Entry Stairs for Vehicles

The invention here presented concerns an entry stair system for track or rail vehicles and for service with rail platforms of varying heights, equipped with at least two movable steps.

In recent years there have been an increase in attempts, depending on the traffic and technical conditions of the rail vehicles in the various parts of cities, to combine the possibilities and properties of streetcars and subways in the same vehicles.

This requires entry steps for two different platform heights. As a rule, entry and exit on the streetcar routes are from and to a sidewalk or a sidewalk-like island using a stairway that is part of the vehicle; while on the subway routes there are high railway platform without any real step.

Movable steps are known, where the step-plate parts, which in their initial position comprise a part of the vehicle floor, go through an unfolding motion while being lowered. Riders, who mistakenly stand either entirely or partly on this plate, are thus exposed to an immediate danger of accident by either twisting an ankle or slipping outward on the slanting plate. Also, the devices used heretofore require a large amount of space in the direction of the width of the vehicle, so that problems result in mounting the apparatus below the vehicle floor between the step arrangements.

A further disadvantage of the previous systems and proposals used up to now consists of the fact that in the under-way position there are niches where, for example, snow can accumulate, or where special, movable covering aprons are additionally required.

The entry stairway according to the present invention does not tend to form, in the under-way position niches in which snow and ice can accumulate, or require additional covering parts, such as movable covering aprons or some similar device. Such an entry stair is distinct in that the upper step can, as a lifting step, be lowered from its initial position, in which it is a part of the vehicle floor, roughly vertically and parallel to the vehicle floor by the height of one step.

A model of the object of this invention is further explained with a drawing as follows.

Shown are the following:

FIG. 1. A frontal view of a rail car door with the stair swung in.

FIG. 2. A cross section along lines A--A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3. A cross section along lines A--A of FIG. 1 with the stairs lowered.

FIG. 4. A cross section along lines B--B of FIG. 1 showing the drive mechanism of the lifting step.

FIG. 5. A cross section along lines C--C of FIG. 1 showing the drive mechanism of the folding stair.

FIG. 6. A cross section along lines D--D of FIG. 1 showing the activating mechanism.

FIG. 1. shows a view of the door 1 with the stair assembly 3 seen from the side of the vehicle. Here, also, the lines of the cross sections shown in the following figures are indicated.

The FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross sections through the plane A--A, and in FIG. 2 the position "up", which corresponds to the position while under way or exit and entry from and to a high railway platform (7).

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the parallel guide brackets (4) controlling the lifting step in both end positions. The upper covering plate or riser 99, firmly mounted on the vehicle, which could be flat or, corresponding to the arched motion of the lifting step, slightly rounded.

FIG. 2 shows the movable elements of cross section A--A in the "up" position. FIG. 3 shows the same cross section with the movable elements in the "lowered" position, which enables one to enter via the two movable steps, i.e. via a stair made up of three steps.

In FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 the "lowered" position is drawn out and shaded; the "up" position is outlined with dash and point.

FIG. 4 illustrates the drive for the lifting step 2.

FIG. 5 shows the drive mechanism for the folding step 12; and FIG. 6, shows the activating mechanism 34, 36, etc. mounted along and off to the side of the door 8, which turns the drive shaft 26 from one end position to the other.

The lifting step (2) is controlled or guided on both sides by two parallel guiding bracket mechanisms 4 mounted on pivot anchor 84. Therefore it describes, while staying parallel, a shallow or flat arc from one end to the other end position.

In its upper end position lifting step 2 is situated level with the floor of the vehicle (6), the latter being in horizontal plane P. The vehicle door (8) closes along its lower edge with an elastic door sealer (10). The folding step (12) of width (W) is rotated about the turning axis (14). In its "up" position folding step 12 is about vertical, and together with the covering plate (16) of the lifting step (2), forms an even apron, completing the sidewall (18) of the vehicle. The angle of incline of the stairs, indicated by line 98 (FIG. 3), can be chosen within wide margins, depending on available space and the requirements for ease of access. Generally, as a compromise for most operations, an angle of 40.degree. is deemed desirable. FIG. 3 shows the "lowered" position, and the way in which entry can be effected in three steps from a sidewalk (20) which is slightly higher than the street and/or the upper edge of the rails (22) via the two step plates.

FIG. 4 shows how the so-called toggle or knee-lever, consisting of turning bracket (26) attached to the drive shaft 24 and rod (28) extending between bracket 26 and step 2, moves the lifting step (2) from one position to the other. In the upper end position the dead center point position is exceeded somewhat. That is, pivot 97 where rod 28 connects with bracket 26 is a toggle knee that is over dead center by being to the left of an imaginary line extending between shaft 24 and pivot 96, the latter connecting rod 28 to step 2 as viewed in FIG. 4. This results in a secure support and avoids the creation of a backturning torque upon the drive shaft (24). FIG. 5 shows how another so-called toggle or knee-lever, consisting of the same turning bracket (26) and the rod (30) connected at knee 86 to bracket 26 and at pivot 87 to folding step (12) moves the latter between its raised (FIG. 2) and lowered (FIG. 3) positions. With step 12 in its raised position, toggle knee 86 is inboard of a vertical line extending through drive shaft 24. FIG. 6 shows the activation of the drive shaft (24) via the turning bracket (32) and link 92, and, in this case for reasons of design, via an angle bracket 91 by the activating rod (34). The activating rod (34) can be moved up and down by pneumatic activation in form of an air pressure cylinder (36).

The possibility exists, in case of emergency, to move the same rod via an additional hand crank mechanism (38). However, electromechanical, electrohydraulic or other means are possible as well. The exact method of activation is not a critical aspect of the present invention and can be done according to known techniques.

Because the upper step 2 moves roughly vertically and stays parallel to the floor 6, the catching and crushing or slipping of the foot becomes impossible when someone stands on the upper step while it is being lowered. This upper step is always within the inside of the vehicle, hence there is no dangerous possibility for ice formation. Furthermore, the stair construction requires relatively little space in the vehicle. The longitudinal support beam 90, normally continued along the outside, has to be slightly relocated inward in the area of the stairs. Thereby enough space is saved for the necessary mechanisms in the stair region of the undercarriage, and no major modification for the preservation of longitudinal structural strength is necessary. The angle of incline of the stairs can be chosen according to the requirements for ease of access and the available space. In general, about 40 degrees or so could be a guideline. No special covering aprons for the completion of the sidewall under the door are required. The covering is accomplished via the covering plate 16 attached to the upper lifting step 2 and the lower folding step 12 when folded up, which form an even part of the vehicle's sidewall in the apron area when the steps are in the "under-way" position.

The various commonly used models of doors can be used in combination with the new stair system, and that is with normal door height. The operating mechanism, located for the most part below the lifting step, consists mostly of jointed levers, which do not tend to malfunction if they get dirty or ice covered. Finally, the possibility exists that in one or both end positions the upper lifting step 2 is supported by the lower step 12 via the covering plate which is attached to the lifting step.