METHOD FOR FITTING A MEASURING DEVICE ON A TUBE

Abstract

A method for retrofitting a measuring facility on a tube of a fluid line of a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, includes using a non-cutting friction drilling process in the vehicle for creating a hole in the tube by melting the material of the tube. The measuring device is connected at the hole created by melting. A rail vehicle with a fluid line, for instance in a freight car, is also provided.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A method for retrofitting a measuring facility on a tube of a fluid line of a vehicle or a rail vehicle, the method comprising: meting a hole into the tube with a non-cutting friction drilling process by melting material of the tube in the vehicle; and connecting the measuring facility at the melted-in hole.

17. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises initially mounting a pipe boring clamp at a site on the tube situated in the vehicle, and carrying out the friction drilling process at the site defined by the pipe boring clamp.

18. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises melting the hole into a compressed air line of the vehicle as the fluid line.

19. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises: providing a compressed air line of a compressed air braking system of the vehicle as the fluid line; and connecting an air pressure measuring facility to the tube as the measuring facility for measuring an air pressure of a compressed air braking system during operation.

20. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises carrying out the non-cutting friction drilling process with a transportable routing machine while operating the transportable routing machine in a rotary speed range of over 10,000 revolutions per minute.

21. The method according to claim 20, which further comprises pressing the transportable routing machine onto the tube during operation exclusively manually without any additional pressing facility.

22. The method according to claim 20, which further comprises placing an adapter facility between the transportable routing machine and a pipe boring clamp.

23. The method according to claim 22, which further comprises: mounting the adapter facility on the transportable routing machine forming a routing machine adapter unit; and placing the routing machine adapter unit on the pipe boring clamp.

24. The method according to claim 23, which further comprises carrying out the mounting of the adapter facility on the transportable routing machine forming the routing machine adapter unit, by feeding screws through holes in the adapter facility and screwing the screws into the transportable routing machine.

25. The method according to claim 22, which further comprises: placing the adapter facility at an opening of the pipe boring clamp; subsequently placing the transportable routing machine on the adapter facility; and guiding a router head of the transportable routing machine through a through hole in the adapter facility.

26. The method according to claim 23, which further comprises: providing the pipe boring clamp with a tubular attachment connecting piece having an outer wall and an inner wall; placing the adapter facility or the routing machine adapter unit on the tubular attachment connecting piece and centering the adapter facility or the routing machine adapter unit on the tubular attachment connecting piece by way of the outer wall of the attachment connecting piece; and after the melting-in of the hole, screwing the measuring facility into an internal thread in the inner wall of the tubular attachment connecting piece.

27. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises: providing the tube as a metal tube; and carrying out the melting of the tube material in a freight car.

28. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises carrying out the melting of the tube material in an unpressurized state of the tube.

29. A rail vehicle, comprising: a fluid line having a tube with a melted-in hole formed therein; and a measuring facility connected at said melted-in hole.

30. The rail vehicle according to claim 29, which further comprises: a pipe boring clamp having a tubular attachment connecting piece with an outer wall forming an adjusting facility for a centered placement of at least one of a routing machine, an adapter facility or a routing machine adapter unit; said measuring facility being screwed into said tubular attachment connecting piece.

Description

[0029] The invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to exemplary embodiments; in the drawings, by way of example:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a rail vehicle in the form of a goods wagon that is equipped with a compressed air braking system, in a schematic representation, not to scale,

[0031] FIGS. 2 to 6 show method steps for retrofitting the compressed air braking system of the goods wagon according to FIG. 1 in the unpressurized state with the aid of a routing machine placed on a pipe boring clamp by means of an adapter facility,

[0032] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of a preferred embodiment of an adapter facility for the method according to FIGS. 2 to 6 in a three-dimensional representation obliquely, from the side, and

[0033] FIG. 8 shows an exemplary embodiment of a method, in which an adapter facility is placed into, that is, not placed onto, the pipe boring clamp.

[0034] For the sake of clarity, in the drawings, the same reference signs are always used for identical or similar components.

[0035] FIG. 1 shows, in a schematic representation not to scale, a portion of a tube of a compressed air line 10 which forms a component part of a compressed air braking system 20 which is merely indicated and not shown in detail. The compressed air braking system 20 is installed in a rail vehicle 30 which can be, for example, a goods wagon.

[0036] In relation to FIGS. 2 to 7, it will now be described, by way of example, how the compressed air braking system 20 can be retrofitted in the unpressurized state, that is in the non-operating state of the rail vehicle, with an additional air pressure measuring facility. Therein, it is to be prevented that during the retrofitting process, impurities, in particular tube material of the compressed air line 10, fall into the interior of the compressed air line 10, due to abrasion or splinter formation, and damage the compressed air braking system 20 or possibly even render it completely inoperative.

[0037] Initially, in a first method step with the aid of, for example, four fastening screws 42, a pipe boring clamp 40 is installed on the compressed air line 10, as shown, for example, in cross-section in FIG. 2.

[0038] The pipe boring clamp 40 according to FIG. 2 has a clamp portion 400 which abuts the compressed air line 10 and is preferably sealed with a seal (not shown) relative to the compressed air line 10.

[0039] Furthermore, the pipe boring clamp 40 according to FIG. 2 has a clamp portion in the form of a tubular attachment connecting piece 410. The central axis M or the longitudinal direction of the tubular attachment connecting piece 410 extends radially outwardly.

[0040] An inner wall 411 of the tubular attachment connecting piece 410 is provided with an internal thread (not shown in detail) which enables a screwing-in of a component such as, for example, a measuring facility.

[0041] The tubular attachment connecting piece 410 forms an opening 41 which leaves a partial portion of the compressed air line 10 free and enables a placement of a tube machining device on the compressed air line 10.

[0042] FIG. 3 shows the pipe boring clamp 40 with the opening 41 in a plan view from above: here also, it is evident that a material machining device can be placed on the opening 41 in order to introduce a hole into the tube of the compressed air line 10. Furthermore, the fastening screws 42 are shown, which permit a fastening of the pipe boring clamp 40 to the compressed air line 10.

[0043] FIG. 4 shows the compressed air line 10 and the pipe boring clamp 40 again in a cross-section after an adapter facility 100 and, as the material machining device, a transportable routing machine 50 has been manually placed on the pipe boring clamp 40 such that its router head 51 lies directly on the compressed air line 10.

[0044] The adapter facility 100 is preferably firmly connected, for example screwed, to the routing machine 50 before the placement on the pipe boring clamp 40i order to form a pre-assembled routing machine adapter unit.

[0045] It can be seen in FIG. 4 that a through hole 102 of the adapter facility 100 abuts the outer wall 412 of the attachment connecting piece 410 and so centers the routing machine adapter unit in the opening 41 or relative to the attachment connecting piece 410. At the same time, the adapter facility 100 provides, by way of its abutment on the four fastening screws 42 for a perpendicular or at least approximately perpendicular routing process.

[0046] If the transportable routing machine 50 is put into operation and operated at a rotary speed of over 10,000 rotations per minute, preferably at a rotary speed of over 30,000 rotations per minute, then with only light manual pressing forceas was discovered by the inventorsits router head 51 will create no chips and, in the case of a compressed air line 10 made of metal as is commonly used in the field of railway technology for compressed air lines, will not introduce a chip-laden bore hole into the compressed air line 10, but will rather melt and thereby displace the tube material of the compressed air line 10, whereby a melted-in hole 60 is formed in the compressed air line 10.

[0047] FIG. 5 shows the compressed air line 10 after the melted-in hole 60 has been created by means of the transportable routing machine 50, according to FIG. 4.

[0048] Following the melting-in of the hole 60, an air pressure measuring facility 70 is inserted into the attachment connecting piece 410 (see FIG. 6) by screwing it with its external thread (not shown in detail) into the aforementioned internal thread (also not shown in detail) in the inner wall 411 of the tubular attachment connecting piece 410.

[0049] It can be seen that the attachment connecting piece 410 advantageously performs a double function: it serves both for placement and orientation of the adapter facility 100 or of the routing machine adapter unit as has been explained in relation to FIGS. 2 to 4, and also for receiving or mounting the measuring facility 70 by way of screwing to the inner wall 411 as has been explained in relation to FIG. 6.

[0050] FIG. 7 shows in greater detail an exemplary embodiment for the adapter facility 100 which preferably has holes 106 matched to a base plate of the routing machine 50, said holes enabling a screwing-on of the adapter facility 100 on the base plate of the routing machine 50 and thus the formation of a routing machine adapter unit before it is placed together on the attachment connecting piece 410. The through hole 102, in particular, is evident, which serves for centering or orienting the adapter facility 100 on the attachment connecting piece 410 of the pipe boring clamp 40.

[0051] In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 2 to 7, the adapter facility 100 is oriented, on the outer wall 412 of the attachment connecting piece 410, to the pipe boring clamp 40. If the diameter of the opening 41 of the pipe boring clamp 40 is large enough that a front part of the routing machine 50 can protrude into it, then an adapter facility 100 can also be inserted into the opening 41 of the pipe boring clamp 40 so that its outer contour is oriented to the inner wall of the opening 41. An alternative embodiment of this type is shown by way of example in FIG. 8.

[0052] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by way of exemplary embodiments, the invention is not restricted by the examples given and other variations can be derived therefrom by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the protective scope of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0053] 10 Compressed air line [0054] 20 Compressed air braking system [0055] 30 Rail vehicle [0056] 40 Pipe boring clamp [0057] 41 Opening [0058] 42 Fastening screws [0059] 50 Routing machine [0060] 51 Router head [0061] 60 Melted-in hole [0062] 70 Air pressure measuring facility [0063] 100 Adapter facility [0064] 102 Through hole for centering. [0065] 106 Fastening holes [0066] 400 Clamp portion [0067] 410 Attachment connecting piece [0068] 411 Inner wall [0069] 412 Outer wall [0070] M Central axis