Patents Represented by Attorney Robert R. Hubbard
  • Patent number: 4867283
    Abstract: A slack adjustable operator for a spring applied disc brake has a spring motor operating a disc brake through a tubular pushrod having an over-running clutch permitting axial movement of the pushrod in a brake application direction, but not in a brake releasing direction. The over-running clutch operates in longitudinal load roller slots in the outer periphery of the pushrod and having a ramp load roller retaining ring slidable laterally on the outer periphery of the pushrod, the retainer ring being retained in a stepped bore of a housing to be laterally operable, along with longitudinal operation of the pushrod for brake release only to an extent to provide normal clearance for pads of the brakes, this limitation being effective to initiate threaded slack adjustment of the pushrod to compensate for wear of the brake pads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Michael J. Dill
  • Patent number: 4864275
    Abstract: Doorbell mechanism that employs only one solenoid to achieve both single tone and double tone operation. The solenoiod has a split coil with the full coil being employed for double tone operation and a portion of the coil being employed for single tone operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 5, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: William P. Buyak
  • Patent number: 4859086
    Abstract: A mounting for a bearing which comprises a cavity which has at least a portion thereof formed in a spherical section and another portion of the cavity is in the form of a groove extending outwardly from the spherical section. Thus, either a bearing having an external envelope that is a sphere or a cylindrical section may be installed in the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: David A. Viscusi
  • Patent number: 4854244
    Abstract: A system for use with a rail for carrying a moving conveyance, the rail having a web portion, a base portion and an increased width top portion, the system serving to heat the rail top portion to decrease the accumulation of snow and ice thereon, including studs secured to the rail web portion, such as by spot welding, at spaced intervals along the length of the rail, a series of elongated carrier members each defined in cross-section normal the length thereof by an upper trough forming portion and a lower clamping portion, the clamping portion having openings spaced along the length thereof in register with and arranged to receive the studs affixed to the rail web portion and being positionable in a first position wherein the trough forming portion is exposed to receive a heating cable therein and in a second position wherein the heating cable is in close proximity to the top rail portion whereby heat supplied by the cable is readily transmitted to the rail top portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 8, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Thomas R. Rhodes, Thomas J. Brennan
  • Patent number: 4842341
    Abstract: A modulation valve device for governing pressure in a brake pipe has coaxial accelerating and releasing valves provided wherein accelerated application and release pistons are dovetailed together to reduce the size and the weight of the modulating device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 27, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence E. Vaughn, Walter E. Rojecki, Thomas H. Engle
  • Patent number: 4801118
    Abstract: A cable guard for use with conduit bodies to faciliate low friction and low abrasion, threading or pulling of cable through cable openings in the body. The cable guard consists of a tubular clip having a longitudinal or elongated slot extending its entire length and adapted to fit in gripping and removeable engagement with the rim or lip portion of the conduit body access opening. The clip also has a pair of notches positioned at opposite ends and opposite the longitudinal slot to facilitate installation of the clip at the narrow end of an elongated conduit body access opening and to prevent the clip from rolling when in use. The clip has still another pair of notches positioned intermediate its ends and on opposite sides of the longitudinal slot to facilitate removal of the clip from the conduit body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Eigil Wium
  • Patent number: 4800313
    Abstract: A long-life motor brush holder which significantly minimizes contact of the coil portions of a ribbon spring with the holder and consequently reduces friction drag; the arrangement is such that at least two cylindrical surfaces forming part of the brush holder serve as line contact supports for each of the respective coil portions of the ribbon spring so as to produce minimal contact, the spring including a middle portion for residually engaging the brush to urge it against the motor commutator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 24, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Robin L. Warner, Richard E. DeSisto
  • Patent number: 4799741
    Abstract: A fluid brake system has a brake pipe, a control valve device, a brake cylinder and a brake rigging, and in addition, a handbrake pipe, a protective device, a fluid pressure releaseable spring handbrake cylinder, and a manually operable handbrake device for selectively governing brakes of the brake rigging under varying conditions, as when air supply is disconnected from a train. A moveable fulcrum in the manual handbrake device permits manual release of spring applied handbrakes in combination with a resetable toggle locking connection to a handbrake rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 24, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas H. Engle
  • Patent number: 4798420
    Abstract: A fluid brake control system for a railway train has control valves of the ABD type that have service valves that are modified to provide continuous quick service, thus eliminating the need for special accelerated application valves as currently used in ABDW control valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1989
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Walter E. Rojecki
  • Patent number: 4792269
    Abstract: Container securing device that permits containers of any length to be carried by an integral or intermodal train including the feature of a container spanning the connection of two adjacent cores. The device is implemented in a two-part structure of an upper and a lower member. The lower member is adapted for fastening at any point along the car deck. The upper member has a pair of spaced corner members for receiving two corners of a container. An interconnecting means is arranged to connect the upper and lower members so that the upper member swivels with respect to the lower member and the car deck when the train rounds a curb and further provides for a longitudinal force dampening effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas H. Engle
  • Patent number: 4775194
    Abstract: Passenger rail vehicle brake control valve apparatus includes, a control valve device of the type limited to direct release of the brakes, having service, emergency, and continuous quick service portions secured to a pipe bracket, and a graduated release valve portion governed jointly by brake cylinder pressure, brake cylinder exhaust passage pressure from the control valve device, and brake pipe pressure to at times modify output of the control valve device to provide for graduated control of the passenger rail vehicle brakes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence Vaughn, Ronald Newton, Thomas Engle
  • Patent number: 4773713
    Abstract: A housing has a triple valve coaxially adjoining a proportioning piston valve end-to-end, the triple valve having supply, lap and exhaust positions for governing pressure in a brake cylinder; and the proportioning piston valve being operable to sense an emergency signal in a brake pipe for delivering fluid from an emergency reservoir to the brake cylinder after the brake cylinder has been charged to substantially service pressure from an auxiliary reservoir. The triple valve and the proportioning valve piston are biased in opposite directions by the same biasing spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 27, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Walter E. Rojecki
  • Patent number: 4766980
    Abstract: A parallel beam brake apparatus for dual and triple axle trucks and a single beam brake apparatus for single axle trucks each comprise spaced, pivotably mounted bell crank levers which engage a fluid operable actuator between one pair of arms and engage a pair of push rods with the remaining arms. Improved spherical joints between the arms and the push rods facilitate force tranmsmission without allowing push rod rotation. A unique pivot geometry between the bell crank levers and the brake beams facilitates assembly and improves stress distribution between the levers and the beams. The actuator includes a slack adjustor mechanism in which a spiral power spring unwinds to drive a lead screw and take up slack or is wound by the rotating, translating lead screw to add slack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 1987
    Date of Patent: August 30, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas H. Engle
  • Patent number: 4762571
    Abstract: There is provided an expendable device for use with a standard immersion sensor for a molten metal bath to simultaneously hold a standard immersion sampler in juxtaposition to the sensor when the sensor is in its protective sleeve at the end of a lance ready for immersion into the bath. This device provides another expendable heat insulating protective sleeve for accepting in its end the sampler with means being provided for maintaining a side by side relationship between the sampler sleeve and the sensor sleeve during immersion. This combination may advantageously have a vent pipe extending between the sleeves to allow air displaced from the sampler by influx of the sample to vent to a region above the molten metal bath by way of a passage in the sensor sleeve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 9, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Edwin E. Kaufman, William E. Shuttleworth, John R. Wiese
  • Patent number: 4746171
    Abstract: A fluid brake system has a brake pipe, a control valve device, a brake cylinder and a brake rigging, and in addition, a handbrake pipe, a protective device, a fluid pressure releasable spring handbrake cylinder, and a manually operable handbrake device for selectively governing brakes of the brake rigging under varying conditions, as when air supply is disconnected from a train. A moveable fulcrum in the manual handbrake device permits manual release of spring applied handbrakes in combination with a resetable toggle locking connection to a handbrake rod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 24, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Thomas H. Engle
  • Patent number: 4743201
    Abstract: A moveable contact plunger assembly for interconnection of electrical wires between adjacent railway cars. The assembly has a plunger with a shoulder which fits in abutment with a mating shoulder in an aperture of a dielectric connector block. A follower element is arranged for electrical contact with the plunger. A spring is arranged to allow axial deflection of the plunger relative to the follower element and of the follower element relative to the dielectric block shoulder. Electrical continuity between the plunger and the follower element is obtained by means of a wire which is crimped to the follower and to the plunger. A guide pin mounted on the follower element and a guide slot on a spring barrel portion of the plunger coact with the spring so as to allow axial travel of the follower and of the plunger as well as a rotating motion of the plunger during its axial travel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Walter E. Robinson, Anthony W. Lumbis
  • Patent number: 4736197
    Abstract: Apparatus for indicating the presence of power on the third rail of a transit system having two running rails and a third rail includes a first connector for connecting to the third rail and a second connector for connecting to one of the running rails and a circuit for indicating the presence of a voltage between the first connector and the second connector and thereby indicating a voltage between the one running rail and the third rail, the means for indicating including visual and audible signaling apparatus. In some forms of the invention the apparatus may include an annunciator and a strobe light. Other forms of the invention include third and fourth connectors which are magnetically held to the rails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: William P. Buyak, Arthur L. Grodsky
  • Patent number: 4726628
    Abstract: A protection valve device for a spring parking brake control system has a pipe bracket for connection in a normally pressurized brake pipe, the pipe bracket having connected thereto a protection valve, a charging reset valve and a charging check valve. The protection valve has a chamber at one side of a piston normally pressurized by pressure at a spring parking brake cylinder port and monitors the spring parking brake cylinder pressure to vent fluid from the brake pipe to automatically cause an emergency brake application if such pressure indicates a spring parking brake is applied. The charging reset valve prevents the venting of brake pipe fluid during charging of the brake pipe and spring parking brake system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Lawrence Vaughn
  • Patent number: 4723307
    Abstract: A noncontact switch couples power from A and B radio frequency sources to a load and an antenna in three modes. Mode I couples the A source to the antenna and the B source to the load; Mode III is B to antenna and A to load, and Mode II couples both A and B sources to the antenna. The structure includes a first 3dB, 90.degree. coupler coupled to the sources and a second 3db, 90.degree. coupler coupled to the load and the antenna. A third 3dB, 90.degree. coupler is coupled in a first path between the first and second couplers. A pair of reflective terminations coupled to ports of the third coupler are mechanically controllable to one of three phase-shift conditions; 0.degree. for mode I, 90.degree. for mode II and 180.degree. for mode III. A fixed phase shifter couples the first and second 3dB, 90.degree. couplers by a second path. Each reflective phase shifter is a coaxial circuit including the parallel combination of first and second series inductance-capacitance circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventors: Raymond N. Clark, Anthony N. Schmitz
  • Patent number: 4717463
    Abstract: An expandable immersion oxygen sensor for molten metal is provided with an improved oxygen reference electrode including Cr, Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, NiO, and Fe and the oxygen electrode and thermocouple are secured in the face of the sensor by resin-sand to reduce initial overshoot and failure due to thermal shock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1987
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1988
    Assignee: General Signal Corporation
    Inventor: Harry G. Clauss