Abstract
The invention relates to a height control mechanism for a rail vehicle comprising suspension units that are arranged between the body and the bogie of the rail vehicle and that each comprise a spring, a pneumatic or a hydraulic reciprocating piston element. In accordance with the invention, the reciprocating piston element is retracted so much in train operation that it does not bridge the spacing between the body and the bogie.
Claims
1. A height control mechanism for a rail vehicle comprising suspension units that are arranged between a body and a bogie of the rail vehicle and each comprise at least one spring and at least one pneumatic or hydraulic reciprocating piston element, wherein the reciprocating piston element extends to raise the body to a platform height which is greater than an operation height maintained by the at least one spring, and the reciprocating piston element retracts in train operation such that it does not bridge a spacing between the body and the bogie.
2. The height control mechanism of claim 1, wherein the reciprocating piston element is positioned within the at least one spring.
3. The height control mechanism claim 1, wherein the reciprocating piston element is arranged outside the at least one spring in parallel therewith.
4. The height control mechanism of claim 1, wherein the at least one spring is at least one of a steel spring, an air bellows, an elastomer element or a hydropneumatic spring.
5. The height control mechanism of claim 1, wherein a supply of a working medium takes place at a side of the body.
6. The height control mechanism of claim 5, wherein the supply of the working medium takes place at a side of the bogie.
7. The height control mechanism of claim 6, wherein the working medium for the reciprocating piston element is liquid or gaseous.
8. The height control mechanism of claim 1, wherein an elastomer is arranged as an emergency damping element between the bogie and the reciprocating piston element.
9. The height control mechanism in accordance with claim 8, wherein a distance measurement system cooperates directly or indirectly with the reciprocating piston element.
10. A method for adjusting a height control mechanism for a rail vehicle: the height control mechanism comprising: suspension units arranged between a body and a bogie of the rail vehicle and each suspension unit comprising at least one spring and at least one pneumatic or hydraulic reciprocating piston element, extending the reciprocating piston element to raise the body to a platform height, the platform height greater than an operation height, and after the rail vehicle leaves a platform, retracting the reciprocating piston element such that the reciprocating piston element does not bridge a spacing between the body and the bogie to lower the body to the operation height, and the operation height maintained by the at least one spring element.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the platform height is based on a height of an railroad station platform.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the platform height is independent of a weight load of the rail vehicle.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the operation height is determined only by the at least one spring element.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising using the reciprocating piston element to support the body in response to failure of the at least one spring element.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
(1) Further features, details and advantages of the invention result from the embodiments shown with reference to the Figure. There are shown:
(2) FIG. 1: the sectional representation of a spring unit of a height control mechanism in accordance with the invention for a rail vehicle in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention in regular train operation;
(3) FIG. 2: the suspension unit in accordance with FIG. 1 in the fully extended state;
(4) FIG. 3: the suspension unit in accordance with FIG. 1 on an overload or breakage of the spring;
(5) FIG. 4: an alternative embodiment of the suspension unit in accordance with the present invention in regular train operation;
(6) FIG. 5: the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 4 with a fully extended reciprocating piston element;
(7) FIGS. 6 and 7: a further alternative embodiment of the suspension unit in accordance with the present invention in two different travel states;
(8) FIGS. 8 and 9: a further embodiment of the suspension unit in accordance with the invention in again different travel states; and
(9) FIGS. 10 and 11: respective further modifications of the suspension units of the height control mechanism in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(10) FIG. 1 shows a sectional representation of a suspension unit 10 that is arranged between a body 12 of a rail vehicle no longer shown here and a bogie 14 that is here likewise only shown schematically.
(11) The suspension unit comprises a spring 16 and a reciprocating piston element 18. The reciprocating piston element 18 in turn comprises a cylinder 20 and a piston 22 displaceably supported therein. The piston 22 of the reciprocating piston element 18 is acted on by a working medium that is conveyed into the cylinder 20 via a pressure line 24 at the one side of the piston 22.
(12) Hydraulic working media such as hydraulic oil or emulsions or pneumatic working media such as compressed air are used as the working medium in the reciprocating piston element as part of the present invention. Any other conventional working medium can likewise be used to travel the reciprocating piston element.
(13) The pressure line 24 is arranged at the side of the bogie in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. An elastomer layer 26 is applied to the lower side of the cylinder 20 and can, as will be described below, act as a damping element.
(14) The height control mechanism in accordance with the invention having the suspension unit 10 is shown in regular train operation in FIG. 1. The reciprocating piston element 18 is retracted so much here that it does not bridge the spacing between the body 12 and the bogie 14. This is clear here in that the lower side 28 of the piston 22 is not supported at the bogie 14. The height level of the rail vehicle is therefore only determined by the height of the spring 16 that is formed as a steel spring here.
(15) In FIG. 2, the reciprocating piston element 18 is now shown in an operating mode by extending the piston 22 in which operating mode the reciprocating piston element raises the body 12 with respect to the bogie 14. In the embodiment shown here, the body of the rail vehicle is raised by a maximum in that the working medium is urged into the corresponding chamber of the cylinder 20 via the pressure line 24 and the piston 22 has thus been extended up to the maximum abutment. In this state, the rail vehicle is raised to a desired maximum height, for example of a railroad station platform.
(16) It becomes clear from the design shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the reciprocating piston element only supports the spring force of the spring 16 to raise the body 12 of the rail vehicle. With a corresponding dimensioning of the spring 16, only the height difference on the deflection of the spring during the loading of the rail vehicle with persons or pieces of baggage or other goods has to be adapted here.
(17) The suspension unit is shown in FIG. 3 in a state in which the spring 16 no longer works appropriately. This can take place, for example, by an overload, i.e. too large a load, of the rail vehicle. The elastomer hereby comes into use as an emergency damping in that it forms an intermediate damping layer between the cylinder 20 and the bogie 14. This situation can also occur when the spring 16 has broken and can thus no longer carry out the spring function.
(18) FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the suspension unit 10. The reciprocating piston element 18 is here arranged outside the spring 16 and in parallel with it between the body 12 and the bogie 14. This embodiment variant otherwise corresponds to that in accordance with FIG. 1.
(19) FIG. 5 shows the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 4 in the state of the reciprocating piston element 18 extended to the maximum in which the piston 22 is extended up to its end position.
(20) A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 that substantially corresponds to the arrangement in accordance with FIGS. 5 and 6. Only the spring element 16 is not designed in the form of a steel spring, but rather as an elastomer layer spring. In FIG. 6, the suspension unit is shown in a highly deflected state that is due to the fact that the rail vehicle is relatively highly loaded. In FIG. 7, the reciprocating piston element 18 is activated and fully extended.
(21) A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 8. An embodiment corresponding to that in accordance with FIG. 1 is shown here in which a distance sensor 28 is additionally integrated in the reciprocating piston element 18. As shown here, the piston 22 is designed as centrally hollow for this purpose so that the rod-shaped distance sensor 28 can dip into the piston 22. The distance sensor can thus be designed as an inductive encoder here. However, any other distance measurement system can also be used within the framework of the invention. In FIG. 9, the embodiment in accordance with FIG. 8 is shown on an overload or breakage of the spring element 16 and with a simultaneous deployment of the emergency damping by the elastomer 26. This state is indicated by the distance sensor 28 here.
(22) FIG. 10 shows an embodiment variant in which the suspension unit is installed at the bogie and in which the pressure line 24 is also led to the cylinder of the reciprocating piston element at the bogie 14. This embodiment also has a distance sensor 28.
(23) Finally, FIG. 11 shows an embodiment variant corresponding to that of FIG. 1 in which, however, the working medium is introduced into both chambers of the cylinder 20 via respective pressure lines 24 and 25 in order thus to ensure a controlled retraction of the piston 22. Otherwise, this embodiment corresponds to that in accordance with FIGS. 1 to 3.
