Patent ID: 8141690

Claim:
A current collecting contact member comprising: a current collecting contact member body which is arranged on the side surface of a vehicle so as to face a train wire laid near a track of the vehicle, and is configured so as to collect electric power from the train wire by means of sliding contact with the train wire, wherein a plurality of grooves extending upward from a lower end part of the contact member body are formed in a contact-side surface of the contact member body, and the plurality of grooves are formed so that upper ends of the grooves are positioned at a lower part of a contact surface which comes into sliding contact with the train wire, wherein the vehicle runs in first and second directions being opposite to each other, the plurality of grooves includes a first groove and a second groove, the first groove is inclined so that the lower end of the first groove is positioned on the rear side of the upper end of the first groove with respect to the first direction of the vehicle, and thereby rainwater entering onto the contact surface flows along at least the first groove when the vehicle is running in the first direction, and the second groove is inclined so that the lower end of the second groove is positioned on the rear side of the upper end of the second groove with respect to the second direction of the vehicle, and thereby rainwater entering onto the contact surface flows along at least the second groove when the vehicle is running in the second direction.