Claims
- 1. A door system for a railway vehicle having a door opening and a stairwell extending downwardly from a vehicle floor level to a bottom end of said door opening, said door system comprising a sliding door displaceable between open and closed positions for selectively closing said door opening, a stairwell platform displaceable between a retracted position for clearing said stairwell and an extended position for covering said stairwell, a threshold extending laterally outwardly of said sliding door substantially at said vehicle floor level, said threshold being releasably connected to said sliding door for co-linear movement as a single unit with said sliding door between said open and closed positions when said stairwell platform is in said retracted position thereof, while remaining stationary in a functional position when said stairwell platform is in said extended position thereof for allowing high level boarding, and a lock for selectively securing said threshold to said sliding door, said lock including a catch provided on one of said sliding door and said threshold and a latch assembly on the other one of said sliding door and said threshold, said latch assembly including a housing, a slot defined in said housing, a spring-loaded latch member mounted in said housing, said latch member having a catch engaging portion extending outwardly of said housing through said slot for movement therein, and a safety member displaceable between a first position for preventing access to the interior of said housing through said slot when said latch member is urged to a locked position thereof and a second position for at least partly clearing said slot so as to allow said latch member to be displaced to an unlocked position thereof.
- 2. A door system as defined in claim 1, wherein said threshold is disconnected from said sliding door in response to a displacement of said stairwell platform to said extended position thereof.
- 3. A door system as defined in claim 1, wherein said threshold is slidably connected to said sliding door, and wherein a retainer is provided for selectively keeping said threshold securely in place while said sliding door is displaced to said open position thereof.
- 4. A door system as defined in claim 3, wherein said retainer is adapted to act on said latch member to disconnect said threshold from said sliding door when said stairwell platform is in said extended position thereof for allowing high level boarding.
- 5. A door system as defined in claim 4, wherein said latch member is mounted to said threshold and is normally urged to said locked position in which said threshold is secured to said sliding door via said latch.
- 6. A door system as defined in claim 5, wherein said retainer is integral to said stairwell platform and adapted, upon positioning of said stairwell platform to said extended position thereof, to disengage said latch member from said sliding door in order to disconnect said threshold from said sliding door, and at the same time retain said threshold in said functional position thereof, thereby allowing said sliding door to move independently of said threshold.
- 7. A lock for releasably interconnecting first and second members, said lock including a catch provided on one of said first and second members and a latch assembly provided on the other one of said first and second members, said latch assembly including a housing, a slot defined in said housing, a spring-loaded latch member mounted in said housing, said latch member having a catch engaging portion extending outwardly of said housing through said slot for movement therein, and a safety member displaceable between a first position for preventing access to the interior of said housing through said slot when said latch member is urged in engagement with said catch and a second position for at least partly clearing said slot so as to allow said latch member to be displaced to an unlocked position in which said latch member and said catch are disconnected.
- 8. A lock as defined in claim 7, wherein said safety member and said latch member are pivotally mounted in said housing, and wherein said catch engaging portion is engaged in a slot defined in said safety member so as to communicate movement from said latch member to said safety member.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/358,460 filed on Jul. 22, 1999, pending.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09358460 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09873366 |
Jun 2001 |
US |