EP0780516B1 - Machine tool for the mechanical processing of a railway rail - Google Patents

Abstract

The tool consists of a frame which fits over the rail on both sides of the area to be machined. A mobile assembly has rollers to follow the shape of the rail's head. Series of transverse semi-circular guides (18a,18b,18c) for rollers (19a,19b,19c) ensure that the tool's grinding wheel (16c) meets the rail perpendicular to a tangent to its point of contact in any position. The guide rollers are set in a triangular configuration on a roller carrier connected to the grinding wheel. The summit of the triangle is situated on a vertical axis coinciding with that of the tool when the point of contact coincides with the median plane, while its other two points are equidistant from it. The follower roller is connected to the guide roller carrier by a spring to adjust to rails of different sizes.

Description

The invention relates to machines used for perform various interventions on the rails of a track railroad.

One of the most delicate interventions to to realize on a track is the grinding consecutive to welding or reloading the rail. Indeed these operations, which aim to restore continuity profile of the rail head, must be executed with extreme precision, especially on high speed lanes.

French patent n ° 93.01278 (FR-A-2 701 277) describes a grinder automatic whose particularity is to work on edge with a rounded leading edge so as to have a punctual contact with the grinding wheel. This machine is essentially composed of a frame in which the grinding wheel can move longitudinally while describing a roughly semi-circular transverse movement the outline of the rail head.

The guidance of this transverse movement is ensured on the one hand by the layout of the rack followed by the pinion driven by the transverse displacement motor, and on the other hand by pebbles circulating in a light strictly parallel to the aforementioned rack.

These guidance means, the route of which is determined by the layout of the groove and the shoulder of rack support, are coordinated with rollers copy which exactly follow the profile of the rail on which the intervention is performed on both sides of the point of grinding.

Elastic means compensate for differences in travel between the guide means and the copy rollers.

Although in its general design this machine be considered satisfactory, we observed in use that she could create, especially at holidays from the table rolling, punching effects that make work carried out with this machine is unacceptable.

The invention aims to remedy this disadvantage without changing the general design of the machine described in French patent n ° 93.01278.

The Applicant has discovered that the appearance of this punching phenomenon was due to the fact that the grinding wheel was guided along a transverse trajectory curve with variations in radii of curvature very progressive, while the copy rollers, which follow the profile of the rail head to be reproduced, followed by a trajectory with sudden variations in radius of curvature, especially on the connecting leave between the tread and the active faces of the mushroom rail.

At the place of these abrupt variations in radius of curvature, the wheel then tends to change its tilt and "draw" the rail without the springs disposed between the guide means and the copy rollers can absorb the parasitic forces at which the grinding wheel is subject.

To remedy this state of affairs, the invention plans to guide the transverse trajectory of the grinding wheel by means which ensure that at all points of this trajectory, the grinding wheel attacks the rail perpendicular to the tangent of its point of contact with the rail.

For this purpose, the guide means are constituted by three rollers arranged in a triangle cooperating with three guide grooves, two of which copy variations in radius of curvature of the rail head and are offset angularly with respect to each other and with respect to the vertical center line of the machine.

It is this guidance in three points arranged in triangle which ensures that the grinding wheel follows the track of the rail head without changing its inclination relative to its point of contact with the rail, which eliminates the draw effects observed with the machine described in patent 93.01278.

• La figure 1, est une vue schématique en élévation latérale d'un exemple de réalisation d'une machine à meuler, selon l'invention;
• La figure 2, est une vue de dessus de la machine de la figure 1;
• La figure 3, est une vue en coupe selon B-B de la figure 1;
• La figure 4, est une vue selon F de la figure 3;
• La figure 5, est une vue en coupe selon A-A de la figure 1;
• La figure 6 est une vue en coupe selon D-D de la figure 5;
• La figure 7, est une vue en coupe selon C-C de la figure 1;
• La figure 8, est une vue en coupe selon E-E de la figure 7;
• La figure 9 est un schéma de principe illustrant les diverses positions de la meule sur le développé de son parcours transversal sur le champignon du rail.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the description which follows of a preferred embodiment in relation to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic side elevational view of an embodiment of a grinding machine according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a top view of the machine of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along BB of Figure 1;
• Figure 4 is a view along F of Figure 3;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view along AA of Figure 1;
• Figure 6 is a sectional view along DD of Figure 5;
• Figure 7 is a sectional view along CC of Figure 1;
• Figure 8 is a sectional view along EE of Figure 7;
• Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating the various positions of the grinding wheel on the development of its transverse path on the rail head.

The machine shown in Figures 1 to 9 is a automatic machine which is intended for grinding welds and / or rail reloading areas railway. In these figures, the rail is designated by the general reference R and its fungus by the reference C.

The machine consists of two plates terminals 1, which are vertical and assembled one to the other by four rods 2, in Figures 1 and 2, or by two longitudinal member covers 2 in FIGS. 3, 5 and 7.

Each plate 1 has on its internal face a groove 3, called drive groove, in which is fixed a double chain 4 whose part which makes protrusion out of groove 3 cooperates with the pinion 14 which will be described later.

The profile of the groove 3 is curvilinear but is not not a portion of a circle in the geometric sense of the term: its layout is made so as to be substantially consistent to that of the section of the mushroom C of the rail R, but without have a sudden change in radius of curvature.

The bottom edge of each end plate 1 has a cutout allowing you to rest while marrying it tightly over the head of the rail C (Figure 3). These plates can also carry wedging devices adjustable, not shown, which allow adjustment symmetrically the position of the body formed by the plates 1 and the side members (or rods) 2 in the axis and according to tilt the rail and lock the machine in this position.

On its internal face, below the groove drive 3 and above the aforementioned cutout, each plate 1 has three guide grooves 18a, 18b, 18c, superimposed (Figure 9).

The upper guide groove has a profile parallel to the drive groove that is to say curvilinear, but not circular, without abrupt variation of radius of curvature and symmetrical about the plane vertical center of the machine (mark A in Figure 3).

The lower grooves 18 b and 18 c have a profile curvilinear generally following the groove 18 a, but this profile shows abrupt variations in radius of curvature which copy those of the mushroom C of the rail R. On see in Figures 3, 5, 7 and 9 that these grooves are angularly offset from axis A, towards the left for groove 18 b and right for groove 18C. The angular offset of these grooves is of a value which corresponds to the angular offset of the rollers 19b and 19c which will be described below.

For a Vignoles type rail with UIC 54 profile, such than the one shown in the figures in this example of realization, the value of this angular offset will be substantially the same on both sides of axis A, in practice 10.5 ° on the left and 12 ° on the right.

The diagram in Figure 9 shows the positions the grinding wheel along the rail head and rollers 19a, 19b and 19c in the grooves 18a, 18b and 18c, the middle position along the axis A being shown in solid lines and the other positions being shown in broken lines. The triangle arrangement of the rollers 19a, 19b and 19c is symbolized in T for the position median of the wheel but has not been reported for other positions for reasons of clarity.

Between the two vertical end plates 1 is disposed a mobile assembly consisting of two parts 5 which are connected to each other by two bars 6 and 7 which are placed one above the other in the plane vertical center A when the pieces 5 are in position median as shown in Figures 1 to 9.

Each of the parts 5 has in its part lower leg 10 provided at its lower end a roller 11 which rests on the mushroom C of the rail R.

Each part 5 has three guide rollers 19a, 19b and 19c arranged in a triangle on its opposite face grooves 18a, 18b and 18c of the previous plate 1 corresponding.

The top of this triangle (roller 19a) is located on the vertical axis of the grinding wheel when it coincides with the median vertical axis (A) of the machine (Figures 3, 5, 7 and 9). With respect to this axis the two lower rollers 19b, 19c, are each arranged at the groove with which it cooperates 18b, 18c, with an angular offset of 10 to 15 degrees.

Between the bars 6 and 7 is arranged a rod threaded 8.

The two bars 6 and 7 bear one of their ends a motor 12 (Figures 5 and 6) which drives the threaded rod 8 rotating on itself.

Above rods 6, 7 and R, plates 5 carry a shaft 9 which is rotated on itself by a motor 13 (FIG. 7) arranged on the other side of the assembly movable relative to the motor 12, this motor 13 being carried by the corresponding plate 5.

Between each part 5 and the corresponding plate 1, the shaft 9 carries a pinion 14 which meshes with the chain 4.

On the bars 6 and 7 slides a supporting frame 15 which is crossed by the threaded rod 8. When the rod 8 is rotated by the motor 12, the chassis 15 moves along bars 6 and 7.

This chassis 15 carries a grinding tool designated by the general reference 16. This grinding tool has a drive motor 16a, an L-shaped drive spindle 16b and a disc-shaped grinding wheel 16c. The grinding tool 16 is carried by the chassis 15 in such a way that it is located on the side of the plane defined by the four bars, rods or shafts 6, 7, 8 and 9 and the part bent at 90 °, 16b, from the spindle to a length such as the grinding wheel proper 16c lies in the plane defined by the bars 6 to 9, as shown in Figure 3.

Preferably, as shown in the Figure 3, the chassis 15 consists of two parts sliding doors connected to each other by a screw micrometric 17 which allows to adjust with great precision the height position of the grinding wheel 16c.

The operation of the device thus described is the next :

The machine is placed astride the area to be ground (welding or reloading) so that the rollers 11 are equidistant from either side of this area.

By operating the motor 12 the grinding tool 16 is brought to one end of the mobile assembly.

By actuating the motor 13, the tool is brought grinding in one of the two extreme positions shown dashed in Figure 3, for example the position located on the right in which the wheel 16c is at level of the outer upper rim of the mushroom C of the rail R.

The three motors 16a, 12 and 13 are then put into operation action.

Under the effect of the motor 13 driving the pinions 14, the mobile assembly constituted by the two parts 5, the bars 6 and 7 and the frame 15 carrying the grinding tool 16 moves from right to left while being guided by the rollers 19a, 19b, 19c, which circulate in the grooves 18a, 18b, 18c, and the pinions 14 which roll on chain 4. When the whole arrives at the end of the race at left a contactor (not shown) reverses the direction of rotation of the motor 13 (and therefore of the pinions 14) and the mobile assembly starts in the opposite direction until actuated another limit switch which reverses again the direction of rotation of the motor 13. It follows that the moving assembly is driven by a continuous movement of and comes during which the wheel 16c goes from one to the other of its two extreme positions described above and shown in Figure 3.

Under the effect of the motor 12, the threaded rod is put rotating on itself and it drives the chassis 15 (and therefore the grinding tool it carries) in translation from one end of bars 6 and 7 to the other. When the chassis 15 reaches the end of the race, it actuates a limit switch which stops all the motors.

The respective speeds of motors 12 and 13 are determined so that the wheel 16c goes back and forth complete while chassis 15 moves approximately 1 millimeter along bars 6 and 7.

Thanks to the fact that the grinding wheel is guided by the means described above which ensure that at all points its transverse trajectory it attacks the rail perpendicular to the point of tangency of its contact with the rail, we not only obtain the disappearance of the risk of picking but also, when the machine is sized to work on a specific rail, such as UIC 54 mentioned above, it is not necessary to provide in the parts 5, between the copy rollers 11 and the rollers of guide 19a, 19b and 19c, damping means intended to absorb variations in distance between rollers and the rail during variations in its curvature.

The springs 20 shown in Figures 3 to 8 are adaptation springs intended to allow a use of the machine on type rail profiles Most commonly used vineyards, namely profiles UIC 50, UIC 54 and UIC 60 without having to make plates 1 and special parts 5 for each of these profiles.

In addition, due to the fact that the tool is always oriented perpendicular to the tangent at its point of contact with the rail the shape of the tool itself is not more imposed, as in the machine described in the patent n ° 93.01278, it can be any. This allows by example of using cup wheels instead of wheels circular.

The present invention is not limited in its application only to grinders. It can be adapted to any automatic machine intended to carry out a mechanical intervention on a railroad including welding, cutting etc ...

Claims (3)

1. A machine-tool for the mechanical processing of a railway rail of the type comprising a framework placed on the rail on either side of the zone to be treated, provided with mobile equipment comprising rollers for copying the head of the rail, automatically controlling the transverse displacement of the tool by means of guide means along an overall semicircular trajectory, said guide means being formed by rollers (19a, 19b, 19c) borne by a part integral with the copying rollers and grooves (18a, 18b, 18c) of the framework, characterised in that said guide means (18a, 18b, 18c; 19a, 19b, 19c) are arranged such that at all points of its trajectory, the tool (16c) attacks the rail perpendicularly to the tangent of its point of contact with the rail (R), said guide rollers (19a, 19b, 19c) being three in number, arranged in a triangle, and co-operating with three grooves (18a, 18b, 18c), two (18b, 18c) of which recopy the variations of the radius of curvature of the head of the rail, being angularly offset relative to each other and relative to the median vertical axis of the machine.
2. A machine-tool according to Claim 1, characterised in that the apex of the triangle (roller 19a) is arranged on a vertical axis which coincides with the median vertical axis (A) of the machine when the point of contact of the tool with the rail coincides with said median axis, and the other two rollers (19b, 19c) are substantially equidistant relative to this vertical axis, and in that the upper roller (18b) co-operates with a guide groove (18a) having a curved profile without sudden variation in the radius of curvature, the lower rollers (19b, 19c) co-operating with said guide grooves (18b, 18c), the variations of radius of curvature of which copy those of the head (C) of the rail.
3. A machine-tool according to Claim 2, characterised in that it comprises between the copying rollers (11) and the guide rollers (19a, 19b, 19c) elastic means (20) permitting adaptation of the machine to a plurality of different rail profiles.

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