Rail Vehicle Chassis Connection Using Peg Console and Adaptive Stiffness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicle designs face challenges in achieving a weight-optimized connection between the chassis and car body that balances comfort, derailment safety, and compliance with clearance profiles, especially at high speeds where longitudinal excitation forces cause vertical bending vibrations.
Innovation Solution
A rail vehicle design featuring an upwardly projecting peg-shaped console on the chassis frame that engages a receiving device on the car body, with limited freedom of movement to prevent excessive roll and pitch angles, and a low-lying trailing arm for connection, along with buffers and fixed stops for adaptive stiffness, and an articulated chassis frame for enhanced safety and load capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a soft connection is used to improve comfort and wheel-rail contact, then derailment safety is improved, but the clearance profile restriction is violated due to excessive roll angles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the stiffness parameter of the connection by using a peg-shaped console with limited freedom of movement instead of a purely soft connection. The receiving device with buffers and fixed stops provides adaptive stiffness: soft during normal operation for comfort, and hard when buffer distance is exceeded to maintain clearance profile compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system transitions from a static soft connection to a dynamic system where the stiffness changes based on operating conditions. The buffers allow soft movement within normal ranges, but the fixed stops provide hard limitation when extreme positions are reached, making the connection adapt its properties to different operational states.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a complex turntable and pivot point system is used to connect the car body to the chassis, then the connection flexibility is improved, but the device complexity increases and longitudinal excitation forces cause vertical bending vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of connection flexibility from the complex turntable and pivot point system, retaining only the necessary degrees of freedom. The peg-shaped console with limited freedom of movement provides the required adaptability while eliminating unnecessary components that cause complexity and vibration problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system is segmented into simple functional elements: the peg-shaped console on the chassis frame, the receiving device on the car body, buffers for soft connection, and fixed stops for hard limitation. This segmentation replaces the monolithic complex turntable system with modular, simple components.
3Strength
If the car body is heavily supported on the chassis to improve stability, then the connection strength is improved, but the driving comfort deteriorates due to increased vertical stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system uses dynamic stiffness adjustment through buffers and fixed stops. During normal operation, the buffers provide soft connection that absorbs vibrations and improves comfort. When extreme movements occur, the fixed stops engage to provide strong limitation, ensuring safety without permanently increasing vertical stiffness.
Solution Approach 2:
The effective stiffness parameter of the connection changes based on the position and state of the buffers and fixed stops. The system transitions from a soft state during normal operation to a hard state when limitation is required, optimizing both comfort and strength for different operational conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a simple, robust, and effective connection that enhances derailment safety, reduces wheel set load differences, and improves driving comfort by limiting roll angles and vertical stiffness, thus adhering to clearance profile restrictions and optimizing both normal operation and crash responses.
Implementation Method 1
The receiving device has buffers and fixed stops with predetermined stiffness characteristics
Implementation Method 2
buffers and fixed stops with predetermined stiffness characteristics
Implementation Method 3
the chassis frame is designed to be articulated. A flexible or articulated chassis frame increases derailment safety and enables a higher load
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a weight-optimized connection of the chassis of a rail vehicle to a wagon body (6), wherein an upwardly projecting, pin-shaped bracket (4) is provided on the chassis frame (9) and projects into a receptacle device (5) which is provided on the wagon body, and wherein the receptacle device bounds the freedom of movement of the pin-shaped bracket in such a way that predefined rolling angles of the wagon body are not exceeded in the lateral direction, and pitching angles of a lateral carrier (1) are not exceeded in the longitudinal direction.