EP2706144B1 - Rail chamber filling element - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a rail chamber filling element for installation in the rail chamber of a rail, e.g. a tram, rail or metro track.

Background of the invention

It has long been known to provide rails of rail tracks, in particular tram rails with so-called rail chamber filling elements or short chamber filling elements. Such chamber filling elements are inserted into the rail chamber between rail head and rail foot. An example of such a chamber filling is found for example in the DE 40 04 208 C2 ,

Possibly. Such Kammerfüllelemente are on the side facing away from the rail by a subsequent road surface, which is rolled up to the Kammerfüllelement, eg at level crossings, held on the rail. Possibly. should Kammerfüllelemente but also stuck without side-supporting road surface in the rail chamber and are therefore partially clamped or glued in the rail chamber. Examples of clamped Kammerfüllelemente can be found z. B. in the EP 0 726 359 B1 or the DE 197 09 111 A1 , The chamber filling according to the EP 0 726 359 B1 are specially prepared for driving on frosted road vehicles along the rail track, for example, to provide an emergency road for rescue vehicles. The Befahrung this Kammerfüllelemente can also take place if they are not supported by a road surface laterally, but, for example, a so-called lawn track is present, since these Kammerfüllelemente have sufficient bearing capacity and locking on the rail. It can be seen that in this case special demands on the stability of the Kammerfüllelementes and its attachment to the rail must be made so that, for example, the Kammerfüllelement does not jump out of the rail chamber when driving on.

The aforementioned rail chamber filling elements are integrally formed in cross section, i. that only a single one-piece Kammerfüllelemente line up along the rail, or at each point along the rail track in cross-section only a single Kammerfüllelement is present. In addition, there are also so-called multi-part chamber filling devices, in which side and / or one above the other, i. transverse to the rail, several Kammerfüllelemente, sometimes referred to as Kammererteilelemente, are used, which then together form a Kammerfülleinrichtung and fill the rail chamber. For example, Two-part Kammerfüllelemente are known in which a lower and upper filler is inserted into the rail chamber. These Kammerfüllelemente were sometimes very simple shape and were glued into the rail chamber.

The rails are often bolted to the ground at regular intervals with rail foot mounting devices, such as a so-called Vossloh clamp. Especially when the rails are laid on sleepers, results in the mounting grid by the threshold distance. If the rail chamber filling elements are to be installed in such tracks, the mounting grid usually has to be oriented to the fastening grid of the rail, so that the necessary installation length of the rail chamber filling elements is predetermined by the rail track.

Typically, such rail chamber filling elements consist of bonded rubber granules, for example of polyurethane-bonded recycled rubber, sometimes also of vulcanized solid rubber. Although both materials are well-suited in terms of carrying capacity and stray current insulation for rail chamber filling elements and are elastic, but have a relatively high hardness and are not compressible, ie the material deviates when compressed to the side. Therefore, these rail chamber filling elements often have to be shortened when installed on site at the construction site, but this is difficult due to the hardness of this material, among other things. For this purpose, even special cutting machines have been developed, cf. DE 20 2006 007 542 ,

From the DE 102 47 063 B3 For example, a multi-part chamber filler is known in which short block-like lower moldings are used, and a plurality of the short block-like lower moldings are covered by a long rod-like upper moldings. At the rail foot securing devices, the short block-like lower moldings are omitted, resulting in a reduced load capacity of the chamber filling device in the region of the rail foot fastening devices may have. Furthermore, the use of a plurality of short block-like lower moldings makes the assembly relatively expensive. In addition, the block-like lower moldings are possibly omitted at the railroad tie, whereby gaps between the moldings and the rail sleepers may arise, which may also affect the resilience and stability along the rail. Furthermore, the waterproofing effect can be further improved. Therefore, this Kammerfülleinrichtung is in need of improvement in terms of stability, load capacity, stray current insulation and assembly.

From the DE 10 2009 030 535 B4 is a multi-part chamber filling known, in which lower Kammerfüllelemente fill the lower part of the rail chamber and covered by a substantially L-shaped cover. To adapt the system to the grid spacing of the rail track, a kind of tongue and groove system is provided. Although the grid spacing of the lower chamber filling elements is adaptable to the grid spacing of the track due to the tongue and groove system, this leads to gaps between the lower chamber filling elements, which can impair stability and create voids. Furthermore, this system requires a relatively complex mold for producing the lower chamber filling elements.

When building, in which rail tracks are provided with such Kammerfüllelementen, it often involves many kilometers of track. Therefore, there is a great cost pressure and already small improvements, which bring slight cost savings, especially in public bidding procedures, can be a decisive competitive advantage. These can be, for example, in slightly lower manufacturing, storage and / or logistics costs and, above all, in a somewhat more labor-efficient assembly. Furthermore, of course, here too the quality is in the foreground, ie it should be ensured a permanent connection to the rail, which withstands the vibrations occurring here and possibly occurring external load forces in the long term. Furthermore, a good stray current insulation is particularly important in tram rails of concern.

In addition, in some rail chamber filling systems, the pavement is rolled onto the rail chamber fill elements, where it is important that no concrete can enter cavities between the rail chamber stiffeners, particularly the rail foot fasteners.

General description of the invention

The invention is therefore based on the object to provide a rail chamber filling system with rail chamber filling elements whose grid spacing can be easily adapted to a predetermined grid spacing of a rail track and still has sufficient stability and stray current insulation and is easy to manufacture and install.

A further aspect of the object is to provide a rail chamber filling system with rail chamber filling elements, the grid spacing of which is simple adjust a given grid spacing of a rail track and thereby generates little cavities, in particular to avoid that concrete can penetrate during rolling of the pavement in such cavities.

The object of the invention is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are defined in the subclaims.

Rails, in particular tram or railroad tracks, have a rail head, a rail foot and a web connecting the rail foot and rail head. An example of this are the so-called Vignole rails. On both sides of the vertical web, in this case, the so-called rail chamber is formed between the rail foot and the rail head, which rail extends longitudinally along the rail on both sides. According to the invention, rail chamber filling elements for filling the rail chamber are already provided.

The rail chamber filling elements define a longitudinal direction in which the rail chamber filling element extends along the rail in the installed state, thereby at least partially filling the rail chamber. The rail chamber filling elements are installed longitudinally along the rail so that, when installed, a plurality of the rail chamber filling elements form a track which extends longitudinally along the rail. The term "web" is not intended to exclude that the thresholds are at least partially between the rail chamber filling elements. The Rail chamber filling elements abut each other with their respective end faces either at the thresholds or with the two longitudinally along the rail adjacent rail chamber filling elements together, so that thereby the web is formed.

The rail chamber filling element according to the invention now comprises in the longitudinal direction at least one main body and at least one compression section, wherein the main body is integrally formed with the compression section, so that the rail chamber filling element consists of at least two sections of different material in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the main body and the at least one compression portion are integrally formed, e.g. manufactured together as an integral part in a mold and inserted as a part in the rail chamber. Here, the at least one base body made of a harder elastomeric material and the compression section of a softer and more compressible material, so that when the rail chamber filling element is compressed in the longitudinal direction, at least predominantly only the compression portion is compressed and the main body due to its much greater hardness substantially retains its shape and length.

• Zunächst behält das Schienenkammerkammerfüllelement seine hohe Stabilität, die durch das härtere gummielastische Material des Grundkörpers gewährleistet wird, welcher nach wie vor den größten Teil der Länge des Schienenkammerfüllelementes ausmacht. Trotzdem kann das Schienenkammerfüllelement lokal gestaucht werden, nämlich der Kompressionsabschnitt, der nicht nur aus wesentlich weicherem, sondern auch aus einem kompressiblen Material besteht. Durch Stauchung bzw. Kompression kann die Länge des Schienenkammerfüllelements z.B. an die durch das Schienengleis vorgegebene Rasterlänge angepasst werden, wenn der Längenunterschied nicht zu groß ist, z.B. bei geringfügigen toleranzbedingten Längenunterschieden.

The manufacturing side insertion or insertion of the compression section to or in the body has several advantages:

• First, the rail chamber chamber filling element retains its high stability, due to the harder rubber-elastic Material of the body is ensured, which still accounts for the largest part of the length of the rail chamber filling element. Nevertheless, the rail chamber filling element can be locally compressed, namely the compression section, which consists not only of much softer, but also of a compressible material. By compression or compression, the length of the rail chamber filling element can for example be adapted to the predetermined by the rail track grid length, if the difference in length is not too large, eg for minor tolerance-related differences in length.

If the rail chamber filling element has a greater excess length, which can no longer be adapted by compression, a second advantage comes into play. Then, namely, the rail chamber filling element can be shortened in that only the compression section is cut, which is considerably easier due to the substantially low hardness of the material, as to trim the hard body. For this purpose, it is particularly advantageous if the compression section is arranged on at least one of the two, better still at both front ends of the base body.

As a result, the rail chamber filling elements can be laid in a particularly precise fit, in particular between the sleepers.

Less hard, particularly compressible, materials may tend to absorb water when repeatedly compressed and expanded in a wet environment. This can be caused, for example, by the trains moving on the track. Therefore, it is also advantageous to form the compression section or sections in the longitudinal direction along the rail as short as possible. It has been found that the stray current insulating effect of the rail chamber filling element therefore does not need to be insignificant or only slightly worse than in the case of the known rail chamber filling elements, which consist entirely of the harder elastomeric material, for example bound rubber granulate.

Thus, the rail chamber filling element according to the invention combines the advantages of the classic rail chamber filling elements, which consist exclusively of the harder elastomeric material, i.a. Stability and stray current isolation ability in long-term use and on the other hand, however, easier to edit, install and possibly even easier to produce depending on the shape. The rail chamber filling element according to the invention is suitable in principle for all rail chamber filling systems mentioned in the introduction to the description.

The rail chamber filling element preferably has at least one second compression section made of a material which is softer and more compressible than the at least one main body (in the simplest case the same material as the first compression section). The two compression sections are spaced along the longitudinal axis, preferably they form the two end faces of the rail chamber filling element, so that the base body is located between the two compression sections. An advantage is that the rail chamber filling element on trimmed at both ends and a greater tolerance can be compensated.

At least in the state installed on the rail, the compression sections have a substantially smaller extent in the longitudinal direction than the at least one main body. It is believed that the body should be at least 80% of the length of the rail chamber filler.

In other words, the compression portions are preferably in the form of transverse to the longitudinal direction extending thin slices. The slices should have an extension (thickness) of at most 50 mm, preferably at most 25 mm, at least in the state installed on the rail in the longitudinal direction.

In other words, the basic bodies have an elongated rod-like shape which is interrupted by one or more compression sections in the form of thin disks, or in which the compression sections are arranged in the form of thin disks, in particular on the end sides of the rod-like mold.

It may also be provided to insert further compression sections in the rail chamber filling element, so that the compression sections are arranged, for example, regularly along the longitudinal direction of the rail chamber filling element, whereby the compressibility of the rail chamber filling element is further increased and the individual compression sections still not thicker, which benefits the stability.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base body consists of bonded rubber granulate, in particular polyurethane-bonded rubber granulate made of recycled rubber (sometimes also referred to as rubber regenerated material). This material has been well-proven for rail chamber fillers in terms of stability and current insulating capability, and is also environmentally advantageous because it contains a high proportion of recycled material. But it is also possible that the body consists of vulcanized rubber.

The compression section or sections are preferably made of a foamed material, which can ensure the required compressibility. The compression sections consist in particular of foamed polyethylene.

The mass density of the softer compressible material is in particular less than 25%, preferably only about 10% of the mass density of the harder elastomeric material.

Nevertheless, due to the small length portion of the compression sections on the elongate bar-shaped rail chamber filler, the stability and the stray current isolation capability of the overall system are at least not unacceptably reduced.

In spite of this subdivision into longitudinal sections (main body, compression sections) of different materials, the rail chamber filling elements according to the invention can be produced from both materials in the same press mold in a technologically relatively simple manner. For example, Simply punched slices of Polyethlenshaum plates are inserted into the mold and then pressed the rubber granules in the mold and bound, with the rubber regenerate and the Polyethlenschaum discs firmly connect with the bound rubber granulate.

The invention is not similar or similar to one-piece rail chamber filling systems, eg of the cross-sectional shape DE 40 04 208 or EP 0 726 359 limited. Namely, the basic idea of the invention can also be combined with a two-part (or multi-part) rail chamber filling system in a particularly advantageous manner. The two-piece rail chamber filling system then includes lower rail chamber fillers and covers, with the lower rail chamber fill elements forming a first path along the rail at a first pitch. The covers form a second continuous web along the rail at a second pitch, which may be different than the pitch of the lower rail chamber fill members, and the continuous web of covers covers the web from lower rail chamber fill members. Both fill out the rail chamber together. The cross-sectional shape of the rail chamber filling elements may be similar in particular to WO 2010/000460 or WO 2010/022958 be formed, which are hereby incorporated by reference. In particular, no tongue and groove interference and associated column needed. The lower chamber filling elements, despite grid tolerance due to their compressibility and ease Beschneidbarkeit on the front pages directly, especially at large areas of the thresholds or abut each other.

Another particular combination effect arises when only the lower rail chamber filling elements are provided with the compression sections according to the invention, but the cover - as before - made entirely of the harder elastomeric material, e.g. Rubber or bonded rubber granules exist, since the grid spacing of the covers can be independent of the Schienenfußraster. As a result, stability and Stromstromisolationsfähigkeit can be further improved and remaining cavities are better closed.

Other types with other cross sections should not be excluded.

• eine Vielzahl von Schienenkammerfüllelementen welche jeweils entlang der Schienen in die Schienenkammern eingebaut sind und dabei die Schienenkammer zumindest teilweise ausfüllen und so sich längs entlang der Schienen erstreckende Bahnen bilden,
• wobei die Schienenkammerfüllelemente in Längsrichtung jeweils zumindest einen Grundkörper und zumindest einen Kompressionsabschnitt umfassen, wobei der zumindest eine Grundkörper aus dem härteren gummielastischen Material und der Kompressionsabschnitt aus einem weicheren und kompressiblen Material hergestellt ist, wobei die Schienenkammerfüllelemente in Längsrichtung etwas gestaucht sind, und dabei zumindest weit überwiegend nur der Kompressionsabschnitt komprimiert ist.

The invention further relates to the rail track in which the Kammerfüllelemente are installed, ie a rail track with two parallel rails each with a rail head, a rail and a connecting web, which each form a longitudinally along the respective rail extending rail chamber on both sides of each rail :

• a plurality of rail chamber fill members respectively installed along the rails in the rail chambers, thereby at least partially filling the rail chamber and thus forming tracks extending longitudinally along the rails,
• wherein the rail chamber filling elements in the longitudinal direction in each case at least one base body and at least one compression section, wherein the at least one base body made of the harder elastomeric material and the compression section is made of a softer and more compressible material, wherein the rail chamber filling elements are slightly compressed in the longitudinal direction, and thereby at least far predominantly only the compression section is compressed.

In particular, the rail chamber filling elements are at least partially clamped between the sleepers.

• Bereitstellen einer Vielzahl der erfindungsgemäßen Schienenkammerfüllelemente, wobei die Schienenkammerfüllelemente etwas länger sind, als es bezogen auf den vorgegebenen Rasterabstand der Schwellen notwendig wäre,
• Einsetzen der Schienenkammerfüllelemente nacheinander in einer Bahn längs entlang der Schiene jeweils beidseitig in die Schienenkammer,
• wobei je nach Ausmaß der Überlänge der Schienenkammerfüllelemente bezogen auf den vorgegebenen Rasterabstand der Schwellen wie folgt vorgegangen wird, um die Schienenkammerfüllelemente in dem vorgegebenen Rasterabstand einbauen zu können:
  1. i) Bei geringfügiger Überlänge werden die Schienenkammerfüllelemente in Längsrichtung gestaucht, wobei im Wesentlichen nur die Kompressionsabschnitte komprimiert werden, und
  2. ii) bei größerer Überlänge werden die Schienenkammerfüllelemente vor Ort unmittelbar vor dem Einbau an den stirnseitigen Kompressionsabschnitten durch Abschneiden zumindest eines Teils des jeweiligen Kompressionsabschnitts gekürzt.

The invention further relates to a method for installing the rail chamber filling elements according to the invention in a rail of a rail track, wherein the rail is mounted on sleepers at a predetermined grid spacing with rail foot fastening devices, comprising the following steps:

• Providing a plurality of the rail chamber filling elements according to the invention, wherein the rail chamber filling elements are slightly longer than would be necessary with respect to the predetermined grid spacing of the thresholds,
• Inserting the rail chamber filling elements successively in a path along the rail on both sides into the rail chamber,
• wherein, depending on the extent of the excess length of the rail chamber filling elements with respect to the predetermined grid spacing of the thresholds, the procedure is as follows in order to install the rail chamber filling elements in the predetermined grid spacing:
  1. i) With slight excess length, the rail chamber filling elements are compressed in the longitudinal direction, wherein substantially only the compression sections are compressed, and
  2. ii) at greater excess length, the rail chamber filling elements are shortened on site immediately prior to installation at the frontal compression sections by cutting off at least a portion of the respective compression section.

An excess length of up to approx. 5 mm, possibly also up to approx. 10 mm, can be compensated by compression. For a larger excess length then the or the compression sections are cut off accordingly.

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail by means of embodiments and with reference to the figures, wherein the same and similar elements are partially provided with the same reference numerals and the features of the various embodiments can be combined.

Brief description of the figures

Fig. 1

eine Frontalansicht einer Straßenbahnschiene mit zwei Schienenkammerfüllelementen einer ersten Ausführungsform,

Fig. 2

wie Fig. 1 mit in die Schienenkammern eingesetzten Schienenkammerfüllelementen,

Fig. 3

eine perspektivische Darstellung des linken Schienenkammerfüllelements aus Fig. 1 und 2,

Fig. 4

eine Schnittdarstellung einer Schiene mit einer zweiten Ausführungsform des Schienenkammerfüllelements,

Fig. 5

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Schienenkammerfüllelements aus Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

eine Schnittdarstellung einer Straßenbahnschiene mit einer weiteren Ausführungsform von Schienenkammerfüllelementen,

Fig. 7

eine Schnittdarstellung durch eine Straßenbahnschiene mit einer weiteren Ausführungsform von Schienenkammerfüllelementen,

Fig. 8

eine perspektivische Darstellung eines zweiteiligen Schienenkammerfüllsystems gemäß einer weiteren Ausführungsform der Erfindung,

Fig. 9

eine Schnittdarstellung einer Schiene mit einer weiteren Ausführungsform von Schienenkammerfüllelementen eines zweiteiligen befahrbaren Schienenkammerfüllsystems,

Fig. 10

eine Schnittdarstellung des Schienenkammerfüllsystems aus Fig. 9 an einer Stelle zwischen den Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen,

Fig. 11

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Schienenkammerfüllsystems aus Fig. 9 und 10,

Fig. 12

eine Draufsicht auf ein Schienenkammerfüllelement mit einem Kompressionsabschnitt,

Fig. 13

eine Draufsicht auf ein Schienenkammerfüllelement mit zwei Kompressionsabschnitten,

Fig. 14

eine Draufsicht auf ein Schienenkammerfüllelement mit drei Kompressionsabschnitten,

Fig. 15

eine Draufsicht auf ein Schienengleis mit Betonschwellen,

Fig. 16

das Schienengleis aus Fig. 15 mit eingesetzten unteren Schienenkammerfüllelementen entsprechend Fig. 13.

Show it:

Fig. 1

FIG. 3 is a front view of a tramway rail with two rail chamber fill members of a first embodiment; FIG.

Fig. 2

as Fig. 1 with rail chamber filling elements inserted into the rail chambers,

Fig. 3

a perspective view of the left rail chamber filling element Fig. 1 and 2 .

Fig. 4

a sectional view of a rail with a second embodiment of the rail chamber filling,

Fig. 5

a perspective view of the rail chamber filling element Fig. 4 .

Fig. 6

a sectional view of a tram track with another embodiment of rail chamber filling elements,

Fig. 7

a sectional view through a tram track with another embodiment of rail chamber filling elements,

Fig. 8

a perspective view of a two-part rail chamber filling system according to another embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 9

a sectional view of a rail with another embodiment of rail chamber filling elements of a two-part passable rail chamber filling system,

Fig. 10

a sectional view of the rail chamber filling system Fig. 9 at a location between the rail foot fixing devices,

Fig. 11

a perspective view of the rail chamber filling system FIGS. 9 and 10 .

Fig. 12

a plan view of a rail chamber filling element with a compression section,

Fig. 13

a plan view of a rail chamber filling element with two compression sections,

Fig. 14

a plan view of a rail chamber filling element with three compression sections,

Fig. 15

a top view of a rail track with concrete sleepers,

Fig. 16

the rail track Fig. 15 with inserted lower rail chamber filling elements accordingly Fig. 13 ,

Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 shows a rail 10 in the form of a tram track with a rail head 12, a rail 14 and a web 16 which connects the rail head with the rail. The rail head 12, the rail foot 14 and the web 16 form on both sides of the web 16 outwardly open rail chambers 18, which extend longitudinally along the rail.

Rail chamber filling members 20, which are formed differently in a tram rail due to the shape of the rail head 12 on the left and right of the rail, are inserted into the rail chambers 18, as in FIG Fig. 2 is apparent. The rail chamber filling elements 20 are optionally clamped or glued in the rail chamber 18. To the left and right of the rail chamber filling elements 20 may then be the road surface, or lawn or the like, as is generally known to the person skilled in the art.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the left rail chamber filling 20 Fig. 1 and 2 , This rail chamber filling element 20 according to the invention consists of a plurality of sections, in this embodiment a base body 22 and two compression sections 24, which are respectively arranged on the end faces 22a, 22b of the base body 22. The compression portions 24 and the base 22 are made together in one and the same shape, so that they firmly together are connected. Thus, all the sections together form an integral, but in said sections of different material divided rail chamber filling 20. The body 22 is made of a rubber-elastic material, in this example of polyurethane-bonded rubber granulate recycled rubber and the two compression sections are made of foamed polyethylene. Polyurethane-bound rubber granulate is an elastic but relatively hard and non-compressible material. On the other hand foamed polyethylene is a much lighter and softer and above all compressible material.

Now, if the rail chamber filling elements 20 are inserted successively along the rail 10 into the rail chamber 18, the compression sections 24 can be compressed, so that a limited length compensation is possible. With rubber-elastic material such as polyurethane-bound rubber granulate alone, this would not be possible to that extent. Because the material of the compression sections 24 is substantially softer than the material of the base body 22 and, moreover, compressible, compression of the rail chamber filling elements 20 essentially compresses only the compression sections 24, but not the base bodies 22.

Fig. 4 shows a passable rail chamber filling element 20, which extends transversely to the rail substantially further outwardly than the rail chamber filling elements 20 from Fig. 1 to 3 , The drivable rail chamber filling element 20 extends across the rail transversely to the rail Rail mount fasteners 26 also comprising a screw 28 and an annular spring 30, with which the rail 14 is fixed. The rail chamber filling element 20 off Fig. 4 For receiving the rail foot securing device 26, it has lower recesses 32, which accommodate and cover the rail foot fastening devices 26. In the area of the rail foot fastening device 26, the rail chamber filling element 20 is made Fig. 4 accordingly in the transverse direction from a rail chamber filling section 34, a bridge section 36 and a support leg 38.

Referring to Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the rail chamber filling 20 from Fig. 4 shown. Since the recesses 32 are located at the bottom and only in the area of the rail foot securing device 26, these are in Fig. 5 not to be seen. Between the Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen also the passable rail chamber filling element 20 has a solid cross-section, as can be seen on the front end side. Also in this rail chamber filling element 20 is in each case a compression portion 24 in the form of a thin disc of foamed polyethylene formed on both end faces 22a, 22b of the rod-like elongated base body 22. In this embodiment, these rail chamber filling elements 20, as they cover the rail foot securing devices 26, abut each other directly end-to-end to form a continuous continuous path.

Referring to Fig. 6 a rail chamber filling system is shown with rail chamber filling elements 20, which also reach under the rail foot 14 and enclose it. Such rail chamber filling elements 20 are used eg for cast rails 10.

Fig. 7 shows a similar rail chamber filling system as Fig. 6 but a so-called two-part rail chamber filling system in which an upper and a lower rail chamber filling element 20a, 20b are included on both sides of the rail 10. Two-part rail chamber filling systems have the advantage that only the lower rail chamber filling element 20b must orientate itself on the rail grid, whereas the upper rail chamber filling element 20a can be laid without being influenced by the rail grid.

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of an upper and lower rail chamber filling 20a, 20b, such as are used when the road surface is to be rolled up to the rail chamber filling. The lower rail chamber filling element 20b according to the invention comprises base body 22 made of polyurethane-bonded rubber granules and three compression sections 24 made of foamed polyethylene. Two compression portions 24 are attached to the front ends of the lower rail chamber filling member 20b and the third compression portion 24 in the middle. The upper rail chamber filling element 20a, also referred to as a cover hood, has a different length than the lower rail chamber filling element 20b, namely is typically significantly longer and does not require compression sections 24, since the pitch of the lower rail chamber filling elements 20b and the upper rail chamber filling elements 20a may be different and the covers are not tied to the rail grid.

The lower rail chamber fillers 20b are clamped between the sleepers 40. Subsequently, the covers 20a are laid over the web of lower rail chamber fillers 20b and the remaining cavity 33 is placed over the sill 40 and the rail foot mounting means 26, i. between the lower rail chamber filling elements 20b is closed with a small hood (not shown), as known to those skilled in the art. The cover 20a covers a plurality of lower rail chamber filling elements 20b and is made entirely of polyurethane-bonded rubber granules, since a length compensation is not absolutely necessary here. The covers 20a abut the front side directly to each other, as they cover the Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen 26. Now, the entire rail area, including the rail foot fasteners 26, is completely enclosed so that the pavement can be rolled to the rail chamber fillers 20a, 20b without the risk of e.g. Concrete between the rail chamber filling elements.

Fig. 9 shows another two-part rail chamber filling system with upper and lower rail chamber filling elements 20a, 20b, wherein the upper rail chamber filling elements 20a are formed in the form of L-shaped cover. This two-part rail chamber filling system is also passable and covers the Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen 26. For this purpose, the lower Kammerfüllelemente 20 b Recesses or cavities 32 for receiving the Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen 26. The screws 28 are mounted in a concrete sleeper 40 on which the rail 10 and the rail chamber filling elements rest.

Fig. 10 shows a cross section accordingly Fig. 9 However, between the thresholds 40, where the lower rail chamber filling elements 20b have no recesses 32, but a solid cross-section.

Referring to Fig. 11 On the right side of the rail 10, the cover 20a is removed in order to be able to represent the lower rail chamber filling element 20b. This in turn has three compression sections 24 on the two end faces of the lower rail chamber filling element 20b or in the middle thereof. Accordingly, the rail 10 is right in FIG Fig. 11 a single rail chamber filling element 20b is shown with three compression sections 24 and two main body sections, which is made as a part and is inserted as a part in the rail chamber 18. The upper rail chamber filling element 20a shown on the left of the rail 10 in the form of a covering hood covers a plurality of lower rail chamber filling elements 20b and consists entirely of polyurethane-bonded rubber granules, since a length compensation is not absolutely necessary here.

The Fig. 12 to 14 show schematic plan views of three different embodiments of the rail chamber filling elements 20 according to the invention in a one-piece rail chamber filling system or three different Embodiments of the lower rail chamber filling elements 20b according to the invention in a two-part rail chamber filling system. Fig. 12 shows a (lower) rail chamber filling member 20 / 20b with a base body 22 and a compression portion 24 at an end face 22a of the base body 22nd Fig. 13 shows a (lower) rail chamber filling element 20 / 20b with two compression sections 24 at the two front ends 22a, 22b of the main body 22nd Fig. 14 shows a (lower) rail chamber filling 20 / 20b with three compression sections 24, at the two end faces and in the middle of the rail chamber filling 20. Other divisions or arrangements for the compression sections are also conceivable. The main body 22 are elongated rod-like and have, for example, a length of about 500 mm. The compression portions are preferably formed as thin discs, as best in the Fig. 3 . 5 and 8th 5, and have an extension in the longitudinal direction of the rail chamber filling element 20 (thickness) of typically about 10 mm to a few 10 mm.

Fig. 15 shows a rail track with concrete sleepers 40, which are laid in a uniform and known grid spacing. The rail 10 is screwed on both sides with the Schienenfußbefestigungseinrichtungen 26 on the concrete sleepers 40, as known in the art.

Referring to Fig. 16 The lower rail chamber filling elements 20b according to the invention of the two-part rail chamber filling system according to the invention will now be taken piece by piece inserted between the sleepers 40 on both sides of the rail 10 in the rail chambers 18 to form a web along the rail. In the Fig. 16 shown lower rail chamber filling elements 20b correspond to those of the cross-sectional shape Fig. 8 , but in Fig. 16 only with two compression sections 24 on the end faces 22a, 22b (corresponding to Fig. 13 ). When inserting the lower rail chamber fill members 20b between the sills 40, some length tolerance, typically up to about 5 or 10 mm, can be achieved without compression of the lower rail chamber fill members 20b simply by compression, ie compression in the longitudinal direction of the compression portions 24. If larger differences in length to the grid spacing R must be compensated, for example in curves, the lower rail chamber filling 20b are shortened, but preferably the softer compression sections 24 are trimmed. Foamed polyethylene, for example, can be easily trimmed with a utility knife, which is not or only with great difficulty possible with polyurethane-bound rubber granules, ie the base body 22. For this purpose, it can also be provided to produce the layer thickness of the compression sections 24 on the factory side with a relatively large oversize, since the trimming is very simple.

Subsequently, the web of lower rail chamber filling elements 20b is covered with the covering hoods 20a, as in FIG Fig. 8 is shown, wherein the covers 20a extend over a plurality of lower rail chamber filling elements 20a as well as over the sleepers 40 and the rail foot mounting means 26. Nevertheless, since the foamed polyethylene compression sections 24 only make up a relatively small length of the entire web of lower rail chamber fill members 20b, stability and stray-current insulating capability (which is generally not as good as rubber or polyurethane-bonded rubber granules) will not be unacceptably degraded.

A further advantage of the use of integral compression sections 24 on the rail chamber filling elements 20 / 20b is that they can also compensate for temperature-related changes in length permanently, so that no gaps are formed on the end faces of the rail chamber filling elements 20 / 20b even with larger temperature fluctuations.

It is also advantageous that even if combustible material is used for the compression sections 24, the risk of fire remains to an acceptable extent, since the amount of material of the compression sections 24 is substantially lower compared to the base bodies 22.

The rail chamber filling elements 20 / 20b according to the invention can be produced relatively easily in the conventional press molds, as known to the person skilled in the art. For example, the compression portions 24 are punched out of sheets of foamed polyethylene and placed in the dies. Subsequently, the base body 22 is made by polyurethane bond of rubber granules of recycled rubber under pressure in the molds, wherein the compression sections 24 with the so bound Rubber granulate to a part, connect the rail chamber filling element 20 / 20b invention.

Claims (15)

1. A rail chamber filling element (20) for rails (10) having a rail head (12), a rail foot (14), and a connecting web (16), defining a respective rail chamber (18) on both sides of the rail, which extends longitudinally along the rail;
   wherein the rail chamber filling element (20) defines a longitudinal direction in which the rail chamber filling element extends longitudinally along the rail (10) in the installed state thereof, so that in the installed state a plurality of the rail chamber filling elements (20) form a line extending longitudinally along the rail;
   wherein the rail chamber filling element (20) comprises at least one base body (22) and at least one compression portion (24) along the longitudinal direction, wherein the at least one base body (22) is made of a harder rubber elastic material and the compression portion (24) is made of a softer and compressible material.
2. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to claim 1, which comprises at least one further compression portion (24) made of a material that is softer and compressible as compared to the at least one base body (22), which further compression portion is spaced from the compression portion (24) along the longitudinal axis, so that the material of the base body (22) is located between the compression portions (24).
3. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the compression portions (24) is disposed at a front end of the rail chamber filling element (20).
4. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rail chamber filling element (20) has one or more further compression portions (24), wherein the compression portions (24) are arranged at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the rail chamber filling element (20).
5. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein in the installed state at the rail the compression portions (24) have a significantly smaller dimension in the longitudinal direction than the base body (22).
6. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the compression portions (24) are each provided in form of a plate that extends transversely to the longitudinal direction.
7. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to claim 6, wherein in the installed state at the rail the plates each have a thickness of not more than 50 mm in the longitudinal direction.
8. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base body (22) is made of rubber or bonded rubber granules.
9. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base body (22) is made of polyurethane-bonded rubber granules.
10. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the compression portions (24) are made of a foamed plastic.
11. The rail chamber filling element (20) according to claim 10, wherein the compression portions (24) are made of foamed polyethylene.
12. A two-part rail chamber filling system, comprising lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) and covering caps (20a), wherein the lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) of the two-part rail chamber filling system are consist of the rail chamber filling elements according to any of the preceding claims;
    wherein the lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) form a first line longitudinally along the rail (10) with a first interval, and the covering caps (20a) form a second line longitudinally along the rail (10) with a second interval, wherein the line of covering caps (20a) covers the line of lower rail chamber filling elements (20b).
13. A rail track with two parallel rails (10), each one having a rail head (12), a rail foot (14), and a connecting web (16) defining a respective rail chamber (18) on both sides of the rail, which extends longitudinally along the rail, comprising:

    a plurality of rail chamber filling elements (20) which are installed in the rail chambers (18) along the rails (10) thereby forming lines extending longitudinally along the rails (10);

    wherein the rail chamber filling elements (20) comprise at least one base body (22) and at least one compression portion (24) along the longitudinal direction, wherein the at least one base body (22) is made of a harder rubber elastic material and the compression portion (24) is made of a softer and compressible material.
14. The rail track according to claim 13, comprising a two-part rail chamber filling system in which the rail chamber filling elements (20) are formed as lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) and which further comprises covering caps (20a);
    wherein the lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) are installed between the sleepers (40) and form a first line longitudinally along the rail (10) with a first interval predetermined by the sleepers, and wherein the covering caps (20a) form a second line longitudinally along the rail (10) with a second interval, wherein the line of covering caps (20a) covers the line of lower rail chamber filling elements (20b) and the rail foot fastening means (26).
15. A method for installing rail chamber filling elements (20) in a rail (10) of a rail track, wherein the rail (10) is fixed to the ground in a predetermined interval by means of rail foot fastening means (26), comprising the steps of:

    providing a plurality of rail chamber filling elements (20) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the rail chamber filling elements (20) are slightly longer than would be necessary based on the predetermined interval of the rail;

    inserting the rail chamber filling elements (20) one after another into the respective rail chamber (18) to form a line longitudinally along the rail (10) on both sides thereof;

    wherein depending on the extent of excess length of the rail chamber filling elements (20) in relation to the predetermined interval of the rail, for being able to install the rail chamber filling elements (20) in the predetermined interval the method comprises:

    i) in case of a slight excess length, the rail chamber filling elements (20) are compressed in the longitudinal direction, whereby the compression portions (24) are compressed; and

    ii) in case of a greater excess length, the rail chamber filling elements (20) are shortened on site at the compression portions (24) by cutting at least part of the respective compression portion (24), prior to the installation.

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