CA1131913A - Mobile machine for removing surface irregularities from rail heads - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure A mobile machine for removing surface irregular-ities from the faces of rail heads comprises a machine frame, at least one pair of tool carriers transversely aligned with respect to the track and a respective one of the tool carriers being associated with a respective one of the rails, each of the tool carriers being verti-cally adjustably mounted on the machine frame and arranged for guidance along the respective rail in a vertical and lateral direction, and at least one metal removing tool carried by each of the tool carriers, and at least one spacing member extending and adjustable transversely to the track between the tool carriers. A pivot connects respective ends of the spacing member to the respective tool carriers, the axes of the pivots extending vertically to a plane defined by the track.

Description

~3~L313 The present invention relates -to improvemen-ks in a mobile machine mounted on a track for ad~ancement therealong for remov-ing sur~ace irregularities from the faces of the rail heads, which comprises a machine frame and at least one pair of tool carriers subqtantially txansversely aligned with respect to the track an a re~pective one of the tool carriers being associated with a respective one o~ the rails, each o~ the tool carriers being vertically adjustably mounted on the machine and arranged fox guidance alon~ the respective rail in a vertical and lateral direction, and at least one metal removing tool carried by each of the tool carriers.
U.S. patent ~o. 2,779,141, dated January 29, 1957, discloses a mobile rail grinaing machine wherein two wheeled trucXs are mounted between the two undercarriages supporting the mach~ne frame on ~he trac~ Each truck carries thxee separate, vertically ad~us~able grinder heads each of which comprises a grinding disc fix~d to a drive shaft Despite a complex, m~ltï-part control for driving the disc, the metal removal obtained in each operating pass is so small that numerous passe~ by the machine are required to obtain the desired grinding result.
IN the rail grinding machine aisclosed in UrS~ patent ~o.
3,738,066, dated June 12, 1973, a plurality of grindin~ stons~
are mounted on a runner and are pulled along ~he running face of the rail heads by the advancement o~ the machine along the t~ack.
Ihis, too, requires a numher o~ passes to achie~e a smoo~h rail head~ A similar machine is disclosed in ~erman patent ~o.
1,021,746, published December 27, 1957. Economicall~ acceptable removal or sur~ace irregularitles from rail heads cannot be ob-tained wi~h these machines.
U.S~ patent ~o. 3,707,808, dated January 2, 197~, disclose~
a mo~ile rail grinder with two grinding modules 15 runnin~ on flanged wheels on the track rails and being transversel~ aligned~
' ~ ~
,, ,, ,, . . :~

~31~3 The two modules are connected tog~ther by rods through ball joints to facilitate negotiation of curves. Tool carriers carrying grind-ing stones are mounted Qn each grinding module.
German patent No. 536, 557, published October 23, 1931, dis-closes a rail grinding car on which a pair of grinding tools is mounted for grinding a respective track -rail, the two grinding tools being interconnected by transversely extending links which enable the grinding tools to be repositioned with respect to the rail heads at selected angles.
Austrian patent No. 221, 131, published May 10, 1962, dis-closes a rail grinding machine wherein abrasive bands are pressed into contact with the running faces of the rail heads and the slides carrying the abrasive bands are interconnected by jacks for changing the transverse distance between the slides.
In our copending Canadian patent No. 1,095,250, granted Februaxy 10, 1981, we have disclosed a mobile rail grinding machine which comprises a machine frame mounted on the rails of a track for continuously moving in the direction of, and along, the track, two pairs of tool carrier frames vertically ~0 adjustably mounted on the machine frame successively in the track ~irection and associated with the rails, a group of elongated whetstones mounted on the carrier frames for vertical adjustment to press the whetstones against surface areas of the rails to grind off surface irregularities, and a common drive connected to the pairs of carrier frames for imparting thereto reciprocatory movements in opposite senses in the track direction, which is a working movement additional to that imparted to it simultaneously by the movement of the machine frame. The tool carrier frames of each pair may be interconnected by a hydraulic jack whose ~0 ends are pvioted to the carrier frames. This arrangement has multiplied the grinding efficiency during a single pass of the machine. The entire disclosure of this application is incorporated herein by way of reference.

`` ~13~33L3 It is the primary object of this invention to improve mobile machine for removing surface irregularities from the faces of rail heads in a manner designed to increase the efficiency of their operation, particularly in curving track sections.
In accordance with the invention, this object is accomplished in a mobile machine of the first-indicated type with independently, verticall~ adjustable tool carriers arranged for independent move-ment and at least one spacing member extending and adjustable trans-versely to the track between the tool carriers of each pair, a . 10 pivot connecting respective ends of the spacing member to the res-pective tool carriers, the pivots extending vertically to a plane defined by the track.
Such a machine operates readily in tangent track as well as in curves and can be used universally under various conditions of wear of the rail heads to take into account different require-ments of railroads. The pivotal connection of the spacing member to the tool carriers of each pair makes it possible to guide the tool carriers associated with the left and right rails accurately and clearance-free along a lateral side face of the rail heads while maintaining full relative movement of the carriers so that each tool carrier is guided along the respective rail in a ver-tical and lateral direction. In this manner, the operating pos-itions of the metal removing tools on the carriers and their cor- -responding operating characteristics remain substantially unchanged ~hroughout the advancement of the machine, even in sharp track urves. This makes it possible to operate even along very curvy rack sections without interruption.
¦ The above and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed de-slcription of a now preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunc-tion with the accompanying schematic drawing wherein PIG. 1 is a side elevational view o~ the mobile machine, FIG..2 is a schematic top view illustrating the arrange-''' ~3~13.
ment o~ the tool carriers, FIG. 3 is an enlaxged sectional view along l.ine III-III
of FIG. 4, showing a detail Oc o~e oE the sets oE tool carriers, FIG. 4 is a pa~ial side elevational view thereof, FIG. 5 is a top view, partly in section, o~ the detail illustrated in FI&S. 3 and 4, and FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a ra.il and the oper-ation of the machine in relation thereto.
Referring now to the drawing and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a mobile machine 1 compxising machine frame 3 comprising t~o undercarriages 2, 2 supporting the machine frame for advancement of machine 1 along the track in an operating direction indicated by arrow 13 or a reverse direction indi-i cated by arrow 14. Couplings 4 at re~pective ends of machine frame 3 enable the machine to b2 incorpoxated as a car in a work train. Closed housing 5 is mounted on the machine frame and includes operator's cab 7, a po~er plant 6 being arranged in the housing to supply power to the operating tools and mechanisms .
of the machine, incl`udin~ its drive 9 connec-ted to the power plant by transmission 8 to make the machine self-propelled.
The machine moves on track 12 comprising two rails 10 and 11 each including rail head 38 having running face 36, lateral in-side face 37 and lateral outside face 65, as shown in FIG. 6 7 In the illustrated embodiment, three sets 15~ 16 and 17 o different metal removing devices are mounted on mac~ine frame 3 for removing surface irregularities from ~he faces of the rail heads. Each set com~rises at least one pair o~ tool carriers substantially transversely ali9ne~ with respect ~o ~he track and a resp~ctive ones of the tool carriers being assoc-iated with a respective rail 10 and 11. Each of the too1 carriers is vertically adjustabl~ mounted on machine frame 3 and is arranyed for ~uidance along the xespective rail in a .

.. . . . . . .

~L13~ 3 vertical and lateral dlrection. At least one metal removing tool is carried by each tool carrier.
The illustrated means for vertically ad~ustably mounting each tool carrier on machine frame 3 comprises at least two fluid-pressure operated jacks 19, which are preferably opera-ted by pneumatic pressure to adjust the tool carriers verti-cally and to bias the tool carriers under the fluid pressure against the respective rails. Universal joints connect the jacks to the machine frame and to the tool carriers. Such a mounting for tool carriers has been disclosed in our above-mentioned copending patent and assures a substantially con-stant definable load on the tool carriers in tangent and curved track sections without in any way interfering with the free movement of the tool carriers in relation to their associated rails and their clearance-free guidance therea1ong.
The first set 15 includes a pair of tool carriers 18 each carrying metal cutting tools 28 engageable with running face 36 of rail heads'38. Two flanged wheels 20 at respec-tive ends of tool carriers 18 mount the tool carriers sub-~0 stantially without play with respect to running surface 38 and inside face 37 of the rail heads. The flanged wheels are mounted on the free ends of pivotal arms 21 for adjust-ing the height of the wheels, a stop 22 cooperating with the pivotal arms to maintain them in a selected annular position. Connecting rod 23 links the rear end of each tool carrier 18 to journal box 24 of front undercarriage

2 so;that the tool carriers advance along the track with the machine. A succession of three cutter heads 26 are mounted on each tool carrier and each cutter head carries ~0 four detach~ibly mDunted cutting tools 28 shaped like planing knives. As -5_ 1 ' ` ', ' .~

~31~3 shown in FIG. 6, cutting edges 29 of the cutting tools are arranged to engage the running faces of the rail head and ex-tend substantially parallel to base plane 30 of rail base. 31, preferably at an acute angle in relation to a plane perpen-dicular to the track.
The second set 16 includes two pairs of tool carriers 32 each carrying metal grinding tools 33 arranged to be pressed against running faces 36 and preferably against a portion of Iateral inside faces 37 of rail heads 38, as shown lQ by cross section 39 of the grinding tools in FIG. 6~ Tool carriers 32 also have flanged wheels 20 mounted on pivotal arms 21 ln the same manner as tool carriers 18. A succession `of three grinding tools æe mounted on each carrier 32, each grinding tool 33 being comprised o~ holder 34 for whetstone 35 mounted detachably in the holder. The whetstones are de- .
signed to smooth the running and lateral inside faces of the rail heads after cutting tools. 28 have remo~ed surface ir-regularities, such as corrugations and the .like from the running faces of the rail heads. Profile 39 of the grinding . . .
~4 tools may take any shape to obtain the desired shaping of the rail head, such as disclosed, for example, in U.S. patent No. 4,050,196, dateq September 27, 1977.
.Crank drive means illustrated as common drive 40 is con-nected to the pairs of tool carriers 3~ of second set 16 and imparts there to reciprocatory working movements in opposite directions along the rails, as indicated by arrows 41. The -common crank drive is comprised o~ crankshaft 43 mounted on machine frame 3 and rotated by motor 42, the crankshaft being connected to two r~cking levers 45 associated with each rail for ~ocking the levers back and forth, a respecti~e push rod ` .

.'; '' ' , .
.

3 ~ 313 46 connecting each of the tool carriers to one of the rockiny levers to produce the reciprocatory working movements of tool carriers 32, which arrangement is more fully described and illustrated in our first-mentioned patent application.
The third set 17 includes a pair of tool carriers 47 and ~etalishearing tools 53 carried by the tool carriers for en-gagement with lateral outside faces 65 of the rail heads.
In accordance with the present invention, at least one spacing member 25 extends and is adjustable transversely to ' track 12 between tool carriers 18, 32 and ~7 of each pair., pivot connects respective ends of spacing members 25 to t,he ! respective tool carriers for free movement of the tool caF-riers with respect to the spacing members along the rails with which the~ are associated. This arrangement permits the simultaneous or selective use of cutting t grinding and shearing tools in the shaping and smoothing of rail heads as the machine advances along the track, particularly the' successive coarse and fine machining of rail head surfaces ` with the use of the cutting and shearing tools in a ~irst 2Q pass in the direction of arrow 13,and the subse~uent smoothing of the machined rail head surfaces with the grinding tools in a ,~
reverse pass in the direction of arrow 14. This operation is very economical because the speed best suited to the respec-. .
tive work can be maintained during each pass of the machine along the track section and high working speeds may be obtained while protecting the operating life of the metal removing tools ~to the utmost. Equipping the machine with the third set pro-~iding metal shearing tools makes it possible to meet the requirement of some railroads for not only re~ovin~ surface irregularities from the rail heads due to wear but also to remove the bulges created at the latèral faces of the ' rail heads by the wheels of the trains rolling over the rails. This is particularly advantageous if previously laid 3L~3~
r~ils are re-used because when such rails are re-laid at oppo-site sides of the track, the~ will thus have a machined sur-face in contact with the flanged train wheels~
As more clearly shown in FIG. 3, pairs of guide rollers 49, 51 on tool carriers 47 oE third set 17 respectively engage running faces 36 and lateral outside faces 65 of rail heads 38 for clearance-free guidance of the tool carriers along rails 10 and ll. Guide rollexs 49 are rotatable about horizontal axles 48 extending transversely to the trac~ and guiae rollers 51 are xotata~le abou~ vertical axles 50, Connecting rod 52 links the forward end o~ each tool carrier 47 to the ~urnal box of rear undercarriage 2 so that the tool carriers advance with the ..
machine .
Spacing members 2S include adjustment drives-for trans-versely-adjusting the spacing members, the illustrated adjustment drives being 1uid-pressure operated jacks~ The adjusbment drives for the spacing members between tool carriers 18 ana 32 are operable in one direction, ie. fluid pressure is applied to the jacks so as to press flanged wheels 20 against inside faces ~0 37 of the rail heads, while the adjustment drives for the spac-ing members between tool carriers 47 are operable in the oppo-site direction, ie. fluid pressure is applied to the jacXs so as to press guide rollers 51 against outside faces 65 of the rail heads (see FIG. 3), As~hown in FIG~ 1, second set 16 of tamping tool carriers 32 is mounted on machine frame 3 between underCarriages 2 while the pairs o~ tool carriers 18 and 47 of the first and ~hird sets 15 and 17 are mounted on end portions o~ the machine frame over-hanging the undercarriages, The above-described arrangement o~ the adjustmen~ drives for the spacing members assures a clearance-free guidance o all the tool carriers along the rails, regardless o~ ~he track ~uage ,'' :

~ ~ -8~ . ~

and changes therein~ Care must ~e taken that guide rollers 51 are arranged so that they press ~ainst the lower portions of outside faces 65 which are not defor~ed so as to assure an accur-ate reference for shearing tools 53 and to avoid the possibility that these tools are so positioned as to copy the existing bulges crea-ted by the cold deformation of the rail heads by the wheels of passing trains. ~le illustrated axrangement of the three successive sets 15, 16 and 17 of different metal removing tools makes full and space-saving use of all the room available below ~he machine frame, thus reducing the length o-E the machine. At the same tIme, all the tool carriers are independen~ly guided along the rails and move only slightly relative to machine fram~
3, even in sharp curves. This produces very ~avorable conditions for transmitting drive, load, tensile and pressure forces ~rom the machine frame to the tool carriers.
As best shown in FIG. 4, tool carriers 47 of third se~ 17 carry two metal shearing tools 53 spaced from eàch other in the direction of the rails, each shearing ~nife 53 being dstachably and adjusta~ly mounted on holders SS by a pair of set screws 54.
In this manner, the shearing tools are adjustable for differènt cutting depth~ with respect to the rails, their cutting edges ~6 extending substantially parallel to vertical plane of symmetry 57 of the rails, as shown in FIG. 6 and ~he shearing tools themselves extending obliquely relative to a plane defined by -the track and enclosing an acute angle therewith. Distributins the shearing ~orces over more than one tool not only increases the operating life o the shearing tools but also improves the quality of shearing.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, in a preferred embodiment, spac-ing members 25 for tool carriers ~7 each comprises hou~ing 58 extending transversely to trac~ 12 ana connecting rod 62 a~i~l~y movably and pivotally mounted in the housing. Housing 58 is .

.

- - ' ~ , '~~ ... . ...

1~3~3 p~vo-tally connected to one oE the tool carriers at pivot 59 to ena~le the housing to pivot about vertical axis 60 and rod 62 is pivotally connecte~ to t~e other tool carrier in the same manner. Self-aligning bearing means consisting of pivotal bear-ings 61 pivotally ~uide and support connecting rod 62 in housing 58. The adjustmen-t drive for the spacing members comprises cyl-inder 63 and a piston rod slidable therein, ~he cylinder being lin~ed to the housing and ~he piston rod being linkea to the connecting rod. By supplyin~ pressure fluid to the piston in the direction of arrow 64, guide rollers 51 are moved into clearance-free engagement with outside face 65 of rails 10 and 11, as ~own in FIG. 3.
In'this arrangement, the spacing member constitutes the guide part for the lon~tiduinall~ adjusta~le spacing of the two opposi-te tool carriers while the adjustment ~rive does not have to absorb any of the guide forces. The pivotal mounting o-f con-necting rod 62 in housing 58 of the spacing member ma~es it pos-sible for the spacing member to ba tiltea so ~hat the two oppo-site tool carriers may be positionally adjusted in track super-~0 elevations where one rail is higher than khe other.
FIG. 6 shows an end view of a conventional rail in new condition, in full lines~ As the rail becomes progre~sively worn by a succession o~ trains rolling thereover; the rail head is deformed in a manner generally indicated by the broken lines in-dicating depressions, corrugations or liXe surface irregularities in running face 36 and bulges 66 and 67 at the lateral faces 37 and 65 of rail head 38. All of these surface irregularities are removed by opera-tion of the three sets of metal ~emoving tools provided on the machine, as hereina~ove descri'bed.
' At the beginning of the operation, the trac~ section is first subjected to coarse mac~ining, For this purpose, jac~s 19 are actuated ko lower tool carriers 18 and 47, and the adjus-t-,, ' ~ 3~
ment drives are actua-ted to adjust spaciny rnembers 25 trans-versely until flanged ~7heels 20 and guide rollers 49, 51 are in clearance-free engagement with rails 10 and 11~ After the cutting depth of tools 28 and 53 has been'sui.~ably adjusted, fluid pressure is applied to jacks 19 until a desired vertical pressure has been applied to the tool carriers to press the tools into engagement with the rail heads.
With tools 28 and 53 thus in working position and with tool carriers 32 remaining in their raised or inopexative pos-ition, drive 9 is actuated to advance machine 1 continuouslyalong track 12 in the direction of arrow 13 at a speed of about

4 to 6 Xm~h. During this pass, undulations and other irregularit-ies are coarsely removed from running face 36 of rail heads 38 by cutting tools 28 while shearing knives 53 simultaneousl~ re-move bulges 66 from lateral outside faces 65. At the en~ of the.track section on which wor~ is to be done, machine 1 is stopped, . .
the adjustment drives are actuated to disengage the flanges :~
wheels an~ guide xollers *'ro.~ the rails and jacks 19 are actuate~ .
to ràise the tool carriers to their inoperative positions. Tool ' :
carriers 32 are now low~red and their flanged wheels are brought into engayement with the rails. With the grinding tools.pressed against the rail heads, motor 42 is actuated to impart recip rocatory movements to the tool carriers while the operating dir-ection of machine 1 is re~ersed (see arrow 14), the machine being - ad~anced at a reduced speed of a~out 1 km/h to grind the rail head faces smooth, the grinding stones with their profiles 39 '~
also removing at least part of bulges 67 on the inside face of the rail heads. . ..
If desired, this smoothing operation may be followed by a subsequen-t grinding pass to increase t'ne smoothness of the rail head surfaces, the en~ire operation being ~er~ effec~ive in pro-ducing high~quality surLacing of t'ns rail heads while assuring ~ . .

3L~3~3 a most economical production. If desired, ali.-three sets of metal removing tools may be op~rated at the same time i~ a single operating pass while each se~ may be operated singly, if conditions warrant.

.

.
,::
~12-

Claims (4)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A mobile machine mounted on a track for advancement therealong, the track comprising two rails each including a head having a running face, a lateral inside face and a lateral outside face, for removing surface irregularities from the faces of the rail heads, which comprises (a) a machine frame, (b) a pair of vertically adjustable tool carriers, a respective one of the tool carriers being associated with a respective one of the rails, (1) each tool carrier carrying a metal shearing tool engaging with the lateral outside face of the rail head of the respective rail, and (2) guide rollers respectively engaging the running faces and lateral outside faces of the rail heads for guiding each tool carrier along the respective rail, and (c) power-actuated means for pressing the guide rollers against the rail head faces they engage for guiding each tool carrier clearance-free along the rails.

2. The mobile machine of claim 1, wherein the guide rollers engaging the lateral outside faces of the rail heads engage the same at lower portions thereof and the power-actuated means are hydraulic drive means.

3. The mobile machine of claim 1, wherein the tool carriers are transversely aligned with respect to the track, and further comprising a longitudinally adjustable spacing member

Claim 3 continued....

extending transversely to the track between the tool carriers and a pivot connecting respective ends of the spacing member to a respective one of the tool carriers, the power-actuated means including a drive for adjusting the length of the spacing member.

4. The mobile machine of claim 1, wherein each tool carrier carries two metal shearing tools spaced from each other in the direction of track elongation, the shearing tools being adjustable for different cutting depths with respect to the lateral outside face.