Rail Vehicle Emergency Spring Decoupling Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicle designs with integrated emergency springs in the secondary suspension increase rolling stiffness, leading to a higher risk of derailment, reduced allowable speed, and decreased comfort, while also being inflexible and costly to retrofit or modify.
Innovation Solution
A decoupling mechanism in the emergency spring device separates the wagon body's rolling movement from its height support, allowing for a rolling axis that mimics normal operation, reducing rolling stiffness and enabling flexible design and retrofitting without increasing space or cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the emergency spring is integrated within components of the secondary suspension (e.g., within lateral air spring elements), then support force transmission is provided in emergency operation, but the stiffness of the emergency springs in the height direction is considerably higher than the corresponding stiffness of the air springs, which increases the rolling stiffness of the vehicle arrangement and considerably increases the risk of derailment
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency spring device is extracted from the integrated design within air spring elements and positioned as a separate component between the wagon body and running gear. This allows the emergency spring to provide support force transmission independently while the decoupling mechanism prevents it from increasing rolling stiffness, thereby resolving the contradiction between emergency reliability and derailment risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency spring device is segmented into distinct functional components: the emergency spring for vertical support and the decoupling mechanism for rolling movement. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without interfering with the other, enabling emergency support while maintaining normal rolling characteristics.
2Reliability
If the emergency spring device increases the rolling stiffness to provide emergency support, then the support function is improved, but the allowable speed and comfort are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The decoupling mechanism acts as an intermediary between the emergency spring and the wagon body's rolling movement. It allows the emergency spring to provide vertical support force while preventing this support force from increasing rolling stiffness, thereby maintaining allowable speed and comfort levels during emergency operation.
3Device complexity
If the secondary suspension design determines the location and design of the emergency spring, then the emergency spring can be integrated into the suspension system, but it makes the design rather inflexible for design changes of the rail vehicle or the emergency spring
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency spring device is extracted from the constraint of being integrated within air spring elements and positioned as a separate, independently locatable component. This extraction provides design flexibility, allowing the emergency spring to be positioned optimally for different vehicle configurations and allowing independent modification of the emergency spring characteristics without changing the secondary suspension design.
4Volume of moving object
If the emergency spring is integrated into the secondary suspension components, then the building space is utilized efficiently, but it increases the rolling stiffness and causes an increased risk of derailment
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency spring device is positioned in a separate spatial dimension from the air spring elements, between the wagon body and running gear rather than within the air spring structure. This dimensional separation allows efficient space utilization while preventing the emergency spring from increasing rolling stiffness, as the decoupling mechanism isolates the vertical support function from the rolling movement.
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 configuration improves rolling movement and reduces the risk of derailment, maintains normal rolling stiffness, and allows for flexible design and retrofitting of rail vehicles, enhancing both safety and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
an emergency spring unit (107) configured to support the wagon body unit (102.1) on the running gear unit (103.1) in a direction of a height axis (101z) of the wagon body unit (102.1)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to an emergency spring device, in particular for rail vehicles, comprising an emergency spring unit (107). The emergency spring unit (107) is configured to provide resilient emergency support of a wagon body unit (102.1) of a wagon body (102) of the vehicle (101) on a running gear unit (103) of the vehicle (101) at least in a direction of a height axis of the wagon body (102) in an emergency operation in case of a failure of a secondary suspension device (104) of the rail vehicle (101). The emergency spring device (105) further comprises a decoupling unit (110). The decoupling unit (110) and the emergency spring unit (107) are configured to be arranged kinematically in series between the wagon body unit (102.1) and the running gear unit (103). The decoupling unit (110) is configured to mechanically decouple the wagon body unit (102.1) from the running gear unit (103) about a decoupling axis of rotation (105.1) extending along a longitudinal axis of the wagon body (102).