US3690551A

US3690551A - Rail-fastening devices

Info

Publication number: US3690551A
Application number: US83136A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilhelm Munch
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-10-27
Filing date: 1970-10-22
Publication date: 1972-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 1989-09-12
Also published as: AT304599B; ZA707095B; FR2066381A5; DE1954008B1; BE757946A; CH519053A; GB1315517A

Abstract

This invention relates to rail-fastening devices for fastening rails to mounting members such as ties or sleepers and of the kind where a bow-shaped clamp is elastically tightenable to hold the rail in position, a part or parts of the clamp resting on the tie or sleeper and another part of the clamp resting on the rail in such a fashion that one part of the clamp presses on the rail foot with a long spiral spring excursion positively to press the rail permanently in a downward direction. In accordance with the invention, one or more stiffly sprung parts of the clamp project over the rail foot and this part or parts on contacting the rail foot or on contacting other parts of the clamp that presses down the rail foot in a positive manner with a long spring excursion, forms not only an elastic limitation of the tightening excursion against plastification of the clamp but also a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting and tilting movement of the rail.

Description

United States Patent Munch [54] RAIL-FASTENING DEVICES [72] Inventor: Wilhelm Munch, Rodenbecker Strasse 35, 4950 Minden, Germany [22] Filed: I Oct. 22, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 83,136

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 27, 1969 Germany ..l9540080 [52] U.S. Ci ..238/349 [5 1] Int. Cl. ..E0lh 9/48 [58] Field of Search ..238/349, 310, 338, 351

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,439,874 4/1969 Meier.....' ..238/349 2,281,750 5/1942 Clarkson ..238/349 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 222,978 7/1959 Australia ..238/349 1 Sept. 12, 1972 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Bertsch Attorney-George F. Dvorak, Stephen T. Skrydlak and Marden S. Gordon [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to rail-fastening devices for fastening rails to mounting members such as ties or sleepers and of the kind where a bow-shaped clamp is elastically tightenable to hold the rail in position, a part or parts of the clamp resting on the tie or sleeper and another part of the clamp resting on the rail in such a fashion that one part of the clamp presses on the rail foot with a long spiral spring excursion positively to press the rail permanently in a downward direction. In accordance with the invention, one or more stifiiy sprung parts of the clamp project over the rail foot and this part or parts on contacting the rail foot or on contacting other parts of the clamp that presses down the rail foot in a positive manner with a long spring excursion, forms not only an elastic limitation of the tightening excursion againstplastification of the clamp but also a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting and tilting movement of the rail.

6 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEBSEM I 12 I 3.690.551

sum

2 or 4 PATENTED EP 12 2 3.690.551

sum

3 or 4 Fig.14

RAIL-FASTENING DEVICES The present invention relates to devices for fastening rails to ties, mounting plates or other mounting devices with or without the interposition of base plates and is of particular reference to the mounting of rails for railroad tracks and the like.

Rail-fastening devices are known which utilize elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamps which rest on the one hand on the tie or mounting plate, and on the other hand on the foot of the rail. ln-this way, one or more parts of the sprung clamp press against the rail foot with a long spring excursion and positively press the rail permanently in a downward direction. It is also known to bring about a limitation of the spring excursion of such springy clamping hoops by causing the downwardly pressed middle portion of the -clamp to come into contact with a guiding bar of the structural members holding the rail.

In current railroad operations, higher speeds and higher axle loads are sought. This signifies higher stresses on the rails in the vertical direction which, despite the effect of thetightening forces operating on the foot of the rail by the bow-shaped clamps, can lead to a lifting of the rail foot. At the same time, when travelling around a curve, there are increased stresses on the rail by horizontal components of force which tend to tilt the rail.

It is an object of the invention so to construct the known fastening arrangement utilizing elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamps that the forces effecting a raising or tilting of the rail are also absorbed under spring action, by means of a novel shaping and arrangement of the clamps, whilst still maintaining the elastically springy pressing of the rail foot against the under-supports for the rail.

This is attained in accordance with the invention by causing one or more stiffly sprung parts of the elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamp to project in the tightened operating position above the rail foot and these parts resist possible raising or tilting movement of the rail by contacting the upper side of the rail foot or the parts of the clamp positively pressing down the rail foot with a long spring excursion.

A rail-fastening constructed according to the invention offers the advantage that parts of the bow-shaped clamp on the one hand presses down the rails over a long spring excursion and on the other hand, either by bracing these clamp parts against another stiffly sprung part of the clamp or with a common contact of one part of the clamp as well as with another on the surface of the rail foot, oppose increased lifting forces of the rail as well as a possible tilting movement of the latter over a short spring excursion, with an increased holding force.

For example, according to the invention, the stiflly sprung part or parts of the clamp projecting over the rail foot can reach up to those parts of a clamping bow which press down positively on the rail foot, thus resting on these parts in the tightened operating position or are located thereabove. In one embodiment, utilizing a bow-shaped clamp which is formed with a somewhat W-shape and having mutually opposed ends, an extension of the bight of the middle portion of the clamp which passes around a stem of the fastening device and is adjacent the rail, extends up to a point above the oppositely directed ends of the clamp'lying on the foot of the rail. In another embodiment utilizing a bow-shaped clamp, the arcuate middle portion of which rests on the tie or a similar supporting device, and two shanks branch out from this middle portion and extend substantially parallel to one another and on both sides of the stem of the fastening means, and project to such an extent above the foot of the rail that the stiffly sprung parts of the shanks come into contact with the ends of the clamp lying on the rail'foot.

The stiffly sprung part or parts of the clamp bow projecting above the rail foot may, however, also in the tightened operating position, lie directly against the surface of the rail foot, preferably between the edge of the rail foot and the ends of the clamp bow pressing down on the rail foot.

A rail-fastening device according to the invention may also be so constructed that the stiffiy sprung part or parts of the'clamp projecting above the rail foot are so arranged that, in the tightened operating position, they lie not only on the surface of the rail foot but also for limitation of the spring excursion on another guiding part for the rail.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show certain embodiments thereof by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a rail-fastening device in the tightened operating position along the line I-I of FIG. 2,

FIG. 2 is a plan view, and

FIG. 3 is a side view, of the rail-fastening device illustrated in FIG. 1, 7

FIG. 4 shows the same rail-fastening device before tightening,

FIG. 5 shows a vertical section through a second embodiment of rail-fastening device in the tightened operating position along the line V-V of FIG. 6,

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rail-fastening device illustrated in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a section along the line VIIVII of FIG. 6 taken in the longitudinal direction of the rail,

FIG. 8 shows the rail-fastening device according to FIG. 5 before tightening,

FIG. 9 shows the same fastening device before tightening (section line IXIX of FIG. 6) illustrated in the same aspect as FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is a vertical section through a third embodiment of rail-fastening device in the tightened operating position along the line X-X of FIG. 11,

FIG. 11 is a plan view, and

FIG. 12 is a side view, of the rail-fastening device, illustrated in FIG. 10,

FIG. 13 shows the rail-fastening device according to FIGS. 10-12 before tightening of the clamp, and

FIG. 14 shows a loading diagram typical of a railfastening device according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. l-4 there is used a somewhat W- shaped elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamp I whose ends 2 are oppositely directed and, in the tightened position, press down the foot 3 of the rail 4. The foot of the rail rests on a mounting plate 6 with the interposition of a resilient intermediate layer 5, said plate 6 being provided with bolts 7 and nuts 8. On

tightening the nuts 8, the hoop of clamp l is urged out of the position illustrated in FIG. 4 and into the position indicated in FIG. 1 in section. In both positions, the parts 9 of the clamping hoop 1 rest upon the mounting plate 6, as a result of which the two ends 2 of the clamping hoop positively press down on the foot of the rail 3 in the tightened position shown in FIG. 1.

An extension of the bight of the middle portion 10 of the clamp which passes round the stem of the bolt 7 and is adjacent the rail, extends up to a point above the oppositely directed ends 2 of the clamp lying onthe rail foot 3. In this way, this projecting part 10 of the clamp, due to its contact against the clamp ends 2, resists possible raising or tilting motions of the rail by stiff spring action. Thus, there isobtained a desired stifi spring effect of the clamp, additionally to its soft spring action for holding down the foot of the rail, without a high material cost. The excursion of the soft springing action is indicated at x and that of the stiff springing at y. .In the embodiment according to FIGS. -9, a bowshaped clamp is utilised whose arcuate middle portion 11 rests on the mounting plate 6. From this middle portion of'the clamp there branch out two shanks 13'which are generally parallel to each other and extend on both sides of the fastening bolt 7 which extend above the rail foot over corresponding bendings in the oppositely directed ends 12 pressing under spring action on the rail foot. In this way, in the tightened operating position, there ends 12 lie directly under the not yet bent stifi'ly sprung parts of the shanks 13 projecting over the edge of the rail foot so that these parts form a stiffly sprung contactor for the ends 12 of the clamp when the rail is subjected to high tilting or lifting forces.

The rail-fastening device illustrated in FIGS. -13 depict an embodiment of the invention with a somewhat W-shaped clamp 16 whose ends 14 resting on the rail foot are oppositely directed. The parts 17 of the clamp rest on the mounting plate 6. A middle portion of the clamp passing around the bolt 7 and projecting up to an area above the foot of the rail 3 is, in this case, bent downwards to such an extend that, in the tightened operating position, it lies against the surface of the rail foot and indeedbetween the edge of the rail foot and the ends 14 of the clamp. It is also possible to arrange the stiffly sprung parts of the clamp projecting above the rail foot in such a manner that, in the tightened operating position, they rest not only on the surface of the rail foot but also on a rail guiding bar, not shown.

The loading diagram illustrated in FIG. 14 shows that with a usual operating tightening of 1,200 kp there is available a spring excursion of about 11 mm but, however, a rail-fastening constructed in accordance with the invention can take up a further tightening force up to about 3,000 kp over a spring excursion of about 1 mm. Thenormal tightened operating position is indicated by means of a circle with the letter z. The diagram of under load conditions is shown in full lines and the diagram under load-removal conditions is illustrated by dotted lines. I

I claim:

1. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising:

a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion and end portions;

the fastening member.

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including a first sectionthereof. resting on the mounting member and a second section thereof projecting over the foot of said rail;

an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of a fastening member;

said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extending longitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursion adapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mounting member; I

said second section adapted to engage the top of said rail foot upon tightening said fastening member to form an elastic limitation of theexcursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

2. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein said second section contacts said rail foot between the longitudinal edge thereof and said end portions that press down said rail foot.

3. A fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said middle portion of said clamp projecting over said rail foot is arranged to rest both on the surface of said rail foot and on a guide bar of said rail upon tightening 4. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising:

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including a first section thereof resting on the mounting member and a second section thereof projecting over the foot of said rail;

said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extending longitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursion adapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mounting member;

said second section extending over said end portions for contact therewith upon tightening said fastening member to fonn an elastic limitation of the excursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

5. A fastening device according to claim 4 wherein said clamp member comprises a substantially W- shaped body section with mutually opposed ends resting on the rail foot, the middle portion of said clamp extending above and adjacent said rail up to a point directly above said oppositely directed ends of said clamp lying on the foot of said rail for contact therewith upon tightening the fastening member.

6. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising:

a flexible rod like bow shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion, end portions, and shank portions interconnecting the middle and end portions,

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped with a section thereof resting on the mounting member;

over said rail foot that upon tightening the fastening member to urge the shanks downwardly at least one stiffly sprung portion of said shanks comes into contact with said end portions of said clamp lying on said rail foot so as to form an elastic limitation of the tightening excursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with providing a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

Claims

1. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising: a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion and end portions; said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including a first section thereof resting on the mounting member and a second section thereof projecting over the foot of said rail; an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of a fastening member; said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extending longitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursion adapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mounting member; said second section adapted to engage the toP of said rail foot upon tightening said fastening member to form an elastic limitation of the excursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

3. A fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said middle portion of said clamp projecting over said rail foot is arranged to rest both on the surface of said rail foot and on a guide bar of said rail upon tightening the fastening member.

4. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising: a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion and end portions; said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including a first section thereof resting on the mounting member and a second section thereof projecting over the foot of said rail; an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of a fastening member; said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extending longitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursion adapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mounting member; said second section extending over said end portions for contact therewith upon tightening said fastening member to form an elastic limitation of the excursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

5. A fastening device according to claim 4 wherein said clamp member comprises a substantially W-shaped body section with mutually opposed ends resting on the rail foot, the middle portion of said clamp extending above and adjacent said rail up to a point directly above said oppositely directed ends of said clamp lying on the foot of said rail for contact therewith upon tightening the fastening member.

6. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting member comprising: a flexible rod like bow shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion, end portions, and shank portions interconnecting the middle and end portions, said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped with a section thereof resting on the mounting member; an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of a fastening member; said end portions resting on the foot of said rail forming a long spring excursion positively pressing said rail downwardly toward said mounting member; said shank portions including two shanks which branch out from said arcuate middle portion and extend substantially parallel to one another and on both sides of a stem of the fastening member, said shanks projecting to such an extend above and over said rail foot that upon tightening the fastening member to urge the shanks downwardly at least one stiffly sprung portion of said shanks comes into contact with said end portions of said clamp lying on said rail foot so as to form an elastic limitation of the tightening excursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along with providing a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting and tilting movement of said rail.