Rail Vehicle Sanitary Module Floor Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sanitary cells for rail vehicles face challenges in alignment and assembly complexity due to the use of prefabricated glass fiber reinforced plastic troughs, and the assembly of side walls on raised collars is intricate.
Innovation Solution
The design features side walls with recesses in the bottom area for ramped cover profiles that attach to a floor panel, allowing a floor covering to form a trough-shaped floor area, which is sealed flush with the side walls using sealing material, simplifying alignment and assembly by using a template and adhesive grooves for attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a prefabricated trough made of glass fiber reinforced plastic is used, then the floor area structure is pre-formed, but alignment becomes difficult and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the floor pan into separate components: a base plate and modular side wall elements that can be assembled independently. The side walls feature recesses in their bottom areas that receive corresponding protrusions from the base plate, allowing segmented assembly without requiring complex alignment of a single prefabricated trough unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The side walls are pre-formed with recesses in their bottom areas during manufacturing. This preliminary preparation enables straightforward assembly with the base plate, as the recesses are already positioned and sized to receive the base plate's protrusions, eliminating the need for complex alignment operations during installation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If side walls are assembled on a raised collar, then the floor pan structure is formed, but the assembly process becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of assembling side walls onto a raised collar structure, the invention inverts the approach by having the side walls feature recesses that receive protrusions from the base plate. This reversal simplifies the assembly process while achieving the same structural outcome of a stable floor pan.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the complex raised collar assembly step by implementing a simpler direct connection system. The recesses in the side walls and corresponding protrusions on the base plate create a straightforward mechanical connection that achieves structural stability without requiring the intermediate raised collar component.
3Reliability
If a closed tight floor pan is produced, then moisture tightness is achieved, but installation effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floor pan is segmented into a base plate and side wall elements with standardized connection interfaces. The recesses in the side walls and protrusions on the base plate create simple mechanical joints that ensure moisture tightness while requiring minimal installation effort, as the components can be assembled in a straightforward sequence without complex alignment requirements.
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
This approach enables the production of a simple, closed, and tight floor pan with reduced installation effort, ensuring a moisture-tight connection and easy assembly of side walls to the base plate.
Implementation Method 1
sealing material is introduced in the upper part of the recess of the side walls in such a way that the floor covering is flush with the side walls above their recess
Implementation Method 2
Grooves for receiving adhesive can be provided on an underside of the ramp-shaped section of the cover profiles. This allows the aligned cover profiles to be glued to the floor in a simple manner.
Data Source
AI summary
Sanitary module for rail vehicles having a trough-shaped floor region and side panels (1), wherein: the side panels (1) have on their inside a recess (2) in the floor region, in the cross-section of which ramp-like sealing profile sections are provided, the vertically running side areas of which are in contact with associated recess areas of the side panels (1); the sealing profiles are formed for fastening onto a baseplate (13); a floor covering (9) forms the trough-shaped floor region of the sanitary module and extends across the ramp-like sides of the covering profiles (5); and sealing material is introduced in the upper part of the recess (2) of the side panels (1) in such a manner that the floor covering (9) is closed flush with the side panels (1) above the recess (2) thereof.