Patent Publication Number: US-9428866-B2

Title: Segmented railway regulator blade

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates generally to railroad right of way maintenance machinery, and specifically to machinery used for forming and/or shaping rail track ballast in conjunction with railroad track repair, replacement or reconditioning. 
     Crushed rock rail ballast forms the support bed into which rail ties are inserted for receiving tie plates, spikes or other fasteners, and ultimately rail track. Ballast supports the weight of loaded trains, and also is sufficiently porous to remove standing water from the typically wooden ties. Also, the ballast provides the ability to maintain a constant rail/ground displacement or grading over varying terrain and soil conditions. 
     During railway maintenance operations, including but not limited to tie replacement, rail replacement or the like, the ballast becomes disrupted and must be reshaped. The optimal shape of rail ballast is a generally level upper surface in which the ties are embedded, and a pair of gradually sloping sides which flare out from ends of the rail ties at a specified angle or angular range which is generally constant across the railroad industry. However, depending on the application and available space, the angle of the ballast may vary. 
     To achieve the desired angular slope, self-propelled ballast regulators are employed, which feature at least one articulated, fluid-powered arm having at least one blade-like wing attached. Similar in function to a highway snowplow, the wing is oriented at a desired angle and is pushed by the ballast regulator through the ballast as the regulator moves along the track. To maximize the reuse of ballast stones dislodged during the regulation of the ballast, it is typical for a wing to include an outer door to be provided with laterally oriented template doors. The template doors are pivotally connected to side edges of the outer door, and through the use of fluid-powered cylinders, the position of the template doors relative to the outer door can be adjusted to form “C-”, “U-” or similarly shaped configurations to retain a supply of disrupted ballast as the regulator moves along the track. In this way, there is sufficient ballast to fill in any depressions encountered to maintain a uniform slope. A suitable arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,883,436, incorporated by reference. 
     In addition, an inner door is positioned generally parallel to the track between the outer door and template doors and the track to prevent ballast stones from falling on the rails or damaging the regulator itself during operational speeds in the range of 10-25 mph. Both the template door assembly and the inner door are typically mounted upon a boom which is pivotally joined to the regulator machine and is held in operational position by at least one fluid-powered cylinder. 
     Conventional ballast regulator wings are often provided with removable blades mounted along their lower edges, which are subject to the most rigorous exposure to the rail ballast. Conventional blades are fastened to the wing using threaded fasteners such as nuts and bolts. These fasteners are often worn during the regulating operation, since the ballast is very abrasive. Such blades require replacement since the blades themselves are subject to the same abrasive forces. Thus, replacing the blades is a tedious operation. Also, since the blades are often relatively heavy and elongate in shape, they are difficult to remove single-handedly by railway maintenance personnel. 
     Thus, there is a need for a rail regulator blade which is more readily replaced on the regulator wing. 
     SUMMARY 
     The above-identified need is met by the present segmented railway regulator blade, which is provided in relatively shorter segments, each individually mounted to the regulator wing. In this manner, the bulk and weight of conventional blades are overcome, allowing single-handed replacement by railroad maintenance personnel. Also, since each segment of the present blade only extends along a portion of the wing, only blade portions actually requiring replacement need to be removed. Thus, there is less waste of material when using the present blades. 
     In addition, the present blades have irregular side edges each configured for tightly and positively engaging adjacent segments. This positive engagement is achieved in one embodiment by an alternating laterally extending lug and recess configuration. The lug is received in a corresponding recess of an adjacent segment, and the recess receives the laterally extending lug of the adjacent segment. The irregular edges are dimensioned so that there is a tight fit between adjacent segments that prevents vertical misalignment of the segments on the wing. In addition, the tight engagement of the segments prevents stray ballast particles from becoming lodged in the gap between the segments. Ballast particles have been known to cause misalignment and breakage of conventional blade components, due in part to crevices or clearances created by conventional regulator blades, and also by the speed at which regulators travel along the track. 
     Another feature of the present regulator blades is that they are reversible upon the wing, thus providing two wear surfaces to the user. Also, the irregular edge surfaces are configured to maintain the positive engagement with the adjacent blade segment, even if only one segment is inverted. The present blade segments are optionally provided with wear-resistant hard facing to reduce abrasive wear, and the facing is deposited along upper and lower edges. Thus, by inverting the segment, a worn edge is replaceable with an unworn edge, provided that the segment had not been previously inverted. 
     More specifically, a blade segment is provided for use on a railway regulator wing, and includes a blade body having a front surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, a first side edge and a second side edge, the blade body having at least one mounting aperture. Each of the first and second side edges has an irregular surface configuration such that adjacent segments tightly and nestingly engage each other along complementary side edges as they are mounted upon the railway regulator wing. 
     In another embodiment, a replacement blade for a railway regulator wing is provided, the blade includes a plurality of blade segments mountable adjacent each other along a longitudinal axis of the wing, each segment having a body with a blade body having a front surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, a first side edge and a second side edge. Each blade body has at least one mounting aperture, and each of the first and second side edges has an irregular surface configuration such that adjacent segments tightly and nestingly engage each other along complementary side edges as they are mounted upon a railway regulator wing. In addition, each side edge has a lug extending laterally beyond the edge and a recess extending inwardly from the edge. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a rear perspective view of a self-propelled railway regulator machine equipped with the present segmented blade; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a blade segment of the present regulator blade shown mounted to a regulator wing; 
         FIG. 3  is a side or end view of the segment of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the blade of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of a pair of the present segments joined together on a regulator wing, shown fragmentarily; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of four of the present segments joined together; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a pair of alternate embodiments of the present segments joined together; 
         FIG. 8  is a front view of a pair of another alternate embodiment of the present segments joined together, such that each of the segments is configured differently from the other; and 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of five segments joined together, with the segments having the configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a railroad ballast regulator, generally designated  10 , is shown disposed on a railroad track  12  having a pair of rails  14  mounted on tie plates  16  which are attached to typically wooden ties  18  by fasteners  20  such as rail spikes, lag screws or the like. The ties  18  are supported by particulate ballast  22 , which is typically made of crushed rock. 
     The regulator  10  is preferably self-propelled through a power source  24  such as a diesel engine, but it is also contemplated that the machine could be towed along the track  12 . An operator&#39;s cab  26  includes a control panel and other operator inputs (not shown) which are used to control the movement of the regulator  10  along the track  12 , as well as the ballast regulating functions which will be described below. A broom  27  is preferably disposed at a rear of the regulator  10  for sweeping stray ballast  22  from the tops of the ties  18 . Each of two sides  28  of the regulator  10  is preferably provided with a rail ballast wing assembly, generally designated  30 , for regulating or shaping the ballast  22  on that side of the track  12 , although a regulator with one wing assembly  30  is contemplated. Since both wing assemblies  30  are substantially identical, only one will be described below. 
     The rail ballast wing assembly  30  includes a main support boom  32  operating about a transverse pivot axis. The boom  32  is pivotally secured to the side  28  of the regulator  10  so that the elevation of the boom relative to the regulator may be adjusted. As is known in the art, a fluid power cylinder  34  secured to an outer end  36  of the boom  32  regulates the degree of pivoting/angle of elevation of the boom  32 . As is seen in  FIG. 1 , a preferred angle of elevation is approximately 110-140 degrees from vertical, so that a desired angle of slope of the ballast  22  is obtained. The angular orientation may vary to suit the application. 
     In the present application, it is to be understood that the regulator  10  may operate in either forward or reverse directions on the track  12 . For clarity, the terms “front” and “rear” will refer to the orientation of the following components when the regulator  10  travels in the direction of the arrow “T” in  FIG. 1 . Also, each regulator wing assembly  30  includes at least one wing  38  equipped with the present replaceable segmented blade  40 . As seen, the blade  40  is mounted along a lower edge  42  of the wing  38  (best seen in  FIG. 5 ), as is known in the art. This is the region of the wing  38  that is exposed to the most ballast-generated erosion. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2-4 , the present regulator blade  40  features a segmented construction in which adjacent segments are closely fitted to each other using an irregular side edge surface construction. The irregular surface construction enhances the nesting of adjacent segments, and prevents relative vertical movement of adjacent segments. In addition, the segments are constructed and arranged so that a relatively small clearance is created in the nested adjacent irregular edges once they are mounted to the wing  38 . In this manner, stray ballast particles are prevented from becoming lodged between the segments as the regulator  10  travels along the track  12  during operation. 
     More specifically, a blade segment  44  is provided for use on a railway regulator wing  38  and includes a blade body  46  having a front surface,  48  a top surface  50 , a bottom surface  52 , a first side edge  54  and a second side edge  56 . It will be understood that the top and bottom surfaces  50 ,  52  are interchangeable depending on the orientation of the segment  44  on the wing  38 , and also that the first and second side edges  54 ,  56  are also similarly interchangeable depending on the orientation of the segment  44 . In addition, the blade body  46  has at least one mounting aperture  58 . In the preferred embodiment, there are vertically spaced pairs of apertures  58 , the pairs being spaced along a longitudinal axis “X” of the segment  44 . 
     A significant feature of the present segment  44  is that each of the side edges  54 ,  56  have an irregular surface configuration constructed and arranged such that adjacent segments tightly and nestingly engage each other along complementary side edges as they are mounted upon the railway regulator wing  38 . As best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the irregular configuration on each side edge  54 ,  56  includes a lug  60  extending beyond the edge, and a recess  62  extending inwardly from the edge in the opposite direction from the lug. In addition the lug  60  is located vertically adjacent the recess  62 . Included on the lug  60  are a first lug surface  64 , a second lug surface  66  extending normally to the surface  64 , and a third lug surface  68  being in vertically spaced, parallel orientation to the first lug surface  64 . Radiused corners connecting each of the surfaces  64 ,  66 ,  68  facilitate sliding reciprocal engagement of adjacent segments during installation and replacement. It will be seen that the third lug surface  68  is shared between the lug  60  and the recess  62 . 
     As seen in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , when viewing the front surface  48  of the segment  44  in one orientation, the first side edge  54  has the lug  60  located vertically above the recess  62 , and the second edge  56  has the lug located vertically below the recess. Also, a recess end  70  is linearly displaced from the corresponding side edge  54 ,  56  the same distance “D” as the second lug surface  66 , in the opposite direction. While other distances “D” are contemplated, in one embodiment, the lug  60  and the recess  62  each extend approximately in the range of 0.4-0.6 inch from the corresponding edge  54 ,  56 . In addition, in one embodiment, the recess end  70  extends approximately 0.6 to 0.8 inch. 
     Another feature of the present segment  44  is that the arrangement of the lug  60  and the recess  62  on the first side edge  54  is vertically opposite that of the lug and the recess on the second side edge  56 . Thus, the segment  44  is rotatable about an axis “Y” ( FIG. 3 ) transverse to the axis “X” and is still nestingly engageable with adjacent segments. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 5-8 , various mounting arrangements are shown for the present segment  44  as it is mounted upon a wing  38 . The number of the segments  44  attached to a wing  38  will depend on the length of the wing. Also, the length of each segment  44  along the longitudinal axis “X” will vary to suit the application. In some cases, a larger number of shorter segments  44  is preferred over a reduced number of relatively longer segments. 
     Also, as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the vertical pairs of mounting apertures  58  are evenly spaced along the axis “X” in the segment  44   a  in  FIG. 6 , however the pairs are unevenly spaced along the axis in the segment  44   b  in  FIG. 5 . It is contemplated that this axial spacing may vary to suit the situation. Another feature of the present segment  44  is that a coating of hard facing  72  is deposited along at least one of the top and bottom surfaces  50 ,  52 . It is preferred that both surfaces  50 ,  52  have the hard facing  72  so that once the segment  44  is reversed, a worn surface can be replaced with a relatively new surface, thus extending the working life of the segment. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 6 , a plurality of the blade segments  44   a ,  44   c ,  44   d , and  44   e  are shown mounted adjacent each other along a longitudinal axis of the wing,  38 . Each segment  44  has the body  46  as described above, and each blade body has at least one mounting aperture  58 ; as well as the lug  60  and recess  62  structure of  FIGS. 2 and 4 . In the assembly of  FIG. 6 , the lug  60  and the recess  62  each extend approximately in the range of 0.4-0.6 inch from the corresponding side edge  54 ,  56 , and a gap  72  is defined between adjacent segments in the range of 0.003 inch. It is contemplated that the size of the gap  72  may vary to suit the application, as long as the gap is relatively small to prevent ballast particles from becoming trapped between adjacent segments  44 . 
     While particular embodiments of the present segmented rail regulator blade has been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.