US2633089A - Mine car - Google Patents

Description

March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLOWERS MINE CAR Filed Sept. 30. 1946 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 vtowags.

March 31, 1953 Filed sept'. 5o, 194e H'. F. FLowERs 2,633,089

MINE CAR '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLowERs 2,633,089

MINE CAR Filed sept. so. 194e v sheets-sheet 3 March 31, 1953 H. F. FLowl-:Rs 2,533,089

MINE cm Filed Sept. -50. 1946 7 Shntshnt 4 @fg-a 6 ffenryjbri Mowers.

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March 3l, 1953 H.,F. FLOWERS 2,633,039

MINE cAR Filed Sept. 30, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 fh! ahi;

im *ii l I- 16 E 2? gf# ll if 22 Q N HIIHV-i ""3 "zo J/ I f \4 y 24 Z1 awww/tov Jfewy br Flowers.

March 31, 1953 H. F. FLowr-:Rs 2,633,089

MINE CAR K Filed Sept; 30. 1946 7 Sbeetq-Sheet 6 Z2 gYwvM/o Henry Ferl Flowers.

, amm n March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLowERs l MINE cAR '7v Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed sept. so, 194e Patented Mar. 31, 1953 l-T ED- STAT PATENT oFFIicE;

MINE CAR.

Henry FrtFlowers, Findlay,v `h10 Applicationiseptember 30, 1946', SerialNoOOl;

` In Greatiritain November i7; 1945.-

61,.Cla.ms.. `(Cl. 1054-180),-

`'lheinvention relatesto newliand useiulaim:

proverrientsfinzimine cars andighas for.v a ,purpose to provide amine `car having alarge capacity` with limitedpverall dinfiensions which cari iS capable Aofxnegotiating sharp vradius .cilrvesuwhile traveling at comparatively-high speed .over mine 1 and .riveting` so '.a'stoiformazerigidlstructure hay:- i

.a .central Well: vto increase. the carrying-` capacityf for'fa; car.; relatively low in height;

fmtheri object iofsthenvention is toprovide armineicariofthe aboveftypewherein,the body is mounted on .independent tandem. trucks ,hav-

ing three.motionsetomswingiabout .arverticalaxis aroundnnrves, tot oscillate in ias. longitudinal ver-- tical .plane when; traveling j over, uneven track-s,

and;` to; move bodily vertically.4 under spring .Y *controh Afurther.: object ofitheinvention. is L toi` utilize .n

for al mounting rf-orf the.: trucks; theheavy floor plates-at the. ends of .thecanA towhiclnking .posts ane.` directly.l connectedf :by weldingL and riveting.

Af.further object-is to provide.. azsingleztie, barn` connecting opposed; trucks; whiehwxisn disposed adjacent the center of'theg-cargse astto .provide .space'forthe coupler anditsfdraft gear.

A furtherxobj ect. of `the :invention V:is'nto provide' amine ear` ofV theabovetypefwherein the-,tie vbar isxrelativelyxshortiand. wherein stops are mounted onv thetbdyl. of; the. car andpare: .so disposed.. as; to: limit the turning. movements: of l; the;I trucks,

aboutsventical axes..

These .andother objects v:will zin partibeobvious;v and: wilhin'zipart behereinafter more fu1ly.dis:.-y closedi the; drawings which show: by-4 way. of; illustration one .embodiment of the; invention,

Figuren ,a plan view rofra-fmine car. embody-l ingthe improvements A with the heavy.. end plates removed :.Aforf; the f purposes fof-L showingrth-e trucks Y.

and v. associatediking posts onswhich `the :bodyismounted; '1

Figure la'. isala;` side viewoi -thefmine car;

Figure -ilb'is an `isometric View of v"the-mine *car f from below, with couplers, trucks', and brake rige gingremovedt for the purposeof showing more `clelfrlygtliegeneral construction ofj the body of? Figure 3 is a side view of one end,ofi the mine car;

Figure 4 is .apartial.endiviewoithe minecar;

Figure 5 .is afviewof the opposed ,trucks atione 5 .n end .of the car onwhich the Ibody is mounted and also showingthe tie bar. connectingv thetrucksk andthe .brake mechanism;

Figure .Sisan end view of the .trueksshowingf the .brake cage and its mounting on. wheeL Lg? truck i rame and .the .-tie. vbarficonneeting, the, sama; and `also...slf1owing vthe heavy Yiloortplateion which! the king. posts .are mounted;

` Figure v'I isV a.. view.partia11y;. inside.elevation,`A and partiallyin vertical sectionnthrough the hotly.v

R supporting vmeans showingthe condition. of2 the. Dsprings supporting the bodyhnder a,heavy,-load;. .Figure'la is adetailshowingithe condition of the springs .supporting-the body. under. `a, slight;

load; and` 20,y Eigure,isasectional viewtonithe line lli-8904i., Figure showingdonan .enlargedscaleftheconfnection between thetie. ,bar `and the loiakesup; portingibracket .and a1so..showing the connection.

to the. tie bar. :for twisting` .the same to operate] the brakes.

The mine car includes abody" which is con: structed of,` plates of rectangularhape. These' plates are connectedby welding andriveti-ng to.. provide avery :cigidbodyr structure. 'Ifhe loudly,v includes sideplates l, I and' endplatesv 2, 2;..

301- There is; a` heavy rend. plate; 3Lextending. from one sideof. the. .car tov theother, beneath which.L arethe supporting trucksior thebody.` There. is asimilar heavy,4 endplatetat the other., endf of thelcar. In betweenthe..endplatesis awelLf ;,'I'hesidep1ates l have straightlowen edges;` extending from enditoendf of V.the body. The.. bottom well platesv 4; :.4 have l.their edges curved upward. to.f orm around corner.: and extend upfward .to..- formA theside plates1 of* the well. and 1 Theserfloor plates.

4, .li rare. joined to J,the `heavy; plates 3 byf vertical -r plates. 5;v These 'vertical plates n forming.; the ends K of.. the. well ,serve as; .transverse`v beam-si v.hai/,ing the, eiiect ,of` a z-bar, i with Lthe y end floor.;.platel 45.-, forming.. one t leg` of `.theiZ-bar.` and the well. floor,-

40 i. connect to side plates. I, I; n

plate. forming. thei other. legi Of theyy Z-.ban

The emeeting: edges oi thepIates are :connected l by` folding.,one of the ,plates andA by welding or riveting the .plates together; Thezend plates.- are angedior bentto form `.beveled cornersjas indi.- cated...at .15,6I so, .Y as to `Vprovide room; at onefside;-v for a'brake .operating vleverandito provide .a ,step

ateach corner and Jclearancebetweenmanswhen 90.1`1p1ed.qna.-curve. This provides afbedawhim. 1S Veri'A Simple in construction. and; which .f is; .01,5

relatively large carrying capacity and at the same time is greatly limited in overall dimensions, with a minimum space required for trucks, draft springs, couplers, and brake mechanism.

The body is carried by wheel trucks. There are two independently mounted wheel trucks at each end of the car. They are similar in construction and the description of one will answer for the others. Each wheel truck includes side frames 'I which are formed of heavy plates. These side plates are connected together by transverse angle plates 8, 8 and a semi-cylindrical gimbal supporting plate 9. These plates are welded together and to the side plates, thus making a very rigid wheel frame. There are wheel axles or spindles IU, II) extending from one side of the frame to the other on which are mounted flanged wheels II, II. These wheel axles or spindles are rigidly connected to the side members and further aid in the forming-of a rigid wheel frame structure.

Mounted on the gimbal supporting member 3 is a body supporting member or gimbal I2. Carried by this body supporting member is a hardened steel sleeve I3. A king post I4 of hardened steel fits operatively within the sleeve and the sleeve I3, together with the body supporting member and the truck, is free to oscillate on the king post about a vertical axis. The king post can move up and down in the sleeve I3. The king post is also'provided with a dust guard I5 to seal the dirt away from the close fit between the king post and the gimbal or body supporting member. The king post I4 and the dust guard I5 are welded to a plate I6 which, in turn, is welded and riveted to the heavy end oor plate 3;k The gimbal or body supporting member is curved to conform to the inner face of the gimbal supporting member 9 and the truck frame can shift on this body -supporting member and thus oscillate in a longitudinal vertical plane when the wheels are traveling over uneven tracks. Mounted in the body supporting gimbal I2 is an abutment thrust pivot plate I'I provided with a central upstanding hub around which is disposed a coil spring I8.

Outside of the coil spring I8 is a heavy spring I9; The upper end of the light spring bears against the iioor plate 3 and the upper end of the heavy spring bears against an abutment sleeve 20 which in turn bears against the plate lli..V These springs are so dimensioned that under light load the body will be supported on the light spring and the heavy spring abutment sleeve will be out of engagement with the plate I6. When a heavy load is carried, then both springs function to support the body.

From the above it will be apparent'that the body is so mounted on the wheel trucks that the trucks may have three motions. One, they may swing about a vertical axis when passing around curves; two, they may oscillate in a vertical plane when traveling over uneven tracks; and three, the body may move vertically under spring control relative to the trucks. As noted, the wheels are in tandem on each truck and are flanged so -that the front wheel of the Voutside truck, when following a curved track leading to the left, will turn the truck about a vertical axis so that it will follow the curved track. The opposed trucks -at each end of the car are connected by a tie bar 2I so that the turning movement of one truck about a vertical axis will be` imparted to the opposed truck. The trucks and the body mounting above described are not claimed herein, per se, but Aare shown, described 4 and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 660,990, led April 10, 1946, now U. S. Patent No. 2,602,401.

Mounted on the side frames l, 'I is a brake shoe supporting bracket 22. This bracket is provided with depending members 23, 23 at one end thereof which members are pivotally connected to the side member by a pivot pin 24. There are also depending members 24, 25 at the other end of the brake shoe bracket which are likewise 'pivoted to the other side member of the truck frame.

The brake supporting bracket has parallel spaced arms 26, 26 rigidly attached thereto, which arms carry a brake shoe 21 which is mounted on a pivot bolt 28 extending through the arms 26, 26.

A The brake shoe bracket 22 has laterally extending members 29, 29 and the tie bar is connected to the brake shoe bracket by means of a barrelshaped'pin 30 having tapered ends 3|, 32 which t the upper and lower members 29, 29 vof the brake shoe bracket. 'Ihis pin 30 is hardened and engages a bushing 33 which is mounted in the tie bar and a rubber seal 34 is provided at each end of the bushing to prevent water and dust from working into the connection between the pin and the bushing.

This universal connection between the tie bar` a cantilever swivel pin 35 is located in the tie.

bar adjacent one end thereof. A link 36 is connected at 31 to the upper end of this swivel pin and is connected at 38 to a brake operating lever 39 fulcrumed at 40 on the floor plate 3. lever 39 is pivoted at 4I to a triangular shaped plate 42. connected at 43 to a link 44 which in turn is connected to a hand operated lever 45. This hand operated lever is pivoted at 46 and is adapted to engage a toothed rack 41 which holds the lever in a set position.

The braking mechanism applied to the truckl at the rear end ofthe body is similar in construction to that which has been described aboveA in connection with the trucks at the front end.

of the body and similar reference letters have been applied thereto. The lever 39 of the rearv braking mechanism is connected to a rod 48 which extends along the side of the car and is pivoted at 49 to the plate 42. When the handv lever is operated for setting the brakes it willv swing the plate 42 either on the pvot pin connection 4I to the brake lever 39 as a fulcrum, or on the pivot pin 49 connecting the plate 42 to the rod 48. One or the other` of .the brake shoes may be pressed against the rim of its associated,- wheel and this will become a fulcrum so that'v the other brake shoe will be pressed against the;-

rim of its associated wheel. By this arrangement a uniform-pressure of the brake shoes on the rims of the wheels can be obtained. It is notedV that the pivot pins joining the `brake shoe sup-. porting bracket to the truck frame are so disposed that the center of gravity of the Vtie bar" and the brake cage as a whole is toward the center of the car relative to this pivotal conv nection, and, therefore, the brake shoes tend to stand clear of the wheel by the action of gravityA on the tie bar. I

It also permits the tie bar to be.

This

The triangular shaped plate 42 it is: aise mascherine ce naarfisvrennvenz sliorti As the-trucks follow 'tliefcurvedtrack-Rand` the canti-lever swivel pinndescrib'es al denlte approximately circular path and the centeroiv curvature of this circular' path vdet'erminestl'le normalf location loi the" connection between they linkSG and the lever 39. In Figures 1 andtZlL-of` the drawings this curvedpath'lis 'shown-in dotted lines'land lthe v`lin-krimiinflifigure 1' i'srat .the'fcer-Iteri of fvits 4laterad vtravel while fin' Fig-ureZ it'fisiin' ione?.

extreme of Iits -lateral swing.4 "Il-ieswinging ofthe trucks,v therefore, does' not linkanyl waytering"abnuty a twisting movementoflthe atie bar.

The brake lever 4512is made of spring steel .,-sou

that'itiwill provide iiexbili-tyto theapplicationzof the brakesiand permit theoperator-to tightentlfxeV brakes` -to the desired amount 'fev-ent` when. the notchesin the 'plate 4T Vare spaced a'limited Ldise-A tance from. e'achz other. 'This` springing ofi tlie brake leveri compensates :for any.- slight lerrors in a vertical plane without affecting the braking mechanism andiattnezsame'tim-ethe brakes may be .applied equally efficiently when the car` is traveling on a tangent track oro'n 1a' curved track.

The braking mechanism describedabove" is not claimed hereiniperf sefbut-lis shown, ldescribed and claimed in my PatentsNo.` 2,461,263, granted- February, 1949.

Y fIn order to limit Ythe turningmovements `of the trucks `on their vertical axes,.-stops-50 and ytil are prcvidedzon the tie bar guard .onthe under side of the bodylgagainst which the inner side .frame of thetruck contacts for limiting the inward turning of the trucks. There are alsorstops52 and 53 mounted on the body plate 5 which are engaged by the ends of the side members of the wheel frame which likewise limit the turning movements of the trucks about vertical axes. When the mine car is traveling around a curve to the left, as indicated in Figure 2, the Iiange of the forward wheel of the outside truck engages the outer rail and guides the car around the curve which may be of a very short radius. The wheel frame will be limited in its turning movement when it contacts with the stop 50. The centrifugal force of the car body transmitted to the truck frame through the king post tends to force the flange of the rear wheel of the outside truck against the rail. However, the truck frame of the inside truck will engage a stop 53 and through the tie bar will limit the turning of the outside truck and likewise the stop 52 will engage the inside member of the truck frame and limit the outward swing of the outside truck. These stops 52 and 53 are positioned a short distance inside of lines a-a and b-b of Figure 2 which lines are parallel and pass through the axes of the trucks. Therefore the stops are a shorter distance apart than the axes of the trucks. The angularity of the tie bar on a curve pulls the tie bar ends of the truck closer together than the outer ends of the trucks and these stops are set in the manner stated so that on a curve both trucks will be stopped. It is of considerable advantage to have each one of the trucks positively stopped at the same time to reduce the shock on the tie bar. This will also havethe effect of causing the truck to stay on the track in case the tie bar should break in two or be disconnected from the trucks. The body stops at the end of the well serve the doublepurpcsezeofiengagmgmheasldedramemltene natelywh'en;swinging:invoppnsiteedirectionseandc alcngfwith :thevheavyxtrueksstops :adjacentvthei endof thecanwhicn.tramsmititheextremenshocks alsorholditheztruek.near enoughmarajllelitoznhef Y track :to zmake! itweasyatolv rerail'tthezcaraftenitti.

has'ioeenderailed:

1t will 'benoted ITi'ilfiat".ntheiftienearfall isiclosef:

the cross wall 5 of the well and this leavesmmple.-

space zbet'weeni the"y Well;` andi thelendxmf he :car for the coupling-@andndrawfibarrtofwhlch levata tached. Theacouplingrsl;Figure1f2,Lisfconnected to a draw-barf 551 on* which Iarefinountedheiressmembersv 56,A '56 l-extending'= between' silliememhers-i 51, L51. Bei-,Weencrossnier-moers'25155156 flisaspring.

58""preloaded by tighteningthe nut. 591ml @the threa'ded'.-end:l ofdrawfbar i551, Stops: are-profvide'd fon :sill :membersvih 51. to'=limit' maxi 1num coupler longitudinal travel.v This provides @af compact and' efcientlfshock Y absorbing ymeuntiI-rg' for the coupling and "drawfbar -associatedf there-- with beneath the floor plate and' between-fthe* trucks.

- yIt isfobvious*thatimanychanges the ldetails of 'construction 4may leelmade'without'departing'y from the'spiritoftlieinventionasset iforth :inthe appended lfclaims.

1. A mine kcar comprising ai body' formed of sheet steel plates 'secureditogetherrbyweidingor riveting, opposed independent tandem'` wheel' trucks at each'endlthereofeon Whichsaid bodyis supported,` Vsaid body between the forward* and' rear trucksfhavi-ng depending wallsi providinga;v load carrying :welll for increasing` the carrying capacity :for 'aegiven voverall lengthvandiheiglit.- of "'car; 4and alsingle -tie-A bar"connecting-fl said nop-l posed trucks and disposed adjacent .said well, each truck including a, rigid wheel frame having spaced side members extending beyond the inner wheels and a stop for each truck mounted on the wall of the well and disposed between the extended side members for engagement therewith for limiting the turning movementrof4 the trucks in either direction.

2. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheet steel plates secured together by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each end thereof on which said body is supported, said body between the forward and rear trucks having depending Walls providing a load carrying Well for increasing the carrying capacity for a given overall length and height of car, each truck including a frame having spaced side members, a relatively short tie bar connecting said opposed trucks and disposed adjacent said well, a stop carried by the wall of the well and disposed between the side members of each truck for engagement alternately with said side members, said stops being spaced so that both trucks are limited in their turning movement in either direction by contact with the stops associated therewith.

3. A mine car comprising a. body formed of steel plates secured together by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each end thereof on which said body is supported, said body between the forward and rear trucks having depending walls providing a load carrying well for increasing the carrying capacity for a given overall length and height of car, the floor plates between the well and the aesaoso.

7 end- Vof 1 thecar.' being Aof relatively heavy steel, depending king posts rigidly attached to said floor plates on which .the trucks are mounted, and` a single tie bar connectingv said opposed trucks and disposed adjacent said well; each truck hav-Y ing alight .coil spring for carrying light loads,

and a heavy coil spring of less length associated therewithfor assisting said light springs when carrying heavy'loads,.said springs beingl disposed one within the other and centered longitudinally relative to the kingposts with which they are associated. l 1 f a 4. A mine cancomprisingY a body formed of sheet steel plates secured together by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each end thereof on which said body is supported, lsaid bodybetween the forward and rear trucks `having depending walls providing a load carrying well for increasing the carrying capacity for a` given overall length and height of ycar, each truck including spaced side mein` bers; and a body support on which the trucks turn about vertical axes, a, single tie bar connecting opposed trucks and disposed adjacent said well, a stop carried by the front wall of the well and disposed between the side members of each truck, said stops being spaced a distance less than the distance between the pivotal centers of the truck whereby a side member of each truck will contact with a stop when the tie bar is turned to an angular position by the swinging of the trucks so as to relieve strain on the tie bar.

5. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheetsteel plates secured together by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each end thereof on which the body is supported, said body between the forward and rear truclshaving depending walls providing a load carrying well, a tie bar connecting the opposed trucks anddisposed adjacent said well,

each' truck including a frame having spaced side members, a stop carried by the frame adjacent the end of the car for limiting the inward swing of the outer truck when passing along a curved section of track, and a stop carried by the body for limiting the outward swing of said outer truck.

6. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheet steel plates secured together by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each end thereof on which the body is supported, said body between the forward and rear trucks having depending walls providing a load carrying well, a tie bar connecting the opposed trucks and disposed adjacent said well, each truck including a frame having spaced side members, a stop carried by the frame adjacent the end of the car for limiting the inward swing of the outer truck when passing along a curved section of track, a stop carried by the body for limiting the outward swing of said outer truck, and a stop carried by said body and limiting the inward swing of the rear wheel of the opposed truck.

HENRY FORT FLOWERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 578,305 Baines Mar. 2, 1897 1,905,252 Symington Apr. 25, 1933 2,078,915 Flowers Apr. 27, 1937 2,286,967 Kepner J'une 16, 1942 2,377,768 Edgar June 5, 1945 2,439,801 Flowers Apr. 20, 1948 2,461,263 Flowers Feb. 8, 1949

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