US2322021A - Bell - Google Patents

Description

June 1 1943- J. HENGSTLER BELL Filed June 24, 1942 2 Shets-Sheet 1 ..z my M ad m 1H M 7. H d W V. B w

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. HENGSTLER BELL Filed June 24, 1942 June15,1943.

a awn I k 70 E Q Patented June 15, 1943 BELL John Hengstler, Altoona, Pa., assignor to The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 24, 1942, Serial No. 448,218

4 claims. (or. 116150) 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to bells, and has reference more particularly to bells of the downwardly-flaring type intended for use on locomotives.

Bells of the kind referred to are ordinarily cast from bell metal which is costly by reason of the use of bronze and tin in its composition, and require machine finishing for accuracy of contour and attainment of the desired tonal quality. 7

The aim of my invention is to make possible the production of bells of satisfactory timbre and resonance and of like shape from cheaper metals such as iron or steel, and at the same time obviate the necessity for the heretofore required machining operations to finish them.

The foregoing objectives I realize in practice as hereinafter more fully disclosed, in a compositebell structure whereof the body is made up of a plurality of suitably pre shaped interfitting sections which are die stamped or otherwise fashioned from plate iron or steel, and incidentally provided with beveled edges. These sections I assemble in the proper relation, and then fill in the gutters or grooves jointly formed by contiguous complemental edge bevels at the seams with fused metal of like kind, i. e., iron or steel. After the welding, the excess weld metal is first ground off at the seams and the bell body thereafter pressed in formingdies whereby it is accurately shaped to the desired configuration and given a uniform cross section both longitudinally and perimetrically with a smooth surface finish throughout.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in axial section, of a bell conveniently embodying my invention, with the bell clapper and a common type of locomotive bell support shown in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 2 shows the top plan View of the bell.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views of difierent components parts or sections from which the bell body is made up.

Fig. 6 is a detail cross section taken as indicated by the arrows VI--VI in Fig. 2 through one of the weld seams.

Fig. '7 is a view in cross section showing how the bell body is die pressed to final shape; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective View showing an alternative embodiment of my invention.

With more specific reference, first more particularly to Figs. .1-6, it will be observed that the body II] of my improved bell is generally "of conical configuration with a flare II at the bottom and made up of a number of parts or component sections I2, I5 and 2I which are separately illustrated in perspective in Figs. 2, 4 and '5. As shown, the sections I2, of which there are threein the present instance, have the form of arcuate segments which taper upwardly to inter-fit one with another with their lateral edges abutting in vertical planes radial to the bell axis, and which are appropriately fashioned to jointly provide'the flare at I I. The segments I2 are in practice preferably die stamped from relatively thick plate material which may be of iron or steel and which is herein shown as being of uniform thickness. Either during the die stamping or by subsequent grinding, the side and top edges of the segments are beveled off as at I3 and I4.

The section or component I5, see Fig. 4, is likewise fashioned from stout sheet metal by die stamping or otherwise, and given the form of a disk whereofthe diameter corresponds to that of the circle jointly constituted by the top edges of the combined arcuate segments I2, see Fig. '1, and provided with an axial opening I6 whereof the edge is beveled both from above and below as at I! and I8. The component I5 is moreover rounded at its periphery as at I9 to form the shoulder of the .bell body and formed at the top around the axial opening I6 with a fiat boss 20 The section or component 2|, on the other hand, see Fig. 5, has the form of a nipple whereof the bottom portion is cylindric as at 22 to fit the axial hole I6 in the component I5, and whereof the top portion is upwardly tapered as at 23. The component 2| is preferably turned from tubular stock, but-if found more convenient in practice, may be produced as a drop forging.

To assemble the several components, I employ a suitable jig to temporarily hold them in the relation shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and then run weld metal (like that used in the bell body) into the crevices or grooves jointly formed by the complemental bevels at the contiguous edges of the components I2 as conventionally indicated at 25 in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, into the crevices or grooves formed between the tops of said components and the periphery of the component as at 26, and also in the grooves formed by the bevels between said component and the nipple as at 21 and 28, as well as internally of the latter joint as at 29, with the result that the several components are united into an integral structure. With the immediately foregoing accomplished, I grind ofi the excess weld metal at the several seams, and thereupon subject the assemblage to a die pressing operation in the manner illustrated in Fig. '7. As shown, complemental die members 30 and 31 of the press are so shaped as to give the bell body the desired final configuration, with assurance of uniformity, homogeneity and hardness asgbetween the thickness of the side components of the body and the joining seams, and with the further assurance of smooth finished surfaces both extensively and intensively.

A bell constructed from plate steel as herein described is satisfactory both from the stand- 5 point of tonal quality and resonance for loc'omof tive use. It is to be understood, of course, that the annular or main body portion of my improved bell need not necessarily be of the same thickness throughout as shown, but may be graduated in the .vertical section, 1. e., be progressively widened toward the. bottom, in a manner characteristic of cast bells. -The construction of the bell from hard iron or steel is further advantageous in that, it resists indentation and deformation by constant banging of the clapperin localized areas. This advantageis of prime importance in connection with locomotive bells where the clapper strikes as many as two hundred times a minute .under automatic operation.

The clapper 32 of the bell is hung as ordinarily, and as shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1, from a transverse pivot bolt 33 in a supporting member 34 whereofthe diametrically reduced shank 35 extends up through the axial bore of the nipple component 2! and is provided at the top with a securing nut 36. At 31', the member 34. provides the cylinder for the pneumatic clapper actuating mechanism which may be of any approved or well known design, and which for this reason has been omitted from the drawings.

, The supporting yoke 38 for the bell may also be of standard design with trunnions 39 extending through fixed bearings 40, and with a ver-' tical' axis boss 4! having a tapered bore to receive'the nipple 2|, against which the shoulder 20 at the top of the bell abuts; The securing nut'36, it will be noted, bears on the top 'of'the yoke boss 4! and serves to keepthe nipple 2| of the bell body drawn up tight. As a conseduence of this construction, the bell can be arranged either for automatic operation through and correspondingly reducing labor costs.

movement of the clapper 32 alone by the pneumatic means, or for hand operation in which latter case the bell as a whole is swung on the trunnion pivots 39 from the engineers cab of the locomotive by means of an attached operating cord, not shownal1 in a manner well understood.

Fig. 8 shows a modification in which the segmental side components. 12a of the bell are extended and curved inwardly at their tops as at 42 to jointly provide the shoulder of the bell body. This construction is of advantage in that an additional part (to wit the component 15 of the first described form of my invention) is dispensed with, thereby simplifying manufacture In all other aspects, the modified construction may be like thatshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

-1.' A built up bell according to claim 4, whereinthe contiguous abutting edges of the side segments are complementarily beveled, and permanently united by weld metal filling the grooves formed jointly by the beveling at the seams. '2. A bell according to claim 4, wherein the shoulder portion has an axial hole; and further including a metallic nipple section which fits into the hole of said crosswise component and which is welded to the latter along the region of mutual abutment. 3. A bell according to claim 4, wherein the shoulder portion has an axial hole whereof the bottom and top'edges are oppositely beveled; and further including a metallic nipple component which fits into the hole of said crosswise section, and which is secured by weld metal run into the grooves formed by the beveling along the region of mutual contact.

4. A locomotive bell having a downwardlyflaring body portion of true circular horizontal cross section throughout, composed of at least three similar regular trapeziform segments of relatively heavy uniform-thickness plate steel, said sections abutting side-edgewise throughout their lengths and being united along the regions of mutual abutment by flush-weld seams equal in thickness to the metal of the segments; and a circular shoulder portion of plate steel thicker than that of the side segments with its periphery abutting the arcuate top edges of said segments and flush welded to the latter along the regions of mutual abutment.

1 I JOHN HENGS'ILER.

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