AU2010101438B4 - Method and Apparatus for Connecting Rails of a Race Barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for a rail connection. In one form the present invention provides a rail connection for connecting the ends 5 of a first rail section and a second rail section to form a continuous barrier, each rail section comprising a rear channel extending parallel to a longitudinal direction of each rail section, where the connection comprises: a rail cover adapted to receive and cover end portions of the rail sections; a first stopper located adjacent the rear channel within the end portion of a 10 rail section; a movable plate adapted to be slidably located within the rear channel of both end portions of the rail sections; a second stopper adapted to extend to a first position when the movable plate is located in both end portions of the rail sections and to releasably resist return 15 movement of the movable plate relative to the first stopper Figure 2

Description

PI/00/002 Regulation 3.2B AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Application No. Lodged: 17 December 2010 Innovation Title: Method and Apparatus for Connecting Rails of a Race Barrier The following statement is a full description of this innovation, including the best method of performing it known to the Applicant, Fornells SAS: 2 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING RAILS OF A RACE BARRIER FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for a rail 5 connection. In one form, the invention relates to a connection between rails of a race barrier. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to a join between rails suitable for use in a horse race barrier, however it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to that use, only. BACKGROUND ART 10 Throughout this specification the use of the word "inventor" in singular form may be taken as reference to one (singular) inventor or more than one (plural) inventor of the present invention. It is to be appreciated that any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the present 15 invention. Further, the discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor andlor the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience 20 and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere, on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein. Racetracks, in particular those for horse racing, use a barrier on the sides 25 of the track to demarcate boundaries that define the track area upon which the races are conducted. These barriers comprise running or guide rails, which are usually installed on spaced upright bearing posts. The base of each bearing post is anchored to ground and ordinarily the body of the post is curved or follows a diagonal in a plane perpendicular to that of the rail such that the bearing post is 30 set back from the rail away from the running track. The rails are typically manufactured in lengths, usually of about 10 to 12 meters, that are easily transported to an installation site and are connected end to-end by some form of sturdy connection.

3 The rails are required to offer a resilient boundary for safety of both horse and jockey in the event there is an impact with a horse or jockey moving in a transverse direction to the demarcated track. To assist in obtaining this end the rails and posts are typically made from plastic materials. Furthermore, to achieve 5 the requisite safety functionality, the rail should remain resilient to the transverse component of the impact force of a horse and/or jockey, where the horse may be travelling at speeds of up to about 65km/hr with a mass of about 500kg. The inventor has recognised that a principle difficulty consists in joining together the ends of a plurality of running rails in order to make the sections into 10 one single continuous rail that offers mechanical resistance to horses that brush against the rail as they run in races. The operations of joining together and subsequently un-joining rails may also have to be done quickly on the racetrack and preferably without tools. The connection itself should provide the same mechanical resistance as the rest of the rail and should not be a "weak point" as 15 horses may impact the continuous rail at any point along it. It is also a requirement that the connection is able to tolerate the thermal expansion of the rails (typically 3-4 cm on a 12 m. section) without becoming "undone" or without creating a resistance that sends the expansion forces back into the bearing posts thereby warping the straight rail section and weakening the mechanical 20 resistance of the connection itself. In a related prior attempt, a sliding connector rail as disclosed in Australian patent AU 2005202084 (Fornells) has been utilised for providing a useful connection for rails, where a bolt is engaged in rear channels of the rail sections that can be slidably engaged or disengaged in order to join together adjacent rail 25 ends. A handle is used to slide the bolt that is accessible from the rear of the rail. Once engaged, the bolt may be held in place by pressure fittings or screw fittings. The joint between the adjacent connected rails is then covered by a cut-out joiner cover in order to offer a smooth surface on the front of the rails. The joiner cover is snug fitting around the front surfaces adjacent to both rail ends. 30 In another related prior art attempt, a sleeve solution is provided by connecting the adjacent rail ends by means of a snug-fitting sleeve that is a tubular profile that engulfs the entire circumference of both rail ends over a short length of around 10 cm.

4 In yet another related prior art attempt, a running rail joint comprises a 'plate' adapted to be slidably located within abutting ends of two running rails, which is held in place by a screw fitting, and a cover that snap fits over the rails to cover any gap between the abutting ends. Expansion gaps and natural 5 tolerances between the elements of this joint allows for thermal expansion and some freedom to move without the joint coming undone. Although the design resists lateral movement (which in theory should make it difficult to disassemble) there is sufficient freedom of movement to enable relatively straightforward disassembly. Static load testing has also showed good support, particularly at 10 the sides of the rail when compared with prior art rails, having shaped or cut-away portions in the rail sides. However, this prior art arrangement is semi-permanent and not convenient for use with rails that are moved. In general, solutions to the above noted problems have always resulted in a compromise that has not fully fulfilled the set of constraints of: mechanical 15 impact resistance, fast and tool-less assembly and disassembly; tolerance to thermal expansion. For example, in the above noted solution devised by the present applicant, advantage comes from speed of assembly/disassembly due to the handle sliding bolt; because it is not fixed on one side (the receiving side of the bolt) it is also tolerant to thermal expansion. However the lack of fixing on the 20 receiving slide of the bolt reduces the mechanical resistance; similarly, the cut away joiner cover adds no supplementary mechanical resistance. So this solution may offer "a weak point" at the joint or connection. Another alternative sliding connector rail solution devised by Mawsafe Products Pty Ltd, which is an adaptation of the above noted AU 2005202084 25 system, fixes the bolt to the receiving end by means of a screw-tightened bolt, where fixed screw fittings are used in place of a pressure fitting. However this has a number of disadvantages in that it is not tolerant to thermal expansion thereby producing warping forces in the rail and bearing posts eventually resulting in the bolt becoming loose and eventually the joiner rail becoming unconnected. 30 Similarly, the cut-away joiner cover adds no supplementary mechanical resistance. The 'Sleeve' solution offers a strong connection when impact occurs on the join but allows the rails to disconnect if impacted in an area close to the join but 5 not on the join, due to the flexibility of the plastic rail. Such potential disconnection is considered unsafe. SUMMARY OF INVENTION An object of the embodiments of the present invention is to alleviate at 5 least one disadvantage associated with the related art. It is also an object of the embodiments described herein to overcome or alleviate at least one of the above noted drawbacks of related art systems or to at least provide a useful alternative to related art systems. In a first aspect of embodiments described herein there is provided a rail 10 connection for connecting the ends of a first rail section and a second rail section to form a continuous barrier, each rail section comprising a rear channel extending parallel to a longitudinal direction of each rail section, where the connection comprises: a rail cover adapted to receive and cover end portions of the rail sections; 15 a first stopper located adjacent the rear channel within the end portion of a rail section; a movable plate adapted to be slidably located within the rear channel of both end portions of the rail sections; a second stopper adapted to extend to a first position when the movable 20 plate is located in both end portions of the rail sections and to releasably resist return movement of the movable plate relative to the first stopper. Preferably, the second stopper comprises a biased fastening means, which is further adapted for manual movement to a second position to release the movable plate and allow its return movement relative to the first stopper, In this 25 respect, the second stopper in its first position to releasably resist return movement of the movable plate relative to the first stopper and in its adaptation for manual movement to its second position releasing the movable plate for return movement acts in a fashion not unlike that of a finger operated spring loaded catch of an umbrella. 30 In preferred embodiments the second stopper in combination with the first stopper and the movable plate are disposed to provide a gap between the end portions of the rails sections so as to allow for thermally induced movement of one or more component parts of the rail connection.

6 The second stopper is preferably operatively connected to the movable plate. Alternatively, the second stopper may be operatively connected to the first stopper, to the rail cover or, to an end portion of one of the first or second rail sections. 5 It is preferred that one or a combination of the rail cover, the first stopper and the movable plate are colour coded to distinguish between a locked condition of the rail connection corresponding to the movable plate being located in both ends portions and an unlocked condition of the rail connection corresponding to the first stopper not being covered by the rail cover. 10 The rail connection as disclosed in embodiments described herein may further comprise a third stopper operatively connected to the movable plate and which, in combination with the second stopper, is adapted for limiting movement of the movable plate within the rear channel to substantially the end portions of the rail sections. This function of the third stopper acting in combination with the 15 second stopper is provided when the second stopper is extended to its first position when the movable plate is located in both end portions of the rail sections. As such, in a preferred embodiment, the third stopper contributes to an effective connection forming a continuous rail with no weak links. In another aspect of embodiments described herein there is provided a 20 method of connecting a first rail section to a second rail section to form a continuous barrier, each rail section comprising a rear channel extending parallel to a longitudinal direction of each rail section where a first stopper is located adjacent the rear channel within the end portion of a rail section, the method comprising the steps of: 25 receive and cover an end portion of a first rail section with a rail cover; receive and cover an end portion of a second rail section with the rail cover; slidably locate a movable plate within the rear channel of both end portions of the rail sections; 30 engage a second stopper adapted to extend to a first position when the movable plate is located in both end portions of the rail sections to releasably resist return movement of the movable plate relative to the first stopper.

7 In the context of the above statements and embodiments described herein, previous versions of a rail connection devised by the present applicant have been superseded in a specific embodiment of the present invention by development of a self fastening/self locking running rail joint comprising a rail cover section 5 attached to the end of a first rail and a plate riveted to the end of a second rail and adapted to be located within the rail cover; a single central plate can be slidably located intermediate the two ends and manually locked/unlocked without the need for tools. The self fastening aspect is provided by way of a biased fastening means such as a clip. Further, a colour coding device can distinguish 10 between the locked and unlocked conditions. Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention provide features such as the following: A joiner cover engulfing the rails so that there is no weak point. Free thermal expansion is allowed in a rail connection. 15 Ease of locking/unlocking by use of a sliding connector with spring stopper. Cross-check of the condition of a rail connection by colour coding of the different parts. Other aspects and preferred forms are disclosed in the specification and/or defined in the appended claims, forming a part of the description of the invention. 20 In essence, embodiments of the present invention stem from the realization the prior art problems are addressed by combining a sleeve cover with a modified sliding rail connector that is free to move during rail expansion on both sides of the joint between fixed backstops. A structurally sound join may be formed by a sleeve covering the connection and in combination with a slidable 25 joining plate or bolt having manually operational stopping means to hold the connection or release it, a convenient system may be provided that produces a structurally continuous barrier when connected. Advantages provided by the present invention comprise the following: * Contrary to the known solutions, there is no tightening between the 30 rails and the connector so that thermal expansion may occur freely. " Speed and ease of assembly and disassembly is provided. One of the stoppers of the sliding connector may be a spring which can snap shut in order to lock the joiner. It can be easily unlocked by 8 pushing it like an umbrella lock. Overall mechanical resistance is considerably higher as it combines the resistance of the sleeve and the joiner bolt. " Lock and unlock may be easily achieved just by sliding the 5 connector. Lock takes effect after snapping. Unlock may be done after pushing the spring. " Good mechanical resistance and ease of setting A considerable advantage of the solution disclosed herein is that the joiner is a sleeve so that the joint is not a weak point. In this way, the continuous 10 assembly of rails has the same mechanical resistance substantially everywhere along it. As the connector is not tightened with the rail, the thermal expansion is free and then there are no residual stresses working on the rail connector or against the rail straightness and the connections between the rails and the posts. The connector requires no tools to effect connection and disconnection as is 15 required with previous designs and only visual checking rather than physical tightening of bolts is required to check if the rail has been connected correctly. Significant savings in labour costs are achievable over the life of the rail as it is quicker to connect, disconnect and check the security of the join. Further scope of applicability of embodiments of the present invention will 20 become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed 25 description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further disclosure, objects, advantages and aspects of preferred and other embodiments of the present application may be better understood by those skilled in the relevant art by reference to the following description of embodiments 30 taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the disclosure herein, and in which: 9 Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of rail sections incorporating a rail connection system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is another exploded view showing component parts of a rail 5 connection in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is an expanded view of two rail sections of a connection including a cross sectional view of the rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a top plan view of a first step in forming a rail connection in 10 accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 is a top plan view of a second step in forming a rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a top plan view of a third step in forming a rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 15 Figure 7 is a top plan view of a fourth step in forming a rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 8 is a phantom view of a completed rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 is a phantom view of a connection indicating a first step in 20 releasing the connection and disassembling the connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 is a top plan view of a second step in disassembling a rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 is a top plan view of a third step in disassembling a rail 25 connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 12 is a top plan view of a fourth step in disassembling a rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 13 is an exploded and phantom view of a disassembled rail connection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 30 Figure 14 is a perspective exploded view of a rail connection installation showing a bearing post in situ. Figure 15 is a perspective view showing a set up conducted for static load testing on a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

10 DETAILED DESCRIPTION A preferred embodiment is shown in figure 1 and 2, which indicates in exploded view the system for installation of rail connections. Rail section 10 has end portions 11, which are to be connected to form a rail joint shown later. Cover 5 12 acts as a sleeve and surrounds the rail sections end portions 11 and in so doing provides structural integrity to the join. A centrally located rear channel 13 is located in each rail section 10. This channel provides a path for movable plate or locking bolt 16 to travel along the direction of the rail section 10. A first stopper 14 is located adjacent the rear channel 13. Movable plate 16 also includes a 10 second stopper 17 and a third stopper 18, which together assist in limiting the movement available to the locking plate 16 as it is slidably moved within the rear channel 13. Figure 2 also shows the completed connection 19. The connection 19 formed in a preferred embodiment is effectively formed by the tubular joiner 15 sleeve cover 12 combined with sliding connector or plate 16 with the second stopper 17 in the form of biased spring snap lock as shown. By virtue of its ease of installation the embodiment shown can be used as a mobile running-rail joiner. With reference to figures 3 to 8 the connecting and locking is described. A white tubular sleeve cover 12 that is engulfing the entire circumference of the rail 20 section 10 is fixed on one end portion 11a. A red bracket stopper 14 is fixed on the other end 11b. Connecting consists in inserting one rail end into the joiner cover 12 that is attached to the other rail end until the red bracket stopper 14 disappears behind the cover 12. As the end of the red bracket is aligned behind the extremity of the joiner cover 12 and as the red bracket is shorter than the 25 depth of the joiner, there is automatically a gap 20 between the rails 10 allowing for thermal expansion. In this way, the red bracket stopper 14 provides a way for checking if the joint connection is correct and secure. In this respect, a visible red bracket 14 means a bad connection. The connector is a bolt tube or movable plate 16 sliding inside a cavity 13 of the rails 10. There are two stoppers at each 30 ends, one of them is a spring 17 which can retract into the bolt tube 16 if the connector slides in one direction, not in the opposite one and a third stopper means 18 at the opposite end of bolt 16. Joiner locking is obtained by sliding the connector until it snap locks. The colour of the bolt tube 16 is green. In this way, 11 the sliding bolt connector 16 is a means for checking if the joint is locked, i.e. the two green extremities are visible either side of the white sleeve cover 12. With reference to figures 9 to 13 the unlocking and disconnecting of the rail connection is described. Unlocking consists of pressing the spring 17 and 5 disconnection is obtained by pulling the rail 10 longitudinally The embodiments described for the present invention provide a no weak point joiner allowing free thermal expansion of rails on a racecourse track. The joiner is a tubular sleeve cover 12 engulfing the rails 10 combined with a sliding connector 16 that has a spring stopper 17 allowing easy locking/unlocking by 10 snapping. Colour code of parts, preferably stopper 14 and bolt 16 procures the possibility of a visible verification of the locking position of the connector from a distance. Figure 14 shows a protective barrier device 1400 comprised of elongated rail sections 1402 joined together at their ends and that are supported and 15 elevated above the ground by bearing posts 1406, installed on the perimeter of horse racing-tracks and commonly known as a running-rail. Also shown in figure 14 is an optional end cap 1401 where the rail section 1402 is a terminal section. The bearing post 1406 is joined to the rails section 1402 by use of post-rail joiner safety pins 1403. The movable sliding plate 1404 is shown in exploded view for 20 ease of reference. Where bearing post 1406 is shown as a right-hand safety post, a right hand safety footing 1407 anchors said post 1406 to the ground 1408. With regard to the structural integrity of the connection of preferred embodiments, a pull over test was carried out with a dynamometer by the applicant's engineering staff. Figure 15 shows the exemplary general set up used 25 to conduct this static load test for various rail connections including that of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In figure 15 a preferred connection 19 is shown where two rail sections 10 supported by bearing posts 1506 have their end portions 11 joined within cover 12 (other parts not shown). In conducting the static load tests, force was applied to an assembled rail 30 connection 19 in the direction of arrow 'A' as shown in figure 15. Comparative testing with this set up provided the following quantitative results as shown in Table 1, below. The results and observations shown by Table 1 clearly indicate the superior performance of the preferred embodiment as shown in figure 2 with 12 its cover combined with the movable plate and respective stoppers, which in combination provide a strong connection that enables some expansion of the joint and advantageously also provides easy assembly and disassembly of the rail connection. 5 Connection Type Strength Before Failure Observation/Notes Taken as disconnection or buckling (decaNewtons - daN) Prior art - free rail joiner < 100 daN Disconnection. with pressure fitting and Free Expansion. stopper, without cover Prior art - rail joiner with about 150 daN Not Locked. stoppers, without cover. Disconnection. Free expansion. Prior art - fixed plate about 200 daN Disconnect. joiner with pressure No free expansion. fitting, without cover. Combined cover (sleeve) about 230 daN No disconnection. and free rail joiner, Free expansion. without stoppers. Not Locked. Combined cover and free > 250 daN No disconnection. rail joiner with stoppers. Free expansion. Locked. Table 1: Comparative Static Loading Test Results. While this invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further 10 modification(s). This application is intended to cover any variations uses or adaptations of the invention following in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth.

13 As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit of the essential characteristics of the invention, it should be understood that the above described embodiments are not to limit the present invention unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly 5 within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative only and not restrictive. Various modifications and equivalent arrangements are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of the invention and appended claims. 10 Therefore, the specific embodiments are to be understood to be illustrative of the many ways in which the principles of the present invention may be practiced. In the following claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover structures as performing the defined function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. For example, although a nail and a screw may not be 15 structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface to secure wooden parts together, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw are equivalent structures. "Comprises/comprising" and "includes/including" when used in this 20 specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. Thus, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words 'comprise', 'comprising', 'includes', 'including' and the like are to be 25 construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

Claims (5)

1. A rail connection for connecting the ends of a first rail section and a second rail section to form a continuous horse race barrier, each rail section 5 comprising a rear channel extending parallel to a longitudinal direction of each rail section, where the connection comprises: a rail cover adapted to receive and cover end portions of the rail sections; a first stopper located adjacent the rear channel within the end portion of a rail section; 10 a movable plate adapted to be slidably located within the rear channel of both end portions of the rail sections; a second stopper adapted to extend to a first position as the movable plate is located in both end portions of the rail sections and upon extending to the first position to releasably resist return movement of the movable plate relative to the 15 first stopper.

2. A rail connection as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second stopper comprises a biased fastening means, which is further adapted for manual movement to a second position to release the movable plate and allow its return 20 movement relative to the first stopper.

3. A rail connection as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the second stopper in combination with the first stopper and the movable plate are disposed to provide a gap between the end portions of the rails sections so as to allow for thermally 25 induced movement of one or more component parts of the rail connection.

4. A rail connection as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the second stopper is operatively connected to the movable plate and the connection further comprises a third stopper operatively connected to the movable plate and 30 which, in combination with the second stopper, is adapted for limiting movement of the movable plate to substantially the end portions of the rail sections. 15

5. A rail connection as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein one or a combination of the rail cover, the first stopper and the movable plate are colour coded to distinguish between a locked condition of the rail connection corresponding to the movable plate being located in both ends portions and an 5 unlocked condition of the rail connection corresponding to the first stopper not being covered by the rail cover.