Rail Vehicle Pneumatic Spring Bead Ring Wear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pneumatic spring systems for rail vehicles face significant wear and damage due to heavy vertical, horizontal, and torsional movements, particularly at clamping points, leading to inefficient force transmission and increased production costs in existing solutions.
Innovation Solution
The pneumatic spring device features a bead ring with two separate core rings that guide reinforcement elements in an S-configuration, allowing for reliable embedding and force transmission, minimizing damage from frictional wear by positioning the reinforcement elements away from the clamping region and using a wound core for enhanced strength and simplicity in production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the pneumatic spring bellows is clamped to the stop ring at the clamping point, then the pneumatic spring can be fastened to the chassis and subframe, but severe frictional wear occurs at the clamping point due to heavy vertical, horizontal and torsional movements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a bead ring as an intermediary component between the pneumatic spring bellows and the stop ring. The bead ring includes a core with reinforcement elements that are embedded in the bellows material and loop around the core, creating an intermediate structure that distributes clamping forces and reduces direct frictional contact at the clamping point, thereby reducing wear while maintaining fastening strength
2Strength
If the reinforcing fabric is arranged close to the surface of the pneumatic springs, then the structural integrity is improved, but the reinforcements are damaged due to severe frictional wear at the clamping point
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the arrangement of reinforcement elements at different locations. At the clamping point, the reinforcement elements are arranged to loop around the core in a manner that protects them from direct frictional wear, while in other regions the reinforcements maintain their structural support function. This localized differentiation allows the reinforcements to maintain durability in the wear-prone clamping region while preserving overall structural integrity
3Object-affected harmful factors
If additional rubber layers are applied to protect the reinforcements, then the wear protection is improved, but the production cost increases and the fundamental wear problem is not solved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wear protection function from the rubber material and transfers it to the reinforcement element configuration. By designing the reinforcement elements to loop around the core in a specific manner, the wear protection is achieved through the geometric arrangement and embedding of reinforcements rather than through additional protective rubber layers, thereby avoiding increased production costs while providing fundamental wear protection
4Force
If the reinforcements are damaged by severe movements, then the force transmission between the core and reinforcements deteriorates, but the heavy vertical, horizontal and torsional movements are unavoidable in rail vehicle operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-embedding the reinforcement elements into the bellows material and pre-configuring them to loop around the core in a manner that anticipates and prepares for the heavy movements. This preliminary configuration ensures that the reinforcements are already in optimal positions to transmit forces effectively before the heavy vertical, horizontal and torsional movements occur, maintaining force transmission integrity throughout the operational life of the pneumatic spring
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a pneumatic spring device (3) of a rail vehicle (1). The device includes a pneumatic spring bellows (5), which is provided on both ends with a bead ring (6, 7), wherein the bead ring (6, 7) has a core made of two core rings (10, 11, 13, 14) positioned separately in the bead ring and the reinforcement elements (12) are guided in an S shape between the core rings and loop around the latter.