US1519764A - Railway brake beam - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 16, 1924- 1,519,764

s. A. cRoNE RAILWAY BRAKE BEAM Filed June 4, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR; 452:76/ 6fm/VE.

Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

UNITED STTES SETH A. GRNE, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

RAILWAY BRAKE BEAlr.

Application led June 4, 1924. Serial No. 717,693.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SETH A. CRoNn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Brake Beams, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains to railway brake beams, and particularly to a four-point suspension therefor, and to guards extending lengthwise of the car truck and above the brake beams and cooperating' with the respective tramway bars or members of the fourpoint suspension for holding the beams captive, while at the same time permitting the beams to have their requisite movements in the service application of the brakes to and their release from the car wheels.

My invention comprises as one feature thereof, special tramway bars to be engaged by the truss rod during the operation of the brake beam and special safety guard bars which extend over the brake beams and are detachably connected at their outer ends to the outer ends of the tramway bars. The tramway bars and the safety guard bars, except at their outer ends where the guard bars and tramway bars are secured together, are substantially disclosed in my pending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 701,009, filed March 22, 1924. The present invention resides in certain improvements on the constructions shown in my aforesaid pending application, these improvements residing in special means Ifor securing the tramway bars and safety guard bars to the spring plank of the car truck and to the special construction hereinafter described pertaining to the articulated ends of the tramway-bars and safety guard bars.

In accordance with my present invention a novel support is provided below and secured to the spring plank for receiving the inner end portions of the tramway bars, this feature having for its particular object the secure holding of said bars, without the use of rivets extending through them, in very rigid position, whereby the bars are prevented from vibration or rattling while in service. y The support below the spring plank for receiving the adjoining end portions of the tramway bars is also such as to permit of the endwise insertion therein and withdrawal of the tramway bars from below the spring plank, it being my preference that the two tramway bars at each side of the truck be independent of each other and insertable endwise at their inner ends, into the support provided by me below the spring plank for receiving them. I also provide improved means yfor securing the central portions of the safety guard bars which are preferably in one piece, at each side of the truck, upon the spring plank. The present invention also provides an improved construction at the adjacent ends of the tramway bars and safety guard bars whereby the bars at their joints or points of articulation are of very durable character and may be detachably connected together by transverse pins, which are afforded maximum bearing surfaces, due to the special construction of the adjacent ends of the tramway bars and safety guard bars.

The invention will be fully understood from th-e detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a portion of a car truck equipped with the brakebeam features of my invention, the section being on the dotted line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig'. 2 is a transverse section, on a largerl scale, through a portion of the same, taken on the dotted, line 2- 2 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the same, taken on the dotted line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. t is a corresponding section taken on the dotted line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a corresponding section, partly broken away, taken on the dotted line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a top view, partly broken away, of a car truck embodying the brake beam features of my invention,

Fig. 7 is a detached top view of the supporting plate for the brake beam tramways;

Fig. 8 is a detached view of adjoining end portions of one tramway bar and one safety4 guard bar, this figure being presented to illustrate more clearly the hinge constructions at said ends of said bars, and

Fig. 9 is a top view, partly broken away, illustrating a slightly modified construction of the means for securing the central portion of the safety-guard bars upon the spring plan.

In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive, 10 designates a portion of a wellknown channel-form of spring plank constituting a. portion of a car truck frame of usual type, and 11, 12 indicate portions of inside hung trussed brake beams of customary type, each comprising the usual coinpression member 13, tension member 141, and strut 15. These brake beams are suspended by well-known pivoted hangers, not shown, and carry the brake shoes, not shown, as usual.

My invention does not involve any change in the brake beams, their shoes or their hangers, which form two-points of the suspension. l

My invention pertains more especially to the tramway bars 16, 17, which are duplicated at opposite sides of the truck, as usual, and form two means or points of suspension for the brake beams, to the bar 18 secured to the spring plank and at its ends affording the guard members 19, 20, extending over the brake beams and detachably receivingat their outer ends the outer ends of said tramway bars, said bar 18 beingl duplicated at opposite sides of the truck, and to the means for securing the inner portions of the tramway bars and the central portions of the safety `guard bars to the spring plank of the car truck. A further feature of the invention resides in the sp-ecial construction of the outer adjoining ends of the tramway bars and safety guard members, as hereinafter explained.

The means for securing the inner end portions of the tramway bars 16, 17, and the central portions of the safety guard bars 18 to the spring plank, comprise a special support 21 below the spring plank for the inner end portions of the tramway bars and clamps 22 upon the spring plank for securing the bars 18, said clamps 22 'and said support 21 being secured to the spring plank by rivets 23 which extend through end portions of said clamps, the spring plank 10 and side portions of the sup-port 21, as clearly represented in Figs. 1, 3, 1 and 6, the fewness of the rivets 23 employed, while affording adequate strength, being a very desiiable feature since they involve very little cutting` of the spring plank.

The support 21 is an integral met-al plate of about the saine length as the width of the spring plank 10 and of suitable width to adequately receive and support the inner end portions of two aligned tramway bars 16, 17. The tramway bars are preferably of inverted shallow channel shape, as shown, and their inner end portions meet centrally below the spring plank, as indicated in Fig. 2. The support 21 is formed with parallel longitudinal shoulders 24.- at opposite sides of its central portion, and these shoulders form supports and guides for the edges of the tramway, and in addition the support 21 at its ends is formed with upwardly projecting seats 25 (Fig. 5) which extend upwardly into the channel formation of the tramway bars and engage the lower surface of and act as supports for said bars. Each tramway bar is supported adjacent to the outer edge of the spring plank by means of the seat 25 at the outer end of the support 21, and each tramway bar along the entire length of that portion thereof disposed below the spring plank, is supported at opposite edges on shoulders 211. The support 21 is slotted at its central portion, as at 26, and at opposite ends of this slot said support 21 is dished downwardly, as at 27, thereby aording chambers 28 at the upper side of the support and downwardly extending shoulders 29 adjacent to the ends of the slot 26, and above the slot 26 and extending into the chambers 28 I provide a strong leaf-spring 30 which is bowed upwardly and is centrally below the yadjacent inner end portions of the tramway bars 16', 17, as indicated iii Figs. 1 and 2. The spring 30 is of semi-elliptic order and has its curved end portions 31 seated within the inner ends of the chambers 28 in the support 2l, as shown in Fig. 2. The insertion of the inner end portions of the ytramway bars 16, 17 into the channel of the .support 21 and below the spring plank 10 has the effect 0f depressing the central portions of the spring from the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 to that shown by solid lines in Fig. 2, thereby flexing said spring 30 and causing it to bind the adjacent end portions of the tramway bars upwardly against the lower surface of the spring plank, this provision of the spring 3() being to suitably hold the tramway bars in rigid relation to the spring plank and to prevent Vsaid bars from vibrating o rattling. The saipport 21 is of a -special construction shown and described, because of my purpose toI adequately support the tramway bars in such manner that in use they will be held rigidly and be prevented from vibration or rattling. A further 'purpose of the support 21 is to permit the convenient endwise insertion of the inner end portions of the tramway bars into place .below the spring plank, and also to permit of the removal of the tramway bars from the spring plank whenever necessary, without disturbing the support 21 or the rivets 23, or necessitating any operations with .the .eX- ception of freeing the outer end of the tramway bar to be removed and pulling said bar from between the support 21 and spring plank 10. I provide the slot 26 in the support 21 as a means of enabling me to supply said spring 30 to the support 2-1 either before or after said support is secured to the spring plank by the rivets l23.

The slot 26 also permits me to remove the spring 30, should the same become broken, from the support 21 and supply a new spring in place thereof to said support, the new spring being worked endwise over one shoulder 29 of the support and along the adjacent chamber 28, and thereafter the other end of the spring being inserted through the other end of the slot 26 and worked over the shoulder 29 of the other chamber 28, the chambers 28 permitting such lengtlr wise movement of the spring 30, during the insertion or withdrawal thereof, as to make it convenient to introduce or remove the spring 30 after the support 21 .has been riveted to the spring plank.

The tramway bars 16, 17 are alike, and said bars extend longitudinally, one forwardly and the other rearwardly, below the brake beams 11, 12. Each tramway balr has a plain straight horizontal base section 32 and an up-wardly and outwardly inclined section 33 which serves as a support and guide for the adjacent end portion of the truss rod 14. The tramway bars are of channel shape in cross-section and have downwardly extended edge flanges and an upwardly curved web, whereby said bars are rendered strong' and rigid and present rounded or transversely curved upper surfaces to the truss rods.

The inclined sections 33 of the tramway bars are of the proper inclination to guide the .truss rods in such manner that the brake shoes are correctly appli-ed to and retired from the wheels, and the rigidity of the tramway bars is such as to avoid uncertain sagging thereof under the weight of the break beams.

The inner end portions of the base sections 32 of each aligned pair of the tramway bars 16, 17 abut against eachother, as shown in Fig. 2, and are closely held against the lower surface of the spring plank 10 by means of the shoulders 24 and seats or elevations 25 of the supporting plate 21, assisted preferably by the spring 30. The seats or elevations 2.5 are at both ends of the supporting plate 21 and may be made of any desired or permissible length. In the absence of the spring 30 the seats or elevations 25 will extend the full length of the plate 21. The spring 30 is, however, desirable as cushioning or tensioning means to prevent vibration of the said base sections 32 against the lower surface of the spring plank 10. At opposite sides of the channel through the supporting plate. 21 for the base sections 32 of the tramway bars, said plate is formed with plain flanges 34 to engage the lower surface of the spring plank 10 and also to receive the rivets 23. The ends of the supporting plate 21 are formed integrally with depending flanges 35, which extend the full width of the plate 21 and add material strength thereto.

I preferably combine the four-point suspension features hereinbefore described with the safety features afforded by the bars 18, so that the brake-beams may be cradled between the tramway bars 16, 17 and the safety-guard members 19, 20, as shown in Fig. 1. Each bar 18 is in one continuous piece and located above the tramway bars and in cross-section preferably harmonizes with said tramway bars, being of inverted channel shape. The middle portion of each bar 18 is depressed to seat firmly upon the spring plank 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and at the ends of this depressed middle portion ofsaid bar, the bar curves upwardly, as at 36, and thence extends upwardly against and above the inclined or diverging surfaces of the inner faces of the flanges 37 of the spring plank 10, the end portions of the bar 18 thence 4extending longitudinally in opposite directions to provide the safety guard members 19, 20.

The bar 18, at each side of the truck, is secure-d upon the spring plank 10 by means of the clamps 22 and rivets 23 hereinbefore referred to. The clamps 22 transversely embrace the bar 18 at the ends of its depressed middle portion, and the side portions of said clamps directly engage the upper surface of the spring plank and receive the rivets 23. rIhe clamps 22 at their outer ends curve upwardly, as at 37 (Fig. 2), to extend upon and embrace portions of the curved sections 36 of the bar 18, and this feature of the clamps 22 I deem to be of considerable importance in effecting the firm securing of the bar 18 upon the spring plank and against the flanges 37 thereof, said portions 37 of the clamps making it unnecessary to rivet the bar 18 to said flanges.

The outer ends of the safety-guard members 19, 20 are respectively detachably se: cured to the outer ends of the tramway bars 16, 17 by means of removablel pins 38 and a special construction of the meeting ends of said guard members and bars to receive said pins, which have a head on one end and are adapted to receive a cotter key at the other end. The outer end portions of the guard members 19, 2O curve downwardly and are fiattened and also recessed endwise inwardly, as at 39 (Fig. 6), leaving two tongues which I curl upwardly and inwardly to form two sleeves or knuckles 40 (Figs. 6 and 8) to take the end portions of the pins 38. The outer end portions of the tramway bars 16, 17 are flattened and turned upwardly and recessed at o posite edges to leave a central tongue whicli I curl downwardly and inwardly to form a sleeve or knuckle 41 matching and fitting between the aforesaid sleeves or knuckles 40, as shown in Fig. 6, and ref ceiving the middle portions of the pins 38. The sleeves 40, 41 afford broad bearing surfaces for the pins 38 and provide a conveniently formed and durable means, with the pins, for detachably connecting the guard members and tramway bars together.

The safety guard members 19, in addition to their other duties, aid in keeping the tramway bars 16, 17 in fixed position, resisting endwise movement of said bars and the sagging downwardly of said bars under the weight of `the brake-beams.

In assembling the several parts of the mechanism, the bar 18 and clamps 22 may be applied upon the spring plank, and the supporting plate 21 applied to the lower surface of the spring plank and the whole secured by means of the rivets 23, after which the tramway bars 16, 17 maybe forced endwise into the channel of said plate 21 and secured at their outer ends to the outer ends of the safety-guard members 19, 20 by means of the pins 38.

Whenever necessary either tramway bar may be detached from its cooperating safetyguard member and pulled from the plate 21, without disturbing the bar 18, clamps 22, plate 21 or rivets 23, and with equal convenience either tramway bar thus removedmay be returned to position.

The modification shown in Fig. 9 resides in providincr a single long plate clamp 42 as an equivalent for the two shorter clamps l 22, for securing the bar 18 upon the spring plan, said clamp 42 at its ends having upwardly curved members 43 corresponding with the parts 37 of said clamps 22.

Spring-planks or sand-planks of cartrucks vary in design and details, and hence I use the term spring-plank herein in a generic sense as applying to spring planks generally.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a supporting plate secured to the spring plank and having a longitudinal channel adapted to receive the inner end portions of said bars and a bowed spring housed within the plate and adapted to bind the bars against the spring plank.

2. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a supportingl plate secured to the spring plank and having a longitudinal channel adapted to receive the inner end portions of said bars and a bowed spring housed within the plate and adapted to bind the bars against the spring plank, and said plate being chambered in its end portions to freely confine the ends of the spring and permit the downward flexing of the spring by the insertion of said b-ars into said channel.

3. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a supporting plate secured to the spring plank and having a longitudinal channel adapted to receive the inner end portions of said bars and a bowed spring housed within the plate and adapted to bind the bar-s against the spring plank, and said plate being chambered in its end portions to freely confine the ends of the spring and permit the downward flexing of the spring by the insertion of said bars in-to said channel, said plate also being open between said chambers to permit the removal `and replenishing of the spring without .detaching the plate from the spring plank.

4. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor of inverted channel formation and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a longitudinally channeled supporting plate secured to the spring plank and adapted =to receive the inner end portions of said bars, said plate having, at the sides vof its channel, longitudinal shoulders to receive the downwardly extended edges of said bars andy therebetween raised or elevated portions to serve as seats for the lower surfaces of said bars.

5. A car-truck having inside hung' trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor of inverted channel formation and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner .end portions from the spring plank, said means .comprising a longitudinally channeled supporting plate secured to the spring plank and adapted to receive the inner end portions of vsaid bars, said plate having, at the vsides of its channely longitudinal shoulders to receive the downwardly extended edges of said bars land therebetween raised or elevated portions to serve as seats for the lower surfaces. of said bars, and said plate having. integrally therewith depending flanges at its ends and lateral flanges at its sides to engage the lower surface of the spring plank.

6. A .car-truck having inside' hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor vof inverted channel formation and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the yspring pl-ank, said means comprisim a longitudinally channeled supporting plate secured to the spring plank and adapted lto receive the inner end portions of said bars and a bowed leaf-spring housed within said plate and arranged to press said end portions against the spring plank, said plate having, at the sides of its channel, longitudinal shoulders to receive the downwardly extended edges of said bars and therebetween raised or elevated portions to serve as seats for the lower surfaces of said bars.

7. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor of inverted channel formation and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a longitudinally channeled supporting plate secured to the spring plank and adapted to receive the inner end portions of said bars and a 'bowed leaf-spring housed within said plate and arranged to press said end portions against the spring plank, said plate having, at the sides of its channel, longitudinal shoulders to receive the downwardly extended edges of said bars and therebetween raised or elevated portions to serve as seats for the lower surfaces of said bars, and said plate being chambered in its end portions to freely confine the ends of th-e spring and permit the downward flexing of the spring by the insertion of said bars into said channel 8. A car-truck having inside hung trussed brake-beams, aligned tramway suspension hars therefor of inverted channel formation and means for supporting said bars at their adjoining inner end portions from the spring plank, said means comprising a longitudinally channeled supporting plate secured to the spring plank and adapted to receive the inner end portions of said bars and a bowed leaf-spring housed within said plate and arranged to press said end portions against the spring plank, said plate having, at the sides of its channel, longitudinal shoulders to receive the downwardly extended edges of said bars and therebetween raised or elevated portions to serve as seats for the lower surfaces of said bars, and said plate being chambered in its end portions to freely confine the ends of the spring and permit the downward flexing of the spring by the insertion of said bars into said channel, said plate also being open between said chambers to permit the removal and replenishing of the spring without detaching the plate from the spring plank.

9. A car-truck having inside hung brakebeams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor, means for supporting said bars from the spring plank, a bar having a depressed middle portion secured upon the floor of the spring plank and thence to curving upwardly to and extending along and above the flanges of said plank and thence extending longitudinally in opposite directions over said beams and tramway bars to form safety guard members and means detachably connecting the outer ends of said safety guard members with the outer ends of said tramway bars, the means securing said middle portion of the bar to the spring plank comprising clamps extending transversely across said bar at the ends of said middle portion and riveted to the spring plank, said clamps at their outer ends being curved upwardly and engaging thereat the upwardly curved portions of said bar adj acent to the flanges of the spring plank.

10. A car-truck having inside hung brakebeams, aligned tramway suspension bars therefor, means for supporting said bars from the spring plank, a bar having a depressed middle portion secured upon the floor of the spring plank and thence curving upwardly to and extending along and above the flanges of said plank and thence extending longitudinally in opposite directions over said beams and tramway bars to fo-rm safety guard members and means detachably connecting the outer ends of said safety guard members with the outer ends of said tramway bars, said connecting means being transverse pins and sleeves formed on said outer ends of said members and bars to receive said pins, the outer ends of said guard members being flat and curved downwardly and recessed endwise inwardly to leave two tongues which are curled into the sleeves on said members, and the outer ends of said bars being flat and turned upwardly and fashioned into sleeves to match and pass between the said sleeves on said guard members.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 3rd day of June, A. D. 1924.

SETH A. GRNE.

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