US3438335A

US3438335A - Rail anchor setter

Info

Publication number: US3438335A
Application number: US653207A
Authority: US
Inventors: William P Mcilrath
Original assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Current assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Priority date: 1967-07-13
Filing date: 1967-07-13
Publication date: 1969-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 1986-04-15

Description

April 15,1969 w. P.`M|LATH 3,438,335#v RAIL ANCHOR SETTER med Ju1y 13, 1967 "sheet of e l April 15, 1,969 w. P. MCILRATH l 3,438,335

` RAILANCHOR sETTER Filed July 1s, 19e? sheet ,2 ore April 15, 1969 V w. P. MGILRATH 1 3,438,335

\ RAIL ANCHOR SETTR "Q l I A Filed July 13, 1967 r i sheet 3 of e 1% `\A (zo 04 lll April 15, 1969 w. P. MCILRATH RAIL ANCHOR SETTER sheet `of s Filed July 13, 1967 Z) 4 ,N Z f a l. z :m 6 @Z www? wl j UO Il 4M, i 2 4 Q 0 a t 6070 wm. M M j 6 f 7 5 W7 'M a 2 0 /m @y M 4 llw nf.. 49\W%6 I H2 ig@ m L 4M y Q M 0 ww/ MH wf w w. P. MCILRATH RAIL ANCHOR SETTER Apri; 15, 1969 Sheet Filed July 13, `1967 4 `sheet` 6 orew. P; MCILRATH RAIL ANCHOR SENER April 15, 1969 Filed July 13. 196k? United States Patent Office 3,438,335 Patented Apr. 15, 1969 3,438,335 RAIL ANCHOR SETTER William P. McIlrath, Racine, Wis., assignor to Racine Hydraulics & Machinery, Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed July 13, 1967, Ser. No. 653,207 Int. Cl. E01b 29/32, 9/38 U.S. Cl. 104-2 15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rail anchor setter including a magazine for receiving a plurality of rail anchors to be located on rails adjacent rail supporting ties, an anchor setting means, a feeder associated with the magazine for feeding the anchor from the magazine to the anchor setting means, the latter receiving the anchor from the feeder and applying the same to the rail and including a means for boxing the anchors applied to the rail about a tie.

Background of the invention In the construction and repair of railroad rights-ofway, rail anchors are customarily applied to rails to preclude the same from walking relative to the rights-ofway due to acceleration or deceleration of trains travelling upon the rails and to resist expansion and contraction of the rails. Many types of rail anchors are in existence, and each operates on the basic principle of a spring clip connected to the base of a rail adjacent atie whereby the tie precludes the rail anchor from moving in one direction while the frictional force between the rail anchor and the rail precludes the rail from moving relative to the rail anchor.

`Depending upon the railroad involved, rail anchors may be placed either on one side of a tie or on both sides of a tie. In the latter case, the rail anchors are customarily boxed firmly adjacent both sides of the tie to thereby resist rail movement in either direction relative to the tie. In the former case, the anchors snugly abut the ties, and at periodic intervals, the side of the tie on which the rail anchors are located is changed.

Because of the tremendous forces developed when a train accelerates or decelerates, or when the rails expand or contract, it will be apparent that the rail anchor must exert a great deal of frictional holding force on the rail in order to hold the same and preclude it from walking. Because the rail anchors are, in essence, spring clips, it will be apparent that a great deal of force is required to appropriately place them on a rail.

In the past, Workmen were employed to drive the anchor onto a rail with sledge hammers or the like. Because of the large work force required for such duties, the prior art restorted to the use of anchor applicators that travel along the rails and finally located anchors on the rails after the anchors had been previously, preliminarily positioned on the rail by workmen.

Of course, this latter approach still required the use of a significant Work force, and, as a result, mechanisms were devised for travelling along the rails to preliminarily locate :an anchor on the rail so that it could be subsequently nally located by already known mechanism.

Such anchor Setters leave a great deal to be desired as anchor setting operation is still, essentially, a manual operation in that the setting mechanism is merely a tool mounted on a vehicle and the tool has to be loaded and manipulated manually by the operator thereof. As a resnlt, the operation cannot be accomplished as efliciently as is desired.

Summary of the invention It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved anchor setter.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide .an anchor setter that will set anchors on rails without manual manipulations of the parts thereof with the exception of the operation of control devices.

Another object is the provision of an anchor setter including a magazine means for receiving a plurality of rail anchors to be located on rails adjacent rail supporting ties, feeder means associated with the magazine for feeding the anchors on the magazine means to a predetermined location, and a means movable between predetermined location on a point adjacent the rail for receiving a rail anchor from the feeder means and for setting the anchor so received on the rail.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an anchor setter such as .that set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the receiving and setting means simultaneously locate a pair of anchors on either side of a tie supporting the rail and are provided for boxing the anchors about the tie.

A still further object is the provision of an anchor setter such as that set forth above wherein the magazine means includes a pair of members on which rail anchors may be hung and t-he feeder means includes means for vibrating the members on which the rail anchors are hung to feed the same to the predetermined location, and the setting Vmeans is operative to receive and grip rail anchors received `from the magazine means as fed by the feeder means to move the same to the rail and apply the anchors thereto.

An additional object is the provision of an anchor setter such as that set forth above wherein the various mechanisms thereof are of sturdy construction and of simple character so as to be extremely durable and easily serviceable.

Another object is the provision of an anchor setter such as that set forth above further including various interlock means `for precluding improper operation of the anchor setter that could damage the same.

Yet another object is the provision of an anchor setter having a control system that controls operation of the setter such that the act of setting vanchors on a rail will not cause previously set anchors on the rail to be disturbed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specication taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings FIG. l is a perspective view of an anchor setter made according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the anchor setting mechamsm;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of the anchor setting mechanism taken approximately along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken approximately along the line 4 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section showing a portion of the mechanism in a stage of operation subsequent lto that illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating the mechanism in a stage of operation subsequent to that shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a vertical section of a portion of an arm mechansm.

General description` The instant invention contemplates a rail anchor setter having a magazine capable of holding a plurality of rail anchors together with means for feeding the rail anchors from the magazine to a means which sets, and if desired, boxes the rail anchors on a rail.

Various mechanisms interrelate the above mentioned means so that transfer of anchors from the magazine to the feeding means and then to the setting means together with the actual setting will take place without requiring manual manipulation of the anchors except to the extent that the magazine requires periodic reloading of rail anchors. The operations are effected semi-automatically with an operator required merely to operate controls of the mechanism.

Two magazines are provided and are formed of sloped plates on which the rail anchors may be hung. Vibrating means are used to vibrate the plates whereby the anchors will advance down the slope. At the lowermos-t ends of the magazine plates there are provided a pair of anchor elevators which receive the anchors from the magazines and lower the same to a predetermined location whereat the anchors are discharged from the elevators and dropped on-to a pair of applicator arms.

The anchors thus received by the applicator arms are gripped thereon by gripping means and the applicator arms are pivoted to a location adjacent the rail to place the anchors on the base thereof. A hydraulic cylinder applies sufficient force to the applicator arm such that the anchors are partially set on the face of the rail. Additionally, means are provided for moving the applicator arms towards each other so that when they are disposed on opposite sides of a tie, lthe resulting movement will box the anchors about the tie.

Subsequently, the applicator arms are then moved apart and pivoted upwardly to a point adjacent the elevator to receive the next set of anchors. During this time, the operator may move the vehicle on which the anchor setter is mounted to the location of the next tie so that anchors may be set and boxed on the rail adjacent the tie.

Of course, if desired, only one of the applicator arms may be loaded with an anchor at any given time so that only one anchor is applied adjacent a particular tie and the boxing operation may be repeated even though only one anchor is to be set in order to cause the anchor to firmly abut the tie.

Once the anchors have been preliminarily set and/or boxed, means known in the art may be utilized to finally set the anchors on the rail.

Detailed description An exemplary embodiment of a rail anchor setter ma'de according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is seen to include a rectangular frame, generally designated 10, rotatably mounting a plurality of wheels 12 which may rest on the rails of a railroad right-ofway. The frame additionally mounts a gasoline engine 14 and a hydraulic pump 16 that is driven by the engine 14 for the purpose of providing power in the form of hydraulic uid under pressure to fluid motors (not shown) thrlgh a valve mechanism having an operator 18 for driving the wheels 12. Hydraulic fluid also may be applied to a centrally located jack 20 which may be used to elevate the entire apparatus for the purpose of removing it from the rails or for changing its direction on the rails. Additionally, the fluid under pressure provided by the pump 16 is used to operate the anchor setting mechanism as will appear.

The frame 10 is made of a plurality of tubular members that are joined as by welding in a fluid tight manner such that the interior of the tubular members may be used as the reservoir for the hydraulic fluid required by the pump 16.

There is also provided an auxiliary, hand operated hydraulic pump 22 which may be used in the event of a failure in the engine 14 or the pump 16 and the braking mechanism generally designated 23 having an operator 24 which may be used to firmly hold the vehicle at a desired location on the rails during an anchor setting 4 operation. A suitable seat, not shown, may be located on the frame 10 in a position that, with reference to FIG. 1, would obscure the jack 20 and operators 25 for a hydraulic system that controls the anchor setting operation are located Within easy reach of the seat.

The anchor setting mechanism is located adjacent one side of the frame 10 and includes a pair of magazines, generally designated 26 and 27, which may receive a plurality of rail anchors 28. The magazine 26 comprises an elongated sloped plate upon the upper edge of which the rail anchor 28 may be hung while the magazine 27 includes a similar plate 31. In order to preclude undue wear of the

plates

30 and 31, the upper edges thereof may be provided with strips 32 of hardened steel.

A feeder mechanism, generally designated 34, is associated with the

magazines

26 and 27 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter for receiving the rail anchors 28 in the

magazines

26 and 27 and for moving the same to a predetermined location within the general confines of the frame 10 where the anchors are received by applicator arms which, in turn, move the rail anchors 28 from the predetermined point and locate the same on a rail.

In general, when rail anchors are applied to rails, an anchor is placed on each side of a tie and forced into place to anchor the rail with respect to the tie. To serve this end, the two

magazines

26 and 27 are provided and the feeding means 34 is adapted to provide two anchors at a time to the setting mechanism which places the anchors on opposite sides of the tie. However, certain railroads place anchors only on one side of the tie and it is to be understood that the machine made according to the invention may be used in such an instance merely failing to load one of the magazines or by disabling the portion of the feeder mechanism 34 that is associated with one of the magazines.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the

magazines

26 and 27 and the feeder mechanism 34 will be explained in greater detail. Since the feeder mechanism 34 includes two sections, one for each of the two anchors that may be placed on the rail, and one section is the mirror image of the other, only one will be described.

The upper magazine plate 30 is supported at one end on a stand 38 which is bifurcated to pass about the sides of the lower magazine plate 31 so that rail 'anchors 28 on the lower magazine plate 31 can pass between the legs thereof. Similarly, the lower magazine plate 31 is also supported on the underside of the stand 28 and the latter is in turn connected through a vibration isolator 40 which may be formed of rubber or the like to an angle bracket 42 secured to the frame 10.

A stand 43 similar to the stand 38 is located between the ends of the

plates

30 and 31 and is also secured to the frame by means of a rubber isolator 44.

The rightmost end of the upper plate 30 as viewed in FIG. 2 includes still another stand 46 which likewise is secured to the frame 10 by means of a rubber isolator 48 and which depends from the lower extremity of the magazine plate 30 a substantial distance to support a plate which forms a continuation of the upper magazine 26 as will be seen.

lBoth of the

magazine plates

30 and 31 slope gently from left to right as viewed in FIG. 2 while the plate 50 slopes from right to left as viewed in FIG. 2. A conventional vibrating mechanism 49 driven by a hydraulic motor .(not shown) which is powered bythe pump 16 (FIG. 1) 1s connected to the upper magazine plate 30 to vibrate the same., By virtue of the connection between the upper magazine plate 30 and the lower magazine plate 31 as well as the plate 50 through the

stands

38, 42 and 46, the vibration imparted to the upper magazine plate 30 by the vibrator 49 will be transmitted to the lower magazine plate 31 :and the plate 50 but will be isolated from the frame 10 by virtue of the .

isolators

40, 44 and 48. Because of the slope of the plates forming the magazines,

it will be apparent that rail anchors 28 on the upper and

lower magazine plates

30 and 31 will travel from left to right as viewed in FIG. 2 while rail anchors 28 on the plate will tra-vel from right to left as viewed in FIG. 2.

In order to transport rail anchors 28 from the upper magazine plate 30 to the plate 50, an elevating mechanism generally designated 51 is provided. As seen 'in FIG. 1, the elevating mechanism 51 comprises a pair of upright tubes 52 mounted on the frame 10 so as to be subject to the action of the vibrator 49. The tubes 52 mount a rotatable sheave `53 at their upper ends. One of the tubes 52 includes a movable weight (not shown) within its confines while the other tube 52 includes a slot 54 in its periphery.

As seen in FIG. 2, an elevator plate is mounted for reciprocal movement within the slot 54 between a first position wherein it will receive a rail anchor 28 from the plate 30 and a second position wherein it will lower the rail anchor 28 to a point adjacent the plate 50. A chain (not shown) is strung about the sheave S3 (FIG. 1) and interconnects the weight (not shown) and the plate 5S. The weight is selected so that normally the plate 55 will be in the first mentioned position for receiving a rail anchor 28 from the plate 30. However, when a rail anchor is disposed on the plate 5S, the weight of the same will cause the plate 55 to be lowered to the second position to dispose the rail anchor 28 adjacent the plate 50.

The operation of the vibrating means 49 will then cause the rail anchor 28 to be vibrated from the plate 5S onto the plate 50 and when such has occurred, the weight (not shown) will raise the plate 55 to the first mentioned position.

When the plate 55 is lowered to a nail anchor 28 to the plate 50, a stop 57 pivotally mounted on the slotted one of the tubes 52 will be lowered to preclude movement of rail anchors 28 from the plate 30. The stop 57 includes a prong-like cam member 59 which is adapted to engage the upper surface of the plate 55. Thus, when the plate 55 is in its upper position, the stop 57 will be cammed upwardly as shown in FIG. 2 to permit a rail anchor 28 to be fed into the plate 55. As the plate S5 is lowered, the stop 57 will pivot downwardly to dispose itself in the path of rail anchors 28 remaining on the plate 30.

The feeder means 34 is located between the rightmost end of the lower magazine plate 31 and the leftmost end of the plate 50 to receive the rail anchors 28 directed thereto from the plates 31 and 50 and lower the rail anchors so received to a point below that shown in FIG. 2. During such lowering, a stop member 56 is moved into a location to block the next rail anchor 28 on the magazine plate until such time as the feeding mechanism 34 is conditioned to receive it.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the nature of the feeding means 34 will be described. As best seen in FIG. 3, there is provided a pair of closely spaced vertically arranged guide plates 60 and, as seen in FIG. 4, there is a slidably mounted elevator plate 62 mounted for movement therebetween. The elevator plate 62 includes a tongue 64 at its upper end which is directed toward the magazine plate from which it is to receive rail anchors and a pair of bolts 66 which `are received within guide slots 68 in the guide plates 60. The slots 68 are generally vertically arranged and include a straight run at their upper end and an arcuate run at their lower end so as to guide movement of the elevator plate 62 in a generally straight path at its uppermost position and in an arcuate path near a lowermost position while maintaining the tongue 64 of the plate 62 in a generally horizontal plane.

The arrangement of the slots 68 in the guide plates 60 with respect to the elevator plate 62 and the tongue 64 thereof is such that during the upper portion of the path of movement of the elevator plate 62 the tongue 64 will project outwardly from the edge of the guide plates 60 to support an anchor whereas at the lower portion of the path of travel of the elevator plate 62, the tongue 64 will be withdrawn to be entirely within the contines of the guide plates 60. Such withdrawal of the tongue 64 takes place to allow a rail anchor to be engaged by an applicator arm as will be described.

The stop member 56 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 70 passing through the upper ends of the guide plates 60 and includes a blocking element 72 on. the end thereof that is adjacent and generally transverse to the corresponding magazine plate from which the tongue `64 will receive rail anchors. The underside of the stop member 56 includes a depending projection '74 which is adapted to engage the upper surface of the elevator plate 62 to cause the stop member to be pivoted upwardly and out of a blocking position whenever the elevator plate 62 is in an uppermost position to receive an anchor from the associated magazine. The end of the stop member 56 opposite the blocking portion 72 is biased upwardly by a spring 76 interposed between the end of the stop member 56 and a hook 718 which is welded to the upper end of a vertical bar 80 welded to the guide plate 60. The bar 80 additionally supports a sleeve 82 which in turn journals a pivot pin 84 which is pivotally received. in f-rame members 86 secured to the main frame 10 as generally indicated in FIG. 3. Thus, the feeder mechanism 34 is pivotally mounted In order to limit movement of the feeder means 34, a stop and guide bar 88 is mounted on the upper surface of a member 90 also secured to the main frame 10. The bar 88 projects a substantial distance therefrom between abutting edges of the guide plates 60 forming each section of the feeder mechanism 34 and a block 92 is mounted transversely thereon on the side of the feeder mechanism 34 adjacent the applicator arms. Thus, as viewed in FIG. 3, the feeder mechanism 34 cannot swing about the pivotal axis provided by pin 84 past a vertical position in the counterclockwise direction but can move in a clockwise direction a substantial distance. The purpose of this arrangement is to allow free movement of the feeder mechanism 34 to preclude damage thereto in the event the applicator arms strike the feeder mechanism' 34 with substantial force.

The mounting plate 80l also rotatably mounts a sheave 94 about which a chain 96 is trained. One end of the chain 96 is secured to the upper one of the bolts 66 of the elevator plate 62 while the other end `of the chain is secured to a spring 98 which is fastened to the frame member S6. An intermediate portion of the chain 96 is connected slid-ably to a spring 100 which is secured to an applicator arm 102 that applies anchors 28y to a rail R as illustrated in FIG. 3. The manner in which the applicator arm 102 so operates will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The position of the applicator arm 102 controls the position of the elevator plate 62 vwithin the guide slots 68 of the guide plates 60. Specifically, when the applicator arm 182 is in an anchor lapplying position as indicated in FIG. 3, the elevator plate 62 will be at its uppermost position so that the stop member 56 will be lifted to allow a rail anchor 28 from the corresponding magazine plate to be received on the tongue 64. After a rail Ianchor 28 has been applied by the applicator arm 102, the latter will be m0v`e=d in a generally clockwise direction as will be seen hereiafter upwardly to a point adjacent the feeder mechanism 34 to receive another rail anchor 28 for subsequent application. Such clockwise movement of the applicator arm 102 will result in the lowering of the elevator plate 62 and thus the rail anchor 28 supported thereby to a predetermined point whereat the rail anchor 28 will be transferred to the applicator arm 102.

In order to locate the rail anchor 28 .at the predetermined point for positive transfer to the applicator arm 102, a retarding means is arranged adjacent the slot 68 in which the uppermost one of the bolts 66 is received. The retarding mechanism is best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 and is seen to comprise an L-shaped member 104 projecting upwardly from the cross member 90. An eX- tremity lof the L-shaped arm 104 mounts a depending spring 106 which in turn mounts a chain 108 connected to an L-shaped arm 110 that is pivotally mounted at 112 to the underside of the cross member 90. An adjustable engaging member in the form of a threaded bolt 114 is also supported by the arm 110. The arrangement is such that when the elevator plate 62 descends within the slot 68, the uppermost one of the bolts 66 Will engage the leftmost end of the plate 110` as viewed in FIG. 3. The spring 106 is chosen such that the combined weight of the rail anchor 28 supported by the elevator plate 62 and the elevator plate 62 is insufficient to cause the arm 110 to pivot about the .axis 112 in a counterclockwise direction so that the elevator plate 62 will be maintained in such a position by the bias of the spring 106.

With reference to the shape of the slots 68, the position in which the elevator plate 62 is retained by the arm 110 is located just before arcuate movement `of the elevator plate 62 is initiated by the arcuate portions of the slots 68.

As seen in FIG. 5, when the applicator arm 102 is rotated in a lclockwise direction to receive a rail anchor 28 from the elevator plate 62, a surface ofthe arm 102 will engage the adjustable engagement member 114 to pivot the arm 110 in a counterclockwise direction about the axis 112 such that the bar 110 will no longer engage the bolt 66 and the elevator plate 62 will descend further under the influence of gravity. At this time, the transfer of the rail anchor 28 from the elevator plate 62 to the applicator arm 102 will occur with the elevator plate 62 moving arcuately to withdraw the tongue 64 from the rail anchor 28.

In `order to insure proper movement of the rail anchors while engaged with the tongue 64 of the elevator .plate 62, and during transfer of the anchor to the applicator arm 102, guide means are provided. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4,

one of the guide plates 60 includes a ange 120 which is generally transverse to .the main body of the associated plate 60. Near the upper and lower extremity of the ange 120 there is provided a pair of box shaped brackets 122 which house springs 124 which project through apertures in the flange 120 to abut a guide plate 126 which faces the magazine plate associated with the elevator plate 62. The box shaped brackets 122 each include an aperture through which a threaded member 128 projects. Each threaded member 128 is secured to the guide plate 126 and additionally includes .a nut 130 thereon for adjustment purposes. By changing the positions of the nuts 130 on their respective threaded members 128, the position of the guide plate 126 with respect to the ange 120 may be varied against the bias of the springs 124 to adjust the exposed length of the tongue 64 to accommodate the width of any given type of rail anchor.

Also provided are L-shaped guide means 132 which are secured by bolts 134 4to the flanges 120. The guide means 132 are angularly related with respect to the vertical and have ends directed inwardly toward the path through which a rail anchor 28 will descend when supported by the elevator plate 62 so as to cause a rail anchor to be snugly directed against the plates 126. Thus, proper orientation of .a rail anchor 28 upon delivery to the predetermined point whereat it is transfered to the applicator arm 102 is assured.

The nature of the applicator arms 102 will now be described in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 6. As seen in FIG. 2, the frame includes an upper side member 140 which mounts a pair of spaced plates 142. The spaced plates 142 extend outwardly from the frame member 140 and downwardly as viewed in FIG. 3, and in turn, adjustably support a mounting member 144. The plates 142 have a lower extremity including elongated slots 146 for the receipt of bolts 148 and nuts 150 which extend through circular apertures (not shown) in the mounting member 144. As a result, the location of the mounting member 144 with respect to the plates 142 may be varied simply by loosening the nuts 150 on the bolts 148 and shifting the mounting member 144 to the desired location and then retightening the nuts 150.

Returning to FIG. 2, the frame 10 also includes a pair of spaced, upright members 154 on opposite sides of the applicator arms 102. Each of the upright members 154 is hollow, generally rectangular in form and the facing sides of the upright members 154 include a pair of upright, spaced guide bars 156 as best seen in FIG. 3. A movable plate 158 abuts each upright member 154 between the guide bars 156 and, at its lower end, mounts an outwardly extending support plate 160. Bolts 162 extend through the plate 158 and through slots (not shown) in the upright member 154 to be threaded into bores (not shown) in a plate 163 (shown only in FIG. 7) within the interior of the tube forming the upright member 154. Thus, by loosening the bolts 162, the position of the plate 15'8 with respect to the upright member 154 may be selectively varied.

As will become apparent hereinafter, the just described means for adjusting the height of the mounting member 144 and the plates 158 serves to adjust the height of the applicator arms 102 when in tne anchor applying position so that the anchor setter may be used to set anchors on various rails having differing top to `bottom dimensions.

The outwardly extending mounting plate mounts the end of

shafts

162 and 164. The

shafts

162 and 164 additionally extend through apertures and are supported by the mounting member 144 as Viewed in FIG. 3. Thus, through appropriate manipulation of the bolts 162 as well as the nuts 150, the vertical attitude of the

shafts

162 and 164 may be varied.

The shaft 164 pivotally mounts the upper end of each of the applicator arms 102 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, the applicator arms 102 may be moved from a position adjacent the `feeding mechanism for receiving rail anchors therefrom to the position illustrated in FIG. 3 Whereat a rail anchor will be applied to a rail R.

In order to move the applicator arms 102 between the two positions, a double acting hydraulic cylinder having an end pivotally connected as at 172 to the frame 10 and a piston rod 174 pivotally connected to the applicator arm 102 at 176 is provided. The arrangement is such that when the cylinder 170 has its piston rod 174 extended, the applicator arms 102 will be in an anchor applying position (FIG. 3) whereas when the piston rod 174 of the cylinder 170 is retracted, the applicator arms 102 twill be in a rail anchor receiving position (FIG. 6).

Near the lower end of each applicator arm 102 is mounted a rail anchor receiving foot which is direoted toward the opposite applicator arm 102. Also provided is a retractable pin 182 which is normally spring biased by means not shown to the position illustrated in FIG. 4. However, as will appear, when a rail anchor is to be received from the magazine by the applicator arm, the pin 182 is caused to be projected inwardly toward the opposite applicator arm 102 against the spring bias to provide a partial support for a rail anchor as shown in FIG. 3.

Each of the applicator arms 102 additionally mounts a small hydraulic cylinder 184 that is pivotally mounted to the applicator arm at 186 and includes a piston rod 188. The piston rod 188 is pivotally connected at 190 to an L-shaped retaining or gripping arm 192 which operates in conjunction with the retractable pin 182 to hold a rail anchor 28 to the applicator arm 102 when the latter is moved from the rail anchor receiving position to a rail anchor applying position. The L-shaped retaining arm 192 has its shorter length pivotally connected at 194 to the applicator arm 102. Thus, when the piston rod 188 is retracted, the retaining arm 192 -will be swung in a clockwise direction from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 6 while when the piston 188 is extended, the L-shaped retaining arm 192 will be moved into the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to cause a rail anchor 28 to be pinched between the retractable pin 182 and the retaining arm thereby holding the rail anchor 128 in transit.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, cam means are provided for moving the retractable pin 182 from the position illustrated in FIG. 4 to a position wherein it will cooperate with the retaining arm 192 to support a rail anchor.

Specifically, diagonal cam plates 200 are provided to engage the outer extremities of the retractable pins 182 during upward movement of the applicator arms 102. Continued movement of the applicator arm 102 to the position shown in FIG. 6 will cause the cam surfaces to force the retractable pins 182 towards each other to project through the facing surfaces of the applicator arms 102 when the applicator arms 102 are in their upwardmost or anchor` receiving position. At this point, the magazine will provide a rail anchor for each applicator arm 102 which will be hooked over the retractable pin 182 at which time, the cylinder 184 will be energized to cause the retaining arm 192 to be swung into the position illustrated in FIG. 3 relative to the pin 182 thereby firmly clamping and retaining the rail anchor 28. When the applicator arm 102 is moved downwardly, at some point in the downward travel the cam plates 200 will no longer engage the retractable pins 182 but, due to the clamping force provided by retaining arm and the friction between the rail anchor 28 and the retractable pins 182, the latter will remain in supporting contact with the rail anchors 28. During such movement, the presence of the foot 180, which tends to underlie the rail anchor 28 as illustrated in FIG. 3, serves to maintain the rail anchor 28 in a predetermined angular relation with respect to the pin 182 such that the rail anchor 28 will not twist about the latter due to its own weight to insure proper orientation of the anchor for application to a rail R.

In order to set the precise angular relationship of the arm 102 with respect to the pivot 164 to define the rail anchor receiving position illustrated in FIG. 6, the bolt 210 is threaded through a nut 212 welded to the upper side of the cross member 90, which it will be recalled, additionally mounts the elevator plate retarding means. The cross bar 90 includes a vertical aperture extending therethrough `such that the bolt 210 may project below the underside of the cross member 90 to engage the upper surface of the arm 102. By adjustment of the bolt 210 with respect to the nut 212, Ithe position of the lower end of the bolt 210 may be changed to select the clockwisemost position of the arm 102.

Preferably, the arrangement is such that the arm 102, in its clockwisemost position as viewed in FIG. 6 Iwill dispose the retractable pin 182 at a location about two inches below the point at which the elevator plate 62 will fully release the rail anchor 28. Thus, the rail anchor 28 will drop about two inches prior to engagement with the retractable pin 182.

As mentioned previously, an anchor setter made according to the invention is not only capable of applying anchors to the rails, but additionally will box the anchors about a tie. The boxing mechanism may be best understood from a consideration of FIGS. 2 and 7.

As seen in FIG. 7, the applicator arms 102 are mounted on sleeves 220 lwh'ich are journalled by the shaft 164. Thus, the applicator arms 102 may rotate about the shaft 164 and may slide longitudinally thereon.

As seen in FIG. 2, a hydraulic cylinder 222 having a piston rod 224 is disposed between the applicator arms 102 with the piston rod 224 connected to one of the arms and the cylinder 222 connected to the other of the arms. The cylinder 222 is double acting and as a result, it can be caused to move the arms 102 toward or away from each other. When the arms 102 are moved toward each other under the influence of the cylinder 222, the rail anchors supported on the feet 180 are moved towards each other and boxed about a tie T as illustrated in the dotted line position in FIG. 2. As will become apparent hereinafter, such boxing will be completed when the applicator arms 102 are in a rail anchor applying position such as that illustrated in FIG. 3 but may be initiated prior to that time.

Since the sleeves 220 are freely slidable upon the shaft 164, it is desirable to provide some means for restoring the arms 102 to a position wherein they are symmetrical about the point of attachment of the piston rod 174 to the shaft 176. For this purpose, the shaft 176 mounts a pair of springs 226 of equal strength which are disposed to be interposed between a respective one of the applicator arms 102 and a connecting block 228 which connects the piston rod 174 to the shaft 176. The springs 226 tend to restore the applicator arms 102 to a rnost spaced position wherein each of the applicator arms 102 is the same distance from the piston rod 174 as the other.

During the boxing operation, the applicator arms 102 are moved toward each other, and in fact, tightly clamp about a tie and it is highly desirable to provide means that will not permit pivoting of the applicator arms 102 about the shaft 164 from the anchor applying position until the boxing operation is completed and the arms 102` are at least partially restored to the position shown in FIG. 7. To this end, one of the applicator arms 102 includes a bracket 230 to which a shaft 232 is secured. The shaft 232 is directed toward the other applicator arm 102 and passes slidably through an aperture in an L-shaped member 234 secured to the other applicator arm 102 and which additionally mounts a valve 236 having an actuator 238. As viewed in FIG. 7, the rightmost end of the shaft 32 has secured thereto an actuating element 240 which is adapted to abut the actuator 238 of the valve 236.

The valve 236 is of a normally closed variety, and, as a result, when the applicator arms 102 are in the position shown relative to the piston rod 174 as seen in FIG. 7, the actuating element 240 will cause, through contact with the actuator 238, the valve 236 to be opened thereby permitting the flow of hydraulic fluid to the cylinder through a hydraulic line not shown. However, -when the arms 102 are moved towards each other, the valve 236 will be moved to the left as seen in FIG. 7 while the actuating element 240 will be moved to the right as viewed in FIG. 7 and the valve 236 will revert to its nornormally closed condition thereby preventing the application of fluid to the fluid cylinder 170 precluding pivotal movement of the arms 102 about the shaft 164.

A number of other controls are provided to insure smooth operation of the apparatus. For example, when the applicator arms 102 are moving downwardly from the anchor receiving position to the anchor applying position, if the boxing operation is started at too early in instant, the applicator arms 102 may strike the tie 4before the anchors have been applied to the rail. On the other hand, if boxing `is initiated only when the arms 102 have reached the anchor applying position, time may be wasted. Thus, it is desirable to cause operation of the cylinder 222, which provides for the boxing action, at a time when the applicator arms 102 have moved toward the anchor applying position but before they reach the same. To this end, an elongated cam 242 is secured to an adustable collar 244 which in turn is secured to one of the sleeves 220 such that the cam 242 will rotate with the applicator arms 102.

A valve 246 having an actuator 248 in contact with the cam 242 is secured to one of the plates 160. The valve 246 may be .in the hydraulic circuit of the cylinder 222 to preclude actuation thereof until the applicator arms 102 have rotated downwardly a desired degree towards the anchor applying position. The purpose of the elongated nature of the cam 242 is to insure cam contact with the actuator 248 for all positions of the applicator arms 102 with respect to the piston 174. By adjusting the angular position of the collar 244, and thus cam 424, on the sleeve 220, the boxing operation may be controlled to be initiated during the movement of the applicator arms 102 towards the anchor applying position but not so early 1 1 in the period of movement that the arms 102 would strike the tie prior to reaching the anchor setting position.

It is also desirable to provide means for retarding the rate of movement of the applicator arms 102 as they approach the anchor applying position so that anchors will not contact the rail with a great deal of force thereby setting up vibrations which could cause previously set anchors to become loosened to fall from the rail or which could knock an anchor out of the grip of the applicator arm 102. To this end, a cam 250 similar to the cam 242 is also adjustably secured by a collar 252 to the other one of t'he sleeves 220. A normally open snubbing valve 254 includes an actuator 256 which rides on the cam 2511. Preferably, the valve 254 is closed when the applicator arms have been rotated sufciently to bring them in close proximity to a rail and the valve 254 may be placed in the main hydraulic line associated with the cylinder 171i. To complete movement of the applicator arms 102 to the anchor applying position after the closing of the snubber valve 254, a by-pass circuit for the valve 254 is provided and includes an orifice of sufficiently small size to reduce the speed of movement of the applicator arms 102 to a desired rate.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor setter comprising:

(a) a magazine means for receiving a plurality of rail anchors preparatory to being located on rails adjacent rail supporting ties and including a member on which rail anchors may be hung;

(b) feeder means associated with said magazine means for feeding said anchors from said magazine means to a predetermined location and including means for vibrating said member; and

(c) means movable between said predetermined location and a point adjacent a rail for receiving a rail anchor from said feeder means and for placing the anchor so received on the rail and including means for gripping a rail anchor as said movable means moves from said predetermined location to said point adjacent a rail.

2. The rail anchor setter of claim 1 further including second magazine means, said feeder means further being operative to simultaneously feed into two rail anchors for simultaneous application on both sides of a tie supporting a rail.

3. The rail anchor setter of claim wherein said movable means further includes means for `moving an anchor laterally on a rail to snugly abut a tie supporting the rail.

4. The rail anchor setter of claim 3 wherein said movable means comprise an arm movable in a vertical direction to transport an anchor from said predterrnined location to a rail and movable in a horizontal direction to cause the anchor to snugly abut a tie; and means for precluding movement of said arm in said vertical direction when said arm is horizontally positioned to cause an anchor to snugly abut a tie.

5. The rail anchor setter of claim 1 further including means for moving said movable means and means for retarding the speed of movement of said movable means as it approaches said point adjacent a rail.

y6. A rail anchor setter comprising:

(a) la member on which rail anchors may be hung;

(b) means associated with said members `for advancing rail anchors in one direction thereon;

(c) a reciprocal elevator positionable at one end of said member and having a rail anchor supporting surface onto which a rail anchor may be deposited from said member, and positionable at a point whereat a rail anchor on said supporting surface will be released therefrom;

(d) an applicator arm positionable at said point to receive the rail anchor released from said elevator and movable to a position to apply the rail anchor so received to a rail;

(e) means for moving said applicator arm; and

(f) means responsive to movement of said applicator arm for positioning said elevator.

7. The rail anchor setter of claim 6 wherein said member comprises a sloped plate.

8. The rail anchor setter of claim 6 wherein said advancing means comprises a vibrator.

9. The rail anchor setter of claim 6 wherein said elevator comprises a plate and said supporting surface comprises a tongue on said plate, and means for causing said tongue to be withdrawn from a rail anchor as said plate approaches said point.

10. The rail anchor setter of claim 6 wherein said elevator includes means for guiding a rail anchor in a substantially linear path, and means for moving said supporting surface away from said linear path as said supporting surface approaches said point.

11. A rail anchor setter comprising magazine means for storing a plurality of rail anchors to be applied to rails adjacent rail supporting means; means for receiving `rail anchors from said magazine means and for applying the same to rails, said receiving and applying means including a shaft and two relatively movable members, at least one of said members comprising a unitary, rigid, L-shaped arm pivotally and slidably mounted on said shaft at one end thereof and having rail anchor supporting means at the other end thereof, said mem-.

bers being adapted to be disposed on opposite sides of a tie; and means for relatively moving said members towards each other to cause a rail anchor supported by said supporting means to snugly abut the tie as it is applied to the rail.

12. The rail anchor setter of claim 11 wherein the other of said two members includes a rail anchor supporting means whereby when both said supporting means are supporting a rail anchor, the rail anchors will be boxed about a tie when said moving means is operated.

13. The rail anchor setter of the claim 11 wherein said movable members are slidably mounted on a shaft including an abutment located between said movable members, a pair of springs of substantially equal force, each interposed between said abutment and one of said movable members; said moving means including an extendable element interposed between said movable members.

14. The rail anchor setter of claim 11 wherein said one movable member is movable between a rail anchor receiving position adjacent said magazine means and a rail anchor applying position adjacent a rail and motor means for moving said one movable member between said positions; and means for disabling said motor means when said movable members are not spaced a predetermined distance.

15. The rail anchor setter of claim 11 wherein said one movable member is movable between a rail anchor receiving position adjacent said magazine means and a rail anchor applying position adjacent a rail and motor means for moving said one movable member between said positions; and means operable at a predetermined point in the movement of said one movable member `between said positions for enabling said moving means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,095,826 7/1963 Swanson. 3,120,193 2/1964 Pettigrew et al. 3,127,847 4/ 1964 Sivon. 3,132,597 5/ 1964 Miller. 3,163,122 12/1964 Johnson. 3,272,148 9/ 1966 McIlrath. 3,326,137 6/1967 McTighe et al.

ARTHUR L. LAPOINT, Primary Examiner.