Device for distributing lubricants in grooved rails

The invention is directed to a device for distributing lubricants in grooved rails, particularly for railborne urban traffic. An elongated plate is provided which can be arranged in the groove of the rail and which is provided with cutouts at least along one longitudinal edge, but preferably along both longitudinal edges. The cutouts start at the longitudinal edge and are accordingly open-edged. The lubricant can be supplied to these cutouts. The open-edged cutouts of the plate are covered by a cover plate which is constructed so as to be elastic at least in the covering area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Austrian Application No. A 423/2001, filed Mar. 16, 2001, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a device for distributing lubricants in grooved rails, particularly for railborne traffic. One of the main problems with devices of this type is distributing the lubricant on the groove wall uniformly while simultaneously preventing clogging of the distributing device.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve this problem, the object of the invention is to provide an elongated plate which can be arranged in the groove of the rail and which is provided with cutouts at least along one longitudinal edge, but preferably along both longitudinal edges, which cutouts start at the longitudinal edge and are accordingly open-edged, the lubricant being supplied to these cutouts. It is further suggested that the open-edged cutouts of the plate are covered by a cover plate which is preferably constructed so as to be elastic at least in the covering area.

In the device according to the invention, the lubricant is applied to the inner wall of the groove by way of each of the cutouts which are cut into the lateral edges of the plate. A uniform distribution of lubricant can be achieved corresponding to the quantity of cutouts. When using a cover plate which is elastic in the covering area of the cutouts, this plate acts like a closing valve. This prevents any foreign bodies or contaminants from entering the cutouts.

In a further development of the invention, it can be provided that the cover plate which is constructed so as to be elastic in the area in which it covers the open-edged cutouts is covered by a substantially I-shaped plate. The width of the web of this I-shaped plate corresponds to the minimum distance between the open-edged cutouts of the plate having the open-edged cutouts located opposite one another. When the cover plate is constructed as a thin plate and is highly elastic, this cover plate is held down by the I-plate at those places where elasticity is not required for lifting up from the open-edged cutouts.

For purposes of a uniform delivery of the lubricant proceeding from a feed location for feeding a plurality of lubricant delivery openings, which need not necessarily be constructed as open-edged cutouts as described above, a lubricant feed device can be provided. This lubricant feed device is characterized in that it has a plurality of plates which can be fixed in the groove of the rail, particularly at the base of the groove, one on top of the other as a stack, the lowest or bottom plate of the plates that are placed one upon the other being provided with a flow divider which is preferably constructed as an elongated cutout in the plate. A feed opening for the lubricant preferably opens into the flow divider, preferably in the center, and the flow divider communicates, via at least two openings which are at a distance from one another, with flow dividers which are arranged in another plate of the stack of plates that are placed one upon the other, and the plate having the additional flow dividers is followed in the stack by a plate which communicates, via through-openings, with the flow divider or flow dividers and which can also be connected to lubricant delivery openings and which covers the flow divider or flow dividers. The flow dividers which are provided according to the invention divide a single supplied flow into a quantity of partial flows corresponding to the quantity of lubricant delivery openings. In the embodiment form which is shown by way of example, two partial flows can be formed initially from the single supplied flow, these two partial flows then being subdivided into additional partial flows, for example, eight partial flows, each of which supplies lubricant to a lubricant delivery opening.

In a preferred embodiment form, the flow divider or flow dividers arranged in the other plate is or are constructed as a recess or depression, particularly an I-shaped depression, in the plate. The openings for supplying lubricant to the flow dividers are constructed as holes in the base of the depression. However, the flow dividers in the other plate can also be constructed as holes, particularly I-shaped holes, in the other plate. The plate is covered on one side by a base which is fixedly connected to it and which bridges the holes and is provided with the through-openings for the lubricant which open into the holes of the plate. The hole in the other plate can then be produced, for example, by a punching process.

According to another embodiment form, when the flow dividers are formed as depressions or holes which are I-shaped as seen from above, as was described in the preceding, the through-openings which join the flow dividers in the other plate with the lubricant delivery openings lie above the flanges of the I-shaped flow dividers. A pair of through-openings is preferably allocated to each flange. In this case, each of these through-openings opens into one of the cutouts which are cut into the longitudinal edges of the plate and which form the lubricant delivery openings. In this case, the lubricant is also distributed transverse to the longitudinal extension of the lubricating device in the area of the flanges. In this respect, the I-shaped depressions or holes act, in practice, as distributing chambers for the lubricant. The total height of the lubricating device is conceived in such a way that the wheel running on the rail does not come into contact with the lubricating device when rolling over it. The total height should therefore not exceed about 14 mm. The lubricating device itself is preferably fixed to the groove base by means of screws.

Another construction of the device according to the invention is characterized in that a nipple which is provided with an outer or male cone is inserted, preferably screwed, into the feed opening of the bottom plate and in that the male cone projects into a through-opening which opens into the groove of the rail. Another nipple which is provided with an inner or female cone corresponding to the male cone is inserted, preferably screwed, into this through-opening, this female cone tightly contacting the male cone. This construction makes it possible to pull the entire insert provided for lubricating the groove out of the groove by loosening the screws. The nipple inserted into the feed opening of the bottom plate is pulled out along with it and contact is broken with the female cone of the nipple inserted into the rail.

The invention will be described more fully in the following by way of example with reference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A grooved rail is designated by1in the drawing. A device for distributing lubricants is fastened, e.g., by means of screws32,33, in this grooved rail. The screws32,33are screwed into the base11of the groove10. The distributing device has an elongated plate6which can be arranged in the groove10of the rail1and which is provided, at least along one longitudinal edge, but preferably along both longitudinal edges24,24as is shown in the drawing, with cutouts22,23which are cut into the longitudinal edge and are accordingly open-edged. The lubricant is fed to these cutouts22,23as shown inFIG. 5. The open-edged cutouts22,23of the plate6are covered by a cover plate7which is preferably constructed so as to be elastic at least in the covering area. Accordingly, in the area of the open-edged cutouts22,23, the plate7or the longitudinal edge area of the plate7guides the lubricant against the wall of the groove. This can be seen fromFIG. 5. The cover plate7is covered in turn by an essentially I-shaped plate8. This plate has a web8awhose width (s) corresponds to the minimum distance (a) between the open-edged cutouts22,23of the plate6which are located opposite one another.

When the cover plate7is constructed so as to be elastic at least in the area in which this plate7covers the open-edged cutouts22,23, it acts as a valve plate which lifts up from the open-edged cutouts22,23to a varying extent depending on pressure conditions and thus directs the lubricant flow to the groove wall of the rail at different heights. Further, the plate7also prevents contaminants from penetrating into the open-edged cutouts22and23, since it covers them at the top. The plates6and7can be constructed as thin plates.

The feed device for the lubricant which is formed in the embodiment example by plates2,4and5has a cutout13in the bottom plate (base plate)2of the plates2,4and5which are stacked one on top of the other, this cutout13extending in longitudinal direction of the plate2. A feed opening12for the lubricant opens into the cutout13of the bottom plate2. The plate4following the bottom plate2in the stack9formed from the plates2,4,5lying on top of one another has at least two through-openings14,15which are arranged above the cutout13of the bottom plate2in the stack9and accordingly communicate with the cutout13of the bottom plate2. The cutout13causes the flow of lubricant to be divided in longitudinal direction of the bottom plate2from the center of the cutout13in the direction of the ends of the cutout13.

The plate4can be screwed to the bottom plate2by means of countersunk head screws36which penetrate bore holes40in the plate4and are screwed into threaded bore holes48in the bottom plate2.

Plates5,6,7and8can be connected with the plate4, which has been connected to the bottom plate2beforehand by means of screw36as was described above, by means of a screw34which penetrates bore holes53–56in the plates8,7,6and5and is screwed into a threaded bore hole35in the plate4.

In the example shown in the drawing, plates2,4and5form a stack9(a component assembly) through which the cutouts22,23proceeding from the edges24,25in the plate6are provided with lubricant in partial flows corresponding to the quantity of cutouts22,23. The lubricant is supplied through a nipple52which can be connected to a separate (hose) line and which is screwed into the rail1from the bottom and has a female cone (FIGS. 1,1A), A cone nipple52A which has a male cone matching the female cone of nipple52which is screwed into the rail1is screwed into the feed opening12of the bottom plate2(FIGS. 1,1A). When the entire package (2,4,5,6,7,8) is screwed into the rail by the fastening screws32and33, the female cone of the nipple52joins with the male cone of the nipple52A in a tight connection.

The distributing device for the lubricant which is formed by plates6,7and8in the present embodiment example and the device for feeding lubricant to the lubricant delivery openings (open-edged cutouts22,23) which is formed in the embodiment example by the plates2,4and5that are placed one upon the other can be screwed into the groove10of the rail by screws32and33.

The feed device (plates2,4and5) could also be fastened as a unit in the groove10of the rail1and the distributing device for the lubricant (plates6,7,8) could be placed on this unit and fastened to the feed device, for example, by screws. The flow dividers16,17arranged in the plate4are formed as an I-shaped depression in the present embodiment example. An opening14and15, respectively, through which the lubricant is fed to the flow dividers16and17, respectively, is located in the base of the web of the I-shaped depressions of every flow divider16,17. The lubricant flows along the web26,27of the I-shaped depression against the two flanges28,29and30,31, respectively, of the I-shaped depressions and also fills the flanges28,29and30,31, respectively, from which it arrives at the lubricant delivery openings22,23via through-openings18,19,20,21in a plate5covering the plate4. The through-openings18,19,20,21in the plate5lie above the flanges28,29and30,31, respectively, of the flow dividers16,17.

Instead of providing I-shaped depressions16,17in the plate4, I-shaped punched out portions could also be provided in the plate4and covered on one side by a separate base which is detachably or permanently connected with the plate4. In this case, the base is provided with openings14,15which open into the I-shaped punched out portions from which the lubricant then arrives at the lubricant delivery openings through the through-openings18,19,20and21of the plate5.