US2004051A - Apparatus for continuously cleaning railway ballast - Google Patents

Description

' June 4, 1935;.V M. H. LEMAIRE APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLI CLEANING RAILWAY BALLAST Filed Aug. 5, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l y Afm i2 @ya I' /NVENTO/ gy, MM

June 4, 1935. u M, H LEMAlRE 2,004,051

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY CLEANING RAILWAY BALLAST Filed Aug. 5, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /Nvemrao fi June 4, 1935. M H EMMR 2,004,051

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY CLEANING RAILWAY BALLAST Filed Aug. 5, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 4, 1935 APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY CLEAN- ING RAILWAY BALLAST Maurice VHenri Lemaire, Paris, France Application August 5, 1933, Serial No. 683,845 In France August 11, 1932 claims. (o1. 37-104) The invention relates to an apparatus for carrying Vout continuously the `stripping of `railway tracks of their ballast, the cleaning of the ballast and the replacement of the rails on the --5 cleaned ballast. `The apparatus consists in essence of a long rigid beam mounted at its extremities on two bogies which run on the track itself to be treated and carrying at its middle part one or more excavators which pass under the track while the latter is raised above the ballast. The ballast removed by the excavators is taken to a screen from which the cleaned material falls back between the sleepers of the track and is spread by an equalizing and levelling arrangement, and the combined apparatus advances continuously along the track while the excavators carry out their operations as if the rails and sleepers were not there.

Such a method was described in my Patent No. 1,899,874 and the present invention is directed to a new constructional form of vthe apparatus for `putting this method into practice. f

The new apparatus exhibits several character` istie features which will be mentioned in the following description and will be detailed hereinafter.' I

The accompanying drawings illustrate the apparatusaccording to the invention and therein Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the apparatus complete,

Figure 2 is a transverse section of the excavator I taken on the line I-Iof Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a transverse section of excavator 2 `in travelling' position taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, I

Figure 4 is diagrammatic section similar to .Figure 2 but with the buckets moved sideways,

Figure 5 is a plan on a larger scale of the part vof the excavator operating under the track,

40 Figure `6 is a longitudinal section' taken` on the line 3--3 of Figure 5, f Y

Figure 7 isa transverse sectiontaken on'the line 4-4 of Figure 5,

Figure 8 is a detail view showing parts of the buckets at the upper part of theexcavator, and

Figures 9 and 10 show details in elevation and plan respectively of the roller guiding device for 'the track in operation on a curve.

As will be seen from the drawings the new apparatus 4comprises for example two excavators VI and 2; the rst is shown in operative position (Figures 1 and 2) while thesecond is` shown in 'travelling position (Figures 1 and 3).

y The ballast removed by the excavators is tipped into the feeding hoppers of a belt A conveyor 3 .an important new result which is thelfollowing.

which takes the ballast to the rear to feeda belt elevator 4 with transverse ights which tips the material on to a vibrating screen 5. f

The refuse and the dust are caught under the screen by another belt conveyor 6 and discharged 5 either on to a conveyor -I to load wagons behind the apparatus or on to a transverse conveyor 8 which deposits them beside the track.

The cleaned ballast is returned to the road by chutes 9 and is spread by a levelling and equal- 10 izing device I0 similar to those already described in the above-mentioned patent specification.

Each excavator can move as a whole in the following three ways:- l

1. Vertical movement is provided to make it possible to regulate the depth to which the ballast is removed by means of a structure I4 shown in Figure 1,\which carries the excavator and slides vertically in a fixed frame I5 fast with the bracing of the beam P. The vertical movement of themoving frame is vcarried out by an electric motor I6 actuating lifting screws'I'I (Figs. 1 and 3) by means of worm reduction gear and bevel gear I8.

2. Transverse movement, that is to say in a direction perpendicular tothe track, is provided to permit the excavator to remain centred on the centre line of the track when working on a curvef For this purpose each excavator is supported on the frame I4 through the intermediary of a second structure I9 which is moved by means of a Vroller device on horizontal rolling tracks 20 (Fig. 4) carried by the structure I4.

The transverse movement is effected by a hand-wheel 2| andtransmitted by worm reduction gear and spur gears engaging a rack 22 fixed on the transverse frame I9 (Figs. -1 and 4). 3.fFinally, the tension Vof the chain is ensured by an electric motor 23 (Fig. 2) driving two screw spindles 24 which raise or lower the upper part of the excavator in relation to the complete transverse structure I9 by making it pivot about an axis 25 iixed to this structure (Fig. 2).

In accordance with the'invention each excav-vatorl comprises two chains I Ia, I Ib, which carry buckets II (Fig. 2) each attached thereto'by a lateral face and whichare guided when passing Aunder the track by two lateral chain guides I2 (Fig. 7) embracing-the buckets and braced together to form a frame which supports two longitudinal sliders or skates I3, on which the sleepers of the track are supported (Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6 and -7 This arrangement makes it possible to obtain If the excavator is raised or lowered vertically the track is raised or lowered to the same extent. The chain guides play a double part, firstly that of guiding the buckets under the track so as to obtain a flat road bed, and secondly to carry and lift the track in a continuous manner during the movement of the apparatus along the track, as the sleepers slide by their under surfaces on the skates carried by chain guides.

The arrangement of the chain guide frame which has just been described has the advantage ci being simple and of making it possible to ob--' tain in operation the minimum distance between the underside of the sleepers and the upper edge of the buckets during the progress of the apparatus along the track without any risk of the buckets catching in the sleepers, Y v

For a particular type of bucket working. `at a particular depth of cut there is thus obtained the minimum height of lift of the track." Now, it is very important to reduce thisheight to a minimum Vfor a given length of the apparatus between inner axles, i. e. those nearest eachother to reduce the stresses to which the rails are subjected.

The bucket chains of the excavators are driven by two sprockets 26, (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4) keyed on a shaft which receives its movement from an electric motor 2 by means of a power limiter and spur gears. They run at their lower part on guide sprockets 28 (Fig. 2). v

The buckets H have on their base at the forward side picks 29.V A As the chains are subjected during operation to a combined movement of progress along the track due tothe translation of the whole apparatus and rotation about the shafts 2B and 28, it results therefrom that the picks 29 engage a ,horizontal slide of ballast disintegrating it and directing it into the interior of the buckets and making it pass under the structure ofthe forward chain guide (Figs. 5, 6, 7). The picks projectbeyond therforward part of the fr cnt chain guide (Fig. 7) in such a manner that a horizontal slice of ballast can be engaged over a height greater than the free space existing between the bottom of the chain guide and 4the bottom of the out without the possibility vof the ballast jamming in iront against the chain guide or against the lateral face of the buckets.

This arrangement contributes to lthe possibility oi reducing the raising of the track to a minimum for a given depth of cut.

As the buckets emerge beyond the track they pass in front` of a shield` ,30 of cylindro-conical shape (Figs. 2, 5, 6) concave forwards, in such a manner that towards the vfront of thebuckets there is a suitable space 3| betweenV the buckets and the shield, and towards the rear of the buckets this space 32 is practically zero (Fig, 6)

The ballast which the buckets push in iront of themselves arrives in the shield, rises along the shield partly flowing backwardsso to ll the buckets completely Vover their whole length due to the conical form of the shield.

This arrangement makes it possible to constructanV excavator of large output `comprising buckets elongated in the longitudinal direction of the ytrack and comparatively narrow, so that the ballast can be Yremoved from the track in a comparatively thin layer with only a small height f lift of the track under the machine.

The reactions due to the forward movement of Y .the bucketsin the ballast are absorbed by rollers 33 with vertical axes/(Figs. 5 and 7) mounted in the rear chain guide.

The bottom 34 of the buckets is inclined as may be seen from Figure 8, and the buckets are so spaced that the emptying of the ballast from a bucket is made against the bottom of the preceding bucket. Due to the particular inclination of the bottom the ballast is guided into the charging hopper 35 of the belt conveyor.

This arrangement is particularly advantageous for obtaining an excavator of large output with closely spaced buckets at a high speed of rotation and nevertheless tipping the ballast within the chains at an angle of deflection suitable for the ballast to fall into the charging hopper situated' vertically under the top sprocket (26) of the excavator. Y

"There remains to be explained how the apparatus is put into operation and how it is set into position for travelling.

Each excavator has lateral arms 4D pivoted on axes' Mcarried by the excavator frame. The lower extremities of these arms may be coupled to the chain guides I2 in the position of Figure 2.

To pass from the operating position, Fig. 2, to the travelling position, Fig. 3, the first operation is to cut the excavator chains into two portionsas may be understood from Figure 3. Then the arms 45 are raised so that the folded apparatus comes within the loading gauge G of the track (Fig. 3).

The raising of the arms 40 can be carried out automatically by means of chains 44, one extremity of which is xed at 45 and the other extremity of which is attached at 42 to the arms 40. When the excavator is raised the chain 44 is pulled and causes the arms to pivot, bringing them back to the position shown in Figure 3.

The chain guides and the buckets located in the chain guides Vremain under the track until the resumption of operations. So as not to cause a loss of level in the prole along the track at the end of a period of Vwork the precaution is taken before thus abandoning the chain guides to lower the excavator to its full extent to completely submerge the chain guides under the unraised track so Vthat the track can resume its position. j Y

Moving to the operating position is carried out in the inverse manner.

It isv obvious that at the commencement of an operation the chain guides and the corresponding part of the bucket chain are previously placed under. the track by-any suitable means.

On curves the track is maintained in place, if it tends to become displaced, by an arrangement Awhich can be pressed hard against the inner edge of the right hand or left hand rail according to the direction 4of the curvature.

'I'his arrangement comprises a roller 50 (Fig. 1). Figures 9 and 10 show the details of this arrangement. The roller U which presses againstV .the inner edge of the rail 55 is mounted at the end of an arm 5l which can rotate about an axis 52 integral with the principal'beam, the rotation of the arm about this axis being eiected by Va. wheel 53.

The track is kept in its place by the simultaneous action of the rollers 49 integral with the excavator (Fig. 2) and by the roller 50.

It will be seen for Yexample that the more the angle a (Fig. diminishes the more the track is pushed sideways in the direction of the arrow.

. VThe above arrangements are only given by way of example, the form, dimensions, materials employed and 4all detail arrangements may. vary without altering the principle of the invention.

What is claimed is: v

1. In an apparatus for cleaning railway ballast consisting of a beam moving along the track, track elevators carried by the said beam, endless excavators including chains and buckets surrounding the beam and the rails, improvements for increasing the output comprising track supports proper for guiding the excavator chains, implements integral with excavator buckets laterally thereof, a shield at the outlet of the excavation, the buckets each having an inclined bottom for deflecting during its discharge the ballast contained in the next bucket.

2. In an apparatus for cleaning railway ballast consisting of a beam moving along the track, track elevators carried by the said beam, endless excavators including chains and buckets surrounding the beam and the rails, improvements for increasing the output comprising rigid chain guides integral with longitudinal sliders on which the sleepers are supported, implements integral with excavator buckets laterally thereof, a shield at the outlet of the excavation, and the buckets each having an inclined bottom for deilecting during its discharge the ballast contained in the next bucket.

3. In an apparatus for cleaning railway ballast consisting of a beam moving along the track, track elevators carried by the said beam, endless excavators including chains and buckets surrounding the beam and the rails, improvements for increasing the output comprising track supports proper for guiding the excavator chains, picks carried by the excavators laterally thereof and directed towards the front in the direction of travel of the chain, a shield at the outlet of the excavation, and the buckets each having an inclined bottom for deflecting during its discharge the ballast contained in the next bucket.

4. In an apparatus for cleaning railway ballast consisting of a beam moving along the track, track elevators carried by the said beam, endless excavators including chains and buckets surrounding the beam and the rails, improvements for increasing the output comprising track supports proper for guiding the excavator chains, implements integral with excavator buckets laterally thereof, a shield at the outlet of the excavation, the buckets each having an inclined bottom for deflecting during its discharge the ballast contained in the next bucket, an arrangement with rollers integral with the beam, the rollers rolling against the inner edges of the rails of the track to be cleaned, and resilient means pressing the said rollers against the track.

5. In an apparatus for cleaning railway ballast consisting of a beam moving along the track, track elevators carried by the said beam, endless excavators including chains and buckets surrounding the beam and the rails, improvements for increasing the output comprising track supports proper for guiding the excavator chains, implements integral with excavator buckets laterally thereof, a shield at the outlet of the excavation, the buckets each having an inclined bottom for deiiecting during its discharge the ballast contained in the next bucket, an arm pivoted to the truck between the bogies, and a roller at the end of the said arm and bearing against one of the rails of the track to be cleaned.

MAURICE HENRI LEMAIRE.

Images