Patent ID: 8678150

Claim:
An electricity-supplying assembly for providing electricity to ground vehicles travelling along a road, comprising: an elevated support disposed adjacent to the road along which the ground vehicle is travelling; a substantially horizontally oriented arm having a predetermined longitudinal extent, mounted upon said elevated support and extending perpendicular to said elevated support so as to extend in a transverse direction across, over, and above the road along which the ground vehicle is travelling, and having a movable portion which is movably mounted upon said arm between a first lowered rest position at which said movable portion is disposed when a ground vehicle is not present beneath said movable portion of said arm, and a second raised supply position at which said movable portion is disposed when a ground vehicle is present beneath said movable portion of said arm; friction structure having a predetermined longitudinal extent and mounted upon said movable portion of said arm such that said predetermined longitudinal extent of said friction structure likewise extends transversely with respect to the road along which the ground vehicle is travelling; electrical supply structure disposed within said movable portion of said arm for supplying electricity to said friction structure disposed upon said movable portion of said arm; and electrical collector structure carried by the ground vehicle for operative engagement with said friction structure carried upon said arm for conducting electricity from said electrical supply structure disposed within said movable portion of said arm to the ground vehicle; said electrical supply structure disposed within said movable portion of said arm comprising a pair of electrical contacts which are spaced from each other when said movable portion of said arm is disposed at said first lowered rest position when a ground vehicle is not present beneath said movable portion of said arm such that electricity is not supplied to said friction structure, and are disposed in contact with each other when said movable portion of said arm is disposed at said second raised supply position when a ground vehicle is present beneath said movable portion of said arm such that electricity is able to be supplied to said friction structure mounted upon said movable portion of said arm and to said electrical collector structure carried by the ground vehicle.