Title of Invention	IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION OF PASSENGER ROAD & rAIL VEHICLES FOR REDUCING INTERIOR HEAT & ENHANCING VENTILATION
Abstract	In the conventional railway passenger transport cars only windows were provided for cross - ventilation and multiple window panels often had to be provided for providing ventilation, and upper roof was mostly monolithic having no openings. This invention aims at overcoming the above disadvantages by prpviding a railway passenger coach with additional ventilations comprising an upper roof (1), a lower roof (2) below the said upper roof providing a gap in between for insulation, the said gap being open in the front and closed on other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings (6) along the length of the coach for entry of fresh air during movement of the vehicle from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings (6) in the lower roof with optional provision of fans (5) near the said front opening for additional ventilation, the said rear and side windows (11) being fitted with opaque adjustable blinds for allowing more air to enter but to reduce direct entry of sun's rays.

Title of Invention

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION OF PASSENGER ROAD & rAIL VEHICLES FOR REDUCING INTERIOR HEAT & ENHANCING VENTILATION

Abstract

In the conventional railway passenger transport cars only windows were provided for cross - ventilation and multiple window panels often had to be provided for providing ventilation, and upper roof was mostly monolithic having no openings. This invention aims at overcoming the above disadvantages by prpviding a railway passenger coach with additional ventilations comprising an upper roof (1), a lower roof (2) below the said upper roof providing a gap in between for insulation, the said gap being open in the front and closed on other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings (6) along the length of the coach for entry of fresh air during movement of the vehicle from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings (6) in the lower roof with optional provision of fans (5) near the said front opening for additional ventilation, the said rear and side windows (11) being fitted with opaque adjustable blinds for allowing more air to enter but to reduce direct entry of sun's rays.

Full Text	This invention relates to some improved and novel features of construction for non-air-conditioned road vehicles and rail coaches for passengers. More particularly, the invention provides means for reducing the daytime heat and substantially increasing ventilation in the interior in unique and comparatively low-cost manner; for more passenger comfort from heat and humidity than otherwise possible in stich conventional vehicles, particularly in tropical summer season. Hitherto it is known that most of the vehicles which are not air-conditioned, become like hot ovens in summer due to the roof becoming very hot, direct sun entering through the windows half covered with transparent glass panes - thus reducing air ventilation, combined with body heat and sweat of passengers, often in crowded condition, causing extreme discomfort and distress. Otherwise air-conditioning in vehicles is mostly too expensive for owners/passengers/transport authorities. Enhanced ventilation and heat insulation is also more healthy than air-conditioning. The present invention provides for the minimising of direct heat and sunlight and maximising the flow of air, to reduce substantially the stuffy heat and humidity in the interior of passenger road vehicles /railway coaches. Accordingly, the present invention provides novel features in the desiga and construction of both passenger vehicles / coaches for road as well as railway use respectively. II comprises of but not limited to the features described below: -2- A DOUBLE ROOF construction, the top/upper roof and the bottom/lower roof below the said upper roof is provided with of a gap between them, the said gap is open in the front of the vehicle / coach and closed on the other three sides; the said upper roof when exposed to the sun covers and casts a shadow on the lower roof, thus offering an air gap insulation to the lower roof against direct radiation and conduction of heat and thus keeps it cooler; secondly, fresh air enters through the said front opening due to vehicle/coach movement and flows through the said air gap and escapes through louvre openings in the lower roof into the vehicle / coach interior and thus ventilates the interior very effectively and uniformly; thirdly, the said upper roof has a sloping down construction from front to rear (in case of road vehicles) and consequently acts like a natural air-compressor, further increasing the volumetric flow of air intake into the gap between the roofs and then into the vehicle interior; forthly, the rear window of the vehicle has fully collapsible glass panel or Venetian blind / shutter type openings, to further improve the rate of direct flow of air thirough the vehicle interior and then out through the rear window, as well as reduce air resistance / drag to vehicle motion resulting in fuel conservation; fifthly, the side windows of the vehicle have adjustable Venetian type blinds/shutters of suitable opaque material like wood / FRP / PVC for minimizing direct entry of midday solar heat and yet allowing more open area for fresh air to enter the interior and retain through-visibility of the outside; sixthly, the front opening between the two roofs as described above is provided with a flap gate or 3- Venetian type blinds/shutters which is manually operated by the driver for stopping air flow into the vehicle interior in chilly winds or rough / rainy weather; seventhly, & down slope is provided in the front portion of the lower roof for draining out any rain water; eighthly, the said front opening is optionally provided with fan(s) of 'air curtain7 or other suitable type (when economically viable) for forced air draft into the interior when the vehicle is in slow motion or stationary. The invention is described herein below more clearly in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings: Sheet 1 and Sheet 2, in which:- Figure 1. Sheet 1 is a sectional view along the length of a typical road vehicle, showing the sloping upper roof 1, the lower roof 2 with louvre openings 3; the entry of air is shown in the front gap between the roofs (by arrows in the drawing), percolating through the louver openings in the lower roof, ventilating the interior and exiting through the rear window (this, in addition to a high degree of natural ventilation, may also reduce air-resistance / drag due to vehicle motion and thus result in fuel conservation; the sloping upper roof naturally compresses the air entering for a uniform distribution of air in the interior; the said upper roof is also shown with a double line with hatch lines, indicating provision of heat insulation linings of asbestos / glass wool or similar for further lowering the temperature of air between the two roofs; the front opening is fitted with a flap gate 4 or Venetian blind type shutters for -4- closing in case of rain, chilly wind or rough weather; the lower roof in the front slopes down to prevent any ingress of rain water; further, in addition to the improved natural ventilation described above, suitable fan(s) 5 is/are fitted near the front opening for forced ventilation during slow motion and stoppages of the vehicle (these can be powered by fractional horsepower motors running from the vehicle batteries and switched on automatically, activated from the vehicle speedometer or power transmission suitably - thus conserving on battery charge); Section 'XX' Sheet. 1 is a cross sectional view, referred on the Fig. 1, showing the entry of air from the lower roof and side windows through their louvre openings 6 into the interior, indicating that the middle of the vehicle (away from the windows) gets about the same air-flow as the sides near the windows, which does not happen in conventional vehicles; Fig. 2, Sheet. 1 is an enlarged view of the Venetian folding type blinds used on the rear and the side windows ,. shown in open and closed conditions. The vanes of the blinds / shutters 6 are made of opaque material like wood / aluminium / PVC / FRP and in the open condition shows their effectiveness as a barrier to direct sunlight and shades the interior, still allowing ventilation and through visibility. The vanes of individual windows can be adjusted to the passengers' preference by a lever 7 in conventional manner (as in domestic window shutters), and can be closed in case of rain, cold -5- wind or rough weather. One or two of the vanes in each window can be of suitable transparent material to allow visibility even in closed condition. Fig. 3, Sheet. 2 is a sectional view along the length of a typical railway coach, showing the double roof construction with the corrugated type grill openings in the lower roof 8 allowing entry of air from the windward-end-opening 9 between the double roof (this construction allows ventilation through the lower roof for both directions of travel) while the flap gate / shutters of the leeward-end-opening 10 is kept closed; it also shows the large windows 11 at both ends of a coach for through ventilation; these windows can be closed by conventional shutters in winter, rain, for night security etc. Section ' YY' Sheet 2 is a cross sectional view, referred on the Fig. 3, showing the top opening 9 between the double roof and air entering through the lower roof grills for uniform ventilation, which is not offered by conventional coaches. -6- I claim :- 1. A novel design and construction of roof and / or windows of non-air-conditioned passenger road vehicles and rail coaches for substantially improved natural and / or additionally forced ventilations in a -6- uniform manner as well as reduced solar heat in the interiors, comprising of a top / upper roof and a bottom / lower roof below the said upper roof providing a gap (optionally tapering down from front to back in case of road vehicles) in between for covering the lower roof from direct sunlight and heat with the air gap as insulation, the said gap being open in the front of the vehicle / coach and closed on the other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings along the length of the vehicle / coach for entry of fresh air due to vehicle / coach movement from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings in the lower roof into the interior of the vehicle / coach (the gap between the double roof tapering down from front to rear in case of road vehicles for compressing the incoming air naturally) for more uniform ventilation, and exiting through the open rear window(s) of the vehicle / coach for easier through-flow of air and less drag on vehicle movement, the optional provision of fans near the said front opening for additional ventilation during slow movement / stoppage of the vehicle / coach; the said rear and the side windows being fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters of opaque type for reducing direct sunlight and yet allowing more air to enter the interior than in case of conventional and semi-open type glass paneled windows. 2. The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein instead of the upper roof of the road vehicle sloping down from front to rear, it is level -7- (horizontal for the sake of outside aesthetics) and the lower roof slopes down from rear to front, for obtaining similar tapering gap between the roofs for naturally compressing the incoming air from the front opening for uniform distribution through the louvres in the lower roof into the vehicle interior, 3 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 wherein the upper roof is additionally lined with heat-insulating material like asbestos/glass wool. 4 The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 to 3 wherein the rear windov/(s) is / are fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters for reducing direct sunlight and yet acting as a natural exit for air from the interior, thus achieving through ventilation of the interior, as well as reducing air-resistance drag due to vehicle motion and thus conserving on fuel. 5 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 4 wherein the side windows are fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters for reducing direct sunlight and yet offering more open area for air to enter than in case of conventional vehicle windows with partly open glass panels. -8- 6 The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 to 5 wherein the front end of the lower roof is sloped down towards the front of the vehicle, to act as drainage of rain water. 7 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 6 wherein the front opening between the roofs is provided with a flap gate or Venetian type shutter blinds for closing by the driver / conductor / passenger of the vehicle / coach in case of chilly winds, rough weather or rain. 8 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 7 wherein either fan(s0 of 'air curtain' or axial flow type is / are provided optionally for additional forced ventilation during stoppage or slow motion of the vehicle / coach. The fan(s) is / are activated by the driver or automatically by linking with the vehicle speedometer or power transmission or coach wheels, to be switched off above a pre-set speed of the vehicle, thus conserving on.fuel / electricity. 9 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 8 wherein instead of fan(s), an air compressor driven / powered by the vehicle / railway engine delivers air through the louvres in the said lower roof or through ducting / pipeline uniformly into the vehicle interior (as in the case of aircraft interiors). - 9 - 10 An improved construction for road vehicles and railway coaches for passengers, substantially as herein described and illustrated. 11 A passenger vehicle / coach when fitted with the improved features of construction and provisions as claimed in claims 1 to 9. Datea this 26th day of June 1998 -10- In the conventional railway passenger transport cars only windows were provided for cross - ventilation and multiple window panels often had to be provided for providing ventilation, and upper roof was mostly monolithic having no openings. This invention aims at overcoming the above disadvantages by prpviding a railway passenger coach with additional ventilations comprising an upper roof (1), a lower roof (2) below the said upper roof providing a gap in between for insulation, the said gap being open in the front and closed on other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings (6) along the length of the coach for entry of fresh air during movement of the vehicle from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings (6) in the lower roof with optional provision of fans (5) near the said front opening for additional ventilation, the said rear and side windows (11) being fitted with opaque adjustable blinds for allowing more air to enter but to reduce direct entry of sun's rays.

Full Text

This invention relates to some improved and novel features of construction for non-air-conditioned road vehicles and rail coaches for passengers. More particularly, the invention provides means for reducing the daytime heat and substantially increasing ventilation in the interior in unique and comparatively low-cost manner; for more passenger comfort from heat and humidity than otherwise possible in stich conventional vehicles, particularly in tropical summer season.
Hitherto it is known that most of the vehicles which are not air-conditioned, become like hot ovens in summer due to the roof becoming very hot, direct sun entering through the windows half covered with transparent glass panes - thus reducing air ventilation, combined with body heat and sweat of passengers, often in crowded condition, causing extreme discomfort and distress. Otherwise air-conditioning in vehicles is mostly too expensive for owners/passengers/transport authorities. Enhanced ventilation and heat insulation is also more healthy than air-conditioning. The present invention provides for the minimising of direct heat and sunlight and maximising the flow of air, to reduce substantially the stuffy heat and humidity in the interior of passenger road vehicles /railway coaches.
Accordingly, the present invention provides novel features in the desiga and construction of both passenger vehicles / coaches for road as well as railway use respectively. II comprises of but not limited to the features described below:
-2-

A DOUBLE ROOF construction, the top/upper roof and the bottom/lower roof below the said upper roof is provided with of a gap between them, the said gap is open in the front of the vehicle / coach and closed on the other three sides; the said upper roof when exposed to the sun covers and casts a shadow on the lower roof, thus offering an air gap insulation to the lower roof against direct radiation and conduction of heat and thus keeps it cooler; secondly, fresh air enters through the said front opening due to vehicle/coach movement and flows through the said air gap and escapes through louvre openings in the lower roof into the vehicle / coach interior and thus ventilates the interior very effectively and uniformly; thirdly, the said upper roof has a sloping down construction from front to rear (in case of road vehicles) and consequently acts like a natural air-compressor, further increasing the volumetric flow of air intake into the gap between the roofs and then into the vehicle interior; forthly, the rear window of the vehicle has fully collapsible glass panel or Venetian blind / shutter type openings, to further improve the rate of direct flow of air thirough the vehicle interior and then out through the rear window, as well as reduce air resistance / drag to vehicle motion resulting in fuel conservation; fifthly, the side windows of the vehicle have adjustable Venetian type blinds/shutters of suitable opaque material like wood / FRP / PVC for minimizing direct entry of midday solar heat and yet allowing more open area for fresh air to enter the interior and retain through-visibility of the outside; sixthly, the front opening between the two roofs as described above is provided with a flap gate or
3-

Venetian type blinds/shutters which is manually operated by the driver for stopping air flow into the vehicle interior in chilly winds or rough / rainy weather; seventhly, & down slope is provided in the front portion of the lower roof for draining out any rain water; eighthly, the said front opening is optionally provided with fan(s) of 'air curtain7 or other suitable type (when economically viable) for forced air draft into the interior when the vehicle is in slow motion or stationary.
The invention is described herein below more clearly in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings: Sheet 1 and Sheet 2, in which:-
Figure 1. Sheet 1 is a sectional view along the length of a typical road vehicle, showing the sloping upper roof 1, the lower roof 2 with louvre openings 3; the entry of air is shown in the front gap between the roofs (by arrows in the drawing), percolating through the louver openings in the lower roof, ventilating the interior and exiting through the rear window (this, in addition to a high degree of natural ventilation, may also reduce air-resistance / drag due to vehicle motion and thus result in fuel conservation; the sloping upper roof naturally compresses the air entering for a uniform distribution of air in the interior; the said upper roof is also shown with a double line with hatch lines, indicating provision of heat insulation linings of asbestos / glass wool or similar for further lowering the temperature of air between the two roofs; the front opening is fitted with a flap gate 4 or Venetian blind type shutters for
-4-

closing in case of rain, chilly wind or rough weather; the lower roof in the front slopes down to prevent any ingress of rain water; further, in addition to the improved natural ventilation described above, suitable fan(s) 5 is/are fitted near the front opening for forced ventilation during slow motion and stoppages of the vehicle (these can be powered by fractional horsepower motors running from the vehicle batteries and switched on automatically, activated from the vehicle speedometer or power transmission suitably - thus conserving on battery charge);
Section 'XX' Sheet. 1 is a cross sectional view, referred on the Fig. 1, showing the entry of air from the lower roof and side windows through their louvre openings 6 into the interior, indicating that the middle of the vehicle (away from the windows) gets about the same air-flow as the sides near the windows, which does not happen in conventional vehicles;
Fig. 2, Sheet. 1 is an enlarged view of the Venetian folding type blinds used on the rear and the side windows ,. shown in open and closed conditions. The vanes of the blinds / shutters 6 are made of opaque material like wood / aluminium / PVC / FRP and in the open condition shows their effectiveness as a barrier to direct sunlight and shades the interior, still allowing ventilation and through visibility. The vanes of individual windows can be adjusted to the passengers' preference by a lever 7 in conventional manner (as in domestic window shutters), and can be closed in case of rain, cold
-5-

wind or rough weather. One or two of the vanes in each window can be of suitable transparent material to allow visibility even in closed condition.
Fig. 3, Sheet. 2 is a sectional view along the length of a typical railway coach, showing the double roof construction with the corrugated type grill openings in the lower roof 8 allowing entry of air from the windward-end-opening 9 between the double roof (this construction allows ventilation through the lower roof for both directions of travel) while the flap gate / shutters of the leeward-end-opening 10 is kept closed; it also shows the large windows 11 at both ends of a coach for through ventilation; these windows can be closed by conventional shutters in winter, rain, for night security etc.
Section ' YY' Sheet 2 is a cross sectional view, referred on the Fig. 3, showing the top opening 9 between the double roof and air entering through the lower roof grills for uniform ventilation, which is not offered by conventional coaches.
-6-

I claim :-
1. A novel design and construction of roof and / or windows of non-air-conditioned passenger road vehicles and rail coaches for substantially improved natural and / or additionally forced ventilations in a
-6-

uniform manner as well as reduced solar heat in the interiors, comprising of a top / upper roof and a bottom / lower roof below the said upper roof providing a gap (optionally tapering down from front to back in case of road vehicles) in between for covering the lower roof from direct sunlight and heat with the air gap as insulation, the said gap being open in the front of the vehicle / coach and closed on the other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings along the length of the vehicle / coach for entry of fresh air due to vehicle / coach movement from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings in the lower roof into the interior of the vehicle / coach (the gap between the double roof tapering down from front to rear in case of road vehicles for compressing the incoming air naturally) for more uniform ventilation, and exiting through the open rear window(s) of the vehicle / coach for easier through-flow of air and less drag on vehicle movement, the optional provision of fans near the said front opening for additional ventilation during slow movement / stoppage of the vehicle / coach; the said rear and the side windows being fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters of opaque type for reducing direct sunlight and yet allowing more air to enter the interior than in case of conventional and semi-open type glass paneled windows.
2. The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 wherein instead of the upper roof of the road vehicle sloping down from front to rear, it is level
-7-

(horizontal for the sake of outside aesthetics) and the lower roof slopes down from rear to front, for obtaining similar tapering gap between the roofs for naturally compressing the incoming air from the front opening for uniform distribution through the louvres in the lower roof into the vehicle interior,
3 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 wherein the upper
roof is additionally lined with heat-insulating material like asbestos/glass
wool.
4 The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 to 3 wherein the rear
windov/(s) is / are fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters for
reducing direct sunlight and yet acting as a natural exit for air from the
interior, thus achieving through ventilation of the interior, as well as reducing
air-resistance drag due to vehicle motion and thus conserving on fuel.
5 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 4 wherein the side
windows are fitted with adjustable Venetian type blinds / shutters for reducing
direct sunlight and yet offering more open area for air to enter than in case of
conventional vehicle windows with partly open glass panels.
-8-

6 The design and construction as claimed in Claim 1 to 5 wherein the front end
of the lower roof is sloped down towards the front of the vehicle, to act as
drainage of rain water.
7 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 6 wherein the front
opening between the roofs is provided with a flap gate or Venetian type
shutter blinds for closing by the driver / conductor / passenger of the vehicle /
coach in case of chilly winds, rough weather or rain.
8 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 7 wherein either fan(s0
of 'air curtain' or axial flow type is / are provided optionally for additional
forced ventilation during stoppage or slow motion of the vehicle / coach. The
fan(s) is / are activated by the driver or automatically by linking with the
vehicle speedometer or power transmission or coach wheels, to be switched
off above a pre-set speed of the vehicle, thus conserving on.fuel / electricity.
9 The design and construction as claimed in Claims 1 to 8 wherein instead of
fan(s), an air compressor driven / powered by the vehicle / railway engine
delivers air through the louvres in the said lower roof or through ducting /
pipeline uniformly into the vehicle interior (as in the case of aircraft interiors).
- 9 -

10 An improved construction for road vehicles and railway coaches for
passengers, substantially as herein described and illustrated.
11 A passenger vehicle / coach when fitted with the improved features
of construction and provisions as claimed in claims 1 to 9.
Datea this 26th day of June 1998

-10-

In the conventional railway passenger transport cars only windows were provided for cross - ventilation and multiple window panels often had to be provided for providing ventilation, and upper roof was mostly monolithic having no openings.
This invention aims at overcoming the above disadvantages by prpviding a railway passenger coach with additional ventilations comprising an upper roof (1), a lower roof (2) below the said upper roof providing a gap in between for insulation, the said gap being open in the front and closed on other three sides, the said lower roof having louvre openings (6) along the length of the coach for entry of fresh air during movement of the vehicle from the large front opening between the roofs, through the several louvre openings (6) in the lower roof with optional provision of fans (5) near the said front opening for additional ventilation, the said rear and side windows (11) being fitted with opaque adjustable blinds for allowing more air to enter but to reduce direct entry of sun's rays.

Documents:

01124-cal-1998-abstract.pdf

01124-cal-1998-claims.pdf

01124-cal-1998-correspondence.pdf

01124-cal-1998-description (complete).pdf

01124-cal-1998-drawings.pdf

01124-cal-1998-form-1.pdf

01124-cal-1998-form-2.pdf

01124-cal-1998-pa.pdf

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Patent Number

194201

Indian Patent Application Number

1124/CAL/1998

PG Journal Number

30/2009

Publication Date

24-Jul-2009

Grant Date

07-Jul-2005

Date of Filing

26-Jun-1998

Name of Patentee

PRABIR SEN

Applicant Address

80/2 KANKULIA ROAD,CALCUTTA-700029

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	PRABIR SEN	80/2 KANKULIA ROAD,CALCUTTA-700029

PCT International Classification Number

B60H 1/24

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA