US1732675A - Car construction - Google Patents

Description

A E Y R U D U w CAR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed April 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 'Til 0. C. DURYEA CAR CONSTRUCTION Original Filed April 27, 1925 2 Sheets-Shee't Patented Oct. 2,24, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OTHO C. DURYEA., OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T 0. C. DURYEA COH- IORATION, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE CAR CONSTRUCTION Original application filed April 27, 1925, Serial No. 26,267, now Patent No. 1,693,194, dated, November 2t', 1928. Divided and this application filed May 22, .1928. Seria-l No. 279,833.

This invention relates to railway rolling stock, and is a division of my co-pending application'Serial No. 26,267, filed April 27, 1925, now Patent No. 1,693,194 dated November 27, 1928.

An object of the present invention is to prol vide a car structure ofthe type disclosed in my application above referred to and embodying novel means for guiding and supporting the center draft and butling member intermediate the body holsters.

,Another object is to provide a novel cross bearer for use in car structures embodying a relatively movable draft and bui'ling member which extends substantially the' length of the car structure.

A further object is to provide a novel cross bearer having one or more openings therethrough, the cross bearer being provided with a center brace, in combination with the longitudinally movable center draft and bufng member.

One form which the inventive idea may assume is shown in the accompanying drawings, which drawings, however, are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be taken as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings,--

Fig. 1 is a top plan view illustrating one form of the present invention'` Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section, illustrating one form of means `for limiting relative longitudinal movement between the center member and the remainder of the car;

Fig. 3 is a transverse detail sectional View, somewhat enlarged, illustrating one form of bolster and centei member construction;

Fig. l is a transverse detail view in section, illustrating one manner of connecting the resilient means to the center member;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5*-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view with parts broken away taken on the line 6-6 of Fia'. 1.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, the car construction of the present invention may embody a body portion having side sills 10, end sills 11 and a flooring 12. In'engagement with the side sills are a pluralit of transverse members which include bo'y bolsters 13 and one or more cross bearers 14. Each body bolster 'is mounted on the usual truck bolster 15, partially shown in Figure 3, the connection between the body holsters 13 and truck holsters 15 being the usual type of center plate and king-pin 16. r

lMounted for relative longitudinal move ment with respect to the truck bolsters 15 and preferably with respect to the remainder of the car structure, is a long travel center member 17 which, in the form shown, includes a center sill that may be formed of two vertim cally disposed U-shaped channel members 18 and reinforced members 19 that are secured in any suitable manner to the opposite ends of the center sill. Preferably, the reinforcn ing members, which will be referred to hereafter as draft sills, are formed of castings provided with shouldered openin 's 191, with end shoulders 19b constituting a striking plate, and

with rear shoulders 19C for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The castings 19 are rigidly attached to the center sill astloy means it iii of rivets 20, the ends of the channel members 18 of the center sill preferably having abutting engagement with the shoulders 191', whereby any thrust on the draft sills is not thrown directly on said rivets 20. ein' suit-n able iiieans, such as tie plates 21, may e cui plcyed for strengthening and bracing 'the channel members 18 constituting the center member.

ln order that damage may not result to the car or its lading from impact stresses, such as are produced whe.; butling a car, or when rapidly changing its speed of movement, the center member 17, as above stated, is mounted for longitudinal movement relative to certain of the transverse members, as for example the holsters 13, and means are provided for yieldingly resisting relative movement between the center member and said transverse members whereby the forces tendn ing to cause damage are gradually absorbed. lnthe form shown, body holsters 13 are each till . provided with a pair of adjacent openings 22 tending a suitable distance on the oppositel sides of the latter, are wear plates 23 which have engagement on the outer faces of the same with suitable wear plates secured to holsters 13, such for example as the substantially wedge-shaped plates 24 interposed between said wear plates and the side wall of i the opening 22 in the bolster. Similar wear plates 25 may be secured to the inner surface of each of the channel members 18 opposite the outer plates 23.

Yieldin means of any suitable type are provided or yieldingly resisting longitudinal movement of the center member relative to the transverse members, said means being preferably combined with friction elements, for example, means for positively producing friction between the wear plates 23 and the wedge-shaped plates 24, which latter may be fixedly secured in any suitable manner to the bolsters 13 as by means of welding. In the form shown, a casting 26 is secured, as by means of rivets 27, to the channel members 18, at a suitable distance from the bolsters 13, and through this member 26, extends one or more rods 28 on which are slidably mounted adjacent the opposite ends thereof, follower plates 29 and 30 which are engaged by the opposite ends of a coil spring 3l. Mounted for slidable movement through the casting 26 are a pair of rods 32 provided at the inner ends thereof with nuts 33 which are normally in engagement with the follower plate 29 and which carry on the opposite ends thereof a plurality of friction shoes 34, 35. The follower plates 29, 30 and the rods 28, 32 con- Stitute a yoke for the spring 31. The 'outer pair of friction shoes 34 are held in position on said rods 32 by means of nuts 36 and by engagement with the diamond-sh aped portion 13a of the bolster, said shoes being provided with inclined faces on the inner sides thereof,

' which faces are inclined at an angle similar to the sides of the diamond-shaped portion 13a. The inner friction shoes 35 are also provided with inclined faces which engage two sides of the diamond-shaped portion 13'd1 and these shoes are provided with a longitudinally extending boss 35a which normally has engagement with the outer face of follower plate 30.

Suitable coupler means are employed, but in the present instance the necessity for the usual draft gears is eliminated due to the use of the means previously described for yieldingly resisting relative movement of the center member 17. In the form shown, a coupler shank 37 is secured for limited longitudinal movement relative` to. said center member by means of a coupler shank key 38 which extends through the shouldered openings 19a in said draft sills. The movement of the coupler relative to the center member provides slack between the cars of a train. An opening 37 is provided in the coupler shank of such size that limited movement is provided between said shank and said key 38. In engagement with shoul ders 37", formed interior-ly of the coupler shank, is a resilient member 39 which has engagement at its inner end with a wear plate 40 bearing against the side of the coupler shank key 38. Stops 41, if desired, may be secured to the channel members 18 adjacent the inner ends of wear plates 23, 25 for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

If desired, the center member 17 may be rigidly secured to the cross bearers 14 and the latter may have sliding engagement with the 1side sills 10, as is shown in my Patent No. 1,693,193 dated November 27, 1928, but preferably the ends of the cross bearers 14 are rigidly secured to side sills 10 and the center member is mounted for 1ongitudinal` movement relative to said cross bearers in any suitable manner, as for example, in a manner similar to that shown in Figure 3, where the center member extends through openings in the transverse member. In the form shown, each of the cross bearers 14 is constituted by an integrally formed, llanged member 14a which may be pressed into shape, and which is provided with an opening in the central portion thereof. Members 42, which may be formed as castings, are prefer ably secured to the members 14 adjacent the openings therein, and constitute a part of said cross bearers. The members 42 include portions42a which extend vertically across the central portion of the openings. The portions 42a constitute center braces 'or the cross bearers and provide guiding surfaces for center member 17 whereby movement of the latter in either direction in a horizontal plano is prevented. Extending laterally from the center brace portions 42 are ears or projections 42b that are of substantial width in a horizontal direction and constitute guiding and bearing surfaces for the upper and lower flanges of channels 18, whereby member 17 is guided in a vertical plane. As shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 6, longitudinal stringers 43 which are preferably formed of wood, are interposed between the flooring 12 and the upper flanges of channels 18. lVeight transmitted through flooring 12 and stringers 43 to the center member 17 is transferred by the latter member to cross bearers 14 and thence to the side sills 10. Relative movement of the center meaeve member in either direction is yieldingly re sisted by the friction between the contacting surfaces of stringers 43 and the flanges of members 18. The stringers 43 constitute friction means for resisting movement of the center member and the friction resulting from the use of said stringers varies with the weight of the lading carried on the flooring 12. Friction is also generated between the lower` flanges of channels 18 and the surfaces of ears or portions 12h Stringers d3 resist deflection of the cross bearers in horizontal planes.

Operations-Any force exerted on the car for placing it in motion, for changing its rate of motion, or for coupling the same to another car, is received by the coupler shank 37 and is transferred through key 38 to center member 17, and motion is thereby im# parted to the latter. Because of the inertia scribed above. Shoulders 13% formed on inner ends of the draft sills 19, and members lilconstitute positive stops for limiting the relative movement of the center memberl'l in either direction. rlhe provision of stops 19C and 41 on the center member, which stops are adapted to engage the bolster 13, results in a structure which cannot go solid within the meaning of the term as employed in the art, i. e., no part of the energy dissipating means 31, 34:, 35 can go solid when highly stressed under a draft or butiing force, the relative movement of these elements being positively limited by said stops which. are located at a distance from the energy dissipat ing means. 'lhe openings 3f in` 'the coupler yshanlr are of such size that there is positive of the remainder of the car structure, and

the lading carried thereby, the center member receives longitudinal movement relative to the remainder of said structure, which relative movement acts'through member 26 to produce a longitudinal movement of the rods 28 to the left, for example, as viewed in Fig. 2, together with the follower plate 30, thereby compressing the spring 31. vResil ient member 31 resists this compression and the same exerts a force on follower plate y29 tending to move said plate to the left. rll`his tendency is resisted by nuts 33 on the inner ends of rods 32, which rods extend loose ly through the follower plates 30, with the result that friction shoes 34 are drawn to the left thereby wedging said shoes between the diamond-shaped portion 13a of the body bolster 13, and wear plates 25 secured to the channel members 18. This pressure on the wear plates 25 forces the wear plates 23 more closely into engagement with the wedge-shaped plates 24 and produces a large amount of friction between plates 24 and 23, which friction tends to yieldingly resist rela. tive longitudinal movement of the center member, and to dissipate a large amount of the energy tending to produce the relative movement.

rlhe resilient means and friction elements at the opposite ends of the car act simultaneously and in combination to resist relative movement between the center member and the car body, regardless of the direction of relative movement of said center member.

lf force is applied to the Acenter member 17 tending to move the latter to the right, as viewed in Figure 2, this energy is transferred by the casting 26, rigidly secured to the center sill, to the follower plate 29 thereby tending to compress spring 31. rl`he force of the spring 31 is exerted on follower plate 3() whereby the inner friction shoes 35 are forced outwardly into engagement with the wear plates 25 with a result similar to that den engagement of the edge of the lrey 32B with the wall of the opening before the coils of Athe spring 39 are forced into engagement one with the other, thereby preventing over-loading of the spring. The coupler shank, however, goes solid on lrey 38 and a predetermined and invariable train slaclr is thus provided, which slack is preferably less than that resulting from the use of the short travel draft gears employed at present.

lt will he understood that the length and size of the springs 31, or the inclination of the inner faces of the friction .shoes 3Ll, 35 and of the outer faces of the portion 13a, or both, may be varied as desired to control the amount of relative movement between the center member and the transverse members. rlhe extent of relativo movement of the cen-1 lll titl

ter member 17 may be relatively great without increasing theslaclr in the train line because the relative movement between 'the center member' and the remainder of the car is not cumulative between adjacent cars. lis a matter of fact, in the form' shown, this slaclr is less than that now considered standard, the same being limited to the relative movement between the couplers and the center member.

lt will be noted that the friction shoes have a much greater travel relative to the center member than to the bolster. ln the event that this relative movement produces gallin or seizing of the friction shoes, the resilient means at the opposite end of the car is sulficiently strongl to return the center member to its normal position. ils the latter moves to normal position, the seized shoes will move with the same and be withdrawn from engagement with the diamond-shaped por# 'tion 13a of the bolster, whereupon the afiliacent resilient member 31 acts through the follower plate 30 on 'the adhering shoe, in such a manner as to tilt or cant the shoe and thereby positively release the latter from its adherence with the Center member. T he friction shoes are thus positively released in the event of seizure. lt is pointed out, however, that the capacity of the resilient means associated with the friction shoes is so great, and

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the friction surfaces are so large that, except under the most unusual conditions, there is no likelihood of the friction elements seizing.

The resilient means and friction elements employed adjacent the opposite ends of the center member act to yieldingly resist relative longitudinal movement of the center member in either direction. All forces and strains thrown on cars of the various types now in use, which forces and strains invariably result in damage if the same are excessive, are absorbed by a draft gear having a travel of approximately 21/2 to 3 inches. By the use of the present invention the necessity for draft gears of the type now in use is eliminated and the strains placed on the car structure are absorbed by a plurality of mechanisms which may have a travel two or three times as great as that of the usual draft gears, if desired. Moreover, the travel of draft gears heretofore used cannot be increased in order to more effectively absorb the shocks incident to the usual operation because this would increase the slack of the train line. As pointed out above, by means of the present invention the slack of the train line may be decreased if desired.

The present invention includes new principles in car construction since, among others, it provides for a variation in the ratio of travel between the train slack means and the shock absorbing means. In devices heretofore employed, the'train sla'ek has been substantially equal to the draft gear travel (the ratio has been substantially unity), while in the present invention there is provided a different ratio, both as to travel and capacity, between the energy absorbing means and the train slack means, the former being increased relative to the latter. By the use of the present invention the switching speed may be greatly increased with safety, thus speeding up train operation. Since train slack can bev reduced, longer trains can be safely handled and heavier cars may be constructed because of the large capacity of the energy dissipating means.

Due, to the great amount of train slack in trains as now operated, cars are frequently derailed b an emergency application of the brakes, w en the latter are applied intentionally or through a break in the air line.

By thel use of the present invention derailment of cars under the above conditions is eliminated, since this invention'permits of a redetermined train slack, which slack may be relatively low, and at the same time permits relatively long travel shock absorbing means to be employed. 'A relatively small amount of train slack is desirable to prevent a combined and simultaneous effort of all cars, in a train, against starting or stopping.

In railway cars ofthe type now in use, the pulling force of the engine is exerted through yielding means, since said cars are provided with resilient members, or resilient and friction members, intermediate the couplers. When a train of these cars are in motion, dynamometer records show that said yielding means are continuously oscillating, and that a considerable-amount of energy is thus lost.

The present invention embodies means which substantially eliminates the loss of energy resulting from the continuous oscillation of the yielding means referred to above, since in the present structure the pulling force of the engine may. if desired, act through rigid connections throughout the train.

As showrl in Fig. 2, when a number of cars embodying the present invention are coupled to form a train, the pulling force of the cngine acts directly through coupler 37, key 38 and center member 17 of all the ears, no vielding means being interposed throughout the entire line of draft. Each car body is protected, however, by the yielding means such as is constituted by springs 3l and the friction elements referred to above.

It will be perceived that the structure of the present invention conforms closely to the standard construction at present employed. Since the draft sills may have abutting en- ,ffagement with the center sill by means of the shoulders 19", and if desired by means of the shoulders surrounding the openings 19, substantially no shearing strain is placed on the rivets 20, which secure the draft sills to the center sill.

Heretofore an attempt has been made to prevent damage to the car structure by increasing the weight and strength of the center sill, 4draft sills, etc. This increase in weight and strength only increases the difficulty of preventing damage, since the over-all weight of the car is correspondingly increased, and this results in an increase in forces to be absorbed. By the use of the present invention the weight of the structural elements of a ear, for example the center sill and dra ft sills, may be materially decreased because of the manner in which the destructive forces are yieldinglyr resisted and absorbed. As herein employe( the term cross bearer refers to the transverse supporting members mounted. intermediate the body bolsters` said cross bearers guiding the longitudinally movable center member in its relativemovement and transferring the weight of the car flooring and the lading from the center member to the side sills.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is 1. An underframe structure for a railway car comprising a pair of holsters having openings therethrough, means associated with said holsters including a center member adapted for longitudinal movement relative to said holsters, side sills secured to said bolsters, a plurality of cross bearers having openings therein secured to said side sills intermediate said holsters, and means secured to said' cross bearers adjacent the openings therein',l for guiding the center member through said openings.

2. il cross bearer comprising a Hanged member having an opening in the central p0rw tion thereof, and means secured to a lateral tace ot the member including a center brace extending across the central portion of said opening t'or strengthening said flanged member. l5 3. ln a railway car, a cross bearerl of the type adapted to be mounted intermediate the car body holsters, comprising an integrally formed member having an opening in the central portion thereb'll and a casting provided m with a center brace portion secured to said member, said center brace extending across the central portion of said opening for strengthening the integrally formed member, the casting also being provided with flanges constituting extended bearing surfaces.

Zl. lln a railway car, a cross bearer ot' the type adapted to be mounted intermediate the car bodybolsters comprising a member having an opening therein, and means secured to 30 said member adjacent said opening for strengthening the member and Jfor providing a bearing surface, said means including a center brace extending across the central portion ot the opening, and a plurality of ears extendw ing laterally from said center brace.

5. An undertrame structure for a railway car comprising, in combination With body bolsters and a longitudinally movable centerl member, a cross bearer mounted intermedi- 0 ate said holsters including a member having an opening therethrough, and means secured to the second-named member having a portion extending across the central portion of said opening and having lateral portions constituting guides for the center member..

6. lln a railway car, a longitudinally movable center member, transverse supporting and guiding means including a pair of body holsters tor said center member, a plurality 0 ot cross bearers mounted intermediate said holsters and operatively associated with the latter, said cross bearers having openings therethrough, and means including a center brace extending across the central portion of an opening in one of said cross bearers lor preventing movement ot the center member in a lateral direction relative to said cross bearers and tor strengthening the latter.

ln testimony whereof l have signed this a specilication.

0TH@ c. Duuren.

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