1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electric-powered model vehicles, such as model trains, and more particularly, to a pantograph for a model train or other model vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Various model trains and vehicles are known in the art, which model an actual or imaginary train or vehicle at a reduced scale. In a typical model layout, a model train having an engine is provided. The model train engine includes an electrical motor that receives power from a voltage that is applied to model railway tracks. A transformer is used to apply the power to the tracks, while contacts (e.g., a roller) on the bottom of the train, or metallic wheels of the train, pick up the applied power for the train motor. In some model train layouts, the transformer controls the amplitude, and in a DC system, the polarity, of the voltage, thereby controlling the speed and direction of the train. In HO systems, the voltage is a DC voltage. In O-gauge systems, the track voltage is an AC voltage transformed by the transformer from a household line voltage provided by a standard wall socket, such 120 or 240 V, to a reduced AC-voltage, such as 0-18 volts AC.
Some model train engines include a model pantograph. In full-scale electric vehicles such as electric trains and trolleys, a pantograph is a roof-mounted device on an electric car or locomotive that collects electric current from an overhead catenary. Usually a pantograph can be raised or lowered to make or break a connection with the catenary. Trains having pantographs have been known and functional for years in real-world railroading, and also known and functional to a lesser degree in model railroading. In model railroading, pantographs are mainly used to achieve a more realistic appearance, and may not be fully operational. Some model trains have pantographs that may be fixed in a raised position, or that may be manually adjustable so that a user can raise or lower the pantograph as he wishes.
However, model trains with pantographs may be subject to certain limitations. For instance, pantographs on model trains are not automatically adjustable, unlike pantographs on full-scale vehicles, which may be raised and/or lowered depending on the direction the train is traveling. Therefore, vehicles with pantographs may not be modeled as accurately as desired. For further example, prior-art model pantographs are rigidly coupled to model trains such that it is relatively easy to damage the moveable raised portion of the pantograph during normal handling.
Accordingly, a need exists for a model train with pantograph that overcomes these and other limitations of the prior art.