Steering railroad truck
AssigneeAMSTED Industries Incorporated
InventorHarry W. Mulcahy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A truck for a railroad car has a front and rear wheelset with axle ends rotatively carried in a front and rear steering arm, respectively. The steering arms are carried in pedestal jaws of a right and left side frame with resilient pads interfacing between the steering arms and the side frames. The resilient pads allow each wheelset and steering arm to rotate or yaw to an out-of-square condition with respect to the side frame as the railroad car proceeds, for example, around a curve in the track on which the car is traveling. This rotational movement is selectively regulated by a joint connecting the front and rear steering arms.
Claims7
A railroad car truck for carrying a body of a railroad car, said truck assembled from a pair of spaced side frames, a bolster transversely positioned between said side frames with end portions of said bolster resiliently carried in windows centrally located in said side frames respectively, a pair of steering arms located on each side of said bolster and between said side frames, each said steering arm having side portions positioned within pedestal jaws formed at ends of said side frames, said steering arms joined at a point proximate a center of said bolster to in part regulate movement of said arms by a connection including a bracket formed on each said steering arm and positioned in a side by side relationship with multi-directional pivot means interconnected therewith, and a pair of wheelsets each having axle ends journaled in bearings located within said steering arm side portions to form a respective unit comprising said wheelset and said steering arm, an improvement in said truck comprising,
- an adapter carried one each on an upper portion of each said bearing and having a frustum-like shaped boss formed on an upper side of said adapter,
- an outwardly extending part forming part of said steering arm side portion, said extending part having a horizontal member with a reverse frustum-like shaped recess on a bottom side of said horizontal member to receive said adapter boss and form a compressive joint therebetween, and a recessed receiving area in a top side of said horizontal member,
- an elastomeric device having a lower portion disposed with a snug fit in said horizontal member receiving area, and
- a recessed covering area formed in a roof of said side frame pedestal jaw for disposition with a snug fit of an upper portion of said elastomeric device, said elastomeric device spacing said steering arm-wheelset unit from said side frame to allow movement therebetween,
- wherein steering forces generated between said wheelsets and trackage over which said truck may travel result in movement of each said steering arm-wheelset unit, said movements being regulated by said elastomeric device and said connection between said steering arms.
A railroad car truck comprising two side frames in a spaced relationship and an elongated bolster transversely positioned between said side frames, said bolster having ends resiliently carried in a window formed in said side frames respectively, a first and a second wheelset each having axle ends journaled in bearings located in pedestal jaws in both ends of said side frames, a first and a second steering arm positioned one each on each side of said bolster, each said steering arm having side portions operatively connected to said wheelsets through said bearings respectively, each said steering arm and respective wheelset forming a first and a second unit with movements of each said wheelset being selectively transmitted to said respective steering arm to provide concurrent movement between such, and elastomeric means positively joining said steering arm side portions to said side frames while allowing said units to move independent of said side frames with said movements being regulated by joint means connecting said steering arms, said joint means including brackets formed on each said steering arm and positioned in a side by side relationship with multi-directional pivot means interconnected therewith, the improvement in said truck comprising,
- adapter means disposed one each over said axle end bearings, each said adapter having a boss formed on an upper side of such, and
- each said side portion of said first and said second steering arms having an outwardly extending part defined in part by a horizontal member, said member having a recess formed in a bottom surface of such with said adapter boss receivable in said recess to form a self-aligning joint,
- said elastomeric means having a lower portion disposed in an horizontal member recess formed in an upper portion of said first and second steering arms, and
- a recessed covering area formed in a roof of said side frame pedestal jaw for disposition of an upper portion of said elastomeric device, said elastomeric device spacing said steering arm-wheelset unit from said side frame to allow movement therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.