Railway rolling stock – Trucks – Bogie
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-06
2001-08-28
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railway rolling stock
Trucks
Bogie
C105S198300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279486
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device for damping the transverse and hunting movements of a vehicle.
The invention relates to any vehicle, in particular a road or rail vehicle, provided with a housing resting on two members disposed longitudinally at a distance from one another and free to move transversely relative to this housing. For the purposes of the invention, the terms longitudinal and transverse are to be assessed relative to the movement of the vehicle.
In the railway sector, such a vehicle comprises, for example, a car resting on two bogies, respectively front and rear bogies. During movements of this car, the housing possesses a degree of transverse deflection relative to the bogies and is additionally subjected to an angular movement known as hunting. The latter is due to the pivoting of the whole of the housing about a vertical axis, which lies between the front and rear bogies, substantially in the medium longitudinal axis of the vehicle. These movements, whether transverse or hunting, are a source of discomfort or may threaten to jeopardize the safety of the equipment. It is therefore necessary to fit the vehicle with a permanent device for damping such movements.
FR-A-2,252,228 has disclosed a device for damping the transverse movements of the housing relative to the bogies. This device comprises two jacks assigned to one of the bogies, each of these jacks defining two chambers whose respective volumes vary as a function of the relative transverse movement between the bogie and the housing. These chambers are connected in pairs by means of hydraulic lines in which are fitted valves for controlling the fluid flow.
This solution, however, has a disadvantage in that it is necessary to fit two devices as described above, to to the front and rear bogies of the vehicle, respectively. No coupling between the front and rear is utilized, which makes it impossible to optimize the damping of the hunting movement of the housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to remedy the disadvantages of the prior art mentioned above, the invention proposes to provide a device which ensures reliable damping of both transverse movements and hunting movements of the housing and enables an operator to adjust these two damping components independently of one another.
To this end, the invention relates to a damping device intended to be mounted on a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, comprising a housing resting on first and second support members, in particular bogies, arranged longitudinally at a distance apart from one another, the housing being capable of displacement relative to the support members in accordance with two types of movement, specifically a transverse movement and a pivoting movement about a point situated substantially on a medium longitudinal axis of the vehicle and between the said support members, characterized in that the said device comprises:
the first and second symmetrical jacks, extending respectively between each support member and the housing, each jack defining the first and second chambers filled with a hydraulic fluid capable of being, respectively, compressed and let down during variations in the transverse distance between the housing and the support member in question,
first and second hydraulic lines establishing fluid communication between, on the one hand, the first chambers of the first and second jack and, on the other hand, the second chambers of the first and second jacks, the said first and second lines respectively possessing the first and second intermediate points from which extend first and second branch lines opening, opposite the intermediate points, into first and second accumulators containing a compressed gas,
first to fourth means for controlling the flow of the hydraulic fluid, arranged between each of the chambers and one of the intermediate points capable of providing a controlled flow rate of the fluid from the said chambers to the intermediate points,
fifth and sixth means for controlling the flow of the hydraulic fluid, arranged between each of the intermediate points and the corresponding accumulator capable of providing a controlled flow rate of the fluid from the intermediate points to the accumulators,
the chambers between which communication is established by each of the two lines being respectively let down and compressed during a first type of movement between the support members and the housing, so that substantially all of the fluid driven from each compressed chamber penetrates into the let-down chamber with which it communicates, generally without any variation in the volume of fluid in the accumulators, and
the chambers communicating via one of the lines both being compressed during a second type of movement between the support members and the housing, so as to direct the fluid driven from these two compressed chambers to one of the accumulators and to increase the pressure of the gas contained therein, while the chambers communicating via the other line are both let down, so as to direct to these two let-down chambers part of the fluid present in the other accumulator and to reduce the pressure of the gas contained therein.
According to other features of the invention:
the first to fourth means for controlling the flow of the fluid are capable of providing a free flow of the fluid from the intermediate points to the said chambers;
the fifth and sixth means for controlling the flow of the fluid are capable of providing a free flow of the fluid from the accumulators to the intermediate points;
the means for controlling the flow of the fluid comprise a non-return valve mounted in parallel with a valve;
each of the jacks comprises a seating solidly fixed to the housing or to one of the support members, in which seating a piston whose rod is solidly fixed to one of the members or to the housing is able to move, the rod extending longitudinally over the entirety of the seating;
a first jack extends from a first transverse end of the housing, while the other jack extends from the transverse end of the housing opposite to the first end.
The invention likewise relates to a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, comprising a housing resting on two support members, in particular two bogies, disposed longitudinally at a distance from one another, characterized in that this vehicle is equipped with a damping device as described above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3376831 (1968-04-01), Eaton et al.
patent: 5662046 (1997-09-01), Wright et al.
patent: 615890 (1994-09-01), None
patent: 742277 (1996-12-01), None
Boichot Philippe
Bondon Fabienne
Alstom Holdings
McCarry, Jr. Robert J.
Morano S. Joseph
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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