US1033879A - Boltless rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

TNTT %AS WILLIAM E. CRAWFOED, OF COOPER, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MUELIE E. BENTON, OF COOPER, TEXAS.

BOLTLESS RAIL-J'OINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July so, 1912.

Application filed Aprl 24, 1912. Serial No'. 693,009.

To aZZw/wm it may camera:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. CnAwrom), a citizen of the United States, residing at Cooper, in the County of Delta and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boltless Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in boltless rail joints, and relates more particularly to certain improvements upon the previously patented Construction, for which Letters Patent #718,317 were issued J an. 13, 1903 to the inventor of the herein-described device.

The rail joint now commonly used comprises a pair of fish-plates held against the web sui-faces of the jointed rail extreinities by bolts passing through the web. The frequently recurring strain and vibration to which the joints are subjected by passing trains tends to loosen the bolts, making such a joint unsafe. Another undesirable feature of such a joint lies in the fact that bolt holes must be bored in the web portions of the rail extremities before the joint can be formed.

It is the object of the present invention to eliminate the use of bolts in a rail oint, and to substitute a stronger and more Satisfactory means for holding the fish-plates in place, that will not require the boring of any holes in the rail ends.

Another object is to provide a form of rail joint that will offer no impediment to the slight variations in length to which the rails are subject, due to eXposure to the sun s rays.

A further object is to provide a rail joint, which in case of emergency will be adapted to join the broken ends of rails, without the necessity of first boring said ends to receive bolts.

Finally, the object is to provide a device of the character described that will be strong, durable, simple and efiicient, and one, the various parts of which will not be likely to get out of working order.

`With these and various other objects in view, my invention has relation to certain ncvel features of the Construction and operation, an example of which is described in the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Figure l is a View in side elevation of a rail joint, in which are embodied the novel 'features constituting the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, showing the opposite side of the joint to that shown in Fg. l. Fig. 3 is a View of the device in cross-section, the section beingtaken upon the line X-X of Fig. 1. Fig. t is a detail, perspective View of a dog which serves in the rail joint to connect one of the fish-plates to the bed-plate, a wedge member being shown mounted in said dog for a purpose hereinafter made clear.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate similar parts in all the figures, the numeral l denotes a bed-plate, rectangular in shape, which is adaptecl to be longitudi- `nally disposed beneath the joint established between the two rails A and B. Adjacent to one side of the longitudinal bed-plate l, a fish-plate 2 is made integral with said bedplate and is made to conform in shape to ;the contour of the adjacent rail surfaces. The fish-plate 2 is reinforcecl by a plurality of triangular ribs Q connecting the two portions of the fish-plate, which are adapted ;to contact respectively with the base and the web of each rail eXtremity. A fish-plate, similar in shape to the fish-plate 2'is adapted to be placed against the other side of the two rail extremities and is restricted from displacement outward from the rails by means of an elongated keeper member %L integral with the bed-plate 1, and overhanging ,the lower edge of the fish-plate 3. A plu- *rality of dogs 5 of rectangular cross-section, are passed vertically through the members l and 3, their upper ends being provided with beveled heads 6 adapted to contact with the upper surface of the fish-plate 3 when the parts of the joint are assembled. The smaller end of each dog 5 is provided with a vertical slot 7, and an elongated wedgeshaped member 8 is adapted to be passed through each of said slots in a direction transverse with the connected rail ends. One edge of the wedge 8 is adapted to contact with the under surface of the plate 1, and the opposite edge of each wedge is slightly beveled, being thus adapted to eXert a downwardly acting pressure upon the correlated dog, t-hereby causing the head of said dog to force the members 3 and l into firm contact. The smaller end of each wedge member S is provided with a slit 9 and the furcations formed at each side of tremities.

said slit are adapted to be bent at right angles to the wedge, each furcation engaging a lug 10 a pair of which are mounted upon the under side of the plate 1 adj acent to each of the apertures through which the dogs 5 are passed. Adjacent to the larger extremity of each wedge, a shoulder ll is provided to the beveled edge thereof, which shoulder furnishes a bearing surface against which pressure may be eXerted to drive the wedge from its seat in the correlated dog.

In assembling the parts comprising the above-described rail joint, the member comprising the plates l and 2 is at first adjusted n a proper relation to the rail eXtremity,

as is shown in the drawing. The fish-plate is then brought into its place by first placing the same against one of the rails at one side of the joint, and then sliding said plate end-wise or parallel with the rail. The dogs 5 are then driven downwardly into place, said dogs being made to pass through the plate 3, the plate l and also through the outer portions of the bases of the rail eX- The wedges 8 are then, driven through the slot 7 in the dog, and their accidental removal is prevented by bending the bifurcated ends of said wedges, as has already been made clear.

The above-described joint is one that may be assembled more readily than the common type of joint, since there are no nuts and bolts to be threaded together.

The invention is presented as including all such changes and modifications as come within the scope of the following claims.

`What I claim is:

l. In a rail joint, the combination with two adjacent rail extremities, of a bed-plate supporting said extremities, a pair of fishplates conforming in shape to the adjacent rail surfaces, one of said fish-plates being integral with the bed-plate, and the other being detachable, an elongated keeper member integral with one edge of the bed-plate and engaging the lower edge of the detachable fish-plate, a plurality of dogs passing through the separab le fish-plate and the bed-plate and passing also through one of the rail bases, said dogs having heads adapted to rest upon separable fish-plates and having their lower portions projecting beneath the base plate and provided with slots, a wedge member passing through the slotted end of each dog and Contacting with the under surface of each bed-plate, and means restricting the wedges against displacement from the coi-related dogs.

2. In a rail joint, the combination with two adjacent rail extremites, of a bed-plate supporting said extremities, a pair of fish plates, conforming in shape to the adjacent rail surfaces, one of said fish-plates being integral with the bed-plate, and the other being detachable, an elongated keeper member integral with one edge of the bed-plate and engaging the lower edge of the detachable fish pl'ate, a plurality of dogs passing through the separable fish-plate and the bedplate, and passing also through the rail bases, said dogs being provided with heads adapted to rest upon said separable fishplates and having slotted portions projecting beneath the bed-plate, a pair of lugs projecting from the under surface ofthe bed-plate adjacent to each aperture receiving a dog, and an elongated wedge member projecting through the slotted lower end of each dog, Contacting with the lower surface of the bed-plate and having its end bifurcated, the furcations being oppositely bent to bring them into engagement with said lugs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l/VILLIAM R. CRAVVFORD VVitnesses:

J. P. MORRILL, J OHN`T. MORGAN.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C."

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