US2207207A - Railway torpedo - Google Patents

Description

y 9, 1940- H. E. SHERMAN 2,207,207

RAILWAY TORPEDO Filed June 27, 1938 Fig.2

INVENTQR HAmz E-. 614mm,

AJVATrQRNEY 7 Patented July 9, 1940 PATENT OFFICE- RAILWAY TORPEDO Harry E. Sherman, Alton, Ill., assignor to The Equitable Powder Manufacturing Company, East Alton, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 27, 1938, Serial No. 216,012

4 Claims.

have attended the use of these prior type, such.

as, for example, danger from flying metal frag- 15' ments on explosion of the torpedo, lack of facility in fastening the torpedo to a rail, projecting metal parts in the assembled torpedo which caused difiiculty in safe andcompact packaging, or excessive costs of production.

The object of this invention is to provide a railway torpedo having attachment means consisting of a pliable metal rod by means of which firm anchorage of the torpedo to a rail and at the same time improved conditions of safety in use may be obtained.

Further objects will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of pliable metal rod, of circular cross-section;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an alternate form of pliable metal rod, of square cross-section;

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating one manner in which the pliable metal rod may be assembled in the torpedo;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view through the torpedo along line l4 of Figure 6;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a completed torpedo; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of a torpedo attached to a rail.

In accordance with the present invention, a railway torpedo is provided which has as means of anchorage to a rail a pliable metal rod in which the thickness and the Width are of the same order of magnitude. It has been found that Referring to the drawing, Figure 3 is illustrative'of one manner of assembling a torpedo in accordance with this invention. The explosive tablet l, consisting, for example, of 100 grains of a mixture of 35% by weight of potassium chlorate, 15% by weight of sulfur, and the balance sand and suitable binder, is wrapped so as to be entirely'enclosed in a flexible protective casing 2, for example of waterproof paper. The pliable rod 3 is placed in the base of the Wrapped tablet, an adhesive-coated outer wrapper 5 is folded around the assemblage as indicated in the draw ing and, the assembly is completed by the application of suitable pressure, as between a rubber press and a metal mold. The wrapped explosive is then desirably dipped into a' waterproofing lacquer, sand is applied to the base, and, finally,',

thevolatile solvent in the lacquer film is removed by drying. .On wrapping the ends of thepliable. rod 3 around the torpedo as shown in Figure 5, it is ready for packaging.

As-indicated in the cross-sectional view shown in Figure 4, the assembly is so carried out that therodt doesnot project below the base plane. of the completed torpedo, in order that the tor-. pedo may rest evenly on a rail surface when placed thereon. This may be accomplished by providing a suitable groove'in the base of the explosive tablet, which is sufiiciently deep so that the inserted rod does not project beyond the base of the wrapped torpedo. Contact of the rod 3 with the explosive l is prevented by the intervening flexible casing 2, to which the rod is fastened by means of the outer adherent wrapper 5. Other means of fastening the rod 3 to the casing 2 may be utilized, such as for example, passing the rod through suitable slits in the casing. The final lacquer coating serves not only to waterproof the completed torpedo, but also to strengthen the assembly.

Rod 3 is preferably of circular cross section and is provided with a kink 6 such as is shown in Figure 1, in order to anchor the rod firmly in the wrapped torpedo and prevent its removal by pulling from the side. The rod may likewise be of rectangular or square cross-section, as shown in Figure 2, the essential feature being that the Width and thickness be of substantially the same order of magnitude, the width being not more than two or three times the thickness, but in general, a rod of circular or elliptical cross section is preferred since sharp edges are thereby avoided. A rod whichh as been found particularly suitable consists of a lead wire of circular cross-section, 0.109 inch in diameter, 7%; inches Circular lead rod of this lnvention Conventional lead strap Overall length inches 7% Width 0.3125 Thickness 0. 040 eight ounces 0. Upward pull on torpedo required to remove same from rail .ounces. 29 76 Side pull on torpedo required to remove same from rail ounces 14 40 Furthermore, on being attached to a rail and exploded by the passage thereover of a car wheel, the resulting pieces of the securing rod of this invention are found in close proximity to the rail.

This result is believed to be due to the fact that only a relatively small area is presented to be acted on by the force of the expanding gas formed in the explosion, this area being much smaller than in the case of the conventional type of strap.

As illustrated in Figure 6, a torpedo, provided according to this invention with a pliable rod as securing means, may be readily and firmly fastened to a rail merely by bending the projecting ends of the rod around and in contact with the rail head, this operation being as easily carried out as in the case of the conventional type of lead strap. However, as indicated by the test resultsin the above table, the attachment isfar more secure with the rod than with the strap.

While lead constitutes the preferred metal for use in the rod, it will be understood that other metals or metal alloys may be substituted therefor, provided that the pliability is suitable and similar to that of lead. It will also be understood that various changes in form, arrangement of parts, and other details may be made and are included within the scope of the invention and following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

l. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive tablet having a kinked groove in its base, a flexible casing enclosing the said tablet, an outer wrapper adhering to the casing, and means for securing the torpedo to a rail consisting of a pliable metal rod having a thickness substantially equal to its width, said rod being kinked to fit the said groove and having its central portion snugly disposed within the said groove between the casing and the wrapper and fastened therein by the said wrapper.

2. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive tablet having a groove kinked in its base, a flexible casing enclosing the said tablet, and, fastened to the casing within the said groove, means for securing the torpedo to a rail consisting of a pliable metal rod having a thickness substantially equal to its width, said rod being kinked to fit the said groove and having its central portion snugly fitted within the said groove externally of the casing.

3. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive tablet having a kinked groove in its base, a flexible casing enclosing the said tablet, and means for securing the torpedo to a rail consisting of a pliable metal rod of substantially circular cross-section, said rod being kinked to fit the said groove and having its central portion fastened therein externally of the casing,-

4. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive tablet having a kinked groove in its base,

a protective casing enclosing the said tablet, an outer wrapper adhering to the casing, and means for securing the torpedo to a rail consisting of a pliable metal rod of substantially circular crosssection, said rod being kinked to fit the said groove and having its central portion embraced within the said groove between the casing and the wrapper.

HARRY E. SHERMAN.

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