Coach body of railway vehicle

• US 6,227,125 B1
• Filed: 11/06/1998
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens Duewag Schienenfahrzeuge Gmbh (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Schroeder, Karl-Josef, Muehlhahn, Dieter, Koeppe, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Morano, S. Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jules, Frantz F.
• Application Number:
  US09/180,362
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 105/396, 105/397, 105/401, 105/404, 105/409, 105/355, 105/329, 296/197, 296/196, 296/193, 52/578, 52/586.1
• US Class Current: 105/401
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 17/045 The sub-units being construction modules modular super-structures for vehicles carrying a large number of passengers B62D31/025
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 17/08 Sides
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

A coach body of a rail vehicle has horizontal and vertical walls, the horizontal walls serving to form both a floor and a ceiling, while the vertical walls forming side walls, the vertical walls having cutouts for at least one window and one boarding door, the horizontal and vertical walls being formed by modules of fiber-reinforced plastic divided sectionally crosswise to a longitudinal axis of the coach body, each two of these hand-modules which are complimentary to one another and are joined in a force-transmitting way at the horizontal walls which meet in a middle of the vehicle forming one longitudinal section of the coach body, and a length of the coach body being formed accordingly by a force-transmitting connection of a number of the longitudinal sections at abutting points extending all the way around in transverse direction of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A coach body of a rail vehicle, comprising horizontal and vertical walls, said horizontal walls serving to form both a floor and a ceiling, while said vertical walls forming side walls, said vertical walls having cutouts for at least one window and one boarding door, said horizontal and vertical walls being formed by half-modules of fiber-reinforced plastic divided sectionally crosswise to a longitudinal axis of the coach body, each two of these half-modules which are complimentary to one another and are joined in a force-transmitting way at said horizontal walls which meet in a middle of the vehicle forming one longitudinal section of the coach body, and a length of the coach body being formed accordingly by a force-transmitting connection of a number of said longitudinal sections at abutting points extending all the way around in transverse direction of the vehicle, said longitudinal sections including two adjacent longitudinal sections which extend all the way around in a transverse direction of the coach body and have an abutting point formed for securing accessory parts of the vehicle selected from the group consisting of a partition, a passenger seat, and a support pole.

2. A coach body as defined in claim 1, wherein said half-modules have four types, including one solid-surface module, one module with a window cutout, one module with a door cutout, and one module as a transition to a joint of a train combination.

3. A coach body as defined in claim 1, wherein said half-modules include an inner layer, an outer layer and a core layer located between said inner and outer layers for thermal and acoustic insulation, said inner layer and said outer layer being composed of fiber-reinforced plastic.

4. A coach body as defined in claim 3, wherein said fiber-reinforced plastic has fibers selected from the group consisting of glass fibers, carbon fibers, aramide fibers, and natural fibers.

5. A coach body as defined in claim 3, wherein said fiber-reinforced plastic has a matrix material selected from the group consisting of epoxy resins, unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins, and vinyl resins.

6. A coach body as defined in claim 1, wherein said half-modules are formed as injection molded elements.

7. A coach body as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said half-modules in its region to be joined in force-transmitting fashion to other modules is formed so as to allow a joining technique with the use of joining elements selected from the group consisting of screws, rivets, and adhesives.

8. A coach body as defined in claim 1, wherein, said longitudinal sections including two adjacent longitudinal sections which extend all the way around in a transverse direction of the coach body and have an abutting point lined with a strip.

9. A coach body of a rail vehicle, comprising horizontal and vertical walls, said horizontal walls serving to form both a floor and a ceiling, while said vertical walls forming side walls, said vertical walls having cutouts for at least one window and one boarding door, said horizontal and vertical walls being formed by half-modules of fiber-reinforced plastic divided sectionally crosswise to a longitudinal axis of the coach body, each two of these half-modules which are complimentary to one another and are joined in a force-transmitting way at said horizontal walls which meet in a middle of the vehicle forming one longitudinal section of the coach body, and a length of the coach body being formed accordingly by a force-transmitting connection of a number of said longitudinal sections at abutting points extending all the way around in transverse direction of the vehicle, said half-modules in a region of said horizontal walls on said ceiling and/or on said floor having rectangular formations selected from the group consisting of voids and grooves, and each receiving a belt which extends continuously over a length of the coach body, said belt being stressable by tensile, compressive and bending forces.

10. A coach body as defined in claim 9, wherein said belt has fiber-reinforced plastic with longitudinally oriented endless fibers.