GB2226351A

GB2226351A - Anchoring/locating device for railway rail

Info

Publication number: GB2226351A
Application number: GB8928477A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philippe Duval
Original assignee: Allevard Industries SA
Current assignee: Allevard Industries SA
Priority date: 1988-12-21
Filing date: 1989-12-18
Publication date: 1990-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-18
Also published as: FR2640652A1; FR2640652B1; GB8928477D0; GB2226351B

Abstract

An anchoring /locating device for a railway rail comprises an upper part (4) adapted to rest on the upper face of the base of a rail (1) and intended to protect it with respect to a clip for the rail, and a lateral part (5) which is housed at an edge of the base of the rail (1) between a base plate (2) and an anchoring insert (3), said upper (4) and lateral (5) parts being independent, and said lateral part (5) being pre-mounted on the insert (3) in a corresponding housing (6) located at the base of the insert (3) and being for a large part concealed and protected by the insert (3) when the rail (1) is placed in position. <IMAGE>

Description

INSULATOR DEVICES FOR RAIL BASES The present invention relates to an insulator device for rail base.

This device is adapted to be used p r e f e r a b 1 y with the clips described in .Patent Application No.

87/13860 (FR-A-2621619, WO 89/03452).

Insulator devices for rail bases generally have a triple function performed by the same piece.

The first function is to electrically and mechanically insulate the base of the rail from that part of the clip exerting the effort on the base, by partially covering the upper face of the edge of the rail base. This first function is performed by the so-called upper part of the insulator device.

The second function is to electrically and mechanically insulate the lateral edges of the base with respect to the metal inserts.

The third function is to maintain the spaced apart relationship and to absorb more or less the lateral efforts relatively to the base of the rail.

In this latter function, the insulator device behaves as an adjusting or wear shim.

For the latter two functions, it is the so-called lateral part of the insulator device which acts.

However, the conventional devices of the above type, as described in Patent GB 216612 A, present drawbacks. In fact, when the rails are laid on the ties or sleepers, it is necessary correctly to recentre the rail laterally with respect to the two inserts for anchoring the clips.

If this operation is not carried out correctly, it is then very difficult to introduce the lateral insulator devices. Now, the rail is heavy and difficult to manoeuvre with precision. A simple lateral shift of the rail by 1 or 2 mm towards an insert suffices to prevent positioning of the lateral part of the insulator device.

A sufficiently small lateral clearance J is generally left, so that: LT = [ eLAT(A) + +Lp +eLAT(B) 1 + J with J = 2.5 to 3 mm LT being the width of the bearing plate between the inserts Lp being the width of the base of the rail LAT(A) and LAT(B) being 1-he widths of the lateral parts A and B.

The clearance J is intended to allow free assembly without introduction of constraint and to take into account the tolerances on Lp.

The margin of manoeuvre is therefore particularly small during positioning of the rail.

In order to avoid this drawback, users resort to a special tool abutting on one of the inserts to push the rail in the direction of the other insert and thus to leave the room necessary and sufficient for introduction of the insulator device.

It will be readily understood that such an operation does not facilitate mechanized laying of the clips Moreover, if the operator pushes the base too much towards the other insert, he risks having too much room for installing the insulator device and will arrange the latter askew.

The present invention solves these drawbacks for the first time and in satisfactory manner, by proposing an electrical and mechanical insulator device comprising an upper part adapted to rest on the upper face of the base of a rail and intended to protect it with respect to the clip of said rail, and a lateral part which is housed between the edge of the base and the insert for anchoring said clip and which is intended to wedge laterally and to insulate said base with respect to the insert, wherein said upper and lateral parts are independent; said lateral part beig pre-mounted on the insert and to a large extent concealed by the insert in plan view to allow rail-laying which is automatically centred between the inserts.

According to one aspect of the invention, said lateral part is pre-mounted in a corresponding housing located at the base of the insert towards the rail base.

According to another aspect of the invention, said lateral part presents in the upper part of its lateral face, opposite the rail base, a chamfer adapted to guide the descent and laying of the rail, and the height of said lateral part is at least equal to the sum o- the thickness of the base plate and of the thickness of the lateral edge of said rail base.

According to a variant embodiment of the invention, said lateral part is fast with said base plate of the rail base.

According to another aspect of the invention, said housing is in dove-tail form and said lateral part comprises at its ends two transverse lugs extending towards the rear of the insert; said lugs being adapted to fix said lateral part by clipping in said dove-tailed housing of the insert.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, said upper part is constituted by a shim comprising two rearwardly extending transverse lugs adapted to encompass the two lateral flanks of the insert or the two lateral flanks of the lateral part in order to prevent a possible longitudinal slide of said upper part.

According to another embodiment of the invention, said upper part is pre-mounted beneath the clip.

The device of the invention allows easier assembly and a better resistance of the rail to creep.

In fact, if the rail still tends to creep longitudinally, it cannot take along the lateral part as the latter will be restrained on the insert by its transverse lugs.

The invention will be more readily understood on reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the device of the invention.

Figures 2a and 2b are plan views of the device of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view in vertical section of the device described in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the electrical and mechanical insulator device of the invention is illustrated in perspective in Figure 1, which shows the base of the rail 1 before being deposited on the base plate 2. On each side of the base plate 2 lies an insert 3 for anchoring the clip of the rail (the clip being shown in phantom).

The insulator device comprises an upper part 4 adapted to rest on the upper face of the rail base 1 and intended to protect it with respect to the clip of the rail, and a lateral part 5 which is housed on the edge of the base between the base plate 2 and the anchoring insert 3, on each side of the rail.

The lateral part 5 is normally intended to wedge laterally and to insulate said rail base with respect to the insert.

According to the invention and as shown in Figure 1, the upper and lateral parts 4 and 5 are independent and the lateral part 5 is pre-mounted on the insert 3. Pre-mounting of the lateral part 5 on the insert 3 is effected by means of a housing 6 whose dimensions correspond to the lateral part 5 and which is located at the base of the insert towards the rail base.

The shape of the lateral part as well as the shape of the insert will be designed so as to cooperate with each other and in particular so that the insert protects to a maximum the lateral part with respect to the possible aggressions of the rail when the latter is laid. In this way, the insert may, thanks to its shape, correctly guide the rail in its descent in order to avoid the latter abutting on the lateral part and remaining in an intermediate position.

According to the invention, as shown in Figure 3, it is provided to conceal the lateral part by the insert and to form on said lateral part at the level of the upper part of its lateral face opposite the rail base, a chamfer 9 adapted to guide descent and laying of the rail.

Such configuration avoids the rail remaining stuck during laying or harming the top of the lateral part.

The height of the lateral part is at least equal to the sum of the thickness of the base plate and of the thickness of the lateral edge of said rail base. This precaution makes it possible to avoid the base of the rail, once laid, to strike laterally directly on the insert.

According to a variant embodiment, the lateral part is formed in one piece with the base plate of the rail base.

According to another variant embodiment, part 5 is vertically mobile in its housing in the insert so as to be able to follow the vertical movements of the rail without wearing.

The housing 6 closely follows the shape of the lateral part 5 and this latter may be maintained in the insert either by adhesion, by wedging, or preferably by clipping.

In the case of clipping, the lateral part comprises at its ends, as shown in plan view in Figures 2a and 2b respectively before and after assembly, two transverse lugs 7, 7' extending towards the rear of the insert. Lugs 7, 7' are intended to fix said lateral part 5 in the housing 6 of the insert 3.

The general shape of the lateral part 5 is therefore a substantially U-shape and the housing 6 of the insert is in dove-tail form, with lateral angles A1 and A2. During positioning of the lateral part in the insert, the transverse lugs 7, 7' move apart slightly upon contact with angles A1 and A2 before closing again. This arrangement has the advantage of being able suitably to withstand creep of the rail since, if this latter tends to creep longitudinal ly, it cannot take the lateral part along with it, since the latter is retained on the insert by its transverse lugs.

figure 1 also shows the upper part 4 which is constituted by a shim comprising two transverse lugs 8, 8' which are adapted to encompass the two lateral flanks of the insert or the two lateral flanks of the lateral part in order to prevent a possible longitudinal slide of said upper part. Lugs 8, 8' are superposed after positioning, with said transverse lugs 7, 7' of the lateral part 5 or are disposed on either side of said lugs 7 and 7'. Positio ning of the upper part 4 does not present any difficulty since the rail is already in place and correctly centred. The presence of the transverse lugs 8, 8' avoids the upper part 4 being subsequently taken along either by the positioning of the clip or by the possible creep of the rail.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the upper part 4 is pre-mounted under the clip and comes into position during introduction of the latter. In that case, the upper part 4 presents only one of the two lugs 8 or 8' or no lug at all, this in order to allow the longitudinal introduction of the clip in the insert, as provided in Patent Application No. 87/13860 (FR-A-2621619, WO 89/03452).

According to a possible embodiment of the invention, only lateral part 5 is used, and not upper part 4, when the electrical insulation between rail and tie is not required. The upper part 4 is not used, which is economically advantageous, but it nonetheless remains possible to add it subsequently if it is decided one day to render the railway electrically insulated.

Claims

1. An electrical and mechanical insulator device comprising an upper part adapted to rest on the upper face of the base of a rail and intended to protect it with respect to the c 1 i p of said rail, and a lateral part, independent of the upper part, which is housed on the edge of the rail base between the base plate and the anchoring insert, characterized in that the lateral part is pre-mounted on the insert in a corresponding housing located at the base of said insert and is for a large part concealed and protected by the insert when the rail is placed in position.

2. An insulator device according to Claim 1, characterized in that said lateral part presents in the upper part of its lateral face opposite the rail base a chamfer intended to guide the descent and laying of the rail.

3. An insulator device according to either of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the height of said lateral part is at least equal to the sum of the thickness of the base plate and of the thickness of the lateral edge of said rail base.

4. An insulator device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that said lateral part is in one piece with said base plate of the rail base.

5. An insulator device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that said housing is in dove-tail form.

6. An insulator device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that said lateral part comprises at its two ends two transverse lugs extending towards the rear of the insert, said lugs being adapted to fix said lateral part by clipping in said housing of the insert.

7. An insulator device according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that said upper part is constituted by a shim comprising two transverse lugs adapted to encompass the two lateral flanks of the insert or the two lateral flanks of the lateral part in order to prevent a possible longitudinal slide of said upper part.

8. An insulator device according to Claim 7, characterized in that said upper part is pre-mounted under the clip.

9. An insulator device such as substantially described with reference to the accompanying drawings.