Steerable Railway Bogie Wheel Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicle bogies experience significant friction and wear on railway curves, leading to noise, premature wheel wear, and increased maintenance costs due to the need for all wheels to have equivalent diameters to prevent skating.
Innovation Solution
A bogie design with a main structure connecting coaxial first and second wheels, each with an elementary orientation device that allows independent modification of their angular positions relative to the vertical axis, enabling each wheel to follow a different trajectory and adapt to the curvature of the railway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the bogie uses conventional fixed wheel orientation, then the structure is simple, but the wheel flange experiences significant friction and wear on curved tracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the wheel orientation adjustable rather than fixed. The elementary orientation device allows the wheel's elementary plane to be inclined along the vertical axis, enabling dynamic adaptation to curved track conditions. This reduces flange friction and wear while maintaining operational simplicity through controlled mechanical adjustment.
2Reliability
If all wheels are constrained to have equivalent diameters, then slippage is prevented, but maintenance time and cost increase due to replacing all wheels when one is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by making each wheel independently adjustable through individual elementary orientation devices. This allows each wheel to be optimized and maintained separately, enabling replacement or adjustment of only the damaged wheel rather than requiring replacement of all wheels on the bogie, thus reducing maintenance time while preserving slippage prevention through independent control.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the outer wheel travels a greater distance on curves, then the wheel follows the track geometry, but the inner wheel slips against the rail
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing each wheel to have independent orientation adjustment through elementary orientation devices. This enables localized adaptation of each wheel's elementary plane inclination to match the specific track conditions at its position, preventing slippage while maintaining proper following of track geometry on curves.
Data Source
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AI summary
A railway vehicle bogie (1), the bogie (1) comprising at least one main structure (2) connecting a first wheel (R1) and a second wheel (R2), each wheel (R1, R2) extending radially in an elementary plane (Xi, Z), each wheel (R1, R2) being configured to rotate about an elementary transverse axis (Yi) orthogonal to the elementary plane (Xi, Z), the U-shaped main structure (2) comprising two arms (3) and a transverse member (4) connecting the two arms (3), the main structure (2) being configured to be connected, in a hinged manner about the vertical axis (Z), to a railway vehicle chassis, the bogie (1) comprising at least one first elementary steering device (5) for the first wheel (R1) configured to modify the inclination of the elementary transverse axis (Yi) of the first wheel (R1) so as to tilt the elementary plane (Xi, Z) of the first wheel (R1) according to the vertical axis (Z).