Railway car

• US 6,871,599 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2002
• Issued: 03/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Masai, Kentaro, Yamaji, Kazufumi, Okuno, Sumio
• Primary Examiner(s): Jules, Frantz F.
• Application Number:
  US10/083,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20020157564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: 105/238.1, 105/361, 105/396, 105/404, 105/412, 105/413, 105/423, 105/452, 105/454, 105/463.1, 105/392.5, 105/393, 105/402, 105/410, 280/784, 296/181, 296/189, 293/133, 293/136, 188/377
• US Class Current: 105/396
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 15/06 Buffer cars; Arrangements or construction of railway vehicles for protecting them in case of collisions buffers B61G11/00

Abstract

In a railway car body formed of hollow shape members 40, a hollow shape member 51 having a shock absorbing function is provided to the ends of a hollow shape member 40 constituting an underframe 30, where impact load is most likely to be received. The hollow shape member 40 is positioned so that the longitudinal direction thereof is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the car body. When impact load is received, the hollow shape member 51 formed at the ends of the member 40 deforms and collapses, thereby relieving the impact force. The present invention simply provides treatment to some areas of the hollow shape members that form the car body without changing the conventional railway car structure greatly, thus minimizing the impact load provided to the passengers upon collision, and improves the safety of the railway car.

Claims

1. A railway car comprising an underframe, side structures, and a roof structure, wherein

said underframe is composed of plural hollow shape members;

and

the direction of extrusion of said hollow shape members is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the railway car, and said plural hollow shape members are arranged along the circumferential direction of the railway car and welded to one another to form the railway car;

characterized in that said plural hollow shape members are formed so that material used to form both longitudinal ends of the railway car is softer than material used to form the longitudinal center portions thereof, the material used to form said both longitudinal ends being material formed by annealing.

2. A railway car according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said plural hollow shape members includes:

two first hollow shape members composed of the material for forming said both ends, formed as separate parts from a second hollow shape member composed of the material for forming said center portion,

and the two first hollow shape members are respectively bonded to ends of the second hollow shape member.

3. A railway car according to claim 1, characterized in that the first hollow shape members composed of the material for forming said both ends and the second hollow shape member composed of the material for forming said center portion are formed as one hollow shape member.

4. A railway car according to claim 1, wherein

side sills are disposed at both sides of said underframe and are selected such that material used to form both end areas thereof is softer than material used to form longitudinal center areas thereof.

5. A railway car according to claim 1, wherein

one or more center sills are disposed on a lower side of said underframe along the longitudinal direction of the railway car for joining a coupler thereto and are selected such that material used to form said end areas thereof is softer than material used to form the longitudinal center areas thereof.

6. A railway car according to claim 1, wherein

said side structures and said roof structure are composed of a plurality of second hollow shape members;

the direction of extrusion of said plurality of second hollow shape members is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the railway car, the plurality of second hollow shape members being arranged along the circumferential direction of the railway car and bonded to one another; and

said plurality of second hollow shape members are formed so that material used to form both end areas thereof is softer than material used to form the longitudinal center areas thereof.

7. A railway car according to claim 6, wherein

each of said plurality of second hollow shape members includes end portions and a center portion, the end portions forming the end areas and the center portion forming the longitudinal center area, of each second hollow shape member;

and

said end portions of each second hollow shape member and said center portion of said second hollow shape member are separate members, and said end portions are welded to respective ends of the center portion.

8. A railway car according to claim 6, characterized in that

the second hollow shape members composed of the material for forming said both ends and the second hollow shape member composed of the material for forming said center portion are formed as one hollow shape member.

9. A railway car according to claim 1, wherein the material used in forming the longitudinal center portions and the longitudinal ends have a same composition, with the material of the longitudinal ends having been made softer by said annealing.

10. A railway car comprising an underframe, side structures, and a roof structure, wherein:

said underframe is composed of plural hollow shape members; and

the direction of extrusion of said hollow shape members is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the railway car, and said plural hollow shape members are arranged along the circumferential direction of the railway car and welded to one another to form the railway car;

characterized in that said plural hollow shape members are formed so that material used to form both longitudinal ends of the railway car is softer than material used to form the longitudinal center portions thereof;

each of said plural hollow shape members including;

two first hollow shape members composed of the material for forming said both longitudinal ends, formed as separate parts from a second hollow shape member composed of the material for forming the longitudinal center portion,

and the two first hollow shape members are respectively bonded to ends of the second hollow shape member, and wherein;

each of the first hollow shape members and the second hollow shape members includes two face plates and a connecting member extending between the two face plates;

of the first hollow shape members disposed at both ends of the railway car and the second hollow shape members disposed at the center portion thereof, two of the face plates constituting one of the first and second hollow shape members are abutted against two of the face plates constituting the other of the first and second hollow shape members, with their abutted areas being welded;

said one of the first and second hollow shape members has the longitudinal end portion of a connecting member, connecting said two face plates, that is protruded from end portions of said two face plates;

said other of the first and second hollow shape members has longitudinal end portions of said two face plates that are protruded from the end portion of the connecting member connecting said two face plates; and

the connecting member of said one of the first and second hollow shape members is disposed between the two face plates of said other of the first and second hollow shape members.

11. A railway car comprising an underframe, side structures, and a roof structure, wherein:

said underframe is composed of plural hollow shape members; and

the direction of extrusion of said hollow shape members is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the railway car, and said plural hollow shape members are arranged along the circumferential direction of the railway car and welded to one another to form the railway car,

characterized in that said plural hollow shape members are formed so that material used to form both longitudinal ends of the railway car is softer than material used to form the longitudinal center portions thereof, wherein;

said side structures and said roof structure are composed of a plurality of second hollow shape members;

the direction of extrusion of said plurality of second hollow shape members is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the railway car, the plurality of second hollow shape members being arranged along the circumferential direction of the railway car and bonded to one another; and

said plurality of second hollow shape members are formed so that the material used to form end areas thereof is softer than material used to form longitudinal center areas thereof, wherein;

each of said plurality of second hollow shape members includes end portions and a center portion, the end portions forming the end areas and the center portion forming the longitudinal center area, of each second hollow shape member; and

said end portions of each second hollow shape member and said longitudinal center portion of said second hollow shape member are separate members, and said end portions are welded to respective ends of the center portion, and wherein;

each of the plural second hollow shape members includes two face plates and a connecting member connecting between the two face plates;

of the plural second hollow shape members disposed at both ends of the car body and the plural second hollow shape members disposed at the center portion thereof, the two face plates constituting one of the hollow shape members are abutted against the two face plates constituting another one of the hollow shape members, with their abutted areas being welded;

said one hollow shape member has the longitudinal end portion of a connecting member connecting said two face plates that is protruded from end portions of said two face plates;

said another hollow shape member has a longitudinal end portion of said two face plates that are protruded from the end portion of the connecting member connecting said two face plates; and

the connecting member of said one hollow shape member is disposed between the two face plates of said another hollow shape member.