Rail Ballast Regulator Wing Pivoting and Wear Plate Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rail ballast regulators are cumbersome and costly to transport due to their size and weight, requiring special permits, and their wear plates are prone to abrasion, making maintenance difficult.
Innovation Solution
A roadworthy rail ballast regulator with a narrower profile for on-road transport, featuring vertically projecting wing pivot mounts and a retractable broom assembly, along with a simplified wear plate attachment system using locating pins and sacrificial nut cups, allowing single-handed tool-free replacement and enhanced retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional ballast regulators are made large and heavy to perform effective ballast regulation, then they achieve adequate working capacity and durability, but they become difficult to transport on roads and require special permits
Solution Approach 1:
The regulator incorporates movable components including telescoping booms for the wings and a retractable broom assembly that can be positioned between working and travel configurations. This dynamic design allows the machine to reduce its profile width when transported while maintaining full working capacity when deployed on the track.
Solution Approach 2:
The regulator is divided into separable functional modules including the frame, wings with telescoping booms, and a retractable broom assembly. This segmentation enables the components to be repositioned and compacted for transport while maintaining structural integrity and operational effectiveness during use.
2Reliability
If wear plates are made heavy and robust to resist ballast abrasion, then they achieve adequate durability and protection, but they become difficult to install and replace requiring multiple operators and tools
Solution Approach 1:
The wear plate attachment system uses locating pins with notches that automatically align and retain the plates during installation. The sacrificial nut cups protect the fasteners from abrasion and allow single-operator installation without requiring tools, as the pins self-align and secure the plates in place.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sacrificial nut cups that can be easily replaced along with the wear plates. These disposable protective elements shield the locating pins and fasteners from ballast abrasion, and when worn, can be quickly replaced without complex tools or multiple operators.
3Ease of operation
If the regulator is designed with a narrow profile for standard road transport, then it eliminates the need for special permits and reduces shipping costs, but it reduces the working width available for ballast regulation
Solution Approach 1:
The wings are mounted on telescoping booms that allow them to be retracted close to the frame for transport, reducing the overall profile width to fit standard road dimensions. When deployed, the booms extend to position the wings at the required working width for effective ballast regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing structure nests against the frame when retracted, with the telescoping booms allowing compact storage of the wing components. This nesting arrangement minimizes the transport profile while maintaining the ability to deploy the full working width when needed on the track.
Data Source
AI summary
A regulator moldboard and grader blade assembly includes a moldboard having at least one transversely extending pin, the pin having a notch with a surface inclined toward the moldboard. At least one grader blade has at least one mounting opening having a flared surface complementary to the notch so that the blade is hangable on the pin so that the notch draws the blade against the moldboard as a fastener tightens the blade to the moldboard.