US1261639A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

L. SPANGLER.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-29. I916- ,261,639. Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

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B fiM M ATTORNEY L. SPANGLER'.

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APPLICATION FILED AUG-'29. l9l6- Patented Apr. 2,1918.

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WITNESSES ATTOR NEY '"rnsires LLOYD SPANGLER, or cn'aao eoano, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-JOINT.

Application filed August 29, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'knownthat LLLOYD Sranennn, citizen of the United States, residing at Cerro Gordo, in the county of Piatt and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints and has for its object to provide a rail joint which will be held together without danger of separation either longitudinally or transverse] y and without the use of bolts and fish plates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rail joint which shall be simple, of few parts and which can be connected together and loosened with less help and in quicker time than rail joints now in use and which permits inspection at all times so that flaws-or defects in any part of the joint can be quickly discovered and immediately rectified. The joint furthermore forms a sup port for the rails at the meeting ends thereof, and acts as a brace therefor at the outer side of the joint.

With the above as the principal objects in View, the invention consists of the novel con struction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved form of rail joint as it appears when in position for use,

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the same on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of two rail ends separated and in position to be moved into locking engagement for making the joint.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the same parts and in the same position,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of a slightly modified form of the interlocking ends of two rails,

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view similar to Fig. 2 of the modified construction, and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the connecting link.

In the drawings, 10 and 11 indicate the ends of two rails connected together by the improved joint. These rail ends, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, are not cut across perpendicularly to the rails as is common, but instead the rail 10 has each side 01 its head 12 cut away as at 13 for a short distance back from the end in planes parallel with the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

Serial No. 117,530.

sides of the web 14; to form a tongue 15 that is slightly thicker than the web 14. The adjoining rail 11 has the end Off its head 12 socketed at 16 to permit the tongue 15 fitting snugly therein, as shown in Fig. 1, the vertical height of said socket and tongue being the same as the height of the heads 12. The end of the web 1 1 of the rail 10 projects at its upper end beyond the bottom of the tongue 15 to a point midway the length of said tongue, and after extending downwardly a short distance in a vertical direction, is cut backwardly as at 17, being inclined to the base 18, meeting the latter at a point vertically below the junction 0". the head 12 and tongue 15. The end of base 18 is recessed at 19 immediately below the tongue 15 and extends inwardly to the termination of the inclined end 17 of the web let, the width of said recess being a little greater than the width of tongue 15. The flanges of the base 18 project as at 20 as far as the end of tongue 15 and form the sides of recess 19.

The end of the web ,14 of the adjoining rail 11 is similarly cut but in such direction as to form an inclined portion 21 that will, when the rails are placed together, abut against the inclined portion 17 of rail 10. The outer edges of the end of base 18 of rail 11 are cut away as at 22 to engage the projecting portions 20 of rail 10. Thecentral portion of the base 18 on the end of rail 11 forms a tongue 23 which is as wide as recess 19 and fits snugly thereinto when the rails 10 and 11 are joined together.

As thus constructed, the ends of the two rails when brought together fit closely and are interlocked by means of the tongue 15 engaging the socket 16 and the base tongue 23 entering the recess 19 in the base of the opposite rail. To hold the ends of the two rails together and prevent them from separating endwise, the web Id of each rail near its end has a transverse hole 24- bored therethrough to receive the ends of a U-shaped tie rod or link 25 which, as shown in Fig. 7 consists of a central portion 26 preferably of round metal with the ends 27 bent at right angles thereto, these ends being separated from each other a distance equal to the space between the transverse holes 24 in the rail. ends when the latter are connected in operative position.

For the purpose of retaining the link or connecting rod 25 in engagement with the The rail chair 28 on the outer side of the connected rails has an enlarged portion 29 that extends over the flanges oi the bases 18 or both rails and abuts against the outer of the webs 14; and under the heads 12. The vertical face or he enlarged portion 29 that bears gainst the webs 1 1 has a transverse slot 0 formed therein in position to extend over the link 25 and hold the latter in engagement with the rails 10 and 11, the ends 27 of the. link projecting through the openings in the two rail ends. On the inner side of the rails the chair 28 has a slight enlargement 31 that projects over a portion of the inner flange or the base 18. It will thus be seen that the rail joint is firmly supported by the chair 28 on its outer side and furthermore that the link 25 is held in position close to the webs i l and prevented by the slotted enlargement 29 of the chair from working out or being forced out so long as the chair 28 remains in position, which position is maintained by spikes 33 driven into the cross tie 32 the heads of which spikes overlie the ends of the chair as shown.

A modification of the above construction of the joint is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and, as there shown, one of the rails 40 has a recess l-l in the end oi the rail head 12 into which recess a tongue 42 on the end of the head 12 of the adjacent rail 13 enters when joining the rails. The end of the head and web oi each rail 40 and 4.3, with the exception of the tongue 42, is perpendicular to the length of the rail. as in the ordinary rail joint, the

base 18 of rail 43, however, has an endwise projecting tongue 44 below the tongue 42 that enters a recess 45 in the base 18 of the rail L0. It will thus be seen that rail 40 has a flat end at right angle to the length of the rail provided with two recesses ll and a5 into which recesses tongues 42 and a l on the end of the opposite rail enter and lock the joint between these two rails against lateral separation. Longitudinal separation oi the rails is prevented as in the first construction by means 01 a link or connecting rod 25 hav ing right angular turned ends 27 that engage perforations 24 in the two rails 4L0 and 43 when the ends thereof have been drawn together. A rail chair 28 substantially the same as in the first construction is employed to support the rail joint and prevent the rails from becoming displaced.

Nhat is claimed is:

A rail oint comprising a pair of abutting rails, a U shaped link connecting the ends of said rails, the ends of which link reinovably engage holes in said rail ends to prevent longitudinal separation of the rails, and a rail chair extending across the rail ends below their bases and having portions projecting over the flanges thereof and in close contact therewith, one of said overlying portions of the chair extending upwardly in contact with the webs and underneath the heads of the rails and having a horizontal groove therein to receive said link. V

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

LLOYD SPANGLER.

Witnesses E. O. TWYMAN, ED H; VULoAMoTT.

@opies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

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