Transportation means with water supply device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9873440-B2
Application number	US-201314411759-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 22, 2013
Priority date	Jun 28, 2012
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

A transportation device, such as a rail vehicle, has a water supply device with a freshwater tank, at least one used water device connected to the freshwater tank and a collecting container connected to the used water device. The collecting container collects and stores used water which comes from the used water device The water supply device includes a control device which, by way of at least one control signal, can predefine one of at least two different operating modes, specifically a normal operating mode and an economy operating mode in which, compared to the normal operating mode, at least one operational resource which is necessary to operate the water supply device is consumed to a lesser extent than in the normal operating mode.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transportation device, comprising:
a water supply device including a fresh water tank, at least one water usage device connected to said fresh water tank, and a collection container connected to said water usage device for collection and storage of used water from said water usage device;
said water supply device including a compressed air device that produces compressed air as an operating resource, and wherein pressure generated by said compressed air device forces water from said fresh water tank towards said water usage device and/or from said water usage device towards said collection container;
said water supply device further including a control device configured to set one of at least two different operating modes by way of a control signal, the operating modes including a normal operating mode and a saving operating mode;
wherein in the saving operating mode, in comparison with the normal operating mode, compressed air is consumed to a lesser extent than in the normal operating mode; and wherein:
said water supply device includes a control valve connected to said control device, said control valve enabling a working pressure of said compressed air device acting on said fresh water tank and hence a flow of compressed air to be adjustable; and
said control device is configured to cause the control valve to reduce the working pressure from a specified normal pressure to a lower saving pressure if a supply of compressed air reaches or falls below a specified minimum threshold.

2. The transportation device according to claim 1 , which comprises a measurement sensor connected to said control device for monitoring a supply of resources of the at least one operating resource necessary for the operation of said water supply device, and wherein said control device changes said water supply device from the normal operating mode into the saving operating mode if the supply of resources reaches or falls below a minimum threshold.

3. The transportation device according to claim 1 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a pressure sensor connected to said control device and disposed to monitor a pressure in a pressure container of said compressed air device; and
said control device is configured to reduce the working pressure acting on said fresh water tank from a specified normal pressure to a lower saving pressure if the pressure in the pressure container reaches or falls below a specified minimum pressure.

4. The transportation device according to claim 1 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a water level sensor connected to said control device for monitoring an amount of available fresh water in said fresh water tank, the fresh water being an operating resource of said water supply device; and
said control device is configured to reduce a water consumption from a specified normal consumption level to a lower saving consumption level if the amount of available fresh water in said fresh water tank reaches or falls below a specified minimum value.

5. The transportation device according to claim 4 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a water valve connected to said control device and configured to affect a flow of fresh water, said valve having an opening time adjustable by said control device; and
said control device is configured to reduce the opening time of said water valve per opening process from a specified normal opening time to a shorter saving opening time if the supply of fresh water reaches or falls below a specified minimum threshold.

6. The transportation device according to claim 1 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a water level sensor connected to said control device for monitoring an amount of used water in said collection container or a volume available for used water yet to be received in said collection container; and
said control device is configured to reduce a water consumption from a specified normal consumption to a lower saving consumption if the amount of used water in said collection container reaches or exceeds a specified maximum value or the volume available for used water yet to be received in said collection container reaches or falls below a specified minimum value.

7. The transportation device according to claim 6 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a water valve connected to said control device and configured to affect a flow of fresh water, said valve having an opening time adjustable by said control device; and
said control device is configured reduces the opening time of said water valve per opening process from a specified normal opening time to a shorter saving opening time if the amount of waste water in said collection container reaches or exceeds the specified maximum value or if the volume available for used water yet to be received in said collection container reaches or falls below the specified minimum value.

8. The transportation device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the transportation device is a railway vehicle with a central vehicle control device and said water supply device is disposed in the railway vehicle;
said water supply device comprises an interface to said central vehicle control device; and
said control device of said water supply device is configured to generate a control signal for setting the saving operating mode if the central vehicle control device indicates an existing or forthcoming limitation of an electrical power resource available to said water supply device by way of a warning signal received via said interface.

9. The transportation device according to claim 8 , wherein:
said water supply device comprises a heating device connected to said control device; and
said control device is configured to reduce a heating power of said heating device from a specified normal consumption to a lower saving consumption if the warning signal is present at said interface to said vehicle control device.

10. The transportation device according to claim 1 , configured as a railway vehicle with a water supply device.

11. A method of operating a water supply device in a transportation device, the water supply device having a fresh water tank, at least one water usage device connected to the fresh water tank, and a collection container connected to the water usage device for collecting and storing used water from the water usage device, the method comprising:
producing compressed air with a compressed air device and using a pressure generated by the compressed air device to force water from the fresh water tank towards the water usage device and/or from the water usage device towards the collection container;
issuing a control signal for setting the water supply device to one of at least two different operating modes in dependence on available resources, the different operating modes including a normal operating mode and a saving operating mode; and
operating the water supply device in the saving operating mode by consuming the compressed air to a lesser extent than in the normal operating mode; and
selectively adjusting a flow of compressed air by way of a control valve and causing the control valve to reduce a working pressure from a specified normal pressure to a lower saving pressure if a supply of compressed air reaches or falls below a specified minimum threshold.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the transportation device is a railway vehicle.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Gaertner Ralph
• Schneider Christian

Classifications

• B61D35/00 Primary

  Sanitation · CPC title

• B61D5/04 Primary

  with means for cooling, heating, or insulating · CPC title

• B61D5/00

  Tank wagons for carrying fluent materials · CPC title

• Y10T137/6858

  Locomotive · CPC title