Steam weeding device

Abstract

To provide a steam weeding device that uses a relatively small boiler and a dedicated cover to shorten the heating time of weeds per unit area, and has mobility that allows it to travel at a constant speed on a track.SOLUTION: A steam weeding device for weeding using steam includes a running part capable of running on a track with rails and a track bed, a steam generating part for generating steam, a cover part that has side edge covers for covering both side edges of the rails and a gauge cover for covering the space between the rails, and an edge part that can abut against the track bed, and a steam supply part to supply steam into the cover part. An escape part is formed between the side edge cover and the gauge cover to prevent interference with the rail.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a steam weeding device that uses steam to remove weeds that have grown overgrown, and more particularly to a steam weeding device that removes weeds that have grown overgrown on tracks on which railway vehicles run. [Background technology]

[0002] In track maintenance, track components are inspected using images taken by track inspection vehicles. However, weeds that grow on the track can interfere with inspections using these images, making weed control necessary.

[0003] In order to control weeds on railway land with tracks, mowing of overgrown weeds is widely practiced. While mowing can remove weeds in a short time, there is a problem that the weeds quickly regrow in the summer, which means that the mowing work must be done more frequently. In addition, when using vibration tools such as mowers, there is a problem that the daily working hours are limited to prevent health problems caused by the use of such tools.

[0004] Therefore, efforts are being made to put into practical use weeding using steam weeding devices that can perform weeding in a short time without using vibration tools and that kill overgrown weeds by using steam.

[0005] BACKGROUND ART Various steam weeding devices have been known as devices for removing overgrown weeds by using steam. For example, a portable steam weeding device described in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0006] The portable steam weeding device described in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a detachable pallet that can be placed on the platform of a truck or cart, and each component of the steam generating device is piped and mounted on the pallet. A steam supply hose is connected to the steam discharge side of the steam generating device, and a steam ejection nozzle is provided at the tip of the steam supply hose. The pallet is also provided with holes for fitting the claws of a forklift.

[0007] With the portable steam weeding device configured in this manner, by fitting the tines of a forklift into the tine fitting holes of the pallet, the steam generating device and all of its components can be loaded onto a truck or cart via the pallet using the forklift. Then, by operating the steam generating device and spraying steam from the steam nozzle toward the weeds, the weeds are heated and die. Furthermore, when unloading the steam generating device from the truck or cart, by fitting the tines of the forklift into the tine fitting holes of the pallet, the steam generating device and all of its components can be unloaded from the truck or cart via the pallet using the forklift. This allows the weed-killing steam generating device to be quickly loaded onto and unloaded from a standard truck or cart without modifying the bed of the truck or cart, enabling steam weeding to be performed quickly and safely. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-45290 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] However, when conventional steam weeding devices are applied to tracks on which railway vehicles run, such as ballasted tracks, the weeding area becomes large, which necessitates the use of large boilers and the consumption of large amounts of water. Furthermore, the need to repeatedly apply a steam cover, spray steam on the weeds, then lift the cover and move forward poses a challenge to workability. Another problem with this type of work method is that it is difficult to reduce the work time.

[0010] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a steam weeding device that uses a relatively small boiler and a dedicated cover, shortens the heating time of weeds per unit area, and has the mobility to run at a constant speed on a track. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The steam weeding device of the present invention is a steam weeding device that weeds by steam, and is characterized in that it comprises a running section that can run on a track having rails and a track bed, a steam generating section that generates the steam, a cover section that has side edge covers that cover both side edges of the rails and a gauge cover that covers the space between the rails and has an edge that can abut against the track bed, and a steam supply section that supplies the steam into the cover section, and that a relief section is formed between the side edge covers and the gauge cover to prevent interference with the rails.

[0012] In the steam weeding device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the cover portion extends a predetermined length along the direction in which the track extends.

[0013] In the steam weeding device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the cover portion has a spring-up mechanism that springs up above the running surface of the rail.

[0014] In the steam weeding device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the cover section has a movement mechanism that allows a ceiling plate to move toward or away from the running surface of the rail.

[0015] In addition, in the steam weeding device of the present invention, it is preferable that the steam supply unit is connected to steam supply ports formed in each of the side edge cover and the gauge cover, and that multiple steam supply ports are arranged along the extension direction of the track.

[0016] In the steam weeding device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the edge portion is made of an elastic material.

[0017] In the steam weeding device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the cover portion of the edge portion is provided with a plurality of elastic members arranged in strips along the extending direction of the edge portion.

[0018] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] The steam weeding device of the present invention comprises a running section capable of running on a track and a cover section having an edge capable of abutting the trackbed, the cover section having a recess formed therein to prevent interference with the rail, and a steam supply section for supplying steam into the cover section, so that the steam generation section can be made smaller and the heating time of weeds per unit area can be shortened, and a maneuverable steam weeding device capable of running on a track at a constant speed can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a plan view of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cover part of the steam weeding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cover portion of a steam multi-phase device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] AA cross section in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] BB cross section in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a jump-up mechanism of the steam weeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the jump-up mechanism of the steam weeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an edge portion of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 10]10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the edge portion of the steam weeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the inventions according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0022] 1 is a front view of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cover part of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the cover part of a steam phase device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is a plan view explaining the pop-up mechanism of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a plan view explaining the operation of the pop-up mechanism of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a diagram explaining the configuration of the edge part of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining the operation of the edge part of a steam weeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the steam weeding device 1 of this embodiment is configured to be able to run on a track 4, which has ballast 3 such as crushed stone or gravel of a predetermined particle size laid as a trackbed on the roadbed, sleepers 5 lined up on the ballast 3, and rails 2 laid on top of them.

[0024] The steam weeding device 1 of this embodiment comprises a running section 20 capable of running on a track 4 having rails 2 and a track bed, a steam generating section 30 that generates steam, a cover section 10 having an edge that can abut against the ballast 3, and a steam supply section 40 that supplies steam into the cover section 10.

[0025] The traveling unit 20 includes drive wheels 22 that rotate in contact with the traveling surface of the rail 2, and a drive unit 21 that applies drive force to the drive wheels 22. The drive unit 21 includes an electric motor (not shown) and receives power from a generator 32 (described later). Preferably, multiple drive wheels 22 (two in the steam weeding device 1 according to this embodiment) are arranged along the extension direction of the rail 2. The drive unit 21 may apply drive force to all drive wheels 22, or may be configured to apply drive force to one drive wheel 22 while the remaining drive wheels 22 rotate freely.

[0026] In this way, the steam weeding device 1 according to this embodiment can travel on the rails 2 by the traveling part 20, and therefore can travel at a constant traveling speed (for example, about 1 km per hour).

[0027] The steam generating unit 30 can be made of various conventionally known components as long as they can generate steam, but for example, a general-purpose steam washer or the like is preferably used. The steam generating unit 30 generates steam when water stored in a tank 31 is supplied to the steam generating unit 30. The steam generating unit 30 is also supplied with electricity generated by a generator 32. The generator 32 can be made of various conventionally known generators as long as it can supply electricity to the steam generating unit 30 and the drive unit 21.

[0028] The steam generating unit 30, the tank 31 and the generator 32 are mounted on a carriage 33, and the carriage 33 is configured to be able to run on the rails 2 by means of rotatably attached carriage wheels 34. It is preferable that the steam generating unit 30 is fixed to the carriage 33 via a fixing jig 35 or the like. Furthermore, the steam weeding device 1 according to this embodiment has been described in the case where the steam generating unit 30, the tank 31 and the generator 32 are mounted on separate carriages 33, but the steam generating unit 30, the tank 31 and the generator 32 may each be mounted on the same carriage.

[0029] The cover unit 10 is connected to the steam generating unit 30 via the steam supply unit 40, and is connected to the carriage 33 via the connecting unit 19. Since the cover unit 10 is connected to the carriage 33 via the connecting unit 19 in this way, it is possible for the cover unit 10 to travel on the rail 2 at a predetermined speed as it is driven by the traveling unit 20.

[0030] 3, the cover section 10 includes a frame 18 arranged substantially parallel to the roadbed, wheels 14 rotatably attached to the frame 18, and a gauge cover 11 and a side edge cover 12 that are movable vertically relative to the frame 18. The gauge cover 11 and the side edge cover 12 are attached so that they can be raised and lowered via a lift-up mechanism 50, which will be described later, so that an edge 13 of the cover section 10 is positioned above the running surface of the rail 2.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 4, the gauge cover 11 is arranged to cover the gap between the rails 2, and the side edge covers 12 are arranged to cover both side edges of the rail 2. End covers 15a are attached to both end faces of the gauge cover 11 and the side edge covers 12 in the traveling direction (extending direction of the rail 2), and side covers 15b are attached to the outer edges of the side edge covers 12, extending from both ends of the end cover 15a along the traveling direction.

[0032] The side cover 15b extends a predetermined length along the extension direction of the rail 2, and it is preferable that the length be shaped to have an extension of 1 m so that the ambient temperature inside the cover part 10 can be maintained at 60 degrees (grass death temperature) or higher when the cover part 10 is moved by the running part 20 at a constant running speed (1 km / h).

[0033] Additionally, ceiling panels 15 arranged approximately parallel to the roadbed are attached to the ceiling portions of the gauge covers 11 and side edge covers 12, and the ceiling panels 15, end covers 15a, and side covers 15b form a box-shaped space with an open bottom. The bottom ends of the end covers 15a and side covers 15b are formed with edge portions 13 that can come into contact with the surface of the ballast 3. It is preferable that the edge portions 13 be made of an elastic material such as rubber, as will be described later.

[0034] Furthermore, a steam supply unit 40 is attached to the ceiling panel 15, making it possible to retain steam within the cover unit 10. This retention of steam makes it possible to kill weeds that have grown in the ballast 3.

[0035] It is preferable that a plurality of steam supply units 40 are formed along the extension direction of the rail 2 of the gauge cover 11 and the side edge cover 12. By arranging a plurality of steam supply units 40 that supply steam into the cover unit 10 in this way, it is possible to make the heating temperature inside the cover unit 10 uniform.

[0036] The ceiling panel 15 is preferably made of a transparent acrylic plate or the like so that it can be visually confirmed that the inside of the cover section 10 is appropriately filled with steam. The ceiling panel 15 is attached so that it can move parallel in the vertical direction toward and away from the running surface of the rail 2 via a movement mechanism 16. The movement mechanism 16 can be configured to use various conventionally known movement guide means as long as it can move the ceiling panel 15 parallel. Preferably, the movement mechanism 16 is configured so that the position of the ceiling panel 15 can be adjusted using, for example, screws and nuts. Making the position of the ceiling panel 15 adjustable in this way allows the ceiling panel 15 to be lowered during weeding work, thereby reducing the volume of steam retained within the cover section 10 and reducing the amount of steam used.

[0037] In addition, a relief portion 17 is formed between the gauge cover 11 and the side edge cover 12 to prevent interference with the rail 2. As shown in Fig. 5, the relief portion 17 is formed in the shape of a tunnel along the extension direction of the rail 2, and movement of the cover portion 10 does not cause interference between the cover portion 10 and the rail 2, so the cover portion 10 can be lowered and moved while weeding is being performed, which simplifies the weeding work.

[0038] In addition, an adjustment member 17a formed in a tunnel shape similar to the relief portion 17 is disposed in the center of the gauge cover 11. By providing this adjustment member 17a, the side edge cover 12 and the ceiling plate 15 attached to the gauge cover 11 can be made the same size, which reduces the number of parts and thus reduces costs. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, the end cover 15a also has a relief portion 17 formed to prevent interference with the rail 2.

[0039] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the lift-up mechanism 50 is configured to be able to lift up the cover portion 10 above the running surface of the rail 2, and comprises a lift-up mechanism main body 55 attached to the cover portion 10, a pillar portion 56 erected from the frame 18, an arm portion 54 having one end rotatably attached to the end of the lift-up mechanism main body 55, and a slide member 53 attached to the other end of the arm portion 54.

[0040] The slide member 53 is movably attached to a shaft member 57 that is arranged parallel to the roadbed on the frame 18. The slide member 53 and the shaft member 57 can be made of various conventionally known moving mechanisms, but for example, a screw-type guide device using a screw and a nut, or a spline-type guide device using a spline shaft and a nut member, etc. are preferably used.

[0041] A helical spring 51 is attached to the spring-up mechanism main body 55, and elastic force is applied to the helical spring 51 by a wire 52 attached to a pillar portion 56. In addition, the slide member 53 is attached to a shaft member 57 by a locking means (not shown) so as to be freely engageable with and detachable from the shaft member 57.

[0042] 8, when the cover part 10 is lowered so as to press it against the ballast 3, the helical spring 51 stretches. At this time, the slide member 53 is fixed in position relative to the shaft member 57 by the locking means, so the position of the cover part 10 can be maintained in the lowered state.

[0043] Additionally, there are auxiliary facilities on the track, such as position detection ground coils, and to prevent the cover unit 10 from colliding with these facilities and causing damage to the facilities, the locking means can be released near the facilities, as shown in Figure 7, to release the elastic force of the helical spring 51 and cause the cover unit 10 to bounce up above the running surface of the rail 2. This bounce-up mechanism 50 makes it possible to easily prevent damage to or breakdown of auxiliary facilities on the track.

[0044] Next, the edge portion 13 will be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. The edge portion 13 is preferably made of an elastic material such as rubber, and preferably includes a first elastic body 13a attached to the outermost end of the cover portion 10 in the traveling direction, and a second elastic body 13b arranged inward from the first elastic body 13a.

[0045] Preferably, the first elastic body 13a and the second elastic body 13b are each formed in a strip shape, and a plurality of them are arranged along the extension direction of the end cover 15a. The width of the first elastic body 13a and the second elastic body 13b is preferably set to about the same as the particle size of the ballast 3, for example, about 60 to 100 mm. By setting the width dimensions of the first elastic body 13a and the second elastic body 13b to about the same as the particle size of the ballast 3 in this manner, as shown in FIG. 10, the first elastic body 13a and the second elastic body 13b deform in accordance with the irregularities of the ballast 3, eliminating gaps between the surface of the ballast 3 and the edge portion 13, and allowing steam to effectively remain within the cover portion 10.

[0046] Thus, the steam weeding device 1 of this embodiment comprises a running section 20 capable of running on a track and a cover section 10 having an edge section 13 capable of abutting against a trackbed such as ballast 3, and the cover section 10 is formed with a relief section 17 to prevent interference with the rail 2, and is equipped with a steam supply section 40 that supplies steam into the cover section 10. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the steam generation section 30 and shorten the heating time of weeds per unit area, thereby providing a steam weeding device 1 that is mobile and can run on a track at a constant speed.

[0047] In the steam weeding device 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the second elastic body 13b is formed in a strip shape, but the second elastic body 13b may be configured to follow the deformation of the first elastic body 13a by using a single elastic material that is thinner than the first elastic body 13a. Also, the first elastic body 13a and the second elastic body 13b may have slits at predetermined intervals at the lower end of the edge portion 13, instead of arranging a plurality of short members. It is clear from the claims that such modified or improved embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 steam weeding device, 2 rail, 3 ballast (track bed), 4 track, 5 sleeper, 10 cover part, 11 gauge cover, 12 side edge cover, 13 edge part, 13a first elastic body, 13b second elastic body, 14 wheel, 15 ceiling plate, 15a end cover, 15b side cover, 16 moving mechanism, 17 relief part, 18 frame, 19 coupling part, 20 running part, 21 drive part, 22 drive wheel, 30 steam generating part, 31 tank, 32 generator, 33 bogie part, 34 bogie wheel, 35 fixing jig, 40 steam supply part, 50 jumping mechanism, 51 helical spring, 52 wire, 53 slide member 54 Arm portion, 55 Flip-up mechanism body, 56 Pillar portion, 57 Axle member.

Claims

1. A steam weeding device that uses steam to remove weeds, a traveling unit capable of traveling on a track having rails and a trackbed; a steam generating unit that generates the steam; a cover portion having side edge covers that cover both side edge portions of the rail and a gauge cover that covers the space between the rails, and having an edge that can abut against the track bed; a steam supply unit that supplies the steam into the cover unit, A steam weeding device characterized in that a relief portion is formed between the side edge cover and the gauge cover to prevent interference with the rail.

2. The steam weeding device according to claim 1, A steam weeding device characterized in that the cover portion extends a predetermined length along the extending direction of the track.

3. The steam weeding device according to claim 1, A steam weeding device characterized in that the cover part has a jump-up mechanism that jumps up above the running surface of the rail.

4. The steam weeding device according to claim 1, A steam weeding device characterized in that the cover section has a moving mechanism that allows a ceiling plate to move toward and away from the running surface of the rail.

5. The steam weeding device according to claim 1, The steam supply unit is connected to steam supply ports formed in the side edge cover and the gauge cover, respectively, A steam weeding device characterized in that a plurality of the steam supply ports are arranged along the extension direction of the track.

6. The steam weeding device according to claim 1, A steam weeding device characterized in that the edge portion is made of an elastic material.

7. The steam weeding device according to claim 6, A steam weeding device comprising: a plurality of elastic members arranged in strips along the extending direction of the edge portion inside the cover portion of the edge portion.

Images