The invention relates to a partially spring-mounted drive, particularly for electrically-powered rail vehicles, of the type having a gear which, including an encapsulating gear housing, is seated on the wheel axle, and a pinion that is seated in the gear housing, with the coupled motor being fixedly secured to the truck and the resilient, elastic fastening of the gear housing to the truck being effected by at least two elastic spring elements that are mounted nearly vertically and diametrically opposite the pinion shaft, and whose lines of influence extend through the center of the pinion shaft. A drive of this type is known from the document DE-A-91 16 159.
There are numerous embodiments of partially spring-mounted drives having a transverse traction motor. In a drive according to DE-AS 12 14 263, the gear, including an encapsulating gear housing, is seated on the wheel axle, and the motor pinion or pinion is seated in the gear housing. In this instance, the motor is fixedly secured to the truck, and the gear housing is movably secured. On the one hand, a pendulum-motion suspension is effected via a connecting rod and, on the other hand, a resilient, elastic support against the truck is effected by way of two elastic spring elements that are mounted nearly vertically and diametrically (central-symmetrically) opposite the pinion shaft, and whose lines of influence extend through the center of the pinion shaft. A coupling is also typically disposed between the motor and the motor pinion or pinion.
The document mentioned at the outset, DE-A-91 16 159, discloses an axle drive, particularly for a rail vehicle wheel-set axle disposed in a truck, in which the axle of the drive motor extends parallel to the wheel-set axle, and the motor, which drives the wheel-set axle by way of a spur gear that is fixedly connected to the wheel-set axle, also drives a universal coupling and is fixedly connected to the truck. The wheel-set axle is resiliently connected to the truck in such a way that the spring path is larger by a multiple in the one, direction that is, the vertical direction, than in the other, direction that is, the horizontal direction. The spur gear is supported opposite the truck by means of a torque-converter bearing provided with universal joints. The axis of the torque-converter bearing intersects the axis of the drive shaft of the spur gear approximately perpendicularly, or passes close by it and extends in the direction of the largest spring path of the wheel-set axle. Thus, a fixing resilience of the universal joints at the ends of the torque-converter bearing is provided that permits, above all, a resilience in the vertical direction, while the transverse resilience permits only a very limited horizontal flexibility for the purpose of fixing the torque-converter bearing.
These constructions have system-stipulated disadvantages. With the increase in driving speeds and motor rpms over time in the quest for more lightweight construction, the motor bearings can be reduced in desirable fashion, but the gear bearings must retain their size due to the predetermined axle loads, or even be enlarged because of larger axle diameters. Because of high rpms in the event of a drive power outage, these bearings are in great danger because a stabilizing radial load is no longer present on account of the small gear mass that is to be provided for the high-speed range.
It is the object of the invention to remedy this situation and provide a simple fastening of the gear housing to the truck with which a stabilizing effect can be attained for protecting the bearings, in addition to an economical minimization of the deformation losses of the coupling.