MULTIFUNCTIONAL STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR RADIAL BOGIES

[0001] This application is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510120664.X, filed on Jan. 24, 2025, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to the technical field of bogies, particularly a multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies.

[0003] Conventional bogies play an important role in rail transit vehicles, but their limitations gradually appear as vehicle speeds increase and line conditions become more complex. In order to maintain the fast running stability of the conventional bogie, it is typically required to increase the horizontal connection stiffness between the wheelset and the side frame, but this limits the improvement of its curve passing performance. Concretely, when the conventional bogie passes through the curve, the attack angle and lateral force between the wheelset and the rail are larger, which leads to the aggravation of wheel-rail wear, not only affecting the operational efficiency of the vehicle, but also increasing the maintenance costs.

[0004] In order to solve the limitations of conventional bogies, radial bogies have come into being. Through the action of the radial mechanism, the radial bogie can reasonably distribute the lateral force of the wheel and rail without reducing the longitudinal positioning stiffness of the axle box, and effectively reduce the wheel-rail wear, however, the effect of reducing the wear is not obvious, which still requires frequent manual inspection and adjustment, and the wear and failure rate may be high under the complicated line conditions, so the maintenance cost is increased. Based on this, a multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies is designed to solve the above-mentioned problems in the present invention.

[0005] An objective of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies, the multifunctional steering can be realized by using the control system to control the radial bogie, so that the wheelset of the train can tend to a radial direction of the curve when the train passes through a curved track, and the axles rotate in the direction of the curve, the radial steering function of the train is realized by reasonable layout and reliable structure, additionally, a flexible open system is further used, which can realize a variety of steering modes through software programming, and is more conducive to improve the train running and steering performance.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies, including a wheelset assembly, a car-type architecture, an air spring bolster assembly, a control system, a sensor system, a reset bogie, a first telescopic cylinder assembly and a second telescopic cylinder assembly, wherein there are two the wheelset assemblies respectively arranged on two sides below the car-type architecture, the air spring bolster assembly is arranged at a center position of the car-type architecture and the center position of the air spring bolster assembly is sleeved outside the center position of the car-type architecture, and the sensor system is arranged on the wheelset assembly and the car-type architecture, the first telescopic cylinder assembly is arranged on one side of the car-type architecture, the second telescopic cylinder assembly is arranged on the other side of the car-type architecture, the first telescopic cylinder assembly and the second telescopic cylinder assembly are symmetrically arranged in the center and are respectively connected to the two wheelset assemblies, and the reset bogie is arranged above the car-type architecture and is respectively connected to the two wheelset assemblies.

[0007] Preferably, the wheelset assembly includes a wheelset, a braking device, a center pin bearing housing assembly, a guide bearing housing assembly, and a grounding brush housing assembly, wherein the center pin bearing housing assembly is arranged at one side below the car-type architecture and is fixed on the car-type architecture via a center pin, one end of the wheelset is connected to the center pin bearing housing assembly, the other end of the wheelset is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly, the guide bearing housing assembly is sleeved on the car-type architecture, and a reset deflector rod and a reset sliding block are arranged at a top end, and the grounding brush housing assembly is arranged inside one end of the wheelset adjacent to the center pin bearing housing assembly, the braking device is arranged inside one end of the wheelset adjacent to the guide bearing housing assembly and is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly.

[0008] Preferably, the air spring bolster assembly includes an air spring turntable plate and a rotary column, wherein the air spring turntable plate is a three-way structure and is provided with three connecting shafts, the rotary column is arranged at the center of the air spring turntable plate, two air springs are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the rotary column, two sides of the air spring turntable plate away from the rotary column are connected to two longitudinal force transmission rods via the two connecting shafts, and the third connecting shaft of the air spring turntable plate is connected to a vehicle frame via a transverse limiting force transmission rod.

[0009] Preferably, the reset bogie includes two reset oil cylinders, one end of the two reset oil cylinders is respectively connected to two reset fixed seats, the two reset fixed seats are arranged on the car-type architecture in a centrosymmetric manner, and the other ends of the two reset oil cylinders are respectively provided with reset hooks connected to the reset deflector rod, and the outsides of the reset oil cylinders are sleeved with a reset tension spring.

[0010] Preferably, the sensor system includes two vehicle speed sensors arranged on the center pin bearing housing assembly of the wheelset assembly, a geographic location and track information receiver arranged on the side of the car-type architecture adjacent to the first telescopic cylinder assembly and adjacent to the vehicle speed sensor, a binocular vision sensor and ranging sensor assembly arranged on the car-type architecture and adjacent to the one side of the wheelset, wherein there are four binocular vision sensor and ranging sensor assemblies, and a bolster steering angle sensor arranged on the car-type architecture below the center position of the air spring turntable plate and connected to the air spring turntable plate.

[0011] Preferably, the first telescopic cylinder assembly includes a first telescopic cylinder and a movable tail hinge mount connected to one side of the first telescopic cylinder, wherein a sliding rail is arranged inside the movable tail hinge mount, cam structures are arranged on two sides of the sliding rail, a wedge block actuating device is arranged in a middle of each group of cam structures, the movable tail hinge mount is connected to an electromagnetic coil assembly, the electromagnetic coil assembly is connected to a locking mechanism, and a piston of the first telescopic cylinder is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly adjacent to the first telescopic cylinder assembly.

[0012] Preferably, the second telescopic cylinder assembly includes a second telescopic cylinder, and the piston of the second telescopic cylinder is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly adjacent to the second telescopic cylinder assembly.

[0013] Preferably, the control system is composed of a multi-sensor information fusion system, a radial bogie wheelset control subsystem, a wheelset radial motion pose calculation system, an actuator joint command coordination control system, a multi-channel control command coordination management system, a reset-to-zero control unit of the fault actuator of the radial control system and an electro-hydraulic servo control system.

[0014] Preferably, the multi-sensor information fusion system receives and processes information from the sensor system and the radial bogie wheelset control subsystem.

[0015] Preferably, there are two electro-hydraulic servo control systems, the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems respectively control the first telescopic cylinder assembly and the second telescopic cylinder assembly to control a steering, there are also two reset-to-zero control units of the fault actuator of the radial control system, each reset-to-zero control unit of the fault actuator of the radial control system controls one electro-hydraulic servo control system.

[0016] Therefore, the present invention adopts the multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies with the above-mentioned structure, by using the control system, it is realized that when a train passes through a curved track, the wheelset tends to the radial direction of the curve, and the axle rotates in the direction of the curve, the radial steering function of the train is realized by reasonable layout and reliable structure, additionally, the system is a flexible open system, and can realize a variety of steering modes through software programming, and is more conducive to improving the train running and steering performance.

[0017] Further detailed descriptions of the technical scheme of the present invention can be found in the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] 1, a wheelset assembly; 11, a wheelset; 12, a braking device; 13, a center pin bearing housing assembly; 14, a guide bearing housing assembly; 15, a reset deflector rod; 16, a reset sliding block; 17, a grounding brush housing assembly; 2, a car-type architecture; 3, an air spring bolster assembly; 31, an air spring turntable plate; 32, a rotary column; 33, an air spring; 34, a connecting shaft; 35, a longitudinal force transmission rod; 36, a transverse limiting force transmission rod; 4, a reset bogie; 41, a reset oil cylinder; 42, a reset fixed seat; 43, a reset hook; 44, a reset tension spring; 5, a first telescopic cylinder assembly; 51, a first telescopic cylinder; 52, a movable tail hinge mount; 53, an electromagnetic coil assembly; 54, a locking mechanism; 55, a wedge block actuating device; 56, a cam structure; 57, a sliding rail; 6, a second telescopic cylinder assembly; 61, a second telescopic cylinder; 71, a vehicle speed sensor; 72, a geographic location and track information receiver; 73, a binocular vision sensor and ranging sensor assembly; 74, a bolster steering angle sensor; 75, a force transducer; 8, a center swing bogie; 81, a first steering rocker arm; 82, a diagonal connecting rod; 83, a second steering rocker arm; 84, a connecting main rod; 85, an end connecting rod; 86, an intermediate connecting rod; 9, an equal-proportion bogie; 91, a steering force transmission rod; 92, an equal-proportion connecting rod; 93, an elastic force-measuring sliding block.

[0032] In order to make the objectives, the technical solutions, and the advantages of the present invention clearer, the following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some but not all of the embodiments of the present invention. The assemblies of the embodiments of the present invention typically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings herein may be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations.

[0033] Accordingly, the following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention for which protection is claimed, but rather represents only selected embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without involving any creative effort shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1-13, a multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies of the present invention includes the wheelset assembly 1, the car-type architecture 2, the air spring bolster assembly 3, the control system, the sensor system, the reset bogie 4, the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 and the second telescopic cylinder assembly 6, wherein there are two the wheelset assemblies 1 respectively arranged on two sides below the car-type architecture 2, the air spring bolster assembly 3 is arranged at the center position of the car-type architecture 2 and the center position of the air spring bolster assembly 3 is sleeved outside the center position of the car-type architecture 2, and the sensor system is arranged on the wheelset assembly 1 and the car-type architecture 2, the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 is arranged on one side of the car-type architecture 2, the second telescopic cylinder assembly 6 is arranged on the other side of the car-type architecture 2, the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 and the second telescopic cylinder assembly 6 are symmetrically arranged in the center and are respectively connected to the two wheelset assemblies 1, and the reset bogie 4 is arranged above the car-type architecture 2 and is respectively connected to the two wheelset assemblies 1.

[0035] The wheelset assembly 1 includes the wheelset 11, the braking device 12, the center pin bearing housing assembly 13, the guide bearing housing assembly 14, and the grounding brush housing assembly 17, wherein the center pin bearing housing assembly 13 is arranged at one side below the car-type architecture 2 and is fixed on the car-type architecture 2 via a center pin, one end of the wheelset 11 is connected to the center pin bearing housing assembly 13, the other end of the wheelset 11 is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly 14, the guide bearing housing assembly 14 is sleeved on the car-type architecture 2, and the reset deflector rod 15 and the reset sliding block 16 are arranged at the top end, and the grounding brush housing assembly 17 is arranged inside one end of the wheelset 11 adjacent to the center pin bearing housing assembly 13, the braking device 12 is arranged inside one end of the wheelset 11 adjacent to the guide bearing housing assembly 14 and is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly 14.

[0036] The air spring bolster assembly 3 includes the air spring turntable plate 31 and the rotary column 32, wherein the air spring turntable plate 31 is a three-way structure and is provided with three connecting shafts 34, the rotary column 32 is arranged at the center of the air spring turntable plate 31, two air springs 33 are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the rotary column 32, two sides of the air spring turntable plate 31 away from the rotary column 32 are connected to two longitudinal force transmission rods 35 via the two connecting shafts 34, and the third connecting shaft 34 of the air spring turntable plate 31 is connected to the vehicle frame via the transverse limiting force transmission rod 36.

[0037] The reset bogie 4 includes two reset oil cylinders 41, one end of the two reset oil cylinders 41 are respectively connected to two reset fixed seats 42, the two reset fixed seats 42 are arranged on the car-type architecture 2 in a centrosymmetric manner, the other ends of the two reset oil cylinders 41 are respectively provided with reset hooks 43 connected to the reset deflector rod 15, and the outsides of the reset oil cylinders 41 are sleeved with the reset tension spring 44.

[0038] The sensor system includes two vehicle speed sensors 71 arranged on the center pin bearing housing assembly 13 of the wheelset assembly 1, the geographic location and track information receiver 72 arranged on the side of the car-type architecture 2 adjacent to the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 and adjacent to the vehicle speed sensor 71, four binocular vision sensor and ranging sensor assemblies 73 arranged on the car-type architecture 2 and adjacent to the one side of the wheelset 11, and the bolster steering angle sensor 74 arranged on the car-type architecture 2 below the center position of the air spring turntable plate 31 and connected to the air spring turntable plate 31.

[0039] The first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 includes the first telescopic cylinder 51 and the movable tail hinge mount 52 connected to one side of the first telescopic cylinder 51, wherein a sliding rail 57 is arranged inside the movable tail hinge mount 52, cam structures 56 are arranged on two sides of the sliding rail 57, the wedge block actuating device 55 is arranged in the middle of each group of cam structures 56, the movable tail hinge mount 52 is connected to the electromagnetic coil assembly 53, the electromagnetic coil assembly 53 is connected to the locking mechanism 54, and the piston of the first telescopic cylinder 51 is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly 14 adjacent to the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5.

[0040] The second telescopic cylinder assembly 6 includes the second telescopic cylinder 61, and the piston of the second telescopic cylinder 61 is connected to the guide bearing housing assembly 14 adjacent to the second telescopic cylinder assembly 6.

[0041] The control system is composed of the multi-sensor information fusion system, the radial bogie wheelset control subsystem, the wheelset radial motion pose calculation system, the actuator joint command coordination control system, the multi-channel control command coordination management system, the reset-to-zero control unit of the fault actuator of the radial control system and the electro-hydraulic servo control system.

[0042] The multi-sensor information fusion system receives and processes information from the sensor system and the radial bogie wheelset control subsystem.

[0043] There are two electro-hydraulic servo control systems, the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems respectively control the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 and the second telescopic cylinder assembly 6 to control the steering, there are also two reset-to-zero control units of the fault actuator of the radial control system, each reset-to-zero control unit of the fault actuator of the radial control system controls one electro-hydraulic servo control system.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the control system in the multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies can also be applied to the steering process of the bogie shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment 2, a center swing bogie 8 is used, wherein the center swing bogie 8 includes two first steering rocker arms 81 and second steering rocker arms 83 symmetrically arranged with respect to the air spring bolster assembly 3 and the air spring turntable plate 31, and the first steering rocker arms 81 and the second steering rocker arms 83 are connected via a diagonal connecting rod 82 sleeved outside the rotary column 32, and the first steering rocker arm 81 and the second steering rocker arm 83 are respectively connected to the wheelset assembly 1 adjacent to them, one side of the first steering rocker arm 81 is connected to an intermediate connecting rod 86, one end of the intermediate connecting rod 86 away from the first steering rocker arm 81 is connected to a connecting main rod 84, one end of the connecting main rod 84 away from the intermediate connecting rod 86 is connected to the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5 via a force transducer 75, an end connecting rod 85 is arranged between the connecting main rod 84 and the intermediate connecting rod 86, and the end connecting rod 85 is connected to the air spring turntable plate 31.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the control system in the multifunctional steering control system for radial bogies can also be applied to the steering process of the bogie shown in FIG. 7, in embodiment 3, an equal-proportion bogie 9 is used, wherein the equal-proportion bogie includes two steering force transmission rods 91, one ends of the two steering force transmission rods 91 are respectively connected to two wheelset assemblies 1, and the other ends of the two steering force transmission rods 91 are all connected to an equal-proportion connecting rod 92, wherein the equal-proportion connecting rod 92 is a three-way structure, and has three connecting ends, and the two steering force transmission rods 91 are respectively connected to two ends of the equal-proportion connecting rod 92 in a rectilinear direction, a third end of the equal-proportion connecting rod 92 is connected to the first telescopic cylinder assembly 5, and an upper side of one end of the equal-proportion connecting rod 92 adjacent to the rotary column 32 is provided with an elastic force-measuring sliding block 93, and the elastic force-measuring sliding block 93 is embedded in the middle position of the air spring turntable plate 31.

[0046] Embodiment 1, embodiment 2 and embodiment 3 can all achieve multifunctional steering under the control of the control system, and the first telescopic cylinder and the second telescopic cylinder are a servo electric cylinder or a servo oil cylinder, and when the first telescopic cylinder is the servo electric cylinder, the second telescopic cylinder is also the servo electric cylinder, and when the first electric cylinder is the servo oil cylinder, the second telescopic cylinder is also the servo oil cylinder.

[0047] Operation principle, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, when operating, the control system will select different steering modes according to the state of the sensor:

[0048] When all sensors are operating normally, the radial bogie is in the process of active radial steering; at this time, the multi-sensor information fusion system receives the information provided by the sensor system, and combines the information from the radial bogie wheelset control subsystem, the force transducer and the bolster steering angle sensor to obtain the current route state, and then the current pose is obtained from the results through the wheelset radial motion pose calculation system, the current pose is transmitted to the actuator joint command coordination control system, and the control information is sent to the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems through the multi-channel control command coordination management system.

[0049] After the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems receive the digital signal from the multi-channel control command coordination management system, the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems input the signal into the second telescopic cylinder assembly and the first telescopic cylinder assembly respectively after digital deviation, digital-analog change and servo amplifier processing.

[0050] If the bogie uses the servo oil cylinder, the front wheelset is taken as an example of steering, and the front wheelset is connected to the second telescopic cylinder assembly, when the vehicle runs on a straight road, the electro-hydraulic servo valve in the second telescopic cylinder assembly works in the middle position, and the electro-hydraulic servo valve is connected to the hydraulic station, the left and right oil cavities of the second telescopic cylinder are not connected, and the second telescopic cylinder is not displaced; when steering left, the electro-hydraulic servo valve works on the right position, and the oil enters from the right side of the second telescopic cylinder to push the piston of the second telescopic cylinder to move to the left, the piston retracts and drives the guide bearing housing assembly to move, at this time, the rear wheelsets swing counterclockwise around the center pin bearing housing assembly to complete the steering; when steering right, the electro-hydraulic servo valve works on the left position, and the oil enters from the left side of the second telescopic cylinder to push the piston of the second telescopic cylinder to move to the right, the piston extends to push the guide bearing housing assembly to move to the right, at this time, the rear wheelsets swing clockwise around the center pin bearing housing assembly to complete the steering.

[0051] If the bogie uses the servo electric cylinder, the rear wheelset is taken as an example of steering, and the rear wheelset is connected to the first telescopic cylinder assembly, when the vehicle runs on a straight road, the servo motor in the first telescopic cylinder assembly remains stationary, the piston of the first telescopic cylinder remains stationary, and the first telescopic cylinder is not displaced; when steering left, the servo motor pushes the piston of the first telescopic cylinder to move to the left, and the piston extends to push the guide bearing housing assembly to move, at this time, the rear wheelsets swing clockwise around the center pin bearing housing assembly to complete the steering; when steering right, the servo motor controls the piston of the first telescopic cylinder to retract right back to the cylinder body, and the piston drives the guide bearing housing assembly to move right, at this time, the rear wheelsets swing counterclockwise around the guide bearing housing assembly to complete the steering.

[0052] When a sensor except the bolster steering angle sensor fails, the radial bogie is in the assisted radial steering process; at this time, the control system receives the information of the normal working sensor and sends the control signal to the two electro-hydraulic servo control systems after the information fusion analysis and processing decision, and the steering process is consistent with the active radial steering process.

[0053] When all the sensors fail or the servo actuator fails, the radial bogie is in a passive forced radial steering process, and at this time, the multi-channel control command communication management system sends the control command to two reset-to-zero control units of the fault actuator of the radial control system to control the left and right cavities of the servo actuators to communicate with each other, and at this time, the servo actuators are in a floating state, and no longer apply the force to the wheelset, and the locking mechanism is opened, the electromagnet in the electromagnetic coil assembly is energized to pull the wedge block unlocking arm cam to rotate, and the cam pushes the wedge block unlocking separating fork rows to move, so that the wedge block rotates in the direction of the contact diameter becoming smaller, and the positive pressure of the wedge block against the tail hinge sliding rail is released, so that the locking force against the sliding rail is released, and the bogie enters a passive forced steering state.

[0054] Taking the rear wheel as an example, when a fault occurs during straight running, only the servo actuator needs to be in the floating state, there is no more force to apply to the wheelset, the positive pressure of the wedge block to the tail hinge sliding rail is released, and the bogie enters into the passive forced steering state; when a fault occurs during steering, in addition to making the first telescopic cylinder assembly enter the floating state, it is also required to drive the reset deflector rod back to the original position by the expansion and contraction of the reset tension spring and the reset oil cylinder, so as to make the guide bearing housing assembly return to the original position, and at this time, the guide bearing housing assembly stops at the central original position under the action of the reset deflector rod and the reset sliding block, and the bogie returns to the straight running state, so as to enter the passive forced steering state.

[0055] Therefore, the present invention adopts a radial bogie with an active control wheelset swinging around the center of the above structure, and in order to achieve the radial steering function of the train, the kinematic principle of the multi-lever mechanism is used, so that the track train can be steered with better stability and safety.

[0056] Finally, it should be noted that the above examples are merely used for describing the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than limiting the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred examples, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention may still be modified or equivalently replaced. However, these modifications or substitutions should not make the modified technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.