HK1221201B - Method and devices for controlling a correct re-railing of a guided vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Method and device for monitoring the correct rerailing of a guided vehicle

The invention relates to a method and a system for monitoring the correct re-tracking of a guided vehicle and to a dedicated electrical switch for implementing this function.

In particular, the invention relates to detecting and monitoring whether the rerailing of the guide member of the guided vehicle is correct or not.

By "guided vehicle" is meant a public transport means, such as a bus, a trolley bus, a tram, a subway, a train or a train consist or the like, as well as a load transport means, such as an overhead crane, the safety of which is a paramount factor and which is guided in particular by a single track. This single track is used as a guide member for guiding the guided vehicle, which normally abuts against the track and follows the path of the track as the guided vehicle moves. The guide member enables, for example, a guide system to guide a steering shaft of the guided vehicle, for example provided with road wheels, along a path defined by the track.

A first known variant of a guide member comprises a pair of guide wheels, also called guide rollers, each provided with a rim and arranged in a V-shape, i.e. the rolling planes of the wheels are inclined with respect to each other to form a V-shape, the rotation axis of one of the wheels forming a lobe with the rotation axis of the other of the wheels, so as to clamp a rail in a jaw formed by the rollers equipped with the respective rim. Such guide members are described, for example, in documents US 7228803B 2, US 6029579 a1, US 6363860B 1 and WO2008/074942 a 1. Such a guide member ensures safety of guidance of the vehicle until the vehicle stops. For example, material damage due to loss of guidance and ensuring the personal safety of the vehicle occupants and personnel in public transport situations can be prevented.

The working principle of a guided vehicle comprising such a guide member is explained by means of fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 shows a pair of rollers 1 and 2 arranged in a V-shape in a guide member known to the person skilled in the art. The pair of rollers 1 and 2 grips the track 3 in contact therewith and thus forces the guide member to follow the path defined by the track 3, thus forcing the steering shaft of the guided vehicle cooperating with said guide member to follow said path. The rail 3 comprises in particular a base plate 4 fixed to the ground 5 and a web 6 supporting a rail head 7, wherein the roller 1 and the roller 2 rest on the rail head 7 by means of a tread 9. The tread 9 of each roller 1, 2 of the same pair of guide rollers is thus in contact with the surface of the rail head 7, which is referred to as the rail surface 8 and is symmetrically distributed on each side of the upper part of the rail head 7. Each roller also comprises a flange 10, the normal position of which extends below the head 7 of the rail 3, which enables free gripping of the head 7. When the vehicle is moving, the roller 1 and the roller 2 are in contact with the rail head 7 and their respective rims 10 surround the latter in the normal mode without contact and close to the web 6 below the latter. Since the distance between the lower ends 201, 101 of the two rims 10 surrounding the rail head 7 is smaller than the width C of the rail head 7, the rail head 7 can only be pulled out of the grip of the rollers 1, 2 or of the area between the tread 9 and the rim 10 if the roller connection angle 11, i.e. the angle subtended by the sector formed by the axis of rotation of each of the rollers 1, 2 in the roller pair (this angle being divided by the plane of symmetry of the roller pair in the V-shaped arrangement), is increased and/or if the outer edge of the rim 10 and/or the rail head 7 is deformed.

The correct orientation of the vehicle is thus obtained by coupling the roller pairs in the guide member with the vehicle steering shaft. If the rollers are properly gripping the track, the vehicle follows the path defined by the track. Conversely, if the rollers leave their normal or nominal working position, for example if the head of the rail moves outside the area between the wheel face and the wheel rim, the vehicle will risk leaving the initial path established by the track (see fig. 2). In fact, once the rollers no longer follow the direction forced by the guide rails, they move to the right or left of the track, thus deviating the vehicle from the intended path. This scenario is described as a loss of vehicle guidance. In other words, the correct position of the roller is a necessary condition to ensure that the vehicle is turning correctly.

A second variant of the guide member is described in document WO2008/074942 a1, which comprises a pair of rollers gripping the rail head as described above, however with the difference that the rollers do not have a rim. In this case, the rim of the wheel is replaced by a rim coupled to the coupling seat of the roller, which is also protected by a safety sheath. This arrangement provides greater rigidity which increases the force required to separate the roller from the track.

Regardless of the variations in the guide members involved, it is possible for the railhead to move out of the roller grip. This is for example the following case: a vertical upward pulling force is exerted on the roller or on the fixing of the roller, so that the deformation of the parts (the flange and/or the rail head and/or the roller axle) results in the distance between the flanges exceeding the width of the rail head. In this case the roller no longer grips the track and is located outside the track, as shown in fig. 2, the reference signs used in fig. 1 are also used in fig. 2.

In addition, in the workshop, the vehicle is usually lifted for maintenance work. For this purpose, at least one area in the workshop, called the lifting area, is equipped with a guide rail 3 without a rail head for lifting the vehicle (see the web 61 of the rail 3 in fig. 3). The rail is characterized in that its upper part has a width C which is smaller than the distance between the two rim lower ends 101 and 201 of the guide member rollers. The guide member is thus freed from the rail clamping force due to the geometry of the rail head and the rollers, so that the vehicle can be lifted in the vertical direction for maintenance work without the rail becoming embedded between the guide rollers. After the maintenance work is completed, the vehicle returns to its path and the rollers return to the position shown in fig. 3. At the exit of the lifting zone, the rail has again the shape of said rail head 7 after the transition zone.

In the transition zone, it is necessary to check whether the guide members of the guided vehicle are correctly re-trained. In fact, the guided vehicle should be monitored to ensure proper rerailing of the rollers in each of its guide members as it descends into its track and moves into the transition zone. If the railhead of the track is not properly engaged between the roller pair, the guide member will no longer be able to guide the vehicle, with serious consequences for hardware, personnel and passengers.

Checking the correct rerailing of the guide rollers of the guided vehicle is therefore an important step in ensuring the safe operation of said guided vehicle. This check is always performed manually, even for automatic vehicles. While prior devices and methods have been able to detect changes from on-track to off-track conditions of guided vehicles (e.g., WO 2011/012176) and the presence of a track (e.g., WO 2010/102676 or US 2010/0065692), these devices and methods are based on onboard hardware that has to be mounted on each pair of guide rollers, which can quickly increase untimely failures and increase installation and maintenance costs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, safe and reliable automated system for checking the correct rerailing of the rollers on a rail, in particular in a workshop, irrespective of the presence or absence of the railhead on said rail.

The invention relates in particular to an electrical switch intended to cooperate with a guide member of a vehicle guided by at least one guide rail, said switch comprising, for example, a first contact and a second contact, said switch being characterized in having two states, respectively a first state or initial state and a second state or temporary state, said switch being switched off in one of the states, i.e. it is configured to prevent the flow of current in an electrical circuit, for example said contacts of said switch are electrically isolated from each other and can form an open circuit, and in the other state said switch is switched on, i.e. it is configured to reestablish the flow of said current in said electrical circuit, for example said contacts are electrically connected to each other and can form a closed circuit, said switch being characterized in that it is mounted/fixed on a support structure, in particular connected to ground, such that it can interact with said guide member when said guide member is in proximity to said support structure, the switch may be switched from a first state to a second state by interaction with at least a portion of the guide member, the switch being able to automatically return to the first state once the interaction ceases, for example when the interaction is interrupted or ended. Thus, the switch automatically returns to its initial state, i.e. the first state, as soon as the interruption ceases.

According to a preferred embodiment, the electrical switch is able to interact contactlessly with said portion of the guide member. To this end, the electrical switch comprises in particular at least one contactless sensor able to detect the presence of the portion of the guide member without contacting the guide member. Such a sensor is for example an optical sensor, an inductive sensor, a capacitive sensor or an ultrasonic sensor, the interaction being respectively an optical interaction (for example a light beam being cut off by the passage of the portion of the guide member and being reconstructed when no guide member is present in the vicinity of the support structure), a magnetic interaction (for example a magnetic field emitted by the sensor being altered when the portion of the guide member is present), an electrical interaction (for example an electric field in the vicinity of the sensor being altered when the portion of the guide member is present), or an acoustic interaction (for example a change in the acoustic wave emitted by the sensor due to the presence of the portion of the guide member).

According to another preferred embodiment, the electrical switch is capable of mechanically interacting with the portion of the guide member. The switch is for example a switch lever positioned by the support structure such that the lever of the electrical switch is capable of mechanically interacting with a part of the guide member, for example a rim or a roller. In particular, the electrical switch comprises the first and second contacts, the contacts being mounted/fixed on the support structure, preferably a rail, such that a mechanical interaction of at least one of the contacts with the guide member is enabled, and the contacts are in particular arranged longitudinally side by side or in layers, for example on or on at least one side of the rail, or on each side thereof, or even under the head of the rail, the contacts being also electrically isolated from the rail. In particular, the switch is switchable from a first state to a second state by a mechanical interaction with at least the portion of the guide member, the mechanical interaction preferably being adapted to switch the switch on (circuit closed to allow current to pass through the circuit) by connecting the first and second contacts, or to switch off (circuit open to prevent current from continuing through the circuit) by disconnecting the first and second contacts.

The support structure is particularly arranged to carry the electrical switch and particularly the sensor or the contact thereof, so as to allow the electrical switch to interact contactlessly or mechanically with the portion of the guide member when the portion of the guide member is in the vicinity of the support structure. The support structure may be, for example, a ground surface, or simply a track, or a mechanical support member for fixing to the ground surface in the vicinity of the track, having, for example, at least one movable portion for positioning the switch. The sensor is specifically positioned to ensure that the interaction only occurs when the guide member is correctly re-trained onto the track. By way of example, fig. 12 shows different positions of an electrical switch according to the invention in the vicinity of the guide member.

According to the invention, said change of state of the switch is caused in particular by a mechanical interaction of said portion of said guide member with said switch. Examples of mechanical interactions include:

-mechanical friction of said portion of said guide member on said contacts of the switch, said friction being capable of producing an at least temporary electrical connection between said first and second contacts, the absence of said mechanical friction disconnecting said first and second contacts;

-mechanically moving a movable part of the switch by means of said portion of the guide member, the interaction causing the movable part to move from a normal position, in which the first and second contacts are electrically isolated from each other, to a temporary position, which brings the first and second contacts into contact, the interruption of the interaction causing the movable part to automatically return to its normal position, the movement being, for example, a translation of the movable part or a rotation of the movable part about a rotation axis.

Said part of the guide member is a sliding contact device of the guide member, e.g. intended to abut against the upper surface of said guide rail, which sliding contact device is capable of establishing an electrical connection between said first and second contact by friction of said contacts on the upper surface. For example, the sliding contact arrangement comprises an electrically conductive surface intended to abut against the guide rail, e.g. against an upper surface of the guide rail. In addition, the portion of the guiding member may be at least one rim of a guiding roller or at least one roller, each of which is for example capable of causing a movement of the movable part of the switch or a change in a physical quantity measurable by the sensor of the electrical switch, the physical quantity being a value of, for example, an electric field, a magnetic field, a radiation intensity or a wavelength.

Preferably, the first and second contacts are mounted in mutual association on an insulating base fixed to the support structure to form a contact strip, the contacts being preferably arranged side by side longitudinally on one face of the insulating base, the other face of the insulating base being arranged fixed to the support structure. In particular, the further face may be fixed to an upper surface of a guide rail, for example to the head of the guide rail or to the upper end of a guide rail without a head, preferably with the guided vehicle above the guide rail, the surface or upper end of the guide rail facing the chassis of the guided vehicle.

In particular, each of the first and second contacts is an elongated plate of electrically conductive material comprising at least one side edge having a geometrical structure such that the side edges of the contacts can mate in a non-contacting manner when arranged laterally parallel to each other along their length direction. In particular, each of said contacts comprises a flat upper surface arranged in the same plane, in particular when they are arranged on said insulating base. Preferably, the sides have a sinusoidal or saw-toothed (e.g. rectangular) geometry. Thus, according to the invention, the side of one of the contacts has a complementary geometry to the side of the other of the contacts, so that the two can be fitted to each other. Of course, a person skilled in the art will be able to select other geometrical arrangements for the contacts, which may be simply parallel side by side or zigzag side by side.

Preferably, the insulating base is an elongate plate of constant trapezoidal longitudinal section, the longitudinal section being a section perpendicular to one face of the plate and along the length of the plate, as opposed to the cross-section. In particular, the large base of the trapezium is intended to abut against the support structure, for example along the length of the rail, and the small base of the trapezium is designed to carry the first and second contacts, the abutment angle of the large base being strictly less than 90 ° so as to form a plane inclined towards the contacts. Advantageously, if said portion of guide member is a sliding contact, the trapezoidal shape of the insulating base enables a continuous movement of the sliding contact from the upper end or surface of the support structure (e.g. of the guide rail) to the upper surface of the contact without any step between the position of the upper end or surface of the support structure and the position of the upper surface of the contact, which may hinder said movement.

The invention also relates to a system for checking the rerunning of a vehicle guided by at least one guideway, said guided vehicle having at least one guide member for forcing said guided vehicle to follow a path defined by said guideway, said guide member comprising a pair of rollers, for example arranged in a V-shape, designed to grip and abut against said guideway and possibly equipped with an electrically conductive sliding contact, i.e. a device capable of establishing an electrical contact with said guideway, arranged to come into contact with said guideway when said guided vehicle is correctly rerunned onto said guideway, said monitoring system being electrically powered and comprising:

-m electrical switches as described above, where m ≧ 1, in particular m to as small as 2, each electrical switch configured to interact mechanically or contactlessly with the portion of the guide member of the guided vehicle;

-means for connecting each of said electrical switches to a retracing signal system, for example connecting said contact of said electrical switch to said retracing signal system;

-the signal system comprises an input terminal a and an output terminal B, and the connection of each of the electrical switches between the input terminal a and the output terminal B. In particular, each of said electrical switches is connected between an input terminal a and an output terminal B, so that only in the case of each switch switching from said first state to said second state, the measurable value of the retracing signal at output terminal B changes and switches from a normal value to a temporary value, each of said switches being initially in the same state, i.e. either all off or all on, in particular without said interaction taking place, whereas said signal system is configured so that once at least one switch returns to said first state, the measurable value of said retracing signal at output terminal B returns to said initial value, preferably said retracing signal is used to switch from a to B. Preferably, the signal system comprises a series connection of each electrical switch between the input terminal a and the output terminal B if each electrical switch is in an off state when in a first state, or a parallel connection of each electrical switch between the output terminal a and the output terminal B if each electrical switch is in an on state when in the first state, the connections being configured such that each switch is in the first state when there is no said interaction.

According to the invention, the input terminal a is connected to the output terminal B by means of at least one electrical switch according to the invention. Advantageously, according to the invention, the retracing signal intended to be transferred or propagated from the input terminal a to the output terminal B has only two possible values at said output terminal B: said normal value characterizing that said portion of guide member is not interacting with at least one said switch, and said temporary value characterizing that said portion of guide member of said guided vehicle is simultaneously interacting with each electrical switch. Thus, without interaction with said portion of guide member, the series or parallel connection of said electrical switches such that they are all in the same state, i.e. said first state, enables simultaneous detection of correct re-tracking of a plurality of guide members of said guided vehicle and also enables signaling of incorrect re-tracking when at least one of said guide members is not correctly re-tracked.

More specifically, each appliance switch switches from the first state to the second state only upon interaction with the portion of the guide member. Thus, the normal value of the said rerunning signal measurable at output terminal B changes to said temporary value only in case each appliance switch connected in series or in parallel between input terminal a and output terminal B is switched from said first state to a second state. In addition, a normal value is measured at the output terminal B, with at least one of the electrical switches still in the first state. The signal system according to the invention may therefore in particular comprise an output terminal B, characterized in that the retracing signal comprises a binary value, said "binary" retracing signal having a temporary value and a normal value, said binary retracing signal assuming the temporary value only when each electrical switch interacts with said portion of the guide member and assuming the normal value when at least one of said electrical switches does not interact with said portion of the guide member of said guided vehicle, said temporary value being different from said normal value.

In particular, according to a first preferred embodiment, each electrical switch is connected in series to said terminals to form said series connection, which is characterized by a first "off" state. In this case, each electrical switch is turned off without said interaction, since said first state corresponds to the off-state of said electrical switch, and said retracing signal can only be transferred from input terminal a to output terminal B when each electrical switch interacts with said portion of one of the guiding members of the guided vehicle. The interaction causes the state of the electrical switch to change from "off" to "on". According to this first preferred embodiment, if said retracing signal has a value a0 at input terminal a, the temporary value of a0 is only measurable at said output terminal B when each switch interacts with said portion of one of said guiding members. Conversely, if at least one of the electrical switches does not interact with the portion, a normal value different from the value a0 is measurable at the output terminal B. Therefore, the retracing electrical signal can only be transmitted from the input terminal a to the output terminal B when the state of each of the switches is the same and on.

Similarly, according to the second preferred embodiment, each electrical switch is connected in parallel between the input terminal a and the output terminal B, which is characterized by a first "on" state. In this case, since each appliance switch is on without any interaction, the retracing signal having the value a0 at input terminal a will also have the value a0 at said output terminal B as the normal value, since said retracing signal can freely pass between input terminal a and output terminal B when at least one of said electrical switches is not interacting with said portion of the guiding member. Instead, each electrical switch must interact with a portion of one of the guide members of the guided vehicle to obtain a temporary value BT, which is different from said value a0 measurable at the output B.

In particular, the monitoring system according to the invention comprises means for maintaining the value of said retracing signal measurable at said output terminal B. The holding means is for example a memory or a bistable relay. In particular, the holding means comprise an input terminal ME and an output terminal MS, the input terminal ME being connected to the output terminal B, and the output terminal MS being connectable to a retracing status indicator. Preferably, said holding means are able to provide at their output terminal MS a holding signal characterized by two values, a first value equal to the normal value of said retracing signal and a second value equal to the temporary value of said retracing signal. The holding means can change the value of the hold signal in sequence, i.e. from a first value to a second value, from the second value to the first value, etc., each time the rerun signal changes from its normal value to its temporary value, which does not result in a change of said hold signal. For example, the holding device is capable of:

a. changing the value of a hold signal provided at output terminal MS such that the hold signal changes from said first value to said second value when said retracing signal received at its input terminal ME first assumes a temporary value, and subsequently such that said hold signal provided at its output terminal MS remains at said second value when said retracing signal first returns to its normal value;

b. changing the value of a hold signal provided at an output terminal MS such that the hold signal changes from said second value to said first value when said retracing signal received at its input terminal ME changes from said normal value to said temporary value a second time, and then said hold signal provided at its output terminal MS remains at said first value when said retracing signal returns to its normal value a second time;

c. repeating the above steps (a) and (b) in sequence each time the rerailing signal changes from its normal value to its temporary value.

In particular, the holding device according to the invention comprises the electrical switches described hereinbefore, configured to be arranged on said supporting structure, for example on said guide rail, downstream of m said electrical switches according to the direction of movement of said guided vehicle on said guide rail. This electrical switch is hereinafter referred to as the "additional electrical switch" to distinguish it from the m electrical switches described hereinbefore. In particular, the distance between the additional electrical switch and the electrical switch closest thereto of the m electrical switches is smaller than the distance from the guided vehicle or the portions of two consecutive guide members of a single car of the guided vehicle. Preferably, when the m electrical switches according to the first embodiment are connected in series, the additional electrical switch is connected to the input terminal a and the output terminal B in parallel with the m electrical switches. According to another preferred variant, the m electrical switches are connected in parallel between the input terminal a and a common node, and the additional electrical switch is connected to the common node and to the output terminal B in series with the m electrical switches.

To avoid any ambiguity, by definition, "upstream" and "downstream" refer to the direction from which the movement came and the direction to which the movement went, respectively, in the frame of reference associated with the track. The downstream position of the electrical switch relative to the target means that a guided vehicle moving downstream will first encounter the target, followed by the electrical switch, on its path, as opposed to the downstream position of the electrical switch relative to another target.

Preferably, the monitoring system is characterized in that the number of electrical switches is equal to the number of guide members fitted to a section of the guided vehicle. In particular, the electrical switches are designed to be arranged on the support structure, for example on the guide rail, so that when one of the switches interacts with the portion of the guide member, all other switches also interact with the portion of the guide member if this guide member is correctly re-tracked. In particular, the electrical switches are spaced apart from each other by the same distance as the portions of the guide member are spaced apart from each other, so that the arrangement of the electrical switches on the support structure along the guide rails is a mirror image of the arrangement of the portions of the guide member fitted to at least one car of the guided vehicle. Thus, when part of the guide member is in a position capable of interacting with one of the electrical switches, part of the other at least one guide member of the guided vehicle or of a section of its car is also in a position capable of interacting with another electrical switch of the monitoring system according to the invention.

The invention also relates to a guide rail for a vehicle guided by at least one guide element, said guide rail having a total number m ≧ 1 of electrical switches as described above. In particular, the number m of electrical switches is the same as the number of guide members fitted to a section of the car of the guided vehicle, said switches being arranged on said guide rail such that when one of the electrical switches interacts with said portion of the guide member, all the other switches also interact with said portion of the guide member if said guide member is correctly re-tracked.

Preferably, the guide rail according to the present invention includes, on an upper portion of the chassis facing the guided vehicle, at least one recess dug out of the guide rail, each recess designed to accommodate one of the m electrical switches so that each electrical switch can be fitted into the recess, the electrical switches being arranged in the recesses so that upper surfaces of the contacts are in the same plane, the plane further including an upper surface of the upper portion of the chassis facing the guided vehicle.

Finally, the invention also relates to a system for automated inspection comprising a k with at least one guide member_iOne or more guides of guided vehicles of individual carsMethod for the correct rerailing of a member on a guideway, i being 0 to n-1, n being the number of cars of said guided vehicle comprising at least one guide member, comprising:

a. the compartment k of the guided vehicle_iA first movement is made to a first monitoring point, located downstream of at least one electrical switch of a system for monitoring the rerunning of the guided vehicle, said electrical switch being arranged so that it can interact with said guide member, said movement being made up to said first monitoring point so as to match the position of each electrical switch to the cabin k of the guided vehicle_iA position of a portion of the guide member that is cooperable with the electrical switch to enable a change in a state of the electrical switch;

b. changing the state of the electrical switch by interacting with the portion of the guide member only if the guide member is properly re-tracking on the guide rail;

c. signaling correct re-tracking of the guided vehicle only if each electrical switch state has changed;

d. the car k of the guided vehicle downstream of the monitoring point only if the correct re-track signal has been issued_iA second movement is performed.

Preferably, the first monitoring point is arranged such that for a car k of the guided vehicle_iThe position of said portion of each guide member of said car matches the position on the track of the electrical switch arranged to interact with said portion of the guide member.

Preferably, the car k_iIs from the first monitoring point to a second monitoring point, the first monitoring point and the second monitoring point being separated by a distance equal to the length of a car of the guided vehicle, such that when car k is present_iAt the second monitoring point, the car k_i+1At the first monitoring point. In particular, the method comprises for each car k of said guided vehicle_iRepeating steps (a) to (d) in order to check the rerailing of all guide members of the guided vehicle.

To aid in the understanding of the present invention, the following exemplary embodiments and applications are provided:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a guide member properly positioned on a guide rail;

FIG. 2 is an example of a derailed guide member;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of a guide member properly positioned on a guide rail without a railhead;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary embodiment of an electrical switch according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary embodiment of a monitoring system cooperating with a guide member according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary embodiment of a guide rail according to the present invention;

fig. 7 shows the cooperation of a guide member with a monitoring system according to the invention;

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates the operation of a monitoring system according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary embodiment of a monitoring system according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates the operation of a monitoring system according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is another exemplary embodiment of an electrical switch according to the present invention;

fig. 12 is an exemplary position of the electrical switch.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

Fig. 1 shows a pair of rollers 1 and 2 in a V-shaped arrangement of guide members known to the person skilled in the art. The pair of rollers 1 and 2 grips the guide rail 3 in contact therewith and thus forces the guide member to follow the path defined by the track 3, and thus the steering shaft of the guided vehicle cooperating with said guide member follows said path. The invention aims to quickly and reliably check that all rollers 1 and 2 of the guide member of the guided vehicle are correctly positioned on the track (see fig. 1 and 3), in particular when said guided vehicle passes through the inspection area. The inspection area is preferably located at the location where loss of guidance is most likely, such as at the exit of a garage or workshop where the rail has no railhead, after passing through a switch (swinging rail), or after passing through a rail equipped with expansion joints (rail discontinuity).

A preferred exemplary embodiment of a monitoring system according to the invention is shown in fig. 4 to 8. The monitoring system comprises an electrical switch 13, preferably mounted on the rail 3, and a signal system that can be mounted on the ground. In particular, the signaling system may also comprise a holding device as described above and/or a retracing indicator mounted on the ground (e.g. a signal light) or on the guided vehicle (e.g. a light indicator).

A preferred embodiment of an electrical switch 13 according to the invention is shown in fig. 4. The electrical switch 13 comprises an insulating base 14 and two contacts, respectively a first contact 15 and a second contact 16, which are associatively fitted on the insulating base 14. The unit comprising the insulating base and the contact constitutes a contact strip. Each of the contacts can be connected to the signal system with a connection device. For example, for each of said contacts, a conductive cable enables one end 151, 161 of said contact to be connected to said signal system of the monitoring system according to the invention. The first contact 14 and the second contact 15 are in particular isolated from each other. However, if a conductive object simultaneously contacts the contacts, e.g. the upper surfaces 153, 163 of the contacts, the ends 151, 161 and the cables connected to the ends are thus electrically connected, and the switch thus operates as a closed contact or switch.

The electrical switch 13 is preferably mounted on a rail, either directly fixed to the upper surface of said rail capable of facing the chassis of the vehicle to be guided (see fig. 5), or fixed in a cutout hollowed out in the entire upper portion 75 of said rail (see fig. 6), so that the upper face of said contact is located on the same plane as the upper surface 31 of the upper portion 75 of the rail 3, the depth of said cutout being equal to the thickness of said electrical switch. Advantageously, the hollowed-out portion or recess 17 hollowed out of the upper part of the guide rail is arranged such that the position of the upper surface 31 of the guide rail 3 and the position of the upper faces 153, 163 of the contacts match, so that the portion 121 of the guide member for electrical contact with the upper surface 31 of the guide rail 3 does not encounter any step in the movement from the upper surface 31 of the rail 3 to the upper faces 153, 163 of the contacts 15, 16. Preferably, if said electrical switch 13 is fixed directly to the upper portion 75 of the rail 3, the insulating base 14 can have a trapezoidal shape so as to comprise, at each of its longitudinal ends, a ramp between the position of the upper face 31 of the rail 3 and the position of the upper face 153, 163 of the electrical switch, overcoming the step shape between said face and said upper face.

Preferably, the width L of the switch is smaller than the minimum distance D separating the tread surfaces 9 (see fig. 2) of the rollers of the guide member. In addition, to ensure that the cables respectively connected to each end of the contact are not disturbed/cut by the rollers of the guide member, the rail 3 comprises in particular two holes formed in its body to create a passage in the rail body between a lower portion of the web of the rail, for example below the position around the lower ends 201, 101 of the two rims 10 of the rail head 7 when correctly positioned on the rail, and an upper portion arranged with the electrical switch according to the invention.

The conductive object closing said first and second contacts 15, 16 is the part of the guide member that is arranged to contact or be close to said guide rail when the guide member is correctly retraced. The invention thus aims to create an interaction, in particular a mechanical interaction, between the electrical switch and the electrically conductive part of the existing guide member. In other words, the present invention skillfully uses the geometric arrangement of the wire members to "couple/decouple" the switch. Said existing part may be a lower end 201, 101 of the rim capable of acting on a push-button electrical switch, a lever switch or a contactless sensor, or said existing part may be a sliding contact 121 comprising a conductive surface 19 intended to achieve electrical contact with said track 3. Thus, the passage of the conductive surface 19 of the sliding contact 121 on the upper surfaces 153, 163 of the contacts 15, 16 enables the contacts to be electrically connected to each other and enables an electric current to be transmitted between the contacts 15, 16. Said sliding contact 121 comprises in particular means fixed to the guide member, which are able to maintain the contact between its conductive surface 19 and the upper part of said guide rail 3 in the case of correct re-tracking. As soon as the guide roller loses its correct retracing position (see fig. 8), the contact between the conductive surface 19 and the contact elements 15, 16 is broken and the electrical switch then operates as a closed contact or switch.

Fig. 11 shows another preferred embodiment of an electrical switch 13 according to the invention. Unlike fig. 4 to 8, according to this further preferred embodiment at least one electrical switch 13 is fixed to the web 6 of the rail 3, below the head of the rail 3, at least on one side of the web 6 of the rail 3, so that it is located in the rolling plane P of at least one roller 1, 2 of the guide member_rAnd can be actuated by pressure exerted on the movable part of the electrical switch by the rim of the roller or guide wheel during movement of the guide member along the track. The switch is preferably a push-button switch which can be actuated by the rim by means of pressure applied by the guide wheel or rim to a movable contact piece 16 which can contact a fixed contact piece 15 when subjected to pressure by the rim.

Advantageously, the monitoring system according to the invention is capable of checking the correct rerailing of a plurality of guide members simultaneously. In fact, if for example each axle of the carriages of the guided vehicle comprises a pair of guide members placed respectively upstream and downstream of said axle (see fig. 9 and 10), the invention proposes, according to a preferred embodiment, to place a number of electrical switches equal to the number of guide members of said carriages on said supporting structure, in particular on said guide rails 3. In particular, the electrical switches are spaced apart from each other by a distance equal to the distance of the portions of the guide members from each other, so that when one of the electrical switches interacts with a portion of one of the guide members, each of the other electrical switches on the guide rail also interacts with a portion of the other guide member. For example, when the guided vehicle reaches the first monitoring point 20, each of the four electrical switches 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D interacts simultaneously with a portion of the guide member of the cabin of the guided vehicle, for example with the sliding contacts of the guide member. Thus, the rerailing of the four guide members of the car of the guided vehicle can be checked simultaneously.

Fig. 9A particularly shows a guided vehicle, such as a train, before reaching the monitoring point 20. The electrical switches 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D are connected in series, in particular between the input terminal a and the output terminal B. In particular, if any of the electrical switches does not interact with the portion 121 of the guide member, the electrical switch is in an off state. Therefore, no current can flow between the input terminal a and the output terminal B until the guided vehicle reaches the monitoring point 20. When the guided vehicle reaches the monitoring point 20 (see fig. 9B), each electrical switch interacts with said portion of the guide member, for example, a first and a second contact of four electrical switches (13A, 13B, 13C, 13D) are simultaneously connected by interacting with said portion 121 of the guide member, for example, the conductive surface of the sliding contact, if the re-tracking is correct. Therefore, only in the case where the rerunning of each guide member is correct, the input terminal a and the output terminal B are electrically connected to each other. In fact, if the rerunning of one or more guide members is incorrect, no electrical connection is made between the input terminal a and the output terminal B.

Fig. 10A to 10F show another preferred embodiment of the invention, in which the monitoring system comprises in particular two monitoring points, respectively a first monitoring point 20 and a second monitoring point 21, which are separated by a distance equal to the length of a section of the guided vehicle and are designed to monitor the rerailing of the guided vehicle with the first and second carriages. The passage of each car from the first monitoring point to the second monitoring point is checked by the monitoring system according to the invention, which is able to indicate the admission of the vehicle to pass the first monitoring point and subsequently to pass the second monitoring point only if the reruns of all the wheels are correct, in particular by means of the first and second reruns indicators 22 and 23. The retracing indicators are, for example, signal lights and may preferably each be positioned downstream of a respective one of the monitoring points, as shown in fig. 10A to 10F. The retrace indicators 22, 23 are each capable of displaying a first signal 221, 231, which is capable of indicating incorrect retrace, and a second signal 222, 232, which is capable of indicating correct retrace.

As shown in fig. 10A, if the guided vehicle moves toward the first monitoring point 21, the electrical switches 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, for example, arranged on the track 3, do not simultaneously change from the first off state to the second on state. Therefore, the input terminal a and the output terminal B are not electrically connected, and particularly the derailment indicators 22, 23, which always indicate the same state as each other, indicate the derailment state of at least one guide member by means of the first signal to prevent the vehicle from passing through the first monitoring point 20.

As shown in fig. 10B, each electrical switch 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D interacts simultaneously with the portion of one of the guide members of the first car of the guided vehicle and switches from the first state to the second state once the guided vehicle has reached the first monitoring point 20. Thus, the input terminal a is connected to the output terminal B and a signal can be transmitted from said input terminal a to said output terminal B, said signal being able to trigger a change in the indication of re-tracking provided by said re-tracking indicators 22, 23, which thus indicate the correct re-tracking of the guide member of the first car by means of said second signal, thereby allowing the movement of said guided vehicle.

The guided vehicle is thus allowed to move forward to the second monitoring point 21 by the monitoring system according to the invention, the second car thus reaching the first monitoring point 20. Preferably, in order to prevent the derailment indicator from indicating a derailment condition when the guided vehicle moves towards the second monitoring point, the retaining means enables a correct derailment indication to be temporarily retained when the vehicle moves towards the second monitoring point 21. To this end, said retaining means comprise, for example, an additional electrical switch 135 for temporarily storing the correct re-tracking state of the guided vehicle, and a bistable relay, until said additional electrical switch 135 interacts with said portion of the guide member.

As shown in fig. 10C, when the portion of the guide member located at the farthest downstream position with respect to the moving direction of the guided vehicle starts to mechanically interact with the additional switch 135, the additional switch is switched from the first state to the second state. This change of state involves changing the value of the measurable signal at output terminal B, which switches from a normal value to a temporary value. The nonce value is capable of conveying information intended to change the status indication provided by the re-tracking indicator, such that the re-tracking indicator indicates a derailment status of at least one guide member. For example, the temporary value is a reset signal of the bistable relay.

The retracing indicators 22, 23 indicate a derailment condition of at least one guide member when the portion of the guide member located at the furthest downstream position with respect to the direction of movement of the guided vehicle passes the position of the additional switch 135. The rerunning indicator displays a first signal because the electrical switches 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D do not interact simultaneously with the portion of the guide member of the second car until the first car has reached the second monitoring point 21.

As shown in fig. 10E, when the first car of the guided vehicle reaches the second monitoring point 21 and the second car reaches the first monitoring point 20, the electrical switches 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D switch from the first state to the second state, thereby connecting the input terminal a and the output terminal B and causing the signal displayed by the double track indicator 22, 23 to change, which then indicates the second signal 222, 232 to allow the guided vehicle to move through the second monitoring point 21.

Also, during movement of the guided vehicle downstream of the second monitoring point 21 (refer to fig. 10F), the additional switch 135 mechanically interacts with a portion of the guide member and switches from the first state to the second state. This change in state causes a change in the signal indicated by the retracing indicator which then displays the first signal 221, 231 and prevents the guided vehicle from subsequently moving past the first monitoring point 20.

The invention thus enables automatic checking of the correct rerailing of all the guide rollers of the guided vehicle and monitoring of the movement of the guided vehicle by means of a rerailing indicator mounted on the ground or located on the guided vehicle as shown in fig. 10A to 10F. The invention proposes a simple method for monitoring the rerunning of guided vehicles, which improves its reliability compared to existing systems which are prone to various faults, and reduces the costs of development, manufacture, installation and in particular maintenance, since the invention does not have an on-board system for monitoring the rerunning.

Preferably, the holding device may further comprise a negative detector comprising an emitter 131 of a light beam 133, for example a laser source, and a receiver 132 of said light beam 133, for example a CCD sensor, said light beam emitter 131 being able to emit a light beam and said receiver 132 being able to receive said light beam and generate a signal regarding the reception of said light beam. In particular, said negative detector is able to actuate the auxiliary switch 134 with said signal regarding the reception of said light beam, said auxiliary switch 134 being characterized by having two states, respectively an on state and an off state. The auxiliary switch is preferably installed between the input terminal a and the output terminal B in parallel with the electrical switch (refer to fig. 10A). The transmitter 131 and the receiver 132 are arranged in particular on one side of said guideway or perpendicular to said guideway or on a diagonal of said guideway, preferably upstream of the electrical switch 13A closest to the first monitoring point of the correct rerunning of the guide member intended to check the first axis of the car of the guided vehicle (i.e. the one located furthest downstream) and in particular downstream of the electrical switch 13C intended to check the rerunning of the guide member of the other axis of said car of said guided vehicle. When the light beam 133 emitted by the emitter 131 reaches said receiver 132, the auxiliary switch 134 and said negative detector are connected so that it is in an on-state, i.e. it is electrically connected to the input terminal a and the output terminal B, and in case the light beam 133 emitted by the emitter 131 is not received by the receiver 132, it is in an off-state. Therefore, unless the beam 133 of the negative detector is broken by the cabin of the guided vehicle, the retrace indicators 22, 23 must display said second signal indicating correct retracing, so as to allow movement of the guided vehicle. When the light beam 133 is broken, the auxiliary switch 134 is turned off, and the retrace indicator 22, 23 then displays the first signal to indicate an incorrect retrace. In this case, when the guided vehicle breaks the light beam, the auxiliary switch is held in the off state by the negative detector and the re-tracking indicator 22, 23 indicates correct re-tracking, as described above, only if each electrical switch 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D mechanically interacts with the portion of the guide member. The rerunning indicators 22, 23 permit the movement of the guided vehicle as soon as its last car has been checked by the monitoring system according to the invention. The movement of the last car to the second monitoring point 22 releases the beam which is then received by the receiver 132 which generates a signal requiring the auxiliary switch 134 to switch from the off state to the on state which forces the re-tracking indicator 22, 23 to indicate correct re-tracking.

Finally, fig. 12 shows the different positions of said electrical switch 13 according to the invention in the vicinity of the guide member, which enable the detection of its correct re-tracking. According to the invention, the electrical switch 13 can interact mechanically or contactlessly with at least a part of the guide member. The electrical switch 13 comprises, for example, a sensor 73 having detection areas 731, 732, for example substantially conical and through which a portion of the guiding means passes only in the event that its retracing is correct (for example, the sensor 73 is positioned so that the roller correctly retracing onto the track passes through its detection area 731), so that the presence of the guiding means and its correct retracing can be detected. Conversely, if the guide member is not properly positioned on the track, there is no interaction between the sensor and the guide member because the guide member no longer passes through the detection region 732 of the sensor. The electrical switch 13, in particular its sensors or contacts, is supported by the support structure 71, which enables it to be held in the following positions: which is such that the electrical switch 13 interacts with a portion of the guide member only if said portion is positively located on the track. The support structure 71 comprises in particular one or more bearing elements, for example metallic bearing elements, each of which is fixed to the ground or to a bearing element of said track and in particular enables the position of said switch to be adjusted with respect to said portion of the guide member to achieve said interaction.

In summary, the present invention provides several advantages over existing methods or devices because:

it does not need to have signal transmission and interpretation functions on-board electronics;

it does not have an inductive sensor, thus avoiding the need for preventive maintenance work of the vehicle, which has to be stationary while performing such work;

the monitoring system is highly reliable, since it is robust and not prone to damage or additional losses;

it simplifies maintenance work;

it reduces maintenance and installation costs, since it does not require any on-board equipment;

it does not require signal filtering, which would mask the loss of guidance or real problems.

Claims (15)

1. An electrical switch (13) for cooperation with a guide member of a vehicle guided by at least one guide rail (3), the electrical switch (13) is characterized by having two states, a first state and a second state, in one of the states the electrical switch (13) is off, and in the other state, the electrical switch (13) is switched on, the electrical switch (13) being characterized in that, which is mounted on a support structure (71) such that it can interact with the guide member when the guide member passes near the support structure (71), the electrical switch (13) is capable of switching from the first state to the second state by interacting with at least a portion of the guide member and automatically returning to the first state once the interaction is interrupted or terminated.

2. The electrical switch (13) according to claim 1, characterized in that the interaction is a mechanical interaction or a contactless interaction.

3. The electrical switch (13) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a first contact (15) and a second contact (16) mounted on a support structure to allow at least one of said contacts to mechanically interact with said guide member and to be electrically isolated from said guide rail.

4. The electrical switch (13) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support structure (71) is the guide rail (3).

5. The electrical switch (13) according to claim 3, characterized in that said first contact (15) and said second contact (16) are mounted in mutual association on an insulating base (14), said contacts being arranged longitudinally side by side on one face of said insulating base, the other face of said insulating base being arranged fixed to the upper surface of said rail (3).

6. A system for monitoring the rerunning of a vehicle guided by at least one guideway (3), the vehicle having at least one guide member for forcing the guided vehicle to follow a path defined by the guideway (3), the monitoring system being electric and comprising:

-m electrical switches (13) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein m ≧ 1, each electrical switch (13) being arranged to interact with a portion of a guide member of the guided vehicle;

-means for connecting each of the first contact (15) and the second contact (16) of the electrical switch (13) to a signal system for indicating the position of the rail;

-the signal system comprises an input terminal a and an output terminal B, each of the electrical switches (13) being connected between the input terminal a and the output terminal B.

7. A monitoring system according to claim 6, characterised in that the number of electrical switches (13) is equal to the number of guide members fitted to a section of the guided vehicle.

8. A monitoring system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises holding means for holding the value of the retracing signal, which value is measured at the output terminal B.

9. A monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein the retaining means comprise an electrical switch according to one of claims 1 to 5, hereinafter referred to as additional electrical switch (135), the additional electrical switch (135) being arranged downstream of the m electrical switches (13).

10. Guide rail (3) for a vehicle guided by at least one guide member, the guide rail (3) comprising m ≧ 1 electrical switch (13) according to one of claims 1 to 5.

11. Guide rail (3) according to claim 10, characterized in that the number m of electrical switches (13) is equal to the number of guide members fitted to one car of the guided vehicle.

12. Guide rail (3) according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises, in an upper portion (75) facing the chassis of the guided vehicle, at least one recess (17) hollowed out of the guide rail (3), each recess (17) being designed to house one of the m electrical switches (13), the electrical switches (13) being arranged in the recesses (17) so that the upper surfaces of the first (15) and second (16) contacts of the electrical switches (13) are in the same plane, said plane also comprising the upper surface facing the upper portion (75) of the chassis of the guided vehicle.

13. K for automatic inspection_iMethod for the correct re-tracking of one or more guide members of a guided vehicle of a junction car on a guideway (3), where i is 0 to n-1 and n is the number of cars in said guided vehicle, comprising:

a) the compartment K of the guided vehicle_i-making a first movement to a first monitoring point (21), said first monitoring point (21) being located downstream of at least one electrical switch (13) of a system for monitoring re-tracking of the guided vehicle, said electrical switch (13) being arranged so as to be able to interact with a portion of the guide member, said movement being effected so that the position of each electrical switch (13) is in contact with a carriage K of the guided vehicle_iIs matched in position with at least a portion of the guide member, said portion being able to cooperate with the electrical switch (13) to enable the state of the electrical switch (13) to be changed;

b) -changing the state of the electrical switch (13) by interacting with said portion of the guide member only in the case of correct re-tracking of the guide member on the guide rail (3);

c) indicating that the guided vehicle has re-trained correctly only if each electrical switch (13) has changed state;

d) -the carriage K of the guided vehicle located downstream of the monitoring point (21) only in the case that a correct re-track indication has occurred_iA second movement is performed.

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that the first monitoring point (21) is arranged for the guided vehicleCompartment K_iSuch that the position of said portion of each guide member simultaneously matches the position on or near the guide rail (3) of an electrical switch (13) arranged to interact with said portion of the guide member of the car of the guided vehicle.

15. Method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the car K_iIs from the first monitoring point (21) to a second monitoring point (22), the first monitoring point (21) being separated from the second monitoring point (22) by a distance equal to the length of a car of the guided vehicle.