US2972964A

US2972964A - Machine for ramming the ballast of railway lines

Info

Publication number: US2972964A
Application number: US710465A
Authority: US
Inventors: Allemann Paul
Original assignee: Matisa Materiel Industriel SA; Constructions Mecaniques SA
Current assignee: Matisa Materiel Industriel SA; Materiel Industriel SA; Constructions Mecaniques SA
Priority date: 1957-02-04
Filing date: 1958-01-22
Publication date: 1961-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 1978-02-28
Also published as: GB840575A; DK90647C; BE564189A; AT201644B; CH332735A; FR1214840A; DE1106356B

Description

Feb. 28, 1961 P. ALLEMANN MACHINE FOR RAMMING THE BALLAST OF RAILWAY LINES Filed Jan. 22. 1958 MACHINE FOR RAMMING THE BALLAST OF I RAILWAY LINES Paul Allemann, Renens, Switzerland, assignor to Materiel Industriel S.A., Lausanne, and Constructions Mecaniques S.A. Renens, Renens, Switzerland Filed Ian. 22, 1958, at. No. 710,465 Claims priority, application Switzerland Feb. 4, 1967 1 Claim. (Cl. 104-12 It is known that the ramming machines for railway lines very often comprise removable tools which can be mounted on a certain number of vibrating tool-carriers, having the shape of arms, which are arranged'in pairs opposite to one another on either side of the sleeper which is to be rammed and which are generally arranged on one or more supporting members, called mobile frames be cause they can be displaced in relation to the fixed frame of the vehicle in order that the tools may be sunk into the ballast. It is known that the ramming action, facilitated by the vibration of the tools, is obtained in particular by successively moving the tool spades towards one another and away from one another which assembles and packs the stones of the ballast to a compact mass, called a mould, under each sleeper in the neighborhood of each of the rows of rails.

In the rammers which are called hydraulic or pneumatic, these motions, respectively called closing and opening motions, of the tool-carriers are controlled by a fluid acting by its pressure in variable volume chambers.

In the hydraulic or pneumatic rammers known as vibrating frame rammers, the two arms of each pair are articulated on an auxiliary supporting member which is made to vibrate by means of a generator of vibrations of any type and is then secured to the mobile frame proper, i.e., to the frame which is adjustable in height as we have seen above, preferably by means of damping members in order to reduce the vibrating masses to a minimum, which ofiers all the evident advantages of such an arrangement.

Actually there is in this type of machine no known satisfactory system enabling symmetrical closing mo-' tions, i.e., a conjugated closing motion to be imparted to the two tool-carrying arms, because those based on the interdependence of the hydraulic control itself lead to designs which are too complicated, delicate and costly for practical requirements, and those making use of a mechanical interdependence of the two arms, which employ a system of elbowed tool-carrying arms connected by a multiplicity of rods, i.e., comprising several rigid elements articulated in series so as to form a kinematic chain, which require, in addition, a device to guide at lease one intermediate articulation in relation to the vibrating frame, are badly adapted for the purpose owing to the elasticity of the mechanism and to the backlash which inevitably occurs in the articulations, thus causing sensible losses in the vibration of the tool-carriers in addition to the other aforementioned disadvantages.

The present invention aims at remedying these defects of the hydraulic and pneumatic rammers, and in particular of those with a vibrating frame. Its object is a machine for ramming the ballast of railway lines, of the type comprising means controlled by a fluid under pressure for producing the motions towards one another and away from one another of at least one pair of ramming tools, characterized in that at least one member ensuring the mechanical interdependence is provided to connect the two tool-carrying arms of a same pair of tools, in order to ensure a conjugated motion of these tools, this member,

which can be made in several parts being articulated solely to these tool-carrying arms.

The single figure of the accompanying drawing illus-{ trates, schematically and by way of an example, an embodiment of the machine according to the inventio'nf In 1 may be seen two tool-carriers in the shape of rectilinear arms respectively articulated in 2- and 3 to the rod 7 of a piston and to a cylinder 8 in which this piston slides. In 4 may be seen the tools (spades) secured to the lower extremities of the arms 1. In 5 can be seen a sleeper under which the ballast (which has not beenshown) has to be rammed by the tools 4. The ducts 111 it from one side:

serve to supply the fluidand evacuate and the other of the piston in the cylinder 8.

by a plate in the shape of a U placed upside down.

This vibrating frame is secured by means of damping components 13, on a frame which has not been shown and which is mobile vertically in order to ensure the sinking motion of the tools 4 into the ballast, the extraction of these tools from the ballast and to allow them to be lifted above the sleeper 5, in order that the machine and with it the tools 4 may be moved over to the next sleeper.

A vibrator, constituted in the embodiment shown by an electric motor 10 driving an eccentric 9, is secured to the frame 12 and consequently imparts to the latter a vibrating motion which it transmits to the arms 1 and consequently to the tools 4. This vibrator could be of a type different from that comprising an unbalance and an electric motor.

The arms 1 are connected to one another so as to be mechanically interdependent by a member, constituted in this embodiment by a rod 14, articulated to points 15, respectively 16 of the arms 1, preferably situated at equal distances from the articulations 6, but the one above and the other below the respective articulation. It is easy to understand that thus, when the fluid under pressure is introduced into the part of the cylinder 8 which is situated to the right of the piston 7, the tools 4 are not only compelled to move towards one another, but that in addition, the motion of these tools can, according to the proportions chosen for the different parts, be practically symmetrical within the extent of the working movement. An abnormal swinging motion of the toolcarriers under the influence of the weights concerned and above all under the action of the unequal resistances encountered by the two tools 4 in the ballast, is thus avoided.

This advantage of having a conjugated practically symmetrical motion of the tools is of importance for the quality of the ramming action. Up to the present, in the hydraulic or pneumatic rammers which were principally designed so as to limit the ramming pressure, this symmetrical motion was not ensured, as has been mentioned above.

In a variant, the interconnecting rod can be provided at 14a, i.e., symmetrically with respect to the rod 14, as shown by the dot and dash lines.

In another variant, the axis of the piston 7 and cylinder 8 controlling the opening and closing motion of the tools could be arranged obliquely, for instance in order to allow the articulations 3 and 6 of the right-hand arm 1 to be replaced by a common articulation. This construction would allow the articulations 6 of the left-hand arm and 16 to be arranged at the same height above the ballast. The shape of the vibrating frame 12 would in that case have to be modified in consequence, the right hand point 6 (coinciding with 3) would. be placed higher than the left-hand point 6 and that part of the right-hand arm 1 situated above the articulation 6 would be suppressed.

It will be remarked that owing to the fact that the tools Patented Feb. 28, 1961 all vibrate under the control of the frame, they vibrate synchronously and in phase. The rear face of a tool 4 thus periodically receives from the ballast a thrust which tends to close the tool-carriers. and counteracts the effect of the ballast compressed by theopposite tool,v whence: the: possibility of. using, an elastic fluid- (,gas%

The vibrating. frame 12 could. obviously be made. to carry more than one pair of. tool-carrying, arms-..

The invention is) not limited to the case of a vibrating toolecarrying frame; The vibration oh the tools could also be controlled individually for each tool.

Whatlclaimis:

Ramming apparatus comprising opposed ramming; tools; tool carriers supporting, said rammingtools, a sup porting frame, each: oi said tool carriers being pivoted on said frame, piston and cylinder means coupled to said: tool carriers on thesarneside'of' the: connection between thetool. carrier and theframe and. responsive to a pressure medium for oscillating said. tools toward and away from each other, and a connecting rod connected solely between said tool carriers, saidrodv being connected to anemone 4 one carrier above the connection of the latter to said frame and to the other carrier below the connection of the latter to said frame and being spaced the same distance from the pivot connection point between the tool carrier and the frame, said rod insuring a correlated movement of said carriers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,5521611' Jackson Sept. 3, 1925 1,740,538 Connelly Dec. 24, 1929 1,767,268 Wehr ...t=- Ju'ne' 24, 1930 2,536,8&7 Philbrick ..t -a Jan. 2, 1 951 2,706,061 Elimann Apr.12, 1955 2,791,971 Schnellmann: May 14, 1957 2,821,935 Bean Feb. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 509,019 Canada Jan;- 11, 1955 830,352 Germany .t. Feb. 4, 1952'