Caterpillar Inc.

Perkins Engines Company Limited

Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC

Caterpillar Global Mining LLC

Igor Strashny

Paul Moore

Roopa Rajesh

Andrew Hamilla

David P Smith

Michael G Cronin

Ronald Graham Silver

Michael D Anderson

Bradley Bailey

Cameron T Lane

Matthew L Hendrickson

Daniel T Mather

Eric M Andris

Dustin Craig Selvey

Kent Clark Bates

David Mark Heaton

Kurt L Winckler

Andrew O Fonkalsrud

Randall Dean Pruitt

Danial P Simon

Brian Robert Weller

Candace Bauer

Andrew D Hamilla

A power rail connector for an electric power system in an electric machine includes a linkage having a lower link and an upper link, and a rail contactor coupled to the lower link and including electrical contacts positioned to electrically connect to a power rail. The linkage includes a fold joint, a lift joint, and a pivot, and is adjustable from an extended, current-collecting configuration to a collapsed configuration via rotation of the lower link relative to the upper link and rotation of the upper link relative to the pivot. Related machinery and methodology is also disclosed.

Deployable power rail connector for electric machine and method

Dynamic energy transfer (DET) systems are costly and time-consuming to install. Accordingly, an installation system is disclosed that comprises stowage for rail segments and poles, two strategically positioned cranes, and/or strategically positioned platforms, to enable less expensive and faster installation of the various components of a DET system. Installation, utilizing the installation system, can significantly decrease the cost of installation, while increasing the rate of installation and maintaining safety.

Process and system for pole and conductor installation for charging while moving

A three-rail power supply system includes a power supply having positive, negative, and neutral terminals, a rail system having a power supply end and a termination end, and an asymmetric resistor network. The rail system includes a positive rail, a negative rail, and a ground rail coupled to the positive terminal, the negative terminal, and the neutral terminal, respectively. The negative rail is disposed parallel to the positive rail. The ground rail is disposed in parallel to, and between, the positive rail and the negative rail, and is electrically grounded at a plurality of intervals between the power supply end and termination end. The asymmetric resistor network includes two pairs of resistors asymmetrically coupled to the rail system at the power supply end and termination end, and is configured to limit a fault current through a faulty connection in response the positive, negative, and/or ground rails experiencing the faulty connection.

Three-rail power supply system

A shut off valve for a hydraulic system is provided. The shut off valve comprises a wall of a hydraulic reservoir, a hydraulic fluid outlet, a valve seat, a valve plate, a valve arm, and a valve control shaft. The hydraulic reservoir is for holding hydraulic fluid. The hydraulic fluid outlet is formed through the wall. The valve seat is provided on an inner surface of the wall encircling the hydraulic fluid outlet. The valve seat has an engagement surface. The valve plate is shaped to engage with the engagement surface of the valve seat. The valve arm is connected between the valve plate and the valve control shaft. The valve control shaft is formed through the wall spaced apart from the hydraulic fluid outlet. The valve plate is configured to rotate about the valve control shaft between a first position in which the valve plate does not cover the valve seat, and a second position in which the valve plate covers the valve seat to shut off the hydraulic fluid outlet. The engagement surface of the valve seat is inclined, relative to a plane of rotation of the valve plate, between the first and second positions such that the valve plate is sealed against the engagement surface when the valve plate is in the second position.

Hydraulic valve

A modular and scalable AC/DC substation transforms AC voltage to DC voltage for driving a high-voltage and high-current load, such as a heavy work machine. Sized to fit within a standard high-cube ISO shipping container, the substation includes a main transformer attached at a center of a rectangular base with a pair of controlled rectifiers positioned on the base downstream from the main transformer, aligned parallel to a lateral axis of the base, and substantially symmetrical to a longitudinal axis of the base. The arrangement of these components on the base, together with lowpass filters and switchgear, achieves high power density for the substation, provides balanced mass for stability during shipment and placement, and helps protect personnel from accidental electrical arcing.

Scalable and portable AC/DC substation

A modular structure supports elevated rail segments for delivering electrical power to a moving work machine, such as a hauler at a mining site. End portions of rail segments having narrower widths than body portions of the rail segments are joined within a split fishplate. Laterally opposing faces within the narrowed end portions form a longitudinal overlap, and connectors underneath the rail segments pull the split fishplate together against the end portions. In arrangements with parallel rails around a curvature, the rail segments are adjusted by sliding so that the longitudinal overlap is larger for rails on an inside of the curvature compared with rails on an outside of the curvature.

System and method for joining power rail segments

A slidable current collector has an array of terminals with carbon brushes for contacting conductor rails to deliver electrical power to a moving work machine. The terminals have upper sections with a conductive post, lower sections that include a reservoir of liquid metal, and bladders that connect the upper sections with the lower sections. Magnets surround outer shells of the terminals. Fluid above a threshold pressure fed into the bladders holds the upper sections apart from the lower sections and forces the magnets away from the conductor rails. Fluid below the threshold pressure allows the magnets to clamp the terminals to the conductor, lowers the conductive post into the liquid metal, and urges the carbon brushes against the conductor rails. The bladders provide a fluid suspension distributed across the array of terminals, enabling consistent electrical contact and wear for the carbon brushes.

Slidable current collector and method for contacting conductor rail

An electric machine and sitewide control system and method that use a trolley power system at a worksite is disclosed. The trolley power system allows electric machines at the worksite to draw power from the trolley power system to concurrently operate to perform tasks and recharge their batteries. This allows the batteries on electric machines to be smaller than they would otherwise be, since a fully charged battery is not needed when operational power can be drawn from the trolley power system. The trolley power system is segmented, such that if one segment is faulted, the other segments can operate to provide power to electric machines at the worksite. Additionally, a sitewide controller initiates operational changes, such as a change in speed, for the electric machines at the worksite to compensate for one or more faulted segments.

Power systems and controls for electric machines

A modular structure supports elevated rail segments for delivering electrical power to a moving work machine, such as a hauler at a mining site. Opposite ends of a roadside barrier contain complementary tubular couplers arranged vertically, one having a first diameter supported by an arm and the other having a larger second diameter and a vertical slot. Couplers on adjacent barriers can be mated together concentrically along a central axis. The mated couplers help restrict longitudinal displacement, lateral displacement, slope change, and lateral rotation between adjacent barriers during placement. One barrier may be used as a temporary alignment structure to position barriers spaced alternatingly along a haul route for the work machine.

Relocatable base for elevated power rails and method of deployment

A slidable current collector has frame formed as central substrate and sloped shoulders on opposing lateral sides of the central substrate. Electrical terminals pass through orifices arranged in at least two rows within the central substrate. At least one bumper is disposed on an underside of the central substrate between the at least two rows. During sliding on a power rail, the electrical terminals contact a rail surface, and the current collector can shift laterally on the rail surface across a distance between the bumper and one of the sloped shoulders. If disengagement of the electrical terminals from the rail surface occurs, angles on the sloped shoulders and the at least one bumper resist excessive lateral shifting and urge the electrical contacts to reengage with the rail surface.

An electrical architecture that allows power to be transferred to a battery powered machine while the machine is moving and that allows the machine to be charged while stationary.

Electrical architecture for battery powered machine

A modular structure supports elevated rail segments for delivering electrical power to a moving work machine, such as a hauler at a mining site. Opposite ends of a roadside barrier contain complementary tubular couplers arranged vertically. A lower end of a dielectric post positioned in one of the tubular couplers has opposing dielectric plates at an upper end. A top edge of each plate has a creepage concavity between a pair of rail recesses. Another dielectric post of similar configuration is positioned in the other of the tubular couplers. Holes within the couplers and the posts ensure alignment of respective rail recesses in which conductive rails are placed. Dielectric inserts frictionally lock the rails into the rail recesses.

System and method for supporting elevated power rails

A work machine, such as a hauler at a mining site, includes a conductor rod housing concentric metal tubes for receiving electrical power from a contactor sliding on a power rail. A head-end interface of the conductor rod proximate the work machine includes metallic rings spaced apart and extending circumferentially around the head-end interface. Bores pass longitudinally through the head-end interface and into cavities within the conductor rod between the concentric metal tubes. The metallic rings enable the delivery of electrical power radially from the conductor rod for powering the work machine, while the bores enable the delivery of pneumatic power longitudinally into the conductor rod for powering axial movement of the conductor rod.

Radial and axial interface between conductor rod and work machine

A work machine, such as a hauler at a mining site, includes a conductor rod housing concentric metal tubes for receiving multiple poles of electrical power from a contactor sliding on a power rail. A terminal assembly includes conductive extensions from the respective metal tubes that are arranged concentrically and rotatably around an axis orthogonal with the conductor rod, rotatable metal pins positioned transversely to the axis, and conductive arms connected through hinge joints to respective ones of the rotatable metal pins. When the conductive arms are connected to rotatable and hinged joints at the contactor, the terminal assembly provides multiple degrees of freedom for the conductor rod relative to the contactor and avoids detachment of the contactor from the power rail.

Terminal assembly for conductor rod having multiple degrees of freedom

The present disclosure provides a concentric conductor for conducting electrical power from a source to a receiving system or load. The concentric conductor includes one or more conducting tubes interior to an outer tube, extending concentrically around a central axis. The conducting tubes are affixed a head-end interface and a connector assembly at either end of the concentric conductors.

Growing community of inventors

Peoria, IL, United States of America

Igor Strashny