Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
CONTINUOUS ACTION SPIKE PULLER FOR RAIL APPLICATIONS
Cross-Reference to Related Application
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.
62/235,747,
filed on October 1, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Background
[0002] Railroads are typically constructed to include a pair of elongated,
substantially
parallel rails, which are coupled to a plurality of laterally extending ties.
The ties are
disposed on a ballast bed of hard particulate material, such as gravel. Over
time, normal
wear and tear on the railroad may require track maintenance operations to
correct rail
deviations.
[0003] Rail vehicles for track maintenance operations include workheads for
performing
the desired track maintenance, such as ballast tamping, spike pulling, spike
driving,
anchor spreading, anchor squeezing, track stabilizing, crib booming, tie
extracting, or
other maintenance operations. With respect to spike pullers, the process for
pulling and
replacing spikes can be cumbersome given the need to stop at each tie having
spikes that
need to be removed. Accordingly, an improved spike puller apparatus that
allows for
continuous action or substantially continuous action is desired. Related
methods of
identifying the location of spikes to be pulled are described.
Brief Summary
[0004] The present disclosures relates to a rail vehicle for performing rail
maintenance
operations. The rail vehicle includes a frame and at least one workhead
assembly for
1
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
pulling rail spikes mounted on the frame. The workhead assembly is coupled to
a guide
rod that allows for longitudinal movement of the workhead assembly along the
guide rod
and relative to the rail frame. In this manner, the rail vehicle may be
operated in a
continuous mode in which the rail vehicle continually moves along the track
during spike
pulling operations. The rail vehicle further includes a mechanical tie finder
for detecting
a rail tie. Upon detecting a tie, a signal is sent to the workhead to engage
and pull one or
more spikes corresponding to the detected tie. Related methods are described.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0005] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described herein with
reference to
the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like reference numbers, and
wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective of a rail vehicle for performing rail
maintenance
operations according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of the workhead assembly associated
with the rail
vehicle of FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a side perspective view of the workhead assembly and
tie finder
associated with the rail vehicle of FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates a front schematic view of the workhead assembly
associated
with the rail vehicle of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 5 illustrates a jaw member associated with the workhead assembly;
and
[0011] FIG. 6 illustrates a computing system associated with the rail vehicle
of FIG. 1.
2
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
Detailed Description
[0012] Various embodiments of an improved rail maintenance vehicle for
providing
continuous action spike pulling are described. It is to be understood,
however, that the
following explanation is merely exemplary in describing the devices and
methods of the
present disclosure. Accordingly, several modifications, changes, and
substitutions are
contemplated.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 1, a rail maintenance vehicle having workheads for
conducting
spike pulling operations is depicted as having reference numeral 10. While
depicted as
having workheads for spike pulling operations, it is to be appreciated that
the rail vehicle
may carry workheads for other rail maintenance purposes. The rail vehicle 10
includes a frame 12 and a carriage assembly 14 that carries workheads 16 for
performing
rail maintenance operations. The carriage assembly 14 is operatively coupled
to the rail
vehicle frame 12 via a subframe member 18 and a pair of guide rods 20 that
allow for
longitudinal displacement of the carriage assembly along and relative to the
frame. In
this regard, the subframe member 18 includes a plurality of connectors 22 that
receive the
guide rods 20 in cavities defined by the connectors. Thus, actuation (e.g.,
via a hydraulic
cylinder) of the subframe member 18 causes the subframe member, and the
carriage
assembly 14, to move along the guide rods and relative to the frame 12 via the
connectors
22.
[0014] It is to be appreciated that the guide rods 20 are fixed relative to
the frame 12 and
are coupled between a main frame portion 12a and an end frame portion 12b
positioned a
longitudinally from the main frame portion. The guide rods 20 may also be
considered
part of the frame 12. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the guide rods 20
extend from a
3
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
lower end of the main frame portion 12a such that the carriage assembly 14 and
workheads 16 are positioned above the guide rods when the carriage assembly
and
workheads translate along the guide rods as will be described.
[0015] The rail vehicle 10 further includes a plurality of rail wheels 30 for
traveling along
track 32, which is comprised of longitudinally extending rails 34 and a series
of ties 36
underlying the rails. The rail vehicle may also include an operator cab 38;
however, in
some embodiments, the rail vehicle 10 may be operated as a drone vehicle with
no human
operator in the vehicle.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the workheads 16 include jaw members 40, which
may be
actuated to engage and pull rail spikes (reference numeral 41 in FIG. 4). The
jaw
members 40 may be actuated via hydraulic cylinders 42, which are disposed
between an
upper portion 44 of the workheads 16 and the corresponding jaw members. As
shown in
Fig. 4, the jaw members may be deployed from a disengaged position (left jaw
member
as shown in Fig. 4) to an engaged position (right jaw member as shown in Fig.
4) in order
to engage and thereby remove rail spikes 41. The jaw members 40 are configured
to
pivot about pivot members 46 disposed within the workheads 16 via actuation of
the
corresponding hydraulic cylinders 42. In this manner, and as illustrated in
FIG. 4, the
jaw member 40 can engage a flange portion 48 of the rail spike 41 that extends
longitudinally (in the direction of the rail 34). Referring to FIG. 5, the jaw
member 40
may take the form of a two-pronged member that defines a groove 49 for
abutting and
engaging the flange 48 of the rail spike 41 to thereby disengage the rail
spike in spike
pulling operations. The workheads 16 may further be equipped with abutment
members
51, which assist with dislodging the rail spikes 41 from the jaw members 40.
As the jaw
4
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
members 40 move back into the disengaged position with the rail spikes 41, the
abutment
members 51 provide a surface against which the rail spikes 41 may be scraped
off the jaw
members to thereby dislodge the rail spikes from the jaw members.
[0017] Referring again to FIG. 4, each workhead 16 further includes a
hydraulic cylinder
50 for imparting vertical movement to the workhead to thereby position the jaw
members
40 for spike pulling operations. To assist with position setting, a stop
member 52 may be
disposed centrally at a lower portion of the workhead 16 such that it comes
into contact
with the rail 34 upon reaching the desired position for actuation of the jaw
members 40.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the carriage assembly 14 further includes a
detector 60 for
identifying ties 36 during spike pulling operations. The detector 60 may take
the form of
a mechanical tie finder. The tie finder 60 is movable from a retracted
position (Fig. 3) to
a deployed position (Fig. 2) via a hydraulic cylinder 62 operably coupled to
the tie finder.
The hydraulic cylinder 62 may be coupled between the carriage assembly 14 and
the tie
finder 60. In one embodiment, the tie finder 60 is formed of a stem portion 64
and a
flange portion 66.
[0019] The tie finder 60 may be operatively coupled to the hydraulic cylinder
62 through
a coupling assembly 70. In one embodiment, the coupling assembly 70 includes
two
plates 72, 74, which receive a distal connecting member 76 of the hydraulic
cylinder 62.
In this manner, extension of the hydraulic cylinder 62 causes the tie finder
60 to rotate
down into the engaged position, which is substantially orthogonal to the
longitudinal axis
of the track as measured along the stem portion of 64 of the tie finder.
Retraction of the
hydraulic cylinder 62 causes the tie finder 60 to rotate up into a disengaged
position,
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
which may be parallel to or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the track as
measured
along the stem portion 64 of the tie finder.
[0020] In practice, continuous action spike pulling may be achieved by using
the detector
60 in combination with the workheads 16. When proceeding down the track 32,
the
detector 60 may be deployed into the engaged position in the space between
ties 36 as the
rail vehicle 10 proceeds along the track at a desired speed. Upon touching or
approaching a tie 36, the detector 60 may send a signal to the workheads 16 to
proceed
with spike pulling operations. Once the detector 60 identifies the presence of
a tie 36,
the workhead carriage assembly 14 is lowered towards the track 32 at an
appropriate
distance from the tie and the workheads 16 are then actuated such that the jaw
members
40 engage and extract the spikes 41. The detector 60 is then retracted, and
the rail
vehicle 10 continues to continuously move down the tracks towards a next
crosstie. In
some embodiments, the detector 60 is retracted before or substantially
simultaneously
with actuation of the jaw members 40.
[0021] During the spike pulling operation, the rail vehicle 10 may
continuously move
down the track 11. Such movement is permitted as the workhead carriage
assembly 14
may be longitudinally displaced along the rail vehicle frame 12 via movement
along the
guide rods 20. Such movement may be carried out via a hydraulic cylinder that
may be
actuated to move the carriage assembly 14 in a longitudinal direction and
relative to the
frame 12. The carriage assembly 14 and workheads 16 are positioned above the
guide
rods during such longitudinal movement. Accordingly, upon performing spike
pulling
operations, the workhead carriage assembly 14 may be lifted and translated
forward
along the frame 12 such that it is ready to be positioned over the next tie to
be worked.
6
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
Also, since the detector 60 is in a retracted position, it does not interfere
with the previous
tie worked when the carriage workhead assembly 40 is moved forward relative to
the rail
vehicle frame 12. Once the carriage workhead assembly 40 is moved forward to
the front
of the rail vehicle frame 12, the detector 60 may be redeployed to into its
engaged
position such that it is ready to find the next tie. Once the next tie is
detected, the
carriage workhead assembly is again lowered into its working position such
that spike
pulling operations may commence.
[0022] The detector will then be deployed between the finished crosstie and a
next
crosstie. When the detector 60 identifies the next tie 36, the above described
spike
pulling process is repeated, and continuous action spike pulling is achieved.
The spike
puller described herein is continuous action in the sense that it does not
stop at each tie,
but rather progresses slowly along the rails in a continuous fashion while
allowing for
spike pulling by the workheads at each tie. In some embodiments, the term
"continuous
action" may refer to rail maintenance vehicles that are in constant motion
during
operations, or in other embodiments, it may refer to rail maintenance vehicles
that are
substantially in constant motion, yet experience brief, intermittent stops
during
operations.
[0023] Referring to FIGURE 6, the rail vehicle 10 may be equipped with a
computing
system may take the form of a computer or data processing system 100 that
includes a
processor 120 configured to execute at least one program stored in memory 122
for the
purposes of performing one or more of the processes disclosed herein. The
processor 120
may be coupled to a communication interface 124 to receive remote sensing
data, such as
detection of a tie, as well as transmit instructions to receivers distributed
throughout the
7
CA 03000173 2018-03-27
WO 2017/058719
PCT/US2016/053727
rail vehicle 10, such as to the workheads to commence spike pulling
operations. The
processor 120 may also receive and transmit data via an input/output block
125. In
addition to storing instructions for the program, the memory may store
preliminary,
intermediate and final datasets involved in techniques that are described
herein. Among
its other features, the computing system 100 may include a display interface
126 and a
display 128 that displays the various data that is generated as described
herein. It will be
appreciated that the computing system 100 shown in FIGURE 6 is merely
exemplary in
nature and is not limiting of the systems and methods described herein.
[0024] While various embodiments in accordance with the disclosed principles
have been
described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way
of
example only, and are not limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the
invention(s)
should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but
should
be defined only in accordance with the claims and their equivalents issuing
from this
disclosure. Furthermore, the above advantages and features are provided in
described
embodiments, but shall not limit the application of such issued claims to
processes and
structures accomplishing any or all of the above advantages.
8
