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(11) | EP 1 186 709 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Concrete sleeper sole for high speed rail track |
| (57) The sole is fixed to the concrete sleeper (2) by means of a series of linear, continuous,
parallel and equidistant projections (3), arranged longitudinally on the underside
(4) of the sole (1) which is applied on the base (5) of the sleeper (2). The respective
centre planes of said projections (3) for fixing are orthogonal to said underside
(4), and, their transversal sections (6) take the form of a double harpoon which prevents
the detachment of the sole (1), with respect to the sleeper (2), with the particularity
that the edges (7) or outermost projections (3) are separated from the rims (8) of
the base of the sleeper (2). Said sole constitutes a supporting bed for the concrete
sleepers (2) employed in high speed railway lines, said supporting bed proving effective
for reducing the settlement and the friction of the ballast, and also the disorder
from vibration in the latter and the and the deterioration of the geometry of the
line. |
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related with a sole under concrete sleeper for high speed track, prepared to be located on the underside of the concrete sleepers which are employed in railway lines, the location being carried out during the vibration operation of the concrete of which the sleeper is going to consist, being fixed to the fresh concrete itself, employing for the fixing some particular means which for part of the sole itself.
[0002] The object of the invention is to provide the sleepers of the railway lines with a flexible support, deformable and elastic in order to reduce the friction in the ballast and the disorder from vibration therein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] For the purposes of controlling and enhancing the comfort of passengers in high-speed railway trains, special attention has to be placed upon the so-called "sensitive" or "singular points" of the track, since when passing over these perturbations can occur. Said points, which are necessarily present on every line, are, for example, the transitions between platforms having a different modulus of elasticity (viaducts, tunnels), the line gear (switches, expansions), etc.
[0004] Maintenance of the metallic superstructure of the line is relatively straightforward; but this is not so much the case both with the concrete sleepers and with the line gear.
[0005] To shorten the maintenance operations at the sensitive points, the concrete sleepers are fitted with, on their underside or seating, with a polyurethane sole, incorporated on each sleeper in the moulding operation thereof.
[0006] The support of the sleeper on the bedding which said sole constitutes, which is flexible in nature, deformable and elastic, has been shown to be effective in reducing the settlement and the friction of the ballast, the disorder from vibration therein and the deterioration of the geometry of the line.
[0007] For all these considerations, the Public Body Administrator of Railway Infrastructure (G.I.F.) has drawn up a document on "Particular Provisions applicable to sleepers fitted with polyurethane soles", in which are set out, among other technical conditioning factors in order that said sleepers be acceptable, those relative to the "collocation of the polyurethane sole on the underside of the sleeper", stipulating that:
a) - "The spacing layer between the polyurethane sole and the base of the sleeper, shall be assured with crushed gravel, or similarly treated, spread during the fabrication of the soles".
b) - "The soles shall be collocated during or after the vibrating of the concrete, by embedding in the fresh concrete".
c) - "The position of the polyurethane sole, shall be set back at the edges of the sleeper, in order to prevent any pulling off of polyurethane by the tamping machinery in the line maintenance operations employing mechanical tamping".
[0008] The official provisions regarding the collocation of the polyurethane sole on the underside of the sleeper, stipulates the "when" of said collocation ("during or after the vibrating of the concrete") and the "how" thereof ("by embedding in the fresh concrete"), but leaves the manufacturer free to choose the inherent characteristics of the means of fixing the sole to the sleeper, though these must pass the "detachment test" foreseen by the aforementioned Public Body for acceptance of the sleepers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The objective of the invention which constitutes the object of this Patent, consists in determining the formal and functional characteristics of the means of fixing a sole of de visco-elastic (flexible, deformable, elastic) material to the underside of a concrete sleeper for high speed railway lines, in such a manner that it satisfies simultaneously the particular provisions applicable thereto, established by the G.I.F., and the detachment test recommended by said Public Body.
[0010] La application of the sole on the underside of the sleeper is carried out with the latter in the inverted position with respect to that of emplacement on the line, in order that the fixing means can penetrate into the fresh concrete by applying to the outside face of the sole the appropriate pressure.
[0011] In accordance with the invention, the means of fixing the sole to the sleeper consists in a series of linear, continuous, parallel and equidistant projections, arranged longitudinally on the underside of the sole which is applied to the base of the sleeper, in such a way that their respective centre planes are orthogonal to said underside of the sole, and their transversal sections is in the form of a double harpoon which prevents the detachment of the sole, the edges of which are separated from the rims of the base of the sleeper.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] To complete the description being made and for the purpose of assisting in a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof, and as an integral part of said description, a set of drawings is appended wherein, by way of illustration and not restrictively, the following is shown:
- Figure 1 shows, viewed from below, the relative position of the sole with respect to the configuration of the sleeper.
- Figure 2 is a transversal section of the sleeper with the sole applied and in the reversed position in which it is formed, vibrated and has the projections of the sole embedded therein, cut along a plane represented in Figure 1 by the line A-A.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0013] To demonstrate clearly the nature and the scope of advantageous application of the "Sole under concrete sleeper for high speed rail track" which constitutes the object of the invention, a description is provided hereunder of the structure and the disposition of the means of fixing thereof, making reference to the drawings which, by showing a preferred embodiment of said object, informative in nature, are to be taken in the broadest sense and not as limitations of the application and the content of the invention claimed.
[0014] The sole is of the type of those of visco-elastic material (flexible, deformable, elastic), which is applied during or after the vibrating of the concrete of the sleeper, by embedding in the fresh concrete.
[0015] The means of fixing the sole (1) to the sleeper (2) comprise a series of linear, continuous, parallel and equidistant projections (3), arranged longitudinally on the underside (4) of the sole (1) which is applied on the base (5) of the sleeper (2), in such a manner that their respective centre planes are orthogonal to said underside (4), and, their transversal sections (6) take the form of a double harpoon which prevents the detachment of the sole (1), the edges (7) of which are separated from the rims (8) of the base of the sleeper (2).
1. Sole under concrete sleeper for high speed rail track, of the type of those of flexible,
deformable and elastic material which is collocated during or after the vibrating
of the concrete of the sleeper, by embedding in the fresh concrete, characterised in that the means of fixing the sole (1) to the sleeper (2) comprise a series of linear,
continuous, parallel and equidistant projections (3), arranged longitudinally on the
underside (4) of the sole (1) which is applied on the base (5) of the sleeper (2),
in such a manner that their respective centre planes are orthogonal to said underside
(4), and, their transversal sections (6) take the form of a double harpoon which prevents
the detachment of the sole (1), the edges (7) of which are separated from the rims
(8) of the base of the sleeper (2).