US3096729A - Railroad skate having lockable retainers - Google Patents

Description

July 9, 1963 s. J, BECK 3,096,729

Y RAILROAD SKATE HAVING LOCKABLE RETAINERS Filed April 5, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 QB Q? E .gu

INVENTOR. Samue/ J. 566K July 9, 1963 s. J. BECK 3,096,729'

RAILROAD SKATE HAVING LOCKABLE RETAINERS Filed April 5, 1962 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Samuel J. Beck BY @MMNQW tates This invention relates to an improved railroad skate of the kind that is ladapted to move past a -frog without being displaced from `the rail or causing d-ifliculties such as detailing of the car being braked thereby.

It is the most important object of the instant invention to provide a skate wherein the skid bar thereof is prorvided with rail-embracing retainers serving to hold the skate on the rail and provided with latches of the kind that lock the retainers until such time as one or the other of the latches comes into engagement with a frog, whereupon the corresponding retainer is unlocked `and permitted to rise to a position clearing the frog as the retainer moves into engagement with the latter.

Another important object of the instant invention is the provision of a skate of the aforementioned character that is constructed in a manner to make use of the latches for holding the retainers raised so that they will not fall back into their normal position into the space between the rails at the frog and become damaged, cause derailment or other difficulties.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a railway skate made pursuant to my present invention showing the positions of the component parts at the time -the car rail initially rolls thereupon and prior to skiddin'g into the zone of a railway frog;

FIG. 2 is :a plan view of the skate without the wheel thereon rand illustrating lthe positions of the component parts when the skate isinitially placed on the rail in position to receive the wheel;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional View through the rail and showin-g the `skate in front elevation;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the skate similar to FIG. 1 but with the tongue thereof in its normal position for receiving the wheel and illustrating one of the retainersrlocked in its raised position;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4 but showing the skate on a rail that is also illustrated in vertical cross section;

FlG. 6 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4 but with parts broken `away and in section to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG. 2 but partially in section substantially along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and with one of the retainers entirely removed.

The railway skate of my instant invention includes an elongated skid bar 10 having a smooth uninterrupted lower surface `adapting the same to rest flatly upon the uppermost face of head 12 lforming a pant of a conventional rail 16. Rail 16 has the usual web 18 interconnecting head 12 and flange 20l thereof.

One end of the bar 10 has a bevel 22 -at its lower edge and the opposite end of the -bar 1d carries a tongue 24. Tongue 24 is provided with a central arm 26 tted within a recess 28 between a pair of ribs 30 integral with the bar 10. A ramp 32, normally engaging the upper face of head 12, is integral with one end of the arm 26 land an apron 34 is provided at the inner end of the arm 26. A pintle 36 through the ribs 30 and the arm 26 swingably mounts the tongue 24 on the bar 10 for vertical swinging movement.

An upstanding median plate 33 integral with the bar arent 16 is provided with a handle 40 and with an abutment 42 that is engaged Aby car wheel 44 in the manner illustrated by FIG. 1 of the drawings.

A pair of retainers broadly designated by the numerals 46 land 48 are identical; hence, the retainer 46 will be described and :corresponding component parts of the retainer 43 will be designated by the same numerals except only that the same will .be primed.

Retainer 46 is somewhat in the nature of an elongated, hollow, downwardly opening body provided with a top wal-l 50 (including a pair of hoods 52 and 54), an outermost side wall 56, an inner wall 58 and a pair of end walls 6d and 62, the wall 58 normally resting on the bar 10.

The walls '56 and 58 iare spaced apart to normally receive a lug 64 therebetween adjacent end wall 60, the lug 64 constituting an integral part of the upper face off bar 10. An upstanding guide 66, yalso integral with the bar 10, adjacent the wall 62, is also received between the walls 56 and 58 `and is provided with a rearwardly receiving uppermost arcuate edge 63. A keeper 7 il on the guide 66 extends rearwardly therefrom yand is spaced above the upper surface of the bar 10. A cross plate 72 interconnects the guides 66 and 66 and is integral with the upper face of bar 10. The wall 58 is provided with a downwardly facing slot 74 which clears the plate 72.

A similar cross plate 76 in spaced parallelism to the plate 72 is cleared by a downwardly facing slot '78 in the wall 58 `and is provided with a rearwardly extending keeper 80 spaced above the bar 10.

A pair of spaced blocks 82 on the inner face of wall 56 normally engage the corresponding side of head 12 and directly above the blocks 82 retainer 46 is provided with :an elongated bolt 84 forming a part of a latch broadly designated by the numeral 86. The bolt 84 is slidable fore and aft between walll 56 and the outer faces of lug 64 and guide 66, las well as the proximal ouiter end of plate 76.

Bolt 84 has a pair of spaced transverse ears 88 and 90 that extend outwardly through elongated guide holes 92 in the plate 56. Ears 88 and 90 also extend inwardly into overlapping relationship to the upper face of bar 1i). The ears 88 and 90 vare adapted to either underlie keepers 80 and 70, respectively, or overlie such corresponding keepers, as will be hereinafter clarified.

Bolt 84 is yieldably biased toward the forwardmost end of its path of travel Where ears 88 and 90 engage wall 76 .and guide v66, respectively, by a spring 94 contained within a tube 96 that is cast as a part of and extends forwardly from the end wall 62. Spring 94 is interposed betweenV the end wall 62 and an upstanding pin 98 on bolt 84 riding within a slot 100 in the tube 96. The outermost or forwardmost end of the bolt 34 has a boss 102 provided with a wedge 104 which enters a vertical, transversely V-shaped groove 166 in the forwardmost end of wall 56 when the bolt 84 is shifted to the inner most end of its path of travel against the action of spring 94.

In operation, the skate is placed upon the rail 16 with the bar 10 and the ramp 32 resting upon the upper surface of head 12, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and at that time, the retainers 46 .and 48 are both down in embracing relationship to the sides of the head 12, as best seen in FIG. 3. In such condition all four blocks 82- 82-82-82 are in close proximity to the sides of the head 12 and the lower edge of the inner wall 58-58 are resting upon the upper surface of bar 10.

Also, the retainers 46 and 48 are held locked in their lower positions by their latches S6 and 86. Such locking results from the fact that the ears 88 and 90 underlie the keepers 80 and 70, and, by the same token, the ears 8S and 90 are beneath -their corresponding keepers 80 and 70.

When the wheel 44 rolls into position upon the skate it first climbs the ramp 32 and thence .rolls upon the apron 34 and against the abutment 42. This tilts the tongue 24 to raise the ramp 32 otf the head 12 of rail 16 so that the ramp 32 does not engage the rail as the bar 10 skids along the rail 16, supporting the wheel 44, and therefore serving as a brake to ultimately bring the railway car to a stop.

llf no frog is encountered, then throughout the entire skidding movement of the skate the retainers 46 .and 48 remain lowered and operate to guide the skate along the head 12 and maintain it properly mounted thereon.

However, in the event the skate moves into the zone of a frog, one of the bosses 102 or 102' (depending upon which side of the rail 16 the frog happens to be located) will engage such frog. Assuming that boss 102 contacts the frog 4at its cam edge 108, bolt 84 will shift against the action of spring 94, retracting the ears 88 and 94) from beneath the keepers 80 and 70.

The cam edge 110 of the leading block 82 will then contact the frog, causing the retainer 46 to tilt upwardly, the ear 90 rising along the rearwardmost free end of keeper 70. The lowermost edge of the wall 56 will then ride over the frog, shifting the ear 88 upwardly along a rearmost free end of the keeper 80'. Hence, the entire retainer 46 will rise to a position above the horizontal plane of the upper surface of head 12 and as soon as the boss 102 clears the frog, spring 100 becomes operable to return 4the bolt 84 to its forwardmost position. This shifts the ears y38 and 90 forwardly to a position overlying the keepers 8) and 70, respectively, so that the ears 88 and 99 hold the retainer 46 in the raised position.

As the skate continues to skid along a track, the retainer 48 remains in its lowered position, operating to guide the skate along the track 16.

Manifestly, the same operation occurs when the frog is on the opposite side of the rail 16 and is engaged by the boss 102. In FIG. 5 of the drawings the retainer 48 is illustrated in its upward position, locked by its latch 86 against downwardmovement. On the other hand, FIG. illustrates the retainer 46 still locked in its lowered position by latch 86.

Movement of the wedge 104 into the groove 106 tends to guide the boss 102 and' hold it against lateral movement as the bolt =84 reaches the innermost end of its path of travel and while the boss 102 remains in engagement with the frog.

A pair of stop bolts 112 carried by the median plate 38 and extending in opposite directions therefrom above the retainers 46 and 4S limit the extent of upward movement of such retainers to prevent lthem from becoming displaced from their interacting relationship with the guides 66 and 66 and the lugs 64- and 64.

It can now be appreciated that there has been provided a skate that will n `ot become displaced from the rail because of the two retainers which are normally locked in position embracing the head of the rail. However, the skate will pass frogs because of the fact that each retainer is releasable when its latch moves against the frog so that the latter in turn will raise the proximal retainer and permit it to ride over the frog. Moreover,

retainer has become locked against downward moved ment land will not, therefore, fall into the rail spacing that is present at the frog area. Furthermore, since the two retainers are separate one from the other, the retainer that remains locked in its lowered position continues to guide the skate along the rail after the skate moves beyond the zone of the frog.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A railroad skate comprising: an elongated skid bar adapted to rest upon a rail `and serve as a brake under a railroad car wheel; an upstanding abutment on the bar against which the wheel rolls when it moves upon the bar; -a pair of retainers disposed to overlap the sides of the rail -t-o hold the bar in place thereon; means mounting the retainers on the bar for upward movement when the same strike a railroad frog within the path thereof as the bar skids along the rail with the wheel supported thereby; and a shiftable latch for each retainer respectively normally holding the same locked to the bar and against upward movement, each latch being disposed to strike the frog, when the latter is within its path of travel, ahead of its retainer for movement to an unlocked position prior to striking of the frog by such retainer. 2. The invention of claim l: and means limiting the extent `of upward movement of the retainers relative to the bar. 3. The invention of claim l: Y and means for each latch respectively yieldably biasing the same toward a retainer-locking position. 4. The invention of claim l: and means coacting with the latches and holding the retainers in their raised position after passing the frog. 5. The invention of claim l: each latch having a bolt carried by its retainer for reciprocable fore-and-aft movement, and a keeper carried by the bar for holding the latch against upward movement. 6. The invention of claim 5 the bolts having ears underlying the keepers when the retainers are down, and overlying the keepers when the retainers are raised to hold the latter in a raised position. 7. The invention of claim 6:

and spring means between the retainers and the bolts yieldably biasing the latter forwardly for holding the ears beneath the keepers when the retainers are down and above the keepers when the retainers are up. 8. The invention of claim 7: and guides on the bar separately supporting the retainers for upward tilting movement as the forward end of either retainer initially contacts the frog. 9. The invention of claim 8: `and laterally-extending stop means carried by the bar `above the retainers for limiting the extent of upward movement thereof. Y

No references cited.

Claims (1)

1. A RAILROAD SKATE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED SKID BAR ADAPTED TO REST UPON A RAIL AND SERVE AS A BRAKE UNDER A RAILROAD CAR WHEEL; AN UPSTANDING ABUTMENT ON THE BAR AGAINST WHICH THE WHEEL ROLLS WHEN IT MOVES UPON THE BAR; A PAIR OF RETAINERS DISPOSED TO OVERLAP THE SIDES OF THE RAIL TO HOLD THE BAR IN PLACE THEREON; MEANS MOUNTING THE RETAINERS ON THE BAR FOR UPWARD MOVEMENT WHEN THE SAME STRIKE A RAILROAD FROG WITHIN THE PATH THEREOF AS THE BAR SKIDS ALONG THE RAIL WITH THE WHEEL SUPPORTED THEREBY; AND A SHIFTABLE LATCH FOR EACH RETAINER RESPECTIVELY NORMAL-

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