Rail Angle Guide Plate Structure for Material-Saving Force Transfer

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing angle guide plates in railway tracks require thick walls to withstand high forces, leading to long production cycles and high material consumption, resulting in a significant CO₂ footprint.

Innovation Solution

The angle guide plate design applies force transmission only through contact ribs in the edge regions, incorporating recesses and continuous material webs to optimize strength and reduce material usage, while maintaining effective force transfer.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If thick walls are used in angle guide plates to withstand high forces, then force transmission reliability is improved, but material consumption increases and production cycle time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveforce transmission reliabilityVSAvoidmaterial consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The angle guide plate is segmented into a continuous material web and multiple recesses. The recesses are strategically positioned to remove material from areas where full structural continuity is not required, while the continuous material web maintains force transmission paths. This segmentation allows significant material reduction while preserving the necessary mechanical strength for force transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The design implements local quality by providing full material density only in critical load-bearing regions (the continuous material web) and reducing material density in non-critical regions (the recess areas). This localized material distribution optimizes the structure by concentrating material where it is most needed for force transmission while minimizing overall material consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If thick walls are used in angle guide plates to withstand high forces, then force transmission reliability is improved, but production cycle time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveforce transmission reliabilityVSAvoidproduction cycle time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the structure into a continuous material web and recesses, the overall wall thickness is reduced in non-critical areas. This reduction in thickness directly decreases the cooling time required during injection molding, thereby shortening the production cycle time while maintaining sufficient strength through the continuous material web design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The local quality principle allows thin-walled regions (recesses) to coexist with thick-walled regions (continuous material web). The thin-walled regions cool faster and contribute to reduced production cycle time, while the thick-walled continuous material web maintains the necessary strength for force transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Object-generated harmful factors

If material consumption is reduced through recesses, then CO2 footprint is decreased, but force transmission capability may be compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveCO2 footprintVSAvoidforce transmission capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-generated harmful factorsVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The continuous material web design concentrates material in critical load-bearing paths, ensuring that force transmission capability is maintained in these regions. The recesses remove material only from non-critical areas, achieving CO2 footprint reduction without compromising the structural strength needed for force transmission.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Quantity of substance

If recesses are formed in the angled guide plate, then material is saved, but structural strength may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial savingsVSAvoidstructural strength
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The structure is segmented into a continuous material web that maintains structural integrity and recesses that provide material savings. The continuous material web acts as the primary load-bearing element, while the recesses are positioned in areas where material removal does not critically affect overall structural strength, thus achieving both material savings and acceptable structural strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4660372A1Angled guide plate
Publication Date: 2025.12.10 WIRTHWEIN SE
  • EP4660372A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4660372A1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4660372A1 patent drawingFigure 5~8

AI summary

Angle guide plate (300) for fastening a rail (200) to a sleeper (100) by means of a spring clamp (103), having a bottom surface (317) facing the sleeper (100) and an opposite top surface (318), a groove (305) located on the top surface (318) and provided for engagement of the clamp (103) and running parallel to the rail (200), a sleeper stop web (303) running parallel to the rail (200) for engagement in a sleeper groove (101) of the sleeper (100), wherein the sleeper stop web (303) has contact webs (319, 320) on its bottom surface opposite the groove (305), wherein the contact webs (319, 320) located on the bottom surface opposite the groove (305) are only visible in the edge regions opposite the rail (200) when viewed in the direction of the rail's (200) course. (B1, B2) of the angle guide plate (300) a force (F1, F2) is applied to the threshold (100).