US1778531A

US1778531A - Railway-car retarder

Info

Publication number: US1778531A
Application number: US293942A
Authority: US
Inventors: William C Mcwhirter
Original assignee: Union Switch and Signal Inc
Current assignee: Hitachi Rail STS USA Inc
Priority date: 1928-07-19
Filing date: 1928-07-19
Publication date: 1930-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 1947-10-14

Description

Oct. 14, 1930. w. c. McwHlRTER RAILWAY CAR RETARDER n Filed July 19," 192s @i Y www l uw Patented Oct. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oEFlcE' WILLIAM C. MCWHIRTER, 0F WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA7' ASSIGNOR T0 THE UNION SWITCH & SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION OIE' PENNSYLVANIA Y RATLWAY-CAR RETARDEP.

Application led July 19,

d My invention relates to railway car retarders of the type involving brake beams located in the trackway and movable into engagement with the wheels of a vehicle to retard the motion of the vehicle along the track. More specifically by present invention relates to the structure ofthe brake beams used in retarders of this character.

I will describe one form of retarded embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing,`Fig. is a plan view showing a portion of one form of car retarder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the retarder structure shown in Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a plan view, partly sectioned, and on an enlarged scale, showing the articulating means connecting the brake beam sections of the retarder shown in Fig. l. Fig. l is a side View of a portion of the retarder shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 3, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Similar' reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the reference character 1 designates a track rail,

and the reference characters 2 and 3 designate car retarder brake beams located on opposite sides of the rail, respectively, and movable toward and away from the rail. Brake beam 2 is made up of a series of

sections

2a, 2b, 2C, etc., and brake beam 3 is similarly made up of a series of sections 3a,

3b, 3C, etc. Each beam section is providedA with a plurality of springs G, one end of each spring being connected with the beam section and the other end being pivotally connected at point D with a plate 1l which is fixed to the railroad ties. Each spring G is disposed at an acute angle with respect to the associated brake beam section, and each beam section is movable to the right, as viewed in Fi g. 1, into a closed position wherein it engages the sides of the wheel of a vehicle passing through the retarder. 7When in closed position, the springs associated with each beam section bias the section toward the car wheels. The means for moving the brake beams longitudinally' to closed and 1928. Serial No. 293,942;

open positions form no part of my present ward end of the section next in the rear..

The inner face of the tongue 5 bears on the inner wall of the groove 6, so that when section 2, for example, is occupied by the wheels of a vehicle, this section acts on the tongue 5 of section 2b, and so tends to open section 12b against the action of the springs G. The

effect of a vehicle wheel in section 3EL is similarly to tend to open section 3b against the action of the springs G associated with the latter section. In other words, the tongue at theV rear end of section 3b bears'on the inner face of the groove in section 3a. To put the matter in another way, the retarder is made up of right-hand beams and lefthand beams which are not identical, but which are reversed in so far as the tongues and grooves are concerned, so that a car wheel acting on sections 2a and 3a has the same effect on section 2b as it-has onV section 3b.

Ihe adjoining ends of the sections of each beam are pivotally connectedL by a pin 9 which passesthrough holes 9a in section 2, for example, and through an elongated hole 9b in the tongue 5 of section 2b. The purpose of these pins is to articulate the brakebeam sections when a vehicle moves through the retarder in the direction opposite to normal. Assume, for example, that a vehicle is movving in'the direction opposite to that indicated so that when the wheels pass from section 2b into section 2, for example, there will be no tendency for the wheels to ride onto section 2a.

The inner surface of each tongue 5 is preferably grooved to provide a rolling engagement between this surface and the inner wall of the gioove 6 during relative motion of the beam sections 2 and 2b. Furthermore, I preferably provide a replaceable wearing shim 8 between the tongue 5 and the walls of the groove 6, this shim being U-shaped in the form here shown. These shims tend to maintain alignment of the braking surfaces and they take up wear at the points of articulation. Each brake beam section is, of course, provided with the usual replaceable brake shoe 4e, which is indicated in Fig. 5, but which forms no part of my present invention.

One advantage of a brake beam structure embodying` my invention, is that it provides liberal wearing surfaces at the articulation points, and another advantage is that it provides definite means for assuring alignment of the brake shoes as a vehicle passes through the retarder. There is no Ystrain on the bolts holding the brake slices in place on the brake beams as would be the case if the brake shoes were designed to overlap the ends of the brake beams. The pins 9 provide a ready means for disconnecting the brake beam sections. To do this, it is merely necessary to remove these pins and to then move the beam section rearwardly by moving it toward the traclway, thus disengaging the tongue 5 from the recess 6. A beam section may be replaced by a similar operation in the reverse order.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of car retarder structure embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A car retarder comprising a brake beam made up of a series of sections, springs acting on each section to bias it toward the wheels of a vehicle, the adjoining ends of the sections overlapping in such manner that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through the retarder in the normal direction the section which is occupied by the car will tend to open the next section ahead against the action of its associated springs, and pins connecting the adjoining ends of said sections so that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through it against the normal direction the section which is occupied will tend to open the next section ahead against the action of its biasing springs.

2. A car retarder comprising two brake beams one located on each side of a track rail and each made up of a series of sections, springs acting on each section to bias the section toward the wheels of a vehicle, the adjoining ends of the sections overlapping in such manner that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through the re tarder in the normal direction the section which is occupied by the car will tend to open the neXt section ahead against the action of its associated springs, and pins connecting the adjoining ends of said sections so that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through it against the normal direction the section which is occupied will tend to open the next section ahead against the action of its biasing springs.

3. A. car retarder comprising a brake beam made up of a series of sections, springs acting on each section to bias it toward the wheels of a vehicle, a tongue formed on the rear end of each section and entering a groove on the outside of the forward end of the section neXt in the rear so that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through it in the normal direction the section which is occupied will tend to open the neXt section ahead against the action of its associated springs, and a pin through the lip on each section and the forward end of the neXt section in the rear so that when the retarder is closed and a vehicle passes through it against the normal direction the section which is occupied will tend to open the next section ahead against the action of its biasing springs.

Iii testimony whereof I affix my signature.

VILLIAM C. MCVVHIRTER.

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