US2138634A - Road rail stake pocket - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 29, 1938. E. L. HARRINGTON ROAD RAIL STAKE POCKET Filed Sept. 30, 1936 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 29, 1938 ROAD RAIL STAKE POCKET Edward L. Harrington, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 30, 1936, Serial No. 103,308

2 Claims.

Concrete pavements are usually laid by pouring between forms or road rails.

These forms are usually L-shaped in section and are secured in position on a previously prepared sub-grade by metal stakes or pins driven into the sub-grade and secured to the rails in some manner.

It is desirable that the stake serve two functions,first, to prevent lateral displacement of the rail at its base, and second, to prevent tipping of the rail from the intended to retain, due either to pressure of concrete against it or to the weight and reactions of machines which are supported by it. The usual manner of preventing both tipping of the rail and lateral displacement is by keying the rail to the stake so that it cannot tilt with respect to the stake. If the stake be vertical position it is driven in a perfectly vertical direction at precisely the correct position it is sufiicient to key the rail against some fixed portions of the stake pocket. This has been common practice. The present invention relates to a modified stake pocket and rail construction by'means of which it insured that the stake, during driving, is maintained in proper position at the elevation of the rail base, though it may be deflected from vertical direction by encountering obstacles, but which nevertheless provides for rigidly securing the rail to the stake after the latter is driven, without any displacement or tip- This permits the rails to be alined accurately before the stakes are ping of the rail.

driven,

and this accurate alinement of the forms is maintained even though the stakes are not driven precisely perpendicular.

' tion is a departure, stake section have been used, with the trough correspending to the bottom of pockets of U-shaped the U in vertical position. These were secured to the rail in such a manner that the stake could be driven vertically and locked to the stake pocket trough by wedges. In accordance with my invention the stake pocket,

though its body is of bent U-shaped section, for

the sake of strength and stiffness'does not stand with the trough vertical, but with it inclined and partially inverted so that what would otherwise be a trough bottom is converted into an inclined cover, to prevent concrete from entering the pocket except at a hole provided for the stake,

and which also serves as a n increased stiffening for the rail and a protection of the pocket against misdirected blows ofthe hammer used in stake driving. Wedges are provided to engage the stake, without clamping it to the trough of the pocket as in former practice, and thereby tipping or warping the rail if the stakes were not all perpendicular. Further details and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the course of the following description, and the novel features will be specifically pointed out in the appended claims. A present preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which,

r Fig. l is a plan view of a rail having the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view to enlarged scale along the line TIL-III of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, a road rail ID of the usual design comprises a horizontal leg or foot II, a vertical leg or wall I2, a top or head l3 on which wheeled mixing and finishing machines travel, and a down-turned flange M. The horizontal leg or foot ll of the rail I0 is provided with a hole l5 adapted to receive a stake or pin Hi. The hole I5 is only sufiiciently greater in diameter than the stake to permit the latter to pass readily therethrough with slight clearance. The effect of this relation between the diameter of the hole and that of the stake is to anchor the rail against lateral shifting, as soon as the stake has been started into the subgrade, regardless of whether or not the stake as finally driven is precisely perpendicular to the sub-grade. 5

'A stake pocket I! comprises a member U- shaped in cross-section which may be convenientlyformed from metal plate of suitable thickness. The pocket is preferably made in one piece, and comprises a top, or cover member l8, side members l9, top wings 20, and bottom wings 20', extending outwardly from the side members in vertical and horizontal directions. The pocket is attached to the rail by rivets 2| through 20 and I4, and through 20' and II. A stake hole 22 is 45 formed in the top N3 of the pocket I1, and is preferably given the form of a slot having its major axis in line with the length of the top wall l8, to make allowance for possible departures from the true perpendicular in the final position 50 of the stake, without tilting the Vertical leg or wall 12 of the rail from its true vertical position.

Slots 23 and 24 are formed in both side walls ill of the pocket I! for the reception of wedges 25 and 26. After the wedges have been disposed 55 in their slots, links 21 are fastened thereon to prevent the wedges from sliding out.

While the manner of using the invention will probably be apparent from what has already been said, a brief review thereof follows:

The road rails are laid on the sub-grade end to end, in precise alinement. The Wedges 25 and 28 are then moved to their outermost positions, viz., with the links 2! in engagement with the side walls of the pocket I1. The stakes l6 are then inserted through the slot 22 and the hole 15 and then driven into the sub-grade. After the stake has been started, assumedly in almost vertical position, its point may be deflected by encountering a stone, or other obstruction in the soil. In. that event, unless the obstruction be very large or hard, the rail which is already in proper position, and secured not only by its own weight and its coupling to adjoining rails, but also by other stakes, three being the usual number for a rail ten feet long, is not displaced, but maintains the stake in position at the place where it passes through the rail base The stake, therefore, being deflected at itspoint, sufliciently to pass the obstruction, is driven on downward on a slant, the rail remaining substantially undisturbed during the driving. When the stake is driven far enough to bring its top to a proper elevation below the rail head, the wedges 25 and 26 are driven to engage the stake firmly without tipping the rail, leaving it resting firmly on the sub-grade as originally placed. While there may be sub-grade conditions where the ground is so hard that some displacement of the rail occurs during stake driving, the invention does not contemplate taking care ofthose conditions.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the construction disclosed herein possesses marked advantages over earlier stake pockets which either required great accuracy in the driving of the stakes, such as often was impossible to attain in practice, or provided that the rail be adjustable laterally relative to the stake, and thus failed to insure the stake being driven Vertically at the desired spot on the sub-grade.

In the construction of a concrete road there usually is some spillage of concrete, or mortar, over the road rails. This naturally accumulates on the base i l, whence it is readily removed when the rails are taken up for reuse. However, with other stake pockets, considerable difficulty is sometimes encountered removing this mortar, after it has hardened, from the stake pockets, especially when they are open atthe topand extend all the way down to the rail base. This difliculty is minimized in the present invention by providing the cover I! for the pocket and having it open at the bottom, between the inclined edges of l9 and the angle between H and I2; and the removal of such material as may enter the pocket is facilitated by the opening 28, through which a stake or other tool may be inserted to loosen any mortar that may have hardened within the pocket. The pocket is also protected against accidental hammer blows by disposition upper-most of the remainder of the pocket and inclined relative to the vertical leg or wall I 2. The possibility of securing the pocket tightly to the stake Without tipping the form even though the stake is not precisely vertical, and without shifting the form laterally, has already been referred to.

Although Ihave disclosed herein but a single preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that changes in the precise construction illustrated and described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1 The combination of an L-shaped road rail and a stake pocket for the road rail, said pocket comprising a member extending between the edges of the rail, having sidewalls and a slopingtop wall, a stake hole intermediate the ends of said top wall, there being a stake hole in the horizontalmember of the rail in vertical alignment with the stake hole in saidmem-ber, said second-mentioned stake hole being smaller than the firstmentioned stake hole, and slots in the side walls of the member in different horizontal planes and on opposite sides 01' the center line of said holes for receiving two independent wedges, whereby the rail may beanchored' against lateral movement when a stake is driven through said holes and the wedges are tightened against said stake.

2. In combination, an L-shaped road rail, a stake pocket for the road rail, said pocket com prising a member extending between the edges of the rail, having side wallsand a top wall, a stake hole intermediate the ends of said top wall, there being a stake hole in the horizontal member of the rail in vertical alignment With the stake hole in said pocket member, and a stake passing through said holes, said first mentioned hole being sufli'ciently larger than said stake to permit the stake to tilt therein, and the secondmentioned hole being of a size sufiicient to permit the stake to pass readily therethrough, but to anchor the horizontal member against lateral shifting relatively to the stake, and slots in the side walls of the pocket member on opposite sides of the center line of said holes for receiving two independent wedges, whereby the vertical member of the rail may beanchored to the stake de spite tilting'thereof.

EDWARD L.v HARRINGTON.

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