US2464985A - Hot journal detecting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

J. C. MCCUNE I HOT JOURNAL DETECTING APPARATUS March 22, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22, 1944 Q N OB.

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ATTORNEY March 22, 1949. J C, MCCUNE 2,464,985

HOT JOURNAL DETECTING APPARATUS .Filed Nov. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fftj no Brake PL e l/SQ I.l|||||||l||I Manual, Reset "H111, Indicator INVENTOR. BY Joseph @Momma T Tom/EY Patented Mar. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE.v

' no'r .oURNAL DE'rEc'rrNG APPARATUS Joseph C. McCune, Edgewood, Pa.,` assignor to The Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa.', a corporation oi Pennsylvania Application November 2 2, 1944,5Serial N 564,673

This invention relates to hot journal detecting apparatus and has particular relation tol apparatus for automatically signaling the engineer on' the locomotive cfa train of railroad cars whenever an abnormal heat condition occurs in-an i axle journal on lany of the cars of the train.

4 claims. (ci. 246-169) audible and visible signaling apparatus on the inf I' dividual [cars of a train.

It is another object of my invention to provide a novel apparatus lfor detectingan abnormal heat condition in a'bearing or journal characterized in that it is operative in response to a predeter- Railroads have long sought a simple. and inl engineer of the occurrence of a hot box on any car of a train have necessitated the employment of train wires extending from car to car -throughout the train to the locomotive for the purpose of electrically controlling an electrically actuated signal device on the locomotive.

It is an object of my present invention to provide a system for apprising the engineer on the locomotive of a train of cars of the occurrence of an abnormal heat condition. in the axle journals on any car without thenecessity of employing -train wires,thereby eliminating the expense as well as the practical diiculties incidental to the use of train wires.

In carrying out this object of Amy invention I employ means responsive to the occurrence of an abnormal heat conditionin the axlej'ournal on any of the cars for effecting a variation .of the pressure of fluid in the usual signal pipe carried on most railroad passenger trains in a manner to cause a characteristic operation of the audible signal device orwhistle on-the locomotive distinct from the type of audible signal produced by the whistle on the locomotive in response to the manual operation of the usual discharge valve on the cars by a member of the train crew. It is thus possible for the engineer to be immediately apprised by a characteristic audible signal of the occurrence of the abnormal heat condition in any axle ljournal'on any car of thel train, so that vhe may immediately stop the trainjand take the necessary steps to correct this condition beforel proceeding further. l

So far as is. known, the systems proposed for apprisingvthe mined and substantially uniform rise of temperature ina journal above the ambient or "atmosphericv temperature outside the journal.

- In heretofore known hot box detecting apparatus, suchv as those of the fusible element type, lthe abnormal heat condition in the journal is indicated cnly when a predetermined abnormally high temperature is exceeded. In the case of railroad trains operating in climates having a wide range of climatic temperatures, such apparatus inherently delays the indication of the abnormal vheat condition in the journal when climatic or atmospheric temperatures are very low due to thegreater rise from the normal operating temperature of the journal to the abnormally high temperature.

With such heretofore known types of hot box detecting apparatus it is therefore possible that it may be too late to take the necessary steps to correct the condition aftersuch condition is indic journal may already have occurred.

It is a further object of my invention to provide .apparatus oi the character indicated in the foregoing object and additionally characterized vby cated because of the fact that damagek to the invention therefore obviates this diiliculty and insures adequate notice'to the 'engineer at all times of an abnormal heat condition in the axle journals on any of the cars by recognizing the abnormal heat condition on the basis of a certain substan-v tially uniform rise in temperature in the journal l above the atmospheric temperature outside the journal, which rise is somewhat above the usual normal. operating temperature of the Journal for a given atmospheric temperature.

In those cases where a signal pipe is not available on a train, vsuch as freight trains, my present invention employs the usual brake pipe on the train for signaling the engineer by means of an v I automatically produced brake application eiected by reduction of the pressure in the brake pipe in response to the occurrence of a hot box condition.

The above objects and other objects of my invention which will be made apparent hereinafter, are attained by means of apparatus subsequently to be vdescribed and shown in the accompanying drawings wherein Figurefl is a diagrammatic view, with partsin section, showing a hot box signaling apparatus vthat employs the signal pipe on a trainv of cars and lthatalso shows the details of my novel ab- My present l 3 normal heat condition detecting apparatus in association with an axle journal,

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing further details of construction, and

Figure 3 is a fragmentai diagrammatic view, showing a modification of the system shown in Figure 1, wherein the brake pipe on a train of cars is employed for signaling purposes.

Description Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, I have shown one embodiment of a hot journal detecting and signaling apparatus for a train of cars, comprising oneach car a hot journal detector indicated generally by the reference numeral a combination relay and vent valve l2 controlled by detector Il for the purpose of causing fluid under pressure to be supplied from a Water raising reservoir I3 to an audible signal device, such as a whistle |4, and a manual reset indicator l5 which relay and vent valve |2 is also operative to cause a reduction of the pressure in the usual signal pipe I6 on a train of passenger cars, and further comprising on the locomotive a whistle valve I1 responsive to a reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe to cause the supply of fluid under pressure to operate an audible signal device, such as a whistle |8.

Considering the parts of the equipment in greater detail, it will be seen that the detector I is embodied in a suitably constructed end cover 2| which may be substituted for the usual plate type end cover, and hinged at the upper end thereof, as on a pin 22 carried by the axle journal casing 23.

The detector comprises essentially two thermally responsive elements, shown as two bellows or daphragms 24 and 25 respectively, a floating lever 2G controlled and operated by the cooperative action of bellows 24 and 25, and a valve 21 of the poppet type cooperating with the lever and operated thereby.

The bellows 24 and 25 have a suitable thermally responsive medium, such as ether or glycerin sealed therein, which reacts to variations of temperature to which the bellows is exposed to cause corresponding degrees of longitudinal expansion and contraction of the'bellows.

The bellows 24 is contained within the smooth circular bore 28 of a tubular cartridge or member 29, made of copper, brass, or alloys thereof, or any other metal possessed of high heat conductivity.\ 'I'he cartridge 29 may be mounted in any suitable manner as, for example, by 4having' exterior threads thereon whereby the cartridge 29 may be screwed into a threaded bore 39 in the end cover 2l to a fixed position determined by an annular shoulder 3| on the exterior of the cartridge. When the cartridge is so mounted, the inner end of the cartridge 29 extends into the cavity 32 within the journal casing 23 and terminates adg jacent the end of the axle 33. One .end of the bellows 24 has a circular end plate 34 attached thereto which conforms to the bore 28 and rests against the closed inner end of the cartridge 29. The opposite or free end of the bellows 24 has a piston 35 fixed thereto which is operated slidably within the bore 28 in response to expansion and contraction of the bellows 24. The piston 35 has a stem 36 attached to or formed integrally therewith, the axis of which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the bellows 24 and the outer end of which projects through a circular hole in a cap screw 31 screwed to the outer end of the carannoso tridge 29. A coil spring 38, interposed between the piston and the cap screw 31 in concentric surrounding relation to the stem 38, yieldingly resists theexpansion of the bellows 24 and assists in the contraction of the bellows.

The bellows 25 is contained within the smooth circular bore 39 of a tubular cartridge or member 40 one end of which is closed and the other end of which is open and provided with an outwardly extending radial flange. A cap screw 4| having scre` 'threaded engagement with an annular boss 42 immed on the interior face of a cover portion 43 serves to clamp the flanged end of the cartridge 40 against the end of the boss 42 in rigid secured relation thereto. The cover portion 43 is removably secured to the outer faceof the end cover 2| as by a plurality of screws, not shown.

With the cover portion 43 attached to the outer face of the end cover 2| the cartridge member 40 projects into a circular recess 44 formed in the outer face of the end cover 2|, the closed end of the cartridge engaging a yielding cushion 45 of suitable insulating material contained in the recess 44 whereby to assist in supporting the cartridge as well as to insulate the cartridge against the influence of the temperature within the journal cavity 32.

One end of the bellows 25 has a circular end plate 46 attached thereto which rests against the closed end of the cartridge 40. 'I'he opposite or free end of the bellows 25 has a piston 41 secured thereto which operates slidably in the smooth bore 39 of the cartridge in response to expansion and contraction of the bellows 25. A circular recess 48 is formed in the outer end of the piston 41 and a coil spring 49, partly received in the recess 48 in interposed relation between the piston 41 and the inner face of the cover portion 43 within the annular boss 42, yieldingly resists the outward expansion of the bellows 25 and exerts a force assisting the contraction of the bellows 25.

The lever 26 is pivoted at a point between the ends thereof, for example at the mid-point thereof in the manner shown, on a pin 50 which is received in a diametrically extending hole of corresponding diameter in the piston 41. The piston 41 is also provided with a longitudinally extending slot 5| for receiving the lever 26, and the wall of the cartridge 40 is provided, on diametrically opposite sides of the pin 59, with two axially extending slots 52 through which the oppositely extending arms of the lever 25 extend outwardly away from the pin 50.

As shown in Fig. 2, the wall of the cartridge 40 is provided with two diametrically opposite holes 53 adjacent the open end thereof through which the pin 50 may be inserted upon alignment with the holes 53 of the hole in the piston 41 and the hole in the lever 25. The pin 58 is slightly less in length than the diameter of the piston 41 so that when the piston is moved inwardly of the bore to effect engagement of lthe end plate 46 cn bellows 25 with the closed end of ythe cartridge 40 following the insertion of the pin in the piston, the pin will be displaced longitudinally with respect to the holes 53 vand thus retained in position -by the wall of the cartridge 40.

One end of the lever 25 is provided with a suitably rounded head 2Ba for engaging the end of the stem 3B of the piston 30. The opposite end of the lever 26 is provided with a threaded hole for receiving a stop screw 54, a locknut being provided for holding the stop screw in a selected fixed position.

The stop screw 54 .has a rounded nut-like contact head which normally has a certain predetermined clearance with respect to the end ol' the iluted stem 56 of the valve 21. A coilspring 61. is provided for yieldlngly biasing the end of the lever 26 having the stop screw 54 pivotally on pin 50 so that the contact head 26a at the opposite end of the lever engages the end of the piston stem 36 to prevent chattering contact between the lever and the stem 36.

The poppet valve 21 is yieldingly urged by a coil spring 58 into seated relation on a valve seat formed Iat one end of a bushing 58a fixed in the end cover 2| and through which a fluted portion -of stem 56 of the valve 21 extends in guided relation. The spring 56 is interposed between the valve 21 and a screw plug 58h screwed intothe end cover 2|. The plug 58h has a circular bore therein for receiving and supporting the smooth end of the valve stem 56 for slidable movement therein.

When the valve 21 is unseated in response to the clockwise pivotal movement of the lever `26 on the fulcrum .pin 50, in the manner hereinafter to be described, a cavity or chamber 58e formed in the end cover 2| is connected Ipast the valve 21 to the interior of the cover portion 43 which is, in turn, constantly open to atmosphere through one or more ports 43a, only one of which is shown.

The bellows 24 and 25 are so designed and constructed that the bellows 24 expands twice the amount that the bellows 25 expands in response 'to a given increase in temperature to which the bellows are respectively subjected. This characteristic rel-ation of the -two bellows 24 and 25 is illustrated in Fig. 1 by the representation of bellows 24 as having twelve convolutions while the bellows 25 has only six convolutions, that is, a ratio of volumes of two to one. On the assumptionl that the respective diameters of the two bellows 24 and 25 are Ithe same and that the amount of expansion per convolution of each of the bellows is the same per degree rise in temperat-ure, it will be seen that the expansion of the bellows 24 with relation to the expansion of l the bellows 25 for any giventemperature rise will bear the same ratio as the num-ber of convolutions in the respective bellows. It is not my intention to limit the design and construction .of

the bellows 24 and 25 to that specifically shown, it being necessary only that .the bellows 24 and 25 have a predetermined ratio of expansion and contraction per degree variation of temperature.

By reason of the ra-tio inthe expansion characteristics of the bellows 24 and 25 it will be seen that if the temperature to which the bellows 24 and 25 are .subjected is increased a uniform amount as in the case of an increase of atmospheric ltemperature outside the journal casing 23, the amount of clearance between thefhead of the stop screw 54 and the end of the uted stem 56 in the valve 21 will remain constant or substantially so. This is so because of the fact that the ratio -between the lateral movement of the fulcrum pin 50due to expansion of bellows- 25 and the distance between the fulcrum pin 50 and the contact head on the stop screw 54 will be the same as that between the outward movement of the end of lever 216 due to the expansion of the bellows 24 and the total length of the lever 26.

It will be apparent that it is possible .to locate the fulcrum pin 50 at some other ipoint than midway between the ends of the lever 26 and still maintain a constant clearance between the stop screw 54 and iluted stem of the valve 21 upon a n 6 given rise of temperature to which both bellows 24 and 26 are exposed if the expansion characteristics or the bellows 24 and 25 are correspondingly related.

Thus, although I have shown a certain specific relation of ll'Jarts and method of mounting the lever 26, it will be understood that I do not in-tend to limit my invention to the exact construction shown in Fig. l.

In view of the fact that the ybellows 25 is exposed at vall times only to the ambient or atmos- -pheric temperature within the cover portion 43 by reason of the connection through the port 43a to atmosphere, the fulcrum pin of the lever 26 will always be positioned in accordance with the atmospheric temperature. At the same time, due tol the fact that the bellows 24 is subject -to the operating temperature within the journal cavi-ty 32, a pivotal movement of the lever 26 on the pin 50 in clockwise direction will be etl'ected due to the dis-proportionally greater expansion of the bellows 24 in response to the greater or higher operating temperature within the journal.-

According to my invention, the stop screw 54 is so adjusted as t-o provide a normal clearance g between the head thereof 'and the end of the fiuted above the normal operating temperature thereof for any given atmospheric temperature.

As indicated in Figure 1, the chamber 58e in the end cover 2| of each axle journal of a given railroad car truck is connected to a common pipe 59 by a corresponding branch conduit or pipe designated by the reference numeral 59 with the suliix letter a, b, c, d, etc., depending upon the number of axles in the truck.

The pipe may be conveniently carried on the spring-supported truck frame and, therefore, it is desirable to include a flexible portion 60a, 66h, etc., in the corresponding branch pipe 59a, 59h, etc., by reason of the relative movement between the non-spring supported axle journal casing and the spring supported truck frame.

Each of the branch pipes 59a, 59h, etc., may 'also include a manually operated valve 6| which connected by a corresponding pipe 62 and 63 to the relay and vent valve I2 which is carried on the body of that particular car, close to the signal pipe I6. Due to the relative movement between the wheel trucks and the car body, the pipes 62 and 63 preferably include ailexible portion 64 as shown.

It will thus be seen that chamber 56o in the end cover 2| associated with every axle journall on' a particular `car is pneumatically connected to the relay and vent valve |2 whereby to effect operation thereof in response-to the unseatlng of the corresponding valve 21 of the corresponding detector The relay and vent valve I2 comprises a suitable s'ectionalized casing 65 suitably formed to accommodate parts thereof presently to be described. Essentially the relay and vent valve I2 is made up of two parts, one of which acts as a relay valve and the other of which acts as a vent valve. The relay valve portion comprises a movable abutment, in the form of a flexible diaphragm 66 of suitable material, such as rubber or reinforced rubber, secured around the periphery thereof in the casing in a manner to provide a chamberv 61 at one side thereof and a chamber 68 at the other side thereof.

Suitably attached to the central portion of the diaphragm 69 within the chamber 68 is a valve 69 of the Doppet type which is yieldingly biased into seated position on a valve seat, formed in the casing 65, by a coil spring 19 interposed within the chamber 61 between a follower 1| secured to the central portion of the diaphragm and a removable portion of the casing 65.

The pipes 62 and 63 are connected through a pipe T 12 and a short section of pipe 18 to the chamber 61.

The chambers 61 and 68 on opposite sides of the diaphragm 66 are connected by a passage 14 containing a restricted or choke orifice 15, the purpose of which will be explained presently.

The chamber 68 is'constantly connected to and charged with uid under pressure supplied from a suitably charged reservoir, such as the water raising reservoir I3 on the car, through a pipe 16. The water raising reservoir is charged in the usual manner through a charging pipe 11 and serves in its accustomed manner, to supply the necessary water pressure for customary uses on passenger cars.

The choke orifice 15 is so designed as to permit a reasonably prompt charging flow of fluid under pressure from the chamber 68 to the chamber 61 and through the various pipes 62, 68, 59 and branch pipes 59a, 59h, etc., to the various chambers 58o embodied in the axle journal end covers 2| on that car without overcoming the spring 19 and unseating the valve 69. When one of the valves 21 of a detector is unseated, however, the fluid under pressure in chamber 61 is rapidly vented to atmosphere past the valve 21 and through the corresponding exhaust; ports 43a. The restriction to the flow of fluid under pressure from chamber 68 through choke orifice 15 to chamber 61 now results in a higher pressure in chamber 68 compared to the pressure in chamber 61 due to the faster rate of reduction of pressure in chamber 61. The differential iluid pressure so created on the diaphragm 66 is accordingly effective to exert a downward force on the diaphragm 66 suflicient to unseat the valve 69 in opposition to the force of spring 10. l

The vent valve portion of the relay and vent valve I2 comprises a movable abutment, illustrated as a exible diaphragm 18 suitably attached along its periphery in the casing 65 and providing two chambers 19 and 89 on opposite sides thereof respectively. Attached to the central portion of the diaphragm 18 is a valve stem 8| on which is formed or carried a disc type valve 82. The valve 82 is contained in a chamber 83 which is connected to the chamber 89 through a port 84 in an inner wall of the casing. A coil spring 85, interposed between the valve 82 and a screw plug 86 that closes the open end of the chamber 83,urges the valve 82 upwardly into seated relation on an annular rib seat 81 formed on the casing wall within the chamber 83 and surrounding the port 84. An annular gasket 82a vtions of the signal pipe.

is provided on the face of the valve 82 to provide a tight seal on the valve seat 81.

The chamber y19 is connected to atmosphere through a restricted orifice 81a in the casing wall, the purpose of the orifice being explained hereinafter. Chamber 19 is also connected through a passage 88 to a. chamber 99 into which the fluted stem 99 of the valve 89 projects.

It will thus be apparent when the valve 69 is unseated, fluid under pressure is supplied from the water raising reservoir I8 past the valve 89 to the chamber 89, and thence through the passage 88 to the chamber 19. The fluid under pressure so supplied to the chamber 19 is effective to exert a downward force on the diaphragm 18 sutilcient to cause unseating of the valve 82 in opposition to the yielding resistance of the spring 85.

The chamber I9 is constantly connected to atmosphere through an exhaust port 92. The chamber 83 is connected to the signal pipe I8 by a short branch pipe 98. Branch pipe 98 is made as short as possible in order to minimize the volume added to the volume of signal pipe I8 and prevent possible interference with the func- When the valve 82 is unseated, therefore, the fluid under pressure in the normally charged signal pipe is vented to atmosphere at a selected rate determined by the sizeof port 92 by way of the pipe 93, chamber 83, past the unseated valve 82 port 84, chamber 89 and port 92.

The whistle Il and the indicator I5 are connected by a pipe 94 to the chamber 19 of the relay and vent valve I2 and are operated, as will hereinafter be described by fluid under pressure supplied thereto from the chamber 19.

The whistle I4 is of well-known construction and needs no description here except that it provides -an orifice through which fluid under pressure supplied from the pipe 94 can escape to atmosphere for the purpose of producing an audible signal.

The indicator I5 comprises a tubular casing 95 having a bore at one end providing a chamber 96 at one side of a piston 91 that operates in' diameter formed in the casing and carrying on the end thereof opposite the piston 91 a small indicator disc 99, colored red, for example, for ease of visibility. The length of the stem 98 is such that normally the red disc 99 is retracted wholly into a recess or bore |99 formed in the outer end of the tubular casing 95.

The stem 99 of the piston 91 is provided with two notches |9| and |92 spaced axially along the stem and ladapted to be engaged by a loop portion of a latch spring |98 that is secured at the end thereof, as by a rivet |99 to the casing 95. The loop portion of spring |93 extends through a suitable transverse opening |95 in the wall of the casing 95 for access to the notches |9| and |92 in the stem 98. With the disc 99 in its inner position, the loop on the spring |98 engages in notch |92 to hold the disc in. Upon the supply of fluid under pressure to piston chamber 96, the latch spring |93 offers only slight re sistance to the outward movement of the piston 91 and engages in the notch I9I when the piston 91v has been moved outwardly to the extremity of itsl travel, thereby maintaining the disc 99 in its outer or indicating position and preventing the undesired movement of the disc due to vibration etc. In the absence of uid under pressure in the piston chamber 96, the disc 99 may be restored manually into the recess by exerting a pressure inwardly on the disc.

It will be understood that the equipment thus fardescribed is that for each individual car of a train. In addition, I also employ on the locomotive the whistle valve I1 and the whistle I8 previously identified. Whistle valve I1 is of wellknown construction' and needs no description here. For a detailed description of the whistle valve I1 reference may be had to Patent No. 2,028,605.

The whistle valve is connected in the usual manner to the sign-al pipe I6 by a branch |pipe |06, and the whistle I8 is connected to the .whistle valve by a pipe |01. It will be understood that whenever a reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe I6 of at least a certain duration is effected, the whistle valve I1 is operative to cause fluid under pressure to be supplied from the signal pipe as well as a charged chamber or reservoir in the whistle valve, to the whistle I8 causing'the sounding thereof.

A conventional car discharge valve |08 connected by a branch pipe |09 to the signal pipe I6 may be provided on each car in the lmanner shown for conventional operation thereby of the whistle valve I1 and whistle I8. Valve |08 is customarily operated by a pull cord attached to the operating handle thereof and is utilized by a member of the train crew, such as the conductor or brakeman, to signal the engineer on the locomotive. Customarily, the conductor or brakeman causes the valve |08 to vent signal pipe I6 for only a certain length of time, such as four or five seconds, which operation may be repeated at intervals. In no case is the valve |08 operated to cause a continuous reduction of pressure in the signal pipe.

Operation A general description of the operation of the equipment will now be given. Let it be assumed that the train having the equipmentdescribed is traveling along the road and that due to failure of lubrication or other cause an axle journal'begins to heat up beyond the usual normal operating temperature thereof for the particular am? I ously described, and fluid under pressure is correspondingly supplied from the water raising reservoir I3 to the chamber 19 and to the whistle I4 and piston chamber 96 of the indicator I5. The whistle I4 is therefore immediately sounded and the red disc 99 of the indicator I5 is promptly actuated outwardly from the recess |00 toa posie tion readily visible to a member of the crew who may observe the indicator. i

At the same time, the valve 82 is unseated as previously described, to effect a reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe I6. The Whistle I8 on the locomotive is accordingly sounded to apprise the engineer immediately of the occurrence of the abnormal heat condition in the axle Jour-1 nal prior to the actual occurrence of a dangerous 'heat condition in the axle Journal. The engineer may, therefore, promptlya'pply the brakes on the train in the usual mannerl to bring the train to a stop4 and cause the necessary steps to be'taken to ascertain the location of the abnormally heated journal by inspection of the indicator I6 on the variousv cars and by the sounding of the whistle I4 on the particular car having the abnormally heated axle ;lournal. After so ascertaining which car has the abnormally heated axle Journal, the members of the crew may thus readily flnd the offending journals and take the necessary steps to supply adequate lubrication to such journalto prevent the recurrence of the abnormal heat condition therein.

It will be understood that so long as the valve 21 is unseated, the valve 69 will be unseated and consequently operating pressure will be supplied to the chamber 19 of the relay and vent valve I2 as wellas to the piston chamber 96 of the indicator I6 and the whistle I4.

At the same time the whistle I8 on the locomotive will continue to sound without interruption until the pressure inthe signal pipe is reduced below a value sufficient to cause operation of the whistle valve and sounding of the whistle I 8, which may be a matter of four or ve minutes.

Should it be ascertained that the sounding of the whistles I4 and I8 and the operation of the indicator I5 is due to some other defect, such as Y leakage past the valve 21 or failure of the bellows diaphragm 25, a member of the crew may close the cut-out cock or valve 6| in the branch pipe to the corresponding axle journal, thereby cutting that particular detector II out of operation.

Whenever the valve 21 is reseated as a result of correcting the defect which initiated'the operation of the equipment or Whenever the valve 6I is closed, the chamber 61 at the lower side of the diaphragm 66 in relay and vent valve I2 will be quickly recharged to equalization with the pressure in chamber 68. The spring 10 thus acts to reseat the valve 69 and terminate the supply of fluid under pressure from the reservoir I3 to the chamber 19. Due to the small volume of the chambers 19, 89, 96, the pressures therein are promptly reduced due to the venting of uid under pressure therefrom through the whistle I4 as well as through the restricted port 81a associated withV the chamber 19. `If a sufciently prompt venting of fluid under pressure of these chambers occurs through the whistle I4 itself.'

the restricted port 81a may be dispensed with. However, if the whistle I4 is omitted or not employed and only the indicator I5 employed, then the restricted port'81a is necessary in order to effect a venting of the pressure of the fluid under pressure in the chambers 19, 89 and 96,.

Upon a sufficient reduction of the vpressure in the chamber 19, spring 86 acts to reseat the valve 82 .and thus terminate further venting of fluid under pressure from the signal pipe I6. At the same time, due to the fact that the supply of fluid underpressure from the water raising reservoir I3 has been cut oif by the seating of the 'valve 69, sounding of the whistle I4 is terminated.

Venting-of uid under pressure from the piston chamber 96 of the indicator I5 will not in itself effect restoration ofthe red indicator disc I9 to its normal retracted position shown in the drawing because,' as previously explained, the latch spring |03 holds the piston stem 98 in a position to maintain the redvindicator disc in a protruding position. In order, therefore, to restore the red indicator disc 99 into its retracted position l1 in the recess |00, pressure must be manually applied thereto by some member of the crew.

Whenever the valve 82 of the relay and vent valve I2 is reseated to cut oil' the venting of uid under pressure from the signal pipe, the pressure in the signal pipe is again built-up in the usual manner to the usual pressure carried therein. Due to the fact that the branch pipe 93 is made as short as possible, the volume thereby added 'to the signal pipe is relatviely small so that prompt `recharging of the signal pipe is not interfered with. At the same time, the fact that the arrangement which I have provided does not add appreciable volume to the signalpipe I6 is advantageous in that it does not interfere with the operation of the whistle I8 in the usual manner in response to operation of the car discharge valve |08. When operation of the whistle I8 inresponse to operation of the car discharge valve Ill is desired, it 1s necessary that at least a certain amount of reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe be effected in order for the whistle valve I1 to operate in the proper manner to produce the characteristic short blast or sounding of the whistle I8. If an undesirably large volume were added to the signal pipe by reason of undesirably long branch pipes corresponding to the pipe 83, the proper reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe would not be effected and consequently the whistle valve Il would not operate properly to effect the characteristic operation of the whistle I8 in response to operation of the car discharge valve |08.

As previously indicated, the conductor or brakeman of the train customarily holds the car discharge valve open to vent the signal pipe for a certain length of time, such as four or iive seconds, in order to effect the necessary reduction of the pressure in the signal pipe I6 to cause the proper operation of the whistle valve to in turn cause a relatively short blast or sounding of the whistle I8, which may be repeated at intervals for each successive operation of the car discharge valve |08.

It will be apparent, therefore, that the characteristic signal emitted by the whistle I8 in response to operation of the car discharge valve' |08 is distinctly different from the characteristic signal emitted by the whistle I8 in response to the occurrence of an abnormal heat condition in an axle journal for, as previously explained, the whistle I8 is continuously sounded for a relatively long interval of time when an abnormally heated condition of an axle journal occurs. The engineer will, therefore, have no difficulty in ascertaining the fact that an abnormally heated condition exists in an axle journal, by reason of the characteristically different operation of the whistle I8 on the locomotive in response to an abnormally heated condition in an axle journal as compared to that in response to the operation of the car discharge valve |08.

Figure 3 A modified embodiment of my invention may comprise the arrangement illustrated in Figure 3. For simplicity of description parts of the equipment shown in Figure 3 corresponding to those in Figure 1 are identified by the same reference numerals Without further description and only so much of the apparatus shown in Figure 3 as differs from that in Figure 1 will be described.

The embodiment shown in Figure 3 differs essentially from that Figure 1 in that operation of the relay and vent valve I2 is effective to cause a reduction of pressure in the usual brake pipe IIO provided on railroad cars and trains of either the passenger or the freight type. This embodiment of my invention is therefore applicable to both passenger and freight trains although particularly applicable to freight trains in view of the customary absence of a signal pipe on freight trains.

As shown in Figure 1, the chamber Il of the relay and vent valve I2 is connectedby a short branch pipe 98a to the brakepipe I I0.

Due to the fact that freight cars are notrprovided with water raising reservoirs as are passenger cars. a reservoir lia corresponding to and serving the same function as the water raising reservoir I3 of Figure l is provided in the embodiment of Figure 3. The reservoir Ila is charged directly from the brake pipe by a pipe connection including a branch pipe III of the brake pipe IIO and a pipe II2. In order to prevent the reduction of the pressure in the reservoir |3a due to the usual reductions of pressure in the brake pipe pressure effected by the engineer or members of the crew for purposes of brake applications and also for the purpose of preventing undesirable interference with the proper reduction of the pressure in the brake pipe for normal brake applications due to the added volume of the reservoirs I8a on all cars of the train, a one-way or check valve IIJ is provided in the charging communication for the reservoir I3a in thebranch pipe III. The one-way valve IIS is so disposed and arranged as to prevent .back flow of fluid under pressure from the reservoir I3a to the brake pipe I I0.

The branch pipe III is also connected to the chamber 68 at the upper side of the diaphragm 66 of the relay and vent valve I2. It will thus be seen that the reservoir I3a serves the same purpose as does the water raising reservoir I3.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, a whistle and whistle valve corresponding to the whistle I8 and whistle valve I'I of Figure l are not shown, although they may be provided in the usual manner on passenger trains without relation to the apparatus shown in Figure 3. The engineer is accordingly apprised of the occurrence of an abnormal heat condition in the journals of any car of a train by reason of the automatic application of the brakes effected on the train due to the reduction of the pressure in the brake pipe by unseating of the valve 82 of the relay and vent valve I2. At the same time, crew members may identify the particular car having the abnormally heated axle journal by the sounding of the whistle I4 and the protrusion of the red disc I8 of the indicator I5 on that car.

, Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a railway car axle journal having an end cover or lid closing the open end of the journal, the combination of a first thermally responsive means carried by said cover in such a manner as to be subject to and responsive to variations of atmospheric temperature only, a second thermally responsive means carried by said cover in a manner to be subject to and responsive to variations of temperature within the journal, an element to be operated carried by said cover, and means controlled and positioned by the cooperative action said first and said second thermally responsive means for eiecting operation of said element whenever the temperature in the journal rises a certain ysubstantially uniform amount above the atmospheric temperature.

2. In a railway car axle journal having an end cover or lid for closing the open end of the journal, the combination of a rst thermally responsive means carried by said end cover in a manner to be subject to and responsive to variations of atmospheric temperature only, a second thermally responsive means carried by said cover in a manner to be subject to and responsive to variations of temperature within the journal, a lever, a fulcrum between the ends of said lever the position of which is shifted laterally under the control of said first thermally responsive means without y normal heat condition in a railway car axle journal, comprising, in combination, a rst thermally responsive bellows supported by and within the journal so as to be subject and responsive only to variationsin atmospheric temperature outside the journal, a second thermally responsive bellows carried by and within the journal so as to be subject and responsive to variations of temperature within the journal, a floating lever within the journal, support means movably carried by the journal and on which said lever is pivotally mounted intermediate the ends thereof, said rst bellows acting to move said support means to vdifferent lateral positions in correspondence with variations with atmospheric temperature, said second bellows acting to move one end oi said lever laterally to diierent positions corresponding with variations of temperature within the journal, the ratio of expansion and contraction ofisaid ilrst and second bellows, being such as to produce movement of the free end of said lever out of a certain normal position an amount proportional to the temperature rise in the journal above atmospheric temperature, and a normally seated valve so associated with said free end of said lever as to be unseated thereby only after said free end is shifted out of its normal position a certain uni- .form amount lcorresponding to a certain critical rise of temperature in the journal above atmospheric temperature.

4. Apparatus for detecting and signaling an abnormal heat condition 4in a railway car axle 14 journalfcomprising, in comination, a first thermally responsive bellows supported by and within the journal 4so as to 'be subject and responsive only to variations in atmospheric temperature outside the journal, ajsecond thermally responsive bellows carriedv byand within the journal so as to be subject and responsive to variations of temperature within the journal, a floating lever within 'the'journaL support means movably carried by the journal and on which said lever is pivotally mounted intermediate the ends thereof,.said rst bellows actingto move said support means to different lateral positions .in correspondence with variations with atmospheric temperature, said second bellows acting tn move one end ofjsaid lever laterally to different positions corresponding with variations of temperature within the journal, the ratio of expansion and contraction of said first and second bellows being such as to produce movement of the free end of said leverout of a certain normal position an amount proportional to the temperature rise in the journal above atmospheric temperature, a normally seated valve so Aassociated with said free end of said lever as to Abe unseated thereby onlyafter said free end is shifted out of its normal position a certain uniform amount corresponding to a certain critical rise of temperature in the journal above atmospheric temperature, and a chamber normally.

charged with nuid under pressure, said valve being eiective when unseated to vent uid under pressure from said chamber to atmosphere.

l JOSEPH C.' MCCUNE.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS' c Date Number 'Name 846,305 Harris et al Mar. 5, 1907 1,030,454 Bellhouse T June 25, 1912 -1,205,434 Connell Nov. 21, 1916 1,270,954 Jordan et al. July 2, 1918 1,496,194 Ziegler June 3, 1924 1,710,054 Grant Apr. 23. 1929, 1,848,668 Scott Mar. 8, 1932l 1,994,983 De Florez et al. Mar. 19, 1935 2,115,431 Shively Apr. 26, 1938 2,154,030 Brumbaugh Apr.` 11,1939 2,187,958 Vigne et al Jan. 23, 1940 2,335,100 Bauer 1 Nov. 23, 1943 2,396,147 l Baldenhofer Mar. 15, 1946 lFORIIIGN PATENTS l Number e. Country l fk v Date*

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