Certain disclosed embodiments relate to the field of railway construction. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present disclosure describes systems and methods for securing railroad ties to bridge supports.
A conventional railway bed over land includes rails attached to evenly spaced wooden railroad ties that are partially surrounded by a ballast material, such as crushed stone. Track ballast supports the expected loads, facilitates drainage, and helps to hold the ties and rails in place when trains pass.
Railway beds across bridges and other elevated structures typically do not include any track ballast, which requires the use of another attachment method for holding the ties and rails in place and supporting the load of passing trains. Many of the existing attachment methods involve multiple component parts, extensive training, and dangerous installation by workers both above and beneath the bridge deck.
Features of the various implementations disclosed will become more apparent in the following detailed description, in which reference is made to the appended drawing figures. Corresponding reference numbers indicate corresponding parts or elements throughout the several views of the drawing. The various elements shown in the figures are not drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated. The dimensions of the various elements may be enlarged or reduced in the interest of clarity. The several figures depict one or more implementations and are presented by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting. Included in the drawing are the following figures, wherein:
Various implementations and details are described with reference to an example: a clip for securing a railroad tie atop a support. In one implementation, a unitary length of metal rod is made into a clip that includes a vertical leg, a horizontal leg, and a resilient hook-shaped portion having a hook point. The hook-shaped portion is made so that the clip is biased toward a seated position, with the hook point positioned beneath part of the support. During installation, the vertical leg is placed through a hole in the railroad tie, driven downward until the resilient hook-shaped portion collapses into a compressed position, and driven further until the hook point moves beyond a free edge of the support and expands into the seated position. The clip secures the railroad tie without any additional parts and without requiring a worker to labor beneath the support. Although the various embodiments and implementations are described with reference to securing a generally prismatic railroad tie to a common I-beam, the systems and methods described herein may be applied to and used with any of a variety of structures.
The present systems and apparatuses and methods are understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, examples, drawings, and claims, and their previous and following description. However, before the present devices, systems, and/or methods are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific devices, systems, and/or methods disclosed unless otherwise specified, as such can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting.
The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention in its best, currently known embodiment. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects of the invention described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof.
As used throughout, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a component can include two or more such components unless the context indicates otherwise.
Ranges can be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another aspect includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another aspect. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.
As used herein, the terms “optional” or “optionally” mean that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
As used herein, the term “facilitate” means to aid, assist, or make easier. The term “impede” means to interfere with, hinder, or delay the progress.
As used herein, the terms “proximal” and “distal” are used to describe items or portions of items that are situated closer to and away from, respectively, a user or operator. Thus, for example, the side of an item nearest a person may be referred to as the proximal side, whereas the generally opposing side or far side may be referred to as the distal side.
The present disclosure describes one-piece anchors and methods for securing a railroad tie to a supporting structure, such as a bridge. Currently available anchors for securing railroad ties to bridges include some type of bar or bracket, a drilled hole, and a threaded connector such as a carriage bolt or hook bolt with a matching nut. Installation of such systems is time consuming and difficult. Workers often need to work beneath the bridge deck to drill holes, insert or receive the bolts, or fasten and tighten matching nuts. Below-deck work requires scaffolding from below or suspension from above, both of which increase the risk to workers and add significantly to the time and cost of installation. More broadly, fastening systems with multiple component parts require companies to haul and maintain an inventory of various matching parts, specific tools, and workers who are trained to perform the installation. Teams of two or more workers are generally required when installing a system that includes multiple component parts to be placed in various places, especially opposing sides or opposing ends of a structure.
In addition, many currently available systems are designed so that the railroad ties and the supporting beams are fastened tightly together. Tight connections between rails, ties, and supports, however, can concentrate the high load of a passing train onto particular elements, leading to overload and failure. Looser connections can help to spread the load among and across all the cooperating elements of a railway. Railroad track is a dynamic structure that is designed to flex and move, within limits, to help spread the load of a passing train. Systems that include nuts tightly fastened to bolts can generate unwanted and potentially unsafe load concentrations.
Reference is now made in detail to the example implementations illustrated in the accompanying drawings and discussed below.
In other implementations, the clip 100 may be used with a support 10 having a different size and shape than the I-beam illustrated herein, as long as the support includes an outwardly projecting and relatively flat element such as a rim, collar, or rib, which has a lower surface under which the hook point 550 can rest when the clip is in its seated position.
The surfaces of the railroad tie 50, as shown, are used to define a number of reference planes. As will be understood, the faces, ends, and sides of a railroad tie 50 are generally parallel but do not define a perfectly prismatic geometric solid. Accordingly, the planes described herein are approximations and are useful as a reference or guide for the positioning and installation methods described. The top or upper surface 60 of the tie 58 defines a horizontal plane 66. The front or leading face 70 of the tie 50 defines a vertical plane 76.
Referring briefly to
The clip 100 is resilient, meaning herein that the clip 100 is able to spring back into shape after bending or compression. The clip 100 may be constructed of a material having a stiffness that allows the clip 100 to be resilient. In some embodiments, the clip 100 may be constructed of ASTM A36 400-strength mild steel round bar having a stiffness or yield strength of about 400 MPa and an outside diameter of 0.75 inches.
As shown in
Applying a second downward force 622 will drive the clip 100 further downward, causing the hook point 550 to move lower, beyond and below the free edge 38, where the hook-shaped portion 300 will expand into a seated position 800 as shown in
The first vertical distance 560 below the lower surface 32 of the flange 30 will vary according to a variety of factors in the field, such as the size and shape of the railroad tie 50, the extent to which the clip 100 is driven downward into the upper surface 60 of the railroad tie 50, the thickness of the flange 30, and other conditions in the field. In some implementations, the hook point 550 may be properly positioned beneath the lower surface 32, but the horizontal leg 400 is not fully seated against the upper surface 60 of the railroad tie 50, leaving a gap. The system in such an instance may include a shim or a plate that is sized and shaped to be inserted between the horizontal leg 400 and the upper surface 60 of the railroad tie 50, closing the gap.
The first vertical distance 560 below the lower surface 32 of the flange 30 will also vary, of course, according to the thickness or height, h, of the railroad tie 50 (as shown in
As shown in
The clip 100 may be installed through every railroad tie 50 on a bridge or other support structure, to provide support and stability along the entire structure. In this aspect, the clips 100 work together as a set, spreading and sharing the load of passing trains, in a cooperative system that helps keep the entire railway bed stable. In other implementations, the clips may be installed in every other tie or in a selected grouping of railroad ties in a location where support and stability is needed.
The dimensions shown in
At step 902, a worker may start the installation method 900 by positioning the clip 100 atop the railroad tie 50 with (1) the insertion tip 250 positioned onto or adjacent the upper surface 60 of the tie 50, (2) the hook-shaped portion 500 positioned adjacent the leading face 70 of the tie 50, and (3) the vertical leg 300 positioned such that it will be adjacent to the free edge 38 of the flange 30 when the vertical leg 300 is inserted through the nearly vertical hole 320 in the tie 50. In this orientation, the location of the insertion tip 250 defines an insertion site 610 (where the hole 320 will be drilled or otherwise formed, shown in
At step 903, the installation may proceed by creating a nearly vertical hole 320 through the railroad tie 50 at the insertion site 610.
Step 904 includes inserting the vertical leg 300 into the hole 320 until a part of the hook-shaped portion 500 is positioned against the free edge 38 of the flange 30, as shown in
Step 905 includes applying a first downward force 620 to the clip 100 until it collapses into a compressed position 700.
Step 906 includes applying a second downward force 622 until the hook point 550 moves beyond the free edge 38 and the clip 100 expands into a seated position 800, as shown in
Although several implementations and embodiments have been described herein, those of ordinary skill in art, with the benefit of the teachings of this disclosure, will understand and comprehend many other embodiments and modifications for this technology. The invention therefore is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed or discussed herein, and that may other embodiments and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although specific terms are occasionally used herein, as well as in the claims that follow, such terms are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and should not be construed as limiting the described invention or the claims that follow.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/745,141, filed Oct. 12, 2018, and entitled “One-Piece Bridge Tie Restraining Clip,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62745141 | Oct 2018 | US |