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US 10,400,397 B2Granted
Boltless rail brace
Assigneevoestalpine Nortrak Inc.
InventorsGary Click, Brent Duffner, Bradley Smith, Derek Cameron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A boltless brace assembly for a rail includes a base block interlocked with a brace, and further includes a wedge to be inserted between an upper surface of the base block and a lower surface of the brace, thereby applying an upward force to the brace and a resultant downward force to secure the rail base. The brace assembly may be modified to provide a universal brace assembly, a resilient brace assembly, or a frog base clamp.
Claims26
An assembly to brace a rail, comprising:
- a brace positionable on a base of said rail, said brace having a nose portion extending away from said rail;
- a base block having a bottom surface and an opposed top surface, separated by a front side surface facing said rail, and an opposed rear side surface, said front side surface of said base block being interlockable with said brace and a portion of said top surface being located under said nose portion;
- and
- a wedge insertable in a channel in said top surface of said base block and at least partially below said nose portion of said brace such that said wedge applies an upward force on said nose portion of said brace and a resultant downward force on said rail base.
1 more element
A method of installing an assembly to brace a rail comprising the steps of:
- placing a base block a predetermined distance from said rail, said base block having a bottom surface and an opposed top surface, separated by a front side surface facing said rail, and an opposed rear side surface;
- placing a brace on a base of said rail and between said rail and said base block such that said brace interlocks with said front side surface of said base block and a nose portion of said brace extends above said top surface of said base block;
- inserting a wedge into a channel provided in said top surface of said base block until at least a portion of said wedge fits snugly under said nose portion of said brace such that said wedge applies an upward force on an underside of said nose portion and a resultant downward force on said rail base.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.