TRANSFORMER FOR USE IN A RAIL VEHICLE

Abstract

A transformer for use in a rail vehicle and/or for rail applications, including a core which is at least partially surrounded by at least one coil is, with regard to the objective of providing a transformer in which the geometry of a coil can be selected to be as variable as possible, characterized in that the core is produced from individual segments, wherein the total cross-sectional surface-area of the core is greater than or equal to the sum of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas of the segments and wherein at least two individual cross-sectional surface-areas differ from each other and/or from the total cross-sectional surface-area in terms of their size and/or geometric shape.

Claims

1. A transformer for use in a rail vehicle, comprising a core which is at least partially surrounded by at least one coil, wherein the core comprises a plurality of individual segments, each segment comprising an individual cross-sectional surface-area, wherein a total cross-sectional surface-area of the core is greater than or equal to the sum of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas of the segments, and wherein at least two of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas differ from each other.

2. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the segments are configured as core sheet bundles.

3. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the individual cross-sectional surface areas has the geometry of a geometric surface-area with at least one straight side.

4. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas has the geometry of a geometric surface-area having a curved border.

5. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a coil cross-sectional surface-area has: round regions in which the winding is subjected to a change of direction, and at least one oblique side which is inclined relative to at least two parallel sides.

6. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one coil comprises a plurality of coils, the transformer further comprising a housing that surrounds the core and at least two coils of the plurality of coils.

7. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has a housing cross-sectional surface-area which is at least partially configured in a trapezoidal manner.

8. A rail vehicle comprising the transformer of claim 1.

9. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least two of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas differ in size from each other.

10. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least two of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas differ in shape from each other.

11. The transformer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the geometric surface-area with at least one straight side comprises one of a square, a rectangle, a trapezium, or a circle segment.

12. The transformer as claimed in claim 4, wherein the geometric surface-area having the curved border comprises one of a circle, an ellipse, or an oval.

13. A core for a transformer for a rail vehicle, comprising: a plurality of core segments; and wherein each core segment has an individual cross-sectional surface area, wherein the individual cross-sectional surface areas of at least two of the core segments are different from each other, wherein the core has a total cross-sectional surface area, and wherein a sum of the individual cross-sectional surface areas of the core segments is equal to or less than the total cross-sectional surface area of the core, and wherein the core is configured to be at least partially surrounded by at least one coil.

14. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual cross-sectional surface areas of at least two of the core segments have different sizes.

15. The transformer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual cross-sectional surface areas of at least two of the core segments have different shapes.

16. The core as claimed in claim 13, wherein each core segment includes a core sheet bundle.

17. The core as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one of the individual cross-sectional surface areas has the geometry of a geometric surface area with at least one straight side.

18. The core as claimed in claim 17, wherein the geometric surface area with at least one straight side comprises one of a square, a rectangle, a trapezium, or a circle segment.

19. The core as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one of the individual cross-sectional surface areas has the geometry of a geometric surface area having a curved border.

20. The core as claimed in claim 19, wherein the geometric surface area having the curved border comprises one of a circle, an ellipse, or an oval.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a sectioned view of a conventionally produced transformer for rail applications having two coils, the core of which in each case has a rectangular total cross-sectional surface-area, wherein the coils have a substantially rectangular coil cross-sectional surface-area and wherein the corner regions of the coil cross-sectional surface-areas are constructed as round regions,

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a transformer, wherein the geometries of the coil cross-sectional surface-areas of the coils thereof are adapted to the dimensions of a rail profile, and

[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic sectioned view of core sheet bundles, wherein, for example, two total cross-sectional surface-areas of cores are produced by adding or combining core sheet bundles with different individual cross-sectional surface-areas or dimensions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a transformer, the external dimensions of which are predetermined by a rail profile.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a transformer 1 for use in a rail vehicle and/or for rail applications, comprising a core 2 which is at least partially surrounded by at least one coil 3.

[0025] The core 2 is produced from individual segments, wherein the total cross-sectional surface-area 2c of the core is greater than the sum of the individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b of the segments.

[0026] These segments are illustrated with regard to their individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b in the upper portion of FIG. 3.

[0027] The two individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b differ from each other in terms of their size, thus deviate from each other in terms of their size. The surface-areas thereof are of different sizes.

[0028] The two individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b also differ from each other in terms of their geometric shape and therefore also deviate from each other in terms of their geometry. Although both individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b each have the geometry of a rectangle, the sides of the two rectangles illustrated have different length relationships. On the left, a more elongate rectangle is illustrated, on the right a more compact rectangle is illustrated.

[0029] The two individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b also differ in terms of their geometric shape from the total cross-sectional surface-area 2c which is hexagonal, has a stepped indentation and is not constructed as a rectangle.

[0030] The segments are configured as core sheet bundles. These form the core 2.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows that three individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b, 2ab each have the geometry of a rectangle.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows that a coil cross-sectional surface-area 3a, in addition to three round regions 6, in which the winding has a change of direction through 90, has at least one oblique side 7 which is inclined relative to at least two parallel sides 5a, 5b.

[0033] A housing 8 surrounds the core 2 and at least two coils 3, 4 which surround the core 2. The housing 8 has a housing cross-sectional surface-area 8a which is configured partially, that is to say, in the upper portion of the housing 8 in a trapezoidal manner.

[0034] In the lower portion of the housing 8, there is schematically illustrated a useful space 9 which can be obtained as a result of the configuration of the core 2 according to FIG. 2 compared with the configuration of the prior art.

[0035] Two, three or more than three segments can be used to construct the core 2. The segments may be connected to each other in conventional manner.

[0036] The total cross-sectional surface-area 2c and the individual cross-sectional surface-areas 2a, 2b are orientated orthogonally relative to the direction of the magnetic flux through the core 2 and/or to the longitudinal axis of a coil 3,4.

[0037] A rail vehicle which is not shown comprises the transformer 1.