Freight Wagon Bridge with Pivoting Support for Truck Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail transport systems for self-sufficient vehicles, such as trucks with semi-trailers, face inefficiencies in loading and unloading due to high construction heights, lengthy maneuvering times, and suboptimal space utilization, particularly when transitioning between road and rail transport.
Innovation Solution
A freight car with a compact base frame and a displaceable bridge part featuring a central functional cutout, allowing for adjustable and pivotable support structures that can accommodate varying vehicle dimensions, integrated with a lifting and pivoting system for efficient loading and unloading, and an enveloping structure for enhanced stability and space optimization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rotating bridge with lifting devices is used for loading and unloading transport vehicles, then the bridge can be securely fixed in position, but the construction height becomes constant and high, limiting the system to Euro trucks only
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge construction is changed from a static system with constant height to a dynamic system with variable height. The bridge can now be adjusted vertically to accommodate different truck types, transforming the rigid structure into an adaptable one that maintains secure fixing while achieving versatility.
2Ease of operation
If the entire train set is released to carry out loading and unloading processes, then the transport vehicles can be loaded and unloaded, but the process requires high expenditure of time
Solution Approach 1:
The train set is segmented into functional units, allowing the loading and unloading operations to be performed on individual wagons without requiring the release of the entire train set. This enables parallel operations and significantly reduces the time loss associated with train set release and reconfiguration.
3Ease of manufacture
If standardized train combination dimensions are used, then the transport system is simplified, but the dimensions cannot be optimally adapted to specific transport vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge construction is changed from a static system with constant height to a dynamic system with variable height. The bridge can now be adjusted vertically to accommodate different truck types, transforming the rigid structure into an adaptable one that maintains secure fixing while achieving versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The bridge height and position parameters are made variable rather than fixed. By changing these geometric parameters dynamically, the system can adapt to different transport vehicle dimensions while maintaining the simplified standardized train combination structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
Freight wagons are designed for the track-bound transport of at least one self-contained transport vehicle, in particular a truck with a semi-trailer or similar freight transporter. For this purpose, the freight wagon has a bridge section extending between a front bogie and a rear bogie, which is movable and serves as a drivable surface. In this area, the at least one freight transporter, which is being transferred from road to rail traffic, can drive on and off. The design according to the invention provides that the bridge section is designed as a base frame with a central functional cutout, and that this base frame interacts with a supporting structure forming a movable usable surface as a multi-part assembly.By means of this support structure, which can at least partially be moved into a lowered operating position within the functional section, the transport vehicle positioned on it can be adapted to the respective dimensions of the usable transport space defined for rail transport.