GB2102358A - Driven rail vehicle bogie - Google Patents

Abstract

The bogie e.g. for underground mine-railways, has a housing (10) which carries two pairs of rail wheels (14), means (16) for connecting the housing for rotational motion on a vertical axis to a rail vehicle body, a motor (12) with its drive shaft axis lying on the axis of rotation of the housing and a gear train (18) in the housing including a differential gear (44) connecting the motor drive shaft through drive means (36,38) to at least one pair of rail wheels (14). Preferably both pairs of rail wheels (14) are driven from the motor (12) through the gear train (18) with the gear train to each pair of wheels including a differential (44). The bogie may be provided with yaw-inhibiting wheels 58. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Driven bogie This invention relates to a self propelled or driven rail vehicle bogie.

A rail vehicle according to the invention includes a housing, two pairs of rail wheels, means for connecting the housing for rotational motion on a vertical axis to a rail vehicle body, a motor with its drive shaft axis lying on the axis of rotation of the housing and a gear train in the housing including a differential gear connecting the motor drive shaft through drive means to at least one pair of rail wheels.

Preferably both pairs of rail wheels are driven from the motor through the gear train with the gear train to each pair of wheels including a differential.

Further according to the invention each rail wheel is located on a swingin arm which is pivotally attached to the bogie housing. The wheel arms on each side of the bogie may be connected to each other above their pivot connections with the body through a shock damper which is made from a resilient material.

One pair of wheel arms could extend forwardly and the other rearwardly of the the bogie body in the direction of travel of the vehicle to which the bogie is attached in use and the bogie body may include stops for preventing movement of the forward and rear pairs of wheel arms towards each other. Conveniently the stops are the ends of bars which are attached to the housing with their axes disposed transversely to the bogie direction of travel and their ends positioned to bear on the axles of opposite wheels of one or both wheels are moved towards the other.

Still further according to the invention each differential in the gear train drives two chain drive sprockets which are opposite each other on the outside of the housing, each rail wheel carries a chain sprocket and the drive means is an endless chain connecting the drive sprockets to the wheel sprockets.

Each wheel sprocket may be attached to its wheel through a resilient coupling which is adapted to allow limited rotational movement of the sprocket relatively to the wheel. The coupling may consist of a plurality of rubber or like elements which are attached to each wheel concentrically about its axis of rotation and to which its wheel sprocket is in turn attached.

In a preferred form of the invention the bogie includes a yaw inhibiting arrangement which is positioned on the bogie to engage a stabilizer rail adjacent the bogie tracks on transverse movement of the bogie on its tracks.

An embodiment of the bogie of the invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a half sectioned side elevation of the bogie of the invention, Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectioned plan view of the bogie transmission system, Figure 3 is a sectioned plan view of half of one of the bogie rail wheels, Figure 4 is a half plan view of the bogie, and Figure 5 is a sectioned front elevation of a yaw inhibiting arrangement for use with the bogie.

The wheel and bogie of Figures 3 and 4 are symmetrical about their base chain lines. The transmission system of Figure 2 is symmetrical about the upper chain line in the drawing and the differential is symmetrical about the lower chain line.

The bogie of the invention is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings to include a body 10, a D.C.

traction motor 12 and four rail wheels 14.

The body 10 is generally boxlike and carries a turntable arrangement indicated generally at 1 6 for rotatably attaching the bogie to the body of a rail vehicle and a transmission system 18.

The wheels 14 are each attacted to the free end of a swinging arm 20 which is pivotally attached to the side wall of the body 1 0.

A shock damper 22 is pivotally attached between the two arms 20 on each side of the bogie, above the pivot connection of the arms to the body 10. The dampers 22 each consist of a plurality of hard rubber or like discs which are held between end plates. The dampers, under compression, hold the wheel arms 20 in the positions shown in Figure 1 and resiliently damp vertical movement of the individual wheels and makes them track following.

The wheels 14, as seen in Figure 3, are each journalled for rotation on stub axles 24 which are fixed to the arms 20. Each wheel carries a chain sprocket 26 which is attached to the wheel through a coupling arrangement 28.

The coupling arrangement on each wheel consists of six hard rubber or like resilient blocks 30 which are bonded to a base plate which is located in a cup which is in turn bolted to the wheel. The sprockets 26 are bolted, as shown in the drawing, to inserts embedded in the blocks 30.

The coupling arrangement provides the sprockets with limited rotational movement relatively to the wheels to take up torque loads imposed on the sprockets by their drive chains, not shown, as the wheel arms move about their pivot connections to the body 10 in use.

As is seen in Figures 1 and 4 the opposed pairs of wheels 1 4 are situated on the arms 20 beyond the forward and rear walls of the body 10. The stub axles on which the wheels are rotatable, as is more clearly seen in Figure 3, pass through the arms 20.

Bars 32 are fixed, as shown in Figure 4, to each end of the body between the ends of the stub axles of opposed pairs of wheels. The ends of the bars 32 each carry a hard metal buffer 34 which is in contact or very nearly so with the ends of the stub axles 24 to prevent movement of the axles and so the arms 20 towards each other in use.

The bogie transmission system, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, includes a drive pinion 36 which is coupled to the drive shaft of the motor and meshed with a crown wheel 38 which in turn is keyed to a rotatable shaft 40 which drives, through a spur gear 42, two differentials 44 which are driven by ring gears 45. The differentials are substantially conventional and include planet and satellite gears 46 and 48. The planet gears 46 are spline connected to half shafts 50 which are rotatably located in the side walls of the housing 1 0.

Chain drive sprockets S2 (Figure 1) are fixed to the free ends of the half shafts 50 on the outside of the housing 10 and are covered by chain guards 54. The wheel arms 20 are connected to and rotatable about bosses on the side wall of the housing through which the half shafts pass.

Endless drive chains, not shown, are engaged over the four drive and wheel sprockets 26.

To minimise the possibility of the bogie yawing on sharp bends such as those encountered in underground mine tracks, the tracks include, on at least the sharp bends, centrally located I orTshaped rails 56 such as that illustrated in Figures 1 and 5 of the drawings. The underside of the bogie body 10 carries a pair of spaced yaw inhibiting wheels 58 which are rotatably mounted on vertical axles. Yawing of the bogie in the track bends is prevented by the treads on the wheels coming into contact with the web of the rail 56.

Although only one pair of wheels 58 is shown in Figure 1 the bogie may include a pair of wheels 58 between each pair of wheels 1 4.

In an alternative yaw inhibiting arrangement yaw inhibiting wheels may be located on the sides of the bogie body in position to engage a stabilizer rail alongisde the bends in the bogie tracks should the bogie be laterally displaced on the tracks.

The invention is not limited to the precise constructional details as herein described and the damper 22 could for example be replaced by a hydraulic or pneumatic ram. Additionally, the underside of the body 10 could include brake shoes which are located above the bogie tracks. In this event, to brake the vehicle the fluid is drained from the ram to lower the body and so the brake shoes onto the track.

Claims (14)

1. A rail vehicle bogie including a housing which carries two pairs of rail wheels, means for connecting the housing for rotational motion on a vertical axis to a rail vehicle body, a motor with its drive shaft axis lying on the axis of rotation of the housing and a gear train in the housing including a differential gear connecting the motor drive shaft through drive means to at least one pair of drive wheels.

2. A bogie as claimed in claim 1 in which both pairs of rail wheels are driven from the motor through the gear train with the gear train to each pair or wheels including a differential.

3. A bogie as claimed in claim 2 in which each rail wheel is located on a swinging arm which is pivotally attached to the bogie housing.

4. A bogie as claimed in claim 3 in which both wheel arms on each side of the bogie are connected to each other above their pivot connections with the body through a shock damper which is made from a resilient material.

5. A bogie as claimed in either one of claims 3 or 4 in which one pair of wheel arms extends forwardly and the other rearwardly of the bogie body and the body includes stops for preventing movement of the forward and rear pairs of wheel arms towards each other.

6. A bogie as claimed in claim 5 in which the stops are the ends of bars which are attached to the housing with their axes disposed transversely to the bogie direction of travel and their ends positioned to bear on the axles of opposite wheels if one or both wheels are moved towards the other.

7. A bogie as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6 in which each differential in the gear train drives two chain drive sprockets which are opposite each other on the outside of the housing, each rail wheel carries a chain sprocket and the drive means is an endless chain connecting the drive sprockets to the wheel sprockets.

8. A bogie as claimed in claim 7 in which each wheel sprocket is attached to its wheel through a resilient coupling which is adapted to allow limited rotational movement of the sprocket relatively to the wheel.

9. A bogie as claimed in claim 8 in which couplings consists of a plurlatility of rubber or like elements which are attached to each wheel concentrically about its axis of rotation and to which its wheel sprocket is in turn attached.

10. A bogie as claimed in any one of the above claims including a yaw inhibiting arrangement which is positioned on the bogie to engage a stabilizer rail adjacent the bogie tracks on transverse movement of the bogie on its tracks.

11. A bogie as claimed in claim 10 in which the yaw inhibiting arrangement includes at least one pair of yaw inhibiting wheels which are attached to the bogie housing for rotation on vertical axles and positioned to be located adjacent and on opposite sides of a vertical stabilizer rail which is located between the vehicle tracks on at least the curves of the tracks.

1 2. A rail vehicle bogie including a frame, four swinging arms on the frame, rail wheels on the free ends of the arms and means for preventing transversely opposite wheel arms from moving towards each other.

1 3. A rail vehicle bogie substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the drawings.

14. A rail wheel for a rail vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.