Railways: surface track – Roadbed
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-30
2001-09-25
Stormer, Russell D. (Department: 3617)
Railways: surface track
Roadbed
C238S008000, C238S283000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293473
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a national stage of PCT/EP97/05371 filed Sep. 30, 1997 and based upon German national application 196 46 133.2 of Nov. 8, 1996 under the International Convention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an infrastructure for railway tracks with continuous elastic support, whereby the two rails forming the track are supported, via elastic intermediate layers, with their lateral limiting surfaces underneath the rail head against the inner lateral surfaces of a frame consisting of two frame halves, located in a trough which is embedded in a concrete plate running longitudinally under the tracks, and whereby between the one frame half and a lateral wall of the trough a wedge pointing downwards with its narrower end and which can be secured by screws, is provided.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As a rule tracks for rail vehicles are laid on beds, grit or compacted and optionally reinforced soil, on embankments of compacted material or on concrete plates, which lie directly on the ground (DE-OS 29 01 283, DE-OS 23 54 958). Such tracks are also frequently laid on gravel. The soil and a gravel bed or the like, are elastic within certain limits, thereby forming a spring cushion which provides a minor damping of the impact noise.
When in tracks laid out in the above manner elastically supported rails are used for further reduction of the vibrations resulting from the vehicle movements on the tracks and the related impact noise, the characteristic frequency of the elastic rail support acting as a spring interferes with the characteristic frequency of the second spring formed by the soil or gravel bed, such that the intended reduction of the impact noise is not achieved, or that shifts occur in the frequency ranges with possible increase in the noise.
Further an infrastructure is known wherein under each rail of the track a longitudinal sleeper is provided, consisting of a continuous rigid girder (DE-OS 40 27 836). Due to this construction of the infrastructure, the latter has such a high bending moment that no bending or only a negligible bending of the infrastructure can take place and the spring effect of the support layer is cancelled out.
In order to avoid the aforedescribed disadvantages, a further known infrastructure is designed so that each rail of the track with the pertaining frame halves is embedded in a trough, whereby one frame half rests directly against the one lateral trough wall, and the other frame half rests against the other trough wall via a wedge (DE 44 27 237 A1). This infrastructure has proven to be very advantageous. However it can not be used everywhere.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the invention to further improve the mentioned infrastructure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved in that an angle section made of steel is provided next to the head of each rail on the inside of the rail.
According to the invention the distance between the rail head and the upwardly pointing side of the angle section corresponds approximately to the width of a grooved rail. The height of the upwardly pointing side of the angle section is selected so that this side does not project above the rail head.
This construction of the infrastructure of the invention makes possible the use thereof also in such tracks which normally consist of grooved rails.
In an embodiment of the invention, the lateral sides of the angle section are not equal and its longer side rests on the respective frame half and/or the wedge and is fastened by screws which pass through bores provided in the lateral side. As a result the angle section is securely connected with the infrastructure.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the screws serving for the fastening of the angle section are the same screws used for the tightening of the wedge. Therefore only few screws are required.
In order to be able to adjust the width of the grooves, i.e. the distance between the rail head and the angle section to he requirements, for instance in curves, the bores provided in he longer lateral side of the angle section are designed as elongated holes running transversely to the rail.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the infrastructure of the invention, a further angle section is provided on the outer side of the track next to each rail, whose upwards pointing lateral side has a height which corresponds approximately to the height of the upwards pointing lateral side of the steel angle section, and between the rail head and the further angle section a packing of elastic material is provided.
An infrastructure of the same design can also be used for roads used by other vehicles, because the spaces next to the angle sections can be filled with asphalt, bitumen, pavement or the like.
Suitably the further angle section is made of a plastic material. A corresponding angle section can be produced at very low cost.
According to another feature of the invention, that frame half on the outer side of the track can be provided with an upwards pointing projection, whose height corresponds approximately to the height of the upwards pointing lateral side of the steel angle section, and between the rail head and the upwards pointing projection of the frame half there is a packing of elastic material. The upwards pointing projection of the frame half serves the same purpose as the further angle section in the previously described embodiments of the infrastructure of the invention.
Since the packing of elastic material does not have to transmit any forces, it is possible to save material by designing the packing with at least one hollow space running in the longitudinal direction of the rails.
A simplified production of the packing of elastic material is achieved in that the packing is made in one piece with those elastic intermediate layers on the same side of the rail.
In order to insure in the aforementioned embodiment of the infrastructure that the elastic intermediate layers and the lower area of the packing have as much as possible the same elasticity, one of the hollow spaces provided in the elastic intermediate layers extends into the lower area of the packing.
In a further development of the invention, the two frame halves and wedge are made of finished plastic components, preferably glass-fiber reinforced plastic material, whereby the finished components consist of hollow bodies. Such finished components are easy to manufacture and have a relatively reduced weight.
A further weight reduction of the aforementioned finished components is achieved in that both frame halves and the wedge consist of hollow components open to one side, which are reinforced by transversely running ribs.
The infrastructure of the invention can also be further improved by producing the trough, the two frame halves and the wedge from the same plastic material, These parts can for instance be made of recycled plastic material. Therefore the production of these parts is particularly simple and cost-effective.
In order to achieve a secure connection of the individual segments of the trough and the two frame halves, at interfaces of the trough and of the two frame halves their wall thickness is reduced to the extent that the bordering wall portions overlap.
In order to be able to lay out the infrastructure of the invention at curves without problems, the overlapping wall portions are selected so that a gap remains between the overlapping wall portions, whereby the overlapping wall portions narrow down outwardly, so that the gap between the overlapping wall portions runs obliquely.
The trough and the two frame halves are secured against displacement by providing them with projections and corresponding recesses, which interengage in the assembled state.
REFERENCES:
patent: 947108 (1910-01-01), Lawrence
patent: 3417922 (1968-12-01), Dargier de Saint Vaulry
patent: 3469783 (1969-09-01), Uralli et al.
patent: 3955761 (1976-05-01), Szarka et al.
patent: 4775103 (1988-10-01), Ortwein
patent: 5165598 (1992-11-01), Ortwein
patent: 5535947 (1996-07-01), Hogue et al.
Ortwein Elisabeth
Ortwein Hermann
Dubno Herbert
Olson Lars A.
Stormer Russell D.
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