US848983A - Rail-bond. - Google Patents

Description

APPLIG w. E. FOSTER.

L BOND.

FILED DEC. 6, 1905.

5206?? 2%?7 Zc zZz enZZZgS PATEN TED APR. 2, 190'),-

To all whom it may concern.- Be it known that I, WALTER E. Fosrnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail-Bonds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvement in theclass of rail-bonds wherein a single conducting-wire is secured at opposite ends in holes through the webs of adjacent rails. Bonds of this type are employed more than any other, particularly in signaling systems, for'the reason they are comparatively inexpensive-and easy to apply. It has been the usual practice hitherto to provide bonds of thi s'type in the form of round iron or copper wires and to fasten them the rail-web open- ,ingsby means of steel keys or pins preparaj 'torilyformed with concentric or eccentric '2,- openings which receive the wire ends. Round .wires or Wires round in cross-section at their ends are objectionable when fastened in the manner stated, because it has been found I necessary to employ keys or pins which preclude or permit but little physical contact between the wire and metal of the rail. It -ffrequently happens that the keys or pins have oxidized at their surfaces, so that when the wires are passed into them and they are passed through the rail-openings an oxidized film intervenes at the joints and interferes with the passage of the electric current. Those connections which produce limited physical contact between the Wires and metal at the holes in the web do not always overcome the objection against improper conductivity, because, as a rule, the physical contact is not more than a hairs breadth and insufiicient to prevent retarding of the current. Moreover, in all of the constructions heretofore provided, as far as I am aware, the wire and key are of a different shape and dimension than the opening in the rail to be bonded, thereby requiring in the application of the bond to use a re-forming of the part of the Wire and key which enters the opening to more or less fill it. This re-form ing operation takes place during the driving of the key, and it is therefore necessary to exert against the latter in driving it sufficient force to change the shape of these parts to conform as closely as possible to the opening in the rail. A further disadvantage attending the referred-to prior constructions is Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 6,1905. Serial No. 290.551.

unrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE. WALTER E. roar fin, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-BOND.

Patented April 2, 1 7.

portions of the wire and key within the hole in the rail to fill the hole and therefore pro-- duce uniformcontact therewith of the wire and key.

My object is to overcome the objections to bonds of this type as hitherto constructed by providing a construction of wire or Wire end and pin or key which insures extensive physical contact between the surface of the wire and metal of the rail and does not require re-forming during its application to use a re-forming of the wire and'key.

' Referring to the drawings, Figure'l is a broken fragmentary sectional view 'showing my improvements in one preferred form; o

that of uncertainty of expansion of all the- 2, a fragmentary view, being a section on 2 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, aview similar to but showing another construction} In Figs. 1 wires A are semicylindrical' and the-pins or keys B are also semicylin conforming in I mension, both before and afterlap'plication to use, to an opening a in the'web of'a rail 0. I prefer that the wires A shall be drawn to render them semicylindrical throughout, and a section of the same wire, or a steel pin, may form the key B. Either the end of the wire or the key is preferably tapered, as indicated, so that in fastening a Wire to therail the wire may be passed through the opening a, a key placed against it, and then both driven to the position indicated. In thus driving the wire and pin any rust or the like that has collected in the opening a Will be rubbed off, so that the surface of the metal of the Wire will be in physical contact with the metal of the rail and produce a joint so tight as to preclude access of moisture or any other oxidizing influence which would tend to form an oxid between the said meeting surfaces.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3 the bonding element or wire A has a beveled end I), and the outer end portion of the key is cyliridrical or provided with an offset and preb. Thus in driving the parts into position in the hole a there is no danger of the wire and key spreading apart and making an imperfect joint. In both these constructions either the key or the Wire may be beveled in a manner to facilitate thedriving, though it is preferred to have the wire of the same size throughout its end ortion and to bevel the key as shown. In Imth cases the key after being driven into place may be bent downand 2 the'bonding eleinents cal,- 'said partsl shape and cross-sectional (II-.1,

sents a beveled shoulder c to fit over the end IIO in which the wire and key cont ward, as indicated at d, to prevent backing out of the key from any cause.

It is not necessary in carrying out my invention that the Wire end and key be of equal cross-sectional area, as the key may be made comparatively larger than the wire end, provided they both together are the same in cross-sectional dimension and shape, both before and in application to use, to conform to the aperture of the rail to be bonded.

It is thus readily apparent inusing a bond orm in crosssectional dimension and shape, both before and in their application to use, to the aper' ture in the rail to be bonded that onlysuch force as is sufiicient to wedge the parts in the opening need be employed, as the parts conform in shape and dimension to the railopening, thereby obviating the necessity of reformation of the parts by driving the key with the necessary expenditure of more time and labor.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. A rail-bond comprising, in combination, a metal bonding element and a metalkey, said bond, both before and in its application to use, conforming in cross-sectional dimension and in shape to the aperture in a rail to be bonded, whereby the bond is adapted to fit accurately and snugly within said aperture without expanding it therein.

2. A rail-bond comprising, in combination, a metal bonding element having the outer surface of each end portion of rounded shape in cross-section, and a metal key for each said end having its outer surface of rounded shape in cross-section, said bond, both before and in its application to use, conforming in cross-sectional dimension and shape to the aperture in a rail to be bonded, whereby the bond is adapted to fit accurately and snugly Within said ,aperture without expanding therein.

3. A rail-bond comprising, in combination, a metal bonding element having semicylindrical end portions, and a semicylindricalmetal key for each said end, said bond, both before and in its application to use, conforming in cross-sectional dimension and in shape to the aperture in a rail to be bonded, whereby the bond is adapted to fit accurately and snugly within said aperture Without expanding therein.

4. A rail-bond comprising, in combination, a bonding element and a metal key, said bond, both before and in its application to use, conforming in cross-sectional dimension and in shape to the a erture in a rail to be bonded, whereby the bond is ada ted to fit accurately and'snugly within sai aperture without expanding it therein, and an offset on said key fitting over an end of the bonding element.

WALTER E. FOSTER. In presence of J. H. LANDES,

M. S. MACKENZIE.

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