Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SPECIFICATION ,:` :
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Field of the Invention
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The pre~ent invention relates to a rail a~3sembly. More '; ~
par~icularly this i~ventivn concern~ a ~oint for a monobeam . ~: :
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Back round of the Invent~on
Track ~ointæ or a monobeam rail assembly, such as i8 u~ed .~ ;~
for a monorail, must be able to compensate for con~iderable
rail-section elongation due to temperature changcs. The truck
or bogie riding on this monob~am rail must nonetheles~ hav~ a
contlnuous rolllng surface from one rall sec~ion to the other.
It has be~n 6uggested to provide an expa~sion-type Joint com~
prising a pair of plates each carried on a respective ra~l ~ection
a~d each formed with a longitudinally ~xtending 8Qt of fi~gers
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lylng at the upper or rolling surface of the rail. The fingers .
on one ~ection mesh with those o~ th~ other and one of the sets
o ~ingers i8 hinged on the respective rail section 90 that a
considerable amount of displacement of one rail section longi- ;
tudinally relative to the other is possible. This arrangemQnt
h2s the disadvantage ~hat it is vertically rathex thick b~au~e
th~ relatively thin fingers must be strong enough to support the
weight of the veh~cle suspended from the rail. This vertical
thickne~ considerably disadvantageous wben rail sQctions
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are being used which have running or gui cle ~urface8 that
extend horizontally beyond the main c~ntral port~on of
the rail, with the wheels of th~ bogie riding on this
laterally extending section. Al~o ~uch an arrangement can
frequently not compeD~ate for certain ki~d of movement~ of
the rail section relative to the ot~er so th~t the fingers
are pried apart, with those ~hat are hing&d on the respective
end section stand~ng up.
Ob,~c~s ~f ~he Invention
It i8 therefore an obJect of the present invention to
provide an improved rail arrangement.
Yet another ob~ect i8 the provislon o an improved ~oint
for a monobeam rail having a pair of rail section~ with
ad~acent ends.
Yet another ob~ect is the provision of such an a~sembly
which is relatively simple, but which nonetheless provides
a good running surface on the ralls and which ~s able to
compensate for reLativ~ly gr~at thermal expansion or ~on-
traction. :~
Summary of the Invention
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These ob~ects are attained according to the pre~ent ln- ;
vention in a ~oint of the above-dQscr~bed general type com- ;
prising a pair o~ gen~rally inwardly facing camming Stlr~aCQ5
i~cl~ned to the longitudinal direction of the rail on the
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ends of the rail sections. A pair of outwardly dis~
plac~abla double wedges lying generally at the upper
side of the rail each havs a pair of camming face~ which
are in flat engagement with the respec~iv0 surface of the
respectiYe rail end. Means i3 provided for displacing the
wedges apart or~hogonally to the longi~udinal dir~ction of
the rail and displacement of the ends away from each other
and vice versa for maintaining the wedge faces tlghtly in
engagement with the camming surfaces of the rail.
In accordance with th2 pr2sent invention the
double wedges bridge th0 ends between the rail sections ~nd
are made o~ steel plate lying at the upper side or surface
of the rail. ~he camming surfaces are formsd in ~he ends
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of the ra~l and the camming ~aces on the double wedges are
- complementarily shaped. Thus the bridging elements or
double wedges always completely fill the gap between the
ends of the two rail sections and insure that a continuous
runnlng surface i8 present.
Ac¢ording to yet another feature of this in-
vention a thin metal plste overlies the entire ~oint assembly
and is secured to only one of the rail 9eetions S0 a8 to
~nsure a smooth running surfacs. This plate i8 in it~elf
not strong enough to support a load above the ~oint, but
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only can support such a load i it lie~ flat abov~ the
~trong and rigid double wedges. ~:
According to yet anothar feature of Ithis inven~ion t~e .
wedges are each formed a~ right Isocele~ triangle~ having .
hypotenuses or bages ~hat extend in line with ths lo~gi~
tud~nal axi3 of ~he rail and sides w~ich, therefor~9 lia
at an angle of 45 thereto and engage ~latly again~t the
camming surfaces formed in the rail ends.
According to yet another feature of the pres~nt ln-
vention the means for urging the two double wedges apart
orthogonally to the longl~udinal axis or ~ection of the
rail comprises a w~dge-drive arra~gement which automatically
pushes these wedgefi apart as the raiL ends separate and `~
which pu~he~ the wedge3 back together as the rails come
closer~ It is also possible according to thi~ invent~on
to provide a cam-and-lever arrangement that similarly
actuates the wedges. Furth~rmore a spring can be provided
between the two wedges to urge them continuously apart
with a predetermined force~
The ~oint according to the present invention i~
extxemely simple and insures that a ~turdy and smooth running
surface i8 alwayB present at the top of the rail, even
whsn due to thermal contraction th~ rail sections have
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separated considerably at their ends. The syst~m is ~ !
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very simple and can be prod~ced with ~inimal expense,
Furthermore ther2 are no parts which can potientally .
raise up above the upper sur~a¢Q of the rail and cau~e
an accident ~or the monorail railway.
Brief De3cri~ti~n o~ the Drawing
The above and other ob~ects, efltures, and advantages
will become more readily apparent rom ~he followin~,
re~erence being made to the accompanying drawing, in
which: :
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FIG. 1 is a top view of a ~oin~ according to the
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pres~nt invention;
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FIG lA is a vertical section through a rail s~ction
according to the present invention;
FIGS, 2 and 3 are top view~ illustrating operation o~
the system of FIG. l; and
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are top view illustrating furthar -
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arrangements according to the present inventionO ,~ ~
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8pecl~
A~ shown ~n PIGS, 1~3 two rail sections 2 are separa~ed
ao a Joint 1 pravidad with connecting olement~ 3 ~D the
form~of vertically spaced flat 5~201-plat~ double wedges
5 provided~at the ~pace 4 betwaen the ends of the rail~ 2.
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FIG. lA show3 how each rail sec~io~ 2 is ormed of a
pair of I-beams 2a and a concrete cora 2b. The wedges : : .
5 have the g~eral shape o~ isosc~le~ r~ght triangles
with their hypotenuse~ extending paralle:L to thQ longi~
tudinal axis A of the rall. Camming suriFaces 6 cut away
at 45 so as to lie flatly against th~ corresponding side
surface o the wedges 5 are formed in the ends of th~ rail
sectionæ 2~ An arrang~m~nt between the four wedges 5 forces
th~m apart transverse to the direction A 80 that they always
bridge the gap 4 between the two ralls 2. A plate lO secured
to one of the rail section bridges the space 9 between them~
The arrangement 7 serve3 to urge the two wedges 5 apart
80 that when the rails contract considerably, as shown in
FIG. 2, they are pushed relatively far out, whereas when
the rails are at maximum length and the gap 4 is reduc~d
to a minimum these wedges 5 are close to the center~ -
The arrang~ment shown in FIGo 4 has a chsvron~shaped
wedge ~' with back wedge surfaces 5b parallel to its front - :
surfaces 5a. The two rail sections 2 are similarly form~d
with wedge suraces 8 parallel to ~h~ sur~aces 6 so that
as they ~eparate or approach each other the surfaces 8 ~nsure
that ~h~ chevron 5' moves and r~main~ in contact with the
surface~ 6. Thu8 these surfaces 8 constitute th~ displacement
maans.
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The displac~m2nt means in FIG~ 5 are compris~d by an
arrangement of a link 11 securQd to one of the ~ec~ions 2
and a cam 7' pivot~d on the other rail section with a cam ~-
follower 7a' linked to the double wedge 5. Thu~ as the -~
sections 2 separate the link 11 ro~at~s the cam 7' and the
cam follower 7a' fo~ce~ the wedge out3 and vice versa.
The arrangement of FIG. 6 ~ows how a sprlng 7" con-
stantly biased against the back of the wedge 5 serves to
urge this tightly against the suracas 6.
0 Thu8 in accordance with the pre9ent invention a spaceless
~oint is formed betwean two rail soctions whereas all of
the moments due to the rolling loading of the joint are taken
up by these rail sections. Vertical movements appearing at
th~ ~oint do not cau~e the double wedges 5 to form sub~tantial
st~ps in the running ~ur~ace. In addition such vertical
motion~ in the 3oint 1 are not di~advantageous when the
wedges S are relatively thick ~nd the surfaces 6 are simllarly
high.
