KR19990037648A - Iron sleeper handling system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for the transport and unloading of steel sleepers 10 of a railway. The system is at least one crosspiece 33, 34 mountable to the flat rail wagons 31, 32 and suitable for supporting an arrangement of parallel stacks of sleepers 37 oriented transversely with respect to the crosspiece 33. And an unloading device 1 that is movable along the crossbar and capable of removing at least one sleeper from the stack. In addition, the system of the present invention comprises an iron railway sleeper unloading device 1 comprising a conveyor 4 for releasing the sleeper 10 transferred from the device to the conveyor, and gripping each end of the sleeper adjacent to the conveyor. Opposed gripping members 11, 12, suitable for the following and for delivering the sleepers to the conveyor, and an elevator 6 for lifting the stack of sleepers and providing the individual sleepers to the gripping members 11, 12 continuously. .

Description

Iron sleeper handling system

The rail of the track is supported by elongate members known as sleepers or ties. Traditionally, sleepers were made of wood. However, metal or concrete sleepers are also known and preferred types of metal sleepers are iron sleepers. Iron sleepers are typically manufactured by hot rolling to have an inverted U-shaped cross section, cut to length and punched to insert rail fastenings. Both ends of the sleepers are folded to form a trough. In use, the trough is used upside down.

To replace the sleepers, the sleepers must be transported from the manufacturing location to the part of the track to be replaced. The portion of the track that needs to be replaced can range from a few kilometers to the distribution of sleepers along the track adjacent to the installation point.

In the transport method for iron sleepers used in Australia, the sleepers are banded with iron and provided in the form of a lamination in which ten pieces are bundled together. These stacked stacks are handled by cranes or fork-lifts for loading into railway wagons. For example, transport between states in Australia often needs to be carried from a standard gauge wagon to a non-standard gauge wagon in Queensland, Australia.

In the position where the sleepers need to be replaced, the steel banding is removed from the stack, and each sleeper is removed by gravity from the wagon transporting the stack. Since the stacked sleepers are stacked, it can be difficult to separate each sleeper. Moreover, workers can frequently injure hands and feet while unloading sleepers, and the process can lead to spinal injury by their nature.

Systems for the handling of wooden sleepers on railways are known. In Australia's Queensland and Victorian rail systems, wooden sleepers are loaded into specific containers, which are unloaded from the container by the special purpose forklift to the desired track side. The fork lift lifts the stack of two sleepers until the upper pair of sleepers contacts the bottom of the chain conveyor. When the operator operates the conveyor, the "dogs" on the conveyor first pull one sleeper out of the stack and then pull the second sleeper to release the sleepers to the rail. However, there is no mechanical system for handling steel sleepers on railways.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for transporting and unloading steel sleepers of railways that can overcome the disadvantages and limitations of current steel sleeper handling systems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can facilitate the unloading of steel sleepers of a railway.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting and unloading steel sleepers of a railway, the system being parallel to the sleepers that are mountable in flat rail wagons and oriented transversely with respect to a boster. At least one crosspiece suitable for supporting an array of stacks, and an unloader movable along the at least one crossbar and capable of removing at least one sleeper from the stack.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a steel sleeper unloading apparatus of a railway, the apparatus being mounted on a vehicle, the conveyor for discharging the sleepers transferred from the apparatus to the conveyor, and adjacent to the conveyor An opposed gripping member suitable for gripping each end of a provided sleeper and delivering the sleeper to the conveyor, and an elevator for lifting the stack of sleepers and providing individual sleepers to the gripping member continuously.

Other features of the present invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description of the invention and embodiments of the system and the unloading device.

The present invention relates to a system for the transportation and unloading of railway sleepers. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for the transport and unloading of steel railway sleepers of railways. The invention also relates to an apparatus for use in the loading process.

1 shows a stack of sleepers in place on a device, a perspective view of an unloading device mounted to a fork lift truck according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a partial detail view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a front view of a train comprising a plurality of rungs according to the invention and an unloader as shown in FIG. 1, FIG.

4 is a partial plan view of the train shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows the trajectory of the sleepers emitted by the unloader, and is a partial schematic cross-sectional view of the train shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The term "sleepers" as used herein includes a product called "ties".

The term "inverted" is used in connection with the term sleeper to mean a sleeper inverted relative to the sleeper in the direction of use. It can be seen that the trough of the sleeper is used downward into the track ballast.

As mentioned above, the railroad sleeper transportation system of the present invention is based on a crossbar for carrying a plurality of sleeper stacks. Typically, the rungs are steel structures manufactured to the dimensions of "International Standard for Shipping Containers AS2511". In this format, the bottom of the crosspiece has four columns, one at each corner. Each column has standard "twist-lock" fittings at the top and bottom. This allows the crossbars to be secured to a standard container handling vehicle, to be handled by the container lifting device and to be stacked. Typically, the rungs are not closed.

Typically, parallel stacks of sleepers are separated by vertical columns along each side of the crossbar. Columns are also used to restrain stacks of cross objects. Rails may also be provided to support the sleeper stack above the floor height.

The advantage of transporting through the rungs according to the invention is that the sleepers can be loaded from the factory into the crossroads and can be moved to other railway systems without the need for unloading and reloading the sleepers. If the sleepers need to be moved from one cloud support to another, this can be done easily by transporting the crossbars. In order to distribute the sleepers at the position to unload the sleepers, special trains known in the art, such as "consist" can be constructed. The vehicle configuration includes standard flat-bed wagons, each carrying two crossbars and an unloader. In addition, a bridge is provided between the wagons to allow the unloader to pass along the moving train. This will be explained in more detail later.

The unloader of the system can be moved along or along the crossbar or the wagon accompanying the crossbar, a gantry capable of releasing the sleeper from the wagon accompanying the crossbar by lifting at least one sleeper from the stack. ) Or an unloader such as a fork lift.

The unloader can move along the track in combination with the crossbar and the wagon accompanying the crossbar. In this regard, the rail used to support the sleeper stack above the floor height may also be used as an unloader track. In a variant embodiment, the vehicle comprising the unloader can move along the bottom of the rung.

A bridge is provided between the wagons to provide a surface of essentially constant height so that the unloader can move easily between the wagons, so that the unloader moves along this surface. The bridge arrangement for installation between two wagons is staggered towards each other and includes a pair of faceplates facing each other. Each face plate is pivotable relative to the mounting plate, and the bridge device is mounted to the wagon via the mounting plate. Because of the pivotable connection between the faceplate and the mounting plate, the bridge device can articulate as the train crosses the curve.

The unloader can move from wagon to wagon across the bridge even when the train is in motion. The solid nature of the bridge allows it to operate even when the unloader is on the bridge.

With reference to the second embodiment of the invention, the vehicle on which the device is mounted is preferably a fork lift truck, which device is replaced with a mast assembly. However, it will be appreciated that the vehicle may be a vehicle such as a tractor or a special vehicle suitable for moving along the crossbar and the cross wagon accompanying vehicle.

Typically, the conveyor device is a channel with a flat base having a side that projects upward. Discharging the sleepers from the conveyor is typically performed by an endless belt, chain or rope having one or more hooks that can move along and fit into longitudinally extending slots in the channel. The hook engages the end of the sleeper in the conveyor and releases the sleeper therefrom. The conveyor traverses the plant and the sleepers can be discharged in either direction.

The gripping member preferably includes an arm pivotable between an inner side (engaged) and an outer side (separated) relative to the end of the sleeper, and a fixture for supporting the sleeper in engagement with the gripping member. In a preferred embodiment, the pivotable arm of the gripping member is pivoted inward to contact the upper sleeper in a stack of inverted sleepers just below the rim. The fixture is pivoted inward to rest on the rim of the inverted sleeper. Since the inclined end of the inverted sleeper flares upwards, the opposed pivotable arms of the two gripping members in the device when engaged with the fixture effectively grip the end of the sleeper.

To transfer to the conveyor, the gripping member is rotated at an angle of about 180 ° and then released from the sleeper, causing the sleeper to fall onto the conveyor and be released from the conveyor. In the gripping member of the preferred form described above, releasing the sleeper is achieved by pivoting the fixture at least outward.

After releasing the sleeper, the gripping member is rotated again at an angle of about 180 ° in preparation for the repetition of the transfer cycle. In order to rotate the gripping member about a common axis, the gripping member is typically engaged with a crank mounted on the axis.

An elevator device typically includes a fork that contacts the bottom of the stack of sleepers and is incrementally lifted to continuously provide the sleeper to the gripping member. In the case where the device is mounted on a fork lift truck, the fork of the current truck can be used like an elevator.

The unloading device according to the invention also comprises upwardly extending guide rails positioned to be spaced out of the conveyor and adjacent to the outermost edge of the sleeper stack on the elevator. The guide rails easily provide the sleepers to the gripping member and prevent the stack of sleepers from falling out of the elevator.

The device may also include a device for unloading jammed sleepers in the stack. Typically such a device is a weight suspended at a point on the outside of the stack on an elevator. To release the jammed sleepers, the weight hits the top sleepers in the stack at least once.

Parts of the apparatus, namely conveyors, gripping members and elevators, can be driven by any suitable means including electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic means. However, the parts are preferably hydraulically driven by a hydraulic pump associated with the vehicle in which the device is installed. Generally hydraulic fluid is oil.

Unloading the sleepers using the device according to the invention proceeds as described below.

The vehicle on which the device is mounted moves along a crossbar or across a bridge between moving vehicles to access a stack of sleepers. As mentioned above, the stack of sleepers is preferably supported above the floor height to facilitate passage of elevator elements below the stack.

② The stack of sleepers is lifted to provide the top sleeper to the gripping means.

③ The top sleeper is grasped and transferred to the conveyor and discharged from it.

(4) The gripping member returns to the pick-up position, during which the elevator is incrementally raised to provide another sleeper to the gripping member.

⑤ The above steps ③ and ④ are repeated until all sleepers in the stack have been unloaded.

⑥ The vehicle then moves to the next stack of street objects to repeat the process.

The above process is carried out while the train is accompanied by a rung and the unloader is moved. Thus, sleepers can be distributed along a series of tracks. The spacing between distributed sleepers is affected by the speed of the train and the frequency of release of the sleepers by the unloader. The sleepers may be released intermittently to match the release and the exact location where the sleepers need to be replaced. In this regard, the process preferably uses an "operator cueing system". In such a system, instructions relating to where the sleepers need to be unloaded are recorded. This instruction is then sent to the operator during the operation of the unloading process so that the sleeper is unloaded in the desired position. Instructions may be seen, heard, or conveyed in printed form.

The operation of the unloading device according to the invention is preferably under the control of a programmable logic controller. In addition, microswitches and sensors may be provided to enable semi-automatic and automatic operation of the unloader, in particular steps 3 and 4 as described above.

In a preferred form, the rungs are loaded with a stack of sleepers, each stack comprising 20 sleepers, and as described above, the sleepers are inverted to facilitate unloading using the device according to the invention. The number of sleepers in the stack can exceed 20, and the absolute limit is determined by the rolling pedestal spacing and the structure of the train carrying the unloader.

Although the transport system and the unloading device have been described above extensively, each specific embodiment will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numbers in the drawings indicate like parts.

First, reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows an unloading device 1 mounted on a fork lift truck 2. The unloading device 1 comprises a frame 3 supporting the conveyor 4 and the gripping member assembly 5. The second frame 6 is slidable in the vertical direction in the frame 3, which frame 6 constitutes an elevator of the apparatus with forks 7, 8 extending in the horizontal direction. The frame 3 also has a subframe 9 protruding therefrom, which acts like a guide for the stack 10 of sleepers lying on the forks 7, 8 of the elevator.

The gripping member assembly 5 comprises opposed gripping members 11, 12 mounted to the cranks 13, 14, which are fixed to the shaft 15. The shaft 15 can be rotated by the drive device 16.

The gripping member assembly 5 and the part of the conveyor 4 are shown in FIG. 2. As part of the gripping member assembly, a gripping member 11, a crank 13, a shaft 15 and a drive device 16 are shown. The gripping member 11 comprises a pivotable arm 17 driven by the hydraulic arm 18 and a pivotable fixture 19 similarly driven by the hydraulic arm 20.

The gripping member 11 of FIG. 2 is shown in a configuration suitable for gripping a sleeper. The fingers 21 of the pivotable arm 17 engage the rim of the inverted sleeper (shown in FIG. 1), while the fixture 19 can be placed on the rim of the sleeper (also shown in FIG. 1). ).

Referring to the conveyor shown in FIG. 2, the base 22 is formed on the sides of two opposed but spaced channel members 23, 24. The looped chain 25 runs between the sprocket 26 of the conveyor and a similar sprocket at the other end (not shown in FIG. 2 but partially visible in FIG. 1) in the gap between the members 23, 24. Extend. Chain-shaped hooks (not shown) may engage the ends of the sleepers placed on the conveyor 4 to release the sleepers therefrom. Movement is transmitted to the chain 25 by drive sprockets not shown in the figure.

The operation of the unloading device can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2. The forks 7, 8 of the elevator can lift the sleeper stack 10 to provide the sleepers to the gripping members 11, 12. The grasped sleepers are lifted into the gripping member assembly and the assembly is rotated to position the sleepers on the conveyor 4. The fixture 19 and pivotable arm 17 of FIG. 2 pivot outwards so that the sleepers are placed on the conveyor 4 from which the sleepers can be released by the operation of the chain 25.

Returning the gripping members 11, 12 to the position shown in FIG. 1 allows the other sleepers to be gripped after the stack 10 has been sufficiently raised by the elevator.

A transport and unloading system including the aforementioned unloader is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. Referring first to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a fork lift truck 2 and an unloading device 1 on partially illustrated flat rail wagons 31, 32. Each wagon carries about two crosspieces as shown by reference numerals 33 and 34.

Referring to the crosspieces, in particular crossbar 34, each crossbar has four corner posts, one of which is shown by reference numeral 35. Corner posts are suitable for fastening the crossbars to wagons or other means of transport. In addition, the corner posts allow stacking rungs for storage.

The rungs have a plurality of pillars for separating a stack of sleepers, such as shown by reference number 37 of the rungs 33, one of which is shown by reference number 36. The rungs shown in the figure are designed to carry 14 stacks of inverted sleepers, with 20 sleepers per stack. In FIG. 3, the end front view of the stack represents only a portion, with the bottom sleeper shown entirely, while the top of the stack shows the upper edge of the upper sleeper. In Figure 4, a plan view of the inverted top sleepers in the stack can be seen.

The bridge device 38 is provided between the wagons. Each bridge device includes face plates 39 and 40, which are alternately pivotally connected to mounting plates 42 and 43 to meet at reference numeral 41. The overlap between the face plate and the mounting plate is shown by dashed line 44. As can be appreciated in FIG. 4, the bridge arrangement allows the unloader to pass between trucks.

The rungs have tracks along their sides to support the sleeper stack. The rail of the crosspiece 34 is indicated by reference numerals 45 and 46. These rails serve to mount columns that separate the stacks of sleepers. The rail also acts to lift the bottom of the stack of sleepers onto the bottom of the rungs, shown by dashed lines 47 and 48 on the rungs 33 and 34, respectively. The gap between the bottom of the stack and the bottom of the crosspiece allows the unloader forks 7, 8 (shown in FIG. 1) to pass under the stack.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the wagon 32 of FIG. 3 as viewed from the wagon 31. 5 shows a wagon 32, a crosspiece 34, a fork lift truck 2 and an unloading device 1. The positions of the corner posts (references 35 and 49) and the separation columns (references 36 and 50) in which the unloading device 1 and the forklift truck 2 can move along the crosspiece are shown in FIG. It is. This can also be seen from FIG. 4. The gap between the bottom 48 of the crosspiece 34 and the bottom of the stack of sleepers (shown in dashed line 51) can be seen from FIG. 5.

The sleeper unloading process is shown in part in FIG. 3. 3 shows the sleeper 52 gripped by the gripping means of the unloading device 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 and the above description of the gripping means). The same sleepers after being conveyed to the conveyor of the unloading device are shown by reference numeral 53.

The completion of the unloading process, ie the release of the sleepers, is shown in FIG. 5. Conveyor 4 (shown in FIG. 1) is shown, and the general trajectory of the sleepers discharged from the conveyor is shown at 55, 56, 57.

The trajectory obtained by the released sleepers can be highly dependent on the speed of the sleepers released by the conveyor. In some circumstances it may be desirable to send farther, while in other circumstances the sleepers need to be unloaded along the track near the vehicle.

In addition, the fork lift truck 2 and the crossbar 34, which are fully mounted in the typical rolling pedestal shown in dashed line 58 in FIG. ) Is shown.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the transport system and unloader as described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (21)

In the system for transporting and unloading iron sleepers of the railway, At least one crossbar mountable to a flat rail wagon and adapted to support an arrangement of parallel stacks of the sleepers oriented transverse to the crossbar; And an unloader movable along the at least one crossbar and capable of removing at least one sleeper from the stack. The method of claim 1, Said rungs comprise pillars at each corner thereof. The method of claim 2, Wherein each end of each cross column is suitable for fastening to another cross, vehicle or lifting device. The method of claim 1, A system for transport and unloading, wherein pillars are provided along each side of the rung to separate the stack of sleepers. The method of claim 1, A rail is provided along each side of the crossbar to support an end of the stack of sleepers. The method of claim 1, A transport and unloading system comprising a plurality of wagons each carrying at least one crosspiece. The method of claim 6, A transport and unloading system in which a bridge is provided between adjacent trucks for the passage of the unloader. The method of claim 7, wherein The bridge includes a pair of opposed face plates that are staggered toward each other, each face plate being pivotable relative to the mounting plate, wherein the bridge is mounted to the wagon via the mounting plate. The method of claim 1, The sleeper stack is supported on the crosspiece and the sleeper is upside down. The method of claim 1, Wherein each stack of sleepers comprises 20 sleepers. An unloader for use in a system as defined in claim 1 comprising a vehicle having an unloading device mounted thereon, A conveyor for discharging the sleepers delivered to the conveyor from the unloading device, An opposite gripping member adjacent the conveyor, suitable for gripping each end of the inverted sleeper provided thereon, and for transferring the sleeper to the conveyor; And an elevator for lifting said stack of sleepers and providing individual sleepers to said gripping member continuously. The method of claim 11, The conveyor apparatus includes an ejector having a flat base having a side extending upwardly and an ejector having an endless belt, a chain or a wire rope and fitted with at least one hook, wherein the hook is provided on the conveyor. An unloader movable along a longitudinally extending slot in the channel base for contacting an end of a sleeper. The method of claim 11, The gripping member device includes an arm pivotable between an inner side (engaged) and an outer side (separated) relative to an end of the sleeper, and a fixture for engaging the gripping member to support the sleeper. The method of claim 13, The pivotable arm of the gripping member device is pivotable to contact inwardly with the upper sleeper in a stack of inverted sleepers adjacent to the rim of the upper sleeper, the fastener being inwardly placed over the rim of the upper sleeper. Unloader pivotable. The method of claim 11, An unloader for positioning the sleeper on the conveyor by rotating the gripping member at an angle of about 180 ° to deliver the sleeper to the conveyor by the gripping member device. The method of claim 15, An axis comprising a co-axis to rotate the gripping member, wherein each gripping member is mounted to the axis via a crank. The method of claim 11, The elevator in contact with the bottom of the stack of sleepers, the unloader including an incrementally raised fork to continuously provide the sleepers to the gripping member. The method of claim 11, Said vehicle being a fork lift truck. The method of claim 11, A guide rail extending upwardly spaced outwardly of the conveyor and positioned to be adjacent to the outermost edge of the stack of sleepers on the elevator. The method of claim 11, The device includes a device for unloading a jammed sleeper in the stack, the device suspended from a point on an outer surface of the stack of the sleeper on the elevator and positioned to pivotally contact at least the upper sleeper of the stack of sleepers. Unloader with set weights. The method of claim 11, The conveyor, the gripping member and the elevator are hydraulically driven.