GB1350807A - Railway points heater - Google Patents

Abstract

1350807 Railway points heaters; igniters INDUSTRIELE ONDERNEMING "ARMA" NV 8 Dec 1971 [15 Dec 1970] 56997/71 Headings F4T and F4F A railway points heater comprises gas burners 3 connected to gas and air mixture supply conduits 2, a spark igniter 15 for each of the gas conduits, and located in a flame propagation pipe 5 located parallel with respect to the conduits 2, each igniter 15 being connected to a voltage pulse generator actuated by a piston and cylinder device 46 actuated by the supply of gas, an inlet of the device 46 communicating with a gas supply conduit 16 and the exhaust of the device 46 being fed to the burners 3. The gas is supplied from a container 47 by way of a valve 50 which opens when a thermostat 69 detects a temperature below 2‹ C. The gas then passes to a gas-air mixer 1, some of the gas being used to actuate the voltage pulse generator and the gas-air mixture then feeds to the burner 3 by way of the supply conduits 2. Each burner 3 (Fig. 2) comprises a ceramic burner plate 4, a flame chamber 23 and a gauze 22 leading to a burner mouth 20, the burner being fed from the conduit 2 by a screw-threaded connecting pipe 13 by means of which the spacing of the burner mouth 20 from the associated rail 21 may be adjusted. A flexible tube 10 connects the flame chamber 23 with the flame propagation pipe 5. The pipe 5 is fed with gas/air mixture from the associated conduit 2 through a cylindrical gauze element (not shown) which allows propagation of the flame in the pipe 5 but not in the conduit 2. The gas-air mixer 1 (Fig. 4) comprises a gas supply jet 17 leading to the conduit 2, the jet drawing air into the stream through an air induction cap 18. The voltage pulse generator comprises a piezo-electric device or high tension winding energized at intervals by the piston and cylinder device 46. When ignition occurs thermostats 71 close valves 51 in the supply line to the device 46 thus stopping its action unless flame failure occurs.