US760357A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAY 17, .1904. E. H. TUTTLE.

RAIL JOINT.

PATENTED MAY 17. 1904.

E. H. TUTTLB.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1904.

2 SHEETS-$112121 2.

N0 MODEL.

Patented May 17, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDSON H. TUTTLE, OF (JONNEAUT, OHIO.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,357, dated May 17, 1904.

Application filed January 28, 1904:. Eierial No. 190,351. (No model.)

To all whom it Wtay concern:

Be it known that 1, Emma H. TU'rrLn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Conneaut, in the county of Ashtabula and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in rail-joints; and its object is to so form the ends of rails as to permit them to interlock, so as to prevent independent longitudinal movement.

A further object is to provide rail ends which will serve to support each other and prevent sagging thereof.

Another object is to provide means whereby the rails may be securely locked together against displacement.

1V ith the above and other objects in view the invention consists of a rail having one end enlarged laterally and provided with a longitudinally extending slot which extends through the head and a portion of the web thereof. The head is cut away at the inner end of the slot, and the enlarged portion of the web is provided with outer inclined faces.

The invention alsoconsists of a rail having one end provided with a longitudinally-extending tongue equal in area to the slot, and this tongue has lateral extensions adapted to fit within the cut-away portion of the head and to aline therewith. Enlargements are formed at opposite sides of the web of this rail, and retaining-keys are adapted to be inserted between these enlargements and the inclined faces of the web of the first-mentioned rail, and thereby securely fasten the two rails together.

The invention also consists in the further novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form of my invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of two rails connected by means of my improved joint. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section there through. Fig. 3 is aperspcctive view of one end of a rail and constituting one element of the oint. Fig. 41s aperspective new of the other end of said rail which constitutes the other element of the joint, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the locking-blocks.

Referring to the figures by numerals of reference, 1 is the tread, 2 the web, and 3 the base, of a rail, and formed at opposite sides of the web at one end of the rail are enlargements 1, the inner ends of which are inclined downward and inward to form an inclined face 5. A transversely-extending groove 6 is formed within the head 1 at a point re moved from one end of the rail, and this groove is intersected by a slot 7, which extends longitudinally within the rail from the inner wall of groove 6 to the adjoining end of the rail. The width of this slot is equal to the thickness of the web 2. The other end of the rail has a longitudinally-extcnding tongue 8, equal in form and area to the slot 7 and havinglateral extensions 9 at its end which conform in contour to the head 1 and are adapted to be seated within the groove 6. Enlargements 10 are formed at the sides of web 2 at points removed from the tongue 8, and the outer ends 11 of these enlargements are preferably at right angles to the base of the rail. An aperture 12 extends through the web 2 adjacent the ends 11.

To secure together rails constructed in the manner herein described, the tongue 8 of one of the rails is inserted into the slot 7 of the adjoining rail, and extensions 9 on said tongue will rest in the groove 6, and their outer faces will aline with the other faces of the head 1, and a smooth and continuous rail will be thus produced. Locking-blocks 13, having beveled ends, are then placed at opposite sides of the webs 2, with the beveled ends thereof contacting with the inclined ends 5 of the enlargements 4. Each block has an aperture 1 1 therein for the reception of a bolt 15, which extends through aperature 12 and serves to secure the blocks in position. After these looking-blocks have been secured in place it is impossible to move the joined ends of the rails in any direction independently of each other,

'and the only way to detach the rails is to first remove the blocks 13, after which the tongue 8 can be lifted out of the groove 7. By providing a joint of this character a secure connection between rails is produced, and pounding by car-wheels passing thereover or sagging of the ends of the rails is prevented.

In the foregoing description I have shown the preferred form of my invention; but I do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the ad vantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a rail-joint, the combination with a rail having a transversely-extending groove in the head thereof, a longitudinal slot within the head and intersecting the groove, and enlargements at the sides of the rail having downwardly and inwardly beveled outer ends; of a second rail having a longitudinally-extending tongue at one end thereof adapted to be seated within the slot, lateral extensions upon the tongue adapted to fit within the groove, enlargements at the sides of said rails, and locking-blocks detachably secured between the enlargements of the rails.

2. In a rail-joint, the combination with a longitudinallyslotted rail having enlargements at the sides thereof; of a second rail having a longitudinally extending tongue adapted to be seated within the groove and enlargements upon the sides of the rail, means for preventing independent longitudinal movement of the rails, and locking-blocks interposed between the extensions of the rails.

3. A rail having a transversely-extending groove in the head thereof and adjacent one end thereof, said groove being intersected by a longitudinally-extending slot, enlargements at opposite sides of the slotted portion of the rail and provided with downwardly and inwardly inclined ends, a longitudinally-extending tongue at the other end of the rail and having lateral extensions, and enlargements at opposite sides of the rail and adjacent the tongue.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDSON H. TUTTLE.

Witnesses:

A. B. ORITTENDEN, MYRTLE E. SHARPE.

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