US3522772A - Dog carriage for a railroad car mover - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Cecil G. Hunt c/o The Nolan Company, Bowerston, Ohio 44695 [21] Appl. No. 786,631 [22] Filed Dec. 24, 1968 [45] Patented Aug. 4, 1970 [73] Assignee The Nolan Company Bowerston, Ohio at Corp. of Ohio [54] DOG CARRIAGE FOR A RAILROAD CAR MOVER 10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 104/162, 198/221 [51] lnt.Cl ..B61b 13/12, 1361b l/OO, 865g 25/10 [50] Field of Search 104/162, 165, 170; 198/160, 221; 214/lnq [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,961,973 11/1960 Bozman 104/162 3,269,522 8/1966 Foggetal.

ABSTRACT: A dog carriage which carries the pivoted dog in such a manner that it is normally in inoperative lowered position so that during the retracting movement of the carriage beneath the car it will not engage the car. However, the dog is raised to operative car-engaging position just before being reversed to move the car. The raising of the dog is under the positive control of an actuating roller on the carriage which is operatively connected to the dog and is engaged by the truck of the car during the retracting movement of the carriage. The roller arrangement is such that the raising of the dog by the roller will only occur in response to engagement of the roller with the truck of the car and not in response to engagement with hopper doors or the like depending to a low position from the car. Quick-release means is provided in association with the actuating roller so that the roller can be dropped to an inoperative position when desired, for example, to allow passage of low clearance Diesel locomotives.

'CAR 8 CARRAIGE MOVEMENT Patented Aug. 4, 1970 3,522,772

Sheet 1 of 4 (I) J N U) .l

'2 Lu U! I 2 J l U) l W U) d v INVENTOR.

cscu. G. HUNT R3 BY MAlgeNEY. MILLER a. RAMBO ATT RNEY Sheet on mow mm INVENTOR.

CECIL G. HUNT BY MAHONEYJWLLER & RAM 0 BY w x ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 4, 197

.hbuzm m m u n 410 6 Pate nted Aug. 4, 1970 Sheet of 4 INVENTOR.

CECIL G. HUNT & M

my N08 U.S. PATENT 3,522,772 DOG CARRIAGE FOR A RAILROAD CAR MOVER The carriage of the present invention is an improvement over that disclosed in the patent to Hunt No. 3,377,961, issued April 16, 1968. In the arrangement disclosed in that patent, the dogs of all four carriages of the car mover were normally biased into raised position and were all retracted simultaneously by a cable arrangement. This was not a complete success because of the stretch in the cables. Also, there was a tendency for the dogs to engage lowly depending doors of the cars instead of the trucks thereof which would get the system out of time, especially when handling mixed trips or trains of different length cars. Also, with this patented system, it was impossible to clear the machine quickly in case it was desirable for allowing the passage, for example, of low-clearance Diesel locomotives. The present invention overcomes all of these difficulties in an effective manner.

In the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated the improved dog'carriage of the present invention and in these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic plan view of a fluid-actuated car mover incorporating the improved dog carriage.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the carriage taken from the position indicated at line 2-2 of FIGURE l showing the dog in lowered position as the carriage is being retracted under the car.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view taken from the position indicated at line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the carriage further retracted with the dog-actuating roller in engagement with the car so as to raise the dog to engage the car.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the dog in pushing position relative to the car just as the retracting movement of the carriage is completed and the carriage is ready to reverse to push the car.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 but indicating how the dog and associated roller function in connection with a low hopper door on a car.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged side elevational view of the dogactuating roller and associated locking means.

FIGURE 9 is a plan view taken from the position indicated at line 9-9 of FIGURE 8 With reference to the drawings, in FIGURE 1 the hydraulic car mover system disclosed in Pat. No. 3,377,961 is indicated schematically. Similar reference characters are used in FIGURE l to indicate parts which correspond to those shown in the patent. However, as indicated above, the present invention deals with improvements in the dog carriage structure.

The car pusher unit is composed of two separate assemblies, designated 17 and 18, mounted in cooperative relationship with the respective opposed running rails R of the railroad trackway T. Each of the assemblies 17 and 18 includes a bed plate 19 upon which is mounted a single-acting hydraulic cylinder and associated parts. Each bed plate is also arranged to receive one of the running rail sections S which will be disposed in alignment with the other sections of the rail at that particular side of the trackway as illustrated in FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE l,.the upper cylinder unit will be designated by the numeral 21 and as the right-hand unit, and the lower cylinder unit will be designated by the numeral 22 and as the left-hand unit, as viewed from the right-hand end of the figure which is in the direction the cars will be advanced by the system, as indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 1. The cylinder unit 21 has its piston connected to the car-engaging dogs 31 and 33, disposed on carriages 51 and 53, respectively, and the cylinder unit 22 has its piston connected to the car-engaging dogs 32 and 34, disposed in carriages 52 and 54, respectively. Also, the right-hand cylinder and car-engaging dogs are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the left-hand unit, such that the right-hand cylinder 21 is disposed rearward, relative to the direction of movement of the cars, as compared 2 to-the left-hand cylinder 22; The piston-rods of the opposed cylinders 21 and 22 are connected together by a suitable flexible member such as a cable 23, which runs around the idler 9 sheaves 24 as the rear ends of the respective bed plates 19.

The result of this arrangement is that when cylinder unit 21 is fully extended and cylinder unit 22 is fully retracted, the

pusher dogs Hand 32 will be disposed on opposite sides of the trackway in slightly longitudinally overlapping relationship and the pusher dogs 33 and 34 will be similarly relatively disposed. This makes it possible to move a car in four successive steps.

When the controls, including the limit switches lLS and SLS at one side and 2LS and 6LS at the other side, for the hydraulic unit shown in said patent are properly actuated to supply power to the cylinder units 21 and 22, pusher dog 31 moves the car forward to the limit of its travel while pusher dog 32 is being simultaneously retracted. When pusher dog 31 reaches the limit of its travel, engagement with the car is transferred to pusher dog 32 on the opposite side of the track. Action of the cylinder units is reversed and the car is advanced by pusher dog 32, while pusher dog 33 is retracting. When dog 32 reaches the limit of its travel, engagement with the car is transferred to dog 33 which continues to advance the car until it reaches the limit of its travel, at which time engagement with the car is transferred to dog 34 for further advancement.

The track assembly 17 is further equipped with an automatic stroke selector device, indicated generally at 25 in FIGURE 1, to adjust the cylinder strokes for cars of varying types which have different or differently spaced trucks, interposed within the same string. This automatic stroke selector device consists of a treadle, and associated control parts which cooperate therewith and with limit switches 3LS and 4L8 at that side, so arranged that when dogs 32 or 34 are advancing the cars and dogs 31 and 33 are retracting, if the next following set of car trucks causes dog 31 to be depressed (as it is retracted) to pass beneath the advancing trucks, means will be actuated to depress the threadle which will set up an electric control circuit to control the hydraulic unit so that the action of the cylinders will be automatically reversed as soon as dog 31 has passed from beneath the truck and raised into carpushing position to engage the truck when reversed. Dog 31 will then move forward, advancing the cars until it reaches the limit of its travel, at which time engagement with the cars will be transferred to dog 32 as previously described. This automatic stroke selection will occur each time dog 31 is depressed, during its retracting movement and subsequent free travel or forward travel before car engagement thereby avoiding excessive impact which might otherwise occur with cars of various length.

The improved dog carriage of this invention will be described with reference to the carriage 51 for the dog 31, shown best in FIGURES 2-9. However, it will be understood that all the other carriages will be substantially the same except that this carriage 51 does have means for controlling the automatic stroke selector device as disclosed in said patent. This means is carried by a bracket 59 carried by the carriage which supports the roller arm 50 and the associated plunger 56. The carriage 51 is connected to the carriage 53 by the rod 65 and is connected to the piston rod 41 of the piston 21 at the connection 26. The carriage includes the parallel edgewise plates 27 and 28 which are supported by rollers 29 and 30 operating on the respective guideways 35 and 36 fixed to the bed plate 19 (FIGURE 4). The dog 31 is pivoted for vertical rocking movement between the plates 27 and 28 by means of a transverse pivot pin 37.

The dog 31 of this improved structure normally drops by gravity to the depressed inoperative position shown in FIGURE 2 at which time it will not be in position to engage the car C in either direction of movement. It is positively raised into car-engaging position by means of an actuating roller 200 which is first engaged by the car during the retracting movement of the carriage 51, as indicated in FIGURE 2, where the retracting movement is indicated as being to the right and the desired advancing car movement to the left. The

roller 200 is mounted for vertical swinging movement on the upper arm of a bell crank lever, indicated generally by the number 201, which has a lower arm that is connected to one end of a flexible chain and spring connection 202 that is connected at its other end to the lower end of the dog 31 in such a manner that a pull on this connection will swing the dog upwardly. It will be understood that the spring is of sufficient rigidity that when the roller 200 is depressed, the dog 31 is raised.

The bell crank lever arrangement 201 is illustrated best in FIGURES 8 and 9. The upper or roller arm 203 is provided by a pair of bars which are rigidly connected by a transverse member 204 and straddle the roller 200, that is of relatively large diameter, and carry the roller axle S adjacent their outer ends. This arm 203 is pivotally mounted adjacent its opposite or inner end by a transverse pivot pin 206 carried by pivot bearings 207 on the upper edges of the respective carriage plates 27 and 28 and about the axis of which the arm may rock. This pivot also supports for rocking movement the upper end of a curved depending lower spring arm 208 of arcuate form, the lower end of which is connected to the yieldable connection 202 and the upper end of which is disposed between the bars of the upper rocker arm 203. This arm has its upper end formed with a lug extension 209 which projects laterally and carries a quick-release pin 210 which extends transversely thereof through an opening therein and through aligning openings in portions of the bars of the arm 203 which are extended beyond the pivot 206. The pin, when in place, has a tight fit with the aligning openings in the two arms and locks them together as a bell crank for swinging together about the pivot 206, but when the pin is released, the two arms are free to swing independently and relatively about the pivot.

The operation of this improved dog carriage will be apparent from FIGURES 2, 3, 5 and 6. ln FIGURE 2, the carriage 51 is shown in operative position being retracted under the side frame of a car C. The quick-release pin 210 is in operative position locking the arms 203 and 208 together. At this time, the dog 31 will be in its lowered inoperative position which is the position it will normally assume by gravity. Therefore, as the carriage 51 is retracted under the car in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIGURE 2, the dog 31 will not engage the car. However, as the retracting movement progresses to the point indicated in FIGURE 5, the dog-actuating roller 200 will engage the side frame of the car and will exert a pull on the yieldable connection 202 which will swing the dog up into yielding engagement with the car frame. Although the spring is urging the dog to assume an operative raised position, the dog will slide along beneath the car frame until it passes the frame to the point indicated in FIGURE 6 just before the carriage is reversed in the direction of the arrow indicated in FIGURE 6 in order to move the car. At this time, the dog will have been swung upwardly into a position where it will engage the car frame and exert a pushing action on the car in the direction indicated by the arrow in this figure upon reversal of the carriage. The pushing action by this particular dog will continue as long as the roller is depressed by the car frame or until the movement of the carriage 51 is reversed, at which time the roller 200 will be disengaged from the car frame and the connection 202 will be relaxed so that the dog 31 will swing by gravity down to its normal inoperative position as shown in FIGURE 2 The dog-positioning operation will be repeated as the carriage is retracted under a succeeding car frame and the roller 200 engages therewith.

If it is desired to release the roller arms 203 and 208 from each other so that the roller 200 can drop out of operative position, it is merely necessary to pull out the quick-release pin 210 and the roller arm 203 will then drop to the broken line position indicated in FIGURE 8 where the roller will be in a very low position such that it would permit the passage of vehicles with low track clearance such as Diesel locomotives or the like, in either direction, without actuating the dog.

This improved dog-carriage arrangement a so has he advantage indicated in FIGURE 7 of overcoming a difficulty present with the previous carriage structure in connection with low hopper doors on cars, as indicated at H in FIGURE 7. With the previous patent design these doors would extend out into the path of the normally raised dog and the dog would engage the hopper door rather than the car frame so that the machine would get out of cycle. With the present arrangement, when the carriage is retracted under a low designed, sagging or open hopper door, the dog is in inoperative position, and the roller is up in operative position as explained above. The roller contacts the door and the dog is fully or partly raised, but due to the shape of the door and the distance between the roller and the dog, the dog falls back to inoperative position as soon as the roller passes the door and before the dog can make contact with the door. This makes it possible to use the machine without getting out of cycle even though a number of the machines are used in tandem since it is unlikely that the dogs will engage low hopper doors.

I claim:

1. In a car mover having a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement beneath a car to alternately move it forward beneath and in engagement with the car to push the car and to then retract it beneath the car; a dog pivoted to said carriage and normally in a lowered inoperative position where it will not engage the car, an actuating member on the carriage and normally projecting upwardly therefrom to a position where it will engage the car, and an operative connection between said actuating member and said dog so that when the member is depressed the dog is raised into car-engaging position.

2. Structure according to Claim 1 in which the operative connection is a yieldable connection.

3. Structure according to Claim 2 in which the actuating member includes a releasable connection to permit it to drop to a lowered inoperative position.

4. Structure according to Claim 3 in which the actuating member is in the form ofa roller which is carried by a pivoted bell crank having an upper arm which supports the roller and a lower depending arm connected to said yieldable connection, said dog being a pivoted member having a car-engaging portion on its upper end and having a lower portion connected to said yieldable connection.

5. Structure according to Claim 4 in which the releasable connection of said actuating member is between said upper and lower arms and when in position prevents relative swinging thereof but when released permits said relative swinging.

6. A dog carriage for use in a car mover comprising means for supporting the carriage for guided movement, a dog pivoted to the carriage and normally dropping by gravity to a lowered non-operative position, an actuating member pivoted to said carriage and normally projecting above the carriage in a raised operative position, and an operative connection between said actuating member and said dog so that when the member is depressed the dog is raised.

7. Structure according to Claim 6 in which the operative connection is a yieldable connection.

8. Structure according to Claim 7 in which the actuating member includes a releasable connection to permit it to drop to a lowered inoperative position.

9. Structure according to Claim 8 in which the actuating member is in the form ofa roller which is carried by a pivoted bell crank having an upper arm which supports the roller and a lower depending arm connected to said yieldable connection, said dog being a pivoted member having a car-engaging portion on its upper end and having a lower portion connected to said yieldable connection.

10. Structure according to Claim 9 in which the releasable connection of said actuating member is between said upper and lower arms and when in position prevents relative swinging thereof but when released permits said relative swinging.

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