Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a switch or crossing component in the form of a frog or a tongue rail device, comprising a base component in the form of a frog — block or tongue rail adapter, an exchangeable component in the form of a frog in- sert or a tongue rail, at least one releasable connection, such as screwing or clamp- ing, by means of which the exchangeable component can be connected to the base component, in particular in a force-fitting and/or form-fitting manner.
[0002] The invention also relates to a method for monitoring a detachable connec- tion of a switch or crossing component in the form of a frog or a tongue rail device, wherein by means of the detachable connection an exchangeable component in the form of a frog insert or a tongue rail is fastened to a base component in the form of a frog block or a tongue rail adapter, and wherein by means of a sensor a signal for — checking the guality, in particular the force transmission or the form fit, of the de- tachable connection is detected, which is generated when a rail vehicle passes over the switch or crossing component and is representative of the guality of the detach- able connection,
[0003] FR 2 745 543 Ai discloses a remote monitoring system for a railway net- work for monitoring operating parameters of at least one switch installation of the railway network.
[0004] In this case, it is provided that each switch installation comprises a set of — sensors, which are each adapted to measure a property value representative of a property. The sensors are each connected to a data acquisition unit in which an al- gorithm for managing the acguired measurement data is stored.
[0005] Furthermore, means are provided for comparing the measurement data with at least one threshold value which is representative of the limit value for a cor- responding operating parameter.
[0006] The known arrangement comprises, for example, a replaceable component in the form of a check rail which is connected via a releasable connection to a base component in the form of a track. A sensor is provided for monitoring a clamping of the check rail on the track applied by the releasable connection. This sensor is ar- ranged in the check rail, which has the conseguence that, when the check rail is changed, the sensor must also be replaced or disassembled. This is associated with increased effort.
[0007] In this method, it is also provided that the quality of the clamping of the check rail is monitored using measurement signals which are supplied by an acceler- ation sensor which detects the impacts generated by a wheel on the check rail.
[0008] DE 200 16 674 U1 relates to an arrangement for measuring the approach of a switch point tip. The arrangement is characterized by a structure-borne sound sensor which is inserted into the switch point or into a component connected to the switch point. If the switch is approached at an angle and, due to misalignment or wear on one of the check rail, the flange of a wheel strikes the point, a hard impact occurs, whereby the resulting structure-borne sound pulse is transmitted through the base plate of the frog to the check rail bolted to it and thus registered by the structure-borne sound sensor. The sensor is located on the side of a check rail and would be inaccessible on tram tracks, which are typically covered.
[0009] DE 10 2004 014 282 B4 relates to a method for diagnosing and monitoring the state in the overflow region of a points and/or of an intersection and/or of inter- section points of a rail traffic route. When a train travels in a specific direction of travel over the points and/or the crossing and/or the crossing point, a measurement — of accelerations of the frog or of the crossing point at least at one location of the frog or crossing point in at least one spatial direction is carried out at the rigid frog or at the crossing point, which accelerations are generated by the passage of the train over the frog or the crossing point. A releasable connection is not monitored.
[0010] A switch component or crossing component can be found in EP 2 103 738 B1 which forms the species.
[0011] On the basis of this, the object of the present invention is to further de- velop a switch or crossing component, a method or an arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that the monitoring of a releasable con- nection such as fastening or clamping of exchangeable components by means of a sensor system is simplified and improved. A screw connection/clamping that is re- leased is to be reliably signaled/detected. In particular, the replacement of a defec- tive exchangeable component should be possible without great effort.
[0012] According to the invention, the object is achieved by a points or crossing component of the type mentioned at the beginning in that the points or crossing component has at least one sensor for monitoring the guality of the releasable con- nection, which sensor is arranged in the base component and is firmly connected to the latter, wherein a signal is generated in the sensor when a rail vehicle is driven over the points or crossing component, which signal is representative of the guality of the releasable connection.
[0013] A switch or crossing component according to the invention comprises a base component in the form of a frog block or a tongue rail adapter, an exchangea- ble component in the form of a frog insert or a tongue rail, at least one releasable connection, such as screwing or clamping, by means of which the exchangeable component can be connected, in particular in a force-transmitting and/or form-fit- ting manner, to the base component, in particular in a force-fitting and/or form-fit- ting manner, and at least one sensor for monitoring the guality, in particular the force-transmitting and/or the form-fitting, of the releasable connection, wherein a signal representative of the guality of the releasable connection is generated in the sensor when a rail vehicle passes over the switch or crossing component, in particu- lar the exchangeable component.
[0014] In order to enable a replacement of a defective sensor or a component to be replaced in a simple manner, i.e. without destroying a track cover or without dis- mantling the intact sensor from the component to be replaced, it is provided that — the sensor is arranged in the base component and is firmly connected to the latter.
[0015] When replacing an exchangeable component, both the sensor and the feed line remain unaffected by a replacement of the component, since the sensor is not in contact with the exchangeable component.
[0016] According to an advantageous development, it is provided that the sensor is preferably designed as an acceleration sensor or structure-borne sound sensor.
[0017] The sensor is preferably arranged in the base component for transmitting accelerations and mechanical oscillations in such a way that, when a rail vehicle passes over, in particular via an insufficiently fastened replaceable component, it detects at least one impact exerted by the insufficiently fastened exchangeable component on the at least one releasable connection and/or the base component as acceleration and/or mechanical oscillation.
[0018] The switch or crossing component is a frog, the base component is a frog block and the exchangeable component is a frog insert which is connected to the frog block by means of the releasable connection, preferably in the form of a screw- on clamping connection.
[0019] Particularly preferably, the frog insert is arranged in a cutout of the frog block which is accessible in a non-destructive manner in the covered state of the frog, wherein the sensor is arranged in the cutout, preferably in the vertical direc- — tion below the exchangeable frog insert, and is preferably covered by the latter without contact with the sensor.
[0020] The sensor is arranged in a channel formed in a bottom of the recess, wherein the channel forms at least a portion of a water outlet and opens into an — outlet.
[0021] Furthermore, the sensor has a feed line which is led out of the frog block, preferably into a cable shaft connected to the frog, through the outlet formed in a base of the recess and preferably formed as a vertical bore, and/or through a chan- nel formed transversely to the direction of travel in the frog block. The sensor with the feed line is embodied in a watertight manner.
[0022] A further preferred embodiment is characterized in that the base compo- nent is a tongue adapter and the exchangeable component is a tongue rail which is connected to the tongue rail adapter by means of the releasable connection in the form of a screwable clamping connection.
[0023] The releasable connection preferably has at least one clamping wedge, 5 wherein the clamping wedge is traversed by a clamping screw which can be screwed into a thread formed in the base component, preferably a blind hole thread.
[0024] Preferably, a clamping disk and a first sealing ring are arranged between a head of the clamping screw and an upper side of the clamping wedge. Furthermore, a second sealing ring can preferably be arranged between an underside of the clamping wedge and the base component.
[0025] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for monitoring a detachable connection of a switch or crossing component in the form of a frog or a tongue rail device, wherein by means of the detachable connection an exchangeable compo- nent in the form of a frog insert or a tongue rail is fastened on a base component in the form of a frog block or a tongue rail adapter, and wherein by means of a sensor a signal for checking the guality, in particular the force transmission and/or the pos- itive connection, of the detachable connection is detected, which is generated when a rail vehicle passes over the switch or crossing component, in particular the ex- changeable component, and is representative of the guality of the detachable con- nection.
[0026] According to the invention, it is provided that the signal is generated during the passing of the rail vehicle over the replaceable component by at least one im- pact exerted by the exchangeable component on the releasable connection and/or on the base component and is detected by the sensor arranged in the base compo- nent.
[0027] In a preferred method, the signals are evaluated which are generated when the rail vehicle passes by a relative movement or a displacement of the exchangea- ble component and/or by an exchangeable component displaced from the optimum position with respect to the detachable connection and/or the base component.
[0028] Tests have shown that characteristic accelerations and/or a characteristic structure-borne sound are caused by a relative movement or displacement between the components on account of an insufficiently clamped connection. Therefore, an acceleration sensor or a structure-borne sound sensor is preferably used as the sen- sor, wherein the sensor detects at least one characteristic acceleration or a charac- teristic structure-borne sound exerted by an insufficiently fastened exchangeable component on the at least one releasable connection and/or basic component when the rail vehicle passes over the exchangeable component.
[0029] A further development provides that the signal generated by the passage of the rail vehicle is compared as an actual value signal with a reference signal or a limit value in order to recognize a signal having the characteristic acceleration or the characteristic structure-borne noise. If the actual value signal deviates from the ref- erence signal or the limit value, a message is generated about an inadequate quality of the force transmission and/or of the form fit of the releasable connection.
[0030] In order to exclude interference signals which are generated, for example, by a flat point on a wheel of a rail vehicle, it is provided that at least two measure- ments are carried out when the rail vehicle passes or when two successive rail vehi- cles pass, and that the message is triggered only when at least two events per pass or successive passes are detected, wherein the event is the detection of a charac- teristic signal.
[0031] Furthermore, the invention relates to an arrangement having a points com- ponent or intersection component of the type described above, wherein the ar- rangement has an evaluation unit which is connected to the at least one sensor.
[0032] According to one aspect of the invention, it is provided that the sensor is exclusively connected to the base component and is designed in such a way that it detects the signal generated by at least one impact exerted on the base component by the detachable connection and/or the replaceable component.
[0033] The at least one sensor is connected to the evaluation unit via a feed line. The evaluation unit preferably has a computing unit with a comparator for compar- ing the detected sensor signal with a reference signal or a limit value.
[0034] A core of the invention can also be considered to be a releasable connec- tion, such as clamping or screwing, for an exchangeable component in the form of an interchangeable frog or a tongue rail of a tramway turnout, comprising a base el- ement in the form of a frog block or a tongue rail adapter, wherein the releasable clamping comprises at least one clamping wedge which is connected to a clamping screw in the base element in the form of a frog block or a tongue rail adapter, has a sensor, preferably an acceleration sensor, which is designed to absorb an accelera- tion exerted on the clamping or screwing when a rail vehicle passes over from an in- sufficiently clamped exchangeable component, such as interchangeable frog or tongue rail.
[0035] Further details, advantages and features of the invention are evident not only from the claims, the features to be taken from them-alone and/or in combina- tion-but also from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments to be taken from the drawings and their explanations.
[0036] The following are shown:
Fig. 1 a top view of a frog with releasable connection for an exchangeable frog insert,
Fig. 2 a sectional view of the frog according to Fig. 1 along a section line AC- AC,
Fig. 3 a top view of the frog without frog insert,
Fig. 4 a perspective view of the frog according to Fig. 1,
Fig. 5 an arrangement for checking a releasable connection of a frog,
Fig. 6 a perspective view of a tongue rail adapter,
Fig. 7 a side view of the tongue rail adapter according to Fig. 6,
Fig.8 a front view of the tongue rail adapter according to Fig. 6,
Fig. 9 a top view of the tongue rail adapter according to Fig. 6.
[0037] Fig. 1 shows a top view of a first embodiment of a switch or crossing com- ponent in the form of a frog 10, in particular a grooved rail frog, comprising a base component in the form of a frog block 12 with intersecting grooves 14, 16. In a frog center point 18 there is arranged a replaceable component in the form of a frog in- sert 20 which cooperates interchangeably with the frog block 12 in a recessed screwed manner.
[0038] Fig. 2a shows a sectional representation of the frog 10 along a section line AC-AC according to Fig. 1 The frog insert 20, hereinafter also referred to as an in- terchangeable frog, is inserted in a recess 22 formed in an upper side 24 of the frog block 12. It is provided here that an upper side 26 of the replacement frog 20 and the upper side 24 of the frog block 12 lie in one plane. The replacement frog 20 is fastened on the frog block 12 via at least one releasable connection, preferably in the form of clamping or clamping devices 28, 30, 32, 34. The clamping or clamping devices 28, 30, 32, 34 each comprise clamping wedges 34, 36, 38, 40 which are fixed by clamping screws 42, 44, 46, 48 in corresponding blind hole receptacles or — blind hole threads 50, 52, 54, 56 in the frog block 12.
[0039] An overflow region in the frog 12 is exposed to particularly high loads due to the design. In order to make the service life of the complete frog 12 independent of that of the overflow region, the overflow region in the form of the replaceable frog 20 is designed to be replaceable. The replaceable frog 20 also enables the ex- changeability of the overflow region of the frog 10 without damage to a cover con- nection. Costs can thereby be minimized and largely trouble-free rail traffic can be ensured. Also, lying times can be extended and maintenance times can be short- ened.
[0040] Due to an alternating load acting on the releasable connection when the frog insert is passed over, the clamping can be released. Therefore, the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34 must be regularly controlled.
[0041] According to the invention, it is provided that the detachable connection 28, 30, 32, 34 for fixing the exchangeable frog 20 to the frog block 12 is monitored by means of a sensor system 58. The sensor system 58 detects a signal which is gen- erated when a rail vehicle is driven over the exchangeable component in the form of the exchangeable frog 20 and is representative of the quality of the force transmis- sion of the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34. If the quality of the force transmis- sion falls below a limit value, a loosening connection or a loosening of the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34 is signaled and displayed to an operator of the track in- stallation.
[0042] Fig. 2b shows, by way of example, a section through the clamping device 34 with the clamping wedge 40, wherein the clamping wedge 40 is penetrated by the clamping screw 48, which is screwed into the threaded bore 56, such as a blind- end threaded bore, formed in the base component 12. Between a head 48.1 of the clamping screw 48 and an upper side 40.1 of the clamping wedge 40, a clamping disk 41 and a first sealing ring 43 are arranged. The clamping disk prevents an un- desired loosening of the clamping screw during operation by an elastic prestress. Furthermore, a second sealing ring 45 is preferably arranged between an underside
40.2 of the clamping wedge and the base component. The sealing is to ensure that — the screw connection, i.e. clamping screw in blind bore, is protected from corrosion, so that the base component can be reused as often as possible when replacing the exchangeable component.
[0043] Fig. 3 shows a top view of the frog 10 according to Fig. 1, wherein the re- placement frog 20 is not inserted. According to the invention, the sensor system 58 comprises an acceleration sensor which is arranged in the base component in the form of the frog block 12 and is designed in such a way that, when a rail vehicle passes over it, it detects at least one acceleration exerted by the exchangeable frog
20, which may be insufficiently fastened, on the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34 and/or the base component, i.e. the frog block 12.
[0044] The sensor 58 is fixedly connected to the frog block 12 in a base 60 of the recess 22 in such a way that the sensor detects the signal generated by at least one force exerted on the frog block 12 by the detachable connection 28, 30, 32, 34 and/or the replaceable frog 20. The sensor 58 is not directly in contact with the re- placeable component in the form of the replacement frog 20.
[0045] The acceleration sensor 48 is arranged in a groove 64 in the bottom 60 of the recess 22 extending along the longitudinal axis 62. A connecting line 66 of the sensor 58 can be formed on the bottom side by a bore 68 which is formed in the vertical direction along a vertical axis 70. Alternatively, the connecting line 66 can be formed laterally out of the frog block 12 via a channel 72 along a transverse axis
74.
[0046] This arrangement ensures that the sensor 58 and the connecting line 66 are connected exclusively to the frog block 12 and are spaced apart from the re- placeable component in the form of the replaceable frog 20. By arranging the sen- sor 58 below the replacement frog 20, an effective force transmission from the re- placement frog 20 or the releasable connection into the sensor 58 is ensured.
[0047] Due to the exchangeable frog 20, the sensor 58 is non-destructively acces- sible in the covered track. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the recess 22 with bore 68 is simultaneously designed as a water outlet of the frog block 12.
[0048] Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the frog 10 with inserted interchangea- ble frog 20, and to protect the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34, the latter is covered by a cover 76, 78. The cover 76, 78 lies in a plane spanned by the upper side 24 of the frog block 12 and the upper side 26 of the replacement frog 20.
[0049] Fig. 5 shows an arrangement 80 for monitoring the releasable connections 28, 30, 32, 34 of the frog 10, wherein the exchangeable component in the form of the replaceable frog 20 is connected to the base component in the form of the frog block 12 by means of the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34. The sensor 58, which is fixedly integrated in the frog block 12 or is connected thereto, is connected to an evaluation unit 82 via the connecting line 66.
[0050] The sensor 58, which is designed as an acceleration sensor, can detect ac- celerations in at least one direction, preferably accelerations in three directions, i.e. in the direction of the longitudinal axis 62, the transverse axis 74 and the vertical axis 70. The invention is based on the idea that a loose, i.e. insufficiently clamped, exchangeable component strikes the basic component, i.e. the frog block 12 and/or the releasable connection 28, 30, 32, 34, when the rail vehicle passes over and gen- erates or causes characteristic accelerations which are measured by the sensor 58 and subsequently evaluated by the evaluation unit 82, in particular compared with a limit value. As a function of the comparison between the measured signal and the stored reference signal, a report signal is generated when the limit value is ex- ceeded, which report signal indicates an insufficiently clamped or loosed connection 28, 30, 32, 34.
[0051] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a switch com- ponent in the form of a tongue rail device 200. The tongue rail device 200 com- prises a base component in the form of a tongue rail adapter 202, to which an ex- changeable component in the form of a tongue rail 206 is fastened, such as clamped, by means of a releasable connection 204. The tongue rail adapter 202 is attached to the foot 208 of a grooved rail 210 that aligns with tongue rail 206 along longitudinal axis 212.
[0052] Fig. 7a shows a side view of the tongue rail device 200. The tongue rail 206 is biased against a stop 214 of tongue rail adapter 202 by means of the releasable connection 204. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the releasable connection 204 comprises three clamping elements 216, 218, 220, each consisting of a clamp- ing wedge 222, 224, 226, which can be clamped by means of a screw 228, 230, 232 against a stop 234 of the tongue rail adapter 202 and a side face 236 of the tongue rail. The screws 228, 230, 232 are each received in blind-hole threads 238, 240,
242.
[0053] Since the releasable connection 204 consisting of the individual clamping elements 216, 218, 220 can be loosen during operation, the screwing or clamping must be controlled regularly. According to the invention, it is provided that a sensor 244 for monitoring a force transmission or clamping force applied by the releasable connection is integrated in the tongue rail adapter 202. The invention is based on the concept that a tongue rail 206 which is loose owing to an insufficiently ten- sioned connection 204 strikes the tongue rail adapter 202 and/or the releasable connection 204 when the rail vehicle passes over and thereby causes characteristic accelerations which are measured by the sensor and are compared with a limit — value by an evaluation unit.
[0054] The sensor 244 is designed as an acceleration sensor and measures accel- erations in the direction and magnitude in a coordinate system spanned by axes 212, 246, 248.
[0055] Fig. 7b shows a section through the clamping element 216 with the clamp- ing wedge 222, wherein the clamping wedge 222 is penetrated by the clamping screw 228, which is screwed into the threaded bore 238, such as a blind-end threaded bore, formed in the base component 202. A clamping disk 223 and a first sealing ring 225 are arranged between a head 228.1 of the clamping screw 228 and an upper side 222.2 of the clamping wedge 222. The clamping disk prevents an un- desired loosening of the clamping screw during operation by an elastic prestress. Furthermore, a second sealing ring 227 is preferably arranged between an under- side 228.2 of the clamping wedge and the base component 202. The sealing is to ensure that the screw connection, i.e. the clamping screw in the blind bore, is pro- tected from corrosion, so that the base component can be reused as often as possi- ble when replacing the replaceable component.
[0056] In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor 244 is disposed along an axis 250 (see Figs. 7 and 8) that is parallel or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis 212 or the releasable connection 204. Alternatively, the sensor 244 may also be dis- posed below the tongue rail 206 in the tongue rail adapter or below the releasable connection 204.
[0057] The signal detected by the sensor 244 is fed to an evaluation device, as al- ready described with reference to Fig. 5. The evaluation device comprises a compu- ting unit and a comparator, wherein the signal detected by the sensor is compared as an actual value signal with a reference signal, wherein when a limit value is ex- ceeded, a message is generated which indicates a loosening of the connection 204 or at least one of the clamping devices 216, 218, 202.