US1566492A

US1566492A - London

Info

Publication number: US1566492A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1925-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 1942-12-22

Description

Dec. 22, 1925 1,566,492

M. MCGINNESS I RAILROAD TRACTION s swfim 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June I; 1923 Fig.1.

' Dec. 22, 1925 1,566,492 M. MCGINNESS RAILROAD TRACTION SYSTEM Filed June '2, 1925 2 sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO/P McG/hneas Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

umrso srares MAXWELL MGGINTTESS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE RATLGRIP SYNDI- GATE LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

RAILROAD-TRACTION SYSTEM.

Application filed June 7,

To all whom it may concern:

Be known that I, MAXWELLMCGINNESS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 2 Gresham Buildings, Basmghall Street, London E. C. 2, England, have invented new and useful Improvements Relating to Railroad-Traction Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway traction and particularly two wheels, .wheel mountings, and tracks for railway vehicles and is directed to an improved system of adhesion or grip between railway vehlcle wheels and the rails on which they run, the

' chief object being to render locomotives not entirely dependent on flat tread friction grip.

A feature of the present invention consists in obtaining what may be termed V-grip or wedge grip between the wheel rims and the rail heads and in making the grip in the nature also of a positive engagement between the contacting surfaces. This positive engagement is ensured by a rack and tooth. or equivalent interengagement between the side faces of the rails and the co-operating faces of the flanges on the wheels. Instead of having actual teeth the said faces may be suitably ribbed or notched to give an equivalent eflect. The teeth ribs or notches may be formed on either or both of the side faces of the rails and on either or Jot-h of the wheel flanges but preferably they are formed only on the outer face of each rail and on the outer flange of each wheel.

The toothed ribbed or notched rails may be placed throughout the track or only where great tractive force is required as at steep gradients.

The wheels having the ribbed notched or toothed flanges for engaging similarly formed side faceson the rail or rails may be the usual driving wheels of the vehicle or be supplementary thereto. -In the case of a pair of supplementary wheels they may be lifted away from or pressed down onto the rail to any regulated extent by any suitable means and may be placed as a pair midway between the front and rear pairs of ordinary wheels in the case of a four wheel base.

The foregoing and other features of the present invention will now be'describedmore fully with reference to the accompanying.

drawings in which Fig re 1 ;if. reverses! erotics detail of 1923. Serial, no. 044,024.

a wheel rim and rail head constructed and cooperating in. accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view-ofthe head of-a piece of the rail shown in section in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 1 V-grip rack grip wheels as andwhen required. I

Figure 7 1s an end elevation showing somewhat diagrammatically a modified arrangement for obtaining a combined V- grip and rack gripeffect' in accordance with the invention. 7

Referring first more particularly to Figures 1 and 2 itis seen that the body. of the wheel A has two flanges LB and (lwhich form a wedge shaped channel or rim so narrow as to exert wedge grip or so-called V-grip on the railhead D. The head of the rail is preferably shaped with sloping side faces to offer a substantial surface c0'n tact with the internal faces of the wheel flanges. and rails offers a substantially greater grip than ordinary fiat treadadhesion. A still greaterv grip is obtained by providing for a rack and tooth, inter-engagement or its equivalent. For this purpose either or each of the side faces of the rail head istoot-hed. ribbed or otherwise notched or indented as at E to engage corresponding formations on the cooperating internal faceor faces of' the flange or flanges of thewheel. As shown in Figure 1 the toothed, ribbed or notched outer flange C is preferably detachable to permit of ready replacement when worn away. It is'to be observed that the base of the \I-groove formed by (the flanges is narrower than the width ofthe flat tread por tionof the r'ail head, so that the combined .Such wedge-grip between wheels 7 v wedge or V-gripand rack grip-are fully ef- 1 we. i F u e a .mile at ri d to allow a certain amount of transverse grammatically at F in Figure 4.

movement of the wheels. This transverse movement may be provided for by mounting the wheels on the two parts of a divided axle the adjacent ends of which are suitably housed in a connecting sleeve as shown dia- This mounting of the wheel on a divided axle also permits of their being driven diiferentially as is especially advantageous in negotiating sharp curves in the track. Instead of an actually divided axle one wheel may have an axle fitting into a sleeve serving as a hollow axle for the other wheel. Alternative ly each wheel can turn freely on ,a single axle and each be driven independently and be free to move axially to allow for track gauge variations.

The combined V-grip and rack grip wheels may be used as the ordinary weight bearing wheels of the locomotive in which case provision must be made as hereinafter described for negotiating points and crossings where they occur but preferably these wheels are supplementary to the ordinary driving wheels and are placed as a pair about midway between the front and rear pairs of a H four wheel base as shown in Figure 5.

Such wheels may be driven by chain or other driving connection with the ordinary driving wheels but are preferably driven independently or differentially through diflerential gearing shown diagrammatically at G and change-speed gearing shown diagrammatically at H by an internal combustion engine, electric motor or steam power unit shown diagrammatically at J. If a longer wheel base is required two or more such wheel assemblies may be arranged on wheels and may be, normally pressed towards the rails'by a spring the effect of which may be controlled by the engine driver by suitable mechanism. Such mechanism would enable the degree of grip to be regulated but would not enable the wheels to be raised entirely free from. the rails.

In order to entirely raise the wheels any 7 convenient mea'nsma'y be employed such for exampl a the means ,shcwn :c ag 'a irat caHy'in'Figm-e 6. In this arrangement est axle box K of the axle of the V-grip wheels is adapted to be raised as and when required by admitting steam or compressed air to the top of a piston L working in a cylinder M. This piston is connected by its rod N to one end of a lever O which is pivoted at P to the frame or carriage of the locomotive and is attached at its other end to the spring mounting Q, of the axle box K in which the axle of the supplementary wheel is housed.

The V-grip rack-grip wheels need be low cred only when great tractive force is required and in any event they would be raised when points and crossings are to be traversed unless the rails of such points on the track are suitably cut away to permit passage of both flan'g'es'on each wheel or unless automatic wheel raising devices at such points are provided on the track. For example suitably sloping rail sections or ramps alongside the track rails and rail points may be provided to engage the inner flanges of the wheels and thereby raise the wheels (as they roll) sufficiently to bring the peripheries of the outer flanges level with the top of the rail heads thus enabling the wheels to travel across the rails whereupon other ramps allow them to become lowered again into V-grip engagement. For this purpose the inner flanges of the wheels are prefer- 95 ably deeper than the outer flanges shown in the drawings, so that even when the wheels are raised until the peripheries of their outer flanges run level with the top of the rail heads the inner flanges still engage the sides of the rails and keep the wheels in alignment with the track.

Although the foregoing is a description of the preferred form in which a combination of V-grip and rack grip'is obtained,

and the slopes of the rail head faces. Each pair of such angularly disposed wheels is suitably mounted as in a yoke R independently of the yokes of other pairs relatively to the carriage or frame of the locomotive. Each of such wheels is driven in any suitable manner the outer wheel being toothed, ribbed or notched on its tread S to engage similar formations on the outer face of the rail head, so that in this construction as in the construction already described a combined wedge-grip and rack grip effect is obtained between wheels and rails.

a ,9; further modified way of bringing into 7 action a combined wedge-grip andraek- 13O grip effect as and when required is to employ wheels with flanges as above described but to vary the size of the rail head at different parts of the track so that on the level the wheel can run on the flat tread at the base of the V-shaped rim whereas when an incline in the track is to be traversed the head of the rail is toothed, ribbed or notched and so broad as to cause the V-shaped rim of the wheel to ride up on the side faces of the rail and thereby produce the above described wedge grip and rack grip.

In all cases it will be understood that the teeth, ribs or notches on the rails do not need to be cut but can beproduced during the rolling of the rails at no appreciably greater cost than for the rolling of plain rails.

What I claim is 1. For use in a railroad traction system, a

" locomotive comprising a body, ordinary wheels and a pair of axially movable coaxial V-grip rack-grip wheels'located about midway between front and rear pairs of the ordinary wheels.

2. For use in a railroad traction system,- a locomotive comprising a body, ordinary wheels and a pair of V-grip rack-grip wheels located about midway between front and rear pairs of the ordinary wheels and means for driving said V-grip wheels diflerentially.

3. In a railroad traction system, the combination with a pair of track rails each having a head with upwardly converging side faces, the outer one of which is toothed, of a vehicle comprising a body and wheels thereon engaging with said track rail side faces with a V-grip rack-grip effect on each rail.

4. In a railroad traction system, the combination with a pair of track rails each having a head with upwardly converging side faces the outer of which is toothed, of a vehicle comprising a body and wheels there- 'on each having a V-grooved rim comprising two flanges the outer of which is toothed on its rail engaging face.

In a railroad traction system, the combination with a pair of track rails each having a head with upwardly converging side faces the outer of which is toothed, of a vehicle comprising a body and wheels thereon differentially driven and each having a V-grooved rim comprising two flanges the outer of which is toothed on its rail engaging face.

6. In a railroad traction system, the com bination with a pair of track rails each having a head with upwardly converging side faces the outer of which is toothed, of a vehicle comprlsing a body and wheels thereon axially-movable differentially-driven and outer ofwhich is toothed on its rail engaging face.

8. In a railroad traction system, the combination with a pair of track rails each having a head with upwardly converging side faces the outer of which is toothed, of a vehicle comprising a body and wheels there on each having a V-grooved rim comprising two flanges the outer of which is toothed on its rail engaging face and is detachable from the wheel.

9. In a railroad traction system the com- 'bination with a pair of track rails, each hav ing a head with upwardly converging toothed side faces, of a vehicle comprising a body and wheels thereon each having a V-grooved rim comprising two flanges each of which is toothed on its rail engaging face.

10. For use in a railroad traction system, a locomotive comprising a body, ordinary track wheels and a pair of axially movable V-grip rack grip track wheels located about midway between front and rear pairs of the ordinary track wheels, a pair of track rails the heads of which have upwardly converging side faces toothed, notched or ribbed to engage the V-grip rack-grip locomotive track wheels, means for raising said V-grip rack-grip wheels upwards from the track rails at will, and means for driving said V-grip rack-grip wheels independently of the ordinary wheels.

MAXWELL McGINNESS.