Central locking system of a bus

Abstract

The invention relates to a locking system for locking one or more swing doors (3) of a bus when parked, comprising a respective locking mechanism (1) above a door frame of a respective swing door (3) of the bus, wherein the respective locking mechanism (1) is designed to engage in a locking manner in the travel path formed by a rail of a door roller (5) of a swing door (3) or in the door roller (5) itself, and wherein the respective locking mechanism (1) can be electrically activated by means of an actuating means (7) located outside the interior of the bus.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a locking system for locking one or more doors of a bus when parked, as well as to a bus with such a locking system.

[0002] A variety of different door lock designs are known in the prior art. These differ, in particular, depending on the type of vehicle they are intended for, for example, trucks, passenger cars, or buses.

[0003] In this context, DE 25 57 970 A1 relates to a closing and / or locking device for doors, hoods and lids of vehicles, in particular motor vehicles, wherein the energy accumulator is a flywheel driven by a small electric motor, which transfers its energy for closing or locking to the existing closing and / or locking device via a transmission with a downstream mechanism.

[0004] DE 101 30 268 A1 further relates to a locking system for vehicle doors or the like, comprising a mounting plate attachable to the inside of the door, a cylinder lock arranged in and penetrating a receiving opening in the mounting plate and lockable from the outside of the door, having a rotatable locking cylinder, a cam ring rotatably connected to an inner locking cylinder end, and a bolt mounted on the mounting plate so as to be displaceable transversely to the locking cylinder axis, which bolt is adjustable between an open position and a closed position by means of cams formed on the cam ring and engageable against stop surfaces of the bolt. Furthermore, in DE 101 30 268 A1, an approximately pot-shaped intermediate piece is firmly connected in its base region to the inner end of the locking cylinder, while the side wall of the intermediate piece surrounds the locking cylinder;on the outside of the side wall, a first cam ring is provided with closing and opening cams in its peripheral area, is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner but displaceable in the direction of the locking cylinder axis and is pre-tensioned by a spring towards the inside of the door;On the side of the first cam ring facing the inside of the door, a second cam ring with an opening cam is rotatably and axially immovably arranged on the outside of the side wall of the intermediate piece, the second cam ring being equipped with a rotary handle accessible from the inside of the door, wherein cam means are provided on the mutually facing end faces of the first cam ring and the second cam ring in order to move the first cam ring from an axially engaged position, in which the stop surfaces of the bolt are located in the pivoting path of the closing and opening cams of the first cam ring, into an axially disengaged position, in which the stop surfaces of the bolt are no longer located in the pivoting path of the closing and opening cams when the opening cam of the second cam ring is in engagement with the associated stop surface of the bolt.

[0005] Buses, such as city buses, often have swing doors in the form of double-leaf doors that open when the bus is stopped. When the bus is parked for an extended period and not in service, state-of-the-art technology allows each individual door leaf of all swing doors to be mechanically locked with a key (Happich, Y-Mos, square, or triangular).

[0006] The object of the invention is to simplify the locking of swing doors on a bus with a plurality of swing doors.

[0007] The invention is based on the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments and refinements are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0008] A first aspect of the invention relates to a locking system for locking one or more swing doors of a bus when the bus is parked, comprising a respective locking mechanism above a door frame of a respective swing door or a pair of swing doors of the bus, wherein the respective locking mechanism is designed to engage in a locking manner in the travel path formed by a rail of a door roller of a swing door or in the door roller itself, and wherein the respective locking mechanism can be activated electrically by means of an actuating means located outside the interior of the bus.

[0009] The locking of the swing doors is achieved, in particular, by a bracket or cross member engaging with a door roller for guiding the door, or with the door rails for such a door roller, so that the door can no longer move and the swing door is locked. This cross member or bracket can be lowered pneumatically or electrically in response to a command signal.

[0010] Similar to locking all swing doors, unlocking all swing doors can be performed simultaneously. The locking mechanism simply reverses its mechanism of action (due to a spring return mechanism built into the locking mechanism) for blocking the travel path of a swing door formed by a rail or the door roller to unlock and release the swing door.

[0011] An advantageous effect of the invention is that all swing doors of a bus can be locked, similar to a central locking system. This simplifies operation, as all doors can be locked simply by pressing a button, key, card reader, or similar device. The locks on all swing door leaves do not need to be locked individually by the driver. This can also lead to cost savings by potentially eliminating the need for mechanical locks on the swing door leaves.

[0012] According to an advantageous embodiment, the locking system is designed as a central locking system. This allows all of the bus's doors to be closed / locked at once. Individual locking of each door is then no longer necessary.

[0013] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the actuating means is designed as a remote control. The remote control enables contactless signal generation from a distance. This advantageously means that, apart from a bus transponder, no operating device needs to be provided on the bus. This, in turn, allows for a smooth design of the bus's surface.

[0014] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the actuating means is arranged behind a flap of the front end of the bus.

[0015] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the actuating means is a key or a card reader, wherein in the case of the key the key is designed to cooperate with a lock of the bus, and in the case of a card reader the card reader is designed to cooperate with a transponder of the bus in order to transmit an electrical control signal to the respective locking mechanism for locking.

[0016] According to a further advantageous embodiment, a respective locking mechanism has at least one locking pin which can be brought into engagement with the rail, in particular by lowering the locking pin into the rail.

[0017] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the at least one locking pin is fastened to a holder which is mounted so as to be movable along a guide.

[0018] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the holder is designed as a support bridge.

[0019] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the locking mechanism has a drive for vertically displacing the locking bolt.

[0020] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the drive is designed as a pneumatic cylinder, which is controlled in particular by a valve, in particular an electric or pneumatic directional control valve.

[0021] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the drive is designed as a lifting magnet (single-acting or bidirectional).

[0022] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the drive has a return spring by means of which the locking pin can be displaced into its open position.

[0023] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the locking system further comprises an auxiliary locking device which, together with the locking mechanism, releasably holds the locking bolt in its locking position.

[0024] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the auxiliary locking device is formed by a rotationally fixed magnetic lock and a locking eyelet which is fastened to the holder of the locking bolt.

[0025] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the locking system further comprises an emergency opening device which is designed to be operated from the interior of the bus in order to be able to manually unlock the locking mechanism.

[0026] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the emergency opening device has at least a first Bowden cable which is attached to the magnetic lock and comprises a manually operable opening element which is connected to the first Bowden cable, wherein the first Bowden cable leads into the vehicle interior to the opening element.

[0027] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the emergency opening device has at least one second Bowden cable leading to the exterior of the vehicle and connected to the magnetic lock and a manually operable opening element. It is typically sufficient to provide only a single second Bowden cable per bus.

[0028] A further aspect of the invention relates to a bus with a locking system as described above and below.

[0029] Advantages and preferred further developments of the proposed bus result from an analogous and analogous transfer of the statements made above in connection with the proposed locking system.

[0030] Further advantages, features, and details will become apparent from the following description, which – where appropriate with reference to the drawings – describes at least one embodiment in detail. Identical, similar, and / or functionally equivalent parts are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0031] They show: Fig. 1: A bus with a locking system according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2: A locking system according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3: The logical structure of the locking system of the Fig. 2. Fig. 4: A locking system according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5: The logical structure of the locking system of the Fig. 4.

[0032] The representations in the figures are schematic and not to scale.

[0033] Fig. Figure 1 shows a bus in the form of an articulated city bus with a central locking system, which allows all swing doors 3 of the bus to be locked at once when parked. While a prior art design provides an individual mechanical lock at the middle height of each swing door 3 on an outer side of the respective swing door 3 (for clarification in Fig. 1), in the solution according to the invention, a locking mechanism 1 is installed above each of the pairs of swing doors 3, which can replace the mechanical locks. The activated locking mechanism of the locking mechanism 1 must not be in operation while the bus is moving, but only engages when the bus is parked. The locking mechanisms on the swing doors 3 are activated via an actuating means 7 such as a key, a button, or a card reader, which is arranged in a front hatch, i.e., behind a hatch on the front of the bus. In contrast to individual mechanical locking, the electrical control signal of the actuating means 7 can be used to synchronously control the locking mechanisms 1 to lock all of the swing doors 3. The previous mechanical locks can therefore be omitted.

[0034] Fig. Figure 2 shows a possible design of a locking mechanism 1 of a locking system. The locking mechanism 1 is installed in the area of ​​a door drive. To lock the swing doors 3, the respective locking mechanism 1 engages in a locking manner in a rail of the door roller 5 for guiding a swing door 3. A locking pin is attached to the lower end of a bracket 9, which is designed as a support bridge, to carry out this engagement. The bracket 9 is mounted so that it can be lifted along a guide, whereby the locking pin can be lowered onto the rail of the door roller 5. A drive 11 for moving the bracket 9 comprises a pneumatic cylinder that serves to vertically displace the locking pin. An electrically controlled valve 13 serves to control the pressure in the pneumatic cylinder. The valve 13 of the drive 11 may only be activated when the vehicle is stationary.For this purpose, the condition that the bus speed is zero and / or the parking brake is activated can be assumed. A single-acting cylinder is preferably used as the pneumatic cylinder. An auxiliary locking device releasably holds the locking bolt in its locked position. The auxiliary locking device has a rotation-resistant magnetic lock 15 and a locking eyelet that is attached to the bracket 9 of the locking bolt. To still enable the swing doors 3 to be unlocked from the inside, for example to allow a trapped passenger to exit, the locking mechanism 1 has an emergency opening device. Using this emergency opening device, a swing door 3 can be manually unlocked from the interior of the bus. This function of unlocking the magnetic lock 15 in an emergency situation must always be guaranteed from the inside.This unlocking of the magnetic lock 15 in emergency situations occurs via a rotating mechanism or an emergency tap. The rotating mechanism / emergency tap is used only for this specific emergency and is only used for this emergency when the bus is parked. Otherwise, this rotating mechanism has no influence on the locking mechanism. For its operation, the emergency opening device has a first Bowden cable 17 that leads to the magnetic lock 15 and includes a manually operable opening element for generating a pulling force in the first Bowden cable 17. A second Bowden cable 19 runs to the exterior of the vehicle and is connected to another manually operable opening element for generating a pulling force in the second Bowden cable 19 to operate the magnetic lock 15. The Bowden cables 17, 19 allow a person inside or outside the bus to unlock the magnetic lock 15.The locking pin then no longer blocks the rail of the door roller 5 that guides the swing door 3. The cylinder is depressurized in the locked state, so the spring of the pneumatic cylinder can return the bracket 9 to its original position if the magnetic lock 15 is released beforehand. If a swing door 3 in the vehicle is defective, the driver can press a specially mounted button on the locking mechanism 1 of the respective defective swing door 3, and this defective swing door 3 will be mechanically locked. For this to happen, the electrical system must activate the upstream directional control valve on this respective defective swing door 3 by pressing this button.

[0035] Fig. 3 shows schematically the relationships in the locking system of the Fig. 2. The locking mechanism 1 with a drive 11 is connected via a pneumatic line p to a pneumatic or electric directional control valve in the drive 11. An emergency valve N in the interior of the vehicle is connected to a first Bowden cable 17 to enable manual intervention from inside in an emergency. The valve 13 is fed by air from a vehicle air tank L. The valve 13 is also controlled by an actuating means 7, which are connected to each other by an electrical line e. Intervention in the electrical line e can be achieved by the button P (a knob) functioning as an emergency button. The system also provides the magnetic lock 15, to which the Bowden cable 17 leads. The magnetic lock 15 is responsible for the secure locking of the locking mechanism 1 and is important because the locking cannot be ensured by the pneumatic cylinder 11 alone.The air in the pneumatic cylinder 11 can escape in cold or warm conditions, making the locking mechanism unsafe. This is where the magnetic lock 15 comes into play. Once the magnetic lock 15 engages, it is irrelevant whether air is present in the pneumatic cylinder 11 or not, because the magnetic lock 15 alone holds the locking position until it receives an electrical command to unlock. After that, the magnetic lock 15 releases the holder 9, and the pneumatic cylinder (which then no longer contains any air) pushes the holder 9 back to its original position due to the spring action in the cylinder.

[0036] Fig. Figure 4 shows an alternative locking system. Again, the bracket 9 is shown, in contrast to the Fig. In Figure 2, however, the drive 11 is designed as a solenoid. Next to it is the magnetic lock 15. Also shown is the first Bowden cable 17, which leads to the magnetic lock 15. However, the magnetic lock 15 can also be omitted. Operation with just a single solenoid (Bi-Stable with emergency release device) is also possible.

[0037] Fig. Figure 5 shows schematically the relationships in the locking system of the Fig. 4. A first Bowden cable 17 leads to the magnetic lock 15, allowing it to be opened manually from the interior of the bus using a purely mechanical force in the floor cable 17. The drive 11 is directly connected to the actuating means 7 via the electrical line e. The emergency button T provides access to the electrical line e. A pneumatic device is not required in this design, since the drive 11 is an electrically operated solenoid.

[0038] Although the invention has been illustrated and explained in detail by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations may be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that a multitude of variations exist. It is also clear that exemplary embodiments are truly only examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope, possible applications, or configuration of the invention in any way.Rather, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete terms, whereby the person skilled in the art, with knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, can make various changes, for example with regard to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description. List of reference symbols 1 locking mechanism 3 swing doors 5 Door roller 7 Actuating means 9 Bracket 11 Drive 13 Valve 15 magnetic lock 17 first Bowden cable 19 second Bowden cable L Vehicle air tank N Emergency tap inside T Emergency button on the drive p pneumatic line an electrical cable QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 25 57 970 A1

[0003] DE 101 30 268 A1

[0004]

Claims

[1] Locking system for locking one or more swing doors (3) of a bus when parked, comprising a respective locking mechanism (1) above a door frame of a respective swing door (3) or a pair of swing doors (3) of the bus, wherein the respective locking mechanism (1) is designed to engage in a locking manner in the travel path formed by a rail of a door roller (5) of a swing door (3) or in the door roller (5) itself, and wherein the respective locking mechanism (1) can be activated electrically by means of an actuating means (7) located outside the interior of the bus. [2] Locking system according to claim 1, wherein the actuating means (7) is a key or a card reader, wherein in the case of the key the key is designed to cooperate with a lock of the bus, and in the case of a card reader the card reader is designed to cooperate with a transponder of the bus in order to transmit an electrical control signal to the respective locking mechanism (1) for locking. [3] Locking system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a respective locking mechanism (1) has at least one locking pin which can be brought into engagement with the rail, in particular by lowering the locking pin into the rail. [4] Locking system according to claim 3, wherein the at least one locking bolt is fastened to a holder (9) which is mounted so as to be movable along a guide. [5] Locking system according to one of claims 3 to 4, wherein the locking mechanism (1) has a drive (11) for vertically displacing the locking bolt. [6] Locking system according to one of claims 3 to 5, further comprising an auxiliary locking device which, together with the locking mechanism (1), releasably holds the locking bolt in its locking position. [7] Locking system according to claim 6, wherein the auxiliary locking device is formed by a rotationally fixed magnetic lock (15) and a locking eyelet which is fastened to the holder (9) of the locking bolt. [8] Locking system according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an emergency opening device which is designed to be operated from the interior of the bus in order to be able to manually unlock the locking mechanism (1). [9] Locking system according to claim 8, wherein the emergency opening device comprises at least a first Bowden cable (17) attached to the magnetic lock (15) and a manually operable opening element connected to the first Bowden cable (17), the first Bowden cable (17) leading into the interior of the bus. [10] Locking system according to one of claims 8 to 9, wherein the emergency opening device comprises at least a second Bowden cable (19) which is connected to the magnetic lock (15) and to a manually operable opening element, the second Bowden cable (19) leading to the exterior of the bus.

Images