Three-Point Vehicle Support for Track Defect Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing four-point support configuration of railway vehicles is inadequate for navigating tracks with geometric defects, such as twists, as it becomes overly rigid when secondary suspensions are deflated, risking derailment due to limited ability to compensate for track irregularities, and optimizing primary suspensions to absorb travel is complex and expensive.
Innovation Solution
A three-point support device comprising a first bogie with two secondary pneumatic suspensions and a central emergency suspension, and a second bogie with two secondary pneumatic suspensions and an emergency lateral suspension, allowing for adaptive air pressure regulation and emergency support points to maintain stability on defective tracks without complicating primary suspension manufacture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a four-point support configuration is used, then the vehicle body is supported at four points with backup suspensions, but the support system becomes overly rigid when secondary suspensions are deflated, limiting the ability to compensate for track curvature and increasing derailment risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the support system adaptable through selective activation of suspensions. The control system dynamically adjusts which suspensions are active based on track conditions, allowing the rigid four-point support to transition into a more flexible three-point configuration when navigating track curvature, thus resolving the contradiction between support reliability and adaptability to track conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of support point configuration from fixed four-point to variable three-point. By controlling the deflation state of secondary suspensions and activating emergency suspensions selectively, the system changes its geometric configuration to adapt to track curvature, maintaining reliability while improving adaptability to geometric defects
2Reliability
If primary suspensions are optimized to absorb suspension travel, then the ability to handle track defects improves, but the manufacture of primary suspensions becomes complicated and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity from the primary suspension system and relocates it to the secondary suspension and control system. Instead of modifying the primary suspension to handle track defects, the invention uses the secondary suspension with emergency backup and intelligent control to achieve the same safety outcome, thereby simplifying primary suspension manufacture while maintaining safety on defective tracks
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the secondary suspension system with emergency backups and control logic as an intermediary between the simple primary suspension and the track defects. This intermediary layer absorbs the complexity of handling geometric defects, allowing the primary suspension to remain simple and easy to manufacture while still ensuring safety on defective tracks
3Stability of the object's composition
If secondary suspensions are deflated to provide rigid support, then support stability improves, but the capacity to compensate for track geometric defects decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by pre-positioning emergency suspensions that remain in reserve until needed. The secondary suspensions are deflated for normal rigid support, but the emergency suspensions are prepared in advance to activate automatically when track geometric defects are detected, providing prior cushioning against the loss of adaptability while maintaining support stability
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
The three-point support device enhances safety on tracks with geometric defects by reducing the risk of derailment and torsion, while maintaining simplicity in manufacture and operation, as it effectively distributes weight and compensates for track irregularities without the need for complex primary suspension optimization.
Implementation Method 1
the two first secondary air suspensions being pneumatically linked
Implementation Method 2
Each backup element comprises an elastic member and a support element
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a three-point support device (30) for a vehicle body (32), the device (30) comprising: a. a first bogie (40) adapted to support the body (32) by a first support point, the first support point being formed by two first secondary air suspensions (50) pneumatically linked or by a central emergency suspension (52) when the first secondary air suspensions (50) are malfunctioning, and b. a second bogie (42) adapted to support the body (32) by a second and a third support point, each of the second and third support points being formed by a separate second secondary air suspension (70) or by a lateral emergency suspension (72) associated with said second secondary air suspension (70) when said second secondary air suspension (70) is malfunctioning.