Patent Application
20140352569
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of rail vehicles, and more particularly, to a reciprocation system for translating work heads associated with rail vehicles.
Railroads are generally constructed of a pair of elongated, substantially parallel rails, which are coupled to a plurality of laterally extending ties via metal tie plates and spikes and/or spring clip fasteners. The rails and ties are disposed on a ballast bed formed of hard particulate material, such as gravel.
During installation of new railroad and maintenance of existing railroad, the ballast adjacent to and/or under the ties is “tamped,” or compressed, to ensure that the ties, and therefore the rails, do not shift. A rail vehicle for carrying out tamping operations is generally referred to as a “tamper” and includes work heads for carrying out tamping operations. Such work heads typically include a number of tamper tools, which each include a pair of elongated, vertically extending tamper arms that terminate in a prong or multiple prongs. The tamper arms and associated prongs are adapted to move towards one another in a pincer-like motion in order to compress the ballast adjacent to and underlying the ties. Vibration of the tamper arms and associated prongs further compresses the ballast. In practice, multiple vibration devices may be employed in order to provide tools for tamping inside and outside the rails as well as forward and aft of the ties. Such tamping operations may be carried out at each tie via a tamper vehicle, which advances along the rails.
Tamper vehicles may stop at each tie to perform tamping operations, or alternatively, tamper vehicles may take the form of a “continuous action” tamper vehicle, which does not stop at each tie, but which rather progresses slowly along the rails in a continuous fashion. Such continuous action tamper vehicles have heretofore employed work heads that operate in unison to perform tamping operations at each tie. That is, the work heads repeatedly translate, or “reciprocate,” along a frame of the rail vehicle during tamping operations. For example, the rail vehicle continues to move along the rails while the tamper tools perform tamping operations. Upon completion of tamping operations at a particular tie, the work heads move forward in unison to the next tie. This process is repeatedly carried out.
However, such continuous action tamper vehicles have drawbacks. During tamping operations, it is quite typical to come upon a misaligned, skewed, or enlarged tie. Because the work heads are required to move in unison, it is likely that at least one of the tamping tools will be deployed into the tie, thus potentially damaging both the tie and the tamping tool. In such circumstances, the tool may need to be replaced, which results in loss of efficiency. Accordingly, systems and methods for overcoming such problems are desired.
The present disclosure generally relates to a continuous action rail vehicle, such as a continuous action tamper vehicle. The continuous action tamper vehicle includes a plurality of work heads depending downwardly from a corresponding plurality of carriage members disposed along a frame of the tamper vehicle. Each of the work heads includes one or more tools for maintaining track. For example, each work head may include one or more tamping tools, which are operable to be disposed into ballast and actuated to “tamp” or compress ballast adjacent to and underlying railroad ties. The carriage members are adapted to independently translate along the frame so as to repeatedly carry out tamping operations while the tamper vehicle is in motion. In some embodiments, each carriage member is connected to an associated hydraulic cylinder for effecting independent movement of each carriage member. By providing for independent movement of the carriage members, and therefore the work heads and associated tamping tools, the rail vehicle of the present disclosure can account for misaligned or skewed ties by independently moving the work head into an appropriate position so as to not effect contact between the tamping tool and the misaligned or skewed tie. Related methods for operating the continuous action tamper vehicle are also described.
Reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Various embodiments of a rail vehicle employing independently movable work heads and associated methods of using such rail vehicles according to the present disclosure 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.
Rail maintenance processes for addressing wear and tear on a railroad typically involve the use of a tamping machine with associated clamp assembly, which cooperate to carry out geometric corrections of the track. A typical correction process involves lifting rail panel with mechanical clamps, aligning the track by shifting it to a calculated position, and then tamping the ballast under each tie to hold the track in place. This work sequence is typically repeated at each tie during the course of the correction process.
A rail vehicle 10 is illustrated in
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The work head assemblies 30 include work heads 40 operatively coupled to associated work head frames 41, which engage corresponding mounting units 32. For example, in one embodiment, the work head frames 41 are bolted to the mounting units 32, which are bolted to the carriage members 34. In this manner, the mounting units 32 (and therefore the carriage members 34) carry the work head assemblies 30 thereon as will be described. Each set of work heads 40 includes a vibration device and a pair of elongated, vertically extending tools 42, 44. The elongated tools 42, 44 terminate at prongs 46, 48, which are adapted to engage into ballast disposed around a railroad track. In some embodiments, only one prong is provided per tool. The prongs 46, 48 generally comprise flat plates that extend generally laterally to the rails. The elongated, vertically extending tools 42, 44 are spaced apart to engage and tamp the ballast on either side of a worksite tie (not shown) without contacting an adjacent tie.
The clamp assembly 36 includes a pair of roller clamps 50 disposed adjacent to each rail. The roller clamps 50 extend from a clamp assembly frame 52, which is operatively connected to the carriage member 35a via a hydraulic cylinder 54. The roller clamps 50 may be actuated to engage both sides of the adjacent rail. That is, the roller clamps 50 may be rotated into position to engage and thereby “grip” the rail. After engagement, the hydraulic cylinder 54 may be actuated to lift the rail (and thus the ties connected therebetween) to perform geometric corrections to rail orientation. After appropriate geometric corrections are carried out, the hydraulic cylinder 54 may again be actuated to place the rail back into contact with the underlying ballast. As the continuous action tamper vehicle continues its progress along the rails, the tamper assemblies are subsequently positioned adjacent to the ties just lifted. The tamper assemblies 30 may then perform tamping operations to thereby further couple the rail and associated ties to the underlying ballast.
To achieve efficiency of operation, a continuous action tamper vehicle, continuously, or substantially continuously, carries out the lifting and tamping operations while the vehicle travels along the rails. The work head assemblies 30 and clamp assembly 36 may accommodate such continuous action by allowing for translation of the work head assemblies and clamp assembly relative to the frame 12 during operation, while also allowing for translation of the frame relative to the work head assemblies and the clamp assembly. Such an arrangement achieves the desired reciprocation. Furthermore, to account for misaligned ties and/or ties of varying width, the work head assemblies 30 may be independently translated relative to one another.
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The carriage members 35 are operatively coupled to the frame 12 via a pair of actuation members, such as hydraulic cylinders 90a-b, which may connect to the frame via any known connection mechanism, such as a bolted connection (
The carriage members 34 for carrying the work head assemblies 30 are similar in construct to the carriage members 35, yet are adapted to move independently of one another along the rails 62, 64, 66. As such, each carriage member 34 is operatively connected to an actuation member, such as hydraulic cylinders 98a-d, which in some embodiments, may be substantially similar to the hydraulic cylinders 90a-b. In some embodiments, the hydraulic cylinders 98a-d are connected between carriage members. More specifically, the forward set of hydraulic cylinders 98a-b may be operatively connected between carriage members 34a, 34b and carriage members 35a, 35b, respectively. The hydraulic cylinders 98a-b may be coupled to such respective carriage members via a mechanical connection, such as a bolted connection. Accordingly, the hydraulic cylinders 98a-b may be coupled to the lower frame member 96a-b of the carriage members 35 as well as a lower frame member 100a-b of the carriage members 34a-b. Similarly, the aft set of hydraulic cylinders 98c, 98d may be operatively connected between carriage members 34a, 34b and carriage members 34c, 34d, respectively. The hydraulic cylinders 98c-d may be coupled to such respective carriage members via a mechanical connection, such as a bolted connection. Accordingly, the hydraulic cylinders 98c-d may be coupled to the lower frame member 100a-b of the carriage members 35a, 35b as well as a lower frame member 100c-d of the carriage members 35c-d.
In practice, the hydraulic cylinders 98a-d may be independently actuated to thereby achieve independent movement of each carriage member 34a-d along the rails 62, 64, 66 of the frame. Accordingly, to facilitate such independent movement, each of the hydraulic cylinders 98a-d includes a receiver for receiving instructions from the control system 23. Although shown in
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While various embodiments of a reciprocation system for rail vehicle and related methods of using such systems have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. Moreover, the above advantages and features are provided in described embodiments, but shall not limit the application of the claims to processes and structures accomplishing any or all of the above advantages.
Additionally, the section headings herein are provided for consistency with the suggestions under 37 CFR 1.77 or otherwise to provide organizational cues. These headings shall not limit or characterize the invention(s) set out in any claims that may issue from this disclosure. Specifically and by way of example, although the headings refer to a “Technical Field,” the claims should not be limited by the language chosen under this heading to describe the so-called technical field. Further, a description of a technology in the “Background” is not to be construed as an admission that technology is prior art to any invention(s) in this disclosure. Neither is the “Brief Summary” to be considered as a characterization of the invention(s) set forth in the claims found herein. Furthermore, any reference in this disclosure to “invention” in the singular should not be used to argue that there is only a single point of novelty claimed in this disclosure. Multiple inventions may be set forth according to the limitations of the multiple claims associated with this disclosure, and the claims accordingly define the invention(s), and their equivalents, that are protected thereby. In all instances, the scope of the claims shall be considered on their own merits in light of the specification, but should not be constrained by the headings set forth herein.
