Railways – Track layers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-10-30
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railways
Track layers
C104S007100, C126S27120R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308635
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for heating the rails of the railroad tracks for the purpose of installation or repair to reduce undesired thermal expansion or contraction of the railroad tracks. More precisely, the present invention relates to a rail heating module and assembly using convective and radiant heat to transfer thermal energy to a rail of a railroad track to prevent curvature or deformity of the track due to undesirable atmospheric conditions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Multiple methods for laying railroad tracks have been provided in the prior art. One favorable method of laying railroad tracks is laying a continuous welded rail, in which case individual sections of rail are laid on a prepared surface by a rail laying device. Each section of rail is approximately one-quarter mile long, and the rail laying device is operable to dispense and initially align the one-quarter mile long rails. A weld is made to join the two adjoining rails at the junction separating the two adjoining rails. Following the rail laying device is an anchoring device for anchoring the rail to the prepared bed at the appropriate location. Once the rails are anchored, a railway vehicle, such as a train, may then travel on the railroad track. In a similar manner, such a process may be applied to replace rails in existing rail lines that have been worn as a result of railroad traffic.
A common problem occurring during the laying of railroad tracks occurs when the rails deform or bend due to the thermal conditions surrounding the rails. Common deformities include kinks in the rail and pull-aparts in the anchored rail. Such deformities can cause one end of a rail to pull away from the adjacent end of the connecting rail, thereby creating a gap between the rails. A kink in one of the rails typically results in a distortion of the rail and non-parallel arrangement of the rails. The effect of either of these deformities can vary from being an annoyance caused by a rough ride of the railcar to being a hazardous situation caused by the derailing of the railcar vehicle traveling on the railroad tracks.
In response to the problems of distorted tracks, several attempts have been made to control and maintain the elongation of the rails, and thus prevent kinks and pull-aparts. One method of controlling elongation of the rails to be anchored is to preheat the rails to be anchored to a determined temperature and maintain that temperature while each rail is being anchored. Consequently, several methods have been developed to preheat the rails, with none of these methods attaining a manner in which to heat that is efficient and cost effective.
As a result of the experimentation provided regarding heating of railroad tracks, it has been determined that a continuous amount of thermal energy applied to a railroad track will allow the track to remain elongated for either installation or repair. However, the prior art has failed to produce reliable and predictable products for maintaining a temperature throughout the cross-section of the rail and uniformly about a given length. Commonly, the temperatures of rails of railroad track will vary according to the atmospheric conditions, and the previous methods do not maintain the desired temperature for maintaining the length of the rails. One such method includes implementing a conventional propane heater to provide a flame that contacts one spot of the rail. However, such a method does not provide for even distribution of the heat applied, and therefore the rails are remain subject to deformation due to undesirable temperatures.
Another method that has been provided to maintain the elongation of the railroad track is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,504 issued to Abele. In this design, a self-propelled rail heater car is described that includes movable induction heating coils. This design describes the use of induction coils to generate a current in the rails of the railroad tracks so as to heat the rails by induction. While such a process operates to control the thermal properties of the railroad track, it is not cost-efficient for most consumers to purchase and use.
The prior art therefore fails to provide a method for maintaining the railroad tracks at a certain temperature through the entire cross-sectional area of the railroad tracks at an efficient cost for consumers. Therefore, what is needed, and not found in the prior art, is an economical heating module and assembly for heating railroad tracks that provides efficient and even heating of the railroad tracks to prevent curvature or deformity of the track due to undesirable atmospheric conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a rail heating module and assembly that provides efficient heating of the railroad tracks to control and maintain elongation of the railroad tracks.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a rail heating module and assembly that provides heating for the railroad tracks such that the entire length and cross-sectional area of each rail is maintained at a desired temperature.
A further object of the present invention is to reduce the emissions provided in conventional propane rail heating assemblies which limit the attachment to conduit and improve the environmental effects of operating a rail heating assembly.
These and other objects of the invention are met with the present invention for a rail heating module and assembly. The rail heating assembly of the present invention is designed to burn a gas in a combination radiant-convective heating module for effective transfer of thermal energy to continuous welded rail and track for the purpose of elongating the rail to a controlled temperature needed for either rail installation or rail and track repair. The heating modules may be deployed either as “free standing” heating module which may be manually deployed or used on a vehicle such as a truck, or the heating modules may be integrated into a railway vehicle assembly containing its own propulsion device. Therefore, in the latter embodiment, the heating modules may be controlled and automatically traverse the rail to maintain a constant rail temperature profile for a design set temperature as required of the rail while also managing active control of ancillary and adjacent processing vehicles and machinery via telemetry.
In the first embodiment of the rail heater assembly, each heating module includes a series of burners that are attached to a mechanical deployment boom. A series of radiator plates are connected proximate to the burners such that the flames from the burners will heat the radiator plates, and the radiator plates will in turn provide thermal energy to heat the rail. Each radiator plate additionally includes a series of flame apertures, which allow the flames from the burners to traverse the radiator plates and contact the rails to also heat the rail. Accordingly, the rails will be heated with both convective and radiant thermal energy.
In a second embodiment of the rail heater assembly, the heating modules include a series of resistive heating elements that are surrounded by parabolic reflective radiator plates. In this embodiment, an electric current will induce heat in the resistive heating elements which will thereby discharge radiant energy to heat the rails and the parabolic reflective radiator plates. The parabolic reflective radiator plates will accordingly reflect such thermal energy towards the rails.
A third embodiment of the rail heating assembly includes a heating module that includes a series of self-contained air heaters that are attached to a housing operable to surround a rail. In such an embodiment, the self-contained air heaters will generate heated air so as to convectively heat the rails. Additionally, a set of radiator plates may additionally be attached to the housing so that the heated air will further heat the radiator plates such that the radiator plates will additionally produce radiant energy to heat the rails.
In a fourth embodiment, a single convective
Burr & Forman LLP
Holland Christopher A.
Jules Frantz F.
Kershaw Manufacturing Company
Morano S. Joseph
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