US2230863A

US2230863A - Attaching device for railroad car brakes

Info

Publication number: US2230863A
Application number: US318062A
Authority: US
Inventors: James F Caslin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1940-02-09
Filing date: 1940-02-09
Publication date: 1941-02-04
Anticipated expiration: 1958-02-04

Description

4, 1941- J. F. CASLIN 2,230,863

ATTACHING DEVICE FOR RAILROAD CAR BRAKES Filed Feb. 9, 1940 FIG 3 INVENTOR. JAMES F. CASLIN MM WL QH ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE 2,230,863 ATTACHING DEVICE FOR RAILROAD can BRAK 7 Claims.

This invention relates to attaching devices for railroad car brakes, and more particularly to keys for attaching brake shoes to brake heads. Prior to this invention, the usual attaching key has consisted of a tapered strip of soft steel bowed to conform to the curvature of the brake shoe. The usual taper is intended to aid in firmly securing the shoe to the brake head. However, in actual practice, the shoe and head are made of castings requiring substantial clearance in the openings which receive the attaching key, and very little advantage is gained by the taper in the key. My investigations have shown that most of the brake shoes in service are very loosely secured by the standard key, and when a car is in motion, such looseness results in objectionable noise due to constant hammer blows and friction. Furthermore, the friction and hammer blows tend to destroy the brake head and shoe, as well as the attaching key. These usual conditions involve expensive replacements of the defective parts, as well as the possibility of derailment which may occur when a brake shoe is accidentally released from a brake head on a moving train.

One of my objects is to reduce or eliminate these destructive conditions. A further object is to accomplish this result without unduly increasing the manufacturing cost of the attaching key. An essential object is to produce an improved attaching key that will comply with the standard conditions adopted by the railroad. organizations, and at the same time reduce or eliminate the above-mentioned objections to the rec- "ommended practice.

The recommended standard key is ordinarily made of soft steel, and its weight is approximately 1%; pounds. The weight is an important factor in determining the cost. I will hereafter show how this weight can be considerably reduced in a key made of more expensive material having its elements arranged to overcome defects in the standard practice. In one form of the invention, the new key may weigh about six ounces, but of course the invention is not limited to such relative weights of the material.

Instead of adhering to the recommended practice, I have produced a relatively light key having a tortuous formation, made of relatively narrow bowed spring material, and having its elements so arranged that the tension and compression of the spring material tends to firmly unite the brake shoe with the head, while the tortuous formation overcomes the objection to a relatively light and narrow key. The tortuous formation is an important factor in complying with the standard requirements as it provides the narrow key with all of the advantages of the relatively Wide standard key while very substantially decreasing the quantity of material required.

The standard soft steel key rapidly becomes worn while in service thereby producing objectionable looseness between the brake head and shoe which causes noise and undesirable wear of the brake head and shoe. These conditions not only require frequent replacement of the keys but also the renewal of the more expensive brake heads and shoes.

Another object of this invention, therefore, is to produce an inexpensive key which has an extremely long period of service and during such period firmly secures the brake shoe to the head to substantially decrease the wear on these elements.

A further object of this invention is to produce an attaching key for a railroad car brake which may be easily applied to and removed from the brake.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and shown in the accompanying drawing, which illustrate one form of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes. variations and modifications within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. 1 is a side view partly in section of a brake head and shoe equipped with a key embodying the features of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the key before it is inserted between the brake head and shoe.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the brake head showing the attaching key positioned within the attaching lugs on the brake head and shoe, said lugs being in section.

To illustrate the invention I have shown a standard brake head 4 and brake shoe 5. The brake head 4 is provided with a pair of spaced top lugs 6 connected by a bridge 1, a pair of spaced intermediate attaching lugs 8 and 9, and a pair of spaced bottom lugs I0 connected by a bridge H. The brake shoe 5 is provided with an attaching lug I2 interposed between the pair of intermediate lugs 8 and 9.

The upper and lower lugs 6 and [0 are spaced as shown in Fig. 3 to receive the usual lugs 5' at the back of the brake shoe. The overlapping attaching lugs 8, 9 and I2 are apertured as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to provide a passageway between the brake head and shoe for the standard relatively wide key.

My attaching key l3 for securing the shoe 5 to the brake head 4 may be made from a simple relatively narrow bar of heat-treated spring steel. The key I3 when inserted between the brake head and shoe may have end portions confined between the pairs of top and bottom lugs and yieldingly engaging the bridges I and II conmeeting said lugs, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The intermediate portion of the key is bowed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that it will yieldingly engage an inner face M of the attaching lug l2 on the brake shoe to firmly seat the shoe on the outer faces of the attaching lugs 8 and 9 on the brake head.

In securing the shoe to the brake head, my key l3 does not depend upon a wedge action which rapidly becomes ineffective as the key is worn. While in service, my key continuously provides a spring pressure on the inner face M of the attaching lug to firmly seat the shoe on the brake head. The shoe will, therefore, at all times be firmly and securely attached to the brake head, thereby eliminating objectionable looseness which results in friction and hammer blows tending to rapidly destroy the brake head, shoe and key.

To increase the tension of the bowed intermediate portion of the key on the inner face of the attaching lug l2, the key may have a lower substantially straight portion I5 bent at an angle to the bowed portion of the key, as shown in Fig. 2. When the key is inserted between the brake head and shoe, the straight portion 15 will engage the bridge H and bend to the shape shown in Fig. I to increase or provide the desired degree of pressure at the bowed portion of the key engaging the inner face of the lug l2 on the shoe 5.

I have found that by forming my key from a 'bar of five sixteenths of an inch square heattreated spring steel it may have a weight of about 6 ounces and tensil strength of about 190,000 pounds per square inch, whereas the usual standard relatively wide key weighing about 24 ounces has a tensil strength of not over 40,000 pounds per square inch.

My relatively narrow key is, therefore, considerably stronger than the standard wide key and also has the important advantage of firmly securing the shoe to the brake head and maintaining this condition while in service.

The standard brake head 4 and shoe 5 have the lugs 6, 8, I 2, 9 and I 0 thereon constructed and arranged so as to provide a passageway for the standard relatively wide key. This passageway as shown in Fig. 3, is considerably wider than my relatively narrow key. To prevent undesirable displacement and turning of the key in the passageway formed by the lugs on the brake head and shoe, the key It has a tortuous formation as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be observed that the bowed intermediate portion of the key is arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head to provide the key with abutment faces l6 and I1 near opposite sides of the passageway formed by the attaching lugs 8, l2 and 9. The upper portion of the key also has a bent portion to provide an abutment face It adjacent to one of the top lugs 6 on the brake head.

The abutment faces on the key near opposite sides of the key receiving passageway will insure proper positioning of the narrow key, prevent turning of the key while it is being inserted, and also limit lateral displacement of the key while it is in service.

To provide a means for removing the key I 3 from between the brake head and shoe, the key is provided with an integral hook shaped head portion l9 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This hook shaped portion provides a space for a removing tool, even when the upper end of the key is driven onto the top of the brake head.

It will be observed that my key I3 has all of the advantages of the relatively wide standard key without its disadvantages. The key [3 may be easily formed from a simple bar of spring material at a very low cost and does not require the usual forging operations employed in manufacturing the standard tapered key. A very small quantity of material is required to produce'the very strong key l3 which has an extremely long period of service. Moreover, the key I3 while in service has the important advantage of firmly uniting the shoe to the brake head, to very substantially reduce the wear on these elements.

I claim:

1. In an attaching device for a railroad car brake including a brake head and a brake shoe having apertured attaching lugs arranged in overlapping relationship, an attaching key provided with an oblique intermediate attaching portion located within all of said attaching lugs, said oblique intermediate portion of the attaching key being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head.

2. In an attaching device for a railroad car brake including a brake head and a brake shoe, I

said brake head having pairs of top and bottom lugs and a pair of intermediate attaching lugs, the lugs of each pair being separated from each other, said brake shoe having an attaching lug interposed between the lugs of said intermediate pair, an attaching key provided with an oblique intermediate attaching portion located within all of said attaching lugs, said attaching key also having upper and lower end portions located between the pairs of said top and bottom lugs, said oblique intermediate portion of the attaching key being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head.

3. In an attaching device for a railroad car brake including a brake head and a brake shoe, said brake head having a pair of intermediate attaching lugs, said brake shoe having an attaching lug interposed between the lugs of said intermediate pair, all of said lugs being apertured to provide a key-receiving passageway, a relatively narrow key provided with an oblique intermediate portion located within said passageway, said obliqu intermediate portion of the attaching key being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head to provide the key with abutment faces near opposite sides of said key-receiving passageway.

4. An attaching device for ,a brake head and a shoe having apertured attaching lugs arranged in overlapping relationship, which comprises a key made of spring steel, said key having a bowed oblique intermediate portion adapted to yieldingly engage an inner face of the attaching lug on the brake shoe to firmly seat the brake shoe on the outer faces of the attaching lugs of the brake head, and said bowed oblique intermediate portion of the key within said attaching lugs being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head.

5. An attaching device for a brake head and a shoe having aper-tured attaching lugs arranged in overlapping relationship, which comprises a key made of spring steel, said key having a plurality of portions adapted to engage the brake head, and a bowed oblique intermediate portion adapted to yieldingly engage an inner face of the attaching lug on the brake shoe to firmly seat the brake shoe on the outer faces of the attaching lugs otf the brake head, said oblique intermedtate portion of the key being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head.

6. In an attaching device for a railroad car brake including a brake head and a brake shoe, said .bnake head being provided with a pair of spaced top lugs connected by a bridge, a pair of intermediate attaching lugs, and a pair of spaced bottom lugs connected by a bridge, said brake shoe having an attaching lug interposed between the pair of intermediate lugs on the brake head, all of said attaching lugs being apertured to provide a key-receiving passageway, a relatively narrow attaching key made of heat-treated spring steel having end portions confined between said pairs of top and bottom lugs and yieldingly engaging the bridges connecting said top and bottom lugs, said key having a bowed intermediate portion adapted to yieldingly engage an inner face of the attaching lug on the brake shoe to firmly seat the brake shoe on the outer faces of the attaching lugs of the bnake head, said bowed intermediate portion being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head to provide the key with abutment faces near opposite sides of said key-receiving passageway.

7. In an attaching device for a railroad car brake including a brake head and a .brake shoe, said brake head being provided with a pair of spaced top lugs connected by a bridge, a pair of intermediate attaching lugs, and a pair of spaced bottom lugs connected by a bridge, said brake shoe having an attaching lug interposed between the pair of intermediate lugs on the brake head, all of said attaching lugs being apertured to provide a key-receiving passageway, a relatively narrow attaching key made of heat-treated spring steel having end portions confined between said pairs of top and bottom lugs and yieldingly engaging the bridges connecting said top and bottom lugs, said key having a bowed intermediate pontion adapted to yieldingly engage an inner face of the attaching lug on the bnake shoe to firmly seat the brake shoe on the outer faces of the attaching lugs of the brake head, said bowed intermediate portion being arranged diagonally of the longitudinal center line of the brake head to provide the key with abutment faces near op posite sides of said key-receiving passageway, and the upper portion of said key having a bent portion to provide an abutment face adjacent to one of the top lugs on said brake head.

JAMES F. CASLIN.