Wing Rail Protective Ramp for Hollow Wheel Transition

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hollow railway wheels cause peak forces and wear on switch components due to the uneven transition from the frog to the wing rail, leading to frequent repairs and increased maintenance.

Innovation Solution

A protective ramp is milled into the wing rail with a dual-profile design: a long, gently inclined ramp for slightly hollow wheels and a steeper, shorter ramp for more hollow wheels, ensuring a smooth transition and reducing force peaks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a groove with width of about 44 mm is provided between the wing rail and frog, then the wheel transfer is smooth for new wheels, but hollow wheels cause peak forces and damage to switch components

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewheel transfer smoothnessVSAvoidpeak forces on frog and wing rail

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A protective ramp is integrated into the wing rail before the groove, extending in the direction of travel. This ramp provides a gradual transition surface that prepares hollow wheels for the groove transition, preventing sudden impacts and peak forces on the switch components while maintaining smooth transfer for all wheel types

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of manufacture

If the wing rail running surface is kept flat and continuous, then manufacturing is simple, but hollow wheels experience severe wear and require frequent repair work

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewing rail fabrication simplicityVSAvoidfrequency of grinding and welding repairs

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The wing rail head is segmented into distinct functional zones: a protective ramp zone with gradual inclination for hollow wheel accommodation, and a subsequent flat running surface zone for normal operation. This segmentation allows the rail to address hollow wheel wear problems while maintaining simple manufacturing for the majority of the rail structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The protective ramp creates a localized area with different geometric properties (gradual inclination) compared to the main running surface (flat). This local quality change specifically addresses the hollow wheel transition problem at the groove entrance without affecting the overall rail design and manufacturing simplicity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If a protective ramp is integrated into the wing rail, then hollow wheels experience reduced peak forces, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematerial stresses and wearVSAvoidwing rail profile complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The protective ramp is designed with a gradual, curved inclination rather than sharp angles or multiple complex surfaces. This curved profile smoothly transitions wheels onto the running surface, reducing peak forces and material stresses while adding minimal geometric complexity that can be efficiently manufactured using standard rail profiling techniques

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentEP1873309B1Protective ramp of a wing rail in points

Publication Date: 2010.08.18 DB NETZ

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AI summary

The rail (1) has a ramp (3) formed from a point of wheel contact of the rail by a small hollow-running wheel (6) approximately upto a point of a theoretical wheel overflow. The hollow running wheel is transferred to the rail by a core (2). The ramp runs on a surface of the rail. The depth of the ramp at the point corresponds to the hollow-shape measurement of hollow-running wheel profiles. The ramp is sloped in a direction of the core.