Room divider for the interior of a passenger vehicle, passenger vehicle with room divider and method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a room divider 1 for the interior of a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus, wherein the room divider comprises: a dividing eleme

Description

The invention relates to a room divider for the interior of a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus. Furthermore, the invention relates to a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus, comprising the room divider. In addition, the invention relates to a method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle using a room divider. It is well known in the art to divide the room in the interior of a passenger vehicle for public transport into separate areas by using room dividers. The separate areas are not completely surrounded by exterior and / or interior walls as well as doors and windows, like a passenger compartment, but are just separated by walls, panels and structural elements of the car body so that indirect access from one of the separate areas to another of the separate areas is still possible without opening a door or passing an open door. In some cases, dividing the interior room of a passenger vehicle will cause passengers to feel some privacy. Recently, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic or SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, obligations have been imposed on operators of passenger vehicles in order to reduce the risk that the virus spreads within the passenger vehicle. One typical obligation is ensuring a certain minimum distance between seated passengers. In particular, it is no longer allowed that directly neighbouring seats within the passenger vehicle are occupied by passengers, that the heads of passengers occupying seats are positioned closer than an allowed minimum distance and / or that passengers occupying seats are directly facing each other, unless the allowed minimum distance is observed. It is an object of the present invention to provide means supporting an operator of a passenger vehicle for public transport with regard to the reduction of the risk that pathogenic agents spread within the vehicle. A room divider is proposed for the interior of a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus, wherein the room divider comprises a dividing element adapted to divide a room into separate areas and comprises a holder for holding the dividing element The holder comprises a section adapted for non-permanent attachment to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle. In particular, the section for non-permanent attachment to the flat surface may comprise an attachment surface that is glued to the flat surface of the vehicle. Preferably, a type of glue is used which can be removed completely from the flat surface. Alternatively to gluing, the holder may comprise a suction cup for non-permanent attachment to the flat surface of the passenger vehicle This allows attaching the room divider temporarily in the interior of a passenger vehicle so that additional separated areas are created. In particular, the room divider hinders the flow of air which is possibly contaminated by pathogenic agents like bacteria or viruses. There are many possible locations within the interior of a passenger vehicle where the room divider effectively hinders the spreading of air exhaled by passengers. For example, the room divider can be placed in between two seats which can be occupied by passengers that will then directly face each other. Furthermore, the dividing element of a room divider can be mounted above the seating surface of a passenger seat so that no passenger can occupy the seat or so that occupying the seat is at least uncomfortable. The term “occupying the seat” means that a passenger sits on the seating surface (which is facing upwards) in a normal seating position. When no passenger can occupy the seat, it is impossible to sit on the seating surface in a normal seating position. This is the case, for example, if the dividing element extends from a few centimeters (e.g. with its lower edge in the range of 2 to 50 cm) above the central line of the seating surface upwards, preferably as a flat panel with its large surfaces oriented to the opposite sides located sideways of the seat. In many cases, the positions of room dividers that are required for the purposes mentioned before are located next to a window, next to the inner surface of an exterior wall or next to an interior wall of the passenger vehicle. Considering that the original state of the passenger room within the passenger vehicle shall be restored when a pandemic has terminated or when obligations are relieved, permanently fixing the room divider for example by drilling holes and bolting or screwing the room divider to the wall or window is not a favourable choice. In contrast, according to the present invention, at least one holder of the room divider is attached and is preferably fixed I or can be attached and preferably fixed to a flat surface (such as the flat surface of a wall or window) non-permanently. In case of a suction cup, it can be removed easily from the flat surface for example, depending on the design, by manually deforming the cup or by deforming the cup using a tool, thereby allowing air to flow into the space between the cup and the flat surface. According to one embodiment of a suction cup, such a tool can be integrated into the holder or the holder comprises a predefined interface for being engaged by the tool. Typically, a suction cup has a curved working face that is made of elastic, flexible material. When the suction cup is pressed against a flat, non-porous surface, the volume of the space between the suction cup and the flat surface is reduced, so that the air between the cup and the surface is forced past the rim of the cup. Furthermore, since the cup is made of the elastic, flexible material, it tends to regain its original shape, before the error in the space has partly been forced out of the space. As a result, the air within the cavity between the cup and the flat surface has a significantly smaller pressure than the air outside of the cup which has the local pressure of the atmosphere. The pressure difference between the atmosphere and inside the cavity results in a force that keeps the cup adhered to the surface. The cup can easily be removed from the flat surface by causing air to flow back into the cavity. This equalizes the pressure inside the cavity to the atmosphere pressure and there is no longer a sufficient force to hold the cup next to the flat surface. The suction cup of the holder of the room divider in particular corresponds to this typical design of a suction cup. As mentioned above, the invention also relates to a passenger vehicle comprising the room divider according to any embodiment described in this description and relates to a method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus, into separate areas, by using the room divider according to one of these embodiments. In particular, the room divider may comprise at least one holder of a second type which does not include a suction cup or surface to be glued to the flat surface. Such a holder may be designed, for example, to fix the room divider to a grip bar or a grip handle that allow passengers to hold on. According to a specific embodiment of the second type, the holder may comprise a receptacle for receiving a section of the grip bar or grip handle and may comprise means like screws or clamps for tightly attaching the holder to the grip bar or grip handle at the receptacle. A room divider may comprise at least one holder of the first type, the type in particular including a suction cup or surface to be glued, and may comprise at least one holder of the second type. The holder can be fixed tightly to any suitable structure within the interior of the passenger vehicle by using the holder(s) of the second type. The at least one holder of the first type additionally secures the position of the room divider by attaching it to a flat surface. Therefore, the holding connection provided by the holder of the first type does not require the same strength of fixation as the holding connection provided by the holder of the second type. In particular, the dividing element may comprise or may consist of a flat panel. Thereby, very little space is required for separating the room into the separate areas. A flat panel comprises two large surfaces on opposite sides of the panel and narrow surfaces at the rim. In the following, only the large surfaces are considered as surfaces of the panel. Therefore, if a passenger faces one of the surfaces, this means that the viewing direction of the passenger is perpendicular or nearly perpendicular to the large surface. The holder may comprise a holding section that is fixed to the dividing element and a plurality of connecting elements connecting the holding section with in each case one suction cup or surface to be glued so that the holder can be attached via each of the suction cups or surfaces to be glued to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle. In particular, if the dividing element comprises the flat panel, at least one of the connecting elements may extend in a direction other than the directions along the large surfaces of the flat panel and / or at least one of the connecting elements may be curved or angled. As a result, the flat panel (or alternatively a dividing elements of a different type) can be mounted next to a structural element of the rail vehicle, such as a beam of the rail vehicle’s car body, wherein the dividing element is attached via at least one of the connecting elements and via at least one of the suction cups or surfaces to be glued to a flat surface neighbouring the structural element. In a special embodiment, the dividing element is attached to two different flat surfaces on opposite sides of the structural element via in each case at least one of the connecting elements and via at least one of the suction cups or of the surface to be glued. It is also possible that at least one suction cup and at least one surface to be glued is used for attaching the same dividing element to the different flat surfaces. As mentioned before, the invention also relates to a passenger vehicle. Therefore, a passenger vehicle for public transport is proposed, in particular a railway vehicle or a bus, comprising the room divider of one of the embodiments described in this specification, wherein the holder of the room divider is attached non-permanently to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle so that a holding force for holding the room divider is applied from the flat surface via the holder to the dividing element of the room divider. The flat surface may be a surface of an opaque wall (in particular an outer wall) of a car body of the passenger vehicle or of a window of the passenger vehicle. In both cases, the holder can easily be attached to the flat surface, thereby holding the room divider nearby the flat surface. As a result, airflow next to the window or wall can be hindered. In particular, when the dividing element comprises or consists of a flat panel, the flat panel may extend transversely to the flat surface. In other words, the large surfaces of the flat panel extend perpendicularly or nearly perpendicularly to the flat surface. According to a specific embodiment, the flat panel divides a room comprising a plurality of passenger seats into separate areas comprising in each case at least one of the plurality of passenger seats. In this case, at least one seat in one of the separate areas may be oriented in such a manner that a passenger who is occupying the seat is facing the panel surface of the flat panel or is facing in the opposite direction of the panel surface of the flat panel. In both cases this helps fulfilling obligations posed upon the vehicle’s operator regarding the separation of passengers within the vehicle with respect to the spreading of pathogenic agents. As mentioned before, the invention also relates to a method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle for public transport, in particular for a railway vehicle or bus, into separate areas. The room divider, in particular any room divider that is described in this specification, is fixed to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle by attaching it non-permanently to the flat surface, thereby applying a holding force for holding the room divider from the flat surface via the holder to a dividing element of the room divider. Embodiments of the method follow from the description of embodiments of the passenger vehicle. Examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawing. The individual figures of the drawing show: Fig. 1 an arrangement comprising three seats and a room divider next to a window of a passenger vehicle, Fig. 2 a plan view of the room divider and of a grip bar shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a similar arrangement as shown in Fig. 1 comprising only two seats and a room divider next to a window and next to a door of a passenger vehicle, Fig. 4 a plan view of the room divider and of a grip bar shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 a further arrangement comprising two groups of seats and a room divider next to windows of a passenger vehicle, Fig. 6 a plan view of the room divider shown in Fig. 5, Fig. 1 shows an arrangement comprising three seats 9a, 9b, 9c arranged in a line along a window 5 of a passenger vehicle and comprising a room divider 1. On both sides of the window 5, the passenger vehicle comprises a wall 6a, 6b of its car body. In addition, Fig. 1 pictures part of the floor of the passenger vehicle nearby the seats 9. The room divider 1 comprises a flat panel 10 as dividing element, four holders 2, 3, namely two holders 2 of a first type and two holders 3 of a second type. By each of the holders 2 of the first type, the room divider 1 is fixed to the window 5. By each of the holders 3 of the second type, the room divider 1 is fixed to a (vertically extending) vertical grip bar 7. The holders 2 of the first type are positioned on a side of the room divider 1 opposite to the side where the holders 3 of the second type are positioned. Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the room divider 1 and of the vertical grip bar 7 which has a curvature at its lower end and also forms a horizontally extending section 7a positioned below the room divider 1. The horizontally extending section 7a is fixed to the wall of the passenger vehicle under the middle seat 9b, but the respective holder is not shown in the figures. The vertical grip bar 7 is mounted at its top end to a (horizontally extending) horizontal grip bar 8 and is positioned to prohibit passengers from using the middle seat 9b. However, the vertical grip bar 7 alone would not block the middle seat 9b in a sufficient manner. Therefore, the room divider 1 is mounted to the vertical grip bar 7. Since there is no suitable structural element at the window 5 for fixing the room divider 1 by clamping, bolting or screwing, the room divider 1 is fixed to window 5 by suction cups 2 of the holders 2 of the first type. It requires little effort to apply the suction cups 2 to the window and release them from the window 5 if desired. In the assembled state, the dividing element 10 effectively divides the room into areas on both sides of the large surfaces of the flat panel. In each of these two areas there is one of the two seats 9a, 9c. Air exhaled by passengers occupying these seats 9a, 9c will not directly flow to the passenger on the other side of the flat panel in the other of the two separated areas. The specific embodiment of a dividing element 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a flat panel merely shaped as a rectangle with curved edges, but has a cutout and the rim at the cutout is designed to extend along the backrest of a passenger seat. In other words, the flat panel can be positioned closer to the backrest due to the cutout. For example when obligations laid upon the operator of the passenger vehicle with regard to the minimum distance between seated passengers have been lifted, the suction cups 2 are released so that the room divider 1 is no longer fixed to the window 5 and, in addition, the vertical grip bar 7 is detached from the wall under the middle seat 9b and from the horizontal grip bar 8. As a result, passengers can not only occupy the outer seats 9a and 9c but can also occupy the middle seat 9b again as before the assembly of the room divider 1 and the vertical grip bar 7. The assembly and disassembly of (a) a room divider within a passenger vehicle and (b) at least one additional structural element, such as a grip bar or grip handle can be realized not only as described before with reference to the specific parts shown in Fig. 1. The shape of the room divider and of the at least one additional structural element may vary. Therefore, according to a preferred embodiment of the method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle for public transport, the room divider and at least one additional structural element are assembled temporarily within the interior room of the passenger vehicle, wherein the room divider is not only attached to the flat surface, but is also fixed to the at least one additional structural element and the at least one additional structural element is fixed to a permanent element or part of the passenger vehicle. As mentioned before, the additional structural element may be a grip bar or grip handle, for example. Therefore, the additional structural element has not only the function to hold the room divider, but can be used by passengers to hold on. A further embodiment of an arrangement comprising a room divider 11 assembled within an interior room of a passenger vehicle is shown in Fig. 3. A plan view of the room divider 11 and of the vertical grip bar 7 are shown in Fig. 4. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 1 and 2. The differences will be explained in the following. There are only two seats 9a, 9c with a gap in between. The flat panel dividing element 20 of room divider 11 is also merely shaped like a rectangle, but with a smaller cutout than the cutout of the dividing element 10 of room divider 1. The cutout of the dividing element 20 serves to position the dividing element 20 close to the wall section of the passenger vehicle below the window 5. Compared to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 and 2, there is an additional holder 4 of the second type for holding the dividing element 20 on the horizontally extending section 7a of the vertical grip bar 7. There is a narrow wall section 16 of the passenger vehicle on the right-hand side of the window 5 of the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, followed by a structural element 12 of the car body of the passenger vehicle. This structural element 12 is a vertical beam next to a passenger door of the vehicle that is not shown in the figures. The room divider 11 and the vertical grip bar 7 may be assembled and disassembled for the same purpose as the room divider 1 and the vertical grip bar 7 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. In the assembled state, the dividing element 20 effectively divides the room into areas on both sides of the large surfaces of the flat panel. In each of these two areas there is one of the seats 9a, 9c. Air exhaled by a passenger occupying one of these seats 9a, 9c will not directly flow to a passenger on the other side of the flat panel in the other of the two separated areas. Yet another embodiment of an arrangement comprising a room divider 21 assembled within an interior room of a passenger vehicle is shown in Fig. 5. A plan view of the room divider 21 is shown in Fig. 6. This embodiment differs from the environment described with reference to Fig. 1 to 4 in that there is no grip bar to which the room divider is fixed. Rather, the room divider 21 is fixed to a structural element of the carbody of the passenger vehicle, in this example a vertical beam 26 next to windows 5 of the vehicle by two holders 27. In addition, the room divider 21 is fixed to each of the two windows 5 on both sides of the vertical beam 26. A holder 22 is mounted to the upper edge of the room divider 21 via a holding section 23 that is fixed to the dividing element 30 of the room divider 21. A plurality of, in this case two, connecting elements 24a, 24b connect the holding section 23 with in each case one section adapted for non-permanent attachment to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle. In this particular example, the section is a suction cup 3. Thereby, the holder 22 is attached via each of the cups 3 to one of the flat surfaces provided by the windows 5. In this case, the holder 22 belongs to a first type of holders, while the holders 27 belong to a second type of holders. The holder 22 or other holders of the same type allow mounting a room divider to a flat surface even if the flat surface is located further away from the room divider than another structural element like a beam and if this structural element shall not be connected with a permanent holder, at least in a specific area. The arrangement shown in Fig. 5 comprises two groups of seats 29a, 29b, wherein each of these groups of seats 29a, 29b comprises a plurality (here: two) seating surfaces and corresponding back rests. Passengers occupying the seating surfaces of different groups are facing each other which imposes a certain risk of spreading pathogenic agents. Therefore, the room divider 21 is positioned in between the seating surfaces and back rests of the different groups of seats 29a, 29b and at least spreading of pathogenic agents by direct air flow of exhaled air is prohibited between passengers occupying the different groups of seats next to the windows 5. List of reference signs room divider holder suction cup holder window wall vertical grip bar horizontally extending section of vertical grip bar horizontal grip bar seat dividing element room divider structural element of carbody next to door wall section dividing element room divider holder holding section connecting element connecting element vertical beam holder group of seats group of seats dividing element

Claims

1. A room divider (1; 11,21) for the interior of a passenger vehicle for public transport,, wherein the room divider (1; 11,21) comprises- a dividing element comprising a flat panel (10; 20, 30) adapted to divide a room into separate areas,a holder (2; 22) for holding the dividing element (10; 20, 30), wherein the holder (2; 22) comprises a suction cup for non-permanent attachment to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle.

2. The room divider of claim 1, wherein the holder (22) comprises a holding section (23) that is fixed to the dividing element (30) and a plurality of connecting elements (24a, 24b) connecting the holding section (23) with in each case one section adapted for non-permanent attachment to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle so that the holder (22) can be attached via each of the sections adapted for non-permanent attachment to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle.

3. The room divider of any preceding claim wherein the passenger vehicle is a railway vehicle or a bus.

4. A passenger vehicle for public transport, comprising the room divider (1; 11, 21) of one of the preceding claims, wherein the holder (2; 22) of the room divider (1; 11, 21) is non-permanently attached to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle so that a holding force for holding the room divider (1; 11,21) is applied from the flat surface via the holder (2; 22) to the dividing element (10; 20, 30) of the room divider (1; 11, 21).

5. The passenger vehicle of claim 4, wherein the flat surface is a surface of an opaque wall of a car body of the passenger vehicle or of a window of the passenger vehicle.

6. The passenger vehicle of claim 4 or 5, wherein the flat panel extends transversely to the flat surface.

7. The passenger vehicle of claim 6, wherein the flat panel divides a room comprising a plurality of passenger seats (9) into separate areas comprising in each case at least one of the plurality of passenger seats (9).

8. The passenger vehicle of claim 7, wherein at least one seat in one of the separate areas is oriented in such a manner that a passenger who is occupying the seat is facing the panel surface of the flat panel or is facing in the opposite direction of the panel surface of the flat panel.

9. The passenger vehicle of one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the dividing element (10) of the room divider (1) is mounted above the seating surface of a passenger seat (9b) so that no passenger can occupy the seat (9b) or so that occupying the seat is at least uncomfortable.

10. The passenger vehicle of any of claims 4 to 9 wherein the passenger vehicle is a railway vehicle or a bus.

11. A method of dividing an interior room of a passenger vehicle for public transport, into separate areas, wherein a room divider (1; 11,21), as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, is fixed to a flat surface of the passenger vehicle by non-permanently attaching a holder (2; 22) of the room divider (1; 11, 21) to the flat surface, thereby applying a holding force for holding the room divider (1; 11,21) from the flat surface via the holder (2; 22) to a dividing element (10; 20, 30) of the room divider (1; 11,21).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the room divider (1; 11) and at least one additional structural element are assembled temporarily within the interior room of the passenger vehicle, wherein the room divider (1; 11) is not only attached to the flat surface, but is also fixed to the at least one additional structural element and the at least one additional structural element is fixed to a permanent element or part of the passenger vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the dividing element (10; 20, 30) comprises or consists of a flat panel and wherein the flat panel is placed within the interior room so that it extends transversely to the flat surface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the interior room comprises a plurality of passenger seats (9) and wherein the flat panel is placed within the interior room so that it divides the interior room into separate areas comprising in each case at least one of the plurality of passenger seats (9).

15. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one seat in one of the separate areas is oriented in such a manner that a passenger who is occupying the seat is facing the panel surface of the flat panel or is facing into the opposite direction of the panel surface of the flat panel.

16. The method of any of claims 11 to 15 wherein the passenger vehicle is a railway vehicle or a bus.

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