Equipment Mountable Bearing Adapters and Techniques for use to Retrofit Railcars

Abstract

Example embodiments relate to custom bearing adapters and techniques for retrofitting a railway vehicle with a bearing adapter to enable one or more accessories to be coupled to the axle of the railway vehicle. An example bearing adapter can include an upper structure configured to extend over an upper portion of a rail bearing coupled to an axle of the railway vehicle and one or more mounting elements located on the upper structure that are configured to enable the accessory to be coupled onto the railway vehicle. In some cases, the bearing adapter can further include a lower structure configured to extend below a lower portion and a set of fasteners configured to couple the structure and the lower structure in a fixed position around the rail bearing to form a mount for coupling the accessory to the drive axle of the railway vehicle. In some instances, the accessory is a motor, sensor, or braking component.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A bearing adapter for coupling an accessory onto a railway vehicle comprising:
 an upper structure configured to extend over an upper portion of a rail bearing coupled to an axle of the railway vehicle; and   one or more mounting elements located on the upper structure and configured to enable the accessory to be coupled onto the railway vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a lower structure configured to extend below a lower portion; and   a set of fasteners configured to couple the upper structure and the lower structure together in a fixed position around the rail bearing to form a fixed mount for coupling the accessory to the axle of the railway vehicle.   
     
     
         3 . The bearing adapter of  claim 2 , wherein the upper structure and the lower structure include a set of through-holes, wherein the set of fasteners are configured to couple the upper structure and the lower structure together via the set of through-holes. 
     
     
         4 . The bearing adapter of  claim 3 , wherein the set of fasteners include spacers configured to reduce heat and bearing wear. 
     
     
         5 . The bearing adapter of  claim 4 , wherein when the upper structure and the lower structure are coupled around the rail bearing, a gap is formed between the upper structure and the lower structure, wherein a diameter of the gap is based on a diameter of the rail bearing. 
     
     
         6 . The bearing adapter of  claim 2 , wherein the lower structure includes at least one flange having one or more mounting features, and wherein the one or more mounting features enable the accessory to be coupled in a fixed orientation to the lower structure. 
     
     
         7 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the upper structure includes at least one flange having the one or more mounting features, and
 wherein the one or more mounting features enable the accessory to be coupled in a fixed orientation to the upper structure.   
     
     
         8 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more mounting features comprises one or more slots. 
     
     
         9 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more mounting features comprises clamps, clearance holes, or threaded holes. 
     
     
         10 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the upper structure includes a pair of flanges aligned in parallel. 
     
     
         11 . The bearing adapter of  claim 10 , wherein the upper structure includes a side frame interface extending between the pair of flanges. 
     
     
         12 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the accessory is a sensor, battery module, or a drivetrain electric motor. 
     
     
         13 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the accessory comprises one or more braking components, gearboxes, air tanks, pneumatic system components. 
     
     
         14 . The bearing adapter of  claim 1 , wherein the upper structure comprises a curved portion, wherein a degree of curvature of the curved portion is based on a diameter of a stock rail bearing. 
     
     
         15 . A railcar comprising:
 a bogie having at least one axle, wherein the at least one axle includes a rail bearing and a set of wheels; and   a bearing adapter coupled around the rail bearing, wherein the bearing adapter comprises:
 a first structure portion configured to extend around a first portion of the rail bearing coupled to the at least one axle of the railcar; and 
 one or more mounting elements located on the first portion and configured to enable one or more accessories to be coupled to the bearing adapter. 
   
     
     
         16 . The railcar of  claim 15 , wherein the bearing adapter further comprises:
 a second structure portion configured to extend around a second portion of the rail bearing; and   a set of fasteners configured to couple the first structure portion and the second structure portion in a fixed position around the rail bearing to form a mount for coupling the one or more accessories to the at least one axle of the railcar.   
     
     
         17 . The railcar of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a set of extensions coupled to a first side and a second side of the bearing adapter, and wherein the set of extensions extend over a side structure of the bogie, and   wherein the one or more accessories is positioned to couple to the first side of the bearing adapter and one or more extensions of the set of extensions.   
     
     
         18 . The railcar of  claim 17 , wherein the one or more accessories comprises at least one of an electric motor, and wherein the electric motor provides rotational force to a journal of the axle. 
     
     
         19 . A method for coupling an accessory to a railway vehicle comprising:
 coupling a bearing adapter around a portion of a rail bearing, wherein the rail bearing is coupled to an axle of the railway vehicle, wherein the bearing adapter includes one or more mounting features; and   coupling the accessory to the one or more mounting features on the bearing adapter such that the accessory is located proximate an end of the axle of the railway vehicle.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein coupling the bearing adapter around the portion of the rail bearing comprises:
 coupling a first structure portion of the bearing adapter around a first portion of the rail bearing;   coupling a second structure portion of the bearing adapter around a second portion of the rail bearing; and   coupling the first structure portion and the second structure portion together via a set of fasteners to form the bearing adapter in a fixed position around the rail bearing, wherein one or more spacers are included in the set of fasteners.