Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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~he present invention relates to a moblle installation
for improving and correcting the position of a track, which
comprises a succession of track maintenance machines
independently movable along the track in an operating
direction, the machines carrying tools for correcting the
existing track position to a desired track position and
sensing elements associated with the tools, and a reference
system determining the desired track position. Included
among the machines may be a mobile track leveling and tamping
machine succeeded by a ballast consolidating machine.
Generally speaking, such "mechanized full-maintenance
trains" are known, for example, from the journal "Railway
Technical Review", lq77/78, pages 14 and 16, and are designed
to provide a track for high-speed train traffic whose
position has been accurately and durably corrected. The
independently movable machines of the installation described
in the journal have working tools carefully attuned to each
other in their track correction work so that the track is
automatically surfaced in a very economical operation which
corrects the track position and stabilizes the corrected
track position. The mechanized full-maintenace train
comprises a conventional track leveling, lining and tamping
machine carrying with it a reference system for the track
correction and may further include ballast stabilization
machines, ballast consolidators, ballast plows and automatic
screwing machines or like mechanisms for tightening rail
fastening elements. The length of each reference system
carried along by a respective machine in the installation
is limited so that it is not possible to use these reference
systems for the correction of relatively long rail
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undulations or other position errors. Furthermore,
succeeding machines in the operating direction may disturb
the correction of a preceding track sec~ion in the operating
direction, which has been efEected on the basis of the
preceding reference system.
U. S. patent No. 3,706,284, dated December 19, 1972,
discloses a mobile track working apparatus with a laser beam
reference for correcting the track position and the
correcting tools are associated with sensing elements for
sensing the reference beam. These tools and their sensing
elements may be associated with a succession of machines.
The laser beam emitter or receiver is mounted on a movable
track maintenance machine, such as a track leveling, lining
and tamping machine, and moves with the machines. 1'his
apparatus has been successfully used in track work but is
structurally rather complex and is not always robust enough
for such work.
U. S. patents No. ~ ,619, dated June 25, 1974, and
No. 4,170,942~ dated October 1~ 79, disclose single mobile
track working machines with fixed reference systems extending
alongside the track, the first-named patent relating to a
ballast cleaning machine while the other patent is concerned
with a leveling, lining and ballast packing machine. The
track working tools of these machines are associated with
sensing devices guided by a fixed reference wire laterally
adjacent the track to determine, respectively, the depth of
ballast removal during cleaning and the track correction.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a
mobile installation of the first-indicated type for improving
and correcting the position of a track, wherein the work of
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the independently moving machines engaged in difEerent
operations during the track correction is better and more
accurately coordinated.
The above and other objects are accomplished according
to the invention by providing such an installation with a
reference system including a common reference line fixedly
mountable laterally adjacent respective sections of the track
and having at least twice the total length of the succession
of track maintenance machines, the sensing elements being
arranged for glidingly sensing the common reference line.
Such a mobile track correction installation has the
advantage of being very simple, yet robust, in construction
while, at the same time, avoiding any interference between
the different operations of the successive machines and any
possibility of the results of one operation being voided by a
succeeding operation. Furthermore, the accuracy of the track
position correction is enhanced. More particuarly, the
combination of this reference system with a mobile
installation comprising a succession of independably movable
and operating track maintenance machines makes it possible in
an expectedly simple manner to coordinate the work of the
different operating tools mounted on the machines so that the
track is exactly in the desired position after the last
machine has finished its work, even if a long section of
track has been entirely renewed by the installation,
including ballast cleaning.
The above and other objects, advantages and features of
the present invention will be more fully explained herein-
after in connection with certain now preferred embodiments
3^ thereof, taken in connection with the generally schematic
drawing wherein
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FIG. 1 is a slde elevational view of a mobile
installation comprising a succession of three different track
maintenance machines,
FIG. 2 is a top view thereof;
FIG. 3 is a smaller and more diagrammatic top view
showing the entire installation along the entire length of
the reference line;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are, respectively, enlarged side and top
views of one of the marker posts of the reference system;
n ~IG. 6 is similar to FI~. 3 and shows a mobile
installation with different track maintenance machines and a
reference system with two wires; and
FIGo 7 illustrates a structural detail of a marker post
for such a reference system.
Referring now to the drawing and first to FIGS. 1 and 2,
there is shown mobile installation 1 for improving and
correcting the postion of track 8 consisting of rails 7
fastened to ties ~. The installation of this embodiment
comprises a succession of three track maintenance machines
independently movable along the track in an operating
direction indicated by arrow 2. The first machine in the
operating direction is ballast cleaning machine 3 succeeded
by track leveling and tamping machine 4 which, in turn, is
succeeded by ballast consolidating machine 5 which may be a
ballast stabilizing machine. Such an installation forms the
kind of "mechanized full-maintenance train" described in
Railway Technical Review. The track leveling and tamping
machine is arranged for intermittent advancement along the
track to make it possible to tamp the track ties and the
ballast cleaning and consolidating machines are arranged for
continuous advancement along the track.
Non-stop ballast cleaning machine 3 carries track
liEting tools 1], a ballast cleaning tool 12 and a ballast
planing tool 14. The ballast cleaning tool comprises an
endless ballast excavating chain passing into the ballast
under the track and vertically adjustable by lifting drives
13. This is followed in the operating direction by ballast
planing plow 14 vertically adjustable by lifting drive 14.
Intermittently moving track leveling and tamping machine
~ designed to tamp the ballast under respectively corrected
ties 6 during intermittent tamping operations effected while
the machine is stopped carries track correctiny tool 21 and
track tamping tools 18. The tamping tools are mounted on
vertically adjustable tamping heads associated with each rail
7, pairs of reciprocatory and vibratory tamping tools tamping
the ballast under the ties at the points of intersection
between the rails and ties, at which points track 8 is
supported on the ballast. Track correcting tool 21 is a
track lining and lifting unit engaging the track rails and
vertically and laterally movable by drives 19 and 20,
respectively.
Ballast consolidating machine 5 carries tools 27 clamped
to track rails 7 for imparting vibrations to the ballast. In
the illustrated embodiment, this is a track stabilizer and
~he vibrating tools are surface vibrators vertically
adjustable by drive 2~. The vibrators are firmly clamped to
the rails and impart substantially horizontal vibrations to
the underlying ballast.
Ballast cleaning, track leveling and tamping, and
ballast consolidating machines of the illustrated and other
types are conventional and their structures are, therefore,
not further described. The present invention is not
concerned with the specific structures of the track
maintenance machines used in the mobile installation and any
such machines useful for the purpose of improving and
correcting the position of a track may be used in the
installation of this invention.
According to this invention, the reference system
determining the desired track position obtained by the
combined work of these machines which move independently
along the track includes common reference line 10 fixedly
mountable laterally adjacent respective sections of the track
and having at least twice the length of the succession of
track maintenance machines 3, 4, 5. In the illustrated
embodiment, the common reference line 10 comprises marker
posts 9 arranged alongside the track and the reference line
is a wire tensioned on the posts. Sensing elements
associated with the tools of the machines are arranged Eor
glidingly sensing common reference line 10.
As shown in the drawing, sensing elements 16 are
associated with ballast cleaning tool 1~ and ballast planing
tool 15 of ballast cleaning machine 3. The sensing
arrangement 1~ is connected to control 17 which, in turn, is
connected to ballast planing plow 15. Reference line 10
indicates the desired position and when sensing element 16 is
in contact therewith, the associated tool is in the proper
position for excavating ballast to a selected depth and to
plane the ballast after cleaning and after the cleaned
ballast has been returned to the track bed in the usual
manner at a selected level and superelevation for support of
the track at this level and superelevation. If the sensing
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elements are out of contact with the reference wire, they
will emit an error signal and control 17 will adjust the
position of the tools accordingly.
Respective sensing element 22 runs on each rail 7
between tamping head 1~ and track lifting and lining unit 21,
the sensing element including a rod carrying an emitter of a
control signal cooperating with leveling reference line 23
mounted on, and moving with, machine ~ for indicating the
track level. Sensing element 24 is associated with unit 21
at each rail and is arranged for glidingly sensing common
reference line 10. In the usual manner, track leveling and
tamping machine 4 has a control 25 to which the sensing
elements are connected and which, in turn, is connected to
the track lifting and lining tool 21. ~eference lines 23 and
10 determine the desired level and lining of the track and~
in the conventional manner, when the sensing elements are out
of contact with the respective reference wires J they will
emit an error signal and control 25 will operate lifting
and/or lining drives 19 and 20 to move tool 21 until the
track has been moved to the desired level and/or lateral
position. After the track has thus been corrected and track
leveling and lining unit 21 holds the track in the corrected
position, the tamping tools are operated to tamp ballast
under a selected tie of the corrected track so as to fix the
track in the corrected position.
With such an installation combining the operation of a
non-stop track working machine with an intermittently
advancing track working machine, it has become possible for
the first time to coordinate their operations with a common
3n reference line so their completely different work can be
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synchronized without mutual interference. Such a "mechanized
full-maintenance train" with a common reference line has
produced higher accuracy with less operational difficulties
than have been obtained b~ such work trains without a common
reference line for both machines.
The installation illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 also
includes a non-stop ballast stabilizing machine 5 which may
be of generally conventional structure and carries control 28
for operating the surface vibrating tools 27 which are
clamped to track rails 7 to impart horizontal vibrations to
the track and the underlying ballast. Sensing elements 2q
run on rollers 30 on rails 7 between the two vibrating tools
and glidingly sense common reference line 10. The sensing
elements are connected to control 28 which, in turn, is
connected to the vibrators 27. Operation of the vibrators
will settle and thus stabili2e the tamped ballast supporting
the corrected track and any error signal emitted by sensing
elements 29 will cause control 28 to adjust the operation of
the vibrators correspondingly so as to assure the correct
track position determined b~ common reference line 10.
As is apparent from the drawing, fixedly mountable
common re~erence line 10 comprises marker posts 9 arranged
alongside track ~ and the reference line is a wire tensioned
on the posts. The posts may be drived into the subgrade of
the track bed and are so spaced that no damaging slack of the
wire will be encountered between the posts.
As shown in the preferred embodiment o~ FIGS. 4 and 5,
an upper portion 35 of each post 9 carries guide element 31
and the sensing elements 16, 24 and 29 (element 16 being
shown in these figures) are rollers glidingly engaginy the
'73~31
guide element. Guide means 32 laterally and vertically
adjustably mount guide element 31 on post 9. The guide
element has a support portion telescopingly received in a
horizontal part of guide means 32 and a vertical guide means
part is vertically movably mounted on the post. Fi~ing
members 38 and 3^ are provided to set guide element 31 in a
laterally and vertically adjusted position. The support
portion of the guide element carries means 34 for detachably
holding wire 10 for ready mounting and dismounting at each
track section, the illustrated means being reel 33 for
reeling and tensioning the wire. In this manner, the ends of
the wire may be selectively reeled and tensioned in either
track direction, and the tensioned wire may be moved
laterally and vertically into a desired position. Guide
element 31 is recessed at its apex to receive reference wire
10~ the angle of the guide element corresponding to that of
the V-shaped peripheral groove of sensing roller l~o This
will assure a proper gliding engagement of the sensing
elements with the reference wire in the region of the guide
elements. An opening is provided at the apex of the guide
element to enable the wire to be guided from reel 33 into a
horizontal direction. Back stop 37 is provided to hold the
unreeled wire in the tensioned position.
The arrangement shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to that of
the post shown at the right end of FIG. 1 wherein the front
end of wire 10 is anchored to post 9.
Such a reference system for the mobile installation is
particularly useful under rough working conditions because a
tensioned reference wire, which may be constituted by a steel
3~ band, will meet all requirements and can be readlly mounted
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on the marker posts and disassembled. The spacing between
the marker posts i5 preferably so selected that it does not
exceed the length of references conventionally used with the
individual machines of the installation and no undesirable
sag occurs in the wire or band between the posts. The entire
reference system may be readily erected and dismounted
section-by-section without auxiliary tools, and gliding
contact with the sensing elements is assured throughout the
system. The reeling and unreeling of the reference provides
a very advantageous mounting structure and enables a single
wire or band to be used for an installation whose length is
not excessive, i.e. comprises a succession of two to four
machines.
FIG. ~ schematically illustrates another embodiment of
the mobile installation wherein track leveling and tamping
machine 41 is the first one of the succession of machines in
the operating direction. Ballast cleaning machine 42 is
coupled to first track leveling and tamping machine 41, a
succeeding one of the machines is another ~rack leveling and
tamping machine 43 moving intermittently along the track, and
a further one of the machines succeeding the other track
leveling and tamping machine 43 is ballast stabilization
machine 44 moving non-stop along the track. Track leveling
and tamping machine 41 carries track correcting and tamping
tools displaceable in the operating direction so that
individual track ties may be tamped as coupled machines 41
and 42 together move non-stop along the track. Track
leveling and tamping machines with such track surfacing tools
displaceable Longitudinally along the machine frame are known
and need, therefore, not be further described herein.
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Ballast cleaning machine 42 may be of the same type as
described hereinabove in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3. Track
leveling and lining machine 43 and ballast stablizer 44 also
may be of the same type as hereinabove described.
Also similarly to the machines of ~IGS. 1 to 3, the four
successive machines of the mobile installation of FIG. 6
carry sensing elements 45 associated with the respective
machine tools for ylidingly sensing the common reference line
which, in this embodiment, is comprised of two wires 46, 47
fixably mountable on respective posts 49. As shown in FIG.
7, the respective ends of the two reference wires are
threaded into opening 48 of marker post 4~ and then reeled
and tensioned in a manner similar to that described in
connection with the reeling and tensioning device of FIGS. 4
and 5. Thus, sensing elements 45 of this installation may
glide without interruption from one wire end to the adjacent
wire end. As soon as the last sensing element glides over
the end of front reference wire 47, rear reference wire 46
may be dismantled and mounted on suitably adjusted marker
posts that have been installed in a track section in advance
of reference wire 47. ~rhe posts are arranged alongside track
50 at spacings at least averaging the length of a machine,
the total length of the two reference wires 46, 47 being at
least twice the length of successive machines 41, 42, 43, 44
of the mobile installation.
Mobile installation 40 enables ballast of relatively
little depth ~o be cleaned because the track is lifted and
ballast tamped by track leveling and tamping machine 41 which
precedes ballast cleaning machine 42, without unduly
deforming the track rails due to excessive lifting strokesO
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All track position corrections connected with the planing and
stabilization of the ballast as well as the leveling and
lining are mon;tored and adjustable by means of common
reference line 46, 47.
This installation makes it possible to work on difficult
tracks, for instance where little ballast supports the track
rails. ThereEore, it may be used to establish an accurate
track position under practically all ballast conditions since
the track leveling is obtained independently from the ballast
cleaning operation. The installation will produce a desired
track position very accurately in a single pass without
subjecting the rails to unwanted deformations. With the use
of two reference wires or bands for the common reference
line, a relatively large number of individual machines may be
incorporated into the installation. Furthermore, this makes
it possible to prepare an advance track section while a
preceding section is still being corrected, thus assuring a
continuous flow of the track correction operation.
While the operation of the mobile installation according
to the present invention will be clear from the preceding
description of its structure, it will be described in further
detail hereinafter in connection with the embodiment of FIGS.
1 to 3:
Even before mobile installation 1 is put to work during
an interval between trains, marker posts 9 may be driven into
the sub-grade alongside track 8, reference wire 10 may be
mounted thereon and guide elements 31 may be vertically
and/or laterally adjusted on the posts so that the reference
wire is fixed in a desired position corresponding to a track
plan. On the average, it will be useful to space the posts
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apart by at least one machine length. The wire is supported
on each guide element and one of its ends is threaded through
opening 36 in guide element 31 of the rearmost post 9 and is
then fixed to reeling and tensioning device 33, 34 for
tensioning of the wire. With the reference wire fixed in the
desired position, sensing elements 1~, 24, 29 are brought
into contact with the tensioned wire for gliding engagement
therewith. As the machines advance and their tools are
operated, any deviation of a respective tool from a position
determined by the reference wire generates an electrical
error signal transmitted to a respective one of controls 17,
25, 2~ which, in response to this signal, actuate drives 13,
14, 19, 20, 26, respectively, to reposition the respective
tool until it has reached the position determined by
reference wire 10, i.e. the respecctive sensing element is in
contact therewith. If desired, sensing element 16 of ballast
excavating tool 12 may be so ad]usted that no signal is
emitted when the excavating chain is at a desired excavating
depth.
2n When first machine 3 has reached the front end of
reference wire 10 and succeeding machines 4 and 5 come to
stand very close to each other, mobile installation 1 is
stopped altogether. Meanwhile, the ends of reference wire 10
are disconnected from the rear and front posts, and the
reference wire is displaced in the tensioned condition in the
direction of arrow 2 while remaining supported on guide
elements 31 until the rear end of the reference wire has
reached the point immediately behind sensing element 29 of
rearmost track stabilizer 5. Since the guide elements on
front posts ~ have been properly leveled and lined according
desired position of track 8 during the work of
installation 1, the required displacement of reference wire
10 from track section to track section can be effected in a
very short time, thus keeping interruptions of the operation
to a minimum.
While this invention has been described in connection
with certain now preferred embodiments, it wi~l be obvious to
those skilled in the art that many modifications and
variations thereof may be effected without departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention, particularly in connection
with the selection of track working machines used in the
installation. Furthermore, any mechanical means which can be
readily mounted and dismounted may be used as a reference
line, including rigid lines, such as rods and the like. The
sensing elements will be structured in conformity with the
selected reference line structure to enable gliding sensing
of the reference line by the sensing elements. Preferably,
these elements will be simple, robust~ capable of obtaining
an accurate sensing relationship and readily detachable.
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