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US 3,964,680 AGranted
Railroad spike retainer
OwnerDavid M. Arthurinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A railroad spike retainer is disclosed which may be driven into a railroad tie together with the spike it retains. The retainer exerts a retention force both against the spike to prevent its regression from the retainer and also against the tie to prevent the regression of the retainer itself from the tie.
Claims9
Apparatus for maintaining a fixed, yet resilient orientation between a railroad rail and a supporting cross-tie, the apparatus comprising, in combination:
- a. a load carrying rail including a flanged base;
- b. a penetrable cross-tie for supporting the flanged base of said rail;
- c. a spike for forceable insertion into said cross-tie, said spike including
- 1. an elongated shaft;
- and
- 2. an enlarged head portion located at one end of the elongated shaft for engaging the flanged base of said rail to secure said rail against substantial movement relative to said cross-tie;
- and
- d. retention means between the elongated shaft of said spike and the cross-tie into which said spike is forceably inserted for semiresiliently retaining said spike in fixed relationship to said cross-tie, said retention means including
- 1. a pair of elongated planar legs;
- 2. a reinforced web for connecting the legs to form a U-shaped structure corresponding generally to the configuration of opposing sides of the elongated shaft of said spike;
- and
- 3. a plurality of spaced louvers disposed laterally across both legs for engaging the elongated shaft of said spike and said cross-tie, selected ones of said louvers including
- i. means for resiliently connecting the louver to a leg while permitting limited relative movement between the louver and the connected leg;
- and
- ii. an edge for deformably engaging the shaft of said spike.
12 more elements
Apparatus for maintaining a fixed, yet resilient orientation between a railroad rail and a supporting cross-tie, the apparatus comprising, in combination:
- a. a load carrying rail including a flanged base;
- b. a penetrable cross-tie for supporting the flanged base of said rail;
- c. a spike for forceable insertion into said cross-tie, said spike including
- 1. an elongated shaft;
- and
- 2. an enlarged head portion located at one end of the elongated shaft for engaging the flanged base of said rail to secure said rail against substantial movement relative to said cross-tie;
- and
- d. retention means between the the elongated shaft of said spike and the cross-tie into which said spike is forceably inserted for semi-resiliently retaining said spike in fixed relationship to said cross-tie, said retention means including
- 1. a pair of elongated planar legs;
- 2. a reinforced web for connecting the legs to form a U-shaped structure corresponding generally to the configuration of opposing sides of the elongated shaft of said spike;
- and
- 3. a plurality of spaced louvers disposed laterally across both legs for engaging the elongated shaft of said spike and said cross-tie, each of said louvers including
- i. means for resiliently connecting the louvers to the legs while permitting limited relative movement between each louver and its connected leg;
- ii. an inner edge for deformably engaging the shaft of said spike;
- and
- iii. an outer edge for deformably engaging said cross-tie.
13 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.