US2318507A - Adjusting mechanism for locomotive driving boxes - Google Patents

Description

y 1943. F. w. MARTIN 1 2,318,507

ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING BOXES Filed May 21, 1941 QI INVENTOR v ATTORNEYS Patented May 4, 1943 ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVE DRIVING BOXES Frederick W. Martin,

Greenwich, Conn,

signor to Franklin Railway Supply Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 21, 1941, Serial No. 394,503

6 Giaims.

This invention relates to the driving boxes of locomotives and is especially concerned with the provision of an adjusting mechanism which is 1,- particularly applicable to situations where the space available for the adjusting mechanism is unusually restricted or limited.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of my invention I wish to point out that in recent years a great many locomotives have been equipped with roller bearing driving boxes on which the frame pedestal jaws, instead of being 'apered on one side for cooperation with the i-ustomary wedge, have had the opposing faces .5 the jaws made vertical and parallel toeach ther. If it is desired to equip such locomotives "ith the customary wedge adjusting mechanism or the driving boxes, difficulty is encountered ecause it is generally impossible either to re- .rachine the face of one of the pedestal jaws or apply a tapered strip thereto in order to secure -.he necessary taper for cooperation with the tsual wedge.

With the foregoing in mind the specific object of my invention will be better appreciated, the same being the provision of an adjusting mechanism for the driving box which can be installed without the necessity of providing a taper on the face of one of the pedestal jaws. A further object of the invention is to provide an adjusting mechanism which can be accommodated in a relatively restricted space while still providing for the necessary movements and proper positioning of the parts, the latter involving not only positioning the parts laterally or transversely of the pedestal jaw but also maintaining them in vertical position as will further appear.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an adjusting mechanism in which the adjustment necessary to compensate for accumulated wear can be effected by upward movement of the wedge or compensating member but without relative motion of such member in a direction away from the pedestal and toward the box.

How the foregoing objects and advantages are attained is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the drawing, wherein Figure l is a cross-section through a driving box equipped with my improved adjusting mechanism with certain of the parts shown in elevation;

Figure 2 is a partial section on a somewhat enlarged scale taken as indicated by the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial section also on a somewhat enlarged scale taken as indicated by the line 33 in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the compensating or spring-held wedge used in my invention with the upper portion thereof broken away and shown in section to illustrate certain details.

Examination of the figures will show that I have illustrated the locomotive frame 5 as being provided With the pedestal jaws 6 and 1 between which is housed the driving axle 8 in the roller bearing driving box 9. The inner face 6a of the jaw is vertical and parallel to the vertical inner face la, of the jaw I. The adjacent opposing faces of the box 9 are also vertical and parallel as clearly shown in Figure l. The opening at the bottom between the jaws 6 and l is closed by the customary pedestal binder Ill.

The adjusting mechanism comprises the floating plate I I and the compensating plate or wedge [2. The floating plate is slightly shorter than the distance between the top of the binder l9 and the under face of the frame 5 so as to provide for a small degree of clearance as at l3, which clearance permits limited up and down movements of the floating plate H. The compensating plate I2 is provided with a suitable keyway i l in the bottom into which the head of an ad justing bolt I5 is adapted to fit in a manner well understood in this art. The lower end of this bolt is suitably threaded into the nut l6 which cooperates with the plate or washer ll between which latter and the bottom of the cup member I8 is provided a spring 19 of sufiicient strength to hold the compensating plate I2 in its adjusted position under all normal or ordinary load conditions. The cup-shaped member is provided with a suitable flange 29 between which and the bottom of the supporting bracket 2! an additional and heavier spring 22 is adapted to react, the latter coming into play only after the first spring has been compressed to a certain limited extent and upon the application of more than the usual downward thrust. As wear accumulates the nut 16 is turned on the threads of the bolt so as to readjust the spring pressure to provide for upward movement of the wedge or compensating plate to take up the wear and prevent pounding of the box. The total upward movement of the wedge for this purpose. may be as much as 3 inches more or less in the average installation. The general nature and function-' ing of the mechanism just described are well understood in this art but are referred to briefly because the advantages of the present invention 26 of the compensating plate l2 correspondingly tapered so as to complement and cooperate with the face 25. This makes the floating plate II thicker at the top than at the bottom and the compensating plate l2 thicker at the bottomthan at the top.

The compensating plate I2 is provided with flanges 21 which embrace the sides of the jaw 6 whereby the plate I2 is retained in its proper position laterally of the frame. At the top and at the other side the plate I2 is provided with the projecting flanges 28 which fit into complementary grooves 29 in the top' of the floating plate ll. These flanges 28, therefore, serve to embrace the upper portion of the floating plate II and thereby hold it in proper transverse rela tionship with the other parts. The edges of the flanges 28 which face the grooves 29 and the bottoms of the grooves 29 are vertical and parallel b with the face of the box as well as with the faces of the pedestal jaws, and the flanges 28 and grooves 29 extend downwardly toward the middle of the plate l2 where they gradually merge into the tapered faces 28 and as clearly shown in the drawing, especially Figures 1 and 4.

At the bottom of the plates 1 l and i2 just the reverse construction has been adopted, i. e., the plate II is provided with projecting side flanges 30 which fit into complementary grooves or recesses 3| in the sides of the plate 12, the adjacent faces or edges of these flanges and of their complementary grooves again being vertical and parallel to the face of the box and the faces of the jaws. The flanges 3G and the grooves 3| extend upwardly toward the middle of the plates Where they merge into the tapered faces 25 and 26, also as shown to best advantage in Figures 1 and-4,

As will be seen, I prefer to stop the vertical faces of the flanges and grooves 28, 29, 3i! and 3| somewhat short of the mid portion of the plates, although this is not absolutely essential.

The driving box is provided with the customary flanges 32 which embrace the'adjusting mechanism'and the adjacent pedestal jaw. Ordinarily and especially in roller bearing driving boxes there is considerable lateral clearance, as shown to best advantage in Figure 2, and my invention' permits the necessary movement of the parts without danger of their getting out of line with one'another transversely of the frame and its jaw during operation of the locomotive. Sometimes a hardened Wear plate 33 is provided on one side of the compensating plate I2 which is' adapted to cooperate with the wear pad 34 on the inner side of the flange 32.

As will be apparent, these complementary, interengaging flanges and grooves 28, 29, 3B and 3| also serve to maintain the floating plate and the compensating plate in their proper upright or vertical positions which is especially useful in boxes having a large degree of lateral clearance between the box flanges Suitable lubricant passages are provided so,

the vertical face of the pedestal jaw and the that the moving faces may be adequately lubri- 7g cated, there being lubricant grooves in the contacting faces, as indicated in the drawing and as is customary in this art.

During operation of the locomotive there is relative up and down movement between the box and the pedestal jaws. On the upward move ment of the box the tendency is for the floating plate to relieve pressure between it and the compensating plate although the springs cause the compensating plate to follow up immediately. On the downward movement the tendency is to move thefloating plate and the compensating plate downwardly against the pressure of the springs. These alternate movements provide relative displacement between the floating plate and the I compensating plate and between the compensating plate and the frame, thus preventing any tendency of the parts to adhere or stick together. This motion, as is well understood in this art, aids in working the lubricant down between the con tacting surfaces.

During motion of the plates which tends to separate them the flanges or lips 28 and 30 will be moved away from the bottoms of the complementary grooves in the opposite part, but they are so constructed and arranged as to provide for overlap suflicient to hold the floating plate in proper alignment with the compensating plate even when separated to the widest possible degree. In addition, as wear develops and the wedge is adjusted upwardly by means of the nut l6, the flanges 28 and 30 will gradually move away from the bottoms of their complementary grooves but even with the maximum upward adjustment they will still overlap the adjacent member sufliciently to keep the parts in proper alignment during all operating conditions. It is, of course, to be understood that some other type of interlocking or dovetailing construction might .be substituted for the preferred form shown herein.

I wish to call especial attention to the fact that my improved combination of floating plate and compensating plate constitutes in effect a two-piece wedge device which can be accommodated to situations where the space available is extremely limited, in which connection it, might be pointed out that if'one of the sets of flanges 28 or 30 were extended the entire length of the plates it would be necessary to make such would interfere with the functioning of the device. By dividing the flanges, i. 'e., by placing a portion on one plate at one end and a portion,

on the other plate at the other end it is possible to make all portions of greater depth and thereby ensure proper alignment of the parts even when the adjusting wedge has been moved to its extreme upper position at the time when maximum wear has accumulated.

Another marked feature of advantage incident to my two-piece wedge device operating between L as adjustment'for wear takesplace'. 'This, insofar as I am aware, has always been characteristic of previous adjusting mechanisms where the wedge or compensating plate operates against a tapered face on the pedestal jaw. With my improved construction the necessary adjustment for the purpose of taking up wear is obtained by virtue of the reaction between the taper on the floating plate and the complementary taper on the wedge, and this without any movement of translation of the wedge in a direction toward the box.

What I claim is:

1. In a locomotive, the combination of driving box pedestal jaws having parallel inner faces, a driving box with parallel sides facing said jaws, the jaws and the box being relatively movable in a vertical direction, a floating plate adjacent a side of the box, said plate having its box face parallel with the face of the box and its opposite face inclined upwardly .and outwardly toward the adjacent jaw, and a compensating plate between said floating plate and the adjacent jaw, said compensating plate having its jaw face parallel to the face of the jaw and its other face oppositely tapered to cooperate with the taper on the floating plate, the compensating plate also having flanges at its upper end which project to embrace the floating plate and the floating plate having flanges at its lower end which project in the opposite direction to embrace the compensating plate.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said plates are provided with complementary grooves adapted to receive the opposing projecting flanges.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said plates are provided with complementary grooves adapted to receive the opposing projecting flanges and wherein the adjacent edges of said grooves and said flanges are parallel with the jaw face of the box.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said plates are providedwith complementary grooves adapted to receive the opposing projecting flanges and wherein the adjacent edges of said grooves and said flanges are parallel with the jaw face of the box and merge with the tapered faces of said plates to leave a mid portion on each plate having no projecting flanges or complementary grooves. I

5. In a locomotive having driving box pedestal jaws, the combination with the driving box, of a floating plate adjacent a side of the box, said plate having its box face parallel with the face of the box and its opposite face tapered upwardly and outwardly toward the adjacent jaw, and a compensating plate between said floating plate and the adjacent jaw, said compensating plate having its jaw face parallel to the face of the jaw and its other face oppositely tapered to cooperate with the taper on the floating plate, the compensating plate also having flanges at its upper end which project to embrace the floating plate and the floating plate having flanges at its lower end which project to embrace the compensating plate.

6. A plate for a locomotive driving box adjusting mechanism, one face being vertical and the opposite face being inclined with respect thereto whereby the plate is thicker at one end than the other, complementary plate embracing side flanges at the thinner end and complementary flange receiving side grooves at the thicker end, the faces of said flanges and the bottoms of said grooves being parallel with the vertical face and merging in the middle region of the plate into the inclined face thereof.

FREDERICK 'W. MARTIN.

M TE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,518,507. May i 19%.

FREDERICK w. MARTIN It is hereb certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1, sec ond column, line 5, before the word "or" insert --plate; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 8th day of June, A. D. 19%.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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