US 4,678,241 AGranted

Equalizer discharge valve for a railroad car air brake system

AssigneeNippon Air Brake Co., Ltd.

InventorsHideo Tamamori, Mitsuhiro Ikeda

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Abstract

An equalizer discharge valve for use on a railroad air brake system includes a valve housing having an equalizer chamber formed therein above a brake pipe chamber and separated by a piston, diaphragm configuration. The diaphragm is sealed on the outer circumference by the connection to the housing and on the inner circumference by the connection to the piston. A connecting passage formed in the piston has a check valve disposed therein such that fluid pressure can only flow from the equalizer chamber to the brake pipe chamber. An exhaust valve, disposed between the brake pipe chamber and an exhaust chamber, vents the brake pipe chamber when opened as corresponds to selected venting of the equalizer chamber fluid pressure. A back pressure chamber and piston configuration is formed above the equalizer chamber such that fluid pressure from the exhaust chamber can be communicated thereto to counterbalance the force on the piston exerted from the brake pipe side during an exhaust operation.

Claims9

Dependent claims

An equalizer discharge valve for use on a railroad air brake system having an equalizer reservoir, a brake valve, and a brake pipe extending through each railroad car of the train, said equalizer discharge valve comprising:

(a) a valve housing;
(b) a piston movable within a chamber formed in said valve housing;
(c) a diaphragm connected to said piston on the inner circumference and connected to said valve housing on the outer circumference;
(d) said piston and said diaphragm dividing said chamber into an equalizer chamber on one side of said piston and a brake pipe chamber on the opposite side of said piston;
(e) a connecting passageway formed through said piston;
(f) a check valve partially formed on a portion of said piston adjacent said connecting passageway, said check valve being effective such that fluid pressure can flow only from said equalizer chamber to said brake pipe chamber when said check valve is open;
(g) an exhaust chamber disposed in said valve housing below said brake pipe chamber;
and
(h) an exhaust valve formed between said brake pipe chamber and said exhaust chamber, said exhaust valve being effective such that, upon a preselected reduction in fluid pressure in said equalizer chamber, said piston rises and opens said exhaust valve to exhaust an amount of fluid pressure from said brake pipe chamber substantially equivalent to such preselected reduction of fluid pressure from said equalizer chamber.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.