A system for controlling the rotation of the body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis

Abstract: The system of the invention comprises a gyroscope (10) having two degrees of freedom fixed to a carriage (1) of the vehicle and having a first axis of sensitivity disposed in the longitudinal direction of the carriage and a second axis of sensitivity disposed in the vertical direction; the gyroscope is operable to generate a first signal indicative of the angular velocity ω x about a first axis disposed in the said longitudinal direction and a second signal indicative of the angular velocity ω z of the carriage about a second, vertical axis; the system further includes a tachometric detector (13) operable to generate a signal indicating the speed v of the vehicle and at least one integrator (14) operable to integrate the first said signal to generate a signal indicating the angle of rotation  x of the carriage about the longitudinal axis; a microprocessor (17) forms the product of the signal indicating the angle of rotation  x and the acceleration due to gravity g and the product of the signal indicating the speed v and the signal indicating the angular velocity ω z and finally takes the difference between the second product and the first in such a way as to obtain a signal indicating the non-compensated transverse acceleration.

Description: The present invention relates to a system for controlling the rotation of the body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis for the purpose of reducing the value of non-compensated acceleration acting in a transverse direction on passengers in the vehicle. Variable aspect railway vehicles are known which, when travelling on a bend, allow the body to rotate about a longitudinal axis with respect to the track; this rotation, which can take place in a spontaneous or a controlled manner, makes it possible partly or totally to compensate the component of the centrifugal force which acts on the passengers, by means of a component of weight. Therefore, when a variable aspect vehicle travels along a curved path, a residual acceleration acts in a transverse direction on the passengers, which acceleration is defined as non-compensated acceleration and which is therefore equal to the difference between the components of centrifugal acceleration and gravitational acceleration in the said transverse direction. The rotation of the body of the railway vehicle can take place in a spontaneous manner under the action of the forces of centrifugal inertia acting on the centre of gravity of this body, which, by means of suitable linkages, causes rotation of the body itself towards the inside of the curve. This system has the disadvantage of imparting to the body an acceleration which is too slow because of its high movement of inertia to rolling movement and because of the modest value of the couples thus generated. Therefore with this mode of operation the equilibrium position cannot be reached within the short time which is available during the transition between rectilinear movement and the full curve of the bend. It therefore happens that the compensation of the centrifugal force is insufficient along the connection portion and, as a consequence of this, the passengers can be subject to an intense (if relatively short) jolt and to an accentuated oscillation of the transverse acceleration which lasts into the bend and which can be very annoying. Both these unfavourable effects limit the maximum admissable angle of rotation of the body to modest values (of the order of 3-4°) and therefore reduce to relatively limited values (of the order of 10-15%) the maximum increase of speed in bends. For this reason the controlled or active system of rotation predominates, in which, by providing sufficiently powerful servo-controls, it is possible to move the body with all the necessary speed and make this perform the rotation smoothly and quickly. The operation of the servo-controls was initially achieved by a device sensitive to the transverse acceleration on the body itself, such as, for example, a pendulum having a longitudinal axis or an accelerometer fitted to the body; subsequently one or more accelerometers fitted to the carriage or to the carriages of the vehicle were used as an alternative. Since with this system there was no possibility of distinguishing if the transverse accelerations to which the device was subjected were due to centrifugal force or were disturbances caused by irregular motions of the vehicle (in particular the phenomenon of rocking almost always present in the operation of railway vehicles) sometimes untimely interventions occurred. To avoid this disadvantage it was necessary to fit a filter either to the movement of the pendulum or to the accelerometric signal generated by the said device; this filter acts at very low frequency and causes a delay in the transmissions of the control used for rotation, and a reduction in the time available to perform the change in aspect, resulting in an unpleasant oscillation in the residual transverse acceleration on the passengers. For the purpose of underlining the importance of the problems which arise for controlling the body aspect it must be borne in mind that at 200 kilometres per hour a parabolic transition section of 100 metres is traversed in about 2 seconds and that within this time it is necessary to perceive the presence of the curve, actuate the servo-control, accelerate the body, cause this to perform the entire rotation, slow and stop in the inclined position. In Italian Patent No 920358 by the same applicant, filed 9 February 1971, there is described a body rotation control system for a railway vehicle which makes it possible to detect, with a minimum delay, the beginning and end of the linking sections both at the beginning and the end of a bend in the railway track travelled by the vehicle, even if the track itself is elevated; this system further determines, in a timely and correct manner, the rotation of the body necessary to compensate the transverse acceleration. The system substantially comprises a gyroscope operable to generate a signal indicative of the angular velocity of rotation of the vehicle about is longitudinal axis, an integrator operable to generate a signal indicative of the angle of rotation of the vehicle about the said axis and a threshold adapted to allow the passage of this signal only when this exceeds a predetermined value in such a way as to give rise to a true and proper switch device adapted to emit an activation signal for the actuator displacing the body only when the angle of rotation of the vehicle exceeds a desired value. The control system described was able to operate quickly and in a timely manner only if the track was elevated at the connector section (that is to say only if one of the rails is located at a different height with respect to the other) linking the rectilinear section and the bend. Otherwise, that is to say if the connector section was not elevated, it was not able to recognise the actuation phases. Incorrect operation was furthermore encountered in cases in which the increase in the elevation varied with a different law from that with which the curvature of the track varied and, therefore, in the case of S-shape elevated connector links, connector links having double curvature or connector links having differently accentuated curves. From the document FR-A-2 340 216, it is known a system for controlling the rotation of a body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis, wherein a gyroscope fixed to the carriage of the vehicle generates first and second signals indicating the angular velocity of the carriage in the longitudinal and in the vertical direction, and wherein calculation units form the product of the angle of longitudinal rotation of carriage and the gravity, the product of the the speed of the vehicle and said angular velocity, and the difference of the two products to be delivered to a unit controlling the rotation of the body. The object of the present invention is that of providing a system for controlling the rotation of the body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis, of the type described above, by means of which the above mentioned disadvantages are overcome. This object is achieved by means of a system for controlling the rotation of the body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis to reduce the non-compensated acceleration acting in a transverse direction on the vehicle's passengers; comprising at least one actuator for rotating said body, said actuator being actuated by a servo valve controlled by a control signal from a control unit; at least one gyroscope having two degrees of freedom and being fixed to a carriage of the vehicle, said gyroscope having a first axis of sensibility in the longitudinal direction of said carriage and a second axis of sensibility in a vertical direction, said gyroscope being operable to generate a first electrical signal indicating the angular velocity ω x of said carriage about said first axis of sensitivity and a second electric signal indicating the angular velocity ω z of said carriage about said second axis of sensitivity; at least one tachometric detector operable to generate a signal indicating the speed v of said vehicle; a least a first integrator operable to integrate said first signal ω x to generate a signal indicating the angle of rotation  x of said carriage about said first axis; at least a first calculation unit adapted to form a first product of said signal indicating said angle of rotation  x and the acceleration due to gravity g, a second calculation unit operable to form a second product of said signal indicating the speed v and said second signal ω z , and a third calculation unit operable to take the difference between said second product and said first product in such a way as to obtain a signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration: a nc = ω z v - g x , which is delivered to said control unit; characterised by a microprocessor including said first, second and third calculation units; at least a first accelerometric detector fixed to said carriage and operable to generate a signal indicating the transverse acceleration of the carriage, the diagram of which as a function of time comprising a first substantially rectilinear section the value of which increases with an increase in time, a second rectilinear section the value of which remains constant with time, and a third substantially rectilinear section the value of which decreases with time; a low-pass filter operable to filter said transverse acceleration signal and to emit an output signal delayed by a delay Δt with respect to said transverse acceleration signal; a signal-forming unit operable to form a supplementary signal, the variation of which with time has the form of two trapezoidal waves of opposite sign and in which the initial inclined section of each wave coincides with the corresponding sections of said signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration, the duration of each said initial section being substantially equal to said first delay Δt; and a further calculation unit operable to form, at each instant, the sum of the values of said output signal and the values of said supplementary signal to obtain a resultant signal which is delivered to said control unit to generate said control signal. For a better understanding of the control system of the invention a more detailed description will now be given, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of the fundamental components of the system of the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of a railway vehicle; Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of a gyroscope mounted on a carriage of the vehicle of Figure 2; Figures 4 and 5 are schematic sections of a variable aspect railway vehicle moving in a curved path in two different configurations, in the first of which the body has not been subjected to any rotation with respect to the rest position and in the second of which it is rotated by a certain angle; Figures from 6 to 10 are diagrammatic representations of signals representing geometrical parameters and accelerations as a function of time, generated by components and devices of the system of Figure 1; and Figures from 11 to 16 represent other diagrams of signals generated by components and devices of the system of Figure 1. A variable aspect railway vehicle substantially comprises two or more carriages 1 schematically represented in Figures 2, 4 and 5, each of which is resiliently connected by means of a suspension 2 to axles 3 which have fixed wheels 4; the vehicle further comprises a body 5 rotatable under the action of hydraulic actuators 6 substantially about a longitudinal axis along the centre of gravity G. When the vehicle travels along a curved path, as has been schematically shown in Figure 4, a non-compensated acceleration acts on the passengers in the transverse direction defined by the line t, equal to: a nc = v 2 R cos x - gsin x ) In which v indicates the speed of the vehicle, R the radius of the curve, g the acceleration due to gravity and  x the angle formed by the generatrix of the cone which defines the plane on which the vehicle is supported with respect to the horizontal plane. As is known, because of the small value of the angle  x the expression for non-compensated acceleration can be written, to a good approximation, in the following form: a nc = v 2 R - g x The value of the non-compensated acceleration can suitably be reduced by rotating the body through an angle  about its longitudinal axis, as has been shown in Figure 5. In this case, in fact, the value of non-compensated acceleration will assume the value a' nc = v 2 R - g( x + ) obviously less than before. The system of the invention for controlling the rotation of the body comprises, as well as the actuators 6, a servo valve 7 which is controlled by a control signal from a control unit 8. The system of the invention is substantially characterised by at least one gyroscope 10 having two degrees of freedom, schematically indicated in Figure 3, which is fixed to a carriage 1 of the vehicle and which has a first axis of sensitivity 11 disposed in the longitudinal direction of the carriage, and a second axis of sensitivity 12, disposed in a vertical direction of the carriage. Although the gyroscope schematically represented in Figure 2 is of the type having two rotating masses m, m', it can be of any other suitable type even of the type having a single rotating mass. Suppose that, associated with the gyroscope 10, there is a set of three orthogonal axes disposed in such a way that the x and z axes coincide, respectively, with the axes of sensitivity 11 and 12, and the y axis transversely, as has been clearly shown in Figure 3. The gyroscope 10, according to the invention, is operable to generate a first electrical signal indicative of the angular velocity ω x of the carriage about the x axis and a second electrical signal indicative of the angular velocity ω z of the carriage about its vertical axis z. For purposes which will be indicated more clearly below, on the carriage 1 there are preferably disposed two gyroscopes 10 of the above indicated type. The system further includes at least one tachometric detector 13 (Figure 1) operable to generate a signal indicative of the speed v of the vehicle, and at least one integrator 14 operable to integrate the signal indicative of the angular velocity ω x emitted by the gyroscope 10 to generate a signal ∫ω x dt indicative of the angle of rotation  x of the carriage about the longitudinal axis x. Between the gyroscope 10 and the integrator 14 there are disposed a low pass filter 15 and an analogue-to-digital converter 16. A microprocessor, generally indicated 17, forms part of the system, which includes a calculation unit 18 which is operable to form the product of the signal indicative of the angle of rotation  x and the acceleration due to gravity g, and a calculation unit 19 operable to form the product of the signal indicative of the speed v, which is provided by the detector 13, and the signal indicative of the angular velocity ω z from the gyroscope 10. Between the tachometric detector 13 and the calculation unit 19 is inserted a conditioner circuit 20 (the purpose of which is that of converting the tachometric signal, typically a frequency signal, into a voltage signal) and between the gyroscope 10 and the calculation unit 19 there is disposed a low pass filter 23, an analogue-to-digital converter 24 and an offset corrector 25. The microprocessor 17 further includes another calculation unit 26 adapted to take the difference between the second product and the first product in such a way as to obtain a signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration: a nc = v 2 R - g x The signal thus generated is sent to the control unit 8 to generate the control signal for the servo valve 7. The geometric characteristics of a curve travelled by the vehicle, and of the associated entrance and exit transition sections are given in the diagram of Figure 6 in which, supposing that the vehicle has a constant speed v, there is plotted, by way of non-limitative example, the variation in the elevation H (Figures 4 and 5) of the track and the inverse of the radius of curvature R of the bend as a function of time; the two initial and final inclined sections of the diagram correspond respectively to the entrance and exit transition sections of the bend whilst the central section, of constant value, corresponds to the bend itself. The signal indicative of the non-compensated acceleration a nc , which is generated in the manner indicated above, and which comes from the control unit 8, varies as shown in Figure 8 and corresponds entirely to that of Figure 6. The signal indicative of the non-compensated acceleration generated by the system of the invention is able to control, via the control unit 8 and the servo valve 7, the operation of the actuator 6 both quickly and smoothly: in fact this signal, as is seen from Figure 8, is perfectly in phase with that of Figure 6 representative of the geometry of the curve and is emitted immediately the vehicle meets the entry connector link; moreover, since its variation corresponds to that of the acceleration perceived by the passengers it can be effectively utilised to modulate the operation of the actuators 6 which control the rotation of the body. The system of the invention further includes at least one accelerometric detector 27 fixed to the carriage 1 and operable to generate a signal indicative of the transverse acceleration of the carriage, and a low pass filter 31 operable to filter the signal itself and to produce at its output a signal which is delayed with respect to the instant at which the signal indicative of the transverse acceleration is transmitted to the filter itself. In Figure 7 the variation of this signal as a function of time is shown: as is seen from this figure the diagram is substantially trapezoidal, comprising a first and a third rectilinear section having respectively increasing and decreasing values with an increase in time, and a second, substantially rectilinear section of constant value. This diagram is, however, phase displaced by Δt with respect to the instant in time when travelling on the connector link of the curve commences. The microprocessor 17 further includes a unit for forming the signal 28 which is operable to form a supplementary signal the variation of which with time has the form of two trapezoidal waves of opposite sign, as has been shown in Figure 9; the initial inclined section of each of these waves, indicated 29, coincides with the corresponding sections of the signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration shown in Figure 8; whilst the duration of each of the sections 29 is substantially equal to the delay Δt defined above; a signal-forming unit able to generate a signal with the characteristics of that of Figure 9 is technically well-known. The microprocessor 17 includes a further calculation unit 30 operable to produce, at each instant, the sum of the values of the signal emitted by the low pass filter 31 (shown in Figure 7) and the values of the supplementary signal defined above shown in Figure 9, for the purpose of obtaining a resultant signal, shown in Figure 10, which is sent to the control unit 8 to generate a corresponding control signal. The signal thus obtained substantially corresponds to that from the output of the low pass filter 31 and shown in Figure 7, with the single difference that it is not delayed by the time Δt; this signal is therefore perfectly in phase with the curve of Figure 6 and can be utilised effectively by the control unit 8. This latter therefore receives two signals at each instant, one from the calculation unit 26 of the micro-processor 17 and indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration (generated from the signals from the gyroscope 10) and a second signal coming from the calculation unit 30 as described above; the second signal can be considered as a reserve signal for substituting in place of the first when, because of any breakdown in the system, the first is not usable. The system further includes a threshold circuit 34 interposed between the tachometric detector 13 and the control unit 8; it is operable to allow the passage of the tachometric signal to the control unit only when the speed v of the vehicle is greater than a predetermined threshold in such a way that the control unit 8 transmits the control signal to the actuator 7 only if the tachometric value is greater than the value of the said threshold signal. The system also includes: a second offset corrector 35 to which is sent the signal indicative of the angular velocity ω z coming from the gyroscope 10; a second integrator 37 and a differentiator 38 operable to perform, respectively, integration and differentiation of the angular velocity signal coming from the low-pass filter 23 for the purpose of deriving signals indicative respectively of the angle of rotation  z of the vehicle about a vertical axis and of the angular acceleration dω z /dt ; a phase discriminator 39 which receives the signals emitted by the offset correctors 35 and 25, those from the integrators 14 and 37 as well as from the differentiator 38; and an enabling unit 40 connected to the phase discriminator 39 and the control unit 8. The phase discriminator 39 and the enabling unit 40 are arranged to operate in a known manner for the purpose of comparing the values of the signals indicative of the angular velocity ω z , and the angles of rotation  x and  z with corresponding threshold values, and finally to evaluate the persistence within a predetermined range of values of the angular velocity ω z and the angular acceleration dω z /dt. Whenever it is found that the value of one or more of the said signals is located above the threshold value or whenever its persistence is greater than a predetermined duration, the enabling unit 40 emits an enabling signal to enable the control unit 8. In this way the control unit 8 is enabled only if particular conditions of the aspect or speed of the vehicle occur. To take account of how the phase discriminator 39 can operate in association with the enablement unit 40 it is suitable to make reference to the diagrams of Figures from 11 to 16 the first of which corresponds to that of Figure 6. In the diagram of Figure 12 the variation of the angular velocity signal emitted by the offset corrector 35 is represented whilst in the diagram of Figure 13 the variation of the signal indicating the angle of rotation  x emitted by the integrator 14 is shown and in the diagram of Figure 14 the variation of the signal indicating the angular velocity ω z emitted by the offset corrector 25 is shown. Figure 15 shows the variation of the signal indicating the angle of rotation  z emitted by the integrator 37, and Figure 16 shows the variation of the signal indicating the angular acceleration dω z /dt emitted by the differentiator 38. Whenever the signals ω x , dω z /dt remain within a predetermined range of values for a time Δt as indicated in Figures 12 and 16 this confirms that the vehicle is at the beginning of the entrance or exit transition section of the bend; this confirmation is derived whenever the values of the signals ω x and ω z are greater than the corresponding threshold values as has been shown in Figures 13 and 14. According to the system, the signals indicating the angular velocities ω x , ω z and the angles of rotation  x ,  z as well as the angular acceleration dω z /dt produced respectively by the offset correctors 25 and 35, the differentiator 38, and the integrators 14 and 37, can be delivered to detection and/or control devices for the purpose of detecting or controlling desired running characteristics of the vehicle or of the line when the vehicle passes over entry or exit transition sections of a bend and when it is travelling on the bend itself. A further accelometric detector 41 fixed to the body 5 of the vehicle also forms part of the system and is adapted to provide a signal indicative of the residual transverse acceleration a cr acting in the direction of the axis t' of Figure 5, as well as at least one detector, indicated 42, for detecting the angle of rotation  of the body about its longitudinal axis. A further control unit 43 is operable to make a comparison between the signal provided by the accelerometric detector 41 and a reference value depending on the angle of rotation  of the body detected by the detector 42 and to emit a disactivation signal for the control unit 8 when the difference between the value of the signal provided by the accelerometric detector and the reference value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Finally, the system includes a control unit 44 connected to the filter 31, the integrator 14, the offset corrector 25 and the tachometric detector 13 for the purpose of receiving these signal components indicative, respectively, of the acceleration a c on the carriage, the angle of rotation  x , the angular velocity ω z and the speed v; the control unit 44 is further connected to the unit 43. The unit 44 is prearranged to operate on the signals ω z , v and  x in the same way as the microprocessor 17 operates, for the purpose of generating a signal indicating the non-compensated acceleration a nc . Furthermore, this unit makes the comparison between this signal and that indicating the acceleration a c coming from the filter 31; whenever there is encountered a difference between the two signals greater than a predetermined threshold value the unit emits a disactivation signal for the control unit 8. In this way control of the signal indicating the non-compensated acceleration a nc generated by the gyroscope 10 is effected; this control is effected when the vehicle is in the full bend. It is evident that the system of the present invention may have modifications and variations introduced thereto without departing from the ambit of the invention itself.

Claims: A system for controlling the rotation of the body of a railway vehicle about its longitudinal axis to reduce the value of the non-compensated acceleration acting in a transverse direction on the vehicle's passengers; comprising at least one actuator (6) for rotating said body (5), said actuator (6) being actuated by a servo valve (7) controlled by a control signal from a control unit (8); at least one gyroscope (10) having two degrees of freedom and being fixed to a carriage (1) of the vehicle, said gyroscope (10) having a first axis of sensibility (x) in the longitudinal direction of said carriage (1) and a second axis of sensibility (z) in a vertical direction, said gyroscope (10) being operable to generate a first electrical signal indicating the angular velocity ω x of said carriage (1) about said first axis of sensitivity (x) and a second electric signal indicating the angular velocity ω z of said carriage (1) about said second axis of sensitivity (z); at least one tachometric detector (13) operable to generate a signal indicating the speed v of said vehicle; a least a first integrator (14) operable to integrate said first signal ω x to generate a signal ∫ω x dt indicating the angle of rotation  x of said carriage about said first axis (x); at least a first calculation unit (18) adapted to form a first product of said signal indicating said angle of rotation  x and the acceleration due to gravity g, a second calculation unit (19) operable to form a second product of said signal indicating the speed v and said second signal ω z , and a third calculation unit (26) operable to take the difference between said second product and said first product in such a way as to obtain a signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration: a nc = ω z v - g x , which is delivered to said control unit (8); characterised by a microprocessor (17) including said first, second and third calculation units (18, 19, 26); at least a first accelerometric detector (27) fixed to said carriage (1) and operable to generate a signal indicating the transverse acceleration of the carriage, the diagram of which as a function of time comprising a first substantially rectilinear section the value of which increases with an increase in time, a second rectilinear section the value of which remains constant with time, and a third substantially rectilinear section the value of which decreases with time; a low-pass filter (31) operable to filter said transverse acceleration signal and to emit an output signal delayed by a delay Δt with respect to said transverse acceleration signal; a signal-forming unit (28) operable to form a supplementary signal, the variation of which with time has the form of two trapezoidal waves of opposite sign and in which the initial inclined section of each wave coincides with the corresponding sections of said signal indicative of the non-compensated transverse acceleration, the duration of each said initial section being substantially equal to said first delay Δt; and a further calculation unit (30) operable to form, at each instant, the sum of the values of said output signal and the values of said supplementary signal to obtain a resultant signal which is delivered to said control unit (8) to generate said control signal. A system according to claim 1, characterised in that said signal-forming unit (28) and said further calculation unit (30) are also included in said microprocessor (17). A system according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it includes a threshold circuit (34) interposed between the said tachometric detector (13) and the said control unit (8), operable to allow the passage of the tachometric signal to the said control unit only when the said speed (v) is greater than a predetermined threshold value, the said control unit (8) being prearranged to emit the said control signal only if the value of the said tachometric signal is greater than the value of the said threshold signal. A system according to any preceding claim, characterised in that it comprises: first and second offset correctors (25, 35) to which are delivered respectively the said first and the said second signals indicating the angular velocities ω x and ω z , a second integrator (37) and a differentiator (38) operable, respectively, to integrate and differentiate the said second signal indicating the angular velocity to derive signals respectively indicating the angle of rotation  z of the vehicle about a vertical axis and the angular acceleration dω z /dt; a phase discriminator (39) to which are delivered signals emitted by the first and second offset correctors (25, 35) by the said first and second integrators (14, 37) and by the said differentiator (38); an enabling unit (40) connected to the said phase discriminator (39) and to the said control unit (8); the said phase discriminator (39) and the said enabling unit (40) being prearranged to compare the values of the said signals indicating the angular velocity ω z and the angles of rotation  x and  z with corresponding threshold values to evaluate if they persist for a time Δ't within a predetermined range of values of the angular velocity ω x and angular acceleration dω z /dt and to emit an output signal from the said enabling unit (40) for the purpose of enabling the said control unit (8) only if the value of one or more of the said signals is above the said threshold value or if it persist longer than the said predetermined time Δ't. A system according to Claim 4, characterised in that the said signals indicating the said angular velocities ω x , ω z , the said angles of rotation  x ,  z and the said angular acceleration dω z /dt emitted respectively by the said first and second offset correctors (25, 35), the said first and second integrators (14, 37) and the said differentiator (38) are delivered to detection and/or control devices for detecting or controlling the operating characteristics of the vehicle or of the line when the vehicle passes over transition sections at the entrance and exit of a bend and when running on the bend itself. A system according to any preceding Claim, characterised in that it includes: at least a second accelerometric detector (41) fixed to the body (5) of the vehicle, operable to provide a signal indicative of the non-compensated acceleration; at least one detector (42) for detecting the angle of rotation of the body about its longitudinal axis; a second control unit (43) operable to compare the said signal provided by the said second accelometric detector (41) to a reference value depending on the said angle of rotation  x of the body and to emit a disactivation signal for the said actuator (7) when the difference between the value of the signal provided by the accelometric detector and the said reference value exceeds a predetermined value. A system according to claims 5 and 6, characterised in that it includes a third control unit (44) in series with the said second control unit (43) and connected to the said filter (31), the said first integrator (14), the said second offset corrector (25) and the said tachometric detector (13) for the purpose of receiving from these components signals indicating respectively the acceleration a c on the carriage, the angle or rotation  x , the angular velocity ω z and the speed v of the vehicle, the said unit (44) being prearranged to generate a signal indicating the non-compensated acceleration a nc in the same way as the said microprocessor (17), to compare this signal with the said signal indicating the acceleration a c , and to emit a disactivation signal for the said control unit (8) when the said difference exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Inventors: ELIA ALESSANDRO, ELIA, ALESSANDRO
Applicants: FIAT FERROVIARIA SPA, FIAT FERROVIARIA S.P.A.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B61F5
IPC codes: B61F5, G05D1, B60G99