Radial Patents (Class 105/165)
  • Patent number: 4444121
    Abstract: A railroad vehicle truck having a single wheelset includes a pair of spaced side frames. The side frames are joined into a rigid unit by a pair of transversely positioned transom cross bars. The cross bars are positioned one each on each side of the wheelset which has its axle ends journaled in bearings carried in turn in a pedestal jaw centrally formed in each side frame. Projecting inwardly from each end of the side frames is a bracket which forms part of a set of upper pivot connections with an upper end of a swing arm. A laterally positioned crosstie assembly is joined through a pair of spaced end caps with a lower end of each swing arm to form a set of lower pivot connections. Each crosstie assembly end cap has a pair of spring cups containing a set of springs which operatively support a body of the railroad vehicle thereabove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1981
    Date of Patent: April 24, 1984
    Assignee: AMSTED Industries Incorporated
    Inventors: Lynn K. Tilly, James M. Kemper
  • Patent number: 4424750
    Abstract: A side frame for a single axle railway truck is provided. The side frame has top and bottom and spaced side walls. The side frame has a generally hollow cross section, with an upper middle portion, downwardly sloped intermediate portion and lower outer portions. The top and bottom walls have decreasing thickness inwardly from the end of the outer portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1984
    Assignee: AMSTED Industries Incorporated
    Inventors: Lynn K. Tilly, Ernest C. Bergquist
  • Patent number: 4381713
    Abstract: An air control system is provided for a vehicle convertible between highway and railway modes of travel. Air springs suspend a rail-wheel set axle unit and highway wheel-set axle units from the vehicle body so that the one wheel-set axle unit is stored in a raised inoperative position while the other is in the lowered operative position. During a transfer from the highway mode of travel to the railroad mode of travel, or vice-versa, a valved air control system selectively allows the wheel-set axle units to be positioned in either the raised or lowered positions. The air control system also includes, in addition to the mode selection function, the highway braking function, the rail braking function, the parking brake and the emergency brake functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1981
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1983
    Assignee: Bi-Modal Corporation
    Inventor: Christopher A. Cripe
  • Patent number: 4316418
    Abstract: An air control system is provided for a vehicle convertible between highway and railway modes of travel. A main body on the vehicles includes a highway wheel-set axle unit and a rail wheel-set axle unit. The vehicle is designed so that one wheel-set axle unit is stored in an upper position while the other is in the lowered operative position. During a transfer from the highway mode of travel to the railroad mode of travel, or vice-versa, an air control system selectively allows the wheel-set axle units to be positioned in either the raised or lowered position dependent upon the mode of travel to be used. Rail suspension air springs are connected between the main body of the vehicle and the rail wheel-set axle unit and highway suspension air springs are connected between the body and the highway wheel-set axle units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1980
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1982
    Assignee: Bi-Modal Corporation
    Inventors: Eugene Hindin, Alan R. Cripe, Christopher A. Cripe
  • Patent number: 4289075
    Abstract: An articulated railroad vehicle having two or more body portions is supported on three or more single wheel set trucks. Each truck is pivotally attached to a vehicle body portion. Sensing elements detect the angle between the articulated body portions. The output from the angle of articulated sensing element means is used to guide each of the wheel sets to a radial configuration when the vehicle negotiates a curve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1978
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1981
    Assignee: Urban Transportation Development Corporation Ltd.
    Inventor: Roy E. Smith
  • Patent number: 4228740
    Abstract: The coupling arrangement includes a longitudinally extending shaft, means for supporting the shaft on the vehicle body and a linkage which connects the trucks to the shaft. Each linkage employs a transverse steering rod which is articulated to the end of a truck at a predetermined connection point which lies in an inclined plane passing through a guide member connecting the truck to the vehicle body and through a transverse center plane of the vehicle body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1980
    Assignee: Schweizerische Lokomotiv-und Maschinenfabrik
    Inventor: Hans H. Vogel
  • Patent number: 4202276
    Abstract: A self-steering wheel set for a railway vehicle, particularly a convertible rail-highway semi-trailer, wherein an arcuate member is secured transversely beneath the vehicle body and a wheel-set unit or bogie is provided comprising a yoke to which a tongue is fixedly secured at its rear end, the front end of the tongue having means slidably mounting the tongue on and capturing the arcuate member, an axle and flanged wheels mounted on the yoke and air spring means supporting the vehicle on the yoke, whereby the tongue acts as a tow bar, the connection between the free end of the tongue and the arcuate member is such that it is capable of taking torque reactions, the tongue and its connection to the yoke is such that it is capable of taking longitudinal brake reaction and the bogie follows the curvature of the rails.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 1978
    Date of Patent: May 13, 1980
    Assignee: Bi-Modal Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth A. Browne, Alan R. Cripe, Eugene Hindin
  • Patent number: 4091739
    Abstract: An undercarriage comprises a bogie frame, a bearing for each end of the wheel axle, and at least two coil springs and at least one hydraulic shock absorber mounted between the bogie frame and each axle bearing for damping movement between the bogie frame and the axle bearings in all three spatial directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1975
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1978
    Assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen-Industriegesellschaft M.B.H.
    Inventors: Josef Theurer, Klaus Riessberger
  • Patent number: 4041878
    Abstract: A pendular suspension system for vehicles running on railroad tracks, which comprises resilient means for tilting the vehicles in response to unbalanced centrifugal force, located symmetrically on either side of a central vertical longitudinal plane of the vehicles and being independent of one another. Resilient means are arranged to bear upon a base located above the center of gravity of the vehicle bodies and are able to yield vertically and horizontally in response to the resultant imbalance of the centrifugal force to induce increased tilt of the vehicle bodies in addition to the normal cant when the vehicles travel around a curve and become operative only when the train reaches a speed above a predetermined minimum and only when the track has a predetermined degree of curvature to thereby reduce the passenger feeling of unbalanced centrifugal force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 1975
    Date of Patent: August 16, 1977
    Assignee: Patentes Talgo, S.A.
    Inventor: Angel Toran
  • Patent number: 3974779
    Abstract: A vehicle bogie or similar wheel carrying unit which carries a vehicle body and which is connected to a device which holds the carrying unit at a predetermined distance from the ground, the vehicle body and/or carrying unit being provided with means for inclination of the vehicle around a generally horizontal axis in the direction of motion of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle body in its entirety is movable on the carrying unit in generally horizontal directions perpendicular to the direction of motion of the vehicle, the magnitude of said movement being controllable by a control device engaging the vehicle body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1974
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1976
    Assignee: Automatisk Doseringskompensator AB
    Inventors: K. Julius Lindblom, Anders S. E. Kipping
  • Patent number: 3961582
    Abstract: A railcar unit includes a pair of railcars, each having a car body supported by single-axle, forward and rearward trucks which are pivotally mounted to the car bodies. Conventional drawbars couple the car bodies and independent, interconnectable members connect the trucks of the adjacent railcars for rotational and longitudinal relative movement while maintaining the truck axles in parallel alignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1974
    Date of Patent: June 8, 1976
    Inventors: Hamilton Neil King Paton, John B. Skilling