US3073258A

US3073258A - Railroad maintenance machine

Info

Publication number: US3073258A
Application number: US109157A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold G Miller
Original assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Current assignee: RACINE HYDRAULICS AND MACHINERY Inc
Priority date: 1961-05-10
Filing date: 1961-05-10
Publication date: 1963-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1980-01-15

Description

W M mm mm NW MN nu n MHHHH 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 15, 1963 H. G. MILLER RAILROAD MAINTENANCE MACHINE Filed March 10, 1961 Na MM nit States 3,073,258 RAILRGAD MAHNTENANCE MACHINE Harold G. Miller, Racine, Wis., assignor to Racine Hydraulics and Machinery, Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed May 10, 1961, Ser. No. 109,157 9 Claims. (Cl. 104-7) are selectively engageable with the outer surfaces of the rails under the balls thereof and a spacer member movable to a position between and in engagement with the inner surfaces of the rails to maintain the spaced relationship of the rails during clamping.

Another object is to provide a clamping structure as described in the preceding paragraph whereby the clamping members having actuating members thereon for engaging the spacer member and moving it to a position between and in engagement with the inner surfaces of the rail while the clamps are being moved into clamping position.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective fragmentary view of a railroad maintenance machine embodying the clamping invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view, partly in section of the rail clamping structure shown in the lower part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the rail clamping structure showing the clamp structure in a release position in full line and a clamping position in broken line; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, an embodiment of the invention and a modification thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a railroad maintenance machine having a frame indicated generally at 1d with wheels 11 for supporting the machine on a pair of railroad rails 12. The frame supports operating equipment indicated generally at 14 which, in the described embodiment, is tamping equipment for tamping ballast around railroad ties such as shown in Kind Patent No. 2,855,862.

A rail clamping and spacing device is operable to secure the frame 19 of the maintenance machine to the tracks 12, and includes a pair of clamp members, shown at 15 and 16, mounted one at each side of the frame 10 above the rails 12 and also includes rail spacer members 17 3,d73,253 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 rail up from the ground level a predetermined amount. The jacks are independently controlled and thus the machine and rails can assume a level condition or other desired condition.

Referring to FIG. 3, the frame 10 has a support member 21 extending transverse and above the rails 12. A pair of spaced

brackets

22 and 23 are fixed to the under side of the support member 21 at both ends thereof and are located directly above each of the rails 12. A pin 24 extends between and is supported by each of the

bracket pairs

22 and 23 and pivotally mounts one of the

clamp devices

15 and 16. Each of the

clamp devices

15 and 16 and their associated structure is identical, therefore only one will be described. The clamp device 16 comprises two

identical bodies

16a and 16b which are spaced from one another and are pivotally mounted at one end thereof on the pin 24. Each of the

members

16a and 16b have at their opposite end a leg 25 that extends at an angle to the length of the body. Each of the

bodies

16a and 16b has an actuating member 27 in the form of a rod welded at one end to the body members and extending outward from the members above the parallel to the rail 12. The pivoted end of each of the body members 16m and 16b has a part 28 extending upward therefrom and a pin 29 extends across the space between the parts 28 and is secured thereto. The rod end 30:: of a hydraulic cylinder 30 is pivotally connected to the pin 29 between the

body member

16a and 16b and the base of the hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to the support member 21 by a pin 32 and a pair of brackets 33 that are afiixed to the under side of the member 21 generally midway the ends thereof.

The pivotal connection of the rod end of the cylinder 35) at pin 29 is above the pivotal connection of the clamp 16 on the pin 24 so that actuation of the cylinder 30 to extend the rod 36a outward pivots the clamp 16 downward in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 3, the clamp device 15 downward and in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. The size of the clamp 16 and the particular angle at which the legs 25 extend from the

body members

16a and 16!) allows ends of the legs 25a to engage the outer surface of the rail 12 beneath the ball of the rail when the cylinder 30 is in its fully extended position, as shown by the dotted line position of the clamp in FIG. 3.

As mentioned before, there are two

clamp devices

15 and 16, positioned on the frame 10 above each of the rails 12 and each pivoted by a hydraulic cylinder 30 to bring the clamps into engagement with the outside of the rails and clamp the rails securely to the support member 21.

By clamping the rails in the manner described above, the gauge between the rails may be affected since the clamps may exert snfiicient pressure to force the rails inward toward each other, and if the rails happen to be loose on the ties the correct gauge would not be maintained.

To prevent the variance in gauge between the rails as they are clamped, a novel method of maintaining the spaced relation between the rails has been devised. A pair of

spacing members

17 and 17a are positioned on either side of the

clamping devices

15 and 16 above the rails 12 and transverse the length thereof. Only one of the spacing members will be described since the constructiciln of one applies equally well to the construction of the ot er.

The spacing member 17 is comprised of a T bar and is mounted to have the leg 35 of the T depending toward the rails 12. The top flange 36 of spacing member 17' extends across the rails 12 so that the ends are outboard of the rails. The leg 35 is cut back from the ends of the T bar so that the length of the leg is equal to the gauge 3 between the rails 12 as measured from the inside surface of the balls of the rails.

The spacer member 17 is mounted to a pair of support members 38 which are a part of the frame it? and extend at right angles to the support 21 and parallel to and above each of the rails 12. A pair of rods 46 are secured at one end to the top flange 36 of the spacer member 17 one adjacent each end thereof by a nut 41 and extends vertically upward therefrom. The support members 33 have a pair of brackets 43 and id extending outward therefrom mounted one above the other. The brackets 43 and 44- are provided with in-line holes for slidably receiving rods 49. The upper end of rods it extends beyond the brackets 43 and each receives a compression spring 45 which is confined on the rod by a nut 46. The spring 45 is confined between the brackets 43 and the nut 46, and the nut is tightened to compress the spring so that the rods 4% will always be biased in an upward direction thereby normally maintaining the spacer members 17 above the rails 12 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3. The spacer member 17a is similarly biased above the rails. When mounting the

spacer members

17 and 17a the top flange 36 of the T bar is positioned below the actuating members 27 that extend from either side of the clamp 16 and the actuating member lies atop and in contact with the top surface of the T bar.

The operation of the clamping structure will now be described. The maintenance machine is moved on the wheels 11 along the tracks 12 to a location where it is desired to do work. The hydraulic cylinders 30 are then actuated by a suitable hydraulic system (not shown) on the machine and the rods 30a are extended fully, pivoting the clamps downward to engage the ends 25a with the outside of the rails beneath the balls of the rails and thereby structure is such that the leg 35 of the spacer members is in spacing position as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3, just as the clamps are in their clamping position, also shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3. With the rails now clamped to the frame of the maintenance machine and v the gauge being maintained by the spacer members, the

entire machine and the rails may be adjusted relative to the groundby actuating hydraulic jacks 2% which as previously mentioned, are located on either side of the machine. The hydraulic jacks 2d are attached to the frame it) by a hinged pivot as at Siland exert pressure against the ground at St tending to lift the maintenance machine, the rails, and the railroad ties 52 so that work may be performed, in this case an automatic ballast tamping operating to provide a firm uniform base for the railroad ties.

I claim:

1. In a railroad maintenance machine having a frame for supporting operating equipment, said frame having wheels for support of the machines on railroad rails, a clamp structure for securing the rails to the frame including: a pair of clamp members mounted on and located one at each side of the frame adjacent one of the railroad rails; means for moving each of the clamp members into engagement with the adjacent rail at the outer side thereof; means normally extending across the space above the rails and movable to a position between and in engagement with the rails to maintain the spaced relation between the rails during clamping; means movably mounting the last mentioned means on the frame; and means moving said last mentioned means in response tomovement of the clamp members.

2. In a railroad maintenance machine having a frame for supporting operating equipment relative to railroad rails, a clamp structure for securing the rails to the frame including: a pair of clamp members pivotally supported one on each side of said frame associated with and located one above each of said railroad rails; means pivoting each of said clamp members into engagement with the outer sides of the associated rail; means normally extending across and above the space between the rails and movable by said clamp members to engage the inner sides of said rail to maintain the spaced relationship between the rails during clamping; and means movably mounting the last mentioned means on the frame.

3. A railroad rail clamping device for a pair of railroad rails comprising: a frame with a support member and wheels supported by said rails, said support member extending transverse the length of the rails; a pair of clamp members located one on each end of said support member above each of said rails, each of said clamp members having a body pivotally mounted adjacent an end thereof to the support member and having a leg at the opposite body end extending at an angle to the length of the body; means for pivoting said clamp members to have the leg of each clamp member engage the outer sur- 1 ace of one of the rails beneath the ball of the rail; and means normally extending across the space between the rails and movable to a position between and in engagement with the inner surface of the rail to maintain the spaced relationship between the rails during clamping; and means mounting the last mentioned means on the support member.

4. The clamping device of claim 3 whereby the means for pivoting the clamp members includes hydraulic means mounted on said support member and operable to simultaneously pivot said clamp members into engagement with the rails.

5. A railroad rail clamping device for a pair of railroad rails comprising: a frame with a support member and wheels supported by said rails; a pair of clamp members located one on each end of said support member and above each of the rails, means for pivoting said clamp members into clamping engagement with said rails, rail spacing means normally extending across the space between the rails and above the rails, means mounting said spacing means on the support member, said spacing means being movable to a position between and in engagement c with the inner surface of the rails to maintain the spaced relationship between the rails during clamping; actuating means on the body of each of said clamp members engaging said rail spacing means to move said rail spacing means to a position between and in engagement with the rails while said clamps are pivoted into clamping engagement with the rails to maintain the spaced relationship between the rails during clamping.

6. The clamping device of claim 5 whereby the rail spacing means includes at least one bar resiliently mounted to said support member, below and parallel to the support member and normally above said railroad rails, said bar having a portion depending therefrom which is of a length equal to the distance between the railroad rails, whereby saidbar is moved downward by the actuating means on said clamp members to bring the depending portion between the rails and in engagement with the inner surface thereof to maintain the spaced relationship between the rails during clamping.

7. In a railroad maintenance machine having a frame for supporting operating equipment, said frame having wheels for support of the machine on railroad rails, a clamp structure'for securing the rails to the frame includ ing: a pair oficlamp members'located one on each side of the frame above a rail, said clamp members each having a body pivotally mounted adjacent an end there-of to the frame and having a leg at the opposite body end extending at an angle to the length of the body; m ans for selectively pivoting eachrofsaid clamp members simultaneously from a first position whereby the clamp members are above the railroad rails to a second position whereby the legs of each of the clamp members engage the outer surfaces of the rails beneath the ball of the rail to secure the rail to the frame; a rail spacing member resiliently mounted to said frame and located above and transverse said rails, said spacer member having a depending portion the length of which is equal to the distance between the rails, means for moving said spacer member from a first position whereby the member is above the rails to a second position whereby the depending portion of said member is between said rails to maintain the spacing between the rails as they are clamped.

8. The device of claim 7 whereby the means for moving the spacer member from its first position to its second position includes: an actuating member extending lateraliy outward from each of said clamp members and engaging the top surface of said spacer member whereby pivoting the clamp members into clamping engagement with the outside surfaces of the rails moves the spacing memher downward to bring the depending portion thereof between and in engagement with the inner surface or" the rails to maintain the spaced relationship of the rails during clamping.

9. The device of claim 7 whereby the spacing member is mounted to the frame by a pair of rods, extending vertically upward from said member and slidable in said frame, said rods being biased upwardly by springs to normally maintain the spacing member above the rails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,831,670 Lavan Nov. 10, 19 1 2,216,434 Cooper et a1. Oct. 1, 1940 2,286,456 Boettcher June 16, 1942 2,696,971 Philbrick Dec. 14, 954

2,760,440 Kershaw Aug. 28, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,206,421 France Aug. 24, 1959

Claims

1. IN A RAILROAD MAINTENANCE MACHINE HAVING A FRAME FOR SUPPORTING OPERATING EQUIPMENT, SAID FRAME HAVING WHEELS FOR SUPPORT OF THE MACHINE ON RAILROAD RAILS, A CLAMP STRUCTURE FOR SECURING THE RAILS TO THE FRAME INCLUDING: A PAIR OF CLAMP MEMBERS MOUNTED ON AND LOCATED ONE AT EACH SIDE OF THE FRAME ADJACENT ONE OF THE RAILROAD RAILS; MEANS FOR MOVING EACH OF THE CLAMP MEMBERS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ADJACENT RAIL AT THE OUTER SIDE THEREOF; MEANS NORMALLY EXTENDING ACROSS THE SPACE ABOVE THE RAILS AND MOVABLE TO A POSITION BETWEEN AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RAILS TO MAINTAIN THE SPACED RELATION BETWEEN THE RAILS DURING CLAMPING; MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTING THE LAST MENTIONED MEANS ON THE FRAME; AND MEANS MOVING SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF THE CLAMP MEMBERS.