Machine For The Tamping Of Ballast Of Railway Tracks

Abstract

This invention comprises railway track tamping units which are displaceable in height and comprise pairs of tools working in opposition, are arranged on either side of the same line of rails and that the height displacement of each of them is controlled by an independent mechanical member having one of its ends articulated to a fixed support of the machine chassis and the other end displaceable at least transversally to the railway track axis.

Description

The present invention relates to machines for tamping railway track ballast comprising pairs of vibrating tools mounted on displaceable chassis in height.

Even though these machines at present give full satisfaction at the free parts of the track, this is unfortunately not the case where the track is occupied by such track equipment as crossings or points. The movable chassis are generally equipped with at least two pairs of tamping tools operating one on each side of a line of rails and only able to penetrate the ballast together.

To obviate this difficulty it has been proposed to use independent tools or pivoting tools in order to increase their field of penetration in the ballast.

In particular, machines have been produced whereon the lower part of each tool, i.e., the tamping pick, is pivotally mounted in a plane transverse to the track, so as to be able individually to swing clear from the line of rails until, if necessary, reaching the horizontal position.

The possibility of a transverse swing of the tools offered by this solution, according to a circular arc of relatively small radius relative to the maximum desired swing, is forcibly limited by the rapid variation in the tool height relative to the sleeper, a variation which can bring the working part of said tool above the lower surface of the sleeper for an obtained swing which is still inadequate.

It is for this reason that with machines on which this solution has been adopted the tamping chassis slide transversally to the track so as to obtain the desired swing.

When one tool of one or several pairs is raised up to the horizontal position so as to permit the penetration of the other tools into the ballast the quality of the tamping is not guaranteed. In addition, a dynamic unbalance of the tamping chassis occurs which causes increased stressing of the mechanical members.

To obviate these difficulties the machine forming the object of the invention aims at always tamping with tools working in opposition, whatever obstacle the track equipment offers. This machine is characterised in that tamping units, which are displaceable in height and comprise pairs of tools working in opposition, are arranged on either side of the same line of rails and that the height displacement of each of them is controlled by an independent mechanical member having one of its ends articulated to a fixed support of the machine chassis and the other end displaceable at least transversally to the railway track axis.

In one embodiment of this machine the mechanical member controlling the height displacement of each unit is a rectilinear guide on which the unit slides, the upper end of said guide being articulated about a shaft which is substantially parallel to the track axis and the lower end slides in a horizontal slide fixed to the machine chassis and perpendicular to the track.

With the tamping tools still functioning in opposition, it is thus possible by inclining each of the guides of the units transversely to the track, to swing said units sufficiently away from either side of each line of rails to avoid the track equipment, without any disturbing variation in the height of the tamping picks relative to the sleepers, the ratio between the maximum desired swing and the radius of the tool displacement arc being favorable.

In another preferred embodiment to increase still more this possibility of adapting the whole tamping means to the particular local conditions of the track, the guides of the units are articulated by their upper end about the two shafts which are preferably perpendicular to one another, the one being parallel to the track and the other transverse to the track.

Thus, the lower ends of the guides of the units slide:

Either each in a horizontal, rectilinear slide, perpendicular to the track, said slide being itself able to move parallel to the track in a guide fixed to the machine chassis, thus permitting individually to incline each of the units in planes parallel to the track, in combination with their transverse slope;

Or all in a rectilinear slide mounted pivotally about a vertical shaft located preferably in the track axis and fixed to the machine chassis, thus permitting them all to be inclined progressively in planes parallel to the track in combination with their transverse slope. It is thus possible to tamp the oblique sleepers, each in a single operation, the rotation of the common rectilinear slide of the guides of the units making it possible to keep these constantly aligned parallel to the sides of the sleepers.

With this same aim of displacing the tamping units in planes parallel to the track, in combination with their transverse displacement, it can be advantageous, in the case where the obliquity of the sleepers is important, to replace the sloping movement of their guides in planes parallel to the track by a translational movement along their longitudinal axis of articulation and in these same planes.

In this way any difference between the directions of the lines of action of the tamping force on either side of the oblique sleeper to be tamped can be avoided, this difference being due to the slope of the units and their guides in the planes parallel to the track.

The attached drawing shows as a non-limitative example, a machine for tamping the ballast of railway tracks, equipped with means in accordance with the preferred embodiment according to the invention wherein the tamping units can move both transversely and longitudinally to the track.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation limited to the part which is useful for clarity of description,

FIG. 2 is a half front view showing the arrangement of the tamping units on either side of a line of rails

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view on line A--A of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 is a part view of FIG. 1 showing a variant of the upper articulation of the guides of the units permitting their translation on this articulation in a direction longitudinal to the track.

FIG. 1 shows a tamping unit 5 comprising a pair of tools 6, 6' functioning in opposition in a known manner, said unit being displaceable in height by means of a hydraulic jack 7 and whereof the displacement is controlled by a rectilinear guide 4 on which it is slidingly mounted by means of a cut-away bearing 8, which guide is connected at its upper end to the chassis in the overhang 2 of the machine by a double articulation 3 and the lower end of which here in the shape of a ball 9, slides in a transverse slide 10, the U section of which is shown hatched in the drawing.

The double articulation 3 comprises two perpendicular shafts 11 and 12 connected via an intermediate member 13. The shaft 12 is supported by a cap 14 fixed to the chassis 2 of the machine and on the shaft 11, disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the line of rails 18 is articulated the guide 4 of the unit.

The hydraulic jack 7 is connected to the chassis 2 of the machine by a double articulation 15 of the same type and having the same functions as 3 described above.

The guide 4 which mechanically controls the height displacement of the unit 5 comprises a rectilinear column 16 and a bar 17 parallel to said column. This bar 17 is connected via its ends to the column 16 via supports 19 and 20 and has the function of preventing the bearings of the unit from revolving round the column 16.

Like the column 16, this bar 17 is articulated by its upper end about the shaft 11 of the double articulation 3.

In this way the unit 5 and guide 4 comprise an assembly articulated about the shaft 11 and capable of being inclined transversely to the track, as can be seen in FIG. 2.

In said FIG. 2 can be seen the arrangement of the units forming with their respective guides independent tamping systems each located on one side of a line of rails. As these systems are identical to those described hitherto, the reference numerals of the different component parts have in both this figure and FIG. 2 only been indicated on one of them.

In both FIGS. 2 and 3 can be clearly seen the arrangement and shape of the common slide 10 of the lower ends 9 of the guides of the units.

This slide 10 is articulated on the axis XX' of the machine, by a cut-away bearing 21, about a vertical shaft 22 carried by a bracket 23 of machine 1. On either side of this axis the slide 10 is supported freely on another bracket 24.

The rotation of this slide 10 about its articulation axis 22 is obtained and controlled by a hydraulic jack 25 fixed on one side of the machine chassis and acting on the corresponding end of said slide 10 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

The transverse slope to the track of each guide 4 is obtained and controlled by a hydraulic jack 26 supported on the slide 10 itself and acting on the lower support 20 of the bar 17 (FIGS. 1 and 3) of each of the guides.

The thus described apparatus according to the invention makes it possible by combining the function of these various constituent members:

1. To orientate the slide 10 into a position which is substantially parallel to the sleeper 29 to be tamped by rotation about the shaft 22 using the hydraulic jack 25, said rotation causing the progressive inclination of the guides about their articulation shaft (FIG. 12).

2. To transversely swing each of the guides of the units away from track obstacles (here represented by points 27 or 28 in FIG. 2) by inclining about their articulation shaft 11 with the aid of the jack 26.

3. To lower the tamping units 5 (position in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3) with the aid of the jack 7 for tamping the sleeper 29.

It can thus easily be understood that it is possible to tamp the ballast underneath the sleepers, even if the latter are oblique, in a single operation level with the obstacles of the track equipment.

It can be seen in particular from FIG. 2 that even with a large swing of the tamping tools, the height variation of the picks relative to the sleepers is very slight.

Finally, in FIG. 4, can be seen the variant of the upper articulation of the guides of the units permitting their translational movement on said articulation in the longitudinal direction of the track.

At the bottom of this partial view can be seen the upper ends of column 16 and bar 17 constituting the guide 4, as well as the lifting jack 7 of the unit, fixed on a horizontal connecting crossbeam 30.

This crossbeam 30 is articulated at its ends by two vertical bearings 31 and 32 to two fixed shafts 33 and 34 aligned in a plane substantially parallel to the track axis.

Each of these two shafts 33 and 34 is held by two spaced supports (35 and 36 for shaft 33, and 37 and 38 for shaft 34) rigidly connected to the machine chassis 2, thus permitting the displacement on these shafts of the bearings 31 and 32 of crossbeam 30. The space between these supports is defined by the maximum desired displacement of the units in the longitudinal plane.

On the same alignment as the shafts 33 and 34 and between supports 36 and 37 can be seen a hydraulic jack 39 supported on support 36 and connected to the crossbeam 30 via a bearing 40 rigidly connected with this crossbeam. Each unit can therefore be displaced longitudinally to the track by using this jack.

In the case of this variant each lower end of the guides of the units can be moved transversally to the track, either by means of a transverse jack mounted on rollers and supported on the machine chassis, or as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 by a jack supported on an articulated slide 10 which would rotate freely and the drive jack 25 being eliminated.

It is obvious that the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiment described hereinbefore:

For example the hydraulic jack 7 could be supported on the support 19 which is rigidly connected to the guide 16-17 and act on the bearing 8 of the unit.

The ball 9 could be replaced by an articulated shoe.

The displacement of the lower ends of the guides of the units could be obtained without the aid of the slide by two jacks articulated on the ball 9 of each of them and supported at two different points of the machine chassis, thus forming a deformable triangle with a fixed base (machine chassis) and whereof the opposite deformable apex would be the ball 9.

These exemplified embodiments are given in a purely indicative and non-limitative manner.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for tamping railway track ballast which includes a chassis with fixed supports and at least two height-displaceable tamping units with pairs of tools mounted on said units; the improvement which comprises: a first articulated coupling for securing said tamping units to the chassis for operation on both sides of either track rail, a guide member also secured to the chassis at the upper end of the guide member by a second articulated coupling for guiding the tamping units as they are lowered to the track ballast, said guide member including a rod disposed within a sliding bearing, the lower end of said rod being slidably mounted in a channel positioned perpendicular to the rails, and said bearing secured to the tamping units.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said channel is movable in a direction parallel to the rails.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein a first hydraulic jack is mounted between the first articulated coupling and the tamping tool for moving both the tamping tool and the bearing on the guide rod.

4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein a second hydraulic jack is mounted between the chassis and the channel for moving the channel in a direction parallel to the rails.

5. A machine for tamping railway track ballast comprising a chassis with fixed supports, two height-displaceable tamping units on which are mounted pairs of tools working in opposition, said units being arranged on either side of the same line of rails, a guide member coupled to the tamping units and secured to the chassis at its upper end by a second articulated coupling for guiding the tamping units in a rectilinear direction, said guide member including a rod, the lower end of which is slidably mounted in a channel for movement in a direction transverse to the rails.

6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein said channel is movable in a direction parallel to the rails.

7. A machine according to claim 5 wherein a first hydraulic jack is mounted between the first articulated coupling and the tamping tool for moving both the tamping tool and the bearing on the guide member.

8. A machine according to claim 5, wherein a second hydraulic jack is mounted between the chassis and the channel for moving the channel in a direction parallel to the rails.

9. A machine according to claim 5 wherein said guide member also includes a rectilinear bearing surrounding the rod and slidable thereon.

10. A machine for tamping railway track ballast comprising a chassis with fixed supports, at least two height displaceable tamping units, and pairs of tools working in opposition mounted on said tamping units, said units being arranged on either side of the same line of rails, and an independent mechanical member having one of its ends articulated to a fixed support of the machine chassis and the other end displaceable at least transversely to the railway track axis whereas the height displacement of each of said units is governed according to a rectilinear direction.

11. Machine according to claim 10, wherein said mechanical member governing the height displacement of each tamping unit is rectilinear guided, and the tamping unit slidable therein.

12. Machine according to claim 11, wherein said guides for the tamping units are articulated at their upper ends about a shaft substantially parallel to the track axis.

13. Machine according to claim 12, wherein the slide is perpendicular to the track and fixed to the machine chassis, and the lower ends of said guides for the tamping units movably positioned in said slide.

14. Machine according to claim 11, and two shafts perpendicular to one another, the one paralled and the other transverse to the track, and said guides for the tamping units articulated at their upper end to said shafts.

15. Machine according to claim 14, wherein the lower ends of said guides for the tamping units slide in a horizontal rectilinear slide perpendicular to the track, and said slide is itself displaceable in a guide fixed to the machine chassis and parallel to the track.

16. Machine according to claim 14, and a vertical shaft located in the track axis and fixed to the machine chassis, and wherein the lower ends of said guides for the tamping units slide in a common rectilinear slide, and said slide is pivotally mounted about said shaft.

17. Machine according to claim 10, and a shaft substantially parallel to the axis of the railway track, and wherein the mechanical member governing the height displacement of each of said tamping units is a guide articulated by one of its ends to said fixed support of the machine chassis and movable by translation along said shaft.

18. Machine according to claim 17, and said guide being articulated at its upper end to said fixed support, and wherein said articulated guide is a rectilinear guide on which the tamping units slide.