Railway rolling stock – Car framing and structure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-19
2001-12-11
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3613)
Railway rolling stock
Car framing and structure
C105S397000, C105S401000, C296S181700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327981
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a carriage body for a vehicle, preferably a train coach, built up of frame elements and cover plates which together constitute a self-carrying construction imparting strength to the carriage, said cover plates comprising side wall plates, floor plates, and roof plates together with possible windows and forming the casing of the carriage body.
The invention has appeared in connection with development of carriage bodies for train coaches. However, the invention may also be applied for building up carriage bodies for other vehicles, like busses, airplanes and boats.
The invention is primarily intended for building up carriage bodies or a vehicle section to be used for the conveyance of persons, for example compartment sections in train coaches. The advantages achieved by the invention may, however, also be utilised in other vehicle sections intended for carrying loads.
In known carriage bodies for coaches, the construction primarily follows two pre-dominant principles of construction. According to a first principle, a supporting undercarriage is built up. On the undercarriage, there is constructed a frame of the frame elements. When the frame constructions have been made, the cover plates are placed on the frame elements. According to the other principle, the so-called train pipe principle, there is made a self-carrying monocoque construction of cover plates made from metal or composite materials. It is a common feature of the building up of carriage bodies according to these known principles, that the position of the window openings is determined once and for all at the building up of the carriage body.
After making the carriage body, the interior of the coach is arranged. In the known coaches, this arrangement will be dependent on the formed frame construction. Ventilation units, water tanks, and other heavy installations are suspended where reinforced frame elements are provided. Once the coach has been made, it will be very difficult to change it.
During late years, there have been many attempts to make the construction of the train coaches more flexible. For many years, it has thus been desired to make the carriage bodies so that they may be arranged with different seating, for example with the seats in rows or with the seats placed vis-à-vis. It has also been desired to have different seat distances without any of the places becoming worse than others by some seats being placed opposite a window bar and not opposite a window opening.
This is desired as new and increased requirements for comfort are made, and as a result of economic considerations it is desired to re-use existing carriage bodies instead of buying new coaches when there is a change in the need for one or the other type of coaches. It has also been a wish to be able to arrange the carriage body with individual distance between the seats depending on the different wishes expressed in different countries or according to different operating needs.
In order to meet these wishes to a certain degree, it has therefore been proposed to mount rails in the carriage body extending in the longitudinal direction of the coach and which are intended for fastening to the seats. This makes possible an arbitrar, position of the seats in the longitudinal direction of the coach depending on the requirements for seat distance of each operator. Thus, the placing of seats in different positions have been unfavourable as some passengers thereby are placed opposite wall sections between the window openings. A similar problem occurs if, in connection with changed needs, the seat distance is changed, for example from a regional train to an intercity train after some years of operation.
When renovating and changing train coaches ventilation units, light units, etc. are mounted in positions opposite to strong frame elements. It is desired to be able to change the position of such heavy installations in the longitudinal direction of the coach. There is also a need for changing engine installations if the train coach is provided with new and different engines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, it is the purpose with the present invention to indicate a construction of a carriage body, especially for a train coach, which makes it possible to fulfil these long-lasting wishes by making possible the production of a flexible carriage body. Especially it is desired to make a carriage body in which it is easy to change the seat arrangement and still keep a free outlook through the windows from all seats, and which at the same time makes it possible to change the positions of heavy installations.
This is achieved according to the present invention with a carriage body of the kind mentioned in the introduction and which is peculiar in that the cover plates comprise junctions provided along the longitudinal extension of the carriage body for mounting the frame elements at arbitrary positions along the carriage body by connecting means which in a detachable way interconnect the frame elements and the cover plates.
The cover plates will typically be made by extrusion, but may also be made by welding together of single plates in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body and are provided with junctions in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body. This makes possible an arbitrary mounting of the frame elements along the carriage body. As the joining takes place by means of detachable connecting means, it will be possible to change the position of the frame elements in the carriage body if a change of the arrangement of the carriage body is desired, or if new load conditions arise.
Both cover elements and frame elements may be made from aluminium, steel as well as sandwich materials, plastic materials (with or without reinforcing fibres) etc., which are suitable for manufacture in consideration of production techniques and strength conditions.
In an existing carriage body, it will thus be possible to remove frame elements from their positions and reposition the frame elements at new junctions on the cover plates. Beside the possibility of the flexible positioning of frame elements in consideration of seating and placing of heavy installations in train coaches, there will be a further advantage at the use of the detachable frame elements.
By varying the position and the number of frame elements in a carriage body, it will be possible to influence dynamic as well as static properties. Thus, it will be possible to use a greater or lesser number of frame elements for adjusting the natural frequency of the carriage body so that no coincidence occurs between the natural frequency of the carriage body and wheel boogies on which the carriage body is suspended. This is important considering the strength conditions and comfort conditions.
The use of the detachable frame elements also provides for a greater freedom in the construction of carriage bodies. Because of the cost of developing new carriage bodies, especially for coaches, it is wished that a single carriage design constitutes the base for a whole family of carriage bodies with different arrangements and purpose. Once a carriage design has been determined so that the construction of the body will fulfil strength conditions, this base concept may be used and supplemented with more frame elements and/or by changing the positions of the frame elements used in the construction of the carriage body. Of course it is a prerequisite that frame elements as well as cover plates are designed to absorb the necessary forces and moments.
The connecting means used between the frame elements and cover plates may be any suitable means making possible a detachable connection. Thus, there may be used screw connections, magnetic connections, adhesive connections that may be dissolved chemically, and hinge connections. Combinations may also be used. Thus, it may be envisaged that a frame element at its one end is provided with a hinge and at its other end it is provided with a screw connection and/or an adhesive connection. Thus, it does not have to be identical connecting means appeari
Bratsbjerg Claus
Jensen Jens Jørgen Graakjær
Nielsen Ole
Nørregaard Kjeld
DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems GmbH
Jules Frantz F.
Ladas & Parry
Morano S. Joseph
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