Articulated bogie for a railway vehicle

1. A bogie for a railway vehicle, comprising:

two pairs of wheels, the wheels of one pair being connected to one another by a shaft to form a respective axle, the axles being connected to one another by a chassis comprising two half-chasses,

each half-chassis having two side members connected to one another by a cross-member, the side members of a respective half chassis resting on a respective one of the axles, the cross-members of the half-chasses being articulated relative to one another by an articulation device so as to permit rotation of one half-chassis relative to the other about a substantially longitudinal axis,

each side member of a respective half-chassis being connected to an other side member of the other half-chassis by a connector mounted in an articulated manner by articulated joints about substantially transverse axes on the side members,

the connector and articulated joints extending at least partially in a horizontal plane offset in terms of height relative to the horizontal plane passing through the articulation device.

2. The bogie as recited in claim 1 further comprising a motor fixed to the cross-member of one of the half-chasses, the motor extending between the wheels of the axle on which the one half-chassis rests and driving the axle in rotation.

3. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein the side members of one of the half-chasses rest on one of the axles by way of at least one primary suspension permitting relative vertical displacement of the axle relative to the half-chassis resting on the axle.

4. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein the side members of each half-chassis rest on axle boxes of a respective axle, the axle boxes being arranged between the wheels of the respective axle.

5. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein the side members of each half-chassis rest on axle boxes of a respective axle, the axle boxes being arranged outside the wheels of the respective axle.

6. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein a difference in height between the horizontal plane in which the connectors extend at least partially and the horizontal plane passing through the articulation device is at least equal to ⅙ of the wheel base of the bogie.

7. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein a spacing in the transverse direction between the two connectors is approximately equal to ⅓ of the wheel base of the bogie.

8. A railway vehicle comprising at least one bogie as recited in claim 1 .

9. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein the articulation device is a ball and socket joint.

10. The bogie as recited in claim 1 wherein the articulation device is a spherical or cylindrical articulated rubber joint type.

11. A bogie for a railway vehicle, comprising:

two pairs of wheels, the wheels of one pair being connected to one another by a shaft to form a respective axle, the axles being connected to one another by a chassis comprising two half-chasses,

each half-chassis having two side members connected to one another by a cross-member, the side members of a respective half chassis resting on a respective one of the axles, the cross-members of the half-chasses being articulated relative to one another by an articulation device so as to permit rotation of one half-chassis relative to the other about a substantially longitudinal axis,

each side member of a respective half-chassis being connected to an other side member of the other half-chassis by a connector mounted in an articulated manner about substantially transverse axes on the side members,

the connector extending at least partially in a horizontal plane offset in terms of height relative to the horizontal plane passing through the articulation device,

wherein the connectors have a stirrup shape and accommodate secondary suspensions, the secondary suspensions permitting relative vertical displacement of the bogie relative to the railway vehicle on which the bogie is mounted.

12. A bogie for a railway vehicle, comprising:

two pairs of wheels, the wheels of one pair being connected to one another by a shaft to form a respective axle, the axles being connected to one another by a chassis comprising two half-chasses,

each half-chassis having two side members connected to one another by a cross-member, the side members of a respective half chassis resting on a respective one of the axles, the cross-members of the half-chasses being articulated relative to one another by an articulation device so as to permit rotation of one half-chassis relative to the other about a substantially longitudinal axis,

each side member of a respective half-chassis being connected to an other side member of the other half-chassis by a connector mounted in an articulated manner about substantially transverse axes on the side members,

the connector extending at least partially in a horizontal plane offset in terms of height relative to the horizontal plane passing through the articulation device,

wherein the connectors have a bar shape and the half-chassis includes plates arranged to project in the transverse direction relative to the connectors, the plates supporting secondary suspensions, the secondary suspensions permitting relative vertical displacement of the bogie relative to the railway vehicle on which said bogie is mounted.