Differential wheel mounting for railroad car
OwnerJohn Kummingsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A differential wheel mounting for replacing a standard railroad axle assembly having a wheel seat portion which includes a sleeve having several sliding surfaces fixedly mounted over the wheel seat portion of the axle, a railroad wheel with a running surface for contacting a rail and a plain bearing member detachably mounted to the railroad wheel. The plain bearing member has non-metallic bearing surfaces that mate with the sliding surfaces on the sleeve so that the bearing member and the attached wheel are laterally confined on the sleeve while being rotatable about the sleeve. The plain bearing member sustains both radial and thrust loads during normal operation of a railroad car.
Claims30
A differential wheel mounting for use on railroad cars having a railroad car axle with a wheel seat portion adjacent to at least one end and a wheel rotatably mounted relative to the axle on the wheel seat portion, the differential wheel mounting comprising:
- a sleeve for fixedly mounting on the wheel seat portion of the axle, said sleeve having sliding surfaces;
- a railroad wheel having a running surface for contacting a rail;
- and
- a plain bearing member detachably mountable to said railroad wheel and laterally confined on said sleeve, said plain bearing member having non-metallic bearing surfaces which mate with said sliding surfaces on said sleeve to sustain radial and thrust loads experienced during normal operation.
A differential wheel mounting for a railroad car having a standard railroad car axle with a raised wheel seat portion and a journal bearing adjacent to at least one end, the differential wheel mounting comprising:
- a sleeve mounted to the raised wheel seat portion on the axle, said sleeve having a first shoulder and including a first keeper;
- a railroad wheel having a running surface for contacting a rail and a second shoulder and including a second keeper;
- and
- a plain bearing member positioned between said sleeve and said wheel;
- wherein said first shoulder and said first keeper laterally confine said bearing member with respect to said sleeve and said second shoulder and said second keeper laterally confine said bearing member with respect to said wheel;
- wherein said bearing member sustains radial and thrust loads during normal operation of the railroad car;
- and
- wherein said bearing member allows for rotationally slippage relative to said railroad wheel and said sleeve.
A method for retrofitting a railroad car axle having fixed wheels mounted on wheel seat portions with at least one differential wheel mounting, comprising the steps of:
- removing the fixed wheel from one wheel seat portion on the axle;
- securely mounting a sleeve on the wheel seat portion, said sleeve including a first shoulder and a first keeper;
- detachably mounting a plain bearing member to a railroad wheel having an outer running surface for contacting a rail, said railroad wheel including a second shoulder and a second keeper, wherein said second shoulder and said second keeper laterally confine said bearing member with respect to said wheel;
- and
- rotationally mounting the plain bearing member on the sleeve so that the plain bearing member is laterally confined on the sleeve to sustain radial and thrust loads experienced during normal operation, wherein said first shoulder and said first keeper laterally confine said bearing member with respect to said sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.