US2642112A

US2642112A - Apparatus for making u-shaped brake hangers

Info

Publication number: US2642112A
Application number: US154610A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schaefer Frederic
Original assignee: Schaefer Equipment Inc
Current assignee: Schaefer Equipment Inc
Priority date: 1950-04-07
Filing date: 1950-04-07
Publication date: 1953-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-16

Description

June 16, 1953 F. SCHAEFER APPARATUS FOR MAKING u SHAPE BRAKE HANGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 7, 1950 'V 2 INVENTOR.

June 16, 1953 F. SCHAEFER 2,642,112

APPARATUS FOR MAKING U SHAPE BRAKE HANGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1950 In N INVENTOR.

Irma. MW

Patented June 16, 1953 YFFP E APPARATUS FOR MAKING U-SHAPED v BRAKE HANGERS Frederic Schaefer, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Schaefer Equ'pment Company, Pittsburgh, Pan a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April "1,, 1950, Serial No. -1514,610

This invention relates to the manufacture of U-shaped brake hangers which suspend brake beams from the trucks of railroad cars.

A common way of manufacturing U-shaped brake hangers is iirst to heat and upset one end of around rodto form a thickened portion which is punched to provide one eye for the hanger. The opposite end of therod is heated, upset and punched to form the other eye. The rod then is reheated and bent into a loop having parallel legs connected by an outwardly curving yokeforming member. Next, suitable dies move the legs away from each other and straighten the yoke-forming member. Following this, the hanger is again reheated and forced to cause the metal at the yoke corners of the "hanger to flow outwardly to form strengthening ribs Finally, the hanger is reheated and oil quenched.

Although hangers produced by the above method are, in most cases, satisfactory, some of them have been found to be weakened at their yoke corners. Thisis dueto the fact that the separate step of forging the corners to form the strengthening. ribs sometimes sets up therein and eventually may cause. the corners to crack. Also, the bending of the original straight rod at 90 degrees may overstressit. Some difficulty also is encountered in making the legs of the hanger exactly the same length and perfectly straight and parallel without deforming the then the side members are spread farther apart legs and simultaneously complete the straightening of the yoke. All hangers thus are made the same length and are provided with straight parallel legs. Openings then can be punched or drilled in the flattened portions of the hanger to complete the eyes of the hanger, by which the hanger is suspended in a car truck. g

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side View of a narrow hanger blank after the initial forging opstrains hanger eyes. Another drawback to such a method of making hangers liesin the'necessity for numerous heatsbefore the product is finished. In the method outlined above, at least four heats arereq'u'ire'd, which increase the time and number of workmen required for the job. Consequently, the costof the product likewise is increased.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide apparatus for manufacturing U-shaped brake hangers, for'which less heats are'required than heretofore, and which produces stronger and more accurately formed hangers. Another object is ito'pr'ovi'd'e apparatus for stretching a U-sh'ap'ed hanger blank to correct size without injuring it.

'In accordance withthi 'invention, a metal bar is heated'to forging temperature and then forged to form a narrow blank having spaced side members "connected atone 'endby' an outwardly curved end member, and having atthe opposite end flattened'portions'of increased'width which later will be provided withaligne'd pin-receiving openings. The flattenedportions lie in substantially par- 'allel planes and 'projectfrom opposite sides of the legs. At the 'sametime that the bar is forged, theportio'nsof'the blank where its side members join im'e'mirved end member are thickened in the 'pl'a-neoi theblank, such'as by forging ribs on the outside'of-the blank. After the forging operaticn, the -fl'ash' "is eration; Fig. 2 is a side view of the trimmed blank spread out wider; Fig. 3 is a side view of the blank-stretching apparatus; Fig. l is a vertical section thereof, taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the blank stretched; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of theapparatus as shown in Fig. 5.

"Referring to Fig. lof the drawings, a suitable body of metal, such as a short heavy rod (not shown), is heated to a forging temperature and then forged between suitable dies to form a narrow blank having parallel side members i con nected atone end by an outwardly curved end member "2. At the junctures of the side memberswith the end member, outside strengthening ribs 3 are formed at the same time. During this same forging operation the other ends of the side members are provided with wide flattened por- 'tions Q that project in parallel planes'from the opposite sides of the legs. These portions have flat inner and outer surfaces, and curved side surfaces that merge into the side members. These flattened portions are-needed in order to provide sufficient metal for the hanger eyes that are "trimmed from the blank, and

formed later. The usual flash 5 surrounds the forged blank and fills the space between the side members.

'-'Following this forging operation, the flash metal is trimmed away and then the side members i are spread farther apart in a suitable spreading machine which is illustrated schemati 'cally by the spreading tools 6 in Fig. 2. The side members, which now'become' hanger legs, are held more or less parallel, and the previously curved end member..? is straightened to a large extent and becomesa hanger yoke. 'cornersare formed where the side members, and ribs 3 extend around the Relatively sharp the .end member joins outside of these two corners tostrengthen them. The-spreadblank then is placed in the machine shown. in Figs. 3 to G te stretch the legs and to complete the straightening of the yoke.

' .The hanger stretching machine includes abase plate i 9 whichismounted rigidly on any suitable .a screw 24.

the latter back toward brackets i6.

plate by any suitable means.

on its side above the slide bar.

machine bed (not shown). The top of the plate is provided with a narrow raised surface H extending lengthwise of it along its center. On opposite sides of this surface at the front of the plate there are upright guide walls [2 integral with the plate. Near the rear end of the support is another pair of guide walls 13. Slidably mounted on raised surface I l and against the inner faces of the guide walls is a rectangular bar it. The bar projects behind the rear end of the plate and there has a thicker and wider head l5 that is guided between a pair of brackets [6 that are secured to the top of the base plate and proiect behind it. The front end of the slide bar is held down on the plate by a cross member I! bolted to the front guide walls [3, which have upwardly projecting portions engaging the front side of the cross member.

The slide bar Hi normally is held in its retracted or rear position by coil springs 20 mounted on horizontal rods 2 I. The front ends of these rods are anchored in blocks 22 mounted on the front portion of the base plate, and the rear ends of the rods extend slidably through an angle bar 23 that extends across the plate and fits against the front and upper surfaces of the head 15. The angle bar is notched to fit down over the slide bar, and is secured to its head by means of The coil springs are compressed between the blocks and this angle bar, so as to urge The slide bar is moved forward periodically on the base For the sake of illustration only, a rotatable cam 25 is shown engaging the rear end of the bar head for pushing the slide bar forward.

Rigidly mounted on top of the rear guide walls is, and extending across the top of the slide bar This block is provided at its opposite help to support the legs l of a hanger blank lying The rear part of each ledge is cut away and its rear surface 29 is inclined down to a shallow recess in the underlying guide wall, whereby a depression 38 is formed for receiving the lower part of one of the flattened portions 4 of the hanger blank. Rear "surface 29 of the ledge is shaped to fit as snugly as possible against the adjoining side surface of- I the flattened portion. The ledge-engaging surface of the flattened portion is at the end of that portion nearest the yoke, often referred to in the claims herein as the yoke end of the flattened portion. A movable die 32, astraddle of the slide bar in front of clamping block 27, is rigidly mounted on the bar and is provided with laterally projecting ledges 33 for supporting the front part of the hanger blank. The front of this die is provided with a straight recess 34 adapted to engage the inner surface of the hanger yoke.

It will be seen that when the slide bar is moved ahead in Fig. 3, the die 32 carried by it will engage the yoke of the hanger blank straddling the die and move the hanger bodily forward until its flattened portions 4 are pulled into depressions 39 in the stationary clamping block and against inclined ledge surfaces 29. To hold the hanger legs down on ledges 28 so that the flattened portions will stay down in depressions 30, a movable clamping element 38 is provided. This element extends entirely across the clamping block 2! and is pivotally mounted in the front ends of a pair of rocker arms 31 whose central portions are mounted on a horizontal pivot pin 38. This pin extends through the upper part of a support 39 integral with the rear end of the stationary clamping block and projecting above it. The rear ends of the rocker arms carry a horizontal roller 41 which rolls on a cam 42 that is rigidly mounted on angle bar 23 and the head of the slide bar for reciprocation with them. The thin front part of the cam slides in a slot 43 extending through support 39. The movable clamping element 3t, which is long enough to overlie the upper sides of the horizontal hanger legs, is shaped to conform to the adjoining upper surfaces of flattened portions 4 at their yoke ends. To permit the clamping element to be moved down onto the hanger blank, the stationary clamping block 2'! is provided with a transverse recess 44. The front wall of the recess is engaged by the front side of the movable clamping element when the latter is in clamping position. The portion of the clamping block in front of the recess thus forms a solid abutment for the movable element, which will prevent any movement of the latter during the stretching operation. When the slide bar is in retracted position, the roller 4| rests on the lower part of the cam, because the front ends of the rocker arms are swung upward by a coil spring :35 which connects the movable clamping element to a bracket 46 mounted on top of support 39.

In using this stretching machine the hanger blank, which has been formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is laid on its side on

ledges

23 and 33 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. At this time slide bar [4 is retracted so that flattened portions 4 of the blank can be inserted under the raised clamping element 36, and yoke 2 canbe placed in front of movable die 32. The slide bar then is moved forward to carry the die forward. As soon as the front end of the die engages the inner surface of the hanger yoke the hanger is moved bodily for ward, sliding on ledges 28. As the bar continues to move forward the cam 42, which also is carried by it, raises the rear ends of rocker arms 31. This swings clamping element 35 down into recess 44 of clamping block 21 and presses the upper clamping element against the top of the hanger legs. The hanger legs continue to be pulled forward between the two clamping members until the yoke ends of flattened portions 4 engage element 36 and clamping block surfaces 25 in depressions 30. This engagement prevents any further forward movement of the flattened portions, but the slide bar has not yet completed its full forward stroke. The further short distance that it then travels causes die 32, which is pushing forward against the yoke of the hanger blank, to stretch hanger legs I. This stretching also straightens the legs and makes them parallel and the same length. Just before the forward stroke of die 32 is completed, it pushes the yoke into a recess ll of a stationary die 48 bolted to guide walls 12 directly in front of cross member H. when the two dies come together in this manner the yoke 2 of the hanger blank is forged between them into a perfectly straight member. As soon as slide bar i4 is moved back to its rear position by means of springs 20, the forged and stretched hanger can be pulled out of die 48 and lifted from the machine. It is then ready to have eyes formed in flattened portions 4. Because these flattened portions are solid at the time of the stretching of the hanger, there is no danger of deformin the eyes, which have not yet been formed. All hangers stretched in this machine are provided with straight, parallel legs of uni- 3 form length, and their yokes are straightened and shaped properly.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for stretching a U-shaped brake hanger blank having laterally spaced legs connected at one end by a yoke and having at their opposite end flattened portions of increased width lying-in'substantially parallel planes, said apparatus comprising a support, a bar slidable lengthwise thereon, a member mounted on the bar for engaging the inner surface of the yoke of said hanger when the hanger is laid on its side above the bar, a stationary clamping element mounted on the support behind said me, ber and provided with depressions for receiving the lower parts of said flattened portionsof the hanger, a rocker arm above the bar, means on said support pivotally supporting the arm on an axis transverse to the bar, a movable clamping element carried by the front end of the arm, and a cam carried by the bar behind the arm and adapted to lift therear end of the arm while the bar is moving forward, whereby to press the movable clamping element down on the hanger before said member pushes the yoke far enough forward to stretch the hanger legs.

2. Apparatus for stretching a U-shaped brake hanger blank having laterally spaced legs connected at one end by a yoke and having at their opposite end flattened portions of increased width lying in substantially parallel planes, said apparatus comprising a support, a bar slidable lengthwise thereon,,a member mounted on the bar for engaging the inner surface of the yoke of said hanger when the hanger is laid on its side above the bar, a stationary clamping element mounted on the support behind said member and provided with depressions for receiving the lower parts of said flattened portions of the hanger, a pair of laterally spaced rocker arms above the bar, means on the support between the arms pivotally supporting their central portions on an axis extending transversely of the bar, a movable clamping element connecting the front ends of the arms, a roller connecting the rear ends of the arms, a cam carried by the bar behind said roller and adaptedto lift the roller while the bar is moving forward, whereby to pressv the movable clamping element down on the hanger legs before said member pushes the yoke far enough forward to stretch the hanger legs, and means for reciprocating said bar length- WlSe. V

3. Apparatus for stretching a U-shaped brake hanger blank having laterally spaced legs connected at one end by a yoke and having at their opposite end flattened portions of increased width lying in substantially parallel planes, said apparatus comprising a support, a bar slidable lengthwise thereon, a member mounted on the bar for engaging the inner surface of the yoke of said hanger when the hanger is laid on its side above the bar, a stationary clamping element mounted on the support behind said member and provided with depressions for receiving the lower parts of said flattened portions of the hanger, a-pair of laterally spaced rocker arms movable clamping member, means movably 6 above the bar, means between the arms pivotally supporting their central portions on an axis extending transversely of the'bar, a movable clamping element connecting the front ends of the arms, a roller connecting the rear ends of the arms, a cam carried by the bar behind said roller and adapted to lift the roller when the bar is moved forward, whereby to press the movable clamping element down on the hanger legs before said member pushes the yoke far enough forward to stretch the hanger legs, a rotatable cam engaging the rear end of said bar for periodically moving the bar forward, and resilient means constantly urging the bar backward and holding it against said rotatable cam.

4. Apparatus for stretching a U-shaped brake hanger blank having laterally spaced legs connected at one end by a yoke and having at their opposite end flattened portions of increased width lying in substantially parallel planes, said apparatus comprising a support, a die rigidly mounted on the support, a member behind the die and movable forward toward it for engagingthe inner surface of the yoke between them, a stationary clamping member mounted on said support behind said movable member, a movable clamping member mounted on the support for movement toward the stationary clamping member to hold said flattened portions, means movably mounted on said support for moving said yoke-engaging member forward toward said die to straighten the yoke against it, and means actuated by said first-mentioned means during its forward movement for moving said movable clamping member toward the stationary clamp ing member to hold said flattened portions.

5. Apparatus for stretching 'a U-shaped brake hanger blank having laterally spaced legs connected at one end by a yoke and having at their opposite end flattened portions of increased width lying in substantially parallel planes, said apparatus comprising a support, a die rigidly mounted on the support, a member behind the die and movable forward toward it for engaging the inner surface of the yoke between them, a stationary clamping member mounted on said support behind said movable member, a movable clamping member normally spaced from the stationary clamping member and movable toward it to holdsaid flattened portions, a rocker arm mounted on said support and supporting said mounted on the support for moving said yokeengagmg member forward toward said die to straighten the yoke against it, and a cam carried by said means for rocking the arm while said means is moving forward, whereby to move said movable clamping member toward the stationary clamping member to hold said flattened portions.

FREDERIC SCHAEFER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS