Articulated railway vehicle connecting passage

Claim 2

An articulated rail vehicle comprising a pair of cars, a common truck supporting the juxtaposed ends of said cars, a joint on said truck connecting said cars, said joint comprising a tunnel assembly defining an enclosed passage between said car ends, said tunnel assembly including telescoping inner and outer hollow tunnel shell members, connecting means for connecting said tunnel shell members to said truck and including means to enable said tunnel shell members to pivot with respect to said truck about a horizontal transverse axis, And arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members engaging arcuate sealing surfaces on said car ends in sliding relation to accommodate transverse angular movement of said cars with respect to said truck and joint.

Claim 3

The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said juxtaposed car ends are pivotally mounted on said truck for relative transverse rotation about the vertical center line of said truck, said arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members and said car ends comprising surfaces of revolution having an axis coinciding with the vertical center line of said truck when said cars are longitudinally aligned.

Claim 4

The invention as claimed in claim 2 wherein said arcuate sealing surfaces on each of said tunnel shell members are disposed at each side of the tunnel passage.

Claim 5

The invention as claimed in claim 3 wherein each said tunnel shell member comprises a rigid, smooth-walled structure.

Claim 6

The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cars are supported on said common truck for relative vertical angular rotation about a transverse horizontal axis, said latter horizontal axis coinciding with the horizontal transverse axis about which said inner and outer tunnel shell members are pivotally rotatable when said cars are longitudinally aligned.

Claim 7

The invention as claimed in claim 1 including means disposed externally of said tunnel assembly for sealing said joint and providing substantially flush outer surfaces connecting said car ends.

Claim 8

The invention as claimed in claim 6 wherein said means disposed externally of said tunnel assembly for sealing said joint and providing substantially flush outer surfaces connecting said car ends comprises extending end portions of the car roofs and car sides, an arch-shaped frame assembly on said truck disposed in spaced relation around said tunnel assembly, a dome on said frame assembly cooperating with the extending ends of said car roofs to seal the top of said joint, and side sealing panels hinged along vertical pivot axes to said frame assembly in cooperative sealing relationship with the extending sides of said cars.

Claim 9

The invention as claimed in claim 7 wherein said car ends include slots adjacent the side walls thereof to accommodate said side sealing panels, and means for resiliently urging said side sealing panels into engagement with the inner faces of said extending car sides.

Claim 10

An articulated rail vehicle for passenger service comprising a pair of cars, a common truck supporting the juxtaposed ends of said cars, said truck including a bolster supported thereon by resilient suspension means, bearing means on said bolster connecting each of said car ends independently to said bolster, said bearing means providing pivotal horizontal movement of each said car ends about the vertical center line of said truck, said bearing means providing vertical pivotal movement of each of said cars with respect to said truck along a common horizontal axis transversely centered on said truck when said cars are longitudinally aligned, a joint on said truck connecting said cars, said joint comprising a tunnel assembly defining an enclosed passage between said car ends, said tunnel assembly including telescoping inner and outer tunnel shell members, said tunnel shell members each including floor panels aligned with and forming a continuation of the floors of the adjacent car ends, means for connecting said tunnel shell members to said bolster including means to enable said tunnel shell members to pivot with respect to said bolster about a transverse horizontal axis coinciding with the transverse axis of vertical movement of said cars with respect to said truck, arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members engaging arcuate sealing surfaces on said car ends in sliding relation to accommodate transverse angular movement of said cars with respect to said truck end joint, said arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members and said car ends comprising surfaces of revolution having an axis coinciding with the vertical center line of said truck when said cars are longitudinally aligned, an arch-shaped frame assembly mounted on said bolster externally of said tunnel assembly, stabilizing means connecting the upper end of said frame assembly with the end of each of said cars for maintaining a centered disposition of said frame assembly between said car ends and controlling the pitch attitude of said bolster.

Claim 11

An articulated rail vehicle for passenger service comprising a pair of cars, a common truck supporting the juxtaposed ends of said cars, said truck including a bolster supported thereon by resilient suspension means, bearing means on said bolster connecting each of said car ends independently to said bolster, said bearing means providing pivotal horizontal movement of each said car ends about the vertical center line of said truck, said bearing means providing vertical pivotal movement of each of said cars with respect to said truck along a common horizontal axis transversely centered on said truck when said cars are longitudinally aligned, a joint on said truck connecting said cars, said joint comprising a tunnel assembly defining an enclosed passage between said car ends, said tunnel assembly including telescoping inner and outer tunnel shell members, said tunnel shell members each including floor panels aligned with and forming a continuation of the floors of the adjacent car ends, means for connecting said tunnel shell members to said bolster including means to enable said tunnel shell members to pivot with respect to said bolster about a transverse horizontal axis coinciding with the transverse axis of vertical movement of said cars with respect to said truck, arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members engaging arcuate sealing surfaces on said car ends in sliding relation to accommodate transverse angular movement of said cars with respect to said truck end joint, said arcuate sealing surfaces on said tunnel shell members and said car ends comprising surfaces of revolution having an axis coinciding with the vertical center line of said truck when said cars are longitudinally aligned, an arch-shaped frame assembly mounted on said bolster externally of said tunnel assembly, stabilizing means connecting the upper end of said frame assembly with the end of each of said cars for maintaining a centered disposition of said frame assembly between said car ends and controlling the pitch attitude of said bolster.

Claim 12

The invention as claimed in claim 9 including means disposed externally of said tunnel assembly for sealing said joint and providing substantially flush outer surfaces connecting said car ends.

Claim 13

The invention as claimed in claim 10 wherein said means for sealing said joint and providing substantially flush outer surfaces connecting said car ends comprises extending end portions of the car roofs and car sides, a dome on said frame assembly cooperating with the extending ends of said car roofs to seal the top of said joint, and side sealing panels hinged along vertical pivot axes to said frame assembly in cooperative sealing relationship with the extending sides of said cars.

Claim 14

The invention as claimed in claim 11 wherein said car ends include slots adjacent each side wall thereof to accommodate said side sealing panels, and means for resiliently urging said side sealing panels into engagement with the inner faces of said extending car sides.

Claim 15

The invention as claimed in claim 12 wherein said means for resiliently urging said side sealing panels into engagement with the car sides comprises a torsion bar spring assembly mounted on each side of each car adjacent one of said side sealing panels, said torsion bar spring assembly including a roller engaging said side sealing panel and urging said panel into engagement with the inner face of the car side.

Claim 16

The invention as claimed in claim 12 wherein said side sealing panels comprise a pair of substantially rectangular panels hingedly mounted to said frame assembly along their vertical adjoining edges.

Claim 17

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein said stabilizing means comprises a transverse shaft centrally mounted on said frame assembly above said tunnel assembly, a rocker arm rotatably mounted on said shaft, and a pair of stabilizing bars, each bar connecting one end of said rocker arm to one of the car ends.

Claim 18

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein each of said tunnel shell members comprises a rigid, smooth-walled structure.

Claim 19

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein the roof of each of said tunnel shell member comprises a surface of revolution having an axis coinciding with the pivotal mounting axis of said tunnel shell members.

Claim 20

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein said arcuate sealing surfaces on each of said tunnel shell members are disposed at each side of the tunnel passage.

Claim 21

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein the pivotal axis of each said tunnel shell member lies beneath and closely adjacent the juncture of the tunnel floor panels.

Claim 22

The invention as claimed in claim 9 wherein said car ends each include a bulkhead extending transversely thereacross, an aperture in each said bulkhead aligned with the passage of said tunnel assembly, vertical closure shields extending the full height of said bulkhead aperture adjacent said aperture on the outer side of said bulkhead, said vertical closure shields including said arcuate sealing surfaces engaging said tunnel shell member sealing surfaces.