INFLATABLE SEALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY CARS

SYSTEME DE SCELLEMENT GONFLABLE POUR WAGONS

Description

CA 02397859 2002-08-13
INFLATABLE S>fALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY CARS
The present invention relates to a diaphragm assembly for vehicular cars such
as
railroad cars.
It is known in the art that the spar between adjacent railroad cars be
enclosed to
prevent movement of passengers and crew fi~om one car to another. In order to
do so, it
is being proposed in the art to use diaphragms which are attached to the ends
of the
adjacent cats and the diaphragms are then mated to each other to protect the
space
between the adjacent railroad cars from weather end noise while permitting the
movement of passengers aced crew therethrough. In the past, many fairly large
expensive
structures have been used as die diaphragms must not only seal and enclose the
space,
but also must be capable of absorbing the forces encountered by a moving train
which
includes navigating curves.
One particular type of structure which is known in the art is a system such as
shown in U.S. Patent 4,599,947. In this system, each adjacent railroad car is
provided
with reinfotr.~ molded rubber material which surrounds the door of the
railroad car. On
one end, the rubber is attached to a plate mounted on the railroad car and at
the other end
is attached to face plates. The face plates of adjacent cars carry wear plates
which abut
each other when the cars are coupled. Step plates are provided such that
passengers may
walls when passing thmugh the diaphragm enclosure from one car to another.
It is also known in the art to provide a diaphragm which can be inflated.
While
such an arrangement provides a desired continuity between the two diaphragms,
it
becomes a rather expensive solution. Thus, the inflation pressure must be
controlled
depending upon factors such as temperature which, as the temperatures
increased, would
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CA 02397859 2002-08-13
elevate the pressure within the bellows. Accordingly, one must have relatively
sophisticated control mechanisms to ensure suitable mechanical, electrical and
pneumatic
connections. Generally, the air pressia~e within is computer controlled and
compressors
must be provided.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a diaphragm assembly
suitable
for use with vehicular cars which are connected to each other and which
diaphragm
assembly is relatively inexpensive while providing a weatherproof secure
sealing
between adjacent cars.
According to the present invention, there is provided an outer diaphragm
member
extending about the door of a railroad car while there is provided an inner
bladder, the
inner bladder being inflatable. The inner bladdez is formed of an expandable
material
and is sized to be smaller in at least one dimension than the dimension of the
outer
diaphragm. This permits expansion of the bladder as the temperature increases
to ensure
that there is not too much of a pressure variance in the bladder and hence a
relatively
small change for the diaphragm.
Having thus gena~aUy described the invention, refe~reenacx will be made to the
accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which:
Figure 1 is a partial sectional view through a diaphragm assembly used in
connecting the ends of adjacent vehicles.
Referring to the drawings in gt~eater detail and by reference characters
thereto, the
diaphragm stricture, which is generally desiby reference numeral 10, includes
an
outer diaphragm defined by outer walls 12 and inner walls 14. The diaphragm
structure
is essentially that of a tube such as is known in the prior art and as
previously mentioned,
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CA 02397859 2002-08-13
is shown in U.S. Patent 4,599,94?. At the lower end, there is provided a
bottom plate
generally designated by reference nwneral 22.
Placed intermediate of diaphragm walls 12 and 14 is an inner bladder 16. As
may
be seen, inner bladder 16 has portions generally designated by reference
numeral 18
which are not expanded outwardly at normal operating pressure. However, when
the
pressure increases due to increased temperattuc, the recessed portions 18
allow for the
increased volume of air without increasing the pressure within bladder 16.
Similarly,
when fully inflated and under cold conditions, the bladder 16 returns to the
position
shown in Figure 1 while still maintaining portions inffat~ed to contact an
outer
diaphragm 10.
In conjunction with the about, or as an alternative thereto, and as may be
sees in
Figure 1, there may be provided a space 20 at either end of bladder 16, Space
20 allows
for the longitudinal expansion of bladder 16 for the reasons mentioned above.
It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of
illustration only and that c6angeg and modifications may be made thereto
without
dep~arang from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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Representative Drawing