HU214409B - Bogie frame for adjustable gauge railway vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

Bogies for railway vehicles with variable gap between wheels, consisting of a center frame (1), to which four oscillating arms are united by means of relative joints (2), at each of which ends bearing boxes for each rolling assemblies (3) are housed, which can be transversely moved, the wheel being located in each of two positions corresponding to two gauges, relying on the fact that the opposed portion of each arm rests on a helical spring (4), the lower end of which is resting on the center frame bottom, and at the end of this portion there is mounted a vertical shock absorber (5). <IMAGE>

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bogie which is adjustable for track-mounted rail vehicles and is widely used in the field of railway vehicle construction.

As is well known, some of the rail networks for passenger and freight transport use different track gauges, which causes many problems. A number of inventions have so far addressed these problems in an attempt to overcome the shortcomings of current bogies in passenger and freight transport.

Despite these efforts, no solution has yet been found to solve these problems completely, especially with conventional wagons fitted with bogies.

One known solution is to replace the entire bogie by, obviously, raising the vehicle body, before removing the brake system components, and disconnecting the electrical cable connections, etc. These operations, on the one hand, are very time consuming, on the other hand, cumbersome and require special expertise.

It is also known to use auxiliary structures to adjust the distance between the impellers, i.e. the track width, of the wheel axle, if necessary. However, this proposal cannot be considered as a widely practicable solution as it is extremely complex and expensive in terms of structure, which would entail too much effort to set up and maintain.

The main difficulty in using this type of mechanism is how to secure the impellers to the shaft, since this method of fastening must be secure and sufficiently rigid. Note that in conventional solutions the wheels are generally fixed to the shaft by a tight fit. In addition, the gauge adjustment required, if necessary, must be carried out in a relatively short period of time, and significant distances have to be covered by such a displaced spaced bogie, i.e., without any maintenance work being carried out. From a practical point of view, it is extremely difficult to find a solution that satisfies the complex set of requirements mentioned above.

For example, his own prior art, ES-332 453, is known. from our Spanish patent specification (corresponding to French patent specification FR-1 558 329) a one-axle bogie with variable wheelbase. Here, the wheels are supported by the curved projections of the frame, the vertical portions of which support the bearing housings. The wheel units are incapable of relative displacement in the vertical direction, e.g. bumps from track surface irregularities are transmitted directly to the bogie, which is undesirable. Thus, the solution known from the above document did not take into account a number of requirements which, in turn, are essential for a good running performance in a modern railway bogie.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above deficiencies, i.e. to provide an improved bogie for rail-mounted vehicles, whereby the problem of variable wheel spacing, i.e. wheel alignment, is solved by providing the vehicle with advanced running properties at relatively low cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention has been solved by a bogie consisting of a central frame and four wheel units, which are transversely movable to move the bogie wheels to the two track gauges, each wheel unit having an axle, wheel, two brake discs they are arranged at the ends of the shaft and are provided with locking devices to prevent transverse movement. The bogie according to the invention has four pivot arms which are connected to the central frame via hinges and have one end provided with an inner and outer cradle to accommodate the bearing housings of the wheel unit, while the other end has a pivoting spring for each pivot arm. leaning on the central frame; at the end of the pivoting cam portion supported by the coil spring, a vertical shock absorber is provided, and the pivot arm with its joint, the coil spring and the shock absorber form the primary suspension of the wheel assembly.

In a preferred development of the bogie according to the invention, the outer cradle of each swing arm is provided with a centering slide protrusion extending perpendicular to the outer side of the cradle, and the center frame is provided with a further centering sliding shank near the outer end of the hinge; the sliding and centering rails of both sliding shafts are supported and guided on the sliding and centering rails.

It may also be desirable to have an embodiment wherein the sliding shoe comprises a sliding member which is disposed in contact with the upper surface of the rail and rests on its sole through a ball joint in the sliding shank, and a centering member extending on the outer side of the central frame. .

Alternatively, the sliding element and the centering element are made of plastic and are water-lubricated when sliding on the rail.

In the bogie according to the invention, the wheels in each wheel unit are connected to an independent axle which is pivotally mounted at its ends. We take advantage of this arrangement to adjust the entire wheel assembly.

Thus, the features mentioned for the wheel unit ensure relatively easy and fast track gauging, and in practice the wheel unit has the same running properties as conventional single track gauge units.

Thus, the rail trolley according to the invention, thanks to its variable track gauge, makes it possible to quickly adjust the wheel spacing by passing the bogie on an appropriate track gauge device to perform the operations of switching between the different gauge rail networks.

HU 214 409 Β

The present invention provides the following main advantages with the new type of bogie:

- wheel units of the same type as those used for many years by the PATENTES TALGO axles, which consist of two wheels and are in constant use on the European railways and on the Spanish two-track rail networks;

- the transition from one track to another can be accomplished in a track-adjusting device similar to that currently used, such as that used for the above-mentioned TALGO wheel units;

- the steering and braking characteristics are the same for both gauges, so that no additional action is required when changing from one gauge to another.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a bogie according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the solution of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a wheel unit of the bogie of Figures 1 and 2 in a relatively larger scale;

Figure 4 is a detail view of the solution of Figure 1 in a relatively larger scale;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the detail of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-B of the detail shown in Figures 4 and 5;

Figure 7 is a detail view of Figure 4 in a relatively larger perspective view;

Figure 8 is a partially sectional view of the detail of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line C-D in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a partially sectional front view of the wheel unit;

-all. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the locking device;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the detail of Figure 11;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of a gauge adjusting device;

Figure 14 is a sectional and partially sectional view showing the centering and sliding unit.

The drawing shows an exemplary embodiment of a variable gauge bogie according to the invention. It has a central frame 1 to which the pivot arms are connected by means of one of their ends A via the hinges 2. In the present case, four such swing arms A are provided with the bogie according to the invention, the other end of each of which is connected to a wheel unit 3 via bearing housings 9.

The wheel units 3 can be displaced transversely to two end positions according to the invention, according to the two track gauges. In Fig. 2, the position corresponding to the wider track is indicated by a solid line and the position corresponding to the narrower track is indicated by a thin score line.

The end of the pivot arms A opposite to the wheel unit 3 is seated on a coil spring 4, the lower end of which is supported on the bottom of the central frame. A vertical shock absorber 5 is attached to the end of the portion of the swing cam A supported by the coil spring 4.

The aforementioned assemblies, namely the pivot arm A, with the joint 2, the spring 4 and the shock absorber 5, form the primary suspension for the wheel unit 3. Note that in addition to the primary suspension, the bogie may also be equipped with a secondary suspension (not shown).

The bogie according to the invention is equipped with independently suspended wheels to improve cornering and reduce dynamic loads. Such a bogie can be mounted e.g. also with an auxiliary control device for controlling the rotation of the bogie corner.

As mentioned above, each bogie has four wheel units 3, one of which is shown separately in Figure 3. It has a shaft 6, a wheel 7 and a brake disc 8 on each side, which in this case are rotatable. The ends of the shaft 6 are embedded in the bearing housings 9.

Figure 4 is a partially sectional view showing that the bearing housing 9 has a cylindrical surface 10 on its upper part on which the swing arm A of the bogie sits in normal driving position.

On the support surfaces 10, for a more even distribution of load, an elastic plate may be inserted between the bearing housing 9 and the cradle B of the receiving cam A and secured in position to one of the surfaces (not shown). The relative vertical position of the bearing housing 9 and the cradle B of the swing arm A can thus be accurately determined.

For a better understanding of the present description, it is emphasized that the "longitudinal" forces and displacements mentioned below are parallel to the assembly, but the "transverse" axes, forces and displacements are perpendicular thereto and are always understood to be horizontal.

The supporting surface 10 is thus cylindrical in longitudinal direction and thus automatically centers the bearing housing 9.

The bearing housing 9 has vertical, flat front faces 11 at the front and rear, to which the flat faces of the inserts 12 and 13 are also connected (Fig. 8). An elastic sleeve (not shown) is disposed between the outer periphery of the bearing housing 9 and the cradle B, so that the bearings have a small amount of displacement to compensate for minor manufacturing errors. This low level of self-alignment is advantageous because the transverse forces during travel are transmitted to the pivot arms A via the bearing housings 9 of the shaft.

Fig. 7 shows that each of the bearing housings 9 is provided with a fastening element 14 on its front and rear front faces, which in this case are fastened to the bearing housing 9 and serve as a transverse fastening element.

The stops 15 and 15 'of the cradle B of the swing arm A and the locking device 16 prevent the transverse (axial) displacement of the bearing housings 9 (Fig. 10).

HU 214 409 Β

The two vertical and longitudinal faces of the inserts 12 are spaced apart (Fig. 8), which corresponds to the value that can be formed by subtracting the thickness of the fastener 14 from half the track gauge.

All. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the locking device 16 is in this case made up of a single piece of bridge 17. The locking device 16 is adjustable longitudinally between the two vertical front sides of the pivot arm A. The locking devices 16 are adjustable between the vertical longitudinal sides of the inserts 12 and 13. The inserts 12 and 13 are in this case secured to the pivot arm A. It follows from the above that the locking devices 16 can only be adjusted in the vertical sense, since their displacement in other directions is prevented by the rigid stops 15 and 15 '.

The locking devices 16 are secured in their normal traveling position by spring biased springs 18, their bias being greater than the sum of the weight of the locking devices 16 and the sum of the dynamic forces applied. Optionally, the spring mechanism 18 may be supplemented with a security locking device 19 (Fig. 8).

The locking device 16 has 17 bridges underneath. 7A, the T-shaped structural member for the correct adjustment device can be inserted into the lower part of the bridge. This T-shaped portion displaces the bridge 17 in a horizontal direction, thereby causing the locking device 16 to move by overcoming the force of the springs 18 while overcoming the friction and the holding force of the safety locking device 19. The bridge 17 is configured to accommodate the oblique plane of the release line of the track gauge device (not shown here), thereby also centering the bridge 17. The construction of the bridge 17 is shown in Figures 11 and 12.

The inserts 12 and 13 are arranged on the vertical front face of the pivot arm A, as noted above, and serve as a transverse stop for the locking devices 16. Further, the inserts 12 and 13 also have transverse vertical front faces on which the front faces 11 of the bearing housings 9 can be adjusted longitudinally.

Figure 8 shows that the insert 13 also has a transverse guide 20 having an oblique upper surface which serves as a sliding surface for the bearing housing 9 during transverse displacement of the wheel unit 3.

The lower ends 21 of the fasteners 14 are of the same skew (Fig. 7) and, under normal driving conditions, are spaced from and parallel to the upper sides of the cross-member 20.

During the installation of the bogie, the bearing housings 9 are lowered until the lower front faces 21 of the transverse fasteners 14 are raised on the cross-member 20. Transverse displacement is maintained by this relationship.

The slanting of the sliding surfaces of the cross-guides 20 prevents any element from being able to be displaced by the lateral displacement of the wheels 7 of the wheel units 3 during the track adjustment. Slide plates may be placed on the oblique faces 21 of the fasteners 14, which may be made, for example, of sintered metallic material. They have a low coefficient of friction and high pressure resistance. The transverse displacement of the wheel units 3 can thus be facilitated during tramlining.

Although not shown in the drawings, the brake actuator for the wheel 17 may optionally be locked so that it can be displaced e.g. on the vertical and transverse faces 22 of the fasteners 14 (Fig. 7).

By adjusting the wheel spacing 7 it is possible to move the bogie according to the invention to one of two specified track gauges, which can be done as follows:

The distance between the wheels 7 may be adjusted by means of an appropriate adjustment device which is arranged on the adjustment station (Fig. 13). This adjustment is made by passing each bogie at reduced speed through the adjusting device, for example up to 20 km / h.

Figure 13 schematically shows the main elements of a correct adjustment device, which are as follows:

The end of the larger gauge pair of tracks is represented by 23 and the opposite end of the smaller gauge pair of tracks is marked by 24.

At the distance between the ends 23 and 24, the adjusting device is arranged having sliding and centering guide rails 25, locking and unlocking units 26, guides 27 for guiding and moving the wheel units 3 and guides 28.

Suppose that the bogie to be adjusted in FIG. 13 rolls through the end 23 of the left-hand pair of larger track gauges to the adjusting device. When the vehicle is moving slowly, the changeover is as follows:

To change the wheel units 3, it is first necessary that the wheels 7 are unloaded. This relief is achieved by the rails 25. This relieving of the impellers 7 can be achieved very smoothly by leaving the end 23 of the larger track gauge pair in contact with the sliding and centering guide rails 25 with the swing arms A and 29 of the bogie (Fig. 2).

In order to provide a sufficiently large support surface between the slides 30 and the rails 25, particularly during the initial contact phase, the slides 30 consist of a sliding member 30B on the upper surface of the rail 25 and a pivotally attached sole 30A which is preferably articulated. Further, the sliding shoe 30 also has a vertical centering member 30C which rests on the inside of the rail 25 (Fig. 14).

The sliding member 30B and optionally the centering member 30C of the support and centering slides 30 may be made of a suitable plastic material which may be lubricated with, for example, water to achieve a relatively low friction coefficient during sliding. Lubrication with water has the great advantage over other lubricants that it does not adhere to impurities.

After releasing the hub unit 3, we need to unlock the double lock for which the adjuster4

The HU 214 409 Β is equipped with four release-locking wires 26. They are arranged in the longitudinal axis of the adjusting device and cooperate with the lower locking device. The upper portion of the conductor 26 has a T-shape that can be inserted into the bridge 17 and, due to the vertical profile 31 (Figs. 4 and 5), the locking devices 16 are lowered and disengaged in the central portion of the conductors.

Referring to Figure 12, the slides 32 of the bridge 17 are made of plastic, which is also water-lubricated for the aforementioned reasons.

During the release of the locking devices 16, the resilient part of the guide for adjusting the wheel units 3 cooperates with the conductor 27 which contacts the inner face of the impellers 7. By pressing on these, the locking devices 16 can be released.

Prior to the above release of the locking devices 16, the wheels 7 are unloaded, the wheel units 3 are slightly lowered and do not rest on the upper surface 10 of the bearing housings 9, i.e. the cradles B of the pivot arms A. The oblique faces 21 of the fasteners 14 then rest on the oblique surface of the cross conductor 20.

Later, as soon as the wheel units 3 of the bogie according to the invention have passed through the adjusting station, the wheels 7 are loosely engaged with the flexible part of the moving wires on the entry side and then rigidly contact the moving wires on the opposite side. During the engagement of the wheels 7 with the rigid side, the lower locking devices are in the unlocked state and the wheels 7 are placed on a pair of rails with a smaller track gauge. Later, the wheels 7 remain in contact with the movable wires and the locking wires push the locking devices 16 upward while bringing them into the locking position. By locking pressure on the flexible portion of the moving lines, the locking devices 16 can be simply locked.

After the above mentioned adjustment of the wheel units 3 they are locked in their position corresponding to the smaller track gauge.

Finally, as the wheel units 3 move forward, there is a defining moment in which the wheels 7 come into contact with the end 24 of the narrow gauge pair of rails, which is slightly inclined, while the aforementioned centering rails 25 separate from the sliding rails and the bogie on the smaller track gauge pair.

If the bogie coming from a smaller track gauge is to be moved to a wheel track corresponding to the wider track gauge, the above operations must be performed in the reverse order, as appropriate.

It is believed that, based on the above description, the average person skilled in the art will be able to understand and practice the present invention and appreciate the benefits thereof.

Claims (4)

PATENT CLAIMS A bogie for adjustable track mounted rail vehicles consisting of a central frame (1) and four wheel units (3), which are transversely movable to adjust the bogie wheels to the two gauge positions, and the axle (6) of each wheel unit (3) 7) having two brake discs (8) connected to one another and inner and outer bearing housings (9) arranged at the ends of the shaft (6) and provided with locking mechanisms (16) for preventing transverse movement, characterized in that four pivot arms (A) ), they are connected via hinges (2) to the central frame (1) and at one end are provided with an inner and outer cradle (B) for receiving the bearing housings (9) of the wheel unit (3). a swing arm (A) supported by a screw spring (4), the lower end of which is supported by a central frame (1); at the end of the part of the swinging cam (A) supported by the coil spring (4) is provided with a vertical shock absorber (5), the swing arm (A) with its joint (2), the coil spring (4) and the shock absorber (5) constitute a suspension. The bogie according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer cradle (B) of each pivoting arm (A) is provided with a centering sliding shoe (29) extending from the outer side of the cradle (B) and the central frame (1) being a hinge (1). 2) is provided with an additional centering slide shoe (30) near its outer end, which protrudes from the outer side of the central frame (1); the sliding and centering rails (25) of each sliding shoe (29, 30) having a sliding and centering rail (25) have a support and guide design. The bogie according to claim 2, characterized in that the sliding shoe (30) has a sliding element (30B) which is arranged to contact the upper surface of the rail (25) and through a ball joint (30A) in the sliding shoe (30). it also has a centering member (30C) which extends beyond the outside of the central frame (1) and rests on the inside of the rail (25). The bogie according to claim 3, characterized in that the sliding element (30B) and the centering element (30C) are made of plastic and are slid on the rail (25)! in their state they are lubricated with water.