SE545190C2 - Method and control arrangement of a vehicle comprising a roof mounted pantograph - Google Patents

Abstract

Method (600) and control arrangement (500) in a vehicle (100), wherein the vehicle (100) is comprising a roof mounted pantograph (130), configured to connect with an energy transfer segment (120) above the vehicle (100) while driving on a road (101). The method (600) comprises the steps of detecting (601) a road irregularity (410) wherein the connection between the pantograph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) is predicted to be disconnected; and temporarily decreasing (603) a current demand of an energy converter (260) of the vehicle (100) below a current threshold limit, while the vehicle (100) passes the detected (601) road irregularity (410).

Description

METHOD AND CONTROL ARRANGEMENT OF A VEHICLE COMPRISING A ROOF MOUNTED PANTOGRAPH TECHNICAL FIELD This document discloses a method and a control arrangement of a vehicle comprising a roof mounted pantograph, configured to connect with an energy transfer segment above the vehicle while driving on a road. The method concerns avoiding activation of an over- voltage protection mechanism, configured to disconnect the pantograph from the energy transfer segment when voltage transferred from the energy transfer segment exceeds a voltage threshold limit, due to vertical vehicle movements during passage of the road irreg- ularity by temporarily decreasing the current demand of the energy converter while passing the road irregularity.

BACKGROUND One way of transfer power to a vehicle with electrical propulsion system such as e.g. a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), a Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV), a plug-in hybrid or a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) may be to use a roof mounted pantograph. The power transfer may be dynamic, i.e., the battery of the vehicle may be charged while driving along a road comprising an energy transfer segment. The vehicle may then, when the battery is sufficiently charged, depart from the road with the energy transfer segment and drive on a "normal" road (i.e. without energy transfer segment), for example to pick up/ discharge car- go and then return to the road with the energy transfer segment.

Thereby various attractive advantages are reached such as less pollution/ emissions of carbon dioxide and/ or nitrous oxide, reduced noise from the vehicle during propulsion, reduced operating costs (for fuel), reduced maintenance/ service costs, and time gain dur- ing travel (as no stop has to be made for filling up fuel), in comparison with vehicles with internal combustion engines. ln relation to an electric vehicle comprising a battery but no pantograph, time is saved dur- ing the journey as no stationary battery charging has to be made. Possibly also a smaller battery can be used in the pantograph vehicle, thereby saving costs and reducing vehicle weight.

The vehicle with the electrical propulsion system may comprise a rechargeable battery, or other similar energy storage device, that can be restored to full charge by connecting the roof mounted pantograph to a positive overhead contact wire and a negative overhead contact wire, respectively, of the energy transfer segment. Further, an electrical motor in the vehicle may be driven by the electricity stored in the batteries. ln a hybrid vehicle, also an internal combustion engine may be comprised. Thereby, the problem of range anxiety associated with all-electric vehicles may be reduced, as the combustion engine works as a backup when the batteries are depleted, and the vehicle has to drive on a road lacking en- ergy transfer segment.

The herein discussed vehicle with the pantograph may comprise e.g. a truck, a bus, a van, a car, a motorcycle, or any other similar type of vehicle not running on rails; i.e. driving on a road wherein contact wires of an energy transfer segment are arranged.

The vehicle battery is a relatively expensive part of the vehicle, which may be damaged in case it is exposed for a voltage spike for example due to a lightning strike in the panto- graph and/ or the energy transfer segment, leaving the vehicle in a non-operative state in the road, effectively blocking the traffic. An even worse precaution is that electric batteries frequently comprise components which may start burning/ exploding when overheated, which may be a consequence of overvoltage provided to the battery.

For these reasons, the pantograph often comprises an overvoltage protection mechanism, configured to physically disconnect the pantograph from the energy transfer segment by lowering it, when voltage transferred from the energy transfer segment exceeds a prede- termined voltage threshold limit.

However, for vehicles running on a road surface, unlike electrical trains running on rails, potholes and other similar irregularities of a road surface causes vertical vehicle move- ments during passage of the road irregularity. The vertical vehicle movements in turn cre- ate bounces between the pantograph and the wires of the energy transfer segment, which in turn causes fluctuation or toggling in the contact between the pantograph and the wires.

When the contact is lost, the voltage on the vehicle side of the pantograph will sink fast as the current demand of the vehicle remains. When the pantograph eventually gets contact with the wires again, the capacitors may be charged at a voltage level exceeding the volt- age threshold limit, thereby triggering the overvoltage protection mechanism of the panto- graph to disconnect the pantograph by lowering it.

The driver then needs to press a switch to raise the pantograph back again, connecting it back to the energy transfer segment, which potentially may disturb the driver while driving the vehicle.

An inadvertent driver (or a driver who is not experienced in driving a pantograph vehicle) may not pay attention to the lowered pantograph but continue driving on the battery power without charging the battery. As the pantograph then remains disconnected from the con- tact wires, the batteries of the vehicle will not charge, which later eventually may cause an emergency stop when the electricity of the battery is consumed.

Further, it is preferable that the driver focus his/ her attention to the surrounding traffic situ- ation, rather than continuously checking that the pantograph is correctly raised against the energy transfer segment.

The general concept of providing electricity via overhead contact Wires and a pantograph for the propulsion of vehicles is known since very long time (end of the nineteenth century). ln a global perspective, the emissions of so-called greenhouse gases such as carbon diox- ide and nitrous oxide of combustion engines are claimed, at least by some scholars, to contribute to a global Warming of the Earth. This issue could be completely eliminated or at least reduced by replacing combustion engine vehicles with electrical vehicles having a pantograph (at least when the electricity provided by the energy transfer segment is gener- ated in a manner not based on combustion of coal or other fossil fuel).

However, despite the numerous advantages with the pantograph technology concept per se, and the rather long time of technological development within the field, large scale im- plementation of road vehicles with roof mounted pantographs has, so far, failed to material- ise. lt appears that in order for reaching a practical implementation of vehicles with electrical propulsion system with roof mounted pantographs, further development is required, provid- ing a solution to the above discussed problems.

SUMMARY lt is an object of this invention to solve or alleviate at least some of the above problems and improve functionality of electricity transfer from an energy transfer segment to a vehicle with a roof mounted pantograph.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a method per- formed by a control arrangement of a vehicle. The vehicle comprises a roof mounted pan- tograph, configured to connect with an energy transfer segment situated above the vehicle while driving on a road. The method comprises detecting a road irregularity wherein the connection between the pantograph and the energy transfer segment is predicted to be disconnected. Also, the method comprises temporarily decreasing a current demand of an energy converter of the vehicle below a current threshold limit, while the vehicle passes the detected road irregularity.

According to a second aspect of the invention, this objective is achieved by a control ar- rangement of a vehicle comprising a roof mounted pantograph, configured to connect with an energy transfer segment above the vehicle while driving on a road. The control ar- rangement is configured to detect a road irregularity wherein the connection between the pantograph and the energy transfer segment is predicted to be disconnected. Also, the control arrangement is configured to temporarily decrease a current demand of an energy converter of the vehicle below a current threshold limit, while the vehicle passes the de- tected road irregularity.

By predicting when the vehicle will pass the road irregularity causing the discontinuation in contact between the pantograph and the energy transfer segment, it becomes possible to decrease the current demand right before arrival to the hole/ extruding element/ object on the road forming the road irregularity. The decreased current demand results in a more modest voltage level decrease than according to the prior art solution when passing the road irregularity. Correspondingly, the increase in voltage level when the pantograph gets in contact again with the energy transfer segment will be modest in comparison with the prior art solution, small enough not to trigger the overvoltage protection mechanism of the pantograph. lt is thereby avoided that the overvoltage protection mechanism of the pantograph discon- nects the pantograph by physically lowering it.

When the vehicle has passed the road irregularity, the current demand is increased again back to the normal level, thereby enabling the ordinary battery charging. lt is hereby possible to maintain the overvoltage protector of the pantograph for protection against various errors in the electricity system, lightning strikes, etc., yet avoiding the dis- advantage of experiencing unnecessary activations of the overvoltage protector and dis- connections of the pantograph, which otherwise would require manual interacting by the driver to reconnect the pantograph with the energy transfer segment, after having passed a road irregularity.

Safety is increased since the driver could focus on the road ahead and the ambient traffic situation rather than continuously checking whether the overvoltage protector has discon- nected the pantograph, and if so: return its position into contact with the energy transfer segment.

Other advantages and additional novel features will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description.

FIGURES Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1A illustrates a side view of a vehicle with a roof mounted pantograph; Figure 1B illustrates a vehicle with a roof mounted pantograph as seen from above; Figure 2 illustrates an overview of a vehicle with a roof mounted pantograph and an energy transfer segment comprising overhead contact wires according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates a comparison of voltage distribution while passing a road irregular- ity between a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 illustrates an overview of a vehicle with a roof mounted pantograph and a part of a road comprising an energy transfer segment, as regarded from an above perspective; Figure 5A illustrates an example of a vehicle interior according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5B illustrates an example of a vehicle interior according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5C illustrates an example of a vehicle interior according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5D illustrates an example of a vehicle interior according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method; Figure 7 is an illustration depicting a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention described herein are defined as a method and a control ar- rangement, which may be put into practice in the embodiments described below. These embodiments may, however, be exemplified and realised in many different forms and are not to be limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these illustrative examples of em- bodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

Still other objects and features may become apparent from the following detailed descrip- tion, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. lt is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the herein disclosed embodiments, for which reference is to be made to the appended claims. Further, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, unless othenNise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

Figure 1A illustrates a scenario with a vehicle 100 driving in a driving direction 105 on a road 101. The vehicle 100 may comprise a rechargeable battery 110, or other similar ener- gy storage device, in some embodiments. The battery 110 may be charged by conductive electrical transmission from an overhead energy transfer segment 120 via a roof mounted pantograph The vehicle 100 may be e.g. a truck, a bus, a van, a car, a motorcycle, a mining vehicle such as an excavator, an agricultural vehicle, or any other similar type of vehicle. The vehi- cle 100 may be configured for running on a road, in terrain, on a construction site or in a mine, for example.

The vehicle 100 may be driver controlled or driverless autonomously controlled vehicles in different embodiments. However, for enhanced clarity, the vehicle 100 is subsequently de- scribed as having a driver.

Thus, the battery 110 of the vehicle 100 may be charged by the energy transfer segment 120 via the roof mounted pantograph 130. An electric motor in the vehicle 100 is then en- ergised either by the battery 110, or directly by a drive inverter.

An advantage with storing energy in the battery 110 is that the vehicle 100 is not required to continuously be attached to the energy transfer segment 120, but is enabled to depart from the road 101 wherein the energy transfer segment 120 is arranged.

Nevertheless, some embodiments of the vehicle 100 may also comprise an additional combustion engine, which gives additional independence from the overhead energy trans- fer segment 120, allowing more extensive operations off-wire. By having an auxiliary power unit, not only additional operability off-wire is achieved, but it also serves as a safeguard against electrical failures in the electric system.

An advantage both with having a battery 110 and/ or a combustion engine is that the vehi- cle 100 is allowed e.g. to get around a route blockage and/ or may reduce the amount and/ or complexity of overhead wiring needed e.g. at operating garages, depots, etc.

The energy transfer segment 120 is situated above a road 101 or route of the vehicle 100; or possibly at the side of the road 101 and may comprise e.g. two contact wires in some embodiments, one contact wire 121 with positive pole and one contact wire 122 with nega- tive pole, extending substantially in parallel with each other and with the road 101 along at least a part of the route of the vehicle This differs from the corresponding energy transfer segment of a tram or electric train, which normally uses the track as the return part of the electrical path and therefore needs only one wire and one pole. However, other embodiments may comprise one contact wire 121, 122 above the vehicle 100 and one contact wire under, or at the side of the vehicle 100 in some alternative embodiments.

The roof mounted pantograph 130 thus may comprise e.g. two current collectors 135a, 135b, or collector shoes as they also may be referred to as. One current collector 135a may be dedicated to the contact wire 121 with positive pole and one other current collector 135b may be dedicated to the contact wire 122 with negative pole, as may be seen in Fig- ure 1B. This is further explained in conjunction with the presentation of Figure The vehicle 100 may have one or several pantographs 130. The pantograph 130 may have different designs in different embodiments, such as a symmetrical or diamond-shaped pan- tograph, a half-pantograph, a Z-shaped pantograph, trolley poles or any similar arrange- ment. The pantograph 130 may have either a single or a double arm in different embodi- ments. Further, the two current collectors 135a, 135b may be kept jointly by one panto- graph 130, or separate pantographs 130 may be used for each current collector 135a, 135b in different embodiments.

The pantograph 130 may further be arranged to bring the one or two current collectors 135a, 135b in contact with the respective contact wire 121, 122, e.g. by applying a sub- stantially upward force on the current collectors 135a, 135b, bringing them in contact with the contact wires 121, 122, which in turn are connected to a grid power supply The upward force may be provided by pneumatic means, by hydraulic means, by a spring, by resilience of the material, by an electric motor, by a mechanical mechanism managed by the driver or a combination thereof. A sensor may be configured to measure the pres- sure force between the current collectors 135a, 135b and the contact wires 121, 122 in some embodiments. lt is not desired to apply an excessive pressure force between the current collectors 135a, 135b and the contact wires 121, 122 (i.e., exceeding a threshold limit), as it may increase wear of the wires 121, 122/ collectors 135a, 135b.

The pantograph 130 may comprise an overvoltage protector 220 configured to disconnect the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 by lowering it towards the vehi- cle roof when voltage transferred from the energy transfer segment 120 exceeds a voltage threshold limit.

The battery 110 and various other electronic components of the vehicle 100 are thereby protected from severe damage due to overvoltage.

The pantograph 130 may also comprise fuses 230, a main contactor 240 with pre-charge and a DC/ DC converter 250, providing DC electricity to the battery 110 and/ or an energy converter 260, which in turn is providing electricity to an electric motor 270. The electric motor 270 converts the provided electricity into a rotational movement of a motor axis via a coupling 280 and a gearbox 290 to drive unit 295, which is converting the rotational speed of the motor axis into an appropriate wheel axis speed, provided to the driving wheels of the vehicle Figure 3 schematically illustrates voltage distribution at the DC/ DC converter 250 of the vehicle 100 while passing a road irregularity such as a hole or similar in the road surface.

The partially dotted line illustrates an example of the problem of the prior art solution. When the vehicle 100 reaches the road irregularity at the moment in time t1 the resulting vertical vehicle movements will cause the pantograph to lose contact with one or both the wires 121, 122 of the energy transfer segment 120. As the contact is lost, the voltage on the ve- hicle side of the pantograph 130 will sink fast as the current demand of the vehicle 100 remains. When the pantograph 130 eventually gets contact with the wires 121, 122 again, the capacitors may be charged at a voltage level exceeding the voltage threshold limit limit U, thereby triggering the overvoltage protection mechanism 220 of the pantograph 130 to disconnect the pantograph 130 by lowering it.

This problem is completely avoided by the herein disclosed inventive method, illustrated in Figure 3 by the solid line. By decreasing the current demand right before arriving at the road irregularity, the voltage level decreases radically less than according to the prior art solution. Correspondingly, the voltage level increase when the pantograph 130 gets con- tact with the wires 121, 122 again is modest in comparison with the prior art, remaining safely below the voltage threshold limit limit U.

Thus, the overvoltage protection mechanism 220 of the pantograph 130 does not trigger activation during the passage of the road irregularity.

When the vehicle 100 has passed the road irregularity, the current demand is increased again back to the normal level, thereby enabling the ordinary battery charging.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a vehicle 100 with a pantograph 130 driving in a driving direction 105 on a road 101 comprising an energy transfer segment 120 above the road 101. The vehicle battery 110, may be charged by conductive electrical transmission from the overhead energy transfer segment 120 via the roof mounted pantograph The energy transfer segment 120 is situated above the road 101 or route of the vehicle 100 and may comprise one or two contact wires; e.g. one contact wire 121 with positive pole and one contact wire 122 with negative pole, extending in parallel with each other and with the road 101 along at least a segment of the route of the vehicle The road 101 may have one consistent energy transfer segment 120 from the starting point to the final destination of the vehicle 100 in some embodiments. ln other embodiments, the road 101 may be provided With one or more distinct energy transfer segments 120, and the vehicle 100 may be driven either by stored electricity in the battery/ energy storage device 110 in the vehicle 100, or alternatively driven by an internal combustion engine in the vehi- cle 100, e.g. when the vehicle 100 is a PHEV, PHV or similar hybrid vehicle ln some embodiments, electricity may be at least partly generated and provided to the en- ergy transfer segment 120 by solar panels arranged at the road-side and/ or above the energy transfer segment 120 for the multiple function of generating electricity, functioning as noise damping elements, providing shade and/ or wildlife fencing. Such solar panels may be opaque (for sparing the surroundings from the view of the traffic) or transparent (for enhancing the driver's visual experience of the journey), or a combination thereof.

The path of the energy transfer segment 120 comprising the contact wires 121, 122 in the air, and the road path 101 may be detected by suitable sensors of the vehicle 100 such as e.g. a mono camera, a stereo camera, a laser scanner, an ultrasonic sensor, Global Posi- tioning System (GPS) in combination with detailed GPS data, by receiving information from other vehicles (or a sensor on another vehicle) via wireless communication, by receiving information from a vehicle external sensor via wireless communication or a combination of at least two of the enumerated techniques for detecting the energy transfer segment The road 101 may unfortunately comprise a road irregularity 410 at a certain road segment The road irregularity 410 may comprise for example various undulations in the road sur- face, e.g., holes, bumps, corrugations, obstacles, and/ or garbage which may be of perma- nent, long-term or temporarily nature.

To avoid disconnection of the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 by the overvoltage protector 220 of the pantograph 130 due to vertical vehicle movements during passage of the road irregularity 410, it is desired to detect the road irregularity 410 ahead of the vehicle 100 before passing it, and temporarily decrease a current demand of an en- ergy converter 260 of the vehicle 100 below a current threshold limit, while the vehiclepasses the detected road irregularity Traffic safety is increased since the driver could focus on the road ahead and the ambient traffic situation rather than looking up at the contact wires 121, 122, checking that overvolt- age protector 220 has not been activated and that the pantograph 130 is in contact with the energy transfer segment Figure 5A illustrates an example of how the previous scenario in Figure 4 may be per- ceived by the driver of the vehicle 100 (if any, the vehicle 100 may be autonomous).

The vehicle 100 comprises a control arrangement 500 for controlling and adjusting the cur-rent demand of an energy converter 260 of the vehicle 100 while passing a road irregularity The vehicle 100 may comprise a navigator/ positioning device 510 in some embodiments, based on a satellite navigation system such as the Navigation Signal Timing and Ranging (Navstar) Global Positioning System (GPS), Differential GPS (DGPS), Galileo, GLONASS, or the like.

The geographical position of the navigator 510, (and thereby also of the vehicle 100 and/ or the pantograph 130) may be done continuously with a certain predetermined or configura- ble time intervals according to various embodiments.

Positioning by satellite navigation is based on distance measurement using triangulation from a number of satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d. The satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d continuously transmit information about time and date (for example, in coded form), identity (which satellite 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d which broadcasts), status, and where the satellite 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d are situated at any given time. GPS satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d sends information encoded with different codes, for example, but not necessarily based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). This allows information from an individu- al satellite 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d distinguished from the others' information, based on a unique code for each respective satellite 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d. This information can then be transmitted to be received by the appropriately adapted navigator 510 comprised in the vehicle Distance measurement can according to some embodiments comprise measuring the dif- ference in the time it takes for each respective satellite signal transmitted by the respective satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d, to reach the navigator 510. As the radio signals travel at the speed of light, the distance to the respective satellite 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d may be computed by measuring the signal propagation time.

The positions of the satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d are known, as they continuously are monitored by approximately 15-30 ground stations located mainly along and near the earth's equator. Thereby the geographical position, i.e. latitude and longitude, of the vehicle 100 may be calculated by determining the distance to at least three satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d through triangulation. For determination of altitude, signals from four satellites 520a, 520b, 520c, 520d may be used according to some embodiments.Having determined the geographical position/ driving direction 105 of the navigator 510 (and thereby also of the vehicle 100 and/ or the pantograph 130), it may optionally be pre- sented on a map/ display 540, where the position of the vehicle 100 may be marked, as well as the positions of historically detected road irregularities 410, extracted from a data- base ln this case, the positions of previously known/ detected road irregularities 410 are stored in a local database 530 in the vehicle 100, having the advantage of not being dependent on wireless communication network access. ln some embodiments, also a message, sign or other indication displayed on the display 540 may inform the driver about the upcoming road irregularity 410. ln case the vehicle 100 is carrying passengers (e.g. a bus or an ambulance, etc.), the driver may want to pass the road irregularity 410 at a decreased speed to avoid discomfort of the passengers. ln other embodiments, as illustrated in Figure 5B, the database 530 may be external to the vehicle 100, accessible via a wireless radio communication via a radio transceiver 550 of the vehicle Any arbitrary radio signal and wavelength may be used for this purpose in different embod- iments. However, as the size of the receiver antenna at the radio transceiver 550 is a func- tion of the wavelength of the signal, very long wavelengths (i.e. low frequencies) would require very large antennas, which may become unfeasible.

The wireless communication may be made over a wireless communication interface, such as e.g. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication, or Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2l) commu- nication. The common term Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is sometimes used. ln some embodiments, the wireless communication between the agent 100 and the ma- chine learning based system 400 may be performed via V2X communication, e.g. based on Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) devices. DSRC works in 5.9 GHz band with bandwidth of 75 MHz and approximate range of 1000 m in some embodiments.

The wireless communication may be made according to any IEEE standard for wireless vehicular communication like e.g. a special mode of operation of IEEE 802.11 for vehicular networks called Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE). IEEE 802.11p is an extension to 802.11 Wireless LAN medium access layer (MAC) and physical layer (PHY)specification.

Such wireless communication interface may comprise, or at least be inspired by wireless communication technology such as Wi-Fi, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Ultra Mo- bile Broadband (UMB), Bluetooth (BT), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), to name but a few possible examples of wireless communications in some embodiments.

The communication may alternatively be made over a wireless interface comprising, or at least being inspired by radio access technologies such as e.g. 3GPP LTE, LTE-Advanced, UMTS, GSM, or similar, just to mention some few options, via a wireless communication network.

An advantage by keeping a record of previously discovered road irregularities 410, and their respective geographical position on the road 101 is that this information may be shared and accessible for several vehicles, for example vehicles owned by the same own- er, vehicles of the same category, vehicles of the same brand, vehicles enumerating on the service of obtaining information concerning road irregularities, etc.

Thereby, information concerning detection of the road irregularity and its associated geo- graphical position as stored by another vehicle, may be accessible via the database 530 for the own vehicle 100, which thereby is enabled to avoid triggering the overvoltage protector 220 of the pantograph 130, to disconnect the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 due to a resulting overvoltage while passing the road irregularity The content of the database 530 may be continuously reviewed and the stored data con- cerning road irregularities 410 verified and, in case the road irregularity 410 has been re- moved or adjusted, also the data of road irregularity 410 could be removed from the data- base The verification of data concerning road irregularities 410 in the database 530 may be made either by the control arrangement 500 in the vehicle 100, or by a central processing device, having access to the database 530. The control arrangement 500/ central pro- cessing device may obtain position coordinates of road irregularities 410, obtain sensor measurements from sensors measuring vehicle suspension of the vehicle 100 while pass- ing the position coordinates of the road irregularity 410. ln case the detected sensor meas- urement of vehicle suspension movements is smaller than a threshold limit, it may be con- cluded that the road irregularity 410 has been removed/ filled/ repaired, and the corre-sponding data may be removed from the database By continuously updating the database 530, high reliability of the data is achieved.

Figure 5C illustrates an embodiment wherein the vehicle 100 comprises a sensor 560, configured to detect the road irregularity 410, in combination with analysis performed by the control arrangement 500 of the vehicle 100 and a sensor signal analysis software run- ning thereon.

The sensor 560, may comprise e.g. a front camera of the vehicle 100, arranged for detect- ing objects in the driving direction 105 on the road Alternatively, or additionally, besides comprising a camera, the sensor 560 in some embod- iments may comprise e.g. a stereo camera, a film camera, or similar device based on ra- dar, laser, lidar, visible or infra-red light or micro waves for detecting the road irregularity The road irregularity 410 may comprise a hole in the road surface, and/ or an obstacle pro- truding from the road surface.

The control arrangement 500 may obtain sensor signals from the sensor 560 and based on image/ sensor signal analysis of them, detect the road irregularity 410 and possibly also magnitude of the road irregularity 410 and/ or distance between the detected road irregu- larity 410 and the own vehicle An estimated magnitude of detected road irregularity 410 may then be compared with an irregularity magnitude threshold limit. ln case the road irregularity 410 comprises a hole in the road surface, sensor detections may not enable measurements of the depth of the hole. However, it may for example be assumed that the depth of the hole is proportional to the diameter of the hole. The diameter of the hole may in turn be estimated based on sen- sor measurements, for example a lidar measurement or image analysis of an image cap- tured by an image sensor. Alternatively, all holes regardless of depth/ size/ diameter may be considered as exceeding the irregularity magnitude threshold limit. ln case the road irregularity 410 comprises a protruding obstacle, a height of the road ir- regularity 410 over the road surface may be estimated based on any of the previously men- tioned sensor measurements. The estimated height may then be compared with the irregu- larity magnitude threshold limit. ln some embodiments, tvvo distinct irregularity magnitude threshold limits may be applied; one cavity irregularity magnitude threshold limit which may be applied for holes and one protrusion irregularity magnitude threshold limit which may be applied for protrusions.

The control arrangement 500 may determine a distance between the own vehicle 100 and the detected road irregularity 410 when the irregularity magnitude threshold limit is ex- ceeded, for example via a laser measurement or image analysis.

A moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected road irregularity 410 may then be determined, based on the determined distance between the vehicle 100 and the detected road irregularity 410 and knowledge concerning driving direction 105 and cur- rent speed of the vehicle An advantage with the embodiment based on sensor detection is that a recently emerged road irregularity 410 may be detected for the first time, without requiring any vehicle to first- ly pass the road irregularity 410 and trigger the overvoltage protection mechanism. Also, temporarily road blocking obstacles polluting the road surface may be detected by the sen- sor 560 and the inventive method may be performed for avoiding triggering the overvoltage protection.

The embodiments in Figure 5A and/ or Figure 5B may with advantage be combined with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5C, thereby serving as a complement to the previously discussed embodiments. The vehicle 100 when detecting the road irregularity 410 via the sensor 560 may then determine position and store information concerning the road irregu- larity 410 and its geographical position in the database Figure 5D illustrates yet an embodiment of the inventive solution, as regarded in a side view. An ahead vehicle 100a and the own vehicle 100 are driving on a road 101 comprising an energy transfer segment 120 above the vehicle 100 while driving on the road When the ahead vehicle 100a is passing the road irregularity 410, the overvoltage protec- tor of that vehicle 100a may disconnect the pantograph 130a from the energy transfer segment 120 when voltage transferred from the energy transfer segment 120 exceeds a voltage threshold limit.

The ahead vehicle 100a may or may not have the inventive method and solution imple-mented, and/ or have access to the database 530. lrrespectively of which, the behind vehi- cle 100 may receive a wireless signal from the ahead vehicle 100a, informing about that the pantograph 130a of that vehicle 100a has disconnected from the energy transfer seg- ment 120 above the other vehicle 100a, or that the other vehicle 100a has detected the road irregularity 410 exceeding the irregularity magnitude threshold limit. ln some embodiments, the wireless signal from the ahead vehicle 100a may comprise po- sition of the ahead vehicle 100a at the moment of passing/ detecting the road irregularity 410, thereby providing the position of the road irregularity 410 to the behind vehicle The radio signalling bet\Neen the ahead vehicle 100a and the behind vehicle 100 may be made via the respective radio transceivers 550a, 550 applying any of the previously enu- merated radio access technologies, for example using V2V communication.

The behind vehicle 100 may alternatively determine the relative position/ distance to the ahead vehicle 100a at the moment when the ahead vehicle 100a is passing the road ir- regularity 410. The distance may be determined by an onboard sensor 560, for example based on laser or lidar, and calculation of a round trip time of an emitted sensor signal re- flected on the vehicle 100a; or alternatively by using an image sensor 560 and an image recognition program. ln yet other embodiments, the ahead vehicle 100a may not report/ emit signals concerning the road irregularity 410. lnstead, the behind vehicle 100 may detect that the pantograph 130a of that vehicle 100a has disconnected from the energy transfer segment 120 via the sensor 560 and conclude that the reason is because the ahead vehicle 100a is passing the road irregularity Figure 6 illustrates an example of a method 600 according to an embodiment. The flow chart in Figure 6 shows the method 600 for use in a vehicle 100, for controlling current de- mand of an energy converter 260 of the vehicle The vehicle 100 is comprising a roof mounted pantograph 130, configured to connect with an energy transfer segment 120 above the vehicle 100 while driving on a road The energy transfer segment 120 may in some embodiments comprise a first contact wire 121 with positive pole and a therewith parallel second contact wire 122 with negative pole. ln other embodiments, energy transfer segment 120 may comprise a first contact wirewhile the second contact wire is situated under the vehicle 100, or possibly at the side of the vehicle The roof mounted pantograph 130 may comprise, or be attached to a first current collector 135a, dedicated for contact with the contact wire 121 with positive pole and a second cur- rent collector 135b, dedicated for contact with the contact wire 122 with negative pole in some embodiments.

The pantograph 130 of the vehicle 100 may comprise an overvoltage protector 220, con- figured to disconnect the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 when volt- age transferred from the energy transfer segment 120 exceeds a voltage threshold limit. A target issue of the method 600 may be to avoid disconnection of the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 by the overvoltage protector 220 due to vertical vehicle movements during passage of the road irregularity 410 by temporarily decreasing 603 the current demand of the energy converter 260 while passing the road irregularity The vehicle 100 may be any arbitrary kind of means for conveyance, such as a truck, a bus, a car, a motorcycle or similar. ln order to correctly be able to control the current demand the vehicle 100, the method 600 may comprise a number of steps 601-608. However, some of these steps 601-608 may be performed solely in some alternative embodiments, like e.g. step 602 or steps 604-608. Further, the described steps 601-608 may be performed in a somewhat different chrono- logical order than the numbering suggests. The method 600 may comprise the subsequent steps: Step 601 comprises detecting a road irregularity 410 wherein the connection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 is predicted to be disconnected.

The detection of the road irregularity 410 and thereby also the prediction of the disconnec- tion between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 may be made by determining position coordinates, driving direction and speed of the vehicle 100, for exam- ple based on positioning data of a navigator 510 of the vehicle 100. Further, position coor- dinates of the road irregularity 410 may be obtained from a database 530 comprising posi- tion coordinates of road irregularities 410 for which connection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 previously has been disconnected.The detection and or magnitude estimation of the road irregularity 410 and thereby also the prediction of the disconnection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer seg- ment 120 may also, or alternatively, be made by detecting the road irregularity 410 via a sensor 560, for example a vehicle sensor, arranged in the driving direction 105 of the vehi- cle 100. The road irregularity 410 may for example be detected behind a curve ahead of the vehicle 100, for example in case the sensor 560 is situated at the road-side, on another vehicle, on a drone hovering over the road, and/ or a satellite, etc; or a sensor 560 config- ured to detect obstacles behind the curve e.g. based on lidar.

Further, an estimated magnitude of detected road irregularity 410, based on sensor meas- urements may be compared with an irregularity magnitude threshold limit. Also, a distance between the vehicle 100 and the detected road irregularity 410 may be determined, e.g. when the irregularity magnitude threshold limit is exceeded.

The sensor 560, which may be vehicle mounted, may comprise one or several instances of a camera, a laser scanner, an ultrasonic sensor or similar detector on the vehicle 100, which may be of the same or different kind. An advantage with sensor detection of road irregularities 410 is that obstacles appearing only temporarily on the road 101 may be de- tected and adjusted for.

The detection of the road irregularity 410 and thereby also the prediction of the disconnec- tion between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 may also, or alter- natively be made by receiving a wireless signal from an ahead vehicle 100a, informing about that a pantograph 130a of that vehicle 100a has disconnected from the energy trans- fer segment 120 above the other vehicle 100a, or that the other vehicle 100a has detected the road irregularity 410 exceeding the irregularity magnitude threshold limit in another way, for example by a sensor on that vehicle 100a and analysis of sensor detections made by that sensor, similar to or identically with any of the above-described methodologies. Al- ternatively, the road irregularity 410 may be detected via information obtained from the database Step 602, which may be performed in some embodiments, comprises determining a mo- ment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected 601 road irregularity The moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected 601 road irregulari- ty 410 may be determined, based on the determined position coordinates, driving direction and speed of the vehicle 100 and the obtained position coordinates of the road irregularity410, and/ or the determined distance between the vehicle 100 and the detected road irreg- ularity Step 603 comprises temporarily decreasing a current demand of an energy converter 260 of the vehicle 100, to a level below a current threshold limit, while the vehicle 100 passes the detected 601 road irregularity The current demand of the energy converter 260 may be temporarily decreased at the de- termined 602 moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected 601 road irregularity The time period during which the current demand of the energy converter 260 is decreased may thereby be dependent on the current speed of the vehicle 100, but may typically be parts of a second up to perhaps some few seconds.

Step 604, which may be performed in some embodiments, comprises detecting that the pantograph 130 of the own vehicle 100 has disconnected from the energy transfer segment 120 due to the road irregularity 410, for example via a sensor detection.

Step 605, which may be performed in some embodiments wherein step 604 has been per- formed, comprises determining current position coordinates of the road irregularity 410/ road segment 420 wherein the disconnection of the pantograph 130 is detected 604, based on positioning information of the navigator 510 of the vehicle Step 606, which may be performed in some embodiments wherein step 605 has been per- formed, comprises providing the determined 605 position coordinates of the road irregulari- ty 410 to the database 530, for storage therein, associated with information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph By performing the method steps 604-606, a database 530 is built up comprising position coordinates of detected/ confirmed road irregularities 410, which database 530 may be used when performing steps 601-603 for detecting position of road irregularities Step 607, which may be performed in some embodiments wherein step 605 has been per- formed, comprises providing the determined 605 position coordinates of the road irregulari- ty 410 and information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph 130, to a road maintenance service provider.

The latter is thereby informed about the road irregularity 410 and may act accordingly, for example by inspecting and planning for the repairment of the road segment 420 comprising the road irregularity 410; or alternatively remove the obstacle/ road irregularity 410 causing the disconnection.

Road maintenance is thereby promoted, resulting in improved road condition, which in turn will enhance road safety.

Step 608, which may be performed in some embodiments wherein step 605 has been per- formed, comprises triggering de|etion of data concerning the road irregularity 410 from the database 530 when sensor detections of the vehicle 100 at the position coordinates of the expected road irregularity 410 confirms that the road irregularity 410 has been repaired/ removed.

When having repaired the road irregularity 410, or removed the obstacle constituting the road irregularity 410 as the case may be, the road maintenance service provider may re- move the information concerning the particular road irregularity 410 from the database The database 530 is thereby kept updated and relevant. ln some embodiments, data concerning road irregularities 410 and their respective stored position coordinates may continuously be checked, and either verified or deleted from the database 530. For example, by continuously determining vehicle suspension movements during passage of position coordinates associated with any road irregularity 410. ln case the vehicle suspension movements are smaller than a threshold limit, it may be assumed that the particular road irregularity 410 has been repaired/ filled/ removed. The data of the road irregularity 410 could thus be removed from the database By continuously checking posts within and updating the database 530, confidence is en- hanced and none or at least fewer unnecessary current demand decreases of the energy converter 260 may be made, which improves battery charging. Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of a system 700 for assisting a vehicle 100 with a roof mounted pantograph 130 configured to connect with an energy transfer segmentabove the vehicle 100 while driving on a road The system 700 comprises an infrastructure for providing electricity to the vehicle 100,comprising the energy transfer segment 120 arranged above the road 101 so that vehicles are enabled to pass under it, for example at about 4 meters height. The energy transfer segment 120, which may comprise a first contact wire 121 with positive pole and a there- with parallel second contact wire 122 with negative pole in some embodiments. The energy transfer segment 120 is electrically supported by electricity from an electricity network. The energy transfer segment 120 may be supported and upheld by poles at the roadside, or similar arrangement. The system also comprises the vehicle 100 with the roof mounted pantograph 130. The roof mounted pantograph 130 in turn comprises, or is attached to a first current collector 135a, dedicated for contact with the contact wire 121 with positive pole and a second current collector 135b, dedicated for contact with the contact wirewith negative pole, in some embodiments.

The system 700 also comprises a control arrangement 500 in the vehicle 100. The control arrangement 500 is configured to perform at least some of the described method steps 601-608. Thereby, the control arrangement 500 is configured to detect a road irregularity 410 wherein the connection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 is predicted to be disconnected. The control arrangement 500 is also configured to temporarily decrease a current demand of an energy converter 260 of the vehicle 100 be- low a current threshold limit, while the vehicle 100 passes the detected road irregularity ln some embodiments, the control arrangement 500 may furthermore be optionally config- ured to determine a moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected road irregularity 410. The control arrangement 500 may then temporarily decrease the cur- rent demand of the energy converter 260 at the determined moment in time.

The control arrangement 500 may detected the road irregularity 410, and thereby also pre- dict disconnection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 by determine position coordinates, driving direction 105 and speed of the vehicle 100, for ex- ample based on positioning data of a navigator 510 of the vehicle 100. Also, the control arrangement 500 may be configured to obtain position coordinates of the road irregularity 410 from a database 530, comprising position coordinates of the road irregularity 410 for which connection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 previ- ously has been disconnected. The control arrangement 500 may be additionally configured to determine the moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected road irregularity 410, based on the determined position coordinates, driving direction and speed of the vehicle 100 and the obtained position coordinates of the road irregularityln some embodiments, the control arrangement 500 may be configured to detect the road irregularity 410, and thereby also predict disconnection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 via a vehicle sensor 560 arranged in the driving direction 105 of the vehicle 100. The control arrangement 500 may also be configured to compare an estimated magnitude of detected road irregularity 410 with an irregularity magnitude threshold limit; and determine a distance between the vehicle 100 and the detected road irregularity 410 when the irregularity magnitude threshold limit is exceeded.

The control arrangement 500 may be additionally configured to determine the moment in time when the vehicle 100 is going to pass the detected road irregularity 410, based on the determined distance between the vehicle 100 and the detected road irregularity 410 and speed of the vehicle The control arrangement 500 may be configured to detect the road irregularity 410, and thereby also predict disconnection between the pantograph 130 and the energy transfer segment 120 by receiving a wireless signal from an ahead vehicle 100a, informing about that a pantograph 130a of that vehicle 100a has disconnected from the energy transfer segment 120 above the other vehicle 100a, or that the other vehicle 100a has detected the road irregularity 410 exceeding the irregularity magnitude threshold limit. ln yet some embodiments, the control arrangement 500 may be configured to determine current position coordinates of the road irregularity 410 wherein the disconnection of the pantograph 130 is detected, based on positioning information of the navigator 510 of the vehicle 100. The control arrangement 500 may be configured to provide the determined position coordinates of the road irregularity to the database 530, for storage therein, asso- ciated with information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph The control arrangement 500 may in addition be configured to provide the determined posi- tion coordinates of the road irregularity 410 and information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph 130, and thereby indirectly also of the road irregularity 410 to a road maintenance service provider.

The pantograph 130 of the vehicle 100 may comprise an overvoltage protector 220, con- figured to disconnect the pantograph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 when volt- age transferred from the energy transfer segment 120 exceeds a voltage threshold limit.

The control arrangement 500 may then be configured to avoid disconnection of the panto-graph 130 from the energy transfer segment 120 by the overvoltage protector 220 due to vertical vehicle movements during passage of the road irregularity 410 by temporarily de- creasing the current demand of the energy converter 260 while passing the road irregulari- ty The control arrangement 500 may comprise a processor 720 configured for performing at least some of the previously described method steps 601-608 according to the method 600, in some embodiments.

Such processor 720 may comprise one or more instances of a processing circuit, i.e. a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a processing unit, a processing circuit, a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a microprocessor, or other processing logic that may interpret and execute instructions. The herein utilised expression "processor" may thus represent a processing circuitry comprising a plurality of processing circuits, such as, e.g., any, some or all of the ones enumerated above.

The control arrangement 500 may further comprise a receiving circuit 710 configured for receiving a signal from a database 530, a sensor 560, a navigator 510 and/ or a transceiver 550, for detecting the road irregularity 410 and/ or obtain information concerning absolute or relative position of the road irregularity Furthermore, the control arrangement 500 may comprise a memory 725 in some embodi- ments. The optional memory 725 may comprise a physical device utilised to store data or programs, i.e., sequences of instructions, on a temporary or permanent basis. According to some embodiments, the memory 725 may comprise integrated circuits comprising silicon- based transistors. The memory 725 may comprise e.g. a memory card, a flash memory, a USB memory, a hard disc, or another similar volatile or non-volatile storage unit for storing data such as e.g. ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), etc. in different em- bodiments.

Further, the control arrangement 500 may comprise a signal transmitter 730. The signal transmitter 730 may be configured for transmitting a control signal to be received by an energy converter 260 of the vehicle The previously described method steps 601-608 to be performed in the control arrange- ment 500 may be implemented through the one or more processors 720 within the controlarrangement 500, together with computer program product for performing at least some of the functions of the method steps 601-608. Thus, a computer program product, comprising instructions for performing the method steps 601-608 in the control arrangement 500 may perform the method 600 comprising at least some of the method steps 601-608 for control- ling the current demand of the energy converter 260, when the computer program is loaded into the one or more processors 720 of the control arrangement Further, some embodiments may comprise a vehicle 100, comprising the control arrange- ment 500, configured for performing the method 600 according to at least some of the method steps 601- The computer program product mentioned above may be provided for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing at least some of the meth- od steps 601-608 according to some embodiments when being loaded into the one or more processors 720 of the control arrangement 500. The data carrier may be, e.g., a hard disk, a CD ROM disc, a memory stick, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device or any other appropriate medium such as a disk or tape that may hold machine readable data in a non-transitory manner. The computer program product may furthermore be provided as computer program code on a server and downloaded to the control arrangementremotely, e.g., over an lnternet or an intranet connection.

The terminology used in the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the accompa- nying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the described method 600; the control ar- rangement 500; the computer program and/ or the vehicle 100. Various changes, substitu- tions and/ or alterations may be made, without departing from invention embodiments as defined by the appended claims.

As used herein, the term "and/ or" comprises any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. The term "or" as used herein, is to be interpreted as a mathe- matical OR, i.e., as an inclusive disjunction; not as a mathematical exclusive OR (XOR), unless expressly stated othenNise. ln addition, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are to be interpreted as "at least one", thus also possibly comprising a plurality of entities of the same kind, unless expressly stated otherwise. lt will be further understood that the terms "includes", "comprises", "including" and/ or "comprising", specifies the presence of stated features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/ or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, actions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/ or groups thereof. A single unit such as e.g. a processor may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/ distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid- state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distrib- uted in other forms such as via lnternet or other Wired or wireless communication system.

Claims (15)

1. A method (600) performed by a control arrangement (500) of a vehicle (100), wherein the vehicle (100) is comprising a roof mounted pantograph (130), configured to connect with an energy transfer segment (120) above the vehicle (100) while driving on a road (101), wherein the method (600) comprises the steps of: detecting (601) a road irregularity (410) wherein the connection between the pan- tograph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) is predicted to be disconnected; and temporarily decreasing (603) a current demand of an energy converter (260) of the vehicle (100) below a current threshold limit, while the vehicle (100) passes the detect- ed (601) road irregularity (410).

2. The method (600) according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: determining (602) a moment in time when the vehicle (100) is going to pass the detected (601) road irregularity (410); and wherein the current demand of the energy con- verter (260) is temporarily decreased (603) at the determined (602) moment in time.

3. The method (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of detecting (601) the road irregularity (410) wherein the connection between the panto- graph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) is predicted to be disconnected com- prises the sub-steps of: determining position coordinates, driving direction and speed of the vehicle (100); and obtaining position coordinates of the road irregularity (410) from a database (530), comprising position coordinates of the road irregularity (410) for which the connection be- tween the pantograph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) previously has been disconnected.

4. The method (600) according to claim 3, wherein the step of determining (602) the moment in time when the vehicle (100) is going to pass the detected (601) road irregularity (410) is based on the determined position coordinates, driving direction and speed of the vehicle (100) and the obtained position coordinates of the road irregularity (410).

5. The method (600) according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein the step of detect- ing (601) the road irregularity (410) wherein the connection between the pantograph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) is predicted to be disconnected comprises the sub- steps of: detecting the road irregularity (410) via a vehicle sensor (560) in the driving direc-tion of the vehicle (100); comparing an estimated magnitude of the detected road irregularity (410) with an irregularity magnitude threshold limit; and determine a distance between the vehicle (100) and the detected road irregularity (410) when the irregularity magnitude threshold limit is exceeded.

6. The method (600) according to c|aim 5, wherein the step of determining (602) the moment in time when the vehicle (100) is going to pass the detected (601) road irregularity (410) is based on the determined distance bet\Neen the vehicle (100) and the detected road irregularity (410) and speed of the vehicle (100).

7. The method (600) according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein the step of detect- ing (601) the road irregularity (410) wherein the connection between the pantograph (130) and the energy transfer segment (120) is predicted to be disconnected comprises the sub- steps of: receiving a wireless signal from an ahead vehicle (100a), informing about that a pantograph (130a) of that vehicle (100a) has been disconnected from the energy transfer segment (120) above the other vehicle (100a), or that the other vehicle (100a) has detect- ed that the estimated magnitude of the detected road irregularity (410) is exceeding the irregularity magnitude threshold limit.

8. The method (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the further steps of: detecting (604) that the pantograph (130) of the vehicle (100) has been discon- nected from the energy transfer segment (120); determining (605) current position coordinates of the road irregularity (410) where- in the disconnection of the pantograph (130) is detected (604), based on positioning infor- mation of the navigator (510) of the vehicle (100); and providing (606) the determined (605) position coordinates of the road irregularity (410) to the database (530), for storage therein, associated with information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph (130).

9. The method (600) according to c|aim 8, comprising the further step of: providing (607) the determined (605) position coordinates of the road irregularity (410) and information concerning the disconnection of the pantograph (130), to a road maintenance service provider.

10. The method (600) according to claim 8 or claim 9, comprising the further step of: deleting (608) data of the road irregularity (410) from the database (530) when sensor detections of the vehicle (100) at the position coordinates of the expected road ir- regularity (410) confirms that the road irregularity (410) has been repaired. tograph (130) of the vehicle (100) comprises an overvoltage protector (220), configured to The method (600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pan- disconnect the pantograph (130) from the energy transfer segment (120) when voltage transferred from the energy transfer segment (120) exceeds a voltage threshold limit (limit U); and wherein the method (600) avoids disconnection of the pantograph (130) from the energy transfer segment (120) by the overvoltage protector (220) by temporarily decreas- ing (603) the current demand of the energy converter (260) While passing the road irregu- larity (410). graph (130), configured to connect with an energy transfer segment (120) above the vehi- A control arrangement (500) of a vehicle (100) comprising a roof mounted panto- cle (100) while driving on a road (101 ); wherein the control arrangement (500) is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1- nect with an energy transfer segment (120) above the vehicle (100) while driving on a road A vehicle (100) comprising a roof mounted pantograph (130), configured to con- (101), wherein the vehicle (100) comprises a control arrangement (500) according to claim cording to any one of claims 1-11 when the computer program is executed in a control ar- A computer program comprising program code for performing a method (600) ac- rangement (500) according to claim the control arrangement (500) according to claim 12, cause the control arrangement (500) A computer- readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by to carry out the steps of the method (600) according to any one of claims 1-11.