Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61D—BODY DETAILS OR KINDS OF RAILWAY VEHICLES
  • B61D17/00—Construction details of vehicle bodies
  • B61D17/04—Construction details of vehicle bodies with bodies of metal; with composite, e.g. metal and wood body structures
  • B61D17/043—Construction details of vehicle bodies with bodies of metal; with composite, e.g. metal and wood body structures connections between superstructure sub-units
  • B61D17/045—The sub-units being construction modules

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a modular concept for a carbody of a rail vehicle wherein all modules are structural.
• Conventional rail vehicles often have a carbody construction comprising a load- bearing framework of longitudinal, vertical and transversal beams welded together. An outside panel of flat or corrugated sheet material is welded or riveted to the beams. Insulating material is placed between beams and covered with an inner panel.
• the weight of the vehicle is high since a great part of the material constitutes non- structural panels and isolation.
• the walls are thick since heavy beams are needed to support the structure.
• the patent US 5,797,646 describes a modular rail or road vehicle with roof and chassis that has sidewalls comprising frames.
• the frames are the only structural parts of the sidewalls.
• a frame could be covered by panel or could include windows or doors.
• a disadvantage with this construction is that very high forces have to be taken up by the structural parts in case of a frontal collision. If large parts of the sides are non-structural the entire load must be taken up by the roof and chassis elements.
• the document EP 0605366 A1 shows a construction of an annular series of hollow structural panels.
• the longitudinal edges of each structural panel are rigidly connected to the corresponding longitudinal edges of the adjacent panels by means of continuous welding.
• One object with the present invention is to obtain a carbody with thin walls for large inner space.
• the walls should be uninterrupted by struts, beams and framework.
• the larger inner space makes it possible to seat more people or to increase passenger comfort.
• Another object is to avoid welding so as to eliminate the structural weaknesses and the irregular surfaces introduced by welding.
• Another object is to make production time and labour effective. This is obtained by having a high degree of sub-assembly.
• Another object is to reduce the weight of the vehicle by minimising the material that does not contribute to the strength of the vehicle.
• a lower weight gives several positive effects such as reduced cost for fuel, lower impact on wheels and axles and less wear of rails.
• the present invention relates to a modular carbody for rail vehicles and a method to manufacture the carbody.
• the roof and floor are separate, one-piece structural elements: roof and floor modules, which together with vertical structural elements form a carbody structure.
• the vertical elements can include a door and then constitutes a door module or a window and then constitute a wall-module. Additional elements close the structure in the ends forming gables, driver's cabs or other end structures. These elements do not contribute greatly to the longitudinal strength of the vehicle, but contribute mainly to the cross-sectional strength of the carbody.
• the end structures are also important for the integrity of the carbody.
• the wall modules contribute mainly to the longitudinal strength of the vehicle.
• the door modules and end structures contribute mainly to the cross-sectional strength as well as possible internal reinforcements in the form of partition walls.
• the floor and roof modules are of course both longitudinally and transversally strong.
• Stiffening members could be integrated in the roof and floor modules where extra strength is needed as for example in connection to door modules and bogies.
• the stiffening members could be beams of steel of the same thickness as the core material.
• the flexural resistance of the wall modules, the roof module and the floor module together with the door modules co-operate with roof and floor to form a strong cage, which effectively protects passengers in case of derailment.
• the wall modules should be uniformly thin across the length of the module, preferably 20-80 mm thick.
• the thinnest of today's conventionally constructed carbodies have a wall thickness of 72 mm.
• a wall of structural elements can be made with a thickness of 20 mm, but a wall thickness of more than 30 mm is preferred to facilitate the fitting of windows in the walls.
• a further advantage with the modular concept of the invention is that wall modules and door modules are individually replaceable. If there is local damage to one module it can be removed and replaced by a similar module. It would also be possible to re-design the vehicle after some years of service to have more doors or a different layout.
• Windows can be glued into the wall modules to contribute to the shearing strength or they can be fitted in, in such a way that only very small forces are transferred to the glass.
• Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a modular carbody according to the invention.
• Figure 2 shows a door-module.
• Figure 3 show a carbody with an internal reinforcement for cross-sectional loads.
• Figure 4 shows a wall module constructed in sandwich material with terminations and internal stiffening members
• FIG. 1 show a modular carbody for rail vehicles according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
• the carbody comprise a roof module 3 and a floor module 1.
• the roof module and floor modules are separate, one-piece structural elements that together with modules form a carbody structure.
• the side modules can include a door and then constitutes a door module 8 or a window 17 and then constitute a wall-module 6,7.
• Either the wall modules or the door modules can comprise an upper flange 18 protruding in the joint area behind the adjoining module for distributing loads.
• the modules can be arranged with internal stiffening members 19 as shown in figure 1.
• the stiffening members could be placed in the roof module and floor module to take up loads between door modules or above bogies.
• the stiffening members could also be located below windows to support and facilitate the mounting of seats. Additional elements close the structure in the ends forming gables, articulations, driver's cabs or other end structures 2.
• FIG. 2 shows a door module that comprises a doorframe 21 and door blades 22.
• the doorframe is designed to mainly bear cross sectional loads.
• the door modules are completely pre-assembled and tested with door-blade, door- operating machinery 23, and seal between door blades and doorframe.
• the module can be provided with paint or trimmings.
• the wall modules are pre-fabricated with most required details before the assembly of the carbody.
• the wall modules can be fully equipped with windows, electrical fittings, heating devices, air ducts and decorative panels or paint when required.
• Support structures for seats, shelves and compartment walls are also possible to pre-assemble.
• the floor module is completely pre-assembled and provided with a floating floor arrangement; an inner floor that rest on damping means, which inner floor is fitted with carpeting.
• the floor module in another embodiment of the invention, also include the underframe and underframe equipment such as cabling, traction equipment, converters, transformers, pneumatic system etc (not shown).
• the roof module is also completely pre-assembled with electrical fittings, ventilation means as for example air-conditioning apparatus, air ducts and air distribution means, internal and/or external panels, trims or coats of paint and light fixtures. Fixtures for stanchions and handrails could also be pre-assembled. Even pantographs could be included in the roof module.
• the segment of a carbody shown in figure 3 has an internal reinforcement 31.
• the reinforcement is arranged to mainly contribute to the cross-sectional strength of a vehicle.
• the reinforcements can be used for very long vehicles with long intervals between doors and gables.
• the reinforcement can coincide with a partition wall, when a partition wall is wanted in the vehicle.
• a sandwich material is used (see figure 4) with an outer metal skin 41 , an insulating core 42 and an inner skin 43.
• the sandwich material which has very good structural, acoustic and isolating properties, is preferably used for parts of wall modules, roof modules and floor modules, but could also be used in reinforcements or end structures. Terminations 44 could also be included in this kind of sandwich material to protect the core and to facilitate joining of modules.
• the layers of the sandwich are preferably joined by viscoelastic glue that have vibration damping properties as well as good bonding properties.
• the glue can also be made electrically conductive for earthing purposes.
• a sandwich material is used with metal skins and a metal honeycomb core.
• an extruded aluminium profile is used. Joints between the different parts of the vehicle are made with cold methods, preferably with rivets or bolts or most preferably with so called Huck-bolts TM, that are a kind of grooved fastening means that are deformed to form a joint.
• the edges of the modules are prepared to bear against the edge of the adjoining module and to receive the joining means.
• the joint could also include a sealing means arranged to take up some vibrations in the carbody thus increasing the structural damping.
• a sealing means could comprise a strand of viscoelastic material placed in the joint at some distance from the joining means.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
• Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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ID=20282737

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (26)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 2001
  • 2001-01-26 SE SE0100230A patent/SE521440C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2002
  • 2002-01-23 CN CNB028041518A patent/CN1307071C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2002-01-23 AT AT02716507T patent/ATE382006T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-01-23 EP EP02716507A patent/EP1353832B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2002-01-23 WO PCT/SE2002/000109 patent/WO2002058981A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2002-01-23 DE DE60224258T patent/DE60224258T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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