US2371326A - Drop staff brake mechanism - Google Patents

Description

J. WILSON DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM March 13, 1945.

Filed July 17, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR. BY z/aa/f .Z/jZ/YO/Z March 13, 1945. J. wmsbN 2,371,326

DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM Filed July 17, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 13, 1945 DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM Jack Wilson, Chicago, IlL, assignor to Universal Railway Devices Company, a

Delaware corporation of Application July 17, 1942, Serial No. 451,251"

2 Claims.

This invention relates to brakes for railway cars, and more particularly for useon flat cars andthe like.

The principal object of the invention is the A still further object of the invention is the.

provision of a new and improved drop stafi brake operating mechanism having a novel arrangement of the means for supporting the staff in 2.

its elevated position.

.A further object of the invention is the provision of a new andimproved drop staff brake operating mechanism that is simple in construction, powerful in operation, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and install, that is efficient in operation, and that is rugged in construction and easy of operation.

Other and futher objects and advantages of the invention will appear-from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which vFig. l is a'top plan view of a fiat car showing the invention applied thereon, with partsbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the line '2:2, of Fig. l, with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section through the line 3-3 of Fig.. 2, with parts broken away and showing the car wheel in the position it assumes in rounding curves of comparatively short radii;

4 is a section on the line 4 0f Fig-"22:5.

.Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a portion of the car with the invention in position thereon and with parts broken away;

. i 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig; 4.

drop brake staifs so that, if desired, the staff may be lowered beneath the floor level in order toprovide clearance for certain types of lading. It is desirable that when the brake staff is inits uppermost position it be at a maximum height for convenience in operation. The present trafiic rules require that the staff shall be a predetermined distance above the rails when in. lowered position. In the brake installations as practiced at the present time the staff is necessarily comparatively short, due to the manner in which they are installed and supported.

The present invention seeks to remedy this difliculty by providin a new and improved design for the supporting mechanism for the brakev staff. One manner of accomplishing this result is disclosed in the present system, wherein the gear mechanism is so constructed and so mounted that only the brake drum gear will be below the end sill, while the remaining gear mechanism will be located at the end' of the car above the horizontal 'plane of the lower portion of the end sill,

Another plan is to mount the supporting stirrup in such manner that it will holdthe staff in its highest position. By providing a recess in the lower end of the brake staff pinion into which the pin in the lower-'end'of the stafi may be drawn, additional length may be added to brake staff, as will presently appear.

Furthermore, by combining all of these'arrangements the staff may be made much longer than would otherwise be possible.

All of this is considered an important feature ofthe invention, because it permitsthe staff to be elevated to itshighest possible positionwhere it'is much more convenient for the brakeman ther illustrate or describe the same.

The truck is provided with the usual brake mechanism including the brake lever. 20' and the draw chain or cable I6, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In the form of construction shown, which is by way of example only, the casing or housing for the brake operating gears has a portion of it extending beneath the car end, as will now be described.

Attached to the end sill l2, and extending be-' the neath the same, is the casing I! for containing the brake operating gears.

The casing is rigidly secured to the bottom flange and to the web portion of the end sill I2 by any suitable means, such as the rivets I8, I9,

respectively ,(Fig. 2). This housing comprises a lower portion 2! which extends beneath the flange of the endsill l2, and an upper portion 22 that extends upwardly along the outer face of the end sill. Journaled within the lower or horizontal portion 2! of the casing is a gear 23, hav-- ing a winding drum 2'4 thereon, as by being integral therewith, which is of the usualor' any well known construction, and to whichthe. outer end. of the brake chain or cable I6 isattached. The gear 23 is mounted so that it is in close proximity to the bottom portion of the endsill, andthus the remaining portion of the mechanism will be as far above the tracks or rails as possible so that a longer. staff may be employed, as will presently appear.

In'orderto-have accessto therivetl8 for securin'g' the" housing in" position, the lower section 2! of the housing" H that extends beneath the end of the car is provided with' orie or more enlarged openings Z5, and the gear'23 is" provided with aplurality ofopenings 26 any one of whichmay: be brought into register with oneof the openings 25 so-as t'ohave accesst'o-therivets l9 when it is desired'to s'eourethesame imposition In order to-prov'ide sufficient clearance forthe'heads of the rivets I 8; and atthe same time secure thegear. 13.-

inclose-proximityto the underside of" theend. sill; the=gear 23 hasits central portion depressed or' recess-ed; as shown: in Fig.2 3;.

Suitablemeans: are provided. for rotating; the goat 23E and with it the drums; 24', .for" operating the brakes by winding: up the 1 chain. or: cable; It; A brake sta-fi' 28, which is rectangular incrossa section; is: employed :ror. operating. the brakes shaftnextendsrthrough an: enlarged opening;

iii-the upper: portion: 22 of. the housing H and tnrou'giran aliiied openingriaz' intlie-lowenportion; thereoff These openingsiconstitute' bearings for." This the upper: and lower'endsof: a pinion. 3 3. pinion is provided with an upperfiange 34 ex.- tendingv-overr the opening or hearing; 29;. and" a flangeifliwhich extends over the bearing. 32101- limiting the downward movement of the; pinion 33. 'Iihe openin'gzais enlargedzto such'aneextent thati when theibearing isxremoved, the-pinion 3'3- may berlowered: tlierethrou'ghso: that its; lower" journalz3-0 may engage'the bearing 32, asshowm in Fig. 4.

'The pinionpil33is.provided:with an angular axial opening through: which isslidably mounted the brakeisliafizflfi; 'Ilhepinion 33 hasv itsilowerend: recessed.'ahout.'theshaft 36;.asat 31,101: receiving;

pivotedhetweentwo'pairs of lugs-43,44, integralwith the upper portion. of the casing IT at its extreme-upper end abovethe pinion 33,.as shown more. clearly in. Figs. 2, and 5 of. the, drawings. Theeunper portion. or the arms 4|, 42, extend inwardly andi theinwardly extending, portions are: provided with alined openings 45; each of'which 44, through which they pass.

has an extension or notch 45, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. These notches extend vertically from the openings 45 when the stirrup is in lowered position.

The pivot pins 41, 48, for the arms 4!, 42, are rectangular in cross-section, and are held from turning by rectangular openings in the lugs 43,

The greatest dimension or these pins is slightly less. than the diameter of th openings 45, and the extensions onnotches 46 of the openings are so constructed and arranged that when the stirrup 39 is in its inoperative position, shown in Fig. 4, the pivot pins. 41, 48,.will.not. engage in the extensions or notohesflr. However, these extensions or notches 'I'helower ends of the arms' -l'iave a curvedcoiinectingme'mber or portion; that is, a member that is transversely concave on its upper suriace, whichis adapted toengage beneath the brake staif when the same is elevated The arms a're 'into alihement with theangular pins 41; 48,

thereby preventing the movementof the stirrup 49Ifro'm beneath the shaft. Whenit isdesii edtb lower" the brakestaff the stirrup 39 is raisedf'to disengage the pivot pins 41, 48; fr0m.the extention shown in Fig: 4; after-whichthe shaft may be lowered,.as:shown in dotted lines inFig. 2

It will. be noted that the pivot-'' pins 44", 4-3, are mounted onthe' uppermost portionor the=hdusihg l1, whereby the connecting or's'ta-ff supportiiig" member 49 of the stirrup=39 willbesupported ifi proximity'to tlieplane-of the lower surfapeofithe end sill. As a result of this' arrangement the staff may be eievate'dto a greater height/theft when the stirrup is hingedat a'-lower-level.'

In order that the brake wheel 5|; when 'the staff is lowered; shall be below'the' -upper surface of the floor Hi, the floor is provided with a curved recess 52 (Fig.1), withinwhiclrthewheel 5| is lowered, as indi'catedmore: clearly in d'ottedline's in.Eig. 2. The curvature ofthis'rece'ssis suclras to provide the necessary clearance, around the Wheel. The brake shaft is" adapted torotateth'" pinion 33, and. an idler. or intermediate. gear 53'- is interposed between the pinion and the 'gear 232. This. intermediate gear. rnember is of] the power multiplying type, and'in orderthat' the" brake shaftmay. be raisedto' its maximum: heightthe. gear train between the brake sli'aft and-the brakedrum is such that the intermediate oridler' gear 53' is above theplane of'thewinding gear .23. In the form of construction shown the, pinion. 33' engages the idler gear 53, and this" gear has integral therewith, andibelowthe same, a pinion 54 which in turn:interme'slies with gear 23:

Itwill thus be seen that by'means'of thisar j rangenient the pinion 3% isahigher plane than the gear 23, and consequently the shaft 35 may be raised so that thepins' 38 will be'above the plane of the gear 23. This is considered one important feature of the invention.

By employing-the idler gear and pinion 53, 54, the winding drum 24 will be caused to rotate in the same direction in which the shaft 28 is rotated. Since the drum will be rotated inthe same direction in which the shaft is rotated, that is, right-handed, it will be seen from. an inspection of Fig. 3 that the brake chain or brake cable will be positioned much farther to the right of the wheel l5 than it would be were the idler omitted, because by omittingthe idler the gear 23 must rotate in the opposite direction from that of the shaft, and consequently the brake chain or cable would be on the side of the drum adjacent to the car wheel when the brakes are applied. With the present construction there is no danger of the brake chain fouling the wheel during the operation of the brake, even on rounding curves. i

Suitable means are provided for holding the brake in adjusted. position. In the form of construction shown abracket 55, rigidly attached to the end sill l2 of the car by means of rivets 56, is provided. This bracket is provided with axial openings forming bearings fora sleeve 51', having a square axial opening therethrough for receiving the shaft 28, as is usual in such constructions. The sleeve 51 has rigidly attached thereto a ratchet 58, having ratchet teeth 59 onits under side, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In order to hold the ratchet in adjusted position a suitable pawlfil, pivoted, as at 62 (Fig. 5), is provided. The inner end of this pawl is curvedupwardly and is adapted to engage the teeth 59 and the outer end 63 "of which eX- tends outwardly beyond the bracket for providing handle means for manipulating the pawl. In order that the pawl may act automatically a weight member 64 is provided. The weight member is also pivoted on the pivot 62, and, when in the position shown in Fig. 5, it will act on the extended end 63 for causing the tooth-engaging end of the pawl to move upwardly into engagement with the teeth. v

In releasing the brake the Weight member 64 is first thrown to the opposite side of its pivot for freeing the pawl, after which the brakeman moves the brake wheel slightly in the direction of tightening the brake for releasing the pawl by gravity. The brake wheel may now be released,

or may be slowly rotated by the operator in reverse position for releasing the brakes.

It will thus be seen that by employing an intermediate gear in the brake operating mechanism the drum will be turned in the same direction as the shaft, thereby removing the brake chain from the side of the drum adjacent the truck wheel to the side farthest from said wheel, as shown in Fig. 3, thus providing suffi- .cient clearance even on sharp curves.- Not only 33 and 54,-are the same,'and arrangedin. the same .manner, as has already been described. Likewise the brake staff 36 and the housing or bracket 17* are substantially the same, except that in. the modifiedform of construction. the

housing is modified to accommodate the different means employed for holding thebrake'staff in elevated position. In this form of construction the housing Fi is provided With-apair of 'depending ears, lugs or'extensions 65, which extend vertically downwardlybelow the brake. ,stafi' 36. These ears or extensions are connected. together adjacent the lower. ends bya pivot, member 48 which is rectangular in cross-section and is similar to the pin 48 in Fig. 4.

The stirrup or staff supporting member 39, which is in the form of an inverted U having'the arms M provided with alined circular openings 66 within which the pin 48* is adapted to rotate for holding the, stirrup-holding.member, is .pro-. vided for holding the staff in elevated position.-

The openings 56 are providedwithupward extensions or notches 6'1, which areadapted to receive the pivot 48 when thestirrup is'in operative position, as indicated in Fig.6; of the drawings. In order to bias the stirruprmernber -39 to position vertically beneath: the-staff 36 a counterweight 68 is provided. :The upper cross member Ill of the stirrup is concave on its upper side for engaging beneath the staff 36 when the latter is in elevated position. When it is desired tolower the stafi from the position shown in Fig. 6, the stirrup is elevated to remove the pivot member 48 from the notch 81; after which the stirrup may be turned to the dotted linepositioniin said figure. By means of the-counterweightthe stirrup willautomatically move to the staffholding positionwhen the end of the stafi is ele-,

vated above the stirrup; The casing I! is pro-. vided with a flange 69, which limits the inward movement of the upper end of the stirrup to staff-holding position. I

The form of construction shown in Fig. differs from that shown in Fig. 6 in that instead of providing a counterweight for moving the stirrup into operative position the ears 65 are ex tended downwardly and outwardly, and their lower ends are connected together by a pivot H which is laterallyof the vertical axis of the staff 36, as clearly shown-in this figure. In this form. of construction the stirrup 39 is also in the form of an inverted U, with the arms connected together at their upper ends by a cross member 68, which is concave on its upper surface for engaging beneath the staff 36, as in the other forms of construction. The casing ll is provided with a lug or flange 12 for limiting the inward movement of the stirrup when it is in'its operative position.

Since the pivot H is laterally of the center of gravity of the stirrup, the latter will be held by gravity in its operative position. The arms of the stirrup are provided with laterally extending lugs 1.3 that are adapted to engage beneath the ears or extensions 65 for limiting the turning movement of the stirrup when moved to its inoperative position. The stirrup, when moved to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7, will have its center of gravity to the leftof the pivot pin shown therein, so that when the staff 35 is movedup wardly and the pin 38 engages within the recess 31 the stirrup will be automatically moved by gravity to the full line position shown in Fig.7.

It will thus be seenthat in the various strucconstruction the gears23 and 53,- and-pinions tur'es described each results in an arrangement permitting an extension of the staff of a drop staff brake. -:Itwill also be observed that in the present construction these structures all cooperate to permit the use of a brake stair oi maximum height when in elevated position and one that will not extend we-near the rails "when the same is'in lowerediposition.

While the mechanism has been specifically described, it is understood that this is for the purpose of disclosure only, and that the claims are to be given 'asbroad 'an interpretation as the art willpermit.

This is an improvement on the'mechanism disclosed in Patent No. 2,007,706, to P. B. Camp, issued July 9, 1935.

It is thought fromtheforegoing, taken in conmotion with the accompanying drawings, that the construction and operation of my device will be 'apparentto those skilled in the art, and that changes in size, shape, proportion and 'detailmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

In a brake operating mechanism, a bracket comprising a horizontal and vertical section, a gearjournaled insaidhorizontal section and rotatable about a vertical axis, said gear being closely adjacent to the uppermost part of said horizontal section, a winding drum rotatable withsaid 'gearjbut below the same, a pinion oarried by said'verti'cal section and having a depending journal portion provided with an enlarged axial opening only beneath the teeth of said pinion, a brake shaft slidably interlocked in said axial opening for rotating said pinion, an idler gear abov said inst-named gear meshing with said pinion, an idler pinion meshing with said first nained gear :for operating said drum "when said shaft is'rdtated, :a pin through the lower end of said shaft ior limiting the upward m'o'vement of the flatter, said ifirst nam'ed pinion having a recess in its lower end for receiving said pin when the shaft is elevated, stirrup imeans pivoted above said pinion engaging beneath said stair closely adjacent the lower end of said first-named pinion for holding the stafi in elevated position, and'a pawl and ratchet for holding said shaft in brake holding position.

2. In a brake operating mechanism for a railway car, a bracket having a lower portion adapted to extend beneath a car at the end thereof, an

upper portion adapted to extend upwardly along the end of the car, a brake drum, a brake drum gear rotatable with 'the drum about a vertical axis, said gear being adapted to be in close proximity to the said end sill below the same when in operative position on said car, an operating pinion carried by said upper portion, a brake shaft slidable axially through said pinion for rotating the same, an intermediate gear and pinion engaging said pinion and brake drum gear, respectively, said intermediate gear being above said drum gear, means on th lower end of said staff for limiting the upward movement of the latter, said operating pinion having its lower end provided with an enlarged recess below the teeth of said gear for receiving said means when the staiT is elevated, angular pivot pins carried by the uppermost portion of said bracket; aboveisaid operating pinion, a stirrup having upwardly extending arms provided with circular openings for receiving said pivot pins, said openings having notched extensions for receiving said angular pivots .for holding said stirrup in operative position, said stirrup movable to a position to engage beneath said staff for holding the same in elevated position with its lower end adjacent said operating pinion.

JACK WILSON.

Images