JP2010060320A - Device for measuring opening of rail joint - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for measuring opening of rail joints that can perform measurement in time shorter than that of a manual measurement method, requires small labor, has required measurement precision, can appropriately perform the measurement even if an obstacle is on a rail side, reduces costs of the device itself, can be installed to or withdrawn from a railroad track easily, and can measure even a narrow space, such as the inside of a station yard. <P>SOLUTION: The device 1A for measuring opening of rail joints measures an opening of rail joints 23 located at a joint between rails 21 includes: a mobile unit freely traveling on the rails 21; a laser displacement meter 4 that is mounted on the mobile unit and irradiates a surface 22 at the head of the rail with laser beams 11 at a prescribed angle; and a controller for obtaining information including width (s) of the opening of rail joints 23, based on detection output of the laser displacement meter 4 when the mobile unit is moved on the rails 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rail gap measurement device that measures the gap between rails and rail joints.

As is well known, since railroad rails contract with temperature changes, a gap is provided between the rails and the rail joints. If this gap is too large, it will become larger when the rail temperature falls, and the impact when passing through the train will become larger. Conversely, if the clearance is too small, the rail cannot sufficiently extend when the rail temperature rises. As a result, a large axial pressure is generated, which may cause the rail to buckle.
Therefore, it is indispensable to manage this gap appropriately from the viewpoint of railway maintenance. To that end, it is necessary to appropriately measure the gap.

Conventionally, as a method of measuring this gap, a method of measuring by inserting a wedge-shaped manual measuring device into the gap (Patent Document 1), irradiating light from the side facing one side of the rail side surface, etc. A method of detecting this on the side facing the surface and measuring the gap from the amount of transmitted light, and a method of taking an image of the rail from above and measuring the gap from the image are known.
JP 2003-75268 A

  However, when using the above manual measuring device, because it is manual, the measurer must manually insert the measuring device one by one between all the play to measure, to measure all the play, There is an inconvenience that it takes a lot of time and labor and is complicated. In addition, since it is manual, there is a problem that sufficient accuracy cannot be maintained.

Further, the method of irradiating light from the rail side surface has a problem that the width of the play cannot be measured when there is an obstacle on the rail side surface. This is because the obstacle on the side of the rail blocks the light and the amount of light that should be measured cannot be detected.
In addition, in the method of irradiating light from the rail side surface, when there is an obstacle between the two rails, there is an apparatus for detecting the obstacle and a mechanism for moving the measuring apparatus up and down in order to avoid collision with this. Necessary. As a result, the entire apparatus becomes large, heavy, and cannot be easily installed or removed from the track. As a result, for example, in a station premises where there are a plurality of tracks, there is a disadvantage that the device cannot be immediately moved to another track.

  In addition, in the method of taking an image from above the rail, the entire apparatus becomes large and it takes time to process the data to obtain the play distance, so it is difficult to confirm on the spot whether the measurement has been performed without any problem. There are inconveniences.

  Against this background, it can be measured in a shorter time than manual measurement methods, requires less labor, has the required measurement accuracy, and costs more than conventional side-illuminated or image-capturing methods. Therefore, there has been a demand for a measuring device that can be easily installed and removed from the track in a short time, but the actual situation is that an effective and appropriate device is not provided.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is that it can be measured in a shorter time than a manual measurement method, requires less labor, has the required measurement accuracy, and has a rail side surface and 2 Rail that can measure even if there is an obstacle between the rails of the book, lowers the cost of the device itself, can be easily installed and removed from the track, and can be measured even in narrow spaces such as station premises It is to provide a gap measuring device.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.
A rail gap measuring device for measuring a gap between rails and a rail joint, a movable body that is movable on the rail, and a laser mounted on the movable body and at a predetermined angle with respect to the rail head surface A laser displacement meter that irradiates a beam; and a controller that obtains information including a width of the gap portion based on a detection output of the laser displacement meter when the movable body is moved on the rail. It is characterized by this.

  In the rail clearance measuring apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the moving body is a traveling carriage configured by providing a carriage body with wheels that can roll on the rail.

  In the rail clearance measurement device according to the present invention, two laser displacement meters are arranged on the moving body with a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the moving body, and irradiation is performed from the two laser displacement meters. It is preferable that the angle formed between the laser beam to be formed and the rail head surface is set equal.

  In the rail clearance measuring device of the present invention, a distance measuring device for measuring a moving distance of the moving body is mounted on the moving body, and the controller is based on outputs of the laser displacement meter and the distance measuring device. It is preferable that the information including the width of the gap portion is obtained.

  Further, in the rail clearance measuring device according to the present invention, two laser displacement meters are arranged on the moving body at a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the moving body, and the laser irradiated from one laser displacement meter. It is preferable that the beam is irradiated toward the lower front part in the moving direction of the moving body, and the laser beam irradiated from the other laser displacement meter is irradiated backward in the moving direction of the moving body.

In the present invention, as a result of adopting the above configuration, the gap is measured while moving the laser displacement meter using a moving body, so that measurement can be performed in a shorter time than manual measurement, less labor, and necessary measurement accuracy. The effect is obtained.
Moreover, as long as the laser beam irradiated from the laser displacement meter is not blocked, even if there is an obstacle on the side of the rail, the width of the play can be measured appropriately.
In addition, since the measuring instrument is not moved up and down and the laser displacement meter is fixed to the moving body, there is no cost and the equipment itself is not overwhelming. The effect that it can be carried out easily and in a shorter time than an apparatus using an irradiation type or image photographing method is obtained.

  In addition, since two laser displacement meters are arranged at a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the carriage, the width of the gap can be accurately measured even when the rail surface between the gaps is inclined. can get.

  In addition, since the position measuring device is attached to the carriage, not only the width of the play but also the shape of the rail surface can be measured.

  Hereinafter, a rail clearance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which a part of the rail gap measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is omitted, and FIG. 2 is a state of measurement between the rails using the rail gap measuring device according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance measured by the laser displacement meter of the rail clearance measuring apparatus according to this embodiment and time.

The rail clearance measuring apparatus 1A of the present embodiment includes a carriage 2 as a moving body, a laser displacement meter 4 held on the carriage body 3 of the carriage 2, a controller 5 disposed on the upper surface of the carriage body 3, a controller 5 and a laser. The power supply unit 6 serving as a power source for the displacement meter 4 is provided.
The output signal of the laser displacement meter 4 is supplied to the controller 5 via the lead wire 7.

The cart 2 is a cart body 3 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and is provided with four wheels 8 in the lower part near the four corners of the cart body 3.
The carriage body 3 is provided with a holding portion 9 on the bottom surface, and a laser displacement meter 4 is attached to the holding portion 9.
The wheels 8 are arranged such that all four wheels 8 face the same direction so that the carriage body 3 can move on the rail 21.
Each wheel 8 is provided with a flange 10 on the inner side thereof, so that the carriage 2 is configured not to be detached from the rail 21.

The laser displacement meter 4 is configured to include an unillustrated irradiation unit that irradiates the laser beam 11 and an unillustrated sensor unit that mainly detects the laser beam 11 reflected by the rail head surface 22.
Further, the laser displacement meter 4 is disposed so as to be positioned above the rail head surface 22 when the carriage 2 travels on the rail 21, and the distance from the rail head surface 22 is constant. As shown in FIG.
When this laser displacement meter 4 is used, the displacement value of the distance to the object can be observed.

  The controller 5 obtains information including the width s of the gap 23 shown in FIG. 2 based on the detection output of the laser displacement meter 4, and is provided on the upper surface of the carriage body 3 of the carriage 2.

  Further, a holding portion 9 provided on the carriage main body 3 of the carriage 2 is close to the lower portion of the laser displacement meter 4 to confirm whether the laser displacement meter 4 is above the rail head surface 22 or not. A sensor 12 is provided.

  Hereinafter, a method for measuring the gap 23 using the rail gap measuring device 1A of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, an angle θ between the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 toward the rail head surface 22 and the rail head surface 22 is measured.
Next, the laser beam 11 is irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 toward the rail head surface 22 while maintaining the angle θ, and the carriage 2 is located at the joint between the rail 21 and the rail 21 in the extending direction of the rail 21. Move across the gap 23.
When the laser beam 11 emitted from the laser displacement meter 4 is reflected by the rail head surface 22, the distance between the laser displacement meter 4 and the rail head surface 22 is kept constant. The value measured by 4 is constant.
Here, as a result of moving the carriage 2, when the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 reaches the gap 23, as shown in FIG. It becomes the rail surface 24 of the gap 23 instead of 22.
Therefore, the laser displacement meter 4 detects that the distance from the object is increased by the length a ₁ compared with the case where the laser beam 11 is reflected by the rail head surface 22, and this is detected as the displacement value. Will be observed.

In practice, to grasp the value of a ₁ by the graph shown in FIG.
This graph is created based on information grasped by the controller 5 based on the detection and output from the laser displacement meter 4, and the horizontal axis indicates time and the vertical axis indicates the distance to the object. ing.
In the graph of FIG. 3, there is a portion where the distance increases abruptly. This is because the laser beam 11 is reflected by the rail surface 24 of the gap 23.
Thus, the displacement value this increase is that a _1.
In the graph of FIG. 3, after the distance increases rapidly, it gradually decreases, but this is because the reflection point of the laser beam 11 is gradually moving above the rail surface 24 of the gap 23. It stems from that. This is because the reflection point is moved above the rail surface 24 of the gap 23, so that the distance between the laser displacement meter 4 and the object is reduced.

From the above measurement results, the width s of the gap 23 is expressed by the equation s = a ₁ cos θ, so that the width s of the gap 23 can be measured.

  From the above, as a result of adopting the above configuration, the measurement by the rail clearance measuring device 1A of the present embodiment is performed by moving the carriage 2, so that it is free from the complexity of manual measurement, and the measurement using the laser displacement meter 4 is performed. Therefore, it can measure with higher accuracy than manual measurement. In addition, even if there is an obstacle on the side surface of the gap 23, as long as the laser beam 11 is reflected by the rail surface 24 of the gap 23, it can be measured appropriately. In addition, since the carriage 2 is equipped with the laser displacement meter 4, the cost of the device itself can be reduced, and the installation and removal of the device can be easily performed, and it is possible to measure even in a narrow space such as a station premises. .

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a measurement method for a gap using the rail gap measurement device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and description of similar parts is omitted.

As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, two laser displacement meters 27 and 28 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the carriage 2 shown in FIG.
Further, the angle formed by the laser beam 11 irradiated from the two laser displacement meters 27 and 28 and the rail head surface 26 is configured to be equal.

Hereinafter, a method for measuring the gap 29 using the rail gap measuring device 1B of the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the clearance 29 measured in the present embodiment is the rail surface 25 from which the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meters 27 and 28 reflects from the upper end of the rail surface of the clearance 29. Inclined in the direction of widening the gap 29 toward the lower end.

First, the interval l between the two laser displacement meters 27 and 28 and the angle θ formed by the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meters 27 and 28 toward the rail head surface 26 and the rail head surface 26 are as follows. taking measurement.
Next, also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the laser beam 11 is irradiated from the two laser displacement meters 27 and 28 toward the rail head surface 26 while maintaining the angle θ, The carriage 2 shown in FIG. 1 is moved across the gap 29 between the rail 30 and the rail 30 in the extending direction of the rail 30.
When the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meters 27 and 28 is reflected by the rail head surface 26, it is measured by the respective laser displacement meters 27 and 28 as in the first embodiment. The displacement value is a constant value.

Next, the displacement value a ₂ of the laser displacement meters 27 to 28 when the laser beam 11 is reflected by the rail surface 25 of the gap 29 for the first time is measured. This may be measured by either laser displacement meter disposed on the carriage 2.
After that, at the moment when the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meter 27 disposed in front of the carriage 2 is switched so as to be reflected by the rail head surface 26 from the rail surface 25 of the play gap 29, the carriage 2 measuring the displacement value a ₃ is measured by the movement direction rearwardly disposed a laser displacement meter 28.

From the above, the width s of the portion where the rails 30 are closest to each other in the gap 29 is s = a ₂ · l / a ₃ using the principle of similarity of triangles. This width s can be measured.
In addition, the inclination angle of the rail surface 25 of the clearance 29 is tan α = (a ₂ cos θ−s) / a ₂ sin θ with respect to the angle α between the rail surface 25 of the clearance 29 and the vertical direction, and therefore, a ₂ It is obtained by calculating s.

  As a result of adopting the above-described configuration, the rail gap measuring device 1B of the present embodiment can obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment, and the rail gap 25 of the gap 29 is inclined. 29, the width s of the portion where the rails 30 are closest to each other can be accurately measured, and the inclination angle of the rail surface 25 of the gap 29 can also be measured.

Since the inclination angle can be measured, by measuring the height of the rail 30 in advance, the width of the portion of the clearance 29 where the rails 30 are separated from each other can be measured.
Further, even if the inclined surface is inclined in the direction of narrowing the width of the play 29 from the upper end to the lower end, the measurement can be performed by the same method.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a measurement method for a gap using the rail gap measurement device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is a modification of the rail clearance measuring apparatus according to the first embodiment, and description of similar parts is omitted.

  In this embodiment, a distance measuring device (not shown) that measures the moving distance of the carriage 2 is mounted on the rail clearance measuring device of the first embodiment. Further, the controller 5 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to obtain information including the width of the gap 31 portion based on the outputs of the laser displacement meter 4 shown in FIG. 1 and a distance measuring device (not shown).

Hereinafter, a method for measuring the gap 31 using the rail gap measuring device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the gap 31 measured in the present embodiment has a wavy shape in which the rail surface 32 of the gap 31 is not flat.

First, an angle θ between the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 shown in FIG. 1 toward the rail head surface 33 and the rail head surface 33 is measured.
Next, the laser beam 11 is irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 shown in FIG. 1 toward the rail head surface 33 while maintaining the angle θ, and the carriage 2 shown in FIG. 1 is moved on the rail 34.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an arbitrary point on the rail head surface 33 is set as an origin 35, and a moving distance in the horizontal direction from the origin 35 is measured by a distance measuring device (not shown). It is assumed that the X axis is the horizontal direction from the origin 35 in the direction of movement of the carriage 2 shown in FIG.

As shown in this figure, the reflection point when the laser beam 11 is reflected by the rail surface 32 of the gap 31 is P, the X coordinate of P is Xp, and the Y coordinate is Yp.
Then, the displacement value Lm (X) measured by the laser displacement meter 4 shown in FIG. 1 when the laser beam 11 is reflected by P and the measurement value X by a distance measuring device (not shown) are measured.

From the above, Xp becomes Xp = X + Lm (X) cosθ, and Yp becomes Yp = Lm (X) sinθ. Therefore, the coordinates of P can be measured using the measurement result.
In this way, the shape of the rail surface 32 of the gap 31 can be grasped by sequentially measuring the coordinates of P.

  As a result of adopting the above configuration, the rail gap measuring device of the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and can also measure the shape of the rail surface 32 of the gap 31.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a measurement method for a gap using a rail gap measurement device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The rail clearance measurement device of this embodiment is a modification of the third embodiment and includes a distance measurement device, and the description of the same parts is omitted.

  The rail clearance measuring device 1C of this embodiment is configured to have two laser displacement meters 41 and 42 arranged on the carriage 2 shown in FIG. 1 with a predetermined interval in the movement direction of the carriage 2. Yes. Further, the laser beam 11 emitted from the laser displacement meter 41 arranged in the front of the carriage 2 in the movement direction is emitted toward the lower rear part in the movement direction of the carriage 2 and the laser displacement arranged behind the carriage 2 in the movement direction. The laser beam emitted from the total 42 is emitted toward the lower front part in the moving direction of the carriage 2.

  As for the actual measurement method, the same measurement as in the third embodiment is performed for each laser displacement meter 41 and 42. That is, the shape of the rail surface 44 of the gap 45 is measured by the laser displacement meter 41, and the shape of the rail surface 43 of the gap 45 is measured by the laser displacement meter 42.

  As described above, the rail gap measuring device 1C of the present embodiment can obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment as a result of adopting the above configuration, and the rail surface 43 of the gap 45 can be obtained by one measurement. And the shape of the rail surface 44 can be measured.

  In FIG. 6, the laser displacement meter 41 disposed in front of the carriage 2 in the movement direction shown in FIG. 1 irradiates the laser beam 11 toward the lower rear portion in the movement direction, and is disposed behind the movement direction. 42 irradiates the laser beam 11 toward the front lower part in the moving direction, but it is not necessary to limit the laser beam 11 in this way. A laser displacement meter 41 arranged in the front is a laser arranged in the rear in the lower front part. The displacement meter 42 may irradiate the laser beam 11 toward the rear lower part.

[Fifth Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a measurement method for a gap using a rail gap measurement device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The rail clearance measuring device used in this embodiment is the same as the device used in the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, a method for measuring the clearance 46 using the rail clearance measuring apparatus 1A will be described with reference to FIG.
The gap 46 measured in this embodiment is a position facing the rail surface 47 where the laser beam 11 emitted from the laser displacement meter 4 is reflected, among the rail surfaces of the gap 46, as shown in FIG. The cross section of the upper end portion of the rail surface 48 arranged in the shape of a quadrangle with a radius r.

First, the angle θ between the laser beam 11 irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 toward the rail head surface 49 and the rail head surface 49 is measured.
Next, the laser beam 11 is irradiated from the laser displacement meter 4 toward the rail head surface 49 while maintaining the angle θ, and the displacement value a ₄ is measured by moving the carriage 2 shown in FIG. 1 on the rail 50. To do.

From the above, the width s of the portion where the rails 50 are closest to each other in the gap 46 is s = a ₄ cos θ + rtan (θ / 2) −r. It is possible to measure the width of a portion where they are close to each other.

  By using the rail gap measuring device 1A of the present embodiment to measure as described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the gap 46 from the laser displacement meter 4 can be obtained. Measure the width s of the part where the rails 50 are closest to each other in the gap 46 in which the cross section of the upper end of the rail surface 48 where the irradiated laser beam 11 is not reflected is a quarter circle with a radius r. Can do.

  In addition, when the radius r of the quarter circle of the upper end section of the rail surface 48 of the gap 46 is unknown, the radius r is measured by the measurement method shown in the third embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention can be variously changed in the range which is not limited to the said embodiment and does not deviate from the summary.

  The present invention can be widely used in the manufacturing industry for manufacturing the rail clearance measurement device.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a rail clearance measuring apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a gap with a part omitted showing a state of measurement of a gap using the rail gap measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance measured by the laser displacement meter of the rail clearance measuring apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention and time. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a gap with a part omitted showing a state of measurement of a gap using the rail gap measuring device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a gap where a part of a state of measurement of a gap using the rail gap measuring device according to the third embodiment of the present invention is omitted. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a gap with a part omitted showing a state of measurement of a gap using the rail gap measuring device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a gap with a part omitted showing a state of measurement of a gap using the rail gap measuring device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

1A, 1B, 1C ... rail gap measuring device, 2 ... bogie, 4, 27, 28, 41, 42 ... laser displacement meter, 11 ... laser beam, 21, 30, 34, 50 ..Rail, 22, 26, 33, 49 ... rail head surface, 23, 29, 31, 45, 46 ... idle

Claims (5)

A rail gap measuring device for measuring the gap between rails and rail joints,
A movable body that is movable on the rail;
A laser displacement meter mounted on this moving body and irradiating a laser beam at a predetermined angle with respect to the rail head surface;
A rail gap measurement device comprising: a controller that obtains information including a width of the gap portion based on a detection output of the laser displacement meter when the movable body is moved on the rail. .   The rail gap measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the movable body is a traveling cart configured by providing a cart body with wheels that can roll on the rail.   Two laser displacement meters are arranged on the movable body with a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the movable body, and a laser beam emitted from the two laser displacement meters and a rail head surface are formed. The rail clearance measurement device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the angles are set to be equal. A distance measuring device for measuring a moving distance of the moving body is mounted on the moving body,
The controller is based on outputs of the laser displacement meter and the distance measuring device,
The rail gap measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rail gap measuring apparatus is configured to obtain information including a width of the gap portion.   Two laser displacement meters are arranged on the moving body at a predetermined interval in the moving direction of the moving body, and a laser beam emitted from one of the laser displacement meters is on the lower front part in the moving direction of the moving body. The laser beam emitted toward the other side and irradiated from the other laser displacement meter is emitted toward the rear in the moving direction of the movable body. Rail clearance measurement device.

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