CA2305610C - Center clamp assembly for frame brace rail truck - Google Patents

Center clamp assembly for frame brace rail truck Download PDF

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Publication number
CA2305610C
CA2305610C CA002305610A CA2305610A CA2305610C CA 2305610 C CA2305610 C CA 2305610C CA 002305610 A CA002305610 A CA 002305610A CA 2305610 A CA2305610 A CA 2305610A CA 2305610 C CA2305610 C CA 2305610C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
clamp
side frames
struts
clamp plate
truck
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
CA002305610A
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2305610A1 (en
Inventor
Robert L. Bullock
Thomas J. Heyden
Wilson W. S. Pak
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Standard Research and Design Corp
Original Assignee
Standard Research and Design Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Standard Research and Design Corp filed Critical Standard Research and Design Corp
Publication of CA2305610A1 publication Critical patent/CA2305610A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2305610C publication Critical patent/CA2305610C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61RAILWAYS
    • B61FRAIL VEHICLE SUSPENSIONS, e.g. UNDERFRAMES, BOGIES OR ARRANGEMENTS OF WHEEL AXLES; RAIL VEHICLES FOR USE ON TRACKS OF DIFFERENT WIDTH; PREVENTING DERAILING OF RAIL VEHICLES; WHEEL GUARDS, OBSTRUCTION REMOVERS OR THE LIKE FOR RAIL VEHICLES
    • B61F5/00Constructional details of bogies; Connections between bogies and vehicle underframes; Arrangements or devices for adjusting or allowing self-adjustment of wheel axles or bogies when rounding curves
    • B61F5/50Other details
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16BDEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
    • F16B5/00Joining sheets or plates, e.g. panels, to one another or to strips or bars parallel to them
    • F16B5/08Joining sheets or plates, e.g. panels, to one another or to strips or bars parallel to them by means of welds or the like
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K2101/00Articles made by soldering, welding or cutting
    • B23K2101/006Vehicles
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23KSOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K2101/00Articles made by soldering, welding or cutting
    • B23K2101/24Frameworks

Abstract

A rail car truck has a pair of longitudinally spaced wheelsets and a pair of laterally spaced side frames which extend between and are supported by the wheelsets. A
bolster extends between the side frames to support the rail car vehicle body.
There is a brace which is connected to the side frames to control relative longitudinal movement therebetween. The brace includes a pair of struts which are diagonally connected to the side frames on opposite sides of the centerline thereof. The struts intersect generally centrally of the side frames and there is a clamp assembly for attaching the struts together. The clamp assembly includes a pair of clamp plates, each having a channel formed and adapted to receive a strut. Each clamp plate channel terminates at opposite ends of the clamp plate, with each clamp plate channel having a generally U-shaped opening. Each clamp plate is welded to a strut along the generally U-shaped openings thereof. There are fasteners which attach the facing surface of the clamp plates directly to each other. The clamp plates are welded, one to another. The clamp plate assembly inhibits relative movement between the struts in a generally horizontal plane.

Description

CENTER CLAMP ASSEMBLY FOR FRAME BRACE RAIL TRUCK
THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to frame braced rail car trucks of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,570,544, 5,243,920 and 5,584,250, all assigned to the assignee of the present application, Standard Research and Design Corporation of Park Ridge, Ill. In the '544 patent the diagonal braces or struts which interconnect the side frames are held together at their intersection by a shackle 66. In the '920 patent the struts are interconnected where they cross by a clamp plate assembly consisting of two clamp plates, each with a channel, and an elastomeric pad between the facing surfaces of the clamp plates and the struts. There are fasteners which hold the clamp plates together.
In the '250 patent the clamp plates are welded to the frame brace struts and the clamp plates are welded to one another. Although this welded assembly provided a substantially strengthened interconnection, the welds were located at an area of high residual stress. The present invention modifies the configuration of the welds between each strut and a clamp plate by the provision of U-shaped cutouts at each end of a clamp plate channel, with the struts being welded to the clamp plates along the edges of the U-shaped openings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to frame brace trucks in which a pair of cross struts are used to stabilize the truck and improve the resistance to relative longitudinal movement between the side frames.
A primary purpose of the invention is to provide an improved and substantially strengthened clamp assembly for attaching the cross struts between the side frames.

Another purpose is to provide a clamp assembly of the type described using a specific geometric shape for the weld between each clamp plate and a strut, which weld shape increases fatigue resistance.
Another purpose of the invention is to utilize U-shaped welds between the clamp plates and the struts, which welds are closer to the neutral axis of the lateral bending load, thus reducing stress in the welds.
Other purposes will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the following drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a side view of a rail car truck of the type disclosed herein;
Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the rail car truck of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a top view of the upper frame strut;
Fig. 4 is a side view of the upper frame strut;
Fig. 5 is a top view of the lower frame strut;
Fig. 6 is a side view of the lower frame strut;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the top of the upper clamp or a bottom view of the lower clamp;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the bottom of the upper clamp or the top of the lower clamp;
Fig. 9 is a section along plane 9-9 of Fig. 7;
Fig. 10 is an enlarged bottom view of the clamp assembly; and Fig. 11 is a section along plane 11-11 of Fig. 10.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
U.S. Patent No. 4,570,544 discloses a railroad truck having a pair of side frames supported on conventional longitudinally spaced wheelsets. To improve truck stability, cross struts extend between the side frames to increase the resistance to side frame relative longitudinal movement. Elastomeric members are placed between the wheelsets and the side frames to decrease the yaw stiffness of the wheelsets. As a result, the yaw stiffness and lateral stiffness of the truck can be selected to provide optimum truck stability.
U.S. Patent No. 5,243,920 discloses an improvement of the '544 truck, specifically in the area of the clamp that holds the cross struts together at a location generally at the mid-point between the side frames. The '250 patent was an improvement on the clamp assembly of the '920 patent in that it strengthened the connection between the cross struts and eliminated the elastomeric member of the '920 patent. The present invention provides yet a further improvement in the clamp assembly in that by repositioning the welds between each clamp plate and a strut, it increases the fatigue resistance of the welds and reduces the stress in the welds. This provides a clamp assembly which is both strengthened and which has a substantially increased useful life.
In the drawing, conventional side frames are indicated at 10 and are mounted on wheelsets 12 and 14. Conventional roller bearings mount the wheelsets and the side frames are connected by a bolster 16. The bolster is supported on the side frame by springs 17, as is conventional.
Cross struts 18 and 20 are diagonally connected between the side frames to provide the desired resistance to relative longitudinal movement between the side frames.
Each end of a cross strut 18, 20 is attached to a side frame by means of a mounting bracket 22 which is attached by a base plate 24 to the side frame. An end block assembly 26 is attached to the brackets 22 and has a nose, not shown, which extends within and supports each of the cross struts 18 and 20. The end block assembly and the mounting therefor includes an elastomeric element to provide yaw and lateral stiffness.
The clamp assembly is indicated generally at 30 and is shown in detail in Figs.
3-11. the clamp assembly includes an upper clamp plate 32 and a lower clamp plate 34, the clamp plates being identical in configuration. Each clamp plate includes a generally central trough 36 within which is positioned a central portion 38 of one of the struts 18 and 20.
The central portion 38 of each of the struts, as more particularly shown in the cross sections of Figs. 9 and 11, includes what may be termed an upper surface 40 which, although slightly curved, is relatively flat when compared with the lower surface 42, which is irregular in shape and has an in-turned central area 44.
The troughs 36 are formed and adapted to receive the central sections of the struts, and at each end of a trough 36 there is a generally U-shaped opening 48. Each strut is welded to a clamp plate at the area of the U-shaped openings 48, as indicated at 50 in Fig.
7. Further, each strut is welded along its sides at spaced locations to the trough 36, as indicated at 52 in Fig. 8. Thus, there are welds along the sides of each strut and the trough of the clamp plates and there are welds between the U-shaped openings at each end of each clamp plate trough and the struts.
Each of the clamp plates 32 and 34 has the configuration of a parallelogram with sides 54, with the sides being such that the clamp plate has a long axis which is parallel with the trough, and a short axis which is perpendicular to the trough. The clamp plates are fastened together by means of fasteners 56, which extend through aligned holes 57 in the clamp plates to provide the clamp plate assembly, as indicated in Figs. 10 and 11.
In assembly, the struts will first be welded to a clamp plate by the welds 50 and 52. The clamp plates will then be assembled, as indicated in Fig. 10, and will be held together by the fasteners 56. The clamp plate assembly is then completed by means of welds 58 along adjoining edges of the clamp plates, again as illustrated in Fig. 10.
In use, the clamp assembly provides a rigid, strong interconnection between the cross struts or cross braces. Each of the struts is welded to a clamp plate, and after the clamp plates are assembled, they are welded together along adjacent edges. The use of U-shaped openings and welds along those openings is important. By locating the welds at the U-shaped openings at the end of each clamp plate trough, the weld has been moved from an area of high residual stress to an area of low residual stress. In this connection, it should be noted that the U-shaped welds between the clamp plates and the struts are along the generally flat or slightly curved surface 40 of the struts, which is an area of low residual stress for the strut. Further, the U-shaped welds are located closer to the neutral axis of the lateral bending load applied to the clamp assembly. This reduces the stress in the welds which again increases the effective life of the clamp assembly.
Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there may be many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto.

Claims (7)

1. A truck comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced wheelsets, a pair of laterally spaced side frames extending between and supported by said wheelsets, a bolster extending between said side frames to support a vehicle body, and a brace connected between said side frames to control relative longitudinal movement therebetween, said brace including a pair of struts oppositely inclined to the longitudinal axis of the truck and each extending between the side frames, said struts intersecting generally centrally of said side frames, and a clamp assembly for attaching said struts at their intersection, said clamp assembly including a pair of clamp plates, each plate having a generally parallelogram configuration, and having a generally central channel formed and adapted to receive a strut, each clamp plate channel terminating at opposite ends of the clamp plate, with each clamp plate channel end having a generally U-shaped opening, each clamp plate being welded to a strut along the U-shaped openings thereof, and fastening means attaching facing surfaces of said clamp plates in direct contact with each other.
2. The truck of claim 1 wherein each clamp plate is welded to a strut at spaced locations along each clamp plate channel.
3. The truck of claim 1 wherein each strut, in the area of the clamp assembly, has a somewhat flat surface on one side thereof and an irregular surface on the opposite side thereof, with the generally flat surface being welded at the U-shaped opening to a clamp plate.
4. The truck of claim 1 wherein said clamp plates are welded, one to another, along adjacent sides thereof to inhibit relative movement between said struts in a generally horizontal plane.
5. The truck of claim 1 wherein there are two fastening means, one located on each side of the crossing channels.
6. The truck of claim 1 wherein each plate has a long axis and a short axis, with the plate channel extending along the long axis.
7
CA002305610A 1999-04-19 2000-04-12 Center clamp assembly for frame brace rail truck Expired - Lifetime CA2305610C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US29474499A 1999-04-19 1999-04-19
US09/294,744 1999-04-19

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2305610A1 CA2305610A1 (en) 2000-10-19
CA2305610C true CA2305610C (en) 2007-01-02

Family

ID=23134752

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA002305610A Expired - Lifetime CA2305610C (en) 1999-04-19 2000-04-12 Center clamp assembly for frame brace rail truck

Country Status (8)

Country Link
JP (1) JP2000318607A (en)
KR (1) KR20010049256A (en)
CN (1) CN1113768C (en)
AU (1) AU760451B2 (en)
BR (1) BR0001639A (en)
CA (1) CA2305610C (en)
ID (1) ID25568A (en)
PL (1) PL339727A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102007002676B4 (en) 2007-01-18 2019-05-09 Scania Cv Ab Vehicle frame assembly with diagonal spacers
AU2019218536A1 (en) * 2018-02-09 2020-09-17 Crrc Yangtze Co., Ltd. Flexible axle box, assembly method therefor and bogie

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4570544A (en) * 1982-06-16 1986-02-18 Urban Transportation Development Corp. Ltd. Diagonally braced rail truck
US5243920A (en) * 1991-07-22 1993-09-14 Utdc Inc. Brace connection for frame braced truck
US5584520A (en) * 1995-05-24 1996-12-17 Niemeier; Larry W. Ergonomic can carrier

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2000318607A (en) 2000-11-21
ID25568A (en) 2000-10-19
AU2780000A (en) 2000-10-26
CN1113768C (en) 2003-07-09
KR20010049256A (en) 2001-06-15
BR0001639A (en) 2000-10-31
PL339727A1 (en) 2000-10-23
CN1270902A (en) 2000-10-25
CA2305610A1 (en) 2000-10-19
AU760451B2 (en) 2003-05-15

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Effective date: 20200412