Patent Grant
11091883
The invention relates to a system for securing railway apparatus, and notably a switch. It also relates to a transport vehicle, notably a wagon, incorporating such a securing device. Finally, it relates to a method for securing rail apparatus and, more generally, to a method for transporting rail apparatus.
Document FR3024470 describes a wagon for transporting railway apparatus, comprising a railway apparatus support platform having a bearing surface for the railway apparatus, the support platform being able to move between a horizontal loading position and an inclined transport position. The rail apparatus is fixed to the support platform by a securing mechanism made up of individual clamps, distributed over the entire railway apparatus, positioned between the crossties of the rail apparatus and the platform.
Such a fixing method, which is particularly simple, does, however, have the disadvantage of requiring access to the loading platform in order to tighten the clamps by hand, and therefore before the rail apparatus has been secured. Special precautions therefore need to be taken for handling both during the loading phases and the unloading phases, to ensure the personal safety of those involved.
In order to be able to fix the rail apparatus to the platform without the need to access the platform, the company MATISA SA has, since 2006, been marketing at least one rail apparatus securing mechanism comprising fixing bars which at one end have a hook intended to engage with part of the base of a rail of the rail apparatus. Each bar is mounted with the ability to slide in a sleeve articulated to the platform in such a way as to pivot about a longitudinal axis which is perpendicular to the bar. The operator can thus maneuver the bar in the manner of a lever, holding it by its opposite free end to the hook, in order to make it pivot until the hook approaches the rail base, while adjusting the working length of the bar by sliding it in the sleeve. Once the hook is engaged with the base of the rail, all that remains is for the sliding of the bar in the sleeve to be blocked in order to lock the hook and the rail apparatus in position relative to the platform. The length of the bar allows the operator to work while remaining some distance from the hook, on the side of the platform. The system thus described is very similar to the system illustrated in document WO2014154624A1. It is effective, but does not allow a very high clamping force to be obtained between the hook and the rail apparatus, particularly since the force applied by the hook to the base of the rail during placement and immobilization is in the overall direction of the bar, slightly oblique with respect to the horizontal, and therefore with a high horizontal component that tends to cause the rail apparatus to slip on the platform. Furthermore, this device is difficult to motorize.
The invention seeks to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a system for securing railway apparatus which allows simple and secure handling of the railway apparatus and which is simple to motorize.
In order to achieve this, a first aspect of the invention proposes a system for securing railway apparatus, comprising:
The securing mechanism comprises:
The movement of the fixing member is thus broken down into at least two components, namely a horizontal movement of the carriage bearing the fixing member and a downward vertical movement of the guideway guiding the carriage, albeit of very small amplitude. This breakdown allows the rail apparatus to be secured to the platform in a procedure that is mastered in a number of successive steps, namely first of all by positioning the fixing member, which if appropriate includes moving the carriage along the path defined by the guideway, and then in a second phase, locking by forcing the guideway downward.
The support platform is preferably horizontal in the loading position. However, it may be inclined, this inclination being less than in the transport position. The reference plane is connected with the support platform and preferably parallel to the support platform. For preference, the resultant of the loads induced by the locking member on the guideway and the fixing members do not include a component for translational movement in the reference plane.
The path of the carriage as defined by the guideway is preferably a straight path.
The carriage is moved along the guideway by a motorized or nonmotorized, preferably self-locking drive mechanism. The drive mechanism may for example comprise a hydraulic or pneumatic piston actuator, or call upon a rotary motor, notably an electric motor, and a transmission that converts the rotary movement of the drive shaft into a movement of the carriage along the path defined by the guideway. Here it is possible to conceive of any appropriate transmission mode, for example cable and pulleys or transmission chain, rack and pinion. In order to obtain a self-locking effect for the drive mechanism, the choice will preferably be made to interpose between the motor and the carriage an irreversible transmission mechanism, for example a leadscrew mechanism. It is also possible to conceive of having, in place of a motor, a crank connected to the carriage by a transmission mechanism, preferably an irreversible mechanism.
For preference, the carriage drive mechanism comprises a driving and/or operating member situated on one side of the platform. The operator can thus remain outside of the platform during the operation of fitting the fixing member.
According to one particularly advantageous embodiment, the locking mechanism is such that when the platform is in the horizontal loading position and the securing mechanism is in the locked state, the guideway has at least one degree of freedom in translational movement with respect to the platform in a horizontal longitudinal direction, preferably with a travel of at least 50 cm, and preferably at least one degree of freedom to rotate about a vertical axis, preferably with an angular travel of at least 10°. The orientation of the guideway gives a large degree of freedom in the positioning of the rail apparatus fixing member with respect to the rail apparatus, and therefore allows the securing system to adapt to rail apparatus with various configurations, or which have not been positioned precisely on the platform.
For preference, the locking members are driven from the unlocked state into the locked state by a motorized actuator and/or an energy accumulator, preferably self locking. By combining motorization of the locking member and motorization of the carriage, a fully motorizing securing mechanism is obtained.
According to one particularly advantageous embodiment, the fixing member is able to move with respect to the carriage between at least a retracted position and a fixing position, the fixing member in the retracted position being situated, when the support platform is in the loading position, beneath a fixing plane parallel to the reference plane and preferably situated above the guideway and the carriage, and the fixing member in the fixing position being situated, when the support platform is in the loading position, at least partially above the fixing plane. For preference, the fixing member is moved by a motorized actuator and/or an energy accumulator, preferably self locking, between the retracted position and the fixing position. According to one embodiment, the fixing member is able to move rotationally about an axis of pivoting between the retracted position and the fixing position. The fixing member may for example pivot about an axis of rotation that is fixed with respect to the carriage are also conceivable, for example a deformable-parallelogram connection.
The fixing member preferably comprises at least one catching zone intended to catch on part of the rail apparatus, preferably a rail, although it is also conceivable to catch on a crosstie of the rail apparatus. According to one embodiment, the fixing member comprises two catching zones situated, when the support platform is in the loading position and the fixing member is in the fixing position, at different heights.
In practice, the support platform is preferably able to move between the loading position and an inclined transport position, preferably by rotating about at least one horizontal axis of pivoting. For preference, the path of the carriage extends at least in a direction perpendicular to the axis of pivoting.
According to one particularly advantageous embodiment, the securing mechanism further comprises:
In practice, the two guideways may be in the continuation of one another along the one same transverse beam of the securing mechanism, or may be parallel to one another but offset, on two transverse beams of the securing mechanism which are secured to one another.
For preference, the fixing member and the other fixing member have catching zones for catching on the railway apparatus, which zones face toward one another or face in the one same transverse direction, and are each able to catch on a rail base of the railway apparatus.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle for transporting railway apparatus, particularly a wagon for transporting railway apparatus, comprising a securing system as described hereinabove, mounted on a transport chassis supported by sets of bogies.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for transporting railway apparatus, comprising the following operations:
The positioning of the carriage is preferably performed by motorized, preferably self-locking, means. Similarly, the movement of the guideway is preferably brought about by motorized means, preferably self locking.
After having positioned the carriage and before stressing the guideway, the carriage is preferably blocked in position with respect to the guideway. This blocking is obtained automatically, if the mechanism, be it motorized or nonmotorized, that moves the carriage is irreversible.
In order to engage the fixing member with the railway apparatus, the fixing member is preferably moved with respect to the carriage from a retracted position into a fixing position, before, during, or after the positioning of the carriage bearing the fixing member.
Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the following description, with reference to the attached figures which illustrate:
For greater clarity, elements that are identical or similar are identified by identical reference symbols throughout the figures.
The transport wagon 10 comprises a chassis 18 the width of which is less than or equal to the width of the running envelope 200, defining a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the plane of
In order to secure the rail apparatus 12 to the support platform 22 there is a securing mechanism illustrated in
What is meant here by a self-locking actuator is an actuator that does not require the supply of external energy in order to hold it in at least certain reference positions, and notably in the fixing position of
Each fixing member 32.1, 32.2 forms a double hook, with two catching zones 42, 44 (cf.
The carriage 34.1, 34.2 is guided on the associated guideway 36.1, 36.2 by any appropriate means, which limits to one the number of degrees of freedom of the carriage with respect to the guideway. The carriage 34.1, 34.2 and the guideway 36.1, 36.2 have been illustrated schematically in the figures. In practice, the guideway 36.1, 36.2 may be provided with raceways, for example four raceways, along which rollers or balls associated with the carriage run. It may equally be a guideway provided with slipways for shoes formed on the carriage. The guideway thus defines a linear path, preferably a rectilinear path, for the carriage. This path is parallel to the reference plane. In practice, the guideway 36.1, 36.2 may be made up of a solid rail at the periphery of which the raceways or slideways are formed, for example a rail of substantially square or rectangular section the corners of which are machined to form four raceways or slideways. In such a scenario, the carriage may have the overall shape of a U or of an O so as to surround the rail that forms the guideway. Alternatively, the guideway may be made up of a hollow rail having a groove forming a longilinear cavity, in which at least some of the raceways or slideways are formed, and into which at least part of the carriage penetrates.
A drive mechanism 46.1, 46.2 is associated with each carriage 34.1, 34.2 and causes it to move with respect to the associated guideway 36.1, 36.2. The drive mechanism 46.1, 46.2 may for example be a mechanism combining an electric motor 48.1, 48.2 and a leadscrew 50.1, 50.2, as illustrated in the figures.
As illustrated in the figures, two carriages 34.1, 34.2 each bearing a fixing member 32.1, 32.2, are associated with two guideways 36.1, 36.2 formed in the continuation of one another on a common crossbeam 136. The crossbeam 136 constituting the two guideways 36.1, 36.2 is fixed removably and adjustably to the support platform 22 by means of a wedge-type locking device 52. This device comprises, at each end of the crossbeam 136, a hydraulic actuator 54 pivot mounted on a flange 56 secured to the crossbeam 136 and allowing the moving of a locking member consisting of a chamfered wedge, to bring it into engagement with a corresponding inclined wall 60 of a locking cavity 62 formed in a component secured to a longitudinal member 26 of the support platform 22. The inclined wall 60 has, in the longitudinal direction of the platform, a larger dimension D than the chamfered wedge 58, which means that there is a certain degree of freedom for positioning of each end of the transverse beam 136 in the longitudinal direction of the platform with a travel that may be as much as 50 cm (25 cm on either side of a mid position), thereby allowing the transverse beam to be made to effect a translational movement or pivoted about a vertical axis, through an angle of an amplitude that may be as much as 10° (+/−5° on either side of the middle transverse position illustrated in the figures). Longitudinal actuators 64 are provided between the support platform 22 and the transverse beam 136 in order to make the required adjustments.
The securing mechanism consisting of the guideways 36.1, 36.2, the carriages 34.1, 34.2 bearing the fixing members 32.1, 32.2, the locking members 58, the associated cavities 62, and the various actuators 40.1, 40.2, 46.1, 46.2, 54 exists in a number of identical copies, in this instance at least two, distributed along the length of the support platform 22.
The rail apparatus 12 is secured to the platform 22 in a sequence of operations illustrated in
The transverse beam 136 is locked after a suitable position has been found and after the carriages 34.1, 34.2 have been positioned and the fixing members 32.1, 32.2 brought into engagement with the bases of two rails 14 of the rail apparatus. Extending the actuators 54 causes the chamfered wedges 58 to move away from one another, bringing them into contact with the corresponding inclined walls 60. The essentially horizontal locking force generated by the actuators 54 brings about, at the interface between the chamfered wedges 58 and the inclined walls 60 loads which have a downward vertical component so that the transverse beam 136 is urged downward. These loads are transmitted by the guideways 36.1, 36.2 to the carriages 34.1, 34.2 and to the hooks 32.1, 32.2 that form the fixing members, with the effect of increasing the pressure of contact between the catching zone 42, 44 used and the base of the rail 14. This results in the rail apparatus 12 being gripped between the fixing members 32.1, 32.2 and the platform 22. The pressure of contact between the chamfered wedges 58 and the inclined walls 60 generates high static friction loads which lock the beam 136 to the platform 22 in all directions. The actuators 54 of the locking members 58 are of the self-locking type, which means that there is no need to supply energy in order to keep them locked.
The same procedure is performed for each of the locking mechanisms, in parallel or sequentially.
Once the rail apparatus 12 is thus secured to the support platform 22, it is possible to raise the latter into the position of
The unloading operations are performed in the reverse order to the loading operations.
If appropriate, just one of the two fixing members 32.1, 32.2 associated with the transverse beam 136 may be positioned in engagement with one of the rails 14 of the rail apparatus 12, the other fixing member 32.1, 32.2 remaining in the retracted position.
According to an alternative form of embodiment illustrated in
According to another alternative form of embodiment illustrated in
Furthermore, the fixing members 32.1, 32.2 face transversely toward one another, which means to say such that the catching zones 42, 44 face one another. It will be appreciated that when the two fixing members 32.1, 32.2 are engaged, the rail apparatus is locked laterally.
In practice, one and the same transport wagon may be equipped with securing mechanisms according to one or more of the various embodiments illustrated in the figures, distributed along the length of the platform, so as to adapt locally to suit the configuration of the rail apparatus 12.
Naturally, the examples depicted in the figures and discussed hereinabove are given merely by way of nonlimiting illustration. Various alternative forms are conceivable.
The loading and unloading position of the platform is not necessarily horizontal, but may rather be inclined, although naturally less so than the transport position.
The movement of the fixing member with respect to the carriage may be not a pivoting but a translational movement, or the compound of a translational and of a rotational movement, preferably with just one degree of freedom. It is preferably a planar movement, parallel to a vertical plane. It may notably be a movement obtained by the deformation of an articulated quadrilateral, particularly an articulated parallelogram.
The fixing member may be adapted so that it catches not on the base of the rail 14 but on the crosstie 16 of the rail apparatus 12. In that case, it is notably conceivable for the fixing member 32.1, 32.2 to rotate about a transverse horizontal axis of pivoting.
The guiding of the carriage along the path defined by the guideway can be achieved using any appropriate means.
It is explicitly envisioned that the various embodiments illustrated can be combined in order to propose others.
It is emphasized that all the features, as can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the present description, from the drawings and from the attached claims, even if they have been described in concrete terms only in connection with determined other features, either individually or in any combination, may be combined with other features or groups of features divulged here, provided that so doing has not been expressly precluded and provided that the technical circumstances have not rendered such combinations impossible or pointless.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16/53185 | Apr 2016 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2017/052083 | 4/11/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/178968 | 10/19/2017 | WO | A |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 0182958 | Jun 1986 | EP |
| 2016039 | Apr 1970 | FR |
| 3024470 | Feb 2016 | FR |
| 3024470 | Feb 2016 | FR |
| 2014154624 | Oct 2014 | WO |
| WO-2014154624 | Oct 2014 | WO |
| 2016146233 | Sep 2016 | WO |
| WO-2016146233 | Sep 2016 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200340188 A1 | Oct 2020 | US |
