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  Long- stator comprising a ground conductor and maglev railway that is equipped with said statorUSPTO Application #: 20070216233Title: Long- stator comprising a ground conductor and maglev railway that is equipped with said stator Abstract: A long-stator and a magnetic levitation railway equipped therewith are described. The long-stator comprises a plurality of stator sections (1, 1b) that are arranged one behind the other, adjoin one another at separation points (22) and have grooves (2) following each other in a longitudinal direction for receiving at least one alternating current winding (4) and at least one ground conductor (17) extending in longitudinal direction for grounding said alternating current winding (4). According to the invention the ground conductor (17) comprises, at least in the vicinity of critical separation points (22), a conductor section (25) that bridges the separation point (22) and is configured as a loop (24) (FIG. 10). (end of abstract) Agent: Michael J. Striker - Huntington, NY, US Inventors: Jüergen Braun, Siegbert Kunz, Marcus Bauer USPTO Applicaton #: 20070216233 - Class: 310012000 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070216233. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] The invention relates to a long stator of the species indicated in the preamble of claim 1 and to a magnetic levitation railway (Maglev Railway) according to the generic term of claim 21. [0002] With magnetic levitation railways having long-stator linear motors, a long-stator is provided alongside a guideway, into the grooves of which a three-phase alternate current winding is inserted, which for example consists of a copper or aluminum cable and an insulating layer surrounding it. Since difference in voltage occur due to inductive effects in normal operation along the windings and because currents thereby caused may flow, it is known (DE 30 06 382 C2) to provide the windings with an additional outer sheath made of an electrically isolating plastic material, being made at least partly electrically conductive with carbon black, graphite, a copper mesh or otherwise in order to discharge these and other electric currents, to ensure hazard protection on contact and for other reasons, and to connect this sheath in the area of each groove to a ground conductor extending alongside the long-stator. To ensure that small transitional resistances are obtained between the sheath and the ground conductor, it is furthermore well known practice (DE 196 20 222 C1) to connect the winding sheath to the ground conductor by means of devices which consist of sleeves partly surrounding the windings, are inserted into the grooves of the long-stator and comprise connecting elements for the ground conductor. Thereby it is intended on the one hand to establish a comparably large contact between the sheath and the sleeves, while the connecting elements on the other hand are intended to allow for a simple connection to the ground conductor. For avoidance of corrosion, the sleeves and the connecting elements are made of stainless steel. [0003] The ground conductors hitherto known consist of a well conducting material, e.g. copper. They are connected at optional points and optionally frequently to the ground potential and provided with a conductive plastic sheath like the alternating current windings to provide corrosion and contact protection. [0004] In practical use of magnetic levitation railways, two essential weak points have shown up in the described devices. On the one hand it was found out that the plastic sheath of the ground conductor was scorched through at numerous points after a longer period of operation. Such scorched points indicating thermal overloads are not tolerable. On the other hand, fire and/or carbonization points also occur in the sheath of the long-stator winding itself, whereby the sheath gradually becomes brittle and begins to dissolve. This is not tolerable either. [0005] To avoid these two weak points, it was proposed in a non-published German patent application 10 2004 015 096.6 filed by the same applicant to produce the ground conductor exclusively from a non-corrosive metal, e.g. from stainless steel. Thereby it is intended to prevent that undesirably high transition resistances and, consequently, thermal peak loads may occur due to the small transition cross-sections of the connecting elements when electrical currents are transferred from the sleeves to the ground conductors which peak loads exceed the thermal load-bearing capacity of the plastic insulation of the ground conductors and therefore cause scorching wherever they are the greatest. [0006] However, by applying ground conductors made of stainless steel or the like and distinguished by a high tensile strength, another problem arises. A long-stator of the described kind is composed of a plurality of stator portions which are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of a guideway for a magnetic levitation railway and which abut each other at separation points (joints). The distances of these stator portions must be able to vary by some millimeters at certain joints, e.g. those lying in the area of switches, due to movements of the switches. A tensile-proof ground conductor cannot follow these changes, all the more so because these changes may add up to far greater values if contemplated e.g. over the length of a switch. Therefore, forces are exerted through the ground conductor onto the connecting elements which may plastically deform and thereby reduce the clamping effect and thus also the size of the contact areas between the sleeves and the ground conductor. This may ultimately lead to a failure of a contact between a sleeve and the ground conductor which is even speeded-up by oscillations and vibrations occurring during operation. Even a rupture of the ground conductor cannot be precluded. Corresponding problems may occur in the area of other separation points (joints) like the joints in the area of switches, hereinafter briefly designated as "critical" separation points. [0007] Starting thereform it is the object of the present invention to configure the long-stator of the species designated hereinabove in such a manner that necessary changes in distance between adjacent stator portions cannot lead to a failure of electrical contacts between the sleeves and the ground conductor. Moreover, it is intended to propose a magnetic levitation railway which is equipped with such a long-stator. [0008] The characterizing features of claims 1 and 21 serve to solve this object. [0009] The present invention bears the advantage that a ground conductor reserve is established in the area of the critical separation points by way of a loop in the ground conductor that may--in case of changes in distance between long-stator portions--supply and take-up those material quantities portions which are required to make possible these changes in distance, without this causing any tensile stress for the actual ground conductor or any excessive load for the connecting elements or the like. [0010] Other advantageous features of the present invention become evident from the subclaims. [0011] Giving some embodiments, the present invention is explained in more detail based upon drawings attached hereto, wherein: [0012] FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of the long-stator of a linear motor with a three-phase alternating current winding for a magnetic levitation railway; [0013] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the long-stator according to FIG. 1 in the area of a groove during insertion of the winding; [0014] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the winding according to FIG. 1 without a long-stator after insertion into the sleeve according to the present invention together with a ground conductor; [0015] FIG. 4 shows a partial and a schematic side view of a long-stator in the area of a switch and with a first embodiment of the device according to the present invention in the switch area; [0016] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 each show an enlarged front and side view of a clamping connector of the device according to FIG. 4. [0017] FIG. 7 shows a side view according to FIG. 4 of a second embodiment of the present invention; [0018] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a clamp of the embodiment according to FIG. 7; [0019] FIG. 9 shows a side view according to FIG. 3 of a third embodiment of the present invention; [0020] FIG. 10 shows a perspective front view of the embodiment of FIG. 9; [0021] FIG. 11 to FIG. 16 in a front view, bottom view, top view, rear view, side view, and perspective view each show a mounting means of the embodiment according to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10; [0022] FIG. 17 in an enlarged perspective view shows details of the mounting means according to FIG. 11 to FIG. 16 in a partly pre-assembled status; [0023] FIG. 18 shows a perspective view according to FIG. 10 of a fourth embodiment of the present invention; [0024] FIG. 19 shows a metal sheet blank for production of the mounting means according to FIG. 11 to FIG. 16; Continue reading... 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