US2933353A - Journal box hinge lug with wear plate - Google Patents

Description

April 1960 w. l SCHLEGEL, JR 2,933,353

JOURNAL BOX HINGE LUG WITH WEAR PLATE Filed Oct. 22, 1957 0F ROL LER nvcmss opzw/m oruo, DEGREES United States Patettf JOURNAL BOX HlNGE LUG wrrn WEAR PLATE Walter L. Schlegel, In, Chicago, Ill., assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, ill., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 22, 1957, Serial No. 691,645

1 Claim. (Cl. '30847) This invention relates to a hinge lug and wear plate for use with a railway journal box.

, As a preface heretofore, it is to be noted that it is the duty of trained operators to inspect the interiors of .journal boxes. To facilitate-the inspection of journal boxes, it is necessary that the journal box lid open in short, free, uninterrupted, swinging motion to a point where an angle between the opposing faces of the lid and journal box is greater than'90". If the angle were to be 90 or less, a partial obstruction in viewing the interior of the journal box would occur. Such obstructions amount to an incomplete inspection of the journal box.

In the patent to Blattner, No. 2,675,278, issued April 13, 1954, there is an attempt to rectify the problem en countered, as stated above, in conventional hinge lugs for railway journal boxes. Blattner has attempted to devise a novel wear plate and binge lug which will allow easy, single motion, opening and closing movements of the journal box.

As will be seen, my invention comprehends a novel wear plate and a novel hinge lug contour which will definitely permit single motion opening and closing move ments of a journal box lid to permit inspection of journal box conditions at various inspection intervals.

Therefore, a primary object of this invention is the provision of an improved journal box hinge lug capable of having a journal box lid pivotally associated therewith with such a lid being capable of moving freely to opened position.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improved journal box hinge lug having a top surface so arranged and constructed that mating of the lug and journal box hinge lug wear plate may be easily and readily attained.

A still further object of this invention is to permit assembly of prior art wear plates to the novel hinge lug when my-novel wear plate is not available for emergency repair.-"""

Other objects and advantages will become apparent, to those skilled in the art, from the succeeding descriptions and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional elevational view taken through the top of a journal box embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the improved hinge lug and wear plate of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the improved wear plate as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and

Figure 4 is a developed line curve illustrating the progressive relationship between a bearing surface of the wear plate, an axis of a moving lid roller, and an axis of an aperture in the hinge lug.

It is to be noted that certain structure details have been omitted from certain views where said details are believed to be more adequately shown in other views.

Describing the invention in detail and referring to the drawings, the journal box, generally designated 10, may be made up in part by a roof or top wall 12 and side ICE walls 14 (only one of which is fragmentarily shown), and these walls have a lid seating face 16 defining an access opening 18 of the journal box. Upstanding substantially vertical from the roof adjacent to a front edge thereof may be a hinge lug 2a which is disposed centrally of the journal box, considered in a transverse direction. The hinge lug 20 may comprise transversely spaced hinge ears 22 (only one of which is shown) each of which may have a. rounded outer surface 24 so designed and disposed that a journal box lid 25 may freely pivot about the hinge lug. The hinge cars 22 may be provided with re-entrant flanges 26 which strengthen the hinge lug against stresses which may be exerted thereon during service of the journal box.

Extending between and forming an integral part of the lug 20 may be a bearing block 28 with the block 28 being joined to the roof 12 by a neck portion 30. The hinge lug 2% may be provided with a transverselyextending aperture 32 which is preferably lined with a split bushing 3 and a pin 33 extending entirely through the aperture to pivotally connect the journal box lid 25 to the journal box it A shoe or roller 35, preferably spring-pressed, may be employedto characterize a means incorporated in the journal box lid as part thereof to hold the lid 25 in either opened or closed positions. Also, for purposes of illustration, the lid 25, in Figure 1, is shown pivoted to fully opened position at an angle of approximately 110 between normally engaged faces 36 and 16.

The bearing block 28 may have a vertical forwardly exposed front or plane surface which extends transversely of the journal box for substantially the entire distance between the spaced cars 22. The face 40 may be disposed substantially parallel to but, however, spaced from a transverse vertical center plane, with this latter plane indicated by a diagrammatic line x-x, passing through the center 38 of aperture 32. In actual practice,

the front face is preferably spaced from the vertical axis of the hinge lug by a distance approximating of an inch. This latter dimension in conjunction With the dimension of the novel wearplate (to be hereafter described) is able to provide sufficient holding pressure means to maintain the lid in a closed position. Merging with the front face 40 may be a short cylindrical surface 41. In actual practice, the small cylindrical surface 41 may be formed on a radius approximating "71 of an inch.

Merging with the rear portion of surface 41 may be a flat surface 43 inclined rearwardly and downwardly and is preferably formed by machining so that the terminal points A and B, of the line 48 may be horizontally dis placed 4 inch to the left and right, respectively, of the axis x-x, as seen in Figure 2, the purpose of the surface- 4-8 to be hereinafter noted at the time of explanation of my novel wearplate. J Merging with the flat surface 48, may be an inclined surface 46 disposed at an angle preferably of 37 /z with respect to the axis x-x.

Rigidly secured to the bearing block 28, such as by welds 583 may be a wearplate or upwardly facing cam surface 52. of relatively hard, wear-resistant material and which presents a relatively smooth surface over which the spring pressed roller 35 may move. The wear plate is preferably of a length less than the distance between the hinge ears 22.

The upwardly facing cam surface is in the shape of an ellipse developed from a major axis A1 and minor axis A2 which are struck from point Y disposed forwardly of a vertical plane x-x defined by the hinge axis 38 of the hinge pin 33. Point Y, as clearly seen in Figure 3, is disposed above the level of hinge axis 32. This elliptical surface extends from D2 to D3 and at its forward end preferably merges with a parti-cylindrical surface 56 which extends from D1 to D2 and is struck from center C on radius R. Point D2 is determined H r p A a by intersection of the elliptical surface with an arc struck from center C1 on radius R1, center C1 being located on an extension of the minor axis A2. The wear plate also comprises a preferably vertical plane surface 54 and a preferably sloping plane surface 60 arranged conventionally at an angle 'of about 37 /2 with respect to surface 54. Surface 54 extends from vD to D1 and surface 60 extends from D3 to D4. l V

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown the relationship between'the respective parts. Cylindrical surface 56 aids in preventing accidental or unwarranted displacement-of the roller 35 when the lid is in the closed position. This feature is brought out where station C represents the location of the roller when the lid is being pivoted to open position with the roller at a point farthest removed from the axis of the aperture, just as the roller is about .to pass over the hump of the apex said point being represented by station D. The curve line from station D to station E represents the effective downhill bearing angle for the roller as it passes over the hump of the apex and traverses the large elliptical surface. The disposition of the terminal surface 60 permits the top face thereof to approach closer to the aperture axis to thereby permit the roller 35 to continue its downhill movement along the surface 60 with the result that the lid 25 effects a complete opening movement, as evidenced in Figure 4 by the developed line from station E to station F. During the closing movement of the lid 25, the

roller will move at an easy and constant uphill sweep of the top face until the roller passes over the apex at which time the lid 25, through the action of the springpressed roller against the bearing block 28, will be seated against surface 16.

The arrangement of the novel contour of the wearplate and hinge lug affords a space or clearance between the upper surface of the bearing block and the bottom face of the wearplate. If, during production or machining of the wearplate, an error should occur with the result that the preferred construction of the wearplate was not achieved, the novel contour of the bearing block would still permit assembly of the wearplate thereto. Such an arrangement has a decided advantage over the patent to Blattner as the clip and lug of Blattner would, of necessity, have to be manufactured to very close tolerances. Any errors in machining either the bearing block or clip of Blattner would render, the clip useless;

Also, my novel contour on the bearing block 23 permits assembly of prior art wearplates, such as the clip in the Blattner design, to bearing block 28. The contour of the bearing block in the Blattner disclosure limits the application of wearplates to the Blattner structure.

It should also be noted that even though Blattner recognizes the problem regarding the opening aud closing of journal box lids at times of journal box inspections, he has not solved the encountered problem. The contour of the Blattner clip requires the application of uneven opening or closing forces on the lid after and before, re-' spectively, the spring-pressed roller has passed over the hump of the wearplate. As is seen, my novel wearplate permits the lid to open and close upon application of a constant force after and before, respectivel the springpressed roller has passed over the hump of the apex. Consequently, the Blattner clip does not facilitate the work of an inspector during the time of journal box inspection. 7

Additionally, it is seen that the force to close the lid on applicants device is greater than the force required to be applied to the Blattner device to accomplish the same result. The difference in lid closing force requirementsis the result of applicants novel cam surface on the wearplate. Therefore, it is seen that considerable wear must occur on either or both of the mating parts of the wearplate and lid in applicants device before the lid. could move from a fully opened to a closed position when such a result is not desired. It is probable, however, that the lid of the Blattner device wouldclose, when not desired to do so, after only a small amount of wear has occurred to one or both of the lid. mating parts.

It is to be understood that the terms and expressions A journal box comprising a lug with a central opening to receive a pivot pin for an associated lid, a wear plate on said lug covering the top thereof, said plate having a portion with an upwardly facing cam surface and another portion with a forwardly facing vertical cam surface, said plate having a third portion with a parti-cylindrical surface struck from a center disposed forwardly of a vertical plane defined by the hinge axis of said opening, said parti-cylindrical surface merging with said cam surfaces, said upwardly facing cam surface being in the form of an ellipse having major and minor axes struck from a point between said plane and said forwardly facing surface, said point being above the level of said axis, said upwardly facing surface being so formed'and arranged that the lift of an associated lid roller riding on said upwardly facing surface during opening movement of the lid from about 30 to about is represented by a substantially straight line on a graph wherein the abscissa represents opening of the lid in degrees and the ordinate represents lift of the roller, the first mentioned portion of the plate and said third portion thereof being spaced from the top of said lug. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,675,278 Blattner Apr. 13, 1954

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