Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Locomotive
The invention relates to a locomotive, with a frame and at least one
preferably diesel-
electric drive unit, the frame having at least two bearing sections, in the
area of which
the frame rests on wheel frames, and at least one, preferably dropped, middle
section
extending between two bearing sections.
Rail vehicles for conveying passengers are already known, in which the
dropping of
the frame plate on the one hand serves to lower the rail vehicle's center of
gravity, and
in this way to prevent a derailment of the rail vehicle, and on the other hand
allows
low entrance heights. Locomotives are also known in which the frame middle
section,
as a rule developed in plate form, together with a known carriage structure
forms the
machine room, the drive units being arranged on the plate-form middle section
of the
frame. The middle section, arranged in a plane with the bearing sections of
the frame,
of the frame can be reinforced by means of a truss structure arranged under
the middle
section in plate form.
The object of the invention is to produce a space-saving structure for a
locomotive,
which at the same time allows better cooling of the machine room.
According to the invention this is achieved in that the middle section
substantially
comprises two side parts spaced apart from each other, each of which has a
lower
chord and upper chord, running in longitudinal direction and at least one stay
connecting the lower chord to the upper chord, and in that at least one drive
unit is
arranged in the middle section of the frame, a preferred embodiment of the
invention
providing that the at least one drive unit is preferably secured exclusively
to the stays
connecting the upper chords to the lower chords.
Unlike the known plate-form middle sections, the middle section of the frame
according to the invention is developed as a so-called bridge frame, which
substantially comprises a total of four girders arranged in longitudinal
direction of the
rail vehicle. In each case two of these girders form a side part with an upper
and a
lower chord which are connected to each other by at least one stay. Such a
structure
allows a variable arrangement of the drive units - both in horizontal and in
vertical
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direction - and also offers, as a result of the free spaces remaining between
the lower
and upper chords, the possibility of ventilating the machine room from below,
for
example with preferably adjustable air baffle plates, arranged on the
underside of the
machine room.
In order to allow unimpeded removal of the diesel-electric drive unit(s)
upwards and
downwards, it is provided according to a further version of the invention that
securing
brackets, for the fitting of the drive unit(s) are attached or can be attached
to at least
two stays lying opposite each other in relation to the longitudinal axis of
the frame.
If, as is provided in a further embodiment of the invention, each middle
section of a
side part has precisely two stays connecting the lower chord to the upper
chord, the
securing points, preferably designed as brackets, are attached to these two
stays. But
the arrangement of additional vertical stays, to which the securing points are
attached,
is also possible.
As a rule the connection between the bearing sections and the middle section
of the
frame takes place at the stays, which can be aligned both vertically and at an
angle. In
order to improve the static properties of the frame structure according to the
invention, according to a further embodiment of the invention cross-members
can be
arranged between the upper chords and/or the lower chords. A frame structure
is
thereby obtained in which the side parts, which have an upper chord, a lower
chord
and at least one stay, are connected to each other via cross-members, which is
equivalent to a middle section of a frame which substantially comprises an
upper and
lower chord, both the upper and lower part in each case having side supports
connected by cross-members, and in which the upper and lower parts are
connected to
each other via vertical stays.
A further version of the invention provides that the lower chords run below
the
bearing sections, i.e. the frame is dropped in the area of its middle section,
whereby a
lowering of the center of gravity is achieved.
A reduction in the space requirement is achieved if, according to a
particularly
preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper chords run above the bearing
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sections, favorably in the upper half, preferably in the top third, of the
rail vehicle. In
other words, this means that the distance between the lower chords and the
upper
chords should be sufficiently large that two drive units can be arranged one
above the
other in the machine room. Besides the huge saving in space, such an
arrangement,
together with the fact that the machine room is essentially bounded by the
upper and
lower chords, with a free space remaining between the two lower chords and the
two
upper chords in each case, creates a chimney effect. This natural ventilation
of the
machine room can be further supported by air baffle plates, arranged on the
underside
of the machine room and optionally adjustable.
The separation, hitherto generally resulting from the carriage structure, of
the machine
room from the switch room or driver's cab, can, in a rail vehicle according to
the
invention, simply result from the fact that the middle section is bounded by a
wall at
least at one end. It does not matter whether this wall is arranged between the
stays and
any cross-members present, or whether the stays and any cross-members present
are
part of this wall. The side- and end-walls bounding the machine room are
designed
such that the strength and installation requirements can be met, with
simultaneously
sufficient switching insulation. The two partition walls bounding the ends of
the
machine room increase the torsional stiffness of the locomotive frame over the
vehicle's longitudinal axis and can carry switching and heat insulation as
well as line
installations to supply the drive units and optionally brackets to house any
auxiliary
sets that may be present. All the connections to the drive units are
preferably realized
in a vertical plane.
In order to ensure that the frame structure according to the invention for a
rail vehicle
withstands the enormous stresses to which it is exposed, a further embodiment
of the
invention provides that at least the upper chord of a side part projects over
the middle
section into a bearing section of the frame, it having proved advantageous if
the upper
chord projecting over the middle section into a bearing section is preferably
connected
in its end area to the bearing section via a stay. Besides the static
improvements, such
a version brings with it the advantage that the upper chord arranged in the
area of the
bearing section together with the stay connecting this upper chord to the
bearing
section can at the same time form the side part of the switch room.
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A further preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the middle
section is
open at the bottom, it having proved advantageous if the bottom surface formed
between the lower chords of the side parts of the middle section is more than
50%,
preferably more than 80%, open. A particularly simple structure results if the
bottom
surface, apart from any cross-members present, is completely open, so that the
welded
frame structure is open above and below over its whole surface area in the
area of the
machine room, i.e. the machine room is bounded by only the side- and end-
walls.
According to a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the distance between
at least
two cross-members is at least 3 m, preferably 5 m. This means that the
distance
between at least two cross-members is greater than the longitudinal extent of
the drive
unit(s), with the result that the at least one drive unit can be arranged
projecting below
the lower chords in the frame of the locomotive.
A further embodiment variant of the invention provides that, in the case of a
locomotive with a frame which is arranged on wheel frames and has an upper
chord
and a lower chord as well as at least two preferably diesel-electric drive
units, at least
two of these drive units are arranged one above the other. According to a
further
embodiment of the invention the lower drive unit can project below the lower
chord
and/or the upper drive unit can project above the upper chord. Besides a
downward
shift of the center of gravity, a particularly maintenance-friendly structure
is thereby
obtained.
For simple mounting of the drive unit(s) in the frame all the connections of a
drive
unit, which according to an embodiment of the invention comprises at least one
combustion engine and one generator, preferably precisely one combustion
engine
with generator, can be developed in a vertical plane. Besides the combustion
engine
and the generator, the drive unit can additionally comprise one or more
auxiliary sets.
It has proved advantageous if the combustion engine, which according to a
preferred
embodiment of the invention is developed as a diesel engine, together with the
generator, any auxiliary sets and line installations present and a mounting
frame,
forms a preassembled unit. The mounting frame should be developed for single-
or
double-vibration-insulated attachment of the drive unit(s) in the frame of the
locomotive. The housing of cooling-air guides in the mounting frame is also
possible.
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The drive units arranged in the middle section of the frame between the side
parts thus
produce the energy necessary to power the locomotive, the electric motors
being
arranged in a manner known per se in the area of the bogie in the case of
diesel-
electric drives. However, a mechanical direct drive of the drive units
arranged in the
middle section of the frame to the wheels would also be possible.
Furthermore, particularly simple maintenance results, in the case of a rail
vehicle with
an machine room and a switch room in which the control and power devices
installed
in switch boxes are arranged, if at least one switch box is arranged movable
along the
longitudinal axis of the rail vehicle in such a manner that the switch box can
be
pushed or pulled out from a side wall of the switch room. The space freed up
in the
switch room by extracting the movable switch boxes can be used as a mounting
passage, which in turn means a considerable space saving.
Moreover, a rail vehicle with a cooling installation which has at least two
cooling
units preferably arranged in the roof area, lying one behind the other in the
direction
of travel and able to be acted upon by a coolant flow, is to be provided.
The use of the air stream results in differences in cooling capacity,
depending on the
direction of travel, between the cooling unit situated at the front and at the
back
respectively in the direction of travel. According to the invention, this
difference is to
be compensated for by a device for controlling the distribution of the coolant
flow to
the cooling units situated respectively at the front and back in direction of
travel.
In the case of a rail vehicle according to the preamble which has air guides
which
conduct the air stream to the cooling units, a further embodiment of the
invention
provides that the air guides can be developed adjustable via adjusting
devices, so that
the cooling units preferably situated at the rear in direction of travel can
be supported
by an additional forced ventilation.
A basic idea of the invention is therefore to operate a cooling installation
of a rail
vehicle in such a manner that the device for controlling the distribution of
the coolant
flow and/or the air guides and/or fans provided in the case of cooling units,
is or are
adjusted differently depending on the state of movement, in particular the
direction of
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travel, of the rail vehicle. The invention is based on the consideration to
control the
respective contributions of the front and the rear cooling units to the total
cooling
capacity, either by increasing the power of the preferably rear cooling unit
by an
additional forced ventilation or by dividing the coolant flow differently
between the
front or rear cooling units which differ in their power - depending on the
direction of
travel.
This can be achieved simply in that, when the rail vehicle is moving, the
device for
controlling the distribution of the coolant flow is set so that the coolant
flow to the
front cooling unit - seen in direction of travel - is greater than that to the
rear cooling
unit, the coolant flow to the cooling unit lying at the front in the direction
of travel
preferably being increased, and at the same time the coolant flow to the
cooling unit
lying at the rear in the direction of travel being reduced to the same extent.
The same
effect is achieved, according to a further embodiment of the invention, if
when the rail
vehicle is moving, the air guides and/or fans arranged in the cooling units
are set so
that the rear cooling unit - seen in the direction of travel - is acted upon
by an
increased air flow.
In one aspect, the invention provides a locomotive with a frame which is
arranged on
wheel frames and has an upper chord and a lower chord and at least two drive
units,
wherein the at least two drive units are arranged one above the other, wherein
the drive
units are diesel-electric units.
Further advantages and details of the invention are explained in more detail
with
reference to the figures represented in the drawing, in which
Figure 1 schematically shows a side view of a frame according to the
invention for a locomotive,
Figure 2a shows a section along line C from Figure 1,
Figure 2b shows a section along line D from Figure 1,
Figure 2c schematically shows a cross-section through the machine
room with drive units arranged therein,
Figure 3a and 4a shows partial side views of a locomotive according to the
invention,
Figure 3b and 4b shows partial top views of a locomotive according to the
invention,
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Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of the operating principle of
a cooling installation according to the invention,
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Figure 6 shows in perspective a conceptual drawing of a frame
structure according to the invention with a partition wall and
Figure 7 shows in perspective a conceptual drawing of a frame
structure according to the invention with two drive units
arranged one above the other.
The frame 2 represented in Figure 1 of a locomotive has two bearing sections
A, A'
which rest on wheel frames 3 with wheels 17. The middle section B of the frame
2
extends between the two bearing sections A, A'. In the area of the middle
section B,
the frame 2 is dropped, improving the riding properties of the rail vehicle in
particular
on poor sections of track and on sharp curves, and making the sets more easily
accessible. The side part 4 of the middle section B consists of a lower chord
6 and an
upper chord 5 which are connected to each other by two stays 7. In the case of
the
embodiment shown, the stays 7 run, for static reasons, obliquely upwards from
the
base 6 to the upper chord 5. It would however also be possible to have the
stays 7
running vertically or from the lower chord 6 obliquely inwards to the upper
chord 5.
The upper chords 5, 5' and lower chords 6, 6' bound the machine room 11
laterally at
the top and bottom respectively. The free spaces which between them enclose
the
lower chords 6, 6' and the upper chords 5, 5' respectively can remain free for
reasons
of better ventilation. The ends of the middle section B which are formed by
the stays 7
and any cross-members present, can for example be closed by structure-bearing
walls
9, so that the machine room 11 is closed at the front and rear in the
direction of travel,
while the underside of the machine room 11 and the top side of the machine
room 11
are completely open - apart from selective rain-protection devices for the
drive units.
In the embodiment of the invention shown, the upper chord 5 of the side part 4
is
longer than the lower chord 6 and projects over the middle section B into the
bearing
sections A, A' of the frame 2, and is connected at its two end-areas via stays
18 to
girders 19 of the bearing sections A, A'. These parts of the upper chord 5
that project
into the bearing sections A, A', together with the stays 18, form the side
parts of the
switch room 12. Buffers 16 are attached as usual to the ends of the frame 2.
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Figure 2a shows that the bearing section A has two lateral girders 19 which
are
connected to each other via a cross-member 8. It is of course also possible to
develop
the frame 2 in the bearing section A in plate form.
Figure 2b shows that the two side parts 4, 4', both in the area of their upper
chord 5,
5' and in the area of their lower chord 6, 6', are connected to each other via
cross-
members 8 and in this way enclose the machine room 11.
Figure 2c shows in principle a cross-section through the machine room 11 with
drive
units 10, 10' arranged therein. In order to be able to arrange the two drive
units 10,
10' one above the other, it is necessary for the upper chords 5, 5' to be
arranged in the
upper half, preferably in the top third, of the height of the rail vehicle 1.
The drive
units 10, 10' are fitted to the lower chords 6, 6' or the upper chords 5, 5'
respectively
of the frame 2 (not shown). The free space remaining at the side of or above
the drive
units 10, 10' of the machine room 1 I can for example be used for the
installation of
exhaust systems.
Figures 3a and 3b show the bearing section A situated at the front in the
direction of
travel F and part of the middle section B of the frame 2, in side view and top
view
respectively. Seen in direction of travel, the bearing section A lies in front
of the
middle section B. A wall 9 separates the machine room 11 from the, switch room
12,
which is laterally bound by a side wall 14. In the roof area of the carriage
structure
arranged over the bearing section A, a first cooling unit 15 of a cooling
installation is
arranged. A second cooling unit 15' of the cooling installation is arranged in
the roof
area above the bearing section A arranged to the rear in the direction of
travel (Figure
4a).
Above each of the cooling units 15, 15' air guides 20 are arranged which for
example
can be developed as air baffle plates or as fans, so that in the case of the
cooling unit
15 situated at the front in the direction of travel the air stream is directed
essentially to
the front end, whilst the introduction of the air stream in the case of the
cooling unit
15' situated at the rear in direction of travel F takes place chiefly via the
air guide 20.
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Furthermore, Figures 4a and 4b show that in the switch room 12 switch boxes 13
are
arranged movable along the longitudinal direction of the rail vehicle. This
brings with
it on the one hand the advantage that maintenance or servicing on the switch
boxes 13
can be carried out partly from outside, on the other hand such a structure
offers the
advantage of a huge saving of space, as the movement space needed for
maintaining
the fixed switch boxes 13' during operation of the rail vehicle offers space
for the
inserted switch boxes 13.
Figure 5 schematically represents the operating principle of a cooling
installation
according to the invention. The invention is based on the consideration that,
as a result
of using the air stream as a cooling medium for the cooling units, the cooling
unit 15
lying at the front in direction of travel must make a much greater
contribution to the
total output of the cooling installation, as the cooling unit 15' situated at
the rear in the
direction of travel is naturally acted upon by less air stream and generally
also by the
heated exhaust air from the machine room and exhaust system respectively. In
order
to match the respective contributions of the front and rear cooling units to
the total
output of the cooling installation corresponding to the power of the front and
rear
cooling units respectively, which depends on the cooling medium, there are in
principle two possibilities.
On the one hand the coolant flow to the front and rear cooling units can be
distributed
at different respective strengths. For this purpose the cooling installation
has a control
device 22 which is connected to a valve 21 via a control line 24 and issues
control
signals to the valve 21. The valve 21 is connected on the input side to an
engine 10 via
a coolant line 23. There is a differential distribution, depending on the
signal from the
control device 22, of hot coolant flow, flowing from the engine 10 to the
valve 21, to
the cooling units 15, 15'. The hot coolant thus flows via the coolant line 23
to the
respective cooling units 15, 15', is cooled there and subsequently fed back to
the
engine 10, so that the coolant circuit closes. A basic idea of the invention
is thus to
feed a larger quantity of coolant flow to be cooled down to the front cooling
unit 15
which, because of the greater quantity of cold air stream, is more powerful
than the
rear cooling unit 15', and thus to relieve the less powerful rear cooling unit
15'. In this
way both cooling units 15, 15' are approximately equally loaded according to
their
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power, thus in particular preventing the rear cooling unit 15' from not being
in a
position to cool the hot coolant stream to the extent required.
On the other hand it is possible, with a constant coolant flow to both cooling
units 15,
15', to increase the power of the rear cooling unit 15', by directing a
greater quantity
of air stream to the rear cooling unit 15'. For this purpose the cooling
installation has
air guides 20 which for example can be formed by air baffle plates or fans.
These air
guides 20 can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device 26 according to the
operating state, in particular the direction of travel, of the rail vehicle,
the adjustment
device 26 being connected to the control device 22 via a control line 24.
Thus, when
for example the rail vehicle is moving, the cooling unit 15' situated at the
rear in
direction of travel can be acted upon by more of the air stream by adjusting
the air
guides 20.
An optimal control of the cooling installation, i.e. an optimal distribution
of the
cooling power to be produced by the cooling installation to the two cooling
units 15,
15' according to their power can be achieved by a combination of both
measures. In
other words, on the one hand the cooling unit 15 situated at the front in
direction of
travel is acted upon by a greater coolant flow via the control device 22 and
at the same
time the cooling unit 15' situated at the rear in direction of travel is acted
upon by an
increased air stream via the adjustable air guides 20.
Independently of the embodiment shown, it is an essential basic idea of the
invention
to control the contributions to be provided by the individual cooling units to
the
overall cooling capacity in such a way that this contribution is matched to
the power
of the individual cooling unit.
Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a frame 2 according to the invention,
from
which it is clear that the dropped middle section of the frame, is separated
from the
front bearing section by a partition wall 9. Beside the angled stays 7, 7',
vertical stays
27, 27' are additionally arranged between the upper chords 5, 5' and the lower
chords
6, 6' of the two side parts 4, 4'.
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As Figure 7 shows, these vertical connecting stays 27, 27' are used to install
securing
brackets 26, 26'. The drive units 10 in the middle section of the frame are
fitted, via
the mounting frame 28, to these securing brackets 26, 26', which can be
attached both
to the angled stays 7, 7', the vertical stays 27, 27' and also the upper or
lower chords.
It has proved advantageous if all the connections attached to the drive units
10, 10'
are formed lying in one plane.
It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiments
represented. A basic idea of the invention is to produce a frame structure for
an engine
frame of a locomotive which is essentially open above and below, and in this
way, as
well as providing good ventilation allows a particularly simple method of
construction. Thus locomotives fitted with this frame according to the
invention can
be developed with only four axles, which means that the total weight of such a
powerful locomotive is approximately 80 tons, whereas the locomotives of this
performance class, usually fitted until now with six axles, corresponding to
the state
of the art, have a total weight of between 120 and 160 tons. This results in,
amongst
other things, a possible operating speed of at least 160 km/h for a locomotive
according to the invention whereas the maximum operating speed for locomotives
according to the state of the art was 120 km/h.
