JP7777480B2 - Rail height adjustment device for telescopic rail device for railway work vehicle and accessory storage device for accommodating the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rail height adjustment device that adjusts the height of a telescopic rail device to match the height of the main rail of the railway track when using the device to move a work vehicle from a storage area located on the side of the railway track onto the track, and an accessory storage device that prevents train operation from being disrupted by rail height adjustment devices that remain on the railway track after work.

When a work vehicle is moved along a railway track to perform construction work, a telescopic rail system is used to move the work vehicle along the track. The telescopic rail system extends the rail by pulling out a movable rail onto a fixed rail secured in a storage area, and then places the rail on the main rail, crossing the railway track in a direction approximately perpendicular to the rail.
Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when transferring a work vehicle from a movable rail to a main rail, if the underside of the movable rail is higher than the upper surface of the main rail, a spacer is attached to the main rail to fill the gap. Also, when lifting the vehicle body from a work vehicle on a movable rail by extending a rolling stock device attached to the bottom onto the main rail, if the lifting stroke of the rolling stock device is insufficient relative to the upper surface position of the main rail, a lifting bracket is placed between the main rails and the rolling stock device is placed on this lifting bracket to lift the vehicle.
These spacers and raising fittings are stored in a storage box installed near the storage location of the telescopic rail device. This storage device includes a storage box installed near the telescopic rail device, an indicator light that displays a warning that the accessory has not been removed near the installation location of the accessory, and a control circuit that controls the lighting of the indicator light. The storage box is equipped with a limit switch that detects when the accessory has been stored. The control circuit controls the lighting of the indicator light when the limit switch detects that the accessory has been removed from the storage box, and controls the lighting of the indicator light when the accessory is detected.

JP 2010-180532 A

In the above-mentioned conventional telescopic rail device for work vehicles, four spacers are attached at the intersections between the main rail and the movable rail, and a pair of brackets are also placed between the main rails. The spacers and brackets are each separate and independent, and attaching them to the main rail is a cumbersome task, so improving work efficiency within a limited work time is desirable. Furthermore, since accessories such as spacers and brackets are not necessarily required depending on the installation location of the telescopic rail device, once the work vehicle has been replaced and the movable rail has been stored in a storage location, it is easy to forget to remove the accessories due to the time-pressured nature of the work, and the accessories that remain installed may interfere with train operations.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rail height adjustment device and storage device for a telescopic rail device for a railway work vehicle that improves the efficiency of the work of loading and unloading a work vehicle onto the main rail of a railway track, and that allows the user to recognize whether accessories used for the work have not been removed, so that the accessories can be removed reliably.

To solve the above problem, in this invention, a movable rail 3 is extended lengthwise from a fixed rail 2 in a storage area located on the side of the railway track so as to cross the main line rail R of the railway track, filling the vertical gap between the movable rail 3 and the main line rail R in the telescopic rail device 1 that moves the work vehicle C to the main line rail R, and a rail height adjustment device 7 is installed on the main line rail R so as to fill the vertical gap between the main line rail R and a liftable turntable C1 attached to the work vehicle C to transfer the work vehicle C from the movable rail 3 to the main line rail R. The rail height adjuster 7 comprises a base 8 that extends along the main rail R and has a pair of engaging pieces 8b with opposing side edges that hang down to fit over the top of the main rail R; spacer plates 9a that are stacked and fixed in the desired number at the intersection with the movable rail 3 on the base 8 to fill the gap between the movable rail 3 and the main rail R; and a raising section 10 that is fixed to the part of the base 8 where the turntable C1 is placed so as to compensate for any shortfall in the lift height of the turntable C1 relative to the height position of the main rail R.

In this invention, by integrating the previously separate height adjustment devices, equipment can be reduced and made more compact, allowing for a smaller storage box. This improves the convenience of handling and management during transportation, installation, and removal. It also simplifies the alignment of the heights of the movable rail and the main line rail, and the main line rail and the turntable, making it possible to efficiently load and unload work vehicles onto the main line rail. Furthermore, once the work vehicle is removed from the main line rail and the movable rail is stored in a storage area, the warning light will not turn off unless the accessories are removed from the main line rail and placed in the storage box, making the worker aware of this condition. This ensures that the accessories can be removed reliably, and also provides a warning to approaching trains, avoiding disruption to train operations and preventing accidents.

1A is a front view of the telescopic rail device with the movable rail pulled out, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the telescopic rail device with the movable rail stored. 1 is a plan view of an installed state of a rail height adjuster according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rail height adjuster according to the present invention; 4A is a plan view of the rail height adjuster of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the same. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an accessory storage device according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is a side view with a portion cut away of the accessory storage device of FIG. 5; 1A is a front view of the upper holder, FIG. 1B is a side view of the upper holder, and FIG. 1C is a plan view of the upper holder. FIG. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a control unit.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In Figure 1, the telescopic rail device 1 has a fixed rail 2 laid on a foundation B of a storage location in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main rail R of the railway track, and a movable rail 3 extending from the tip of the fixed rail 2 so as to intersect with the main rail R. When not in use, the movable rail 3 is placed on top of the fixed rail 2 and stored together with the fixed rail 2 in the storage location. The movable rail 3 has a substantially U-shaped cross section and can be freely moved in the extension direction by rollers or the like while fitting onto the fixed rail 2. The movable rail 3 is connected to a chain 6 that is wound around a drive sprocket 5a that is connected to the output shaft of a motor 4 at the base end of the fixed rail 2 and a guide sprocket 5b at the tip of the fixed rail 2, and is moved by pulling around the chain 6 when driven by the motor 4.
In order to move a work vehicle C, which travels on the railway tracks to perform construction work and the like, onto the main rail R, the telescopic rail device 1, as shown in FIG. 1(A), pulls out a movable rail 3 on a fixed rail 2 fixed in a storage location to extend the rail, and places it on the main rail R so that it intersects with the railway tracks in a direction approximately perpendicular to the rail, and then moves the work vehicle C on the movable rail 3 to the main rail R, and as shown in the same figure (B), a turntable C1 attached to the bottom of the work vehicle C and which can raise and lower the body is placed on the main rail R, and then the movable rail 3 is pulled back onto the fixed rail 2, and the track running wheels of the work vehicle C are remounted onto the main rail R.

When placing the movable rail 3 on the main rail R, if there is a difference in height between the upper surface of the main rail R and the lower surface of the movable rail 3, or if the lifting stroke of the turntable C1 is insufficient relative to the height position of the upper surface of the main rail R when transferring the work vehicle C from the movable rail 3 to the main rail R, a rail height adjuster 7 is attached to the main rails R, R to fill the gap and adjust the heights to match, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the rail height adjuster 7 comprises a base 8 with a generally U-shaped cross section, equipped with a pair of engaging pieces 8b that hang down oppositely from both side edges of the upper plate 8a placed along the main rail R so as to engage with the main rail R from above, a rectangular spacer portion 9 attached to the upper surface of one end of the base 8, and a rectangular raising portion 10 attached to the upper surface of the other end of the base 8. A hook hole 8c is opened between the spacer portion 9 and the raising portion 10 on the upper plate 8a of the base 8. The spacer section 9 comprises a required number of thin steel spacer plates 9a stacked on one end of the upper plate 8a of the base 8, a steel rail support plate 9b stacked on the topmost spacer plate 9a, and bolts 9c that secure these together. The raising section 10 comprises a steel block 10a whose thickness is set according to the work vehicle C and that is stacked on the other end of the upper plate 8a of the base 8, and bolts 10b that secure this.

When this rail height adjuster 7 is attached to the main rails R, R, the spacer portion 9 of the rail height adjuster 7 compensates for the difference in height between the upper surface of the main rail R and the lower surface of the movable rail 3, allowing the movable rail 3 to be placed on the main rail R without any rattle. Additionally, the raising portion 10 compensates for any shortfall in the lifting stroke of the turntable C1 relative to the upper surface of the main rail R, allowing the turntable C1 to reach the main rail R, and the work vehicle C is lifted to lower its track running wheels onto the main rail R.

The accessory storage device 11 is installed near the storage location for the telescopic rail device, and as shown in Figures 5 and 6, it has a storage box 12 inside that houses the rail height adjuster 7.

The storage box 12 is rectangular, and four fixing pieces 12d protruding laterally from the back panel 12b are fixed to a support wall (not shown) with fixing bolts. The front door 12a of the storage box 12 can be opened and closed using a lockable handle 12c, and a warning light 13 is provided on the top panel. The warning light 13 goes out when a rail height adjuster 7 is placed inside the storage box 12, and turns on when the rail height adjuster 7 is removed from the storage box 12. Inside the storage box 12, four pairs of upper and lower holders 15, 16 that hold the rail height adjuster 7 are arranged horizontally.

Four upper holders 15 are arranged side by side inside the back panel 12b of the storage box 12, and the rail height adjuster 7's hook holes 8c are hooked with the raised portion 10 facing upward. As shown in Figure 7, each upper holder 15 comprises an upper base 17 with a generally U-shaped cross section that protrudes forward from the back panel 12b shared by both holders, a hook 18 that extends horizontally from the upper base 17 and bends upward, and a limit switch 19 attached to the hook 18. The hook 18 comprises a mounting plate 18a bolted to the front panel 17a of the upper base 17, a bracket-equipped support plate 18b that extends horizontally from the mounting plate 18a to the front, an engagement plate 18c that rises vertically from the support plate 18b, and a stopper plate 18d that is bolted to the support plate 18b and rises behind the engagement plate 18c in a spaced-apart relationship. The limit switch 19 is pressed into the operating position when the rail height adjuster 7 is placed on the support plate 18b with its contact piece protruding above it. The lower holder 16 abuts against the backside of the raised portion 10 of the rail height adjuster 7, which is hooked onto the upper holder 15. As shown in Figure 8, the lower holder 16 is common to both rail height adjusters 7 and comprises a lower base 20 with a generally U-shaped cross section that protrudes forward from the back plate 12b, and a magnet 21 that protrudes horizontally forward from the lower base 20 and has an adjustable protruding length that adheres to the backside of the base 8 corresponding to the spacer portion 9 of the rail height adjuster 7.

The control unit 14 is located on the upper inside of the back panel 12b of the storage box 12 and incorporates a terminal block TB, relay X1, circuit protector CP, fuse F1, and warning light PTL. Together with the power lamp PL and limit switches 19 (LS1 to LS4) located on the opening/closing lid 12a of the storage box 12, it forms a control circuit. As shown in Figure 9, the control unit 14 is branched off from the primary power supply of the operation panel 22 of the telescopic rail device 1 and controls the turning on and off of the warning light 13 (PTL). The fuse F1 and circuit protector CP cut off the circuit in the event of an excessive current. The relay X1 turns ON when the telescopic rail device 1 is in operation and turns OFF when the rail height adjusters 7 are latched onto all upper holders 15 and all limit switches LS1 to LS4 are closed.

In this accessory storage device 11, the power lamp PL is lit when the primary power supply of the operation panel 22 is connected. At this time, even after the work vehicle C using the telescopic rail device 1 has been completely remounted, if all of the rail height adjusters 7 have not been stored in the storage box 12, one of the limit switches LS remains open, so the relay X1 remains ON and the warning light 13 (PTL) is illuminated. Therefore, the illuminated warning light 13 (PTL) informs the worker or the driver of the work vehicle C that the rail height adjusters 7 have not been removed. When all of the rail height adjusters 7 remaining on the track are stored in the upper and lower holders 15, 16 of the storage box 12, all limit switches LS are closed, so the relay X1 is turned OFF and the warning light 13 (PTL) is turned off. Therefore, the worker or the driver of the work vehicle is informed that the work has been completed. The rail height adjuster 7 is hooked into the hook hole 8c by the engagement plate portion 18c and stopper plate portion 18d of the hook 18 of the upper holder 15, and is also attracted to the magnet 21 of the lower holder 16, so its movement is restricted and it is securely held in place, and the limit switch LS operates accurately.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Telescopic rail device 2 Fixed rail 3 Movable rail 4 Motor 5a Drive sprocket 5b Guide sprocket 6 Chain 7 Rail height adjuster 8 Base 8a Upper plate 8b Engagement piece 8c Hook hole 9 Spacer portion 9a Spacer plate 9b Rail receiving plate 9c Bolt 10 Raising portion 10a Block 10b Bolt 11 Accessory storage device 12 Storage box 12a Opening and closing lid 12b Back plate 12c Handle 12d Fixing piece 13 Warning light 14 Control unit 15 Upper holder 16 Lower holder 17 Upper base 17a Front plate 18 Hook 18a Mounting plate portion 18b Support plate portion 18c Engagement plate portion 18d Stopper plate portion 19 Limit switch 20 Lower base 21 Magnet 22 Operation panel B Foundation R Main line rail C Work vehicle C1 Turntable PL Power lamp TB Terminal block X1 Relay CP Circuit protector F1 Fuse PTL Warning light LS1 to LS4 Limit switch

Claims (2)

A rail height adjuster is installed on the main rail to fill the vertical gap between the movable rail and the main rail in a telescopic rail device that extends a movable rail in the length direction from a fixed rail in a storage area provided on the side of the railway track to cross the main rail of the railway track and moves a work vehicle onto the main rail, and also to fill the vertical gap between the main rail and a liftable turntable attached to the work vehicle to transfer the work vehicle from the movable rail to the main rail.
a base including a pair of engagement pieces extending along the main rail and having opposite side edges that hang down so as to fit onto an upper portion of the main rail;
a desired number of spacer plates are stacked and fixed to the base at the intersection with the movable rail to fill the height difference between the lower surface of the movable rail and the upper surface of the main rail;
A rail height adjustment device for a telescopic rail device for a railway work vehicle, characterized in that it is provided with a raising portion fixed to the portion on the base where the turntable is placed so as to compensate for the insufficiency of the lifting stroke of the turntable relative to the upper surface of the main line rail. 1. An accessory storage device for storing a rail height adjuster installed within a railroad track in a telescopic rail device that moves a work vehicle to a main rail of the railroad track by extending a movable rail in the length direction from a fixed rail in a storage area provided on the side of the railroad track,
a storage box installed near the telescopic rail device and storing the rail height adjuster therein;
a limit switch that detects the rail height adjuster in the storage box;
a warning light located outside the storage box that displays a warning that the rail height adjuster has not been collected;
a control circuit that controls to turn off the warning light when the limit switch detects the rail height adjuster in the storage box, and controls to turn on the warning light when the rail height adjuster is removed from the storage box,
The rail height adjuster has a hook hole penetrating the base,
The accessory storage device for a telescopic rail device for a railway work vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that the storage box is provided with a holder that passes through the hook hole to hold the rail height adjustment device and, in this state, abuts the base against the limit switch to detect the storage of the rail height adjustment device.