Brake system for railway vehicles

• US 6,991,301 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2003
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Knorr-Bremse Systeme FüR Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Knorr-Bremse Systeme FüR Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Aurich, Stefan, Vohla, Manfred, Waldmann, Peter, Firsching, Peter, Kleeman, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Siconolfi, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TORRES WILLIAMS, MELANIE
• Application Number:
  US10/645,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20040046442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 188/33, 188/34, 188/41, 303/7, 303/20, 303/15, 303/22.6, 303/3, 303/9, 303/2, 303/122.15, 303/128, 303/85, 105/4.3
• US Class Current: 303/15
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 13/665 the systems being specially adapted for transferring two or more command signals, e.g. railway systems B60T13/662 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/20 Safety devices operable by passengers other than the driver , e.g. for railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/228 for railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1893 especially adapted for railway vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/321 deceleration B60T8/34, B60T8/52, B60T8/54, B60T8/56, B60T8/58, B60T8/72, B60T8/86, B60T8/88 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/3235 Systems specially adapted for rail vehicles

Abstract

The invention relates to a brake system for a railway vehicle. Said brake system comprises a main air reservoir line which is fed by an air compressor unit. Every bogie truck is provided with at least one compressed-air line which is connected to the main air reservoir line either directly or via a stop valve, a non-return valve and a compressed-air reservoir. The compressed-air line feeds, for example, the service brake valves for impinging the brakes of the bogie truck or a control unit for the spring-loaded brake and/or other control units for other auxiliary components. The service brake valves and/or the spring-loaded brake and/or other auxiliary components are controlled via at least one local, electronic brake control unit.

Claims

1. A brake system for a railway vehicle having at least two bogies comprising:

a main air reservoir line fed by a compressed-air generating device;

a compressed-air line connecting the main air reservoir line to pneumatic brake units and auxiliary pneumatic units independent of the pneumatic brake units on each bogie;

a central control unit controlling the pneumatic brake units and the auxiliary units by local electric brake control units, which are mutually connected by a common braking data bus; and

the local electronic brake control units being in the bogie or on a car body in the area of the bogie.

2. The brake system according to claim 1, including a main air line fed by the compressed-air generating device under the control of a train brake valve;

and the central control unit controls the train brake valve by a local electronic brake control unit, which is connected to the common braking data bus.

3. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein signals of a predefining device which can be operated by a train engineer, signals of local devices for the detection of current operating values including one or more of slip, axle load, rotational wheel speed, actual deceleration and bogie load, and signals of devices for the monitoring and automatic operational management (ATO, ATC, ATP) are available to the local electronic brake control unit on the input side.

4. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein brake signals on a central railway vehicle data bus are received by the central control unit and corresponding brake signals are transmitted by braking data bus to the local electronic brake control units.

5. The brake system according to claim 4, wherein brake signals are transmitted directly from the central railway vehicle data bus to the local electronic brake control units.

6. The brake system according to claim 1, including a local device for detecting current operating values, including one or more of slip, axle load, rotational wheel speed, actual deceleration and bogie load, is arranged with respect to a wheel and/or with respect to an axle and/or in the bogie;

and the respective local electronic brake control unit is connected to the local device and use data available from the local device in controlling the brakes.

7. The brake system according to claim 6, wherein by means of the data available to the local brake control unit, a conversion of the brake signals takes place such that a wear of the brakes can be achieved which is as uniform as possible.

8. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein the local electronic brake control units, a train control unit, a predefning device in an engineer'"'"'s cabs, the bogies and a local operating value detection devices are linked with one another by a safety loop.

9. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein the compressed-air line connects each bogie with the main air reservoir line via a shut-off valve, a check valve and a compressed-air reservoir, and the check valve and the compressed-air reservoir are in the bogie.

10. The brake system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit for the brakes and the control units for additional pneumatic devices are connected to the shut-off valve before the check valve.

11. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein a frame and/or other constructive elements of the bogie are constructed at least in sections as a compressed-air reservoir.

12. The brake system according to claim 1, wherein a frame and/or other constructive elements of the bogie are provided at least in sections for receiving a compressed-air reservoir.