Rotary joint having a damping device, side holder having a rotary joint, overhead line system having a side holder, and method for adjusting the damping of a side holder

Abstract

The invention relates to a rotary joint (1) having a damping device (6), to a side holder (20) having such a rotary joint (1), to an overhead line system having at least one side holder (20), and to a method for adjusting the damping of a side holder (20) having a rotary joint (1) according to the invention, wherein the rotary joint (1) has a housing (2), a joint pin (3), which passes through the housing (2), the joint pin (3) having a first end element (4) at one end and a second end element (5) at the opposite end, and at least one damping device (6), the damping device (6) having at least one first friction element (7) and one second friction element (8), and the at least two friction elements (7, 8) of the damping device (6) being arranged on the joint pin (3) outside the housing (2) and being directly in contact, and the at least one damping device (6) of the rotary joint (1) having at least one adjustment element (10) which is arranged on the joint pin (3) and with which the transmission of force between the at least two friction elements (7; 8) is adjustable.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Swivel joint with damping device, side holder with swivel joint, overhead line system with side holder and method for adjusting the damping of a side holder

[0003] Overhead line systems for traffic engineering systems for at least partially electrically powered, rail-bound or non-rail-bound vehicles, such as electric rail vehicles or electric trucks, usually have at least one flexibly suspended contact wire, which is suspended from at least one supporting cable either by hangers or hanger cables. The pantograph of a vehicle presses against the contact wire from below with a preset contact force. This results in an elastic lift of the contact wire. In the overhead line systems mentioned, there are usually always sections of travel where a supporting cable cannot or should not be used, for example due to low or insufficient construction heights, etc. In order to allow an elastic lift of the contact wire at these points too, elastic contact wire support points are usually used. These are usually implemented as lateral supports with a torsion spring in the joint.

[0004] To reduce the vibration behavior of such elastic support points and minimize post-oscillation, a damping torque is generated, for example, via a friction force or friction torque. The friction force or friction torque results, on the one hand, from the friction coefficient of the sliding friction that is primarily involved here, depending on the material pairing used, lubrication, the surfaces used, etc., and, on the other hand, from the normal force FN, which always acts against the direction of movement. The friction coefficient can only be determined during the design phase, whereas the normal force can be adjusted during assembly and, if necessary, readjusted during operation; however, this usually has to be done.

[0005] Known solutions involve generating the friction torque by means of a friction force via a lever arm outside the joint. The friction torque is generated by the friction force between two external friction elements and a lever arm. The normal force is generated by cylindrical helical compression springs and can therefore be adjusted depending on the travel. Disadvantages of such solutions include a very massive design, which, due to the mandatory use of many individual components, is complex and maintenance-intensive.

[0006] Other known solutions involve generating the friction torque via a bolt preload in the joint. In these solutions, the normal force corresponds to the bolt preload, which is adjusted via the tightening torque of the bolted connection.

[0007] The disadvantage is that converting the tightening torque into a corresponding, required bolt preload force is only possible with considerable uncertainty, making setting the required or desired bolt preload correspondingly difficult. Furthermore, even when using preload-maintaining screw locking elements, the initially set bolt preload force drops very quickly within a few load cycles due to the difficult-to-control, mutual sliding of the corresponding friction elements in the joint(s). This requires frequent and therefore complex and costly readjustments, especially during operation.

[0008] The invention is based on the object of specifying a swivel joint, a side holder with a swivel joint and an overhead line system with a side holder with a swivel joint as well as a method for adjusting the damping of a side holder for an overhead line system with a swivel joint, with which a reliable adjustment of damping moments can be realized.

[0009] The problem is solved by the features of independent patent claim 1 and the subordinate patent claims 13, 14 and 15. Further developments and embodiments of the invention can be found in the features of the dependent patent claims.

[0010] For this purpose, the swivel joint according to the invention comprises, among other things, a joint axis and at least one damping device with at least one first and one second friction element. The at least one damping device of the swivel joint comprises at least one adjusting element arranged on the joint axis, with which the force transmission between the at least two friction elements can be adjusted. The friction force acting between the mutually contacting friction elements, which results from the normal force FN through the corresponding force transmission between the two friction elements, can advantageously be varied by the adjusting element according to the invention and individually adjusted according to requirements or desires.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one adjusting element has an adjustable spring travel, wherein a shortening of the spring travel increases the force transmission between the at least two friction elements and an extension of the spring travel reduces the force transmission between the at least two friction elements. The spring travel, i.e. a distance, can be determined very reliably and precisely via a length measurement, from which the corresponding normal force FN with regard to the force transmission can be derived with equally great accuracy. In this way, the adjustment of the force transmission between the at least two friction elements and thus the required or desired damping can be carried out particularly easily and at the same time very precisely and safely by changing or adjusting the spring travel of the adjusting element.

[0012] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the at least one adjustment element is arranged on the joint axis between the outermost of the at least two friction elements of the damping device with respect to the housing of the swivel joint and a terminal element of the joint axis. Thus, the adjustment element is advantageously particularly easily accessible, correspondingly clearly visible, and thus easy to operate and / or control, for example, for readjustments, etc.

[0013] According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the adjusting element has at least one spring element. Particularly preferably, the at least one spring element is a disc spring. The use of spring elements is very advantageous because they deform in a targeted manner under load, return to their original state when the load is removed and thus have an almost unlimited service life with almost permanently constant properties. In addition, they are lightweight and inexpensive to produce. Disc springs are particularly advantageous because they can be very easily stacked to form disc spring packages consisting of several individual disc springs. The corresponding normal force required for force transmission is generated directly via the path of the disc springs by compression under load and vice versa when the load is removed. Due to their spring properties, in particular high elasticity and resilience, only a small amount of spring force is sufficient.Toughness combined with high strength, the combination of just a few disc springs into a disc spring assembly enables the required force transmission between the at least two friction elements. This allows the maximum required spring travel of the adjusting element to be dimensioned accordingly short, since the required force transmission for the desired damping can be achieved even with length changes in the millimeter range. This, in turn, enables a very compact design of a rotary joint according to the invention.

[0014] According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second friction elements of the damping device are designed in a bow-shaped manner, with the first friction element being guided around the housing of the rotary joint in such a way that the first friction element bears directly against the housing on both sides of the housing, and with the second friction element being guided around the housing of the rotary joint in such a way that the second friction element bears directly against the first friction element on both sides of the housing. This makes it very easy to arrange the two friction elements on the joint axis, with the first friction element therefore bearing directly against the housing on both sides and the second friction element bearing directly against the first friction element on both sides, and thus both friction elements are supported directly or indirectly on the housing and assume a correspondingly stable, symmetrical position. This allows the rotary joint with this symmetrical design to be very compact and stable.

[0015] Preferably, the two bow-shaped friction elements are guided around the housing opposite one another, i.e. not on the same side. This allows one of the friction elements, for example the second friction element, to be extended to a connection interface of the rotary joint to form a lateral support, whereby the joint itself and this connection interface become correspondingly more stable. In parallel, the other friction element, for example the first friction element, can be arranged in a stabilizing manner on the side facing away from the housing for connection to or support on a mounting device integrated into the rotary joint, which is connected, for example, to the housing, etc. Using such a mounting device, the joint and thus in particular a lateral support connected to the joint via a connection interface can be connected to corresponding overhead line elements, for example masts, etc.

[0016] The second friction element of the damping device is preferably designed to be rigid with respect to the rotary joint. Particularly preferably, the second friction element of the damping device has at least one anti-rotation lock for the first end element of the joint axis. This ensures that, particularly at the direct contact points between the first and second friction elements of the damping device, only the first friction element is movable relative to the second friction element, since the second friction element is rigidly connected to the rotary joint. By means of the anti-rotation lock of the second friction element of the damping device for the first end element of the joint axis, which can be configured, for example, as a bent tab, etc., is executable, the possibility of a rotation of the joint axis relative to the rigid second friction element is additionally prevented, so that only at the direct contact points between the first and the second friction element is there a parting line as the only possible point in or on the swivel joint, in which a sliding against one another of directly contacting parts, in this case the first and the second friction element, is possible, which in contrast is not the case with the previously known solutions. According to a further particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the joint axis of the swivel joint is designed as a screw with a screw head, wherein the screw head forms the first end element of the joint axis, and wherein the second end element of the joint axis is arranged on the end of the screw opposite the screw head. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the second end element of the joint axis of the swivel joint is a nut.Thus, all relevant parts of the inventive swivel joint can be positioned very conveniently and space-savingly at the appropriate locations on a screw as the joint axis. The screw head, as the first end element, is already automatically integrated. A nut as the second end element of the joint axis, as a suitable complementary fastening element to a screw, is an extremely advantageous and very effective design, with which all parts located or positioned on the joint axis or screw are held together very easily, namely by simply screwing them together. This enables and achieves a very compact design of the swivel joint.

[0017] According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the second end element of the joint axis of the swivel joint is made up of several parts and has at least one nut and at least one washer. The additional use of at least one washer enables complete coverage of or contact with the immediately following first spring element, for example a disc spring, of the adjusting element, whereby the force generated during screwing can be transmitted over a larger area. The adjusting element, which can be composed of several successive spring elements, for example as a disc spring assembly consisting of several disc springs, is immediately followed by one of the at least two friction elements, for example the rigid first friction element, of the damping device of the joint.The extension of the adjusting element along the joint axis, i.e. the distance between the second end element, in particular the nut or the washer, and the next, for example first, friction element of the damping device thus corresponds to the spring travel of the adjusting element which, as already described above, can be changed, for example shortened by tightening the nut or lengthened by loosening the nut, since the individual spring elements are compressed accordingly by means of the screw connection, i.e. are tensioned, or conversely can be relaxed again. The spring travel is directly proportional to the normal force FN, and therefore directly influences the force transmission to the following friction elements, i.e. the spring travel and thus the normal force contributes to the force transmission to the following friction elements.between the friction element(s) is adjustable by means of the variable distance between the second end element of the joint axis, for example the nut or the washer of the nut, and the next following, for example the first, friction element. Accordingly, the normal force is not generated via the screw preload force from the tightening torque of the screw, but via the spring travel of the adjusting element, consisting of at least one spring element, for example at least one disc spring or a disc spring assembly consisting of several individual disc springs, etc. In order to adjust the spring travel or the normal force FN for force transmission to or between the friction element(s) accordingly, more than one nut and / or more than one washer can be used as a multi-part second end element, if necessary.

[0018] The nut is particularly preferably a nut with a loss-preventing feature. By using a nut with a loss-preventing feature, for example a nut with a clamping part, etc., a constant spring travel and thus the set normal force can be ensured. This is because the significantly lower spring stiffness, in particular of the disc spring(s) as the adjusting element, in conjunction with the screw used as the joint axis, would require large angles of rotation of the nut as the second closing element relative to the screw in order to achieve a noticeable change in the normal force and thus the force transmission between the friction elements of the damping device. Therefore, known screw loss-preventing devices are sufficient to permanently maintain the set normal force FN and thus the damping effect in the screw connection, despite sliding in the joint between the two friction elements, which cannot be completely avoided.

[0019] A further aspect of the present invention relates to a side holder for an overhead line system with at least one swivel joint according to one of claims 1 to 12.

[0020] A further aspect of the present invention relates to an overhead line system with at least one side holder according to claim 13 with at least one rotary joint according to the invention.

[0021] A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for adjusting the damping of a side support for an overhead line system according to claim 13, comprising the following steps:

[0022] Determination of the necessary damping parameters at the respective location of use of the side holder in the overhead line system, then determination of the necessary normal force from the necessary damping parameters determined at the respective location of use of the side holder in the overhead line system, from the necessary normal force determined or ascertained in this way, determination of the spring travel of the adjustment element of the damping device of the swivel joint and then, adjustment of the previously determined spring travel of the adjustment element of the damping device of the swivel joint to produce the necessary force transmission between the at least two friction elements of the damping device of the swivel joint.

[0023] This advantageously allows the required or desired damping to be individually, easily, and safely adjusted at each location where a corresponding side support with the inventive swivel joint is used in the overhead line system. This allows individual damping parameters to be set locally for each elastic contact wire support point of an overhead line system, allowing the vibration behavior of the contact wire to be adjusted accordingly, for example, to a specific speed, etc.

[0024] The previously described embodiments of the invention and in particular their advantages are transferable mutatis mutandis to the said method as well as to the said side holder and the said overhead line system and therefore also apply to this extent.

[0025] In summary, with the invention and consequently by means of the adjustable damping behavior according to the invention, the vibration behavior of the overhead line, the vibrations of which are triggered or excited by driving on the contact wire, can be specifically influenced or adjusted to take into account location-specific and / or operator-specific conditions or peculiarities, in particular the current collectors, e.g. pantographs, etc. Such operator-specific peculiarities include, for example, the distances between the current collectors, e.g. pantographs, etc., of which more than one pantograph is increasingly being used on corresponding vehicles, e.g. multiple units, etc., their contact pressure on the overhead line or the contact wire, the distances between the support points, etc. This is particularly advantageous because it can be used to prevent, for example, the overhead line in the down direction and a current collector, e.g. a pantograph, etc., collide during the upward movement, thereby preventing serious damage or destruction and the resulting interruptions in operation. Furthermore, the wear that has previously typically occurred both on the contact wire support itself and on the current collectors, such as pantographs, etc., and on the contact wire itself, is significantly reduced. Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. They show:

[0026] Fig. 1 A schematic cross section of an embodiment of a rotary joint according to the invention with a damping device,

[0027] Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the embodiment of a rotary joint according to the invention from Figure 1,

[0028] Fig. 3 is a further schematic representation of the embodiment of a rotary joint according to the invention from Figure 1 from a different perspective and

[0029] Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the embodiment of a side holder with a swivel joint according to the invention.

[0030] In Figures 1 to 4, identical parts are designated by the same reference numerals. The embodiments may differ.

[0031] In Figures 1 to 3, a side holder 20, which can be seen in its entirety in Figure 4, is shown only partially and only at the connection interface at which the side holder 20 is connected to the rotary joint 1 according to the invention.

[0032] Figure 1 shows a schematic cross section of an embodiment of a rotary joint 1 according to the invention with a damping device 6. The rotary joint 1 comprises, in addition to the damping device 6, a housing 2 through which a joint axis 3 passes, a holding device 25 which is connected to the housing 2 and a stop 27 which is also connected to the housing 2.

[0033] With the mounting device 25 integrated into the swivel joint 1 or connected to the housing 2, the swivel joint 1 and thus in particular a side holder 20 connected to the swivel joint 1 via a corresponding connection interface can be connected to or attached to corresponding overhead line elements, for example masts, etc.

[0034] In the embodiment shown, the side holder 20 is connected or screwed to the swivel joint 1 via the connection interface, as shown, by means of four corresponding connecting elements 28, in this case designed as connecting screws. The joint axis 3 is in this case designed as a screw and has, on one side of the housing 2, at one end as the first closing element 4 of the joint axis 3, a screw head 4 which is non-removably connected to the screw 3. At the end of the screw 3 opposite the screw head 4, on the other side of the housing 2, a second closing element 5, in this case designed in two parts, consisting of a nut 13 and a washer 14, is screwed onto the joint axis 3, which is designed as a screw. The nut 13 shown or used in Figure 1 is equipped with a loss protection device and, in the present embodiment, is designed as a nut with a clamping part.

[0035] The illustrated damping device 6 consists of a first 7 and a second 8 friction element, both of which are bow-shaped, and an adjusting element 10.

[0036] Both friction elements 7, 8 are placed on both sides of the housing 2 on the screw 3, or rather, the screw 3 passes through both. The first friction element 7 is guided around the housing 2 of the swivel joint 1 on the long side of the housing 2 facing the stop 27 in such a way that the first friction element 7 rests directly on the housing 2 with one side on both (transverse) sides of the housing 2. The first friction element 7 is extended up to the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 with the side holder 20, or merges into the connection interface and stabilizes it accordingly. The second friction element 8 is guided around the housing 2 of the swivel joint 1 on the long side of the housing 2 facing the holding device 25 in such a way that the second friction element 8 rests directly on the first friction element 7 on both (transverse) sides of the housing 2. By means of the contact orThe force is transmitted between the two friction elements 7 and 8 via friction surfaces. The second friction element 8 is firmly connected or screwed to the mounting device 25 by means of two connecting elements 26, for example screws, and is thus rigid with respect to the pivot joint 1. The first friction element 7, on the other hand, is movable and can therefore move parallel to the direct contact surfaces relative to the second friction element 8. The second friction element 8 of the damping device 6 additionally has an anti-twist device 15 for the screw head 4 of the screw 3. The anti-twist device 15 is designed here as a bent tab, but can of course also be designed in another way. The anti-twist device 15 reliably prevents the screw 3 from twisting relative to the rigid second friction element 8, so that friction only occurs at the two direct contact points orThe only possible location in or at the rotary joint 1 between the force transmission surfaces 9 between the first 7 and the second 8 friction elements is a joint 17, in or at which a sliding movement of directly contacting parts, here the first 7 and the second 8 friction elements, is possible. This, in contrast, is not the case with previously known solutions, particularly with solutions in which the friction torque is generated exclusively via a screw preload in the joint. This is supported in the present case by a washer 14, which is additionally mounted between the screw head 4 and the second friction element 8.

[0037] The adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 is arranged on the screw 3, after the housing 2, between the second friction element 8 of the damping device 6 and the washer 14 of the second end element 5 of the screw 3. The adjusting element 10 consists of a connected package of several individual, stacked spring elements, which in this case are disc springs 12, which determine the length of the adjusting element 10 along the screw 3 and thus the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10. The spring travel 11 is thus the distance between the second friction element 8 of the damping device 6 and the washer 14 of the second end element 5 of the screw 3. The washer 14 of the second end element 5 ensures complete coverage of thecontact with the immediately following disc spring assembly of the adjusting element 10, whereby the force generated during screwing can be transmitted to a larger area, namely the entire area of ​​the disc springs 12. The adjusting element 10 lies directly against the rigid second friction element 8 and is thus positioned or clamped on the screw 3 between the second friction element 8 and the washer 14 of the second end element 5 and consequently exerts a normal force FN parallel to the longitudinal axis of the screw 3 on the second friction element 8 via the spring travel 11 by means of the disc spring assembly. The corresponding force is thus transmitted and consequently frictional force is applied to orvia the force transmission surface 9 between the two friction elements 8 and 7, which in turn causes a corresponding damping moment, which counteracts a deflection movement of a contact line support point, for example, a side bracket 20 connected to the swivel joint 1, etc., and dampens a corresponding post-oscillation. This also occurs analogously at the second contact point between the two friction elements of the damping element 6 on the other side of the housing 2, between the housing 2 and the washer 14 of the screw head 4.

[0038] The adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 is adjustable according to the invention and for this purpose has a variable spring travel 11, which can be adjusted by means of the disc spring assembly consisting of several stacked, individual disc springs 12. This is regulated via the corresponding interaction of the joint axis designed as screw 3 and the second end element 5 by tightening or loosening the screw connection, since the individual disc springs 12 are compressed accordingly by means of the screw connection, i.e. are tensioned, or, conversely, can be relaxed again. The spring travel 11 is directly proportional to the normal force FN, thus directly influences the force transmission to or between the two friction elements 7 and 8 following the screw 3. Shortening the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10 by tightening the nut 13 increases the force transmission between the two friction elements 7 and 8 and accordingly increases the damping torque.Conversely, extending the spring travel 11 by loosening the nut 13 reduces the force transmission between the two friction elements 7 and 8 and, accordingly, also reduces the damping torque. The adjustable spring travel 11 is a distance, i.e., a length, which can therefore be determined very reliably and precisely via a length measurement, from which the corresponding normal force FN with respect to the force transmission can be derived with equally high accuracy. In this way, the adjustment of the force transmission between the two friction elements 7 and 8, and thus the required or desired damping, can be carried out very easily, very precisely, and safely by changing or adjusting the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10.

[0039] Accordingly, the normal force FN for force transmission at the force transmission surfaces 9 of the two friction elements 7 and 8 for damping is not generated via the screw preload force from the tightening torque of the screw 3, but by means of the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1.

[0040] To achieve the adjustable spring travel 11, the use of spring elements is particularly suitable and advantageous because they deform in a targeted manner under load, return to their original state when the load is removed, and thus have almost permanently constant properties and an almost unlimited service life. In addition, they are lightweight and inexpensive to produce. This is particularly advantageous when using disc springs 12, as in the present case, because these can be very easily stacked to form disc spring packages consisting of several individual disc springs 12. The corresponding normal force FN required for force transmission at the force transmission surfaces 9 between the two friction elements 8 and 7 is generated directly via the path of the disc springs 14 by compression under load and, conversely, when the load is removed. Due to the spring properties of the disc springs 12, in particular their high elasticity and / orToughness combined with high strength, the combination of just a few disc springs 12—in the embodiment shown in Figure 1, for example, six disc springs 12—to form a disc spring assembly, enabling force transmission between the two friction elements 8 and 7, which produces the required or sufficient damping torques and thus correspondingly effective damping. This allows the maximum required spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10 to be dimensioned accordingly short, since the required force transmission for the desired damping can be generated even with length changes in the millimeter range. This, in turn, enables the very compact design of the rotary joint 1 according to the invention.

[0041] By using a nut with a loss-preventing device, such as the nut 13 with a clamping part in the present case, a constant spring travel 11 and thus a normal force FN once set can be ensured, since the significantly lower spring stiffness of the disc springs 12 of the adjusting element 10 in conjunction with the screw 3 as the joint axis would require large angles of rotation of the nut 13 as the second end element 5 relative to the screw 3 in order to achieve a noticeable change in the normal force FN and thus the force transmission between the two friction elements 7 and 8 of the damping device 6.Therefore, screw loss prevention devices known per se are sufficient to permanently maintain the set normal force FN and thus the damping effect in the screw connection of screw 3 with screw head 4 in conjunction with nut 13 with loss prevention device, in this case nut 13 with clamping part, according to the invention, despite a sliding in the joint 17 between the two friction elements 7 and 8 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1 that cannot be completely avoided.

[0042] Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the embodiment of a rotary joint 1 according to the invention from Figure 1 from a perspective obliquely from above, looking at the adjusting element 10 with the adjustable spring travel 11.

[0043] From this perspective, Figure 2 shows particularly clearly the spatial design of the two bow-shaped friction elements 7 and 8 with the housing 2 of the swivel joint 1 located between them, through which the screw 3 passes as the joint axis. The first friction element 7 is, as already described for Figure 1, extended to the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 to the side holder 20 and is solidly and very securely screwed to it by means of four connecting screws 28. Figure 2 also shows the equally robust design and the secure screw connection of the second friction element 8 by means of two connecting screws 26 to the holding device 25 of the swivel joint 1. The anti-twist device 15 of the second friction element 8 is only partially visible from this perspective.The holding device 25 is additionally connected to both the housing 2 and the stop 27 via a solid web that runs over the housing 2, at the end of which a further connecting element 28, designed here as an adjusting screw, is arranged. Furthermore, the structure of the adjusting element 10, consisting of the disc spring package made up of several individual, stacked disc springs 12, is shown in detail. The adjusting element 10 is located, as already described in detail in Figure 1, between the second friction element 8 and the washer 14 of the second end element 5 of the screw 3. By tightening or loosening the nut 13, the spring travel 11 can be shortened or lengthened accordingly and thus adjusted accordingly, which in turn allows the force transmission at the force transmission surface between the two friction elements 7 and 8 and their frictional force relative to one another, and thus the damping effect, to be regulated accordingly.In the illustration according to Figure 2, in particular, the complete coverage of or contact with the immediately following disc spring assembly of the adjustment element 10 by the washer 14 of the second end element 5 can be seen, whereby the force resulting from the interaction of the screw connection of screw 3 with screw head 4 and nut 13 with washer 14 can be transmitted to the entire surface of the disc springs 12 of the adjustment element 10 of the damping device 6.

[0044] Figure 3 shows a further schematic representation of the embodiment of a swivel joint 1 according to the invention from Figure 1 from a further perspective obliquely from above, looking at the screw head 4 of the screw 3, which is secured against rotation by means of the anti-twist device 15 of the second friction element 8 of the damping device 6. To further increase the security of the connection, a washer 14 is arranged between the screw head 4 and the second friction element 8. Figure 3 also shows, from this perspective, particularly clearly the spatial design of the two bow-shaped friction elements 7 and 8 with the housing 2 of the swivel joint 1 located therebetween, through which the screw 3 passes as the joint axis. The first friction element 7 is, as already described for Figure 1, extended up to the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 to the lateral holder 20 and is screwed to it firmly and very securely by means of four connecting screws 28.Figure 2 also shows the equally secure screw connection of the second friction element 8 by means of two connecting screws 26 to the holding device 25 of the rotary joint 1. The holding device 25 is additionally connected to both the housing 2 and the stop 27 via a solid web which runs over the housing 2, at the end of which a further connecting element 28, designed here as an adjusting screw, is arranged.

[0045] The stop limits the position of the side holder 20, which is connected to the swivel joint 1 via the connection interface, in its rest position. This position can be varied or adjusted by screwing the corresponding adjusting screw 28 in or out. For this purpose, the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 has a projection below the corresponding adjusting screw 28 of the stop 27. This projection rests against the stop 27 when the side holder 20 is in the rest position, and thus its rest position can be adjusted accordingly by screwing the adjusting screw 28 in or out.

[0046] The adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1, consisting of the disc spring package of several individual, stacked disc springs 12 and its position on the screw 3 is not visible from this perspective.

[0047] Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the embodiment of a side holder 20 with a swivel joint 1 according to the invention.

[0048] The side support 20 with the swivel joint 1 according to the invention can be used at any designated location in an overhead line system, particularly at locations where a supporting cable is omitted or must be omitted. For reasons of clarity, an overhead line system has been omitted.

[0049] The side view of the swivel joint 1 as shown in Figure 4 shows the housing 2, the end of the screw 3 and the second end element 5 consisting of the nut 13 with captive lock and the washer 14. Of the damping device 6, parts of the two friction elements 7 and 8 are shown in particular, while the adjusting element 10 is not visible due to being completely covered by the washer 14. Even from this perspective, however, the extension of the first friction element 7 up to the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 and its screw connection to the lateral holder 20 is shown, although only two of the four connecting screws 28 are visible here. Figure 4 also shows the screw connection of the second friction element 8 by means of connecting screws 26 to the mounting device 25 of the swivel joint 1, although only one of the two connecting screws 26 is visible here.

[0050] Furthermore, the connection of the mounting device 25 via a solid web extending over the housing 2 is visible, both to the housing 2 and to the stop 27, at the end of which the adjusting screw 28 is located. The side holder 20 is in the rest position, and consequently, the projection of the connection interface of the swivel joint 1 to the side holder 20, not visible in this illustration, rests against the stop 27.

[0051] Figure 4 further shows, by way of example, a contact wire holder 22 at the end of the lateral holder 20 opposite the swivel joint 1, which holds a contact wire 21. When the contact wire 21 is driven over, for example by a pantograph of a vehicle, not shown here for reasons of clarity, the lateral holder 20 is deflected upwards at the end opposite the swivel joint 1 and sinks downwards again after driving over it, whereby corresponding elastic vibrations are triggered, which are minimized by the solution according to the invention, in particular the damping device 6 of the swivel joint 1, through the interaction of the two friction elements 7 and 8 and the adjusting element 10, as described above.

[0052] The embodiment of the side holder 20 and the contact wire holder 22 for holding a contact wire, as an example in the present case, is of course in no way limited by the illustration according to Figure 4.

[0053] The damping of the lateral support 20 with the rotary joint 1 according to the invention for an overhead line system is then adjusted according to the invention using the following steps. First, the corresponding, necessary or desired, local damping parameters are determined at the respective location of use of the lateral support 20 in the overhead line system. From these, the normal force FN required to achieve the desired damping at the location of use of the lateral support 20 in the overhead line system is determined or derived. From the normal force FN determined in this way, the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1 of the lateral support 20 is then determined or derived.calculated, and then the spring travel 11 of the adjusting element 10 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1 of the side holder 20 is adjusted accordingly to produce the necessary force transmission to the force transmission surfaces 9 between the two friction elements 7 and 8 of the damping device 6 of the rotary joint 1.

[0054] Furthermore, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown in Figures 1 to 4. Rather, all possible other useful embodiments of the invention are also fully encompassed.

[0055] Regardless of the grammatical gender of a particular term, persons with male, female or other gender identities are included.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A rotary joint (1) with a housing (2), a joint axis (3) which passes through the housing (2), the joint axis (3) having a first (4) end element at one end and a second (5) end element at the opposite end, and at least one damping device (6), the damping device (6) having at least a first (7) and a second (8) friction element, and the at least two friction elements (7, 8) of the damping device (6) being arranged outside the housing (2) on the joint axis (3) and in direct contact with one another, characterized in that the at least one damping device (6) of the rotary joint (1) has at least one adjusting element (10) arranged on the joint axis (3), with which adjusting element the force transmission between the at least two friction elements (7; 8) can be adjusted.

2. Swivel joint according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one adjusting element (10) has an adjustable spring travel (11), wherein a shortening of the spring travel (11) increases the force transmission between the at least two friction elements (7; 8) and an extension of the spring travel (11) reduces the force transmission between the at least two friction elements (7; 8).

3. Swivel joint according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one adjusting element (10) is arranged on the joint axis (3) between the outer one of the at least two friction elements (7, 8) of the damping device (6) with respect to the housing (2) of the swivel joint (1) and a closing element (4, 5) of the joint axis (3).

4. Swivel joint according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjusting element (10) has at least one spring element (12).

5. Swivel joint according to claim 4, characterized in that the at least one spring element (12) is a disc spring.

6. Swivel joint according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first (7) and the second (8) friction element of the damping device (6) are designed in the shape of a bow, wherein the first friction element (7) is guided around the housing (2) of the swivel joint (1) in such a way that the first friction element (7) bears directly against the housing (2) on both sides of the housing (2), and wherein the second friction element (8) is guided around the housing (2) of the swivel joint (1) in such a way that the second friction element (8) bears directly against the first friction element (7) on both sides of the housing (2).

7. Swivel joint according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second friction element (8) of the damping device (6) is designed to be rigid with respect to the swivel joint (1).

8. Swivel joint according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second friction element (8) of the damping device (6) has at least one anti-twist device (15) for the first end element (4) of the joint axis (3).

9. Swivel joint according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the joint axis (3) of the swivel joint (1) is designed as a screw with a screw head, wherein the screw head forms the first end element (4) of the joint axis (3), and wherein the second end element (5) of the joint axis (3) is arranged on the end of the screw opposite the screw head.

10. Swivel joint according to claim 9, characterized in that the second end element (5) of the joint axis (3) of the swivel joint (1) is a nut (13).

11. Swivel joint according to claim 9, characterized in that the second end element (5) of the joint axis (3) of the swivel joint (1) is multi-part and has at least one nut (13) and at least one washer (14).

12. Swivel joint according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the nut (13) is a nut with a loss protection.

13. Side holder (20) for an overhead line system with at least one swivel joint (1) according to one of claims 1 to 12.

14. Overhead line system with at least one side holder (20) according to claim 13.

15. A method for adjusting the damping of a side support (20) for an overhead line system according to claim 13, comprising the following steps: Determination of the necessary damping parameters at the respective location of the side holder (20) in the overhead line system, Determination of the necessary normal force from the determined damping parameters at the location of the side holder (20) in the overhead line system, Determination of the spring travel (11) of the adjusting element (10) of the damping device (6) of the rotary joint (1) from the determined normal force, Adjustment of the specific spring travel (11) of the adjusting element (10) of the damping device (6) of the rotary joint (1) to produce the necessary force transmission between the at least two friction elements (7; 8) of the damping device (6) of the rotary joint (1).

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