Railway truck positioning apparatus

Claim 2

A railway vehicle having in combination a body, a pair of trucks each having two pairs of flanged wheels mounted in tandem, said trucks being connected with and supporting said body and pivotable about separate longitudinally spaced vertical axes passing through said body, and a pair of axially extendable actuators, each connected between one of said trucks and said body, said actuators each being connected to said trucks with their axes offset from the vertical pivotal axes of their respective trucks whereby said actuators will apply guiding moments to said trucks upon the application of extending or retracting forces by said actuators, said actuators being disposed such that the effective points of connection of both said actuators with said body and with said trucks lie approximately in the same vertical plane, said plane being offset from the pivot axes of said trucks and diagonally traversing the longitudinal axis of said body between said pivot axes, whereby the reaction forces applied to said body by said actuators during the application of guiding moments to said trucks will be directed generally along said plane and resultant turning moments on said body with consequent transverse reaction forces on said trucks will be largely avoided.

Claim 3

A railway vehicle having in combination a body, a pair of longitudinally spaced trucks pivotally connected to and supporting said body, each truck having at least two pairs of laterally disposed flanged wheels, said pairs of wheels being arranged in tandem in their respective trucks, and a pair of axially extendable fluid cylinders disposed at diagonally opposite portions of said body and being effectively connected with said body and one to each of said trucks at points lying approximately in the same vertical plane when said trucks are in their centered positions, said plane being offset from the pivot axes of said trucks and diagonally traversing the longitudinal axis of said body between said pivot axes, whereby the application of extending or retracting forces of said cylinders to said trucks generally along said vertical plane will apply rotational guiding moments to said trucks but resultant turning moments on said body and consequent transverse reaction forces on said trucks will not be excessive.

Claim 4

A railway vehicle having in combination a body, a pair of longitudinally spaced trucks pivotally connected to and supporting said body, each truck having at least two pairs of laterally disposed flanged wheels, said pairs of wheels being arranged in tandem in their respective trucks, and a pair of axially extendable fluid cylinders disposed at diagonally opposite portions of said body and being effectively connected with said body and one to each of said trucks at points lying approximately in the same vertical plane when said trucks are in their centered positions, said plane being offset from the pivot axes of said trucks and diagonally traversing the longitudinal axis of said body between said pivot axes, whereby the application of extending or retracting forces of said cylinders to said trucks generally along said vertical plane will apply rotational guiding moments to said trucks but resultant turning moments on said body and consequent transverse reaction forces on said trucks will not be excessive.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 2 wherein the points of connection of said cylinders with said trucks lie proximate lines intersecting the pivot axes of the respective trucks and normal to said vertical plane when said trucks are centered in their straight-ahead positions, whereby resultant turning moments on said body due to the application forces by said cylinders will be minimized.

Claim 6

Truck guiding means in combination with a railway vehicle having a body and a pair of longitudinally spaced trucks supporting said body anD pivotally connected therewith for oscillation about longitudinally spaced vertical axes intersecting a longitudinal axis of said body, each truck being supported by at least two longitudinally spaced pairs of laterally opposed flanged wheels, said truck guiding means being adapted for applying guiding forces to said trucks to reduce wheel flange loads during curve negotiation and comprising first and second pairs of axially extendable fluid cylinders each connected with said body and one of said trucks for exerting forces therebetween along the axes of the respective cylinders, said first pair of cylinders being connected one to each of said trucks adjacent diagonally opposite portions of said body and having their axes approximately coplanar with a first vertical plane diagonal to the longitudinal axis of said body, whereby application of extension forces by said cylinders generally along said first vertical plane applies rotational guiding moments in the same direction to both trucks, said second pair of cylinders being connected one to each of said trucks adjacent diagonally opposite portions of said body laterally opposite said first named portions, the cylinders of said second pair having their axes approximately coplanar with a second vertical plane diagonal to the longitudinal axis of said body in the direction opposite to said first vertical plane, whereby application of extension forces by the cylinders of said second pair generally along said second vertical plane applies rotational guiding moments in the same direction to both trucks and in the direction opposite those applied by said first pair of cylinders, means to selectively supply pressure fluid to one of said pairs of cylinders, sensing means connected with said supply means to control the supply of pressure fluid to said cylinders, said sensing means being responsive to relative turning movements of said trucks in one direction from a centered position to pressurize one of said pairs of cylinders and being responsive to relative turning movements of said trucks in the opposite direction from said centered position to pressurize the other of said pairs of cylinders, and means controlling the direction of operation of said vehicle and including means acting upon said sensing means to reverse the selection of cylinders pressurized by relative turning movements of said trucks in a particular direction upon reversal of the direction of operation of said vehicle.

Claim 7

Truck guiding means in combination with a railway vehicle having a body and a pair of longitudinally spaced trucks supporting said body anD pivotally connected therewith for oscillation about longitudinally spaced vertical axes intersecting a longitudinal axis of said body, each truck being supported by at least two longitudinally spaced pairs of laterally opposed flanged wheels, said truck guiding means being adapted for applying guiding forces to said trucks to reduce wheel flange loads during curve negotiation and comprising first and second pairs of axially extendable fluid cylinders each connected with said body and one of said trucks for exerting forces therebetween along the axes of the respective cylinders, said first pair of cylinders being connected one to each of said trucks adjacent diagonally opposite portions of said body and having their axes approximately coplanar with a first vertical plane diagonal to the longitudinal axis of said body, whereby application of extension forces by said cylinders generally along said first vertical plane applies rotational guiding moments in the same direction to both trucks, said second pair of cylinders being connected one to each of said trucks adjacent diagonally opposite portions of said body laterally opposite said first named portions, the cylinders of said second pair having their axes approximately coplanar with a second vertical plane diagonal to the longitudinal axis of said body in the direction opposite to said first vertical plane, whereby application of extension forces by the cylinders of said second pair generally along said second vertical plane applies rotational guiding moments in the same direction to both trucks and in the direction opposite those applied by said first pair of cylinders, means to selectively supply pressure fluid to one of said pairs of cylinders, sensing means connected with said supply means to control the supply of pressure fluid to said cylinders, said sensing means being responsive to relative turning movements of said trucks in one direction from a centered position to pressurize one of said pairs of cylinders and being responsive to relative turning movements of said trucks in the opposite direction from said centered position to pressurize the other of said pairs of cylinders, and means controlling the direction of operation of said vehicle and including means acting upon said sensing means to reverse the selection of cylinders pressurized by relative turning movements of said trucks in a particular direction upon reversal of the direction of operation of said vehicle.

Claim 8

Truck guiding means in combination with a railway locomotive having a carbody with forward and reverse movement control means and a pair of longitudinally mounted power trucks pivotally connected with and supporting said carbody, said trucks including at least two pairs of flanged wheels for guiding and supporting said trucks on a dual rail track, said truck guiding means comprising force applying means connected between said trucks and said carbody to selectively apply clockwise or counterclockwise guiding moments to said trucks, means to control the direction of application of said guiding moments by said force applying means in response to the direction of rotational movements of said trucks from their centered positions, means connecting said direction control means to said locomotive forward and reverse movement control means in a manner to reverse the operating effect of said direction control means upon reversal of said forward and reverse movement control, and means connected with said trucks to control the magnitude of force exerted by said force applying means in response to and in a predetermined relation to the amount of pivotal movement of said trucks from their centered positions, said means being arranged such that when said locomotive is traversing a curve, the guiding moments applied to both trucks are in the same direction as the angular change in direction of the locomotive caused by traversing said curve regardless of the direction of locomotive operation.

Claim 9

Truck guiding means in combination with a railway locomotive having a carbody with forward and reverse movement control means and a pair of longitudinally mounted power trucks pivotally connected with and supporting said carbody, said trucks including at least two pairs of flanged wheels for guiding and supporting said trucks on a dual rail track, said truck guiding means comprising force applying means connected between said trucks and said carbody to selectively apply clockwise or counterclockwise guiding moments to said trucks, means to control the direction of application of said guiding moments by said force applying means in response to the direction of rotational movements of said trucks from their centered positions, means connecting said direction control means to said locomotive forward and reverse movement control means in a manner to reverse the operating effect of said direction control means upon reversal of said forward and reverse movement control, and means connected with said trucks to control the magnitude of force exerted by said force applying means in response to and in a predetermined relation to the amount of pivotal movement of said trucks from their centered positions, said means being arranged such that when said locomotive is traversing a curve, the guiding moments applied to both trucks are in the same direction as the angular change in direction of the locomotive caused by traversing said curve regardless of the direction of locomotive operation.