Continuous-rail Frogs Patents (Class 246/275)
  • Patent number: 7185860
    Abstract: A modular tongue switch assembly comprises a tongue pivotally connected to a slide surface, held down by a pivot retainer. The slide surface consists of slide plate sections removably attached to corresponding bed plate sections, which are in turn welded onto a base plate. Floating brace blocks hold a non-integral stock rail in place on the base plate. When the tongue moves, a horizontal lever arm actuates an inner box assembly housed within an outer box and containing the conductor rail, allowing the passing train to maintain contact with the conductor rail, if necessary. A novel rodding and lever arrangement is used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2007
    Assignee: VAE Nortrak North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Cory O'Brien, Gary Click
  • Patent number: 6340140
    Abstract: The rigid frog for switch points and crossings with two wing rails (1, 2) and a frog point (3, 6, 4, 5) arranged therebetween, which forms with the wing rails switch openings (11) that run at an acute angle relative to each other, is characterized in that the frog point and the wing rails are elastically joined by anchor clamps on each foot side to ribbed plates (247-253). The previous unit of a rigid frog with wing rails and HB bolted point is thus resolved to individual rails. The individual rails each have their own intrinsic elasticity so that the frog behaves like a normal rail in the track in terms of oscillation and damping behavior. The previously used filling plates are no longer required. Beneath the rails are plates with which a height adjustment, especially of the wing rails (1, 2), can be effected, so that wear of the traversed surface of the wing rails can be compensated for in terms of height by changing the thickness of the spacers. The spacers (42, 43) can be elastic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2002
    Inventor: Oswald Lochschmidt
  • Patent number: 6164602
    Abstract: A railroad frog assembly is provided with a spring wing rail multi-position holdback subassembly that continuously retains the spring wing rail in each spring wing rail open position when activated by the wheels of a railcar traversing the frog assembly, and that automatically deactivates the multi-position holdback subassembly and releases the spring wing rail from retention in an open condition and for complete closing after the last railcar wheel has passed through the frog assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2000
    Assignee: ABC Rail Products Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen R. Kuhn, Keith Young, Ilia Petkov
  • Patent number: 6158697
    Abstract: A railroad frog assembly is provided with a spring wing rail latch holdback subassembly that continuously retains the spring wing rail in a spring wing rail fully open position when activated by the wheels of a railcar traversing the frog assembly, and that automatically deactivates the latch holdback subassembly and releases the spring wing rail from retention in an open condition and for complete closing after the last railcar wheel has passed through the frog assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: ABC Rail Products Corporation
    Inventors: Keith Young, Stephen R. Kuhn