US2754861A - Grooving machines for railway sleepers - Google Patents

Description

July 17, 1956 p, FAUREL ETAL 2,754,861

GROOVING MACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Filed March 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEI! TORS Pa fiwamzmu i 3M July 17, 1956 P. FAUREL ET AL 2,754,861

GROOVING MACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Filed March 9, 1954 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ll Fr.

: I; I ll 5 I I "W g mul INVE TORS faul aural ATTO R N EYS United States Patent Oflice 2,754,861 Patented July 17, 1956 2,754,861 GROOVING MACHINES FOR RAILWAY SLEEPERS Paul Faurel and Andr Bruget, Brive-la-Gaillarde, France,

assignors to Materiel Industriel S. A., Lansanne, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Application March 9, 1954, Serial No. 415,012 Claims priority, application France March 10, 1953 3 Claims. (Cl. 144-133) This invention relates to improved apparatus for grooving the sleepers of a roadbed of a railroad.

The rails of a railroad are supported on tie plates resting on sleepers or ties on the roadbed of a railroad. From time to time it is necessary to re-groove the sleepers to remove the old wood at the surface of the sleepers in order to provide a firm and adequate support for the tie plates and rails.

it is an object of the present invention to provide im proved simplified apparatus for this purpose which is supported on the rails of the railroad and which can be operated to re-groove the sleepers or ties while the rails are in place on the sleepers.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved apparatus of the above character in which the machine tool assembly can be readily shifted transversely to groove the sleepers adjacent each of the rails and which can be readily elevated to inoperative position so that the tool can clear the rails. In this connection the apparatus is also provided with improved releasable retaining means to releasably retain the machine tool assembly in either elevated or lowered position.

A machine embodying the invention and the manner of using the same is described herein with reference being had to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectional front view of the machine shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a partially sectional top view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

On the rails, which are designated as 1 in the figures rests a lower frame or carrier, composed of wheels 2 and of a chassis, of which the transversal irons 3 are shown.

This lower frame allows the machine to move in the direction of the length of the track by running its wheels 2 on the tracks.

The upper frame which is also transversal, is mounted by means of. rollers 4 in the transversal irons 3 of the under carrying frame. Hence the upper frame can move at right-angles to the track in the direction of the sleepers which are not shown.

This upper transversal frame carries one or more toolmotor aggregates, each comprising a combustion engine 5 and a tool 6 having a vertical shaft 6a and a cutter 7 at its lower end.

By moving the upper frame at right angles to the tracks, it is possible to bring cutter 7 from one railway track to the other. In order to do this, the cutter must be lifted in order to be free of the railway tracks.

The upper transversal frame has longitudinal beams 8 on which are mounted triangular frames 9 and 10. The motor-tool aggregate is connected with it in such a way as to allow the desired vertical lifting.

Between longitudinal beam 8 and tool 6 is an articulated connecting rod 11. Also a connecting rod 12, which is parallel to rod 11, connects the motor with the top of the triangle formed by the junction of frames 9 and 10. Connecting rod 12 is integral with elevating lever 13, with which it can turn.

It is obvious that the connecting rods 11 and 12 form, with their points of articulation, a parallelogram A-B-CD and that by moving the elevating lever 13 counterclockwise in the direction of the arrow 14, the motor and the tool will be vertically elevated in the direction of the arrow 15 in Fig. 1.

This allows tool 6 and its cutter 7 to pass over the railways if they are shifted while in raised position.

Compression spring 16 is positioned by having one end attached to the rocking axis C of the connecting rod 12 and its other end connected to lever arm 17, which is coaxial at D to the connecting rod 12, and connected to a lever 18, called wedging lever.

In the position shown in Fig. 1, the spring 16 exerts a downward pressure on the motor-tool aggregate and holds it in its lower working position.

If now, the mentioned aggregate having been elevated, the lever 18 is swung in the opposite direction of the movement communicated to the lever 13, the whole takes the position of the partial view of Fig. 2 and the motortool aggregate is now held in its elevated position.

In this position tool 6 and cutter 7 can pass easily over the railways.

For elevating or for lowering the tools, the levers 13 and 18 are always worked simultaneously. Compression spring 16 is provided as a retaining means to releasably hold the machine tool assembly in either its elevated or its lowered position.

The depth of cutting of the groove being established by the height of the cutter 7 in lowered position, means which are described below, are provided to influence this position.

These means consist of lever 19, articulated on the upper frame at 20 and a hand-Wheel 21 which moves it, in a way that the position of its free end 22, bearing on the casing of the motor, limits its downward movement to variable predetermined positions.

Note that the shape of the tool and its cutter allow the sleepers to be grooved on the spot by allowing the cutter to be passed under the flange of the railway. In this way the railway track is never out of circulation and a removal of the rails is avoided.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed and cooperable to ride on the rails of said roadbed comprising: a lower frame assembly having rotatably mounted supporting wheels cooperable to engage the rails of the roadbed to support the apparatus so that it may be shifted along the rails; an upper frame assembly superimposed upon the lower frame assembly; means supporting the upper frame assembly on the lower frame assembly so that it can shift transversely with respect thereto; a machine tool assembly including a motor and a vertical shaft operatively connected thereto and having means for operatively supporting a grooving tool adjacent the lower end thereof; a supporting structure for supporting said machine tool assembly from said upper frame assembly and including a plurality of parallel links having pivotal connection adjacent one end thereof with the upper frame assembly and pivotal connection adjacent the other end thereof with the machine tool assembly, said supporting structure including a lever type handle connected to one of said links adjacent the pivotal connection with the upper frame assembly whereby the link may be pivoted to shift the machine tool assembly between an elevated inoperative position and a lowered operative position; and a resilient retainer for releasably retaining the machine tool assembly in either of said elevated or lowered positions including a compression spring having means operatively engaging the machine tool assembly at one end and means operatively engaging the upper frame assembly at the other end, said spring and links being arranged so that they are substantially horizontal when the machine tool assembly is in intermediate position between elevated and lowered positions and so that they extend upwardly at an angle when the machine tool is in elevated position and downwardly at an angle when the machine is in lowered position with the vertical component of force of the spring exceeding the horizontal component of force when the machine tool assembly is in either elevated or lowered position.

2. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed as set forth in claim 1 in which the means operatively engaging the upper frame assembly is shiftable 4 in a vertical plane so that the vertical component of force may be increased relative to the horizontal component of force at the elevated and lowered positions.

3. Apparatus for use in grooving the sleepers of a railroad roadbed as set forth in claim 1 in which adjustable mcans are provided for limiting the lowered operative position of the machine tool assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,021,400 Collet Mar. 26, 1912 1,427,516 Carman Aug. 29, 1922 1,830,977 Banfer Nov. 10, 1931 2,527,668 Woolery Oct. 31, 1950 2,535,182 Weaver Dec. 26, 1950 2,582,442 Lapp Jan. 15, 1952

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