GB2386150A

GB2386150A - Door securing system

Info

Publication number: GB2386150A
Application number: GB0205034A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Keith Burchell; Nicholas Dean Swift
Original assignee: HSBC RAIL
Current assignee: HSBC RAIL
Priority date: 2002-03-04
Filing date: 2002-03-04
Publication date: 2003-09-10
Also published as: GB0205034D0

Abstract

A door securing system retrofitted in a railway train carriage (3) of the type having at least one mechanically lockable exterior door (4), the system comprising an electromagnet (1), fitted to either of such a train carriage (3) or such a door (4), and an armature (7) located on the other of the said train carriage (3) and the said door (4), such that, when the said system is powered on, electromagnetic coupling between the electromagnet (1) and the armature (7) assists in retaining the door (4) in a closed disposition, wherein the said system is situated remotely from the mechanical lock (4A) on the said train door (3). Preferably, the said electromagnet (1) is located in or on a footstep (2) which extends laterally from the said train carriage at a location below a bottom edge of the said door (4), and the said armature (7) is located on a portion of a member (5) that is mounted on the door (4) which extends below the bottom edge of the door.

Description

DOOR SECURING SYSTEM The present invention relates to a door securing system retrofitted in a railway train carriage of the type having at least one mechanically lockable exterior door.

Some older passenger train carriages are fitted with mechanically lockable doors that are passengeroperated. The mechanical lock can be operated at any time, irrespective of whether the train is stationary, about to depart, or moving at high speed, and train staff have no control over such locks remotely. As a result of passengers attempting to board after the train guard has given the driver the signal to depart, the departure of trains can be delayed. Moreover, in the past passengers have sustained serious injury, or even died, by falling out of a moving train due to illtimed deliberate or accidental opening of such train doors.

Attempts to prevent the opening of such doors other than at specific times have focussed on engineering a secondary door-locking system, which performs with a safety integrity equivalent to that of a powered door system on a newer train. One such system involved the use of an electromagnetically-operated deadbolt. Unfortunately, the costs associated both with manufacturing such a system of complex engineering design and adapting existing trains for its use have been found to be prohibitively high and have hitherto prevented its implementation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a door securing system retrofitted in a railway train carriage of the type having at least

one mechanically lockable exterior door, the system comprising an electromagnet, fitted to either of such a train carriage or such a door, and an armature located on the other of the train carriage and the door, such that, when the system is powered on, electromagnetic coupling between the electromagnet and the armature assists in retaining the door in a closed disposition, wherein the system is situated remotely from the mechanical lock on the door.

Preferably, the electromagnet is located in or on a footstep which extends laterally from the said train carriage at a location below a bottom edge of the said door, and the said armature is located on a portion of a member that is mounted on the door which extends below the bottom edge of the door. Desirably, the electromagnet is located within a footstep retrofitted to the train carriage.

Alternatively, the armature may be located in or on a footstep which extends laterally from the said train carriage at a location below a bottom edge of the said door and the said electromagnet is located on a portion of a member that is mounted on the door which extends below the bottom edge of the door. Desirably, the armature is located on the front face of an existing footstep.

As a further alternative, the electromagnet or the armature may be located on a vertical sill of the door and the other of the electromagnet and the armature may be located on a corresponding portion of an inner face of the door.

Desirably, the system is powered using a relaybased control device, which preferably includes relays

and associated components mounted directly onto a printed circuit board. The relay-based control device may be powered using an auxiliary power supply of the train. The auxiliary supply may be connected to the relay device via a converter and control wires. The control wires preferably form part of a pre-existing network of jumpers.

Preferably, train staff operate the system, to lock or unlock the door, by remote control. Unlocking of the door may be signalled by generation of a tone, desirably on the existing train public address system.

Alternatively, or in addition, indication that the door is locked or unlocked may be given by at least one body side indicator light that extinguishes and illuminates accordingly.

Preferably, the body side indicator lights are located on either side of the exterior of the body of the train carriage. Alternatively, or in addition, the body side indicator lights may be located on either side of the interior of the body of the train carriage.

Preferably, the system can be overridden by a manually-operated alarm, to unlock the door during an emergency.

Thus, an embodiment of the present invention can provide a secondary means for securing doors in existing train carriages, presently fitted only with mechanical locks, that is remotely controllable by train staff and thereby serves to inhibit the opening of such doors other than at specific times.

Additionally, an embodiment of the present invention is of robust construction, easy to install and less

expensive compared to previously-proposed systems.

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a photograph of a portion of a train carriage with a mechanically-lockable door; Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of a door securing system embodying the present invention retro-fitted to a mechanically-lockable door in a train carriage; Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a door securing system embodying the present invention in more detail; Fig. 4 shows part of a door securing system embodying the present invention; Fig. 5 shows another part of a door securing system embodying the present invention ; Fig. 6 schematically illustrates the typical layout of electrical components used in an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 7 shows a pre-existing network of jumpers on a train carriage.

Figure 1 shows part of a train door 4, having a mechanical lock 4A, and associated wooden footstep 20 of an existing unmodified train carriage 3. According to an embodiment of the present invention it is proposed that existing train carriages 3 be modified by retrofitting a door securing system in addition to, but situated remotely from, the mechanical lock 4A. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a door securing system

embodying the present invention is arranged such that electromagnetic coupling can occur between an electromagnet 1, fitted within a hollow footstep 2 that is attached to the train carriage 3 below the mechanically-lockable door 4 in place of the existing wooden footstep 20, and an armature that is fitted to a member comprising a plate 5, which is directly mounted onto the door 4. The armature-bearing plate 5 is disposed such that it extends below the bottom edge of the door 4, thus covering the footstep 2, and is designed such that it follows the existing outline, that is the"gauge-line", of the train carriage 3. It is mounted directly onto the door, by way of mechanical fixings 6 such as rivets, as shown in Figure 3. The armature 7 is positioned on the plate 5 such that electromagnetic coupling between itself and the electromagnet 1, when initiated by powering the electromagnet 1, exerts a force, acting primarily on an outer corner of the door 4 (i. e. at a corner opposite to the hinged section of the door), which assists in retaining the door 4 in a closed disposition. In this embodiment the electromagnet 1 is powered by a voltage of 24V DC and the force exerted on the door 4 is approximately 550N.

The plate 5 can, for example, be made of 16SWG steel and designed as shown in Figure 4, in which Figures 4 (A) and 4 (B) show respective front and side views of the plate 5. The plate 5 comprises three sections 5a, 5b and 5c, first section 5a being disposed in use so as to abut the outer face of the door 4, third section 5c being disposed substantially parallel to first section 5a but spaced laterally therefrom, and second section 5b being angled so as to connect sections 5a and 5c. As shown in Figure 4 (A), holes are drilled into the third section 5c of the plate 5, there

being, in this example, four holes 5d and two holes 5e.

Figure 4 (C) and 4 (D) show respective front and side views of a fixing member 15, on which the armature (not shown in Fig. 4) 7 may be mounted, for attaching the plate 5 to the door 4 by way of mechanical fixings 6. The fixing member 15 comprises a first section 15a which in use abuts, and is fixed to, the underside of the train door 4. A third section 15c of the fixing member 15 extends substantially parallel to the first section 15a, but displaced laterally therefrom, and in use abuts the rear face of the third section 5c of the plate 5 and has holes 15d and 15e corresponding in location and size to the holes 5d and 5e on the plate 5 through which mechanical fixings may join the two together. The first and third sections 15a, 15c are joined by an angled second section 15b.

In one embodiment of the present invention the dimensions indicated in Figure 4 may be as follows: a=520mm, b=340mm, c1=90mm, c2=40mm, d=40mm, e=40mm, f=130mm, g=40mm, h=80mm, i=80mm, j=20mm, k=82.5mm, 1=165mm, m=20mm, n=82. 5mm, p=20mm and q=165mm. In addition, in such an embodiment the diameter of the holes 5d, 15d is 7mm and the diameter of the holes 5e, 15e is 12mm.

A footstep 2 for use in an embodiment of the present invention is shown in more detail in Figure 5, in which Figure 5 (A) is a front view, Figure 5 (B) shows detail B, Fig. 5 (C) is a plan view and Fig. 5 (D) is a cross-section taken on line A-A. As shown in Figure 5 (A) footstep 2 has a front face 2a. The footstep 2 is hollow, as shown in cross-section A-A in Figure 5 (D) and within the hollow footstep 2 adjacent to the front face 2a there is located electromagnet 1 mounted using

screws inserted into two pairs of screw-threaded holes 2f, shown in more detail in Figure 5 (B). As shown in Figure 5 (C) footstep 2 is largely rectangular in plan.

Upper face 2b of the footstep 2 has a pair of holes 2c and lower face 2d of the footstep 2 has a pair of slots 2e for use in mounting the footstep on the train carriage.

In an embodiment of the present invention the footstep 2 may be dimensioned as follows: A=1125mm, B=4.5mm, C=10mm, D=39.2mm, E=30mm, F=50mm, G=25mm, H=190mm, I=300mm, J=825. 5mm, K=150mm, L=19mm, M=30mm and N=50mm. In addition, in such an embodiment slots 2e are of width 12mm, holes 2d are of diameter 26mm, and screw-threaded holes 2f are of diameter 5mm and pitch 0.8mm, the pairs of holes being spaced 205mm apart.

Initiation of electromagnetic coupling between the electromagnet 1 and the armature 7 is achieved by powering the electromagnet 1 using a relay-based control device. Figure 6 schematically illustrates the typical layout of the electrical components, including a relay control device 8, which may be used in an embodiment of the present invention. The relay control device 8 can, for example, be constituted of 4 relays, each of 24V specification. The relays and associated components are mounted directly onto a printed circuit board 13, which is located at the end of the train carriage body 3. The relay control device 8 is powered using an auxiliary power supply of the train, which is nominally 70V and is connected to the relay device 8 via a converter (not shown) and control wires 9. The control wires 9 form part of a pre-existing network of jumpers 10 (illustrated in Figure 7) on the body of the train carriage 3; for example, three jumpers out of a

network of twenty seven may be used as control wires 9.

As a result of using part of a pre-existing network of jumpers 10 on the body of the train carriage 3 for control wiring, retro-fitting of a train carriage 3 with a. door securing system embodying the present invention is achieved more conveniently and costeffectively. Further, new wires can be incorporated into the wiring loom comprising the jumper network 10, for example, to replace wiring that may have been destroyed or removed. The relay control device 8 is connected to electromagnets 1L (left) and 1R (right) on both sides of the carriage 3 via newly-fitted cables 14 located in conduit attached to the underside of the carriage 3.

The relay control device 8 is controlled remotely by train staff. For example, the train driver could control door-unlocking via buttons located in the driver's compartment by depressing the button corresponding to the appropriate platform, whereas the guard could control door-locking, at the guard's position, via a button that is enabled by the guard's key switch. In the embodiment described, indication that the doors are being locked or unlocked is given by body side indicator lights 11 that extinguish and illuminate accordingly; these lights 11 are located on the exterior of the train carriage body 3, but if desired may be provided additionally on the interior of the same. An extra indication of the door-unlocking process is given by way of a tone sounded over the public address (PA) system of the train, which is generated by a tone generator in the guard's compartment when the train driver depresses the appropriate button to release the door securing system.

The door-locking operation may, for example,

entail the following sequence of events. Towards the end of the platform dwell time, the guard depresses the above-mentioned door-locking button to lock the doors of the vehicle. Indication that the doors on the train carriage 3 are about to be locked is given by the body side indicator lights 11 extinguishing. Then, the electromagnets 1 are powered by the relay control device 8, causing doors that are already shut, and open doors that are closed shut, to be held closed. Once all the doors on the vehicle are closed, the guard indicates that the train is ready to depart in the normal manner, that is by giving the"right away" signal.

The door-unlocking process may, for example, entail the following sequence of events. When the train reaches a standstill at a station platform, the train driver presses the button that releases the doors on the side of the train that corresponds with the appropriate platform. The tone generator in the guard's compartment sounds a release tone over the train PA system, and the body side indicator lights 11 on the appropriate side of the train illuminate. The doors can then be opened manually in the normal manner, by operating the mechanical lock.

The door securing system can be overridden during an emergency, by disabling electromagnetic coupling between the electromagnet 1 and the armature 7, which is facilitated by isolating the relay control device 8 by way of a circuit breaker such as an isolation unit 12. Such disabling is achieved by operation of a switch, which would be fitted to the passenger communication system on each vehicle. Upon operation of the switch, the door securing system would be isolated on that vehicle, allowing all the doors to be opened.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, alternative implementations are possible. For example, the armature may instead be retrofitted to the front face of an existing footstep and the electromagnet located on a plate extending below the bottom edge of the door. Alternatively, either the electromagnet or the armature might be located on the train carriage on the door sill above the footstep and the other of the electromagnet and armature located on a corresponding part of the inner face of the door.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A door securing system retrofitted in a railway train carriage of the type having at least one mechanically lockable exterior door, the system comprising an electromagnet, fitted to either of such a train carriage or such a door, and an armature located on the other of the said train carriage and the said door, such that, when the said system is powered on, electromagnetic coupling between the electromagnet and the armature assists in retaining the door in a closed disposition, wherein the said system is situated remotely from the mechanical lock on the said train door.
2. A door securing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said electromagnet is located in or on a footstep which extends laterally from the said train carriage at a location below a bottom edge of the said door, and the said armature is located on a portion of a member that is mounted on the door which extends below the bottom edge of the door.
3. A door securing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electromagnet is located within a footstep retrofitted to the train carriage.
4. A door securing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said armature is located in or on a footstep which extends laterally from the said train carriage at a location below a bottom edge of the said door and the said electromagnetic is located on a portion of a member that is mounted on the door which extends below the bottom edge of the door.

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5. A door securing system as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the armature is located on the front face of an existing footstep.
6. A door securing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein either the electromagnet or the armature is located on a vertical sill of the door and the other of the electromagnet and the armature is located on a corresponding portion of an inner face of the door.
7. A door securing system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the system is powered using a relaybased control device.
8. A door securing system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the relay-based control device includes relays and associated components mounted directly onto a printed circuit board.
9. A door securing system as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein the relay-based control device is powered using an auxiliary power supply of the train.
10. A door securing system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the said auxiliary supply is connected to the relay device via a converter and control wires.
11. A door securing system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the control wires form part of a pre-existing network of jumpers.
12. A door securing system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein train staff operate the said system, to lock or unlock the said door, by remote control.
13. A door securing system as claimed in any preceding

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claim, wherein unlocking of the said door is signalled by generation of a tone.
14. A door securing system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein indication that the said door is locked or unlocked is given by at least one body side indicator light that extinguishes and illuminates accordingly.
15. A door securing system as claimed in claim 14, wherein body side indicator lights are located on either side of the exterior of the body of the said train carriage.
16. A door securing system as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein body side indicator lights are located on either side of the interior of the body of the said train carriage.
17. A door securing system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the said system can be overridden by a manually-operated alarm, to unlock the said door during an emergency.
18. A door securing system as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.