Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02571704 2011-09-30
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ANGULAR GUIDE PLATE AND SYSTEM
FOR FASTENING RAILS FOR RAIL VEHICLES
The invention relates to an angular guide plate for
fastening rails for rail vehicles, which angular guide
plate is equipped with a supporting surface via which the
angular guide plate is positioned on a solid foundation
in its assembly position. The invention also relates to
a system for fastening a rail for rail vehicles,
comprising an angular guide plate which can be positioned
with a supporting surface on a foundation, and on which
angular guide plate a spring element for applying the
required holding force to the rails is supported in the
assembly position. Angular guide plates and fastening
systems of this type are known in many variations (see
for example DE-AS 1 954 008, EP 0 231 304 Bl and
DE 33 34 119 Al).
The purpose of the angular guide plates lies in
supporting the spring element, which exerts the required
resilient holding force on the rail foot, in the fully
assembled state. At the same time the angular guide
plate provides a lateral support for the rail foot via
which the rail is held in the respectively prescribed
longitudinal alignment. This renders a firm, exactly
aligned seat of the angular guide plate on the respective
foundation necessary.
The known angular guide plates and the fastening systems
equipped therewith have been tried and tested in
operation. However, under certain operating conditions
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increased wear in the region of the supporting surface,
with which the angular face is supported on the
foundation supporting the rail with fastening system as a
whole, has been found. This wear manifests itself in
material removal from the supporting surface of the
angular plate and/or the support area of the foundation
on which the angular plate rests.
Particles, which pass between the supporting surface of
the angular guide plate and the support area of the
foundation, have been determined as the cause of the
increased wear. This wear phenomenon occurs in a
particularly dramatic manner in fastening systems in
which the rails are fastened to concrete sleepers and
which are used in regions where high levels of dust are
produced as well as possible sand drifts, etc.
The object of the invention therefore consisted in
providing an angular guide plate in which the risk of
abrasive wear in the region of its supporting surface is
minimised. The intention was also to provide a system for
fastening rails in which, with simple means, the risk of
abrasive wear occurring in the region of the angular
guide plate is reduced to a minimum even under
unfavourable operating conditions.
With respect to an angular guide plate for fastening
rails for rail vehicles, which angular guide plate is
equipped with a supporting surface via which the angular
guide plate is positioned on a solid foundation in its
assembly position, this object is achieved in that the
supporting surface is overlaid at least in certain
sections with a resilient layer.
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In the region of its supporting surface an angular guide
plate according to the invention comprises a resilient
layer via which it rests in its assembly position on the
support area of the foundation bearing the angular guide
plate. This resilient layer prevents gaping of a gap
between the supporting surface of the angular guide plate
and the support area of the foundation even if when the
rails are driven over the angular guide plate is moved,
owing to the weight of the rail vehicle and the dynamic
movements associated therewith of the rails, in the
horizontal or vertical direction relative to the
foundation.
Surprisingly it has been found that the penetration of
particles into the critical region between angular guide
plate and substrate may thus be durably prevented.
Furthermore, the resilient layer damps the effect of such
particles which, despite the seal created by the
invention, pass into the region between angular guide
plate and foundation. As a result the invention thus
minimises the abrasive wear of angular guide plate or
foundation that occurs in the prior art.
In a system for fastening a rail for rail vehicles, which
system is equipped with an angular guide plate which can
be positioned with a supporting surface on a foundation
and on which a spring element for applying the required
holding force to the rail is supported in the assembly
position, said object is correspondingly achieved
therefore in that the system comprises a resilient layer
for insertion between the supporting surface of the
angular guide plate and the solid foundation.
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Practical tests have shown that with a rail fastening
system constructed in this way the resilient layer
between angular guide plate and foundation does not have
an adverse effect on the retention of the rail or the
security and accuracy of the fastening, but instead makes
only positive contributions to the life of the fastening
system constructed in such a manner according to the
invention. Since the purpose of the resilient layer
consists only in sealing a gap that may potentially occur
between angular guide plate and foundation during
operation, the resilient layer should be configured in
such a way that in the assembly position it largely does
not influence the flexibility of the fastening system in
which it is respectively used.
As a function of the respectively processed material, it
is therefore sufficient, as a rule, if a thin resilient
layer is used, of which the thickness is much less than
the thickness of the angular guide plate in the region of
the supporting surface. The thickness of the resilient
layer can thus be limited for example to at most 10 1 of
the average thickness of the angular guide plate in the
region of the supporting surface.
As a result of the fact that the resilient layer does not
have a spring function it is, moreover, preferably
configured in such a way that it is compressed as much as
possible by the assembly forces acting on the angular
guide plate in its assembly position. A particularly good
effect of the resilient layer thus results if it is
completely, or at least almost completely, compressed
when the angular guide plate is fully assembled.
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As a rule it is sufficient if, in the regions in which
gaps may form between the support area and the supporting
surface during practical operation, the supporting
surface of the angular guide plate is overlaid by the
resilient layer. It is thus conceivable for example to
overlay only the edge regions of the supporting surface
that are critical in this regard with a thin resilient
strip which then constitutes the resilient layer.
Particularly reliable transfer of the forces acting on
the angular guide plate during assembly and operation may
be achieved however, if the resilient layer covers the
supporting surface all-over.
All materials, of which the elasticity is retained even
after a relatively long compression, are suitable as
material for the resilient layer. As a result the
resilient layer is preferably made of a polyurethane, a
rubber or any other elastomer material. These materials
are inexpensive to obtain and stretch sufficiently
quickly, even in the event of a gap forming for a short
time between angular guide plate and foundation, to
prevent penetration of particles, such as dust or sand,
into the critical regions.
To facilitate assembly of the angular guide plate
according to the invention the resilient layer may be
permanently connected to the angular guide plate. This
can be achieved for example by suitable mould parts, etc.
which hold the resilient layer positively and/or non-
positively on the angular guide plate. It has proven to
be particularly expedient, however, if the resilient
layer is connected to the supporting surface of the
angular guide plate with integral fit, for example by
gluing or vulcanising. This type of integral connection
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between resilient layer and angular guide plate also
prevents particles from passing into the region between
the resilient layer and the supporting surface and
causing wear at this point.
The invention may be used particularly effectively in
systems in which the rails are fastened to a sleeper
which forms the solid foundation for the angular guide
plate. This applies in particular if the sleeper is made
from a concrete material. It is precisely in the case of
concrete sleepers, or sleepers produced from comparable
materials that are particularly sensitive to abrasive
wear, that the advantages achieved by arrangement
according to the invention of a resilient layer between
angular guide plate and sleeper are demonstrated.
The invention will be described in more detail
hereinafter with reference to drawings that illustrate an
embodiment. In the drawings, schematically in each case:
Fig. 1 shows in longitudinal section a system for
fastening a rail for a rail vehicle,
Fig. 2 shows an angular guide plate in a view from below.
The system 1 is used for fastening a rail 2, of which
only the edge of the rail foot facing the system 1 is
shown in Fig. I. It comprises a concrete sleeper 3, an
angular guide plate 4, a resilient layer 5, as a spring
element for production of the required holding force a
tightening clip 6, and a tightening screw 7 for
tightening the tightening clip 6.
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The concrete sleeper 3 comprises a level support area 8
in which, in the region of its lateral end, a channel 9
is formed. The lateral end region, adjoining the channel
9, of the support area 8 forms the region on which the
angular guide plate 4 rests in the assembly position. An
indentation, in which a plastics material pin 10 for the
tightening screw 7 sits, is formed in a central position
in this end region.
At its upper side the angular guide plate 4, which is
shaped in a manner known per se, has mould parts 11 which
guide the tightening clip 6 in its assembly position and
ensure reliable transfer of the holding forces to the
foot of the rail 2. Starting from its upper side, a
through-aperture 12 is also formed in the angular guide
plate 4, through which through-aperture 12 the tightening
screw 7 for tightening the tightening clip 6 is guided
during assembly in a manner that is likewise already
known per se, in order to screw the tightening screw 7
into the plastics material pin 10 of the sleeper 3.
Formed at the lower side of the angular guide plate 4 is
a level supporting surface 13 which in the assembly
position is limited at its edge facing away from the rail
2 by an bulge 14 extending along this edge. The bulge 14
also carries projections 15, of which the cross-sectional
shape is adapted to the cross-section of the channel 9.
Glued to the supporting surface 13 is the thin resilient
layer 5 which covers the supporting surface 13 all-over,
while leaving the through-aperture 12 and recesses 16
free. The recesses 16 are formed in the supporting
surface 13 at the edge associated with the rail 2 in the
assembly position.
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The resilient layer 5 is made of a fine porous, highly
resilient polyurethane foam, of which the elasticity is
such that it immediately automatically slackens and
stretches to the initial thickness of the resilient layer
again even in the event of a load alleviation that
suddenly occurs after relatively long complete
compression. This starting thickness is at most 8 9 of
the average thickness of the angular guide plate 4 in the
region of its supporting surface 13.
To assemble the system 1 the angular guide plate 4 is
placed on the support area 8 in such a way that the
projections 15 formed on the lower side of the angular
guide plate 4 positively grip in the channel 9 and thus
secure the angular guide plate 4 against a displacement
in the longitudinal direction of the sleeper 3. The
supporting surface 13 rests on the end region of the
support area 8 above the resilient layer 5 in such a way
that the through-aperture 12 of the angular guide plate 4
is aligned with the pin 10 of the sleeper 3.
The tightening clip 6 that is conventionally constructed
in a W-shape is subsequently positioned on the angular
guide plate 4 in such a way that its holding arms 17 rest
with their free ends on the foot of the rail 2. By
screwing the tightening screw 7 into the pin 10 the
tightening clip 6 is fixed until the required resilient
holding force is exerted on the foot of the rail 2.
During the course of tightening of the tightening clip 6
the resilient layer is completely compressed to the
extent that its elasticity no longer has an effect on the
overall elasticity of the system 1. If, owing to the
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movements in the system 1 that occur when a rail vehicle
(not shown) travels over the rail 2, the angular guide
plate 4 is raised from the support area of the concrete
sleeper 3, the resilient layer 5 stretches and fills the
gap forming in this case between the support area 8 and
the supporting surface 13 of the angular guide plate 4.
This prevents particles from getting between the angular
guide plate 4 and the concrete sleeper 3 and causing
abrasive wear at this point.
Owing to the seal according to the invention thus
achieved by the resilient layer 5 between the angular
guide plate 4 and the concrete sleeper 3, a system 1
according to the invention is particularly suitable for
fastening rails 2 in dry regions in which a rail body
equipped with rails 2 and systems 1 is exposed to severe
sand or dust drifts.
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List of reference numerals
1 system for fastening a rail 2
2 rail, of which only the rail foot is shown in Fig. 1
3 concrete sleeper
4 angular guide plate
resilient layer
6 tightening clip
7 tightening screw
8 support area
9 channel
plastics material pin
11 mould parts which guide the tightening clip 6 in its
assembly position
12 through-aperture
13 supporting surface
14 bulge
projections
16 recesses
17 holding arms of the tightening clip 6
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