RU2540185C2 - Device to ensure safety of railway lines - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: construction.

SUBSTANCE: device (20, 30) to ensure safety of railway lines is formed by railway sleepers (11), where parallel rails (12) are placed. The device (20, 30) includes elevations (21), which are arranged between rails (12). Elevations (21) are permanently arranged on sleepers or built into sleepers (11, 20) or placed between contact rails (22), which are fixed to sleepers (11, 20).

EFFECT: invention provides for safety of railway tracks.

6 cl, 8 dwg

Description

The invention comprises a device for ensuring the safety of rail tracks. The device can be used between rail tracks along which the movement of vehicles, such as trains, light rail vehicles, trams, etc., which corresponds to the introductory part of claim 1, takes place. In particular, the device was designed to prevent the movement of animals or people on rail tracks, and also with the additional task of preventing a serious crash of vehicles if they go off the track.

Each year, a large number of animals either die or receive serious injuries as a result of being hit by vehicles traveling on rails, in particular trains. In the summer months, there is a tendency for sheep and other farm animals to walk along the railways, while in winter this often applies to reindeer and mice, etc., that walk on railways. This is because it is much easier to walk on rail tracks than deep snow outside the rail track.

Currently, rail track structures include the placement of railway sleepers, wooden or concrete, on the ground, and rails are fastened to sleepers using appropriate devices. Then gravel is laid around the sleepers. The reason animals walk on rail tracks is because it is easy to do, because railway sleepers usually have a flat surface. In addition, in winter, snow is removed from the railways, therefore, animals are easy to run there.

Owners of animals incur enormous expenses when their animals are brought down by trains, while companies that drive vehicles on railroads incur large compensation costs. In addition, animals that have been shot down are often the cause of long downtimes on railway tracks, as the driver must stop the vehicle as soon as he hit the animal and then notify the appropriate assistance service to clean the wounded animal and clear the track. In many cases, the driver of the vehicle must also kill the animal.

From time to time, problems are caused by people walking on rail tracks. This often leads to extremely dangerous situations and loss of life.

Because of these incidents, it is clear that there is a need for a device that will keep people and animals away from the rail tracks.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a device that will make railway tracks safe and prevent people and animals from walking on rail tracks.

In addition, the device should prevent serious crashes if the railway vehicle goes off the track.

A device for ensuring the safety of rail tracks in accordance with the invention was set forth in claim 1 of the patent claims.

Preferred features of this invention are set forth in other patent claims.

The device in accordance with the invention is based on the principles of livestock fences. The fact that animals do not cross livestock fences and that people find them uncomfortable to walk on them demonstrates that they are an effective way to stop animals from crossing them, as well as stop people from walking on them.

Therefore, in accordance with the invention, a device was created that can be placed between existing railway tracks. The device in accordance with the invention includes artificial elevations designed to make people and animals uncomfortable when they walk on rail tracks in which the device is provided.

The device in accordance with the first design is a concrete railway sleepers. This concrete sleeper has an elevation that extends between two parallel rails on a railway track. Elevation can be done in two ways: either by casting the elevation as a single block, which can be adapted to existing and new sleepers using the appropriate fastening agent, such as glue; or a built-in elevation is placed on new sleepers when they are cast. It should be noted that the elevation can take any form or appearance that ends with a pointed top.

In addition to preventing animals and people from traveling on railway tracks, the device according to the invention will significantly improve the service life of the sleepers. Modern sleepers are mostly flat on their upper surface, which allows moisture, rainwater and dirt to collect on them, and thus the sleepers crumble. With this invention this will not happen. Moisture, rainwater and dirt will slide off the railroad bed due to elevation.

In addition, requirements regarding contact rails along railway tracks are becoming stricter all the time. In particular, the most recent requirement was that contact rails must be mounted in conjunction with bridges and walkways. Contact rails are safety rails that lie parallel to the rails of rail tracks along which railway vehicles move, only they are on the inside. It is a known problem that modern mounting of contact rails entails drilling four holes in each of the sleepers in order to attach the contact rail. This causes water and dirt to enter the sleepers, and its service life becomes excessively shortened. The task of the contact rails is to prevent the railway vehicle from exiting the rail if a crash occurs, since the wheels of the vehicle will be caught between the contact rail and the rail.

The invention will solve this problem, since the elevation is made with the possibility of mounting contact rails at each end of the device, for example, by means of specially designed end blocks and adapted mounting methods. Therefore, if sleepers already exist, it will be possible to glue the elevation to existing sleepers and then attach the contact rails to the elevation. Thus, a solution was found to extend the service life of railway sleepers and, at the same time, satisfy new safety requirements. With the new elevated sleepers with blocks at both ends and the attachment devices for the contact rails, they are undoubtedly integrated during the casting process, so that the contact rails can be mounted directly on a new sleeper which has an elevation.

In places where contact rails will not be used, the elevation can preferably be cast with a hollow cavity, or in material that becomes deformed if the wheel is at the top of the elevation after a crash and goes off its track.

In accordance with the invention, the contact rail is capable of containing wires that are usually buried along the rail tracks, for example in a U-shape, in which the opening of this U-shape faces the rail tracks or, for example, they have a rectangular shape with a hollow the cavity. If the contact rails are hollow inside, it is preferable that they have openings at regular intervals, preferably from the side facing the rail tracks, to provide access to the hollow cavity for inserting and removing wires, as well as access to wires that are already inside the contact rails. In this way, wires that are usually buried along the rail tracks or laid in drainage pipes along the rail tracks are instead placed inside the contact rails. Thus, the cost of laying wires and their maintenance will be reduced. The benefits will also be visible when locating errors, as rail tracks tend to be free of snow and ice.

The device, in accordance with the second design, is preferably formed by parallel contact rails that have elevations that extend over equivalent constant distances between the drive rails. Preferably, the distance between the contact rails is somewhat shorter than the distance between the rails of the rail. Elevations also have such a shape that they make it uncomfortable to walk on rail tracks. The distance between the elevations is made with the ability to make it very uncomfortable to walk there.

The device is additionally equipped with appropriate connecting devices, which allow you to place several devices one after another in series.

In addition, the contact rails need not be straightforward in any of the designs. They can have a rounded shape so that they can adapt to bends on rail tracks.

In addition, in accordance with the second design, the device has a mounting device that allows you to attach the device to an existing sleepers. For example, this operation can be performed in the same way that the rails are attached to the sleepers, and which consists in using a special type of fixing device that attaches the sole of the rails to the sleepers. To this end, the contact rails preferably have one or more distinct edges that extend longitudinally along the contact rails.

In addition, it is important that the device will not be an obstacle for railway vehicles moving along rail tracks, since the overall height of the device is made with the possibility to take this into account. The device also includes preferred stopping points in places where contact rails have been used. It is crucial that railway vehicles do not cling to the device when they enter the area where the device is used in accordance with the invention.

Breakpoints are also vital elements that prevent rail vehicles from reaching the top of the device, in accordance with the invention, they must be dropped off the rails immediately before the breakpoint. However, instead they will lead to the area between the rail and the contact rail. The cessation points are preferably formed by two contact rails, which extend through the parallel contact rails in the longitudinal direction and become narrower and narrower, so that they end as a pointed structure. Also, the cessation points, to their advantage, have elevations such as those described above, between the contact rails, or placed on the sleepers or built into the sleepers. Due to elevations that are placed on sleepers or embedded in sleepers, the widths of the elevations will be less in the areas where the cessation point was made to adapt to the mounted cessation point. Alternatively, the elevation in such cases may be arranged to be located on both sides of the contact rails of the cessation point. In addition to their task of preventing people and animals from traveling on rail tracks, this will also strengthen the stopping points to stop them from bending outward if the railway vehicle goes off the rails.

In addition to having effects on humans and animals, this design also has other advantages. If a railway vehicle is to suffer an accident where the device in accordance with the invention was placed, the wheels of the train will be “caught” between the rails of the device and the contact rails. Thus, the device will lead to a less serious crash than it could otherwise be. Another advantage of the invention is that it reduces the work of employees on the improvement of rails. At a certain time, new gravel is laid on rail tracks, and thanks to the construction of the invention, gravel will not lie on the sleepers, due to the shape of the elevations.

Details of the advantages of the invention will be described in the following example.

Example

More details about the invention will be given below with reference to the attached drawings.

In FIG. 1a-b, a conventional railroad tie with and without rails is shown.

In FIG. 2a-c show a device in accordance with a first device design, and

in FIG. 3a-c show a device in accordance with a second structure, placed on rail tracks.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 1a-b, which shows a traditional concrete sleepers 11 for rail tracks, usually formed by two parallel rails 12. A traditional concrete sleepers 11 is formed, for example, by the outer ends 13, which are angled upward to the connecting flat zone 14. Wooden sleepers also exist, but they often do not have inclined outer ends, and they are mostly rectangular in shape. The rails 12 have sufficiently pronounced edges 15 where appropriate fastening devices 16 can be used to attach the rails 12 to the sleepers 11.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 2a-c, where a device 20 is shown which is made in accordance with the first construction of the invention. In accordance with the first construction of the invention, a new railroad tie 20 was created for railway tracks and which mainly has a centrally located elevation 21. Elevation 21 can be performed in two ways. It can be molded 21 as one unit, which can be adapted to existing sleepers and to new traditional sleepers 11 by fixing them with appropriate fastening devices, so that they become permanently attached to each railway sleepers, or with new sleepers 11, elevation is preferably embed during the casting process for sleepers 20. It should be noted that the elevation 21 can take any form that ends with a pointed, which makes it inconvenient to walk on it. In addition to preventing animals and people from traveling on railway tracks, with such a design, the railroad tie 20 will have an extended service life. As mentioned above, sleepers are currently constructed mainly with flat upper surfaces, which allows moisture, rainwater and dirt to collect on the top of the sleepers, destroying sleepers. In the case of the invention, this will not happen, since moisture, rainwater and dirt roll off the railroad ties due to the presence of elevation 21.

Due to the stringent requirements regarding contact rails along rail tracks, in particular in connection with bridges and walkways, the device, according to the first construction of the invention, is ready for attaching contact rails 22. The advantage of this design is that the device is mainly the way includes rectangular end blocks 23 on each side of the elevation 21, which will form a mounting surface for the contact rails 22. In addition, it is adapted to the mounting devices 24 for mounting to ntact rails 22 to end blocks. After placing the contact rails 22 on the device 20, they will extend parallel to the rail tracks 12 along which the railway vehicles travel, but from the inside. Since the device can approach existing railway sleepers, which are designed as new sleepers, the device will increase the service life of new and old sleepers, as well as increase safety, since contact rails can be attached to the device and at the same time prevent animals and people from walking along the rail tracks. On the new sleepers, the elevation 21 has end blocks 23, and any fastening device 24 for contact rails is built in during the casting process.

In places where contact rails 23 will not be used, elevation 21 will preferably have a hollow cavity or will be made of appropriate materials that become deformed if the wheel of a railway vehicle touches elevation 21 after an accident.

In addition, it should be mentioned that the device can be manufactured with devices for contact rails, as shown in FIG. 2b and 2c, and without contact rail devices, as shown in FIG. 2a.

As can be seen in FIG. 2c, additional contact rails 22 pass and end at the point 25 of the cessation of movement. The design of the point 25 of the cessation of movement allows you to position it in the longitudinal direction, since its width becomes narrower, ending as a pointed shape, that is, two contact rails 22 that end as a point. To this end, the preferred device in accordance with the invention is one that has sleepers 20 with elevations 21 that are already wide, so that they allow the contact rails 22 to taper into a pointed shape. Alternatively, the elevation 21 may have cutouts that allow the contact rails 22 to taper to a point.

Thus, the device will have a reinforcing function that prevents the bending of the motion stop points 25 slightly if the train crashes. The cessation points 25 may also include a cover plate (not shown) that extends over the tapering area to the contact rails 22, so that a flat surface is formed at the cessation points 25. This can be done in addition to the elevations 21 on the sleepers 20 or instead of them. Thus, objects that hang from a moving train will not cling. This will also prevent the occurrence of a dangerous situation if the train crashes immediately in front of the device in accordance with the invention, since the stopping points 25 will direct the train between the contact rails 25 and the rail tracks 12.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 3a, a second construction of a device 30 in accordance with the invention is shown. The device 30 in accordance with the second design includes two longitudinal and parallel contact rails 22, which mainly have a fairly rectangular profile. Between the contact rails 22 there are elevations 21, as described in the first construction, located at an equivalent distance along the contact rails 22. The contact rails 22 also have connecting devices (not shown), as well as a tongue-and-groove solution or other suitable fixing devices, so that several devices 30 could be inserted sequentially. In addition, the device 30 has corresponding fastening devices (not shown), such as a screw tie or the like, mainly for fastening to railway sleepers 20, which lie under the rails 12 of the rail track. By way of example, the contact rails 22 may have a longitudinal, distinct edge 32 on the inside and / or on the outside, in the same way as the rails 12 have distinct longitudinal edges 15, where the corresponding fastener 16 can be used, as shown in FIG. 1b. Thus, the existing fastener 16 can be used to fasten the device 30, in accordance with the invention, to the sleepers 11. Even though only straight-line devices 30 have been shown, it is clear that the device can also be curved in shape, so that it can be adapted to curved railway tracks.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 3b-c, which shows a device 30 in accordance with this invention that has a motion stop point 25. As described above, the construction of the motion stop point 25 allows its width to become already in the longitudinal direction from the end of the device 30 to form the end point. Preferably, the motion stopping point 25 in this structure is all elevations 21, as described above in FIG. 3a to prevent people and animals from walking along the paths. Elevations 21 also have a reinforcing function that prevents slight bending of the stop points 25 if the train crashes. The motion stopping points 25 can also, as mentioned above, have a cover plate (not shown) that extends to the contact rails 22, so that a flat surface is formed on top of the motion stopping point 25. As mentioned in the introduction, it is preferable that the contact rails 22 are adapted to accommodate wires in them, which are usually buried along the railway tracks or placed in drain pipes along the rail tracks. This is achieved, for example, by means of contact rails 22, which are mainly rectangular in shape, with a hollow cavity 33, for example, as shown in FIG. 3a, which can be used to pull wires through it. In places where elevations 31 were not used directly on the contact rails 22, as shown in FIG. 2c, the contact rails 22 may be U-shaped, in which the hole of this U-shaped is facing inward to the rail so that wires can be placed in the contact rails 22. Another solution would be that the contact rails 22 are hollow cavities and cuts in the longitudinal direction that provide access to the cavity. The advantage of the two above solutions with respect to the first solution is that there is full access to the wires; however, they are more prone to damage. In connection with the cessation points, the contact rails may have openings to pull the wires through the sole, so that they can be routed further into the ground or drain pipes along the railway tracks.

It can be mentioned that the two structures can be combined and changed into other structures.

Changes

Elevated railway sleepers will preferably be made of concrete if new sleepers are laid. Elevations can have different shapes that end with tapers, such as a triangle or similar shapes.

The cessation points, in addition to leaning inward to form a point, can have a decreasing height.

Claims (6)

1. A device for ensuring the safety of railway tracks, the track being formed by a number of concrete rail sleepers (11) on which parallel rails are mounted (12), characterized in that the device includes concrete elevations (21) mounted on sleepers or integrated in the sleepers (11), in their middle part, and have horizontal expansion less than the distance between the rails (12), and the elevations (21) are shaped with an edge pointed upwards, while the spaces between the sleepers remain open. 2. The device according to claim 1, in which the elevations (21) include end blocks (23), made for mounting contact rails (22) on them. 3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a stopping point (25), the distance between the contact rails (22) becoming narrower until the contact rails (22) meet at the stopping point (25). 4. The device according to claim 2, in which the contact rails (22) have a hollow profile design or a U-shape design, forming channels for holding the wires. 5. The device according to claim 4, in which the contact rails (22) have cutouts or holes that provide access to the said channels. 6. The device according to claim 2, in which each elevation has a horizontal expansion less than the distance between the contact rails (22), and each contact rail (22) receives the composition wheel between itself and the rail (12).

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