EP2812490A1

EP2812490A1 - Equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges and a procedure for installing this equipment

Info

Publication number: EP2812490A1
Application number: EP11813571.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Franco Dini; Hubert WEISSTEINER
Original assignee: Dini Piattaforme Sas di Dini Franco & C
Current assignee: Dini Piattaforme Sas di Dini Franco & C
Priority date: 2011-12-29
Filing date: 2011-12-29
Publication date: 2014-12-17
Also published as: WO2013098590A1

Abstract

Equipment (10) for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges and in particular truss bridges, comprising a rail or bi-modal vehicle (13) which can travel along the tracks (14) of a railway line, further comprising a first unit of equipment (15) comprising mechanisms (16, 16', 24) for launching a second unit of equipment (30) which acts as a storage magazine and which enables the mounting of guides (11) alongside the bridge, and a third unit of equipment (31) comprising the work equipment which can be transferred to the guides (11) mounted previously; said mechanisms (15, 16, 16', 24) for launching the second and third unit of equipment (30 and 31) substantially comprise double-extending cross beams (16, 16') where the mobile extension (16') of the cross beams (16) supports a first sliding carriage (24) running on a rack on said mobile extension (16') and designed to support a guide frame (18) on which a second carriage (19) travels carrying the second unit of equipment (30) or the third unit of equipment (31).

Description

"EQUIPMENT FOR THE INSPECTION OF THE METALLIC GIRDERS OF RAILWAY BRIDGES AND A PROCEDURE FOR INSTALLING THIS EQUIPMENT"

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TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges and in particular of truss bridges for railway lines and a procedure for installing this equipment on bridges.

The present invention relates to a system of three items of equipment the first of which is permanently mounted on a rail truck (or bi-modal motor vehicle) and is designed to receive the second item of equipment (and then the mobile scaffolding) and then push it independently and without the use of auxiliary lifting means towards the outside of the bridge (supporting it and allowing a limited amount of traversing movement) until the second item of equipment is attached independently to the bridge and can therefore be detached from the truck. At this point the first item of equipment can retract all its parts and the truck carrying it can be moved away and free the track thereby no longer interrupting the rail traffic travelling on the bridge.

All three items of equipment are complementary to each other and together enable fulfilment of the operations already described within a limited time period and in any case within the night time service pause in rail traffic on the bridge.

The operations to install the guides of the second item of equipment, the work and inspection activities (for which the mobile scaffolding is used) and the manoeuvre necessary to pass the mobile scaffolding over the bridge piers can all be performed in the presence of traffic on the bridge.

The present invention relates to the field of equipment designed for the inspection and work on metallic girder bridges and generally on truss bridges and in particular in the sector for bridges for railway lines .

BACKGROUND ART

The following types of equipment for the inspection and the works on the intrados and on the outer parts of metallic girder truss bridges particularly those on railway lines are well known:

A) Cradle equipment with an articulated arm mounted on a rail truck (or bi-modal motor vehicle) . This type occupies the rail track for all the time needed to complete works and therefore prevents regular rail traffic. The situation can be improved by performing works during service pauses (the time between one train and the next) and during the longer breaks in service at night time.

The disadvantages are:

1) Difficulty of night work;

2) Lower performance of night work;

3) Real work time interrupted and broken down into multiple periods;

4) Time and cost of removing the truck from the track and putting it back again for each available time period; this further reduces real work time and increases the cost of work activities.

B) Platform equipment sliding on guides located on both external sides of the girder bridge. For this solution the equipment has to be dismantled before it can be passed over the pier and then has to be reassembled ready for work. This solution requires external lifting equipment which in most cases cannot be used because the only space available is a river bed. In addition this type of equipment does not provide access to the outer parts of the bridge span.

C) Cradle equipment with an articulated arm mounted on a truck or self-propelled vehicle designed for working from below. This type of equipment presents numerous difficulties and high costs resulting from the fact that it works from below and that the conditions for this type of work are not favourable . Work has to be performed from river beds but this type of equipment cannot travel on river beds . There are problems with steep gradients . Sometimes the bridge is at a great height out of reach. D) The solution MOOG W09720988 involves the installation of a self-propelled platform whose use is limited to bridges with a segmental cast structure . It cannot therefore be used with metallic girder truss bridges. This solution has the further disadvantage that the installation of the equipment requires the complete stoppage of rail traffic on the line with all the negative consequences which will result from this.

E) Similar equipment to that described in point D) can be permanently mounted on a rail truck. However, this solution will keep the track occupied for the duration of works and also cannot be used on metallic girder truss bridges with an internal carriageway.

F) The patent application for the industrial invention N° TN2009A000009 made by the present applicant envisages the use of self-propelled equipment with a rotary platform which however is only suitable for use on metallic girder truss bridges with the pavement on the outside of the structure. In this case the equipment can pass the piers but external lifting means are required for assembly and disassembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide equipment which occupies the rail track for the shortest time possible, limiting the time to that required for the installation and dismantling of the scaffolding. This leaves the line free during the execution of works and also thus eliminates or at least reduces the shortcomings described above .

The invention also provides a system for performing inspections and works which comprises various items of equipment using scaffolding for the maintenance of bridges along railway lines and whose purpose it to limit the occupation of the track to the times necessary for the first launch stage which thanks to a special system will require less than an hour. This permits the passage of rail traffic during the time required to complete the launch, the inspections and the works.

This purpose is achieved by equipment for performing inspections and works on the bridges of railway lines or similar, whose characteristics are described in the main claim.

The dependent claims describe further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

The device according to the present invention substantially comprises a "first unit of equipment" comprising a bi -modal motor vehicle, that is, a vehicle designed to travel on both road and rail as required, or a special rail truck fitted with the base unit for transporting and rapidly launching the work equipment.

The "second unit of equipment" comprises a platform which is launched longitudinally alongside the bridge and which enables the guides to be fed forward alongside the bridge. This equipment travels forward running on guide elements applied previously.

The "third unit of equipment" comprises a work platform which is of the self-launching type and will automatically complete the launching operations up to the operational position.

The special feature of the work platform is that it can be customised to meet the needs of the operations to be performed. It can therefore be fitted with a lifting, rotary, horizontal platform for work on the intrados of the bridge or with a telescopic slewing arm, which can also slew downwards. The arm is fitted with a cradle for operations on the intrados and also work on the piers and abutments of the bridge .

The special feature of the system according to the present invention consists primarily of the possibility of transferring the "third unit of equipment" from the "first unit of equipment" (motor vehicle or rail truck) onto the guides mounted previously along one side of the bridge using the "second unit of equipment".

The advantage of the system according to the present invention is the speed with which the entire launching operation is performed. Launching is usually completed in a time window, that is, the period of time which elapses between one train and the next. Launching is therefore completed without causing any interruption to rail traffic .

The equipment system described in this patent application definitively resolves all the shortcomings of the known solutions as described above. The advantages of the system are as follows: 1) Track occupation time reduced to the minimum and limited to the time needed to approach the bridge and complete the first launching stage;

2) Possibility of using the equipment for mounting the guides and for completing the works on the bridge 24 hours a day without causing any interruptions to rail traffic;

3) Travel of the equipment (mobile scaffolding) over the piers rapidly and independently;

4) Access to the outside of both vertical sides of the girder bridge;

5) The system is not influenced by environmental conditions such as the presence of water in the river bed, steep river banks, impenetrable terrain and the great distance between the river bed and a high bridge;

6) No external lifting equipment required;

7) Work can be performed on bridges which are only accessible along railway tracks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of an embodiment which follows with reference to the annexed drawings, given purely by way of a non-limiting example, in which:

- Figure 1 is a drawing showing the equipment according to the present invention, in the first installation step where it is mounted on a bi-modal motor vehicle during positioning on the track close to the bridge;

- Figure 2 is a drawing showing the equipment in the first stage of transfer from the bi-modal truck to the guide located on the bridge;

Figure 3 shows a view of the equipment in the second stage of the transfer from the bi-modal truck to the guides located on the bridge;

Figures 4 to 6 are drawings showing respectively the traversing on the guides mounted on the bridge, the vertical positioning of the equipment installed on the guides and the withdrawal of the bi-modal vehicle which has unloaded the equipment;

Figures 7 to 10 are drawings showing the equipment in its closed configuration and still packed on the bi-modal truck, truck or equipped train;

Figures 11 to 14 respectively show the successive stages of the first sliding outwards of the equipment in the assembly stage, the second sliding outwards and the mounting of the equipment on the guides, the rotation of the tower and the lowering of the work platform;

Figures 15 to 17 are drawings showing the equipment mounted on the truck in the first, second and third stages of assembly;

Figures 18 and 19 are drawings showing the equipment mounted on the truck in the first and second stages of extraction;

Figure 20 is a side view showing the vehicle and the equipment mounted on the bi-modal vehicle during positioning on the track;

Figures 21 and 22 are drawings showing the launching equipment according to the present invention and also a detail view of the tower rotation rack;

Figures 23 and 24 are drawings showing the assembly equipment of the guides on the bridge . DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the annexed drawings, the equipment to be applied to a metallic girder bridge preferably but not necessarily of the truss type railway bridge, indicated in its entirety by the numeral 10, is an item of equipment which must be transferred and attached to the fixed horizontal guides 11 mounted on the girders 12 of the bridge and in particular on the outer side of the bridge.

According to the invention, a rail vehicle or a bi- modal motor vehicle 13 is used to enable the installation of, firstly, the guides 11 on the bridge girders and then the equipment 31 on the fixed guides 11 previously positioned on the bridge in the fastest manner possible. The bi-modal motor vehicle 13 moves along the tracks 14 and is fitted with the basic devices for transferring the equipment 31 from the vehicle 13, where it is carried in the closed position, to the guides 11 where it can be opened ready for use.

Once the equipment 31 is installed on the guides 11 it can be opened ready for use in bridge maintenance operations and the vehicle used to transport and transfer the equipment can drive away thus freeing the railway line .

On completion of bridge maintenance works, the vehicle 13 can return and load the equipment 31 in a short time by performing the assembly procedure in reverse order and then drive away to the storage sites with the disassembled equipment loaded in the closed position.

According to the present invention the units of equipment 30 and 31 are transferred from the vehicle 13 to the guides 11 using a mobile mechanism 15 shown in Figure 21 which is fitted to the vehicle and comprises a "first unit of equipment", which enables traversing of the two types of equipment 30 and 31 as follows:

a) a "second unit of equipment" 30 for mounting the guides on the bridge;

b) a "third unit of equipment" 31 fitted with a carriage 19 which enables it to run along the guides 11 previously mounted on the bridge.

As shown in figures 20, 21 and 22, the basic mechanism 15 for launching the units of equipment 30 and 31 substantially comprises double-extending cross beams 16 and 16' which in turn are fixed to the longitudinal members 17 forming part of the bi-modal motor vehicle 13.

The mobile extension 16' of the cross beams 16 supports a first sliding carriage 24 running on a rack on the guides 16' and has a horizontal guide 18 whose size and shape match the guide 11 installed on the bridge; the horizontal guide 18 supports a second carriage 19 of which there are two versions:

a) without a rack, for mounting the guides 11 on the bridge;

b) with a rack, for supporting the work equipment. The carriage 19 can be equipped with or without the rack 22. The version without the rack 30 is designed for mounting the guides 11 on the bridge girders 12, as shown in Figures 23 and 24. The version with the rack is the equipment 31 designed to launch the tower 20 and the platform 21 which pass from the guide 18 to the guide 11.

In the first case, that is, where the carriage 19 is not fitted with the rack 22, as shown in Figures 23 and 24 , the carriage supports a further frame or storage magazine 25 which contains a plurality of guides 11 to be installed alongside the bridge and where these guides are picked up and installed using a crane 26. The carriage 19 can traverse and advance progressively as the guides 11 are fixed to the bridge structure with the aid of the jib crane 26 which picks up the guides from the storage magazine 25.

Once the various guides elements 11 have been fixed in position one after the other alongside the bridge girders, the equipment returns to the start of the bridge to pick up, with the jib crane, other guide elements which may be stacked on the ground, on a rail truck or on the bi-modal vehicle which in the meantime has returned with another set of guides. At the end of this process the bi-modal vehicle can leave the bridge and free the track.

When mounting of the guides 11 has been completed, another unit of equipment 31, this time fitted with the rack 22 with the tower 20 and the platform 21, is launched on the guides 11 previously mounted alongside the bridge .

In this case the equipment 10 comprises a first tower component 20 which moves into the vertical position and is connected to a second work platform component 21 which moves into a horizontal position under the bridge.

The first tower component 20 is connected to the carriage 19 by the rack 22 which moves the tower 20 into the vertical position. Between the tower and the rack there is a frame with rollers which enables vertical travel (raising) of the tower.

Figures 13 and 14 show the second work platform component 21 which in turn is mounted on a another rack 23 present on the lower part of the tower 20 and where this rack 23 enables rotation of the work platform 21 from one to the other of the two positions of the equipment as shown in the figure; rotation is through 90° .

The work platform 21 can be fitted with a special vertical telescopic lift platform, not shown here, comprising a telescopic column which carries a cradle, so that the platform can enable access to both vertical sides of the girder bridge.

The system according to the present invention comprises various units of equipment designed for specific operations.

The motor vehicle 13, or alternatively the rail truck, is equipped with base devices for transporting and rapidly launching the equipment 10. To summarise, these devices comprise cross beams 16 and 16' which support the carriage 24 which in turn can perform two progressive traversing movements towards the outside carrying the equipment 30 or the equipment 31.

Once the first guide element 11 has been mounted on the bridge girders and when the carriage 19 has been transferred to the guides 11 and disconnected from the guide frame 18, the bi-modal vehicle 13 can leave the bridge and free the track.

The equipment 30 is launched lengthways to the bridge so as to enable the operations necessary to mount a series of guides 11 alongside the girder bridge in a forwards direction.

Once all the guide elements available in the storage unit have been mounted, the equipment returns to the start of the bridge to pick up, with the jib crane, other guide elements which are stacked on the ground, present on a railway truck or on the bi-modal vehicle which in the meantime has returned to the bridge.

1. The work equipment 31 is of the "self-launching" type, that is, alone it can complete the launching operations up to the operating position; this work equipment can be customised to meet the needs of the operation to be completed and can also be fitted with a horizontal platform 21, which lifts and rotates for operations on the intrados of the bridge, or can also be fitted with a telescopic slewing arm which can also traverse downwards and which carries a cradle for operations on the intrados, on the piers and on the abutments of the bridge.

As already stated previously, the primary characteristic of the system according to the present invention is the fact that the bi-modal motor vehicle 13, or the railway truck, travels temporarily along the line, enabling the transfer of the equipment 31 to the guides 11 which have been mounted previously along one side of the bridge.

The primary characteristic of this system is that it enables all the launching operations to be performed rapidly and usually to be completed during the time window between one train and another without causing any interruption to rail services.

This launching operation can be performed by a bi- modal motor vehicle or a rail truck 13 with the on-board units necessary for rapidly mounting the equipment 31 on the guides 11 without the need for a crane or a truck- mounted crane; this feature enables a major improvement in installation times.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the system offers considerable flexibility in use of the equipment which enables work and inspection of all parts of the bridge thanks to fitting of a special vertical telescopic lift platform with a cradle mounted on the end of the platform 21 which enables access to both vertical sides of the girder bridge.

From the operational point of view, the main stages of the system according to the invention are, firstly, mounting of the guides 11 on the bridge performed using the equipment 30 fitted with the storage magazine 25 and the jib crane 26 and then transfer of the equipment 31 onto the guides 11 installed previously.

To do this, the bi-modal vehicle 13 drives to the end of the bridge where there are two support points for the stabilisers.

The devices on the vehicle push the equipment 30 outwards and the carriage 19 travels to the end of the guide module 18.

When the first guide element 11 is fixed to the bridge structure and the carriage 19 has travelled forward, the first guide element 11 can be detached from the guide frame 18 so that the motor vehicle (or rail truck) can return to its starting point thus rapidly freeing the track and returning it to rail services in a very short time .

After this the remaining guides 11 are fed forwards and fitted until they reach the other end of the bridge.

The passage from this platform to the bridge and back again is possible and safe in all positions.

When mounting of the longitudinal guides 11 has been completed, the equipment 30 returns to the start of the bridge in order to load other guides or to wait to be picked up by the equipped motor vehicle (or rail truck) .

Launching and use of the work equipment 31 proceeds as follows. The work equipment 31 with the tower 20 and the work platform 21 suitably customised as described previously is loaded onto the motor vehicle (or rail truck) and transported to the start of the bridge which has already been fitted with guides.

The devices on the vehicle push the equipment 31 outwards on the double extending cross beams 16 until the guide module 18 is temporarily connected to the first guide 11 already fixed to the bridge.

When the carriage 19 has travelled forward, it is possible to disconnect the connections so that the motor vehicle can return to its starting point thus freeing the track and returning it to rail traffic.

At this point the equipment 31, which is still ^packed' to enable transport, can run forward using its own means beyond the bridge abutment, completing the launch and reaching the final operating position without outside assistance; this process takes a few minutes including operation of the lift.

It should be noted that passage backwards and forwards between the bridge and the platform is possible and safe in all positions.

The first element of the customised version fitted with the telescopic arm and the cradle can be fitted with a service gangway for passing from the cradle to the tower and then from the tower to the bridge .

For inspections and works on the sides where the guides are fixed, the work platform 21 must be rotated through 90° .

To pass over a pier, the platform (or telescopic arm) must be rotated through 90°, so that it is parallel to the bridge and the top part of the equipment must be raised to its maximum height. This will make it possible to pass over a pier even in those cases where the pier projects considerably from the bridge girder.

In cases where it is not possible to apply the guides because the side structure of the bridge is not higher than the track, the work equipment can be left on the first unit of equipment (or motor vehicle) and once suitably stabilised can be used for inspections and works on bridges with full core girders or for any other type of maintenance work necessary.

The equipment system according to the present invention definitively resolves all the shortcomings of the known solutions as described above . The advantages of the system are as follows:

a) Track occupation time reduced to the minimum and limited to the time needed to approach the bridge and complete the first launching stage;

b) Possibility of using the equipment for mounting the guides and for completing the works on the bridge 24 hours a day without causing any interruptions to rail traffic;

c) Travel of the equipment (mobile scaffolding) over the piers rapidly and independently;

d) Access to the outside of both vertical sides of the girder bridge;

e) The system is not influenced by environmental conditions such as the presence of water in the river bed, steep river banks, impenetrable terrain and the great distance between the river bed and a high bridge;

f) No external lifting equipment required;

g) Work can be performed on bridges which can only be reached along railway tracks.

The invention as described above refers to a preferred embodiment. Naturally, while the principle of the invention remains the same, the details of construction and the embodiments may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated purely by way of the example, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1) Equipment (10) for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges and in particular truss bridges, characterised in that it uses a rail or bi- modal vehicle (13) which can travel along the tracks

(14) of a railway line, comprising a first unit of equipment (15) comprising mechanisms (16, 16', 24) for launching a second unit of equipment (30) which acts as a "storage magazine" and which enables the mounting of guides (11) alongside the bridge, and a third unit of equipment (31) comprising the work equipment proper which can be transferred to the guides (11) mounted previously; the mechanisms (15, 16, 16', 24) for launching the units of equipment (30 and 31) substantially comprise double-extending cross beams (16, 16') where the mobile extension (16') of the cross beams (16) supports a first sliding carriage (24) running on a rack on the guides (16') and designed to support a guide frame (18) on which a second carriage (19) travels carrying the "storage magazine" equipment (30 ) or the work equipment (31) .

2) The equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges according to one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the carriage

(19) can be with or without a rack (22) where the version without a rack is the "storage magazine" equipment (30) designed for mounting the guides (11) on the bridge girders (12) and where the version with the rack is the work equipment (31) designed to launch the tower (20) and the platform (21) which passes from the guide (18) to the guide (11) .

3) The equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges according to the foregoing claim, characterised in that in the first case the carriage (19) supports a "storage magazine" frame (25) which comprises a plurality of guides (11) to be installed along the side of the bridge these guides being picked up and installed in their work position by means of a crane (26) , and also characterised in that the carriage (19) traverses and advances progressively as the guides (11) are fixed to the bridge structure with the aid of the jib crane (26) which picks up the guides from the "storage magazine" (25) .

4) The equipment for the inspection of the metallic girders of railway bridges according to the foregoing claim, comprising a railway or bi-modal vehicle (13) which can travel along the tracks (14) of a railway line, comprising a first unit of equipment (15) comprising mechanisms (16, 16', 24) for launching a second unit of equipment (30) which acts as a "storage magazine" and which enables the mounting of the guides (11) alongside the bridge, and a third unit of equipment (31) comprising the work equipment proper which can be transferred to the guides (11) , characterised in that the launching and use of the equipment (30, 31) is implemented by means of a procedure which envisages the following stages :

a. the equipment (30) comprising the "storage magazine" (25) and the crane (26) is transferred from the bi-modal vehicle (13) by the mechanism (15) to the initial outer sector of the bridge in order to enable the successive installation one after the other of the guides (11) along one of the sides of the bridge thereby providing the support structure for the successive mounting of the equipment (31) designed for bridge maintenance works; the storage magazine equipment (30) is picked up and moved off the vehicle (13) by a mechanism (15) and the vehicle (13) is then loaded on-board with the work equipment (31) complete with the tower (20) fitted to the rack (22) and with the work platform (21) , which is then transported to the start of the bridge which has already previously been fitted with the guides (11) ;

the mechanism (15) on-board the motor vehicle (13) pushes the work equipment (31) towards the outside of the bridge by moving the carriage (24) on the cross beams (16, 16') until the guide module (18) is temporarily connected to the first guide (11) already mounted on the bridge;

after the forward travel of the carriage (19) on the guides (11) has been completed, the equipment becomes independent and it is possible to disconnect the connections between the guide module (18) and the first guide (11) so that the motor vehicle can drive away thus freeing the railway line and allowing its return to service;

the equipment (31) which is still "packed" to enable transport now opens and can start to run forward using its own means along the guides (11) also beyond the bridge abutments and completing the launch and reaching the operating position without outside assistance; on completion of bridge maintenance works, the equipment (31) is loaded onto the vehicle (13) by following the assembly procedure in reverse order and the vehicle (13) can drive away from the zone thus leaving the railway line completely free for rail traffic.