US 6,981,556 B2
Ballast excavating chain
Josef Theurer, Vienna (Austria); and Adolf Schauer, Alkoven (Austria)
Assigned to Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft m.b.H., Vienna (Austria)
Filed on Jul. 13, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/890,030.
Claims priority of application No. 500/2003 (AT), filed on Jul. 15, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2005/0011088 A1, Jan. 20, 2005
Int. Cl. E01B 27/06 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 171—16 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An arrangement of an excavating chain for conveying ballast of a track bed extending in a first plane, the excavating chain being comprised of a succession of linked chain links and being driven in a second plane inclined with respect to the first plane in an operating stage, and a guide wherein the excavating chain is guided, the guide comprising a transverse guide section positioned in a line of intersection of the first and second planes, in the operating stage, and longitudinal guide sections, the longitudinal guide sections being connected to ends of the transverse guide section by joints having a vertical axis and the guide sections defining a guide channel for the excavating chain, the guide channel being defined by a lower glide track and an upper glide track extending parallel to the second plane and an end glide track extending perpendicularly to the second plane, the end glide track connecting the lower and upper glide tracks, wherein the end glide track of the transverse guide section is curved around the joints connecting the ends of the transverse guide section to the adjoining longitudinal guide sections, the curved end glide tracks of the transverse guide section enclosing an acute dihedral angle α with an imaginary plane of elongation of the end glide track of a respective one of the longitudinal guide sections whereby the excavating chain is deflected solely from the transverse to the longitudinal guide sections by contact with the end glide track.