US2127683A - Car underframe - Google Patents

Description

g- 1938- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,683

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 wk m mi m E 0 WWW w 4v 5 EA W Aug.-23,1938. w. eENSTERMACHER ETAL 2 7 683 .CAR UNDERFRAME Filed Marh 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I v R h\ IN VENTORS & Jh ND. [ZwJrEEn Mcnc-e.

Bow/r rEeflJe/MNE/a BY ATTORNEYJ g- 1933- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,633

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS B WATEEESUMNEE.

ATTORNEYS Aug. 23, 9 8- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,683.

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 mllgm l INVEN TORS e/o/wvflfZ/vsrEeMAc/vEe.

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ATTORNEYS Aug. 23,1938- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,533

CAR UNDERFRAME 7 Filed March 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

BY Mgk ATTORNEYJ:

Patented Aug. 23, 1938 CAR UNDERFRAIME John D. Fenstermacher, Piedmont, and Bowater B. Sumner, Burlingame, Calif.

Application March 12, 1935, Serial No. 10,696 2 Claims. (O1. 105 415) Our present invention relates to various detailed features of structural improvements on underframes, such as used on railway cars and the like. In general, the improved features, as

will be particularly pointed out in the claims relate to supporting and locking means for piping to prevent longitudinal or transverse movement thereof, center plate king pin bearing means and also means for bracing the bolsters in center members as structural improvements in the bolster ends and means for looking and preventing longitudinal and transverse movement of the side sills.

For a comprehensive exposition of the patentable features of improvement, reference is to be made to the following specification, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a railway car underframe embodying features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation with parts shown in section in the interest of clearness; Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section taken on the staggered line 33 of Fig. 1; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, enlarged plan, side and end elevations of one end of the underframe; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are enlarged detail views, respectively, in side elevation, end view and fragmentary top plan illustrating the striker portion of one of the end frames of the car underframe and showing also an arm integral with the end frame and securing means for supporting a valve or piping therefrom; Fig. 10 is a face view of a supporting arm formed integrally with the end frame; Fig. 11 is another view of such supporting arm, the view being taken on line II-H of Fig. '7; Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are, respectively, an end view, side view and top view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the body bolster illustrating in particular how the ends thereof are enlarged and also showing means for locking the side sill sections against both longitudinal and transverse movement; Figs. 15, 16 and 17 are enlarged views, respectively, in side elevation, cross section and plan sectional view of the body bolster forming part of the end frame, in particular illustrating the locking means adapted to prevent the longitudinal and axial movement of piping relatively to such bolster, Figs. 16 and 17 being sections on the correspondingly numbered section lines of Fig. Figs. 18 and 19 are enlarged sectional detail views of portions of the end frame, showing in particular the center plate and king pin bearing, Fig. 18 being a transverse section and Fig. 19 being a longitudinal section, the broken lines in Fig. 19 representing the companion surface of a truck bolster for coaction with the center plate and king pin; Fig. 20 is a diagram illustrating the distribution of stresses by the bracing members of the end frames.

Referring in detail to the drawings,.the underframe comprises as its main elements a pair of end frames AA spaced apart by a center sill composed of members EB and transverse supports on needle beams C, side sills D-D and end sills EE.

In construction of railway car underframes, it is usually necessary to provide adequate means for supporting piping such as that used in connection with the air brake equipment, heating apparatus, etc. I-Ieretofore, pipe supports have involved an assembly of separate parts bolted or otherwise attached to the underframe. An inherent fault with such separately attached parts is that they readily become loosened and permit movement or vibration of the piping. This is objectionable as it loosens the joints and results in air leakage, or interferes'with the proper functioning of the mediums transmitted through pipes.

One feature of our invention contemplates the provision of a rigid support for valves and piping. This aspect'of the invention is well illustrated in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and '1 to 11 inclusive. As

shown in these figures, we provide an arm I!) which is cast with and forms an integral part of the forward or striker portion of the end frame. This arm is so shaped as to form a seat for the hexagonal shoulder or abutment M of an angle valve l2 forming part of a typical known type of air brake equipment. Such angle valve has an annular'grooved portion Hi. This grooved portion forms a convenient means for coaction with a 'U bolt l8, which we secure by means of bolts 2|],as shown, to the arm II]. This arm, as best'illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, has a recessed seat 22 formed therein, two walls of the recess being inclined at an angle to one another to match the angularity of a pair of adjacent faces of the hexagonal portion of the valve.

As thus arranged, it will be apparent that the valve can be locked in various angular positions and that the U-bolt connection will prevent axial movement of the valve or the pipe attached thereto.

In car underframe design and construction, it is necessary to provide for the accommodation of undergear piping. The common practice heretofore has been to merely provide openings in the frame structure to permit the pipe to loosely pass therethrough. In practice, vibratory movement of the piping frequently causes the same to abut or strike the surfaces of the openings through which the pipe passes, thus causing objectionable noise and wear. Continued vibration of the pipe against the frame structure frequently causes pipe breakage or leakage.

We overcome this objectionable feature in the present improved underframe by providing a substantial support and an enlarged bearing area for the pipe and also include locking means for preventing substantially all relative motion between the pipe and the frame structure.

Such locking means is best shown in Figs, 12 to 17 inclusive. As therein shown, the air brake or train pipe, for example, indicated at 24, passes through a suitable perforated boss 26, providing a generous bearing surface for the pipe. The opening in this boss has formed therein a tapered keyway 28 for receiving alocking key 30, the outer face of which is tapered so as to wedgingly engage the keyway. This key is provided with teeth 32 adapted to grip or make a substantially non-slipping engagement with the pipe.

The key is specially constructed, however, to prevent the teeth from digging too deeply into the pipe. To this end, the key is slotted, as indicated at 34, so as to provide a certain amount of resiliency, in the outer portion 36 thereof which engages the inclined face of the key seat. This slotted resilient type of key permits of a limited yielding action whereby the grip between the key and the pipe can be adjusted to a nicety without unduly digging into the surface of the pipe as will be understood. The extreme end of the key is split, as indicated in Fig. 16, and the extremities 36 thereof are adapted to be spread apart, so as to prevent the key from jarring loose. It is apparent that this type of lock will prevent both axial and transverse movement of the pipe and will form an effective relatively rigid support and thus practically eliminate the possibility of vibration and consequent wear on the piping.

It is customary in railway car design to provide a center plate or king pin bearing to permit the trucks to rotate relatively to the body or superstructure of the car when passing over stretches of track including curves or other irregularities. Heretofore, the center plate or king pin bearing has usually been a circular flat surface.

The old structure was objectionable because when a car is in motion there is a rocking motion of the superstructure which is deliberately permitted for ease of riding, springs being provided to provide for such rocking motion. But, this rocking motion has a detrimental effect on the king pins or center plates heretofore used. In the old structures, the weight of the superstructure and its load are carried alternately on the diametrically opposed edges of the fiat center plate. This sets up an unbalanced condition causing overstressing of the metal in the top or body of the center plate and in the lower or truck bolster center plate. Such overstressing results frequently in the fracture or breakage of one or the other members. To overcome this inherent weakness in the center plate or king pin bearings of the prior art, we have devised an improved type of bearing, wherein there is a substantially uniform distribution of the load over the bearing surface. A preferred embodiment of our improved center plate or king pin bearing is best shown in Figs. 3, 5, 18 and 19.

In Figs. 18 and '19, theseat or bearing on the truck bolster is shown in broken lines at 38. This seat has a concave surface, a portion of which corresponds substantially to the surface of a sphere. Integrally formed on the underside of the bolster portion 46 of each end frame, we provide a center plate, as indicated at 42, whose under convex surface 44 corresponds to the surface of the sphere to match the similar spherical seat 38 on the truck.

There is an upstanding boss 46 formed integral with the center plate. This is provided with an aperture 48 to receive a king pin which preferably makes a loose fit. There is preferably provision for clearance between the truck bearing and the concave center plate. This clearance is indicated at 50 in Figs. 18 and 19. This allows for freedom of rocking movement of the underframe relatively to the truck frame. Under such rocking conditions, the bearing surface of the underside of the center plate and the coacting surface of the king pin bearing are always in contact. Thus, the load is distributed over a generous area and there being no separation between the two at any point there is no chance for overstressing the metal as in frames heretofore in general use.

As will be apparent from Figs. 4 and 20, our improved underframe is well suited for distributing the forces in such a way as to relieve the center plate and king pin from excessive stresses.

Each end frame includes longitudinally extending upstanding web portions 52 which are integral with top and bottom flanges 5 3 and 56. The webs 52 merge into diagonally extending webs 58 which in turn merge at the zones indil cated at 60-50 with a transversely extending web 62 of the body bolster portion of the end frame. From the zones B06ll, diagonal webs 6464 converge toward the points of juncture 66-66 with the center sill members 3-13.

This arrangement of the component parts of the end frame provides a bracing system whereby any force directed against the end of the underframe is separated and a portion shunted around the center plate and king pin and returned to the center member, where it again joins the main force to be transmitted to the center sill. This feature has the advantage that the shunted force joins the main force at the zone where the center member is of maximum section.

The distribution of the forces is indicated somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 20. The two parallel arrows 12 represent a force applied endwise to the underframe. This may be regarded as being resolved into forces 10' and :0 The two forces p can be regarded as being transmitted in the diagonal direction through the instrumentality of the diagonal webs 58 and their associated flanges. Part of the main force 12 2 can be regarded as being transmitted through the web portions 52 and thence, as indicated by the arrows p p to the points 66 and then to the center sill members B. The shunted portions p'-p' of the force will be shunted around, as indicated in Fig. 20, part of this force being dissipatd at the junction points marked 69 in Fig. 4. And then this shunted force, as indicated by the arrows 11 -42 will be shunted around and joined with the main force represented by arrows p and p This distribution of the forces is such that the various members take only small increments of the total force and the arrangement of the component elements of the end frame is such that the center plate and king pin are largely relieved of strains due to the shunting of the forces around them in the manner explained. This arrangement assists materially in preventing fracture or breakage of the body bolster at its junction with the center member. In'the arrangement as illustrated, we provide a structure in which the vertical webs 68 at the ends of the braces are enlarged so as to form a continuous vertical web or bracket from the top flange to the bottom flange and bolster or center member at the zone of junction of these braces with such members.

In conventional underframes of the prior art, considerable difl'lculty is experienced due to the lack of suitable provision to prevent the displacement of the side sills relatively to the other parts of the underframe. Moreover, a blow or force acquired at the end of the underframe tends to produce longitudinal movement of the superstructure and side sills transversely through the bearing at the end of the bolster member. Because of the limited area, in a practical sense, it is impossible in the designs heretofore used to provide a suflicient number of rivets to prevent longitudinal movement of the side sills and as a consequence in the practical operation it is found that the rivets are frequently sheared off. The frame of our invention overcomes these shortcomings by the provision of means best shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 13 to 18 inclusive.

Referring first to Figs. and 1'7, it will be observed that at the outer end of the body bolster portion of each underframe, we provide a pair of parallel upstanding ribs 10 and 12. The spacing of these ribs is substantially equal to the width of the bottom flange of the side sill D. As will be clear from the drawings, the ribs are disposed transversely of the center line of the body bolster and are practically parallel with the longitudinal axis of the underframe.

Each inner rib 10 is provided with a laterally extending projection M which coacts with a -notch 16 cut away or coped out of the lower flange of the side sill member D. The weight of the load on the superstructure of the car will normally tend to hold the side sill section in the position shown in Figs. 15 and 16 and thus it is clear that thearrangement is such that the side sill members D are adequately locked against movements in a direction transverse to the length of the frame as well as against movement in the direction of the length of the frame. In addition, we may employ rivets 18, as illustrated. The longitudinal or transverse loads imposed on these rivets has a tendency to shear them. This will be lessened and even if a certain amount of strain is imposed on them as the arrangement of ribs and projections will prevent the rivets from being sheared 01f.

Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive illustrate a modification in which the side sills D are formed of Z-bars in place of angles, shown in Fig. 15. In this bracket-like enlargement, as indicated at IE! to interfit with the top flange of the Z-bar and the projection for preventing relative longitudinal movement between the side sill and the bolster will be formed on the outer rib, as indicated at 14 in Figs. 13 and 14. Substantially the same arrangement may also be used where the side sills are formed of channel sections.

For preventing movement of the end sills E in a direction transverse to their length, we provide ribs 80 and 82 which define a groove-like seat in the outer ends of the central portions of the respective end frame A.

While we have described quite precisely certain detailed features of the invention herein disclosed, it is to be understood that the appended claims are to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense since various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the scope thereof.

What we claim is:-

1. A car underframe comprising a cast metal end frame having a bolster integral therewith, side sills resting on and supported thereon, integral ribs formed on the bolster and holding the side sills against movement transverse to the side sills and said side sills having notched portions and projections on the bolster interfitted therewith for holding said sills against lengthwise movement.

2. A car underframe comprising a cast metal end frame having a bolster integral therewith, side sills resting on and supported thereon, integral ribs formed on the bolster and holding the side sills against movement transverse to the side sills, said side sills being flanged structural sections having their base flanges notched, and projections on said bolster in interengagement with said notched flanges.

JOHN D. FENSTERMACHER.

BOWATER. B. SUMNER.

modification, one of the locking ribs will have a I

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