Device for automatically resetting the emergengy brake in trains

Abstract

Device for automatically resetting the emergency brake in trains, of the type comprising a general conduit ( 100 ) and' a main conduit ( 200 ) designed to contain compressed air and extend from the front of the train, including the locomotive, to the last carriage, characterised by the fact that the said device comprises at least a first power supply unit (A), at least a second resetting unit (B) and at least a third activating unit (C). The first power supply unit (A), supplied by the main conduit ( 200 ), operates the pressure switch valve and is envisaged to create or remove an airway between the general conduit ( 100 ) and the second resetting unit (B) in order to cut off all the second units (B) and third activating units (C) once the emergency brake has been activated. In particular the first unit (A) is present in each carriage and in the pilot carriage. The second resetting unit (B) is envisaged to reset, automatically and without manual intervention, the brakes to allow resumption of the train's movement and is present in each carriage and in the pilot carriage while the third activating unit (C) is essentially constituted of an emergency brake activating handle and is present in each emergency brake activation point in each carriage and the pilot carriage.

1 ) A device for automatically resetting the emergency brake in trains, of the type comprising a general conduit ( 100 ) and a main conduit ( 200 ) designed to contain compressed air and extend from the front of the train, including the locomotive, to the last carriage, characterised by the fact that the said device comprises at least a first power supply unit (A), at least a second resetting unit (B) and at least a third activating unit (C) in which:
 the said first power supply unit (A), supplied by the main conduit ( 200 ), operates the pressure switch valve and is envisaged to create or remove an airway between the general conduit ( 100 ) and the second resetting unit (B) in order to cut off all the second units B and third activating units (C) once the emergency brake has been activated, the said first unit (A) being present in each carriage and in the pilot carriage;   the said second resetting unit (B) is envisaged to reset, automatically and without manual intervention, the brakes to allow resumption of the train's movement and is present in each carriage and in the pilot carriage;   the said third activating unit (C) is essentially constituted of an emergency brake activating handle and is present in each emergency brake activation point in each carriage and the pilot carriage.   
     
     
         2 ) A device according to  claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the said first power supply unit (A) is composed of:
 a first conduit ( 20 ) wherein a first end thereof has a valve (R) connected thereto which connects it with the train's general conduit ( 100 ) and the other end thereof is connected to a chamber ( 21 ) which links up the first conduit ( 20 ) and a second conduit ( 22 ), which is connected with the second unit (B) at the other end,   a piston ( 21   a ), located inside the chamber ( 21 ), envisaged to move and allow or prevent an airway from the first conduit ( 20 ) to the second conduit ( 22 ) depending on the pressure present in a small chamber ( 26 ), located below the said piston ( 21   a ) which is equipped with a calibrated spring ( 23 ) housed in a seat ( 24 ) in the chamber ( 21 ) and envisaged to keep the piston facing the upper wall of the chamber so that the air can flow from the first conduit ( 20 ) to the second conduit ( 22 ),   a discharge hole ( 25 ) envisaged in the seat ( 24 ) with a bleeding function to prevent air accumulating due to eventual draughts between the chamber ( 21 ) and the seat ( 24 ), which would lead to alterations in the spring's duty ( 23 ),   a third conduit  27  connected, at one end, to the small chamber  26 , which constitutes a part of the chamber  21  and, at the other end, to the main conduit  200  via valve R 1 ,   the said airway from the first conduit ( 20 ) to the second conduit ( 22 ) is created when the pressure inside the small chamber ( 26 ) is above 6 bar or is prevented when the pressure is under 6 bar, since the piston ( 21   a ) is in a condition in which it can lower towards the lower part of the chamber ( 21 ) and then close the entrances of the first and conduit ( 20 ) and the second conduit ( 22 ).   
     
     
         3 ) A device according to  claim 1 , wherein the said second resetting unit (B) comprises:
 a handle ( 11 ) composed of a handgrip ( 11   a ) envisaged for resetting the emergency brake and a shank ( 11   b );   a rotary plate ( 18 ) with a substantially triangular configuration, envisaged to rotate clockwise upon the command of the handle and anticlockwise upon the action of a couple of levers ( 30  and  31 ),   a main piston ( 10 ) which comprises a central shank ( 10   a ) with, at a first end, a T-shaped element ( 10   b ) envisaged to run inside a chamber ( 7 ) from a resting position, in which the wings of the T are in contact with an internal wall ( 7   b ) of the chamber ( 7 ) and compress a spring ( 71 ) into a working position in which the wings of the T are in contact with an opposite wall ( 7   c ) of the chamber also upon action of the spring ( 71 ) which facilitates its movement and, at the other end of the shank, a substantially cylindrical element ( 10   c ) which is envisaged to move inside a chamber ( 17 ),   a first tank ( 2 ) envisaged for the accumulation of the air to be used for resetting the device, after its activation, and connected to the main conduit ( 100 ) by means of a plurality of channels ( 3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d  and  3   e ),   a first channel ( 2   a ), a second channel ( 2   b ) and a third channel ( 2   c ) which start at the tank ( 2 ) and arrive respectively at a chamber ( 5 ), a main piston ( 10 ) and at a small chamber ( 6   a ), in which there is a small piston ( 6 ),   the chamber ( 7 ) into which the air coming from the tank ( 2 ) expands and causes the movement of the main piston ( 10 ),   a channel ( 2   e ) which connects together a small chamber ( 14   a ) and the chamber ( 7 ) for the flow of air to the said chamber and a channel ( 20  which starts from the chamber ( 7 ) and is designed to release the air from the said chamber into the external atmosphere,   a plurality of channels ( 8   c ,  8   d    2   d  and  3   f ),   monitoring means ( 60 ) envisaged to signal, at the moment the train is composed, if one or more handles ( 11 ) have been pulled,   a stabilising element ( 70 ) engaged with the shank ( 11   b ) and rotatably engaged with the structure of the device;   resetting means ( 16 ) connected to the stabilising element ( 70 ),   
       the said second resetting unit (B) being characterised by the fact that the said unit features:
 a disk ( 50 ), which acts as a piston and is located in the shank ( 11   b ) just above the handgrip ( 11   a ) of the resetting handle ( 11 ), in which a calibrated slit is machined ( 50   a ) designed to link up the upper part and the lower part of a chamber ( 51 ) wherein the lower part of the chamber ( 51 ) is fed, via a calibrated hole ( 52   a ), by a conduit ( 52 ) connected to the channel ( 3   f ), 
 a conduit ( 53 ) housed in the lower part of the chamber ( 51 ) and envisaged to supply the third units C, i.e. the emergency brake activating handles present in the different activating points. 
 
     
     
         4 ) A device according to  claim 3 , characterised by the fact that the said calibrated hole ( 52   a ) features slightly larger dimensions than those of the calibrated slit ( 50   a ) so that the pressure is slightly greater in the lower part of the chamber ( 51 ) when there are drops in pressure in the general conduit since, in the event of greater pressure conditions in the upper part of the chamber ( 51 ) than in the lower part, there could be an inopportune lowering of the disk ( 50 ), with the consequent triggering and intervention of the second unit (B) and the said calibrated slit ( 50   a ) features an opportunely lower flow rate than that of the conduit ( 53 ). 
     
     
         5 ) A device according to  claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the said third activating unit (C) comprises:
 a conduit ( 90 ) which branches out from the conduit ( 53 ) and, at the other end, enters a first chamber ( 91 ) divided by a second chamber ( 92 ),   a second arrow-shaped element ( 93 ) which is equipped, in the lower part, opposite the arrow, with a handgrip ( 98 ) of the emergency brake activating handle and is endowed with a hole ( 94 ) which links up with a discharge hole ( 95 ) located on a side wall of the second chamber ( 92 ),   a third chamber ( 96 ) which corresponds with a sector of the chamber ( 92 ), inside which the arrow-shaped element ( 93 ) runs, which is equipped with a opportunely calibrated spring ( 97 ) whose function is to maintain the arrow-shaped element in position so that the passageway between the first and second chamber is closed, the said third chamber ( 96 ) being endowed with a hole ( 96   a ) envisaged to release the air which could accumulate in the chamber ( 96 ) due to draughts between the second chamber ( 92 ) and the third chamber ( 96 ).   
     
     
         6 ) A device according to  claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the said device features:
 a plurality of self-regulating valves ( 500 ) located, respectively, in the front driver's cabin and the rear driver's cabin of the locomotive and one in the pilot carriage, each of which is envisaged to regulate the pressure at 5.8 bar in the main conduit when the driver wishes to cut off the second units (B) and the third units (C) and the regulation is handled by the driver,   a flow regulator ( 600 ) which creates and removes an airway between a main tank ( 201 ) and a self-regulating valve ( 500 ) in the locomotive in both the front driving cabin and the rear one, while the pilot carriage creates and removes the airway between the main conduit ( 200 ) and the self-regulating valve ( 500 ),   a brake tank ( 102 ) which, on the locomotive, is supplied via a one-way valve ( 110 ) by the main tank ( 201 ) and then supplies, in its turn, the general conduit ( 100 ) via a brake isolating valve ( 120 ) and a brake control valve ( 101 ) in both the front and rear driver's cabins,   a second brake tank ( 104 ) in the pilot carriage, which is supplied by the main conduit ( 200 ) via a second one-way valve ( 111 ) and then supplies, in its turn, the general conduit ( 100 ) via a second brake isolating valve ( 121 ) and the brake control valve ( 101 ),   two valves (R and R 1 ) which are located upstream of the first unit (A) and are mutually coaxial and the normal position of which is open while, in the closed position, the function they perform, should the need arise, is to cut off the entire system, including units A, B and C.   
     
     
         7 ) A device according to  claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the said device comprises an auxiliary control system composed of: an electric cable which runs along the entire length of the train and serves to electrically control the self-regulating valves ( 800 ); an electric power supply ( 801 ) with a thermal magnetic overload switch ( 802 ) for circuit protection; cables ( 810  and  820 ) which extend to the front and rear ends of the locomotive and then continue, via electric couplers, to the rear end of the train; two second self-regulating valves ( 800 ) and two solenoid valves ( 850 ) for control of the self-regulating valve ( 800 ); a discharge hole ( 860 ) which releases air from the main tank to obtain a value of 5.8 bar; a control system in the pilot carriage which features the cables ( 810  and  820 ) coming from the locomotive, two of which are delivery cables and two of which are return cables, which will power an electric control ( 870 ) which is envisaged to operate in positions A and B in order to have two intervention possibilities; two units ( 871 ) whose continuity depends on the pilot carriage control console being enabled, electric control is therefore active when the units are active and solely due to the presence of through cables ( 810  and  820 ), without the presence of other elements in the carriages. 
     
     
         8 ) A device according to  claim 1 , characterised by the fact that the said device comprises: an auxiliary control system which, in the case of a train with two locomotives, one at the front and one at the rear, envisages that the front locomotive and the rear locomotive have electric power supplies ( 801 ), derived from batteries, with a thermal magnetic overload switch ( 802 ) to protect the circuit which controls two contacts ( 880 ) which will give continuity when the pantograph unit in the rear locomotive is raised and a second contact ( 881 ); a brake control valve ( 101 ) which controls the brake along the entire length of the train; an isolating valve ( 120 ) for cutting off the brake control valve ( 101 ) and which is coaxial with a flow regulator ( 600 ) whose coaxiality permits the air to flow solely with the isolating valve ( 120 ) open; solenoid valves ( 850 ) for controlling the second self-regulating valves ( 800 ) which maintain a value of 5.8 bar in the main tank ( 201 ) and in the main conduit ( 200 ); a discharge hole ( 860 ) in the self-regulating valve ( 800 ); an electric control ( 870 ) which has two intervention positions, A and B; a one-way valve ( 110 ) whose task is to make the air flow in one direction only, i.e. from the main air tank ( 201 ) to the brake tank ( 102 ); a solenoid valve ( 885 ) located between the self-regulating valve ( 500 ) equipped with an air discharge hole ( 501 ) and the flow regulator ( 600 ); a manometer ( 886 ) for controlling the pressure in the general conduit; a control handle (M) for controlling the flow regulator ( 600 ) and the isolating valve ( 120 ) and a handle (M 2 ) for controlling the self-regulating valve ( 500 ) and cables ( 810  and  820 ) and cables ( 830  and  840 ) for interfacing between the locomotives, which run through the train's carriages.