Gaging assembly for automatically controlled wheel lathes

A gage for measuring parameters from the contour of a worn railroad wheel, said wheel contour being defined by tread edge, tread, flange, and flange edge portions and for supplying said parameters to a system for automatically controlling a lathe which is adapted for reclaiming said wheel contour comprising:

• A. a support block having means for mounting said block on the lathe at a predetermined radial distance from the turning axis of the lathe, for radial movement toward the wheel contour;
• B. first and second contacting members mounted on the support block for movement thereon and also mutually interconnected to allow for limited relative movement between said contacting members, said members being situated to sequentially engage the wheel tread and flange surfaces as the support block moves radially toward the wheel contour, the relative movement between said contacting members allowing an overall movement of the support block which is equal to the difference between the predetermined radial distance from the turning axis of the lathe and the reclaimed radius of the wheel;
• and
• C. an encoder operatively connected to the support block to generate signals relative to the total movement thereof.

A gage for measuring parameters from the contour of a worn railrod wheel, said wheel contour being defined by a tread edge, tread, flange, and flange edge portions and for supplying said parameters to a system for automatically controlling a lathe which is adapted for reclaiming said wheel contour comprising:

• A. a support block mounted on the lathe at a predetermined radial distance from the turning axis of the lathe, and at a predetermined axial position for radial movement toward the wheel contour;
• B. a bracket element slidably mounted on the support block for movement in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the support block, said bracket element having a flange edge contacting finger extending downward therefrom, said bracket element being spring biased away from the flange edge;
• C. a tread contactor slidably mounted on the bracket element for movement in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the support block, said tread contactor being spring biased toward the wheel contour;
• D. a flange contactor pivotally mounted on the tread contactor and also pivotally connected to the bracket element in a manner which causes pivotal movement of said flange contactor when relative movement between the bracket element and the tread contactor occurs;
• E. drive means operatively connected to the support block to cause movement of said support block radially toward the wheel contour;
• E. a first encoder operatively connected to the support block to generate a signal relative to the total movement thereof;
• and
• G. a second encoder operatively connected to the bracket element to generate a signal according to the relative movement between the support block and said bracket element.