Rail Vehicle Door Movable Floor Part Gap Bridging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicles face challenges in cost-effectively and space-efficiently reducing horizontal gaps between the vehicle and platforms, especially on curved tracks, where traditional folding or sliding steps are expensive, unreliable, and require significant space.
Innovation Solution
A rail vehicle design featuring a pivoting sliding door with a mechanically coupled movable floor part that extends through the door opening, allowing the floor part to project outside the car body, effectively reducing the gap between the vehicle and platform without the need for additional drives or devices, utilizing the door's opening and closing movement to extend or retract the floor part.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If folding or sliding steps are used to bridge the gap, then the horizontal gap between rail vehicle and platform is reduced, but the device complexity, cost, and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The movable floor part is mechanically coupled to the pivoting sliding door, merging the gap-bridging function with the door opening/closing function. The floor part serves dual purposes: as a structural element of the door assembly and as a gap-filling step, eliminating the need for separate step mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The movable floor part performs multiple functions: it acts as part of the door structure during closing, extends as a step surface during door opening to bridge the gap, and retracts when the door closes. This multi-functionality replaces dedicated step devices with a versatile component already present in the door system
2Reliability
If folding or sliding steps are installed, then the horizontal gap is reduced, but the space required inside the car body increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable floor part extends in the longitudinal direction through the door opening to bridge the horizontal gap, rather than requiring vertical folding space or lateral sliding space inside the car body. This uses the door opening direction as the extension dimension, saving interior volume
3Reliability
If separate drive mechanisms are added for the movable floor part, then the gap reduction function is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The movable floor part is passively driven by the door's own opening/closing motion through mechanical coupling. The door assembly serves itself by using its movement to automatically extend and retract the floor part, eliminating the need for separate motors, sensors, or control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The drive function is merged into the door mechanism itself. The mechanical coupling transfers the door's motion directly to the floor part, combining the door drive system with the floor part actuation into a single integrated mechanism
4Reliability
If the movable floor part is extended through the door opening, then the horizontal gap is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The movable floor part is designed to move dynamically with the door opening/closing motion rather than being fixed. This dynamic adjustment allows the floor part to adapt to varying door positions and platform gaps, reducing the need for extremely precise manufacturing tolerances to maintain effective gap closure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a cost-effective, space-saving, and reliable method to reduce the horizontal gap, eliminating unnecessary waiting times and tripping risks by integrating the movable floor part's movement with the door's operation, enhancing passenger access and reducing material weight through a tapered cross-section and efficient mechanical coupling.
Implementation Method 1
The movable floor part is mechanically coupled to the pivoting sliding door so that when the pivoting sliding door is moved from the closed to the open position, the movable floor part is moved from the retracted to the extended position
Implementation Method 2
The movable floor part then projects beyond the door opening into this free space
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a rail vehicle (1), which comprises: a car body (10) having a door opening; a sliding door (30), which can be moved between a closed position and an open position, which sliding door (30) closes the door opening in the closed position and opens the door opening in the open position; and a movable floor part (50), which is arranged on a floor (40) of the rail vehicle (1) or is connected to the floor (40) and extends along the door opening and can be moved between a retracted position and an extended position. In the extended position, the movable floor part (50) protrudes at least partially outward beyond the car body (10) through the door opening. The movable floor part (50) is mechanically coupled to the sliding door (30) such that, when the sliding door (30) is moved from the closed position into the open position and vice versa, the movable floor part (50) is moved from the retracted position into the extended position and vice versa.