US2161373A - Coal pusher for locomotive tenders - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1939. R. MILBURN El AL 2,161,373

COAL PUSHER FOR LOCOMOTIVE TENDERS Filed Aug. '1, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l l- I I v/////////////////////I I I IN VEN TORS A TTORNE).

June 6, 1939. R. MlLBURN ET AL COAL PUSHER FOR LOCOMOTIVE TENDERS Filed Aug. 1, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LIII'IIIII w jig:

I mmmm INVENTORS lPor ,ll/mawsw,

A TTORNEY Patented June 6,

UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE seen J F PO QMQTFVE E D R Y Roy lVIilburn and Wade Briggs', -Muskogee, Okla. A

' Application n ust i933, 'sei ia live. 222,556

2 Claims. (l. 193-221) r invention relates toimprovements in r f o n oa 'in mq ive dgrsen t.

has. for an object to effect an improvement dap ed. t be n p ed w u hers already) in use to increase their effectivenessandutility aswell as to enable the original manufacture in tenders of improved equipment embodying my" invention with a minimum ofexpense and without requiring structural modification of tender or standard pushers.

It has been the experience with ordinary push-,

ers that an arch forms at the mid'part of the b in and extending rearwardlysupported in part on the slope sheet, so that the pushers operateunder the arch without being able to move a large pro} portion of the coalin the bin as desired. Also,

' even if each arch doesv not extend over thepushers, much coalgremains on the slopesheet, It is therefore an aim of this invention to providea 2O pusher construction in which such arch cannot l form ordinarily and proper operation of the pusher on the coalwill be assured, so'that all coal'will be pushed forward until the reserve is depleted to a proper minimum consistent with ,25 good performance of such devices.

It is also an object to enable the incorporation,

of my invention on various types of pushers already in use without requiring reconstruction of the tender or pusher structure, and using 'Qi principally stock materials and simple shop operations requiring no special machining. Additional objects, advantages and features of invention reside in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention, as will be under-t stood from the following description and accom-' panying drawings, wherein v t Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a tendon and pusher embodying my invention. 40 a Figure 2 is a top view thereof.

Figure 3 is a detail of one of therear pushers.

There is illustrated a tender structure including the usual bin construction ID, including side walls H and wear plate !2, the side walls having 45 outwardly sloping upper parts l3. The wear plate may lie over or as shown may comprise at its rear part the slope sheet of the tender, as preferred.

On the upper and rear part of the slope sheet 2 50 there is centrally mounted a steam cylinder l4 arranged longitudinally ofthe tender and comprising part of the motor of any standard or approved coal pusher, the operative means and controls of which are not illustrated as they may be 55. of any usual form of which there are several well known, anddo not form a novel part of the invention. v I I A' shield or hood i5 is extended forwardly from the cylinder, within which may operate the piston rod and an offset link connection l6 between 5 the piston rod and the upper standard form of pusher ll, which atretracted position of the piston lies close to the extremity of the hood l5. The pusher I1 is a transverse bar or plate extending nearly the width of the forward bin 10 space, and is substantially wedge-shaped in cross section fore-and-aft, forming a knife edge l8 toward therear, and having a forward or front face l9 perpendicular to the plane of the bottom side of the pusher. The bottom side may rest flat upon or close to the slope sheet. Midway of its length agsocket is integrally formed on this pusher, presented toward the rear, in which the forward end of the link l6is secured. On the forward face ll) of thispusher, ears 2| are formed near each end, between which links 22 are pivoted, extending forwardly and pivoted between corresponding ea'rs23 formed on the upper sloping' face bf the forward pusher 24, which is similar in cross section and length to the one ll. 25 The links 22 are simple rectilinear bars, and the ears 2| and 23 are so located that the links are within the altitude of the front faces of the pushers and will interfere in a minimum degree with the movement of the pushers through obstruction by coal thereover. If desired, any usual form of guide rails may be mounted on the floor and slope sheet to hold the pushers to 'a proper path between the sides of the bin when the device is operated.

There are mounted on the upper part of the slope sheet two pairs of guide rails 25, one pair on each side of the cylinder I4, these rails being 2 shaped in cross section with upwardly offset top flanges presented toward each other and 40 spaced from the slope sheet to form guide channels. Slide plates 26 are slidably engaged under the top flanges, on the rear parts of which respective wedge shaped pusher bars 2'! are secured, corresponding in cross sectional form and measurements with those of the bars H and 24. Ears 28 are formed centrally of the forward sides of the bars 21, between which the rear ends of links 29 are pivoted, which are extended forwardly parallel to the slope sheet a distance, and then slightly upward and forward closely over the bar I1, their forward ends being turned downwardly and bifurcated to receive therein respective links 22, to which they are pivotally 55 connected, so that as the bars I! and 24 are moved, so will the bars 21 be also.

The plates 26 are extended a distance forwardly of the bars 21, and each has mounted thereon at the front edge parallel upstanding ears 30, between which the respective link 29 is held for slight vertical sliding movement, as may be required in operation of the forward pushers. The ears aid in holding the plates 26 in proper alinement with the rails 25 and prevent jamming of the plates 26 between the rails, which is a tendency at times when one end of a plate 26 or its bar 21. strikes a heavy lump of coal in the mass thereover. I

In operation, the projection of the piston of the motor to its forward limit 'movesjhe forward pusher forwardly on the floor ,of the bin, and this moves thispusher also above the plane"-of the path of the rear pusher, so that the link 22 moves pivotally in the ears 2| and raises the forward ends of the links 29 slightly. The forward pusher 24 also is slightly rotated by the change of its position with respect to the perpendicular,

. due to its lower side moving from inclined position to approximately horizontal position on the floor of the bin. In this movement of'the' pushers l1 and 24 a mass of coal in the lower portion of the mass in the bin is propelled forwardly, and due to the linkage of the rear plates 26 these are also drawn forwardly, moving forward a corresponding'mass of coal from under or within that located over the slope sheet. This last action breaks the footing of the arch that tends to form, and causes a constant lowering of the pile in the bin until approximately all is propelled forward, under the repeated operations of the pushers. In the retractive movements of the pushers, the flat wedge-shape of the pushers enables them to be readily drawn rearwardly under the coal with a minimum of retardance, the coal passing thereover without rearward translation.

It will be understood that while I have described a specific embodiment of the invention, it is; not

, pusher connected therewith and movable on the slope sheet, a forward pusher -movable on the floor, links connected between the forward pusher and the first named pusher, upper pushers spaced rearwardly of the first named pusher on the slope sheet adjacent respective sides of the bin, and

respective links pivotally connected to the front sides of the upper pushers extended forwardly over the first named pusher and downwardly and pivotally connected to the respective first named links. 7

f2;- 'A coal pusher of the character described for a locomotive te'nderhaving a bin including a slope sheet and floor, areciprocating piston motor mounted adjacent the slope sheet, a-transverse pusher connected therewithand movable on the slope sheetfa forward pusher movable on the floor, links connected between the forward pusher and the first'namedpusher, upper pushers spaced rearwardlyof the first named pusher on the slope sheet adjacent respective sides of the bin, and link connections between the first named pusher and said upper pushers, said upper pushers each comprising guide rails, a flat plate fitted slidably therebetween and slidable on the slope sheet, said link connection therewith consisting of a respective link pivoted on the front side of the upper pusher close to the flat plate, and spaced ears on the fiat plate spaced forwardly of the upper pusher and receiving the link slidably therebetween. 4 g

ROY MILBURN.

WADE BRIGGS.

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