Patent Publication Number: US-8528488-B2

Title: Undercarriage cross member for a rail vehicle

Description:
PRIORITY STATEMENT 
     This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2009/051122 which has an International filing date of Feb. 2, 2009, which designates the United States of America, and which claims priority on German patent application number DE 10 2008 008 681.9 filed Feb. 12, 2008, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     At least one embodiment of the invention generally relates to an undercarriage cross member for a rail vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Known undercarriage cross members for rail vehicles which are manufactured from the material “aluminum” are cast parts. The manufacture of cast parts is known to be comparatively expensive and complex. 
     SUMMARY 
     At least one embodiment of the invention therefore specifies an undercarriage cross member which permits more favorable fabrication while retaining the material “aluminum”. 
     At least one embodiment specifies that the undercarriage cross member is constructed exclusively from aluminum extruded profiles. 
     The manufacture of extruded profiles is generally more cost-effective than that of cast parts. For this reason, advantages are obtained through the use of extruded profiles. 
     The undercarriage cross member can have attachment points for attaching the undercarriage cross member to longitudinal carriers of a wagon body, in which case the undercarriage cross member preferably has no further attachment points to the wagon body. 
     It is also possible for there to be further attachment points for undercarriage elements which are selected from the group which comprises an anti-roll device, dampers and stops. This makes it possible to attach typical undercarriage elements to the undercarriage cross member. 
     The undercarriage cross member can have a generally H-shaped structure. In this context it is preferred that the H-shaped structure is formed from two transverse profiles, which are arranged parallel to one another, and two longitudinal profiles, wherein the transverse profiles are each connected by their end sides to both longitudinal profiles. The two extruded profiles which are arranged parallel to one another are expediently also connected to one another. The necessary connections are preferably established by means of welding. 
     In this context, welding seams which are provided between the extruded profiles can be hot-age-hardened. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       An example embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. 
       The single FIGURE shows a perspective view of an undercarriage cross member for a rail vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     The undercarriage cross member which is illustrated in the FIGURE is constructed from four extruded profiles, specifically in such a way that a generally H-shaped structure is produced. With reference to the H-structure, two transverse profiles Q 1 , Q 2  are provided which run parallel one next to the other and are connected to one another by means of a welding seam  3  which runs between them. Ends of the transverse profiles Q 1 , Q 2  abut against a right-hand longitudinal profile L 1  and a left-hand longitudinal profile L 2 . End sides of the transverse profiles Q 1 , Q 2  are attached to the longitudinal profiles L, L 2  using welding seams  3 . All the welding seams  3  are hot-age-hardened, which leads to an increase in the strength of the seams. 
     Both longitudinal profiles L 1 , L 2  are provided with attachment points  1 ,  2  which have the following functions. The attachment points  1  have in common the fact that they permit a connection to a longitudinal carrier of a wagon body which interacts with the undercarriage cross member. The attachment points  1  are provided at respective ends of the longitudinal profiles L 1 , L 2  and approximately in the center thereof. The attachment points  1  form the only attachment connection between the undercarriage cross member and the wagon body. 
     The attachment points  2  serve for the mounting of undercarriage elements such as an anti-roll device, one or more dampers of stops (not all are illustrated). The attachment points  2  are to be arranged on the longitudinal profiles L 1 , L 2  in a way which is required by a general configuration of the associated undercarriage. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the attachment points  2  are each located at a small distance inward from the outer attachment points  1 . 
     It is to be emphasized that in other embodiments of the invention more than two transverse profiles or else just a single transverse profile can also be provided. Modifications in terms of the embodiment of the longitudinal profiles are also conceivable. 
     Example embodiments being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.