WO2000048887A1

WO2000048887A1 - Method and apparatus for loading luggage into a passenger train car

Info

Publication number: WO2000048887A1
Application number: PCT/EP2000/001465
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bertil Hunyadi
Original assignee: Daimlerchrysler Ag
Priority date: 1999-02-19
Filing date: 2000-02-17
Publication date: 2000-08-24
Also published as: AU2913500A; GB9903891D0

Abstract

A method and apparatus for loading luggage into a passenger train car (1), for example in an In-Town Check-In facility. Items of luggage are loaded into containers (5) which are then inserted into the car (1) through an upward-facing opening using a crane-type apparatus (2). The car (1) may be provided with slidable (11) or foldable (12) roof panels.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOADING LUGGAGE INTO A PASSENGER TRAIN CAR

Background to the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading luggage into a passenger train car.

One field in which the invention is particularly applicable is "In-Town Check- In" ("ITCI") in which air passengers, travelling to an airport from a town centre rail station, check in for their flights and deposit their luggage at that station. The luggage is then loaded on to a train by baggage handlers and transferred to the aircraft hold at the airport .

ITCI facilities have been available for over 35 years but are only used by a minority of passengers. The methods of loading and unloading the luggage into and from the train currently used, such as manually loading each item into a luggage compartment of the train, are slow and the service timetables must therefore allow station dwell times of ten minutes or longer. Valuable platform space is taken up during this vehicle dwell time and the requirement for long dwell times means that larger train fleets are required, thus increasing the system cost.

Summary of the Invention

It is an aim of the invention to provide a method of loading luggage into a passenger train which is stationary for only a short period of time.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of loading luggage into a passenger train car, comprising the steps of loading the luggage into at least one container, and inserting the loaded container (s) into the car from above. Thus, the container (s) can be loaded before the train arrives and rapidly inserted into the car when the latter is stationary, preferably using mechanised conveying means. Prior to the insertion of the container (s) a roof of the car may be opened, for example by sliding and/or folding one or more roof panels. Preferably, on inserting the container (s) into the car, the container (s) are held in place by means located on internal surfaces of a floor, walls and/or the roof of the car.

A plurality of containers can preferably be inserted into the car at different locations therein, and subsequently individually removed from each of the locations. Thus, no container's removal is hindered by any other container, and the containers do not need to be rearranged for removal of different containers when the train stops at different stations .

The present invention also provides apparatus for loading luggage into a passenger train car, comprising a railcar having an upward-facing opening, a plurality of containers for the luggage, and means for inserting at least one of the containers into the car through the opening.

Preferably, the opening extends over the entire area of the car in which containers are to be loaded, so that any of a plurality of containers can be loaded or removed without moving any other container.

The car may simply be open at its top, but preferably it is provided with one or more openable roof panels. The or each roof panel is preferably slidable and/or foldable, and a remotely controlled roof opening system, for example comprising at least one electric, pneumatic or hydraulic motor may be provided on the car.

In one arrangement, the containers are preferably generally parallelepipedic and, when inserted into the car, preferably provide at least one gangway extending in the direction of travel of the car. For example, two containers may be adapted to occupy opposite sides of the car, thus providing a gangway therebetween, or a single container may be placed either centrally or on one side of the car.

In an alternative arrangement, the car comprises a part into which the luggage is to be loaded and another part providing accommodation for passengers.

Preferably, the car has one or more internal surfaces which hold the container (s) in place. These may comprise floor wells, internal partitions, and/or engaging means on the underside of at least one roof panel. The containers may have external engaging means for contacting said internal surfaces of the car. The containers may be open at the top and/or open at the side and provided with shelves on which items of luggage may be placed. The containers may be provided with wheels or castors if it is more convenient to load the luggage into the containers at a different location from the location at which the containers are inserted into the car.

The means for inserting the containers into the railcar may be in the form of a crane or overhead conveyor . For example, two containers may be suspendible from a single arm of a crane which is movable transversely from a luggage loading area to a position above the stationary car, and then downwardly to insert the containers into the opening. Preferably, the movement of the inserting means and the release of the container (s) therefrom are electronically controlled, and sensors can be provided to coordinate said movement with the correct positioning of the car and the open state of any roof panel .

If the train is powered by a fuel-burning engine or from a third rail then no overhead catenary wire is provided. However, if the train is powered by means of an overhead catenary, the latter is arranged to give sufficient space for the loading to take place. This may entail suspending the catenary from taller masts than is conventional along the entire track. The catenary could for example be positioned at about twice the height of the train. The train would then be provided with pantographs of appropriate size. Alternatively, the space allowing loading can be provided solely at the loading location, either by providing a gap in the catenary and portions of the catenary sloping upwardly towards the gap, or by providing a raised portion of the catenary above the loading location. The gap or raised portion is short enough to ensure that at least one pantograph of a train is in contact with the catenary at any time. The gap may be temporary, means being provided for removing a removable portion of the catenary.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which :-

Figure la is a schematic, partially sectional view of apparatus for loading a car according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure lb is a schematic, partially sectional view of another embodiment of loading apparatus;

Figure 2 shows a car having a slidable roof panel;

Figure 3 shows a car having foldable roof panels,-

Figure 4 shows a catenary arrangement including a permanent gap;

Figure 5 shows a catenary arrangement including a raised portion; and

Figure 6 shows a catenary arrangement including a temporary gap . Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Figure la shows a railcar 1, a sliding roof panel of which has been retracted. A mechanised crane-type apparatus 2 comprises a vertical support 3 and a horizontal arm 4 from which two parallelepipedic luggage containers 5 are suspended by means of releasable catches 7 engaging loops 8 on the tops of the containers .

The crane-type apparatus 2 is mounted on a luggage handling platform 6. The arm 4 is movable transversely to collect the containers 5 from the platform 6, either by rotation or translation of the support 3. When the empty railcar 1 is confirmed by sensors to be correctly positioned and its roof panel is confirmed open, the arm 4 is in the position shown. The arm 4 then slides down the support 3 until the containers rest on the floor 9 of the railcar, being held in place by longitudinal ridges 10.

The catches 7 are then released, the arm 4 is raised and the roof panel is slid over the containers to close the roof of the railcar. The roof panel is provided with recesses on its underside which engage the loops 8 and lock the containers

5 in place.

Unloading of the railcar 1 takes place by means of a process which is the reverse of that just described. Where unloading of different containers is required at different stations, this can be done by reaching whichever container (s) is/are required from above without rearranging the containers.

Figure lb shows an alternative embodiment in which the crane-type apparatus loads a single container 5' into a railcar 1' , gangways being provided on either side of the container.

Figure 2 shows a motor railcar having a slidable roof panel 11. Figure 3 shows an alternative openable roof comprising hinged panels 12 which are both slidable and foldable.

Figure 4 shows a catenary comprising a permanent gap 13 at the loading location providing space for the loading to occur. On either side of the gap the catenary includes portions 14 sloping upwardly towards the gap 13. Thus, a pantograph 15 of the train is gradually raised to its fully elevated position at the gap and is thereafter compressed to its regular height by the following sloping portion 14.

Figure 5 shows an alternative construction not including a gap. A raised section 16 of the catenary can be live or insulated.

In the embodiments of either Figure 4 or Figure 5, a train positioning system can be provided, allowing the train controls to switch off or reduce the power drawn via the pantograph 15 passing the non-continuous or raised part of the catenary. This is to avoid arcing when the pantograph leaves and once again engages the live catenary.

Figure 6 shows a further alternative catenary arrangement in which a removable section 17 above the loading location is raised during loading and lowered back on to the pantograph 15 thereafter. The removable section 17 could be either live during the entire operation or disconnected when raised.

It is envisaged that the invention will allow a railcar to be unloaded and reloaded in a station dwell time of only 120 s, which includes the opening and closing of the roof panel. Thus, the invention is suitable for ITCI systems using rapid and frequent train services, which have not been feasible hitherto.

The invention also enhances security, since it avoids the risk of smuggling explosive devices aboard a train which is present when manual item-by-item loading is used. The risk of luggage theft is also very low.

Finally, the invention improves platform layout, since the loading of luggage does not interfere with passengers boarding the train. Thus platform communication is improved, and platforms can be made narrower, saving valuable space.

Claims

1. A method of loading luggage into a passenger train car, comprising the steps of loading the luggage into at least one container, and inserting the loaded container (s) into the car from above.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of inserting the loaded container (s) is carried out using mechanised conveying means.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein prior to the insert of the loaded container (s) , a roof of the car is opened.

4. A method according to claim 3, comprising sliding one or more roof panels to open the roof.

5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, comprising folding one or more roof panels to open the roof.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, comprising inserting a plurality of containers into the car at different locations therein, and subsequently individually removing each container from each of the locations .

7. Apparatus for loading luggage into a passenger train car, comprising a railcar having an upward-facing opening, a plurality of containers for the luggage and means for inserting at least one of the containers into the car through the opening .

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the opening extends over the entire area of the car in which containers are to be loaded.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the car is provided with one or more openable roof panels.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, comprising at least one slidable roof panel.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, comprising at least one foldable roof panel .

12. Apparatus according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the car is provided with a remotely-controlled roof-opening system.

13. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the containers are generally parallelepipedic and are adapted to partly occupy the interior of the car whilst providing at least one gangway extending in the direction of travel of the train.

14. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 12 , wherein the car comprises a part into which the containers are to be loaded and another part providing passenger accommodation .

15. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the car has one or more internal surfaces adapted to hold the at least one container in place.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said internal surfaces comprise floor wells, internal partitions and/or engaging means on the underside of at last one roof panel .

17. Apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the containers have external engaging means for contacting said internal surfaces of the car.

18. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 17, wherein the means for inserting the containers into the car is in the form of a crane.

19. Apparatus according to claim 18, wherein two containers are suspendible from a single arm of the inserting means, which is movable transversely from a luggage loading area to a position above the car and then downwardly to insert the containers into the opening.

20. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 19, wherein movement of the inserting means and release of the container (s) therefrom are electronically controlled.

21. Apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 20, wherein the train is powered by means of an overhead catenary which is arranged to give sufficient space for the loading to take place.

22. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein a gap is provided in the catenary at a loading location and portions of the catenary adjacent the gap slope upwardly towards the gap.

23. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein a portion of the catenary at a loading location is raised above the remainder of the catenary.

24. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein said raised portion of the catenary is insulated.

25. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein a portion of the catenary at a loading location is removable and a means is provided for effecting removal of the removable portion.