阅读说明：本技术 支撑供电架空铁路线路的悬挂接触线的吊架以及包括该吊架的电气架空铁路线路 (Cradle for supporting a suspension contact line of an overhead railway line for supplying power and overhead railway line comprising such a cradle ) 是由 斯特凡诺·马尔凯谢洛 路易吉·加里巴尔迪 亚历山德罗·法萨纳 达里奥·阿纳斯塔西奥 于 2020-02-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：架空供电铁路线路(5)具有多个吊架(10),每个吊架又具有适于固定到支撑元件(7)上的紧固构件(12)、联接至紧固构件(12)的支撑框架(25)、适于联接至接触线(8)的带有轨道车辆(2)的受电弓(4)的部分的紧固端子(13)、可在存在传递到接触线(8)的外部破坏作用的情况下在第一方向(22)上以相反的方式相对于支撑框架(25)移动的构件(32)、以及插入在构件(12)与端子(13)之间并具有由支撑框架(25)的可弹性变形部件组成的弹性机构(30)的弹性装置(14)；在可移动构件(32)与支撑框架(25)的可弹性变形部件(30)之间设置有连接杆(33)。(The overhead power supply railway line (5) has a plurality of hangers (10), each in turn having a fastening member (12) adapted to be fixed to a support element (7), a support frame (25) coupled to the fastening member (12), a fastening terminal (13) adapted to be coupled to a portion of the contact line (8) with the pantograph (4) of the railway vehicle (2), a member (32) movable in an opposite manner in a first direction (22) with respect to the support frame (25) in the presence of an external damaging action transmitted to the contact line (8), and an elastic device (14) interposed between the member (12) and the terminal (13) and having an elastic mechanism (30) consisting of elastically deformable parts of the support frame (25); a connecting rod (33) is provided between the movable member (32) and the elastically deformable member (30) of the support frame (25).)

1. A spreader for electrically powering an overhead railway line, including a contact line against which a railway vehicle pantograph rests in use, the spreader comprising:

-a fastening member adapted to be fixed to the support element,

-a metal support frame coupled to the fastening member;

-a fastening terminal adapted to be coupled to a portion of the contact wire,

-a member movable in two opposite directions with respect to said support frame in a first direction in the presence of an external damaging action transmitted to said contact wire through said fastening terminal during operation of said railway vehicle pantograph,

-a mechanical friction damper associated with the movable member;

-and elastic means interposed between said fastening member and said terminal and configured to attenuate at least said external destructive action; the elastic means comprise a first elastic element compressed between the movable member and the securing terminal and a pair of second elastic elements adapted to act on the movable member along a second direction transverse to the first direction; characterized in that said second elastic element constitutes an elastically deformable part of said support frame and in that said suspension comprises a connecting rod for connecting said movable member directly or indirectly to said elastically deformable part of said support frame.

2. The hanger of claim 1, wherein the support frame includes a coupling portion for coupling to the fastening member and two arms cantilevered from the coupling portion; at least one of the fastening portion and the arm constitutes the elastically deformable member.

3. The hanger of claim 2, wherein at least one of the coupling portion and the arm is comprised of a sheet or plate member.

4. The hanger of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support frame has an inverted U-shape.

5. The hanger of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the arms extend at positions facing each other at opposite lateral sides of the first direction and are configured such that, when the breaking action is applied, the respective tip sections oscillate from and towards the first direction.

6. A hanger as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein each said bar has an end hinged to the movable member to oscillate about a first hinge axis and an opposite end hinged to a free end portion of the associated arm to rotate about a second hinge axis parallel to the first hinge axis.

7. The hanger of claim 1, comprising an adjustment mechanism to continuously adjust the position of the movable member in the first direction.

8. The hanger of claim 7, wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to vary a preload of at least the first resilient element.

9. The hanger of claim 7, wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to vary a preload of the second resilient element.

10. The hanger of claim 6 or 7, wherein the adjustment mechanism and the first and second elastic elements are configured to allow the movable member to translate in the first direction between two end-of-travel positions as a function of the damage transmitted to the fastening terminal through the contact wire, and pass through a neutral or statically stable position in which the first and second hinge axes intersect the second direction and in which the fastening terminal does not transmit a damaging effect.

11. The pylon according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a guide extending along the first direction and stably connected to the support frame; the movable member is movable in opposite directions along the guide.

12. The hanger of claim 11, wherein the mechanical friction damper is interposed between the fixed guide and the movable member.

13. The hanger according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a hinge interposed between the fastening member and the support frame; the hinge has another hinge axis orthogonal to the first direction.

14. The hanger of claim 13, comprising a resilient mechanism associated with the hinge, the resilient mechanism being configured to rotate the frame relative to the securing member about the other hinge axis when the securing terminal is not attached to the contact wire.

15. An electrically powered overhead railway line of railway vehicles, the line comprising a support element, a tensioned contact wire, on which a railway vehicle pantograph rests in use, and a plurality of hangers, each hanger having a fastening member coupled to the support element and a fastening terminal connected to the contact wire, characterized in that at least one of the hangers has the features of claim 1.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a hanger for supporting a suspended contact line of an overhead power supply railway line and an overhead power supply railway line comprising the same.

Background

It is known that the electrical contact lines of an overhead power supply railway line are supported by a plurality of hangers spaced apart from each other, each hanger being suspended on a supporting electrical line and in turn carrying an electrical contact line suspended thereon.

The pantograph of a railway car rests in use on the electrical contact line to supply power to the electric drive assembly of the train and, if necessary, to other onboard devices of the train.

The hangers are connected to the contact wires by terminals, which are known and are preferably made of copper alloy, with nickel or silicon added if necessary. The terminal is preferably secured to the upper portion by undercuts in the contact wires, leaving a lower contact portion against which the pantograph can slide.

There is a strong need to minimize and possibly eliminate all separation between the pantograph and the suspended contact line when the train is moving, especially when the train is moving at high speed (e.g. over 200 Km/h).

A spreader that partially meets the above requirements is disclosed in the applicant's own patent application PCTIB 2017054474. The hanger described in the above-mentioned patent application comprises a rigid frame adapted to be fixed, in use, to a support, a fastening terminal fastened to the contact wire, and elastic damping means arranged between the rigid frame and the fastening terminal. The elastic means in turn comprise a plurality of movable parts or members coupled to the frame by respective friction sliding joints so as to slide in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the contact line during passage of the pantograph. An associated helical compression spring is interposed between each movable member and the frame.

The above-described hangers, while efficient and reliable, are not entirely satisfactory because of their greater detail, in particular the greater number of helical springs, which on the one hand complicates their manufacture and assembly and on the other hand leads to relatively high manufacturing and maintenance costs.

Tests have shown that the helical spring, after the exchange action between the contact wire and the pantograph, may change its elastic behaviour over time, gradually causing the operating conditions of the entire cradle to differ from the ideal or reference operating conditions established during the design phase.

Finally, tests have shown that during the mounting phase of the cradles, the preload of all the helical springs needs to be adjusted in a simple and quick manner to enable each cradle to reach the predetermined neutral operating position, regardless of its position along the support line. In fact, the static preload state of the hanger varies on the basis of the position along the electric support line, i.e. as a function of the deformation of the electric support line and/or the contact line. In the known hangers described above, these adjustments cannot be made in a short time without further complicating the hanger and limiting the manufacturing costs of the hanger.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a spreader which solves the above mentioned problems in a simple and economical manner, and in particular to provide a spreader which can be manufactured in a simple and economical manner and which is efficient and reliable, so as to reduce and possibly eliminate all the uncoupling between the pantograph and the power contact line in any possible conditions of use and at any possible speed of the train.

According to the present invention, there is provided a support cradle as claimed in claim 1.

The invention also relates to an overhead power supply railway line.

According to the present invention there is provided an overhead power supply railway line as claimed in claim 15.

Drawings

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate non-limiting embodiments of the invention, and in which:

figure 1 is a schematic view of a part of a railway network with an overhead power supply line according to the invention;

figure 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the hanger of figure 1, made according to the present invention, in a side view and on an enlarged scale;

figures 3 and 4 are similar to figure 2, partially showing the spreader of figure 2 in two different functional states;

figures 5 and 6 show a detail of the spreader of figures 2 to 4 in side and plan views respectively; and

fig. 7 is similar to fig. 1 and shows the hanger in a non-functional state.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates as a whole a part of a railway network for the passage of a known railway vehicle 2, which railway vehicle 2 moves on a track 3 and has a pantograph 4, which pantograph 4 slides in use in contact with an overhead power supply line, indicated as a whole with 5, to power the railway vehicle 2.

The overhead line 5 comprises a plurality of posts or masts 6, a supporting cable 7 fixed to a carriage carried by the posts 6 to be suspended on the track 3 and a contact line 8, as is known. The contact line 8 has a free lower portion 9 against which the pantograph 4 slides and is connected to the support cable 7 by means of a plurality of hangers 10. Conveniently, although not necessarily, the spreader 10 is particularly close to or in the region of the column or mast 6, thus enabling integration of the architecture of the already existing overhead line.

The overhead line 5 also includes counterweights (not shown) to stretch the support cables 7 and the contact line 8 to reduce static deflection of the contact line 8 between two adjacent pylons 10.

With reference to fig. 2, each cradle 10 comprises an associated fastening terminal 12 fastened to the supporting cable 7, an associated known fastening terminal 13 fastened to the contact wire 8 and an associated elastic damping assembly 14, which elastic damping assembly 14 is interposed between the terminals 12 and 13 to damp oscillations and maintain contact between the pantograph 4 and the contact wire 8 after destructive effects are transmitted to the cradle 10 during passage of the railway vehicle 2.

With reference to fig. 2 and 7, the terminal 12 comprises a top jaw 15 firmly connected to the supporting cable 7 and a lower fastening body 16 firmly connected to the elastic assembly 14.

Between the lower body 16 and the top jaw 15 there is preferably a known hinge 18 adapted to allow the lower body 16 to rotate relative to the top jaw 15 about a hinge axis 19, the hinge axis 19 being horizontal and parallel to the contact line 8. The hinge 18 is conveniently associated with a helical torsion spring 20 preloaded and configured to allow the lower fastening body 16 to rotate about a hinge axis 19 with respect to the jaw 15 between an operating position shown in fig. 2, in which the terminal 13 is connected to the contact wire 8 and the lower fastening body 16 and the jaw 15 are aligned with each other in a substantially vertical oscillation direction 22 of the contact wire 8, orthogonal to the axis 19, and a safe away position shown in fig. 7, in which the terminal 13 is separated from the contact wire 8 and arranged at the turning side so as not to interfere with the position of the pantograph 4.

According to a variant not shown herein, the jaw 15 and the lower body 16 are firmly connected to each other.

Referring again to fig. 2, the elastic assembly 14 comprises a suspension rod 23, which suspension rod 23 extends coaxially with the direction 22 when the terminal 13 is connected to the contact wire 8, and has an upper terminal section 24, which upper terminal section 24 is externally threaded and is partially screwed into a threaded hole of the lower body 13, and a cylindrical lower section 24A, conveniently made of metallic material.

The elastic assembly 14 also comprises a metal frame 25, the metal frame 25 being elastically yielding and, in the particular example shown and described herein, consisting of a flat strip having substantially the shape of an inverted U. Preferably, but not necessarily, the frame 25 has a rectangular cross section that is constant along its entire extension. The frame 25 conveniently consists of a one-piece body manufactured as one single piece. Alternatively, according to a variant not shown here, the frame 25 has one or more sections of variable cross-section. Furthermore, the frame 25 may alternatively have a plurality of sections of constant or variable cross-section, which are connected to one another by weakened and elastically deformable means. In addition, the frame 25 may be manufactured with elements or portions made of the same material or different materials, which are firmly connected to each other or releasably connected to each other. Regardless of how it is manufactured, the frame 25 has elasticity. In other words, the frame 25 is fully or at least partially elastically deformable and has a shape memory. The frame 25 is preferably made entirely or at least partially of harmonic steel (i.e., spring steel).

Alternatively, the frame 25 is made entirely or partially of stainless steel, such as SAE 304 stainless steel.

Whatever the material used, the frame 25 comprises an upper portion 26, which upper portion 26 is straight in the particular example shown here, but may be curved or shaped, and is provided with a central through hole 27 that can be crossed by the end section 24. Regardless of its geometry, upper portion 26 is firmly connected to rod 23 by means of a threaded nut 28, nut 28 being screwed onto upper end section 24 and locking portion 26 on an axial abutment 29 that engages sections 24 and 24A with each other.

The frame 25 also comprises two straight arms 30 facing each other and arranged on opposite sides of the bar 23. The arms 30 extend downwardly from respective curved portions 31 joining the arms 30 to opposite end portions of the respective upper portions 26. Conveniently, the arms 30 converge towards each other, at least when the frame 25 is arranged in the non-deformed state. In the particular case shown here, the arms 30 converge towards each other, downwards and towards the section 24A of the bar 23.

According to a variant, arms 30 converge towards each other and towards portion 26 and section 24.

Referring again to fig. 2, the sleeve 32 is arranged on the section 24A of the rod 23 so as to slide along the section 24A itself. Between the sleeve 32 and the section 24A there is arranged a mechanical coupling joint which operates with sliding friction and which fulfils a damping function.

The sleeve 32 is connected to the free end section of each arm 30 by two connecting rods, indicated with 33. Each connecting rod 33 is hinged on one side to the sleeve 32 by means of a relative radial hinge pin 34 and on the opposite side to the relative arm 30 by means of a hinge pin 35. The radial pins 34 carried by the sleeve 32 extend coaxially to a common hinge axis 36, parallel to the axis 19, while the pins 35 extend coaxially to respective hinge axes 37, the hinge axes 37 being parallel to the axis 36 and orthogonal to the direction 22.

Each connecting rod 33 preferably consists of a pair of flat bars 38 and gussets, the flat bars 38 facing each other and being arranged on opposite sides of the sleeve 32, and the gussets being firmly connected inside the relative arm 30 and crossed by the relative pin 35.

Referring again to fig. 2, the elastic assembly 14 also comprises a spring 40, the spring 40 surrounding the section 24A of the stem 23 and being connected on one side to a cylindrical tubular appendix 41 of the sleeve 32 and on the other side to a cylindrical annular appendix 42 surrounding a tubular pushing head 43 of the stem 23 in the presence of a radial clearance. Thus, depending on the state, the spring 40 may be pulled or compressed.

The free end section of the stem 23 projecting beyond the tubular head 43 is inserted in a tubular body 45 comprising two or more tubular metal pieces-or less-and having an end on which the tubular head 43 is screwed. And the opposite end of the tubular body 45 is connected to the terminal 13.

Conveniently, between two of the above-mentioned pieces of tubular body 45, there is interposed a body 45A of electrically insulating material suitable to prevent the current from flowing towards frame 25 and fastening terminal 12.

According to a variant, the tubular body 45 does not comprise a body 45A.

The terminal 13 conveniently comprises a fastening jaw 46 (fig. 2) fastened to an undercut of the contact wire 8 and a fastening shaft portion 47 fastened to the tubular body 45. Conveniently, between the shaft portion 47 and the jaw 46 there is a hinge adapted to allow rotation of the shaft portion 47 relative to the jaw 46 about an axis parallel to or coincident with the axis of the rod 23. The terminal 13 is conveniently coupled to the tubular body 45 by means of an adjustment device 48, the adjustment device 48 being configured to adjust the distance between the sleeve 32 and the contact wire 8 and the preload of the spring 40 and/or of the elastic portion of the frame 25, as described in greater detail below. The adjustment device 48 is preferably a screw adjustment device and comprises a tubular coupling 49 having an external thread screwed into the terminal section of the tubular body 45 and an internal thread engaging the terminal threaded section of the shaft portion 47. The locking nut 50 is screwed onto the intermediate threaded section of the shaft portion 47 projecting from the coupling 49 and is screwed onto the coupling 49 itself.

For a desired damping effect, each cradle 10 must have the relative elastic assembly 14 in a "neutral" or statically stable functional condition, as shown in figure 3, when it is connected to the supporting cable 7 and to the contact line 8. In this neutral condition, axes 36 and 37 are spaced from each other along a direction 51 orthogonal to direction 22 and to rod 23, and intersect direction 51, arm 30 is elastically deformed or bent to exert a compression action on connecting rod 33, and spring 40 is compressed to exert a balancing action, so as to keep sleeve 32 stationary with respect to rod 23 and frame 25.

If, after the connection of the terminals 12 and 13, the action exerted by the contact wire 8 moves the elastic assembly 14 of one or more cradles 10 to a functional state other than the neutral or statically stable state, a trimming or calibration operation is carried out on each cradle 10. This adjustment operation is performed by acting on the device 48, varying the distance between the jaws 46 and the tubular body 45 and the preload of the spring 40 until bringing the device 14 back to the neutral functional condition defined above.

Here, during passage of the railway vehicle 2, the pantograph 4 acts on the contact line 8, thereby causing the contact line 8 to oscillate in the direction 22. This oscillation is damped by the elastic assembly 14, the sleeve 32 of the elastic assembly 14 overcoming the friction, starting to move near its neutral position and between the two extreme axial end positions of the stroke shown in fig. 2 and 4, causing the arm 30 to bend (shown with a dashed line in fig. 3 and 4) and varying the compression of the spring 40.

The sleeve 32 generates, between the two extreme axial end positions of the aforementioned stroke and by the movement of the axial abutment dead point indicated with P in fig. 3, a damping or dissipative component in the contact wire 8 which damps or dissipates the energy responsible for the oscillatory movement of the contact wire 8 and prevents the pantograph 4 from coming off the contact wire 8 even in the high-speed conditions of the railway vehicle 2, i.e. when high pulsation is transmitted to the contact wire 8 in the direction 22.

Furthermore, the coupling of the sleeve 32 with the rod 23 also exerts a friction dissipation component. This dissipation is adjusted by varying the coefficient of friction between the sleeve 22 and the rod 23.

For the reasons described above, it is clear that the elastic frame 25 can be made in a manner different from that described above by way of example, or can be dimensioned or made so that the elastic action exerted on the connecting rod 33 is not only a result of the elastic deformation of the arm 30, but also or only of the deformation of the curved portion 31 and/or of the portion 26. In other words, the entire frame 25 may be elastically deformed due to the action exerted by the contact line 8 and it may be deformed differently from one point to another. In the example described here, the most deformable part consists of the arm 30.

Furthermore, for the reasons described above, it is evident that the hanger 10 described herein has a lower number of parts and a lower number of parts moving with respect to each other than in known solutions, and can therefore be manufactured in a simple and cost-effective manner, and assembled in a short time.

This is mainly due to the fact that the frame 25 serves as both a support and a resilient element. Due to its elasticity, the frame 25 contributes to a dynamic damping action which is added to the dynamic damping action generated by the friction between the sleeve 32 and the rod 33.

In addition, tests have shown that the hanger 10 described herein has a high functional efficiency and a function that remains substantially unchanged over time, both because of the small number of parts and because the elastic components of the frame 25 are comparable to that of a conventional leaf spring member.

Finally, in contrast to known solutions, the spreader 10 described herein is a "settable" spreader, i.e. it is possible to bring the spreader to the desired operating conditions, irrespective of the vertical position assumed by the supporting cables 7, the contact line 8 or both. In fact, the trimming means 48 allow to adjust or tune the cradle 10 according to the variation of the distance between the supporting cable 7 and the contact line 8.

Furthermore, the presence of the hinge 18 and the spring 20 allows the securing terminal 13 to move away when the securing terminal 13 is detached from the contact wire 8, and allows the securing terminal 13 to be placed in an area outside the passage area of the pantograph 4 when the securing terminal 13 is arranged in the maximum stretched state.

Finally, for the reasons stated above, it is clear that the frame 25 and the adjustment means described above can be modified and adapted without thereby going beyond the scope of protection defined by the independent claims. In particular, the frame or the bar may be made of a material different from the materials exemplarily indicated herein.