WO2021233876A1

WO2021233876A1 - Connector and connector arrangement for an electrical road track

Info

Publication number: WO2021233876A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/063078
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas SÖRENSEN; Dan ZETHRAEUS
Original assignee: Elonroad Ab
Priority date: 2020-05-20
Filing date: 2021-05-18
Publication date: 2021-11-25
Also published as: SE543590C2; SE2050587A1; EP4153447A1

Abstract

Connector (110A; 110B; 11C) configured to conductively connect a conductor (231A; 232A; 233A) of a first section (211) of an electric road track (210) to a conductor (231B; 232B; 233B) of a second section (212) of the electric road track (210) is provided. The connector (110A; 110B; 11C) comprises a connector body (111A; 111B; 111B) having a first and second end (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C), and a respective coupling member (118) arranged to each of the first and second ends. The respective coupling member (118) is configured to fixedly connect to the conductor of the respective first and second sections (211, 212) of the electric road track (210). The connector body (111A; 111B; 111B) comprises a laminate (115) of a plurality of conductive strips (114) extending between the first and second ends (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C). Each conductive strip (114) is formed from a sheet material. The connector body has a non-linear portion (116A; 116B; 116C) allowing a distance between the first and second ends to vary in order to adapt to temperature related thermal expansion of the first and second sections (211; 212) of the electric road track (210). Also, a connector arrangement is provided.

Description

CONNECTOR AND CONNECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR AN ELECTRICAL

ROAD TRACK

Technical field

The present inventive concept relates to a connector configured to conductively connect a conductor of a first section of an electric road track to a conductor of a second section of an electric road track, and a connector arrangement.

Technical background Over the past years, electric vehicles such as electric cars have developed rapidly. Most current electric vehicles are powered by lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-ion batteries are more stable and offer a higher charging capacity, compared to the conventional batteries such as lead or nickel batteries. However, the use of electric vehicles is limited by capacity of batteries and also by electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In addition, considering the growing demand of electric vehicles, the demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure is expected to be even higher in the coming years. As an alternative to stationary charging stations, the batteries may be charged while driving. This may be made by providing the vehicle with an electrical power collector which is configured to be temporarily arranged in sliding contact with a road track forming part of an electric road system which is arranged along a road. The road track may be seen as a rail formed by a plurality of sections which are arranged one after the other and which are interconnected via conductive electrical joints. Inevitable seasonal temperature differences do however cause problems with thermal expansion of the individual sections which must be accommodated. In a Nordic climate, the seasonal temperature difference between minimum and maximum temperature, expressed as DT, may be as large as 100 °C. Accordingly, there is a need for the sections of the road track and also its conductive electrical joints to be able to accommodate this thermal expansion.

Summary

An objective of the present inventive concept is to address this need. Especially, one object is to provide a connector and a connector arrangement which are configured to accommodate thermal, longitudinal movements of the road track sections. Further and alternative objectives may be understood from the following.

According to a first aspect, a connector configured to conductively connect a conductor of a first section of an electric road track to a conductor of a second section of the electric road track is provided, said connector comprising a connector body having a first and second end, and a respective coupling member arranged to each of the first and second ends; wherein the respective coupling member is configured to fixedly connect to the conductor of the respective first and second sections of the electric road track; wherein the connector body comprises a laminate of a plurality of conductive strips extending between the first and second ends, and each conductive strip of the laminate is formed from a sheet material; and wherein the connector body has a non-linear portion allowing a distance between the first and second ends to vary in order to adapt to temperature related thermal expansion of the first and second sections of the electric road track.

Accordingly, a connector is provided which comprises a connector body which as a result of its non-linear portion may act as a spring that like an accordion may be elastically deformed by compression and de-compression in the longitudinal direction of the electric road track. Thereby, the distance between the first and second ends of the sections of the electrical road track is allowed to vary in order to adapt to temperature related thermal expansion of the first and second sections of the electric road track.

The non-linear portion may by way of example be V-shaped, but it may also be W-shaped or Z-shaped. No matter geometry, it is preferred that all direction changes of the non-linear portion(s) are provided with a radius.

By providing the connector body as a laminate of a plurality of conductive strips of a sheet material, the connector body may be provided with a dense cross- section with substantially no voids. This should be compared to a conventional conductor which typically is made up by a plurality of conductive strands, each strand having a circular cross section. The cross section of such conventional conductor inevitable contains a plurality of voids which do not contribute to the connectivity but only adds to the cross-sectional area. The voids do in fact act as insulation. Thus, by providing a laminate comprising a plurality of conductive strips of sheet material, the full cross-sectional area of the connector body may be conductive, whereas in a conventional conductor, only a portion of the cross-sectional area will be conductive. Accordingly, by the invention, the cross-sectional area of the connector body may be reduced with remained conductivity. Also, any protective housing which may be used to encapsulate the connector during use may be made smaller. In the event the installed road track is arranged on-top of a road surface, the height of the road track may be reduced. Alternatively, if fully or partially submerged in the road surface, the installation depth in the road may be reduced which as such contributes to less construction work during installation and also during maintenance. Also, a reduced height is favourable. In the event the road track is fully or partly submerged, the depth may preferably be smaller than the depth of the asphalt layer in order to at least partly keep the inherent strength of the asphalt layer which typically is 6-10 cm.

The connector body may have a quadrangular cross section and the conductivity of the connector body may correspond to the conductivity of the conductor of the first and second sections respectively to which the connector body is configured to connect.

The cross section may be substantially square or substantially rectangular. The skilled person realizes that the cross section of the connector body depends on the number of conductive strips forming layers in the laminate, their thicknesses and their widths. No matter geometry of the connector body or the number of layers included, the conductivity of the connector body should substantially correspond to the conductivity of the conductor of the first and second sections respectively to which the connector body is configured to connect. Thereby the conductivity will be the same along the full longitudinal extension of the electric road track, no matter if the conductivity is measured along a section or along a connector body.

The choice between a square or rectangular cross section of the connector body may also be determined based on the intended cross section of any protective housing which may be used to encapsulate the connector.

The of conductive strips in the laminate may be arranged in conductive contact with each other. The conductive contact may be provided by a direct physical contact between surfaces of adjacent conductive strips. Alternatively, the conductive contact may be provided by a layer of a conductive adhesive or a layer of conductive lubricant which is arranged between adjacent conductive strips.

The plurality of conductive strips in the laminate may be arranged in a slidable abutting relationship. Thereby the individual conductive strips will be allowed to move by displacement in view of each other to facilitate accommodation of the temperature related thermal expansion of the first and second sections of the electric road track. Thus, instead of the connector body conforming as a solid body, the layers may slide in view of each other to thereby allow the connector body to conform.

The connector body may be encapsulated in an insulating cover. The insulating cover prevents the connector from coming in electrical contact with the ambience thereby causing a short circuit. Also, the connector body and its laminated structure will be protected from intrusion of foreign subject matter such as dust and moist.

The laminate may comprise at least 20 conductive strips. The skilled person realizes that the number of conductive strips may be adapted to the required conductivity.

The connector body may, as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the conductive strips, have a cross section having a height of at least 5 mm and a width of at least 5 mm. Typically, the height and the width respectively are smaller than 40 mm. The ratio between height and width may differ between a first and a second connector body and also between a first, a second and a third connector body.

According to another aspect, a connector arrangement comprising a first and a second connector according to any of claims 1-7 is provided, in which arrangement the first and second connectors are arranged side by side as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the electric road track, and in which the non linear portion of the connector body of the first connector is longitudinally displaced in view of the non-linear portion of the connector body of the second connector.

The design of the connector as such and advantages related thereto have been thoroughly discussed above. Those arguments are equally applicable when the connector(s) are used in a connector arrangement. Hence, to avoid undue repetition, the arguments given above are included by reference.

By longitudinally displacing the non-linear portions of the connector bodies of the first and second connectors, the overall width of the connector arrangement, as seen in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the road track, may be reduced. Thereby the dimensions of any protective housing of the connector arrangement may be reduced.

The connector arrangement may further comprise a third connector according to any of claims 1-7, the first, second and third connectors being arranged side by side as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the electric road track, with the second connector being arranged between the first and third connectors, wherein the non-linear portion of the connector body of the second connector is longitudinally displaced in view of the non-linear portion of the connector body of at least one of the first and third connectors.

By longitudinally displacing the non-linear portion of at least one of the three connector bodies in view of the other two connector bodies, the overall width of the connector arrangement, i.e. as seen in a direction transvers to the longitudinal direction of the road track, may be reduced. Thereby the dimensions of any protective housing of the connector arrangement may be reduced.

In one embodiment, the conductivity of the second connector may be larger than the conductivity of each of the first and third connectors. In another embodiment, the conductivity of the second connector may equal the sum of the conductivity of the first and third connectors. Accordingly, the conductive cross- sectional area of the connector body of the second connector may be larger than the conductive cross-sectional area of the connector bodies of the first and third connectors respectively.

The first connector may be configured to be connected to a first set of conductors of the first and second sections of the electric road track having a first potential, and the second connector may be configured to be connected to a second set of conductors of the first and second sections of the electric road track having a second potential, the first potential being different than the second potential.

The third connector may be configured to be connected to a third set of conductors of the first and second sections of the electric road track having a third potential, the third potential being the same as the first potential. This may be provided for by a conductive strip being arranged in electrical contact with the first and third connector bodies.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious to a person skilled in the art reading the detailed description given below describing different embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other aspects of the present invention will now be described in more detail, with reference to appended drawings showing embodiments of the invention. The figures should not be considered limiting the invention to the specific embodiment. Instead they are used for explaining and understanding the invention.

As illustrated in the figures, the sizes are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and, thus, are provided to illustrate the general structures of embodiments of the present invention. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a connector arrangement comprising three connectors.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross section of a connector body of a connector. Detailed description

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and to fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled person.

Fig. 1 discloses highly schematically a connector arrangement 100 which is configured to be used in an electric road system 200 which comprises an electric road track 210. The electric road system 200 is configured to provide electrical power to a non-disclosed vehicle via a non-disclosed electrical power collector which is supported by the vehicle. The electrical power collector is configured to be arranged in sliding contact with the road track 210 when driving the vehicle. Thereby electrical power may be provided to the vehicle during driving. Alternatively, or in combination, a battery of the vehicle can be charged while driving. The vehicle may be any type of vehicle, such as a car, a truck or a bus.

The road track 210 may be seen as a rail having a longitudinal extension L. The road track 210 may be arranged on top of a road surface, be partially or fully countersunk in the road surface.

To facilitate installation, the road track is typically segmented into a plurality of sections 211, 212 which are arranged one after the other in the longitudinal direction L. A length of each section 211, 212 may be in a range from 2 meters to 20 meters, and preferably in the range from 4 meters to 15 meters. A width of each section 211 , 212 may be in a range from 4cm to 40cm.

Each section 211, 212 comprises at least two, and in some cases three conductors 231 A, 231 B, 232A, 232B; 233A, 233B which extend along the longitudinal extension of the sections 211, 212. The first conductors 231 A, 231 B in two interconnected sections 211, 212 form a first set of conductors. Correspondingly, the second conductors 232A, 232B in two interconnected sections 211, 212 form a second set of conductors, and the third conductors 233A, 233B in two interconnected sections 211, 212 form a third set of conductors.

The sections 211, 212 and their conductors 231 A, 231 B, 232A, 232B; 233A, 233B are interconned by the connector arrangement 100 allowing electric power to be transferred from one section 211 , 212 to another with remained conductivity.

In the following the connector arrangement 100 according to the invention will be described. The disclosed connector arrangement 100 comprises three connectors 110A; 11 OB; 110C and is hence configured to be used when interconnecting two sections 211, 212 which each have three conductors 231 A, 231 B; 232A, 232B; 233A, 233B.

Each connector 110A; 11 OB; 110C comprises a connector body 111A; 111B, 111C having a first end 112A; 112B; 112C and a second end 113A; 113B; 113C. The first and second ends 112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C are each connected to a coupling member 118. The coupling members 118 are in turn configured to fixedly and conductively connect the connectors 110A; 110B; 110C to a respective conductor 231 A; 232A; 232A of the first section 211 and to the respective conductor 231 B; 232B; 233B of the second section 212.

The individual connectors 110A; 11 OB; 110C in the connector arrangement 100 have the overall same design whereby in the following, unless nothing else is given, the design of the first connector 110A will be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

Starting with Figs. 2 and 3, the connector body 111 A of the first connector 110A comprises a laminate 115 of a plurality of conductive strips 114 which extend between the first and second ends 112A; 113A of the connector body 111A. Each conductive strip 114 is formed from a sheet material. The sheet material has, as seen in a cross-sectional direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the strip, a thickness t and a width w.

The plurality of conductive strips 114 are stacked one on top of the other, as seen in the thickness direction of the sheet material, to thereby form the laminate 115. The connector body 111A thereby receives a quadrangular cross section. The cross section may be substantially square or substantially rectangular. The cross section depends on the number of conductive strips 114 forming layers in the laminate 115, the thickness t of the conductive strips 114 and also the width w of the conductive strips 114.

The number of conductive strips 114 and their individual cross-sectional dimensions, i.e. thickness t and width w should be selected so that the conductivity of the connector body 111 A substantially corresponds to the conductivity of the conductors 231 A, 231 B of the first and second sections 211, 212 respectively to which the connector body 111 A is configured to connect. Hence, in other words, no matter geometry of the connector body 111 A or the number of layers included, it is preferred that the connector body 111 A contains an amount of conductive material, and hence layers of conductive strips 114 so that the conductivity of the connector body 111A substantially corresponds to the conductivity of the conductors 231 A,

231 B of the first and second sections 211, 212 respectively to which the connector body 111 A is configured to connect. Thereby the conductivity will be the same along the full longitudinal extension of the electric road track 210, no matter if the conductivity is measured along the conductors 231 A, 231 B of the first and second sections 211 , 212 or along the connector body 111 A. Another parameter influencing the conductivity of the connector body 111 A is the conductivity of the material of the sheet material. The sheet material making up the conductive strips 114 may by way of example be Cupper or Aluminium. It is to be understood that also other metals or alloys thereof may be used. In one embodiment, the sheet material may be Aluminium containing graphene particles.

The choice between a square or a rectangular cross section of the connector body 111 A is the available volume inside a protective housing 150, see Fig. 1, which may be used to encapsulate the connector arrangement 100.

By providing the connector body 111 A as a laminate of a plurality of conductive strips 114 of a sheet material, the connector body 111 A may be provided with a dense cross-section with substantially no voids. Thereby the full cross- sectional area of the connector body 111 A may exhibit the same conductivity.

The conductive strips 114 in the laminate 115 may be arranged in conductive contact with each other. The conductive contact may be provided by a direct physical contact between surfaces of adjacent conductive strips 114. Alternatively, the conductive contact may be provided by a layer of a conductive adhesive (not disclosed) between surfaces of adjacent conductive strips 114. In yet another embodiment, a conductive lubricant (not disclosed) may be arranged between surfaces of adjacent conductive strips 114.

The adjacent surfaces of the conductive strips 114 in the laminate 115 may be arranged in a sliding contact with each other. Thereby the individual strips 114 will be allowed to displace in view of each other to facilitate accommodation of temperature related thermal expansion DI_ of the first and second sections 211, 212 of the electric road track 210. Thus, the layers may slide in view of each other to thereby allow the connector body 111 A to elastically deform like a spring.

In one example, the connector body 111A comprises 50 strips of Aluminium sheet, each strip having a width w of 9 mm and a thickness t of 0,4 mm. This results in the connector body 111 A having a cross section having a height of 9 mm and a width of 20 mm.

The connector body 111 A comprises a non-linear portion 116A. The non linear portionl 16A is preferably arranged in a central portion of the connector body 111 A as seen in its longitudinal extension. In the disclosed embodiment the non linear portion 116A is provided as a V-shape. The non-linear portion 116A may by way of example be V-shaped as disclosed, but it may also be W-shaped or Z- shaped. No matter geometry, it is preferred that all direction changes of the non linear portion(s) are provided with a radius.

The non-linear portion 116A allows a distance between the first and second ends 112A, 113A of the connector body 111 A to vary in order to adapt to temperature related thermal expansion DI_ of the first and second sections 211, 212 of the electric road track 210. In Nordic climate, the seasonal temperature difference between minimum and maximum temperature, expressed as DT, may be as large as 100 °C. The non-linear portion 116A of the connector body 111A may be seen as a spring that like an accordion may be elastically deformed by compression or de compression as seen in the longitudinal direction L of the electric road track 210 as a result of the two sections 211, 212 of the road track 210 acting thereon. This applies no matter if the lengths of the sections 211, 212 are increasing or decreasing due to a temperature change.

The connector body 111 A is in the disclosed embodiment encapsulated in an insulating cover 117. The insulating cover 117 may by way of example be a plastic material which is wrapped around the connector body 111 A. The insulating cover 117 may also be a tube of a plastic material which is threaded along and crimped to the exterior of the connector body 111 A.

As give above a coupling member 118 is arranged to each of the first and second ends 112A, 113A of the connector body 111 A. The respective coupling member 118 is configured to fixedly connect to the conductor 231 A, 231 B of the respective first and second sections 211 , 212 of the electric road track 210. The coupling member 118 is preferably made of a conductive material such as Aluminium or Cupper. The coupling member 118 preferably has a conductivity corresponding to that of the conductive body 111 A. The connector body 111A is in the disclosed embodiment mounted to the respective coupling member 118 by a bolt and a nut arrangement 119. It is to be understood that also other means such as clamping may be used with remained function. The material in the connector body may be different from that in the coupling members. The material in the connector body may by way of example be Aluminium whereas the material in the coupling members may be cupper.

Now turning to Fig. 1 anew. The tree connectors 110A, 110B, 110C are arranged side by side as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension L of the electric road track 210. The three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C are arranged side by side with the second connector 110B being arranged between the first and third connectors 110A, 110C. The non-linear portion 116B of the connector body 111 B of the second connector 110B is longitudinally displaced Y in view of the non linear portion 116A of the first connector body 111A. It may also, although not disclosed, be longitudinally displaced in view of the non-linear portion 116C of the third connector body 111C of the third connector 110C.

The connector bodies 111A, 111 B, 111C of the three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C must not be identical. The non-linear portions 116A, 116B, 116C may have different geometries. Whereas each of the three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C in the disclosed embodiment have a V-shaped non-linear central portion forming an apex, the angles a of the apex’s 125A, 125B, 125C may differ.

The connectors 110A, 110B, 110C may be arranged in a parallel pattern or in a mirrored pattern. This is all exemplified in Fig. 1. Starting from the left in Fig. 1, the three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C will below be referred to as the first, the second and the third connector.

The first connector 110A has a V-shaped non-linear portion 116A with an apex 125A pointing towards the second connector 110B. The second connector 110B has a V-shaped non-linear portion 116B with an apex 125B pointing towards the first connector 110A. Thus, the first and second connectors 110A, 11B are arranged in a mirrored pattern in view of each other. Also, the V-shaped non-linear portion 116A of the first connector 110A is longitudinally displaced in view of the V- shaped non-linear portion 116B of the second connector 110B. Hence, in the context of the invention, a non-linear portion of a connector must not be strict mathematically centred in view of the two ends of its connector body.

The third connector 110C has a V-shaped non-linear portion 116C with an apex 125C pointing in the same direction as the apex 125B of the V-shaped non linear portion 116B of the second connector 110B. Thus, the second and third connectors 110B, 110C are in the disclosed embodiment arranged in a parallel pattern in view of each other.

Although not disclosed, all conductors may be arranged in a mirrored pattern or in a parallel pattern.

The apexes 125A, 125B, 125C of the V-shaped non-linear portion 116A,

116B, 116C of the first, second and third connectors 110A, 110B, 110C may have the same angle a or a different angle.

In the disclosed embodiment, the non-linear portion 116B of the connector body 111 B of the second connector 110B is substantially aligned with the non-linear portion 116C of the connector body 111C of the third connector 110C, i.e. without any longitudinal displacement. It is to be understood that their non-linear portions 116B, 116C may be longitudinally displaced in view of each other. By longitudinally displacing the non-linear portions 116A, 116B, 116C of the connector bodies 111 A, 11 B, 111C of the connectors 110A, 11 OB, 110C in view of each other, the overall width of the connector arrangement 100, as seen in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction L of the road track 210, may be reduced.

The distance between the coupling members 118 of the connectors 110A,

110B, 110C as seen in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction L of the road track 210 is preferably the same. The distance between the coupling members 118 should correspond to the distance between the conductors 231 A, 231 B, 232A, 232B; 233A, 233B in the sections 211 , 212 to which the connector arrangement 100 should be connected.

The connectors 110A, 110B, 110C in the connector arrangement 100 must not have the same conductivity. By way of example, in case of three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C, the conductivity of the second connector 110B may be larger than the conductivity of each of the first and third connectors 110A, 110C. Thus, the conductive cross-sectional area of the connector body 111 B of the second connector 110B may be larger than the conductive cross-sectional area of the connector bodies 111 A, 111C of the first and third connectors 110A, 110C respectively. In one example, the second connector 110B forming a minus conductor comprises 70 strips, each having a thickness Of 0.4 mm and a width of 15 mm, whereas the first and third connectors 110A and 110C forming plus conductors, each comprises 50 strips, each strip having a thickness of 0.4 mm and a width of 9 mm.

In another embodiment, the conductivity of one connector may equal the sum of the conductivity of the other connectors. Two of the conductors may have the same conductivity, which conductivity differs from a third of the three conductors. By way of example, the conductivity of the second connector 110B may equal the sum of the conductivity of the first and third connectors 110A, 110C.

The first connector 110A may be configured to be connected to a first set of conductors 231 A, 231 B of the first and second sections 211, 212 of the electric road track 210 having a first potential, and the second connector 110B may be configured to be connected to a second set of conductors 232A, 232B of the first and second sections 211 , 212 of the electric road track 210 having a second potential, the first potential being different than the second potential.

The third connector 110C may be configured to be connected to a third set of conductors 233A, 233B of the first and second sections 211 , 212 of the electric road track 210 having a third potential, the third potential being the same as the first potential. This may be arranged by a conductive strip 400 being arranged in electrical contact with the first and third connector bodies 111A, 111C.

One of the three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C may be connected to the ground. As given above, the connector 110A with the connector body 111 A and its respective coupling members 118 form part of the connector arrangement 100 in which the number of connectors 110A, 110B, 110C corresponds to the number of conductors 231 A, 231 B, 232A, 232B; 233A, 233B in the two sections 211, 212 of the road track 210 to be interconnected. The connector arrangement 100 which is disclosed in Fig. 1 comprises three connectors 110A, 110B, 110C and is hence configured to be used when interconnecting two sections having three conductors each. It is to be understood that the principle which has been discussed in view of Fig. 1 with three connectors is equally applicable to a connector arrangement where the two sections to be interconnected each comprises two conductors and where the connector arrangement in such case hence only contains two connectors. The two conductors may have the same or different conductivity. Also, one of the two conductors may be connected to the ground.

The person skilled in the art realizes that the present invention by no means is limited to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Connector (110A; 110B; 11C) configured to conductively connect a conductor (231A; 232A; 233A) of a first section (211) of an electric road track (210) to a conductor (231 B; 232B; 233B) of a second section (212) of the electric road track (210), said connector (110A; 110B; 11C) comprising a connector body (111 A; 111 B;

111 B) having a first and second end (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C), and a respective coupling member (118) arranged to each of the first and second ends (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C); wherein the respective coupling member (118) is configured to fixedly connect to the conductor of the respective first and second sections (211, 212) of the electric road track (210); wherein the connector body (111 A; 111 B; 111 B) comprises a laminate (115) of a plurality of conductive strips (114) extending between the first and second ends (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C), and each conductive strip (114) of the laminate (115) is formed from a sheet material; and wherein the connector body (111 A; 111B; 111B) has a non-linear portion (116A;

116B; 116C) allowing a distance between the first and second ends (112A; 112B; 112C; 113A; 113B; 113C) to vary in order to adapt to temperature related thermal expansion of the first and second sections (211 , 212) of the electric road track (210).

2. Connector according to claim 1 , wherein the connector body (111 A; 111 B;

111C) has a quadrangular cross section and wherein the conductivity of the connector body (111 A; 111 B; 111C) corresponds to the conductivity of the conductor (231 A; 232A; 233A; 231 B; 232B; 233B) of the first and second sections (211 , 212) respectively to which the connector body (111A; 111 B; 111C) is configured to connect.

3. Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the conductive strips (114) in the laminate (115) are arranged in conductive contact with each other.

4. Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of conductive strips (114) in the laminate (115) are arranged in a slidable contact with each other.

5. Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the connector body (111 A; 111 B; 111 C) is encapsulated in an insulating cover (117).

6. Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the laminate (115) comprises at least 20 conductive strips (114).

7. Connector according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the connector body (111 A; 111 B; 111C), as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the conductive strips, has a cross section having a height of at least 5 mm and a width of at least 5 mm.

8. A connector arrangement comprising a first and a second connector (110A;

I IOB) according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the first and second connectors (110A, 110B) are arranged side by side as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the electric road track (210), and wherein the non-linear portion (116A) of the connector body (111A) of the first connector (110A) is longitudinally displaced in view of the non-linear portion (116B) of the connector body (111 B) of the second connector (110B).

9. Connector arrangement according to claim 8, further comprising a third connector (110C) according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the first, second and third connectors (110A; 110B; 110C) are arranged side by side as seen in a direction transverse to a longitudinal extension of the electric road track (210), with the second connector (110B) being arranged between the first and third connectors (110A;

I IOC), wherein the non-linear portion (116B) of the connector body (111 B) of the second connector (110B) is longitudinally displaced in view of the non-linear portion (116A; 116C) of the connector body (111A; 111C) of at least one of the first and third connectors (110A; 110C).

10. Connector arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the conductivity of the second connector (110B) is larger than the conductivity of each of the first and third connectors (110A; 110C); or wherein the conductivity of the second connector (110B) equals the sum of the conductivity of the first and third connectors (110A; 110C).

11. Connector arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the first connector (110A) is configured to be connected to a first set of conductors (231 A, 231 B) of the first and second sections (211, 212) of the electric road track (210) having a first potential, and the second connector (110B) is configured to be connected to a second set conductors (232A, 232B) of the first and second sections (211, 212) of the electric road track (210) having a second potential, the first potential being different than the second potential.

12. Connector arrangement according to claims 9 and 10, wherein the third connector (110C) is configured to be connected to a third set of conductors (233A, 233B) of the first and second sections (211 ; 212) of the electric road track (210) having a third potential, the third potential being the same as the first potential.