Two-Level Bogie Interconnection for Double-Deck Railcars
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high-speed double-decker railway vehicles, the interconnection between cars typically requires passengers to change levels, complicating movement and posing challenges for those with reduced mobility, as existing solutions either raise the floor or do not optimize passenger capacity.
Innovation Solution
A railway vehicle design where two successive cars are supported by a common bogie, allowing a two-level interconnection passage that extends in line with the articulation device, with the lower and upper floors of adjacent cars connected at the same height, enabling seamless transfer between levels without changing floors, facilitated by a bogie structure with a free volume for the interconnection passage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the interconnection passage is provided between two wheels connected directly to the body, then the passage can be arranged, but the floor must be raised to pass above the bogie, resulting in a single level and reduced passenger capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a single-level interconnection to a two-level interconnection system. The passage includes both a lower floor connecting lower floors of adjacent cars and an upper floor connecting upper floors, allowing passengers to transfer between cars while remaining on the same level (either upper or lower), thereby eliminating the need to raise the floor and maintain optimal passenger capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The interconnection passage is segmented into two distinct levels: an upper floor and a lower floor. Each level independently connects corresponding floors of adjacent cars, creating separate circulation paths that allow passenger movement without interfering with the bogie structure and without requiring floor height increases.
2Ease of operation
If the floor is raised to pass above the bogie, then the passage can be provided, but the vehicle comprises only one level in line with the bogie
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of raising the floor vertically to pass above the bogie, the invention utilizes the longitudinal space along the bogie by creating a two-level passage structure. The lower floor runs at the same height as the car's lower floor, and the upper floor runs at the same height as the car's upper floor, both extending in line with the bogie without requiring floor height increases.
3Device complexity
If interconnection is provided on a single level, then the structure is simpler, but passengers must board the upper level or descend to the lower level to go from one car to the next, complicating movement
Solution Approach 1:
The interconnection system is divided into two independent segments: an upper floor passage and a lower floor passage. Each segment provides direct access between corresponding levels of adjacent cars, allowing passengers to remain on their current level during transfer. This segmentation eliminates the need for passengers to change levels, simplifying movement despite the increased structural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The railway vehicle comprises two adjacent cars (6), each comprising a car body (8), each car (6) comprising a lower floor (54) and an upper floor (56), arranged one above the other so as to define a lower level (58) and an upper level (60), said car bodies (8) being supported by a common bogie (1) and being articulated to each other by an articulation device (2). The cars (6) are connected to each other by an interconnecting passage (62), said passage (62) extending substantially at the articulation device (2) and comprising a lower floor connecting the lower floors (54) of the two cars (6) and an upper floor connecting the upper floors (56) of the two cars.