WO1996032311A1

WO1996032311A1 - Pivot bearings for rail bogies

Info

Publication number: WO1996032311A1
Application number: PCT/AU1996/000220
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keith Maxwell Tucker
Original assignee: A. Goninan & Co. Limited
Priority date: 1995-04-12
Filing date: 1996-04-12
Publication date: 1996-10-17
Also published as: AUPN237995A0

Abstract

Pivot bearing assembly (1) for connecting the underframe of a railway wagon and a rail bogie, including upper (2) and lower (3) bearing members between which is located an intermediate resilient element (4) adapted to permit a predetermined degree of movement between bearing members (2, 3) in the lateral direction of the railway wagon, while permitting negligible movement of them in the longitudinal direction of the railway wagon.

Description

PIVOT BEARINGS FOR RAIL BOGIES Technical Field

The present invention relates to the design of a pivot bearing assembly for a railway carriage, and in particular to a pivot bearing assembly of the "flat centre" type adapted to be interposed between the underframe of a railway wagon and a rail bogie. The invention has particular application in rail wagons for carrying bulk materials such as coal, wheat, cement powder and the like.

The present invention provides an improved flat centre pivot bearing assembly, especially suitable for application to suspension bogies where flexibility is required to allow safe traversing of humps and dips in the track geometry. Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a pivot bearing assembly for connecting the underframe of a railway wagon and a rail bogie, the bearing assembly including upper and lower bearing members between which is located an intermediate resilient element.

Preferably the bearing assembly is adapted to permit a predetermined degree of movement between the bearing members in the lateral direction of the railway wagon. It is further preferable that the bearing assembly is adapted such that there is negligible movement between the bearing members in the longitudinal direction of the railway wagon.

Preferably the upper and lower bearing members are cast from a suitable material and the intermediate resilient element is made of a suitable rubber material. Preferably the upper bearing member incorporates a conventional flat centre bearer of size appropriate to the loading.

Preferably the upper and lower bearing members are adapted to co¬ operate to provide for transmission of traction forces between the rail bogie and the rail wagon. It is further preferable that the upper bearing member includes extension pieces to co-operate with the lower bearing member to provide for the transmission of the traction forces. Preferably the clearance and shaping of the extension pieces is such that it does not inhibit longitudinal angularity between the rail wagon and bogie which would normally occur in negotiating track humps and dips.

The interposed resilient element is preferably shaped so that it is longer in the transverse direction of the rail wagon than it is in the longitudinal direction of the rail wagon, so as to allow longitudinal angularity but to restrict body roll angles in the transverse direction of the rail wagon.

It is also preferable for the resilient element to be bonded to both the upper and lower bearing members so as to allow a controlled amount of lateral suspension to be achieved which is both beneficial to product lading in the rail wagon and the loads imparted into the bogie structure. In this form the bearing assembly forms an integral unit.

It is further preferable for a predetermined clearance to exist between faces of the upper and lower bearing members so as to cater for lateral movement and to provide a limiting stop to control any tendencies for excessive movement.

The lower bearing member may be bolted or otherwise fixed to the bogie structure in a conventional manner.

Preferably appropriate clearance is provided in the lower bearing element and the resilient member so as to allow limited movement of the conventional centre pivot pin. Brief Description of Drawings

The aspects of the present invention will be better understood and appreciated from the following discussion of a preferred embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a plan view of a preferred embodiment of a pivot bearing according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a cross sectional view of the pivot bearing in the vertical plane A- A of Fig. 1 ; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a cross sectional view of the pivot bearing mounted upon a rail bogie. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the pivot bearing assembly 1 comprises upper and lower bearing members 2 and 3 respectively between which is interposed an intermediate resilient element 4. Preferably the resilient element 4 is made from a rubber material providing the desired resilient properties.

The upper bearing member 2 includes an upper recess 5 adapted to receive a flat centre bearer mounted on the underframe of the rail wagon.

Referring to Fig. 1 , the resilient element 4 is preferably shaped such that its dimension in the transverse (lateral) direction of the rail wagon is greater than its dimension in the longitudinal direction of the rail wagon, so as to allow longitudinal angularity between the bogie and the wagon but to restrict body roll angles in the transverse direction.

Referring to Fig. 2, the upper bearing member 2 is located at least partially within the lower bearing member 3. The upper bearing member includes one or more outer walls or extensions 6 with hardened faces 7. The lower bearing member 3 is provided with one or more wall members 8 with hardened inner faces 9 which act to restrict the relative movement of the upper and lower bearing members to within predetermined limits. In the lateral plane a predetermined clearance 10 is provided between the respective faces 7 and 9 of the upper and lower bearing elements so as to cater for lateral movement and to provide a limiting stop to control any tendency for excessive movement. Typically such clearance is of the order of 10 millimetres. In the longitudinal direction there is negligible clearance between the faces 7 and 9 of the upper and lower bearing elements so that there is negligible relative movement of the bearing elements in the longitudinal direction. Typically such clearance is of the order of 1 millimetre. In this way the traction forces are transmitted via the upper and lower bearing members, with the resilient element 4 experiencing negligible stresses from such traction forces.

Referring to Fig. 2 the resilient element 4 is bonded to the opposing inner faces 11 and 12 of the upper and lower bearing members 2 and 3 respectively. In this way the faces 11 and 12 act to transfer forces between the wagon body and the bogie. This permits a controlled amount of lateral suspension to be achieved which proves beneficial to product loading and in imparting loads to the bogie structure.

Furthermore the bearing arrangement provides negligible rotational movement between the upper and lower bearing members. This ensures that the resilient element experiences negligible torsional shear stresses. In this way undesirable movement between the rail wagon and the bogie, such as hunting, is prevented.

It is desirable for the clearance and shaping of the extensions 6 on the upper bearing member 2 to be such that they do not inhibit the longitudinal angularity between the wagon body and bogie which would normally occur in negotiating track humps and dips.

Referring to Fig. 3 the lower bearing element 3 is bolted or otherwise fixed to the bogie bolster structure 13. The centre bearer 14 of the underframe of the rail wagon is located within the recess 5 of the upper bearing member 2. Appropriate clearance is provided in the bogie bolster structure 13, the lower bearing member 3 and the resilient element 4 so as to permit a predetermined degree of lateral movement for a centre pin which is located in the centring hole 15. This is best illustrated in Fig. 1 which illustrates the centring hole 15 which passes through both the resilient member 4 and lower bearing member 3. The centring hole 15 is elongated in the lateral direction so as to permit the predetermined degree of movement in the lateral direction between the upper and lower bearing members.

Compared to known pivot bearings for connecting the underframe of a railway wagon to a rail bogie, the pivot bearing designed according to the aspects of the present invention provides improved handling characteristics for the rail wagon, especially in traversing of humps and dips in the track geometry.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A pivot bearing assembly for a railway wagon, said bearing assembly including upper and lower bearing members between which is located an intermediate resilient element.

2. The pivot bearing assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly is adapted to permit a predetermined degree of movement in the lateral direction.

3. The pivot bearing assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly is adapted to permit negligible movement in the longitudinal direction.