Contributing to Safe and Passenger Services Fuji Electric Door Operating System Adopted in Toyota’s e-Palette

Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Tokyo, Japan; led by President Michihiro Kitazawa) is pleased to announce that its door operating system, which has a demonstrated track record in the field of railway vehicles, has been adopted by Toyota Motor Corporation (headquartered in Aichi, Japan; led by President Akio Toyoda) in the “e-Palette,”* a low-speed autonomous electric vehicle.

Presented by Toyota Motor
(Above) e-Palette with Fuji Electric door drive system

*Toyota’s specially-designed EV for MaaS (Mobility as a Service) integrating autonomous driving technologies

https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/29933371.html

1. Outline

Fuji Electric is strengthening its power electronics systems business, and one of its key business areas is the railway business. The main products of this business are “propulsion systems,” “auxiliary power supply,” and “door operating systems,” which are installed in railcars, as well as substation equipment, which provides a stable power for railway infrastructure.

There are two types of door operating systems: pneumatic systems, which  use air pressure to open/close doors, and electric systems, which use motor power. Fuji Electric has been offering electric door operating systems. The share of electric door operating systems in Japan is about 50% (according to research by Fuji Electric). Fuji has delivered approximately 75,000 door operating systems (for approximately 10,000 vehicles) to date, mainly to railroads in urban areas in Japan, the United States, and Southeast Asia. Stable operation of these door systems has been supporting daily life and commuting of approximately 3 billion people every year.

Toyota has highly appreciated Fuji door operating system for its reliability and safety in the railway environment as well as its design for downsizing and modularity, then decided to adopt the system in its “e-Palette.”

Now that this system has been adopted in the “e-Palette,” Fuji Electric will continue to propose door operating systems for a wide range of applications in the transportation field, including railways and electric vehicles, whose market is expected to expand in the future.

2. Fuji Electric Door Operating System, Designed for Safety

At present, most of the door operating systems used in railway vehicles in Japan are pneumatic. However, many of these are being replaced by electric door operating systems, as the latter provide flexible and more precise opening/closing control and easier maintenance because they have fewer parts than pneumatic systems. This trend is similar around the world, and the need for electric door operating systems is increasing every year.

Electric door operating systems are equipped with servo technologies like that used in robotics and machine tools to control the speed and position of machining. Fuji Electric develops and owns such servo technologies, and has strengths in know-hows that can optimally control the door opening/closing. Fuji’s door operating system takes advantage of these strengths. If something is likely to get caught in a door—for example, a person’s finger, an umbrella, and wheels of a stroller or a wheelchair the system can react immediately to open the door, thereby minimizing the impact in case the object does get caught.

Delivery results of Fuji Electric door operating systems (as of end of Feb. 2020)

  Number of units delivered Main customers (Parentheses indicate the start of revenue service of vehicles equipped with Fuji Electric products)
Japan 43,000 units

East Japan Railway Company – E231 Series (Mar. 2002), E233 Series (Sep. 2009)

East Japan Railway Company – E235 Series (Nov. 2015)

Tokyu Corporation – 2020/6020/3020 Series (Mar. 2018)

Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government – Type 5500 (Jun. 2018)

Overseas 32,000 units

New York City Transit – R160B (Nov. 2006)

Washington Metro – WMATA7000 (Apr. 2015)

Singapore Mass Rapid Transit – C151B (Apr. 2017)

 

3. Inquiries About Fuji Electric Door Operating Systems

Social Solutions Division
Power Electronics Systems Industry Business Group
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

☎ +81-3-5435-7188

For US inquiries, please contact Keiki Hasebe at khasebe@fujielectric.com

Electrical Equipment for Railcars

https://www.fujielectric.com/products/electric_railways/index.html

Electric Driven Door System

https://www.fujielectric.com/products/electric_railways/electric_railways_1.html

 

Top of Page