GB1558674A - Rail vehicles - Google Patents

Description

(54) RAIL VEHICLES (71) We, COAL INDUSTRY (PATENTS) LIMITED, a British Company, of Hobart House Grosvenor Place, London SWiX 7AE, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following state ment :- This invention relates to a bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle and to a rail vehicle incorporating such a bogie, for operational association with a linear motor reaction plate extending along a rail track.

According to the present invention a bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle, includes a trolley provided at one end with a single roller and at the other end with a pair of spaced rollers, all three rollers being adapted to run on a linear motor reaction plate extending along a rail track, the trolley carrying the electrical elements of the linear motor and being resiliently suspended from a frame of the bogie via suspension means, and the rollers being adjustable in position with respect to the trolley in order to pre-set the air gap necessary between the elements of the linear motor carried by the bogie and the reaction plate extending along the rail track.

The invention also includes a rail vehicle provided with one or more such bogies.

Thus by running the trolley on the reaction plate, any undulations in the latter are accurately followed by the trolley and hence the elements of the linear motor carried thereby, so as to ensure maintenance of the optimum air gap dimension, while the suspension means from the bogie, which means preferably incorporate springs e.g. coil springs, enables the elements of the linear motor carried by the trolley to lift readily e.g. when rail track points are crossed and also to be suspended from the trolley when points are encountered, at which location no reaction plate is provided.

In detail, the spring suspension means may comprise a plurality of spring loaded arms. Thus, four arms may be provided arranged in symmetrical lateral and longitudinal spaced relationship. The arms may pass through guide bushes carried at a floor of the bogie and terminate in threaded ends, onto each of which ends is screwed a nut with a compression spring located between the nut and the floor.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a bogie in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a part-sectional view taken generally on the line III-III of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a part-sectional view on the line IV-IV of Figure 1.

In the drawings, a bogie 1, comprises a a frame 2 and, at each side of the bogie, leading and trailing wheels 3, each wheel having a flange 4 and a frusto-conical rail engaging periphery 5. Flat bottom rails 6 with a head 7 are mounted on sleepers 8 to provide a conventional rail track. Each wheel 3 has an axis of rotation 9 extending laterally with respect to the direction of travel of the bogie along the rails 6, and each is mounted on a support arm 10 pivotally attached about the suspension axis 11 to the frame 2. The arms 10 at each side of the bogie are pivotally connected about axes 12 to a common power means constituted by a hyraulic piston and cylinder unit 13, operation of which displaces the arms 10 about the axes 11 and hence displaces the wheel rotation axes 9 with respect to the bogie 1.At each side of the frame 2 and between the leading and trailing wheels 3, is carried a brake pad 14 with a lining of friction material engageable with the rail head 7 to act as a track brake for parking or emerencgy purposes, upon exhaustion of fluid from the track brake and suspension hydraulic unit 13.

A trolley 15 comprising a motor unit 16 is suspended from the frame 2 of the bogie 1 on four arms 17, a reaction plate 18 being located between the rails 6 on the sleepers 8. The trolley 15 comprises at one end a roller 19 and the other end a pair of spaced rollers 20, all three rollers running on the reaction plate 18. The rollers i9 or 20 are mounted on an arm 21 pivotally attached at 22 to the motor unit 16, a sc.rew-adjuster 23 enabling the position of the rollers 19 or 20 to be varied with respect to the motor unit 16 so as to pre-set an air gap between the motor unit and the reaction plate 18.The four arms 17 are arranged in symmetrical lateral and longitudinal spaced relationship, each arm passing through a guide bush 24 carried at a floor 25 of the bogie 1 and terminating in a threaded end 26 onto which is screwed a nut 27 which engages, via a washer 29, a co-axial compression spring 30 which also bears on the floor 25. It will be appreciated that any undulations in the reaction plate 18 are copied by the motor unit 16 due to the rollers 19 and 20 following any undulations, thereby maintaining or substantially maintaining the air gap at its optimum dimension e.g. 6.5 mm. Where no reaction plate exists e.g. at points, the trolley 15 is simply suspended from the bogie 1 until the rollers 19, 20 re-engage the reaction plate beyond the points.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle, including a trolley provided at one end with a single roller and at the other end with a pair of spaced rollers, all three rollers being adapted to run on a linear motor reaction plate extending along a rail track, the trolley carrying the electrical elements of the linear motor and being resiliently suspended from a frame of the bogie via suspension means, and the rollers being adjustable in position with respect to the trolley in order to pre-set the air gap necessary between the elements of the linear motor carried by the bogie and the reaction plate extending along the rail track.

2. A bogie as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the suspension means incorporates springs.

3. A bogie as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the springs are coil springs.

4. A bogie as claimed in Claim 2, or Claim 3, wherein the suspension means comprises a plurality of spring loaded arms.

5. A bogie as claimed in Claim 4, wherein four arms are provided arranged in symmetrical lateral and longitudinal spaced relationship.

6. A bogie as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the arms pass through guide bushes carried at a floor of the bogie and terminate in threaded ends, onto each of which ends is screwed a nut with a compression spring located between the nut and the floor.

7. A bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A rail vehicle provided with a bogie as claimed in any preceding Claim.

9. A rail vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. with respect to the bogie 1. At each side of the frame 2 and between the leading and trailing wheels 3, is carried a brake pad 14 with a lining of friction material engageable with the rail head 7 to act as a track brake for parking or emerencgy purposes, upon exhaustion of fluid from the track brake and suspension hydraulic unit 13. A trolley 15 comprising a motor unit 16 is suspended from the frame 2 of the bogie 1 on four arms 17, a reaction plate 18 being located between the rails 6 on the sleepers 8. The trolley 15 comprises at one end a roller 19 and the other end a pair of spaced rollers 20, all three rollers running on the reaction plate 18. The rollers i9 or 20 are mounted on an arm 21 pivotally attached at 22 to the motor unit 16, a sc.rew-adjuster 23 enabling the position of the rollers 19 or 20 to be varied with respect to the motor unit 16 so as to pre-set an air gap between the motor unit and the reaction plate 18.The four arms 17 are arranged in symmetrical lateral and longitudinal spaced relationship, each arm passing through a guide bush 24 carried at a floor 25 of the bogie 1 and terminating in a threaded end 26 onto which is screwed a nut 27 which engages, via a washer 29, a co-axial compression spring 30 which also bears on the floor 25. It will be appreciated that any undulations in the reaction plate 18 are copied by the motor unit 16 due to the rollers 19 and 20 following any undulations, thereby maintaining or substantially maintaining the air gap at its optimum dimension e.g. 6.5 mm. Where no reaction plate exists e.g. at points, the trolley 15 is simply suspended from the bogie 1 until the rollers 19, 20 re-engage the reaction plate beyond the points. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle, including a trolley provided at one end with a single roller and at the other end with a pair of spaced rollers, all three rollers being adapted to run on a linear motor reaction plate extending along a rail track, the trolley carrying the electrical elements of the linear motor and being resiliently suspended from a frame of the bogie via suspension means, and the rollers being adjustable in position with respect to the trolley in order to pre-set the air gap necessary between the elements of the linear motor carried by the bogie and the reaction plate extending along the rail track.

2. A bogie as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the suspension means incorporates springs.

3. A bogie as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the springs are coil springs.

4. A bogie as claimed in Claim 2, or Claim 3, wherein the suspension means comprises a plurality of spring loaded arms.

5. A bogie as claimed in Claim 4, wherein four arms are provided arranged in symmetrical lateral and longitudinal spaced relationship.

6. A bogie as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the arms pass through guide bushes carried at a floor of the bogie and terminate in threaded ends, onto each of which ends is screwed a nut with a compression spring located between the nut and the floor.

7. A bogie for a linear motor powered rail vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A rail vehicle provided with a bogie as claimed in any preceding Claim.

9. A rail vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.