WO2008012855A2

WO2008012855A2 - Device for reducing railway wheel noise when moving on rail

Info

Publication number: WO2008012855A2
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000510
Authority: WO
Inventors: Steven Cervello
Original assignee: Lucchini Rs S.P.A.
Priority date: 2006-07-28
Filing date: 2007-07-19
Publication date: 2008-01-31
Also published as: TN2009000009A1; EP2046584B1; MA30641B1; EP2046584A2; WO2008012855A3; CN101495326B; JP5149291B2; JP2009544526A; ES2395739T3; PL2046584T3; PT2046584E; ITBS20060168A1; ZA200900355B; CN101495326A; DK2046584T3; SI2046584T1

Abstract

The invention concerns a vibration dampener device to reduce the noise of the moving railway wheels, which comprises two flat, annular, metal plates (16, 17), coupled and joined face to face and attached to the wheel, in front of the intermediate web or disk thereof, to cover the area of the wheel between the wheel hub and rim. Both annular plates have a central bore; they are positioned concentrically and one of them, the one with a larger diameter, is fixed to a peripheral plate supporting ring, whereas the other plate, with a smaller diameter, is fixed to a centre plate supporting ring. The two plate supporting rings are associated respectively with the wheel hub and rim by the anchoring of the annular plates to the wheel.

Description

"DEVICE FOR REDUCING RAILWAY WHEEL NOISE WHEN MOVING ON RAIL"

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Field of the Invention

This invention concerns in general the metal wheels of railway and tram cars, and refers in particular to a device to soundproof these wheels when moving on rails and especially wheels with block brakes. State of the Technique

The wheels are the main cause of noise produced by a train in movement. The contact and running of the train wheels on the rails are a source of vibrations which represent the primary causes for an undesirable acoustic emission. To reduce the noise made by train wheels when in movement it is necessary to dampen the vibrations. Various kinds of systems to meet this objective have already been proposed, recognizable for example in documents EP-O 872 358, EP-1 026 009, US-3 843 188, JP-61 010140, applied to the wheel web or disk, in which polymeric, viscoplastic materials are mainly used, on their own or commonly in combination with a rigid layer, usually of metal such as steel, adhering to the wheel web or disk, between the hub and the peripheral rim. Objectives and Summary of the Invention

An objective, however, of this invention is to provide a new, original vibration dissipater device which attached to every railway wheel enables the noise to be really dampened, by basically reducing the noise during contact with a respective rail when moving.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a vibration dissipater device to reduce the noise of railway wheels which is simple to manufacture and easily applied to the front of the web or disk that connects the hub to the rim of a wheel, without contact with the web or disk itself and independent of the profile of the latter.

These objectives are reached, in compliance with the invention, with a vibration dampener device composed basically by two flat annular metal sheets, coupled and joined face to face and attached to the wheel, in front of the intermediate web or disk thereof, to cover the area of the wheel comprised between its hub and the rim.

Therefore, according to the invention the noise of each railway wheel in movement is reduced by generating, between the metal sheets of the device facing and in contact with each other, forces of friction tending to dissipate the vibrations in order to efficiently dampening their energy. Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will furthermore be illustrated more in detail in the course of the description made in reference to the enclosed indicative and not limiting drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the device in association with a railway wheel: and

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the device when assembled and attached to the wheel. Detailed Description of the Invention

As shown, the device of the present invention can be attached to a railway wheel 10 which usually has a hub 11 , a rim 12 with a running surface, or tread, 13 and a flange 14 on its inner side, and an intermediate web or disk 15 that joins the hub 11 to the rim 12.

The device comprises two flat annular metal plates 16, 17, preferably of stainless steel, both with a centre bore 16', 17'. Both the external diameter and the diameter of the central bore 16' of a first annular plate 16 are respectively larger than the external diameter and the diameter of the central bore 1 T of the second annular plate 17.

The two annular plates 16, 17 are positioned concentrically, placed face to face and attached to each other by rivets distributed on their surfaces. The first annular plate 16 is fixed peripherally to a supporting ring 18, whereas the second annular plate 17 is fixed to a relative central supporting ring 19.

Fixing of each annular plate 16, 17 to respective supporting ring 18, 19 is achieved by means of screws 20 each of which passes through a bore provided in the plate and screwed into a threaded bore provided in the corresponding ring. The two annular plates 16, 17 are fastened to the wheel 10 by means of their respective plate supporting rings 18, 19, by making the peripheral supporting ring 18 of the first annular plate 16 fit into a groove 21 provided in the radial internal surface of the wheel rim 12 and the central supporting ring 19 of the second annular plate 17 into a groove 22 provided in the external radial surface of the hub 11. The plate supporting rings 18, 19 of the two matched annular plates both have a radial cut 18', 19' so as to be flexibly open and deformable to facilitate their insertion into the respective grooves 21 , 22 of the wheel rim and hub. The grooves 21 , 22 can be provided in the rim and in the hub on the inner side and/or on the external side of the wheel so as to be able to assemble the vibration dampener device either on the external or internal side or even on both sides of the wheel.

On the other hand, the dimensions of said grooves will be carefully chosen both to permit assembly of the plate supporting rings and to guarantee a correct fastening of the system during all the operating conditions of the wheel. In fact, the vibration dampener device must remain fastened to the wheel even should the wheel be equipped with block brakes, which engage with the running surfaces, or tread, 13 and may cause the wheel rim to heat up to temperatures of about 500⁰C and consequently cause circumferential dilation. In this specific case then:

- at least the annular plate 16 fastened to the wheel rim by means of the peripheral supporting ring 18 is provided with a radial cut 23 to permit it deform around the circumference in order to adapt to the geometric shape of said supporting ring when the latter is dilated due to heating of the wheel rim;

- both the annular plates have a number of radial slots 24, 24' to permit ventilation and consequent cooling of the part of the wheel covered by the device.

Claims

"DEVICE FOR REDUCING RAILWAY WHEEL NOISE WHEN MOVING ON RAIL"* * * * *CLAIMS

1. Vibration dampener device to reduce the noise of moving railway wheels, which have a hub, a wheel rim with a running surface or tread and a flange, and an intermediate web or disk joining the hub to the wheel rim, characterized in that it comprises two flat, annular, metal plates (16, 17), coupled and joined face to face and attached to the wheel, in front of the intermediate web or disk, to cover the area of the wheel between the hub and the wheel rim.

2. Vibration dampener device according to claim 1 , wherein said annular plates (16, 17) both have a central bore (16', 17'), and wherein a first annular plate (16) has an external diameter and a central bore diameter larger than the external diameter and central bore diameter of the second annular plate (17).

3. Vibration dampener device according to the previous claims, wherein said annular plates are positioned concentrically and attached to each other by fixing means distributed on their surfaces.

4. Vibration dampener device according to claims 1 to 3, wherein the first annular plate (16) is fixed to a peripheral supporting ring (18) and the second plate is fixed to a centre supporting ring (19), and wherein said peripheral supporting ring (18) is inserted and held in a groove (21 ) provided in the internal radial surface of the wheel rim, whereas said centre supporting ring (19) is inserted and held in a groove (22) provided in the external radial surface of the wheel hub.

5. Vibration dampener device according to claim 4, wherein each plate supporting ring is open radially and at least the first annular plate has a radial cut (23).

6. Vibration dampener device according to any of the previous claims, wherein each annular plate (16, 17) has radial ventilation slots.

7. Vibration dampener device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the annular plates are made of steel, preferably stainless.

8. Vibration dampener device according to any of the previous claims, which is assembled in front of the intermediate web or disk at the inner side of the wheel.

9. Vibration dampener device according to any of claims 1 to 7, which is mounted in front of the intermediate web or disk at the outer side of the wheel.

10. Vibration dampener device according to any of claims 1 to 7, which is mounted in front of the intermediate web or disk on either side of the wheel.