Patent ID: 6520298
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: B61K

Abstract:
A track brake, especially a grade-compensating track brake for braking railroad vehicles, comprising: at least one piston track brake with a housing against a rail; means actuated by a shifting mechanism for shifting said piston track brake out of an active state and into an inactive state; said shifting mechanism comprising a track-brake lowering device with a length of structural section extending along the piston track brake and having drag bars attached to said structural section and engaging said piston track brake; said piston track brake remaining fixed to said rail and in the operating region of wheels of said railroad vehicles, said active and inactive states being carried out without contacting said housing of said piston track brake, the braking process being free of acceleration forces, said drag bars contacting said piston track brake only when said piston track brake is in an inactive state to prevent acceleration forces by not actuating said piston track brake in the inactive state, in the active state said piston track brake remaining in an operating region of said piston track brake and said drag bars sliding in a piston tube adjacent to a rear wheel for entering the active state also when the wheels are in the operative region of the piston track brake, so that said piston track brake can be shifted out of the inactive state and into the active state in a braking section even when car wheels are present in the braking section, the active and inactive state of said brake being attained by said drag bars shifting the piston tube vertically, said drag bars being rotatable.