US1208698A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

w. P. THOMSON.

RAIL JOINT.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I3, 1916- Patented Dec. 12,1916.

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RAIL JOINT.

7 "1,208,698. Patented Dec. 12,1916.-

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WILLIAM I. THOMSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB 'I O THE RAIL J OI1\TT COMPAN Y,

. OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' nun-mm.

Application filed March 18, 1916- Serial No. 83,885.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. THOM- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to rail joints, and has special reference to a novel and practical improvement in splice bars whereby the clamping effect against the rail ends is materially improved and automatically pro longed as wear takes place.

According to the present invention it is proposed to improve the clamping action of splice bars by providing a bar of full fishing height at the center, but whose ends are of reduced fishing height, so that the latter may be flexed inwardly toward the rail webs, under the compression of the joint bolts, to place the central part of the bar under a constant and persisting clamping Thus, the bar will exert a greater.

force. clamping effect immediately adjacent the rail ends, than is customary, since, in addition to the ,usual pressure of. the central joint bolts, the compression of the end bolts .is, by means of the present invention, also communicated to the center of the vloar where persistent clamping and supporting efiect is needed even after the bearing surfaces become worn.-

Accordingly, it is to be noted that the present invention has primarily inview a splice bar construction which produces a maximum clamping force immediately adjacent the rail ends.

In a practical aspect this feature of the invention is of much importance. That is to say, a.bar having this characteristic more effectually provides for I taking up the variable amount of wear which occurs at different places throughout the length of the joint, more especially at the center than at the ends. Also, the improved construction provides a nut locking effect for the joint bolts, and makes better provision for the expansion and contraction of the rails without sacrificing efficiency to resist lateral and vertical stresses.

The above features are not obtainable with the ordinary angle barwhose tendency is to cant or pull in at the top when the joint bolts are tightened. In the present type of bar the action is such that when the ends of the bar are pulled in until they bear against the underside of the rail head,

the lower portion of the ,bar, bearing on the top of the base flanges of the rails, will pull in with the bar, and, in thus pulling in, will slide up the base of the rail. This enables the entire bar to be drawn into final seating position without canting, and insures even contact of all the bearing faces of the joint bar with the rail.

With/the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood,

including splice bars having the present invention applied thereto, and showing the bars before the joint bolts are tightened. Fig. 2 is a sectional end view on the line 22 of Fig.1 showing the foot of the splice bar in contact with the base flange of the rail, and the end of the .bar head out of contact with the underside of the rail head before the tightening of the bolts. F ig.3 is a vertical sectional view also on the line so j 22 of Fig. 1 showing the position of the end of the bar when the same has been drawn in by the joint bolts, leaving the central portion in its normal position. Fig. 4

is a horizontal sectional view of a bisected joint showing the ends of the bar bowed inwardly toward the rail webs. side elevation similar to Fig. l, but showing a modification of the invention. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view on the line 6-6 Fig. 5 is a of Fig. 5, looking in the direction of the arrow, before the joint bolts are tightened. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view on the line 77 of Fig. 5 looking in the direction of'the arrow, after the joint bolts are tightened. 1

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In' carrying the present invention into efi'ect, any desired type of joint bar maybe employed, but as the invention possesses special utility in connection with the effective distribution of metal involved in the Thomson-Thomson type of splice bar, that form of bar is shown in the drawings to illustrate a preferred application of the invention to a rail joint. As will be observed from Fig. 1, the rails R and R are shown as being connected by a joint bar 1 of this type, the same including the usual head member 2, and the foot flange 3, the former having a fiat rail bearing face 4: for engaging the underside of the rail head, and the latter having an under flat bearing face 5 for engaging the upper side of the base flanges of the rails.

In connection with the novel form of the invention shown in Figs. 11 inclusive, it will be observed that the bearing face 5 of the foot flange 3 lies in the same plane throughout the length of the bar, but has its greatest distance from face 4 of the bar head at the center of the joint as indicated at 6. Theportions of the upper bearing face 4 at each side of the center of the bar incline toward the ends of the bar as indicated at 7 thereby providing a bar of full section and fishing height at its central portion, but of reduced section and fishing height at the end portions thereof. Accordingly, with this section of bar, the central portion. thereof will,'as usual, directly and adjustably engage the underside of the rail head and upper side of the base flanges .of the rails, while the bearing faces of the head member 2 at the ends of the bar will be out of contact with the underside of the rail head, that is, before the bolts are tightened. This position of parts is shown in Fig. '2 of the drawings. Upon the tightening of the joint bolts,'the'reduced end portions of the bar will be compelled to lift as they are bolted in. This lifting action will be of maximum effectiveness on the central portion of the bar. That is to say, since the center of the bar initially and rigidly fits between the underside of the adjacent rail heads and the base flanges of the rails, it will remain in that position even when the joint bolts are tightened, as the only place for the bar to yield is at the ends. And, as the joint bolts are all in horizontal alinement, the bolting force is exerted in a plane .at right angles to the outer face of the web of the joint bar,

and, therefore, a force in this direction, pulling in on the ends of the bar, will cause the face 5 of the latter torideup on the inclined faces of the base flanges of the rails.

This results in lifting the flat inclined faces 7 in the bar head into contact with the undersides of the rail heads. Furthermore, it will be observed that since the full section of. the bar occurs immediately adjacent the rail ends at the center of the joint, and entirely fills the fishing space of the rails thereat, the tlghtening of the end bolts E 1 will have a tendency to pull the central porof the fact that the center portion of the bar rigidly fits the fishing spaces of the rails. Accordingly, the central portion of the bar will be placed under a constant and persisting pressure or tension by the pressure of the end bolts E assisted by the middle joint bolts M. This construction also Provides a more effective means for taking up the wear in the joint, particularly at the center there of, because of the capacity of the reduced bar ends for a greater range of inward movement under spring tension. The bowing or flexing in of the ends of the joint bar toward the rail webs is also of particular importance since it exerts a nut-locking ef feet on the joint bolts, thus serving to maintain the efficiency of the joint, while at the same time more effectually providing for the expansion and contraction of the rails under different conditions of temperature. That is to say, since the bar is bowed under compression by the end joint bolts, when the rails shrink under low temperatures, the latter will have a tendency to straighten the bars out or bend them back to their normal position, but in so doing will more firmly wedge the central full section of the bars between the head and foot of the rails, thus permitting the rails to move farther apart without disturbing the bearing support at the center of the joint. Under high temperatures when the rails expand the bearing surface of the center of the joint will be still rendered effective, because the ends of the bar may flex without disturbing the full section at the center which supports the rails at their ends.

Another application of the invention is shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 of the drawings. In connection therewith it will be observed that the structural characteristics of the splice bar shown in this form of the invention are substantially the same as that shown in the other. In this modification, the features of a joint, bar having .a full section at the center thereof, and gradually and progressively reduced end sections, is maintained, but to provide for a wider range of flexibility in the ends of the bar, the face 5 of the foot flange portion 3 may be formed with the inclined faces 8 which diverge toward the center of the bar, and thus cooperate with the faces 7 at the top to provide a greater reduction in the fishing height of the bar at the ends than in the form of the in- 120 vention shown in Fig. 2. In'other words, in this modified form, the central portion of the bar is of the same depth as the height of the fishing space of the rails .at the normal distance away from the rail web, and 125 central portion ofthe joint bar will as usual side of the rail heads and upper sides of the base flanges of the rails along the center of the joint, but the end portions of the joint bar, at both the top and bottom, will be out of contact with the underside of-the' rail head and base flanges of the rail. Upon the tightening of the joint bolts in the modified structure, substantially the same action will take place as in the other form of the invention. That is, the ends'of the bar will be drawn in closer toward the rail Webs than the central portion to thereby distribute the clamping effect of the end bolts directly to the center of the joint where the greatest clamping action is desirable. Since, in both forms of the invention, the center portion of the bar is of the same height as the fishing space of the rails, it will be clear that an accurate fit will exist between the bar and the rails, whereby the outer face of the web will retain its'true vertical position, and not cant or incline toward the rail head as is the case with the ordinary type of angle bar when the joint bolts are tightened. In the present invention the chief flexing of the joint bar is lateral, instead of vertical, thus utilizing the yielding or flexing of the bar to a practical advantage, while heretofore, it has been wasted and, in fact, an injurious element in the maintenance of proper joint and track conditions. That is to say, the flexing or bending of the joint bar under the compression of the joint bolts is, according to the present invention, converted into a 'Wedging or clamping force for the rail ends which is of much practical and economical importance, since it provides for more evenly distributing the wear on the joint parts, while at the same time it provides for increased strength and rigidity in the zone immediately adjacent the rail ends. 7

Without further description, it is thought the many features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent, and it will, of course, be understood that minor changes in the form, proportion and details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rail joint including a splice bar having a rail-clamping end of less fishing height than the central part of the bar.

2. A rail joint including a splice bar of less height at the ends than at its central portion and clamping the fishing space from end to end.

3. A rail joint including a splice bar fitting the fishing space closer to the rail webs at its ends than at its central portion.

4:. In a rail joint, a splice bar fitting into the fishing space for its entire length but with the distance between the web of the rail and the bar greater at the center than at the ends of the bar.

5. A rail joint including a splice bar having longitudinal rail bearing faces, the distance between the faces at the end of the bar being less than at the center.

6. A rail joint including a splice bar having longitudinally disposed oppositely inclined rail bearing faces.

7 A rail joint including a splice bar having longitudinal convergently related rail bearing faces.

8. A rail joint including a splice bar having longitudinal rail bearing faces diverging toward the center of the bar.

9. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails and joint bolts, of the joint bars having clamping ends of less fishing height than the central part of the bar, said bar ends adapted to be flexed toward the Webs of the rails under'the compression of the joint bolts.

10. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails and joint bolts, of the joint bars having clamping ends of less fishing height than the central part of the bar, said bar ends adapted to be flexed inwardly and upwardly.

11. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails and the joint bolts, of the joint bars of reduced section at the ends, and of a full section at an intermediate point whereby the end sections may be drawn in toward the rail webs to produce a longitudinally bowed.

bar.

12. In a rail joint, the combination with the rails, and joint bolts, of the joint bars having a full section at the center and a reduced section at the ends, the tightening of the bolts placing said full section permanently under compression and drawing the ends of the bar toward. the webs of the rails.

- In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM P. THOMSON.

Witnesses:

BENJ. WOLHAUPTER, C. A. Drsnnow.

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