GB2114077A - Passenger strap-hanger supports - Google Patents

Abstract

The strap-hanger comprises an elongate flexible connector 13 of cable and spring form, the cable 30 having a head fitting 34 which is located in a stepped socket 44 in a lower part 14 of a two part mounting. The parts 14 and 15 of the mounting are secured together to clamp an overhead hand rail tube 10 therebetween. A handle 12 is secured by concealed fasteners to the lower end of the connector 13. The strap- hanger is especially suitable for retro- fitting to existing vehicles without requiring special mountings to be incorporated into the vehicle structure. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Passenger supports This invention concerns improvements relating to passenger supports of the kind known as "strap-hangers", for public transportation vehicles.

Strap-hangers are known which comprise a handle connected by an elongate flexible connection to a mounting assembly. Known mounting assemblies are complex, expensive to produce, require individual anchorages to be built into the structure of the vehicle, and are expensive to install and repair. However, due to the exacting nature of the requirements which the straphangers have to meet, especially the safety requirements and the resistance to vandalism, the known strap-hangers have been used, with minor modification, for a long time, and are still customary.

What is needed is a less expensive form of strap-hanger which can be constructed to meet said requirements.

According to the present invention there is provided a strap-hanger comprising a handle connected to a mounting assembly by an elongate flexible connection, the flexible connection comprising a substantially inelastic flexible elongate member; wherein the mounting assembly comprises a lower member and an upper member and fastener means to secure said upper and lower members together whereby substantially to define a clamping space which extends through the mounting between said upper and lower parts; and wherein the lower part is provided with a downwardly directed hollow extension and a stepped open ended socket which receives an end portion of the flexible connection and comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being wider than the lower portion and being open to the clamping space, and the lower portion extending from the upper portion through the extension to open at a free bottom end of the extension.

The lower portion is preferably provided with a liner of plastics of elastomeric material.

Strap-hangers according to the invention can be fitted to overhead horizontal bars, to take advantage of the relatively low cost of making and installing such bars, and to permit the fitting of the strap-hangers in vehicles not originally constructed to incorporate said anchorages for the aforementioned known strap-hangers, and the bars themselves can serve as grab rails for tall passengers whilst bieng situated at a relatively non-obstructive height.

Such overhead bars and like grab rails are usually of tubular form, and the liner serves to modify the acoustic properties of the straphangers so as to attenuate noises transmitted via the strap-hangers. The linear preferably provides a radiused or flared mouth at the free bottom end of the extension.

The invention further provides a passenger support installation in a passenger transport vehicle, the installation comprising at least one rigid elongate transverse member directly or indirectly securely connected to the vehicle's body structure so as to be disposed to leave headroom below said transverse member, and at least one of the strap-hangers of the invention fitted to the transverse member so that the latter is clamped in the clamping space.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: Figure 1 shows a strap-hanger according to the invention in part-sectional side elevation in situ upon a cylindrical transverse member 10 which serves as an overhead grab rail in a passenger transport vehicle (not shown); and Figure 2 shows an enlarged detail of part of Figure 1.

The strap-hanger comprises a handle 12, a flexible connector 13, and a mounting assembly which includes a lower part 14, an upper part 1 5 and fastener means 1 6.

The handle 1 2 has a base opening which leads to a shoulder around one end of a cylindrical passage which opens into an upper socket at the top of the handle, and a closure plug 20 is bonded into the opening.

The flexible connector 1 3 comprises a steel wire cable 30, a plastics sheath 30A and an outer spring 31. The lower end portion of the cable 30 extends into the handle via the passage, and is provided with a fitting 32 through which a pin 33 extends to engage a washer 38 supported on the shoulder and thereby secures the handle to the cable 30. The upper end portion of the cable 30 has a stepped cylindrical head fitting 34. The lower end of the spring 31 engages in the cylindrical upper socket in the handle.

The lower part 14 is branched to provide a first open ended semi-cylindrical recess, and the bottom portion 40 of the lower part is provided with an integral cylindrical extension 41. Within the bottom portion 40 is a stepped socket 44, the wider upper portion of which socket opens into the recess and accommodates a head 35 of the head fitting 34, and the narrower lower portion of which socket extends through the extension 41 to accommodate a shank 36 of the fitting 34 and the upper end portion of the cable 30. The upper end of the spring 3 1 engages around the extension 31.

A liner 45 of plastics material is provided in the lower portion of the socket 44, which liner extends downwards to provide a flared mouth at the bottom of the extension 41. The liner 45 is a press fit in the socket and slidably receives the shank 36 which extends within the liner but for only part of the length of the liner.

The upper part 1 5 is of arched form and defines a second open ended semi-cylindrical recess. The fastener means 1 6 comprises two Allen socket head screws 60 which secure lower end portions 50 and 51 of the upper part 1 5 to upper end portions 42 and 43 of the lower part so that the first and second open ended recesses together constitute a circular or nearly circular clamping space through which the transverse member 10 extends. The heads of the screws 60 are concealed in sockets in the portions 50 and 51 by pressed-in or bonded-in plugs 52, and the screws 60 are tightened so that the number 10 is clamped securely between the parts 1 4 and 1 5, and so that packings 61 are compressed between the end portions 42 and 50 and the end portions 43 and 51.

The strap-hanger is highly resistant to vandalism, provides a secure support for passengers when properly installed, and is easy to install in a specific and fixed position upon the transverse member.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example, and many variations are possible within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the end portions 42 and 50 could be modified to interengage or may be pivotally connected so that only one screw is required. The parts 14 and 15 are preferably aluminium alloy castings, but may be made from any suitable material.

Claims (9)

1. A strap-hanger comprising a hangle connected to a mounting assembly by an elongate flexible connection, the flexible connection comprising a substantially inelastic flexible elongate member; wherein the mounting assembly comprises a lower member; and an upper member and fastener means to secure said upper and lower members together whereby substantially to define a clamping space which extends through the mounting between said upper and lower parts; and wherein the lower part is provided with a downwardly directed hollow extension and a stepped open ended socket which receives and end portion of the flexible connection and comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion being wider than the lower portion and being open to the clamping space, and the lower portion extending from the upper portion through the extension to open at a free bottom end of the extension.

2. A strap-hanger as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the lower portion is provided with a linear of plastics or elastomeric material.

3. A strap-hanger as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the liner provides a radiused or flared mouth at the free bottom end of the extension.

4. A strap-hanger as claimed in Claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the elongate member comprises a steel wire cable having a head fitting comprising a head located in the upper portion of the socket and a shank located in the lower portion of the socket.

5. A strap-hanger as claimed in Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein packings are provided between end portions of the upper and lower parts.

6. A strap-hanger substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A passenger support installation in a passenger transport vehicle, the installation comprising at least one rigid elongate transverse member directly or indirectly securely connected to the vehicle's body structure so as to be disposed to leave headroom below said transverse member, and at least one of the strap-hangers.

8. A passenger support as claimed in any preceding claim fitted to the tranverse member so that the latter is clamped in the clamping space.

9. A passenger support installation substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.