of charge is above a certain limit; and wherein the ratio of the charging power of the generator to the energy storage capacity is between 4 and 40 hours, the method comprising running the generator under a constant load at its maximum power output for a sustained period of time.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1199752 (1916-10-01), Baker
patent: 1377087 (1921-05-01), Manns
patent: 1535175 (1925-04-01), Mancha
patent: 2403933 (1946-07-01), Lillquist
patent: 2472924 (1949-06-01), Schwendner
patent: 2510753 (1950-06-01), Multhaup
patent: 3169733 (1965-02-01), Barrett
patent: 3668418 (1972-06-01), Godard
patent: 3898937 (1975-08-01), Johnson
patent: 4090577 (1978-05-01), Moore
patent: 4900944 (1990-02-01), Donnelly
patent: 5129328 (1992-07-01), Donnelly
patent: 5359228 (1994-10-01), Yoshida
patent: 5528148 (1996-06-01), Rogers
patent: 5610499 (1997-03-01), Rogers
patent: 5939861 (1999-08-01), Joko et al.
Herbst et al “Design, Fabrication, and Testing of 10 MJ Composite Flywheel Energy Storage Rotors”, Society of Automotive ENgineers, Paper #981282 (1998).*
C. Mendler “The Technological Opportunities of Hybrid Electric Vehicles”, Society of Automotive Engineers, Paper #961717 (1996).
J.D. Herbst et al. “Design, Fabrication, and Testing of 10 MJ Composite Flywheel Energy Storage Rotors”, Society of Automotive Engineers, Paper #981282 (1998).
Diesel Progress, Dec. 1997, pp. 56 and 57.
Emissions—Alternative Fuels, Feb. 1996, p. 56.
Brochure for Lockheed Martin, HybriDrive Propulsion Systems.
Donnelly Frank Wegner
Koldyk Gerard Henry
Jules Frantz F.
Morano S. Joseph
Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala
Railpower Technologies Corp.
LandOfFree
Hybrid battery/gas turbine locomotive does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Hybrid battery/gas turbine locomotive, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Hybrid battery/gas turbine locomotive will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2575135