Rail fastening device

Abstract

A rail fastening device (100) comprises a lower plate (11) and an upper plate (12) provided with a pair of clips (13) for engaging the rail 16, the upper plate (12) being fastened to the lower plate (11) by a pair of fastening bolts (19) which extend through respective apertures (20) in the upper plate (12), the fastening bolts (19) being slidably mounted to the lower plate (11) for movement in a direction which, in use, extends transverse the rail (16). A jacking bolt (31) is arranged to lift the upper plate away from the lower plate as the bolt (31) is tightened and vice-versa. An alignment bolt extends 33 laterally between the upper and lower plates (11), (12) and is rotatable to displace the upper plate (12) laterally relative to the lower plate (11). A levelling bolt (102) threadably engaged with the lower plate is arranged to lift the lower plate (11) away from the surface on which the device (100) is seated as the bolt (102) is tightened and vice-versa.

Claims

1. A rail fastening device comprising a lower plate, an upper plate and a pair of clips for engaging the rail to be fastened, wherein the upper plate is fastened to the lower plate by a pair of fastening bolts which extend through respective apertures in the upper plate, the fastening bolts being slidably mounted to the lower plate for movement in a direction which, in use, extends transverse the rail, wherein the clips are slidably mounted to the upper plate by respective said fastening bolts, and a jacking bolt is threadably engaged with the upper plate and has a lower end which abuts the upper surface of the lower plate, the jacking bolt being arranged to lift the upper plate away from the lower plate as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

2. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which each fastening bolt comprises an enlarged head which is captively and slidably received in a slot formed in the lower plate.

3. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which a cover is provided for closing each slot.

4. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which the clips are detachably mounted to the upper plate by respective said fastening bolts.

5. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which the clips comprise an abutment surface on their underside which engages a complementary abutment surface on the top side of the upper plate.

6. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which an alignment bolt extends laterally between the upper and lower plates substantially in the plane thereof, the bolt being rotatable to provide a force between the upper and lower plates which acts to displace the upper plate laterally relative to the lower plate.

7. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 1, in which a levelling bolt threadably engaged with the lower plate has a lower end arranged to abut a surface on which the device is seated, the levelling bolt being arranged to lift the lower plate away from a surface on which the device is seated as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

8. A rail fastening device comprising a lower plate and an upper plate fastenable to the lower plate, wherein a jacking bolt threadably engaged with the upper plate has a lower end which abuts the upper surface of the lower plate, the jacking bolt being arranged to lift the upper plate away from the lower plate as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

9. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 8, in which the rail fastening device comprises a pair of jacking bolts on respective opposite sides of the rail.

10. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 8, in which an alignment bolt extends laterally between the upper and lower plates substantially in the plane thereof, the bolt being rotatable to provide a force between the upper and lower plates which acts to displace the upper plate laterally relative to the lower plate.

11. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 8, in which a levelling bolt threadably engaged with the lower plate has a lower end arranged to abut a surface on which the device is seated, the levelling bolt being arranged to lift the lower plate away from a surface on which the device is seated as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

12. A rail fastening device comprising a lower plate and an upper plate fastenable to the lower plate, wherein an alignment bolt extends laterally between the upper and lower plates substantially in the plane thereof, the bolt being rotatable to provide a force between the upper and lower plates which acts to displace the upper plate laterally relative to the lower plate.

13. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 12, in which the fastening device comprises a pair of alignment bolts on respective opposite sides of the rail for moving the rail in respective opposite lateral directions.

14. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 13, in which a levelling bolt threadably engaged with the lower plate has a lower end arranged to abut a surface on which the device is seated, the levelling bolt being arranged to lift the lower plate away from a surface on which the device is seated as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

15. A rail fastening device comprising a lower plate and an upper plate fastenable to the lower plate, wherein a levelling bolt threadably engaged with the lower plate has a lower end arranged to abut a surface on which the device is seated, the levelling bolt being arranged to lift the lower plate away from a surface on which the device is seated as the bolt is tightened and vice-versa.

16. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 15, in which the rail fastening device comprises a pair of levelling bolts on respective opposite sides of the rail.

17. A rail fastening device as claimed in claim 16, in which the levelling bolts are disposed on respective opposite sides of the rail at diametrically opposed corners of the lower plate.

Description

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of examples only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of rail fastening device in accordance with the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective side view from one end and above of the rail fastening device of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective side view from one end and above of the rail fastening device of FIG. 1, illustrating the second aspect of the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective side view from one end and above of the rail fastening device of FIG. 1, illustrating the third aspect of the invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective side view from one end and above of an alternative embodiment of rail fastening device in accordance with the present invention; and

(7) FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the rail fastening device of FIG. 5.

(8) Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 the drawings, there is shown a rail fastening device 10 comprising a rectangular lower plate 11 and a rectangular upper plate 12. A pair of rail clips 13 are provided on the upper surface of the upper plate 12 at opposite ends thereof. The rail clips 13 each comprise an inwardly-directed nose 14 that engages over a lip 15 on the respective opposite sides of a rail 16.

(9) The lower plate 11 comprises a pair of holes 17, through which ground anchoring bolts 40 pass. A pair of laterally-extending slots 18 are formed at opposite ends of the upper surface of the lower plate 11. The slots 18 each comprise an elongate inner end region which is an inverted T-shape in section. The outer ends of the slots 18 are enlarged to allow the hexagonal heads of respective fastening bolts 19 to be inserted into the slots 18 and slid inwardly to a position where they are captively constrained. The underside of the lower plate 11 may be provided with formations to help key the lower plate with the grout on which it is set.

(10) A cover plate 41 is provided for closing each slot 18 to prevent the ingress of fluid and to keep the slot 18 clear of debris. The covers 41 comprise an aperture 42 through which the fastening bolt 19 extends, so that the covers 41 slide with the fastening bolts 19. The slots 18 are bounded by drainage channels 43, which have open ends at the end edges of the lower plate 11 to allow fluid to flow out of the channels. The covers 41 extend over the channels 43, the channels 43 serving to trap any fluid which may leak around the edges of the covers 41.

(11) The upper plate 12 comprises a pair of cut-outs 20 in its respective opposite ends, through which the fastening bolts 19 extend. The upper plate 12 also comprises a pair of enlarged upper surface formations 21 at its respective opposite ends, which define seats for the respective rail clips 13 and comprise inwardly-facing abutment surfaces 22 which are angled at approximately 30 to the longitudinal axis of the rail 16. The rail clips 13 comprise elongate apertures 23, through which respective fastening bolts 19 extend. The underside of each rail clip 13 comprises an enlarged lower surface formation 24 having an inclined outwardly-facing abutment surface which slidably engages with the abutment surface 22. The clips 13 can thus be moved towards the rail 16 by sliding them forwardly and sideways at an angle of 30. The clips are supported on the upper plate 12 in such a way that they also move downwardly as they are slid towards the rail 16. The abutment surfaces ensure that any lateral forces applied to the clips 13 are applied to the upper plate and not to the fastening bolts 19.

(12) Once the rail 16 is correctly in-situ, nuts 25 on the upper ends of the fastening bolts 19 are tightened to secure the clips 13 and the upper plate 12 to the lower plate 11. A rail pad 26 may be disposed between the rail 16 and the fastening device 10. Also, one or more shims 27 may be disposed between the upper plate 12 and the lower plate 11 to bring the rail 16 to the correct vertical level. The shims 27 comprise a pair of slots 28 in one of their side edges, which allow the shims 27 to be slid axially of the rail 16 into position, with the slots 28 serving to receive the respective fastening bolts 19.

(13) The enlarged formations 21 at opposite ends of the upper plate 12 comprise recesses 29, which are of an inverted T-shape in section. Over time, the vertical position of the rail 16 may need to be adjusted, for example due to subsidence of the foundations on which the rail fastening devices 10 are laid. In order to achieve this, hexagonal nuts 30 are inserted into the recesses 29. Jacking bolts 31 are then engaged with the nuts 30 and screwed downwardly until their lower ends abut the upper surface of the lower plate 11. The nuts 25 holding the clips 13 and upper plate 12 to the lower plate 11 can then be loosened or removed. The jacking bolts 31 can then be tightened to raise the upper plate 12 away from the lower plate 11 to bring the rail 16 to the desired height. Additional shims 27 can then be inserted between the upper plate 12 and the lower plate 11 before the nuts 25 are re-applied and tightened. In the event that the fastening bolts 19 are of insufficient length, the cut-outs 20 allow the bolts 19 to be removed and replaced with longer bolts. Of course, if the level of the rail 16 needs to be lowered, the jacking bolts 31 can be used to lift the upper plate 12 to allow shims 27 to be removed before the upper plate 12 is lowered. Once the new position of the rail 16 has been set and the nuts 25 tightened, the jacking bolts 31 and the nuts 30 can be removed to avoid the risk of corrosion of any of the threads.

(14) The lower plate 11 comprises a pair of apertured formations 32 at its respective opposite ends. In order to laterally align the rail 16, a realignment bolt 33 is passed through an apertured formation 32 on the lower plate 11. The axis of the realignment bolt 33 extends parallel to the plane of the upper and lower plates 11, 12. If, for example, the rail 16 needs to be moved to the right in the drawings, the realignment bolt 33 only needs to be inserted into the left hand apertured formation 32. Once in-situ, a nut 34 is threaded into the distal end of the realignment bolt 33 and the bolt is tightened until the nut 34 abuts the inner face of the apertured formation 32, with the upper surface of the lower plate 11 serving to prevent rotation of the nut 34 as the realignment bolt 33 is tightened.

(15) The nuts 25 can then be loosened before the realignment bolt 33 is further tightened until its distal end abuts the end face of the upper plate 12. It will be appreciated that further tightening of the realignment bolt 33 acts to push the upper plate (and hence the rail 16) into a new position. Once at the correct position, the nuts 25 can be re-applied and tightened before the realignment bolt 33 and nut 34 is removed.

(16) Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, there is shown an alternative embodiment of rail fastening device 100 which is similar in construction to the rail fastening device 10 of FIGS. 1 to 4 and like parts are given like reference numerals.

(17) In this embodiment, each end of the lower plate 11 also comprises a pair of holes 101, through which levelling bolts 102 can pass. The bolts 102 engage with nuts 104 which are removably disposed in hexagonal recesses 103 formed in the underside of the lower plate 11 at respective diagonally opposed corners thereof. During installation of the device 100, the bolts 102 can be engaged with the nuts 104 and adjusted to set the lower plate 11 at the desired level before grout is placed between the lower plate 11 and the concrete beam or other surface on which the device 100 is seated. The levelling bolts 102 can then be removed and the holes filled or plugged to avoid the risk of corrosion

(18) Each apertured formation 32 comprises a formation 106 on its inner face in which the nut 34 seats. The formations 106 prevent rotation of the nut 34 as the realignment bolt 33 is tightened. The distal end of the realignment bolt 33 is abuts a recess 107 formed in the end face of the upper plate 12.

(19) A rail fastening device in accordance with the present invention is able to reliably and securely hold a rail, yet provides improved ways of vertically and laterally realigning the rail if necessary.