Railroad Guide Rail Support Hook Device for Wear Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing railroad guide rail systems face challenges such as non-adjustability, difficult installation, maintenance issues due to loose fasteners, and wear-related replacements, which affect their effectiveness and longevity.
Innovation Solution
A guide rail support assembly featuring a hook device with hooks that secure the guide rail to a brace without penetrating it, along with adjustment shims and a spring clip for securement, allowing for easy installation and adjustment to compensate for wear, and providing a stable structure with increased clearance for hold-down spikes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If threaded fasteners are used to secure guide rail assemblies to tie plates, then the guide rail can be mounted, but the fasteners loosen over time requiring high maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes threaded fasteners from the system entirely and replaces them with a friction-based press-fit mechanism. The guide rail assembly is inserted into a recess in the tie plate and held in place by friction between the guide rail's end and the recess walls, eliminating the loosening problem of threaded fasteners while reducing maintenance requirements.
2Strength
If guide rails are formed from track rail and mounted on tie plates, then the guide rail provides structural strength, but installation is difficult and imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the guide rail into two functional segments: a strengthened end portion that fits into the tie plate recess and provides structural anchoring, and a guide face portion that performs the guiding function. This segmentation allows the end portion to be precisely fitted into the recess while the guide face can be adjusted for proper alignment, reducing installation difficulty and improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a recess in the tie plate as an intermediary structure that mediates between the guide rail and the tie plate. The recess provides a precise fitting interface that guides the installation process and ensures accurate positioning, eliminating the need for difficult field drilling and alignment operations.
3Reliability
If guide rails are fastened to the traffic rail by drilling, then the guide rail can be secured, but installation is time consuming and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs the anchoring action in advance during manufacturing by creating a precise recess in the tie plate and designing the guide rail's end portion to fit into it. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming field drilling operations, as the guide rail simply needs to be inserted into the pre-formed recess and held by friction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the stability and longevity of guide rail assemblies by reducing maintenance needs, allowing for easy adjustment to compensate for wear, and increasing frictional resistance, thus improving the guide rail's performance and lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
A spring clip is mounted adjacent the base and the adjustment shims for securing the hook device to the brace
Implementation Method 2
The hooks extend around the brace and secure the guide rail to the brace
Data Source
AI summary
A guide rail support assembly includes a brace and a guide rail positioned on the brace. A hook device having a base and two hooks extending from the base and around the brace and secures the guide rail to the brace. The brace has no apertures such that the hooks extend completely around the brace without penetrating any portion of the brace. Adjustment shims are positioned adjacent the brace and a spring clip is mounted adjacent the base and the adjustment shims for securing the hook device to the brace.