Rail Coach Underframe Cable Routing Through Hollow Profiles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of cable harnesses in rail vehicles is labor-intensive and time-consuming due to the need to route cables through small openings in the car body structure, which prevents preliminary electrical testing and increases error rates.
Innovation Solution
A car body with an underframe constructed from permanently connected light metal hollow profiles, where a cover layer is removed to expose a cavity for cable insertion, allowing routing from above and using pre-attached connectors, and optionally using a cable duct to restore structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If cables are routed through small openings in main cross members, then structural strength is maintained, but cable harness assembly becomes labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The hollow profile is segmented into two cover layers with an intermediate cavity, allowing cables to be routed through the cover layer instead of through the main cross member, thus maintaining structural strength while enabling easier cable assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate cavity in the hollow profile acts as a mediator, providing a space for cable routing that avoids the need to drill through the main cross member, thereby preserving structural integrity while facilitating cable installation
2Ease of operation
If connectors are mounted on cables during installation, then cable routing is enabled, but labor costs and assembly time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cover layer is pre-prepared with recesses at specific positions during manufacturing, allowing cables with pre-mounted connectors to be easily inserted and routed without requiring subsequent assembly work, thus reducing assembly time and labor costs
3Ease of operation
If cable harness assembly is performed from below the car body floor, then cables can be routed to underfloor devices, but assembly work must be performed overhead
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of assembling cables from below the car body floor as in conventional designs, the invention allows cable harness assembly to be performed from above through the opened cover layer, enabling workers to assemble cables in a comfortable position while still providing access to underfloor devices through the intermediate cavity
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a coach body (1) for a rail vehicle, comprising an underframe (2) made of a plurality of non-detachably interconnected light metal hollow profiled sections (3). Across a specific longitudinal section of the coach body (1) in said underframe (2), a top layer (7) of a hollow profiled section (3), facing the interior of the coach, is removed such that electrical cables (5) can be inserted into the resulting cavity (4), and recesses (6) through which electrical cables (5) can be inserted are provided at specific points on the top layer (8) of said hollow profiled section (3), facing away from the interior of the coach.