AU2012234332A1

AU2012234332A1 - Flap with catching safeguard

Info

Publication number: AU2012234332A1
Application number: AU2012234332A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Johann Friedrich
Original assignee: Bombardier Transportation GmbH
Current assignee: Alstom Transportation Germany GmbH
Priority date: 2011-03-30
Filing date: 2012-03-27
Publication date: 2013-10-10
Anticipated expiration: 2032-03-27
Also published as: WO2012130828A1; ES2549213T3; AU2012234332B2; DE102011006461A1; PL2691280T3; CN103384624B; EP2691280B1; CN103384624A; EP2691280A1

Abstract

Flap (4) for closing an opening in the interior of a rail vehicle, which comprises a catching safeguard (100), wherein the catching safeguard is a catching belt or a catching line (101) which is arranged between the flap (4) and a fixed mount (102), is rolled up on a roll (107) in a closed position of the flap (4), and when opening the flap (4) is unrolled from a roll (107) and catches the flap in an opened position.

Description

Flap with Catching Safeguard The invention relates to a flap for closing an opening in the interior space of a rail vehicle, which comprises a safety catch. Interior spaces of rail vehicles have flaps for closing compartments located behind them. These compartments can for example accommodate mechanical and electrical components, which are accessible for repair or maintenance work after opening the flap. The flaps are usually hinged with one edge to a wall or ceiling panel. Without a limitation device, opening such a flap would cause the flap to flap downwards until it is caught by the hinge. In the opened state, the flap would swing back and forth in the absence of another mount, which is disadvantageous. For safety reasons, it is undesirable for the flap to open too far, since people standing under the flap may get injured in case the flap opens unintentionally. In addition, the flap does not always have to be opened to the maximal possible angle in order to perform the described repair and maintenance work. In order to solve these problems retaining straps are proposed in the prior art, which limit the opening angle of the flap when opened downwards or to the side and largely prevent the flap from swinging back and forth in the opened state. Restraining straps have the disadvantage that, due to their length, they can easily get caught or jammed in the space behind the flap and therefore cannot unfurl as desired when opening the flap, so that the flap cannot be opened as desired. Furthermore, restraining straps only rarely meet fire protection requirements. Another solution consists in using gas pressure springs, which are however relatively expensive, liable to breakdown and thus maintenance intensive. Yet another solution are rigid retaining rods, which are disposed between the flap and the ceiling or wall and can be hooked at one end into the flap or into the ceiling/wall, while being firmly connected at the other end with the flap or with the ceiling/wall. Using such retaining hooks requires a manual intervention of the user so that this solution is perceived as uncomfortable. The object of the invention is therefore to provide a flap with a limitation device, which limits an opening of the flap and largely prevents a swinging of the flap in the opened state, 1 wherein the limitation should overcome or largely overcome the disadvantages of the prior art described above. A flap for closing an opening in the interior space of a rail vehicle is proposed, which comprises a safety catch, the safety catch being a retaining belt or retaining line, which - is disposed between the flap and a fixed mount, - is rolled-up onto a roll in a closed state of the flap, and - is unrolled from the roll when opening the flap and retains the flap in an opened position. The flap according to the invention comprises a safety catch with an automatic retractor. With the automatic retractor, the retaining belt or the retaining line is unrolled only as far as the flap is opened. In the closed state of the flap, the retaining belt/retaining line is completely or almost completely rolled-up. Thanks to the automatic retractor, there are no disruptive influences, such as getting hooked up or jammed for example, when opening and closing the flap. The described line can be a strong cord or a thin rope. The belt can be cut out of a material such as leather for example or it can consist of a fabric, preferably a synthetic fabric. The roll is preferably connected to a spring element, which is tensioned when unrolling the line or the belt. The energy of the tension stored in the spring element causes the line or the belt to be rolled-up on the roll when closing the flap. The type and shape of the spring element is basically arbitrary. For instance, the spring element can be a radial spring element. In a radial spring element, a rotation of the roll causes a compression or tensioning of the spring element in the circumferential direction relative to the rotational axis of the roll. The roll is preferably disposed in a casing. Thus, in the rolled state, the line or the belt is also disposed in a casing. The casing has an opening through which the line or the belt can be pulled. The casing is preferably made of a fire-resistant material, for example a metal or a fire-resistant plastic material. In an advantageous variant of the invention, the retaining belt or the retaining line is also made of a fire-resistant material, preferably of a fire-resistant plastic material. 2 The flap is preferably a downwardly opening ceiling flap for closing a roof opening of a rail vehicle coach. The flap is for example hinged with a first side edge to the ceiling of the rail vehicle coach and can be opened downward at a second opposite side edge by a flapping motion, wherein the flap comprises the retaining belt or the retaining line in the area of the second side edge. The first and the second side edge run preferably in the direction of travel, but can also run transversely to the direction of travel. The first and the second side edge are preferably parallel. The flap is preferably rectangular. When opening the flap, the second side edge is pivoted downward and the first side edge, held by the hinge, remains on the ceiling. The flap can have one or several bolts, preferably a rotatable bolt, at the second side edge. Opening the flap can then occur by releasing such bolts. Depending on the given length of the line or of the belt, the flap can be moved more or less downward. In a special variant, the hinged connection is detachable, more specifically manually detachable, at the first side edge, for example by unhooking, so that the first side edge can be exposed for dismounting the flap, the second side edge being held by the retaining belt or the retaining line, preferably by several retaining belts or retaining lines. The term "manually detachable" means more specifically that no tool is needed to release the hinged connection and that it can be released solely by hand. Like in the previous variant, the flap is first opened at the second side edge and then flapped downward a little, the line/belt retaining the flap. The first edge can then be released from its anchorage in the hinge. The flap can then also be moved downward at the first side edge, while being held at the side of the second side edge by the unrolled line or the unrolled belt, preferably several of them. The flap can be held manually on the side of the first side edge, however, it is also possible that one or several other safety catches as described above are disposed on the side or in the area of the first side edge, whereby the flap is also held on the side of the first side edge when both side edges and thus the entire flap are detached from the surrounding ceiling. In another variant, a flap is proposed that comprises a first and a second side edge facing each other, wherein the flap is a lowerable flap and comprises respectively one or several safety catches on both side edges or in the area of both side edges, wherein the safety catch is respectively one retaining belt or a retaining line, which - is disposed between the flap and a fixed mount, - is rolled-up on a roll in a closed position of the flap, and 3 - is unrolled from the roll when lowering the flap and retains the flap in a lowered position. The first and the second side edge are preferably parallel relative to each other. In this variant, the flap is detached from the ceiling at the first side edge and at the second side edge, for example by releasing locking devices disposed in the area of the side edges, and lowered. The flap is preferably lowered parallel to the ceiling and held in this position by the safety catches. In this variant, the flap does not perform a swinging motion about a hinge axis but is lowered. When the flap is to be closed again, it is lifted, the line or the belt of the safety catch being rolled-up again and locked in the ceiling. The flap according to the invention is more specifically a ceiling flap for covering an air duct module of the type described in the European patent application EP 10090013. Such a duct module forms an air supply duct running in the longitudinal direction of the coach body for supplying air to the interior of the coach body. The duct module can have connections to a ventilation unit and optionally to other duct modules in adjacent vehicle parts or vehicles. The duct module is fastened to the ceiling of the coach body and is more specifically adapted for vehicles that have several vehicle areas (e.g. vehicle areas separated by bogies and/or transition areas between the vehicle areas). At least one settling chamber extending in the longitudinal direction of the coach body, which is connected to the air supply duct on the inlet side and via outlet openings to the passenger compartment on the outlet side, is formed in the duct module on the side of the air supply duct, so that air can flow out of the air supply duct through the settling chamber and through the outlet openings into the passenger compartment. When passing from the air duct supply into the settling chamber, the air preferably passes through a transition area with a reduced flow cross section, the cross-section area of the transition area being smaller than the cross-section area in the settling chamber. Thus the air velocity is reduced after entering the settling chamber, a circulation of the air can occur and the air enters uniformly into the passenger compartment via the various outlet openings at a low air velocity. Preferably two settling chambers are located at the side of the air supply duct, on opposite sides of the air supply duct. In addition to the air supply duct, the duct module preferably has at least one air exhaust duct, through which exhaust air can be discharged from the passenger compartment. If provided, the air discharge duct is disposed for example above the settling chamber. In a special embodiment, the air discharge duct is not opened by removing a duct wall, as opposed to the air supply duct, but the duct module preferably has a closed circumferential edge with duct walls for example on all four sides of the air discharge duct. 4 Supplying the discharge air from the passenger compartment to the discharge air duct can be implemented for example by way of air inlet openings in the area of the floor of the passenger compartment and through ducts in the area of the sides of the coach body, more specifically along the door pillars, and/or in the area of the end of the coach body. Two discharge ducts are preferably formed in the duct module on opposite sides of the air supply duct, the longitudinal axes of the air discharge ducts and of the air supply duct running parallel to each other. If there is only one air discharge duct, this applies also the longitudinal axes of the single air discharge duct and of the air supply duct. The ceiling flap according to the invention covers the air supply duct of the channel module downward and forms a surface of the ceiling panel on its bottom side, which is visible from the passenger compartment, cleaning and maintenance of the air supply duct being made possible after opening the ceiling flap. In an advantageous embodiment, the ceiling flap has an elongated profile, which extends on the side of the duct module in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The outlet openings, through which the supply air flows out of the air supply duct into the passenger compartment, are formed in the elongated profile. More specifically, the ceiling flap can be firmly connected, for example glued, to the elongated profile. In a particular embodiment, two elongated profiles are located on the opposite sides of the ceiling flap and the side edges of the ceiling flap are located on the elongated profiles. The elongated profiles can be more specifically metal profiles, for example aluminum extruded profiles, which preferably have guide surfaces for guiding the exhaust air in desired directions. The ceiling plate is respectively made of at least one molded part with fiber-reinforced and foamed duroplasts, which can be more specifically a glass fiber-reinforced phenolic resin foam, which is used for example as plates with a wall thickness of 6 - 10 mm. The ceiling flap can have a coating of high-pressure laminated composite material (HPL), more specifically a bottom coating that forms the surface which is visible from the passenger compartment. However, the top coating of the ceiling flap can also consist of the same material. The high pressure laminated composite material can more specifically be paper webs that have been impregnated with hardenable (duroplastic) synthetic resins. The 5 outermost layer, which can be referred to as decoration layer consists preferably of a sheet paper colored or printed with the desired color and impregnated with a melamine resin. The core layers of the laminate consist for example of paper sheets, which have been impregnated with phenolic resin. The different layers are inseparably pressed together at high pressure and under the effect of heat and hardened to form a solid, no longer softenable plate body. As a result, plastic plates with a homogeneous hardness, high solidity and non porous surfaces are obtained. The thickness of the laminated coatings can range for example from 0.6 - 1.2 mm. The molded parts of the ceiling flap can more specifically have plate-shaped sandwich material, the opposing outer layers being formed by the described laminate, which is glued onto a core of the fiber-reinforced and foamed duroplast material mentioned above. The fiber materials can more specifically be fiber materials from the following group of materials: glass fiber, mesoscale carbon fibers, nanoscale cylindrical graphite fibers and any combination of these materials. Furthermore, it is preferable if the coating has a MAHRE (Maximum Average Rate of Heat Emission), measured in a cone calorimeter, of less than 90 kW/m 2 , preferably less than 65 kW/m 2 . The MAHRE value is obtained in a reaction-to-fire test according to the international ISO 5660-1 standard. Thereby, the heat release rate of horizontally disposed samples when ignited by an external heat source is measured. Surprisingly, it has turned out that the afore mentioned coating material meets the limit value of 90 kW/m 2 for rail vehicles that do not travel through a tunnel, without adding any additional fire-resistant materials. Regarding the fiber-reinforced and foamed duroplasts, used more specifically as a core material for the molded parts of the ceiling flap, it is preferable that the material has a MAHRE that is smaller than 15 kW/m 2 . This is the case for example with glass fiber reinforced phenolic resin foam when the wall thickness lies between 6 and 10 mm. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the enclosed drawing. The figures of the drawing show: Fig. 1 a lateral representation of a ceiling flap according to the invention for covering a duct module, Fig. 2 a three-dimensional representation of fig. 1 in an oblique top view. 6 Fig. 1 shows a lateral view of an assembly with a duct module 1, which is covered downward by a ceiling flap 4. The following explanations refer to fig. 1 as well as to fig. 2, provided the reference numbers are shown in both figures. The ceiling flap 4 is hinged at one first side edge 90 to the ceiling of the rail vehicle coach and has been opened at a second opposite side edge 91 by a downward flapping motion. The hinged connection occurs by way of an elongated profile part 92 with a hook-shaped cross-section, running in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, at the first side edge 90 of the flap 4, which is hooked into a perimeter 93, which also runs in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and is an integral part of an elongated profile 3b. In order to open the flap 4, the rotatable bolt 95 has been opened. The flap has a safety catch 100 in the area of the second side edge 91. The safety catch consists of a retaining line 101, which is disposed between the flap 4 and a fixed mount 102. At one end, the retaining line 101 is fastened to the mount 102, which is attached to the ceiling. The retaining line 101 enters a casing 103 and is fastened at its other end to a roll 107, which is shown in a sectional view through the casing 103 in fig.2. The casing is fastened to a strap 105, which in turn is fastened to the ceiling flap 4. In the state showed here, the retaining line 101 is partially unrolled from the roll 107. It is possible to open the flap 4 further downward, the retaining line being unrolled further until it reaches its maximum length and retains the flap. If necessary, the flap can be opened until the hook-shaped profile part 92 can be hooked out of the perimeter 93. However, unhooking the flap at the first edge 90 is not imperatively necessary, if the maintenance work on the duct module can also be implemented without this measure. In this embodiment, the supporting structure is implemented by two elongated profiles 3a, 3b running in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, which extend laterally on both opposite sides of the duct module 1. The profiles 3 are preferably aluminum extruded profiles with several chambers for stabilizing the profiles. Grab handles 6a, 6b for passengers are fastened to the elongated profiles 3a, 3b. The grab handles 6a, 6b have angled end pieces 57a, 57b (fig. 1), which are fastened by screws 44a, 44b to the elongated profiles 3a, 3b. Fig. 1 and 2 show respectively one air guide profile 11 a, 11 b on the opposing longitudinal edges of the ceiling flap 4. A plurality of longitudinally extending slots 13 can also be seen on the air guide profile 11 a shown on the left hand side in fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows that the air guide 7 profiles have a plate-shaped horizontally extending area 14 at the top, in which slots 13 are formed. The duct module 1 has a central air supply duct 21 extending longitudinally (vertically to the plane of fig. 1), through which hot air and/or cold air can be guided as required for ventilating the passenger compartment below the duct module 1. The hot air or cold air is provided for example by a heating system and/or air-conditioning system known per se. Air discharge ducts 23a, 23b are disposed next to the air supply duct 21. Discharge air exits the passenger compartment and enters the air discharge ducts through air inlet openings that are not shown and is led to the heating and/or air-conditioning system and/or into the atmosphere. Apart from the air supply duct 21 and the air discharge ducts 23a, 23b, the sectional view of fig. 1 also shows settling chambers 22a, 22b formed on the side of the air supply duct 21 and below the air discharge ducts 23a, 23b, which also extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle or of the assembly. Such settling chambers 22a, 22b are preferably located in places where air outlet openings 13 are disposed in the air guide profiles 11. The settling chambers 22a, 22b are partially formed by wall elements of the duct module 1. Limitation plates 80, 81 with air passage openings (see fig. 2) are disposed on both legs of the U-shaped central part 71. The settling chambers 22a, 22b are limited by the limitation plates 80, 81 and the bottom wall elements 74, 75. In the closed state of the flap 4, the settling chambers 22a, 22b are bordered downward by the lateral edge areas of the ceiling flap 4 and by the air guide profiles 11 a, 11 b. The respective settling chamber 22 is limited laterally outward by the support profiles 3a, 3b. By opening the ceiling flap 4 with the air guide profiles 11 a, 11 b attached to it, not only the central air supply duct 21 becomes accessible but also the two settling chambers 22a, 22b. For this reason, areas used more specifically for the air supply can be maintained and more specifically cleaned. In a special embodiment, the duct module 1 comprises the already mentioned central U shaped middle part 71, which limits the central air supply duct 21 at the top and on both opposite sides. The two legs of the U-shaped middle part 71 separate the air supply duct 21 from the laterally disposed air discharge ducts 23a, 23b. The duct module 1 moreover comprises the already mentioned bottom wall elements 74, 75 for limiting the lateral air discharge ducts 23a, 23b. All the wall elements shown in fig. 1 extend along the entire 8 longitudinal extension of the duct module 1 vertically to the figure plane of fig. 1, as shown in fig. 2. 9

Claims

1. A flap (4) for closing an opening in the interior space of a rail vehicle, which comprises a safety catch (100), the safety catch being a retaining belt or a retaining line (101), which - is disposed between the flap (4) and a fixed mount (102), - is rolled up onto a roll (107) in the closed position of the flap (4), and - is unrolled from the roll (107) when opening the flap (4) and retains the flap in an opened position.

2. The flap according to claim 1, which is a downwardly opening ceiling flap (4) for closing a roof opening of a rail vehicle coach.

3. The flap according to claim 2, which is hinged with a first side edge (90) to the ceiling of the rail vehicle coach and can be opened downward at a second opposite side edge (91) by a flapping motion, the flap (4) comprising the retaining belt or the retaining line (101) in the area of the second side edge (91)

4. The flap according to claim 3, wherein the hinged connection at the first side edge (90) is detachable, so that the first side edge (90) can be exposed for disassembling the flap (4), wherein the second side edge (91) is held by the retaining belt or the retaining line (101).

5. The flap according to claim 4, wherein the flap (4) also has a retaining belt or a retaining line in the area of the first side edge (90).

6. The flap according to claim 2, which comprises a first and a second side edge facing each other, the flap being a lowerable flap and comprising on both side edges or in the area of both side edges respectively at least one retaining belt or at least one retaining line, which - is disposed between the flap and a fixed mount, - is rolled-up on a roll in a closed position of the flap, and - is unrolled from the roll when lowering the flap and retains the flap in a lowered position. 10

7. The flap according to one of the afore-mentioned claims, wherein the roll (107) is disposed in a casing (103).

8. The flap according to one oft he afore-mentioned claims, wherein the casing (103) is made of a fire-resistant material.

9. The flap according to one of the afore-mentioned claims, wherein the retaining belt or the retaining line (101) is made of a fire-resistant material.

10. The flap according to one of the claims 2 - 9, which is a ceiling flap for covering a duct module (1) for ventilation of an interior space of a rail vehicle.

11. A rail vehicle, comprising a flap according to one of the claims 1 - 10. 11