Rail vehicle with cable connection

Abstract

The invention relates to a rail vehicle with at least one first car body 1 and a second car body 2, which are movably connected to each other by means of at least one joint 5, 11, 12, wherein the rail vehicle has a car transition 3 between the at least two car bodies 1, 2, which is substantially closed to the outside by means of a flexible covering 7, 14, 15, wherein the car transition 3 has at least one cable connection 9, wherein the at least one cable connection 9 is connected to the at least two car bodies 1, 2.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a rail vehicle with at least one cable connection.

[0002] According to relevant regulations, rail vehicles, in particular trams, must be fitted with protective devices to prevent passengers from falling out due to the tearing and / or breaking off of a gangway between two car bodies.

[0003] To ensure this, joint end stops are generally provided on the side of the joint end cross member of the car bodies wherever possible.

[0004] The use of such articulated end stops can be problematic, as it is not always possible in or under favorable force conditions. The closer the articulated end stops are positioned to the axis of rotation, the greater the forces to be absorbed. If the installation space of the articulated end cross member of the rail vehicle in question does not allow for a favorable arrangement of the articulated end stops, the compressive forces to be absorbed become very high. A corresponding design solution for this is complex, heavy, and expensive.

[0005] US2169694A discloses a rail vehicle having a first car body and a second car body, wherein the closed car gangway has a cable connection connected to the two car bodies.

[0006] The invention is based on the object of specifying a rail vehicle in which the tearing and / or tearing off of a car transition between two car bodies is prevented in a simple manner. ​

[0007] The problem is solved by the features of independent patent claim 1. Further developments and embodiments of the invention can be found in the features of the dependent patent claims.

[0008] The rail vehicle according to the invention has the advantage that the securing of a car gangway between two car bodies against possible tearing and / or breaking is no longer achieved or ensured on the basis of compressive force, but rather on the basis of tensile force. According to the invention, at least one connecting cable prevents the car gangway from tearing open and / or apart, since any tensile forces that occur can be transmitted or introduced directly from car body to car body via the cable connection. Thus, the possibility of passengers falling out can be reliably prevented using simple means.In addition, the solution according to the invention enables a flexible, lightweight, and space-saving connection to the portals of the corresponding car bodies in areas where force-conducting structures already exist and therefore do not require the additional, complex creation of new ones. Particularly preferably, the solution according to the invention enables its application on car bodies that are better able to withstand tensile loads than compressive loads.

[0009] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one cable connection absorbs a tensile force moment of at least 400 kNm without breaking. During normal operation, the flexible cable connection is in a relaxed state and is only deflected from this relaxed state by tensile forces between the car bodies that arise from the usual travel movements of the rail vehicle. Only in the irregular case of a special situation during operation, in particular in the event of a derailment or an accident, e.g. involving a second vehicle, can tensile forces arise between the corresponding car bodies, as a result of which, according to the invention, the cable connection is tensioned to its maximum deflection in accordance with the occurrence of the tensile forces within a very short time and can absorb tensile force moments of at least 400 kNm and possiblyalso over it without tearing, thus holding the corresponding carriage transition together and thus preventing any possible tearing and / or breaking off.

[0010] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the casing consists of an outer and an inner shell. Particularly preferably, the at least one cable connection runs outside the casing of the car gangway. For passengers who are inside the car bodies of the rail vehicle and possibly also in the car gangway between the car bodies, which is surrounded by the flexible casing, e.g. a bellows, and is essentially closed to the outside, the at least one cable connection is not visible and is separated and shielded from the passengers by the casing or, in a design with a double casing, i.e. in which the casing consists of an outer and an inner shell, at least by the inner shell. As a result, in particular in the event of a dangerous situation in which the cable connection is used, no passengers are endangered by the cable connection itself.As already mentioned above, this is also the case if the flexible covering has not just a single covering, in particular a bellows, but according to the further embodiment, a double covering consisting of an outer and an inner covering, in particular a double bellows consisting of an outer and an inner bellows. In this case, the at least one cable connection can also run between the outer and inner covering of the covering, in particular between the outer and inner bellows of the carriage gangway, and serve the same purpose, wherein in this embodiment the at least one cable connection is better protected from environmental influences by the outer covering, in particular the outer bellows, and therefore has a significantly longer service life.

[0011] In this document, the term bellows refers to all types of bellows commonly used, in particular corrugated bellows and folding bellows, all of which are suitable for this purpose without restriction and can be used accordingly according to the invention.

[0012] According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one cable connection is at least two-part, wherein one end of the first part of the cable connection is connected to the first car body and the other end of the first part of the cable connection is connected to a shoulder of the car transition and one end of the second part of the cable connection is connected to the shoulder of the car transition and the other end of the second part of the cable connection is connected to the second car body.

[0013] Preferably, the shoulder of the inter-car gangway is the center frame of the inter-car gangway. Particularly preferably, the inter-car gangway has a first and a second cable connection, both of which are connected to the at least two car bodies. With respect to the direction of travel of the rail vehicle, the first cable connection is located on the left side and the second cable connection is located on the right side, respectively, outside or respectively between the outer and inner shells of the inter-car gangway enclosure.

[0014] By using a two-part or, depending on the needs and requirements, multi-part cable connection with one or more connections at the inter-carriage junction between the car bodies, the resulting tensile forces can be transferred or introduced indirectly to or into the car bodies in a particularly advantageous manner. A particular advantage arises when using a double joint, where a correspondingly stable central frame is usually already present in the middle of the inter-carriage junction between two car bodies, to which a single or double sheath, in particular a single or double bellows, is attached, extending from both car bodies.With this already existing central frame, the two parts of the cable connection can be seamlessly connected, particularly on both sides of the inter-car gangway, thus enclosing the respective casings, in particular bellows, on both sides, thus protecting the corresponding casings or bellows of the double-articulated gangway from opening and / or tearing apart of the entire gangway. This eliminates the need for an extremely complex, additional structure on the coupling rod, which would otherwise have to be implemented separately if the articulated end stops cannot be provided at the height of the articulated end cross member in order to position the articulated end stops at the respective height level, which in turn would have to absorb very high moments due to the height offset. The cable connection on both sides is of course also possible and advantageous for a inter-car gangway with a single joint.

[0015] According to a further particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second cable connections are tensioned independently of one another depending on the acting tensile force. This is particularly advantageous because, when the car bodies are at an angular offset from one another with respect to the car longitudinal axes, different tensile forces occur on the left and right sides between the car bodies and thus act on the two cable connections, which are consequently tensioned independently of one another depending on the action and magnitude of the acting tensile force. Particularly when cornering, the car bodies are pulled apart more on the outside of the curve than on the inside. The corresponding cable connection is accordingly tensioned strongly or slightly on the outside of the curve.very tightly tensioned, while the car bodies on the opposite side, the inside of the curve, are not or hardly pulled apart. The corresponding cable connection on the inside of the curve is hardly tensioned or even remains relaxed. In this way, a one-sided tearing of the car transition can be reliably prevented, especially when cornering.

[0016] A further advantage is that when cornering, if the cable connections are of an appropriate length and fully tensioned, contact between the car bodies on the inside of the curve can be reliably prevented by the fully tensioned cable connection on the outside of the curve.

[0017] Preferred embodiments of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. They show: Fig. 1 a cable connection according to the invention using the example of a single joint, Fig. 2 another cable connection according to the invention using the example of a double joint and Fig. 3 a cable connection according to the invention using the example of a double joint in the tensioned state viewed from above.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows a cable connection 9 according to the invention using the example of a single joint 5. Figure 1shows a sectional side view of a rail vehicle, with the direction of movement of the rail vehicle lying in the plane of the drawing and symbolized by the arrow from left to right. Between the stylized car bodies 1, 2, the car gangway 3 is shown, the interior of which (not visible in the view shown here) is enclosed by a flexible casing, in particular the bellows 7. The bellows 7 is arranged directly above or on the platform of the car gangway 3, which also has the joint 5, here a single joint, by means of which the two car bodies 1, 2 are movably, in particular rotatably, connected to one another. Car body 1 and car body 2 are in Figure 1are seamlessly connected to the bellows 7 on the left and right, whereby the bellows 7 is connected to the car bodies 1, 2 without any gap. The interior of the car gangway 3 is open towards the car bodies 1, 2 and is continuously accessible and passable for passengers. Furthermore, Fig. 1 the flexible cable connection 9 according to the invention is shown, which is located here on the outside of the bellows 7 and is connected there to the two car bodies 1, 2.

[0019] In the further embodiment with a double bellows 7, consisting of an inner and an outer bellows, as shown in Figure 1 The bellows 7, the outer bellows and the inner bellows are covered accordingly and therefore not visible. In the further embodiment with a double bellows 7, the cable connection 9 could also be located between the outer and the inner bellows and would then be as shown in Figure 1also not visible, since in this case the cable connection 9 would be covered by the outer bellows 7 and thus protected from environmental influences by the outer bellows 7.

[0020] The Fig. 1The embodiment of the cable connection 9 shown is one-piece and shows it in the relaxed state, i.e. the cable connection 9 sags relaxed below the attachment points on the car bodies 1, 2. When tensile forces occur on the car bodies 1, 2 against each other along the longitudinal axes of the car bodies 1, 2 or along the direction of movement of the rail vehicle, i.e. car body 2 then moves in the direction of the arrow to the right in the plane of the drawing and at the same time car body 1 moves in the opposite direction to the left, the bellows 7 is first pulled apart in accordance with the tensile force load and in parallel with this the cable connection 9 is also tensioned, depending on the size of the acting tensile force up to the maximum extension, in which the cable connection 9 then runs completely parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car bodies 1, 2.During normal operation, the flexible cable connection 9 is in a relaxed state, as shown, and is only deflected from this relaxed state by tensile forces between the car bodies 1, 2, which arise from the usual travel movements of the rail vehicle. However, if an irregular situation arises during operation, in particular a derailment or an accident, e.g. involving a second vehicle, tensile forces can occur between the car bodies 1, 2, as a result of which, according to the invention, the cable connection 9 is tensioned within a very short time to its maximum deflection or extension and can absorb tensile force moments of at least 400 kNm and, if necessary, depending on requirements, in particular depending on the design and / or material of the cable connection 9, even more, without tearing. In this way, the cable connection 9 holds the car transition 3, in particular the bellows 7, together and thus prevents any possible tearing and / or rupture of the bellows 7 orof the entire carriage gangway 3, so that no passengers can fall out of the rail vehicle. Particularly advantageously, the carriage gangway 3 also has an additional, second cable connection on the opposite side of the carriage gangway 3, analogous to the cable connection 9, which, due to the perspective shown in the . Fig. 1is concealed and significantly increases safety against the opening and / or tearing off of the car crossing 3 and thus the passengers. The first 9 and the second, here concealed, cable connection are tensioned independently of one another depending on the acting tensile force. This is particularly advantageous in situations, especially when cornering, in which there is an angular offset between the car bodies 1, 2 with respect to the longitudinal axes of the cars (not shown here) and thus different tensile forces occur on the left and right sides between the car bodies 1, 2 with respect to the longitudinal axes of the rail vehicle and thus act on the two cable connections, which are consequently tensioned independently of one another depending on the effect and magnitude of the acting tensile force. Particularly when cornering, the car bodies 1, 2 are pulled apart more on one side, the outside of the curve, than on the other side, the inside of the curve.For example, the cable connection 9, which is located on the outside of the curve, is accordingly tightly or very tightly tensioned, while the car bodies 1, 2 on the opposite side, the inside of the curve, are not or hardly pulled apart - the corresponding cable connection, not visible here, is hardly tensioned or even remains relaxed. In this way, a one-sided tearing of the car transition 3 can be reliably prevented, especially when cornering. Furthermore, with an appropriate or suitable length of the corresponding cable connections in the fully tensioned state, contact between the car bodies 1, 2 on the respective inside of the curve is reliably prevented by the fully tensioned cable connection on the respective outside of the curve.

[0021] Depending on the design of the bellows 7, as already described above, the respective cable connections can of course be arranged either outside the bellows 7 or between the outer and inner bellows, this being the case in the design with a double bellows. If necessary or desired, it is also possible to arrange one cable connection, for example the one on the left in the direction of travel, outside the double bellows, and the other cable connection, for example the one on the right in the direction of travel, between the outer and inner bellows.

[0022] For passengers inside the car bodies 1, 2 of the rail vehicle, and in particular in the inter-car gangway 3 between the car bodies 1, 2, surrounded by the bellows 7, the cable connection 9, or the second cable connection concealed here, is not visible and is separated and shielded from the passengers by the bellows 7 or by the inner bellows, which may also be invisible. This means that, especially in the event of a dangerous situation in which the cable connection(s) 9 are used as described above, no passengers are endangered by the cable connection(s) 9 themselves.

[0023] In this way, the securing of the inter-car gangway 3 between the car bodies 1 and 2 against possible tearing and / or breaking is no longer achieved on the basis of compressive force, but rather on the basis of tensile force. According to the invention, the connecting cable 9 and / or the second concealed connecting cable thus prevents the inter-car gangway 3 from tearing open and / or apart, since any tensile forces that may arise can be transmitted or introduced directly from car body to car body via the cable connection(s) 9, thus reliably preventing passengers from falling out using simple means.

[0024] Fig. 2 shows a further cable connection 18, 19 according to the invention using the example of a double joint 11, 12. The Fig. 1 The circumstances and advantages presented also apply, within the scope of transferability, to the embodiment of the invention according to Figure 2 In contrast to Fig. 1 Due to the double joint 11, 12, the car transition 3 between the car bodies 1 and 2 is correspondingly larger, whereby the car transition 3 shown here has a central frame 17 and two bellows 14 and 15, each of which is attached or connected with one side to or with the central frame 17 and with the other side to or with the respective car body 1 or 2.

[0025] The cable connection 18, 19 shown for this purpose is in two parts, wherein one end of the first part of the cable connection 18 is connected to the car body 1 and the other end of the first part of the cable connection 18 is connected to the center frame 17 of the car transition 3 and one end of the second part of the cable connection 19 is also connected to the center frame 17 of the car transition 3 and the other end of the second part of the cable connection 19 is connected to the car body 2.

[0026] By means of the two-part or, depending on the need and requirement, also a multi-part cable connection (not shown here) with one or more connections at the car transition 3 between the car bodies 1 and 2, the resulting tensile forces can be transferred or introduced indirectly to or into the car bodies 1, 2. A particular advantage arises in the application in the Fig. 2 shown double joint 11, 12, since the correspondingly stable center frame 17 in the middle of the car transition 3 between the two car bodies 1, 2 is usually already present in such rail vehicles and can therefore be used without constraints. The car transition 3 of the Fig. 2 an additional, second two-part cable connection on the opposite side of the carriage crossing 3 analogous to the cable connection 18, 19, which due to the perspective shown in the Fig. 2is also concealed and also significantly increases safety against opening and / or tearing down of the carriage crossing 3 and thus the passengers.

[0027] Thus, according to the embodiment in Fig. 2 both bellows 14 and 15 of the carriage transition 3 are encompassed from both sides and consequently protection against the complete carriage transition 3 being torn open and / or apart is achieved for each of the bellows 14, 15 of the double-articulated transition 3.

[0028] Analogous to the embodiment according to the description of Figure 1 This naturally also applies to situations, particularly when cornering, in which an angular offset of the car bodies 1, 2 to each other with respect to the car longitudinal axes occurs and accordingly a one-sided tearing of the car transition 3 is also reliably prevented.

[0029] Fig. 3shows the cable connection 18, 19, 21, 22 according to the invention using the example of the carriage transition 3 with double joint 11, 12 in the tensioned state viewed from above.

[0030] In Fig. 3 In particular, the effect or impact of the inventive, here split cable connections 18, 18 and 21, 22 when corresponding tensile forces occur between the car bodies 1 and 2 with respect to the car transition 3 is shown. The four parts of the two cable connections 18, 19, 21, 22, of which one of the split cable connections on the left 18, 19 and one on the right 21, 22 are located on the outside of the bellows 14 and 15 with respect to the direction of travel of the rail vehicle, and as in Fig. 2described are attached to the car bodies 1 and 2 or to the center frame 17 of the car gangway 3, are fully tensioned and encompass both bellows 14 and 15 of the car gangway 3 from both sides, whereby for each of the bellows 14 and 15 of the double-articulated gangway 3, protection is achieved against the complete car gangway 3 being opened and / or torn apart, thus reliably preventing passengers from falling out.

[0031] In the further embodiment with two double bellows 14 and 15, each consisting of an inner and an outer bellows (not shown here), the corresponding cable connections 18, 19, 21, 22 could also be arranged between the respective outer and inner bellows and would then be additionally protected from environmental influences by the respective outer bellows.

[0032] Analogously, the protection against the entire inter-car gangway 3 being torn open and / or apart, and thus the protection of passengers from falling out of the rail vehicle, of course also applies here to situations, particularly when cornering, in which an angular offset of the car bodies 1, 2 occurs with respect to the car longitudinal axes and (also not shown here) the first 18, 19 and the second cable connection 21, 22 are tensioned independently of one another depending on the different tensile forces acting on the left and right sides between the car bodies 1, 2, whereby the car bodies 1, 2 are pulled apart to different degrees on both sides, as already described above. In this way, a one-sided tearing of the inter-car gangway 3 can be reliably prevented here too, particularly when cornering.

Claims

1. Rail vehicle with at least a first car body (1) and a second car body (2), which are interconnected in a movable manner by means of at least one articulation (5, 11, 12), wherein the rail vehicle has an intercar gangway (3) between the at least two car bodies (1, 2), which is substantially closed to the outside by means of a flexible enclosure (7, 14, 15), wherein the intercar gangway (3) has at least one cable connection (9), wherein the at least one cable connection (9) is connected to the at least two car bodies (1, 2) at at least one fastening point in each case, characterised in that the at least one cable connection (9) is flexible, wherein the at least one cable connection (9) assumes a relaxed normal state without being acted upon by tensile forces, wherein the at least one cable connection (9) in the normal state sags downwards between the at least two fastening points on the at least two car bodies (1, 2) and wherein the at least one cable connection (9) tenses itself under being acted upon by tensile forces of the at least one first car body (1) and / or the at least one second car body (2) as a function of the magnitude of the acting tensile forces, wherein the at least one cable connection (9), in the maximally tensed state, runs in parallel with the direction of movement of the rail vehicle between the at least two fastening points on the at least two car bodies (1, 2).

2. Rail vehicle according to claim 1, characterised in that the at least one cable connection (9) absorbs a tensile force moment of at least 400 kNm, without tearing.

3. Rail vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the enclosure (7, 14, 15) consists of an outer and an inner shell.

4. Rail vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the at least one cable connection (9) runs outside the enclosure (7, 14, 15) of the intercar gangway (3).

5. Rail vehicle according to claim 3, characterised in that the at least one cable connection (9) runs between the outer and the inner shell of the enclosure (7, 14, 15) of the intercar gangway (3).

6. Rail vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the at least one cable connection (9) is at least in two parts, wherein the one end of the first part of the cable connection (18) is connected to the first car body (1) and the other end of the first part of the cable connection (18) is connected to a recess (17) of the intercar gangway (3) and the one end of the second part of the cable connection (19) is connected to the recess (17) of the intercar gangway (3) and the other end of the second part of the cable connection (19) is connected to the second car body (2).

7. Rail vehicle according to claim 6, characterised in that the recess (17) of the intercar gangway (3) is the centre frame of the intercar gangway (3).

8. Rail vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the intercar gangway (3) has a first (18, 19) and a second (21, 22) cable connection, wherein both cable connections (18, 19, 21, 22) are connected to the at least two car bodies (1, 2), wherein, in relation to the direction of travel, the first cable connection (18, 19) is arranged on the left-hand side and the second cable connection (21, 22) is arranged on the right-hand side, in each case outside or in each case between the outer and the inner shell of the enclosure (7, 14, 15) of the intercar gangway (3).

9. Rail vehicle according to claim 8, characterised in that the first (18, 19) and the second (21, 22) cable connection tense themselves independently of one another in each case depending on the tensile force acting upon them.

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