US1951553A - Automatic sand controls for track sanding - Google Patents

Description

March 20, 1934. MARTlN 1,951,553

AUTOMATIC SAND CONTROLS FOR TRACK SANDING Filed Aug. 24, 1952 Patented Mar. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC SAND CONTROLS FOR TRACK SANDING Edwin D. Martin, Nashville, Tenn;, assignor of one-fourth to Zenus L. Hurd, Nashville, Tenn.

Application August 24, 1932, Serial No. 630,269

8 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for discharging sand upon railway tracks and particularly to the head or nozzle at the lower end of the sand pipe and immediately above the track from which i the sand is discharged on to the track. Sand is blown from the sand box of the locomotive through the sand pipes by compressed air and discharged on to the tracks. Ordinarily the pressure of the air is so great that it tends to blow the sand from the tracks and leave the rails bare.

The general object of the present invention is to separate the air from the sand in the discharge head so that the sand will be discharged upon the track by its own weight and not by a blast of air, thus avoiding waste and making the sand more effective. A further object is to provide a head of this character having means whereby the sand may be agitated within the head and thus the sand prevented from bridging across the sand discharge opening.

A further object is to provide the head with an air chamber and provide means whereby air may be discharged from said chamber above the sand, thus permitting the sand to be discharged on to the rail by gravity.

A further object is to provide means whereby the head may be heated to thus prevent the sand from becoming frozen or packed and prevent the discharge opening of the head from becoming clogged by ice, snow or the like.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a track sander constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section thereof;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2.

In the drawing, 10 designates the sand pipe which extends down from the sand box of the locomotive and from a source of compressed air. The head designated generally 11 has at its upper end a screw-threaded nipple 12 adapted to be engaged with the sand pipe 10 and has a downwardly and forwardly extending lower wall 13, the forward extremity of which is curved upward at 14. The upper wall extends upward and forward as at 15 to form a dome or air chamber 1 and then extends downward almost vertically to a point below the extremity of the curved portion 14. Between the portion 14 and this front wall there is formed the discharge opening 16,

the front wall extending below this discharge opening as at 17. The lower wall 13 is extended upward on each side at 18 and the wall of the air chamber 15 extends outward and downward at 19 in spaced relation to the upper margins of the walls 18 so as to provide air discharge openings 20 discharging downward from the air chamber 15 on each side of the sand receptacle constituted by the walls 13 and 18.

Loosely connected to a pin or screw 21 extending inward through the front wall of the head is an agitator consisting of a loosely'linked chain 22, the lower link of this chain extending through the transverse slot or opening 16.

The jars and oscillations of the locomotive moving over the track causes the agitation of this chain 22 which breaks up the sand. and prevents it from bridging the opening 16 or from clogging up. Preferably, though not necessarily, I attach to the wall 13 of the head an electric heater which is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 2 and comprises the outer casing 23 which is attached to the wall 13 by means of screws or other suitable devices 24, this casing having therein the heating element 25 embedded in any suit able non-conductive material, this heatingelement having the terminals 26 whereby it may be connected, as illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 1, to a source of current and a switch. It is to be understood that this heating element is to be only used when there is a likelihood of the moisture of the sand becoming frozen and the sand, therefore, clogging or refusing to run out of the head or when ice or snow forms around the discharge end of the head and thus clogs the opening 16. V

In the operation of this structure, the sand is forced by compressed air down into the head. The sand as it moves down over the bottom wall 13 of the head is checked by the upwardly extending lip 14 and then passes relatively gently to the discharge opening. The sand and the air collide with the front wall 17 and this wall acts to take the force out of the sand and separate the air from the sand. The lip 14 and the front wall of the head act to turn the compressed air upward and into the hollow dome or air chamber from which the air escapes. The air rises into the chamber 15 while the sand, being heavier than the air, falls downward and, Without any other force than that of gravity, runs gently out of the head through the gap 16 and on to the rail. This places a suflicient amount of sand on the rails to prevent the engine from slipping but inasmuch as there is no force other than gravity behind the sand, the sand will remain-upon the rails. The air being lighter than the sand after striking the baffle wall 17 rises into the air chamber 15 and is discharged through the openings 20. This discharge of the compressed air creates a draft or pull that carries most of the dust from the sand out with it.

It is to be noted that the hollow head is ver- I tically'enlarged so that the upper portion of this head constituted by the dome 15 is disposed above the inlet opening at the upper end of the head so that the sand coming down through the sand pipe into this head will not rise within the head above the level of the upper wall of the inlet open ing and thus cannot obstruct the outlet of air from the head. Inasmuch as the head is disposed ap proximately on the angle shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sand will be discharged directly downward on to the rail and will not be blown downward at an angle to the rail. As a consequence of this positioning of the outlet opening from the head, the rail will be sanded whether the car is on a curve or on a straight piece of track. This is not true of the ordinary standard sanding appliance used on practically all railroads to my knowledge which on a curve acts to throw the sand to one sideor the other of the track, making it impossible at any relatively high speed for the track to be properly sanded. This has lead to many accidents.

It will be seen that I have provided a sand controlling head which will not clog or stop up with such substances as dust, wet sand or snow and which permits the sand to be discharged by gravity on to the rail without blowing the sand off of the rail. It will also be seen that I haveprovided means whereby sand and the head may be heated,

this heating means being controlled by a switch located in the cab of' the engine. a While no moisture can get into the head from the exterior, yet there is more or less moisture in I the sand itself and oftentimes snow may collect around the head orwater splash against it and start to freeze so that a wall of icemay be built up that mayeventually extend over and clog or close the mouth and prevent the outlet of sand. This is entirely prevented by the heater 25.

While I have illustrated. certain details of construction and arrangements of parts, I do not wish to be limited thereto as many minor changes might be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. I claim:- 1. Ahead for locomotive sand pipes having a inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end,

I a front wall partly defining said outlet and exhaving outlets- 2. A track sanding head having an outlet and an inlet for compressed air and sand, and means Within the head forseparating the compressed air from the sand and allowing the escape of compressed air above the sand outlet.

3. A track sanding head having a sand and compressed air inlet andhaving a sand discharging portion U-shaped in cross section and an air chamber, the walls of which extend over the sand discharging portion and then downward exteniorly thereof to provide air escape openings.

"4. A track sanding head having a lower wall extending downward and forward and then curved upward at its lower end, the wall on each side extending straight upward, an upper wall integral with the lower wall but arching over the upwardly extending side portions of the lower wall and extending downward exteriorly thereof to provide air outlets, the upper wall being extended downward and forward in spaced relation to the lower end of the lower wall to provide a sand outlet, and means for agitating the sand in saidoutlet/ i 1 5. A track sanding head having a lower wall extending downward and forward, the wall on each side extending straight upward, an upper wall integral with the lower wall but arching transversely over the upwardly extending side portions of the lower wall and extending downward exteriorly thereof to provide air outlets, there being anair and sand inlet at the upper end of the sanding head and the upper wall below said air inlet being extended upward and longitudinally to forman air chamber, the upper wall being then extended downward and forward transversely to the axis of the inlet opening and in spaced relation to the lower end of thelower wall to provide a sand outlet.

6. A hollow track sanding head havingv a bottom wall extending downward and forward, thelower end of this bottom wall being upwardly curved, there being a sand discharge opening for the head disposed just in advance of the upwardly curved portion of thebottom wall, the headhaving asand inlet and an air outlet, the latter being disposed substantially above the, level of the sand inlet. U

'7. A hollow track sanding head having a sand inlet opening at one end and asandoutlet at its lowerend, the wall of the head substantially above the level of the inlet being extended upward and having compressed air escape openings.

8. A track sanding head of the character described having a'sand and compressed air inlet at one end, a sand outlet at the other end, and openings through the'head between the outlet and inlet to permit the escape of the compressed air from the; sand to the atmosphere.

; EDWIN D. MARTIN;

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