Spring Cup for A Primary Suspension of a Rail Vehicle

Abstract

A spring cup for a primary suspension of a rail vehicle, wherein the spring cup has a longitudinal axis and a spring base for transmitting occurring forces onto a chassis frame of the rail vehicle, and includes a spring seat for receiving at least one spring element, wherein the spring seat is supported against the spring base of the spring cup, where a central section of the spring seat is formed as a contact element having a contact surface for an emergency spring device, and the spring seat is configured such that a force acting on the contact surface is introduced into the spring base outside of the projection surface, resulting from the projection at least of the contact surface along the longitudinal axis onto the spring base in order to achieve a transfer of force from the center of the spring base.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A spring cup for a primary suspension of a rail vehicle, the spring cup having a longitudinal axis and a spring base for transmitting occurring forces onto a chassis frame of the rail vehicle, the spring cup comprising: a spring seat for receiving at least one spring element, said spring seat being supported against the spring base of the spring cup; wherein a central section of the spring seat is formed as a contact element having a contact surface for an emergency spring device; and wherein the spring seat is configured such that a force acting on the contact surface is transferred into the spring base outside of a projection surface which results from a projection of at least the contact surface along the longitudinal axis onto the spring base.

16. The spring cup as claimed in claim 15, wherein the spring seat includes a supporting surface which is in contact with the spring base outside of the projection surface and transfers the force acting on the contact surface into the spring base.

17. The spring cup as claimed in claim 16, wherein the spring seat in a region of the projection surface is separated from the spring base in a direction of the longitudinal axis.

18. The spring cup as claimed in claim 16, wherein the supporting surface is annular.

19. The spring cup as claimed in claim 17, wherein the supporting surface is annular.

20. The spring cup as claimed in claim 18, wherein a wall thickness of the annular supporting surface lies in a range'between 10% and 30% of a radius of the spring seat.

21. The spring cup as claimed in claim 20, wherein the wall thickness of the annular supporting surface lies in a range between 15% and 25% of the radius of the spring seat.

22. The spring cup as claimed in claim 16, wherein the supporting surface is radially separated from the projection surface relative to the longitudinal axis.

23. The spring cup as claimed in claim 16, wherein the spring seat includes a receiving surface for at least one spring element of the primary suspension on a side opposite to the spring base; and wherein the receiving surface radially and at least sectionally overlaps the supporting surface.

24. The spring cup as claimed in claim 23, wherein the supporting surface includes at least a radially outermost region of the spring seat relative to the longitudinal axis.

25. The spring cup as claimed in claim 23, wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of the receiving surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

26. The spring cup as claimed in claim 24, wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of the receiving surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

27. The spring cup as claimed in claim 23, wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of a section of the receiving surface which is intended to receive the spring element that is radially outermost relative to the longitudinal axis.

28. The spring cup as claimed in claim 24, wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of a section of the receiving surface which is intended to receive the spring element that is radially outermost relative to the longitudinal axis.

29. The spring cup as claimed in claim 16, wherein the spring seat with an exception of the supporting surface is separated from the spring base in a direction of the longitudinal axis.

30. A primary suspension of a rail vehicle for a sprung attachment of a wheelset bearing of the rail vehicle to a chassis frame of the rail vehicle, comprising: at least one spring element; an emergency spring device; and a spring cup having a longitudinal axis and a spring base for transmitting occurring forces onto a chassis frame of the rail vehicle, the spring cup comprising: a spring seat for receiving at least one spring element, said spring seat being supported against the spring base of the spring cup, a central section of the spring seat being formed as a contact element having a contact surface for an emergency spring device, and the spring seat being configured such that a force acting on the contact surface is transferred into the spring base outside of a projection surface which results from a projection of at least the contact surface along the longitudinal axis onto the spring base; wherein the at least one spring element is accommodated in the spring seat and the emergency spring device and can contact the contact surface.

31. The primary suspension as claimed in claim 30, wherein the supporting surface corresponds at least to a projection of a spring element in a direction of the longitudinal axis.

32. The primary suspension as claimed in claim 30, wherein the at least one spring element is formed as a first coil spring and a further coil spring which are arranged concentrically relative to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of the first coil spring, said supporting surface being radially outermost relative to the longitudinal axis.

33. The primary suspension as claimed in claim 31, wherein the at least one spring element is formed as a first coil spring and a further coil spring which are arranged concentrically relative to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the supporting surface corresponds to a projection of the first coil spring, said supporting surface being radially outermost relative to the longitudinal axis.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to further explain the invention, reference is made in the following part of the description to the figures, from which further advantageous embodiments, details and developments of the invention can be derived. The figures are provided as examples and are intended to illustrate the character of the invention, but do not in any way restrict or even conclusively depict the character of the invention, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a primary suspension comprising a spring cup in accordance with the prior art;

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a spring cup with force acting via the contact surface in accordance with the invention;

[0030] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a spring cup with force acting via the spring elements in accordance with the invention;

[0031] FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a spring cup with force acting in a combined manner in accordance with the invention; and

[0032] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a primary suspension comprising an embodiment of a spring cup in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a spring cup 1 in accordance with the prior art in a primary suspension for a rail vehicle. The spring cup 1 is usually arranged on a chassis frame of a bogie of the rail vehicle and has a longitudinal axis 2. The spring cup 1 is formed of a spring base 3, which is used to transfer occurring forces into the chassis frame, and a sheath 16. The spring cup 1 is also used in this case to guide the primary suspension, which in this embodiment is formed as two spring elements 5, more precisely a first coil spring 13 and a further coil spring 14.

[0034] In order to allow the coil springs 13,14 to be accommodated, a disc-shaped spring seat 4 is arranged in the spring cup 1, which is in contact with the spring base 3, on one side, and forms a receiving surface 12 for the coil springs 13,14 on the other side.

[0035] At its center, the spring cup 1 has a receptacle 15 for a contact element 7 with which an emergency spring device 9 can come into contact via a contact surface 8. The spring seat 4 is supported against a flat surface of the spring base 3 and lies flush thereon with the exception of the central region in which the receptacle 15 is arranged.

[0036] If the spring travel of the coil springs 13,14 is not yet exhausted, the occurring spring forces are transferred directly via the spring seat 4 into the spring base 3, as indicated by the arrows at the spring seat 4. Radially relative to the longitudinal axis 2, the closer to the longitudinal axis 2 the force is transferred, the higher the bending load in the spring base 3.

[0037] However, as soon as the spring travel of the coil springs 13,14 is exhausted, the emergency spring device 9 comes into contact with the contact surface 8 of the contact element 7, such that a large part of the forces is transferred directly into the center of the spring base 3 via the contact element 7 and the receptacle 15, as indicated by the arrows in the receptacle 15. This ensures that both the load on the coil springs 13,14 is reduced in order to avoid any plastic distortion, and an emergency suspension is provided if at least one of the coil springs 13,14 fails. However, as a result of the central transfer of force, a particularly high bending load acts on the spring base 3, and could result in local distortions.

[0038] In the present exemplary embodiment, deformation due to the high bending load occurs as a result of designing the spring cup 1 as a cast part. A cast spring cup 1 is, however, cost-intensive in terms of manufacturing and must be attached to the chassis frame during the assembly, where the chassis frame is usually formed as a weldment. This is both resource-intensive in terms of structure, and involves considerable manufacturing time and greater weight.

[0039] FIGS. 2 to 4 show a schematic representation in the form of a longitudinal section through the same inventive spring cup 1. The figures differ in each case with respect to the location of the transfer of force. The spring cup 1 has a longitudinal axis 2 and is formed by a spring base 3 and a sheath 16, where the sheath 16 extends essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis 2. The cross section of the spring cup 1, i.e., perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis 2, is essentially circular in this case but other geometric shapes are also feasible, such as rectangles with rounded corners or ellipses to name but a few.

[0040] In this case, the spring seat 4 forms the contact element 7, in the shape of a circular disc here, and is configured so that a force acting on the contact surface 8 of the contact element 7 is transferred into the spring base 3 outside of a projection surface 10 of the contact element 7. Here, the projection surface 10 corresponds to a surface that results from the projection of at least the contact surface 8 along the longitudinal axis 2 onto the spring cup 1 or onto the spring base 3 of the spring cup 1. It is thereby ensured that the force acting on the contact surface 8 is not transferred to the center of the spring base 3, which corresponds to the projection surface 10, but into an outer radial region. This outer radial region is therefore radially separated from the projection surface 10 relative to the longitudinal axis 2.

[0041] In structural terms, this is achieved in the present exemplary embodiment in that the spring seat 4 forms the contact element 7 in a central section 6 and in the cross section through the longitudinal axis 2, as illustrated, has an essentially hollow shape in the form of a truncated cone. Therefore the force acting on the contact surface 8, as illustrated symbolically by an arrow, and is redirected into the outer radial region where it is transferred into the spring base 3 via an annular supporting surface 11 of the spring seat 4, where the said annular supporting surface 11 is in contact with the spring base 3. As a result of the hollow shape, the spring seat 4 is separated from the spring base 3 in the region of the projection surface 10 or in the central section 6 of the spring seat 4. Here, the separation is that which can be measured in the direction of the longitudinal axis 2.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows spring cup 1 and spring seat 4 in a similar manner to FIG. 2, but two spring elements 5 of the primary springs are outlined, which are each arranged on a receiving surface 12 of the spring seat 4. Here, the receiving surface 12 is positioned on a side of the spring seat 4 that is opposite to the supporting surface 11. In a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 2, the distance between spring base 3 and the receiving surface 12 for the radially outermost spring element 5 is smaller than the distance to the receiving surface 12 for the spring element 5 which lies further inwards radially. The occurring forces originate solely from the spring elements 5 and no force is transferred via the contact surface 8.

[0043] Here, the supporting surface 11 corresponds to the projection of the receiving surface 12 for the radially outermost spring element 5, where it is also feasible for the supporting surface 11 to correspond to the projection of the entire receiving surface 12, i.e., for all spring elements 5.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates the combined transfer of force via both the spring elements 5 and the contact surface 8.

[0045] The receiving surface 12 for both spring elements 5 is arranged so as to overlap the supporting surface 11 or the projection of the supporting surface 11 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 2, i.e., the projection of the supporting surface 11 on the opposite side of the spring seat 4.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows a primary suspension of the rail vehicle comprising an embodiment of the spring cup 1. Here, the spring base 3 and the sheath 16 are formed as a weldment, such that the spring base 3 can be formed as part of the chassis frame, in particular as an upper flange of a longitudinal support of the chassis frame. The spring elements 5 of the primary suspension accommodated in the receiving surface 12 of the spring seat 4 is formed as a first coil spring 13 that lies further outwards radially, and a further coil spring 14 that lies further inwards radially.

[0047] The spring seat 4 arranged in the spring cup 1 is inventively configured such that the force acting on the contact surface 8 is transferred into the spring base 3 outside of the projection surface 10. For this purpose, the shape of the spring seat 4 excluding the contact element 7 corresponds essentially to a funnel that extends from a flat perimeter in the region of the annular supporting surface 11, where the spring seat 4 extends parallel to the spring base 3, to the central section 6. In the region of the contact element 7, the diameter again increases in order to increase the size of the contact surface 8, thereby producing a plunger-shaped top. In comparison with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, additional material is thereby saved and the weight is therefore reduced.

[0048] The spring seat 4 is only in contact with the spring base 3 in the region of the supporting surface 11 and is otherwise separated from the spring base 3 relative to the longitudinal axis 2. Here, the supporting surface 11 also includes the radially outermost region of the spring seat 4, which extends as far as the sheath 16. A certain gap must naturally be maintained between spring seat 4 and sheath 16, however, in order to allow the assembly and to prevent any jamming. The supporting surface 11 also corresponds in this case to the projection of the spring elements 5, specifically the projection of the first coil spring 13.

[0049] Thus, while there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those element steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.