The subject of the invention is an acoustic baffle, especially for placement in the railway zone, and escape stairs for the acoustic baffle, for the use along rail communication routes, especially for rapid rail traction.

Rail vehicle, consisting of a series of cars, when travelling with large speeds is a source of noise, caused by air flowing over it and by undercarriage trucks travelling over the rails, mainly the contact of wheels with the rails.

The placement of high acoustic baffles, composed of a set of panels is not always possible, since it would significantly lower the comfort of travel and conceal the passing landscape from the passengers.

Thus, baffles, the height of which is basically equal to the lower edge of the car are allowed, whereas the closer to the car the baffle is located, the more efficient it is at dissipating and absorbing the sound.

A solution to this problem was attempted by the use of sound absorbers.

The solution presented in the EP 0730062 patent description has a shaped, longitudinal cover, mounted to the bottom wall of the trucks of every car, in the bend of which the head of a curve-shaped section mounted in the railway zone is placed.

In the German patent description DE 19804862 a low panel was presented, inclined by a few degrees in the direction of the railway.

The German patent description DE 3934489 presents a solution in which, on the concrete support from the side of the railway a lengthwise, shaped absorption panel was mounted.

The sounds created by the rails and other car mechanisms are damped by a solution presented in the German patent description DE 3602313, where the rail plates are on both sides covered with a vibration damping material, and the railway has a sound absorbing lining casing with a "U" shaped cross-section in the plane perpendicular to its lengthwise axis.

In another solution, presented in the Austrian patent description AT 398095, for the dampening of sounds a lengthwise element, attached to the bottom wall of the car, with a perpendicular cross-section approximating the letter "U" is used, in the gap of which enters the horizontal plate of an angle section installed in the rail zone.

In the railway zone many installations for the sending of signals of wayside equipment are located. Detailed regulations prevent the installation of any devices with an earth placement within a set distance from the rails. In order to combine the requirements of baffle-rail distance placement with the requirement to place the baffle as close to the car as possible, and at the same time provide the railway maintenance personnel with access to the railway zone a solution was created, presented in the description WO 2009/133172, where on a concrete mounting, located outside the exclusion zone, on an arm rotating in relation to the axis, a panel of the front wall is located, which is a plane, and can be manually raised to the extreme outside position after unbolting the mounting.

The solution presented in the patent description EP 0737778 also contains a sound absorbing element, placed along the railway, in the form of a structure with a shaped surface and placed along the railway axis.

A similar solution was presented in the DE 19750444 patent description.

For the abovementioned structure a panel with a structure as presented in the invention and specific properties was planned.

In known solutions the panel is made of a uniform material, usually mineral wool, modularly shaped and placed in frames with a stiffening latticework, which is mounted to the support structure.

The uniform material of the panel has a low acoustic insulation value and is not durable, due to humidity, pollution, mechanical intrusion by insects and birds, has low stiffness, which requires the use of stiff frames and latticework.

In the solution described in the Polish patent application P 336510 the physical phenomenon of sound wave dissipation when passing between various density media is used. A panel with layers of mineral wool compressed to various densities was used, and covered with protective netting and latticework in the frame. In the JP 2005179930 patent description an acoustic panel was presented, in which the sound absorbing material is placed between the front perforated wall and the rear wall.

In order to achieve proper acoustic parameters, this panel has to have appropriate thickness. This causes difficulties in transport, requires the use of connectors with a special structure, mounting the panel to support elements of the acoustic baffle.

These panels, located next to the side zone of the car walls can be raised with a special unit for the period of maintenance and control actions. Special safety regulations require that in the panel zone there was an escape route every few meters. The distance between subsequent escape routes depends on the predicted maximum speed of trains. The most effective solution, which forms the escape route in the acoustic baffle system are stairs which enable passage out of the hazardous zone.

The essence of the invention, which is an acoustic baffle, especially for placement in the railway zone, in the form of a set of panels placed on supports, forming a shaped block, with envelope walls, having a front and rear wall, between which a layer of insulation material is placed, consists of a panel having a main surface, the cross section of which is the plane perpendicular to its lengthwise axis forms a curved shape and with a top edge situated approximately at the height of the lower edge of the car body, and placed on at least three supports connected to the pipe which is mounted on the head of a pile (micropile) parallel to the axis of the rails.

It is advantageous when to the lower edge of the panel a sole plate made of epoxy resins is attached, advantageously in the shape of a reverse "U" letter in a cross section in a plane perpendicular to its lengthwise axis. It is also advantageous when every of the supports has a screw length adjusters.

It is especially advantageous when the front wall of the panel is a perforated net, advantageously made of aluminium sheeting, whereas the rear wall is made from a shaped sheet of alloyed steel, which on the internal side is covered by a layer of quartz sand with a diameter of grains in the range of (1-3) mm, mixed with a synthetic epoxy, moreover between the layer of sand mixture and the front wall a mineral wool layer (14) is placed, with a thickness of (30 - 70) mm, advantageously 50 mm and thickness (100 - 150) kg/m3, advantageously 120 kg/m3, having from the perforated side a humidity protection layer.

It is also advantageous when the front wall of the panel is a plane.

Between the individual segments of the panels the baffle has stairs, in order to evacuate persons from the railway zone, according to the invention, the essence of which consists of them being formed by two shaped plates, between which steps are mounted, connected with a rear wall, to which a support with installed escape steps is mounted, connected with the main pipe.

It is also advantageous when a sole plate is attached to the base of the stairs, in the shape of a lengthwise profile, with a profile similar to the letter "U" in the plane perpendicular to the lengthwise axis.

It is also , advantageous when the stairs behind the entrance steps have a perforated aluminium wall, behind which, in the shape between the net and the rear wall and side walls sound insulation material is placed.

The use of the solution presented in the invention enables the following technical and utility effects: - the ability to place the baffle on piles (micropiles) outside of the excluded zone,

- the ability to raise the panel in order to perform maintenance work on the railway,

- the ability to provide an escape route between individual panels,

- the ability to transport the raising unit between individual panels,

- the ability to power the rotation system manually, using an electric engine or a hydraulic actuator,

- the ability to install in the upper envelope wall of the panel a LED signalling system,

- the ability to connect to the lower edge of the panel a composite sole plate, reducing the weight of the panel,

- in the version with a curved frontal surface it is used especially to construct acoustic panels along the rapid rail communication routes,

- high resistance to jolts caused by a passing train, including resistance to alternating overpressure and negative pressure acting as dynamic loads caused by the passing train,

- retaining acoustic parameters, that is sound insulation and absorption, like in solutions with mineral wool with different thickness, especially for insulation of low frequency sounds,

- achieving high acoustic effectiveness with a small baffle area,

- high degree of rigidity, which enables the classification of the panel as a plate element,

- high durability of the panel,

- insensitivity to external factors, mainly from the dust created by the contact of the pantograph and traction line, corrosion, oxidation, - lower cost per lm2 of the baffle / 1 dB of effectiveness when compared to commonly used baffles,

- the ability to use special marking and anti-slip finish of the upper surface of the panel, enabling an emergency escape to the nearest passage,

- ensuring the safety of persons in the railway zone, by enabling them to escape using stairs outside of the hazard zone,

- easy raising of panels and stairs by the railway servicing personnel, through the use of a hydraulic installation,

- low costs of construction.

The subject of the invention, in an example solution, which is not limiting, was shown on a drawing, where on Fig. 1 the baffle was presented in the railway zone, on Fig. 2 the panel supports for the implementation of the panel rotation were presented in a rest position, on Fig. 3 panel supports for the implementation of the panel rotation were presented in a raised panel position, on Fig. 4 a panel was shown in the cross section in a plane perpendicular to its main surface and in a parallel perspective, on Fig. 5 the stairs were shown in operational position, whereas on Fig. 6 a view of supports and main pipe is shown.

The acoustic baffle has a panel J_, having the main surface 2 the cross section of which in the plane perpendicular to its lengthwise axis forms a curved shape. Its edge is situated approximately at the height of the lower edge of the car body, not shown on the drawing. 1_ is placed on supports, lower 3 and upper 4, fixed to the pipe 6. Pipe 6 is mounted on piles (micropiles) 7, perpendicular to the axis of the rails. To the lower edge of the panel i a sole plate 8 made of epoxy resins is attached, in the shape of a reverse "U" letter in a cross section in a plane perpendicular to its lengthwise axis. Each of the 3, 4 supports has screw length adjusters 9. Piles (micropiles) 7 are installed in established distances along the railway, outside of the exclusion zone. The support structure 17 for the main pipe 6 is supported on piles (micropiles) 7. To lower envelope wall of the panel i of the acoustic baffle sole plate 8 is mounted, made of epoxy resin based materials. Over the piles the pipe 6 is placed with the support structure 7. Then the length of supports 3 and 4 is changed with adjusters 9, in order to obtain appropriately vertical placement of the rear wall of the panel 1_, after which the panel 1 is mounted to the supports 3, 4, and the structure is connected to the hydraulic actuator J_L

The panel 1 has a front wall 2, which is a perforated net, advantageously made of aluminium sheeting, whereas the rear wall is made from a shaped sheet of alloyed steel. The sheet on the internal side is covered by a layer of quartz sand with a diameter of grains in the range of (1-3) mm, mixed with a synthetic epoxy. Between the sand mixture layer 13 and the front wall 2 a layer of mineral wool 14 is placed with a thickness of (30 - 70) mm, advantageously 50 mm and density of (100 - 150) kg/m3, advantageously 120 kg/m3, having from the perforated side a humidity protection layer 1_5.

There are versions where the front wall 2 is a plane.

There are also versions where the front wall 2 in the cross section in the plane perpendicular to its surface forms a curved shape.

There are also versions, where in the lower envelope wall the panel i has openings 16 for the draining of rain water.

There are also versions, where the panel i in the upper envelope wall has installed illumination lighting 18. There are also versions, where the panel 1 in the upper envelope wall has anti- slip protrusions 19.

Stairs 20 for evacuation of personnel from the railway zone consist of two shaped side plates 21 , between which steps 22 are placed. Side plates 2J_ are connected to the rear wall 23, to which a support is mounted with installed steps 24. There are versions, where on the descent side to the steps 24 protective barriers 25 are mounted.

There are also versions, where a sole plate 8 is attached to the base in the entrance zone, in the shape of a lengthwise profile, with a profile similar to the letter "U" in the plane perpendicular to the lengthwise axis.

There are also versions, where after the entrance steps 20 a perforated aluminium wall 26 is placed, behind which in the space between the wall 26 and the rear wall 23, and side walls 2Λ sound insulation material 27 is placed.

The baffle in the form of a set of panels 1 and stairs 20, while in use, is placed along the rail communication route, the shape of external walls of panels i approximates the shape of front edges of the side plates 21. Placed in the panel 1 and behind stairs 20 the sound insulation material J_3, 1_4, J_5 and 27 attenuates the sound and eliminates the refraction of waves, which would increase the noise. The stairs 20 are based on its own sole plate 8 or on an extended sole plate 8 of the adjacent panels 1 of the acoustic baffle.

The person located in the hazardous zone may very easily move over the stairs 20 and go over to the other side of panels L When it is necessary to perform maintenance works in the railway zone, hydraulic installation is turned on, which uses the actuator JJ_ to raise the panel I and stairs 2^ and rotates them around the axis of the pipe 6.