Monorail vehicle with shaped interior shell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10040461-B2
Application number	US-201715712283-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 22, 2017
Priority date	Aug 8, 2012
Publication date	Aug 7, 2018
Grant date	Aug 7, 2018

Abstract

A monorail vehicle includes a chassis supporting a vehicle body, that includes a passenger floor and at least one side wall, and an electrical motor supported by the chassis. A drive wheel is coupled to a rotor of the electric motor with a rotation axis of the drive wheel substantially coaxial with an axis of the rotor. Portions of the drive wheel and the electric motor are positioned on both sides of an imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor. The drive wheel and the electric motor are covered by a shell that is integral to one side of the vehicle body and which defines a space between the other side of the vehicle body.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A monorail vehicle comprising:
a chassis supporting an elongated vehicle body that includes spaced sides and a passenger floor, wherein a length direction, a height direction and a width (or side-to-side) direction of the elongated vehicle body correspond to X, Y and Z axes, respectively, of a Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the X and Y axes define a vertical imaginary plane that bisects the vehicle body in half;
a drive unit coupled to the chassis, the drive unit comprising an electric motor and a gear assembly, the electric motor including a rotor that has an axis that is disposed substantially parallel with the Z axis; and
at least one drive wheel coupled to the rotor via the gear assembly, each drive wheel having a rotation axis that is disposed substantially coaxial with the rotor axis, wherein the drive unit is supported by the chassis with the electric motor and at least part of the gear assembly residing in one of the halves of the vehicle body with at least portions of each drive wheel, the electric motor and the gear assembly residing above a plane of the passenger floor of the vehicle body, wherein:
the drive wheel and the drive unit are covered by a shell that is integral to one side of the vehicle body and which defines a space between the other side of the vehicle body,
wherein the drive wheel and the drive unit are also positioned on both sides of a horizontal imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor, wherein the horizontal imaginary plane is defined by the X and Z axes,
the shell has a surface that extends from the passenger floor to a roof of the vehicle body,
proximate the space, a first part of the shell surface rises from the passenger floor to a first elevation above the passenger floor,
proximate the one side of the vehicle body a second part of the shell surface depends from a roof of the vehicle body to a second elevation above the passenger floor or the horizontal imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor, and
the shell surface includes a third part that connects the first and second parts of the shell surface.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein from the first part of the shell surface to the second part of the shell surface, the third part of the shell surface increases in elevation above the passenger floor or the horizontal imaginary plane extension of the passenger floor.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the passenger floor is disposed between one side of the vehicle body and the at least one drive wheel and the drive unit.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the electric motor is a permanent magnet AC electric motor.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the electric motor is liquid cooled.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the gear assembly is a planetary gear assembly.

7. The vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the planetary gear assembly has 3 planet gears coupled between a sun gear and a ring gear which surrounds the planet gears, wherein the sun gear is coupled between the rotor and the planet gears such that the planet gears are rotatable within the ring gear in response to rotation of the sun gear by the rotor.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one drive wheel comprises a pair of drive wheels supported by a rim assembly which is coupled to the gear assembly by a hub of the rim assembly, wherein at least part of the rim assembly surrounds the gear assembly, which part of the rim assembly is rotatable about the gear assembly in response to rotation of the rim assembly by the motor via the gear assembly.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the vertical imaginary plane intersects the rim assembly.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the hub of the rim assembly lies on the vertical imaginary plane.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the pair of drive wheels have a common rotation axis, the rim assembly includes a pair of rim sections with each rim section supporting one of the drive wheels, and the rim assembly includes the hub which extends radially from the common rotation axis and which terminates substantially at the intersection of the pair of rim sections.

12. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a bogie couples the drive unit and each drive wheel to the chassis.

Assignees

• Bombardier Transp Gmbh

Inventors

• Timan Peter Edward
• Trotsch Hans Peter
• Bazant Martin
• Martinez-Anon-Perez Daniel
• Bauer Alexander

Classifications

• H02K7/006

  Structural association of a motor or generator with the drive train of a motor vehicle · CPC title

• B60L7/14

  for vehicles propelled by AC motors · CPC title

• B60L2220/50

  Structural details of electrical machines · CPC title

• B61C9/50

  in bogies · CPC title

• B60L3/0061

  relating to electrical machines · CPC title