EP3851355B1 - Portal axle for a bogie of a rail vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to the portal axle for a bogie of a rail vehicle, in particular a low-floor rail vehicle, with the features of the preamble of claim 1 and a bogie with such a portal axle.

Portal axles of the type mentioned are well known from the prior art as parts of a bogie for a rail vehicle, in particular a low-floor rail vehicle.

For example, from the DE 10 2017 128 598 A1 a portal axle of a bogie of a rail vehicle is known, the bogie having a frame with support arms arranged at the ends of the frame. The support arm has a bridge which is pivotably arranged on the support arm, with primary spring assemblies being arranged on the inside of the bridge, which are fastened on the one hand to the bridge and on the other hand to the portal axle.

From the US 9,919,719 B2 two individual swivel arms are known to form an axle of a rail vehicle, with a wheel shaft of a wheel set being arranged on the swivel arms. Such an axle forms a so-called solid axle, which has a spring concept that is of interest here, but no tapering is visible for large angles of rotation, so that the angle of rotation of the bogie of such an axle is rather small.

The DE 2006 044 614 A1 discloses an axle with a swing arm solution in which the swing arms have gears that serve as wheel set bearings. The storage is thus designed as a so-called external storage, which is useful for rail vehicles that are operated on a so-called meter gauge. Steering knuckles with a respective axle shoulder are not disclosed, so that it can also be seen here that conventional solid axles only allow a small angle of rotation.

one from the WO 2014/177417 A1 known bogie of a rail vehicle comprises a frame with a pivot bearing for the car body of the rail vehicle. Two portal axles are provided at a distance from one another on the frame, each of the portal axles having a spring arm at each of the two outwardly protruding ends. On the spring arm is a coil spring as the primary spring arranged on which the frame for receiving the pivot bearing is supported.

The WO 2018/042326 A1 again shows a portal axle of a bogie, the portal axle having a steering knuckle at each end for receiving the wheel. In the area where the wheel is accommodated, the steering knuckle is approximately U-shaped with sloping flanks. Openings for receiving fastening means for fixing coil springs are provided in front of and behind the steering knuckle.

A disadvantage of the design of the bogies with portal axles according to the three references mentioned above is that in the area of each wheel at least one, preferably two, vertically arranged primary springs are provided, on which the frame for accommodating the pivot bearing is supported, because the primary springs at least respective outer area of the rotary bearing limits the angle of rotation of the vehicle relative to the bogie.

The DE 4 428 038 C1 also shows a bogie with a frame, the frame of the bogie having four individually suspended wheels to accommodate the pivot bearing for the car body. The wheels are each pivoted on the frame by a pivot arm. The frame is supported by frame supports on the swivel arm in the area of the wheel on a spring assembly, with the spring assembly sitting on the swivel arm at an angle. A portal axle in the true sense is not intended for this bogie.

The disadvantage here is that the floor in the area of the inclined primary spring lies above the low-floor level, which means that the floor cannot be flat throughout.

The object on which the invention is based is to provide a maximum angle of rotation while at the same time having a continuously level floor.

In order to achieve the object, it is proposed according to the invention that, in order to support a frame of the bogie of the rail vehicle, on the one hand the portal axle has a swivel arm at both ends for the pivotable connection of the portal axle to the frame and on the other hand each of the two steering knuckles has a first axle shoulder with a spring device arranged thereon for resilient support of the frame on a support surface of the axle shoulder. The axle shoulder and the swivel arm are oriented to one another in such a way that a normal vector of the support surface and a longitudinal axis of the swivel arm enclose an angle of >0° but <90°.

The first shoulder of the steering knuckle is located locally above the pivot arm. The axle shoulder accommodates a spring device against which the frame of the bogie is supported. This spring device acts as a primary spring. This means that according to the example of the prior art WO 2014/177417 A1 known primary coil spring can be omitted in particular at the rear end of the bogie, which directly leads to a larger angle of rotation between the car body on the one hand and the bogie on the other. The compact design of the portal axle with a steering knuckle arranged at each end on the portal axles with a first axle shoulder for accommodating the respective spring device means that the floor area can be designed flat throughout.

The arrangement of the swivel arms on the portal axle is advantageously below the steering knuckle. The swivel arms are connected to a frame of the bogie. The first axle shoulder is to that Swivel arm immediately adjacent; or to put it another way, the first axle shoulder is located on the side of the steering knuckle facing the center of the bogie, on which in particular the swivel arm is also located.

The arrangement of the inclined spring device at an angle of >0° but <90°, and here in particular in an angular range of 30° to 60° and preferably of about 45°, ensures that the spring device is loaded evenly over its entire surface during compression becomes. This is because a circular arc section is described during the compression process.

Advantageous features and refinements of the invention result from the dependent claims.

The portal axle has at least one support axle. This can be rectangular in cross section, for example. It is also conceivable to use several support axles that can run side by side.

Advantageously, the at least one portal axle has a carrier at both ends for articulation on the at least one support axle. In the case of a carrying axle with a rectangular cross section, the carrier can be part of the carrying axle. If there are several support axles running parallel to one another, these are preferably accommodated by separate supports arranged at both ends.

According to a further advantageous feature of the invention, the steering knuckle is arranged on the support or is formed in one piece with it. Alternatively or additionally, the swivel arm can be arranged on the carrier or can be designed in one piece with it. Advantageously, a longitudinal axis of the steering knuckle is approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swivel arm. From this it is clear that the swivel arm runs under the steering knuckle during operation, which allows a low center of gravity of the frame, which in turn brings advantages in terms of the low floor of the vehicle in the area of the bogie, as well as a level floor over a larger one area allows.

In detail, it can be provided with regard to the swivel arm that the swivel arm has a bearing bush on the side of the bogie facing the frame. This bearing bush accommodates one end of a frame traverse, which shows a bearing block with two bearing flanges at both ends to be received by the respective bearing bush, the bearing flanges serving to accommodate an axle stub which is rotatably mounted in the bearing bush. The bearing block can be part of the frame. Thus, the frame traverse is part of the frame. The frame can optionally include a rotary bearing, by means of which a car body is rotatably accommodated on the frame, as a result of which greater angles of rotation of the car body can also be achieved.

According to one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the stub axle has a second axle shoulder, which is designed to run obliquely towards the first axle shoulder. This means that an end face of the second axle shoulder is—in a projection onto a plane transverse to the main direction of extent of the support axle—inclined to the support surface of the first axle shoulder. It is clear from this that the steering knuckle is designed approximately in the manner of a trapezoid or triangle in the view, with the flanks of this steering knuckle, which are designed to run towards one another at an angle, forming the first and the second axle shoulder. The oblique course of the second axle shoulder in the direction of the first axle shoulder causes a relatively larger rotation angle of the bogie due to the free space created in this way behind the steering knuckle to the car body is made possible, which allows driving through tight curves.

According to a further feature of the invention, the steering knuckle can taper at least in sections starting from the axle shoulder in the direction of the longitudinal axis. The consequence of this is that there is an increased installation space in the direction of the ends of the bogie, which serves the purpose of enabling the maximum possible angle of rotation of the bogie relative to the car body.

• bei einer Projektion auf eine Ebene, die die Längsachse und eine Haupterstreckungsrichtung einer/der Tragachse der Portalachse enthält,
• eine in Richtung der Tragachse liegende erste Seitenfläche des Achsschenkels zu der Haupterstreckungsrichtung geneigt ist, und
• eine gegenüberliegende zweite Seitenfläche des Achsschenkels im Wesentlichen quer zur Haupterstreckungsrichtung orientiert.

In this context, it can be specifically provided that

• in a projection onto a plane that contains the longitudinal axis and a main direction of extension of a/the support axis of the portal axis,
• a first side surface of the steering knuckle lying in the direction of the support axis is inclined to the main direction of extension, and
• an opposite second side surface of the steering knuckle is oriented essentially transversely to the main direction of extension.

It is clear from this that the first side surface of the steering knuckle is designed to run obliquely, increasing the distance from the second, opposite side surface. As already explained elsewhere, this provides the maximum possible space for the angle of rotation.

At the same time, this results in an increase in the support surface of the first axle shoulder for the spring device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the steering knuckle has a bearing element for bearingly receiving a wheel or wheel stub axle of the wheel. In concrete terms, the bearing element can be a bearing journal or bolt.

It has already been pointed out that the steering knuckle accommodates a spring device on the first axle shoulder. This spring device is in particular formed from a plurality of elastomer spring assemblies which are arranged one above the other. This means that several elastomer cushions are provided in each case, which are separated from one another by a metal plate, so the spring device is designed similar to a rubber-metal bearing. It can be provided here that the stiffness of the elastomer spring assemblies or elastomer cushions is the same or different. This means that the spring characteristic can be influenced by selecting the elasticity of the individual elastomer spring assemblies.

The invention also relates to a bogie of a rail vehicle, in particular a low-floor rail vehicle, with two portal axles according to the invention spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a frame for receiving the car body being provided between the portal axles of the bogie. Optionally, the bogie may include a pivot bearing carried by a cradle on the frame. The pivot bearing means that the car body can be rotated relative to the frame, which means that the car body can also rotate at a larger angle.

The frame can be connected to the respective swivel arms of the two portal axles by the respective frame traverses. In concrete terms, the connection can be made by means of the bearing bushings provided at the ends of the swivel arms, which enable the swiveling connection of the frame traverse to the corresponding portal axle. According to a further feature of the invention, the frame has a spring arm at each of its four ends, which is connected to the spring device on the first axle shoulder of the respective steering knuckle. It is clear from this that each portal axis can be pivoted about the two bearing bushes assigned to it on a circular path against the force of the respective spring device.

The arrangement of the swivel arms on the portal axle, and here in particular the supports of the portal axle, takes place below the steering knuckle. In this respect, a relatively large level and low-floor floor is thereby provided.

Fig. 1

zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht auf das Drehgestell, das lediglich schematisch dargestellt ist;

Fig. 2

zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht auf eine Portalachse des Drehgestells;

Fig. 3

zeigt eine weitere Ansicht auf die Portalachse des Drehgestells;

Fig. 4

zeigt eine Seitenansicht auf den Achsschenkel der Portalachse des Drehgestells.

The invention is explained in more detail below by way of example with reference to the drawings.

1

shows a perspective view of the bogie, which is shown only schematically;

2

shows a perspective view of a portal axle of the bogie;

3

shows another view of the portal axis of the bogie;

4

shows a side view of the stub axle of the portal axle of the bogie.

This in 1 Bogie designated 1 has a frame 3, the frame 3 being connected at both ends to a respective portal axle 20. The frame 3 itself has two frame supports 4 running parallel to one another, each with a spring arm 5 at the end. Between the frame supports 4, a pivot bearing traverse 7 is arranged, on which the pivot bearing 9 is shown schematically. Here, the pivot bearing traverse 7 via in figure 1 secondary springs, not shown, may be supported on the frame support 4 . The pivot bearing 9 is used to rotatably accommodate the car body, not shown. A frame traverse 11 runs parallel to the respective portal axis and is articulated at the end to the frame supports 4 .

The portal axle 20 comprises a cross-sectionally rectangular support axle 22, which extends in a main extension direction 22a and has a support 24 ( 4 ) having. A swivel arm 29 is arranged on the support 24 in the direction of a longitudinal axis 27 and is provided with a bearing bush 30 at the end. The steering knuckle 32 , which receives the wheel 33 , is fastened to the carrier 24 . The two swivel arms 29 connect the portal axle 20 to the frame 3 of the bogie 1 . To connect the frame traverse 11 to the two swivel arms 29 of each portal axle 20, a bearing block 13 is provided on the frame traverse 11 in the area of each swivel arm 29, which comprises two bearing flanges 15 which accommodate an axle stub 16 which is located in the bearing bush 30 of the swivel arm 29 is rotatably mounted.

The steering knuckle 32 includes a first axle shoulder 35 for accommodating a spring device 37 . The frame supports 4 each have the spring arm 5 at the end, which is connected to the spring device 37 . The spring arms 5 are thus resiliently supported on support surfaces 35a of the respectively associated first axle shoulder 35. The spring device 37 comprises individual elastomer spring assemblies 38 which are each separated from one another by metal plates 38a. The first axle shoulder 35, which serves to accommodate the spring device 37, and specifically the normal vector 35b of the support surface 35a runs at an angle α of approximately 45° to the longitudinal axis 27 of the swivel arm 29.

Opposite the first axle shoulder 35, a second axle shoulder 36 is provided, which runs obliquely towards the first axle shoulder 35, so that the steering knuckle 32 is approximately trapezoidal or triangular in the view. The oblique course of the second axle shoulder 36 in the direction of the first axle shoulder 35 creates a free space in the area of the second axle shoulder 36, which causes the angle of rotation of the car body relative to the bogie to be increased, with the result that such a vehicle can negotiate tight curves can drive through.

In this context, the spring device 37 on the first axle shoulder 35 forms the primary spring device, without a further spring having to be provided in the region of the second axle shoulder, as is sometimes the case in the prior art. This also means that the space available in the area of the second axle shoulder benefits from a larger rotation angle.

Out of 3 It can be seen that the stub axle 32 is designed to widen in the direction of the first axle shoulder 35 , specifically in that the side surface 32a of the stub axle running on the inside runs at an angle to the longitudinal axis 27 . This increases the available installation space in the direction of the ends of the bogie 1, with the result that the angle of rotation of the car body increases relative to the bogie.

Due to the arrangement of the swivel arm 29 under the stub axle 32 in connection with the second axle shoulder 36 running obliquely towards the first axle shoulder 35, not only is a large one thus achieved Angle of rotation provided, but also a continuously level floor, which, due to the low height due to the arrangement of the pivot arm 29 below the steering knuckle 32, allows the low-floor design of a vehicle in the floor area of the bogie 1.

Claims (15)

1. A portal axle (20) for a bogie (1) of a rail vehicle, in particular of a low floor rail vehicle, wherein the portal axle (20) has a respective axle journal (32) at both ends,
   characterized in that
   for the support of a frame (3) of the bogie of the rail vehicle

   • the portal axle (20) has a respective pivot arm (29) at both ends for the pivotable connection of the portal axle (20) to the frame (3); and

   • each of the two axle journals (32) has a first axle shoulder (35) having a spring device (37) arranged thereon for a resilient support of the frame (3) at a support surface (35a) of the axle shoulder (35),

   wherein the axle shoulder (35) and the pivot arm (29) are oriented toward one another such that a normal vector (35b) of the support surface (35a) and a longitudinal axis (27) of the pivot arm (20) include an angle (α) of > 0°, but < 90°.
2. A portal axle (20) in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the portal axle (20) has at least one support axle (22) extending between the two axle journals (32).
3. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the pivot arm (29) has a bearing sleeve (30) for the supporting reception of the frame (3).
4. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the axle journal (32) tapers at least sectionally starting from the axle shoulder (35) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (27).
5. A portal axle (20) in accordance with claim 4,
   characterized in that

   - on a projection onto a plane that includes the longitudinal axis (27) and a main direction of extent (22a) of a/the support axle (22) of the portal axle (20) -

   • a first side surface (32a) of the axle journal (32) disposed in the direction of the support axle (22) is inclined toward the main direction of extent (22a); and

   • an oppositely disposed second side surface (32b) of the axle journal (32) is oriented substantially transversely to the main direction of extent (22a)
6. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the at least one portal axle (20) has a respective support (24) at both ends for the linking of a/the support axle (22) of the portal axle (22).
7. A portal axle (20) in accordance with claim 6,
   characterized in that
   the axle journal (32) and/or the pivot art (29) is/are arranged on or at the support (24).
8. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the axle journal (32) has a second axle shoulder (36) whose front surface (36a) is inclined - in a projection onto a plane transverse to the main direction of extent (22a) of the support axle (22) - toward the support surface (35a) of the first axle shoulder (35).
9. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the axle journal (32) has a bearing element for the supporting reception of a wheel (33) of the portal axle (20).
10. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
    characterized in that
    the spring device (37) has at least one, preferably a plurality of elastomer spring packages (38) arranged above one another.
11. A portal axle (20) in accordance with claim 10,
    characterized in that
    the stiffness of the elastomer spring packages (38) is similar or dissimilar.
12. A portal axle (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims,
    characterized in that
    the angle (α) between the normal vector (35b) and the longitudinal axis (27) is in a range between 30° and 60°.
13. A bogie (1) for a rail vehicle, in particular a low floor rail vehicle, having two portal axles (20) in accordance with one of the preceding claims arranged spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the rail vehicle,
    characterized in that
    a frame (3) for the reception of a railcar body of the rail vehicle is provided between the portal axles (20) of the bogie (1), with a pivot bearing (9) optionally being provided for the rotatable reception of the railcar body.
14. A bogie (1) in accordance with claim 13,
    characterized in that
    the frame (3) is connected to the respective pivot arms (29) of the two portal axles (20), in particular by means of the bearing sleeves (30) of the pivot arms (29).
15. A bogie (1) in accordance with claim 13 or claim 14,
    characterized in that
    the frame (3) has two respective spring arms (5) at both ends that are connected to the respective spring device (37).

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