Side wall of a railway vehicle body, railway vehicle body comprising such a wall, and railway vehicle comprising such a body
The side wall design with uprights and variable-width reinforcing elements addresses the challenge of optimizing rigidity and mass in railway vehicles, enhancing resistance to pressure waves and facilitating accessory attachment.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SPEEDINNOV
- Filing Date
- 2024-06-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing railway vehicle side wall reinforcements increase vehicle mass and energy consumption while not optimally addressing pressure wave resistance.
A side wall design featuring uprights and reinforcing elements with a flat sheet configuration, where the reinforcing elements have variable width and through holes for accessory attachment, optimizing rigidity and minimizing mass.
Ensures enhanced rigidity against pressure waves with reduced mass and simplified manufacturing, while allowing for accessory integration.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Side wall of a railway vehicle body, railway vehicle body comprising such a wall, and railway vehicle comprising such a body
[0001] The present invention relates to a side wall of a railway vehicle body. It also relates to a railway vehicle body comprising such a wall. It also relates to a railway vehicle comprising such a body.
[0002] Depending on the speed of a train and its surroundings, movements of the surrounding air can be created, inducing an increase in the pressure applied to one or both of the side walls of each of the train's car bodies. In particular, when a high-speed train enters a tunnel, some of the air mass previously at rest in the tunnel is displaced and compressed in the residual space between the tunnel wall and one or both of the aforementioned side walls, generating a pressure wave along the train, which can damage the side walls and, consequently, the internal contents of the car body in question. To make the walls more resistant, it is known from WO2012076244 to integrate horizontal reinforcing elements into the wall structure.
[0003] However, such reinforcement elements increase the mass of the vehicle and, consequently, its energy consumption.
[0004] The aim of the invention is therefore to propose a new reinforcement solution, aimed at optimizing the compromise between the rigidity of the wall, which we seek to maximize, and the mass, which we seek to minimize.
[0005] To this end, the invention relates to a side wall of a railway vehicle body, comprising: - at least two uprights, extending lengthwise in a substantially parallel fashion and defining a principal plane in which the uprights extend lengthwise, and - at least one reinforcing element, which connects a first and a second of the uprights along a longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element, and which comprises a flat sheet: • defining a sheet metal plane, in which the flat sheet extends and which is substantially perpendicular to the main plane and to the first and second uprights, • having an outer edge, which is intended to face outwards from the body and which is straight along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element, being parallel to the main plane, and • having an inner edge, which is opposite to the outer edge in a direction perpendicular to the principal plane,
[0006] and in which the outer and inner edges are, in the sheet metal plane, separated from each other, in a direction perpendicular to the main plane, by a distance which varies according to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element, this distance being maximum substantially in the middle of the reinforcing element along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element.
[0007] Thanks to the invention, the rigidity function is ensured while minimizing the added mass. Indeed, on the one hand, a region of the side wall is less resistant, particularly to pressure waves, the further it is from the uprights between which this region of the wall extends, these uprights already providing a certain reinforcement of the side wall. On the other hand, for a given position on the wall, the contribution of the rigidity by the reinforcing element is greater the wider the reinforcing element. Thanks to a variable width, which is maximum in the middle of the reinforcing element where the need for increased rigidity is greatest, the amount of material, and therefore the mass of the reinforcing element, is optimized to obtain a better distribution of rigidity on the wall. In addition, the use of a flat sheet simplifies manufacturing and assembly operations, particularly compared to solutions that would involve a folded sheet.
[0008] The invention also relates to a railway vehicle body, comprising two side walls conforming to the above.
[0009] The invention also relates to a railway vehicle comprising a body as defined above.
[0010] According to other advantageous aspects of the invention, the side wall of a railway vehicle body, according to the invention, comprises one or more of the following features, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations:
[0011] - the inner edge consists of two straight parts, symmetrical to each other by relation to a plane of symmetry, which is perpendicular to the main plane and to the sheet metal plane and which passes through the middle of the reinforcing element along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element;
[0012] - in which the flat sheet comprises at least one through hole;
[0013] - said at least one through hole is located substantially in the middle of the element of reinforcement along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element;
[0014] - said at least one through hole is oblong in having a principal direction which extends along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element;
[0015] - said at least one through hole is adapted for fixing at least one accessory, including a wiring accessory;
[0016] - several through holes are provided, aligned in a substantially regular manner along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element;
[0017] - several reinforcing elements are provided between the first and second uprights, these reinforcement elements being distributed in the longitudinal direction of the uprights.
[0018] The invention will become clearer upon reading the following description, given solely by way of non-limiting example, and made with reference to the drawings in which:
[0019] [Fig-1] [Fig.1] is a perspective view of a railway vehicle body according to the invention;
[0020] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of the framed area II of [Fig.1];
[0021] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is an elevation view along arrow III of [Fig.2].
[0022] Consider a railway vehicle, for example a locomotive or a wagon, belonging to a train, used to transport goods and / or people. This railway vehicle comprises a body 1, partially shown in [Fig. 1]. In the assembled state of use of the aforementioned railway vehicle, the body 1 rests on a chassis, not shown, equipped with running elements adapted to a railway track.
[0023] The rest of the description is oriented by considering, on the one hand, that the front and the rear are respectively directed in the direction in which the train moves forward and in the direction in which the train moves backward and, on the other hand, that the train rests on a flat and horizontal ground.
[0024] The crate 1 comprises two side walls 5.1 and 5.2, left and right respectively, which, between them, delimit an internal volume V of the crate 1, intended to accommodate goods and / or persons to be transported. Each of the side walls 5.1 and 5.2 separates the aforementioned internal volume from the exterior of the crate 1.
[0025] Vertically, the side walls 5.1 and 5.2 extend upwards, here, from a floor 3 of the body 1, which rests on the aforementioned chassis and which closes the internal volume V downwards, to a roof of the body 1, which is not shown in the figures for reasons of visibility and which closes the volume V upwards.
[0026] In an anteroposterior horizontal direction, the side walls 5.1 and 5.2 extend over all or part of the body 1 between its front and rear ends. Here, the body 1 has, at its front end, a driver's cab 7, which closes the internal volume V towards the rear, and at its rear end, a rear wall 9, which closes the internal volume V towards the front: each of the side walls 5.1 and 5.2 extends from the rear of the driver's cab 7 to the rear wall 9. In a non-variant represented, rather than the driver's cab 7, the body 1 has, at its front end, a front wall which is similar to the rear wall 9.
[0027] The side walls 5.1 and 5.2 are provided here to be identical, being symmetrical to each other with respect to a median vertical plane of the body 1. Therefore, we will describe in more detail below only the side wall 5.1, the description of the side wall 5.2 can be deduced by symmetry.
[0028] As clearly visible in Figures 1 and 2, the side wall 5.1 comprises uprights 11 which extend lengthwise parallel to one another. The uprights 11 thus define a principal plane PI in which the uprights 11 extend lengthwise. In practice, the uprights 11 extend lengthwise vertically, here from the floor 3 to the aforementioned roof. Along the horizontal anteroposterior direction, the uprights 11 are distributed, here in a more or less regular manner, as clearly visible in [Fig. 1].
[0029] In the embodiment shown in the figures, the side wall 5.1 also includes a skin 12 which extends parallel to the main plane PI, covering the uprights 11, more precisely an outer face of the latter, that is to say a face turned towards the outside of the body 1, in other words turned away from the internal volume V. Here, the skin 12 extends from one to the other of the front and rear ends of the side wall 5.1, as well as from the floor 3 to the aforementioned roof, although being locally interrupted to provide access through the side wall 5.1, between the internal volume V and the outside of the body 1.
[0030] The skin 12 comprises, for example, one or more flat sheets.
[0031] In all cases, as clearly seen in Figures 1 and 2, the side wall 5.1 also includes reinforcing elements 13, one of which is shown alone in [Fig. 3]. Each reinforcing element 13 extends lengthwise along a longitudinal direction that is parallel to the aforementioned anteroposterior longitudinal direction. Each reinforcing element 13 is designed to give the side wall 5.1 good resistance to the pressure waves mentioned in the introductory part of this document.
[0032] To this end, each reinforcing element 13 connects, along its longitudinal direction, two of the uprights 11, which follow one another directly along the horizontal anteroposterior direction. In practice, each reinforcing element 13 is fixedly attached, at each of its two opposite ends along its longitudinal direction, to one of the uprights 11, for example by welding. Here, the two uprights of each pair of two uprights 11, which follow one another directly along the horizontal anteroposterior direction, are thus connected to each other by several of the reinforcing elements 13, which are distributed, where appropriate, in such a way regular, in the longitudinal direction of the uprights 11, in other words here along the vertical.
[0033] Furthermore, each reinforcing element 13 comprises, or, as here, is made of, a flat sheet 15. The flat sheet 15 defines a sheet plane P2, in which the flat sheet 15 extends and which corresponds to the observation plane of [Fig. 3]. The sheet plane P2 is perpendicular to both the main plane PI and the uprights 11, as clearly seen in [Fig. 2]. Thus, the sheet plane P2 is horizontal.
[0034] As can be clearly seen in [Fig.3], the flat sheet 15 is delimited by an outer edge 13A, an inner edge 13B and two lateral edges, respectively right 14A and left 14B.
[0035] The two lateral edges 14A and 14B are respectively butted against the two uprights 11 connected by the reinforcing element 13. It is specifically by means of the lateral edges 14A and 14B that the reinforcing element 13 is fixed to the uprights 11. To this end, the lateral edges 14A and 14B are shaped in a manner complementary to the lateral uprights 11; in the illustrated case, the lateral edges are thus straight along a transverse direction of the reinforcing element 13.
[0036] The outer edge 13A is turned towards the outside of the case 1, in other words opposite to the internal volume V. The outer edge 13 is straight along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcement element 13, being parallel to the main plane PL Here, the outer edge 13A advantageously extends into contact with the skin 12.
[0037] The inner edge 13B is turned towards the interior of the casing 1, i.e., towards the internal volume V. The inner edge 13B is shaped to maximize the rigidity of the side wall 5.1, particularly at a distance from the uprights 11 connected by the reinforcing element 13. To this end, in the example considered here, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the outer edge 13B consists of two straight sections 13B.1 and 13B.2, symmetrical to each other with respect to a plane of symmetry P3, which is perpendicular to the principal plane PI and to the sheet metal plane P2 and which passes through the middle of the reinforcing element 13 along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13. In other words, the inner edge 13B is shaped in the form of a V.
[0038] This V-shape, although preferential, is not limiting for the outer edge 13B: more generally, the inner edge 13B and the outer edge 13A are, in the sheet metal plane P2, separated from each other, along a direction perpendicular to the main plane PI, by a distance D which varies according to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13, being maximum at the middle of the reinforcing element 13 along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13. In other words, the inner edge 13B is shaped so that the reinforcing element 13 is the widest at the same distance from the uprights 11, where the wall is, before the addition of reinforcements, the least resistant.
[0039] In the embodiment illustrated in figures 2 and 3, each reinforcement element 13 advantageously has through holes 17. Each of these holes passes through the flat sheet 15 perpendicularly to the plane of the sheet P2, thus connecting the faces of the flat sheet, separated from each other by the thickness of the latter.
[0040] In practice, the through holes 17 allow for the attachment of wiring accessories, such as cable trays or wiring slabs, or more generally any other useful accessory in the internal volume V. In this way, the reinforcing elements 13 ensure a dual function: in addition to ensuring the rigidity of the wall with respect to pressure waves, they act as a support for attaching one or more accessories, in particular wiring, in the internal volume V.
[0041] As clearly visible in [Fig. 3], the through holes 17 are preferentially oblong and extend lengthwise along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13; that is, the principal direction of the oblong shape of the through holes 17 is parallel to the aforementioned anteroposterior direction. This allows for optimal distribution of the material removal, and therefore the influence on the rigidity of the wall 5.1, along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13.
[0042] In all cases, the through holes are advantageously aligned regularly along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13. Such a substantially regular distribution of the through holes 17 makes it possible to ensure a better distribution of the rigidity of the side wall 5.1 along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element, in particular compared to other possible distributions of the through holes 17.
[0043] Furthermore, one of the through holes 17 is advantageously located in the middle of the reinforcing element 13 along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element 13. In this way, the fact that the reinforcing element 13 is wider in the middle is exploited for drilling, and therefore for fixing accessories, while minimizing the fragility of the reinforcing element 13.
[0044] In an alternative not illustrated, the through holes 17 may be of any number, including one, and may have any combination of the features described above, as far as technically possible, to form new embodiments of the invention.
Claims
Demands
1. Side wall (5.1) of a railway vehicle body (1), comprising: • at least two uprights (11), which extend lengthwise substantially parallel to each other and which define a principal plane (PI) in which the uprights (11) extend lengthwise, and • at least one reinforcing element (13), which connects a first and a second of the uprights (11) along a longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13), and which comprises a flat plate (15): • defining a plate plane (P2), in which the flat plate (15) extends and which is substantially perpendicular to the principal plane (PI) and to the first and second uprights (11), • having an outer edge (13A), which is intended to face outwards from the body (1) and which is straight along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13), being parallel to the principal plane (PI), and • having an inner edge (13B),which is opposite the outer edge (13A) along a direction perpendicular to the main plane (PI), characterized in that the outer (13A) and inner (13B) edges are, in the sheet metal plane (P2), separated from each other, along a direction perpendicular to the main plane (PI), by a distance (D) which varies along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13), this distance (D) being maximum substantially at the middle of the reinforcing element (13) along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13).
2. Side wall (5.1) according to claim 1, wherein the inner edge (13B) consists of two straight parts (13B.1, 13B.2), symmetrical to each other with respect to a plane of symmetry (P3), which is perpendicular to the main plane (PI) and to the sheet metal plane (P2) and which passes through the middle of the reinforcing element (13) along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13).
3. Side wall (5.1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the flat sheet (15) includes at least one through hole (17).
4. Side wall (5.1) according to claim 3, wherein said at least one through hole (17) is located substantially in the middle of the reinforcing element (13) along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13).
5. Side wall (5.1) according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein said at least one through hole (17) is oblong in having a principal direction extending along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13).
6. Side wall (5.1) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein said at least one through hole (17) is adapted to fix at least one accessory, in particular a wiring accessory.
7. Side wall (5.1) according to any one of claims 3 to 6, in which several through holes (17) are provided which are aligned substantially regularly along the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing element (13).
8. Side wall (5.1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which several reinforcing elements (13) are provided between the first and second uprights (11), these reinforcing elements (13) being distributed in the longitudinal direction of the uprights (11).
9. Railway vehicle body (1), comprising two side walls (5.1 and 5.2), respectively left and right, which conform to any one of claims 1 to 8.
10. Railway vehicle, comprising a railway vehicle body (1) according to claim 9.