EP0205723B1 - Mobile track-working machine and method for bending the ends of laid rails in the joint zone - Google Patents

Abstract

In a mobile track working machine comprising a frame mounted for mobility on the track: a mechanism for bending the track rail section ends comprises a carrier frame vertically adjustably mounted on the machine frame above a respective track rail and having respective end regions spaced from each other in the direction of the track rail, a respective hydraulically operable and vertically adjustable thrust element mounted in a respective end region of the carrier frame for engagement with the running face of the track rail, an intermediate carrier transversely movably mounted on the carrier frame, and a rail lifting hook device supported centrally between the thrust elements on the intermediate carrier for engagement with the track rail, the hook device including two lifting hooks arranged symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane of symmetry of the rail, a respective pivot having an axis extending in the direction of the track rail and mounting a respective lifting hook for pivoting into a rail engaging position wherein the lifting hook subtends the rail head, and a respective drive linked to each lifting hook at another pivot for pivoting the hook linked thereto.

Description

The invention relates to a mobile track processing machine, in particular tamping and straightening machine, with a device for bending the ends of rails installed in the area of butt joints, consisting of at least one support frame arranged above the rail and height-adjustable to the machine frame, with the end areas extending in the machine longitudinal direction arranged and can be placed against the top of the rail, designed as a hydraulically height-adjustable pressure plunger abutments and a central, pincer-like lifting tool designed to engage the rail.

There is a mobile track processing machine - according to DE-PS 24 18 318 by the same applicant - with a device for bending the rail ends in the area of butt joints.

This consists of a support frame guided on the track by two spaced-apart undercarriages, which can be adjusted to the machine frame by means of height adjustment drives. In the middle between these undercarriages, which also serve as abutments, a pliers-like or hook-like lifting tool for engaging the rail is provided, which is designed to be height-adjustable by means of a cylinder-piston drive for lifting the rail ends. A height-adjustable holding roller, which can be mechanically blocked by a fixing or locking device, is arranged on both sides of the lifting tool on the supporting frame. To control the various drives of the bending device, a control device that can be set with the desired bending value and a scale designed as a measured value transducer and arranged on the support frame with a feeler element resting on the rail joint are provided. When bending upwards by adjusting the height of the lifting tool, the holding rollers lying on the rail ends are lifted, with the transducer detuned, together with the sensing element, until the signal emitted by the transducer matches the preset target value. The entire bending process is expediently carried out in a single operation.

According to AT-PS 348 569 by the same applicant, a mobile tamping machine of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1 with a device for bending the rail ends in the region of butt joints is known. This consists of a height-adjustable support frame hinged to the machine frame, at the longitudinal ends of which an abutment is arranged in the form of a hydraulic pressure cylinder with downward-facing pressure stamps which can be placed on the rail running surface. Between these, a lifting tool designed as a lifting hook for engaging below the rail foot and pivotable transversely to the machine longitudinal direction is provided, which is mounted in a vertically adjustable slot in an indentation of the support frame open to the outside of the machine in a vertical guide slot for swiveling out and in. The lifting hook is additionally guided via a bolt in a further, partially curved guide slot and is connected in the region of its lower end to a hydraulic cylinder supported on the support frame for lateral pivoting. Between the lifting hook and the plunger, a flanged roller that can be unrolled on the rail head and a pair of lifting rollers on the supporting frame are arranged so that the known device can also be used as a track lifting / straightening unit for lifting and straightening the track into the desired position. For the bending process with this machine, the lifting hook is swung in sideways under the foot of the rail held by the pairs of lifting rollers and the plunger of each abutment is lowered onto the rail travel surface. The size of the bending moment effective in the vertical longitudinal plane of the rail can be individually changed by adjusting the height of the pressure stamp. Rail joints that are very deeply retracted are further advantageously bent up to the level of the other rails or rails. This known device for the relatively new technology of rail butt bending of installed rails has already proven itself in use. However, the attack of the lifting hook under the rail foot is disadvantageous, since the sleeper compartment often has to be cleared of ballast in order to create enough space for the lifting hook attack.

The object of the invention is to provide a mobile track processing machine of the type described in the introduction, with which very high bending forces can be easily transferred to the laid rail with a structurally simple design.

The object of the invention is now achieved with the track processing machine described at the outset in that two lifting tongs are provided as lifting tools, which are arranged between the abutments and symmetrically to the vertical rail plane, and are pivotally mounted on the support frame about an axis running in the longitudinal direction of the machine, each for attacking under the rail head designed lifting tongs is connected to its own pivoting drive, and that both lifting tongs or the pair of lifting tongs are pivotally mounted laterally on an intermediate support which is movably arranged in a recess of the support frame transversely to the machine longitudinal direction. With the rail head clamped on both sides by means of the central pair of lifting tongs pivotally pivoted to the side of the support frame, very high pressing forces directed onto the rails by both pressure stamps can also be advantageously introduced into the rail as bending forces on both sides, so that, above all, a larger cross section having rails are bendable with great accuracy. In addition, the simple and stable, laterally pivotable mounting of both lifting tongs means that the highest and impact-like bending forces can also be transferred to the rail, which is advantageous for the lifting tools and the rail fasteners, and symmetrical load distribution, which can be easily and quickly grasped by the lifting tongs under the rail head .

This particularly stable and robust impact-resistant bearing of the lifting tongs as well as the intimate connection - reinforced by the pressing forces of the swiveling cylinders assigned to each lifting tongs - is therefore particularly suitable for increasing the bending accuracy, but particularly the lifting elements due to repeated extreme shock loads suitable for gradual bending. This simple construction with the lifting tongs engaging under the rail head also increases performance. Due to the pendulum-like mounting of the two lifting tongs on an intermediate beam that is essentially freely movable in the transverse direction, a centering for an automatic load balancing for uniform loading of the lifting tongs and for an exact bending in the vertical rail plane can be achieved in a particularly advantageous manner with each lifting operation. Thus - particularly in track arches - slight transverse displacements of the longitudinal center of the bending device and rail or e.g. the rail twists to no disadvantageous one-sided overload.

A further advantageous embodiment according to the invention is that the intermediate support, which is preferably symmetrical in the plane of the machine longitudinal and pair of lifting tongs, is concavely curved in the region of its lower support adjoining the support frame and a support part suitable for wear between the support of the intermediate support and the support frame is arranged. This advantageous mounting of the intermediate girder enables this oscillating suspension of the two lifting tongs with minimal design effort, which also withstands particularly high loads with constant automatic load balancing. The support frame can be protected against wear and tear as well as a reduction in strength due to the arrangement of a support part that is easily exchangeable after it has been worn.

A particularly advantageous embodiment according to the invention is characterized in that the articulation point of the preferably hydraulic pivoting drive on the lifting tongs is arranged at a distance from the articulation point of the intermediate support and lifting tongs directly adjacent to the support frame in the transverse direction of the machine. Due to the articulation point of the lifting tongs which is directly adjacent to the supporting frame, the bending load on the intermediate carrier, which is particularly disadvantageous for the bending accuracy, can be kept low even with the highest bending forces. With the lateral spacing of the articulation point of the lifting tongs and swivel drive, an advantageous lever effect is formed, which leads to an increase in the forceps closing force for a higher security of the fixation of the rail head.

The invention further relates to a particularly advantageous method for bending the rail ends in the area of joints with a track processing machine according to the invention, the rail ends being raised to a permanent deformation against the resistance of abutments pressing on the rail. This method consists in using the two outer pressure plungers placed on the rails as a measuring base by means of two displacement transducers located in the area of the joint, resting on the rail ends and connected to electrical displacement sensors, and determining the deviation from the measuring base and feeding them to a control device and then the ends of the bumps are grasped by the lifting tongs located between the pressure rams below the rail head and gradually raised to a preselected overbending tolerance value by loading the two pressure rams while continuously measuring the displacement or bending value, whereby between the individual bends - while maintaining the Clamping the rail head between the lifting tongs - the pressure ram is relieved and the bending values automatically with increasing proximity to the overbending tolerance value - depending on the measured values taken in the unloaded state - can be reduced. This method according to the invention on the basis of a rail joint bending by repeated application of forces with constant measurement of the bending path can be carried out even more quickly and precisely, in particular in connection with the design of the lifting element according to the invention, since the exposed rail head can be detected quickly and safely without additional preparatory work and also by the double-sided clamping is guided by means of the lifting tongs during the entire bend. This is particularly important during the pressure relief after the individual stages, since even in this state, due to the permanent clamping, no e.g. lateral deviation of the rail joint due to internal stresses is possible.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the drawing.

• Fig. 1 eine schematische Seitenansicht einer fahrbaren Gleisstopfmaschine mit einer Einrichtung zum Biegen der Enden einer verlegten Schiene des Gleises im Bereich einer Stossstelle,
• Fig. 2 eine vergrösserte Seitenansicht der Biegeeinrichtung nach Fig. 1,
• Fig. 3 einen Querschnitt durch die Biegeeinrichtung gemäss der Schnittlinie 111-111 Fig. 2,
• Fig. 4 eine teilweise Draufsicht und Schnitt durch die Biegeeinrichtung gemäss der Schnittlinie IV-IV in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 5 ein Kraft-Biegeweg-Diagramm als Folge einer schrittweisen Biegung des Schienenstosses durch die erfindungsgemässe Biegeeinrichtung und
• Fig. 6 ein weiteres Ausführungsbeispiel einer Hebezange zum Angriff unter dem Schienenkopf mit einer Kraftmesseinrichtung in schematischer TeilSeitenansicht.

Show it:

• 1 is a schematic side view of a mobile tamping machine with a device for bending the ends of a laid rail of the track in the region of a joint,
• 2 is an enlarged side view of the bending device according to FIG. 1,
• 3 shows a cross section through the bending device along the section line 111-111 FIG. 2,
• 4 shows a partial top view and section through the bending device according to section line IV-IV in FIG. 2,
• Fig. 5 is a force-bending path diagram as a result of a gradual bending of the rail joint by the bending device according to the invention and
• Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of a lifting tongs for attacking under the rail head with a force measuring device in a schematic partial side view.

The track tamping and straightening machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 has an elongated machine frame 2 which is supported at the end in the area of driving cabs on rail bogies 3 which are formed on a rail 4 and cross sleepers 5 ten tracks are movable. A drive and energy supply device 6 is arranged on the machine frame 2 and a travel drive 8 is provided for advancing the machine 1 in the working direction shown by an arrow 7. In the area of the rear trolley 3, a tamping unit 9 with adjustable and vibratable tamping tools is mounted on the machine frame so that it can be adjusted in height and displaced transversely. The tamping unit 9 is preceded by a device 10 for bending the rail ends of a laid track in the region of a rail joint 11, which is height-adjustable by a cylinder-piston drive 12 and can be controlled by a control device 13. The entire bending device 10 can be transversely displaced from one to the opposite rail track by means of spars 14 running transversely to the machine longitudinal direction and connected to the machine frame 2. Directly upstream of the bending device 10, a working cabin is attached to the machine frame 2, through which a precise observation of the bending processes is possible.

The bending device 10 shown enlarged and detailed in FIGS. 2 to 4 consists of an elongated support frame 16 which can be supported on the rail 4 by means of two double flange rollers 15 and which is connected to the machine frame 2 in a height-adjustable and transverse manner by means of an extension arm 17. At each end in the longitudinal direction of the machine, an abutment in the form of a hydraulic pressure cylinder 18 is connected to the support frame 16 with a pressure ram 19 which can be placed on the rail running surface. In the middle between these plungers 19, two lifting tongs 21 are provided as lifting tools, which are arranged symmetrically to the vertical rail plane and are pivotable about an axis or articulation point 20 extending in the machine longitudinal direction. Each lifting clamp 21 designed to engage under the rail head is connected to a pivoting drive 22, which is supported in each case on two lateral extension arms 23 connected to the support frame 16.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 3, both lifting tongs 21 are mounted laterally pivotable on an intermediate carrier 24 which is arranged in a corresponding recess 25 of the support frame 16 so as to be movable essentially transversely to the machine longitudinal direction. In the area of its lower support 26 adjoining the support frame 16, the intermediate support 24, which is symmetrical to the vertical rail plane or the pair of lifting tongs, is concavely curved, a support part 27 suitable for wear being arranged between the support 26 and the support frame 16. For better understanding, only the pressure stamp 19 is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3 behind the lifting tongs 21. The articulation point 28 of the pivoting drive 22 on the lifting tongs 21 is in each case arranged at a distance from the articulation point 20 of the intermediate support 24 and lifting tongs 21 which is directly adjacent to the support frame 16, so that the pressing force of the pivoting drive 22 is increased by lever action on the lifting tongs 21 and from it the rail 4 is exercised. Between each plunger 19 and the adjacent double flanged roller 15, a pair of lifting rollers 29, which can be adjusted like a pair of pliers, is articulated on the supporting frame 16 with a rotating lifting plate designed to bear below the rail head (for simplification in FIG. 4 only shown with dash-dotted lines). Thus, the bending device 10 can be used together with the height adjustment drive 12 and a straightening drive 30 articulated on the support frame 16 (FIG. 4) as a conventional track lifting and straightening unit for leveling and straightening the track.

To control the bending process, a measuring device 31 (FIGS. 2 and 4) measuring the deformation or bending path is provided, which consists of four height-adjustable pushbuttons 32 guided on the supporting frame 16 and a measuring beam 33 and on both sides of the lifting tongs 21, height-adjustable displacement displacement 34 is. Each of these displacement sensors 34, which has a sensing shoe 35 at the lower end, is connected to an electrical displacement sensor 36 in the region of the upper end adjacent to the measuring bar 33. The two buttons 32 located in the area of the pressure stamp 19 are articulatedly connected to the measuring bar 33 and rest with their lower end on a base plate 37 connected to the pressure stamp 19.

The mode of operation of the bending device according to the invention for bending the rail ends in the region of joints of rails laid is described in more detail below.

As soon as, for example, a floating and welded rail joint 11 of the rails 4 is reached, the pair of lifting tongs 21 is centered exactly above the rail joint 11 by moving the machine 1 and the bending device 10 is lowered onto the rail 4 when the lifting tongs 21 are spread apart. This is recorded by pressing the lifting roller pairs 29 below the rail head and brought into the desired position of the track determined by the track straightening and leveling reference system of the machine 1 by means of the drive 12 and optionally also the straightening drive 30. Subsequently, both lifting tongs 21 are pressed against the rail 4 by actuating their associated pivot drives 22 below the rail head, with limit switches 38 (FIG. 3) serving as a safety device interrupting each subsequent application of the pressure stamp 19 if the lifting tongs 21 are not in full engagement stand with the rail 4. Provided that there is no interruption by the two limit switches 38 due to the correct end position of the lifting tongs 21, the two pressure rams 19 are next automatically acted upon by the control device 13 and placed on the rail 4. The buttons 32 resting on the base plates 37 are also lowered and form a zero base for the measurement of the required bending path. Deviating from this zero basis, the two feeler shoes 35 of the central displacement transducers 34 are placed on the rail ends in accordance with the lowering of the rail joint 11. The electrical Displacement sensor 36 detects the deviation from the measuring bar 33 representing the zero base and supplies the corresponding measurement signal as a control variable for the following iterative (step-by-step) bending process to the control device 13 which is designed with integrated control electronics.

The first bend is initiated by acting on the pressure plunger 19, which forms a 3-point bending system with the lifting tongs 21, in order to generate pressing forces represented by force arrows 39 (FIG. 2) on the rail 4. The lowering of the pressure rams 19 results in the lifting of the supporting frame 16 together with the lifting tongs 21 fastened thereon, so that an upward bending force shown by a force arrow 40 is exerted with them. After the bend has taken place, the pressure rams 19 are relieved and the path of the bend is determined with the aid of the displacement transducers 34. This bending path as a result of the previous bending step forms the bending dimension for the next following bending process, which is automatically determined by the control device 13. The activity of the machine operator is limited to triggering the bending process by pressing the control device 13 and monitoring the entire bending process. This is complete as soon as a preset tolerance value is reached. The rail joint 11 raised to the target value is consequently still supported by the tamping unit 9 of the machine 1 in order to avoid further deformation loads.

5, the step-by-step bending process is shown graphically on a diagram, 46 corresponding to the force and 47 corresponding to the deformation or bending path. The size 48 shows the entire bending path, which has a tolerance value 51, the difference between 48 and 49 corresponding to the bending path reached in the first bending step. The difference between 49 and 50 or 50 and 51 corresponds to the second or third bending step. As can clearly be seen from the line of force, the elastic bending behavior means that the rail joint has to be displaced above the actual bending value in each bending step in order to finally obtain a plastic deformation.

However, this is also, as shown schematically in FIG. 6, by forming a pressing part 43 that is movable to a base plate 41 of a lifting tongs 42 and interposing force measuring devices 44, e.g. on the basis of piezoelectricity or load cells, it is possible to measure the bending force at the same time as the bending path in addition to the bending path. This can e.g. When the cross section of the rail 45 to be bent and the required bending path are entered into a process computer, the force required for the bending is automatically determined and used as a control variable for the bending which can then be carried out in one step.

Claims (4)

1. A travelling track maintenance machine, more especially a tamping and lining maschine, comprising an arrangement for bending the ends of laid rails at joints, consisting of at least one supporting frame which is arranged over the rail and which is vertically displaceable relative to the machine frame, being provided with abutments, formed by hydraulically vertically displaceable props, arranged at its ends extending longitudinally of the machine and designed for application to the top of the rail and with a central clamp-like lifting tool designed to engage the rail, characterized in that the lifting tool is formed by two lifting clamps (21) which are arranged between the abutments and symmetrically to the vertical plane of the rail and which are mouted on the supporting frame to pivot about a pin extending longitudinally of the machine, each lifting clamp (21) which is designed to engage the rail beneath the rail head being connected to its own pivoting drive (22) and in that both lifting clamps (21)or rather the pair of lifting clamps are mounted to pivot laterally on an intermediate support (24) which is arranged for displacement transversely of the longitudinal axis of the machine in a recess (25) of the supporting frame (16).

2. A machine as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that, in the region of its lower supporting surface (26) adjoining the supporting frame (16), the intermediate support (24), which is preferably symmetrical in the longitudinal plane of the machine and in the plane of the pair of lifting clamps, is concave in shape and a supporting element (27) suitable for wear is arranged between the supporting surface (26) of the intermediate support (24) and the supporting frame (16)..

3. A machine as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the point at which the preferably hydraulic pivoting drive (22) is pivotally connected to the lifting clamp (21) is situated at a distance transversely of the machine from the point - intermediately adjacent the supporting frame - at which the intermediate support (24) is pivotally connected to the lifting clamp (21).

4. A process for bending the ends of rails at joints using the machine claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3, the rail ends being raised to the point of permanent deformation against the resistance of abutments applying pressure to the rail, characterized in that, using the two outer hydraulic props applied to the rails as a mesuring basis, the deviation from the measuring basis is determined by two displacement recorders arranged near the joint, resting on the rail ends and connected to electrical displacement pickups and is delivered to a control system, after which the rail ends are engaged beneath the rail head by the lifting clamps situated between the hydraulic props and, by activation of the two hydraulic props, are raised in steps to a preselected overbending tolerance value with continuous measurement of the displacement path or rather the bending value, the hydraulic props being relieved of load between the individual bending steps while the rail head remains engaged between the lifting clamps and the bending values being automatically reduced with increasing proximity to the overbending tolerance value in dependence upon the measured values recorded in the load-free state.

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