US1337587A

US1337587A - Rail-bender

Info

Publication number: US1337587A
Application number: US252727A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ellwood F Bennett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1918-09-05
Filing date: 1918-09-05
Publication date: 1920-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 1937-04-20

Description

E. F. BENNETT.

RAIL moan.

APPLICATION FILED SEPL5, IQIB. I 1,337,587. Patenmd'Apr. 20, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l Q & Q Q

E. F. BENNETT.

RAIL BENDER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5. 191a.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. F. BEHNEU.

BAIL BEHDEI'L APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a, me.

Patemed Apr. 20, 192%.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wvewtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELLWOOD F. BENNETT, OF SAYRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

BAIL-BENDER.

Application filed. September 5, 1918.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ELLwooD F. BENNETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sayre, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Benders, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates to a bender designed-especially for straightening railway rails, both in respect to lateral andvertical bends. Among the objects of the invention are to quickly and easily adapt the machine for bending either laterally or vertically (these words being used with reference to the normal position of the rail when in use); to provide means for easily running the rails through the machine and for supporting the rails in the various positions they assume while being bent, and to provide readily removable and replaceable devices for punching rails.

The accompanying drawings shows one exemplifying embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms, and I do not limit myself to details except as claimed.

Figure 1 is atop plan of a bending ap p'aratus embodying the invention, the rail being shown in position for vertical bend- Fig. 2 is a top plan, enlarged, of the bending me'hanism proper.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same with a few parts in section showing the machine arranged for lateral bending.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of sufiicient parts of the machine to show the application of the punching mechanism. 7

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing the arrangement of the machine for vertical bending.

Fig. 6 is a vertical se tion through one of the arms of the yoke looking toward the face of the aw.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through one of thejaws showing the convex rail engaging face of the jaw.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section in a transverse plane with respect to Fig. 1 through the bearing mounting for one of the rail supporting rollers of the bending machine proper, and

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the same.

The bending ma hine proper comprises a body 1 from which extend the two yoke arms 2 terminating in jaws 3. At the other Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

Serial No. 252,727.

side of the body is an extension 1 carrying hydraulic press mechanism 5 of which the cylinder 6 is arranged horizontally and directed toward the center of the yoke. The

plunger 7 extends from the cylinder and is provided with means for receiving various rail engaging devices as will appear later. In addition to the hydraulic press 5 a suit ably operated rack wheel 6 may be used, in connection with the rack teeth 7 to advance and retract the plunger.

. to revolve and also to slide laterally on their shafts. The yoke arms 2 are provided adjacent to the jaws 3 withrollers 14. whose tops extend more or less above the level of the upper faces of the arms 2. These rollers are preferably made adjustable vertically as appears hereafter.

The rollers 12 are made with central annular flanges 15 to engage the web of the railbetween the head and base when the rail It lies upon its side for verti al bending as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. When the rail is in this position the rollers 13 are placed idly out of the way at one end of their respective shafts. The rollers 13 are provided with a central portion 16 of reduced dimension and end flanges 17 so that when the rail is in upright position for lateral bending. as shown in Fig. 3, the bottom of the rail base rests on the reduced central portion 16 of the rollers between the flanges 1'7 and in that case the rollers 12 are placed idlv at one end of their resoe"tive shafts. Fig. 1 shows a rail of which the left hand portion has been straightened and the right hand po tion is curved and is to be straightened by progressive movement through the machine toward the left. and the left and right hand portions of the rail res ec ively il ustrate sufficiently the way in whi h the rollers 12 or 13 move latera l of their shafts to accommodate themselves to the transve se movement of the rail as t is straightened. as well as to permit the rail to be moved longitudinally with. little effort.

' The vertical inner sides of the jaws 3 are provided with convex or part-cylindrical rests directly against the convex faces 18 of the jaws.

For lateral bending asshownin Fig. 3, 'the "plunger 7 is provided with detachable head 24 which has a central projection 25 adapted to fit the web of the railbetween the head and the base. This detachable head 24 is secured to the plunger in the same mannor as the head of Fig. 5.' The other side of the railis engaged by blocks 26 detachably secured against the inner faces of the jaws 3. These blocks have projections 27 corresponding to the projections of heads 24, and adapted to fit the opposite side of the rail. The blocks also have pins 28 which are engaged by swinging hooks 29' pivoted to jaws 3. By manipulation of the hooks in an obvious way the blocks 26 may be easily secured in position or released;

Figs. 2 and 4 show the machine arranged for punching. A punch-abutment frame 30 is provided comprising a beam 31 and two laterally extending arms 32. The ends of 7 the beam are provided with concave surfaces '33 engaging the convex faces 18 of the jaws.

The ends of the beam also fit under the j aw flanges 19. The ends ofarms 32 are provided with hooks 34. Near the hooks 34 the arms are drilled to receive thestems 35 of hooks 36. The

hooks

34 and 36 engage flanges 37 on the body casting 1 and are tightened in this position by wedges 38 driven through slots in the upper parts of the stems 35. In this way the bending abutment is rigidly secured in the bending frame at four points of support. Along a part of the inner face of beam 31 is an undercut channel 39 defined by the side flanges 40 and j in this channel is secured the flared base 41 punch hole.

" of a block 42 which engages the rail web and serves as a pun h'abutment. At one side of the block, when it is in normal position the side flanges 40 of the channel 39 are cut away vertically to permit the base 41 of the block'to be inserted in the channel and secured'by driving laterally into position.v As best seen in Fig. 2' the block has considerable length to reinforce the rail for afconsiderable distance on ea h side of the The block 42 and the beam are provided with registering holes 43 to accommodate the punch and the punchings The head 29 from the rail. The punch 44 is detachably secured in the socket atv the end of plunger 7. To further steady and secure the rail, set screws 45 may be provided in arms 32 and adjusted to engage the top of the rail head. 7

Rails of different weights of course vary in their dimensions. and to accommodate rails of such varying dimensions it is desirable to adjustthe rollers 14 of the bending mechanism proper vertically. For this purpose the rollers are mounted on shafts 46 and these shafts are carried by blocks 47 located in boxes 48 extending from the sides of yoke arms 2. These boxes are open at the top and are provided at their inner sides with slots 49 to accommodate the shaft 46. Inthe boxes below the box '47 are removably placed one or more plates or' shims 50 each of which has a substantiallyrem tangular shape to fit the inside of the box and a projection 51 at one side. These projections extend through the slots 49. The shafts '46 are secured in blocks 47 by set screws 52. To adjust therollers'14 vertically the rollers with theirshafts and blocks are raised out of the boxes and one or more of the shims 50 is inserted or removed through the top of the box according to the dimensions of the rail to be supported. The shims are conveniently handled by inserting any convenient tool between their projecting members 51 which are accessible through the slots 49. The dimensions of rails usually vary in regular intervals, and the shims therefore are conveniently made of a thickness equal to one-half of the regular interval of rail dimensions so that the removal or.

insertion of one shim will have the effect of properly centeringa rail of the next larger or smaller size as the case may be than the rail for which the machine was previously adjusted, or by inserting or removing two or more shims the rollers'may be easily positioned for rails of any othersize.

When the machine is properly set up for either lateral or vertical bending and the rollers 14 properly adjusted and the rail is put in position on the rollers 12 or 13 as the case may be it may easily and quickly .be runthrough the machine with a minimum of labor. The man in charge sightsalong the rail and directs the press operator to bend the rail a certain amount at a certain point and then the rail is quickly moved.

along a suitable distance and bent again and so on. After one or a number of rails have been straightened laterally the ma-.

chine may then be quickly adjusted for vertical bending and the rail is' qui kly run through and straightened vertically in a similar manner. It will now be understood that the machine'is of spe ial value in reclaiming old bent rails'which by the use of'this machine may be very economically straightened for reuse with a minimum of labor and expense. The punching attachment described also provides for punching new bolt holes when necessary without having to provide an independent machine for that purpose. 7

It should be noted that the convex jaw faces 18 not only cooperate with the base of the rail in vertical bending to permit the necessary movement of the rail base in relation to the jaws in bending in the proper way, but they cooperate with the blocks 26 in lateral bending so that the backs of the blocks may rock upon the faces 18 as the rail bends laterally. For this purpose the swing hook 29 or other devices which secure the blocks are sufliciently loose to permit the necessary movement.

I claim:

1. In a rail bending mechanism, the combination with a central frame and its lateral extensions, of a bending yoke secured to the frame and having two projecting, upwardly extending jaws having each an inwardly projecting flange, a plunger supported above the yoke and acting between the aws, vertically adjustable rail supporting rollers on the yoke adjacent the jaws, other rollers journaled on the frame and its extensions having lateral movement transversely to the rail, and elongated shafts for supporting these latter rollers.

2. In rail bending mechanism, the combination of a yoke having upwardly extending jaws and a bending plunger, of two slotted boxes located on the outer face of the yoke adjacent to each of the jaws, blocks located in the boxes, shafts passing through the slots and engaging the blocks, rollers mounted on the shafts and adjustment pieces adapted to be removably placed in the boxes for the purpose described.

ELLWOOD F. BENNETT.