Striking device for a railway rail

Abstract

The invention relates to a striking device (1) for a railway rail (300), comprising: - a chassis (2); - two striking members (3A, 3B) intended to strike the rail (300) respectively on two opposite lateral faces of the rail (300), - a cam (3) mounted to rotate relative to the chassis (2) and configured to cooperate during its rotation in an alternating manner with each of the striking members (3A, 3B) so as to position the head of said striking member (3A, 3B) in its spacing position (E) before stopping cooperation with said striking member (3A, 3B); the striking device (1) being configured so that, for each of the striking members (3A, 3B), when the cooperation of the cam (3) with said striking member (3A, 3B) is stopped, the head of said striking member automatically passes from its spacing position (E) to its striking position (F) by pivoting said striking member to strike the rail (300). Figure for the abstract: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Striking device for a railway rail Technical field of the invention

[0001] The invention relates to the field of railway infrastructure maintenance. More particularly, the invention relates to a striking device for a railway rail. State of the prior art

[0002] It is known in the field of railway maintenance to periodically release the internal stresses accumulated in a railway rail in order to reduce the risk of this rail breaking. The stresses may for example come from variations in temperature or from the rolling of trains using said railway tracks.

[0003] Currently, and generally speaking, to release constraints in the rail, the operations carried out by railway maintenance professionals are as follows: - free the rail from its sleepers equipped with fasteners such as spring clips for example, - slightly lift the rail by leaning on the surrounding ballast or on the sleeper heads, - insert a small diameter roller into the gap between the rail base and the corresponding sleeper, - cut the long welded rail, near the center of the construction site area extending over a length of 1 kilometer to 1.5 kilometers, - hammer the core of the rail from one end to the other, alternately on the internal and external faces of said core, going back and forth over areas of up to several hundred meters, at a speed of a few kilometers per hour, - place the rail in question, if necessary, in a state of less expansion either by heating, cooling or stretching, - weld the two ends of the rail near the gap made previously when cutting the rail, - rest the rail on its fasteners by removing the aforementioned small diameter rollers, - secure the rail to its sleepers equipped with fasteners such as spring clips for example.

[0004] In particular, the rail striking operation which consists of hammering said rail from close to close alternately on its internal and external faces is carried out using a device secured to a light railway vehicle called a "lorry", which is pushed on the track by an operator. This lorry has two independent balances, each oscillating around an axis substantially parallel to the rails, the balances each being equipped near their two opposite free ends with a weight intended to strike the rail.

[0005] The balancers are lifted by a common motor and strike the rail as they fall back. The kinetic energy applied to the rail during the impact is therefore constant, and so is the frequency of the impacts.

[0006] Nevertheless, this solution, which is presented in particular in French patent application FR 2882767 A1, is not entirely satisfactory. Indeed, the device for releasing the constraints of the rail described therein has the following drawbacks: it is heavy, bulky, difficult to move and is very expensive.

[0007] There is therefore a need to find a solution to remedy at least part of these drawbacks. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a lighter and more compact striking device.

[0009] For this purpose, the invention relates to a striking device for a railway rail, comprising: - a chassis; - two striking members intended to strike the rail respectively on two opposite lateral faces of the rail, each striking member comprising a striking head intended to come into contact with the rail and being pivotally mounted relative to the chassis so as to allow said head to vary between a striking position and a spacing position; - a cam mounted to rotate relative to the chassis and configured to cooperate during its rotation in an alternating manner with each of the striking members so as to position the head of said striking member in its spaced position before stopping cooperation with said striking member; - the striking device being configured so that, for each of the striking members, when the cooperation of the cam with said striking member is stopped, the head of said striking member automatically moves from its spaced position to its striking position by pivoting said striking member.

[0010] Advantageously, this allows the striking device to be lighter and more compact, particularly in comparison with the striking device of French patent application FR 2882767 AL

[0011] The cooperation of the cam with each of the striking members is done in an alternating or intermittent manner, in other words the cam initially cooperates with a

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016] first striking member then stops its cooperation with said first striking member and cooperates in a second time with the second striking member, then stops its cooperation with said second striking member and so on. The striking device may further include one or more of the following features. According to a characteristic of the striking device, the striking device comprises, for each striking member, a return member configured to exert a return force tending to urge said striking member to drive / return the striking head of said striking member towards its striking position at least when the striking head of said striking member is in its spaced position. Advantageously, the return member allows the rail to be struck with sufficient force to release stresses in the rail, and allows the kinetic energy applied to the rail to be increased upon striking. According to a characteristic of the striking device, each return organ is chosen from: - a pad made of elastic material, preferably rubber; - a leaf spring; - a torsion spring; - a compression spring; - a traction spring, - a stretchy rope made of elastic material. According to a feature of the striking device, the striking device comprises: - an engine; - a drive shaft rotated by the motor; - the cam being mounted on the drive shaft so that the cam has a degree of freedom in rotation relative to the drive shaft according to a defined amplitude between a first position of the cam relative to the drive shaft and a second position of the cam relative to the drive shaft and so that the drive shaft ensures the rotation of the cam when the cam is in its first position, the striking device being configured so that, during the rotation of the drive shaft and for each of the striking members: - when the cam cooperates with said striking member, the cam is in its first position and provides support on the striking member to position its striking head in its striking position, - when the cooperation with said striking member is stopped, the cam automatically leaves its first position towards its second position by rotation of the cam around the drive shaft in the direction of rotation of the drive shaft.

[0017] Advantageously, mounting the cam on the drive shaft results in easier assembly, disassembly and maintenance since each component can be changed individually without the need to change the assembly comprising the drive shaft and the cam.

[0018] Advantageously, mounting the cam on the drive shaft results in a lower cost than for a welded assembly or a machined block, and more flexibility in the sizing of the striking device.

[0019] The cam can automatically leave its first position towards its second position by rotation of the cam around the drive shaft in the direction of rotation of the drive shaft so that the cam moves back so as not to oppose the passage of the head of said striking member from the spaced position to the striking position.

[0020] According to a characteristic of the striking device, the striking device comprises a first element integral in rotation with the drive shaft, the cam comprising a second element, one of the first and second elements being an indexing member and the other of the first and second elements being a guide element, the indexing member and the guide element cooperating with each other to define the amplitude.

[0021] Advantageously, the cooperation between the first element and the second element makes it possible to define the amplitude of rotation of the cam in order to ensure the striking of the rail.

[0022] According to a characteristic of the striking device, each striking member delimits a free volume so that, when the cooperation of the cam with said striking member is stopped, a part of the cam previously in contact with said striking member during the cooperation of the cam with said striking member enters said volume during the pivoting of said striking member making it possible to bring the striking head of said striking member into its striking position.

[0023] Advantageously, the penetration of the cam into the volume tends to prevent the cam from opposing the passage of the striking member to strike the rail.

[0024] According to a characteristic of the striking device, the striking device comprises, for each striking member, a return element configured to automatically position, as soon as the striking head of said striking member has reached its striking position after the cooperation of the cam with said striking member has been stopped, the head of said striking member in an intermediate position between its striking position and its separation position to prevent the head of said striking member from rubbing against the rail during movement of the striking device along the rail.

[0025] The striking device may comprise a return element for each member of struck.

[0026] Advantageously, the return element prevents the head of said striking member from rubbing against the rail when the striking device is moved along the rail and thus reduces the frequency of maintenance of the striking device.

[0027] According to a characteristic of the striking device, each of the striking members comprises a plate arranged on the surface of the striking member on the cam side, and in which the cam comprises a roller configured to roll on the plate of each of the striking members when the cam cooperates with said striking member.

[0028] Advantageously, the plate constitutes a wear part which can reduce the maintenance costs of the striking device.

[0029] According to a characteristic of the striking device, the plate comprises an S235 steel.

[0030] Advantageously, S235 steel can easily be found commercially and has a low purchase cost.

[0031] According to a characteristic of the striking device, each striking member has a mass less than 10 kilograms, and preferably a mass less than 5 kilograms.

[0032] This allows the striking device to be lighter, less bulky and therefore to be moved easily.

[0033] According to a characteristic of the striking device, the striking device comprises a rolling device for rolling on the rail, and a handlebar for moving said striking device.

[0034] The invention also relates to a striking system comprising two striking devices, each as described above and arranged to independently strike two opposite rails of a railway track.

[0035] Other advantages and characteristics may emerge from the detailed description which follows. Brief description of the figures

[0036] The invention will be better understood upon reading the detailed description which follows, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings listed below.

[0037] [Fig. 1] is a perspective view of a striking device for a railway rail.

[0038] [Fig.2] is a side view of the striking device of [Fig.l].

[0039] [Fig. 3] is seen in section along a section AA of the striking device of the [Fig.2] and which shows the assembly which allows the rail to be struck.

[0040] [Fig.4] is a detail view centered on a zone B of [Fig.3] and which shows the mechanism for spreading the striking members to strike the rail.

[0041] [Fig.5A] is a schematic view along section AA of the striking device showing a first phase of operation of said striking device.

[0042] [Fig.5B] is a schematic view along section AA of the striking device showing a second phase of operation of said striking device.

[0043] [Fig.6] is seen in perspective according to a partial view of the striking device.

[0044] [Fig.7] is a front view of a striking system comprising two devices of strikes each one like that of [Fig.l].

[0045] In these figures, the same references are used to designate the same elements. The elements represented in the different figures are not necessarily drawn to scale in order to facilitate understanding of the figures. Detailed description

[0046] In the present description, the term "striking device" means a device configured to give one or more blows to a railway rail, in other words to strike said rail.

[0047] By “hitting the rail” it is understood that the rail may be struck at its rail head 301 or any other part of the rail 300.

[0048] The invention relates to a striking device 1 for a rail 300 of a railway track, an example of this striking device 1 is presented in figures 1 and 2.

[0049] The striking device 1 comprises a frame 2 and two striking members 3A, 3B intended to strike the rail 300 respectively on two opposite lateral faces of the rail 300.

[0050] The two striking members 3A, 3B may be hammers intended to strike the rail 300.

[0051] Each striking member 3A, 3B may comprise a body and a striking head intended to come into contact with the rail 300, in other words to strike the rail 300.

[0052] The body may in particular comprise an assembly of two substantially parallel plates.

[0053] By “substantially parallel” is meant parallel or parallel to within plus or minus 10 degrees.

[0054] The two plates can in particular be assembled by welding at their ends. Thus, a first end of the plates can be connected to a pivot axis mounted on the chassis 2 and the second end of the plates can be connected to the striking head.

[0055] Such a structure of the body makes it possible to strike the rail 300 using the strongest part of the body.

[0056] The body advantageously has a reduced mass and makes it possible to reduce the total mass of the striking device 1.

[0057] Each striking member 3A, 3B can be pivotally mounted relative to the chassis 2 so as to allow said head to vary between a striking position F and a spacing position E. The striking positions F and spacing E are shown in [Fig.3].

[0058] For each striking member 3A, 3B, a first end of the body can be connected to the same pivot axis mounted on the chassis. In other words, the striking members 3A, 3B can be connected to the same pivot axis mounted on the chassis.

[0059] The head may for example comprise a weight.

[0060] The head is fixed, in particular by welding or by embedding, on the second end of the body of each striking member 3A, 3B.

[0061] Advantageously, the head comprises polyamide, and in particular polyamide 6, a material used due to its good mechanical strength and its capacity to absorb shocks and vibrations. Thus, the head has the necessary resistance to strike the rail 300.

[0062] The head may have a polygonal shape suitable for striking the rail 300.

[0063] According to one possibility, each of the striking members 3A, 3B comprises a plate 9 arranged on the surface of the striking member 3A, 3B on the side of the cam 3 as shown in [Fig.4].

[0064] The plate can be fixed to the body of each striking member 3A, 3B by welding or by using fixing elements such as screws.

[0065] The plate 9 makes it possible to have fewer parts to form the striking member 3A, 3B and constitutes a wearing part which can reduce the maintenance costs of the striking device 1.

[0066] The plate 9 may comprise an S235 steel. S235 steel is a steel commonly used in the construction industry. It has several advantages, including its high strength, low cost and recyclability.

[0067] Each striking member 3A, 3B may have a mass less than 10 kilograms, and preferably a mass less than 5 kilograms.

[0068] This relatively low mass allows the striking device 1 to have a relatively reduced mass and volume.

[0069] The striking device 1 also comprises a cam 3 mounted to rotate relative to the chassis 2.

[0070] The cam 3 is configured to cooperate during its rotation in an alternating manner with each of the striking members 3A, 3B so as to position the head of said striking member in its separation position E before stopping cooperation with said striking member.

[0071] The cam 3 may comprise a cam body which may be connected by one end to a roller 10, the roller 10 being configured to roll on the plate 9 of each of the striking members 3A, 3B, and in particular only on the plate 9 of each of the striking members 3A, 3B, when the cam 3 cooperates with said striking member. The roller 10 can roll over the entire surface of the plate 9.

[0072] The striking device 1 may further comprise a motor and a drive shaft 5 driven in rotation by the motor. The cam 3 may then be mounted on the drive shaft 5 so that the cam 3 has a degree of freedom in rotation relative to the drive shaft 5.

[0073] Advantageously, the mounting of the cam 3 on the drive shaft 5 results in easier assembly and disassembly as well as easier maintenance since each component can be changed individually without there being any need to change the drive shaft and cam 3 assembly.

[0074] Advantageously, the mounting of the cam 3 on the drive shaft 5 results in a lower cost than a welded assembly or a machined block as well as a greater degree of freedom in the dimensioning of the striking device 1.

[0075] The motor may be an electric or thermal motor. The motor may have a rotational speed of between 2000 and 4000 revolutions per minute and a nominal operating power of approximately 220 watts. The motor may further communicate with a control unit intended to integrate a command from a user of the striking device 1 and to communicate a signal representative of said command to the motor.

[0076] The motor and the control unit may be included in the chassis which has a protective and supporting role at least with respect to a part of the different components included in the striking device 1.

[0077] The rotation of the cam 3 has an amplitude defined between a first position of the cam 3 relative to the drive shaft 5 and a second position of the cam 3 relative to the drive shaft 5.

[0078] The drive shaft 5 ensures the rotation of the cam 3 when the cam 3 is in its first position.

[0079] During the rotation of the drive shaft 5 and for each of the striking members 3A, 3B, when the cam 3 cooperates with said striking member 3A, 3B, the cam 3 is in its first position and provides support on the striking member 3A, 3B to position it in its striking position F. More precisely, in the first position of the cam 3, the roller 10 presses on the plate 9 by rolling on said plate 9. This rolling movement of the roller 10 on the plate 9 allows a separation of the striking member 3A, 3B. Thus, preferably, during the cooperation between the cam 3 and each of the striking members 3A, 3B, the only contact between the cam and said striking member 3A, 3B is that of the roller 10 against the plate 9.

[0080] When the cooperation with said striking member 3A, 3B is stopped, the cam 3 automatically leaves its first position towards its second position by rotation of the cam 3 around the drive shaft 5 according to the direction of rotation of the drive shaft 5 so that the cam 3 moves back so as not to oppose the passage of said striking member from the spacing position E to the striking position F. The roller 10 is no longer supported on the plate 9 and the cam 3 penetrates at least partly into the body of the striking member 3A, 3B.

[0081] The striking device 1 is therefore configured so that, for each of the striking members 3A, 3B, when the cooperation of the cam 3 with said striking member is stopped, the head of said striking member 3A, 3B automatically passes from its spacing position E to its striking position F by pivoting of said striking member.

[0082] The cooperation of the cam 3 with each of the striking members 3A, 3B is done in an alternating or intermittent manner, in other words the cam 3 initially cooperates with a first striking member 3A then stops its cooperation with said first striking member 3A and cooperates in a second time with the second striking member 3B, then stops its cooperation with said second striking member 3B and so on.

[0083] The striking device 1 may comprise a first element 6 integral in rotation with the drive shaft 5 and the cam 3 may comprise a second element 7. The first and second elements 6, 7 may be configured to have a rotational movement relative to the drive shaft 5 according to a curvature defined by the rotational movement of the cam 3.

[0084] One of the first and second elements 6, 7 may be an indexing member for example and the other of the first and second elements 6, 7 may be a guide element. The indexing member may be chosen from a finger or an axis, and the guide element may be chosen from a slot, a groove or an oblong hole.

[0085] By “finger” is meant a part, in particular metallic and in particular cylindrical in shape, used to position another part.

[0086] The indexing member and the guide element cooperate with each other to define the amplitude of the rotational movement of the cam 3. The indexing member may in particular have a sliding or translational movement guided by the guide element and defined between a first position of the indexing member and a second position of the indexing member.

[0087] The first position of the indexing member corresponds to the occupation of the cam 3 of its first position in which the cam 3 cooperates with one of the striking members 3A, 3B and the second position of the indexing member corresponds to the occupation of the cam 3 of its second position in which the cooperation of the cam 3 with said striking member 3A, 3B is stopped.

[0088] The sliding of the first element 6 in the second element 7 between the first position of said first element 6 and the second position of said first element 6 can be done under the effect of gravity, in other words the first element 6 can move from its first position to its second position under the effect of gravity. This is particularly the case in [Fig.5A] which presents a first phase where the cam 3 cooperates with the striking member 3B and [Fig.5B] which presents a second phase where the cooperation between the cam 3 and the striking member 3B is stopped.

[0089] The sliding of the first element 6 in the second element 7 between the first position of said first element 6 and the second position of said first element 6 can furthermore be done under the effect of a mechanical stress exerted by the plate 9 on the roller 10, in other words the first element 6 can move from its first position to its second position under the effect of said mechanical stress. This is the case for example when the cam 3 cooperates then stops its cooperation with the striking member 3A.

[0090] The striking device 1 may also comprise, for each striking member 3A, 3B, a return member 4 configured to exert a return force tending to urge said striking member 3A, 3B to drive / return the striking head of said striking member 3A, 3B towards its striking position F at least when the head of said striking member is in its separation position E. In other words, the return member 4 serves to compensate for the relatively low mass of the striking members 3A, 3B to enable the rail 300 to be struck with sufficient force to release the stresses in the rail 300, and to increase the kinetic energy applied to the rail 300 during striking.

[0091] The return member 4 can be chosen from: a pad made of elastic material, preferably rubber; a leaf spring; a torsion spring; a compression spring; a tension spring; a stretchy rope made of elastic material.

[0092] According to one possibility, notably presented in [Fig.6], the striking device 1 may comprise, for each striking member 3A, 3B, two return members 4, notably arranged on either side of each striking member 3A, 3B, and configured to exert the return force tending to urge said striking member 3A, 3B to drive / return the striking head of said striking member 3A, 3B towards its striking position F at least when the head of said striking member is in its spaced position E.

[0093] Each striking member 3A, 3B may comprise a first attachment point 100 which may be a finger or an axis for example, and the striking device 1 may comprise two second attachment points 200 which may each be a finger. or an axis for example. If the return members 4 are traction springs or an extensible cord, then each return member 4 can connect one of the first attachment points 100 and one of the second attachment points 200. In particular, each return member 4 is considered to be stretched, i.e. that it exerts its return force, when the striking member to which it is connected is such that its striking head is arranged in its spaced position.

[0094] Each second attachment point 200 can be mounted to the chassis 2 so as to present a degree of freedom of movement relative to the chassis 2.

[0095] As can be seen in Figures 4 and 6, for each second attachment point 200, the chassis may comprise a guide element 400 chosen from a slot, an oblong hole or a groove. Each second attachment point 200 may have a guided translational or sliding movement in one of the guide elements 400 between a first position and a second position. In [Fig.6], a portion of the chassis 2 has been removed for the sake of clarity in order to be able to show the different elements, in particular the second attachment points 200, the guide elements 400 and the return members 4.

[0096] For each striking member 3A, 3B, the second attachment point 200 occupies its first position when the head of said striking member 3A, 3B is in its striking position F, and the second attachment point 200 occupies its second position when the head of said striking member 3A, 3B is in its spacing position E.

[0097] For each second attachment point 200, this sliding movement in the guide element 400 makes it possible to tension and relax each return member 4.

[0098] For each striking member 3A, 3B, said striking member 3A, 3B pivots relative to the chassis 2 at the same time as the return member 4 is stretched and relaxed. While said striking member 3A, 3B pivots relative to the chassis 2, the corresponding attachment point 200 can slide in the guide element 400.

[0099] The return member 4 can be tensioned as soon as the cam 3 comes into contact with the striking member 3A, 3B and participates in driving the corresponding striking head towards its striking position when the cam 3 stops its cooperation with said striking member.

[0100] The movement of the second attachment point 200 in the guide element 400 results in the release of the return member 4, thus causing the rail 300 to be struck by the striking member 3A, 3B, and in particular by the head of said striking member. From then on, the return member 4 is released and is no longer tensioned. It returns to its resting length.

[0101] The sliding of the attachment point 200 in the guide element 400 allows said striking member 3A, 3B to complete its travel on the rail 300, in other words to strike the rail 300, without the return member 4 providing any damping.

[0102] Due to the structure of the body in an assembly of two plates, each organ of strike 3A, 3B can delimit a free volume so that, when the cooperation of the cam 3 with said striking member 3A, 3B is stopped, a part of the cam 3, in particular the part of the cam 3 comprising the roller 10, which was previously in contact with said striking member 3A, 3B during the cooperation of the cam 3 with said striking member 3A, 3B enters said volume during the pivoting of said striking member 3A, 3B making it possible to bring the striking head of said striking member 3A, 3B into its striking position F.

[0103] Advantageously, for each striking member 3A, 3B, the penetration of the cam 3 into said volume allows said striking member 3A, 3B to move to strike the rail 300 without the cam 3 opposing this movement.

[0104] Thus, according to a particular embodiment of the striking device 1, the kinematics of the striking device 1 are as follows: initially, the striking member 3A is in contact with the rail 300 and the cam 3 occupies its second position in which it is not in contact with the striking member 3A. The second attachment point 200 which corresponds to the striking member 3A is in its first position. Then, the motor drives the cam 3 in rotation so as to cause the cam 3 to cooperate with the striking member 3A by placing the roller 10 in contact with the plate 9. The roller 10 then begins to roll on the plate 9 arranged on the striking member 3A. The cam 3 then pushes the striking member 3A back so as to move the head of said striking member 3A towards its spacing position E.

[0105] The pivoting of the striking member 3A takes place at the same time as the rolling of the roller 10 on the plate 9 and the sliding of the second attachment point 200 from its first position to its second position in the guide element 400.

[0106] When the second attachment point 200 reaches its second position, the corresponding return member 4 begins to lengthen.

[0107] When the roller 10 reaches the end of the plate 9 arranged on the side of the free volume delimited by the body of the striking member 3A, the cam 3 partially penetrates into the body of the striking member 3A so as not to oppose the return of the striking member 3A to strike the rail 300. The penetration of the cam 3 into the body occurs, as soon as the first element 6 slides from its first position to its second position in the second element 7 under the action of the mechanical stress exerted by a support of the plate 9 on the roller 10.

[0108] Under the action of the return element 4 and since the cam 3 is no longer in contact with the plate 9 and no longer pushes back the striking member 3A, the striking member 3A pivots to strike the rail 300 and the second attachment point 200 then slides in the guide element 400 towards its first position.

[0109] In a second step, the striking member 3B is in contact with the rail 300 and the motor rotates the cam 3 so as to place the roller 10 in contact with the plate 9. arranged on the striking member 3B. The roller 10 begins to roll on the plate 9 arranged on the striking member 3B causing the striking member 3B to pivot so that the striking head of said striking member 3B pivots towards its spacing position E. The same kinematics follows for the striking member 3B as for the striking member 3A with the difference that the first element 6 moves from its first position to its second position under the effect of gravity to allow the cam to penetrate into the body so that the striking member 3B strikes the rail 300.

[0110] The striking device 1 may further comprise, for each striking member 3A, 3B, a return element 8, and in particular a return element 8 secured to the chassis 2.

[0111] The return element 8 may comprise a pad comprising an elastic material such as rubber.

[0112] The return element 8 can be configured to automatically position, as soon as the striking head of said striking member 3A, 3B has reached its striking position F after the cooperation of the cam 3 with said striking member 3A, 3B has been stopped, the head of said striking member 3A, 3B in an intermediate position I between its striking position F and its spacing position E to prevent the head of said striking member 3A, 3B from rubbing against the rail 300 during a movement of the striking device 1 along the rail 300. The intermediate position I is shown in [Fig.3].

[0113] The striking device 1 may comprise at least one return element 8 for each striking member 3A, 3B.

[0114] The striking device 1 may comprise a rolling device 12 for rolling on the rail, and a handlebar 11 for moving said striking device 1.

[0115] The rolling device 12 may comprise one or more wheels.

[0116] The handlebar 11 may comprise a brake handle for braking the movement of the striking device 1.

[0117] Advantageously, the striking device 1 has a small footprint and a reduced mass and can be moved more easily.

[0118] The striking device 1 can be single-track, in other words the striking device 1 is configured to be able to treat each rail of a railway track separately.

[0119] The striking device 1 may have a mass less than 250 kilograms, and preferably a mass less than 50 kilograms.

[0120] The striking device 1 can be powered by an energy storage device 13 such as a battery for example.

[0121] The energy storage device 13 may be attached to the chassis 2 by a fixing component such as a fixing cable.

[0122] The striking device 1 may be configured to provide a striking energy of at least 10 joules at a striking frequency of the rail 300 of approximately 48 strokes per minute.

[0123] The striking device 1 may have dimensions less than one meter.

[0124] The invention also relates to a striking system 1000 presented in [Fig.7] and comprising two striking devices 1, each as described previously and arranged to independently strike two opposite rails of a railway track.

[0125] The striking system 1000 then makes it possible to process two rails independently in one go, and possibly simultaneously, which results in a saving in maintenance time.

[0126] The striking system 1000 may comprise a common structure on which the two striking devices 1 are mounted so as to allow simultaneous movement of the two striking devices 1 along the railway track.

[0127] The striking device 1 and the striking system described find an industrial application in the maintenance of railway rails.

Claims

Claims

1. Striking device (1) for a rail (300) of a railway track, comprising: - a chassis (2); - two striking members (3A, 3B) intended to strike the rail (300) respectively on two opposite lateral faces of the rail (300), each striking member (3A, 3B) comprising a striking head intended to come into contact with the rail (300) and being pivotally mounted relative to the chassis (2) so as to allow said head to vary between a striking position (F) and a spacing position (E); - a cam (3) rotatably mounted relative to the chassis (2) and configured to cooperate during its rotation in an alternating manner with each of the striking members (3A, 3B) so as to position the head of said striking member (3A, 3B) in its spacing position (E) before stopping the cooperation with said striking member (3A, 3B);the striking device (1) being configured so that, for each of the striking members (3A, 3B), when the cooperation of the cam (3) with said striking member (3A, 3B) is stopped, the head of said striking member automatically passes from its spaced position (E) to its striking position (F) by pivoting said striking member.;

2. Striking device (1) according to claim 1, comprising, for each striking member (3A, 3B), a return member (4) configured to exert a return force tending to urge said striking member (3A, 3B) to drive / return the striking head of said striking member (3A, 3B) towards its striking position (F) at least when the striking head of said striking member (3A, 3B) is in its spaced position (E).

3. Striking device (1) according to claim 2, in which each return member (4) is chosen from: - a stud made of elastic material, preferably rubber, - a leaf spring; - a torsion spring; - a compression spring, - a traction spring, - an extensible cord made of elastic material.

4. Striking device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, comprising: - a motor; - a drive shaft (5) driven in rotation by the motor; the cam (3) being mounted on the drive shaft (5) so that the cam (3) has a degree of freedom in rotation relative to the drive shaft (5) according to an amplitude defined between a first position of the cam (3) relative to the drive shaft (5) and a second position of the cam (3) relative to the drive shaft (5) and so that the drive shaft (5) ensures the rotation of the cam (3) when the cam (3) is in its first position, the striking device (1) being configured so that, during the rotation of the drive shaft (5) and for each of the striking members (3A, 3B): - when the cam (3) cooperates with said striking member (3A, 3B), the cam (3) is in its first position and ensures support on the striking member (3A, 3B) to position its striking head in his striking position (F);- when the cooperation with said striking member is stopped, the cam (3) automatically leaves its first position towards its second position by rotation of the cam (3) around the drive shaft (5) according to the direction of rotation of the drive shaft (5).;

5. Striking device (1) according to claim 4, comprising a first element (6) integral in rotation with the drive shaft (5), the cam (3) comprising a second element (7), one of the first and second elements (6, 7) being an indexing member and the other of the first and second elements (6, 7) being a guide element, the indexing member and the guide element cooperating with each other to define the amplitude.

6. Striking device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each striking member (3A, 3B) delimits a free volume so that, when the cooperation of the cam (3) with said striking member (3A, 3B) is stopped, a part of the cam (3) previously in contact with said striking member (3A, 3B) during the cooperation of the cam (3) with said striking member (3A, 3B) enters said volume during the pivoting of said striking member (3A, 3B) making it possible to bring the striking head of said striking member (3A, 3B) into its striking position.

7. Striking device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 comprising, for each striking member (3A, 3B), a return element (8) configured to automatically position, as soon as the striking head of said striking member has reached its striking position (F) after the cooperation of the cam (3) with said striking member has been stopped, the head of said striking member (3A, 3B) in an intermediate position (I) between its striking position (F) and its spacing position (E) to prevent the head of said striking member (3A, 3B) from rubbing against the rail (300) during a movement of the striking device (1) along the rail (300).

8. Striking device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the striking members (3A, 3B) comprises a plate (9) arranged on the surface of the striking member on the side of the cam (3), and wherein the cam (3) comprises a roller (10) configured to roll on the plate (9) of each of the striking members (3A, 3B) when the cam (3) cooperates with said striking member.

9. A striking device (1) according to claim 8, wherein the plate (9) comprises S235 steel.

10. A striking device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein each striking member (3A, 3B) has a mass of less than 10 kilograms, and preferably a mass of less than 5 kilograms.

11. A striking device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 comprising a rolling device for rolling on the rail, and a handlebar (11) for moving said striking device (1).

12. A striking system (1000) comprising two striking devices (1), each according to any one of claims 1 to 11 and arranged to independently strike two opposite rails of a railway track.

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