Tomorrow, when the excitement level in London will rise to a state of emergency, new »Eco-Routemaster« hybrid buses roll through the English capital. As it's usual with everything olympic and everything infrastructural these days, the purchase of those buses may not have been totally clean, but at least the »stop« buttons are - the passengers activate stop signals with their bodies as a source of energy.
While other push-buttons need to be connected to the signal receiver at the bus driver’s position via metres of cable, the BMAC stop button functions with the EnOcean miniaturised energy converter »ECO 200« which should survive more than 300,000 switching cycles and a small batteryless wireless module. The radio signal is unique to each stop button, ensuring that no interference with other buttons in this bus or other buses nearby is going to happen. The receiver module is connected to the bus’ electrical system and the bell pushes are then fitted into place. After installation, each stop button in a bus is programmed for its own logic circuit – for example, front, middle, rear or wheelchair users. The energy harvesting wireless solution saves up to 100 metres of cabling in the bus, saving installation effort and avoiding the need to replace defective cables.
»The concept of a wireless bell push system has been an aspiration for bus manufacturers for years. It takes many hours on the production line to wire up to 25 bell pushes into a vehicle. Battery powered push buttons also prove inadequate as they require routine replacement, regular maintenance and have a negative impact on the environment, especially in their waste cycle,« says Andy Overend, Sales Manager at BMAC. »Thanks to EnOcean’s batteryless wireless technology we have developed a totally electro mechanical Wireless Bell Push system – solving all these problems.«
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