Lateral Bulk Material Storage in Track Ballast Refurbishment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for rehabilitating ballast beds are inefficient in intermediate storage of bulk material, requiring separate conveyor belts and auxiliary equipment for bulk material handling.
Innovation Solution
Lateral storage of bulk material in a wider zone accessible only to the second clearing device eliminates the need for a separate conveyor belt, allowing for efficient pickup without impairing the first clearing chain's performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If bulk material is thrown onto the track for temporary storage and transported by a special device via the following clearing chain, then intermediate storage of bulk material is enabled, but device complexity increases due to the need for separate conveyor belt lines and auxiliary equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the intermediate storage function with the existing ballast bed structure. Bulk material is thrown laterally onto the ballast bed in a bedding zone in front of the first clearing device, utilizing the existing ballast bed as storage space rather than requiring separate conveyor systems. This integration eliminates the need for additional auxiliary equipment while maintaining the intermediate storage capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The second clearing device, which is already present in the system for picking up the lower bedding layer, is utilized to also pick up the intermediately stored bulk material. This self-service approach allows the existing clearing chain to handle multiple functions (picking up lower bedding layer and bulk material) without requiring a separate special transport device, thereby reducing device complexity.
2Productivity
If a separate conveyor belt line is used for return transport of bulk material, then bulk material can be transported efficiently, but device complexity and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The second clearing device is designed with multi-functionality, serving both to pick up the lower bedding layer and to pick up the intermediately stored bulk material. This universal approach allows one device to perform multiple tasks, eliminating the need for separate conveyor belt lines dedicated solely to bulk material transport, thus maintaining productivity while reducing device complexity.
3Area of stationary object
If the second clearing device is made wider than the first clearing device, then it can access the lateral bedding zone for bulk material storage, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The second clearing device is made wider than the first clearing device specifically in the lateral direction to access the bedding zone where bulk material is stored. This localized dimensional adjustment allows the device to perform its additional function of picking up bulk material without requiring a complete redesign of the entire clearing device system, thereby minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
For the purpose of refurbishment, a ballast bed (2) of a track (3) is taken up and cleaned in the form of an upper ballast layer (14) by a first clearing device (6). Bulk material (17) which is produced in the process is ejected laterally onto the ballast bed (2) in a bed zone (21) in front of the first clearing device (6) with respect to the working direction (5). Said bed zone (21) can only be picked up by the second clearing device (7), which is of wider design than the first clearing device (6) in the transverse direction of the track. This permits bulk material (17) which is produced in a front end region of a machine (1) to be intermediately stored for later use on the ballast bed (2).