Hitachi, Ltd.

Morishige Hattori

Takeyuki Watanabe

Sumio Okuno

Masato Okazaki

Ryoichi Takayama

Hiroyuki Yamada

Hitoshi Tsuruda

Kiyotaka Kikumoto

A vehicle body, such as, for example, a railway passenger vehicle body, which includes an external body sheeting formed of opposite sides and a roof and having an internal floor extending between the sides. The sides, above the level of the internal floor, and the roof each include a number of extruded metal plates forming the external body sheeting and integral ribs, extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, are provided on inner faces of the extruded metal plates. The extruded metal plates are welded together at weld lines extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

Vehicle body construction having longitudinally elongated extruded

A method of manufacturing a portion of a vehicle body, with the portion being at least part of one of a side, an end, a roof, and a floor plate of the body. The method comprises the steps of providing extruded metal plates formed of a light alloy metal with each of the plates having welding edges and integral structural ribs extending parallel to the welding edges on the inner face of the plates, arranging the plates on a jig in position for welding of the welding edges, without an overlap of the welding edges, restraining the plates in a welding position on the jig, and welding the welding edges on the jig by one-sided welding from an inner side of the plates to produce continuous welds. Frame members extending transversely to the structural ribs can be welded on the same side without moving the plate from the jig.

Method of manufacturing a vehicle body

Growing community of inventors

Kudamatsu, Japan

Kiyotaka Kikumoto