RAIL MOUNTING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FIXING RAILS TO REINFORCED CONCRETE RAILWAY SLEEPER

Abstract

The object of the invention relates to a rail mounting device (10) for fixing railway rails (12) to reinforced concrete sleepers (14) which device (10) has a first rail (12) non-fixing state and a second rail (12) fixing state, and which device (10) contains an anchoring element (18) fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper (14) provided with an open or closed bracket piece (16), and a rail-clamping plate (20) partially or entirely encompassed by the bracket piece (16) of the anchoring element (18), the essence of which is that the rail-clamping plate (20) is a flexible flat plate, and the anchoring element (18) of the rail mounting device (10) has an upper surface which is formed substantially flat and which is at an angle to the upper plane (22) of the reinforced concrete sleeper (14) such that the distance between the first edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element (18) closer to the rail (12) and the upper plane (22) of the reinforced concrete sleeper (14) is smaller than the distance between the second edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element (18) more distant from the rail (12) and the upper plane (22) of the reinforced concrete sleeper (14), and in the first state of the rail mounting device (10) the rail-clamping plate (20) lies on the upper surface of the anchoring element (18), whereby the rail-clamping plate (20) is also arranged at an angle to the upper plane (22) of the reinforced concrete sleeper (14) and in the first state of the rail mounting device (10), the angle between the rail-clamping plate (20) and the upper plane (22) of the reinforced concrete sleeper (14) is between 5 to 20 degrees and the rail-clamping plate (20) is made from a maximum of 6 mm thick cut sheet steel.

The object of the invention also relates to a method for fixing railway rails (12) to reinforced concrete sleepers (14).

Claims

1. Rail mounting device for fixing a railway rail to a reinforced concrete sleeper which device has a non-fixing first state and a rail fixing second state, and which device contains an anchoring element fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper provided with an open or closed bracket piece, and a rail-clamping plate partially or entirely encompassed by the bracket piece of the anchoring element, wherein the rail-clamping plate is a flexible flat plate, and the anchoring element of the rail mounting device has an upper surface which is substantially flat and which is at an angle to the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper such that the distance between the first edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element closer to the rail and the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper is smaller than the distance between the second edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element more distant from the rail and the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper, and in the first state of the rail mounting device the rail-clamping plate lies on the upper surface of the anchoring element, whereby the rail-clamping plate is also arranged at an angle to the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper and in the second state of the rail mounting device, the rail-clamping plate is fixed to the anchoring element so that a first end of the rail-clamping plate closer to the rail lies on the base of the rail and the shape of the rail-clamping plate is a convex curve viewed from the direction of the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper and in the first state of the rail mounting device, the angle between the rail-clamping plate and the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper is between 5 to 20 degrees and the rail-clamping plate is made from a cut sheet steel having a thickness of maximum 6 mm.

2. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein in the first state of the rail mounting device, the angle between the rail-clamping plate and the upper plane of the reinforced concrete sleeper is between 10 to 15 degrees.

3. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring element is fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper with a bolt.

4. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring element has a lower fixing piece concreted into the reinforced concrete sleeper.

5. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring element is a structurally unitary element.

6. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced concrete sleeper has a first surface and a second surface protruding out of the plane of the first surface, and the anchoring element rests on the first and second surfaces.

7. Rail mounting device according to claim 6, wherein the vertical thickness of the anchoring element resting on the second surface is less than the vertical thickness of the part resting on the first surface.

8. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the end of the anchoring element more distant from the rail is provided with a flange preventing the movement of the rail-clamping plate in the case that the rail mounting device is in its second state.

9. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein a distal end portion of the rail-clamping plate and the anchoring element are provided with a depression and a protrusion sized to be received into the depression and together forming a retention lock preventing the rail mounting device from reverting from the rail fixing second state to the non-fixing first state.

10. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of the rail-clamping plate contacting the rail is provided with an electrically insulating covering.

11. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein an electrically insulating spacer element is arranged on the rail side of the anchoring element fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper.

12. A method for fixing a railway rail to a reinforced concrete sleeper comprising the steps: providing a rail mounting device according to claim 1 in its first state in the vicinity of the railway rail in such a way that one end of the rail-clamping plate of the rail mounting device encompassed by the bracket piece faces towards the railway rail, pushing the rail-clamping plate towards the rail, thereby forcing the one end of the rail-clamping plate against the base of the rail and lifting it vertically, creating spring force in the rail-clamping plate, then fixing the rail-clamping plate to the anchoring element, thereby moving the rail mounting device from the first state to the second state of fixing the rail.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein a rail mounting device is provided on each of two sides of the railway rail.

14. Rail mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring element is a metal casting.

15. Rail mounting device according to claim 11, wherein the electrically insulating spacer element is a plastic.

16. A mounting device for a rail having a rail base which comprises an anchoring element which defines an inclined plane and is adapted for attachment to a reinforced concrete sleeper, a bracket attached to the anchoring element, and a flexible rail clamping plate slidably positioned on the inclined plane and at least partially encompassed by the bracket.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1a is a schematic top view of a preferred embodiment of the rail mounting device according to the invention in its first state.

[0017] FIG. 1b depicts a schematic top view of a preferred embodiment of the rail mounting device according to the invention in its second state.

[0018] FIGS. 1a and 1b are schematic top views of a preferred embodiment of the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention. For the purpose of clarity those parts that would otherwise be covered in top views are shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b with dotted lines.

[0019] FIG. 2a is the cross-section of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 1a taken on the line A-A.

[0020] FIG. 2b is the cross-section of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 1b taken on the line A-A.

[0021] FIG. 3a is a schematic top view of another embodiment of the rail mounting device according to the invention in its first state.

[0022] FIG. 3b is a schematic top view of the rail mounting device in FIG. 3a in its second state.

[0023] FIG. 4a is the cross-section of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 3a taken on the line A-A.

[0024] FIG. 4b is the cross-section of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 3b taken on the line A-A.

[0025] FIG. 5a illustrates the fixing of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 4a.

[0026] FIG. 5b illustrates the release of the fixing of the rail mounting device according to FIG. 4b.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] The rail mounting device 10 serves for directly or indirectly fixing railway rails 12 to reinforced concrete sleepers. In the present specification indirect fixing is understood to mean that a spacer, such as an electrically insulating plate, is positioned between the rail 12 and the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, in this way the rail 12 and the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 do not come into direct contact with each other. Direct fixing is understood to mean the case when there is direct contact between the rail 12 and the reinforced concrete sleeper 14. The device 10 has a first state when it is not fixing the rail 12 and a second state when it is fixing the rail 12, which first and second state are presented in FIGS. 2a and 2b, respectively.

[0028] In the context of the present invention reinforced concrete sleeper 14 is understood to mean the sleepers commonly used for railway tracks, such as pre-stressed reinforced concrete sleepers, as is known by a person skilled in the art.

[0029] The device 10 contains an anchoring element 18 fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 provided with an open or closed bracket piece 16, and a rail-clamping plate 20 partially or entirely encompassed by the bracket piece 16 of the anchoring element. The anchoring element 18 has the configuration of an inclined plane and has an upper surface which is formed substantially flat and which is at an angle to an upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 such that the distance between the first edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element 18 closer to the rail 12 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 is smaller than the distance between the second edge of the upper surface of the anchoring element 18 more distant from the rail 12 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14.

[0030] The anchoring element 18 is fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 in a releasable or non-releasable manner. A releasable connection may be provided, for example, using the bolt 15 shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b. The advantage of this is that the anchoring element 18 may even be fixed subsequently to the already laid reinforced concrete sleeper 14. It should be noted that optionally the anchoring element 18 may be fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 in other ways, by using clips, threaded rods, etc., as is known by a person skilled in the art. Non-releasable fixing may be provided, for example, with casting, or with the use of special adhesives, such as concrete adhesive. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b only differ from that presented above in that the anchoring element 18 has a lower fixing piece 17 concreted into the reinforced concrete sleeper 14. The concreting may optionally take place after the production of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, or preferably during the manufacture of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 simultaneously with the casting of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14. In the case that the anchoring element 18 is in fixed state the lower fixing piece 17 preferably has a shape that curves under the rail 12, as can be seen in FIGS. 4a and 4b. The fixing can be strengthened further with this arrangement. Naturally, optionally the use of a differently shaped (e.g. straight, plate-shaped, etc.) lower fixing piece 17 is conceivable, as is obvious for a person skilled in the art.

[0031] The bracket piece 16 of the anchoring element 18 partially or completely encompasses the rail-clamping plate 20, as can be seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b. In the case of a particularly preferred embodiment the anchoring element 18 is established as a structurally single element, preferably as a metal casting. With respect to its material the anchoring element 18 may be made from iron, steel, or other metal alloy. Optionally an embodiment is conceivable in the case of which the anchoring element 18 is established from several parts fitted together, in this way, for example, the bracket piece 16 and the lower fixing piece 17 may even be manufactured separately. The various parts may be fixed to one another by a releasable (e.g. with bolts) or a non-releasable connection (e.g. by welding).

[0032] The shape of the rail-clamping plate 20 may be rectangular, as can be seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b, or other planar piece that, for example, narrows towards the second end. The rail mounting device 10 is established in its first state illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 4a with the rail-clamping plate 20 at an angle to the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 in such a way that the distance between the first end of the rail-clamping plate 20 closer to the rail 12 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 is smaller than the distance between the second end of the rail-clamping plate 20 more distant from the rail 12 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14.

[0033] In the context of the present invention the distance between the first end of the rail-clamping plate 20 and the upper plane 22 is understood to mean the length of the section from the first end to the upper plane 22 that is perpendicular to the upper plane 22. Similarly, the distance between the second end of the rail-clamping plate 20 and the upper plane 22 is understood to mean the length of the section from the second end to the upper plane 22 that is perpendicular to the upper plane 22. In the present specification the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 is viewed as being the plane of the surface of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 under the rail 12 directly supporting the rail 12. For the sake of clarity, the upper plane 22 has been marked by a dotted line in FIGS. 2a and 2b.

[0034] The rail-clamping plate 20 of the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention is established as an unbent flexible flat plate, in other words as a planar leaf-spring. In the case of a particularly preferred embodiment the angle between the rail-clamping plate 20 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper is at least 5 degrees, preferably 5 to 20 degrees, even more preferably 10 to 15 degrees. In this case it is sufficient to select the thickness of the rail-clamping plate 20 to be 6 mm. The advantage of this is that the rail-clamping plate 20 not exceeding 6 mm in thickness may be produced from sheet steel using a sheet cutting process, in other words the rail-clamping plate 20 may be produced from cut sheet steel no thicker than 6 mm. Sheet steel is significantly cheaper than cast steel, and sheet cutting losses and costs are lower than those of casting and other commonly used forming processes. As a consequence of the above, the production costs of the rail-clamping plate 20 are significantly lower than those of the solutions according to the state of the art, which, taking into consideration the large number of rail-clamping plates 20 required for railway construction, represents a significant economic advantage.

[0035] With the rail mounting device 10 in its second state, in other words when fixing the rail 12 to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, the rail-clamping plate 20 is fixed to the anchoring element 18, preferably in a releasable way, so that its first end is laid onto the base 12a, or rail foot of the rail 12, and the shape of the rail-clamping plate 20 is a convex curve viewed from the direction of the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, as can be seen in FIGS. 2b and 4b. In the case of a preferred embodiment, an end portion, the first end portion, of the rail-clamping plate 20 contacting any part of rail 12 is provided with an electrically insulating covering 24 which prevents electric contact between the rail 12 and the rail-clamping plate 20. The insulating covering 24 is fixed to the first end with a retention lock, for example, but naturally the use of other fixing methods is also conceivable, such as the use of an adhesive, for example.

[0036] In the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 has a first surface 50 and a second surface 60 protruding out of the plane of the first surface 50, and the anchoring element 18 rests on the first and second surfaces 50, 60. The first surface 50 is preferably planar in shape and coincides with the upper plane 22. The second surface 60 is also planar, and in the way illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b it is at an angle to the first plane 50. Naturally, an embodiment is optionally conceivable in the case of which the first and second surfaces 50, 60 are not planar, instead they are curved, arched, undulating, broken, etc. surfaces. In the case of a particularly preferred embodiment, the vertical thickness of the part of the anchoring element 18 resting on the second surface 60, in other words the thickness of the part of the anchoring element 18 between the surface 60 and the rail-clamping plate 20 is less than the vertical thickness of the part resting on the first surface 50, in other words the part of the anchoring element 18 between the surface 50 and the rail-clamping plate 20. The shape of the top view of the anchoring element 18 may be, for example, rectangular, or, as indicated with a broken line in FIGS. 3a and 3b, a planar piece that narrows towards its end.

[0037] The rail mounting device 10 according to the invention also preferably contains an electrically insulating spacer element 28 arranged on the rail 12 side of the anchoring element 18 fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, the purpose of which is to prevent electrical conductance between the rail 12 and the rail mounting device 10. The spacer element 28 is preferably made from plastic, but, optionally the use of other non-electrically conducting materials is conceivable, such as composites, as is known by a person skilled in the art. An electrically insulating sheet 26 is preferably arranged between the rail 12 and the reinforced concrete sleeper 14.

[0038] With the rail mounting device 10 in its second state the rail-clamping plate 20 is fixed to the anchoring element 18. The fixing may take place in a way that provides a releasable or non-releasable connection. In the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b the end of the anchoring element 18 more distant from the rail 12 is provided with a flange 29 preventing the movement of the rail-clamping plate 20 in the case that the rail mounting device 10 is in its second state, which flange 29 is preferably formed out of the material of the anchoring element 18. The flange 29 supports the rail-clamping plate 20 from the rear thereby preventing it from slipping off the rail 12.

[0039] In the case of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b the distal or second end portion of the rail-clamping plate 20 and the anchoring element 18 are provided with a depression 30a and a protrusion 30b fitting into the depression 30a, which together form a retention lock for preventing the rail mounting device 10 from getting from the second state to the first state. The protrusion 30b is formed in the anchoring element 18 and the depression 30a is formed in the rail-clamping plate 20. Optionally, an embodiment is also conceivable in the case of which the arrangement is the other way around, the protrusion 30b is to be found in the rail-clamping plate 20, and the depression 30a in the anchoring element 18.

[0040] The object of the invention also relates to a method for fixing rails 12 to reinforced concrete sleepers 14, during which the rail mounting device 10 in its first state presented above in the vicinity of the railway rail 12 is provided in such a way that the first end of the rail-clamping plate 20 encompassed by the bracket piece 16 faces the railway rail 12. In the case of a preferred embodiment, in practice this takes place so that at the site of the construction of a railway line a reinforced concrete sleeper 14 provided with the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention is laid on the track bed of the railway line, then the railway rail 12 is laid next to the rail mounting device 10 in the position shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. Naturally, if the anchoring element 18 is fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 with a bolt 15, then the fixing may also take place after the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 has been laid (e.g. in the case of renovating a railway line).

[0041] In the case of a particularly preferred embodiment a rail mounting device 10 is provided on each of the two sides of the railway rail 12, essentially opposite one another, with which the rail 12 is fixed to the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 from two sides. With this solution movement of the rail 12 in directions perpendicular to the railway line can be prevented.

[0042] In the second step of the method according to the invention the rail-clamping plate 20 is pushed towards the rail 12, in other words the rail mounting device 10 is taken from the first state shown in FIG. 2a to the second state shown in FIG. 2b. In the case of a preferred embodiment, the rail-clamping plate 20 is pushed towards the rail 12 by hitting the second end of the rail-clamping plate 20 one or more times using a traditional hammer, or, for example, using the tool 40 illustrated in FIG. 5a. The tool 40 may be established using a traditional hammer by replacing the wooden handle of the hammer with a metal handle, and by machining the head of the hammer into the shape shown in FIG. 5a. The great advantage of the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention is that getting it from the first state to the second state does not necessarily require the use of a special dedicated tool.

[0043] The rail-clamping plate 20 is at an angle to the upper plane 22 according to that described above. By pushing the rail-clamping plate 20 towards the rail 12, the first end is forced up against the base 12a of the rail 12, and the first end rises vertically, while the bracket piece 16 does not permit the rail-clamping plate 20 to move upwards. As a result, the rail-clamping plate 20 bends in such a way that it takes on a convex curved shape viewed from the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14. As a result of the bending spring force is created in the rail-clamping plate 20, which forces the rail 12 onto the reinforced concrete sleeper 14. As the rail-clamping plate 20 is established at an angle to the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 as described above, by pushing the rail-clamping plate 20 towards the rail 12 the vertical increase in height of the first end is greater than if the rail-clamping plate 20 were parallel or at an inverted angle to the upper plane 22. As a result of this as with the same amount of displacement the first end of the rail-camping plate rises more than the ends of parallel clamping plates or clamping plates at an inverted angle, the use of a shorter and thinner rail-clamping plate 20 is sufficient to create the same magnitude of clamping force. This results in a saving of material and, ultimately in a reduction of production costs. According to this recognition, the aforementioned advantages come into effect if the angle between the rail-clamping plate 20 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 is at least 5 degrees, preferably 5 to 20 degrees, even more preferably 10 to 15 degrees. According to experience, in the case of angles in excess of 20 degrees it is difficult or impossible to get the rail mounting device 10 from first state to second state.

[0044] The rail-clamping plate 20 is fixed to the anchoring element 18, as a result the rail mounting device 10 is taken from the first state to the second state. In the case of a preferred embodiment the rail-clamping plate 20 is fixed to the anchoring element 18 with the flange 29 presented previously in such a way that the rail-clamping plate 20 is pushed towards the rail 12 up until the second end of the rail-clamping plate 20 gets behind the flange 29 (see FIG. 2b). Optionally the rail-clamping plate 20 may be fixed with a retention lock containing a depression 30a and a protrusion 30b, as can be seen in FIG. 4b, or an embodiment is conceivable in the case of which the rail-clamping plate 20 is fixed to the anchoring element 18 in another way, such as with a pin, etc.

[0045] In order to release the fixing of the rail 12 the device 10 is taken from second state to first state by using the tool 40 in the way shown in FIG. 5b, for example, so that the head of the tool 40 is placed on the rail 12 and the first end of the rail-clamping plate 20, then the handle of the tool 40 is turned in the appropriate direction. As a consequence of the force exerted on the first end of the rail-clamping plate 20 the protrusion 30b pops out of the depression 30a (or the second end of the rail-clamping plate 20 jumps over the flange 29), and the retention lock is released.

[0046] The advantage of the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention is that there is no need for a base plate nor for a specially shaped rail-clamping plate, which significantly reduce the production costs. A further advantage is that by appropriately selecting the angle between the rail-clamping plate 20 and the upper plane 22 of the reinforced concrete sleeper 14, it is sufficient to use a rail-clamping plate 20 of maximum 6 mm thickness, which may be produced from sheet steel using a sheet cutting process quickly and cost-effectively as compared to the existing solutions.

[0047] As the rail-clamping plate 20 does not rest directly upon the reinforced concrete sleeper 14 anywhere, the pitting effect that significantly reduces the fixing effect can be avoided, due to which the lifetime can be significantly extended.

[0048] In terms of implementation, the amount of material used, the price of production of the materials used, the speed and simplicity of installation and construction, the rail mounting device 10 according to the invention represents a significant advance as compared to the solutions according to the state of the art.

[0049] Other alternative solutions as compared to the embodiments presented here will be apparent to a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection determined by the attached claims.