US3525249A - Apparatus for straightening the bulging of railroad cars - Google Patents

Description

G. BELLEMARE 3,525,249

2 Sheets-heet 1 Aug. 25, 1970 APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING THE BULGING OF RAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 2; 1968 Aug. 25, 1970 G. BELLEMARE 3525,24

APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTE'NING THE BULGING OF RAILROAD CARS Filed Aug. 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INIVENTOR Gregoire B EMARE v/ ATTORNEY United States Patent Of 3,525,249 APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENIN G THE BULGING F RAILROAD CARS Grgoire Bellemare, 397 Guilbault, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada Filed Aug. 2, 1968, Ser. No. 749,859 Claims priority, application Canada, Aug. 29, 1967, 999,008 Int. Cl. B21d 31/00 US. Cl. 72--372 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is an apparatus that is inserted between the facing ends of two uncoupled box cars to straighten the bulging ends thereof. It comprises a frame-like box inserted between the facing ends, the said box having a plurality of horizontal bumper members provided on the sides thereof facing the bulging ends. A motor-operated winch has a pair of cables wound thereon in opposite direction with the free ends connected to each car whereby when the winch is rotated, the bulging ends are brough against the bumper members of the frame-like box.

This invention relates to a device of the kind designed particularly for use in reshaping the deformed ends of railroad freight cars. More particularly, the invention is directed to railroad car straighteners for bulged ends of boxcars.

In the past, bulging ends of boxcars have always presented a major problem to the railway industry. Boxcars having ends made of corrugated sheet metal are particularly susceptible to deformation. It has been observed that this problem arises mostly where the freight cars are used for hauling grain cereal or any similar type of loose material. The hydrostatic pressure of the load and the compaction that takes place during haulage tend to cause the walls to bulge outwardly. This problem is particularly serious when the end walls are deformed.

The lateral edges of the boxcar steel ends are not sufficiently resistant to endure the pressure required for reshaping the deformed undulated ends. Such a pressure would cause bulging of the lateral sheets adjacent to the steel end. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to provide a device which could prevent any damage to the lateral sheets.

In some exceptional cases, the distorted part or parts were removed to reshape the bulging ends of boxcars: this has involved an enormous expenditure of time and labor. Particularly it has been necessary to use heat to make steel more malleable and to facilitate the reshaping 0f boxcar ends. However, heating of these steel pieces has some disadvantages. The reshaping of boxcar ends by using heat is carried out as follows. Pressure is maintained on the bulging part while heating both faces thereof from top to bottom to cause undulated steel to regain its original shape. However, it has been realised that the pressure which is maintained on the steel sheet, will cause the sheet to spread outwardly and will produce a bulge on the two heated zones. Outside of these zones, the steel material has a greater resistance and there will be a decreased rigidity of the undulated steel ends. In all previously known devices, some manual operations were required and it had never been possible to reshape the bulging ends of boxcars to their original shape.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which will obviate the disadvantages inherent to the devices known in the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for straightening the ends of boxcars and particularly those which are built of corrugated sheet metal.

3,525,249 Patented Aug. 25, 1970 It has been found that these and other objects of this invention may be attained by providing an apparatus adapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars in order to straighten the bulging ends thereof which comprises a box, means for disposing and supporting the box at a height between the boxcars to face the bulging ends thereof, a plurality of horizontal bumper members projecting from the opposite ends of the box facing the bulging ends of the boxcars and means on the box for pulling the boxcars towards the box to force the boxcars against the horizontal bumper members in order to straighten the bulging ends thereof.

It will therefore be realized that the straightening 0f the bulging ends of boxcars may be carried out by uncoupling two boxcars having at least one of their facing ends in a bulged or bent condition, inserting a straightening box between the ends of the uncoupled boxcars and pulling the boxcars against the straightening box in order to straighten the bulged ends of the boxcars.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment according to the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention, mounted between two uncoupled boxcars;

FIG. 2 is an end view in elevation of the device according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view in elevation of the apparatus according to the invention mounted between two uncoupled boxcars and illustrating the straightening operations; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the vertical and horizontal adjustments of the bumper members and their operating position into the corrugations of a bulging end of a boxcar.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus according to the lnvention comprises a structural-like box I mounted between two boxcars 3 and 5. The box 1 is supported in the operating position illustrated in FIG. 1 through the holding member 7. The box 1 should generally be a rectangular prism but it is not required that it be built exactly as illustrated in the drawings, wherein it is shown that the box 1 is a structure comprising a plurality of frames arranged into a prism and reinforced by means of different braces.

The box comprises a plurality of horizontal bumper members 9 projecting from the opposite ends of the box 1 facing the bulging ends of the boxcars (FIG. 4). The bumper members 9 should be retractable to some extent and should also be capable of vertical movements.

For that purpose, there are provided within the box 1 a pair of motors 11 and 13 respectively for horizontal or retractable and vertical movements of the bumper members 9. The motor 11 is coupled to shafts 15 and 17 re spectively on either side of the motor 11, each shaft terminating respectively into worm gears 19 and 21 (FIG. 3).

The worm gear 19 engages the gear 23 which is fixedly mounted at one end of a square shaft 25 (FIG. 5). The other end of the said shaft is arranged, by any known means, to be freely rotatable. The purpose of having a shaft 25 of square cross-section will be explained below. According to the invention and as particularly illustrated in FIG. 3, four such square shafts 25 are provided in the apparatus.

Each shaft 25 is responsible for the horizontal or retractable movements of the bumper members at one end thereof on one side of the straightening box. Therefore, two shafts are required for the bumpers on each side of the straightening box with the result that the bumper 3 members on both opposite sides of the box 1 are horizontally operated through four square shafts.

The movement from the square shaft 25 to the horizonal bumper members is transmitted by means of a special device which will now be described.

The shaft 25 is provided with as many worm gears 27 as there are bumper members and the particular square cross-section of the shaft is intended to prevent slipping of the worm gears 27 about the shaft 25. Reference is made to FIG. for an exact illustration of the positions of the worm gears on the square shaft.

The worm gears 27 are engaged on outwardly geared threaded bore 29 for rotation of the same about its longitudinal axis. It should be pointed out at this time that the outwardly geared threaded bore 29 is prevented from longitudinal axial movements by any locking means provided within a casing 31 into which the bore 29 is mounted. The casing 31 has an irregular shape and is better illustrated with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 of the drawings. Inside the casing 31 and threadedly engaged within the threaded bore 29 there is a threaded rod 33 having one free end thereof 34 mounted at one end of the bumper member 9. It will be realized that a rotation of the threaded bore 29 which is prevented from longitudinal axial movement, will cause the rod 33 to either extend or retract according to the direction of the rotation of the outwardly geared threaded bore 29. The forward or backward movements of the rod 33 will therefore be responsible for the horizontal movements of the bumpers 9.

Now turning to the vertical movements of the bumpers, it should first be stated that the motor 13 is responsible for such displacements. As in the case of the motor 11, it is provided with two shafts, namely shafts 35 and 3 both terminated into worm gears 39 and 41 (FIG. 3).

Worm gear 39 is engaged on a gear 43 fixedly mounted at one end of a threaded shaft 45. The shaft 45 is threadedly engaged through the casings 31 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The shaft 45 has its opposite end mounted by any known means to be freely rotatable. It will therefore be realized that by rotation of the motor 13, and consequently of the shaft 45, there will be a vertical displacement according to the arrows 47 (in FIG. 2) of the casing 31 and of the bumper members 9. The vertical displacement of the casing 31 and consequently of the bumper members 9 is assured by sliding of the projecting portion 49 of the casing 31 within an enclosure 50 in the beam 51. Of course, it will be realized that there will be four such assemblies as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The box 1 also comprises along the four lateral edges on the sides of the box facing the bulging ends, four rows of stopper members. These stopper members may be constructed in the form of a T element 53 as illustrated in FIG. 4 or in the form of a unitary stopper member 55. Stopper members 53 will be provided where a ladder 56 faces the stopper members. Otherwise a unitary construction such as 55 will be preferred. These stopper members are provided for protecting the straightening box during the straightening operation. Furthermore, these stopper members cooperate with the bumper members and the central frames of the straightening box during the straightening operation. They should be adjusted with respect to the central frames to determine the dead point of the operation and to regulate the same. They are used to control any unavoidable bouncing.

For straightening the bulging ends of box cars, the straightening box 1 is disposed and supported between two box cars in the particular position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The horizontal bumper members 9 are adjusted to the desired positions by means of the two motors 11 and 13 and the two cars are then pulled towards the straightening box 1. The mechanism for pulling these two cars 3 and 5 will now be described.

The straightening box 1 comprises a powerful motor 57 (FIG. 2) coupled to a unit 59 which contains a speed reducer, a transmission and a clutch. The unit 59 is coupled to a double winch 61 carrying two cables 63 and 65. The opposite ends of the cables 63 and 65 are connected to hooks 67 and 68 respectively, which are fixedly secured at the base portions 69 and 70 of the boxcars 3 and 5 respectively. By rotating the winch in one direction, the boxcars3 and 5 will be pulled towards the box 1 in the particular manner illustrated in FIG. 4. The shaft 71 about which the double winch 61 is mounted extends to another unit 73 which contains a speed reducer and a clutch. The tension created by the winch 61 carrying cables 63 and 65 is sufficient to prevent bulging of the lateral sheets of the boxcars. As a result, these lateral sheets will be free of ugly marks. It will be no more required to remove the lateral sheets which could become damaged when repairing the steels ends.

This device which will now be fully described is adapted to control the pusher members 75 and 77 by means of a plurality of bevelled gears (FIG. 3). Two gears 79 and 81 are ararnged to rotate in opposite directions through the above bevelled gears to slide the toothed racks 83 and 85 in opposite directions and to outwardly extend the pusher members 75 and 77. By reversing the direction of the gears 79 and 81, the pusher members 75 and 77 are retracted into a non-operating position. After the boxcars have been forced onto the box 1 against the bumper members 9, and after the straightening action of the bumper members has ceased, the pusher members 75 and 77 are extended to push the boxcars away from the box 1 in order to start a new straightening operation.

In order not to'deform the lateral edges of the boxcar ends, the straightening box 1 is provided with a device adapted to maintain a constant tension between the lateral edges 87 of the boxcar ends and the box 1. The device comprises a motor 89 connected to a winch 91 through a tripping device 93 which will cut off the power of the motor when the tension in the cables 95 has attained the desired value (FIGS. 1 and 2). The cables 95 are fastened to the lateral edges 87 of the boxcar ends by means of hooks 96.

It should be indicated that suitable apertures are provided in the straightening box 1 such as at 97 to leave free passage for the hand braking device 99.

The straightening operation starts when the bumper members rest against the concave parts at the center of the steel ends. As the straightening operation advances, the resistance of the steel ends against the pressure applied at one point increases up to a given point. At this stage of the operation where the resistance increases, the outer frames of the straightening box will rest against the convex parts of the steel ends, thus easing off the operation up to that point carried out by the bumper members alone. The operation should also be safer and may be carried out much faster.

The bumper members could be used alone but the operation would be more delicate and would last longer.

Finally, referring again to FIG. 5 it should be added that the bumpers should be operated separately for vertical movements. This may be carried out by providing a cylinder 101 having a threaded center hole 103, the cylinder being rotatable and arranged for receiving the shaft 45 through its threaded center hole 103. The cylinder should be mounted within cylinder 31 and retained therein by any known means. One end of the cylinder should be provided with a toothed gear 105.

The bumper member 9 is displaced vertically by a vertical adjustment which may be obtained by stopping the rotation of the cylinder 101 by any known means such as by using an electromagnet device (not shown) which stops the rotation of the toothed gear 105 mounted on the cylinder 101. The bumper member is moved vertically until it attains the intended position.

Although specific embodiments of this invention have just been described, it will be understood that various modifications are permissible within the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is to be determined from the appended claims only.

I claim:

1. An apparatus adapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars to straighten the bulging ends thereof, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a box;

(b) means for disposing and supporting said box at a height between said boxcars to face said bulging ends;

(c) a plurality of horizontal bumper members projecting from the opposite ends of said box facing said bulging ends of said boxcars; and

(d) means provided on said box for pulling said boxcars towards said box to force said boxcars against said horizontal bumper members and to straighten the bulging ends thereof.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, which comprises means for adjusting said horizontal bumper members from a retracted to an extended position.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, which also comprises means for vertically adjusting said horizontal bumper members.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2, said means for adjusting said horizontal bumper members from a retracted to an extended position comprising a motor coupled to a plurality of worm gears, said worm gears adapted to move a plurality of sliding rods longitudinally along their axes, each of said rod mounted in a casing and connected at the free end thereof to one end of one of said horizontal bumper member.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, said means for vertically adjusting said horizontal bumper members comprising a motor coupled to a threaded shaft, said threaded shaft threadedly engaged with said casings to thereby cause vertical adjustments of the said rods and consequently of the said horizontal bumper members.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for pulling said boxcars towards said box comprise a power operated winch provided with two cables operating in opposite direction and connected at the lower parts of said bulging ends of said boxcars.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said box comprises means for pushing said boxcars away from said box after said bulging ends have been straightened.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7, said means for pushing said boxcars comprising two pusher members mounted respectively at the base of said box on the opposite sides thereof facing said bulging ends, said pusher members operated by means of a motor from a retracted r to an extended position.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said box comprises a plurality of stoppers arranged in vertical rows along the outer edges of said opposite ends of said box and adapted to rest on said bulging ends when said bulging ends are straightened.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said box comprises means for maintaining a constant tension between the lateral edges of the facing bulging ends of said boxcars.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said means for maintaining a constant tension comprises power operated winches mounted on said box and provided with cables connected at the lateral edges of said cars, said cables maintained under a constant tension.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, comprising a holding member mounted on top of said box.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, said box having a skeletal-like structure.

14. An apparatus adapted to be inserted between two uncoupled boxcars to straighten the bulging ends thereof, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a box having a skeletal-like structure;

(b) a holding member mounted on top of said box;

(c) means for disposing and supporting said box by means of said holding member at a height between said boxcars to face said bulging ends;

((1) a plurality of horizontal bumper members projecting from the opposite ends of said box facing said bulging ends of said boxcars and adapted to fit into corrugations provided in said bulging ends of said boxcars;

(e) a motor coupled to a plurality of worm gears,

said worm gears adapted to move a plurality of sliding rods longitudinally along their axes, each of said rods mounted in a casing and connected at one end thereof to one end of one of said horizontal bumper, constructed and arranged for adjusting the horizontal bumper members provided on one side of said box facing one of said bulging ends, from a retracted to an extended position;

(f) a second motor coupled to threaded shaft to a worm gear said threaded shaft threadedly engaged with said casing to thereby cause vertical adjustments of the said rods and consequently of the said horizontal bumper members;

(g) a power operated winch mounted on said box, said winch provided with two cables, said cables connected at the lower part of the opposite bulging ends of said boxcars for pulling said boxcars towards said box in order to force said boxcars against said horizontal bumper members and to straighten the bulging ends thereof;

(h) two pusher members mounted respectively at the base of said box on the opposite sides thereof facing said bulging ends, said pusher members power operated from a retracted to an extended position for pushing said boxcars away from said box after said bulging ends have been straightened;

(i) a plurality of stopper members arranged in vertical rows along the outer edges of said opposite ends of said box and adapted to rest on said bulging ends when said bulging ends are straightened; and

(j) tensioned cables between the lateral edges of said bulging ends and said box to maintain a constant tension between the lateral edges of said bulging ends and said box.

15. A method of straightening the bulged ends of boxcars which comprises the steps of:

(a) uncoupling two boxcars said boxcars having at least one of their facing ends bulged or bent;

(b) inserting a straightening box between said ends of said uncoupled boxcars; and

(c) pulling said boxcars against said straightening box to straighten the bulged ends of said boxcars.

16. A method as defined in claim 15, which comprises the further step of pushing said cars away from said straightening box after said bulged ends have been straightened.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,201,968 8/1965 Hill 72-705 X 2,443,931 6/ 1948 Stultz 72705 X 2,442,939 6/1948 Schram 72705 X 2,371,659 3/ 1945 Stultz 72705 X 3,408,848 11/1968 Lague 72705 X CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner A. L. HAVIS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 72-705, 458

Images