Railway vehicle and device therefor for preventing accumulation of snow on bogie

Abstract

A railway vehicle and a device therefor for preventing accumulation of snow on a bogie. The device for preventing accumulation of snow on a bogie comprises at least one flow guide air duct (1), and the flow direction of an airflow in each flow guide air duct is opposite to a running direction of a vehicle body; each flow guide air duct comprises a first air duct (11) and at least one second air duct (12), each second air duct being in cross-communication with one end of the first air duct; the first air duct is configured to guide the airflow to flow through a bogie along an upper surface of the bogie (2), the first air duct is provided with at least one air ejection port (111), and each air ejection port is configured to eject air to the bogie from top to bottom to melt ice and snow accumulated on the bogie; and each second air duct is configured to guide the airflow to flow from an end portion of the bogie to the bottom of the bogie so as to avoid accumulated snow from flowing into the bogie. The device for preventing accumulation of snow on a bogie not only can avoid the airflow from flowing into the bogie in heavy-snow weather and melt ice and snow accumulated on the bogie at the same time, but can also cool the bogie in high-temperature weather, thereby reducing adverse factors that threaten safe running of a railway vehicle, and improving the driving safety of the railway vehicle.

Description

[0001] The present application claims the priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 2023109901680, titled "RAILWAY VEHICLE AND DEVICE THEREFOR FOR PREVENTING ACCUMULATION OF SNOW ON BOGIE", filed on August 8, 2023 with the China National Intellectual Property Administration, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of railway transportation, and in particular to a railway vehicle and an anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie thereof.BACKGROUND

[0003] A bogie is a core component of a running system of a railway vehicle. The accumulation of snow and ice on the bogie, and temperature rise of heat-generating components such as a brake caliper and a traction motor, are major factors affecting the safe operation of the railway vehicle in an extremely alpine and snowy environment.

[0004] During operation in heavy-snow weather in alpine regions, snow is lifted up by the airflow disturbance around the bogie area and is accumulated on the bogie. The accumulated snow melts into water by heat-generating elements such as a motor, a gearbox, and a disc brake on the bogie, and the water then freezes into ice. Repeatedly, a large ice block is formed on the bogie, changing the dynamic characteristics of the bogie, degrading the curve negotiation capability of the railway vehicle, and reducing the operational stability of the braking system of the railway vehicle. To avoid the threat of accumulated snow to the safe operation of the railway vehicle, snow and ice removal has become one of the main maintenance tasks of the railway vehicle in winter. Additionally, during operation in hot weather, high temperature may reduce the clearance between the metal components in the bogie due to thermal expansion, and degrade lubricating grease as well as the performance thereof, leading to increased friction and wear between the metal components. To avoid the threat of the high temperature to the safe operation of the railway vehicle, temperature rise control of the heat-generating components has become one of the main factors in bogie design. Therefore, when designing the running system of the railway vehicle, it is essential to focus on reducing snow and ice accumulation on the bogie and improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat-generating components.

[0005] Currently, anti-snow accumulation devices are respectively arranged at both ends of the bogie. These anti-snow accumulation devices are mostly mechanical and typically have inclined guide surfaces, which are configured to guide an airflow away from the bogie so as to prevent the airflow from flowing to the bogie, thereby preventing snow accumulation by reducing the amount of snow entering the bogie. However, limited by the conventional technology, a small amount of snow still enters the bogie, and the current anti-snow accumulation device cannot effectively dissipate heat from the bogie during operation at high temperature, still posing a threat to driving safety.SUMMARY

[0006] An object of the present application is to provide a railway vehicle and an anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie thereof. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle can not only disrupt the airflow from entering the bogie in heavy-snow weather and melt the ice and snow accumulated on the bogie at the same time, but also can cool the bogie in high-temperature weather, thus effectively reducing the unfavorable factors for the safe operation of the railway vehicle, and improving the driving safety of the railway vehicle.

[0007] To achieve the aforementioned object, the present application provides an anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie of a railway vehicle, including at least one air guiding duct, in which air flows in a direction opposite to a running direction of the vehicle body. Each of the at least one air guiding duct includes a first air duct and at least one second air duct, and each of the at least one second air duct is merged and communicated with an end of the first air duct. The first air duct is configured to guide the airflow to flow by the bogie along an upper surface of the bogie, and the first air duct is provided with at least one air ejection port, and each of the at least one air ejection port is configured to eject air to the bogie from top to bottom so as to melt ice and snow accumulated on the bogie. Each of the at least one second air duct is configured to guide the airflow to flow from an end of the bogie to the bottom of the bogie so as to avoid snow from flowing into the bogie.

[0008] In an embodiment, the second air duct has a width gradually decreasing in a direction towards the bottom of the bogie.

[0009] In an embodiment, at least one of the first air duct and the second air duct is provided with a heating device for heating airflow.

[0010] In an embodiment, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle further includes a temperature detection element and a control device.

[0011] The temperature detection element is configured to detect a current ambient temperature.

[0012] The control device is connected to the temperature detection element and the heating device.

[0013] The control device is configured to control the heating device to stop heating based on a signal sent by the temperature detection element when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature higher than a preset temperature.

[0014] The control device is configured to control the heating device to start heating based on a signal sent by the temperature detection element when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature lower than a set temperature.

[0015] In an embodiment, a heat insulation layer is provided around the air guiding duct.

[0016] In an embodiment, each of the at least one air ejection port is aligned with a wheel of the bogie.

[0017] In an embodiment, an air outlet of each second air duct is provided with a valve.

[0018] In an embodiment, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle further includes a base fixedly arranged above the bogie, and the air guiding duct or all of the air guiding ducts are arranged in the base. A side wall of the base is provided with at least one punching air inlet, each of the at least one punching air inlet is in communication with an end of each of the at least one air guiding duct, and is configured to guide the airflow flowing around the vehicle body to flow into the air guiding duct communicated with the punching air inlet.

[0019] In an embodiment, the punching air inlet has a width gradually increasing in a direction towards the air guiding duct.

[0020] The present application further provides a railway vehicle, including the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie according to any one of the above embodiments.

[0021] Compared with the conventional technology, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle provided by the present application includes at least one air guiding duct. Each of the at least one air guiding duct includes a first air duct and at least one second air duct. Each of the at least one second air duct is merged and communicated with an end of the first air duct, and the first air duct is provided with at least one air ejection port.

[0022] When the railway vehicle runs in heavy-snow weather in an alpine region, the vehicle body drives the surrounding airflow to flow. Since the flow direction of the airflow in each air guiding duct is opposite to the running direction of the vehicle body, the high-speed airflow actively flows into the air guiding duct. The airflow in each air guiding duct is divided into two paths of airflow, one path of airflow flows through the bogie from the upper surface of the bogie along the first air duct, and then is ejected to the bogie from top to bottom through each air ejection port, so as to melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie, so that large ice blocks are prevented from forming on the bogie, and snow accumulation is prevented. The other path of airflow flows from the end of the bogie to the bottom of the bogie along the second air duct, so as to avoid snow from flowing into the bogie, it is ensured that the snow flows to the rail or the ground at the bottom of the bogie, and the amount of snow flowing into the bogie is reduced by changing the flow direction of the snow, thus achieving the purpose of anti-snow accumulation.

[0023] When the railway vehicle runs in high-temperature weather, the airflow flowing around the vehicle body still actively flows into each of the at least one air guiding duct. The airflow in each air guiding duct can not only blow away the hot air accumulated on the upper surface of the bogie along the first air duct, but also can blow the hot air at the end of the bogie to the bottom of the bogie along the second air duct, so that the interior of the bogie can be cooled by natural air cooling.

[0024] Therefore, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle provided by the present application can not only avoid the airflow from flowing into the bogie in heavy-snow weather and melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie at the same time, but also can cool the bogie in high-temperature weather, thereby effectively reducing the unfavorable factors for the safe operation of the railway vehicle, and improving the driving safety of the railway vehicle.

[0025] The railway vehicle provided by the present application includes the above-mentioned anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie, and has the same beneficial effects.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or in the conventional technology more clearly, the drawings for describing the embodiments or the conventional technology are briefly introduced hereinafter. Apparently, the drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on the provided drawings without creative efforts. FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of an anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie of a railway vehicle according to a specific embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 illustrates an anti-snow accumulation status of the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to a specific embodiment of the present application during operation in heavy-snow weather; FIG. 4 illustrates an air-cooling status of the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to a specific embodiment of the present application during operation in high-temperature weather; FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of part I in FIG. 4.

[0027] Reference numerals in the drawings are listed as follows: 1.air guiding duct;2.bogie;3.base;11.first air duct;12.second air duct;111.air ejection port;121.valve;31.punching air inlet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely as follows in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. It is apparent that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without any creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0029] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solution of the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

[0030] An anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie of a railway vehicle is provided according to an embodiment of the present application, including at least one air guiding duct 1, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5. The air guiding duct or all of the air guiding ducts 1 are arranged side by side, and each of the at least one air guiding duct 1 is configured to guide airflow to flow into a bogie 2 from the outside of the vehicle body.

[0031] Each of the at least one air guiding duct 1 includes a first air duct 11 and at least one second air duct 12. Each of the at least one second air duct 12 is merged and communicated with an end of the first air duct 11. The airflow flowing into the air guiding duct 1 is divided into two paths of airflow: one path of airflow flows along the first air duct 11, and the other path of airflow flows along the second air duct 12. Considering the bidirectional driving of the railway train, each of both ends of the first air duct 11 is provided with one second air duct 12. During the running process of the railway train, the airflow only flows into one of the second air ducts 12.

[0032] The first air duct 11 is an air duct with an equal cross-section. The first air duct 11 is arranged above the bogie 2 and is configured to guide the airflow to flow by the bogie 2 along an upper surface of the bogie 2. The first air duct 11 is provided with at least one air ejection port 111. Each of the at least one air ejection port 111 ejects air to the bogie 2 from top to bottom so as to melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie 2, and make the melted water flow to the bottom of the bogie 2. The air ejection port or all of the air ejection ports 111 are evenly arranged along a length direction of the bogie 2 to ensure that the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie 2 are fully cleaned. Of course, positions of the at least one air ejection port 111 can be adaptively set based on the snow and ice accumulation areas of the bogie 2.

[0033] Each of the at least one second air duct 12 is configured to guide the airflow to flow from the end of the bogie 2 to the bottom of the bogie 2 to avoid snow from flowing into the bogie 2 by downward air ejection, so as to change the flow direction of the snow, so that the snow flows to the rail or the ground at the bottom of the bogie 2, thereby reducing the amount of snow flowing into the bogie 2, and achieving the effect of anti-snow accumulation.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 3, when the railway vehicle runs in heavy-snow weather in an alpine region, the vehicle body drives the surrounding airflow to flow. Since the flow direction of the airflow in each of the at least one air guiding duct 1 is opposite to the running direction of the vehicle body, the high-speed airflow actively flows into the air guiding duct 1. The airflow in each air guiding duct 1 is divided into two paths of airflow, one path of airflow flows through the bogie 2 from the upper surface of the bogie 2 along the first air duct 11, and then is ejected to the bogie 2 from top to bottom through each air ejection port 111, so as to melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie 2, so that large ice blocks are prevented from forming on the bogie 2, and snow accumulation is prevented. The other path of airflow flows from the end of the bogie 2 to the bottom of the bogie 2 along the second air duct 12, so as to avoid snow from flowing into the bogie 2, it is ensured that the snow flows to the rail or the ground at the bottom of the bogie 2, and the amount of snow flowing into the bogie 2 is reduced by changing the flow direction of the snow, thus achieving the purpose of anti-snow accumulation.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 4, when the railway vehicle runs in high-temperature weather, the airflow flowing around the vehicle body still actively flows into each air guiding duct 1. The airflow in each air guiding duct 1 can not only blow away the hot air accumulated on the upper surface of the bogie 2 along the first air duct 11, but also can blow the hot air at the end of the bogie 2 to the bottom of the bogie 2 along the second air duct 12, so that the interior of the bogie 2 can be cooled by natural air cooling. Of course, the airflow can only flow along the first air duct 11 to cool a local part of the bogie 2.

[0036] In summary, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle provided by the present application can not only avoid the airflow from flowing into the bogie 2 in heavy-snow weather and melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie 2 at the same time, but also can cool the bogie 2 in high-temperature weather, thereby effectively reducing the unfavorable factors for the safe operation of the railway vehicle, and improving the driving safety of the railway vehicle.

[0037] In addition, the air guiding duct 1 composed of the first air duct 11 and the second air duct 12 is easy to manufacture and maintain. Without changing the structure and performance of the bogie, the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle can greatly reduce the amount of snow accumulated on the bogie 2, and it is applicable to railway vehicles with different speed grades and bogie structures. The higher the running speed of the vehicle body is, the better the effects of snow removal and heat dissipation are.

[0038] The second air duct 12 is a tapering air duct with a variable cross-section, and the second air duct 12 has a width gradually decreasing in a direction towards the bottom of the bogie 2, so that the air speed at an air outlet of the second air duct 12 can be increased by continuously tapering the cross-section of the air duct, and it is ensured that the airflow ejected from the second air duct 12 has sufficient pressure to prevent the snow from flowing into the bogie 2.

[0039] At least one of the first air duct 11 and the second air duct 12 is provided with a heating device, which is configured to heat airflow so as to accelerate the melting of snow and ice, thereby improving the performance of anti-snow accumulation. Specifically, the heating device may be a resistance wire, which is not limited to this. To further optimize the above technical solution, on the basis of the above embodiment, the heating device is preferably arranged in the first air duct 11 to fully melt the snow and ice accumulated on the bogie 2.

[0040] The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle described above further includes a temperature detection element and a control device. The temperature detection element is configured to detect a current ambient temperature, and specifically, it may be a temperature sensor, which is not limited to this. The control device is connected to the temperature detection element and the heating device.

[0041] When the railway vehicle operates in high-temperature weather, when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature higher than a preset temperature, the control device receives a signal sent by the temperature detection element and sends this signal to the heating device so as to control the heating device to stop heating, so that the heating device can stop heating automatically. That is, during the heat dissipation of the air guiding duct 1, the heating device does not work, and the first air duct 11 and the second air duct 12 are mainly used for ventilation.

[0042] When the railway vehicle operates in heavy-snow weather in alpine regions, when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature lower than a set temperature, the control device receives a signal sent by the temperature detection element and sends this signal to the heating device so as to control the heating device to start heating, thereby achieving automatic heating of the heating device. Both the preset temperature and the set temperature mentioned above can be predefined in advance and stored in the control device.

[0043] It should be noted here that the control device should include a signal receiving unit, a signal determination unit, and a signal sending unit. The signal receiving unit is configured to receive an electrical signal sent by the temperature detection element. The signal determination unit is electrically connected to the signal receiving unit, so that the signal determination unit can determine whether the signal received by the signal receiving unit is a trigger signal. The signal sending unit is electrically connected to the signal determination unit, so that the signal sending unit sends the determination signal generated by the signal determination unit to the heating device. The specific configuration of the signal receiving unit, the signal determination unit and the signal sending unit can refer to the conventional technologies. In the present application, only the application scenario of the above three is changed, without any substantial improvements made to them. Obviously, the control device with this structure is widely used in an existing automatic control apparatus, such as a MCU, a DSP, or a single-chip microcontroller. The key point of the present application lies in that the control device combines both the temperature detection element and the heating device.

[0044] A heat insulation layer is provided around the air guiding duct 1 to isolate the air guiding duct 1 from the external environment when the heating device heats the airflow, thereby preventing significant heat loss and affecting the heating efficiency. Specifically, since the heating device is arranged in the first air duct 11, it is only necessary to provide the heat insulation layer outside the first air duct 11. The type of the heat insulation layer can refer to the conventional technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0045] Each of the at least one air ejection port 111 is aligned with a wheel of the bogie 2, so as to prevent excessive ice and snow accumulation on the wheel to affect the curve passing capability of the railway vehicle and the stability of the braking system. Of course, the arrangement of the at least one air ejection port 111 is not limited to this.

[0046] The air outlet of each second air duct 12 is provided with a valve 121. When the train is operating at normal temperatures or dissipating heat at high temperatures, the valve 121 remains closed, as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, there is no need to remove the accumulated snow or dissipate heat, and the second air duct 12 does not eject airflow, thus preventing abnormal operation of the bogie 2 caused by foreign objects entering the bogie 2 along the second air duct 12, and having positive significance for enhancing driving safety. When it is necessary to remove the accumulated snow, the valve 121 can be opened to ensure smooth flow of the airflow in the second air duct 12.

[0047] The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle described above further includes a base 3 fixedly arranged above the bogie 2, and the air guiding duct or all of the air guiding ducts 1 are arranged within the base 3. A side wall of the base 3 is provided with at least one punching air inlet 31, and each of the at least one punching air inlet 31 is in communication with an end of each of the at least one air guiding duct 1. Considering that the flow direction of the airflow within the air guiding duct 1 is opposite to the running direction of the vehicle body, the airflow flowing around the vehicle body is actively pressed into the punching air inlet 31. The punching air inlet 31 is configured to guide the airflow flowing around the vehicle body to flow into the air guiding duct 1 communicated with the punching air inlet, thereby eliminating the need for an additional fan, and effectively reducing the energy consumption generated by the fan. Moreover, the air intake of the punching air inlet 31 is directly proportional to the running speed of the vehicle body, namely, the higher the running speed of the vehicle body, the greater the air intake of the punching air inlet 31, and consequently, the higher the flow velocity of the airflow within the first air duct 11 and the second air duct 12.

[0048] The punching air inlet 31 is an air inlet with variable cross-section, specifically which may be in a triangular shape. The punching air inlet 31 has a width gradually increasing in a direction towards the air guiding duct 1, so that the air speed at the punching air inlet 31 is increased, further improving the snow removal effect.

[0049] A railway vehicle is further provided according to an embodiment of the present application, including the aforementioned the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie thereof, which has the same beneficial effects.

[0050] It should be noted that, relationship terms such as first and second are merely used to distinguish an entity from other entities and do not require or imply that there are any such actual relationships or sequences between these entities herein.

[0051] The principle and implementation of the present application are illustrated by using specific embodiments herein. The above descriptions of the embodiments are only used to facilitate understanding the method and the core idea of the present application. It should be noted that, several improvements and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to the present application without departing from the principle of the present application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An anti-snow accumulation device for a bogie of a railway vehicle, comprising at least one air guiding duct (1) in which air flows in a direction opposite to a running direction of the vehicle body, wherein the air guiding duct or each of the air guiding ducts (1) comprises a first air duct (11) and at least one second air duct (12), and the second air duct or each of the second air ducts (12) is merged and communicated with an end of the first air duct (11); the first air duct (11) is configured to guide air to flow by the bogie (2) along an upper surface of the bogie (2), and the first air duct (11) is provided with at least one air ejection port (111), the at least one air ejection port or each of the air ejection ports is configured to eject air to the bogie (2) from top to bottom so as to melt snow and ice accumulated on the bogie (2); and the second air duct or each of the second air ducts (12) is configured to guide air to flow from an end of the bogie (2) to a bottom of the bogie (2) so as to avoid snow from flowing into the bogie (2).

2. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second air duct (12) has a width gradually decreasing in a direction towards the bottom of the bogie (2).

3. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first air duct (11) and the second air duct (12) is provided with a heating device for heating airflow.

4. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising: a temperature detection element configured to detect a current ambient temperature; and a control device connected to the temperature detection element and the heating device, wherein the control device is configured to control the heating device to stop heating based on a signal sent by the temperature detection element when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature higher than a preset temperature; and control the heating device to start heating based on a signal sent by the temperature detection element when the temperature detection element detects the current ambient temperature lower than a preset temperature.

5. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to claim 3, wherein a heat insulation layer is provided around the air guiding duct (1).

6. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one air ejection port or each of the air ejection ports (111) is aligned with a wheel of the bogie (2).

7. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an air outlet of the second air duct or each of the second air ducts (12) is provided with a valve (121).

8. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a base (3) fixedly arranged above the bogie (2), wherein the air guiding duct or all of the air guiding ducts (1) are arranged in the base (3), a side wall of the base (3) is provided with at least one punching air inlet (31), the punching air inlet or each of the punching air inlets (31) is in communication with an end of the air guiding duct or each of the air guiding ducts (1), and is configured to guide air flowing around the vehicle body to flow into the air guiding duct (1) communicated with the punching air inlet.

9. The anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie of the railway vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the punching air inlet (31) has a width gradually increasing in a direction towards the air guiding duct (1).

10. A railway vehicle, comprising the anti-snow accumulation device for the bogie according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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