US2823866A - Adjustable rail support - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 18, 1958 J. H. JENNISON 2,323,365

ADJUSTABLE RAIL SUPPORT Filed June 1, 1955 INVENTOR.

JAMES H. JENNISON BY /@WJWJ ATTORNEYS United States Patent F ADJUSTABLEJ'RAIL SUPPORT James H. Jennison Pasadcna, Califl, assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of theNavy Application Junel, 1955, Serial No. 512,593 2 Claims. (Cl. 238-281) (Granted under'Title'SS, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein maybe manufactured and used by or for the-Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to adjustable ra'il' supports and more particularly to adjustable sleepers which provide for rail adjustments in vertical, horizontal and rotational directions.

In the use of rails, generally,uand particularly in the use of rails for special purposes, as .for example, the

high-speed testing of missiles or other vehicles and for launching devices of various types, track alignment is critical and has presented a continuing 'problem. Prior sleeper devices have provided means for adjustment of rail position but such devices have generally involvedconstructions in which horizontal adjustment could not be made except by the expedient of releasing and readjusting the means for 'adjustably clamping the rail in its selected vertical adjustment.

The invention provides an improved rail sleeperyadapted to be embedded in a concrete foundation'and which is ad vantageous over prior sleeper devices in that it provides improved means for maintaining alignment, is simpler and less costly in construction, and particularly in that it includes means whereby vertical and horizontal adjustments can be made independently of one another, provided the adjustments are small.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an adjustable rail sleeper which provides means for effecting proper alignment of the rails vertically, horizontally, and in rotation.

Another object is to provide such an adjustable rail sleeper in which the adjustments can be made independently of one another providing the distance the rail is moved is quite small.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rail sleeper of the type described, in which the rail can be readjusted whenever it gets out of alignment, using the same techniques as were used to align it originally.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamping and holding device to hold a rail in position without encumbering the rail head or web which device is capable of resistance to large forces applied to the rail in any lateral direction without appreciable deflection or distortion and which will not loosen when subjected to rapidly applied loads and vibrations.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention as used in supporting a rail, with portions of the device broken away and shown in section to better show the relationship and nature of the component parts. This view is taken looking in the direction of the arrow 1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown 2,823,866 Patented Feb. 18, 1958 2 in Fig. 1, with a portion of the base flange of the supporting beam broken away to show the web and the back flange of the I-beam element.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the device looking in the direction of thearrow 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown a base plate 1010 which the lower ends of a pair of spaced vertical tubes 11, 11a are welded, the tubes having horizontal bars and 12 welded thereto, parallel to the baseplate and positioned at the tube end opposite the baseplate and at an intermediate position, respectively. A vertically extending I-section 23 is welded to the sides of bars 12, 12a which are remote from the tubes and in aposition between the tubes 11, 11a, said section 23 beingtherefore in a position between the tubes, but offset-from the plane of the tubes. The lower ends of. a pair of verticalbolts 13, 13a extend through the tubesll, 11a and 'threadedly engage base plate 10, as shown inFig- 1, there being an annular space S around eachbolt. Obviously, bolts 13, 13a could be otherwise attached to base plate 10 as by welding, etc. The upperends of the bolts are threaded and carry nuts 14, 14a upon which rest an apertured plate 15. The rail R is clamped to plate 15 by a pair of apertured rail clips 16, 16a and nuts 17, 17a which engage the tops of the rail clips. A'stud. 1S, threaded at its ends, is welded to the upper end of I-beam 23 and thus extends in a direction transverse of track Rand below it. A pairof apertured plates or blocks 19, 19a are disposed on the stud, the upper portions of their confronting surfaces engaging opposite sides of the base flanges of the rail andthe lower portions of the same surfaces engaging opposite ends of a pair of rods 20, 20a which areslidably carried by I-beam 23.

A. sleeper of the .type described 'is disposed adjacent each end of each rail and at intervals of about 8 feet between the ends of rail sections. The sleepers are embedded in a concrete foundation F, generally to about the depth of the top of the cross-bar 12a, and are firmly anchored therein by the rigid integral structure formed by the base 10, the tubes 11, 11a, the bars 12, 12a, and the I-beam 23. A dowel pin 22 aligns the rail head at end-s of adjacent rails where they abut.

Inspection of the drawing, taken in conjunction with the above description of the present invention will make it evident that vertical and rotational adjustment of the position of the rail may be effected by vertical adjustments of the nuts, 14, 14a and 17, 17a. Equal increments of vertical adjustments of the nuts on bolts 13, 13a efiects movement of the rail in a vertical plane only and unequal adjustment effects, in addition, rotation about a longitudinal axis. Thus, by suitable adjustment of the nuts, the rail may be raised or lowered and also rotated so that a reference surface, such as its top surface, may be disposed in a true horizontal plane and also at a predetermined distance from a straight reference line, and it should be noted that such adjustment may be made without changing or releasing the adjustment or position of the plates or blocks 19, 19a. Similarly, by suitable adjustment of nuts 21, 21a which engage the blocks 19, 19a, the rail may be shifted in a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. When this adjustment is made, it will be apparent that the bolts bend about their lower ends, the anular spaces S permitting the bending movement. Thus, horizontal adjustments of small amplitude may be made without changing the vertical adjustment of the rail.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious that adjustable rail sleepers constructed in accordance with the present invention provide a new and improved structure for better maintaining rail alignment,

for forming better aligned joints at points where rail sections abut; in which vertical and horizontal adjustments can be made independently of one another, provided the adjustments are small; in which rotational adjustment is possible; and which has fewer parts and is more simple in construction and less costly to manufacture than devices previously used for this purpose.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rail joint comprising a pair of abutting rail sections, a plurality of rail sleeper structures for supporting and adjustably aligning the abutting ends of said rail sections, said sleeper structures each comprising an integral anchoring structure, adapted to be imbedded in foundation material at positions contiguous to the point of abutment of said rail ends, elongated rod means attached to said anchoring structure, clamping means for adjustably clamping the rail to said elongated rod means and thus to the anchoring structure, said clamping means comprising means for effecting vertical and rotational adjustment of the rail position and separate means for effecting horizontal adjustment of the rail position, the said elongated rods bending laterally when said horizontal adjustment is made whereby such horizontal adjustment may be made without loosening said clamping means.

2. A sleeper for accurately aligning a rail of the railroad type comprising a horizontal base plate to which the lower ends of a pair of spaced vertical tubes are welded, the tubes having a pair of spaced horizontal bars welded thereto at one side thereof and to which a vertical I-section is welded midway thereof, vertical rods extending through the tubes in spaced relation thereto,

the lower ends of said rods being attached to said base plate, the upper end of each rod being threaded and having a nut threaded thereon, a plate extending between the rods and having apertures through which the rods extend whereby said plate rests upon said nuts, the rail being adapted to rest upon said plate between said rods, an apertured clip disposed on each rod adapted to engage the plate and the top of the base flange of the rail, a second nut for each rod adapted to threadedly engage the rod and to engage the clip carried thereby, whereby the rail may be adjusted vertically and rotated about a longitudinal axis by adjustment of the various nuts; a threaded stud secured to the upper end of the I-section and extending transversely and. below the rail, a pair of apertured blocks disposed on each end of said stud, each of said blocks having a vertical face, the upper confronting portions of said vertical faces being adapted to engage the side edges of the base flange of the rail, a rod disposed parallel to said stud and slidably carried by the Lsection and having ends in abutting relations to lower portions of the confronting vertical faces of said apertured blocks, and a nut carried by each end of the stud and threadedly engaging said stud whereby adjustment of said last mentioned nuts effects adjustment of the rail in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof, the rods in said vertical tubes bending laterally within the tubes when the last named adjustment is made.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,400 Gipson Mar. 27, 1900 802,915 Clement Oct. 24, 1905 1,055,253 Benzel Mar. 4, 1913 1,126,524 Liebman Jan. 26, 1915 1,229,900 Davenport June 12, 1917 2,730,306 Miller Jan. 10, 1956

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