Extendable Rail Step Platform With Fixed Footboard Gap Bridging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rail vehicles lack a simple and effective solution for bridging the horizontal gap between the car box and a local platform, particularly in ensuring easy passenger access with a compact and adjustable step platform that meets safety and interoperability standards.
Innovation Solution
A rail vehicle design featuring an immovable tread strip with an L-shaped profile that extends beyond the outer shell, combined with an extendable step platform that can be adjusted to form a specified height, allowing for easy passenger access while maintaining a flush and secure entry door mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an extendable step platform is used to bridge the horizontal gap, then passenger access is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The step platform is divided into a fixed portion (integrated with the vehicle floor) and an extendable portion (that can be deployed outward). This segmentation allows the platform to maintain simplicity when retracted while providing extended functionality when needed, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The step platform transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one that can extend and retract. The extendable portion is designed to move outward to bridge gaps with stationary platforms, improving passenger access while only increasing complexity during the extended state, not during normal operation
2Length of stationary object
If the step platform is extended to bridge the gap, then the horizontal gap is reduced, but the vertical distance increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to reduce the vertical distance directly, the invention addresses the problem by extending in the horizontal dimension. The step platform projects outward horizontally to bridge the gap, accepting that vertical distance remains but is managed through the created step configuration
3Ease of operation
If the tread strip extends beyond the outer shell, then passenger access is improved, but the entry door mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The tread strip is designed with an L-shaped cross-section where only specific portions extend beyond the outer shell. The horizontal section provides the extended walking surface for passenger access, while the vertical section remains integrated with the door mechanism, allowing localized extension without complicating the overall door system
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a passenger transport rail vehicle comprising a car body (1) having a boarding area (2) with at least one boarding door (5) and an extendable step platform (3) for bridging a horizontal gap between the car body and a stationary platform, wherein the rail vehicle has, in the boarding area, an immovable footboard (4) which is fixedly connected to the car body (1) and projects beyond an outer shell (7) of the car body (1), wherein the extendable step platform (3) is positioned below the footboard (4) in such a way that a step is formed between the extended step platform (3) and the footboard (4).