US1219362A - Tie-plate. - Google Patents

Description

R. WATANABE. m: PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, I916.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

12 MZW'ZZEZ WITNESSES AT'ro R N EY RYUSUKE WATANABE, OF GRANGER, WYOMING.

TIE -PLA'I'E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

Application filed December 22, 1916. Serial No. 138,414..

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RYUsUKn WVa'rANAnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Granger, in the county of Sweetwater and State of Wyoming, have invented new and useful Iniprovements in Tie-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway tie plates, and more especially to fasteners by means of which the rail is secured thereto; and the object of the same is to produce an improved tie plate whose body portion is spiked to the tie and channeled to receive the base of the rail, and whose remaining por tion consists of a wedge slidably mounted on the body portion and capable of being driven into place to couple the parts and later driven a little farther in case the parts become loose. Details are set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion ofa tie and a port-ion of the rail, showing these members as connected by my improved plate.

Fig. 2 is a plan view, and

Fig. 3, an edge or end elevation of the tie plate, showing only the body portion thereof.

Fig. 4: is a perspective view of the wedge element, and

Figs. and 6 are sectional views on the lines 5-5 and 66 of Fig. d respectively.

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the wedge.

In F ig. 1 I have used the letter T to designate the tie, and R is the rail having a flat base B. My invention is a tie plate to be interposed between the base and the upper face of the tie and by means of which these elements are connected. The plate is made in two parts, a base member and a wedge member, and both may be stamped or cast from suitable metal, preferably iron. I do not wish to be limited, however, to the materials or the exact proportion and details of parts further than herein set forth.

The base member or plate comprises a substantially rectangular body 1, which is provided with a plurality of holes 2 at various points and through which the spikes will be driven to connect this member to the tie T as usual, and the upper face of this plate may be provided with a channel or channels 3 over which the base B of the rail extends. In Fig. 2 I have shown the upper face of the body plate 1 as provided with two channels 3 and an interposed rib at, but this detail is not important. Alongside the right-hand channel is an upstanding fixed flange 5 extending the whole length of the plate and shaped so as to engage over the inner edge of the base B of the rail when the latter is in place as seen in Fig. 1. Formed integral with and upstanding from said base plate or body 1 near its other side is a tongue 6 which stands slightly oblique to the flange 5 as seen in Fig.- 2 and extends from a point 7 beyond one end of the plate to a point 8 which is approximately half-way across the plate; and alongside and just inside of this tongue the base plate or body carries a raised rib 9 whose face is flush with the rib l, whose inner edge is parallel with that of the flange 5, whose outer edge extends to the tongue 6, and whose length is greater than said tongue because it extends from the point 7 for the full length of the tongue and beyond the same to the other end of the plate. A. companion rib 10 underlies the overhanging portion of the flange 5 as clearly seen in Fig. 3, and is partially ex posed in Fig. 2, and the base B of the rail is supposed to be of a width suflicient to rest on both these ribs 9 and 10 and the intermediate rib a and to extend across both channels 3 if the latter are employed. Said channels might, in fact, be omitted, or could be replaced by a single channel as sometimes is the case in. forming these plates, but both edges of the rail-base should rest firmly on these ribs when all parts are assembled.

The other member of this device is best seen in Fig. 4. As a whole I call it a wedge, as that is its function. It is made of a single casting as light as may be without sacrificing strength, and its bottom plan view is illustrated in Fig. 7. In plan view this element is nearly rectangular, and I have used the number 11 to designate its body which may well be rounded or arched on the upper face. Along its inner edge is an overhanging flange 15 which is to pass over the outer edge of the rail-base B as the fixed flange 5 passes over the inner edge thereof. Cast as part of the body and upstanding from it across both ends thereof are webs 12 and 13 affording driving faces for receiving the blows of a hammer or sledge which will be explained below. Throughout the length of this body its lower face is formed with a groove 16, and by preference I make this groove dove-tailed in section so as to closely fit the tongue (5 which is given a corresponding sectional shape. The depending rib 17 along the outer side of the groove 16 is plain, that is to say it has the same sectional shape throughout its entire length; but the depending rib 18 along the inner side of the groove tapers throughout its length to correspond with the oblique disposition of the groove, or in other words, this rib is wider at what will be called the rear or butt end of the wedge which is the left end of Fig. .1, than it is at the other end, thereby leaving the flange overhanging the inner face of-this rib to-an equal degree throughout its entire length. The length of the wedge member is by preference slightly greater than that of oblique tongue 6, and the groove 16 is closed as at 19 at the butt end of the wedge to strengthen the rib 17. The configuration of the flanges 5 and 15 must be that which will cause them to closely fit the edges of the base B of the rail 1t, no matter what type of rail is used.

In assembling the parts, the base or body portion 1 is laid upon the tie T and not necessarily at first spiked thereto, then the rail R is brought into position and its base B laid upon the ribs of the base member and the inner edge thereof passed in under the flange 5, and the wedge member 11 is brought into position and the front end of its groove 16 engaged over the outer or projecting end of the tongue 6 at the point 7, and slid inward along the same until the flange 15 passes over the outer edge of the base B of the rail and the contact of parts produces resistance. Now with a hammer or sledge the operator drives on the butt end of the wedge or the upstanding web 12 at this point, with the result that the groove 16 in the wedge is forced along on the tongue 6 of the body in amanner which will be clear. As this tongue and groove connection between the elements is oblique to the fixed flange 5, it follows that the wedge in its forward progression moves laterally closer and closer to the rail until finally the base of the same is very tightly clampedunder the flange 15 of the wedge and against and under the flange 5 of the body. I would so proportion the parts that even at this time, when the rail is secured upon the tie plate as seen in Fig. 1, the inner end of the tongue 6 is exposed as seen in that view. Thereafter, should the parts become loose as by wear or by. vibration due to passing trains, they can be tightened up again by a few ad ditional blows on the butt end of the wedge which will set it farther forward along the tongue and therefore farther inward toward the rail, and the latter will then be clamped so tightly as to minimize its chance of creeping. This view also shows the pre-' ferred disposition of the holes 2 at this side of the body, at points where the heads of the spikes in no way interfere with the movements of the wedge.

I consider it an essential feature of my invention that the tongue 6 of the body 1 and the groove 16 in the wedge 11 should be of dove-tailed cross section. This detail of construction absolutely prevents the rise of the wedge off its base plate and its disengagement therefrom, as sometimes occurs when the tie settles or a section of the rail rises under the strain to which the parts are subjected. Moreover, in Fig. 3, I have shown the inner face of the tongue as inclined to a greater degree than the outer face thereof, from which it will be gathered that the dove-tailing of this element (and of the groove as well) need not all be on one side,

but in any event I prefer that it be quite pronounced on the side near the rail.'

Another important feature of my invention is asimple expedient which Iemploy for preventing the tie from splitting under the blows of the sledge when this device is put into place or tightened up later, or under the strain to which the tie is subjected by the passing of heavy traflic over the rail. In Fig. 3 is illustrated what I call a fin 20 cast or stamped as part of the base member 1 and depending from the overhanging rear end 7 of the tongue 6 and rib 9, so that it does not appear in'Figs. 1 or 2. l'would make it of sufiicient thickness to give it the strength required, and of 'sufiicient length to pass down by the edge of the tie T against which it is pressed when the plate is first put onto the tie, and against which it is pressed yet more tightly by the blows of the hammer or sledge when the wedge is driven into place. As suggested above, the spikes need not necessarily be driven into the holes until after the wedge has been tightened up, and at this time said fin 2'0 stands squarely against one side of the tie. Obviously it thereafter strengthens the tie against a tendency to split when the spikes are driven, or when the wedge is driven yet farther at later times to tighten up loosenened parts, audit also strengthens the tie against the same tendency when heavy traffic on the rail follows: I purposely place this fin under the butt end of the tongue member 6 and against the corresponding side of the tie, because if it stood at the other side of the tie the blows of the hammer or sledge would move the fin away from the tie rather than agalnst it. It is quite possible to make the fin of such length that its 1. In a tie plate, the combination with a base member pierced with spike holes and having along one side a fixed overhanging flange, and along the other side a tongue of dovetailed cross section with its butt end overhanging one end of the plate slightly and its body inclining thence toward said flange, and ribs between said flange and tongue for supporting the base of the rail; of a wedge member having an overhanging flange along its inner edge, upstanding webs at its butt end and its opposite end, and a groove in its lower face inclining toward said flange from the butt end toward its opposite end and of dove-tailed cross section to slidably engage said tongue.

In a tie plate, the combination with a base member having along one side a fixed overhanging flange and along the other side a tongue of dove-tailed cross-section inclining toward said flange, and means between said flange and tongue for supporting the base of the rail; of a wedge member having an overhanging flange along its inner edge, upstanding webs at its butt end and its opposite end, and a groove in its lower face inclining toward said flange from the butt end toward its opposite end and of dove-tailed cross section to slidably engage said tongue.

3. In a tie plate, the combination with a base member pierced with spike holes and having along one side a fixed overhanging flange, and along the other side a tongue of dove-tailed cross section inclining. toward said flange, and means between said flange and tongue for supporting the base of the rail; of a wedge member having an overhanging flange along its inner edge and a groove in its lower face inclining toward said flange and of dove-tailed cross section to slidably engage said tongue.

l. In a tie plate, the combination with a base member having near one edge a rail flange and near the other edge an upstanding tongue extending throughout part of the length of this member and disposed obliquely to said flange; of a wedge member having a rail flange along one edge and a groove in its lower face disposed obliquely to its flange and adapted to slidably engage said tongue, a driving face at the front end of this member, and a fin depending integrally from the front end of the base member and over which the wedge member moves as it is driven.

5. In a tie plate, the combination with a base member having near one edge a rail flange and near the other an upstanding tongue extending throughout part of its length, disposed obliquely to said flange, and dove-tailed in cross section with that face adjacent the flange of steeper pitch than the opposite face; of a wedge member having a rail flange along one edge and a groove in its lower face oblique to its flange and shaped to engage said tongue, the groove being closed across the driving end of this member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

RYUSUKE IVATANABE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G.

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