Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Passenger bus body
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-16
2001-05-29
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Passenger bus body
C296S187060, C296S191000, C296S193040, C296S203010, C296S029000, C105S397000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237989
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a vehicle construction comprising a body with a base, a roof, two longitudinal walls joining the base and the roof and at least four wheels connected to the base, which base, roof and longitudinal walls comprise sandwich panels which are jointed to one another at their longitudinal edges.
A vehicle construction of this type, constructed as a rail vehicle, is disclosed in FR-A 2 704 507. The body of this known vehicle is positioned on a fairly high base construction, which base construction consists of a sheet of sandwich material which has longitudinal reinforcements on its underside, in the region between the two bogies.
The known vehicle construction has the disadvantage that the floor thereof is at a high level, which depends on the height of the longitudinal reinforcements beneath the baseplate. A construction of this type is not suitable for vehicles which are intended for short distance transport, for example local transport. For transport of this type it is important to facilitate entry and alighting as far as possible, tow which end as low as possible a floor is preferably used.
A relatively low, flat loading deck is already used in vehicles of conventional construction, that is to say vehicles with a normal chassis of steel girders with a super-structure of lattice construction mounted thereon. However, said vehicles lack the advantage which the construction using sandwich panels provides, such as a low mass and modular construction, which makes possible variations in the design and size of the vehicles. Moreover, the fuel consumption is high as a consequence of the relatively heavy construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the invention is, therefore, to provide a vehicle construction of the abovementioned type which, on the one hand, has the advantages of a sandwich construction, such as lower mass, and which, on the other hand, nevertheless offers a low, float loading deck. Said aim is achieved in that the thickness of the sandwich panel forming the base is of the same order of magnitude as the thickness of the roof or sandwich panel forming a longitudinal wall and in that the sandwich panels of base, roof and longitudinal walls form a bending- and torsion-resistant tube. Such a tube is self-supporting and does not require a separate supporting frame.
With the self-supporting vehicle construction according to the invention the required rigidities are supplied by the panels which act together as a tube. That is to say, flexural stresses in the longitudinal direction are taken up by both the roof and the base. The advantage of this is that the base does not have to take up the entire bending moment, as a consequence of which the thickness of the baseplate can remain restricted to the same order of magnitude as the thickness of the sandwich panel concerned.
Furthermore, a sandwich floor construction makes it possible to achieve a flat floor over a substantial length of the vehicle, With conventional designs this flatness is restricted to a few meters. As a result it is possible, for example, to give a 10 meter bus the same transport capacity as a conventional 12 meter bus.
The floor of the vehicle, which deck is completely free from reinforcing ribs and the like projecting downward from the underside, can consequently be located at a low height above the road. The vehicle construction according to the invention is thus outstandingly suitable for local transport, such as a tram or bus, since with this construction the advantage of a relatively low weight (advantageous in connection with frequent braking and pulling away from stops) is combined with a low entry height.
In particular, the thickness of the sandwich panel forming the base can be between 1.5 and 2.5 times as great as the thickness of the sandwich section forming the roof.
Preferably, the thickness is approximately twice as great as the thickness of the sandwich section forming the roof.
As is known, a sandwich construction is particularly suitable for absorbing distributed stresses which are not generated as concentrated point or line stresses. A construction of this type can also certainly be stressed in its plane; on absorption of stresses perpendicular to its plane, separate measures must be taken which make it possible for gradual introduction of such stresses.
In this context the sandwich panels forming the longitudinal walls can, according to a further improvement, be integrally extended at their underside by an essentially horizontal base strip, the base strips being fixed to the longitudinal edges of the sandwich panel which forms the remainder of the base.
In contrast to the vehicle construction disclosed in FR-A 2 704 507, there is no stress concentration in the corner join between longitudinal walls and base. Especially in the case of a fully laden deck, the bending moments in the transverse direction at the location of such a corner join can give rise to high stresses, which must be absorbed by supplementary frame components.
Preferably, the transverse dimension of each strip and of the sandwich panel joined thereto are chosen such that under nominal stress the bending moments, viewed in the transverse direction, are minimal at the location of the join between strips and base panel.
The join between said parts is consequently subjected to hardly any flexural stress, with the advantage that lightweight edge sections which are integrated in the sandwich panels can suffice at this join.
As has been stated, the base of the vehicle construction according to the invention can be located at a low height above the road. The entry and alighting height can be kept as low as possible if recesses to accommodate wheels are provided in the sandwich panels forming the base and the longitudinal walls, one wheel housing being fixed to the edge of each of said recesses. Moreover, the vehicle can be equipped with conventional wheelchair access installations.
Said wheel housings are preferably likewise made of a sandwich material. The tube construction of the body remains closed as a result, such that the wheel recesses produce virtually no weakening.
The support points for the wheel suspension are integrated in the sandwich panel forming the base.
The suspension points for wheels and power source consist of mounting plates with a rubber bearing, which mounting plates are each surrounded by and are fixed to reinforcing sections which are incorporated in the sandwich panel of the base. The supporting forces provided by the wheels can thus be transmitted uniformly into the baseplate, such that the sandwich construction is able to transmit these stresses in an optimum manner.
The sandwich panels forming the base, the roof and/or a longitudinal wall can carry fixing sections on their longitudinal edges facing one another, by means of which fixing sections said sandwich panels are fixed two by two.
The longitudinal walls may consist of mutually connected wall modules. The length of the longitudinal walls may be adapted easily thereby, dependent from the vehicle length. Moreover, damaged parts may be replaced in a convenient way.
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Ammerlaan Henricus Nicolaas Maria
Hartgers Hendrik Jacob
Smink Nicolaas Gijsbert
Coletta Lori L.
Fokker Special Products b.v.
Pape Joseph D.
Young & Thompson
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