Patent Application
20120180885
The invention relates to a rail vehicle with a sewage tank.
For the purpose of emptying the sewage tanks on board vehicles, it is necessary to use high-outlay pumping-out stations which are installed predominantly at a fixed location. These stations are visited predominantly every few days, in order that the schedule of the vehicle is not overly affected. In contrast, the clean-water tank of the rail vehicle is filled daily. As a result, in the case of emptying every three days, it is necessary to have sewage tanks which are of such a size as to be able to accommodate the volumes of three clean-water refills. This results in high axle loads and a reduced mass being usable for accommodating passengers.
At present, fixed-location or mobile suction apparatuses, predominantly negative-pressure systems, are provided for the purpose of emptying the sewage tanks. Such apparatuses are stationed or installed in works yards, and engine sheds.
An object of the invention is further to develop the rail vehicle mentioned in the introduction such that it is possible to have smaller dimensions for the sewage tanks.
This object is achieved in that a pump is provided on board the vehicle for the purpose of emptying the sewage tank.
The fact that a pump is present on board the vehicle for the purpose of emptying the sewage tank means that the sewage tank can be emptied independently of external emptying apparatuses.
In particular, this obviates the dependency on the predominantly fixed-location pumping-out stations.
It is possible for a rail-vehicle operator to empty the sewage tank at the points provided for filling with clean water. The general arrangement for operating the sewage tank becomes freer, and daily emptying can also take place. This, in turn, can reduce the size of the sewage tank, and similarly the dead weight of the vehicle, so that a greater number of passengers can be transported in the rail vehicle. The latter also has the commercial advantage that the price for each seat on the rail vehicle is reduced.
The pump is preferably configured as a sewage pump, so that all the material which is to be disposed of can be handled with the aid of the pump on board the rail vehicle.
The pump may be connected to the sewage tank basically in any desired manner. It is preferred, however, if the pump is integrated in the sewage tank, so that it does not take up any additional installation space.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention will be explained in yet more detail here below with reference to the drawing. The single FIGURE shows a perspective view of a sewage tank of a rail vehicle.
As can be gathered from the figure, a sewage tank 1 of a rail vehicle is equipped with a pump 2 which is arranged on a floor of the sewage tank 1. The pump 2 is designed as a sewage pump, so that all the materials which may have to be discharged from the sewage tank 1 can be pumped out.
The pump 2 is driven by an electric motor 3 which is arranged on an upper side of the sewage tank 1. A shaft 4 of the motor 3 is guided into the sewage tank 1 and connected to the pump 2 so as to drive a delivery component 5 of the pump 2. Starting from an outlet of the pump 2, an emptying line 6 runs outward through a cover panel of the sewage tank 1 and terminates in an outwardly directed piece of piping 7.
