GB2159105A

GB2159105A - Vehicle construction

Info

Publication number: GB2159105A
Application number: GB08413443A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard George West
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-05-25
Filing date: 1984-05-25
Publication date: 1985-11-27
Also published as: GB8413443D0; GB2159105B

Abstract

A vehicle construction giving light weight for lower construction and running costs has a load-bearing structure comprises a floor (16), an under floor (17), a spine (18) extending therebetween longitudinally of the vehicle (10) and transverse bulkheads (19 to 24), these defining compartments in which are housed the steerable front wheels (11), the rear wheels (12), the engine (27) and gearbox (28), and luggage storage compartments. Side walls (30) extending between the under floor (17) and floor (16), and above the floor (16) add stiffness to the structure and has lips (31) at their upper edges to attach seats thereto. A sandwich construction roof (34), supported from side walls (30) also adds strength and stiffness to the load bearing structure. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle construction This invention relates to vehicle construction, and in particular to the construction of relatively large vehicles for the transportation of people or goods by road or rail, such vehicles generally being referred to as "coaches" or "carriages".

It has been customary for many years to construct coaches, carriages or the like to have a relatively massive and rigid load bearing chassis which is supported by the wheels and suspension units of the vehicle, and a body which is secured to and supported by the chassis. Both the chassis and the body structure of such vehicles are self-supporting, and the resulting vehicles, although satisfactorily robust, are relatively heavy and in consequence are costly to run because of high fuel consumption, as well as costly to construct.

In more recent years it has become customary to construct such vehicles in an "integral" manner.

With such a construction the load bearing structure comprises a "space-frame" on which is mounted the wheels and suspension units, engine, seats and the like. Body-work panels, floor and roof are attached to the frame but are relatively non load bearing. The frame itself is usually formed of steel tubing. Although the "integral" construction is usually lighter than a chassis/body construction the rising cost of materiais and of fuel makes it desirable that an even lighter form of construction be adopted.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle construction which is lighter than constructions used heretofore, whilst still being sufficiently robust for safe use on road or rail.

The invention provides a vehicle construction having a load-bearing structure comprising a floor and an under floor extending in mutually spaced substantially parallel disposition, at least one web secured to said floor and under floor and extending therebetween in a direction longitudinally of said vehicle, and a plurality of bulkheads secured to said floor and under floor and extending therebetween in a direction transversely of said web.

One web may be provided which is disposed substantially centrally between longitudinally extending edges of said floor and under floor.

Said structure may comprise side panels extending between said floor and said under floor at longitudinally extending edges thereof. Said side panels may extend upwardly of said floor.

Said structure may also comprise a roof extending substantially parallel with said floor and spaced therefrom. Said roof may be supported by a plurality of pillars extending between said side panels and said roof. Said roof may be of sandwich construction, comprising outer skins and intermediate honeycomb panels therebetween. Said floor, under floor, bulkheads and side panels may also be of sandwich construction.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view from the rear of the vehicle, and, Figure 2 is a transverse section of the vehicle of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the Figures, there is shown a vehicle 10 for use on the roads, for which it is provided with two steerable front wheels 11 and four rear wheels 12. Other numbers of wheels, i.e. four or eight may be provided according to the size and weight of the loaded vehicle. Alternatively the vehicle 10 could be provided with front and rear bogies fitted with tyred wheels for use on roads or flanged wheels for use on rails. The vehicle 10 comprises a front part 13, a rear part 14 and a main body part 15, and these parts may be constructed separately and secured to each other on final assembly of the vehicle 10. The present invention is concerned with the construction of the whole body 13,14,15 if constructed together or with the body part 15 if this is constructed separately.

The body part 15 has a load bearing structure comprising a floor 16, an under floor 17, a centrally disposed longitudinally extending web or spine 18 and at certain longitudinally spaced locations transversely extending bulkheads 19 to 24. The floor 16 and under floor 17 are substantially parallel with each other and together with the spine 18, which extends therebetween and is secured thereto, forms a rigid I-section beam extending longitudinally of the vehicle 10. Such a structure, whilst being relatively light in weight provides a rigid load bearing "backbone" for the vehicle 10.

The structure is further strengthened by the bulkheads 19 to 24 which also extend between and are secured to the floor 16 and under floor 17, and are secured to spine 18. The bulkheads 19 to 24 and spine 18 divide the space between the floor 16 and under floor 17 into a number of compartments which are used to house certain components of vehicle 10 or provide luggage space as follows. More or less bulkheads may be provided as desired, this being governed principally by the overall size of the vehicle 10.

The two compartments formed between bulkheads 19 and 20 house the steerable front wheels 11, front suspension units (not shown) and steering linkage 25. The four compartments formed between bulkheads 20,21 and 22 provide space for passengers luggage. The two compartments formed between bulkheads 22 and 23 house the rear wheels 12, the rear suspension units (not shown) and rear axle and differential 26. One compartment formed between bulkheads 23 and 24 houses the engine 27 whilst the other compartment formed between bulkheads 23 and 24 houses the gearbox 28 and final drive to the differential and rear axle 26. The drive 29 from the engine 27 to the gearbox 28 may be by way of a belt, chain, gears or shaft passing beyond the end of the spine 28, or if preferred passing through an aperture therein.The compartments between bulkheads 19 and 20 can also house fuel tanks so that they are relatively safe from damage. Alternatively if the vehicle 10 is a trailer vehicle the steering linkage 25, engine 27 and gearbox 28 may be dispensed with and the space utilised for storage of other components or luggage.

The structure is further strengthened by side panels 30 which extend between the floor 16 and under floor 17 at the longitudinally extending edges thereof. The side panels 30 also extend upwardly beyond the floor 16. This upward extension to a "waist-line" 31 of the vehicle 10 provides extra strengthening of the load bearing structure and is particularly beneficial in the region between the bulkheads 20 to 22 where the lower parts of side panels 30 are hinged to floor 16 to form doors providing access to the luggage compartments. In addition the lower parts of side panels 30 between bulkheads 19 and 20, 22 and 23, and 23 and 24 may be hinged to floor 16, or may have openable parts, to provide access to the front wheels 11, rear wheels 12 and engine 27 and gearbox 28, respectively.

The side panels 30 are provided with a seat rail lip 32 to which seats (not shown) are secured.

Such seats are also secured to one or more seat rails 32 secured to and extending longitudinally of the floor 16.

Secured to the side panels 30 are pillars 33 which support the roof 34. The roof 34 is of sandwich construction having a top and bottom skin 35, 36 and an internal structure 37, for example a foamed plastics material or a honeycomb structure, for example of a metal or plastics material so that the roof 34 can contribute to the load bearing task. The thickness of such a sandwich structure enables trunking 38 for air-conditioning, lighting cables and the like to be housed therein.

The floor 16, under floor 17, spine 18, side panels 30, and roof skins 35, 36 may be of glass reinforced plastics material (GRP), aluminium or other light alloy sheet material, any of which may have corrugations 39 formed therein or have ribs 40 secured thereto for stiffening purposes. Alternatively the larger panels, i.e. floor 16, under floor 17, bulkheads 19 to 24 and side panels 30 may be of sandwich construction as described in relation to the roof 34.

By means of the invention a vehicle construction, in which heretofore non-load bearing items are designed to carry the structural loads, is provided which is light by comparison with previously known vehicle constructions yet is sufficiently robust to withstand the loads to which such vehicles are subjected in use. In consequence the material costs and hence the overall costs in producing such a vehicle may be kept to a minimum and the running costs, for example of fuel, tyres, oil of such a vehicle reduced in comparison with previously known, heavier, vehicle constructions. The construction of the invention also readily lends itself to the use of new lighter and stronger mate rials which are being developed or may be developed in the future.

Since the engine and gearbox are housed in enclosed compartments, which may be formed of plastics honeycomb and/or GRP sheets, themselves sound absorbing to a certain extent, the vehicle 10 can be relatively quiet in operation, and the walls of those compartments can be lined with a sound absorbing material to further ensure quiet operation of the vehicle.

If preferred, the spine 18 may divide at the bulkhead 23 to form two spaced spine parts of a Vshaped spine at the rear of the vehicle, the engine, gearbox and transmission then being housed in a compartment formed between the two parts of the divided spine. More bulkheads 21 may be provided to sub-divide the luggage compartments between bulkheads 20 and 22 if desired, particularly in case of relatively long vehicles. In addition, pillars 33 may be provided at locations other than those at which bulkheads are provided to strengthen the attachment of roof 34 and lower structure 16, 17, 18, 30, and to resist crushing of the vehicle 10 in the case of a rolling accident.

The pillars 33 at the "corners" of the main body part 15 may be wider, thicker andxor of a stronger material than the other pillars 33 to provide additional strengthening support for the roof 34, without unduly affecting visibility from the vehicle 10.

A structure as described above will generally result in a relatively high "waist-line" 31 and relatively low cantrail above the windows, thereby providing that the windows are relatively shallow and increasing the safety characteristics of the vehicle 10. For this purpose also the pillars 33 extend to the edge of the under floor 17, being securely attached to the respective bulkhead 19 to 24. In the case of the side panels 30 being of sandwich construction the pillars 33 may extend through and be built into the honeycomb matrix, as shown in Fig.

2 at the right hand side thereof.

Claims

1. A vehicle construction having a load bearing structure comprising a floor and an under floor extending in mutually spaced substantially parallel disposition, at least one web secured to said floor and under floor and extending therebetween in a direction longitudinally of said vehicle, and a plurality of bulkheads secured to said floor and under floor and extending therebetween in a direction transversely of said web.

2. A vehicle construction according to claim 1 wherein one web is provided which is disposed substantially centrally between longitudinally extending edges of said floor and under floor.

3. A vehicle construction according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said load bearing structure comprises side panels extending between said floor and said under floor at longitudinally extending edges thereof.

4. A vehicle construction according to claim 3 wherein said side panels extend upwardly of said floor.

5. A vehicle construction according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein said load bearing structure comprises a roof extending substantially parallel with said floor and spaced therefrom.

6. A vehicle construction according to claim 5 wherein said roof is supported by a plurality of pillars.

7. A vehicle construction according to claim 6 wherein said pillars extend between said roof and said side panels.

8. A vehicle construction according to claim 7 wherein said pillars extend to said under floor.

9. A vehicle construction according to claim 8 wherein said pillars are attached to the outer edges of said bulkheads.

10. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 5 to 9 wherein said roof is of sandwich construction.

11. A vehicle construction according to claim 10 wherein said side panels are of sandwich construction.

12. A vehicle according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein said floor and said underfloor are of sandwich construction.

13. A vehicle according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein said bulkheads and said web are of sandwich construction.

14. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein said sandwich construction comprises outer skins and an intermediated honeycomb panel therebetween.

15. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein said sandwich construction comprises outer skins and an intermediate foamed plastics material panel therebetween.

16. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and two bulkheads define compartments in which are mounted steerable front wheels of said vehicle.

17. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and at least two bulkheads define a plurality of compartments for luggage storage.

18. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and two bulkheads define compartments in which are mounted rear wheels of said vehicle.

19. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and at least one bulkhead define compartments in which are mounted an engine and a gearbox of said vehicle.

20. A vehicle construction according to claim 19 wherein said compartments in which said engine and said gearbox are mounted are lined with a sound insulating material.

21. A vehicle construction according to claim 3 or any claim dependent thereon wherein the upper edges of said side panels are provided with a lip to which seats of said vehicle may be attached.

22. A vehicle construction according to claim 21 comprising at least one seat rail attached to and extending longitudinally of said floor.

23. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and said bulkheads are of aluminium sheet material.

24. A vehicle construction according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein said floor, said under floor, said web and said bulkheads are of a glass reinforced plastics sheet material.

25. A vehicle construction according to claim 23 or claim 24 wherein said sheet material has stiffening corrugations formed therein.

26. A vehicle construction according to claim 23 or claim 24 wherein said sheet material has stiffening ribs secured thereto.

27. A vehicle construction substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.