SE544368C2

SE544368C2 - An electric power collector

Info

Publication number: SE544368C2
Application number: SE2050628A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Dan Zethraeus
Original assignee: Elonroad Ab
Priority date: 2020-06-01
Filing date: 2020-06-01
Publication date: 2022-04-26
Also published as: WO2021245016A1; SE2050628A1

Abstract

An electric power collector (100), configured to be set in an inactive state and in an electric power collecting state, the electric power collector (100) comprising:a support structure (102);a moveable frame (104) being moveable in relation to the support structure (102), wherein the support structure (102) and moveable frame (104) are arranged in a common plane;an actuator (106) configured to displace in the common plane the moveable frame (104) in relation to the support structure (102), wherein the actuator (106) is configured to set the electric power collector (100) in the inactive state and in the electric power collecting state, respectively.

Description

AN ELECTRIC POWER COLLECTOR Field of the invention The present invention relates to provision of electric power from anelectric road track to an electric vehicle, more specifically to an electric powercollector and to a road vehicle comprising such an electric power collector.

Background artElectric road tracks are an emerging technology that is an alternative or addition to charging stations for providing electric power to electricvehicles. Electric road tracks are provided integrated/attached to roadsurfaces such that a power collector of the electric vehicle can draw electricpower therefrom as it is moving. The electric power provided could be usedfor directly powering the electric vehicle and/or for recharging the batteries thereof.

Electric road tracks provide several benefits as it facilitates a reductionin the battery sizes of electric vehicles, it provides improved range of theelectric vehicle and facilitates reducing the environmental impact of travel andlogistics.

For a power collector of the vehicle to be able to draw electric powerfrom the electric road track, the power collector or at least a contact portionthereof, for conductive power transfer, must be brought into contact with theelectric road track. However, as electric road tracks are only intermittentlyavailable, it is desired that the electric power collectors of the electric vehiclecan be raised and lowered when electric power transfer is desired.

Summary of the invention ln view of that stated above, the object of the present invention is toprovide a way of raising and lowering the contact portion of the electric powercollector that improves on prior art solutions.

To achieve at least one of the above objects and also other objectsthat will be evident from the following description, an electric power collectorhaving the features defined in claim 1 is provided. A road vehicle comprising an electric power collector is also provided. Preferred embodiments will beevident from the dependent claims.

More specifically, there is provided an electric power collector,configured to be set in an inactive state and in an electric power collectingstate. The electric power collector comprising: a support structure; a moveable frame being moveable in relation to the support structure.The support structure and moveable frame are arranged in a common plane; an actuator configured to displace in the common plane the moveableframe in relation to the support structure, the actuator being configured to setthe electric power collector in the inactive state and in the electric powercollecting state, respectively; a plurality of pick up arrangements, each comprising a first lever and asecond lever. ln the inactive state, the first and second levers are arranged inthe common plane and a first end of the first lever is pivotably connected tothe support structure. A first end of the second lever is pivotably connected tothe moveable frame and a second end of the second lever is pivotablyconnected to the first lever, such that upon the electric power collector is inthe inactive state and upon displacement of the moveable frame in relation tothe support structure, the second lever is configured to push a second end ofthe first lever in a direction angled away from the common plane. Themovement of each of the pick up arrangements can thus be controlled byposition of the moveable frame in relation to the support structure as iscontrolled by the actuator, facilitating raising and lowering of the pick uparrangements. When an electric road track is present, the electric powercollector and the pick up arrangements are set in the power collecting statewhereby the pick up arrangements are lowered out of the common planesuch that the second end of the first lever moves away from the supportstructure.

Upon the electric power collector being set in the inactive state,displacement of the moveable frame in a first direction in relation to thesupport structure may set the electric power collector in the electric powercollecting state, and, upon the electric power collector being set in the power collecting state, displacement of the moveable frame in a second direction inrelation to the support structure may set the electric power co||ector in theinactive state, wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction.

The second end of the second lever may be pivotably connected to thefirst lever at a central portion thereof, which provides a balance between themovements required by the moveable frame and the resolution of the controlof the position of the second end of the first lever in relation to the supportstructure.

Each pick up may further comprise a sliding contact connected to thesecond end of the first lever. The sliding contacts can thus be simultaneouslylowered into the electric power collecting state and raised into the inactivestate by the control of the relative position of the moveable frame and thesupport structure.

Two pick up arrangements of the plurality of pick up arrangements mayshare a common sliding contact extending between the respective secondends of the first lever of the two pick up arrangement. The two pick uparrangements preferably forming a pair of pick up arrangements attached toopposite lateral sides of the electric power co||ector such that the slidingcontact extends perpendicularly to a longitudinal direction of the electricpower co||ector and to the direction of travel of the vehicle. The sliding contactwill thus provide a lateral/transverse extension in relation to the travellingdirection of the vehicle that facilitates keeping the sliding contact onto theelectric road track.

The first end of the second lever may be, in the common plane,slidably connected to the moveable frame, such that the second end of thefirst lever is moveable towards the common plane without displacement of themoveable frame. The second end of the first lever can thus be moved uponbeing subjected to a force that is directed such that the first lever pivotstowards the supports structure/the common plane. This allows pick uparrangements to absorb forces and movements that would otherwise betransmitted to the moveable frame which may not be desirable. The electricpower co||ector thus facilitates adaptation of the pick up arrangements to for instance uneven road surfaces which results in variations in the distancebetween the electric road track and the support structure.

The slidable connection between the first end of the second lever andthe moveable frame may be biased. The biasing of the first end of the secondlever facilitates controlling the position of the second end of the first lever, asthe biasing increases the force required to push the second end of the firstlever towards the support structure. The biasing further facilitates providing aforce against the electric road track, which improves the electric connection ofa sliding contact arranged on the second end of the first lever.

The actuator may be an electrically, pneumatically or hydraulicallypowered piston actuator.

The moveable frame may be biased for displacement in relation to thesupport structure into the inactive state. The biasing towards the inactive statereduces the load on the actuator which only needs to actively push themoveable frame into the electric power collecting state, while the moveableframe by the biasing force moves into the inactive state. Further still, with themoveable frame biased into the inactive state, the electric power collector ismade safer and more robust as the pick up arrangements will be raised incase the actuator for some reason fails. The risk of the pick up arrangementsbecoming stuck in the lowered/power collecting state is thus reduced.

The support structure may be configured to be mounted to a chassis ofa road vehicle.

Furthermore, the support structure may form part of a chassis of a roadvehicle. ln a second aspect is a road vehicle comprising a power collectoraccording to the first aspect provided. Electric power transfer to the roadvehicle is thus facilitated and the ability to transfer the electric power collectorfrom the inactive state to the electric power collecting state and vice versafacilitates adaptation of the vehicle for electric power collection and for whenelectric power collection is not desired.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted accordingto their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly definedotherwise herein. All references to "a/an/the [element, device, component, means, step, etc]" are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least oneinstance of said element, device, component, means, step, etc., unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do nothave to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.

Brief description of the drawinqs The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages ofthe present invention, will be better understood through the followingillustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments ofthe present invention, with reference to the appended drawings, where thesame reference numerals will be used for similar elements, wherein: Figure 1 discloses a side view of an electric road vehicle moving overan electric road track.

Figure 2 discloses a top view of a power collector.

Figure 3 discloses a detail side view of a pick up arrangement on apower collector in an electric power collecting state.

Figure 4 discloses a detail side view of a pick up arrangement on apower collector in an inactive state.

Figure 5 discloses a top view of a power collector.

Figure 6 discloses a detail side view of a pick up arrangement on apower collector in an electric power collecting state.

Figure 7 discloses a detail side view of a pick up arrangement on apower collector in an inactive state.

Figure 5 discloses a top view of a power collector.

Description of embodiments The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferredembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited tothe embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided forthoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope of the inventionto the skilled person.

Figure 1 discloses an electric road vehicle 10 moving in the travellingdirection T on a road over an electric road track 20. The electric road track 20is configured to provide electric power to the vehicle 10, specifically tobatteries and/or to electric motors thereof. The electric power provided to thevehicle 10 can thus be provided to recharge batteries and/or to directly powerthe vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 shown is a car, it is however to be realized thatthe road vehicle 10 may be embodied by another road going vehicle such ase.g. a truck or a bus.

The vehicle 10 is provided with an electric power collector 100configured to establish contact with the electric road track 20 for, preferablyconductive, electric power transfer therefrom. As is illustrated in Fig. 1, theelectric power collector 100 comprises a plurality of pick up arrangements108. The pick up arrangements 108 are moveable such that they may beraised towards the underside of the vehicle 10, i.e. towards a supportstructure 102 which is shown in Fig. 2, when not in use, i.e. to an inactivestate.

When electric power transfer is desired from the electric road track 20,the pick up arrangements 108 can be lowered into an electric power collectingstate which is the position that the pick up arrangements 108 are in in Fig. 1.The electric power collector 100 in Fig. 1 is shown comprising three pick uparrangements 108, however the electric power collector 100 may be providedwith two or more than three pick up arrangements 108 as well. The pick uparrangements 108 are preferably arranged spaced apart in the intendedtravelling direction T of the vehicle 10. The electric road track 20 may beprovided with individually powered segments, the electric potential provided toeach segment being controllable whereby the spacing of the pick uparrangements 108 is longer than each such segment of the electric road track20.

Fig. 2 shows a top view of an electric power collector 100, i.e. as seenfrom the side of the electric power collector 100 that is intended to face theunderside of the vehicle 10. The electric power collector 100 comprises asupport structure 102, which is in Fig. 2 formed by a rectangular frame 102being provided with lateral/transverse support members. The support structure 102 could however also be formed by the chassis 12 of the vehicle10 as shown in Fig. 1.

The electric power collector 100 further comprises a moveable frame104 being moveable in relation to the support structure 102 and supportedthereby. The moveable frame 104 is slidably supported by the supportstructure 102 such that it may reciprocally be moved in relation thereto. Thesupport structure 102 may comprise guide members for guiding themovement of the moveable frame 104. The moveable frame 104 is moveablereciprocally in the longitudinal direction L of the electric power collector 100,the longitudinal direction being intended to be arranged essentially parallelwith the travelling direction T of the vehicle with which the vehicle 10 movesalong the electric road track 20.

The support structure 102 and the moveable frame 104 may be formedby hollow beam sections, for instance from stainless steel, aluminum or fromanother material that has high corrosion resistance. lt may further be formedby less corrosion resistant materials such as regular steel and be coated by acorrosion inhibiting coating. The rectangular shape of the support structure102 and of the moveable frame 104 is one preferred option for the shape ofthe respective part, however the support structure 102 and the moveableframe 104 may be embodied having other shapes as well.

The support structure 102 and moveable frame 104 are arranged in acommon plane, i.e. a plane defined by the extension of the support structure102 and the moveable frame 104 as shown in Fig. 2. The common plane inthe present disclosure does not have to be a 2-dimensional plane but mayhave a thickness defined by the combined thicknesses of the supportstructure 102 and the moveable frame 104.

The electric power collector 100 further comprises an actuator 106configured to displace in the common plane the moveable frame 104 inrelation to the support structure 102. The actuator 106 may be an electricallypowered actuator, a pneumatically powered actuator or a hydraulicallypowered actuator. The actuator 106 is configured to set the electric powercollector 100 in the inactive state and in the electric power collecting state,respectively. This is achieved as the actuator 106 is at its one end attached to the support structure 102 and at its other end attached to the moveable frame104, thus allowing the actuator 106 to control the position of the moveableframe 104 in relation to the support structure 102. Furthermore, it isconceivable that more than one actuator 106 can be provided to control themovement of the moveable frame 104.

The power collector 100 is provided with a plurality of pick uparrangements 108, shown in Fig. 1 as three pairs, six in total. However, asmentioned, the power collector 100 may be provided with fewer or more pickarrangements 108 as well. Each pick up arrangement 108 comprises a firstlever 110 and a second lever 112. ln the inactive state, which is shown in Fig. 4, the first and secondlevers 110, 112 are arranged in the common plane. This is the position inwhich the pick up arrangements 108 are when no electric power is beingcollected from the electric road track 20. The electric power collector 100 willthen remain relatively flat and flush with the underside of the vehicle 10, thusforming the common plane.

A first end 110a of the first lever 110 is pivotably connected to thesupport structure 102, for instance by means of a pin and/or a bearingconnection. The first end 110a may be connected to a transverse member122 of the support structure. As shown in Fig. 2, two first levers 110 may beconnected to each transverse member 122. The support structure 102 maycomprise three transverse members 122 to which one or several first levers110 may be pivotably attached.

A first end 112a of the second lever 112 is in a similar fashionpivotably connected to the moveable frame 104. The first end 112a of thesecond lever 112 may be connected to longitudinal members 124 of themoveable frame 104. The moveable frame 104 may comprise two longitudinalmembers 124 arranged laterally on each side of the moveable frame 104, toeach of which a respective first end 112a of a second lever 112 of a pluralityof pick up arrangements may be pivotably connected. l.e., more than onesecond lever 112 may be attached to each longitudinal member 124, asshown in Fig. 1 three second levers 112 may be pivotably attached to each longitudinal member 124. The second levers 112 may be attached to a lateralside of the longitudinal member 124.

A second end 112b of the second lever 112 is similarly pivotablyconnected to the first lever 110, such that upon the electric power co||ector100 being in the inactive state and upon displacement of the moveable frame104 in relation to the support structure 102, the second lever 112 isconfigured to push a second end 110b of the first lever 110 in a directionangled away from the common plane. l.e. the second end 110b is pushed from the inactive position illustratedin Fig. 4, into the active position illustrated in Fig. 3, i.e. away from the supportstructure 102 and away from the underside of the vehicle 10. The first end112a of the second lever 112 is configured to move with the moveable frame104 as it is displaced in relation to the support structure 102. The first lever110 will as a result of the relative displacement of the moveable frame 104 tothe support structure 102 thus pivot around its first end 110a where it ispivotably attached to the support structure 102 causing it to become angledout of/into the common plane depending on the direction of the relativemotion of the moveable frame 104 and the support structure 102. The anglebetween the first lever 110 of each pick up arrangement 108 and the supportstructure 102 in the active state should preferably be between 50° and 20°,preferably less than 45°. The length of each first lever 110 may be varieddepending on the application, i.e. the type of vehicle 10 to which it isattached. For a regular car for personal transport, the length may be between20 cm to 30 cm. For a truck or a buss or similar, the length of the first lever110 may be between 30 cm to 50 cm. The length of the first member 110 maybe between 5 cm and 100 cm.

Provided the angle mentioned above between the first lever 110 andthe support structure 102, the clearance distance between the underside ofthe vehicle 10 and the electric road track 20 thus dictates the length of thefirst member 110 to achieve the angle. The second lever 112 is thus adaptedaccordingly.

Each pick up arrangement 108 is preferably provided with a slidingcontact 120 for sliding engagement with the electric road track 20, the sliding contact 120 being arranged on the second end 110b of the first lever 110.The sliding contact 120 being configured to be in conductive contact with theelectric road track 20 for drawing electric power therefrom. The sliding contact120 should preferably be pushed against the electric road track 20 with aforce equivalent to between 2 kg to 5 kg, the force being achieved by theactuator 106.

Further still, the pick up arrangements 108 may as mentioned bearranged in pairs, as is illustrated in Fig. 2, where two pick up arrangements108 forming a pair are arranged on opposite lateral sides of the electric powercollector 100. The sliding contact 120 may be arranged extending in thetransverse direction in relation to the longitudinal direction L between therespective second ends 110b on each first lever 110. l.e. such that the slidingcontact 120 has an extension in a direction essentially perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction L of the electric power collector 100.

Figures 3 and 4 respectively illustrates a detail side view of the powercollector 100 in which only one pick up arrangement 108 is shown. ln Fig. 3,the power collector 100 is in the electric power collecting state while it is in itsinactive state in Fig. 4. The relative position of the moveable frame 104 andthe support structure 102 determines the state of the electric power collector100. Movement of the moveable frame in the first direction, in the direction oftravel T of the vehicle 10, causes the second lever 112 to push on the firstlever 110 such that the first lever 110 is pivoted/angled out of the commonplane defined by the moveable frame 104 and the support structure 102.

When the moveable frame 104 moves in the opposite second directionin relation to the support structure 102, i.e. opposite the direction of travel T ofthe vehicle 10, the first lever 110 moves/pivots/angles accordingly in theopposite direction into its inactive position illustrated in Fig. 4.

The actuator 106 thus controls each pick up arrangement 108 bycontrolling the relative position of the moveable frame 104 and the supportstructure 102.

The second end 112b of the second lever 112 is preferably pivotablyconnected to the first lever 110 at a central portion 110c thereof, whichprovides an appropriate balance of the required length of the reciprocal 11 movement of the moveable frame 104, the accuracy of the control of theposition of the second end 110b of the first lever 110 and the force availableat the second end 110b of the first lever 1 10 for pushing against the electricroad track 20.

As is shown in Fig. 3, the first lever 110 should preferably be arrangedsuch the second end 110b thereof is arranged after the first end 110a inrelation to the travelling direction T of the vehicle 10. The second end 110b, towhich the sliding contact 120 is preferably attached, will then trail the first end110a when the vehicle 10 moves along the electric road track 20 and thusfacilitate reducing the risk of the sliding contact 120 catching on the electricroad track 20.

Turning to Figs 5 to 7 which shows an electric power collector 100 inwhich the first end 112a of the second lever 112 is, in the common plane,slidably connected to the moveable frame 104, such that the second end110b of the first lever 110 is moveable towards the common plane withoutdisplacement of the moveable frame 104. This may be achieved having thefirst end 112a of the second lever 112 being slidably attached into a slot 118in the moveable frame 104, the slot 118 being shown in Figs 7 and 8. The slot118 may be formed in the longitudinal members 124 of the moveable frame104.

The second end 110b can thus accommodate variations in thedistance between the support structure 102 and the electric road track 20which could occur for instance if the road surface is uneven. Improved andmaintained contact between the sliding contact 120 and the electric road track20 can thus be achieved even if the road surface to which the electric roadtrack 20 is attached to is uneven.

The weight of the first lever 110 facilitates holding the first end 112a ofthe second lever 112 against a first end 118a of the slot 118, the first end118a of the slot 118 being the end nearest the first end 110a of the first lever110. The first end 118a of the slot 118 restricting the first lever 1 10 frompivoting into an undesired position angled to far away from the common planei.e. away from the supporting structure 102. A force applied on the secondend 110b of the first lever 110 generating a pivoting movement of the first 12 lever 110 directed towards the support structure 102 may consequently beaccommodated by each pick up arrangement 108. This is achieved as thefirst end 110b is slidably attached in each respective slot 118, allowing thefirst end 110b to slide away from the first end 118a of the slot 118 towards asecond end of the slot 118b which is arranged farther away from the first end110a of the first lever 110 than the first end 118a of the slot 118.

The slidable connection between the first end 112a of the second lever112 and the moveable frame 104 may further be biased. ln Figs 5-7 thebiasing is illustrated by the biasing mechanism 114. The biasing mechanism114 comprises a spring 116 connected at one end to a pin fixed on themoveable frame 104 and at a second end connected to the first end 112a ofthe second lever 112. The pin is preferably fixedly arranged on thelongitudinal members 124 of the moveable frame 104.

The spring 116 biases the first end 112a of the second lever 112towards the first end 110a of the first lever 110 such that the second end112a is held as close to the first end 110a of the first lever 110 as is limited bythe first end 118a of the slot 118. However, when a force is applied on thesecond end 110b of the first lever 110 that exceeds the biasing force from thespring 116, the second end 112a of the second lever 112 will slidingly moveaway from the first end 118a of the slot 118 and away from the first end 110aof the first lever 110 which allows the first lever 110 to move/pivot withoutmoving/displacing the moveable frame 104 in relation to the support structure102.

The first end 112a of the second lever 112 will return to its originalposition, i.e. to the first end 118a of the slot 118, i.e. nearest the first end110a of the first lever 1 10, by the biasing force of the spring 116 when theforce on the second end 110b is removed.

As is shown in Fig. 5, each pick up arrangement 108 may be providedwith one biasing mechanism 114. The biasing mechanism 114 shouldpreferably provide a biasing such that a force equivalent to at least between 2kg and 5 kg is required pushing on the sliding contact 120 in the directiontowards the support structure 102, i.e. towards the common plane, in order tomove the first end 112a of the second lever 112 in the slot 118. The desired 13 pushing force for achieving contact between the electric road track 20 and thesliding contact 120 can thus be achieved, and variations in the distancebetween the support structure 102 and the electric road track 20 can beabsorbed without resulting in large deviations from the desired pushing forcein the contact between the sliding contact 120 and the electric road track 20.Each biasing mechanism may comprise two springs 116 attached to oppositelateral sides of the second lever 112 and of the respective longitudinalmember 124 to which they are associated. The biasing force from the springs116 will thus be symmetrical which facilitates the functionality of the slidinglyattached first end 112a of the second lever 112. Further still, redundancy isprovided by the two springs 116 to the biasing mechanism 114 whichfunctions even if one of the springs 116 fails.

Fig. 8 shows a top view of a power collector 100 in which the moveableframe 104 is biased for displacement in relation to the support structure 102into the inactive state. The biasing is achieved by means of biasing resilientmembers 118 provided with one end attached to the support structure 102and one end attached to the moveable frame 104.

The resilient members 118 may be formed by mechanical springs suchas coil springs or similar or by gas springs or by another type of spring that issuitable for providing a biasing force to the moveable frame 104. Two resilientmembers 118 are illustrated in Fig. 8, it is however to be realized that anynumber of resilient members 118 could be provided to the power collector100.

The resilient members 118 bias the moveable frame 104 its inactivestate in relation to the support structure 102, i.e. such that each pick uparrangement 108 is biased towards its inactive state. This is beneficial as itallows automatic raising of the sliding contacts 120 of the power collector 100if the actuator 106 for some reason fails. Further still, the actuator 106 willonly have to be activated for displacing the moveable frame 104 from theinactive position into the electric power collecting position, as the oppositelydirected displacement can be achieved by the resilient members 118 whichbiases the moveable frame 104 into the inactive position. This reduces theload on the actuator 106 over time. 14 The person skilled in the art realizes that the present invention by nomeans is limited to the preferred embodiments described above. On thecontrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope ofthe appended claims. Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodimentscan be understood and effected by the skilled person in practicing the claimedinvention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electric power collector (100) configured to be set in an inactivestate and in an electric power collecting state for collecting power from anelectric road track, the electric power collector (100) comprising: a support structure (102); a moveable frame (104) being moveable in relation to the supportstructure (102), wherein the support structure (102) and moveable frame(104) are arranged in a common plane; an actuator (106) configured to displace in the common plane themoveable frame (104) in relation to the support structure (102), wherein theactuator (106) is configured to set the electric power collector (100) in theinactive state and in the electric power collecting state, respectively; a plurality of pick up arrangements (108), each comprising a first lever(110) and a second lever (112), wherein in the inactive state the first andsecond levers are arranged in the common plane and wherein a first end(1 10a) of the first lever (110) is pivotably connected to the support structure(102), a first end (1 12a) of the second lever (112) is pivotably connected tothe moveable frame (104) and a second end (112b) of the second lever (112)is pivotably connected to the first lever (110), such that upon the electricpower collector (100) is in the inactive state and upon displacement of themoveable frame (104) in relation to the support structure (102), the secondlever (112) is configured to push a second end (110b) of the first lever (110)in a direction angled away from the common plane.

2. The electric power collector (100) according to claim 1, wherein upon theelectric power collector (100) is set in the inactive state, displacement of themoveable frame (104) in a first direction in relation to the support structure(102) sets the electric power collector (100) in the electric power collectingstate, and, upon the electric power collector (100) is set in the powercollecting state, displacement of the moveable frame (104) in a seconddirection in relation to the support structure (102) sets the electric power 16 collector (100) in the inactive state, wherein the second direction is oppositethe first direction.

3. The electric power collector (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein thesecond end (112b) of the second lever (112) is pivotably connected to the firstlever (110) at a central portion (110c) thereof.

4. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,wherein each pick up arrangement (108) further comprises a sliding contactconnected to the second end (1 10b) of the first lever (110).

5. The electric power collector (100) according to claim 4, wherein a pair ofpick up arrangements (108) of the plurality of pick up arrangements (108)share a common sliding contact (120) extending between the respectivesecond ends (110b) of the first lever (110) ofthe pair of pick up arrangements(108).

6. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of the precedingclaims, wherein the first end (112a) of the second lever (112) is, in thecommon plane, slidably connected to the moveable frame (104), such that thesecond end (110b) of the first lever (110) is moveable towards the commonplane without displacement of the moveable frame (104).

7. The electric power collector (100) according to claim 6, wherein the slidableconnection between the first end of the second lever (112) and the moveableframe (104) is biased.

8. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of the precedingclaims, wherein the actuator (106) is an electrically, pneumatically orhydraulically powered piston actuator (106). 17

9. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of the precedingclaims, wherein the moveable frame (104) is biased for displacement inrelation to the support structure (102) into the inactive state.

10. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of the precedingclaims, wherein the support structure (102) is configured to be mounted to achassis (12) of a road vehicle (10).

11. The electric power collector (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9,wherein the support structure (102) forms part of a chassis (12) of a roadvehicle (10).

12. An electric road vehicle (10) comprising a power collector (100) accordingto any one of claims 1 to 11.