US2450361A

US2450361A - Spike fastening means for railway tracks

Info

Publication number: US2450361A
Application number: US587178A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard T Scholes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-04-07
Filing date: 1945-04-07
Publication date: 1948-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1965-09-28

Description

Sept. 28, 1948. R. T. scHoLEs i A 2,450,361

SPIKE FASTENING MEANS FOR RAILWAY TRACKS Filed April 7. 1945 Patented Sept. 28, 1.948

SPIKE FASTENING M TRA EANS FOR RAILWAY CKS Richard T. Scholes, Hinsdale, Ill.

Application April 7, 1945, Serial No. 587,178

3 Claims.

This invention rela-tes to improvements in fastening means, and has for its general object to provide, on the one hand, a fastening element of novel twisted-spike form for general use, and, on the other hand, to provide a novel fastening combination of elements comprising a twistedspike, an element into which the same is to be twisted by turning or driving of the same, and a plate or the like to be fastened to said element by said spike.

One special object of the invention is to provide a twisted-spike which is of polygonal shape in cross section and which has a point of chisel form and of the same twist pitch as the shank of the spike, thereby to adapt the spike readily to be driven into a wooden or equivalent element and to insure twisting of the spike into such element as it is driven into the same.

Another special object of the invention is to provide a fastening combination of elements as aforesaid in which the twisted-spike is of polygonal cross section and in which the plate or ythe like has a spike-accommodating opening of plygonai shape which prevents longitudinal movement of the spike therethrough except by rotary movement of the spike relative to the plate or the like. Accordingly, if the plate or the like is held against rotation in any manner, it is ineffective by its own pressure exerted outwardly upon the spike to effect loosening of Ithe spike, as it holds the spike against rotation and the spike must be rotated relative thereto and relative to the element into which it is screwed in order to be withdrawn. In other words, while the spike may be withdrawn by rotating the same by a suitable implement, it cannot be loosened by pressure of the plate or the like exerted outwardly thereon as long as the plate or the like is held against rotation. Consequently, under normal conditions the spike is held effectively against any outward or loosening movement by pressure of the plate or the like exerted outwardly thereon if the latter is held against rotation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in a twisted-spike and in a novel fastening combination of elements embodying the novel features of construction. combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed. illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views:

|Figure 1 is a perspective view of a twisted spike formed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is aplan view of a fastening combination of elements embodying the features of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the structure shown in Figure 2.

One special use of a twisted spike and of a fastening combination of elements embodying the features of the invention is in connection with railway track structures. Accordingly, the spike has been illustrated as being in the form of a railway track spike, designated generally as A, and the fastening combination of elements has been illustrated as comprising a twisted-spike A. a cross-tie B, a tie-plate C, a rail D, and a rail clip E. It is to be understood, however, that the spike A is not necessarily a railway track spike, but may be of any desired size and proportions for any other use, 'and that the particular elements of the combination shown merely are representative of various other specifically different elements which may comprise the combinatiton.

The spike A lcomprises as usual a shank lll having a. head il at one end thereof and Ia point l2 at its other end.` Essentially, the shank l@ is not of circular shape but is of some sui-table polygonal shape in cross section. Preferably it is square in cross section. In any event, it is of helical or twisted form and of small pitch throughout its length. The point l2, which preferably butnot necessarily'is of wedge or chisel shape, as shown, likewise is of helical or twisted form and of the same pitch as said shank. Consequently, when the spike A is driven either directly into an element such as a `wooden cross-tie or its equivalent or into a lead hole previously bored therein, it obviously will rotate into such element and there- 'fore will be practically impossible to remove therefrom except by rotation. Accordingly, it follows that if said spike is held, -by an element which it fastens, against rotation after having been driven or rotated and thereby twisted into an element such as a cross-tie, it will be held effectively against being loosened and moved outwardly by the element which it fastens and -therefore will remain tight, as distinguished from the ordinary spike which, under the influence of vibration has a pronounced tendency to become loose and creep outwardly soon after its installation, f

In accordance with the present invention an element or elements which the spike fastens is, or are, utilized as a means of holding the spike against rotation after i-t has been driven home.

Thus. according to the specific example o! the invent-ion illustrated in the drawings. the spike rotation-preventing means may comprise either the tie-plate C, or the rail clip D, or both said tie-plate and said rail clip.

Assuming that only a single element such as the tie-plate C is fastened by a. spike such as the spike A and that said tie-plate is to serve the purpose of holding said spike against rotating and becoming loose under the influence oi upward force exerted thereon by the tie-plate, holding of the spike against rotation by upward force exerted thereon by the tie-plate is accomplished by providing in the tie-plate a spike-accommodating hole |3 of such size and such polygonal shape as to prevent the spike from being moved longitudinally therethrough except by a rotary or twisting action. Thus, said hole does not interfere with driving of the spike therethrough into the tie. n the contrary, it assists the driving by requiring the spike to rotate and thereby to become properly screwed into the tie. Since, however, said tie-plate is held against rotation, both by the rail D and any other spike or spikes which may be employed to fasten it to the tie B, it' effectively holds the spike against any rotary and consequent upward loosening movement insofar as such rotary and loosening movement may tend to occur due to rupward force exerted upon the spike by the tie-plate. Upward or outward force exerted upon a spike by an element which it fastens has heretofore been a primary cause of 4loosening of the spike. However, according to the present invention, this cause of loosening of spikes obviously is overcome in a simple, practical manner.

The hole I3 preferably is of the same polygonal shape as the polygonal cross-sectional shape of the shank of the spike which it is intended to accommodate. It may, however, be of any other desired shape as long as it is effective to require a rotary action of the spike relative to the tieplate in order to permit the spike to move longitudinally therethrough.

If an element such as the rail clip E is fastened by a spike such as the spike A, said clip may be held against rotation by the rail D or in any other suitable manner and may have therein.I as in the case of the tie-plate C, a spike-accommodating hole Il of a size and shape to require rotation of the spike relative to the clip in order to permit the spike to move longitudinally through said hole. Thus, the clip mayact in the same manner as the tie-plate to hold the spike against rotation Vand upward loosening movement under the influence of force exerted upwardly thereon by the clip. Accordingly, if the clip is used in association with a tie-plate, the size and shape of the spike-accommodating hole in the tie-plate is immaterial. Conversely, if the tieplate is utilized to hold the spike against rotation, the size and shape of the spike-accommodating hole in the clip is immaterial, except as it may be desirable to utilize the spike to hold the clip against rotation. On the other hand, both the tie-plate and the clip may be provided with spike-accommodating holes of sizes and shapes to hold the spike against rotation under, of course, the influence of upward force exerted by either or both upon the spike.

The spike head I i may be of any suitable shape and the rail clip E, if same is used, may be of the type shown or of any other desired type. Moreover, the tie-plate holes may be located at any desired points in the tie-plate.

` outwardly beyond the edge of the rail flange and 10\ A extends through the medial portion of said resting upon the tie-plate C. The fastening spike clip and holds said medial portion under predetermined downward ilexure against a stop constituted by a portion of ther tie-plate, whereby the resistance offered by its inner end portion i5 to upward movement of the rail is definite and predetermined. The inner end portion Il of the clip may be of a length to cooperate with the lower portion of the web of the rail D to hold said clip against rotation or, as aforesaid, this purpose may be accomplished in any other suitable manner.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor detai-ls of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a railway cross-tie, a tieplate superimposed thereon, a rail seated upon said tie plate andholding the same against rotation, a rail-holding clip having its inner portion overlying a flange of the rail, the outer portion of said clip extending outwardly beyond the edge of the rail flange into overlying relationship to the tie-plate, the said outer portion of said clip and the tie-plate having alined spike-accommodating openings therein, and a headed spike inoluding a shank twisted uniformly throughout its length and extending through said openings and driven into the tie, the head of said spike overlying said clip and holding the latter under downward flexure, the shank of said spike being of polygonal shape in cross section', the opening in said clip being of polygonal shape and of a size to prevent longitudinal movement of said spike relative to said clip except by rotary movement of said spike relative to said clip, and means holding said clip against rotation. A

2. In combination, a railway cross-tie, a tieplate superimposed thereon, a rail seated upon said -tie-plate, a rail holding clip having its inner portion overlying a flange of the rail and cooperating with the rail to hold the clip against rotation, the outer portion of said-l clip extending beyond the edge of the rail flange into overlying relationship to the ytie-plate, the said outer portion of said clip and the tie-plate having allned spike-accommodating openings therein, and a headed spike including a shank twisted uniformly throughout its length and extending through said openings and driven into the tie, lthe head of said spike overlying said clip and holding the latter under downward flexure, the shank of said spike being of polygonal shape in cross section, and the spike-accommodating opening in said clip being of polygonal shape and of a size to prevent longitudinal movement of said spike relative to said clip except by rotary movement of said spike relative to said clip.

3. A spike including a shank, a head at one end of said shank and a point at the other end thereof, said shank being substantially square in cross section and said point, as viewed in side elevation, being of substantially the same width throughout its length as said shank and, as viewed in edge elevation, being of wedge shape and tapering to a single sharp penetrating edge, said shank and said point being uniformly twisted throughout their lengths.

RICHARD T. SCHOLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number Number 15 u France Dec. 5, 1941