Assembly system and method for connecting a component to a vehicle body, and corresponding vehicle

Abstract

Assembly system and method for connecting a component to a vehicle body, and corresponding vehicle System for connecting a component (100) to a vehicle body (102), comprising a mounting element (10), having a front surface (12) and a rear surface (14), and a fixing support (20) comprising a guide portion (22), which surrounds a free space (21). An opening (16) is provided on the mounting element. Female fixing means (30, 32) are inserted into the free space, guided by the guide portion between an insertion position and a connection position. Male fixing means (40) coupled to a part (104) of the component are inserted at the connection position, where they are connected to the female fixing means and the fixing support, locking the part of the component against the front surface of the mounting element. Figure for abstract: 2

Description

Title of the invention: Assembly system and method for connecting a component to the body of a vehicle, and corresponding vehicle

[0001] The present invention relates to an assembly system and a method for connecting a component to the body of a vehicle, as well as to an associated vehicle comprising such an assembly system.

[0002] The assembly system and the method for connecting a component to the body of a vehicle according to the invention are particularly suitable for connecting a gangway to a wall of a body of railway vehicles, for example a tram or a metro train, and they will be described with specific reference to this application without in any way wishing to limit their use in other types of vehicles, such as for example buses, or for connecting other types of components inside a vehicle.

[0003] As is known, for example inside railway vehicles there are many components, whether structural, functional or simply decorative, which must be connected in different positions to the body shell or to any other part connected to it.

[0004] For this purpose, several types of assembly systems are widely used and, as a whole, or at least as regards some of the assembly elements, must be reliable, easy to install and easily accessible for necessary maintenance, repair and replacement operations.

[0005] However, in some cases these requirements are not always met; for example, gangways installed between two adjacent vehicles of a tram or train are connected to the walls of a vehicle using threaded blocks which are welded in positions which are difficult to access, or even not accessible at all, which makes maintenance and replacement operations rather difficult, particularly with regard to the fastening means used.

[0006] Thus, the present invention aims to provide a solution at least partially mitigating these problems, in particular with regard to the simplicity of installation of the components and the possibility of making the installation carried out easily accessible, in order to facilitate maintenance and replacement operations of at least part of the connection element used.

[0007] This aim is achieved by an assembly system for connecting a component to the body of a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises at least:

[0008] - a mounting element which is part of or connected to the body and which comprises a front surface and an opposing rear surface;

[0009] - a mounting bracket that is configured to be connected to the mounting member at said rear surface and comprises a guide portion arranged to surround, once the fixing bracket is connected to the mounting element, a free space defined between said guide portion and said rear surface, wherein a through opening is provided on the mounting element for accessing the free space from the front surface;

[0010] - female fixing means which are configured to be inserted, by said through opening, inside the free space and movably guided therein by the guide part between an insertion position and a connection position;

[0011] - male fastening means which are configured to be coupled to a part of said component and inserted from the front surface, at said connection position, where they are connected to said female fixing means and to said fixing bracket, thereby locking said part of the component against the front surface of the mounting element.

[0012] This objective is also achieved by a method of connecting a component to the body of a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises, in any suitable order, the steps of:

[0013] - providing a through opening at a front surface of a member of assembly that is part of or connected to the body;

[0014] - connecting a mounting bracket to a rear surface of the mounting member which is opposite said front surface, said fixing bracket comprises a guide portion arranged to surround, once the fixing bracket is connected to the mounting element, a free space which is defined between said guide portion and said rear surface and is accessible through said through opening; the method further comprising at least the following steps:

[0015] - insert, inside the free space through said through opening, means female attachments to an insertion position;

[0016] - moving, through said through opening and from the front surface, the means of female fasteners inserted to a connection position, the inserted female fastener means being guided during movement by the guide portion;

[0017] - insert, at said connection position, from the front surface and by said through opening, male fastening means and connect them to said female fastening means, thereby locking a portion of the component against the front surface of the mounting element.

[0018] Other features and advantages will become apparent upon reading the description of certain examples of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of a system and of an assembly method according to the present disclosure, illustrated solely by way of non-limiting examples by the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] [Fig. 1] is a perspective view showing a portion of a gangway connected to the body of a railway vehicle;

[0020] [Fig.2] is an enlarged view of the circled area X of [Fig.l], schematically illustrating an assembly system according to the invention used to connect the walkway to an associated wall of the body;

[0021] [Fig. 3] is a perspective view showing an exemplary embodiment of certain components of the assembly system according to the invention;

[0022] Figures 4 and 5 show female fixing means used in the assembly system according to the invention, respectively in an uncoupled position and in a mutually coupled position;

[0023] Figure 6 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of connecting a component to the body of a railway vehicle, according to the invention.

[0024] It should be noted that in the following detailed description, identical or similar components, whether structurally and / or functionally, have the same reference numerals, whether or not they are shown in different embodiments of the present disclosure; it should also be noted that in order to clearly and concisely describe the present disclosure, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features of the disclosure may be shown somewhat schematically.

[0025] Furthermore, when the term "adapted" or "arranged" or "configured" or "formed", or a similar term is used herein in reference to any component as a whole, or any part of a component, or a combination of components, it is to be understood to mean and encompass accordingly either the structure, and / or the configuration and / or the shape and / or the positioning of the component concerned or the part thereof, or combinations, to which such term refers.

[0026] Furthermore, when the term "substantially" or "substantially" is used herein, it should be understood to encompass an actual variation of plus or minus 5% from an indicated reference value or position, and when the terms transverse or transversely are used herein, they should be understood to encompass a direction not parallel to the reference part(s) or direction(s) / axis(s) to which they refer, and perpendicularity should be considered a specific case of transverse direction.

[0027] [Fig. 2] illustrates an assembly system 1 according to the invention, for the connection of a component 100 to the body 102, i.e. the body, of a vehicle, and in particular a gateway 100, such as for example represented in [Fig. 1].

[0028] The vehicle illustrated is for example a railway vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle may be a road vehicle, such as a bus.

[0029] As illustrated in [Fig.2], the assembly system 1 comprises at least one mounting element 10 which comprises a front surface 12 adapted to connect the bridge 100 thereto, and an opposite rear surface 14, which is not directly accessible by an operator when attaching the bridge 104 to the front surface 12.

[0030] Those skilled in the art will understand that depending on the applications and the type of component to be connected, the mounting element 10 may be any part of the body shell 102, or any part connected thereto directly or indirectly, for example by the interposition of one or more other components, such as walls, mounting panels, frame elements, et cetera.

[0031] Conveniently, the assembly system 1 further comprises a fixing bracket 20 which is configured to be connected to the mounting element 10 at the rear surface 14, and comprises a guide portion, indicated in [Fig.5] by the reference number 22; in particular, the guide portion 22 is arranged to surround, once the fixing bracket 20 is connected to the mounting element 10, a free space 21, defined between the guide portion 22 itself and the rear surface 14.

[0032] A through opening, indicated in [Fig.l] by the overall reference numeral 16, is purposely provided on the mounting element 10 to access the free space 21 from the front surface 12.

[0033] The assembly system 1 also comprises:

[0034] - female fixing means 30, 32 which are configured to be inserted, by said through opening 16, inside the free space 21 and movably guided therein by the guide part 22 between an insertion position A and a connection position B; and

[0035] - associated male fastening means 40 which are configured to be coupled to a part 104 of the component 100, namely in the illustrated example the gateway 100, and inserted, into the free space 21, from the front surface 12, at the connection position B. In this position, as will be described in more detail below, the male fixing means 40 are connected to the female fixing means 30, 32 and to the fixing support 20, thus locking the part 104 of the gateway 100 against the front surface 12 of the mounting element 10.

[0036] According to the embodiment illustrated in [Fig. 5], the fixing bracket 20 comprises a first end 24 and a second end 26 which are fixed to the rear surface 14 of the mounting member 10, and the guide portion 22 comprises a substantially U-shaped plate having a first side arm 23 projecting from the first end 24, an opposite second arm 25 projecting from the second end 26, and a back plate 27 which extends between the first and second side arms 23 and 25 substantially parallel to the rear surface 14 of the mounting element 10.

[0037] For example, the first and second ends 24 and 26 may be secured to the rear surface 14 of the mounting member 10, in any suitable manner, for example by soldering, and at any suitable time before connecting the component 100. Furthermore, these ends 24 and 26 may have any suitable shape, for example they may be constituted by or each comprise a flange extending parallel to the rear surface 14.

[0038] Usefully, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the guide portion 22 also comprises a bottom plate 28 which projects from a lower side of the rear plate 27 towards the rear surface 14 of the mounting element 10; the bottom plate 28 is in particular arranged to slide thereon the female fixing means 30, 32 between the insertion position A and the connection position B.

[0039] Furthermore, the back plate 27 comprises a threaded through hole 29 which is provided at the connection position B and is arranged to screw therein a part of the male fixing means 40.

[0040] According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in [Fig.2], the male fastening means comprise a bolt 40 having a threaded shank 41 adapted to be threadedly engaged with the female fastening means and with the fastening bracket 20, and a head 42 adapted to rest against the front surface 12 of the mounting element 10 with the part 104 of the component 100, for example of the gateway interposed therebetween.

[0041] In turn, according to a possible embodiment illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, the female fixing means comprise a nut 30 adapted to be screwed onto a part of the male fixing means 40, and in particular of the rod 41, while being in the connection position B.

[0042] Furthermore, the female fastening means comprise a cage 32 which is configured to house at least a portion of the nut 30 and to block rotation of the nut 30 while the nut itself is screwed onto the male fastening means 40.

[0043] As illustrated in [Fig.3], the nut 30 is for example a hexagonal nut and comprises a threaded hole 31.

[0044] According to this embodiment, the cage 32 comprises a through channel 33 extending along a thread direction of the bolt 40, indicated in [Fig. 2] by the reference letter X, and a housing portion, illustrated in [Fig. 4] by the reference numeral 34, which is adapted to house therein at least a portion of the nut 30, with the through channel 33 being adapted to be substantially aligned with the threaded hole 31 of the nut 30.

[0045] In particular, the side walls of the housing portion 34 are configured to surround the outer walls of at least a portion of the nut 30 housed therein, and to block rotation of the nut 30, while being screwed onto the male fastening means 40 in the connection position B.

[0046] As illustrated in [Fig.5], the through opening 16 provided on the mounting element 10 comprises: a first opening 17 configured to allow the introduction of the female fastening means 30, 32, namely the nut 30 enclosed in the cage 32, into the free space 21 at the insertion position A; an insertion hole 18 which is provided, at a distance from the first opening 17, at the connection position B, for the insertion of the male fastening means, namely the bolt 40; and a through slot 19 which connects the first opening 17 to the insertion hole 18, along a direction transverse to the thread direction X.

[0047] The through slot 19 is configured to allow an operator to guide the female fastening means 30, 32, from the front surface 12 and with any suitable tool, and to move it between the insertion position A and the connection position B.

[0048] Figure 6 schematically illustrates a method 200 for connecting a component 100, such as the illustrated gangway, to the body 102, i.e. a body 102, of a railway vehicle, which can be used in connection with the assembly system 1 described above.

[0049] In particular, the method 200 comprises the following steps:

[0050] - 210: provide a through opening 16, such as that described above, at level of a front surface 12 of a mounting element 10 which is part of the body 102 or connected thereto;

[0051] - 220: connect a fixing bracket, such as the fixing bracket 20 described above previously, to a rear surface 14 of the mounting element 10 which is opposite the front surface 12. As previously described, the guide portion 22 of the fixing bracket 20, once the fixing bracket 20 is connected to the mounting element 10, thus surrounds a free space 21 which is accessible through the through opening 16.

[0052] As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the above steps 210 and 220 may be performed in any suitable order relative to one another, and even in parallel with one another.

[0053] In practice, the method 200 according to the invention further comprises at least the following steps:

[0054] - 230: insert, inside the free space 21, through the through opening 16, female fixing means, for example the nut 30 enclosed in the cage 32, at an insertion position A;

[0055] - 240: move, through the through opening 16 and from the front surface 12, the female fixing means 30 and 32 inserted up to a connection position B, the inserted female fixing means 30, 32 being guided during the movement by the guide part 22, and in particular by the bottom plate 28 on which the coupled nut 30-cage 32 rest and slide relative thereto;

[0056] - 250: insert, at connection position B, from front surface 12 and by the through opening 16, male fastening means, namely the bolt 40, and connect the male fastening means to the female fastening means 30, thereby locking a portion 104 of the component 100 against the front surface 12 of the mounting element 10.

[0057] In practice, with reference to the illustrated embodiment example, in the system 1 and the method 200 according to the invention, the nut 30 is enclosed inside the cage 32, then this subassembly is inserted, as indicated by the arrow I in FIGS. 2 and 5, into the free space 21 at the insertion position A through the first opening 17, with the channel 33, the threaded hole 31 and the threaded through hole 29 which are substantially aligned with each other in the threading direction X. Then, the cage 30-nut 32 subassembly is slid onto the bottom plate 28 (arrow S in FIGS. 2 and 5) through the through slot 19 until reaching the connection position B. Then, the bolt 40 is inserted through the insertion hole 18 and the channel 33 and screwed inside the threaded hole 31 of the nut 30, and inside the threaded through hole 29 of the back plate 27 of the guide part 22.In this way, a portion 104 of the bridge 100 is screwed against the front surface 12 between the head 42 of the bolt 40 and the front surface 12 itself.

[0058] It is therefore clear from the above description that the assembly system 1 and the method 100 according to the present invention make it possible to achieve the intended purpose and objects since they make it possible to connect a component, and in particular a gateway, to the body of a vehicle in a simple and rapid manner, where the fixing means used are directly accessible; in this way, the maintenance and / or replacement operations of at least these fixing means are made simpler and faster compared to the solutions of the prior art.

[0059] These results are obtained using simple and inexpensive components, which makes the designed solution easy to implement with any type of vehicle; the present invention therefore also relates to a vehicle comprising an assembly system 1 as described previously; as mentioned previously, the system 1 and the method 200 according to the invention are particularly suitable for connecting a gangway to the body of a railway vehicle.

[0060] The system 1 and the method 200 thus designed may be subject to modifications and variations, all falling within the scope of the concept of the invention, as defined in particular by the appended claims; for example, the shape of one or more of the various components previously illustrated, such as the mutually associated male and female connecting means, may be different provided that they are compatible with the tasks and operation for which they have been designed within the scope of the present invention.

[0061] All details can further be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

Claims

Claims

1. An assembly system (1) for connecting a component (100) to the body (102) of a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises at least: - a mounting element (10) which is part of the body (102) or connected thereto and which comprises a front surface (12) and an opposite rear surface (14); - a fixing bracket (20) which is configured to be connected to the mounting element (10) at said rear surface (14) and comprises a guide portion (22) arranged to surround, once the fixing bracket (20) is connected to the mounting element (10), a free space (21) defined between said guide portion (22) and said rear surface (14), wherein a through opening (16) is provided on the mounting element (10) for accessing the free space (21) from the front surface (12);- female fastening means (30, 32) which are configured to be inserted, through said through opening (16), inside the free space (21) and movably guided therein by the guide portion (22) between an insertion position (A) and a connection position (B); - male fastening means (40) which are configured to be coupled to a portion (104) of said component (100) and inserted from the front surface (12), at said connection position (B), where they are connected to said female fastening means (30, 32) and to said fastening support (20), thereby locking said portion (104) of the component (100) against the front surface (12) of the mounting element (10).;

2. The system (1) of claim 1, wherein said fixing bracket (20) comprises a first end (24) and a second end (26) which are fixed to said rear surface (14) of the mounting element (10), and wherein said guide portion (22) comprises a substantially U-shaped plate having a first side arm (23) projecting from said first end (24), an opposite second side arm (25) projecting from said second end (26), and a rear plate (27) extending between the first and second side arms (23, 25), substantially parallel to said rear surface (14) of the mounting element (10).

3. System (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein said guide portion (22) further comprises an in- lower plate (28) which projects from a lower side of the back plate (27) towards the rear surface (14) of the mounting element (10), said lower plate (28) being arranged to slide thereon said female fixing means (30, 32) between said insertion position (A) and said connection position (B).

4. System (1) according to claims 2 and 3, wherein said back plate (27) further comprises a threaded through hole (29) which is arranged at said connection position (B) for screwing therein a part of said male fixing means (40).

5. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said female fixing means (30, 32) comprise a nut (30) adapted to be screwed onto a part of said male fixing means (40), while being in said connection position (B).

6. System (1) according to claim 5, wherein said female fastening means (30, 32) further comprise a cage (32) configured to house therein at least a portion of said nut (30) and to block rotation of the nut while the nut is screwed onto said male fastening means (40), said cage (32) preferably comprising a through channel (33) extending along a thread direction (X) of the male fastening means (40) and which is suitable to be aligned with a threaded hole (31) of the nut (30), and a housing portion (34) which is adapted to house therein said at least a portion of the nut (30), the side walls of said housing portion (34) being configured to surround the outer walls of said at least one portion housed therein and to block rotation of the nut (30) when screwed onto said male fixing means (40) in said connection position (B).

7. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said male fastening means comprises a bolt (40) having a threaded shank (41) adapted to be threadedly engaged with said female fastening means (30, 32) and said fastening bracket (20), and a head (42) adapted to rest against the front surface (12) of the mounting member (10) with said portion (104) of the component (100) interposed therebetween.

8. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said through opening (16) provided on the mounting element (10) comprises a first opening (17) configured to allow the introduction of the female fixing means (30, 32) into

9.

10. said free space (21) at said insertion position (A), an insertion hole (18) which is provided, at a distance from the first opening (17), at said connection position (B), for the insertion of said male fastening means (40), and a through slot (19) which connects the first opening (17) to the insertion hole (18) and is configured to allow the guiding of the female fastening means (30, 32) from the front surface (12) between the insertion position (A) and the connection position (B). Vehicle characterized in that it comprises an assembly system according to any one of the preceding claims. A method (200) for connecting a component (100) to the body (102) of a vehicle, characterized in that it comprises, in any suitable order, the steps of: - (210): providing a through opening (16) at a front surface (12) of a mounting element (10) which is part of the body (102) or connected thereto; - (220): connecting a fixing bracket (20) to a rear surface (14) of the mounting element (10) which is opposite to said front surface (12), said fixing bracket (20) comprises a guide portion (22) arranged to surround, once the fixing bracket (20) is connected to the mounting element (10), a free space (21) which is defined between said guide portion (22) and said rear surface (14) and is accessible through said through opening (16); the method (200) further comprising at least the following steps: - (230): inserting, inside the free space (21) through said through opening (16), female fixing means (30, 32) at an insertion position (A); - (240): moving, through said through opening (16) and from the front surface (12), the inserted female fixing means (30, 32) to a connection position (B), the inserted female fixing means (30, 32) being guided during the movement by the guide part (22); - (250): inserting, at said connection position (B), from the front surface (12) and through said through opening (16), male fixing means (40) and connecting them to said female fixing means (30), thereby locking a part (104) of the component (100) against the front surface (12) of the mounting element (10).

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