US2779480A - Draft gear for railway draft rigging - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 29, 1957 Filed July 18, 1955 E. G. FORSSELL 2,779,480

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inven/or: .E'T c GQFbTLsselZ.

Jan. 29, 195.7 E. G. FORSSELL 2,779,450

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Filed July 18, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /C S l 1 :Z

I I i Invenflar; I C GIZfsseZZ.

Jan. 29, 1957 E. G. FORSSELL 2,779,480

DRAFT GEAR FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Filed July 18, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Eric GForsse'lZ.

Inve n/or:

United States Patent DRAFT GEAR FQR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Eric G. Forssell, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to W. H. Miner, Inc, Chicago, IlL, a corporation of Delaware Application July 18, 1955, Serial No. 522,687

6 Claims. (Cl. 213-45) This invention relates to draft gear for railway draft rigging.

It is a main object of the invention to provide, in a draft gear that has a resilient column encased in a metal casing, an improved plunger and front follower by which the gear is held together as a unit and through which pressure is applied to the column.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pressure applying plunger for a draft gear, composed of two identical members which. telescope together to permit insertion in the casing of the gear and are spread apart and held in spaced apart relation to lock the gear together as a unit.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved front follower for the resilient column of a draft gear, which follower carries means interengaged with the members of a two-piece pressure applying plunger to hold those members in position to lock the gear together as a unit.

Further objects of the invention not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the detailed description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which:

Figure l is a front end elevational view of the completely assembled gear;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the gear;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the lower plunger member;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the upper plunger member;

Figure 6 is an end view of the gear showing the plunger members telescoped together for insertion in the casing;

Figure 7 is a view of the upper plunger member as seen from the front end of the gear;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, showing the lower plunger member;

Figure 9 is an elevational view of the plunger member as seen from the line 9-9 of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 1t)10 of Figure 9, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 11 is a cross sectional view along the line 1111 of Figure 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

As shown in the drawings, the gear of the present invention consists of a metallic casing A in which a resilient column B is housed and stabilized by stabilizing separators C with a front follower D at the front end of the column and in engagement with the pressure applying plunger E.

The casing consists of spaced apart top and bottom walls 10 and 11 joined by side walls 12 and 13 and closed at its rear end by a solid rear wall 14. The top wall 10 and bottom wall 11 flare outwardly adjacent the front end 2,779,480 Patented Jan. 29, 1957 of the casing, forming internally opening grooves 15 which are closed at the front end of the casing by inwardly turned flanges 16, best seen in Figure 3.

The resilient column consists of a plurality of pads of known construction, each consisting of a pair of metal plates with a solid pad of rubber interposed therebetween and bonded thereto. The units in the column are divided into groups by stabilizing separators C, also of known construction and consisting of a plate interposed between adjacent units and around the edges of which are flanges that have sliding engagement with the walls of the casing.

The front follower D consists of a structure similar to the stabilizing separators C, having forwardly extending frusto-conical bosses 20, which are four in number. The rearwardly extending flanges 21 of the front follower contain openings 22 and the walls 10 and 11 of the caslog contain openings 23.

The pressure applying plunger consists of two members which are of identical construction. Each of these members consists of a rectangular base 30 whose length is substantially equal to the inside width of the casing A and whose width is somewhat less than one-half of the height of the casing. The base 39 contains a pair of frusto-conical sockets 31 located symmetrically therein.

Upstanding from one edge of the base: 3i) and at right angles thereto is a flat wall 32 from which a rectangular boss 33 projects outwardly, this boss extending from near one end of the wall to approximately the median line of the wall. Wall 32 also contains an inwardly extending socket 34 which extends from the opposite end of the wall to approximately the median line thereof.

Upstauding from the base 39 is an inclined side wall 35 and inclined end walls 36 formed integrally with the base 3t? and flat wall 32, which side and end walls, together with the wall 32, are joined by a front wall 37 formed integrally therewith.

Projecting from the base 30 at the junction of side wall 35 therewith are lugs 38, which are two in number.

In assembling the gear, casing A is placed with its closed end lowermost, and the units of resilient column B and stabilizing separators C are placed therein. The front follower D is placed at the top of the column and pressure applied thereto to compress the column sufliciently to align the openings 22 in the flange 21 of the front follower with the openings 23 in the walls of the casing. Suitable keys, not shown, are inserted through these openings to hold the follower against the pressure of the thus compressed resilient column.

The two members of the plunger E are then fitted together with the boss 33 of the one unit projecting into the socket 34 of the other unit. When in this position, the outer edges of the plugs 38 will clear the flanges 16 at the front end of the casing, thereby to permit the plunger to be inserted into the casing. The two members are then spread apart to register the frusto-conical bosses 20 on the front follower with the frusto-conical sockets 31 in the plunger members. This moves the lugs 38 into the grooves 15 in the casing walls. With the plunger members thus spread apart, bosses 33 still engage in the sockets $4 in the manner shown in Figure 3.

Pressure is then applied to the plunger to relieve the pressure on the keys which are removed, and as pressure is removed from the plunger the resilient column B expands, forcing the lugs 38 into engagement with the inturned flanges 15 at the forward ends of the grooves 15, thereby to lock the gear together as a unit. In Figure 3, the gear is shown in the position which it occupies when installed in the yoke and pocket of a draft rigging. It will be noted that the lugs 38 are spaced rearwardly of the flanges 16 under these conditions.

In operation, pressure is applied to the plunger to telescope it in the casing, thereby to compress resilient column B, the lugs 38 traveling rearwardly in grooves 15 during this movement. This telescoping movement of the plunger is guided by the flanges 21 on the front follower, which flanges have sliding engagement with the walls of the casing. When the pressure upon the plunger is removed, the resilient column B expands, moving the plunger outwardly of the casing.

Having thus complied with the statutes, and shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, what i consider new and desire to have protected by Letters latent'is pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a draft gear in which a resilient column is encased in a metallic casing of rectangular cross section closed at its rear end and open at its front end, which casing includes grooves opening inwardly adjacent its open end, which grooves are closed by flanges at the open end of the casing; of a pressure applying plunger for said resilient column comprising two identical members fitted one above the other in the open end of the casing, each of said members comprising: a rectangular base; a side wall upstanding out of said base at right angles thereto; a boss extending out of said wall and extending from one end to approximately the center of the wall, there being a socket in said Wall extending from said boss to the other end of said wall; side and ends on said plunger integral with said base and side wall, and extending forwardly from the base; a front wall on said plunger integral with said wall, side and ends, and parallel to said base; lugs projecting from said base at the junction of said side therewith and extending into said grooves in the casing; a front follower for said resilient column; and interengaging means on said follower and the bases of said members for holding the members in position with respect to each other and to the follower.

2. A device as specified in claim 1, in which the width of the base of the plunger is less than one-half of the height of the casing and in which the interengaged means holds the members apart so that the plunger has sliding lit in the casing.

3. A device as specified in claim 1, in which the members are positioned in the open end of the casing with the boss in one member projecting into the socket in the other member and in which the interengaged means spaces the members apart vertically in the casing.

4. A device as specified in claim 1, in which the grooves in the casing are located in the top and bottom walls thereof and in which the resilient column forces the logs on the plunger members into engagement with the flanges projecting into the grooves to hold the gear together as a unit.

5. A device as specified in claim 1, in which the interengaged means consists of frusto-conical bosses projecting forwardly from the front follower and into frustoconical sockets in the bases of the plunger members.

6. A device as specified in claim 5, in which the front follower contains four forwardly extending frusto-conical bosses and in which the base portion of each plunger member contains two frusto-conical sockets.

No references cited.

Images