Elastic rail clamps

Abstract: An elastic rail clamp 10, for fastening a rail to an underlying rail plate or rail tie 1, of the type comprising a pair of substantially parallel members 19 folded into a D configuration so as to have a front toe portion 16 adapted to seat on a flange of the rail, which toe portion 16 is formed by respective free ends 18 of the substantially parallel members 19, and a base portion 11 adapted to seat in a slot 4 in the rail plate or rail tie 1, is shaped such that the parts 14 of the substantially parallel members 19 between the base portion 11 and the toe portion 16 are tapered in external dimensions towards the toe portion 16 of the clamp 10, and the free ends 18 of the substantially parallel members 19 are turned back toward a rear portion 13 of the clamp 10 and project outwardly so as to abut a portion of the rail plate or rail tie 1 when the clamp 10 is in use, thereby to prevent the rail clamp 10 sliding off the rail flange. Alternatively or in addition, the pair of substantially parallel members 19 are joined together between the curved rear portion 13 of the members 19 adjacent the base portion 11.

Description: This invention relates to elastic rail clamps, used in rail fastening systems, of the kind which are applied at right angles to the rail. GB-A-2269198 shows an elastic rail clamp for fastening a rail to an underlying rail plate or rail tie, which clamp comprises a toe portion which is adapted to lie on a flange of the rail and a base portion which is adapted to seat in a slot in a rail plate or in a shoulder secured to a rail tie. Elastic rail clamps of this kind are also described in U.S. Patents 3,067,947 (Deenik) and 4,313,563 (Young). Generally these clamps are designed for use with a custom made shoulder into which the base of the elastic clamp fits. Both rail clamps have toe portions which lie on the rail flange and the outer edges of these abut the support shoulder to prevent them sliding off the rail flange. The "Young" clip is used with a shoulder as described in U.S. Patent 4,688,719 which has a shoulder with a tapered slot leading to the gate which acts to compress the arms together as the clamp is driven into place with the toe portion on the rail flange. However, many railway tracks that are already laid have existing rail plates or shoulders but could be upgraded at low cost by utilizing an elastic rail clamp without having a custom built support shoulder. A common rail plate used in Europe is called a K plate which includes a pair of parallel ribs adjacent and parallel to the rail flange and slots in the ribs at right angles to the rail flange. These slots are not tapered and thus the toes of the rail clamps need to be compressed to pass through the slot if the toes are to be prevented from sliding off the rail flange. The Deenik clip can only be applied to the K plate with a tool which compresses the arms of the toe portion to pass through the gate in the shoulder. With older rail tracks the variation in height between rail plate slot and rail flange can vary greatly in stationary and dynamic modes and thus maximum clamp deflection between the base of the toe portions is needed. It is the object of this invention to provide an elastic rail clamp which can be used in rail tracks without a custom built rail shoulder. According to the present invention there is provided an elastic rail clamp for fastening a rail to an underlying rail plate or rail tie, which clamp comprises a toe portion which is adapted to lie on a flange of the rail and a base portion which is adapted to seat in a slot in a rail plate or in a shoulder secured to a rail tie, characterised in that the said clamp comprises a pair of substantially parallel members bent into a D configuration such that one end of said pair of members forms the toe portion of the clamp and the other end forms the base portion of said clamp, the pair of members being joined together at a curved rear portion of the members adjacent the base portion of the clamp. This arrangement means that the base comprises two free arms extending toward the rail. This contrasts with "Deenik" which had a U-shaped base where the base of the U was next to the rail and provided no free movement for the individual members, and also contrasts with "Young" which had a solid base portion. The advantage which arises from the provision of free ends for the base is greater deflection for the clamp which means it can fit into a wider range of rail track environments. The provision of the junction between the members at a position at the rear of the clamp just above the base means that there is a large non-critical area as a target for hitting the clamp with a sledge hammer to drive the clamp into position. In addition, this is the portion of the clamp most likely to receive high sideward forces from ballast pressure during ballast regulation and the fact that the two members of the clamp are joined at this position minimises the possibility of clamp damage. In summary, joining the members together at the rear of the clamp provides a means to maximize clamp deflection for a given toe load while retaining sufficient strength to minimise damage during application of the clamp and during track working processes such as ballast regulation. Preferably to improve deflection even further the legs of the base are tapered toward their ends. The clamps may be formed from rod or bar steel. Preferably the clamps are formed from 40mm wide bar stock in a forging and shaping operation. In some situations the base needs to be of a wider dimension than the width of the stock bar. By widening the gap between the legs in the base so that they protrude partially sideways, the clamp base can be made to fit the dimensions of the slot in the rail plate or rail tie. Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1A, 1B and 1C show respective plan and sectional views of a K plate rail plate for use with embodiments of the present invention; Figures 2A, 2B and 2C show respective front elevational, side elevational and underneath plan views of a rail clamp embodying the present invention; and Figures 3A and 3B show views of first and second blanks formed during the process of shaping such a rail clamp from bar stock steel. As shown in Fig. 1, a "K plate" type of rail plate 1 is shaped to hold a rail (not shown) between the ribs 3 which abut the rail flange. Slots 4 shown in cross section in Figure 1c are located on opposite sides of the rail in ribs 3 and are of constant cross section perpendicular to the rail. A base portion of an elastic rail clamp 10, comprising base legs 11 (Fig. 2), fits in the slot 4 and the rearwardly facing free ends 18 of a toe portion 16 of the clamp 10 abut sides 5 of the slots 4. The rail clamp 10 shown in Figures 2A, 2B, 2C comprises base legs 11, a rear web 13, legs 14, toe portion 16 and free ends 18 of toe portion 16. The elastic rail clamp 10 is formed from bar stock by hot blanking the bar stock into the form shown in Figure 3A. The blanking forms a pair of substantially parallel members or arms 19 forming the base legs 11 and legs 14 in tapered form extending from the web 13. The hot blank is then coined along edges 12 of the web and legs 11 and edges 15 of the web 13 and legs 14. The outer edges 17 of the clamps are also coined. Coining reduces the likelihood of stress fractures. The next step in forming the rail clamp is as shown in Figure 3B to form the legs 14 into a curved form in the two dimensional blank which will produce the tapered toe portion of the final three dimensional form as shown in Figure 2A. The narrowest width across the legs 14 in the Figure 3B blank corresponds to the frontmost portion of the toe portion 16 of the clamp 10. The second step also widens the base legs 11 to a size which will fit and secure the rail clamp 10 in the slot of the rail plate 1. As shown in Figures 2A, 2B and 2C the rail clamp 10 has the web 13 joining the two arms 19 of the clamp at the rear web 13 of the clamp 10 which can function to receive the force to push the clamp 10 onto the rail flange. The toe portion 16 is narrow enough to seat within the upper portion of the slot 4 and pass between the edges 5 and onto the rail flange. The free ends 18 of the legs 14 snap apart and prevent removal of the clamp 10 and keep the toe portion 16 on the rail flange. The long tapered legs 11, 14, of the toe and base portions of the clamp 10 mean that the deflection range of the clamp 10 is greater than possible in prior art constructions. From the above it can be seen that the present rail clamp is able to be used in a wider range of track situations without a custom made shoulder clamp or a special applicator tool.

Claims: An elastic rail clamp (10) for fastening a rail to an underlying rail plate or rail tie (1), which clamp (10) comprises a toe portion which is adapted to lie on a flange of the rail and a base portion (11) which is adapted to seat in a slot (4) in a rail plate or in a shoulder secured to a rail tie (1), characterised in that the said clamp (10) comprises a pair of substantially parallel members (19) bent into a D configuration such that one end of said pair of members (19) forms the toe portion of the clamp (10) and the other end forms the base portion (11) of said clamp (10), the pair of members (19) being joined together at a curved rear portion (13) of the members (19) adjacent the base portion (11) of the champ. A clamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of members (19) are joined by a web which forms a rear surface of the rail clamp (10) which is adapted to be parallel to the rail when the base portion (11) is seated in the slot (4) in the rail plate or the shoulder secured to the rail tie (1), and two legs adapted to extend from said web toward said rail form the base portion (11) of the clamp (10). A rail clamp as claimed in claim 2, wherein the legs of the base portion (11) are tapered towards respective free ends thereof. A rail clamp as claimed in claim 3, wherein the clamp (10) is formed from bar steel of a width less than the width of the slot (4) in the rail plate or the shoulder secured to the rail tie (1) and the legs of the base portion (11) are widened to approximate the width of the slot (4).

Inventors: YOUNG HARTLEY FRANK, YOUNG, HARTLEY FRANK
Applicants: PANDROL LTD, PANDROL LIMITED
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E01B9
IPC codes: E01B9