Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
  • B62D53/00—Tractor-trailer combinations; Road trains
  • B62D53/04—Tractor-trailer combinations; Road trains comprising a vehicle carrying an essential part of the other vehicle's load by having supporting means for the front or rear part of the other vehicle
  • B62D53/08—Fifth wheel traction couplings
  • B62D53/0885—Comprising devices to limit or to compensate for wear or excessive play; Lubricating, shock absorbing, bearing devices, or the like
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61F—RAIL VEHICLE SUSPENSIONS, e.g. UNDERFRAMES, BOGIES OR ARRANGEMENTS OF WHEEL AXLES; RAIL VEHICLES FOR USE ON TRACKS OF DIFFERENT WIDTH; PREVENTING DERAILING OF RAIL VEHICLES; WHEEL GUARDS, OBSTRUCTION REMOVERS OR THE LIKE FOR RAIL VEHICLES
  • B61F5/00—Constructional details of bogies; Connections between bogies and vehicle underframes; Arrangements or devices for adjusting or allowing self-adjustment of wheel axles or bogies when rounding curves
  • B61F5/02—Arrangements permitting limited transverse relative movements between vehicle underframe or bolster and bogie; Connections between underframes and bogies
  • B61F5/16—Centre bearings or other swivel connections between underframes and bolsters or bogies
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/31504—Composite [nonstructural laminate]
  • Y10T428/31678—Of metal
  • Y10T428/31692—Next to addition polymer from unsaturated monomers

Definitions

• This invention relates to lubrication retaining bearings, and more particularly, to a bearing for retaining a lubricant between a railway car center plate and its associated center bowl on the car truck bolster.
• the present invention resides in a new and improved lubrication retaining shim bearing particularly adapted for use in a railway car truck center bowl for retaining lubricant between the car body center plate and the bolster center bowl.
• the bearing of the present invention greatly reduces the cost of operating a conventional railway car by reducing the frequency with which the center plate/center bowl interface requires lubrication, thereby preventing excessive wear of expensive railway car parts while permitting less frequent maintenance of each car. Further, by facilitating the retention of lubricant between the center plate and center bowl, malfunction of the railway car's tracking ability is greatly reduced.
• the bearing of the present invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is trouble-free and reliable in use, and can be installed easily and conveniently in a conventional railway car truck.
• the bearing of the present invention includes an upper shim for engaging the railway car center plate, a lower shim for resting in the center bowl, and a middle shim disposed between the upper and lower shims and having a plurality of apertures therethrough.
• a lubricant is provided between the upper and lower shims, surrounding the middle shim and filling the apertures therein, and the lubricant is retained between the shims by lips on the upper and lower shims which surround the periphery of the middle shim and are disposed in close proximity to one another.
• the upper and lower shims include apertures which communicate with the apertures in the middle shim for permitting the lubricant to lubricate the interfaces between the bearing and the railway car center plate and bowl.
• the surfaces of the upper and lower shims which contact the middle shim include recesses which 'act as reservoirs for the lubricant and communicate with the apertures in the middle shim. Separate recesses can be provided in the surfaces of the upper and lower shims which contact the railway car parts for supplying lubricant to those interfaces.
• the upper and lower shims include a means for preventing relative movement between the.
• the means employed can be a relatively hard projection extending from the upper or lower shims and arranged to engage the center plate or center bowl.
• FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lubrication retaining bearing embodying the present invention, and illustrated in exploded position above a conventional railway car truck;
• FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevatlonal view, partly in cross section, of a lubrication retaining bearing embodying the present invention, illustrated as assembled for use between a conventional railway car truck center bowl and center plate, and schematically illustrating an auxiliary lubricant reservoir system;
• FIGURE 3 is an enlarged plan view of the upper shim of the bearing of FiG. 2;
• FIGURE 4 is an enlarged plan view of the middle shim of the bearing of FiG. 2;
• FIGURE 5 is a further enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view in cross section of the bearing of FIG. 2;
• FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view, similar to the view of FIG. 5, and illustrating an alternative embodiment of the bearing of the present invention.
• FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary view, similar to the view of FIGS. 5 and 6, and illustrating a second alternative embodiment of the bearing of the present invention.
• the present invention is embodied in a lubrication retaining bearing, indicated generally by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1, and herein illustrated and described as being adapted for use in a conventional railway car truck 12.
• the bearing 10 is shown as adapted to be disposed in a center bowl 14 located in the middle of a car truck bolster 16.
• the bolster 16 supports the weight of the car body (not shown) by being supported at each end on a cluster of springs 18 in two side frames 20 and 22, which are rigidly supported by the wheel and axle assemblies 24 and 26.
• the center bowl 14 includes a center pin 28, and as can best be seen in FIG. 2, the pin 28 extends upwardly from the bottom of the bowl 14 and engages a central opening 30 in a railway car center plate 32. The center pin 28 thereby serves to maintain the center plate 32 centered within the bowl 14 while permitting relative rotation of the center plate with respect to the bowl about the pin axis, as when the car truck encounters a curve in a railway track.
• the bearing 10 is interposed between the center bowl 14 and center plate 32 and is arranged to retain a lubricant 34 therebetween for an extended period of time.
• the bearing 10 of this invention is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is trouble-free and reliable in use, and can be installed easily and conveniently in a conventional railway car truck.
• the bearing 10 is comprised of three generally flat shims which are stacked one upon the other and dimensioned to fit within the center bowl 14.
• all three shims of the bearing include a central aperture 36 in which is received the center pin 28.
• the shims are preferably disc-shaped to permit relative rotation with respect to each other about the axis of the pin 28.
• the bearing 10 includes an upper shim 38 arranged to engage the railway car center plate 32, a lower shim 40 arranged to engage the center bowl 14, and a middle shim 42 disposed between the upper and lower shims.
• the middle shim 42 has a plurality of apertures 44 passing vertically therethrough, and the lubricant 34 fills the interstices between the upper shim 38 and lower shim 40, including the apertures 44.
• the lubricant within the bearing 10 can communicate freely through the middle shim 42 between the upper and lower shims.
• the middle shim 42 has a slightly smaller outside diameter than the upper and lower shims 38 and 40, and the upper and lower shims are formedwith a downwardly facing circumferential lip 46 and an upwardly facing circumferential Up 48,. respectively, which surround the periphery of the middle shim 42 and are disposed in close overlying proximity to one another in order to form a lubrication retaining seal 50 at about the mid-point of the thickness of the middle shim 42.
• the lips 46 and 48 contact one another and remain in contact as the bearing wears, thereby providing a positive seal to retain the lubrication within the bearing over an extended period of time.
• seal 50 can be employed, such as having either the downwardly facing Up 46 on the upper shim or the upwardly facing lip 48 on the lower shim extend across more than half of the thickness of the middle shim, but the arrangement illustrated and described above is presently preferred.
• the apertures 44 in the middle shim 42 are circular and arranged in a regular pattern about the center of the shim 42.
• many other arrangements of apertures can be employed, as well as the inclusion of radial or circumferential grooves, (not shown) in the upper and lower surfaces of the middle shim 42 to enhance distributton of the lubricant between the middle shim and the upper and lower shims 38 and 40.
• the upper and lower shims 38 and 40 are substantially identical, and each includes a plurality of relatively large apertures 52 (FIG.
• the lubricant 34 can pass through the apertures 52 and coat the interface between the upper shim 38 and the railway car center plate 32, as well as the interface between the lower shim 40 and the center bowl 14.
• the upper surface of the upper shim 38 and the lower surface of the lower shim 40 are smooth, thereby permitting relative movement between the upper shim 38 and the center plate 32 and between the lower shim 40 and the center bowl 14.
• the apertures 52 can be of any configuration, and radial or circumferential grooves (now shown) can be provided in the surfaces of the upper and lower shims which contact the center plate and center bowl to enhance distribution of lubricant over those surfaces. Further, the edges of the apertures 44 and 52 are preferably chamferred as at 55 to permit the lubricant 34 to readily flow into and out of the apertures when the shims are in close engagement with one another as a result of the compressive load imposed by the railway car through the center plate 32.
• a reservoir 51 containing a supply of lubricant 34 can be carried on the railway car, and the lubricant can be supplied to the bearing through supply lines 53 which can pass through the center plate 32, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 2.
• pressure can be applied to the reservoir or reservoirs 51 in any suitable manner to urge the lubricant through the supply lines 53 to the bearing 10.
• FIG. 6 An alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6, and in this instance, the bearing 10' is similar to that previously discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-5, and parts of the bearing illustrated in FIG. 6, which find substantial correspondence in structure and function to those previously discussed in connection with FIGS.
• the bearing 10' includes an upper shim 38', a lower shim 40' and a middle shim 42' through which a central aperture 36' passes for receiving the center pin 28.
• a lubricant 34' fills in the interstices between the upper and lower shims, including a plurality of apertures 44' in the middle shim 42', and the lubricant is retained within the bearing 10' by a seal 50'.
• a recess 54 is provided in the lower surface of the upper shim 38', and a similar recess 56 is provided in the upper surface of the lower shim 40'.
• the recesses 54 and 56 overlap and communicate with the apertures 44' in the middle shim 42' and can be of any desired configuration, such as radial or circumferential grooves.
• the upper surface of the upper shim 38' and the lower surface of the lower shim 40' are generally smooth, thereby permitting relative movement with respect to an abutting surface.
• a recess 58 or series of recesses, is provided in the upper surface of the uppershim 38' and a similar recess 60, or series of recesses, is provided in the lower surface of the lower shim 40'.
• a lubricant 34' is provided in the recesses 58 and 60 and can be evenly distributed over its respective surface by the provision by radial or circumferential grooves, as described above.
• FIG. 7 Another alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 7, and in this instance, parts of the bearing 10'' which find substantial correspondence in structure and function to those previously discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-6, have been designated with corresponding double-primed reference numerals.
• the bearing 10'' includes an upper shim 38'', a lower shim 40'', and a middle shim 42" having a plurality of apertures 44" therein, and a lubricant 34" is retained between the upper and lower shims by a seal 50".
• a recess 54" is provided in the upper shim, and a recess 56" is provided in the lower shim.
• a relatively hard, sharp projection 62 extends upwardly from the upper shim 38".
• a similar projection 64 extends downwardly from the lower shim 40".
• the bearing 10 of the present invention provides a device by which a lubricant can be retained between two relatively movable surfaces, such as a center plate and center bowl of a railway car, thereby reducing the wear of said surfaces, enhancing the safe operation of the railway car, and permitting less frequent maintenance thereof.
• the bearing 10 can be fabricated conveniently and economically, is easy to install, and is adaptable for use in many applications where retention of lubrication for an extended period of time is required or desirable.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Sliding-Contact Bearings (AREA)
• Rolling Contact Bearings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=21765374

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1979
  • 1979-02-23 US US06/014,419 patent/US4307669A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1980
  • 1980-02-15 MX MX181313A patent/MX149157A/es unknown
  • 1980-02-22 WO PCT/US1980/000185 patent/WO1980001784A1/en unknown
  • 1980-02-25 ZA ZA00801065A patent/ZA801065B/xx unknown
  • 1980-02-25 CA CA346,347A patent/CA1133038A/en not_active Expired
  • 1980-02-25 AU AU55867/80A patent/AU5586780A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1980-02-27 IN IN226/CAL/80A patent/IN152730B/en unknown

Patent Citations (5)

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