Support unit, branching gear, and construction method of branching gear

Abstract

To provide a support unit, a branching gear, and a construction method of the branching gear, in which time and effort involved in the maintenance of the branching gear can be reduced.SOLUTION: A support unit 8 comprises: a supporting equalizer 80 swingably supported by a pivot in the lower side of a movable girder 2b and a pair of ground contact bodies 81, which are arranged on both sides of a swing shaft of the supporting equalizer 80 and grounded on the top surface (ground-contact surface) of a drive rail 3 so as to be unable to roll. The support unit does not comprise a wheel 62 (driving wheel) or a driving gear for driving the wheel 62. The maintenance of the wheel 62 (driving wheel) and the driving gear can be made unnecessary until moving the movable girder 2b becomes necessary because the movable girder 2b is supported by the support unit 8 during a period when the movable girder 2b is not moved. Therefore, time and effort involved in the maintenance of the branching gear 1 can be reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a support unit, a branching device, and a branching device installation method, and more particularly to a support unit, a branching device, and a branching device installation method that can reduce the maintenance effort of the branching device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a switch device 100 in which movable girders 10a-10f, which form vehicle travel paths, are supported by bogie devices 20a-20f having wheels 221. The wheels 221 roll on bogie rails 31a-31f extending in the width direction of the movable girders 10a-10f, causing the movable girders 10a-10f to move along the bogie rails 31a-31f. This allows the vehicle travel path to be switched between a standard path (straight section) and a branch path (curved section). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-106680 A (for example, paragraphs 0020 to 0025, Figures 1 to 6) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-described route switching may not be performed until the line that uses the branch route is opened, and even during this period until the line is opened, it is necessary to periodically maintain the drive device 224 that drives the wheels 221. Therefore, there is a problem in that maintenance of the turnout device 100 is time-consuming.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a support unit, a branching device, and a branching device installation method that can reduce the maintenance effort required for the branching device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve this object, the support unit of the present invention supports the movable girder of a switch device on which are constructed a movable girder on whose upper surface a vehicle runway is formed, a drive bracket attached to the underside of the movable girder, a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket so as to be swingable, a pair of wheels pivotally supported on both sides of the swing axis of the drive equalizer, a drive unit that applies driving force to drive the wheels, and a drive rail that has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit and extends in the width direction of the movable girder, and is equipped with a support equalizer pivotally supported on the underside of the movable girder so as to be swingable, and a pair of grounding bodies that are provided on both sides of the swing axis of the support equalizer and that contact the ground surface so as not to be able to roll.

[0007] The branching device of the present invention is constructed by constructing a movable girder on whose upper surface a vehicle runway is formed, a drive bracket attached to the underside of the movable girder, a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket, a pair of wheels on both sides of the swing axis of the drive equalizer, a drive unit that applies a driving force to drive the wheels, and a drive rail that extends in the width direction of the movable girder and has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit, and the movable girder is supported by the support unit of the present invention.

[0008] The method for constructing a turnout device of the present invention is a method for constructing a turnout device comprising: a movable girder on the upper surface of which a vehicle runway is formed; a drive bracket attached to the lower side of the movable girder; a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket so as to be swingable; a pair of wheels pivotally supported on both sides of the swing shaft of the drive equalizer; a drive unit that applies a driving force to drive the wheels; and a drive rail that has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit and extends in the width direction of the movable girder, The method comprises a first step of supporting the movable girder with a support unit comprising a support equalizer that is pivotally supported and a pair of grounding bodies that are provided on both sides of the swing axis of the support equalizer and grounded in a non-rollable state; a second step of removing the support unit from the movable girder after the first step when it becomes necessary to move the movable girder; and a third step of supporting the movable girder with a drive unit that comprises the drive bracket, the drive equalizer, the wheels, and the drive device after the second step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the support unit of claim 1, the branching device of claim 6, and the branching device construction method of claim 7, the support unit comprises a support equalizer pivotally supported below the movable girder for swinging motion, and a pair of grounding bodies provided on both sides of the swing axis of the support equalizer and immobilely contacting the ground surface, but does not comprise a drive device for driving the wheels. Because the movable girder is supported by the support unit when it is not being moved, maintenance of the drive device is not required until it is necessary to move the movable girder. This has the effect of reducing the effort required for branching device maintenance.

[0010] Furthermore, since the grounding bodies are provided in pairs on both sides of the swing axis of the support equalizer, even if there is a gradient in the ground surface, the swing of the support equalizer can bring each of the pair of grounding bodies into contact with the ground surface. This eliminates the need to adjust the height of the support unit according to the gradient of the ground surface, which has the effect of reducing the effort required to install the support unit.

[0011] According to the support unit of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the support unit of claim 1, the support equalizer is detachably journaled to the drive bracket, so the support equalizer and the drive equalizer can be journaled to a common drive bracket. This eliminates the need to provide a separate part for journaling the support equalizer, which has the effect of reducing the number of parts in the support unit.

[0012] The support unit of claim 3 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the support unit of claim 1. The contact body contacts the rolling surface of the drive rail, and the underside of the contact body is crowned in the width direction of the movable girder and in the horizontal direction perpendicular to that width direction. In other words, since the underside of the contact body is crowned in the same way as the tread of the wheel, the surface pressure acting on the underside of the contact body due to the vertical load of the movable girder can be calculated in the same way as for the wheel. This has the effect of facilitating the strength design of the contact body.

[0013] According to the support unit of claim 4, in addition to the effect of the support unit of claim 3, since the grounding body is a plate-shaped member attached to the underside of the support equalizer, the attachment structure of the grounding body can be simplified compared to when, for example, a wheel without a drive source is attached to the support equalizer, and therefore, there is an effect that the manufacturing cost of the support unit can be reduced.

[0014] According to the support unit of claim 5, in addition to the effect of the support unit of claim 4, the grounding body is detachably attached to the underside of the support equalizer, so that when the grounding body wears out, it can be replaced with a new grounding body, thereby providing the effect that the grounding body can stably support the movable girder. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged top view of a branching device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]2 is a partially enlarged side view of the branching device as seen in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1; [Figure 3] 3 is a partially enlarged front view of the branching device as seen in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged front view of the branching device showing the state in which the movable girder is supported by the support unit. [Figure 5] 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the branching device taken along line VV in FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the overall configuration of a turnout device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a partially enlarged top view of the turnout device 1. In Fig. 1, movable girders 2a and 2b that form the branching paths are shown by two-dot chain lines, and the drive rail 3 and guide rail 4 that move the movable girder 2c are not shown. In the following description, the longitudinal direction (direction of travel of the vehicles) of the movable girders 2a to 2c (left-right direction in Fig. 1) will be referred to as the front-rear direction of the turnout device 1, and the width direction of the movable girder 2b (up-down direction in Fig. 1) will be referred to as the left-right direction.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, the switch device 1 is a device for changing the route of a vehicle, and includes multiple movable girders 2a to 2c. The movable girders 2a to 2c are formed in a rectangular shape with the longitudinal direction in a top view, and a running path on which the vehicle runs is formed on the upper surface of each of the movable girders 2a to 2c. The vehicle route is formed by connecting these movable girders 2a to 2c to each other.

[0018] Although not shown in the figure, a plurality of movable girders 2a are arranged in the front-to-rear direction (left-to-right direction in FIG. 1). Of these movable girders 2a, the movable girder 2a located at the front end side is connected to a movable girder 2b, and the movable girder 2a located at the rear end side (left side in FIG. 1) is connected to a fixed girder. A fixed girder is a structure that is immovably installed on the ground or the like, and forms a vehicle travel path like the movable girders 2a to 2c.

[0019] The switch device 1 is equipped with a drive rail 3 extending in the left-right direction of the movable girders 2a to 2c, and the movable girders 2a to 2c can move along this drive rail 3. When the movable girder 2b is connected to the movable girder 2c (terminal girder), a straight standard course is formed, while by moving the movable girder 2b along the drive rail 3 and connecting it to another movable girder (not shown) or a fixed girder (terminal girder different from the movable girder 2c), a curved branch course is formed. Such movement of the movable girders 2a to 2c along the drive rail 3 is guided by a guide rail 4 extending in the left-right direction of the movable girders 2a to 2c.

[0020] Next, a support structure for moving the movable girder 2b will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The movable girder 2a and 2c are also supported by a support structure similar to that of the movable girder 2b. Figure 2 is a partially enlarged side view of the turnout device 1 as seen in the direction II of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a partially enlarged front view of the turnout device 1 as seen in the direction of arrow III of Figure 2. Note that Figure 3 shows only one of the pair of drive units 6 provided on the left and right sides of the guide device 7, but the pair of left and right drive units 6 have substantially the same configuration.

[0021] 2 and 3, the movable girder 2b of the switch device 1 is supported by the drive unit 6 via a pedestal 5. The pedestal 5 is formed into a rectangular parallelepiped shape by joining a plurality of steel members, and a mounting seat 50 for mounting the drive unit 6 is provided on the underside of the pedestal 5.

[0022] The drive unit 6 includes a drive bracket 60 fixed to the mounting seat 50, a drive equalizer 61 supported by the drive bracket 60, and a wheel 62 journaled on the drive equalizer 61.

[0023] The drive bracket 60 is a member for swingably supporting the drive equalizer 61. The drive bracket 60 is a metal member that includes a fastening portion 60a that is fastened to the underside of the mounting seat 50 with a bolt, and a support portion 60b that hangs down from the fastening portion 60a.

[0024] The support parts 60b are provided in a pair at a distance in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 2), and a swing shaft 60c extending in the front-rear direction is suspended between the pair of opposing support parts 60b. A drive equalizer 61 is pivotally supported on the swing shaft 60c so as to be swingable, and the drive equalizer 61 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that protrudes on both left and right sides of the swing shaft 60c. Box-shaped storage sections (with openings at the bottom) capable of storing wheels 62 are formed on both left and right ends of the drive equalizer 61 (left and right directions in FIG. 3), and the wheels 62 are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable within these storage sections. That is, the wheels 62 are provided in a pair on the left and right sides, sandwiching the swing shaft 60c therebetween.

[0025] The pair of wheels 62 are each supported on the upper surface of the drive rail 3, and the drive unit 6 is equipped with a drive device (not shown) that applies a driving force to the axle of one of the pair of wheels 62. In other words, one of the pair of wheels 62 is a driving wheel, and the other wheel 62 is a driven wheel. The drive device is composed of an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, or the like, and the driving force of the drive device causes the wheels 62 to roll with the upper surface of the drive rail 3 as the rolling surface. This rolling of the wheels 62 enables the movable girder 2b to move left and right along the drive rail 3.

[0026] The pair of wheels 62 are provided on both the left and right sides of the swing shaft 60c of the drive equalizer 61, so that even if there is a gradient in the drive rail 3 (the installation surface on which the drive rail 3 is installed), the drive equalizer 61 can be swung so that each of the pair of wheels 62 follows the gradient. This allows the pair of wheels 62 to be reliably grounded on the upper surface of the drive rail 3, making it easier to distribute the weight of the movable girder 2b and the weight of the vehicle running on the movable girder 2b (hereinafter, these weights will be collectively referred to as the "vertical load") to each of the pair of wheels 62.

[0027] The rolling of the wheels 62 on the drive rail 3 (movement of the movable girder 2b) is guided by a guide device 7. The guide device 7 includes a plurality of guide rollers 70 that sandwich the guide rail 4, and a known configuration can be adopted, so detailed description will be omitted. An example of a known configuration is the guide unit 230 in JP 2012-106680 A.

[0028] The above-mentioned switching between the standard course and the branch course is performed by the movement of the movable girder 2b along the drive rail 3 (see FIG. 1). During the period when such course switching is not performed, the movable girder 2b is supported by the support unit 8 (see FIG. 4) rather than the drive unit 6.

[0029] The detailed configuration of this support unit 8 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is a partially enlarged front view of the turnout device 1 showing the state in which the movable girder 2b is supported by the support unit 8, and Figure 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the turnout device 1 taken along line VV in Figure 4. Note that Figure 4 shows only one of the pair of support units 8 provided on the left and right sides of the guide device 7, but the pair of left and right support units 8 have substantially the same configuration.

[0030] 4 and 5, the support unit 8 of the branching device 1 includes a support equalizer 80 that is swingably supported by the drive bracket 60, and a grounding body 81 that is fixed to the underside of the support equalizer 80. The support equalizer 80 and the grounding body 81 support the movable girder 2b so that it cannot move.

[0031] The support equalizer 80 has a front plate 80a that forms its front surface, and a rear plate 80b (see FIG. 5) that faces the rear side of the front plate 80a at a distance. The front plate 80a and the rear plate 80b are connected in the front-to-rear direction by a top plate 80c and side plates 80d, and the top plate 80c connects the upper ends of the front plate 80a and the rear plate 80b together.

[0032] The side plate 80d connects both ends of the front plate 80a and the rear plate 80b in the left-right direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5). That is, while FIG. 5 illustrates the side plate 80d located on one side in the left-right direction across the swing shaft 60c (the far side in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5), a side plate 80d (not shown) is also provided on the other side in the left-right direction across the swing shaft 60c (the near side in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5).

[0033] Mounting plates 80e, 80f are fixed to the front surface of the front plate 80a and the rear surface of the rear plate 80b. The plates 80a to 80f that make up the support equalizer 80 are metal plates that are joined together by welding or the like.

[0034] Through holes 80g are formed in the front plate 80a and the rear plate 80b, and cylindrical bearings 80h are fitted into the through holes 80g. A swing shaft 60c is inserted into the inner periphery of the bearing 80h, and the support equalizer 80 is pivotally supported so as to be swingable around the swing shaft 60c. The swing shaft 60c is detachably inserted into an insertion hole 60d formed in the support portion 60b, so that the support equalizer 80 can be attached to and detached from the drive bracket 60 (the same applies to the drive equalizer 61 shown in FIG. 3).

[0035] The support equalizer 80 (front plate 80a and rear plate 80b) protrudes on both the left and right sides of the swing shaft 60c (see FIG. 4), and mounting plates 80e, 80f are provided on both the left and right ends of the support equalizer 80.

[0036] The mounting plate 80e protrudes forward from the lower end of the front surface of the front plate 80a, and the mounting plate 80f (see FIG. 5) protrudes rearward from the lower end of the rear surface of the rear plate 80b. Each of the pair of front and rear mounting plates 80e, 80f is formed with a through-hole (not shown) for inserting a bolt 9.

[0037] The grounding body 81 is a metal plate whose front-to-rear dimension (left-to-right direction in FIG. 5) is longer than its left-to-right dimension (left-to-right direction in FIG. 4), and female threaded holes (not shown) are formed in the four corners of the top surface of the grounding body 81 at positions corresponding to the through holes of the mounting plates 80e, 80f. By fastening bolts 9 inserted into the through holes of the mounting plates 80e, 80f to the female threaded holes of the grounding body 81, the grounding body 81 is fixed to the undersides of the front plate 80a, the rear plate 80b, and the mounting plates 80e, 80f (support equalizer 80). The grounding body 81 is in contact with the top surface of the drive rail 3 so as not to be able to roll, and this grounding body 81 supports a vertical load.

[0038] As such, the support unit 8 of this embodiment comprises a support equalizer 80 that is pivotally supported on the lower side of the movable girder 2b and a pair of grounding bodies 81 that are provided on both sides of the swing axis (swing axis 60c) of the support equalizer 80 and that are non-rollably grounded on the upper surface (grounding surface) of the drive rail 3, but does not comprise wheels 62 (drive wheels) (see Figure 3) or a drive device that drives the wheels 62.

[0039] During construction of the turnout device 1, the movable girder 2b is supported by the support unit 8 during the period when the movable girder 2b is not being moved (first step), and when it becomes necessary to move the movable girder 2b thereafter, the support unit 8 is detached from the movable girder 2b (second step), and the movable girder 2b is supported by the drive unit 6 (see FIG. 3) (third step). According to this construction method of the turnout device 1, maintenance of the wheels 62 (drive wheels) and drive devices is not required during the period until it becomes necessary to move the movable girder 2a to 2c (to use the branch route). This reduces the effort required for maintenance of the turnout device 1.

[0040] To reduce the maintenance work required for such a drive device, it is possible to support the movable girder 2b with, for example, a simple support structure. One example of a simple support structure is a configuration in which the support equalizer 80 is omitted and a member equivalent to the ground contact body 81 is attached to the underside of the drive bracket 60. However, with this configuration, if the drive rail 3 has a slope, it is necessary to adjust the height of the pair of left and right support units 8 using shims (spacers) sandwiched between the mounting seat 50 (base 5) and the drive bracket 60, or between the drive bracket 60 and the ground contact body 81. Therefore, construction of the support units 8 requires a lot of work.

[0041] In contrast, the grounding bodies 81 of this embodiment are provided in pairs on both sides of the oscillation axis (oscillating axis 60c) of the support equalizer 80, so that even if there is a gradient in the drive rail 3, the oscillation of the support equalizer 80 can cause each of the pair of grounding bodies 81 to touch the top surface of the drive rail 3. This eliminates the need for the work of adjusting the height of the support unit 8 in accordance with the gradient of the drive rail 3 (adjusting the height using a shim as described above), thereby reducing the effort required to install the support unit 8 and making it easier to distribute the vertical load to each of the pair of grounding bodies 81.

[0042] Furthermore, since the driving equalizer 61 (see FIG. 3) and the support equalizer 80 are detachably pivotally supported on the driving bracket 60, the equalizers 61 and 80 can be pivotally supported on the common driving bracket 60. This eliminates the need to provide a separate part for pivotally supporting the support equalizer 80, thereby reducing the number of parts in the support unit 8.

[0043] As shown in Figure 4, the lower surface 81a of the ground contact body 81 that contacts the upper surface of the drive rail 3 is formed in a downwardly convex arc shape when viewed in the front-to-rear direction. The curvature of this arc is the same as the curvature of the tread surface (outer peripheral surface) of the wheel 62 (see Figure 3).

[0044] 5, the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 is formed in a downwardly convex arc shape when viewed in the left-right direction. That is, the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 is crowned in the width direction of the movable girder 2b (the left-right direction in which the wheels 62 roll) and in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction) perpendicular to the width direction, and similar crowning is also applied to the tread of the wheel 62 (see FIG. 3). By applying a crowning similar to that of the tread of the wheel 62 to the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81, the surface pressure acting on the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 due to a vertical load can be calculated in the same way as for the wheel 62. This makes it easier to design the strength of the ground contact body 81.

[0045] When supporting a vertical load with a member having a crowning similar to the tread of such a wheel 62, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a wheel without a driving source is attached to the support equalizer 80 instead of the ground contact body 81.

[0046] When using wheels without a drive source, the wheels can be fixed to the support equalizer 80 so as not to rotate, or the wheels (driven wheels) journaled on the support equalizer 80 can be locked so as not to roll on the drive rail 3. This allows the wheels (support units 8) without a drive unit to support the movable girder 2b until it becomes necessary to move the movable girder 2b (to use the branch path).

[0047] Furthermore, by making the wheel tread the same shape as the wheel tread of wheel 62, it is possible to easily calculate the surface pressure acting on the wheel due to a vertical load. However, in a configuration in which a wheel without a driving source is attached to support equalizer 80, the attachment structure becomes complicated, which increases the manufacturing cost of support unit 8.

[0048] In contrast, the grounding body 81 of this embodiment is a plate-shaped member attached to the underside of the support equalizer 80, and therefore the attachment structure of the grounding body 81 can be simplified compared to when wheels without a drive source as described above are used. That is, it is only necessary to attach the grounding body 81 to an attachment surface provided on the underside of the support equalizer 80, and the structure of the support equalizer 80 can be simplified, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the support unit 8.

[0049] Furthermore, although the grounding body 81 can be attached by welding to the underside of the support equalizer 80, the grounding body 81 in this embodiment is detachably attached to the underside of the support equalizer 80 with bolts 9. This allows the grounding body 81 to be replaced with a new grounding body 81 when it wears out due to repeated vibrations caused by the running of a vehicle or the like. Therefore, the grounding body 81 (support unit 8) can stably support the movable girder 2b.

[0050] The present invention has been described above based on the above embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above form in any way, and it can be easily inferred that various modifications and improvements are possible within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

[0051] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the support equalizer 80 is detachably supported on the drive bracket 60, i.e., the drive equalizer 61 and the support equalizer 80 are supported on a common drive bracket 60, but this is not necessarily limited to this.

[0052] For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a support bracket (a component attached to the lower side of the movable girder 2b and capable of supporting the support equalizer 80) that is a separate component from the drive bracket 60 is provided on the support unit 8. In the case of such a configuration, when it becomes necessary to move the movable girder 2b, the support unit 8 including the support bracket, the support equalizer 80, and the grounding body 81 can be removed from the branching device 1 and replaced with the drive unit 6.

[0053] Furthermore, if the support unit 8 is equipped with a support bracket that is a separate part from the drive bracket 60, the portion for attaching the support bracket may be provided in a location separate from the mounting seat 50. That is, in the above embodiment, the case where the drive unit 6 and the support unit 8 are attached to the same mounting position (mounting seat 50) has been described, but the mounting positions of these units 6, 8 may be different.

[0054] In the above embodiment, a metal plate fixed to the underside of the support equalizer 80 is given as an example of the grounding body 81 that is in contact with the upper surface of the drive rail 3 so as not to roll, but this is not necessarily limited to this. Another example of the grounding body 81 attached to the support equalizer 80 is a wheel that does not have a drive source.

[0055] When using wheels without a drive source, the wheels can be fixed to the support equalizer 80 so as not to rotate, or the wheels (driven wheels) journaled on the support equalizer 80 can be locked so as not to roll on the drive rail 3. Even with this configuration, maintenance of the wheels 62 (drive wheels) and the drive device is not required until it is necessary to move the movable girder 2b (to use the branch path).

[0056] In the above embodiment, the upper surface of the drive rail 3 is given as an example of a contact surface on which the contact body 81 contacts the ground so as not to roll, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the contact body 81 may be placed on the surface on which the drive rail 3 is laid (the installation surface of the drive rail 3).

[0057] In the above embodiment, the case where the drive rail 3 is already installed when the support unit 8 supports the movable girder 2b has been described, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the drive rail 3 may be installed when the support unit 8 is replaced with the drive unit 6.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the case where the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 is crowned in both the left-right direction and the front-rear direction has been described, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 may be crowned in only one direction, either the left-right direction or the front-rear direction, or the underside 81a of the ground contact body 81 may be flat.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the grounding body 81 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the supporting equalizer 80, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the grounding body 81 may be welded to the lower surface of the supporting equalizer 80.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the case where the front-to-rear dimension of the grounding body 81 is larger than the left-to-right dimension has been described, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the front-to-rear dimension of the grounding body 81 may be smaller than the left-to-right dimension, or the up-to-down dimension (thickness) of the grounding body 81 may be larger than the left-to-right and front-to-rear dimensions of the grounding body 81. In other words, the shape of the grounding body 81 is not limited to the above embodiment and can be set as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1 Branching device 2a~2c movable girder 3 Drive rail 6 Drive Unit 60 Drive bracket 60c Oscillating shaft (oscillating shaft of driving equalizer and supporting equalizer) 61 Drive equalizer 62 wheels 8 Support Unit 80 Support Equalizer 81 Grounding body

Claims

1. a support unit for supporting the movable girder of a switch device, the support unit comprising: a movable girder on whose upper surface a vehicle travelway is formed; a drive bracket attached to the lower side of the movable girder; a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket so as to be swingable; a pair of wheels pivotally supported on both sides of the swing shaft of the drive equalizer; a drive unit that applies a driving force to drive the wheels; and a drive rail that has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit and extends in the width direction of the movable girder, A support unit characterized by comprising a support equalizer that is pivotally supported on the lower side of the movable girder so as to be able to swing, and a pair of grounding bodies that are provided on both sides of the swing axis of the support equalizer and that contact the ground surface so as not to roll.

2. 2. The support unit according to claim 1, wherein the support equalizer is axially supported by the drive bracket in a detachable manner.

3. the grounding body contacts the rolling surface of the drive rail, 2. The support unit according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the ground contact body is crowned in the width direction of the movable beam and in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the width direction.

4. 4. The support unit according to claim 3, wherein the grounding body is a plate-like member fixed to the lower surface of the support equalizer.

5. 5. The support unit according to claim 4, wherein the grounding body is detachably attached to the lower surface of the support equalizer.

6. A turnout device constructed comprising: a movable girder on whose upper surface a vehicle runway is formed; a drive bracket attached to the lower side of the movable girder; a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket so as to be swingable; a pair of wheels provided on both sides of the swing shaft of the drive equalizer; a drive unit that applies a driving force to drive the wheels; and a drive rail that has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit and extends in the width direction of the movable girder, A turnout device, wherein the movable beam is supported by a support unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A method for constructing a turnout device including a movable girder on whose upper surface a vehicle travel path is formed, a drive bracket attached to the lower side of the movable girder, a drive equalizer pivotally supported on the drive bracket so as to be swingable, a pair of wheels pivotally supported on both sides of the swing shaft of the drive equalizer, a drive unit that applies a driving force to drive the wheels, and a drive rail that has a rolling surface on which the wheels roll due to the driving force of the drive unit and extends in the width direction of the movable girder, a first step of supporting the movable girder by a support unit including a support equalizer pivotally supported below the movable girder so as to be able to swing, and a pair of grounding bodies provided on both sides of the swing shaft of the support equalizer and grounded in a non-rolling state; a second step of removing the support unit from the movable girder when it becomes necessary to move the movable girder after the first step; a third step of supporting the movable girder by a drive unit including the drive bracket, the drive equalizer, the wheels, and the drive device after the second step.

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