Abstract: A truss-type brake beam having a bent configuration in which the compression and tension members are bent on opposite sides of a strut member, so that the compression and tension member segments lie in separate planes that intersect to form an angle therebetween, the line of intersection being rectilinear. The bent configuration of the brake beam accommodates housing of a brake-cylinder in the pocket between the compression and tension members adjacent the strut member, facilitates passage of force-transmitting rods between the companion brake beams of a given truck, and permits application of brake beam actuating forces without imparting torque moments to the beam.

Abstract: A single-cylinder, truck-mounted brake assembly for a railway vehicle truck in which low-cost, lightweight, truss-type brake beams are employed, with one beam having the single brake cylinder mounted thereon. Force-transfer levers pivotally-mounted to the respective brake beams at the beam-midpoint are interconnected by force-transmitting members that pass through openings in the bolster to move the brake beams into brake shoe/wheel engagement when a brake application is made. The brake rigging is set up so that the transfer lever bail imparted to the force-transmitting members is split. With respect to the force-transfer lever connected to the one force-transmitting member (brake cylinder), this has the effect of the brake cylinder piston skewing equally on opposite sides of the cylinder centerline to prevent piston seal leakage.

Abstract: A diaphragm-clamping arrangement, in which a spring washer having a frusto-conical shape is employed between the outer periphery of the diaphragm and one of the plate members between which the diaphragm is secured. In the free state of the spring washer, the spring washer height is greater than the space between the diaphragm and one plate member so that, when the plate members are joined together, the spring washer is compressed to thereby exert a clamping force on the diaphragm. The diaphragm-clamping point can be provided by either the inner or outer periphery of the spring washer, depending upon whether the frusto-conical shape is concave or convex. By forming an annular recess in the plate member with which the spring is engageable, proper location of the spring washer is facilitated during assembly, and subsequently maintained during clamping.

Abstract: A single-cylinder, truck-mounted brake assembly for a railway car truck in which low-cost, light-weight, truss-type brake beams are employed, with one beam having an expansible brake actuator in the form of an air bag mounted thereon. The brake rigging arrangement employs an equalizing lever that is pivotally-connected to each brake beam at its centrally-located strut bar, and force-transmitting members between the respective ends of the equalizing levers, so that the force of the brake actuator is transferred from the brake beam strut bar to the brake shoes via the beam tension member. Accordingly, the light-weight, low-cost brake beams are not subjected to such bending forces as would otherwise require a stronger beam. The single-cylinder air bag arrangement is made possible by utilizing a slack adjuster device as the one force-transmitting member.

Abstract: A combined brake cylinder/air reservoir device in which a relatively small, tubular-shaped piston in a positioning chamber is connected to a larger power piston having an application chamber on one side and a release chamber on the other side in which air is stored in place of separate reservoirs. A replaceable cylinder liner is provided to receive different-sized power pistons. During a brake application, the power piston enters the cylinder liner and is displaced from the liner during brake release to provide free air flow between the application and release chambers and thereby facilitate piston return movement by means of a return spring. A dynamic pressure seal between the application chamber and positioning chamber engages the outer periphery of the tubular-shaped small piston, while a smaller diameter dynamic pressure seal between the release chamber and atmosphere engages the inner periphery of the tubular-shaped small piston.

Abstract: A pneumatic brake cylinder device employs a pair of different sized fluid motors, the pressure chambers of which serve as air storage reservoirs. The cylinder of the larger fluid motor is formed by the main casting and contains a larger piston, while the cylinder of the smaller fluid motor is mounted to the main casting in coaxial relationship with the larger cylinder and contains a smaller piston having an elongated hollow body that is connected at its open end to one side of the larger piston to form a pressure chamber therebetween. The smaller piston fits within the smaller cylinder in spaced-apart relationship therewith to form a pressure chamber delimited by a seal fixed on the main casting for engagement with the piston periphery at any point along its longitudinal axis. The larger piston cooperates with the larger cylinder to form pressure chambers on opposite sides thereof.

Abstract: A mounting hub for a brake disc which is concentrically mountable on the hub by a plurality of equi-angularly spaced bolts adjacent the periphery of the hub. Subsequently to mounting of the disc on the hub, the hub is mountable, usually by a pressing process, on one end of an axle. Bolt holes are formed on equi-angularly spaced peripheral arcuate flexible portions of the mounting hub to permit absorption of expansion and distortion of the brake disc mounted thereon.

Abstract: This invention relates to a fluid pressure operated disc brake assembly that includes a tandem-arranged spring-applied fluid-pressure-related brake operating unit and an automatic slack adjuster mechanism which is actuated by a pair of springs to so compensate for wear of a disc brake rotor and/or brake shoes therefor that the brake shoes, while the brakes are released, are constantly lightly pressed against the brake rotor notwithstanding prior wear of the shoes and/or the rotor.