Rail Vehicle Connecting Element Cable Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting elements for rail vehicles, such as plunger or pivot pins, pose challenges in routing cables without breaking through supporting structures of the car body, especially in areas with limited space where the car body connects to the bogie.
Innovation Solution
A connecting element with a channel-shaped recess through its boundary surface allows cables to be routed directly through, eliminating the need for openings in the car body's supporting structure and enabling assembly/disassembly without dismantling cables, with the recess designed to accommodate various orientations and lengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cables are routed above the connecting element through the car body, then cable routing is achieved, but load-bearing structures of the car body must be broken through
Solution Approach 1:
The cable duct is integrated into the connecting element by being received in a recess of the connecting element. This nesting approach allows cables to be routed through the connecting element without requiring openings in the car body's load-bearing structures, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of cable routing and structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The cable duct and connecting element are merged into a single integrated component. The cable duct is formed as part of the connecting element, combining the functions of mechanical connection and cable routing into one structure, eliminating the need for separate cable routing paths through the car body
2Ease of operation
If cables are guided laterally around the connecting element, then cable routing is achieved, but cable path length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable duct is nested within the connecting element, allowing cables to pass directly through the connecting element along a straight path. This eliminates the need for lateral routing around the connecting element, thereby minimizing cable path length while maintaining ease of cable installation
3Ease of operation
If the connecting element has a round bushing like trunnions, then rotational movement is facilitated, but the design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The round bushing component is extracted/removed from the design. Instead of using a separate round bushing like traditional trunnions, the connecting element uses a simplified pivot pin design where the pivot socket provides the necessary rotational guidance, reducing design complexity while maintaining rotational functionality
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a connecting element for the rotatable connection of a car body (9) to a bogie of a rail vehicle, wherein the connecting element has a delimiting surface (11) which can be aligned with the car body and on which the car body (9) at least partially lies when the connecting element (1) is in the installed state. To permit guidance of cables (8) without an interruption of load-bearing structures of the car body (9), it is provided that the connecting element has, in the delimiting surface (11), at least one channel-like recess (6) which extends through the entire delimiting surface (11).