Technical field:

Railway technology

Description of the technical problem

Existing technology in the segment of electrically driven lubrication devices represents a relatively high risk for railway companies due to vandalism and the theft of generally useful components, such as solar panels, batteries, electrical components and the like.

Similarly, with existing mechanical and hydraulic lubrication devices, relatively uncontrolled operation occurs in the part where there is a vertical / linear piston - actuator. The problem with these devices is that at high train speeds when the wheel hits the pistonactuator at an angle, there is a huge loss in energy transfer due to extreme shear forces. Extreme shear forces occur mainly in two-way traffic, namely when the wheel moves in the direction of the lever with the push attachment putting extreme strain on the pivot point. Upon impact, there is also a relatively loud noise and damage to the piston-actuator, especially at increasingly high speeds causing high maintenance costs for the user.

Mechanical and hydraulic devices that use potential energy during the passage of a rail vehicle wheel have a commonality, i.e. there is a pronounced force peak which can cause pressure overload or uncontrolled application of the lubricating medium in different climatic conditions or at different external temperatures.

For the purposes of this application, the term "lubricating device" is used to refer to both a device for applying a medium with a higher coefficient of friction and a device for applying a medium with a lower coefficient of friction. Likewise, the term "medium" or “lubricating medium” or “lubricant” refers to a substance used to increase the friction, and substance used to decrease the friction, and also to the substance which has no effect on friction coefficient but rather taking advantage of other process or material properties (such as cooling, heating, protecting, etc.). Lubricating function for purposes of this specifications refer to any function aimed at applying lubricant per description of this paragraph (i.e. at reducing or increasing of coefficient of friction, or taking advantage of other process of material properties such as cooling, heating, protecting or similar.

State of the art

In rail technology it is possible to find lubrication devices for applying media to supply rails against wear and noise and vibrations, said lubrication devices using electric drive for their operation (drawing power from the electric grid, or with the help of alternative sources, such as: wind, solar energy, fuel cells, etc. .).

In addition to the above it is possible to find mechanical lubrication devices that, by pressing the wheel on the piston-actuator, simply directly open the channel for the release of the lubricating medium, said medium stored under pressure in a reservoir or other holding device.

In addition the state of the art shows hydraulic devices operating wherein a wheel of rolling stock presses onto piston-actuator positioned on the rail during passing of wheel of rolling stock, said piston-actuator in turn pressing hydraulic piston thus generating the pressure of the medium, said medium in turn driving the hydraulic motor (closed loop), which in turn drives lubricating device..

A number of lubrication devices can be found in the prior art, such as SI24044, SI25237 or SIZEP2807068, the listing of which does not constitute a limitation of this description.

Description of the new solution

A drive unit for rail lubricating devices and a method for using the same solves the problem of the using impact of rolling stock wheel to drive lubricating device, and preventing or mitigating peak caused by impact and resulting pressure overload or uncontrolled application of the lubricating medium in different climatic conditions or at different external temperatures by using the impact of at least one wheel of rail vehicles via the pivoting lever (also described as a rocker arm) and the inertia of this motion to operate the lubrication device in such a way that it changes the kinetic-potential energy of the rolling wheel impact into torque without the help of added hydraulic fluid and without creating a negative pressure for the purpose of pushing the medium or dosing.

The drive unit is simple and robust and blends in with the surroundings or infrastructure, so it is also uninteresting for vandals.

The drive unit can easily replace an electric motor or hydraulic drive even on existing lubrication devices so it may also be used during maintenance or preventive maintenance.

The regulation of the required energy and the desired number of revolutions of the drive unit is easily adapted to the configuration of the lubrication device.

A mini electric current generator can be added to the drive unit, which enables certain signaling on the device and/or remote visual tracking of the device's operation.

The drive unit can convert the energy, preferably potential energy of the wheels into energy used for lubrication, for example by converting it into torque or rotational energy, regardless of the position or movement direction of the pivoting lever (that is, when pushing down or when returning up), all the way to the extreme positions of the lever.

The drive unit of the lubrication device according to this description is characterized by the fact that it comprises:

- Pivoting lever;

- Pivoting mechanism, comprising said pivoting lever that moves between the first position such as initial position and the second position such as final position in the first direction, said pivoting mechanism optionally comprising a one-way mechanism for preventing undesired movement against said first direction, preferably a one-way bearing, or a one-way gear; - Return mechanism for returning said pivoting lever from the second position to the first position in the direction opposite to the first direction, preferably a tension, compression or spiral spring, rubber;

- Flexible shaft, preferably including a torsion element, for transmitting the torque to the lubrication device; and limiter, preferably a adjustion screw, for limiting movement and/or said first, and second, positions.

The drive unit can further comprise an energy storage, preferably an electric generator.

Herein described is also the drive unit, wherein said pivoting lever may comprise a rotating wheel, a slider, a plate, a ball, preferably made of an elastic material.

Herein described is also the drive unit, wherein said pivoting mechanism comprises pivoting lever and a one-way mechanism that enables movement of the lever in a first direction and prevents movement of the lever in a direction opposite to the first direction.

Such one-way mechanism may include but is not limited to sprag clutch, ratchet, oneway gear or similar.

Herein described is also the drive unit, wherein said return mechanism comprises a spring or other elastic element such as rubber that is tensioned during movement of the pivot mechanism in the first direction, and then uses the energy thus stored to return the pivot mechanism to its initial position.

Herein described is also the drive unit, wherein said flexible shaft comprises a torsional element made of an elastic material, preferably natural or synthetic rubber or spring steel, for dampening force shocks as a result of the impact of at least one wheel of the rail vehicle on the pivoting lever. A process for using a lubrication device drive unit according to description above, comprising the following steps:

- Impact of the moving wheel of rolling stock onto the pivoting lever of the drive unit of the lubrication device as described above;

- Pivoting of the pivoting lever of the said drive unit from the first position to the second position, preferably from initial position to final position;

- Transmission of the thus obtained torque via the drive axle, which may include flexible shaft, said flexible shaft including a torsion element, to the lubrication device;

- Return of the said pivoting lever unit from the second position to the first position, preferably from the final position to the first position.

The process for the lubricating device drive unit may comprise the further step of adding any number of elements to drive the lubricating device and/or to generate electrical current for signaling, control or monitoring of the lubricating device or other off-track device.

The process for the lubricating device drive unit may further comprise the further step of adjusting the angle of pivoting for the purpose of limiting the movement of said pivoting lever.

According to the embodiment, the drive unit operates in such a way that at least one wheel of the rail vehicle encounters the pivoting lever of the pivoting mechanism pushing it (down on attached figure). With this, the drive unit converts the linear motion of the rolling stock into the rotary motion of the pivoting mechanism, thereby generating a torque that can be transmitted.

The pivoting mechanism is connected to a flexible shaft that has a torsional element to dampen sudden increases in force or stress peaks. A flexible shaft drives a lubrication device, which is not the subject of this description and is known in the prior art.

The pivoting lever further comprises a one-way mechanism, preferably a one-way bearing or a one-way gear. This works by allowing movement of the pivoting lever in one direction, but preventing movement of the pivoting lever in the other direction, i.e. preventing the pivoting lever from returning to its initial position without a predetermined procedure that allows the pivoting lever to return to its initial position.

The movement of the pivoting lever of the pivoting mechanism converts the linear motion into a rotary motion, thereby causing a torque which is transmitted from the pivoting mechanism through a flexible shaft comprising a torsion element to a lubrication device, which further performs the lubrication of the rail or said wheel of the rolling stock or other lubrication function.

Simultaneously with the movement of the pivoting lever of the pivoting mechanism, the elastic element of the return mechanism is also tensioned, preferably a coil spring or a rubber rope or the like. The energy thus stored is then used to return the pivoting lever from its final position to its initial position.

The pivoting mechanism therefore moves between the initial position in which it is located when at least one wheel of the rail vehicle collides with it and the final position, i.e. it moves rotationally, rotating in the first direction until it reaches the final position. The exact final position can be set with a limiter, for example with an adjustment screw. When it reaches the final position, the clutch or similar element connecting the pivoting mechanism to the flexible shaft is released, so that the flexible shaft remains in the position in which it is, and the pivoting mechanism returns to its original position, namely in the direction opposite to the first directions.

Due to the large force caused by the inertia of at least rolling stock wheel, the excess torque can be used, in addition to rotating the flexible shaft and tensioning the return mechanism, to drive the energy storage, preferably the electric generator. The energy obtained in this way can be used for off-track devices or for another purpose, or it can be stored in batteries. Bellow, the essence of the invention is shown with the help of figures, whereby the figures form part of this patent application and show the elements of the drive unit of the lubrication device, namely:

Figure 1 shows a rolling stock wheel (1), rail (2), impact element of pivoting lever (3), pivoting lever (4), spring (5), adjustment screw (6), one-way bearing (7), drive axle (8), housing (9) namely in the initial position.

Figure 2 shows the rail vehicle wheel (1), rail (2), impact element of pivoting lever (3), pivoting lever (4), spring (5), adjustment screw (6), one-way bearing (7), drive axle (8), housing (9) namely in an intermediate position.

Figure 3 shows the rail vehicle wheel (1), rail (2), impact element of pivoting lever (3), pivoting lever (4), spring (5), adjustment screw (6), one-way bearing (7), drive axle (8), housing (9) namely in the final position.

Figure 4 shows a lubrication device (13), a flexible shaft (10), which preferably has a torsion element (11). The flexible shaft (10) can be connected to the generator (12), which stores the torque peaks.

Arrows on Figures 1 to 3 show direction of rolling stock wheel travel and rolling stock wheel rotation direction for this embodiment. Obviously, this invention works regardless of rolling stock wheel direction of travel or rotation and is shown as an example only.

The drive unit of the lubricating device (13) in the embodiment works in such a way that the drive unit comprises an impact element of pivoting lever (3) that pushes the pivoting lever (4), whereby the one-way bearing (7) and the drive axle (8) rotate by the same angle.

When the pivoting lever (4) reaches its final position, the elastic element, preferably the spring (5) returns it to its original or starting position for the collision of the next rolling stock wheel (2) with the help of a released one-way bearing (7) (via a clutch, a lock or some other method known from the state of the art). The impact element of pivoting lever (3) is preferably a wheel made of highly resistant plastic or rubber. This material provides better rebound and dampens rolling stock wheel impacts in such a way that, due to its own rotation, it compensates for the shearing forces when the rolling stock wheel impacts, which is especially important at high speeds.

The torque depends on the speed of the rolling stock wheel (2) and the set height of the impact element of pivoting lever (3), which is adjusted with the adjustment screw (6).

The impact forces are compensated by a torsion element (preferably a spring) (11), which can form an integral part of the flexible shaft (10), which is used to transfer rotational energy from the pivoting lever (4) to the lubrication device (13).

On the other hand, the flexible shaft (10) can be connected to the generator (12), which stores the excess torque.

According to the embodiment, the torque is transmitted from the pivoting lever (4), drive axle (8), torsion element (11), flexible shaft (10) to the lubrication device (13).

It is necessary to clarify that the drive axis (8), the torsion element (11) and the flexible shaft (10) can form one machine element, for example a shaft, preferably made of flexible material.

According to the description, the torsional element (11) is a flexible element that enables damping or redistribution of torque or compensation of force peak. This can be a torsion spring, a screw spring, an elastic shaft made of an elastic material (for example, a rubber insert, a synthetic rubber insert or another element that allows the torque that reaches the lubrication device (13) to be more uniform. In this embodiment, torsion spring is used.