Hanger for supporting suspended contact wires of an electric overhead railway line and electric overhead railway line comprising the hanger

Abstract

The overhead power supply railway line has a plurality of hangers, each hanger in turn having a fastening member suitable for being fixed to a supporting element, a supporting frame connected to the fastening member, a fastening terminal suitable for being connected to a portion of a contact line with a pantograph of a rail vehicle, a member movable in a first direction in an opposite manner relative to the supporting frame in the presence of an external destructive action transmitted to the contact line, and an elastic device inserted between the member and the terminal and having an elastic mechanism consisting of an elastically deformable part of the supporting frame; a connecting rod is arranged between the movable member and the elastically deformable part of the supporting frame.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims the priority of Italian Patent Application No. 102019000001731 filed on February 6, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The invention relates to a hanger supporting a suspended contact wire of an overhead power supply railway line and an overhead power supply railway line comprising the hanger. Background Art

[0004] As is known, the electrical contact wires of an overhead power supply railway line are supported by a plurality of hangers spaced apart from one another, wherein each hanger is suspended from a supporting wire and in turn carries the electrical contact wire suspended therefrom.

[0005] The pantograph of a train car rests on an electrical contact wire in use in order to supply power to the electric drive components of the train and, if necessary, to other onboard devices of the train.

[0006] The hanger is connected to the contact wire by means of a terminal, which is known and preferably made of a copper alloy, with nickel or silicon added where necessary. The terminal is preferably fixed to the upper part by undercutting the contact wire, leaving a lower contact portion so that the pantograph can slide against it.

[0007] There is a strong need to minimize and possibly eliminate all disengagement between the pantograph and the suspended contact wire when the train is moving, especially when the train is moving at high speeds (eg, over 200 Km / h).

[0008] A hanger that partially meets the above needs is disclosed in the patent application PCTIB2017054474 owned by the applicant. The hanger described in the above patent application includes a rigid frame suitable for fixing to a support during use, a fastening terminal fastened to the contact wire, and an elastic damping device arranged between the rigid frame and the fastening terminal. The elastic device in turn includes a plurality of movable parts or components, which are connected to the frame by respective friction sliding joints so as to slide in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the contact wire during the passage of the pantograph. A relevant helical compression spring is inserted between each movable part and the frame.

[0009] Although the above-mentioned hanger is efficient and reliable, it is not completely satisfactory because of its large number of details, especially the large number of coil springs, which complicates its manufacture and assembly on the one hand and leads to relatively high manufacturing and maintenance costs on the other hand.

[0010] Tests have shown that the helical springs, as they exchange action between the contact wire and the pantograph, can change their elastic behavior over time, gradually causing the entire hanger to operate in a state that differs from the ideal or reference operating state established during the design phase.

[0011] Finally, tests have shown that, during the hanger installation phase, the preload of all the coil springs needs to be adjusted in a simple and quick way so that each hanger can reach a predetermined neutral operating position, whatever its position along the support wire. In fact, the static preload state of the hanger varies depending on the position along the electric support wire, i.e. as a function of the deformations of the electric support wire and / or of the contact wire. In the known hangers mentioned above, these adjustments cannot be realized in a short time without further complicating the hanger and limiting the manufacturing costs of the hanger. Summary of the invention

[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide a hanger capable of solving the above-mentioned problems in a simple and economical manner, and in particular to provide a hanger capable of being manufactured in a simple and economical manner and being efficient and reliable, so as to reduce and possibly eliminate all disengagements between the pantograph and the supply contact wire under any possible conditions of use and any possible speed of the train.

[0013] According to the present invention, a supporting hanger as claimed in claim 1 is provided.

[0014] The invention also relates to an overhead power supply railway line.

[0015] According to the present invention, there is provided an overhead power supply railway line as claimed in claim 15. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show non-limiting embodiments of the invention, in which:

[0017] - Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a railway network having an overhead power supply line according to the invention;

[0018] - Figure 2 A side view and enlarged scale of a Figure 1 A preferred embodiment of the hanger;

[0019] - Figure 3 and Figure 4 and Figure 2 Similarly, the section shows the Figure 2 The hanger;

[0020] Figure 5 and Figure 6 The side view and plan view are shown respectively. Figures 2 to 4Details of the hangers; and

[0021] Figure 7 and Figure 1 Similarly, the hanger is shown in a non-functional state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] exist Figure 1 1 , reference numeral 1 denotes as a whole a part of a railway network for the passage of a known railway vehicle 2 which moves on a track 3 and has a pantograph 4 which, in use, slides in contact with an overhead power supply line, indicated as a whole by 5 , to provide power to the railway vehicle 2 .

[0023] The overhead line 5 comprises a plurality of posts or portals 6, supporting cables 7 fixed to brackets carried by the posts 6 so as to be suspended on the rails 3, and a known contact wire 8. The contact wire 8 has a free lower portion 9 against which the pantograph 4 slides, and is connected to the supporting cables 7 by means of a plurality of hangers 10. Conveniently, although not necessarily, the hangers 10 are located in particular close to or in the region of the posts or portals 6, thus enabling integration into the architecture of an already existing overhead line.

[0024] The overhead line 5 further includes a counterweight (not shown) to stretch the supporting cables 7 and the contact wire 8 , thereby reducing the static deflection of the contact wire 8 between two adjacent hangers 10 .

[0025] Reference Figure 2 Each hanger 10 comprises an associated fastening terminal 12 fastened to the supporting cable 7, an associated known fastening terminal 13 fastened to the contact wire 8 and an associated elastic damping assembly 14, which is inserted between the terminals 12 and 13 to damp oscillations and maintain contact between the pantograph 4 and the contact wire 8 after the damaging action is transmitted to the hanger 10 during the passage of the railway vehicle 2.

[0026] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 7 The terminal 12 includes an upper clamping jaw 15 firmly connected to the supporting cable 7 and a lower fastening body 16 firmly connected to the elastic component 14 .

[0027] Between the lower body 16 and the upper jaw 15 there is preferably a known hinge 18, which is suitable for allowing the lower body 16 to rotate relative to the upper jaw 15 about a hinge axis 19, which is horizontal and parallel to the contact line 8. The hinge 18 is conveniently associated with a helical torsion spring 20, which is preloaded and configured to allow the lower fastening body 16 to be rotated in a certain direction. Figure 2 The operating position shown is the same as Figure 7The terminal 13 is rotated about the hinge axis 19 relative to the clamping jaw 15 between the shown safe away positions, in which, in the operating position, the terminal 13 is connected to the contact wire 8 and the lower fastening body 16 and the clamping jaw 15 are aligned with each other in a substantially vertical oscillation direction 22 of the contact wire 8, which is orthogonal to the axis 19, and in the safe away position, the terminal 13 is separated from the contact wire 8 and arranged on the steering side so as not to interfere with the position of the pantograph 4.

[0028] According to a variant not shown here, the jaw 15 and the lower body 16 are firmly connected to each other.

[0029] Refer again Figure 2 The elastic component 14 includes a suspension rod 23, which extends coaxially with the direction 22 when the terminal 13 is connected to the contact wire 8, and has an upper end section 24 and a cylindrical lower section 24A, which is threaded on the outside and partially screwed into the threaded hole of the lower body 13, and the cylindrical lower section 24A is conveniently made of metal material.

[0030] The elastic assembly 14 also includes a metal frame 25, which yields elastically and, in the specific example shown and described herein, consists of a flat strip having essentially an inverted U-shape. Preferably, but not necessarily, the frame 25 has a rectangular cross section that is constant along its entire extension. The frame 25 is conveniently composed of a body made as a single piece. Alternatively, according to a variation not shown here, the frame 25 has one or more sections with variable cross sections. In addition, alternatively, the frame 25 has multiple sections with constant or variable cross sections, which are connected to each other by weakened and elastically deformable parts. In addition, the frame 25 can be manufactured to have elements or parts made of the same material or different materials, which are firmly connected to each other or connected to each other in a releasable manner. Regardless of how it is manufactured, the frame 25 has elasticity. In other words, the frame 25 is completely or at least partially elastically deformable and has shape memory. The frame 25 is preferably made completely or at least partially of harmonic steel (i.e., spring steel).

[0031] Alternatively, frame 25 is made in whole or in part from stainless steel, such as SAE 304 stainless steel.

[0032] Whatever the material used, the frame 25 comprises an upper portion 26 which, in the particular example shown here, is straight, but could be curved or shaped, and provided with a central through hole 27 through which the end segment 24 can pass. Whatever its geometry, the upper portion 26 is securely connected to the rod 23 by means of a threaded nut 28 which is screwed onto the upper end segment 24 and locks the portion 26 onto an axial abutment 29 which joins the segments 24 and 24A to each other.

[0033] The frame 25 also includes two straight arms 30, which face each other and are arranged on opposite sides of the rod 23. The arms 30 extend downwardly from respective curved portions 31 that join the arms 30 to opposite end portions of the respective upper portions 26. Conveniently, the arms 30 converge toward each other, at least when the frame 25 is arranged in a non-deformed state. In the particular case shown here, the arms 30 converge toward each other, downwardly and toward the section 24A of the rod 23.

[0034] According to a variant, the arms 30 converge towards one another and towards the portion 26 and the section 24 .

[0035] Refer again Figure 2 , the sleeve 32 is arranged on the section 24A of the rod 23 so as to slide along the section 24A itself. A mechanical coupling joint is arranged between the sleeve 32 and the section 24A, which operates with sliding friction and realizes a damping function.

[0036] The sleeve 32 is connected to the free end section of each arm 30 by two connecting rods, indicated by 33. Each connecting rod 33 is hinged on one side to the sleeve 32 by a relative radial hinge pin 34 and on the opposite side to the relative arm 30 by a hinge pin 35. The radial pins 34 carried by the sleeve 32 extend coaxially with a common hinge axis 36 parallel to the axis 19, while the pins 35 extend coaxially with respective hinge axes 37 parallel to the axis 36 and orthogonal to the direction 22.

[0037] Each connecting rod 33 is preferably composed of a pair of flat rods 38 facing each other and arranged on opposite sides of the sleeve 32, and a gusset plate firmly connected in the associated arm 30 and penetrated by the associated pin 35.

[0038] Refer again Figure 2 , the elastic assembly 14 also comprises a spring 40 which surrounds the section 24A of the rod 23 and is connected on one side to a cylindrical tubular appendix 41 of the sleeve 32 and on the other side to a cylindrical annular appendix 42 which surrounds, with radial play, a tubular push head 43 of the rod 23. In this way, the spring 40 can be pulled or compressed, depending on the state.

[0039] The free end section of the rod 23 protruding beyond the tubular head 43 is inserted into a tubular body 45 which comprises two or more tubular metal pieces—or less—and has an end on which the tubular head 43 is screwed. The opposite end of the tubular body 45 is connected to the terminal 13.

[0040] Conveniently, between two of the aforementioned pieces of tubular body 45 there is interposed a body 45A of electrically insulating material suitable for preventing the flow of electric current towards frame 25 and fastening terminal 12 .

[0041] According to a variant, the tubular body 45 does not comprise the main body 45A.

[0042] The terminal 13 conveniently comprises an undercut fastening jaw 46 ( Figure 2 ) and a fastening shaft portion 47 fastened to the tubular body 45. Conveniently, there is a hinge between the shaft portion 47 and the jaws 46, which is suitable for allowing the shaft portion 47 to rotate relative to the jaws 46 around an axis parallel to or coinciding with the axis of the rod 23. The terminal 13 is conveniently coupled to the tubular body 45 by means of an adjustment device 48, which is configured to adjust the distance between the sleeve 32 and the contact line 8 and the preload of the spring 40 and / or the elastic part of the frame 25, as described in more detail below. The adjustment device 48 is preferably a screw adjustment device and comprises a tubular coupling 49 having an external thread screwed into the end section of the tubular body 45 and an internal thread engaged with the end threaded section of the shaft portion 47. The locking nut 50 is screwed onto the intermediate threaded section of the shaft portion 47 protruding from the coupling 49 and is tightened on the coupling 49 itself.

[0043] For an ideal damping action, each hanger 10 must be such that the associated elastic assembly 14 is in a "neutral" or statically stable functional state when connected to the support cable 7 and the contact wire 8, e.g. Figure 3 In this neutral state, axes 36 and 37 are spaced apart from each other along a direction 51 that is orthogonal to direction 22 and rod 23 and intersects direction 51, arm 30 is elastically deformed or bent to exert a compressive action on connecting rod 33, and spring 40 is compressed to exert a balancing action, thereby keeping sleeve 32 stationary relative to rod 23 and frame 25.

[0044] If, after connecting the terminals 12 and 13, the action exerted by the contact wire 8 moves the elastic assembly 14 of one or more hangers 10 to a functional state other than the neutral or statically stable state, a fine-tuning or calibration operation is performed on each hanger 10. This adjustment operation is performed by acting on the device 48, varying the distance between the jaws 46 and the tubular body 45 and the preload of the spring 40 until the device 14 is returned to the neutral functional state defined above.

[0045] Here, during the passage of the railway vehicle 2, the pantograph 4 acts on the contact wire 8, causing the contact wire 8 to oscillate in the direction 22. This oscillation is damped by the elastic component 14, the sleeve 32 of which overcomes friction, begins to move near its neutral position and Figure 2 and Figure 4The arm 30 is moved between the two extreme axial end positions of the stroke shown to bend (eg Figure 3 and Figure 4 denoted by dashed lines) and changes the compression of spring 40.

[0046] The sleeve 32 passes between the two extreme axial end positions of the above-mentioned stroke and Figure 3 The axial movement of the dead point, represented by P, generates a damping or dissipation component in the contact wire 8, which damps or dissipates the energy responsible for the oscillating movement of the contact wire 8 and prevents the pantograph 4 from detaching from the contact wire 8 even at high speeds of the railway vehicle 2 (i.e. when high pulsating motions are transmitted to the contact wire 8 in direction 22).

[0047] In addition, a friction dissipation component is also applied by the coupling of the sleeve 32 to the rod 23. This dissipation effect is adjusted by varying the friction coefficient between the sleeve 22 and the rod 23.

[0048] For the reasons stated above, it is clear that the elastic frame 25 can be manufactured in a manner other than that described by way of example above, or can be dimensioned or manufactured so that the elastic action exerted on the connecting rod 33 is not only the result of an elastic deformation of the arm 30, but also or only the result of a deformation of the curved portion 31 and / or of the portion 26. In other words, the entire frame 25 can be elastically deformed due to the action exerted by the contact line 8 and it can deform differently from one point to another. In the example described here, the part that deforms the most consists of the arm 30.

[0049] Furthermore, for the reasons stated above, it is evident that the hanger 10 described herein has a smaller number of parts and a smaller number of components moving relative to one another than known solutions and can therefore be manufactured in a simple and cost-effective manner and assembled in a short time.

[0050] This is mainly due to the fact that the frame 25 acts both as a support and as an elastic element. Due to its elasticity, the frame 25 contributes to the generation of a dynamic damping effect which is added to the dynamic damping effect generated by the friction between the sleeve 32 and the rod 33.

[0051] Additionally, tests have shown that the hanger 10 described herein has a high functional efficiency and substantially constant functionality over time, both because of the low number of parts and because the resilient components of the frame 25 are comparable to conventional leaf spring members.

[0052] Finally, in contrast to known solutions, the hanger 10 described here is a "configurable" hanger, i.e. it is possible to bring the hanger into a desired operating state regardless of the vertical position assumed by the supporting cable 7, the contact wire 8 or both. In fact, the fine adjustment device 48 allows the hanger 10 to be adjusted or regulated according to variations in the distance between the supporting cable 7 and the contact wire 8.

[0053] Furthermore, the presence of the hinge 18 and the spring 20 allows the fastening terminal 13 to be moved away when it is separated from the contact wire 8 and to be placed in an area outside the passage area of ​​the pantograph 4 when it is arranged in the maximum extension state.

[0054] Finally, for the reasons stated above, it is clear that the frame 25 and the adjustment device described above may be modified and varied without thereby exceeding the scope of protection defined by the independent claims. In particular, the frame or the rods may be made of materials other than those indicated here by way of example.

Claims

1. A hanger for an overhead railway line for supplying electricity, the overhead railway line comprising a contact wire and a support element, on which a railway vehicle pantograph rests in use, the hanger comprising: a fastening member adapted to be fixed to the supporting element, a metal support frame coupled to the fastening member; a fastening terminal adapted to be connected to a portion of the contact wire, a movable member capable of moving relative to the metal support frame in two directions opposite to a first direction in the presence of an external damaging action transmitted to the contact wire through the fastening terminal during operation of the railway vehicle pantograph, a mechanical friction damper associated with said movable member; and elastic means interposed between the fastening member and the fastening terminal and configured to at least attenuate the external damaging effect; The elastic device includes a first elastic element compressed between the movable member and the fastening terminal and a pair of second elastic elements suitable for exerting an action on the movable member along a second direction transverse to the first direction; characterized in that the second elastic element constitutes an elastically deformable component of the metal support frame, and the hanger includes a connecting rod for directly or indirectly connecting the movable member to the elastically deformable component of the metal support frame.

2. The hanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal support frame includes a coupling portion for coupling to the fastening member and two arms extending in a cantilevered manner from the coupling portion; at least one of the coupling portion and the arms constitutes the elastically deformable part.

3. The hanger according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least one of the coupling portion and the arm is composed of a sheet or plate member.

4. The hanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal support frame has an inverted U-shape.

5. The hanger according to claim 2, characterized in that: The arms extend at positions facing each other on opposite sides of the first direction and are configured such that, when the breaking action is applied, the respective end sections oscillate from and towards the first direction.

6. The hanger according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each of the connecting rods has an end hinged to the movable member for oscillation about a first hinge axis and an opposite end hinged to the free end portion of the associated arm for rotation about a second hinge axis parallel to the first hinge axis.

7. The hanger according to claim 6, characterized in that: It comprises an adjustment mechanism to continuously adjust the position of the movable member in the first direction.

8. The hanger according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism is configured to vary a preload of at least the first elastic element.

9. The hanger according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism is configured to vary a preload of the second elastic element.

10. The hanger according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism and the first elastic element and the second elastic element are constructed to allow the movable member to translate in the first direction between two stroke end positions as the damage transmitted to the fastening terminal through the contact line changes, and pass through a neutral or static stable position, in which the first hinge axis and the second hinge axis intersect the second direction and the fastening terminal does not transmit a destructive effect at this time.

11. The hanger according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a fixed guide extending along the first direction and stably connected to the metal support frame; the movable member is movable in an opposite direction along the fixed guide.

12. The hanger according to claim 11, characterized in that The mechanical friction damper is interposed between the fixed guide and the movable member.

13. The hanger according to claim 1, characterized in that It comprises a hinge inserted between the fastening member and the metal supporting frame; the hinge has a further hinge axis orthogonal to the first direction.

14. The hanger according to claim 13, characterized in that It comprises an elastic mechanism associated with the hinge, the elastic mechanism being configured to rotate the metal support frame relative to the fastening member about the further hinge axis when the fastening terminal is not attached to the contact wire.

15. An overhead railway line for supplying electricity to a railway vehicle, the overhead railway line comprising a supporting element, a tensioned contact wire, and a plurality of hangers, on which in use a railway vehicle pantograph rests, each hanger having a fastening member coupled to the supporting element and a fastening terminal connected to the contact wire, characterised in that At least one of the hangers has the features of claim 1 .

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