CA2882102C

CA2882102C - Grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, and method for discharging grit

Info

Publication number: CA2882102C
Application number: CA2882102A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Thomas Brand; Joachim Otterbach
Original assignee: Bombardier Transportation GmbH
Priority date: 2012-08-17
Filing date: 2013-08-16
Publication date: 2020-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2033-08-16
Also published as: RU2625686C2; EP2885190A1; DE102012214643A1; WO2014027077A1; CN104619569B; PL2885190T3; EP2885190B1; CA2882102A1; RU2015109071A; CN104619569A; ES2705014T3

Abstract

Summary Grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, and method for discharging grit The invention relates to a grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, and to a method for discharging grit from such facilities, with a reservoir (1), which can be filled with grit, and with a disaggregation element (2) assigned to the discharge outlet of the reservoir (1), and with at least one discharge conduit (5) for the grit ending directly near a tyre/rail gap, in which a dosing unit (3), and a conveying element (4) connected to the dosing unit (3), are arranged downstream of the disaggregation element (2), and in which the conveying element (4) is connected to a shut-off and supply air valve (7) and a discharge conduit (5).

Description

, P13.657W0 / TP-02297 1 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH

Grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, and method for discharging grit The invention relates to a grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, and to a method for discharging grit by means of a grit discharging facility in accordance with the preambles of the claims 1 and 9.

Such facilities and methods are gaining ever more importance as a component of braking gears of railway vehicles to improve static friction between tyre and rail.

Prior art knows numerous grit discharging devices for railway vehicles. Such grit discharging devices usually have a discharge unit and a reservoir, which is filled with sand and from which the sand is transported onto the rail to the wheels of the railway vehicle by means of various methods via the discharge unit, to improve the traction of the railway vehicle during starting and braking. In the most simple embodiment, such an arrangements consist of a sand box, from which sand trickles onto the rail through a downpipe forced by gravity when a slide gate is opened. In connection with this, the term "sand" comprises quartz sand as well as all other known alternative grits used for such purposes, such as granular materials made of metal oxides, etc.

Advanced embodiments of known grit discharging devices are, as regards the process, operated as pneumatic two-phase flow conveyors, in which ambient air is used as process air, and usually comprise a funnel-shaped reservoir, wherein, by using a suction or pressure nozzle insert arranged at the bottom of the funnel-shaped area of the reservoir, the sand is sucked from the bottom of the reservoir and is transport in front of the wheels of the railway vehicle through a conveying line. In most cases, the conveying air is taken in from outside or inside the vehicle. Climatic influences cause humidity intake, temperatures below the dew- point and icing in the grit discharging system and the compressed-air facility. This may cause clogging of the sand conveying lines during operation of the grit discharging device, which may result in the grit agglutination or freezing in the conveying line and may cause operational disturbance or even failure of the gear. =

P13.657W0 / TP-02297 2 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH

DE102005030095 B4 describes a sanding device and a method for operating a sanding device for railway vehicles. There, a negative pressure generator is provided which may operate on the principle of negative-pressure sanding, but overall a balanced- pressure system is provided in which a pressure-tight design of the system is not necessary for function and in which just as much air is sucked in through a sanding pipe as is blown into the sand reservoir.

The sand exists at a very high speed and, possibly, with a higher pressure. In this system, the sand is pneumatically discharged from the sand tank and pneumatically transported.

AT505782 B1 likewise discloses such a sand discharging device operated with compressed air. The sand is supplied to a pneumatic conveying system via a rotary lock valve. The optimisation of the sand supply geometry from the sand tank into a rotary valve serving as a dosing device is to improve functional and operational reliability.

DE202009014775 U1 likewise describes a compressed-air operated sand discharging device for railway vehicles. Functional reliability is to be improved by means provided for regulating the air intake quantity at the inlet of the compressor. In this system as well, the sand is pneumatically discharged from the sand tank and pneumatically transported.

DE4011166 Al discloses a sanding device on railway vehicles with a reservoir, which can be filled with grit, and with at least one discharge outlet for the grit ending directly near a wheel of the vehicle. In this system, the sand is supplied into an inclined downpipe by means of a conveying screw conveying vertically from bottom to top. The conveying screw is arranged in a pipe within the reservoir.

The object of the invention is to improve the known grit discharging facilities and methods for discharging a grit by means of such grit discharging facilities. The disadvantages arising when using compressed air (ambient air) as process air within pneumatic conveying systems and methods are to be overcome, and operating and functional reliability as well as energy efficiency are to be improved.

P13.657W0 / TP-02297 3 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH

According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a grit discharging facility, or a method of the kind specified first above, by the characteristic features of the claims 1 and 9.

Advantageous further designs of the invention are included in the relevant associated claims.

According to this, the invention consists of a grit discharging facility for vehicles, in particular railway vehicles, with a reservoir, which can be filled with grit, and a disaggregation element assigned to the discharge outlet of the reservoir, and with at least one discharge conduit for the grit ending directly near a tyre/rail gap, in which a dosing unit, and a conveying element connected to the dosing unit, are arranged downstream of the disaggregation element, and in which the conveying element is connected to a shut-off and supply air valve and the aforesaid discharge conduit. An advantageous characteristic feature is that an opening to the outside is provided at the housing of the shut-off and supply air valve, which opening enables the intake of air due to the rapidly falling grit. Without that opening, the falling grit would be slowed down in the discharge conduit by returning air. The shut-off valve is closed after each discharge process. The shut-off valve has a dual function. This simultaneously prevents further flow of grit and the inflow of possibly moist or soiled air from the rail/bottom area.

In an advantageous fashion, the disaggregation element, the dosing unit and the conveying element are connected to each other via a joint drive shaft and a joint drive.

The disaggregation element and the dosing unit are preferably arranged in a joint housing, at right angles to the vertical central axis of the reservoir. Preferably, it is further intended that the disaggregation element has oar-shaped plates which engage into the discharge outlet of the reservoir in a fashion loosening the grit. This positively supports the mass flow in the reservoir.

According to a characteristic feature of the invention, the dosing unit consists of a screw conveyor arranged in a tubular housing, the screw conveyor having a cross- section tapering off towards the outlet, with impact plates for creating a labyrinth being arranged between the blades of the screw thread. In an advantageous fashion, this prevents excessive loading of the dosing area and guarantees even discharge of the grit from the dosing tank into the conveying element. As a particularly advantageous characteristic feature, it is intended that the conveying element consists of a flexible hose with an internally supported flexible conveying helix and is arranged between the tapered outlet of the dosing unit and the tank.

Preferably, the conveying element consists of a flexible plastic hose, with the internally supported flexible conveying helix being made of spring steel of a square cross-section. Due to the design of the conveying element according to the invention, discharge of the grit in the wheel/rail area is guaranteed independent of typical vehicle movements such as rotary P13.657W0 / TP-02297 4 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH movements of the vehicle frame, bogie inclination, deflection at different load conditions of the vehicle, driving through curves, deceleration and acceleration.

Furthermore, the object described above is achieved in accordance with the invention by a method of the kind specified first above by the fact that the grit discharging facility is designed in accordance with the characteristic features specified above, with the grit being loosened and homogenised by the disaggregation element and the amount of grit to be conveyed being defined in the dosing unit, the impact plates arranged within the dosing unit forming a barrier to prevent excessive loading of the dosing unit and the grit being handed over from the dosing unit to the conveying element and from there being transported solely mechanically to the discharge conduit which discharges the grit directly near the tyre/rail gap.

Simultaneously with the switching-off of the conveying process, the switch-off valve is actuated, which advantageously prevents after-trickling of the grit.

The teaching according to the invention enables a solely mechanical transport of the grit entirely without compressed air. By not using compressed air, the operational reliability of the grit discharging facility is improved. Moreover, this makes the gear less sensitive to climatic influences and more energy-efficient because compressed air is the most expensive type of energy generated. Due to the sparing use of grit, the method according to the invention also makes a contribution to minimising the formation of dust/particulate matter in public transport.

In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of a non- limiting embodiment shown in the drawing. In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the grit discharging facility according to the invention and of the rail and the vehicle wheel;

Fig. 2 another schematic diagram;

Fig. 3 an aerial view of the representation in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 a cross-sectional view (A-A section) of the representation according to Fig. 3.

P13.657W0 / TP-02297 5 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH

Fig. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the grit discharging facility 10 according to the invention, with a railway vehicle only indicated by a vehicle wheel, and with a vehicle rail in a schematic representation.

The gear 10 comprises a reservoir 1, which can be filled with grit, and a disaggregation element 2 assigned to a discharge outlet of the reservoir 1, and at least one discharge conduit 5 for the grit ending directly near a tyre 20/rail 30 gap. The section shown in the Figure shows that a dosing unit 3 and a conveying element 4, which is connected to the dosing unit 3, are arranged downstream of the disaggregation element 2, the conveying element 4 being connected to a shut-off and supply air valve 7 and the discharge conduit 5.

The disaggregation element 2, the dosing unit 3 and the conveying element 4 are connected to each other via a joint drive shaft 8 and a drive 9. The dosing unit 3 consists of a screw conveyor arranged in a tubular housing 3.1, the screw conveyor having a cross- section tapering off towards the outlet 3.2. Impact plates 3.5 for creating a labyrinth are arranged between the blades 3.3 of the screw thread 3.4. The conveying element 4 preferably consists of a flexible hose with an internally supported flexible conveying helix 4.1 and is arranged between the tapered outlet 3.2 of the dosing unit 3 and the shut-off and supply air valve 7.

The disaggregation element 2 has oar-shaped plates 2.1 which engage into the discharge outlet 1.1 of the reservoir in a fashion loosening the grit. The conveying element 4 preferably consists of a flexible plastic hose, and the internally supported flexible conveying helix 4.1 is preferably made of spring steel of a square cross-section.

The grit (not shown) is loosened and homogenised by the disaggregation element 2. In the dosing unit 3, the amount of grit to be conveyed is defined, with the impact plates 3.5 arranged within the dosing unit 3 forming a barrier to prevent excessive loading of the dosing unit 3.

The grit is then handed over from the dosing unit 3 to the conveying element 4 and from there transported solely mechanically to the discharge conduit 5 which discharges the grit directly near the tyre 20/rail 30 gap.

An advantageous characteristic feature is that an opening (not shown) to the outside is provided at the housing 6 of the shut-off and supply air valve 7, which opening enables the intake of air due to the rapidly falling grit. Without that opening, the falling grit would be slowed down in the discharge conduit 5 by returning air. The shut-off valve 7 is closed after each discharge process. The shut-off valve 7 has a dual function.

P13.657W0 / TP-02297 6 15 August 2013 Bombardier Transportation GmbH

This simultaneously prevents further flow of grit and the inflow of possibly moist or soiled air from the raiVbottom area.

Claims

7 Claims

1. A scattering-material dispensing system for vehicles comprising a reservoir to be filled with scattering material and a loosening element associated with the dispensing opening of the reservoir, and at least one dispensing line for the scattering material ending in the immediate vicinity of a gap between a wheel rim and a rail, wherein the loosening element is arranged upstream of a metering unit and a conveying element connected to the metering unit, wherein the conveying element is connected to a shut-off and supply-air valve and a dispensing line, wherein the metering unit consists of a screw conveyor arranged in a tubular housing , characterised in that the tubular housing has a cross-section that tapers conically towards the outlet , and in that baffle plates for producing a labyrinth are arranged between the blades of the screw thread .

2. The scattering-material dispensing system according to claim 1, characterised in that the vehicles are rail vehicles.

3. The scattering-material dispensing system according to claim 1, characterised in that the loosening element, the metering unit, and the conveying element are connected to one another via a common drive shaft. - 8 -

4. The scattering-material dispensing system according to either one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the conveying element consists of a flexible hose with an internally mounted flexible conveyor spiral and is arranged between the conical outlet of the metering unit and the shut-off and supply-air valve.

5. The scattering-material dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the loosening element has paddle-shaped plates which engage in the dispensing opening of the reservoir so as to loosen the scattering material.

6. The scattering-material dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the loosening element and the metering unit are arranged in common housing horizontally to the vertical centre axis of the reservoir.

7. The scattering-material dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the conveying element consists of a flexible plastics hose and the internally mounted flexible conveyor spiral is formed of spring steel with a square cross section.

8. The scattering-material dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that an opening is provided on - 9 - the housing of the shut-off and supply-air valve, which opening enables air to be sucked in by the rapidly falling scattering material.

9. A method for outputting scattering material from a scattering-material dispensing system for vehicles characterised in that the scattering-material dispensing system is formed in accordance with claims 1 to 8, - wherein the scattering material is loosened and homogenised by the loosening element, - the amount of scattering material to be conveyed is defined in the metering unit, wherein .cndot. the baffle plates arranged within the metering unit form a barrier so as to prevent material from piling up over the metering unit, .cndot. the scattering material is transferred from the metering unit into the conveying element and is conveyed from there to the dispensing line purely mechanically, said dispensing line then outputting the scattering material in the immediate vicinity of the gap between a wheel rim and a rail.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterised in that the vehicles are rail vehicles.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the shut-off valve is actuated simultaneously with the deactivation of the conveying process, and any subsequent - 10 - trickling of scattering material is thus prevented.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterised in that an opening is attached outwardly on the housing of the shut-off and supply-air valve, through which opening air is sucked in by the rapidly falling scattering material.