US1185549A - Rail-joint. - Google Patents

Description

WALTER J. SMITH, 0F IBESSEMER, ALABAMA.

- RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May-30, 1916.

Application led September 7, 1915. Serial N o. 49,2021. l

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, WALTER J. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bessemer, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented a new and' useful Improvement in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in rail joints, and the invention has for its object to provide mechanism of the character specified, for securely joining the meeting ends of the rails without the use of bolts or the like passing transversely of the rail, and vwithout the necessity of transverse openings in the rails or the joining means, and whereinthe mechanism is arranged to support the meeting ends of the rails in true alinement, and against the possibility of lateral or vertical movement with respect to each other,

and without interfering with the movement of expansion and contraction due to temperature changes.

In the drawings: Figure l is a top plan view of the improved joint with parts in section, Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a partial per-` spective view of one of the wedges, and Fig. 4 is a similar view of one of therfish plates or splice bars.

The present embodiment of the invention is shown in connection with the meeting ends of rails 1 and 2, and the attachment comprises a seat, bed or saddle, comprising a body 3, adapted to be arranged beneath the meeting ends of the rails and between the same and the ties, and the said seat or bed is of suflicient width to extend beyond the base flanges of the rails at each side thereof, as shown. rlhe upper face of the seat is grooved longitudinally as shown in Fig. 4 to receive the base flange of the rails and at each side of the groove the seat is provided with an upstanding longitudinally extending flange or rib 5. Each flange or rib has its inner face 6 inclined as shown, the said faces inclining upwardly and outwardly.

Fish plates 7 are provided for engaging the opposite sides of the meeting ends of ythe rails, the said plates being of a width to eX- tend from the tread of the rail to the base flange as shown in Fig. 2, when the inner face of the plate is spaced from the adjacent face of the web of the rail. The upper side edge of each fish plate is beveled or inclined as shown at 8 to fit the under face of the tread and the lower side edge of each plate is beveled as shown at 9, to lit the upper face of the base flange.

The inclined surfaces Sand 9 are spaced apart from each other a sufficient distance, that is, the width of each fish plate is such that when the surface 8 of the fish plate is engaged with the under face of the tread and the surface 9 is engaged with the upper face of the base flange the inner face of the fish plate will not engage the web but will be spaced apart therefrom to provide a space between the inner face of each fish plate and the adjacent face of the web.

The inner face of each sh plate is grooved longitudinally intermediate the side edges thereof as shown at 10, and toward its lower side edge each fish plate is thickened. Each l fish plate is provided on its outer face and at its lower edge with a laterally extending flange or rib 11, and just above the flange the fish'plate is provided with a beveled or inclined surface 12, the said surfaces inclining in they opposite direction to the surfaces 6 of the ribs or flanges 5 of the seat.

A wedge or wedge bar 13 is arranged between each fish plate andthe adjacent rib or flange 5 of the seat, each of the said wedges having a trapezoidal cross section as shown. That is, the opposite facesvof the wedges are beveled in opposite directions and at inclina-V tions co-rresponding to the inclinations of l the surfaces 6 and 12 of the ribs or flanges 5 and the fish plates. With this arrangement it lwill be obvious that when the wedges are forced downwardly between the said inclined surfaces the fish plates will be forced inwardly toward the webs of `the rails. The wedges or wedge bars 13 are of less thickness or depth thanthe height of either surface 6 or 12, and they are of such width that when inserted between the said surfaces in the position shown in Fig. 2, 'a portion of each wedge will extend above the tops of the ribs 5, and above the tops of the surfaces 12.

Mechanism is provided in connection with each wedge for forcing the wedge downwardly, and each of the said means comprises a series of bolts 14. Each wedge is provided with a series of openings 15, and the seat or bed is provided with a series of vertical openings 16 at each side of the groove 4 for the rail base. The openings 16 eXtend into the groove 4 at their inner side 11 andv they also pass through notches 17' in the rib or flange 11 of the adjacent fish plate.

The bolts are. passed from below' upward and the lower face of the seat or bed is` bolt is engaged by a nut 21. The seat or bed is extended at each side edge beyond the outer face of the adjacent web or flange 5 as indicated a 22, and the extensions 22 are notched or recessed as indicated at 28, for receiving spikes or the like to secure the seat to the cross ties of the track. Each of the bolts 14 is polygonal over a portion of its length adjacent to the head as indicated at 24, and the notches or recesses 17 and 19 of the fish plates and the rail bases as well as the openings 16 of the bed or seat are similarly shaped to receive the polygonal portions of the bolts. It will be evident that when the wedge bars 13 are forced downwardly by turning the nuts 21, the fish plates will be forced inward toward the rails, and the upper faces of the treads of the rails will be held in true alinement and against the possibility of either lateral or vertical movement. As the parts become loose through wear the nuts may be be tightened to compensate for such wear. The rail base is also firmly wedged on the seat.

The fish plates cannot move with respect to the rail because of the engagement of the bolts 14: with the notches17 of the fish plates and the rails cannot move with respect to the seat because they are locked by the engagement of the-notches or recesses 19 with the bolts. The entire oint is rigidly locked together by the bolts and wedges, and there is sufficient space below the wedge bars to permit compensation for any wear that may take place. The meeting ends of the rails are in addition supported by a bed or seat which extends transversely of the space between two ties, and the rail ends are held rigidly against movement in any direction with respect to each other.

I claim :M

In combination with the meeting ends of the rails, of a seat for the said ends and provided in its Vupper face with a longitudinally extending groove for receiving the base flanges of the rails and at each side of the groove with an upstanding rib or flange having its inner face inclined outwardly toward the top of the rib or flange, a fish plate at each side of the rail ends, said plates being of greater width than the faces of the webs of the rails to prevent said plates from engaging the said faces of the webs of the rails when the fish plates are in place between the tread and the base flange of the rails, each fish plate having an inclined surface on its upper face at the adjacent rib, and of approximately the same height as the inner face of the rib and inclined in the opposite direction to the said inner face, a wedge bar arranged at each fish plate between the inclined surface thereof and the adjacent rib or flange of the seat, and means for forcing the wedge bars downwardly, said means comprising a series ofV bolts for each wedge bar, each bolt having a head and a polygonal portion adjacentY to the head, and the seat and wedge bars having registering openings Ifor re ceiving the bolts, the rail base having a notch ateach bolt for receiving the bolt, and each fish plate having an outwardly extending rib at its lower end provided with notches for engagement by the bolts, said notches of the base flange and fish plate being shaped to fit the bolts, and a nut engaging eachrbolt above the wedge bar.

WALTER J. SMITH.

Sonics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of .Patents Washington, D. C.

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