WO2006070951A1

WO2006070951A1 - Elastic device for fastening rails to crossties

Info

Publication number: WO2006070951A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/003485
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hyung Suk Mun; Ki Young Eum; In Ho Yeo
Original assignee: Korea Raiload Research Instiute
Priority date: 2004-12-29
Filing date: 2004-12-29
Publication date: 2006-07-06
Also published as: JP2008525679A; JP4663736B2

Abstract

An elastic device for fastening rails (2) to crossties (1) is disclosed. The elastic device includes a base plate (6) which is mounted to an upper surface of each of the crossties (1) on which the rails (2) are seated, and a spring clip (7) which is removably provided between a pair of base plates (6) mounted to adjacent crossties (1). The elastic device of the present invention reliably fastens the rails (2) to the crossties (1), and efficiently dampens vertical vibration of a traveling railway vehicle, thereby preventing the rails (2) from damage and, as a result, reducing maintenance costs, and, particularly, providing a smooth comfortable ride to passengers using railway vehicles.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]

[invention Title]

ELASTIC DEVICE FOR FASTENING RAILS TO CROSSTIES

[Technical Field] The present invention relates, in general, to elastic

devices for fastening rails and, more particularly, to an

elastic device for fastening rails to crossties in which a

spring clip is provided between a pair of base plates mounted

to adjacent crossties, so that a support bar provided on an

intermediate portion of the spring clip compresses downwards

a wide portion of an upper surface of a rail foot part of

each of the rails which are positioned between the crossties,

thus reliably fastening the rails to the crossties, and

efficiently dampening vertical vibration of a railway vehicle

occurring due to the rails sagging when the railway vehicle

travels, thereby preventing the rails from damage and, as

well, reducing maintenance costs, and, particularly,

providing a smooth comfortable ride to passengers thanks to

the reduced vibration of the railway vehicle.

[Background Art] Generally, elastic devices for fastening rails are devices to fasten left and right rails to the left and right of crossties. The elastic fastening devices serve to maintain a gap between the rails, and dampen force and vibration, which are vertically and horizontally applied by a railway vehicle to the rails when the railway vehicle travels, and transmit the dampened force and vibration to the crossties, the road and the roadbed.

As described in Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-0092132, the elastic fastening devices are classified into British PR-clips and e-clips, French RN- type and nabla-type elastic fastening devices, and German W-type and vossloh-type elastic fastening devices.

The British elastic fastening devices have advantages of having a small number of components and requiring low maintenance. However, the British elastic fastening devices are disadvantageous in that they have low control ability, and are easily damaged because they lack a double tilting prevention function, thus maintenance is difficult. In the case of the French and German elastic fastening devices, because a plurality of locking bolts is necessary, much time and labor are required for a maintenance process to inspect and tighten the locking bolts that are used in innumerable fastening units mounted to a railroad track.

In an effort to overcome the problems experienced with the conventional arts, a rail fastening device was proposed in the above-mentioned Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-0092132, which was filed by the inventor of the present invention. The rail fastening device includes a shoulder 3. The shoulder 3 has a fixing part 31 which protrudes upwards from an intermediate portion of an upper surface of a support frame 33 fastened to each crosstie 1. An upper support 311 is symmetrically provided on the fixing part 31. The shoulder 3 further has a pair of side supports 32 which protrude upwards at predetermined positions from the fixing part 31. The rail fastening device further includes a fastening spring 4 which receives therein the fixing part 31 of the shoulder 3 and is supported by the upper support 311 while both ends of the fastening spring 4 are adjacent and symmetrical to each other. The fastening spring 4 has a bent part 41 which extends from each of both ends of the fastening spring 4 and is supported by each side support 32. The fastening spring 4 further has a straight front part which is curved to compress downwards and fasten a rail foot 21. The rail fastening device further includes an insulator 5 which is provided between the fastening spring 4 and the rail foot

21.

The conventional rail fastening device having the

above-mentioned construction includes the shoulder and the

fastening spring which realize a double safety structure

without a locking bolt, thus reducing the space required

for fastening rails to crossties and the maintenance costs,

and enhancing stability. However, the structure of

components constituting the device is complicated.

Furthermore, due to the large number of components,

manufacturing and installation costs are increased. In

addition, it is problematic in that vibration dampening

ability is insufficient.

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

Accordingly, the present invention has been made

keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior

art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an

elastic device for fastening rails to crossties in which a

spring clip is mounted between adjacent crossties such that a

support bar, which is bent in a predetermined shape and

formed on an intermediate portion of the spring clip, compresses downwards a rail foot part of a rail which is above the space between the adjacent crossties, thus reliably- fastening the rails to the crossties, and efficiently- dampening vibration occurring due to a traveling railway vehicle, thereby preventing the rails from damage and, as well, markedly reducing its maintenance costs, and providing a smooth comfortable ride to passengers using the railway vehicle.

[Technical Solution] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, including: a base plate mounted to an upper surface of each of the crossties on which the rails are seated; and a spring clip removably provided between a pair of base plates mounted to adjacent crossties, thus elastically fastening each of the rails to the crossties.

The spring clip may be mounted to the crossties by locking bolts which fasten the base plates to the crossties. The spring clip may include a hook formed by bending each of opposite ends of the spring clip, so that the hook is hooked to a head part of a locking bolt; and a support bar integrated with the hooks at opposite ends of the

spring clip and bent to elastically compress a rail foot of

each of the rails downwards.

The spring clips may be placed in pairs on both sides

of each of the rails such that the spring clips are

opposite each other. Alternatively, the spring clips may be

placed on both sides of each of the rails such that the

spring clips individually alternate in a zigzag manner on

either side of each of the rails.

[Advantageous Effects]

The present invention provides an elastic device for

rails to crossties in which a spring clip is mounted between

adjacent crossties such that a support bar, which is bent in

a predetermined shape and formed on an intermediate portion

of the spring clip, compresses downwards a rail foot part of

a rail which is above the space between the adjacent

crossties, thus reliably fastening the rails to the

crossties, and efficiently dampening vibration caused by a

traveling railway vehicle using the spring clips, thereby

preventing the rails from damage and, as a result, markedly

reducing its maintenance costs, and providing a smooth

comfortable ride to passengers using the railway vehicle, thereby enhancing the reliability of railway vehicles.

[Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an enlargement of an important part of a conventional elastic device for fastening rails;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the elastic fastening device mounted to a crosstie according to the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a spring clip used in the present invention.

[Best Mode]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the elastic fastening device mounted to a crosstie according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a spring clip used in the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the elastic fastening device of the present invention includes a base plate 6 which is mounted to an upper surface of each of the crossties 1 on which the rails 2 are seated.

The elastic fastening device further includes a spring clip 7 which is removably provided between a pair of base plates 6 mounted to adjacent crossties 1, thus elastically fastening each of the rails 2 to the crossties 1.

Both the base plate 6 and the spring clip 7 are mounted to the crossties 1 by locking bolts 8.

Each spring clip 6 has a hook 71 which is formed by bending each of opposite ends of the spring clip 6, so that the hook is hooked to a head part of each locking bolt 8 on adjacent base plates 6. The spring clip 6 further has a support bar 72 which has a predetermined length and is integrated with the hooks 71 at opposite ends of the spring clip 6 and is bent in a predetermined shape. A lower surface of the support bar 72 of the spring clip 6 is in close contact with a rail foot part 21 of each rail 2 in a longitudinal direction of the rail 2, thus elastically compressing the rail foot part 21 downwards.

Here, the spring clips 7 may be placed in pairs on both sides of each of the rails 2 such that the spring clips 7 are opposite each other. Alternatively, the spring clips 7 may be placed on both sides of each of the rails 2 such that the spring clips 7 individually alternate in a zigzag manner on either side of each of the rails 2, as shown in FIG. 3.

The operation and effect of the elastic fastening device having the above-mentioned construction will be explained herein below.

Each base plate 6 is mounted to a plate seat 11 which is formed on each of both ends of each crosstie 1. After a vibration isolation pad 9 is placed on a rail seat 61 which is formed on an intermediate portion of each base plate 6, the rails 2 are placed on the base plates 6 such that the rail foot parts 21 of the rails 2 are seated into the rail seats 61 of the base plates 6. Each spring clip 7 is placed between adjacent base plates 6. Thereafter, both the base plate 6 and the spring clip 7 are fastened to the crossties 1 by the locking bolts 8. At this time, the spring clip 7 is placed between the adjacent base plates 6 such that the support bar 72 of the spring clip 7 is placed on an upper surface of the rail foot part 21. Each locking bolt 8 is tightened into a bolt locking hole 12 provided on each crosstie 1 after passing through both the associated hook 71 of the spring clip 7 and a bolt through hole 62 provided in the base plate 6.

As such, when both the spring clip 7 and the base plate 6 are fastened to the crossties 1 using the locking bolts 8, as the hooks 71 of the spring clip 7, hooked to the head parts of the locking bolts 8, are moved along with the base plates 6 toward the crossties 1 in response to tightening the locking bolts 8, the support bar 72, which is provided between the hooks 71, comes into contact with the upper surface of the rail foot part 21 of the rail 2 gradually. Therefore, a bent part 73 of the spring clip 7 which is provided between each of the hooks 71 and the support bar 72 becomes bent upwards to provide sufficient elastic force to the spring clip 7. In other words, the elastic force of the spring clip 7 is provided by the bent parts 73 which are formed between the hooks 71 and the support bar 72 and couple them to each other. When the hooks 71 at opposite ends of the spring clip 7 are fastened along with the base plates 6 to the crossties 1 using locking bolts 8, the support bar 72 of the spring clip 7 is placed on the upper surface of the rail foot 21 of the rail 2 which is positioned higher than the upper surface of each base plate 6. Thus, the bent parts 73 of the spring clip 7 are bent upwards, as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, the bent parts 73 provide sufficient elastic force to the support bar 72 placed on the upper surface of the rail foot part 21

As such, because the rail foot part 21, which is above the space between the adjacent crossties 1, is elastically supported by the spring clip 7, the rail 2 is reliably fastened to the crossties 1. As a result, vibration from a railway vehicle is markedly dampened by the spring clips 7 when the railway vehicle travels, so that the rails 2 are prevented from damage, thus reducing the costs required for maintaining the rails 2. As well, the stability of the traveling railway vehicle is secured. In addition, the present invention reduces vibration of the railway vehicle, thus providing a smooth comfortable ride

to passengers.

In the meantime, the spring clip 7 is fastened along with the base plate 6 to the crosstie 1 by the locking bolts 8, such that a bent part of each hook 71 of the spring clip 7 protrudes a little from the head part of the locking bolt 8 outwards. Thus, when the length of the spring clip 7 is changed by vibration while a railway vehicle travels, the hooks 71 of the spring clip 7, which are hooked to the head parts of the locking bolts 8, are moved a little to the left and right and returned to their initial positions, thus reducing vibration force.

When the spring clips 7 are mounted between the base plates 6, as shown in FIG. 2, the spring clips 7 may be placed in pairs on both sides of each of the rails 2 such that the spring clips 7 are opposite each other, thus the support bars 72 of the spring clips 7 compress both sides of the rail foot part 21 of the rail 2 downwards. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, the spring clips 7 may be placed on both sides of each of the rails 2 such that the spring clips 7 individually alternate in a zigzag manner on either side of each of the rails 2.

In FIG. 2, the spring clips 7 are opposite each other and continuously connect every crosstie 1. Alternatively, the spring clips 7 are placed opposite each other on both sides of each of the rails 2 in an on/off alternating manner such that the spring clips 7 only connect pairs of adjacent crossties 1.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

[industrial Applicability]

As described above, the present invention provides an elastic device for fastening rails in which a spring clip is provided between a pair of base plates mounted to adjacent crossties, so that a support bar provided on an intermediate portion of the spring clip compresses downwards a wide portion of an upper surface of a rail foot part of each of the rails which are placed between the crossties, thus reliably fastening the rails to the crossties, and efficiently dampening vertical vibration of a railway vehicle occurring due to the rails sagging when the railway vehicle travels, thereby preventing the rails from damage and, as well, reducing maintenance costs, and, particularly, providing a smooth comfortable ride to passengers thanks to the reduced vibration of the railway vehicle.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim l]

An elastic device for fastening rails to crossties, comprising: a base plate mounted to an upper surface of each of the crossties on which the rails are seated; and a spring clip removably provided between a pair of base plates mounted to adjacent crossties, thus elastically fastening each of the rails to the crossties.

[Claim 2] The elastic device for fastening the rails to the crossties according to claim 1, wherein both the base plate and the spring clip are mounted to the crossties by locking bolts.

[Claim 3] The elastic device for fastening the rails to the crossties according to claim 1, wherein the spring clip comprises: a hook formed by bending each of opposite ends of the spring clip, so that the hook is hooked to a head part of a locking bolt; and a support bar integrated with the hooks at opposite ends of the spring clip and bent to elastically compress a rail foot of each of the rails downwards.

[Claim 4]

The elastic device for fastening the rails to the crossties according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spring clips is placed in pairs on both sides of each of the rails such that the spring clips are opposite each other.

[Claim 5]

The elastic device for fastening the rails to the crossties according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of spring clips is placed on both sides of each of the rails such that the spring clips individually alternate in a zigzag manner on either side of each of the rails.

[Claim 6] The elastic device for fastening the rails to the crossties according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the spring clip comprises: a bent part integrally provided between each of the hooks and the support bar of the spring clip to provide an elastic force to the spring clip.