Patent Publication Number: US-2019194877-A1

Title: Ballast Sweeping Installation For Picking Up And Distributing Ballast Located On A Track

Description:
The invention relates to a ballast sweeping installation for picking up and distributing ballast located on a track, consisting of a sweeping brush rotatable about an axis of rotation, a ballast conveyor belt arranged in front of the same with regard to a brush rotation direction and having a transport direction extending parallel to the axis of rotation, and with a ballast guiding plate positioned between the sweeping brush and ballast conveyor belt for passing the ballast on to the ballast conveyor belt. 
     Ballast sweeping installations of this kind are often used in connection with a ballast plough and are known, for instance, from DE 911 02 31 U1 or EP 2 250 318. In this, excess ballast is swept from the track and fed to a conveyor belt for discharge in the shoulder area of the track. 
     Also known, according to WO 2013/189564, is a ballast plough having a ballast silo for intermediate storage of large quantities of ballast. If the ballast silo is full, the same can be discharged into the shoulder area of the track by means of a transversely displaceable conveyor belt. 
     It is the object of the present invention to provide a ballast sweeping installation of the type mentioned at the beginning with which an improved ballast distribution is possible. 
     According to the invention, this object is achieved with a ballast sweeping installation of the specified kind in that a length of the ballast conveyor belt delimited by two deflection ends is designed to be shorter than a length of the sweeping brush extending in the axis of rotation, and that the ballast conveyor belt is designed to be displaceable in the transport direction by means of a drive. 
     With this special design of the ballast conveyor belt, it is now possible in an advantageous manner to discharge excess ballast, picked up by the sweeping brush, in a targeted manner into the tamping zones of the track as needed in order to ultimately enable a qualitatively uniform tamping. Consequently, a heretofore customary disposal of the excess ballast into the shoulder area and a resulting uneconomical ballast accumulation becomes unnecessary. 
    
    
     
       Additional advantages of the invention become apparent from the dependent claims and the drawing description. 
       The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to an embodiment represented in the drawing in which 
         FIG. 1  shows a view of a ballast sweeping installation in a longitudinal direction of the track, 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  each show a cross-section of the ballast sweeping installation, 
         FIG. 4  shows a maximum displacement of a ballast conveyor belt, and 
         FIG. 5  shows a simplified top view of an alternative embodiment of the ballast sweeping installation. 
     
    
    
     A ballast sweeping installation  1 , represented in  FIGS. 1 to 5 , for picking up and distributing ballast located on a track consists of a sweeping brush  3  rotatable about an axis of rotation  2 , and a ballast conveyor belt  5  arranged ahead of the same with regard to a brush rotation direction  4  and having a transport direction  6  extending parallel to the axis of rotation  2 . Located between the sweeping brush  3  and the ballast conveyor belt  5  is a ballast guiding plate  7 , arranged inclined, for passing the ballast captured by the sweeping brush  3  on to the ballast conveyor belt  5 . 
     A length l S  of the ballast conveyor belt  5  delimited by two deflection ends  8  is designed to be shorter than a length l K  of the sweeping brush  3  extending in the axis of rotation  2 . Preferably, the length l S  of the ballast conveyor belt  5  is designed to correspond approximately to a gauge of a track  9  to be swept off. 
     The ballast conveyor belt  5  is designed to be displaceable by means of a drive  10  in the transport direction  6  relative to the sweeping brush  3  and parallel to the axis of rotation  2  in both directions. Preferably, the displacement path is dimensioned in such a way that each deflection end  8  is movable in each case from the position visible in  FIG. 1  to a closer positioned adjoining end of the sweeping brush  3 . With the aid of a reversible rotation drive  12 , the ballast can be shifted selectively to one or the other deflection end  8  by reversing the transport direction  6 . 
     Arranged underneath the ballast conveyor belt  5  are two cover plates  13 —spaced from one another in the transport direction  6  at a distance corresponding to the gauge of the track  9 —for avoiding any ballast discharge upon rails  14  of the track  9 . The tamping zones  15  which are essential for a tamping of the track  9  are located adjoining both longitudinal sides of the rail  14 . 
     Due to the displaceability of the ballast conveyor belt  5 , it is possible, for example—in the case of an adjacent track to the left as seen in the track direction in  FIG. 4 —by maximum displacement towards the neighbouring track to discharge ballast collected by the sweeping brush  3  into the tamping zones  15  of the rail  14  spaced farther from the neighbouring track. This is advantageous particularly if, in the case of a transverse track inclination (see  FIG. 4 ), said rail  14  is positioned higher. In this situation there is often the problem that, in the region of the higher positioned rail, too little ballast is present for an optimal tamping. 
     However, it is advantageously also possible in the central basic position of the ballast conveyor belt  5  visible in  FIG. 1  to discharge ballast as needed into the tamping zone of the left or right rail  14  by rapid reversal of the transport direction  6 . 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , as alternative auxiliary equipment a deflection plate  16  is provided in each case at an end region of the ballast guiding plate  7 . Said deflection plate  16  is connected to the ballast guiding plate  7  and pivotable about a pivot axis extending perpendicularly to a plane of the ballast guiding plate  7  from a position represented in a dashed line into a deflection position represented in a full line. In this position, the ballast is deflected for deposit to the ballast conveyor belt  5  if the latter is situated in the maximum left-hand position shown in  FIG. 4 .