ZA200710940B

ZA200710940B - Apparatus for preventing an element of a pleated or undulated bellows divided by a central frame from overstretching

Info

Publication number: ZA200710940B
Application number: ZA200710940A
Authority: ZA
Inventors: Schuster Heinz; Mosaner Knud; Karasek Jens
Original assignee: Huebner Gmbh
Priority date: 2006-12-23
Filing date: 2007-12-18
Publication date: 2008-10-29
Also published as: CN101204914A

Description

2.9007 / 10940 HL

APPARATUS FOR INHIBITING AN ELEMENT OF A PLEATED OR

UNDULATED BELLOWS DIVIDED BY A CENTRAL FRAME FROM

OVERSTRETCHING

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an apparatus for inhibiting an element of a pleated or undulated bellows divided by a central frame from overstretching, said bellows being interposed between two hinge-linked vehicle parts, the central frame being connected to the at least one vehicle part by a spring system that is adapted to be tension-biased.

Background to the Invention ) Articulated vehicles are known. They include two hinge-linked vehicle parts that are joined together by a pleated or undulated bellows. The bellows is hereby usually stretched around a connection gangway or a platform as well as the joint connecting the two vehicle parts together. Articulated vehicles in the form of articulated busses are utilized on any road. Such type vehicles usually have to be capable of driving on a ramp of 8 %. In order to inhibit the pleated or undulated bellows sagging, there is provided a central frame that centrally divides the bellows into two bellows elements.

A prior art central frame stabilisation is known from DE-A 966 307 that ensures that the central frame connecting the bellows elements is always spaced the same distance from the two hinge-linked vehicle parts. This known apparatus, which also inhibits the bellows element from overstretching, is complex and expensive to manufacture.

The document DE 40 34 984 C1 shows a suspension for a single-piece, free-hanging bellows, the gallows serving for hanging not being extendible

%.9007/ 10940 in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The disadvantage thereof is that only one bellows element is capable of extension when the bellows expands.

In this sense, a bellows connection for an articulated tramway train is known from the document DE-OS 22 12 613, the pleated bellows of which is divided into two equal parts by a central frame, said central frame being connected on one side to the one vehicle part by a rigid non lengthenable joint. On the other side, by contrast, the central frame is connected to the opposite vehicle part by a telescope connection. In this case also, only the one bellows element is capable of stretching.

An apparatus including of two telescopes is known from U.S. Patent No.

A4,781,123, said telescopes each being disposed at one end on a vehicle part and at their other end taking hold of the central frame that divides the bellows into the two already mentioned bellows elements or bellows halves.

Upon relative movement of the two vehicle parts with respect to each other, it is achieved, thanks to this known apparatus, that the central frame is always located in the center between the two vehicle parts. In principle, such an apparatus is optimal with respect to the result, which is the stabilisation of the central frame in the center between the two vehicle parts, but the two telescopes make this apparatus very complex and expensive as a result thereof.

Furthermore, telescopes are prone to wear since they are exposed to wind and weather.

From the document EP 824 411 B1 there is known a central frame stabilisation, the central frame being in this case connected to the one vehicle part by a resiliently flexible piston-and-cylinder assembly. Although both bellows elements are caused to expand as a result thereof, they do not necessarily extend equally as it is the case in U.S. Patent No. 4,781,123.

Accordingly, a need exists for providing an apparatus of the type mentioned herein above that is easy and cheap to manufacture and to maintain and ’ that reliably inhibits the bellows elements of the bellows from overstretching.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for inhibiting an element of a pleated or undulated bellows divided by a central frame from overstretching, said bellows being interposed between two hinge-linked vehicle parts and said central frame being connected to the at least one vehicle part by a spring system that is adapted to be tension-biased, wherein said central frame is connected on either side to a respective one of the vehicle parts through at least one elastic band.

Such an elastic band, e.g., made from an elastomer material (more specifically a rubber material) is an extremely cheap part. If such an elastic band is worn, it is simply changed. By virtue of the low price, such maintenance work is particularly low-priced.

According to a second aspect of the invention the central frame is connected on either side to a respective one of the vehicle parts by two V- shaped elastic bands converging to the central frame.

The V-shaped arrangement of the bands not only allows achieving stabilisation of the position of the central frame, substantially exactly in the center between the two vehicle parts, but also certain lateral stabilisation of the central frame.

Moreover, very generally, the stabilisation of the central frame through elastic bands also allows achieving attenuation of the vibration of the central frame between the two vehicle parts. : 5 lt is further provided that, in the case of a bellows having a bellows ceiling disposed at a distance from the bellows roof, the apparatus for inhibiting a bellows element from overstretching is disposed in the space between bellows roof and bellows ceiling. The arrangement in this space between bellows roof and bellows ceiling is possible since this central frame 10 stabilisation of the invention needs relatively little space.

According to another aspect, there is provided that the two elastic bands run in the center longitudinal axis of the vehicle parts, which means that the two elastic bands are aligned. 15

In summary, it is noted that the use of elastic bands allows providing an extremely low-cost central frame stabilisation that is greatly superior in terms of cost to substantially all the known central frame stabilisations. This is also true when considering that such a rubber band possibly needs to be 20 changed often, since such type rubber bands are extremely low-cost mass products.

Detailed Description of the Invention 25 The invention will be described in closer detail herein after by way of example with respect to the drawing.

Fig. 1 shows the apparatus of the invention in a first variant in which the central frame is held by two elastic bands;

Fig. 2 shows the apparatus of the invention in a second variant in which two bands converge in a V-shape toward the central frame on either side of the central frame.

The drawing schematically shows in Fig. 1 the two vehicle parts 2, 3 of an articulated bus 1, the bellows indicated at 10 being located between the two vehicle parts 1, 2. The bellows indicated at 10, in the instant case an undulated bellows, includes the two bellows elements 11 and 12 that are connected by the central frame indicated at 13. The bellows indicated at 10 includes a bellows ceiling 15 inserted beneath the roof 14. This bellows ceiling 15 is also divided into two portions 15a, 15b by a ceiling crossbeam 17 disposed on the central frame 13.

In order to now stabilize the central frame 13 in its position, approximately in the center between the two vehicle parts, two rubber elastic bands 20, 21 are provided above the bellows roof 14 according to a first embodiment, said rubber elastic bands being attached at their ends by eyelets 23 disposed on the central frame and on the vehicle parts. The two rubber elastic bands 20, 21 are subjected to a certain bias that ensures that the frame is always exactly in the center between the two vehicle parts.

If there is a bellows ceiling 15 beneath the bellows roof 14, the two afore mentioned rubber elastic bands 20, 21 may be accommodated in this space 30 as this appears also in the Figure. Here also, the rubber bands 20, 21 are joined to the vehicle parts and to the central frame by eyelets 23.

The rubber bands are each provided at their ends with hooks for connecting the rubber bands to the eyelets 23. Accordingly, such type rubber bands can be readily changed when worn. As a result, the use of such type rubber bands for stabilizing the central frame is cheap and highly efficient.

: In a second embodiment, which is shown in Fig. 2, there are provided, for stabilizing the central frame 13 and to dampen its motion, on either side of the frame 13 two V-shaped bands 20a, 20b; 21a, 21b converging toward the frame. The arrangement of the apparatus with two bands on either side may in this case also occur between the bellows roof and the bellows ceiling as already described above. For the rest, the reference numerals in

Fig. 2 correspond to those in Fig. 1.

The claims which follow are to be considered an integral part of the present disclosure. Reference numbers (directed at the drawings) shown in the claims serve to facilitate the correlation of the integers of the claims with illustrated features of the preferred embodiment(s), but are not intended to restrict in any way the language of the claims to what is shown in the drawings, unless the contrary is clearly apparent from the context.

It is to be appreciated, that the invention is not limited to any particular embodiment or configuration as hereinbefore generally described or illustrated.

Claims

iy Claims Ce

1. An apparatus for inhibiting an element (11, 12) of a pleated or undulated bellows (10) divided by a central frame (13) from overstretching, said bellows being interposed between two hinge- linked vehicle parts (2, 3), said central frame (13) being connected to the at least one vehicle part (2, 3) by a spring system (20, 21) that is adapted to be tension-biased, wherein said central frame (13) is connected on either side to a respective one of the vehicle parts (2, 3) by at least one elastic band (20, 21).

2. An apparatus for inhibiting an element (11, 12) of a pleated or undulated bellows (10) divided by a central frame (13) from overstretching, said bellows being interposed between two hinge- linked vehicle parts (2, 3), said central frame (13) being connected to the at least one vehicle part (2, 3) by a spring system (20, 21) that is adapted to be tension-biased, wherein said central frame (13) is connected on either side to a respective one of the vehicle parts by two V-shaped elastic bands (20a, 20b; 21a, 21b) converging to the central frame (13).

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the elastic band (20, 21) includes an elastomeric material.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein, in the case of a bellows having a bellows ceiling (15) disposed at a distance from the bellows roof, the apparatus is disposed in the space (30) between bellows roof (14) and bellows ceiling (15).

5. An apparatus as claimed in any one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the two elastic bands (20, 21) extend in a central longitudinal axis of the vehicle parts (2, 3).

6. An apparatus for inhibiting an element (11, 12) of a pleated or undulated bellows (10) divided by a central frame (13) from overstretching according to the invention, as hereinbefore generally described.

7. An apparatus for inhibiting an element (11, 12) of a pleated or undulated bellows (10) divided by a central frame (13) from overstretching as specifically described with reference to or as illustrated in any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

8. An apparatus for inhibiting an element (11, 12) of a pleated or undulated bellows (10) divided by a central frame (13) from overstretching including any new and inventive integer or combination of integers, substantially as herein described.

wre 200, 10940 DATED AT PRETORIA THIS 18" DAY OF DECEMBER 2007. HAHN & HAHN INC.

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