US20120234634A1 - Coil spring rail brake - Google Patents
Coil spring rail brake Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20120234634A1 US20120234634A1 US13/512,825 US200913512825A US2012234634A1 US 20120234634 A1 US20120234634 A1 US 20120234634A1 US 200913512825 A US200913512825 A US 200913512825A US 2012234634 A1 US2012234634 A1 US 2012234634A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- spring
- brake
- carriage
- rail
- caging
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B61—RAILWAYS
- B61H—BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES
- B61H7/00—Brakes with braking members co-operating with the track
- B61H7/12—Grippers co-operating frictionally with tracks
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B61—RAILWAYS
- B61H—BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES
- B61H7/00—Brakes with braking members co-operating with the track
- B61H7/02—Scotch blocks, skids, or like track-engaging shoes
- B61H7/04—Scotch blocks, skids, or like track-engaging shoes attached to railway vehicles
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B61—RAILWAYS
- B61H—BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES
- B61H7/00—Brakes with braking members co-operating with the track
- B61H7/02—Scotch blocks, skids, or like track-engaging shoes
- B61H7/04—Scotch blocks, skids, or like track-engaging shoes attached to railway vehicles
- B61H7/06—Skids
Definitions
- This invention relates to the field of rail brakes and in particular to an improved coil spring rail brake which provides, among other things, for improved access to the spring assembly and to the brake shoes for ease of maintenance and repair.
- U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,202 which issued to Down on Jan. 27, 1931, for a Magnetic Brake Device, discloses a magnetic brake shoe which is normally held suspended away from the rail and, upon energization, is attracted to the rail to act as a brake.
- a coil spring is disposed in a chamber and acts on a piston so as to normally maintain the brake shoe in a suspended position over the rail.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,925 which issued to Ignatoweicz in Apr. 22, 1975, for a Mounting Device for Magnetic Rail Brakes, discloses reducing the air pressure in conventional bellows so as to compress the bellows downwardly until stopped by a spring buffer at a low position wherein the brake magnet may be energized so as to be attracted towards the rail thereby causing a further compression of the spring buffer.
- Correction of the vertical setting of the magnetic brake unit is accomplished by pressurizing the bellows so as to raise the magnetic unit to a high position. The height of the magnetic unit above the rail may then be adjusted.
- the rail brake according to the present invention includes a rigid enclosure having an upper end and opposite base end rigidly mounted oppositely to the upper end.
- the upper end is adapted for mounting to the rail-mounted machine, for example under a crane, so as to dispose the base end of the enclosure over and adjacent the rail.
- a top plate is mounted underneath the upper end of the enclosure, spaced apart from and substantially parallel to the upper end of the enclosure so as to define a gap there-between.
- a spring carriage is mounted for vertical translation within the enclosure, beneath the top plate, between an elevated position and a lowered position. At least one spring is mounted between the spring carriage and the top plate so that the springs are compressed when the spring carriage is in its elevated position and decompressed when the spring carriage is in its lowered position. At least one brake shoe is mounted under the carriage so as to be oppositely disposed on the carriage relative to the springs.
- At least one selectively actuable actuator is mounted between, so as to bear opposite ends thereof against, the spring carriage and the base end of the enclosure respectively.
- the actuators are actuable between extended and refracted positions. In the extended position, the spring carriage is in its elevated position and the brake shoes are correspondingly retracted upwardly. In the retracted position, the spring carriage is in its lowered position and the brake shoes are correspondingly lowered so as to be urged by the springs into frictional engagement against the rail.
- the enclosure includes sides extending between the upper end and the base end. At least one of the sides is open for ease of removal of the spring carriage, the top plate, the springs and/or the actuators therethrough.
- the spring carriage may also include an elongate caging member, where the caging member has opposite first and second ends.
- the caging member is mounted to the spring carriage at the first end of the member and extends substantially parallel to the springs.
- the second end of the member is journalled upwardly through an aperture in the top plate, and is free to translate vertically in the gap as the spring carriage translates correspondingly within the enclosure so as to translate simultaneously and correspondingly therewith.
- the second end of the caging member protrudes into a spring-caging position in the gap when the spring carriage is in its elevated position.
- a selectively releasable lock locks the second end of the caging member in its spring-caging position whereby translation of the caging member and the spring carriage is immobilized.
- the lock may include a latch member in which case the caging member includes a latch receiver for releasably holding the latch member when caging member is in its spring-caging position.
- the brake shoes are removable when the spring carriage is in its elevated position.
- the spring carriage also includes bearing members corresponding to the location of the tops of the actuators so that the actuators bear against the bearing members.
- the bearing members may include a pair of substantially oppositely disposed bearing members extending orthogonally relative to the actuators.
- the actuators may be corresponding pair of actuators extending substantially parallel to the springs.
- the carriage translates a brake set distance between the elevated and lowered positions, and the actuators actuate a corresponding actuation distance between their extended and retracted positions.
- the actuators also selectively elevate the spring carriage to an unlocking position which is further elevated above the carriage's elevated position so as to unload a spring force load applied to the latch member of the latch receiver. Once the spring force is unloaded the latch member is removable from the latch receiver.
- the latch member may include a fork, in which case the latch receiver includes a lip on the caging member.
- the lip may be a substantially annular lip.
- the lip may be formed by a collar on the caging member.
- the latch member may be elongate and mounted substantially horizontally for horizontal translation into engagement under the lip.
- spacers define a vertical separation distance within the gap between the upper end of the enclosure and the top plate.
- the vertical separation distance is substantially equal to the translation distance of the spring carriage between it's lowered position and it's elevated position.
- the separation distance may be substantially equal to a translation distance of the spring carriage between it's lowered position and it's unlocking position when the caging members are further elevated to allow unlocking of the corresponding latches.
- the springs may be a pair of helical coil springs and the caging members may be a pair of elongate shafts.
- the elongate shafts may be journalled through corresponding springs.
- the brake shoes may be mounted under the carriage substantially equi-distant, when measured horizontally between the pair of springs so as to substantially evenly distribute a downward spring force of the springs to the brake shoes.
- FIG. 1 a is, in partially cut-away side elevation view, one embodiment of the coil spring rail brake according to the present invention.
- FIG. 1 b is, in front elevation view, the rail brake of FIG. 1 a.
- FIG. 1 c is, in plan view, the rail brake of FIG. 1 a.
- FIG. 2 a is, in partially cut-away side elevation view, the rail brake of FIG. 1 a with the pair of helical coil springs removed and showing the rail brake housing.
- FIG. 2 b is, in front elevation view, the rail brake of FIG. 2 a.
- FIG. 2 c is, in plan view, the rail brake of FIG. 2 a.
- FIG. 3 a is the rail brake of FIG. 1 b mounted to a rail-mounted machine so as to be suspended over a rail, with the brake released.
- FIG. 3 b is the rail brake of FIG. 3 a in the brake set position at nominal rail height.
- FIG. 3 c is the rail brake of FIG. 3 b with the rail brake in a brake set position at a rail deviation of +2 mm.
- FIG. 3 d is the rail brake of FIG. 3 c with the rail brake in a brake set position at a rail deviation of ⁇ 2 mm.
- FIG. 3 e is the rail brake of FIG. 3 a with the springs caged.
- the rail brake according to the present invention is mounted under a rail-mounted machine such as a crane 10 .
- a rail-mounted machine such as a crane 10 .
- the top plate of the enclosure is bolted to the underside of the crane so as to position the bottom of the enclosure adjacent the rail to which the brake is to be applied.
- a modular spring and actuator mechanism is housed in the enclosure.
- the springs and/or actuators may be removed from the enclosure for servicing, as better described below, through an opening in the enclosure.
- the actuators are a pair of actuators mounted in the enclosure to act on the spring mechanism.
- the spring mechanism includes a pair of helical coil springs 12 which in one embodiment exert a nominal 470 kilo-newton downward force driving downwardly one or more brake shoes 14 mounted under the spring mechanism.
- brake shoes 14 mounted on shoe rods 16 are driven downwardly into frictional engagement against the upper surface of rails 18 .
- Brake shoes 14 are mounted to shoe rods 16 by bolts 16 a engaging through holes in metal clips 16 b, thereby allowing worn brake shoes to be replaced without removing the enclosure or any part thereof from the crane once the brake shoes have been elevated above the rail.
- coil springs 12 are maintained in spaced apart parallel alignment by rigid supports mounted to contain the tops and the bottoms of the springs and in particular by a spring holder 20 supporting the bottom of the springs and by a top plate assembly 22 supporting the tops of the springs.
- Spring holder 20 includes walls 20 a formed to cup the bottoms of the springs 12 and vertically upstanding cylindrical caging members or guides 20 b which extend upwardly within the cavity defined by walls 20 a so that, with springs 12 installed in spring holder 20 , guides 20 b extend upwardly journalled through the center of the helical coils of the springs.
- the top surfaces of guides 20 b are adjacent the underside of top plate assembly 22 when the springs 12 are fully compressed as further described below.
- a center guide member 20 c extends upwardly between the springs and acts as a stop against top plate assembly 22 to prevent over-compressing of the springs as over-compression of the springs may damage the springs.
- the top of center guide member 20 acts as a spacer in combination with the top plate to prevent this over-compression.
- a caging pin 24 is rigidly mounted into the top ends of guides 20 b so as to protrude vertically upwards therefrom.
- the shank 24 a of pins 24 pass through corresponding apertures 22 a formed in top plate assembly 22 so that as springs 12 are compressed or allowed to expand, caging pins 24 mounted in guides 20 b are raised or lowered respectively relative top plate assembly 22 .
- Enclosure 26 is mounted to the underside of the rail-mounted machinery, such as the underside of crane 10 , in the space between the underside of the machine and the rail.
- Top plate assembly 22 is bolted to spacers 22 b mounted underneath the upper plate 26 a of enclosure 26 .
- Enclosure 26 includes upper plate 26 a, sidewalls or a supporting framework 26 b (collectively referred to herein as walls), and a rigid base 26 c supported rigidly underneath the upper plate 26 a by the walls.
- the spring assembly which consists of the pair of springs 12 , the spring holder 20 , and the top plate assembly 22 , is mounted within the enclosure 26 so that the spring assembly may be removed from an opening in the side of the enclosure, that is, through an opening in a wall of the enclosure, once the brake shoe assembly has been removed and the spring top plate assembly 22 unbolted from the spacers 22 b under upper plate 26 a by removing bolts 30 .
- a cavity or space 28 is maintained between top plate assembly 22 and the upper plate 26 a of enclosure 26 by spacers 22 b. Space 28 allows for vertical translation of caging pins 24 , that is, of the upper end of the caging members.
- a pair of actuators 32 which may be hydraulic actuators, are mounted between the base 26 c of the enclosure and bearing members such as a cantilevered or otherwise formed pair of rigid flanges 20 c extending laterally from spring holder 20 .
- actuators 32 When actuated so as to extend the actuator pistons, actuators 32 drive spring holder 20 upwardly. This compresses springs 12 towards their fully compressed caged position and elevates the brake shoes 14 above rail 18 .
- caging pin 24 is also elevated so as to raise head 24 b on shank 24 a into space 28 above the corresponding upper surface of top plate assembly 22 .
- head 24 b With the springs fully compressed by the actuators, for example given an actuator piston stroke of approximately 10 mm, head 24 b will also be elevated by the same stroke into space 28 above the corresponding upper surface of top plate assembly 22 .
- a lock or latch for example including a latch member such as fork 34 having a thickness substantially equal to the stroke distance is mounted horizontally for lateral sliding translation so as to place the tines 34 a of the fork under the annular lip of head 24 b of the caging pin.
- Head 24 b may be formed to include an annular lip, rim or collar to engage the fork tines.
- Fork 34 may be manually actuated by means of for example a handle or pin 34 b.
- Pin 34 b is pushed horizontally to insert fork 34 under head 24 b when springs 12 are fully compressed.
- the insertion of the tines 34 b of fork 34 under head 24 b cages springs 12 so as to park the brake shoes in a position elevated above rail 18 .
- the brake shoes may then be removed for inspection, maintenance, or replacement.
- the actuators are fully extended so as to further slightly compress springs 12 to an unlock position, for example a further 2 mm beyond the 10 mm nominal piston stroke, thereby unloading the spring force load from fork 34 by slightly elevating head 24 b from fork 34 .
- Fork 34 may then be extracted from underneath head 24 b.
- the actuator pistons may then be retracted to allow springs 12 to extend by the piston stroke distance so as to engage the brake shoe against the rail.
- a further available compression distance for example a further 2 mm of compression is available so as to release fork 24 from under head 24 b of the caging pin.
- the springs when the springs are extended the stroke distance of for example 10 mm, the springs should also be capable of a further extension of for example 2 mm so as to accommodate fluctuations in the elevation of rail 12 relative to the elevation of enclosure 26 .
- each spring may provide a nominal force of 270 kilo-newtons with a maximum force of approximately 300 kilo-newtons.
- the pair of springs thus provides a nominal 540 kilo-newton force.
- the force required to be exerted upwardly by the two actuators in order to compress the springs is a nominal 540 kilo-newtons and a maximum of approximately 600 kilo-newtons.
- the full compression of the springs corresponds to the brake released position of the spring assembly as seen in FIG. 3 a where the brake shoe is elevated 10 mm above the rail and with the spring compressed by the 10 mm piston stroke, that is almost to its maximum, for a spring length of 330 mm in the example illustrated.
- the enclosure and spring assembly are sized so as to provide a 17 mm gap “a” between the bottom of spring holder 20 and the base 26 c of the enclosure, a gap “c” of 4 mm between the top of caging pin 24 and the underside of upper plate 26 a, a fully extended position extension “d” of 23 mm, and 57 mm stand-off distances “f” and “g” respectively between the bottom of base 26 c and the top of rail 12 , and between the bottom of upper plate 26 a and the top of top plate assembly 22 .
- gap “a” has been reduced to 7 mm, the spring length “b” correspondingly extended to 340 mm, gap “c” extended to 14 mm, the cylinder piston extension “d” reduced to 13 mm, the gap “e” between the rail and the brake shoe reduced to nominally zero while the stand-off distances “f” and “g” remain the same at 57 mm each.
- the holding force of the rail brake is a function of the coefficient of friction between the brake shoe and the rail.
- the coefficient of friction may be a nominal 0.5 thus providing a holding force along the rail of a nominal 270 kilo-newtons.
- FIG. 3 c illustrates the brake set position in the instance where, for example, the rail elevation has deviated 2 mm upwardly so that instead of the 10 mm stroke at the nominal rail height the spring travel is instead 8 mm so that gap “a” is 9 mm, spring length “b” is 338 mm, gap “c” is 12 mm, and cylinder piston extension “d” is 15 mm, with the brake shoe elevation being offset upwardly by 2 mm to account for the deviation in the height of the rail.
- the spring force is approximately 484 kilo-newtons.
- FIG. 3 d illustrates the opposite example from FIG. 3 c in that it illustrates a brake set position where the rail deviation is 2 mm below the nominal rail height so that the spring travel is 12 mm instead of the nominal 10 mm.
- gap “a” is 5 mm
- spring length “b” is 342 mm
- gap “c” is 16 mm
- cylinder piston extension “d” is 11 mm.
- the total spring force between the two springs is approximately 456 kilo-newtons.
- the maximum working stroke of the springs is 16 mm and the enclosure is sized so that the spring assembly bottoms out within the enclosure at 17 mm of stroke.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Braking Arrangements (AREA)
Abstract
A rail brake includes a rigid enclosure which mounts under a crane so as to dispose the base end of the enclosure over and adjacent a rail. A top plate is mounted underneath the upper end of the enclosure. A spring carriage is mounted for vertical translation within the enclosure, beneath the top plate. Springs are mounted between the spring carriage and the top plate so that the springs are compressed when the spring carriage is elevated. A brake shoe is mounted under the carriage. Actuators are mounted between the spring carriage and the base end of the enclosure. Extension of the actuators compress the springs and elevate the brake shoe from the rail. Retraction allows the springs to drive the brake shoe against the rail. An opening in the enclosure allows replacement of the springs and actuators. Elevation of the brake shoe provides for its inspection and maintenance.
Description
- This invention relates to the field of rail brakes and in particular to an improved coil spring rail brake which provides, among other things, for improved access to the spring assembly and to the brake shoes for ease of maintenance and repair.
- In the prior art, applicant is aware of various designs of rail brakes. In particular, applicant is aware of the following U.S. patents:
- U.S. Pat. No. 581,270 which issued Apr. 27, 1897, to Davis for a Rail Brake discloses the use of coil springs secured to lever bars so as to hold the lever bars, and the brake shoes mounted thereunder, away from the track rails.
- U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,202 which issued to Down on Jan. 27, 1931, for a Magnetic Brake Device, discloses a magnetic brake shoe which is normally held suspended away from the rail and, upon energization, is attracted to the rail to act as a brake. A coil spring is disposed in a chamber and acts on a piston so as to normally maintain the brake shoe in a suspended position over the rail.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,925 which issued to Ignatoweicz in Apr. 22, 1975, for a Mounting Device for Magnetic Rail Brakes, discloses reducing the air pressure in conventional bellows so as to compress the bellows downwardly until stopped by a spring buffer at a low position wherein the brake magnet may be energized so as to be attracted towards the rail thereby causing a further compression of the spring buffer. Correction of the vertical setting of the magnetic brake unit is accomplished by pressurizing the bellows so as to raise the magnetic unit to a high position. The height of the magnetic unit above the rail may then be adjusted.
- It is an object of the present invention to provide a rail brake in which at least one or more of the following characteristics are present:
-
- a) the rail brake brake shoes may be replaced without removing the whole rail brake assembly from the crane or other rail-mounted machine having the rail brake mounted thereon.
- b) the rail brake actuators may be removed for service without removing the rail brake assembly from the crane or other rail-mounted machine having the rail brake, both when the brake is applied or when the brake is released and the rail brake springs are caged;
- c) the springs, when caged, together with the top plate may be removed modularly from the rail brake enclosure without removing the enclosure from the crane or other rail-mounted machine.
- The rail brake according to the present invention includes a rigid enclosure having an upper end and opposite base end rigidly mounted oppositely to the upper end. The upper end is adapted for mounting to the rail-mounted machine, for example under a crane, so as to dispose the base end of the enclosure over and adjacent the rail. A top plate is mounted underneath the upper end of the enclosure, spaced apart from and substantially parallel to the upper end of the enclosure so as to define a gap there-between.
- A spring carriage is mounted for vertical translation within the enclosure, beneath the top plate, between an elevated position and a lowered position. At least one spring is mounted between the spring carriage and the top plate so that the springs are compressed when the spring carriage is in its elevated position and decompressed when the spring carriage is in its lowered position. At least one brake shoe is mounted under the carriage so as to be oppositely disposed on the carriage relative to the springs.
- At least one selectively actuable actuator is mounted between, so as to bear opposite ends thereof against, the spring carriage and the base end of the enclosure respectively. The actuators are actuable between extended and refracted positions. In the extended position, the spring carriage is in its elevated position and the brake shoes are correspondingly retracted upwardly. In the retracted position, the spring carriage is in its lowered position and the brake shoes are correspondingly lowered so as to be urged by the springs into frictional engagement against the rail.
- The enclosure includes sides extending between the upper end and the base end. At least one of the sides is open for ease of removal of the spring carriage, the top plate, the springs and/or the actuators therethrough.
- The spring carriage may also include an elongate caging member, where the caging member has opposite first and second ends. The caging member is mounted to the spring carriage at the first end of the member and extends substantially parallel to the springs. The second end of the member is journalled upwardly through an aperture in the top plate, and is free to translate vertically in the gap as the spring carriage translates correspondingly within the enclosure so as to translate simultaneously and correspondingly therewith. The second end of the caging member protrudes into a spring-caging position in the gap when the spring carriage is in its elevated position.
- A selectively releasable lock locks the second end of the caging member in its spring-caging position whereby translation of the caging member and the spring carriage is immobilized. The lock may include a latch member in which case the caging member includes a latch receiver for releasably holding the latch member when caging member is in its spring-caging position. The brake shoes are removable when the spring carriage is in its elevated position.
- In a preferred embodiment the spring carriage also includes bearing members corresponding to the location of the tops of the actuators so that the actuators bear against the bearing members. The bearing members may include a pair of substantially oppositely disposed bearing members extending orthogonally relative to the actuators. The actuators may be corresponding pair of actuators extending substantially parallel to the springs.
- The carriage translates a brake set distance between the elevated and lowered positions, and the actuators actuate a corresponding actuation distance between their extended and retracted positions. The actuators also selectively elevate the spring carriage to an unlocking position which is further elevated above the carriage's elevated position so as to unload a spring force load applied to the latch member of the latch receiver. Once the spring force is unloaded the latch member is removable from the latch receiver.
- The latch member may include a fork, in which case the latch receiver includes a lip on the caging member. The lip may be a substantially annular lip. The lip may be formed by a collar on the caging member. The latch member may be elongate and mounted substantially horizontally for horizontal translation into engagement under the lip.
- In one embodiment, spacers define a vertical separation distance within the gap between the upper end of the enclosure and the top plate. The vertical separation distance is substantially equal to the translation distance of the spring carriage between it's lowered position and it's elevated position. The separation distance may be substantially equal to a translation distance of the spring carriage between it's lowered position and it's unlocking position when the caging members are further elevated to allow unlocking of the corresponding latches.
- The springs may be a pair of helical coil springs and the caging members may be a pair of elongate shafts. The elongate shafts may be journalled through corresponding springs.
- The brake shoes may be mounted under the carriage substantially equi-distant, when measured horizontally between the pair of springs so as to substantially evenly distribute a downward spring force of the springs to the brake shoes.
- In the drawings forming part of this specification, like reference numerals denote corresponding parts in each view, and wherein:
-
FIG. 1 a is, in partially cut-away side elevation view, one embodiment of the coil spring rail brake according to the present invention. -
FIG. 1 b is, in front elevation view, the rail brake ofFIG. 1 a. -
FIG. 1 c is, in plan view, the rail brake ofFIG. 1 a. -
FIG. 2 a is, in partially cut-away side elevation view, the rail brake ofFIG. 1 a with the pair of helical coil springs removed and showing the rail brake housing. -
FIG. 2 b is, in front elevation view, the rail brake ofFIG. 2 a. -
FIG. 2 c is, in plan view, the rail brake ofFIG. 2 a. -
FIG. 3 a is the rail brake ofFIG. 1 b mounted to a rail-mounted machine so as to be suspended over a rail, with the brake released. -
FIG. 3 b is the rail brake ofFIG. 3 a in the brake set position at nominal rail height. -
FIG. 3 c is the rail brake ofFIG. 3 b with the rail brake in a brake set position at a rail deviation of +2 mm. -
FIG. 3 d is the rail brake ofFIG. 3 c with the rail brake in a brake set position at a rail deviation of −2 mm. -
FIG. 3 e is the rail brake ofFIG. 3 a with the springs caged. - The rail brake according to the present invention is mounted under a rail-mounted machine such as a
crane 10. There exists a space between the crane and the rails in which a rigid enclosure is mounted. The top plate of the enclosure is bolted to the underside of the crane so as to position the bottom of the enclosure adjacent the rail to which the brake is to be applied. A modular spring and actuator mechanism is housed in the enclosure. The springs and/or actuators may be removed from the enclosure for servicing, as better described below, through an opening in the enclosure. In a preferred embodiment of the actuators are a pair of actuators mounted in the enclosure to act on the spring mechanism. The spring mechanism includes a pair of helical coil springs 12 which in one embodiment exert a nominal 470 kilo-newton downward force driving downwardly one ormore brake shoes 14 mounted under the spring mechanism. In particular,brake shoes 14 mounted onshoe rods 16 are driven downwardly into frictional engagement against the upper surface ofrails 18.Brake shoes 14 are mounted toshoe rods 16 bybolts 16 a engaging through holes inmetal clips 16 b, thereby allowing worn brake shoes to be replaced without removing the enclosure or any part thereof from the crane once the brake shoes have been elevated above the rail. - Within the spring mechanism, coil springs 12 are maintained in spaced apart parallel alignment by rigid supports mounted to contain the tops and the bottoms of the springs and in particular by a
spring holder 20 supporting the bottom of the springs and by atop plate assembly 22 supporting the tops of the springs.Spring holder 20 includeswalls 20 a formed to cup the bottoms of thesprings 12 and vertically upstanding cylindrical caging members or guides 20 b which extend upwardly within the cavity defined bywalls 20 a so that, withsprings 12 installed inspring holder 20, guides 20 b extend upwardly journalled through the center of the helical coils of the springs. The top surfaces ofguides 20 b are adjacent the underside oftop plate assembly 22 when thesprings 12 are fully compressed as further described below. Acenter guide member 20 c extends upwardly between the springs and acts as a stop againsttop plate assembly 22 to prevent over-compressing of the springs as over-compression of the springs may damage the springs. The top ofcenter guide member 20 acts as a spacer in combination with the top plate to prevent this over-compression. - A
caging pin 24 is rigidly mounted into the top ends ofguides 20 b so as to protrude vertically upwards therefrom. Theshank 24 a ofpins 24 pass through correspondingapertures 22 a formed intop plate assembly 22 so that assprings 12 are compressed or allowed to expand, caging pins 24 mounted inguides 20 b are raised or lowered respectively relativetop plate assembly 22. -
Springs 12 and the supports for the springs provided by a spring carriage such asspring holder 20 are all mounted within arigid enclosure 26.Enclosure 26 is mounted to the underside of the rail-mounted machinery, such as the underside ofcrane 10, in the space between the underside of the machine and the rail.Top plate assembly 22 is bolted to spacers 22 b mounted underneath theupper plate 26 a ofenclosure 26.Enclosure 26 includesupper plate 26 a, sidewalls or a supportingframework 26 b (collectively referred to herein as walls), and arigid base 26 c supported rigidly underneath theupper plate 26 a by the walls. The spring assembly which consists of the pair ofsprings 12, thespring holder 20, and thetop plate assembly 22, is mounted within theenclosure 26 so that the spring assembly may be removed from an opening in the side of the enclosure, that is, through an opening in a wall of the enclosure, once the brake shoe assembly has been removed and the springtop plate assembly 22 unbolted from thespacers 22 b underupper plate 26 a by removingbolts 30. - A cavity or
space 28 is maintained betweentop plate assembly 22 and theupper plate 26 a ofenclosure 26 byspacers 22 b.Space 28 allows for vertical translation of caging pins 24, that is, of the upper end of the caging members. With thetop plate assembly 22 bolted to theupper plate 26 a bybolts 30 throughspacers 22 b, the spring assembly is suspended withinenclosure 26 so as to accommodate the compression and extension ofsprings 12. Assprings 12 extend,spring holder 20 is pushed downwardly so as to biasbrake shoe 14 downwardly into frictional engagement onrail 12. A pair ofactuators 32, which may be hydraulic actuators, are mounted between the base 26 c of the enclosure and bearing members such as a cantilevered or otherwise formed pair ofrigid flanges 20 c extending laterally fromspring holder 20. When actuated so as to extend the actuator pistons,actuators 32drive spring holder 20 upwardly. This compresses springs 12 towards their fully compressed caged position and elevates thebrake shoes 14 aboverail 18. Asspring holder 20 is elevated, cagingpin 24 is also elevated so as to raisehead 24 b onshank 24 a intospace 28 above the corresponding upper surface oftop plate assembly 22. - With the springs fully compressed by the actuators, for example given an actuator piston stroke of approximately 10 mm,
head 24 b will also be elevated by the same stroke intospace 28 above the corresponding upper surface oftop plate assembly 22. A lock or latch, for example including a latch member such asfork 34 having a thickness substantially equal to the stroke distance is mounted horizontally for lateral sliding translation so as to place thetines 34 a of the fork under the annular lip ofhead 24 b of the caging pin.Head 24 b may be formed to include an annular lip, rim or collar to engage the fork tines.Fork 34 may be manually actuated by means of for example a handle or pin 34 b.Pin 34 b is pushed horizontally to insertfork 34 underhead 24 b when springs 12 are fully compressed. The insertion of thetines 34 b offork 34 underhead 24 b cages springs 12 so as to park the brake shoes in a position elevated aboverail 18. The brake shoes may then be removed for inspection, maintenance, or replacement. To release the brake shoes from their elevated and parked position, the actuators are fully extended so as to further slightly compresssprings 12 to an unlock position, for example a further 2 mm beyond the 10 mm nominal piston stroke, thereby unloading the spring force load fromfork 34 by slightly elevatinghead 24 b fromfork 34.Fork 34 may then be extracted from underneathhead 24 b. The actuator pistons may then be retracted to allowsprings 12 to extend by the piston stroke distance so as to engage the brake shoe against the rail. - In the above example which is not intended to be limiting, and as illustrated in
FIGS. 3 a-3 e, given of a nominal piston stroke distance of 10 mm, once the springs are compressed by the 10 mm stroke distance, a further available compression distance, for example a further 2 mm of compression is available so as to releasefork 24 from underhead 24 b of the caging pin. Also, when the springs are extended the stroke distance of for example 10 mm, the springs should also be capable of a further extension of for example 2 mm so as to accommodate fluctuations in the elevation ofrail 12 relative to the elevation ofenclosure 26. Thus for example within a range of plus or minus 2 mm the brake shoe should be capable of vertical translation while still maintaining a downward force on the rail sufficient to provide the braking function to inhibit movement of the machine along the rail. To give one example of the force exerted by the springs, which example is not intended to be limiting, each spring may provide a nominal force of 270 kilo-newtons with a maximum force of approximately 300 kilo-newtons. The pair of springs thus provides a nominal 540 kilo-newton force. Thus for the two springs the force required to be exerted upwardly by the two actuators in order to compress the springs is a nominal 540 kilo-newtons and a maximum of approximately 600 kilo-newtons. The full compression of the springs corresponds to the brake released position of the spring assembly as seen inFIG. 3 a where the brake shoe is elevated 10 mm above the rail and with the spring compressed by the 10 mm piston stroke, that is almost to its maximum, for a spring length of 330 mm in the example illustrated. - In the embodiment illustrated, in the brake release position the enclosure and spring assembly are sized so as to provide a 17 mm gap “a” between the bottom of
spring holder 20 and the base 26 c of the enclosure, a gap “c” of 4 mm between the top of cagingpin 24 and the underside ofupper plate 26 a, a fully extended position extension “d” of 23 mm, and 57 mm stand-off distances “f” and “g” respectively between the bottom ofbase 26 c and the top ofrail 12, and between the bottom ofupper plate 26 a and the top oftop plate assembly 22. - In the brake set position of
FIG. 3 b the springs have been extended by the nominal stroke distance of 10 mm by the retraction of the actuator pistons, so as to provide a combined downward spring force of 540 kilo-newtons pressing the brake shoe against the rail. - Thus gap “a” has been reduced to 7 mm, the spring length “b” correspondingly extended to 340 mm, gap “c” extended to 14 mm, the cylinder piston extension “d” reduced to 13 mm, the gap “e” between the rail and the brake shoe reduced to nominally zero while the stand-off distances “f” and “g” remain the same at 57 mm each. The holding force of the rail brake is a function of the coefficient of friction between the brake shoe and the rail. For a hardened, serrated brake shoe the coefficient of friction may be a nominal 0.5 thus providing a holding force along the rail of a nominal 270 kilo-newtons.
-
FIG. 3 c illustrates the brake set position in the instance where, for example, the rail elevation has deviated 2 mm upwardly so that instead of the 10 mm stroke at the nominal rail height the spring travel is instead 8 mm so that gap “a” is 9 mm, spring length “b” is 338 mm, gap “c” is 12 mm, and cylinder piston extension “d” is 15 mm, with the brake shoe elevation being offset upwardly by 2 mm to account for the deviation in the height of the rail. In this position, the spring force is approximately 484 kilo-newtons. -
FIG. 3 d illustrates the opposite example fromFIG. 3 c in that it illustrates a brake set position where the rail deviation is 2 mm below the nominal rail height so that the spring travel is 12 mm instead of the nominal 10 mm. Thus gap “a” is 5 mm, spring length “b” is 342 mm, gap “c” is 16 mm, and cylinder piston extension “d” is 11 mm. The total spring force between the two springs is approximately 456 kilo-newtons. In this example, the maximum working stroke of the springs is 16 mm and the enclosure is sized so that the spring assembly bottoms out within the enclosure at 17 mm of stroke. - In the spring caged position of
FIG. 3 e,fork 34 has been inserted underhead 24 b ofcaging pin 24 and theactuators 30 retracted so as to allowsprings 12 to re-extend by 2 mm for a spring length “b” of 332 mm to thereby cage the springs by engaging the head of the caging pin down against the fork. Thus gap “a” is reduced to 15 mm and gap “c” is increased to 6 mm as cylinder piston extension “d” is retracted for example to a retracted extension of 6 mm. - As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
Claims (19)
1. A rail brake for a rail-mounted machine mounted for translation along a rail, said rail brake comprising:
a rigid enclosure having an upper end and opposite base end rigidly mounted oppositely to said upper end, wherein said upper end is adapted for mounting to the rail-mounted machine so as to dispose said base end over and adjacent the rail,
a top plate mounted underneath, spaced apart from and substantially parallel to, said upper end so as to define a gap between said upper end and said top plate.
a spring carriage mounted for vertical translation within said enclosure, beneath said top plate, between an elevated position and a lowered position,
at least one spring mounted between said spring carriage and said top plate, said at least one spring compressed when said spring carriage is in said elevated position and decompressed when said spring carriage is in said lowered position,
at least one brake shoe mounted under said carriage so as to be oppositely disposed on said carriage relative to said at least one spring,
at least one selectively actuable actuator mounted between, so as to bear opposite ends thereof against, said spring carriage and said base end of said enclosure respectively, said at least one actuator actuable between extended and retracted positions wherein, in said extended position, said spring carriage is in said elevated position and said at least one brake shoe is correspondingly retracted upwardly, and wherein, in said retracted position,
said spring carriage is in said lowered position and said at least one brake shoe is correspondingly lowered so as to be urged into frictional engagement against the rail.
2. The brake of claim 1 wherein said at least one spring is at least one helical coil spring, and further comprising an elongate caging member, said caging member having opposite first and seconds ends, said member mounted to said spring carriage at said first end of said member and extending substantially parallel to said at least one spring, said second end of said member journalled in an aperture in said top plate, wherein said second end of said member is free to translate vertically in said gap as said spring carriage translates correspondingly within said enclosure so as to translate simultaneously and correspondingly therewith and so that said second end of said member protrudes into a spring-caging position in said gap when said spring carriage is in said elevated position, a selectively releasable lock selectively releasable locking said second end of said caging member in said spring-caging position whereby translation of said caging member and said spring carriage is immobilized when said second end is locked by said lock.
3. The brake of claim 2 wherein said enclosure includes sides extending between said upper end and said base end, and wherein at least one of said sides is open for removal of said spring carriage, said top plate, said at least one spring and/or said at least one actuator therethrough.
4. The brake of claim 3 wherein said at least one brake shoe is removable when said spring carriage is in said elevated position.
5. The brake of claim 4 wherein said carriage includes at least one bearing member and wherein said at least one actuator bears against said at least one bearing member.
6. The brake of claim 5 wherein said carriage translates a brake set distance between said elevated and lowered positions, and wherein said at least one actuator actuates a corresponding actuation distance between said extended and retracted positions.
7. The brake of claim 6 wherein said lock includes a latch member and wherein said caging member includes a latch receiver for releasably holding said latch member when said caging member is in said spring-caging position.
8. The brake of claim 7 wherein said at least one actuator also selectively elevates said carriage to an unlocking position which is further elevated above said elevated position so as to unload a spring force load applied to said latch member by said latch receiver, wherefrom said latch member is removable from said latch receiver.
9. The brake of claim 8 wherein said latch member includes a fork and wherein said latch receiver includes a lip on said caging member.
10. The brake of claim 9 wherein said lip is a substantially annular lip.
11. The brake of claim 10 wherein said lip is formed by a collar on said caging member.
12. The brake of claim 9 wherein said latch member is elongate and mounted substantially horizontally for horizontal translation into engagement under said lip.
13. The brake of claim 7 further comprising at least one spacer defining a vertical separation distance within said gap between said upper end and said top plate.
14. The brake of claim 13 wherein said separation distance is substantially equal to a translation distance of said spring carriage between said lowered position and said elevated position.
15. The brake of claim 14 wherein said separation distance is substantially equal to a translation distance of said carriage between said lowered position and said unlocking position when said at least one caging member is further elevated to allow unlocking of said latch.
16. The brake of claim 15 wherein said at least one spring is a pair of helical coil springs and wherein said at least one caging member is a pair of elongate shafts wherein each shaft of said pair of elongate shafts is journalled through a corresponding spring of said pair of helical coil springs.
17. The brake of claim 16 wherein said latch member includes a fork and wherein said latch receiver includes a lip on said caging member.
18. The brake of claim 17 wherein said at least one bearing member includes a pair of substantially oppositely disposed bearing members extending orthogonally relative to said pair of helical coil springs, wherein said at least one actuator is a corresponding pair of actuators extending substantially parallel to said pair of helical coil springs.
19. The brake of claim 18 wherein said at least one brake shoe is mounted under said carriage substantially equi-distant between said pair of helical coil springs so as to substantially evenly distribute a downward spring force of said each spring to said at least one brake shoe.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/CA2009/001738 WO2011063492A1 (en) | 2009-11-30 | 2009-11-30 | Coil spring rail brake |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20120234634A1 true US20120234634A1 (en) | 2012-09-20 |
Family
ID=44065766
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/512,825 Abandoned US20120234634A1 (en) | 2009-11-30 | 2009-11-30 | Coil spring rail brake |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20120234634A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2013512136A (en) |
KR (1) | KR20120105500A (en) |
CN (1) | CN102781757A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2011063492A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20200377069A1 (en) * | 2019-06-03 | 2020-12-03 | Norm Klassen | Linear braking system for rail vehicles |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2012162783A1 (en) * | 2011-05-30 | 2012-12-06 | Hillmar Industries Limited | Spring caging mechanism for a coil spring rail brake |
JP7042070B2 (en) * | 2017-12-12 | 2022-03-25 | Ihi運搬機械株式会社 | Braking device for orbiting machines |
JP6986953B2 (en) * | 2017-12-27 | 2021-12-22 | Ihi運搬機械株式会社 | Braking device for track-running machines |
JP7258695B2 (en) * | 2019-08-30 | 2023-04-17 | Ihi運搬機械株式会社 | Braking devices for track-running machines |
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US640268A (en) * | 1899-07-17 | 1900-01-02 | Elihu F Campbell | Car-brake. |
US1118833A (en) * | 1913-12-06 | 1914-11-24 | Henry Wilson | Braking mechanism. |
US1235103A (en) * | 1917-02-02 | 1917-07-31 | H E Miller | Automatic car-brake. |
US1379548A (en) * | 1919-07-25 | 1921-05-24 | Peter J Gaillard | Fluid-pressure rail-brake |
US1539372A (en) * | 1920-12-04 | 1925-05-26 | Simpson Thomas | Brake |
US1592320A (en) * | 1925-06-16 | 1926-07-13 | Lewis E Younie | Mechanism for car trucks |
US1766016A (en) * | 1926-08-05 | 1930-06-24 | Cincinnati Car Corp | Rail brake for railway cars |
US1915412A (en) * | 1931-12-05 | 1933-06-27 | Bonney Floyd Co | Rail brake and disposition thereof |
US2115542A (en) * | 1937-01-28 | 1938-04-26 | Westinghouse Air Brake Co | Rail brake |
US2519888A (en) * | 1948-05-03 | 1950-08-22 | Harold A Conner | Railroad car brake |
US4308937A (en) * | 1979-12-04 | 1982-01-05 | Johnson Norman A | Self-aligning clamping apparatus |
US6595333B2 (en) * | 2000-07-04 | 2003-07-22 | Ron Tremblay | Rail brake |
US7975811B2 (en) * | 2008-01-22 | 2011-07-12 | Hillmar Industries Ltd. | Constant force rail clamp |
Family Cites Families (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US1790202A (en) * | 1927-09-22 | 1931-01-27 | Westinghouse Air Brake Co | Magnetic brake device |
-
2009
- 2009-11-30 KR KR1020127017180A patent/KR20120105500A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2009-11-30 JP JP2012540233A patent/JP2013512136A/en active Pending
- 2009-11-30 US US13/512,825 patent/US20120234634A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2009-11-30 WO PCT/CA2009/001738 patent/WO2011063492A1/en active Application Filing
- 2009-11-30 CN CN2009801633545A patent/CN102781757A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US640268A (en) * | 1899-07-17 | 1900-01-02 | Elihu F Campbell | Car-brake. |
US1118833A (en) * | 1913-12-06 | 1914-11-24 | Henry Wilson | Braking mechanism. |
US1235103A (en) * | 1917-02-02 | 1917-07-31 | H E Miller | Automatic car-brake. |
US1379548A (en) * | 1919-07-25 | 1921-05-24 | Peter J Gaillard | Fluid-pressure rail-brake |
US1539372A (en) * | 1920-12-04 | 1925-05-26 | Simpson Thomas | Brake |
US1592320A (en) * | 1925-06-16 | 1926-07-13 | Lewis E Younie | Mechanism for car trucks |
US1766016A (en) * | 1926-08-05 | 1930-06-24 | Cincinnati Car Corp | Rail brake for railway cars |
US1915412A (en) * | 1931-12-05 | 1933-06-27 | Bonney Floyd Co | Rail brake and disposition thereof |
US2115542A (en) * | 1937-01-28 | 1938-04-26 | Westinghouse Air Brake Co | Rail brake |
US2519888A (en) * | 1948-05-03 | 1950-08-22 | Harold A Conner | Railroad car brake |
US4308937A (en) * | 1979-12-04 | 1982-01-05 | Johnson Norman A | Self-aligning clamping apparatus |
US6595333B2 (en) * | 2000-07-04 | 2003-07-22 | Ron Tremblay | Rail brake |
US7975811B2 (en) * | 2008-01-22 | 2011-07-12 | Hillmar Industries Ltd. | Constant force rail clamp |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20200377069A1 (en) * | 2019-06-03 | 2020-12-03 | Norm Klassen | Linear braking system for rail vehicles |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
KR20120105500A (en) | 2012-09-25 |
WO2011063492A1 (en) | 2011-06-03 |
JP2013512136A (en) | 2013-04-11 |
CN102781757A (en) | 2012-11-14 |
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Legal Events
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Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO PAY ISSUE FEE |