Bogie for railway vehicle

Abstract

 A bogie for railway vehicles comprises a chassis formed by two side members (1,2) which carry bushes at their respective ends (1a, 2a) for rotatably supporting two axles (7), and by a cross member (9) which interconnects the central regions of the two side members (1,2) so as to allow relative pivoting and carries centrally a rocker entrainment member (12) for connection to the body of a railway vehicle by means of two opposing longitudinal connecting rods (13).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to bogies for railway vehicles, and has the object of providing a bogie which is simple to produce and highly efficient in operation. According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a bogie for railway vehicles, characterised in that it comprises a chassis formed by two side members carrying bushes at their respective ends for rotatably supporting two axles, and by a cross member fixed rigidly at one end to the central part of one of the side members and articulated at the other end to the central part of the other side member, so as to allow the side members to pivot about the axis of this cross member; the cross member carrying centrally a rocker entrainment member which pivots about a vertical axis and carries at its ends two opposing longitudinal connecting rods for connection to the body of a railway vehicle, the cross member being further provided, on opposite sides of the rocker member, with members for limiting lateral displacement of the body of the vehicle, the side members carrying vertical and lateral suspension means for the bogie and the body.

[0002] The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view from above of a bogie for railway vehicles, according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a side elevational view on the arrow II of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a front elevational view on the arrow III of Figure 2.

[0003] With reference to the drawings, the bogie according to the invention comprises essentially two side members 1, 2 having a box structure and having respective raised ends 1a, 2a forming semi-cylindrical recesses 3 in correspondence with which semi-cylindrical supports 4 are applied. These supports 4 are fixed to the ends 1a, 2a of the side members 1, 2 by means of bolts, not illustrated, and, with the recesses 3, define cylindrical seats which house, with the interposition of annular elements 5 of elastomeric material, respective bushes 6 for rotatably supporting two axles 7 complete with wheels 8.

[0004] A cross member is indicated 9 and interconnects the central regions of the side members 1 and 2. In particular, one end 9a of the cross member 9 is inserted into the side member 1 and is fixed rigidly thereto by means of welding in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 3, while the opposite end 9b is cylindrical in shape and is inserted rotatably into a bush 10 which is itself fixed permanently through the side member 2 by means of welding. In practice, therefore, the cross member 9 interconnects the two side members 1 and 2 so as to allow their relative rotation about its longitudinal axis, indicated A in Figure 1, in order to enable unevenness in the track to be overcome when the bogie is in use.

[0005] Articulated to the central part of the cross member 9 about a vertical pin 11 rigid with this cross member is a rocker entrainment member 12 to the ends of which are articulated two opposing longitudinal connecting rods 13 for connection to the body of a railway vehicle, schematically indicated C in Figures 2 and 3, in order to transmit longitudinal forces between the body and the bogie.

[0006] The cross member 9 also carries, on opposite sides of the rocker member 12, two resilient buffers 14 carried by respective vertical supports 15 and arranged to cooperate with respective stop members R of the body C in order to limit lateral displacements of the body relative to the bogie. These lateral displacements are made possible by the vertical suspension of the bogie, constituted by a pair of helical springs 16 and their buffers 17 of elastomeric material, the lower ends of which bear on the central regions of the side members 1 and 2 and the upper ends of which are arranged to react directly against the body C. Respective vertical shock-absorbers 18 are associated with the springs 16 which, as well as yielding vertically under the load of the body C, permit swivelling of the bogie on bends and transverse displacements between the bogie and the body C.

[0007] Horizontal shock-absorbers 19 carried by brackets 20 fixed to the cross member 9 are provided for damping lateral displacements of the body C relative to the bogie.

[0008] The bogie is further provided with braking members 21 carried by the side members 1 and 2 and acting directly on the wheels 8.

Claims

1. A bogie for railway vehicles, characterised in that it comprises a chassis formed by two side members (1, 2) carrying bushes (6) at their respective ends (1a, 2a) for rotatably supporting two axles (7), and by a cross member (9) fixed rigidly at one end (9a) to the central part of one of the side members (1) and articulated at the other end (9b) to the central part of the other side member (2), so as to allow the side members (1) to pivot about the axis (A) of the cross member (9); the cross member (9) carrying centrally a rocker entrainment member (12) which pivots about a vertical axis (11) and carries at its ends two opposing longitudinal connecting rods (13) for connection to the body (C) of a railway vehicle, the cross member (9) being further provided, on opposite sides of the rocker member (12), with members (14, 19) for limiting lateral displacement, and the side members (1, 2) carrying vertical and lateral suspension means (16, 17) for the bogie.

2. A bogie according to Claim 1, characterised in that the ends (1a, 2a) of the side members (1, 2) are shaped as semi-cylindrical recesses (3) in correspondence with which are applied semi-cylindrical supports (4) defining, with the recesses (3), cylindrical seats which, with the interposition of annular elements (5) of elastomeric material, house the bushes (6) for supporting the axles (7).

3. A bogie according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the side members (1,2) have a box structure, and in that one end (9a) of the cross member (9) is inserted and fixed through one of the side members (1) and its other end (9b) is engaged rotatably in a tubular support (10) inserted and fixed through the other side member (2).

Drawing