A RAILROAD CAR FOR USE BOTH AS A FRONT CAR AND AN AFTERCOUPLED THROUGH-PASSAGE CAR

Abstract: A railroad car, which is to be used both as a front car in a fast driving train and as an aftercoupled car with a shielded passageway established to the preceding car, has a gable door (2) surrounded by a separate front plate (10), which is shiftable between a retracted front driving position, substantially flush with the closed door (2) and an advanced coupling position, in which the front plate with associated passageway shielding means (12) is swung or pushed forwardly in front of the door opening such that it is resiliently engageable with a correspondingly advanced front or gable plate (10) of another car in a sealed and transversely slidable manner.

Description: A railroad car for use both as a front car and an aftercoupled through-passage car. The present invention relates to a railroad car or a similar car which is adapted for use both as a front driving car in a train of cars and as an aftercoupled car in a train of the type, in which there is a passage between the consecutive cars. In practice this means that the car should be adaptable to show, in one situation, an aerodynami ca I ly suitably shaped front end, while in the other situation it should be provided with means enabling it to be coupled to a preceding car and forming a shielded passageway to such a preceding car. It has already been proposed that the car ends or the ends of such short train units, which should be both self-dri vable and drivable when coupled together, be provided with a glass door, behind which there is arranged a driver's control panel, which may be pushed or swung aside in connection with the door being opened, while the door opening is encircled by a forwardly protruding resiliently compressible gable frame portion which, when the car is coupled together with a corresponding car end, is compressed to form a shielded passageway between the two cars, when the class doors thereof are opened. In its free condition the gable frame portion as here forming a projecting front gable element of a fast moving car or train shows a suitable aerodynamic shape along its outer periphery. Such an arrangement takes into account the use of the car both as a front ' car and as an aftei— coupled car, but the problem exists that the cable ele¬ ment as projecting forwardly from the door opening may give rise to standing air whirls in the forwardly open space just in front of the class door when the car operates as a front car, whereby accumulated whirled-up material such as dead leaves or slush may jeopardize the train driver's free view through the glass door. The present invention has for its purpose to provide an arrangement, whereby the said unlucky view disturbance is avoidable in a simple manner, and according to the invention this is achieved by pro¬ viding for the resiliently compressible gable element to be arrestable in a position, in which its front side is located substantially flush with the front side of the glass door or not more than slightly in front there¬ of, while in its non-arrested position the gable element is pronounced forwardly projecting from the door opening in a resiliently rearwardly depressable manner. When the car is to be used as a front car with the glass door closed the gable element may hereby be arrested in its retracted position, in which it may still show a suitable aerodynamic shape, while it will not be projecting in front of the glass door sufficiently to condition any considerable standing air whirls in front of the door. The arrested gable element may be released when the car end is to be coupled to a preceding car, whereby the gable element around the glass door will project forwardly or rearwardly, respectively, such that it is well suited to form, together with the corres- ponding element of the adjacent car, a tight shield about the passageway between the intercoupled cars, even when taking into account the mutual movements which may occur between the two cars. When the car should thereafter again be used as a front driving car the projecting gable element just has to be forced back into its arrested position this being possible, by way of example, by means of a built in retraction arrangement. As it is endeavoured to avoid protruding parts around the door opening when the car operates as a front car, the car gable surrounding the door opening should be either flat or outwardly and rearwardly in¬ clined. In as far as this gable is at least partly constituted by the above gable element, which, in a projecting position, should be able to seal against a simi lar element of an adjacent car also when the joined car ends are moved mutually in the cross direction by driving through curves, then a flat shape of the gable portion is to be preferred, such that a sealing pressure can be maintained also during curve driving, namely by the coupled-up or pressed together gable portions being mutually crosswise displaced. This implies that the front of the leading car wi ll be almost totally flat, though for aerodynamic reasons a soft rounding between the front surface and the rearwardly extending car sides should still exist along the periphery of the front sur¬ face. The front gable element around the door opening may thus be a flat metal plate, which should have the required holes for the lights behind the plate as necessary in connection with front driving, whi le the gable plate in the coupled-up situation may assume an advanced position slidingly abutting a corresponding plate member of the preceding car. This arrangement constitutes a break with the tradition that the free ends of the projecting shield elements around the passageways should be rigidly inter¬ connected, whi le on the other hand it has to be accepted, then, that by driving through curves the joined shield ends may be crosswise staggered both horizontally and vertically. Practical tests have shown that the sheer hereby incurred is fully acceptable in normal operation, and it is thus achievable that the cars may be coupled together without projecting shield elements having to be interconnected otherwise than by a simple resi lient pressing against each other. As explained in more detai l below the planar gable element around the door opening may be adapted to assume an advanced position which is either plan parallel with a rigid front gable of the car, i .e. the gable element is parallelly displaceable between an advanced and a retracted position, or it is pivotal about a side edge in such a manner that the gable element is pivotal between its cross front position and a swung out position, in which it may slidingly engage a corresponding, swung out gable element of an adjacent car in a resiliently swingable manner. In practice it is preferred, however, that the flat gable element is displaceable between a retracted posi¬ tion, in which it forms a transverse front surface sub- stantially flush with the said front door, and an ad¬ vanced transverse position, from which it is resiliently repressable so as to form any relevant angle with the rigid front gable during curve driving, the mutually abutting gable elements of the joined cars hereby being able to slide on each other and to assume a position corresponding to the bisector of the angle between, the two rigid front gables. In the following the invention is described in detai l with reference to the drawing in which: fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a rai lroad car according to the invention and shown as a leading car, fig. 2 is a corresponding view of the car in a condition ready to be coupled to a preceding or a following car, figs.3 and 4 are respective corresponding sectioned views of the front end of the car, seen in a vertical plane, figs. 5 and 6 are respective corresponding views seen in the horizontal plane, fig. 7 is a partly sectional interior view of a coupling-up area between two cars, figs. 8 and 9 are top views, partly in section, of the joined ends of two cars, figs. 10 and 11 are top views of joinable car ends according to a modified embodiment of the inven¬ tion, fig. 12 is a perspective exploded view of a car end according to figs. 10 and 11, and figs. 13-15 are various more detai led i llustrations of the design of the embodiment of figs. 10-12. In fig. 1 the front end of the front car of a fast moving train is shown. Frontwise this car has a centrally disposed, inwardly openable door 2 having a window 4, behind which, as shown in fig. 3, a driver's desk 6 is located. The door 2 is mounted in a frame 8, which is constituted by transverse front plate 10, which is pro¬ vided with a rearwardly projecting flange 12 along the edge of the associated door opening. This flange is centred by projecting rearwardly just outside a flange 14 projecting forwardly in a rigid manner from the rigid front of the car, the flange 14 at its rear end being connected with a rigid gable wall 16, which projects downwardly from a roof portion 18 of the car as well as inwardly from the outer side walls of the car. The front plate 10 is slightly smaller than the cross section of the car and has its outer edge connected with the rigid roof, bottom and side portions of the car through an outwardly and rearwardly arched connector element 20, which provides for an aerodynami ca I ly suitable connection between the flat car gable and the remainder of the car. The roundgoing connector element 20 is made of an elastomeric material, which in the position shown in figs. 1 and 3, seeks to push the front plate 10 forwardly, but the plate 10, as described in more detail below, is here arrested against being forwardly displaced from the rigid gable wall 16, which, in this postion of the front plate 10, forms an abutment for the rear edge of the rearwardly projecting flange 12. By this abutment it is ensured that the flat car gable 10,2 cannot be forced further rearwardly by the air pressure during fast driving, whereby the suitable aerodynamic outer shape of the arched, outer connector element 20 could be spoi led. The door 2, which shall correspondingly be able to resist a high air pressure, is held in the frame 8 by means of a roundgoing inflatable hose 21. As the door 2 is located substantially flush with the foremost gable element 10 there will be no possibility of stan- ding air whirls to occur in front of the window 4, whereby a free view out of the window will be ensured. When the car is to be coupled-up with a preceding car or even with a following car the special aerodynamic shape of the connector element 20 no longer need to be considered. It is then possible, therefore, to release the means which hold this element arrested against dis¬ placement of the plate element 10 forwardly from the rigid gable 16, -just as the door 2 may now be opened for providing a through-passage between the cars. For this purpose the driver's desk 6 may be removed, e.g. by a simple lateral displacement thereof or by a still simpler rearward swinging away of the desk together with the door 2 if or when the desk is mounted directly in connec¬ tion with the inside of the door 2. Thereafter the resilient connector element 20 will cause the gable plate 10 to be pushed forwardly, confer figs. 2 and 4, such that the spacing of the gable plate 10 from the rigid gable plate 16 wi ll be considerably increased. The gable plate 10, however, wi ll sti ll be centered relative the car^front, because the rearwardly projec- t.ing flange portion 12 wi ll sti ll be in guiding engagement with the rigid forwardly projecting flange 14. The car is adapted to be coupled together with a preceding or a following car by means of a lower auto- matic coupling 22, which is rigidly connected with the rigid gable wall 16. The respective other car is corres¬ pondingly designed, and it is prepared for the coupling- up in the same manner, viz. by opening the door 2 and releasing the gable element 10,20 for permitting the same to be outwardly displaced. Hereby the gable ele¬ ment 10,20 of both cars are resi liently advanceable to a position, in which the planar front plates 10 are located outside the outer end of the associated auto¬ matic coupling 22, such that the front plates 10, when the cars are coupled together on a straight rai l length, will engage each other plane-to-plane and thereafter be pushed somewhat inwardly (rearwardly), before the respec¬ tive automatic coupling parts 22 are brought to lockingly engage each other. It is ensured hereby that the gable elements may remain engaging each other also by driving through curves, where the associated change of the mutual direction of the cars, confer fig. 8, will account for an extra compression of the gable elements at one side and a corresponding potential increase of the spacing between the gable elements ' of the opposite side. Hereby the gable elements should be resi liently projecting to such a degree that for the formation of a closed shield around the t h roughpassage they wi ll engage each other with a resilient pressure even in the area located, by curve driving, at the outside of the curve. It is hereby ensured that the throughpassage will remain totally shielded from the outside also when the joined cars move through both horizontal and vertical curves. When driving through so-called S-curves, see fig. 9, the joined car ends wi ll be further mutually moved in the transverse direction, but hereby the front plates 10 will just slide on each other without the sealing of the passage being compromized. By this sliding the passageway itself will be narrowed, as shown by a distance arrow A in fig. 9, but in practice the design may be such that the sa d narrowing will be fully acceptable. It is essential, of course, that the mutual cross movement of the car ends, both horizontally and verti- cally, may take place without any risk of jamming of body portions or wedging of clothing portions, but such risks will not occur just because of the front plates 10 being held pressed together in a flat slidable manner. When the cars are inequally loaded or when they drive through a vertical curve, e.g. when driving on board a train ferry, the floor in the passageway may appear with a more or less pronounced step, but passengers are al¬ ways watchful in " such passageways, so even this will be acceptable. In fig. 7 the coupling area is illustrated as far straight driving with the car ends fully flush. In this figure it is shown that a vertical, rotatable spindle 24 drivable by a gear motor 26 is mounted in connection with the rigid car gable 16. At some places the spindle 24 carries a wound up wire 28 connected with an anchoring plate 30, which is secured to the rearwardly projecting flange 12 of the front gable plate 10. A corresponding system is provided at the other side of the car, and by actuation of the gear motors 26 the spindles 24 may be rotated to wind up the wires 28 and thereby to retract the front plate element 10, 12 to the position which is relevant when the car, upon being released from the other car, is to be used as a front driving car. Correspondingly the gear motors may be actuated so as to enable the front plate element 10, 12 to be displaced forwardly, by the resiliency of the connector element 20, to the coupling position shown in fig. 7 or rather to a still more protruding foremost position, from which the front plate element wi ll be somewhat repressed when the two cars are coupled-up on a straight track, such that the element may sti ll, from this position, be urged somewhat forwardly by the resiliency of the portion 20, namely as required by curve driving as explained in connection with fig. 8. In the position of the joined cars as shown in fig. 7, therefore, the wires 28 will be slack between the spindle 24 and the anchoring plates 30, and they wi ll be further slackened when the associated side of the front plate element is extra repressed as shown at the top of fig. 8. It is perfectly possible to use other means for the retraction of the front plate element from its advanced, resiliently repressable position, e.g. by providing for a vacuum in the space between the. front plate element and the rigid gable 16. Correspon- dingly, the repressing resi liency of the front gable element from the advanced position thereof may be provided or supported by means of compressed air introduced into the said space. In several of the figures it is indicated that a joining element 32 may be provided at or along the joint between the front plate 10 and the resi lient connector portion 20; this joining element may be shaped as a hose, and it wi ll serve to make supple the mechanical connection between the parts 10 and 20 and, moreover, to form a slidable sealing between the front plate 10 and the adjoining front plate of another coupled-up car. Fig. 10 shows a modified embodiment, by which the front plate element, here designated 40, is not parallelly displaceable, but is pivotal about one of its vertical side edges, along which the element is connected with a rigid gable plate 44 of the car through hinges 42, whereby it may be swung out for¬ wardly by means of one or more springs mounted between the gable plate 44 and the opposed, freely swingable side of the front plate 40. This plate 40 has a central hole defining the through-passage, and along the edge of this hole adjacent the swung out side of the plate 40 is fastened an "accordion bellow" 46, which extends rearwardly to the edge of the front opening of the rigid front gable of the car. At the opposite side of the passage is mounted a suitable, resiliently compressible sealing means, e.g. a couple of rubber tubes 48. The swung out side edge of the plate 40 is connected with the rigid gable by means of a bellow wall element 50. In the floor level the front plate 40 may have a horizontal plate segment which may be swung out and in immediately underneath a corresponding rigid floor portion of the car end. When the car operates as a front driving car the front plate 40 should be swung back and locked in a postion in plane with the rigid car front and the closed door thereof, confer the left side of fig. 10, while two cars with released, swung out front plates 40 according to figs. 10 and 11 may be coupled-up such that the swung out front plates 40 can engage each other plane-to-plane fully corresponding to the engage¬ ment between the front plates 10 according to figs. 1-9, though here the plane of the engagement will be pro¬ nounced oblique relative the length direction of the cars. Fig. 12 illustrates the main parts of the gable construction according to figs. 10 and 11. The said plate segment in the floor level is designated 52, and it is shown that this floor plate is adapted to be received in a cavity 54 underneath the floor of the car, just as a corresponding plate segment 56 is provided rearwardly projecting from the top edge of the front plate 40 for the formation of a roof over one through-passage. The front plate 40 may consist of a single plate member or be made of an upper and a lower stiff plate or frame portion, between which there are mounted vertical side plate elements, which may even consist of a hard, but resilient material. Underneath the floor plate segment 52, between the lower frame portion of the front plate 40 and the rigid car gable, is mounted a spring unit 58, which seeks to swing out the front plate from the rigid car gable, as well as a working cylinder 60, which is operable to effect a retraction pivoting of the ^ front plate 40 into the front driving position thereof against the action of the spring unit 58 and to liberate, respecti ely, the front plate for a forward pivotal movement thereof by the action of the spring unit 58, whereby the working cylinder 60 is made inoperative such that the front plate 40 may freely pivot as required when, during driving, it engages a corresponding plate 40 of a preceding car. When the front plates 40 are swingable about rigid hinges 42 the problem may arise that the joined front plates cannot engage each other in a flat or plan manner when the respective cars are mutually slightly rotated about their length axes. This problem can be overcome by mounting the hinges such that they are to some degree reciprocable in the longitudinal direction, but alternatively a single hinge of a cardanic type, such an arrange- ment is shown in figs. 13-15, in which the cardanic hinge is designated 62, see the right hand side of figs. 13 and 14. With the use of such a cardanic hinge it is required to guide the forwardly swingable edge of the front plate in the horizontal direction, and this is achieved, by way of example, with the use of a corresponding cardanic hinge 64 near the horizontal middle of the front plate, this hinge 64 being mounted on a vertical rod 66 (fig. 13), which has upper and lower rearwardly projecting arm portions 68 displaceably engaged in longitudinal guiding passages 70 in the rigid car gable, whereby the associated side of the front plate is longitudinally reciprocal between its retracted front driving position and its advanced coupling position, in which it may engage, face-to-face, the corresponding swung out gable plate of a preceding or a following car for all relevant mutual movements of the cars. In fig. 13 it is shown that the door element 2 may be hinged to the rigid car gable in such a way that the door element, when swung from its closed into its open position will be moved to an open postion located adjacent and along the inside of the respective side wall of the car. The retraction of the respective front plates 10 and 40 in the two embodiments disclosed should not necessarily be effected by means of built-in retraction means 24 and 60, respectively, as the retraction could be effected by a pressure from outside with the aid of any suitable equipment, e.g. a rigid abutment,which is arranged at the station where the cars are to be separated, and against which the car is driven by its own force. Thus it will be appreciated that although - it is preferable to make use of built-in retraction means the more essential feature is that the cars are provided with means for releasably arresting the retracted front plates. For a front driving car it os of course essential that the car front be provided with suitable lights, just as also the rear end of a train should carry lights. A car according to the invention may carry such lights on the openable front or rear door itself, but it is desirable that lights are placed alternatively or additionally outside the door. With a traditional design of the car front, where a thin-walled tubular connection is established between the door openings of the joined cars, there will be plenty of space for the lights to be placed on or in the surrounding rigid car gable. With the design according to the invention the corresponding surrounding area is considerably narrowed because the front plate is relatively broard, but as shown in figs. 1 and 12 it is possible to let out the light through the flat front plate, when the latter is provided with suitable Light holes without associated protrusions. The lights or lamps may be mounted direct on the rear side of the front plate or - preferable - on the rigid gable just behind the light openings in the front plate in the front driving position thereof.

Claims: C L A I M S : 1. A railroad car or a similar car, which is adapted for use both as a front driving car and as an aftei— coupled car in a train of the type, in which a through- passage is established between the consecutive cars, said car having an openable front door, the door opening of which is at least partially encircled by sealing means for engagement with similar seaLing means of another car, a floor plate being arranged adjacent the lower edge of the door opening operable to be brought into a position forwardly protruding therefrom, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the seaLing means comprise a foremost transverse plate element, which is connected with the rigid front gable of the car in such a manner that the plate element is shiftable, by shifting means, between a retracted front driving position substantially flush with the closed front door and an advanced coupling position, in or from which the plate element is rearwardly movable against the action of resilient means for pushing the plate forwardly, the plate element cooperating with guiding portions of the rigid gable so as to be stabilized against substantial transverse displacement relative the rigid gable, and the plate element having a plane front side operable to engage the corresponding front plate of an adjoining coupled-up car in a sealing and cross slidable manner. 2. A car according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the said floor plate is mounted rigidly on the said plate element projecting rearwardly therefrom. 3. A car according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the plate element is provided with a . rearwardly projecting flange along the edge of the door opening, this flange being telescopi ca L ly connected with a wall portion of the door opening in the rigid gable such taht the plate element as a whole may be pushed forwardly, still in telescopic connection with the door opening of the rigid gable, to a coupling position, in which the plate element is crosswise swingable relative the rigid gable sufficiently for maintaining the said seaLing engagement with ad adjoining car during driving through curves. 4. A car according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the means for pushing the plate element for¬ wardly are constituted at Least partly by an elastomeric frame member which surrounds the plate element and projects outwardly and rearwardly therefrom for connection with the outer edge of the rigid car gable. 5 A car according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the shifting means comprise arresting means for releasably holding the plate element in the retracted front driving position thereof. 6. A car according to clai 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the shifting means additonally comprise built-in means for retraction of the plate element from its coupling position to its front driving position. 7 A car according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the plate element is provided with holes, behind which car lights are mounted. 8. A car according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the plate element at one side thereof is hinge connected with the rigid gable of the car in such a manner that the plate element is forwardly swingable into an oblique position, in which it is engageable with a correspondingly swung-out plate element of another car. 9. A car according to claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the plate element adjacent the lower edge of the door opening therein is provided with a rearwardly projecting floor plate, and that along the edge of the door opening there is provided compressible seaLing connections between the door openings in the plate element and the rigid car gable, respectively, as well as between the outswingable outer edges of the plate elements and the associated outer edges of the rigid car gables. 10. A car according to claim 8, c h a r a c t e r ! z e d in that the pivotal plate element is hinge connected with the rigid car gable by means of a hinge of the cardanic type.

Inventors: BAK KRISTEN GISSELBAEK, BRAUER PETER DIRK, ROSENQUIST CHRISTIAN, BAK, KRISTEN, GISSELBAEK, BRAUER, PETER, DIRK, ROSENQUIST, CHRISTIAN
Applicants: SCANDIA RANDERS AS, SCANDIA-RANDERS A/S
Application year: 1985
Main classification: B61D17
IPC codes: B61D17