GB2352700A

GB2352700A - Transit bogie for supporting part-manufactured railway coaches

Info

Publication number: GB2352700A
Application number: GB0018852A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Anthony Davis
Original assignee: NEVARD PERKINS Ltd
Current assignee: NEVARD PERKINS Ltd
Priority date: 1999-08-04
Filing date: 2000-08-02
Publication date: 2001-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2020-08-02
Also published as: GB9918228D0; GB2352700B; GB0018852D0

Abstract

The bogie 1 has a pair of laterally spaced support pillars 5 with jacks 6 for raising and lowering a coach supported on each side by the pillars. Each jack has a stirrup 7 movable by a screw 8 rotated by a motor 9 to adjust the vertical position of a support pin 75 in a bracket. The lateral pillar positions and pin positions are adjustable for different width coaches. The pillars can be mounted on a sub-frame pivoted on a frame with the bogie wheels 2. The jacks of two bogies can be controlled to tilt a supported coach lengthwise or laterally.

Description

2352700 TRANSIT BOGIE This invention relates to transit bogies.

Transit bogies are used inter alia in the manufacture of railway carriages. For various reasons, in the manufacture of railway carriages, one of the later manufacturing steps is the assembly and attachment of the coach to the running bogies on which it will serve its useful life.

In a typical manufacturing schedule a coach frame is constructed and equipped with suspension units via which it will eventually be connected to a pair of running bogies. Any desired fittings such as air conditioning units, coupling units, underbody equipment, fluid tanks are added and interior and exterior cladding is applied. Doors are added and the coach is painted and interior fittings such as passenger seats and trim are added as are windows and door furniture. Usually, it is only after all these operations have been completed that the coach is mounted onto its running bogies.

The practice has accordingly developed of mounting the coach onto a transit bogie so that it may be run through successive work stations where the different assembly or painting operations may take place. Typically, a transit bogie consists of a trolley having four flanged wheels for movement along a production line track, and a pair of support pillars at each side for supporting the two sides of a coach. The coach is usually supported by two such transit bogies, one at each end.

Transit bogies are lighter in construction and take up less space than 30 running bogies, and accordingly access to the various parts of the coach 2 (which term is used herein to denote the body of the carriage in whatever stage of construction it may be), especially the underside, is improved. Transit bogies may also be of value in maintenance work if it is required to dismount the coach from its running bogies.

The present invention is based on an appreciation that the known advantages of using a transit bogie may be enhanced and that the versatility of such a bogie may be increased by making use of a suitable construction of bogie, and it is an object of this invention to provide such a bogie construction.

According to the present invention, there is provided a transit bogie carrying a coach support pillar at each side, characterised in that each such support pillar comprises a jack whereby the height at which the coach is supported may be varied.

Adoption of the invention has the advantages of increasing the versatility of a given transit bogie, and of enhancing its usefulness.

It is surprising that there has been no previous proposal to use such a bogie. Once the idea has been suggested, it will be apparent to the person skilled in the art of railway carriage construction and/or maintenance, that the advantages of using a variable height support for the coach are plain. It is particularly surprising in view of the fact that at different stages in its construction, it has hitherto been the practice to support the coach on two or even three different sets of bogies having fixed support pillars so as to support the coach at different heights which are appropriate for carrying out different construction operations. Thus, it has hitherto been necessary to lift the coach from one set of transit bogies and transfer it to a different set at least once during production. It will be appreciated that 3 this is a time consuming operation and that it would be desirable to eliminate it if possible.

The adoption of the present invention can indeed eliminate that necessity, and a coach can be supported on a single set of variable height transit bogie supports throughout much of its assembly.

It would be possible for the jacks to be constituted by fluid operated rams, but it is much preferred that the jacks be screw jacks. This avoids the disadvantage of any risk that the jacks might collapse due to leakage of operating fluid.

The operating screw of such a screw jack could be supported from below, but it is much preferred that it should be suspended from above. Since the operating screw will thus be in tension, it will not be subjected to compressive forces tending to make it buckle, and it can accordingly be made lighter thus allowing a saving in weight and materials, and in machining costs.

A drive motor for a said operating screw may be mounted at the top or bottom of the respective pillar. In some preferred embodiments of the invention, the two screw jacks mounted on a common transit bogie are driven by a common drive motor operating on the two operating screws through suitable drive means for example incorporating suitable drive shafts and gearboxes.

It is in any event preferred that means be provided for controlling the relative rates at which the two support brackets carried by the two operating screws of a jacking transit bogie move up or down. For example, synchronism of such movement can readily be arranged by the 4 use of a common drive means. Synchronism or other relative control can be arranged by the use of for example revolution counters and optionally automatic control means when the screws are separately driven.

It is also preferable to provide a coach support system comprising two or more transit bogies as aforesaid with means which is operable to control the timing of the rise and fall of each jack in relation to the others. Thus the jacks may be, and preferably are, operable synchronously so that the coach will be raisable or lowerable as a body maintaining its (for example horizontal) orientation. Alternatively or in addition, the jacks may be controllable to operate at different rates at the two sides of the coach so as to tilt it about a longitudinal axis. Again, alternatively or in addition, the jacks of a transit bogie at one end of the supported coach may be controllable to operate at a different rate from those at the other end of the bodywork so as to tilt it about a transverse axis.

The jack pillars may be fixed to the transit bogie, for example by welding, but they are preferably bolted or otherwise secured to the bogie so that they are demountable. This allows the bogie as such to be used for other purposes. Advantageously, one or both jack pillars can be mounted in any one of a range of positions to vary the separation therebetween to accommodate coaches of different width.

In the most preferred embodiments of the invention, support brackets of the screw jacks include locator pins for engagement with co-operating recesses on the underbody of the coach. Such recesses may be constituted by jacking points on the coach, but it is usual to reserve such jacking points for engagement by an overhead crane used for lifting the coach onto and off the transit bogies. The usual procedure is to fit such locator pins into bolster pockets of the coach suspension system.

Advantageously, the positions of one or both locator pins on their respective jack support brackets are adjustable in order to accommodate differences in spacing of bolster pockets or other suitable jacking points 5 on different coaches or types of coach.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a transit bogie in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the transit bogie of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detail side elevation of a jack mounted of the transit bogie of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a sectional view of the jack pillar; Figure 5 is a front elevation of a transit bogie in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a side elevation of the transit bogie of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a front elevation of a transit bogie in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

In the following description three exemplary embodiments of a transit bogie embodying the invention are described. For convenience and ease of 6 understanding, the same reference numerals are used throughout to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, a transit bogie 1 comprises two pairs of flanged wheels 2 which support a frame here formed by I-beams 3. The frame 3 may have a deck 4 which is partial as shown, or continuous, as desired. The frame extends to each side of the bogie 1 beyond the track of the wheels 2. To each side of the frame there is mounted a coach supporting pillar 5 of a jack 6. As best shown in Figure 4, the jack pillar 5, comprises a folded section 51 to which are welded a pair of reaction posts 52 against opposed faces 53, 54 of which bear reaction rollers 71, 72 of a jack stirrup 7.

The jack stirrup 7 carries a captive nut 73 which surrounds a jack screw 8 which is suspended from a top plate 55 supported by the jack pillar 5.

The jack stirrup 7 carries a coach support bracket 74 which in turn carries a locator pin 75. The locator pin 75 is adjustable in position along the support bracket 74 e.g. by a pin 76 passing through any one of a plurality of locating holes 77.

The jack pillar 5 is welded to a jack base plate 56 which is attached by bolts 41 to the deck 4 of the bogie 1. Additional bolt holes 42 are provided in the deck 4 so that each jack 6 can be bolted to the deck in any one of a plurality of different positions. This allows separation of the jacks 6 to be varied step-wise so that the bogie 1 can be used for supporting coaches of a variety of different widths. Fine adjustment of the separation to cater for different widths of coach is provided by the adjustable locator pin 75 on each bracket 74.

7 A motor 9 (Figures 1 and 3) is provided for driving the jack screw 8. In this embodiment, the motor 9 is mounted at the top of the jack pillar 5, and drives the screw 8 via a chain sprocket 81. As the screw 8 rotates, the captive nut 73 rides down it to move the support bracket locator pin from its uppermost position as shown at 75 through an intermediate position 75a to a lowermost position 75b as desired.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is shown a second embodiment of a transit bogie 1 generally similar to the first embodiment with improvements or modifications as now described. In other respects, the construction and operation of the second embodiment is generally similar to the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the motor 9 for driving the jack screw 8 is mounted at the bottom of the jack pillar 5. The motor 9 and gearbox are positioned under the deck 4 between the I-beams 3 of the frame. In this way, the motor 9 and gearbox are protected and the overall width of the bogie 1 is reduced.

In addition, fine adjustment of the position of the locator pin 75 is now provided by mounting the locator pin 75 on a saddle 78 slidable relative to the bracket 74 between a rearward position shown in full lines and a forward position shown in broken lines in Figure 5. The saddle 78 can be releasably secured in any adjusted position of the locator pin 75 by tightening a pinch bolt 79 via an operating handle 79a to clamp the saddle 78 to the bracket 74.

In this way, an infinite adjustment of the position of the locator pin 75 on the bracket 74 between the rearward and forward positions can be 8 achieved compared to the stepwise adjustment provided by the arrangement of locating holes 77 and pin 76 of the first embodiment.

Further improvements include the provision of aligned pairs of fork lift pockets 80 in the I-beams 3 and a pair of U-shaped staples 82 attached to the 1-bearns 3 between the pockets 80. The pockets 80 are spaced to receive the forks of a fork lift truck to allow the bogie 1 to be raised and lowered, for example to transfer the bogie 1 to and from a track on which the wheels 2 run. The staples 82 allow the bogie 1 to be towed when it is desired to move the bogie 1 either along the track or when removed from the track.

In this embodiment, control panels 83, 84 are also shown mounted on the pillars 5 at each side of the bogie 1. The control panel 83 is a master control panel for one of the jacks 5 and the control panel 84 is a slave control panel for the other jack 5.

The master control panel 83 is programmable to control the operation of the associated jack 5 and is linked to the slave control panel 84 which is responsive to the master control panel 83 to control the operation of associated jack 5. In this way, operation of both jacks 5 can be synchronised to raise and lower the brackets 74 according to any desired operation of the bogie 1. For example, the brackets 74 may be raised and lowered at the same rates at the same time to maintain the relative positions of the brackets for a desired orientation of the coach supported on the brackets 74. Alternatively, one of the brackets 74 may be raised or lowered at a different rate to alter the relative positions of the brackets to change the orientation of the coach supported on the brackets 74.

9 Typically, a coach is supported on a pair of bogies 1, one at each end of the coach, and the master control panel 83 may be provided on one of the bogies with slave control panels on the other bogie. In this way, both bogies can be controlled by programming the master control panel 83 so that the coach can be raised and lowered and/or tilted transversely or longitudinally by appropriate adjustment of the jacks 5. In this way, one input to the master control panel 83 is sufficient to control both bogies 1. The slave panels may have separate inputs to allow local control of the associated jack 5 and/or to connect a hand held control unit (not shown) for remotely programming the master control panel 83 from any of the slave panels.

A similar arrangement of control panels 83, 84 may be provided in the first embodiment of transit bogie 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4.

Referring now to Figure 7, there is shown a third embodiment of a transit bogie generally similar to the second embodiment with modifications as now described.

In this embodiment, the two pairs of flanged wheels 2 are mounted on a lower sub-frame 85 connected to an upper main frame 86 extending between the jack supporting pillars 5 by a pivot 88. In this way, the subframe 85 is pivotal about a vertical axis relative to the main frame 86 to allow the wheels 2 to follow any change in direction of the track on which the bogie 1 is running. For example, the pivotal movement of the subframe 85 enables the bogie 1 to turn corners.

As shown the upper frame 86 is connected at opposite ends to the decks 4 of the jack support pillars 5 by bolts 87 allowing the pivotal wheel assembly to be detached from the decks 4 for repair and/or replacement.

In other respects, the construction and operation of this embodiment is similar to the second embodiment.

It will be understood that features of each embodiment described herein may be applied to the other embodiments and to other types and constructions of transit bogie having a pair of laterally spaced jack support pillars.

It will also be appreciated from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a transit bogie which facilitates adjustment of the position of a coach supported thereon during the production stages to build the coach. The height adjustment of the pillars 5 may be achieved in any convenient manner and is not limited to the screw jacks of the 15 exemplary embodiments.

Other variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention is deemed to include any features falling within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

I A transit bogie carrying a coach support pillar at each side, characterised in that each such support pillar comprises a jack whereby the height at which the coach is supported may be varied.
2. A transit bogie according to Claim 1, wherein each jack is controlled by a drive motor.
3. A transit bogie according to Claim 2, wherein the drive motor is mounted at the top of the support pillar.
4. A transit bogie according to Claim 2, wherein the drive motor is 15 mounted at the bottom of the support pillar.
5. A transit bogie according to Claim 2, wherein a common drive motor controls the jacks at each side of the bogie.
6. A transit bogie according to any preceding Claim, wherein each jack is a screw jack having an operating screw.
7. A transit bogie according to Claim 6, wherein the operating screw of each screw jack is suspended from above.
8. A transit bogie according to Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein each operating screw carries a support bracket arranged to move up or down in response to actuation of the operating screw.

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9. A transit bogie according to Claim 8, wherein movement of the support brackets at each side of the bogie is synchronised.
10. A transit bogie according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, wherein each support bracket includes a locator pin for engagement with a coach body supported on the bracket.
11. A transit bogie according to Claim 10, wherein the spacing between the locator pins at each side of the bogie is adjustable.
12. A transit bogie according to Claim 11, wherein one or both locator pins is adjustable on their support bracket to vary the spacing therebetween.
13. A transit bogie according to any preceding Claim, wherein each support pillar is mounted on a frame of the transit bogie.
14. A transit bogie according to Claim 13, wherein the support pillars are demountable from the frame.
15. A transit bogie according to Claim 13 or Claim 14, wherein one or both support pillars is mountable in any selected one of a range of position to vary the separation of the jacks at each side of the bogie.
16. A transit bogie according to any one of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the frame is mounted on support wheels.
17. A transit bogie according to Claim 16 wherein the frame comprises a main frame and a sub-frame, and the support wheels are mounted on the 13 sub-frame which is pivotal relative to the main frame about a vertical axis for steering the bogie.
18. A transit bogie according to Claim 17 wherein the support pillars are mounted at opposite ends of the main frame.
19. A transit bogie according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a master control panel is provided for controlling the jacks.
20. A transit bogie according to Claim 19 wherein the master control panel is mounted on the pillar of one jack and is linked to a slave control panel mounted on the pillar of the other jack.
21. A transit bogie according to any one of the preceding claims including pockets for reception of lifting forks to raise or lower the bogie.
22. A transit bogie according to any one of the preceding claims including a staple for towing the bogie.
23. A transit bogie substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
24. A transit bogie substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.
25. A transit bogie substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.
26. A coach support system comprising two or more transit bogies according to any preceding Claim.

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27. A coach support system according to Claim 26, wherein means operable to control the timing of the rise and fall of each jack in relation to the others is provided.
28. A coach support system according to Claim 27, wherein the jacks are operable synchronously so that a coach supported by the jacks is raisable or lowerable while maintaining its orientation.
29. A coach support system according to Claim 27, wherein the jacks are controllable to operate at different rates at each side so that a coach supported by the jacks is tiltable about a longitudinal axis.
30. A coach support system according to Claim 27, wherein the jacks of one transit bogie are controllable to operate at a different rate from the jacks of another transit bogie so that a coach supported by the jacks is tiltable about a transverse axis.