EP1613520B1

EP1613520B1 - A door arrangement for a railway waggon

Info

Publication number: EP1613520B1
Application number: EP04727467A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kent BÖRJESSON
Original assignee: K Industrier AB
Current assignee: K Industrier AB
Priority date: 2003-04-17
Filing date: 2004-04-14
Publication date: 2009-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2024-04-14
Also published as: ATE433402T1; DE602004021480D1; SE525161C2; SE0301154L; WO2004091991A1; SE0301154D0; EP1613520A1

Abstract

A door arrangement (4; 30) for a superstructure (3) of a railway waggon (1) comprises a number of mutually pivotable, longitudinal door elements (5-7; 31-33) and is slidably arranged at the vertical sides of a load opening to be covered thereby. A first or lowermost door element (5; 31) is guided by a telescoping pillar (12; 39), arranged at each side of the load opening and being vertically movable for guiding said door element past the upper border of the opening.

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a door arrangement for a superstructure of a railway waggon, the door arrangement comprising a number of mutually pivotable, longitudinal door elements and being slidably arranged at the vertical sides of a load opening to be covered thereby.

Background of the Invention

In many cases it may be desirable to provide a covered railway freight waggon (or a truck or trailer for road transport) with a large load opening. It may even be desirable to open the entire longside of the waggon in order to provide unlimited access to the interior of the waggon. The waggon may for example be destined for transporting paper rolls.
In a practical case the waggon may be constructed of a wheeled chassis and a superstructure mounted thereon.
Door arrangements of the above mentioned kind are previously known, for example through WO-A-00/30882 and SE-C-511 981 , both directed to door arrangements for trucks or trailers. In both cases the uppermost door element is pivotally attached at its upper edge to the superstructure above the load opening, and the door elements are folded in different ways for opening and closing. In the former case the number of door elements is normally four and in the latter case two.
US-A-3 792 667 discloses an arrangement according to the characteristics of the preamble of independent claim 1.
Certain requirements that have been identified for door arrangements of the above kind are not fulfilled by the constructions shown in the mentioned publications. A first requirement is that the door arrangement shall be able to withstand considerable side forces from the load, for example 10 tons over a free length of 13 m or more and a height of 3 m or more. Another requirement, that has to be concurrently fulfilled, is that the door arrangement when opened shall leave the load opening completely free or - in the practical case - that the longside of the waggon is completely opened. Also, the door arrangement - when open - shall be able to withstand considerable wind forces without being negatively affected.
Other requirements for a railway waggon are that the door elements at all stages leave a certain space above the waggon free for the electric overhead wire and do not extend too far out from the waggon side.

The Invention

These partly opposing requirements can according to the invention be fulfilled in that a first or lowermost door element is guided by a telescoping pillar, arranged as a part of the superstructure at each side of the load opening and being vertically movable for guiding said door element past the upper border of the opening.
By being guided along its sides by the telescoping pillars forming part of the superstructure, the first door element is able to withstand high side forces. The telescoping pillars will enable the first or lowermost door element to be lifted at least to the upper border of the load opening, which accordingly will be left completely free for load handling.
A third or uppermost door element is preferably pivotably attached at its upper edge to the superstructure, whereas a second or intermediate door element is hinged to the first and third door elements. In this way the required stability is provided to all the three door elements.
In a first embodiment the telescoping pillars are connected by a beam at their upper ends, where the third door element is pivotably attached, whereas in a second and presently preferred embodiment the third door element is pivotably attached to the roof of the superstructure. This door element is angled so as to form both a portion of the door and a portion of the roof of the superstructure. The angle and other geometrical parameters are carefully selected so as to leave the necessary space for the electric overhead wire free over the roof of the superstructure.
A drive arrangement for vertically moving the first door element upwards for opening and downwards for closing is provided. It may be designed in different ways and utilize different driving media. However, in a practical case it comprises an endless chain driven by an electric motor via a chain sprocket.
Each telescoping pillar may be guided for vertical movements by a guide rod on a corner profile of the superstructure, whereas the first door element in turn is guided for vertical movements by the telescoping pillar.

The Drawings

The invention will be described in further detail below under reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig 1 is a perspective view of a railway waggon embodying the invention,
Fig 2 is a schematical cross-section through the superstructure of the waggon with a first embodiment of a door arrangement according to the invention with longitudinal door elements at both longsides closed,
Figs 3-5 are corresponding cross-sections to a smaller scale with the door elements in different opening stages,
Fig 6 is a general plan view of a drive arrangement for opening and closing the door elements of the first embodiment,
Figs 7-12 are cross-sectional views through half of the superstructure of the waggon with a second embodiment of a door arrangement according to the invention with door elements in different opening stages (Fig 12 being in a smaller scale than Figs 7-11), and
Fig 13 is a general plan view of a drive arrangement for opening and closing the door elements of the second embodiment.

Description of Embodiments

Fig 1 shows a railway freight waggon 1 embodying the invention. The waggon 1 comprises in a conventional way two connected wheeled chassis 2, on which two superstructures 3 are mounted. Reference will below only be made to one of these superstructures 3. The superstructure may equally well be used in other environments, such as on a truck or trailer for road transport.
For certain purposes it may be desired to open the entire longside or longsides of the superstructure 3. One example is when the waggon is to be used for transporting large paper rolls from the manufacturer thereof. The present invention is concerned with an arrangement for enabling the complete opening of the entire longside of the superstructure, which otherwise is conventional and will not be further described.
A door arrangement 4 for the longside of the superstructure 3 comprises longitudinal door elements 5-7 (in a first embodiment shown in Figs 2-6) or 31-33 (in a second - and presently preferred - embodiment shown in Figs 1 and 7-13). In the present case the number of door elements is three, but other numbers are also possible within the scope of the appended claims.
The specific design of each door element is per se conventional and is not specifically described. Each door element may be built up of metal profiles and panels.
In a way to be described below, the door elements 5-7, 31-33 are mutually hinged to each other for movement together, and guiding for the two ends of the door elements is provided in the shortsides of the superstructure 3.
Reference is now made to Fig 2, showing a cross-section through a superstructure 3 with entirely closed door arrangements 4 at its two longsides. Each door arrangement 4 comprises three door elements 5-7. The first or lowermost door element 5 is hinged or pivotally connected to the second or intermediate door element 6 at 8, and the second or intermediate door element 6 is hinged or pivotally connected to the third or uppermost door element 7 at 9.
The first door element 5 is vertically guided in relation to the shortsides of the superstructure 3 in a way to be described below under reference to Fig 6. The uppermost edge of the third door element 7 is pivotally connected to the superstructure 3 as will appear below.
The opening and closing movement for the door arrangement 4 is accomplished by an electric drive unit 10, preferably arranged under a floor 11 of the superstructure 3 at each end thereof. The rotary movement of the drive unit 10 is transmitted to a translation movement up or down of the first door element 5 in a way to be described with reference to Fig 6.
Figs 2-5 illustrate the different stages in the opening of the door arrangement 4 from the fully closed position in Fig 2 to the fully open position in Fig 5. Figs 3-5 are provided with a minimum of reference numerals for the sake of clarity.
In Fig 3 the opening sequence has started, and the first door element 5 has been somewhat lifted from the fully closed position in Fig 2. Hereby, the hinge 9 between the two remaning door elements 6 and 7 is pushed out from the superstructure 3. In Fig 4 this movement has continued as far as possible (if the construction was not provided with the extra design feature to be described).
In Fig 5 it is shown that the movement can continue from the position shown in Fig 4 by the provision of a telescoping pillar 12 vertically slidably arranged in each shortside of the superstructure 3, as is further describe below under reference to Fig 6. In order to accomplish a satisfactory stability for the design, the two telescoping pillars 12 at each longside of the superstructure 3 are connected by a longitudinal beam 13. It appears from Fig 5 that the first door element 5 is lifted so high that the longside of the superstructure is completely opened.
The closing movement of the door arrangement is accomplished by the electrical drive unit 10 in the reversed order.
The design of the drive construction for the door arrangement 4 will now be described under reference to Fig 6.
The electric drive unit 10 consists of an electric motor 14 and an angular gear box 15 driving a chain sprocket 16 rotatably mounted in a vertical corner profile 17 of a shortside of the superstructure 3. A chain 18 is drivably laid over this chain sprocket 16 and a corresponding chain sprocket (not shown) vertically higher up in the superstructure 3. The chain 18 is connected to a drive profile 19 attached to the first door element 5 via a door element profile 5'.
The telescoping pillar 12, preferably in the form of an extruded aluminum profile, is vertically slidably arranged on a vertical guide rod 20 attached to the corner profile 17. The drive profile 19 is guided for movement in relation to the telescoping pillar 12 by means of guide rollers 21 cooperating with a longitudinal guide groove in the telescoping pillar 12.
Means are provided for automatically stopping the rotation of the electric motor 14, when either of the door arrangement end positions of Fig 2 or Fig 5 has been attained, depending on the rotation direction of the motor.
Modifications to the design described above are possibly. Especially, the vertical driving of the drive profile 19 may be accomplished by other means than the motor/chain-arrangement, such as for example a hydraulic cylinder.
A second - and presently preferred - embodiment shown in Figs 7-13 is now to be described.
In this embodiment, the door arrangement 30 comprises three door elements 31-33. The first door element 31 is guided for vertical movement in generally the same way as the first door element 5 in the first embodiment and is hinged at 34 to the second door element 32, generally corresponding to the second door element 6 in the first embodiment. This second door element 32 is hinged at 35 to the third door element 33.
The third door element 33 is angled as shown and also forms a portion of the roof of the superstructure when closed. It is pivotally connected to the fixed roof 36 of the superstructure 3 at 37.
The opening and closing movement of the door arrangement 30 as depicted in Figs 7-12 is accomplished by a drive unit 38 in a way to be further described under reference to Fig 123(but generally corresponding to the drive arrangement for the first embodiment).
The opening movement proceeds, until the position shown in Fig 10 has been reached, where the upper edge of the first door element 31 is in line with the upper border of the opening of the superstructure 3.
For the continued movement upwards telescoping pillars 39 will be pulled up by the first door element 31, as is shown in Fig 11, until the final stage shown in Fig 12 with a complete opening of the longside of the superstructure is reached.
As shown, the angle between the two parts of the third door element 33 exceeds 90°. This angle and other geometrical parameters of the door arrangement, especially with regard to the third door element 33, have been carefully calculated in order to provide a certain free space at all stages over the superstructure or waggon, especially for an electric overhead wire, normally having a very high voltage.
Fig 13 is a rather diagrammatical plan view of the drive arrangement for the door arrangement 30 shown in Figs 7-12.
The electric drive unit 38 consists of an electric motor 40 and an angular gear box 41 driving a chain sprocket 42 rotatably mounted in a vertical corner profile 43 of a shortside 44 of the superstructure 3. A chain 45 is drivably laid over this chain sprocket 42 and a corresponding chain sprocket (not shown) vertically higher up in the superstructure 3. The chain 45 is connected to a drive profile 46 attached to the first door element 31 via a door element profile 31'.
The telescoping pillar 39, preferably in the form of an extruded aluminum profile, is vertically slidably arranged on a vertical guide rod 20 attached to the corner profile 43. The drive profile 46 is guided in the same way as the corner profile 43 for movement in relation to the telescoping pillar 39 by means of a vertical guide rod 48 slidable in the telescoping pillar 39.
Means are provided for automatically stopping the rotation of the electric motor 40, when either of the door arrangement end positions of Fig 7 or Fig 12 has been attained, depending on the rotation direction of the motor.
Modifications to the design described above are possible. Especially, the vertical driving of the drive profile 46 may be accomplished by other means than the motor/chain-arrangement, such as for example a hydraulic cylinder.

Claims

A door arrangement (4; 30) for a superstructure (3) of a railway waggon (1), the door arrangement comprising a number of mutually pivotable, longitudinal door elements (5-7; 31-33) and being slidably arranged at the vertical sides of a load opening to be covered thereby, characterized in that a first or lowermost door element (5; 31) is guided by a telescoping pillar (12; 39), arranged as a part of the superstructure (3) at each side of the load opening and being vertically movable for guiding said door element past the upper border of the opening.
A door arrangment according to claim 1, wherein a third or uppermost door element (7; 33) is pivotably attached at its upper edge to the superstructure (3) and wherein a second or intermediate door element (8; 32) is hinged (at 8, 9; 34, 35) to the first and third door elements.
A door arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the third door element (7) is pivotably attached at the upper ends of the telescoping pillars (12).
A door arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the telescoping pillars (12) at their upper ends are connected by a beam (13).
A door arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the third door element (33) is pivotably attached (at 37) to the roof (36) of the superstructure (3).
A door arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the third door element (33) is angled so as to form both a portion of the door and a portion of the roof of the superstructure (3).
A door arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the angle of the third door element (33) exceeds 90°.
A door arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a drive arrangement (14-19; 40-46) for the first door element (5; 31) is provided.
A door arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the drive arrangement comprises an endless chain (18; 45) driven by an electric motor (14; 40) via a chain sprocket (16; 42).
A door arrangement according to claim 1, wherein each telescoping pillar (12; 39) is guided for vertical movements by a guide rod (20; 47) on a corner profile (17; 43) of the superstructure (3).
A door arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the first door element (5; 31) is guided for vertical movements by the telescoping pillar (12; 39).
A door arrangement according to claim 11, wherein rollers (21) on the corner profile (19) are guided by the telescoping pillar (12).
A door arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the first door element (31) is provided with a guide rod (48) guided by the telescoping pillar (39).