EP0513105B1 - Device for attaching a rail to a concrete or metal support - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for attaching a rail to a support (1) comprising a spring blade (5) pivotably mounted on the support by means of a clamping device (6) which passes through the blade (5) via an opening (53) and can move between a transport position in which the rail can also be laid and a working position in which it is supported by the rail, as well as an insulating insert (3) placed between the support (1) and the blade (5). The device is characterized in that it comprises devices for clamping and locking said blade so that it can be pre-mounted on the support without hindering the subsequent laying of the rail and so that it can be pivoted and held against the rail once the rail is in place.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for fixing a railway rail to a concrete or metal support.

It is more particularly a pre-assembled fixing device on a support, which it is then sufficient, once the rail is in place, to pivot 180 ° and to tighten to make it operational.

The pre-assembled character means that the fixing was put in place as of the manufacture of the support or cross-member, and that it is in a position such that it will be possible on the site to bring, deposit and position the rail without dismantling or moving a any element.

Patent VOSSLOH DE 32 43 895 describes a device of this type (cf. preamble of claim 1) which however has a certain number of drawbacks in particular with regard to the spring of this fixing which is made of a wire. steel in the form of an open loop tightened by a lag screw, which requires, in the pre-assembled position, to sufficiently tighten the lag screw to hold the spring in place otherwise, when handling the cross member, the spring may come off. This tightening which is not always correct complicates the mechanization of the installation. Indeed, once the rail is in place, you have to unscrew the lag screw to pivot the fastener by 180 °, then tighten it and unscrewing the lag screw cannot be done by hand because the initial tightening was deliberately strong enough to hold the spring.

Furthermore, in this type of attachment, the attachment spring presses once pivoted in the clamping position, directly on the rail pad. The contact pressure of the spring metal on the metal of the rail is therefore very high and often causes a notching of the rail pad by the spring, in particular if very elastic soles are used under the rail. In this case, there is no electrical insulation between the spring and the rail and it is then necessary that the anchoring of the fixing in the crosspiece is itself insulating.

In addition, in the tightly mounted position on the rail, the vertical reaction of the rear support of the spring takes place on the stop. The area of application of this reaction is closer to the rail than is the area of application of the transverse force of the stop on the concrete of the sleeper. The transverse thrust on the concrete, which appears during the passage of an axle because of the obliquity of the wheel / rail effort, is therefore not compensated by a vertical effort and there appears a harmful phenomenon of vacuum thrust .

The present invention aims to solve these technical problems satisfactorily.

• une lame ressort montée de manière pivotante sur le support au moyen d'un organe de serrage passant au travers de la lame par une ouverture, entre une position de transport permettant également la pose du rail et une position de travail assurant l'appui contre le rail et
• un intercalaire isolant disposé entre le support et la lame,caractérisé en ce que le dispositif comporte des moyens de blocage et des moyens de calage de ladite lame de telle sorte que la lame puisse être prémontée sur le support sans gêner la pose ultérieure du rail puis pivotée et maintenue en appui contre le rail en place.

This object is achieved by means of a device for fixing a rail on a support comprising:

• a leaf spring pivotally mounted on the support by means of a clamping member passing through the blade through an opening, between a transport position also allowing the installation of the rail and a working position ensuring the support against the rail and
• an insulating interlayer disposed between the support and the blade, characterized in that the device comprises locking means and means for wedging said blade so that the blade can be pre-mounted on the support without hindering the subsequent installation of the rail and then pivoted and held in abutment against the rail in place.

• au moins deux logements ménagés sur la face supérieure de l'intercalaire respectivement de part et d'autre de l'organe de serrage et destinés à recevoir respectivement en position de prémontage et en position de travail un bossage correspondant de la lame, et
• un ergot réalisé sur la face supérieure de l'intercalaire et destiné à venir s'insérer dans l'ouverture de la lame lorsque celle-ci est en position de travail ; la plus grande dimension de ladite ouverture étant supérieure au diamètre de l'organe de serrage.

According to a characteristic of the invention, said blade blocking means comprise:

• at least two housings formed on the upper face of the interlayer respectively on either side of the clamping member and intended to receive respectively in the pre-assembly position and in the working position a corresponding boss of the blade, and
• a lug made on the upper face of the interlayer and intended to be inserted into the opening of the blade when the latter is in the working position; the largest dimension of said opening being greater than the diameter of the Tightening.

According to another characteristic, said means for wedging the blade comprise an insulating stop mounted on the underside of the blade at its outer edge, said stop being intended to come respectively into the pre-assembly position or into the working position of the blade, either in contact with the support and the outer edge of the interlayer, or in contact with the rail and the inner edge of the interlayer.

According to another embodiment of the invention, said spacer comprises at its external part an anchoring element intended to be inserted in a corresponding housing of the support.

The device of the invention makes it possible both to distribute the clamping pressure, to electrically isolate the blade from the rail and to retain the blade in transverse position relative to the rail, the end of the blade opposite to that equipped with the insulating stop being, for its part, always in abutment on one or the other of the ends of the insulating interlayer. Thus with the present invention, there is always a pre-assembled fixing but the leaf spring is inseparable from the support. As a result, in the pre-assembled position, it is not necessary to over tighten the lag screw (because the cooperation of the two insulating parts is sufficient to prevent untimely rotation of the blade during handling). The leaf spring in the tight position is mechanically and electrically isolated from the rail and the rear support reaction of the blade takes place further from the rail than the transverse support on the concrete. Finally, the anchoring of the binding benefiting from the present invention does not need to be electrically isolated from the support cross member, which makes this device very economical.

The cooperation of the blade blocking means with the wedging means of said blade allows the device to be pre-assembled on the support without hindering the subsequent installation of the rail, then the pivoting and the support of the blade against the rail in place. This combination of means also avoids all displacement and any untimely rotation of any of the elements of the device despite the movements of the rail when the trains pass.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description below illustrated by the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view of the fixing device of the invention in the pre-assembled position.

FIG. 2 represents a top view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 represents a side view of the fixing device in the clamped position on the rail.

FIG. 4 represents a top view of the device of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 represents a sectional view along AA of the device of FIG. 4.

Figure 6 shows a side view of the leaf spring before tightening.

Figure 7 shows a side view of the leaf spring after tightening.

Figure 8 shows a top view of the leaf spring before or after tightening.

Figures 9 and 10 are top and side views of the insulating interlayer.

The device of the invention as shown in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a leaf spring 5 pivotally mounted on the support by means of a clamping member 6 passing through the blade 5 through an opening 53, between a transport position also allowing the installation of the rail and a working position ensuring support against the rail and an insulating interlayer 3 disposed between the support 1 and the blade 5.

The device of the invention also comprises locking means and means for wedging the blade 5 in the transport position and in the working position.

The locking means as shown in Figures 1 to 4 comprise two housings 32, 38 formed on the upper face of the interlayer respectively on either side of the clamping member 6 and intended to receive respectively in the pre-assembly position and in the working position a corresponding boss 52 of the blade, and a lug (34) produced on the upper face of the interlayer 3 and intended to be inserted into the opening of the blade when the latter is in the working position; said opening being made in the form of an oblong hole 53 extending perpendicular to the rail.

Another embodiment can be provided in which the interlayer 3 has more than two housings to reinforce the holding of the blade in its various positions.

The wedging means as shown in Figures 1 to 4 comprise an insulating stop 4 mounted on the inner face of the blade at its outer edge 51; said stop being intended to come respectively in the pre-assembly position or in the working position of the blade, either in contact with the support 1 and the outer edge 33 of the interlayer 3, or in contact with the rail and the inner edge 31 of the tab 3.

Figure 1 shows the fixing device in the pre-assembled position when the rail has not yet been placed on its support. The clamping member 6 passes through the leaf spring 5 through an opening made in the form of the oblong hole 53 as well as through a round or oblong hole (36) of the interlayer 3 and is screwed or seal in the support 1. The stop 4 is clipped onto the outer edge 51 of the spring blade 5. It presses by its lower face 41 on the support 1 and abuts against the outer edge 33 of the interlayer 3. Thus, the spring blade 5 / stop 4 assembly cannot move towards the axis A of the support table. When the rail is put in place, it is placed on the sole 2 between the faces 31 of the spacers 3 of the two fastening devices facing each other.

The stop 4 made integral with the blade 5, is therefore movable with the latter in the pivoting between its pre-assembly and transport position and its working position.

The face 31 of the interlayer 3 is closer to the axis A than any other part of the binding. The head 61 of the clamping member 6 can participate in guiding the rail during its descent and its installation on the sole 2, this in order to protect the edge 31 of the interlayer 3 if necessary.

Once the support or cross member 1 has been manufactured, the sole 2 is deposited there and then the interlayer 3. The edge 31 preferably presses on the edge of the sole 2 but it can also press directly on the bottom of the support 1.

The interlayer 3 possibly has an anchoring element such as a small stud 35 intended to be inserted in a corresponding housing 12 of the cross member 1 to properly hold it in place.

The length of the interlayer 3 measured between its inner 31 and outer 33 ends is such that in the pre-assembled position the leaf spring 5 is blocked by resting at its end comprising the boss 52 in the appropriate housing 32 of the interlayer 3 while its other end 51 provided with the movable stop 4 is wedged and retained against the outer edge 33 of the interlayer 3. In this way, it is not necessary to tighten the screw or the bolt of the tightening member 6 to hold the blade 5 in place. There may even be a slight clearance between the head or the nut 61 of the clamping member 6 and the top of the leaf spring 5; the latter being blocked in rotation and in vertical translation.

Figure 2 is a top view of Figure 1 with the trace 71 of the edge of the rail pad. The trace 71 is very close to the inner edge 31 of the interlayer 3. The distance between the trace 71 and the inner edge 31 is variable during installation. In general, it is between 0 and 3.5 mm to accept the rolling tolerances of the rail shoe.

The leaf spring 5 has a substantially trapezoidal shape when viewed from above. Thus, the clipping of the stop 4 by means of the elastic lugs 41, 42, 43 and 44 is more effective. The stop 4, once clipped to the outer edge 51 of the blade 5, can no longer separate away from the interlayer 3 and this thanks to the angle α between the outer edge 51 and the lateral edge of the blade which is less than 90 °. The stop 4 can also not approach the interlayer 3 because it is in bearing contact against the outer edge of said interlayer 3 and there should be a clearance of at least 3 or 4 mm between the bottom of the head 61 of the clamping member 6 and the top of the blade 5 so that the stop 4 can lift and escape the outer edge 33 of the interlayer 3.

According to an alternative embodiment, the stop 4 is glued or molded to the end 51 of the blade 5.

• mise en place du rail 7 sur sa semelle 2 et entre les bords intérieurs 31 de chacun des intercalaires 3 propres à chaque fixation,
• dévissage partiel de l'organe de serrage 6, la lame 5 restant toutefois prisonnière de cet ancrage grâce à son trou oblong,
• pivotement par rotation de 180° de la lame 5.Pendant ce pivotement il y a déplacement transversal relatif du corps 62 de l'organe de serrage 6 par rapport au trou oblong 53 de la lame 5: le déplacement de la lame, en même temps que sa rotation, fait que le corps 62 de l'organe de serrage 6, qui était centré à une extrémité du trou oblong 53, se trouve, en fin de déplacement de la lame, centré à l'autre extrémité du trou oblong 53. La butée 4 mobile avec la lame ressort qui reste pendant toutes ces opérations clipsée au bord extérieur 51 de la lame 5, vient à la fois en appui sur le bord du patin du rail et contre le bord intérieur 31 de l'intercalaire 3,
• serrage de la lame 5 grâce à l'organe de serrage 6 (tire-fond).
  La lame 5 étant un ressort, son galbe change pendant cette opération .L'extrémité de la lame 5 repose par le bossage 52 dans le logement en cuvette 38 aménagé sur la face supérieure de l'intercalaire 3 derrière l'organe de serrage 6 au niveau du bord extérieur 33.
  En position serrée sur le rail la distance entre l'une quelconque des extrémités du bord 51 de la lame 5 et le corps 62 de l'organe de serrage 6 est inférieure à la distance entre ce même corps 62 et l'âme du rail 7. Cette condition est nécessaire pour permettre la rotation de 180° de la lame 5 lors de sa mise en place sur le rail par pivotement.
  En fin de serrage le jeu J entre le dessous de la lame 5 et le dessus de l'intercalaire 3 sera compris entre 0 et 4 mm.

FIG. 3 represents a side view of the fastening in the clamped mounted position on the rail 7. To pass from the pre-assembled position of FIG. 1 to the working position of FIG. 3, the operations are as follows:

• positioning of the rail 7 on its sole 2 and between the inner edges 31 of each of the spacers 3 specific to each attachment,
• partial unscrewing of the clamping member 6, the blade 5 however remaining trapped in this anchoring thanks to its oblong hole,
• pivoting by 180 ° rotation of the blade 5.During this pivoting there is relative transverse displacement of the body 62 of the clamping member 6 relative to the oblong hole 53 of the blade 5: the displacement of the blade, at the same time that its rotation causes the body 62 of the clamping member 6, which was centered at one end of the oblong hole 53, to be located, at the end of movement of the blade, centered at the other end of the oblong hole 53. The mobile stop 4 with the leaf spring which remains during all these operations clipped to the outer edge 51 of the blade 5, comes both to bear on the edge of the rail pad and against the inner edge 31 of the interlayer 3,
• clamping of the blade 5 thanks to the clamping member 6 (lag screw).
  The blade 5 being a spring, its curve changes during this operation. The end of the blade 5 rests by the boss 52 in the bowl housing 38 arranged on the upper face of the interlayer 3 behind the clamping member 6 at level of outer edge 33.
  In the clamped position on the rail, the distance between any one of the ends of the edge 51 of the blade 5 and the body 62 of the clamping member 6 is less than the distance between this same body 62 and the web of the rail 7 This condition is necessary to allow the blade 5 to rotate 180 ° when it is placed on the rail by pivoting.
  At the end of tightening, the clearance J between the bottom of the blade 5 and the top of the interlayer 3 will be between 0 and 4 mm.

The choice of this clearance J is a function of the elasticity in compression of the sole 2 and of the tightening mode of the lag screw 6 During a movement of the rail, the clearance J varies because the elastic blade 5 tends to follow the rail movement.

The lateral forces communicated by the rail cause the edge 71 of the pad to press against the inner edge 31 of the interlayer 3 which retransmits these forces on the shoulder 11 of the support 1 by its internal face 37. The vertical reaction of support of the rear edge 52 of the blade 5 compresses the support 1 and therefore reduces the harmful effects of the lateral thrust of the face 37 of the interlayer 3 on the shoulder 11, lateral thrust which is thus located between the rail and rear vertical support of the leaf spring.

The rail 7 is only in contact with elastic and insulating parts, the sole 2, the stop 4 and the interlayer 3. The electrical insulation, very often required between the rail and its support, therefore does not require, with the present invention, an anchor electrically isolated from the support.

Although the interlayer 3 and the stopper 4 must both be insulating, they are not mechanically stressed in the same way and it is preferable to take this into account in the choice of materials. In an advantageous embodiment, midsole 3 and sole 2 in one piece.

Figure 4 is a top view of Figure 3.

A lug 34 is produced on the upper face of the interlayer 3 and is inserted into the opening in the form of oblong hole 53 of the blade when the latter is in the working position.

FIG. 5 represents the principle of clipping the stop 4 onto the blade 5 by means of the elastic lugs 41,42,43,44. This arrangement is not, however, limiting and, as already indicated above, the stop 4 can be adhered to or molded onto the edge 51 of the blade 5.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show the leaf spring 5 with its central flat part, its outer edge 51 and its boss 52.

Figure 7 shows the new curve of the blade 5 after tightening. The general shape of the blade 5 is not limiting, but the present invention requires a trapezoidal blade of flat steel provided with a hole which is sufficiently oblong to be able to be put in a sufficiently offset position in the pre-assembled position, so as not to hinder the setting in place. rail place. A rectangular blade would however also be possible if the stop 4 is adhered to or overmolded on said blade (the angle α of the blade 5 is no longer a retaining element of the stop 4 on the edge 51 of the blade 5) .

Figures 9 and 10 show tab 3.

This insert 3 is optionally provided with an anchoring element such as a stud 35. The housing 32 is intended to receive the boss 52 of the blade 5 in the pre-assembled position while the housing 38 will receive the boss 52 of the blade 5 in the working position (support against the rail). The hole 36, here shown round, will allow the rod 62 of the clamping member to pass through. This hole 36 may also be oblong or even open out onto the internal edge 31 to facilitate the positioning of the interlayer 3 during manufacture. of the support 1. Generally there is a clearance between the rod 61 and the hole 36 so that in the presence of lateral forces, the rod 61 does not undergo any bending force.

Claims (8)

1. Device for fixing a rail on a support (1) comprising:

   - a spring blade (5) mounted for pivoting on the support by means of a clamping member (6) traversing the blade (5) through an opening (53), between a transport position which also allows positioning of the rail and a working position where said blade rests against the rail,

   - an insulating insert (3) disposed between the support (1) and the blade (5),

   - means for wedging said blade in such a way that the blade can be premounted on the support without this hindering the subsequent laying of the rail, and then pivoted and held in resting position against the positioned rail, and

   - means for locking the blade, which means are constituted of at least two housings (32, 38) provided on the upper face of the insert, on either side, respectively, of the clamping member (6) and adapted to receive in, respectively, pre-mounting position and working position, a boss (52) corresponding to the blade, characterized in that
   said locking means further comprise:

   - a lug (34) produced on the upper face of the insert (3), adapted to fit into the opening (53) of the blade when the latter is in working position, and in that said blade wedging means comprise:

   - an insulating stop (4) mounted on the lower face of the blade at the level of its external edge (51); said stop being adapted to come respectively in premounting position or in working position of the blade, either in contact with the support (1) and with the outer edge (33) of the insert (3), or in contact with the rail and with the inner edge (31) of the insert (3).
2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said insert (3) comprises, at the level of its outer part, an anchoring element (35) adapted to be inserted in a corresponding housing (12) of the support.
3. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spring blade has a substantially trapezoidal shape.
4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the opening (53) is produced in the form of an oblong hole extending perpendicularly to the rail.
5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said insulating stop (4) is force-fitted on the outer edge (51) of the blade (5) by means of elastic lugs (41, 72, 43, 44).
6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the mobile stop (4) is bonded to or built on the outer edge (51) of the blade (5).
7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the blade (5) tightening position, the play (J) between the underpart of the blade (5) and the top part (3) of the insert is between 0 and 4 mm.
8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the insert (3) comprises an inner face (37) adapted to come into resting contact against a shoulder (11) of the support (1).

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