Railways – Track layers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-09
2001-04-24
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railways
Track layers
C104S007100, C029S271000, C029S267000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220169
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates primarily to a method of successively placing, positioning and thereafter fastering rail sections on and to a number of mutual adjacent and mutually spaced railroad sleepers, where each sleeper is placed loosely on a prepared railroad bed.
The method utilizes a first railroad wagon adapted to carry a plurality of rail sections, a second railroad wagon or like vehicle adapted to guide rail sections taken successively from said plurality of rail sections on said first wagon onto said loosely resting sleepers with the aid of a pulling vehicle, such as a tractor, that functions to pull one rail section at a time from said first wagon and into abutment with said sleepers, via said second wagon.
The present invention also relates to a method of lifting and moving a previously positioned rail relative to a railroad sleeper and lowering the rail onto the sleeper, therewith providing conditions for adapting or neutralizing tension forces acting in a rail that is fastened to railroad sleepers.
Such a method comprises the following steps, although not necessarily in a consecutive order:
a) cutting away an end part of the rail;
b) loosening fastener elements between sleepers and rail along an adapted rail section;
c) lifting said rail section slightly above said loosened sleepers;
d) applying a pre-determined force to the loosened rail section in direction of its longitudinal axis;
e) fastening the end surface of the rail section to an exposed end-surface of an adjacent rail section that is fastened to railroad sleepers, under the action of a force; and
f) fastening the loose rail section acted upon by said force to underlying railroad sleepers with the aid of fastener elements.
The present invention also relates to a device for use in the inventive method, such as to facilitate linear movement of rail sections, along the sleepers.
The device is also adapted to provide the possibility to lift and move a rail relative to a railroad sleeper and to lower the rail onto said sleeper, which can be used when practicing the inventive method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A number of different methods of placing, positioning and thereafter permanently fastening rail sections on rail sections on a number of mutually adjacent and mutually spaced, loose railroad sleepers each of which rests loosely on a railroad bed are known to the art.
By “loosely placed” is meant that a rail section is not fastened to underlying sleepers with the aid of fastener devices and that the sleepers are able to move relative to the underlying surface, preferably a prepared railroad bed, in response to a small force.
The method that can be considered to lie closest to the invention is the method that requires the use of a first railroad wagon which is adapted to carry a store of railroad rail sections, a second railroad wagon or like vehicle adapted to guide the successively withdrawn and linearly displaced rail sections from said first wagon onto said railroad sleepers.
It is also known in conjunction with this method to draw a rail section from the store of rail sections on the first wagon over loose sleepers via said second wagon, and to brinc said rail section into abutment with said sleepers with the aid of a pulling vehicle, such as a tractor, having gripping devices and means adapted for coaction with the end-part of the withdrawn rail section.
The earlier known method requires both the first wagon and the second wagon or like vehicle to run along provisionally placed and secured rail sections that are separate from the permanent rail sections to be placed on and permanently secured to the sleepers at a distance apart corresponding to the gauge or track of the normal railroad traffic.
This earlier known method allows rail sections intended to be permanently positioned by the pulling vehicle to extend on the loose railroad sleepers.
The different forces acting on the sleepers as the rail sections slide therealong are liable to cause the earlier established spacing between the sleepers to be disturbed.
Bearing in mind that a rail section of the kind to which the invention refers may have a length of about 100 m or more, it will be understood that the sleepers are subjected to very high pressure forces and that the sleepers are very liable to tilt or tip as a result of these forces.
The method recited in the introduction for creating conditions whereby a previously positioned rail can be lifted and moved relative to a railroad sleeper and the rail lowered onto the sleeper and therewith create conditions for adapting or neutralizing tension forces acting in rails that are fastened to sleepers is known to the art.
The rail section has earlier been lifted from the loosened sleepers with the aid of hand-operated lever, a crowbar or some like device.
It has also been proposed to place rollers between the raised rail section and the sleeper, and to permit the entire rail section to rest on a number of such rollers.
This method is laborious, however, while application of rollers on the sleepers is made complicated by virtue of needing to place in the close proximity of the sleeper fastening elements.
The present invention also relates to a device that can be used beneficially when practicing the inventive method. With regard to the prior standpoint of techniques it should be mentioned that it is known within other technical fields and other applications to rotatably mount a support surface or roller on mutually opposing end-wall parts with the aid of suitable bearing means.
It is also known to rotatably or pivotally mount one or more end-wall part on a supportive structure.
The patent publication DT-B2-18 08 696 discloses a plant whereby new railroad sections are distributed and arranged along the railroad bed simultaneously as old railroad sections are taken away.
By the publication AT-B-337 749 it is previously known a device to lift or lower loose railroad sections by the use of lever arm system using an excentric disc causing to lift and to lower a turnable plate, its free end portions having spheres supporting the railroad sections.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
When taking into consideration the technical deliverations that a person skilled in this particular art must make in order to provide a solution to one or more technical problems that he/she encounters, it will be seen that on the one hand it is necessary initially to realize the measures and/or the sequence of measures that must be undertaken to this end, and on the other hand to realize which means is/are required to solve one or more of said problems. Oil this basis, it will be evident that the technical problems listed below are highly relevant to thie development of the present invention.
When considering the earlier standpoint of techniques as described above it will be obvious that a technical problem is one of providing a method of placing rail sections successively onto a number of aligned railroad sleepers with no risk, or only a slight risk, of this alignment being disturbed and loosely placed sleepers being shifted and/or being moved out of alignment.
It will also be seen that another technical problem is one of providing a method in which rail sections can be aligned with sleeper-associated fastener elements both simply and quickly.
Another technical problem is one of realizing the significance of allowing the wagons required for laying-out rail sections to move along rail sections that have been fastened provisionally to the sleepers prior to fastening said rail sections permanently to each railroad sleeper with the aid of equipment that follows the rail laying operation.
When considering the present state of the art, as described above, it will be evident that a technical problem exists in providing a modified method for creating conditions which enable a rail to be lifted and moved relative to a railroad sleeper and lowered onto said sleeper while adapting or neutralizing tension forces acting in rails that are fastened to sleepers, where raising of the rail section slightly above the l
Holmberg Erne
Ohlsson Per Olof
Rosenquist Karl Anders
A.Rosenquist Förvaltnings AB
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Jules Frantz F.
Morano S. Joseph
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