EP2038480B1 - Self-cleaning assembly employing a gap filler for a guidance or runway rail on the ground - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a gap lining for a rail used for guiding or rolling a railway vehicle or urban public transport by means of at least one roller or a lattice wheel (s) .

The upper surface of the rail is generally flush with the ground or slightly above the level of the latter.

In a particular application, the invention relates to a guideway void lining embedded in the ground with running track edges for a guide assembly of a wheeled vehicle by a single or a pair of inclined rollers.

Conventionally, for guiding or rolling by or with a peg (s) with a shank (s), there must be a free space between the lug, the adjacent edge of the rail slot and the fixing of the rail . This space is called "gap". This or these gaps form (s) one or two grooves (s) on both sides along the rail (see WO 2005/085038 A1 ).

Due to its exposure to the weather and the surrounding environment, it is common for the gap to be locally obstructed by an accumulation of plant debris, ice, snow, pebbles or other foreign objects or objects that may be an obstacle to the environment. or the lug (s) during the passage of the guide roller or wheels. Such obstruction can lead to major problems, such as damage to the wheels or wheels and more serious, to their derailment.

To avoid these problems, a regular cleaning of the gap along the network of guide rail or rolling rail is required. However, this cleaning is long and expensive and can not be done during the operation of the transport network including that using the rail. In addition, even regular cleaning does not ensure total cleanliness of the deficiencies that are permanently exposed to bad weather, jets of detritus and subject to attempts of malicious degradation.

The front protection element known as "stone hunting" allows to remove from the rail and more generally from the guide way or rolling hard obstacles and a certain size. However, this protection is completely ineffective against debris and small objects that may be in one or other channel along the rail and presenting a potential danger for the guiding function and for the wheels or wheels of the vehicle.

We thus feel the need for a gap that allows the crossing of these objects safely.

The present invention aims to provide a filling of the gap along a guide rail or taxiing flush with the ground.

This gap is according to the invention provided with a specific material that guarantees the free passage of the chins of the wheels or rollers and gives it a self-cleaning character that is achieved during the passage of these wheels or pebbles (s).

The urban integration of the ground guide device by flush rail has its own advantages and allows thanks to the invention to ensure the safety of guidance and rolling even in places most exposed to debris of any kind and weathering.

The gap packing material has compressibility and elasticity properties enabling it to to ensure the evacuation of objects during or after the passage of the wheel or wheels or their deletion or depression in the material during this passage.

All the ways of obtaining the nature and the basic properties for the material of this packing, namely its compressibility and elasticity, are the subject of the invention.

The technical form of the gap packing is such that it does not interfere with the dynamic grip of the rollers. The material of the lining is chosen so that it never interferes with this right-of-way, whatever the environmental conditions, in particular the climatic conditions and the conditions of use of the vehicle within the limits prescribed by the manufacturer. In particular the lining does not swell and does not expand or very little, whatever the environmental conditions or use, especially under the effect of thermal variations or precipitation.

Advantageously, in appropriate cases, this material can be provided to electrically isolate the rail from the ground.

According to some preferred embodiments of the invention, the packing material may have one or more of the following properties: It may be electrically insulating, low thermal expansion, impermeable, and / or it may not retain water at all. inside.

When the rail not only provides a guiding function but also supports the vehicle while driving, it is conceivable that the gap filling does not ensure the maintenance of the rail, it is obtained in another way .

On the other hand, when the rail ensures only the vehicle guidance function, it can easily be envisaged to fix the rail by means of the lining material during the filling of the gap. We can for example load the bottom of the engravure intended to accommodate the rail with the lining material, put the rail on the bed thus formed while precisely positioning the rail in the engravure, then load with packing material the gap (s) bordering longitudinally the rail, as well as any other unnecessary free volume of the engravure.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe transversale illustrant l'application de l'invention à un rail de roulage ferroviaire ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe transversale illustrant un rail de roulage ferroviaire à gorge;
• la figure 3 est une vue de dessus en perspective d'un dispositif de guidage au sol par rail affleurant comportant un garnissage de lacune;
• la figure 4 est une vue de dessus en perspective d'un dispositif de guidage au sol par rail affleurant comportant un garnissage de lacune;
• la figure 5 est une vue de dessus en perspective d'un garnissage de lacune dont la lacune est obstruée par un objet solide ;
• les figures 6 à 8 sont des vues en coupe illustrant la fonction de libération du passage apportée par un garnissage de lacune dans le cas d'un objet solide obstruant la lacune tel que celui de la figure 3 ;
• les figures 9 à 11 sont des vues en perspective illustrant la fonction de libération du passage apportée par le garnissage de lacune selon l'invention dans le cas d'une lacune obstruée par de la neige ou de la glace ; et
• la figure 12 est une vue en coupe transversale montrant une application en guidage pour un galet vertical.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the application of the invention to a railway rail;
• the figure 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a railroad rail with a groove;
• the figure 3 is a perspective top view of a flush rail ground guide device including a gap packing;
• the figure 4 is a perspective top view of a flush rail ground guide device including a gap packing;
• the figure 5 is a perspective top view of a gap packing whose gap is obstructed by a solid object;
• the Figures 6 to 8 are sectional views illustrating the function of releasing the passage provided by a gap filling in the case of a solid object obstructing the gap such as that of the figure 3 ;
• the Figures 9 to 11 are perspective views illustrating the function of releasing the passage provided by the void lining according to the invention in the case of a gap obstructed by snow or ice; and
• the figure 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a guide application for a vertical roller.

The gap packing for guide or rolling rail according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 12 . The equivalent elements represented in the different figures will bear the same numerical references.

The gap packing is applied to guide rails by pegs with lug (s) arranged vertically or inclined but also to those of rail rolling that is to say the rail wheels with a rim rolling on a rail in a vertical or inclined position alone or in pairs.

The Figures 1 and 2 are intended to illustrate the general character of the application of the present invention by representing the case of a rail rail rail classic profile and profile with groove.

As indicated, the invention relates as well to a rail 1 on the ground used for railway running as a ground guide rail 2.

The rails 1 and 2 targeted by the invention are those of the type comprising in particular a base or support plate 3 maintained at a level below that of the ground surface of the type mounted or housed in an engravure 4 formed in a solid base 5.

These rails conventionally have a longer or shorter core 6 and a mushroom 7 of a technical shape adapted to a top running table 8. as well as a sole such as the sole plate 3 more or less wide and if necessary a groove 9 ( figure 2 ).

Preferably, the rails used in the invention are those of the type coming from their upper part approximately flush with the surface of the ground.

In the general case, the base 3 of the rolling rail 1 represented by way of example on the figure 1 is surrounded by a filling material 10 forming a filling 11 defining in the upper part at least one gap 12 which is covered or filled with a lining 13 of a compressible packing material 14 for erasing the objects by compression of the material and / or reject them by elasticity and / or keep them depressed or encrusted during the passage of the roller (s) or wheel chocks 15 to a level low enough not to impede the guidance or damage the pebbles or wheels, and in particular to avoid any risk of derailment.

This also applies to a rail 2 for rolling or guiding groove 9 ( figure 2 ). In this case it is the groove 9 of the rail which acts as a gap 12. According to the invention, provision is made in this case to fill the bottom of the groove of the rail with a suitable material such as the material 14 while providing there is sufficient space for this material to never interfere with the dynamic grip of the wheel (s) or wheel (s), regardless of the environmental conditions or the use of the vehicle within the limits prescribed by the vehicle manufacturer.

Wheels such as 16 of the same track of a railway vehicle roll on this rail. These are conventional railway wheels with a rolling ring 17 and a latch 18 flowing on the upper table. running 8.

As will be seen below, there is a real effect of sagging debris and annoying objects present on the upper surface of the lining or filling with evacuation during and after the passage of the rail wheel.

The gap filling material 12 which, in particular in the case of rollers or lug wheels 15 providing only a guiding function, may also be the filling material 10. less compressibility properties conferring ability to compress under the pressure of the object forced against it by the passage of the lug 15 and thus avoid the lifting of the guide roller or the rail wheel that could lead to the derailment. Since this material 14 must not in any way interfere with the grip of the rollers or latch wheels under all the environment and use conditions prescribed by the manufacturer, it is desirable for this material to have a low thermal expansion, which it is resistant to attack from the outside environment, and that it does not retain the water from, for example, precipitation in order to avoid, in the event of freezing, any swelling of the packing material 14 likely to generate interference with the dynamic influence of the cams.

This material is at least compressible and can also have elastic and electrical and / or acoustic insulation properties. It may be for example a polymeric material, having a high physical resistance against tearing and tearing, and a durable resistance to temperatures, light rays, especially ultraviolet rays, and attacks of the external environment in general .

Examples of suitable materials are: cellular plastics, in particular closed-cell foams, for example a polyurethane foam, polymers, elastomers, plastomers, polymer resins, composite materials, materials having mineral or organic fillers.

Preferably, the gap filling material 12 is made of a closed-cell foam or a polymer resin. It can also be made of composite material or derivatives or equivalents of rubber or rubber.

We will now describe as a particular nonlimiting example, a set, as represented in perspective on the Figures 3 and 4 which holds a guide rail 2 in position by filling the channel or engravure 4 formed in the solid base 5.

The guide rail 2 may have many different profiles without departing from the scope of the invention.

The figures 4 and 5 show two examples of profiles, one of which has a support sole 3 of identical shape to that of the figure 1 and the other profile 19 of generally I. The two rails shown comprise two raceways 20 and 21 symmetrical and inclined separated by a central upper table 22 on which rolled guide rollers 23 and 24 with respectively 25 and 26.

Of course, in this application, the invention is not limited to a single type of guide rail but more specifically relates to the partial or complete filling of the engravure 4 by a single material of suitable properties or by two materials one filling and the other of packing, the latter having the main property of compressibility sought.

The invention is also not limited to a particular guide assembly with two inclined rollers, but on the contrary aims all types of guide rail mounted flush ground.

The lining 13 of gap 12 with its lining material 14 allows, if necessary, but not necessarily, to ensure the maintenance of the guide rail 2 in the roadway. In this case, which is that of the lightly loaded rails, ie the rails providing only a guiding function, the lining envelops the lower and middle part of the rail and occupies the groove 4 provided in the solid base 5 so that in a preferred embodiment, only flush with the upper portion of the guide rail 2, and in particular the inclined lateral edges 27 and 28 on which the guide rollers 23 and 24 roll for their rolling track.

In its upper part, the volume of mass of material occupying the engravure 4 has a V-shaped tip directed downwards opening in the middle on the protruding portion of the guide rail 2 defining along the rail two ramps inclined downwards 29 and 30 laterally terminated each near the core of the rail each time by a groove 31 and 32 serving as a gutter for the collection and disposal of liquids and small debris. The V-shape of the upper part of the packing 13 of the gap 12 makes it possible to avoid any interference with the dynamic grip of the guide rollers 23 and 24.

Advantageously, in case of degradation of the lining 13 of the gap according to the invention, it is possible to make local repairs by casting a material which polymerizes at room temperature. Thus, it is possible to repair a <according to the invention> lining 13 deteriorated gap without it being necessary to change it.

Advantageously, this packing 13 can be manufactured industrially by molding, extrusion, coextrusion or, according to the invention, be cast on site or by any other appropriate industrial process.

It can then be bent to fit the desired pattern for the rail network and forcibly housed in the engravure 4 of the solid base 5 itself occupying the trench in the pavement.

The gap lining 13 according to the present invention also applies to the guide rollers 33 with two lugs 34 and 35 as illustrated by FIG. figure 12 . In this case the rail has a gap 12 on each side and each of them will be loaded with packing material 14 as described above.

The function of releasing the space required for the passage of the latch 15 as well as the behavior of the objects related to the properties and the shape of the lining 13 of the gap 12 according to the invention will now be described.

1) Cases of solid objects or debris present in the gap

The Figures 5 to 8 illustrate the release function and the self-cleaning effect of the gap packing 13 according to the invention in the case of a solid object 36 or various solid debris that can obstruct the gap 12 as shown in perspective on the figure 5 .

This figure is a section at a solid object 36 materialized in the form of a calibrated test cylinder, just before one of the guide rollers comes into contact with it.

When passing guide rollers 23 and 24, the solid object 36 is forced against the packing material 14 gap 12 which due to its compressibility collapses under the pressure of the roller transmitted by the object as shown.

Thus, the object or the debris (s) is erased (s) by compressing more or less, temporarily or permanently, the flexible material 14 of the lining 13 of gap 12 and this sufficiently not to oppose the passage of the roller or at least not to raise it to the point of derailing it. Thus, the latter is neither damaged nor deviated from its normal course.

In addition, as shown on the figure 8 after passage of one of the guide rollers, for example 23, the solid object 36 is often expelled or ejected automatically from the gap 12 by the elastic effect due to the additional characteristics of flexibility and elasticity of the material in which the filling 13 of gap 12 is achieved.

2) Case of ice or the like present in the gap

The Figures 9 to 11 illustrate the self-cleaning and liberating effect and behavior of the void lining according to the invention in the case of a gap obstructed by snow or ice.

A water retention in the gap can, in case of negative temperature, freeze and fill the gap 12 as shown on the figure 9 .

However, it should be noted that this ice can be formed only in case of interruption, for example at night, the operation of the transport network using the rail. Indeed, the repeated passage of vehicles guided by the rail has the effect of cleaning up the gaps.

During the passage of the inclined guide rollers 23 and 24, the chins 25 and 26 of the latter go forward, exert a vertical effort directed downwards. Under this effort, the ice disappears by sinking into the flexible material 14 of the lining 13 of gap 12, or it sinks and breaks due to the bending and shear stresses that appear in the bar or the block 37 of ice.

The ice block 37 is often fragile in relation to these stresses, it breaks locally. This effect is reproduced as the rollers advance, at least that of the two inclined rollers located above the ice piles it continuously ( figure 11 ) and can or can thus through the penetration into the material pass without losing contact with the raceway or at worst without derailing. The rollers are neither deteriorated nor deviated from their normal trajectory.

The ice breaks 38 are then removed by the passage of the guide rollers according to the same self-cleaning process as previously.

In general, the object or the material is temporarily pressed on or depressed in the flexible material 14 of the lining 13 of the gap 12 and does not hinder the displacement of the guide roller. Thus, the latter is neither damaged nor deviated from its normal course.

In addition, after passage of the rollers, the debris (s) or solid object (s) of small size in contact with the shank (s) is or are generally expelled (s) or ejected (s) out of the the gap 12 by the elastic force from the flexibility of the material 14 of the lining 13 of the gap 12, which characterizes the self-cleaning nature of the filling 12 gap 12 for guide rail according to the invention.

It can also be assumed that the object 36 disappears in the thickness of the material 14 of the packing 13 during the passage of the lug 15 which exerts a pressure on it by compressing the filling material of the gap. Then, either this object resumes its previous position after the passage of the rollers, or is sufficiently embedded in the flexible material to not interfere with the rollers during their passage and the next roller passages (s). In all cases, the passage of pebbles is made possible.

The material 14 of the lining 13 of gap 12 can wrap and in addition to maintain any kind and shape of rails and may be suitable for all types of guidance and rolling roller (s) with a cup (s).

It should also be noted that the lining material 14 is generally a material added to at least partially fill each gap 12.

Claims (13)

1. Self-cleaning assembly comprising:

   • A ground-laid guide rail (2) or rolling rail (1) by means of a roller (or rollers) or a wheel (or wheels) with flange(s) (15) for terrestrial vehicles; and

   • A filling material (10) forming a filling (11),

   the rail is installed in a groove (4) formed in a solid base (5), and mounted and held in the groove (4) so as to be flush with the ground or slightly protruding above the ground level, with this self-cleaning assembly having at least one gap (12) on the rail side corresponding to the passage of the flange(s) and the ground-laid guide rail (2) or running rail (1) is secured in the groove (4) by means of the filling material (10), and being characterized in that:

   • above the filling material (10), a compressible and elastic lining material (14) is arranged; and in that

   • the compressible and elastic lining material (14) is poured in situ into the gap(s) (12) outside the dynamic engagement area of the flange(s) and lines at least partially the gap(s) by filling it(them) at least partially; and in that

   • the compressible and elastic lining material (14) remains under all normal use conditions or environment conditions, outside the dynamic engagement area of the flange(s) (15) of the roller(s) or wheel(s), moving along the rail.
2. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail rests on the filling material (10) or is gripped by it.
3. Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the filling material (10) is of the same material as the compressible and elastic lining material (14),
4. Assembly according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) is designed to allow retraction of an obstacle (36, 37) by sinking into or with the lining material (14) when it is on the route of the flange(s).
5. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) is a material having one or several of the following properties: electrically insulating material, material with low thermal expansion, waterproof material, material not retaining water inside.
6. Assembly according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) is a material of the polymer, elastomer, plastomer, cellular plastic, sealed cell foam, polymer resin or composite type.
7. Assembly according to the previous claim, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) is a polyurethane foam.
8. Assembly according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) contains mineral or organic fillers.
9. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the compressible and elastic lining material (14) forms a lining (13) which opens in a V-shape in the upper part and grips the rail at least in the middle part, delimiting on either side of the rail, each time, a surface (29, 30) sloping downward toward it, followed by a longitudinal groove (31, 32).
10. Assembly according to the previous claim, characterized in that the upper surface of the lining (13) is substantially horizontal.
11. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide roller(s) is (are) part of a guide assembly with one or two inclined rollers (23, 24).
12. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail is a grooved rail (9) and in that the lining material (14) occupies the groove (9).
13. Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the rail is a rolling rail (1) or a guide rail (2) adapted to accommodate a roller or a wheel with two flanges (34, 35).

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