GB1205161A - Improvements in or relating to railway vehicle suspensions - Google Patents

Abstract

1,205,161. Rail vehicle undercarriages. BRITISH RAILWAYS BOARD. 22 May, 1969 [29 May, 1968], No. 25847/68. Heading B7L. A rail vehicle comprises at least one wheel set at each end thereof, each set supporting a bolster 2 through a laterally compliant suspension in the form of swing links 3, connecting means in the form of a member 6 rigidly attached to the bolster 2 and pivoted to the vehicle body 5 at P so that the body 5 will be constrained to move laterally with the bolster 2 under centrifugal force but permitting tilting of the body 5 relative to the bolster 2, and servo controlled actuating means 7, 8, to tilt the body 5 relative to the bolster 2 through an angle related to the centrifugal force, so that the effective tilt centre O of the vehicle body lies in the central longitudinal plane of the vehicle 9 normal to the track and above the floor of the vehicle. In a modification, Figs. 3, 4 (not shown), coil springs in series with the servo controlled hydraulic jacks 7, 8 permit relative movement between the body 5 and swinging bolster 2, the pivot P being replaced by a tie bar pivoted to the body and the member 6 which is displaced to one side of the central vertical longitudinal plane 9. When cornering, Fig. 2, the body floor is at an angle Qd to the track so that the resultant force of a passenger will be perpendicular to the floor. The tilt centre O is at a distance from the pivot P, approximately equal to the length of the swing links 3. The tilt actuating means, Fig. 7 (not shown), comprises double acting jacks 7, 8 the upper chamber of each being connected to the lower chamber of the other by conduits which are interconnected through an hydraulic pump controlled by an accelerometer. Thus on a signal from the accelerometer the pump will transfer fluid from one pair of interconnected chambers to the other thus raising one piston and lowering the other. Pneumatic or mechanical accumulators connected to the conduits provide vertical and roll suspension. A pair of vehicles may be joined by means of a steering beam 13, Fig. 5 (not shown) and Fig. 6 which is articulated at its ends to vertical and roll pivots on the centre lines of the bodies and is mounted on a pair of wheel sets through a tie bar 11, bolster 2 and swing links 3.