DE20106483U1 - Rail lubrication system for track-bound vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Rail lubrication system for rail-bound vehicles

Description Genus

The innovation concerns a rail lubrication system for rail-bound vehicles.

State of the art

Rail lubrication systems are used to reduce wear on wheel flanges and rails when driving through switches and curves and also to significantly reduce annoying friction vibrations and thus noise pollution in the surrounding area. For this reason, such rail lubrication systems are used to lubricate the running edges, leading edges and, if necessary, the rail lubrication head. So-called electronic rail lubrication systems are already known, which enable economical, effective and environmentally friendly lubrication. Such systems essentially have three components, namely a system core with central process control, for example storage-

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program-controlled control unit, lubrication strips or lubrication channels and a sensor station. The latter registers the approaching rail vehicle and reports it to the central process control in the system core, which triggers the lubrication process. The lubricant is transported through high-pressure hoses to the lubrication strips or lubrication channels (in the case of grooved rails). The escaping lubricant, which is usually very consistent, is brought between the wheel flange and the running edge. The wheel flange as it passes by picks up the lubricant, rolls it along the running edge and thus ensures that it is distributed in the wear zones. The sensor station recognises the vehicle and enables the individual adjustment of the lubricant quantity, lubricant interval and number of lubrications per vehicle unit to the local requirements. The lubricant is a highly consistent, non-absorbent material that enables economical and largely pump-accurate dosing between the wheel edge and the rail. This means that the track bed and vehicle remain largely free of excess grease that has been thrown away. In addition, the grease supply is used efficiently.

The system core can either be placed in a housing outside the track or installed in a drive-over earth box sunk in the middle of the track. The lubricant is kept in a lubricant container that allows for easy and clean refilling. An empty lubricant container is replaced by a filled lubricant container,

which is screwed onto a threaded connection socket. The lubricant container is divided by a membrane. The space between the membrane and the outer wall is filled with nitrogen, whereby the container pressure can be, for example, eight to nine bar when the container is full and two bar when the lubricant container is empty. When the filled lubricant container is screwed onto the thread of the connection socket, a shut-off body of a check valve is moved to the open position so that the lubricant, under the influence of the gas pressure acting on the membrane, is pressed into the lubricant supply line to a pump that is usually designed as a gear pump and which cannot suck in the lubricant due to its high viscosity. The pump feeds the lubricant into a flow divider and from there via high-pressure hoses to the lubricant strips or, in the case of grooved rails, to holes in the rail track. The geometric flow divider ensures equal and consistent distribution between the individual high-pressure hoses. The pump pressure can be, for example, 150 bar. If there is excess pressure, for example if the holes in the lubricant strips or the grooved rails are closed, a pressure relief valve opens. This causes the pump to return the lubricant to the lubricant container. The programmable logic controller monitors the entire system and switches the pump on for a specified time when the corresponding signals are activated by the sensor station.

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Rail lubrication systems of the type described above are visited from time to time by maintenance personnel who check the lubricant containers for their fill level and, if necessary, replace them with a full lubricant container. This is based on experience, although it can happen that a lubricant container has not yet been emptied or has long since been emptied, so that either the maintenance process was unnecessary or it should have taken place much earlier. In heavily used systems, the lubricant container must therefore be changed frequently, which is correspondingly labor-intensive and therefore labor-cost-intensive. In addition, there is no remote control over the condition of the lubricant container in question.

Task

The innovation is based on the task of creating a lubricant system for rail-bound vehicles with at least one closed lubricant container containing a supply of lubricant, whereby a significantly better monitoring of the lubricant removal, the necessary maintenance work and the filling state of the lubricant container in question should be provided.

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Solution

The problem is solved by the features set out in claims 1 to 4 .

Some advantages

In the embodiment according to claim 1, the valve of the lubricant container filled with lubricant is not immediately controlled to the open position after it is connected to the lubricant supply - as in the prior art - but remains in its closed position sealing the lubricant container. Only when lubricant is required is the valve of the lubricant container in question controlled to the open position, and only for as long as lubricant is being removed from the lubricant container. After that, the shut-off body of the valve of the lubricant container in question is returned to its shut-off position so that no more lubricant can get from it into the lubricant supply line.

A particular advantage is that the process control system uses a drive to control the valve in the open position for at least the duration of the pump delivery. The closing of the check valve, i.e. the return of the valve's shut-off body to its closed position, is carried out by the pressurized

standing lubricant itself and/or by a spring element acting on the shut-off body of the check valve, which preferably always loads the shut-off body in the closed position with the corresponding preload.

The solution according to the dependent claim 2 has all the advantages described above and, in addition, has the advantage that not only is the opening control of the shut-off body of the valve of the lubricant container in question carried out by a controllable motor drive, but that the check valve is held in the open position by this motor drive at least for the duration of the pump delivery and can then be controlled back into the shut-off position via the motor drive.

In the solution according to dependent claim 3, the gas pressure acting on the lubricant conveys the lubricant directly to the points of use without a pump. For this purpose, for example, a high-pressure gas can be used which acts directly on the lubricant via a membrane and, after the check valve of the relevant lubricant container has been opened, conveys the lubricant directly to the points of use on the rail track via the supply line.

The solution according to the dependent claim 4 differs from the previously described embodiments in that in this case the shut-off body of the valve can be controlled manually, for example via a lever, into the open position. The valve can be controlled via the fluid pressure acting on the lubricant, or also via a manual adjustment element. This solution can be used in addition to the solutions described in claims 1 to 3. In this way, in the event of a fault in the process control, it would be possible to control the shut-off body of the relevant check valve of the associated lubricant container at least into the open position if necessary. If this is desired, the shut-off body can also be manually controlled into the closed position.

All of the solutions according to the invention have the particular advantage that, if necessary, the rail lubrication system can be equipped with numerous lubricant containers that can be emptied as needed. In this way, the safety of the rail lubrication system is significantly increased, the intervals between entering the system to replace lubricant containers are reduced and maintenance work is thus made considerably easier, so that, if necessary, such a rail lubrication system can operate for a long time without maintenance, even in places that are difficult to access or in extreme weather conditions.

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Further inventive embodiments

Further advantageous embodiments of the innovation are described in claims 5 to 19 .

In the embodiment according to claim 5 , a sensor, primarily a pressure sensor or flow sensor, is provided, by means of which it is possible to detect the removal of lubricant from the relevant lubricant container and, for example, to report the emptying of the associated lubricant container to the central process control. This can then trigger an acoustic or optical signal if necessary and also remotely indicate the emptying of the lubricant container, so that only then does a corresponding maintenance service need to deal with the relevant rail lubrication system.

A rail lubrication system according to claim 6 is particularly advantageous. In this system, several lubricant containers are provided in series and/or in parallel, which can be controlled and operated as in the embodiments according to the dependent claims 1 to 4. Preferably, each lubricant container is assigned a sensor, for example a pressure sensor, which transmits the pressure values to the central process control, which can control the lubricant containers either in sequence or in a predetermined order as required via

the conveying device provided for this purpose, for example via a central displacement pump, e.g. gear pump, or also by means of the pressure medium pressure (gas pressure) present in each container.

In the embodiment according to claim 7, a further line shut-off valve is arranged which, after the associated lubricant container has been emptied, shuts off the relevant line section leading to the lubricant container, so that when a new, filled lubricant container is switched on and emptied, lubricant cannot be forced back from this into the emptied lubricant container.

Another advantageous embodiment is described in claim 8. Here, the shut-off body of the check valve is controlled in the open and shut-off position by an actuating member whose length is adjustable, primarily by a spindle. However, this also means that although the shut-off body is controlled to open by the actuating member, the shut-off body is also moved into the shut-off position by the fluid pressure in the relevant lubricant container and/or additionally by a spring element, following the receding spindle-like actuating member, until it rests sealingly on the valve seat.

Preferably, according to claim 9, the motor drive which actuates the relevant valve of the lubricant container is designed as a short-circuit-proof low-voltage motor of, for example, 24 V.

An advantageous embodiment is described in claim 10.

If an embodiment according to claim 11 is selected, a particularly compact construction results.

The embodiments according to claim 12 and claim 13 also contribute to this.

Claim 14 describes an advantageous solution according to the innovation.

In the embodiment shown in claim 15 , the sensor, primarily a pressure sensor, is arranged on the side of the connection socket for the lubricant container and is connected via a channel to the space between the valve of the lubricant container and the line shut-off valve. This means that, for example, measurements are taken in a space that is directly connected to the lubricant container on the downstream side, so that the emptying of a lubricant container can be reported quickly via the sensor.

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In the embodiment according to claim 16, the emptying of one or more lubricant containers is indicated acoustically and/or optically, preferably at a switching point of the process control.

In the embodiment according to claim 17, the process control is assigned an interface, in particular an interface with which the signals to be retrieved from the rail lubrication system can be transmitted remotely.

According to claim 18, the signals can be transmitted electrically and/or electronically and/or digitally and/or wirelessly.

An embodiment according to claim 19 is particularly advantageous. This embodiment generally protects a system with one or more lubricant containers that are closed and each contain the desired amount of lubricant, and that initially remain in their closed position even after being coupled to the rail lubrication system. This means that the check valve is not pushed into the open position, for example when unscrewed, as in the prior art. Rather, in the solution according to the invention, lubricant is only removed from the otherwise closed lubricant container when required, and after removal, the valve in question, in particular a check valve, is returned to its

The invention therefore also protects systems in which closed lubricant containers are used which, even after they have been arranged, i.e. connected to the rail lubrication system, remain in the shut-off position with their associated valve until the valve is controlled into the open position either manually or by the process control, but is then brought back into the shut-off position after the lubricant has been removed.

The drawing shows the innovation - partly schematically. It shows:

Fig. 1 is a functional diagram of a rail lubrication system equipped with three lubricant containers;

Fig. 2 shows a detail from Fig. 1, namely a lubricant container with a check valve and line shut-off valve in the shut-off position, partly in elevation, partly in longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 shows the detail shown in Fig. 2, although both valves are in the open position;

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Fig. 4 shows a detail from Figs. 2 and 3 on a larger scale, partly in longitudinal section, partly in elevation.

The reference number 1 designates a vehicle that travels on tracks 2, for example a train. A sensor station 3 registers the approaching rail vehicle 1 and reports it to a central process control 4, which can be designed, for example, as a stored program-controlled storage unit (PLC).

»The central process control 4 then controls the drive of a pump 5, preferably designed as a gear pump, which conveys the lubricant fed to it via the lubricant supply line 7 via a pressure feed line 6 to a geometric flow divider 8, from which four lubricant lines 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13, 14, 15 and 16 lead to the individual rails of the tracks 2 in the embodiment shown, which deliver the lubricant to a lubricant strip 17, 18 each. The escaping lubricant is placed exactly between the wheel flange and the running edge. The wheel flange running past absorbs the lubricant (not shown) and rolls it along the running edge, thus ensuring distribution in the wear zones, for example on curves. Due to the special geometry of its discharge openings, the escaping lubricant rises up the track, so that, particularly with flat wheel flanges, the

Space between the running edge and the wheel flange is filled. For high wheel flanges, a lubrication strip with a nose can be used. In addition to the running edge lubrication, partial lubrication of the rail head can also be carried out with appropriate quantity control. In grooved tracks, lubrication channels are installed on the rail head using a special drilling technique, the outlet openings of which can be individually placed on the running edge, leading edge or on the rail head. All lubrication channels are preferably directed towards the middle of the track. The lubricant lines, designed as hose lines, are led from the leading edge to the system core, e.g. to one in the ground box. The lubricant lines 9 to 16 can be designed as high-pressure hoses, since lubricant pressures of up to 280 bar can occur in these lines.

In the embodiment shown, three lubricant containers 19, 20 and 21 are connected parallel to one another to the lubricant supply line 7, from which the lubricant can be fed. The lubricant containers 19, 20 and 21 each have a membrane 22, 23 and 24 inside which envelops the grease-like lubricant. In the space between the membrane and the outer shell, which is preferably made of steel, a pressurized gas, preferably nitrogen at 6 to 9 bar, for example, is arranged, which can be filled via a filling nipple 25, 26 and 27 at a filling station.

As can be seen in particular from Fig. 2, 3 and 4, the lubricant supply line opens laterally into a valve housing 28 via corresponding pipe sockets, which is provided with a connection bush 29 on its upper longitudinal section seen in the drawing, which is detachably connected to the valve housing 28 via a plurality of screws 30 and sealed by a seal 31.

A flange 32 is sealed to the valve housing 28 at the end section opposite the connection socket 29 via a seal 33 and is detachably attached by means of a plurality of screws 34.

,S.ek35 is a drive designed as a short-circuit-proof low-voltage motor, which has an actuating element 36 designed as a screw spindle with a screw nut. In this way, the screw spindle 36 can be moved in the X or Y direction in order to control a shut-off body 37 with a shaped end section 38 in the open position (Fig. 3) when moving in the Y direction.

If the spindle is moved in direction X, it leaves the stroke of the shut-off body 37, so that the latter can move back against its valve seat 39. In the embodiment shown, this occurs under the influence of the pressing lubricant, which in turn is pressed by the gas acting on the respective membrane 22, 23 and 24. It is

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but it is also possible to connect the actuating member 36 to the shut-off body 37 in one piece, either functionally or materially, in order to control it via the motor drive 35 in the X or Y direction, i.e. in the open position and in the shut-off position.

As can be seen in particular from Fig. 4, a shut-off body 40 of a line shut-off valve, designated overall by the reference numeral 41, is arranged on the screw spindle 36, the shut-off body 40 being arranged so as to be displaceable in the direction X against the restoring force of a compression spring element 42. The compression spring element 42 is supported against a cup-shaped abutment 43 which is arranged centrally in the valve housing 28 via a snap ring 44. The compression spring element 42 is installed under prestress. ,, &igr; : _; ■·..,.,·.

The shut-off body 40 of the line shut-off valve 41 can be additionally sealed by a seal 45 against an annular valve seat 46 which is arranged in the valve housing 28 in a sealed manner by a seal 47.

The shut-off body 40 is centrally penetrated by the actuating member 36.

A pipe section 49 opens into the space 48 between the connection socket 29 and the valve seat 46 at the side, to which a pressure sensor 50 is assigned, which is able to measure the pressure prevailing in the space 48 and to transmit it via electrical lines (not shown) to the central process control 4, so that

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This detects when no more lubricant is being supplied from the associated lubricant container 19 or 20 or 21, i.e. when the lubricant container in question has been emptied.

The restoring force of the compression spring element 42 is dimensioned such that it is always held in the open position under the influence of the lubricant being pressed out of the still-filled lubricant container 19, 20 or 21 when the relevant shut-off body 37 of the check valve has been controlled into the open position via the actuating member 36 (Fig. 3).

If the shut-off body 37 is moved into the closed position when the lubricant container is full or partially full (Fig. 2), the shut-off body 40 of the line shut-off valve 41 also moves into its closed position (Fig. 2 and 4) due to the restoring force of the spring element 42. However, this position is also assumed when a lubricant container has been emptied, since then no pressure acts on the shut-off body 40, even when the shut-off body 37 is open.

If a lubricant container has been emptied and this has been reported to the central process control 4, the latter decides which lubricant container (19, 20, 21) should then be emptied as soon as a rail vehicle 1 approaches. As a rule, the arrangement will be such that the lubricant containers 19, 20 and 21 are emptied one after the other.

In order to prevent lubricant from being forced back into the emptied lubricant container from a full lubricant container when the associated check valve is opened after emptying a lubricant container 19, 20, 21, the shut-off body 40 is in the closed position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, i.e. the lubricant supply line 7 is shut off in the direction of the emptied lubricant container.

The emptying of one or more of the lubricant containers (19, 20, 21) can be indicated acoustically and/or optically on the central process control 4 or remotely so that appropriate measures are taken.

The lubricant containers (19, 20, 21) themselves are screwed into the internal thread 52 of the connection socket 29 via a connection nipple 51 with an external thread and are thereby coupled. The shut-off bodies 37 of the check valves remain on the relevant valve seat 46, i.e. in their closed position. Only when lubricant is required is the lubricant container 19, 20, 21 controlled as required via the process control 4, whereby the pump 5 continues to pump the lubricant fed to it, i.e., pressed in, and thus practically does not suck in, but continues to press.

At 53 a channel is connected via which a further query is possible, which can also be fed to the process control 4.

The queries or query results shown at 54 and 55 are displayed after suitable transmission to or in the process control 4.

The innovative design ensures that lubricant is only fed from a lubricant container into the lubricant supply line 7 when the relevant check valve is controlled to be open via the process control.

The gear pump 5 could also be omitted in a modified embodiment. The additional delivery could be carried out by a correspondingly high gas pressure acting on the respective membrane 22, 23 or 24, in that after the relevant check valve is opened, the corresponding amount of lubricant is delivered via the lubricant supply line directly into the pressure delivery line 6, so that the lubricant supply line 7 and the pressure delivery line represent a line system.

In Fig. 1, 56 designates a pressure relief valve which is connected to a bypass line 57. This ensures that if the pressure feed line 6 or one of the lines 9 to 16 becomes blocked, the corresponding amount of lubricant is fed back into the lubricant feed line 7.

The features described in the claims and in the description as well as those evident from the drawings may be essential for the realisation of the innovation both individually and in any combination.

List of reference symbols

1 vehicle, rail vehicle

2 tracks, rails

3 Sensor station

4 Process control 5 Pump, feed pump 6 Pressure conveying line 7 Supply line, lubricant supply line 8th Flow divider 9 Lubricant line 10 » 11 1) 12 If 13 Jl 14 The 15 JI 16 Jl 17 Lubricant bar 18

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19 Lubricant container

20 M 21 H 22 membrane 23 » 24 JI 25 Filling nipple 26 H 27 &eegr; 28 Valve housing 29 Connection socket 30 screw 31 poetry 32 flange

33 Seal

34 Screw

35 Drive, Motor, Spindle Motor, Linear Drive

36 Screw spindle, actuating element

37 Shut-off bodies

38 End section

39 Valve seat

40 shut-off bodies

5 :

41 Line shut-off valve

42 Compression spring element

43 Abutment, cup-shaped

44 Snap ring

45 Seal

46 Valve seat, annular

47 Seal

48 Room

49 Pipe section

50 Pressure sensor

51 Connection nipple

52 internal thread

53 Channel

54 Interrogator 55

56 Pressure relief valve

57 Bypass line

X Stroke direction of the actuator 36, the valve spindle

Claims (19)

1. Rail lubrication system for rail-bound vehicles ( 1 ) with at least one closed lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) as a lubricant reservoir, which contains a supply of lubricant, wherein the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has a removal opening which can be closed by a valve ( 37 , 39 ) and to which a lubricant supply line ( 7 ) is to be connected when the valve ( 37 , 39 ) is kept closed, which leads to a feed pump ( 5 ) which feeds the lubricant which can be fed to it from the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) by gas pressure acting on the lubricant in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), optionally via a flow divider ( 8 ) or directly to the rail ( 2 ) via several lubricant lines ( 9-16 ) and, if necessary, via a Lubricant bar ( 17 , 18 ), with a sensor station ( 3 ) which reports the approach of the vehicle ( 1 ) to a process control ( 4 ), in particular to a stored program controlled control unit (PLC), which switches the motor of the pump on and off as required, wherein the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is assigned a motor drive ( 35 ) which can be controlled by the control ( 4 ) and which controls the valve ( 37 , 39 ) which is kept closed in the rest state in the open position at least for the duration of the pump delivery, while the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the check valve of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is controlled in the closed position by the pressure medium pressure in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and/or by the The restoring force of a spring element acting on the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the check valve can be controlled in the closed position. 2. Rail lubrication system for rail-bound vehicles ( 1 ) with at least one closed lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) as a lubricant reservoir, which contains a supply of lubricant, wherein the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has a removal opening which can be closed by a valve ( 37 , 39 ) and to which a lubricant supply line ( 7 ) is to be connected when the valve ( 37 , 39 ) is kept closed, which leads to a feed pump ( 5 ) which feeds the lubricant which can be fed to it from the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) by gas pressure acting on the lubricant in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), if necessary via a flow divider ( 8 ) or directly to the rail ( 2 ) via several lubricant lines ( 9-16 ) or as required and a lubricant bar ( 17 , 18 ), with a sensor station ( 3 ) which reports the approach of the vehicle ( 1 ) to a process control ( 4 ), in particular to a stored program controlled control unit (PLC), which switches the motor of the pump ( 5 ) on and off as required, wherein the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is assigned a motor drive ( 35 ) which can be controlled by the control ( 4 ) and which controls the valve ( 37 , 39 ) which is kept closed in the rest state into the open position at least for the duration of the pump delivery and then also into the closed position again. 3. Rail lubrication system for track-bound vehicles ( 1 ) with at least one closed lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) as a lubricant reservoir, which contains a supply of lubricant, wherein the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has a removal opening which can be closed by a valve ( 37 , 39 ) and to which a lubricant supply line ( 7 ) can be connected when the valve ( 37 , 39 ) is kept closed, wherein lubricant can be fed by the gas pressure acting on it in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), optionally via a flow plate ( 8 ) or directly to the rail ( 2 ) via several lubricant lines ( 9-16 ) and, if necessary, via a lubricant strip ( 17 , 18 ), with a sensor station ( 3 ) which detects the approach of the vehicle ( 1 ) to a central process control ( 4 ), in particular to a stored program controlled control unit (PLC), which, if required, controls the valve ( 37 ) of the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) via an actuating member ( 36 ) at least into the open position, while the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the check valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) can be controlled into the closed position by the fluid pressure present in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) following a corresponding control command to the actuating member ( 36 ) and/or by the restoring force of a spring element acting on the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the check valve ( 37 , 39 ). 4. Rail lubrication system for rail-bound vehicles ( 1 ) with at least one closed lubricant container as lubricant reservoir ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) which contains a supply of lubricant, wherein the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has a removal opening which can be closed by a valve ( 37 , 39 ) and to which a lubricant supply line ( 7 ) is to be connected when the valve ( 37 , 39 ) is kept closed, which leads, for example, to a feed pump ( 5 ) which supplies the lubricant which can be supplied to it from the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) by gas pressure acting on the lubricant in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), optionally via a flow divider ( 8 ) or directly to the rail ( 2 ), for example via several lubricant lines ( 9-16 ) and if necessary, via a lubricant bar ( 17 , 18 ), with a sensor station ( 3 ) which reports the approach of the vehicle ( 1 ) to a central, stored program controlled control unit ( 4 ) (PLC), with an actuating element which can be operated manually or by remote control and which acts on the check valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and controls this at least in the open position, while the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the check valve can be moved into the closed position by the fluid pressure in the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and/or by a spring element acting on the shut-off body ( 37 ). 5. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that a sensor, for example a pressure sensor ( 50 ), a flow sensor or the like, is assigned to the respective lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), which reports to the process control ( 4 ) that the respective lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has been emptied. 6. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that several lubricant containers ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) connected in parallel and/or in series are provided, which are connected to the same lubricant supply line ( 7 ), each lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) being assigned a sensor ( 50 ) and that the process control ( 4 ) controls the lubricant containers ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) as required and allows them to be emptied one after the other or in a predeterminable order. 7. Rail lubrication system according to claim 6, characterized in that each lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ), in addition to the valve ( 37 , 39 ) that can be opened and closed by a drive, is assigned a further line shut-off valve ( 40 , 41 ) on the downstream side, and that the lubricant supply line ( 7 ) to the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is shut off from the lubricant container in question both after the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has been emptied of lubricant and after the valve ( 37 , 39 ) assigned to the lubricant container in question ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has been closed. 8. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) can be controlled in the open and shut-off position by an actuating member ( 36 ) which is adjustable in its axial direction (XY) by a motor, for example by a screw spindle. 9. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the motor assigned to the drive ( 35 ) of the valve ( 37 , 39 ) assigned to each lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is designed as a short-circuit-proof low-voltage motor. 10. Rail lubrication system according to claim 9, characterized in that the relevant drive ( 35 ) is designed as a spindle motor and controls the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the relevant lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) in the open and/or closed position (XY) via an actuating member, e.g. via a threaded spindle ( 36 ). 11. Rail lubrication system according to claim 7 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the line shut-off valve ( 41 ) has a shut-off body ( 40 ) which is adjustable on the actuating member ( 36 ) against the restoring force of a compression spring element ( 42 ) and which can be brought into sealing contact against a valve seat ( 46 ) which is opposite a connection socket ( 29 ) for the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) in which the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) is located. 12. Rail lubrication system according to claim 7 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the actuating member ( 36 ) for the shut-off body ( 37 ) of the valve ( 37 , 39 ), the shut-off body ( 40 ) of the line shut-off valve ( 41 ) and the actuating member ( 36 ) are arranged coaxially and coaxially to the connection socket ( 29 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ). 13. Rail lubrication system according to claim 7 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the line shut-off valve ( 41 ) is located between the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and the motor drive ( 35 ) for the actuating member ( 36 ). 14. Rail lubrication system according to claim 7 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the lubricant supply line ( 7 ) opens laterally in the region of the line shut-off valve ( 41 ) into a valve housing ( 28 ) at an angle, preferably 90 degrees, to the longitudinal axis running through the actuating member ( 36 ). 15. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the sensor ( 50 ) is arranged laterally on the connection socket ( 29 ) for the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and is connected via a channel to a space which lies between the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) and the line shut-off valve ( 41 ). 16. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, characterized in that the emptying of one or more of the lubricant containers ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) can be indicated acoustically and/or optically. 17. Rail lubrication system according to claim 16, characterized in that the process control ( 4 ) is assigned an interface with which the signals to be retrieved from the rail lubrication system can be retrieved remotely. 18. Rail lubrication system according to claim 17, characterized in that the signals are transmittable electrically and/or electronically and/or digitally and/or by radio. 19. Rail lubrication system according to claim 1 or one of the subsequent claims, with one or more lubricant containers ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) as lubricant reservoirs, which have in their interior a fillable chamber under gas pressure, which is separated from the lubricant by a flexible body or a membrane, with a connection nipple ( 51 ) which has a suitable coupling device, for example a thread or the like, by means of which the respective lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) can be coupled to an associated connection socket ( 29 ) to which a lubricant supply line ( 7 ) is associated, wherein the respective lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) has a check valve ( 37 , 39 ) which is loaded by the lubricant under pressure in the closed position, characterized in that the valve ( 37 , 39 ) of the respective lubricant container ( 19 , 20 , 21 ) remains in the closed position even after it has been coupled to the connecting socket ( 29 ) and can only be controlled into the open position when required for the purpose of removing lubricant and can then be returned to the shut-off position.