Bag type cover arrangement for shielding brake adjusters during manufacture of railroad cars

[57] ABSTRACT

A bag type cover arrangement for protecting from paint and blasting sand or grit brake adjusters that have been applied to the railroad car brake rigging (prior to painting of the railroad car underframe) during subsequent processing of the car as part of the procedure of manufacturing the car, including painting of same, which cover arrangement is in the form of a tube flexible plastic material proportioned to be received over the adjuster after the adjuster is extended to approximately its desired length (prior to application of the adjuster to the rigging), and extend from the adjuster clevis at the dead lever end of same over the adjuster let out and take up mechanism for tying down against the adjuster live lever end pull rod by a tie band. The end of the cover at the dead lever clevis end of the adjuster is partially heat sealed shut at a limited area adjacent its mid portion so that the clevis jaws can be pulled through either side of the cover shut end to seat this cover end against the clevis. With the cover in place, the adjuster is applied to the rigging, and is thus fully masked to protect same from blasting sand or grit and paint that is applied to the car at subsequent stages in its manufacture.

Claims, 7 Drawing Figures

<img file="US3850141A_D0001.tif" />

ΡΑΤΕΝΤΕύ·26Ι374

3.850,141

<img file="US3850141A_D0002.tif" />

3,850,141

BAG TYPE COVER ARRANGEMENT FOR SHIELDING BRAKE ADJUSTERS DURING MANUFACTURE OF RAILROAD CARS

This invention relates to a bag type cover arrangement for protecting brake rigging brake adjusters from surface preparation blasting and paint that is involved in the general procedure of the manufacture of railroad cars, and more particularly, to a masking bag type cover for the adjuster that is applied to the adjuster before application of the adjuster to the rigging, during the manufacturing assembly of the car, which cover is left on the adjuster to protect same during the subsequent surface preparation blasting and painting operations that the car underframe goes through during the course of manufacture of the car.

Standard assembly procedures in manufacturing railroad cars contemplate that the brake rigging is applied to the car underframe at an early stage in the car’s manufacturing procedure, and thus is exposed to the surface preparation blasting and painting procedures that are customarily employed in subsequent processing of the car during its course of manufacture. This includes the rigging brake adjuster, with the result that much difficulty has been experienced due to faulty brake adjuster operation as the result of the blasting grit or the like and paint getting inside the adjuster working parts.

Several years ago the American Association of Railroads (AAR) adopted a regulation providing that the adjuster must be covered to prevent the indicated contamination of the adjuster parts that result in such malfunctions. In order to comply with this rule, the usual practice has been to try to cover up the adjuster with rags, papers, burlap bags, or other suitable wrapping materials that happen to be available. The result has been that adjuster protection has been of a hit or miss nature, and the job of covering the adjuster is time consuming, aggravating, and haphazard at best, with little insurance that the adjuster will remain fully protected until the manufacturing of the car, including all painting of same, has been completed.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a bag type cover for masking the brake adjuster that is readily applied to same and in a manner that insures it will stay in masking relation to the adjuster through the entire manufacturing procedure.

Another principal object of the present invention is to provide a bag type cover for protecting brake adjusters during assembly of the car that can be made in a standard size and arrangement and yet be applicable to the four basic types of adjusters in common use in the industry.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a bag type cover for protecting brake adjusters during the car manufacturing procedure that is essentially a one piece item that may be made of inexpensive plastic film materials, that is shaped and proportioned to cover the critical parts of the adjuster while leaving exposed those parts that need to be exposed for proper securement of the adjuster in the rigging, and that is inexpensive of manufacture, convenient to install, and effective in use.

In accordance with this invention, the adjuster cover is in the form of a tube formed from a suitable plastic film material that is fully open at one end and has the other end heat sealed in partial closed relation at a limited area adjacent the longitudinal axis of the tube, to define two spaced openings on either side of the cover closed end through which the clevis arms of the adjuster dead lever clevis are to extend. The bag is pro5 portioned to extend from the adjuster dead lever clevis hub over the housed vital parts of the adjuster for securement adjacent the adjuster live lever clevis (the manner of application depending on the adjuster make involved).

In application, at the position of the manufacturing operation where the rigging is assembled, the adjuster, prior to its application to the rigging, is extended to its desired length, and the open end of the bag of this invention is applied over the dead lever clevis end of the adjuster and drawn lengthwise of the adjuster, with care being taken to insert the arms of the dead lever end clevis through the spaced holes at the cover closed end, so that the cover closed end can be pulled firmly up against the bight or hub of the adjuster dead lever end clevis. The open end of the bag is then secured in place adjacent the adjuster live lever end clevis. The adjuster is then applied to the rigging, and the cover remains firmly in place during the course of manufacture of the car. While ordinarily the adjuster cover will be removed prior to the time that the new car is delivered, the nature of the adjuster cover is such that it can be left in place without interferring with the operation of the adjuster when the car goes into service, though removal is recommended for environmental consider³⁰ ations.

Other objects, uses, and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawing:

In the drawing:

³⁵ FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a commercially available brake adjuster to which one embodiment of this invention has been applied in readying the brake adjuster for application to the brake rigging:

⁴⁰ FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cover shown in FIG. 1 shown opened up into its full tubular form;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the cover of FIG. 2, taken substantially along line 3—3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the cover closed end;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a tie band of the type employed in connection with the cover for securing its open end against the brake adjuster in the manner indi₅₀ cated in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 5 - 7 are diagrams illustrating the manner in which the invention is applied to other Commercially available adjuster makes.

However, it is to be distinctly understood that the ₅₅ specific drawing illustrations provided are supplied primarily to comply with the requirements of the Patent Laws, and that the invention is susceptible of other embodiments that will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and which are intended to be covered by the ap₆₀ pended claims.

Reference numeral 10 generally indicates a brake adjuster of a commercially available type, one embodiment of which is fully disclosed in Billeter U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,343 (the disclosure of which is hereby incofpo₆₅ rated herein by this reference).

As disclosed in said patent, the adjuster 10 comprises a pull rod 12 having a clevis 14 secured thereto for pivotally connecting the pull rod 12 to the rigging live

3,850,141 lever (not shown), and a threaded rod 16 having clevis 18 secured thereto for pivotally connecting threaded rod 16 to the brake rigging dead lever (not shown), whereby the brake adjuster is connected between the brake rigging cylinder and dead levers center rod fashion in the manner indicated in said patent. The pull rod 12 is formed to telescopingly receive the threaded end (not shown) of threaded rod 16, and the adjuster 10 includes several nuts and associated components that are housed by trigger tube 20 which includes a guide sleeve or extension 22 which overlies a substantial portion of the threaded rod 16 for the purpose of shielding the threaded portion of rod 16 from foreign matter.

The pull rod 12, the threaded rod 16, and the trigger tube 20 and its associated guide sleeve 22 move relatively to each other during operation of the brake adjuster under the control of trigger arm 24 which is operatively secured to a control lever (not shown) in the manner disclosed by said patent, as by having its clevis 26 pivotally connected thereto. Trigger arm 24 is part of control rod assembly 25 that comprises trigger rod 28 to which clevis 26 is affixed, and which has adjustably secured thereto bracket member 30 carrying a ring portion 32 slidably mounted on pull rod 12, As described in said patent, the bracket 30 includes a lug or abutment 34 adapted to engage the left hand end of trigger tube 20 during operation of the adjuster to control slack take up, in the manner described in said patent.

It will be apparent from the disclosure of said patent that the trigger tube 20 and guide sleeve 22 house adjuster parts that would be critically affected by the introduction of foreign matter within the brake adjuster mechanism, and that even though the adjuster operating mechanism is apparently well housed, normal manufacturing tolerances occasioned with any brake adjuster will result in sufficient space between the puli rod 12 and the trigger tube 20, at the left hand end of the trigger tube 20, and between the threaded rod 16, and the guide sleeve 22, at the right hand end of the guide sleeve 22, to admit foreign matter such as blasting grit or the like, or paint, that is directed in a fluid stream against the adjuster, as would be the case when the car underframe surfaces are being treated prior to painting, and when paint is actually being applied to the surfaces by power applicators.

As indicated, during the process of manufacturing a railroad car, and in particular freight cars, it is customary practice to apply the brake rigging, including the brake adjuster, to the car underframe at an early stage in its assembly. As assembly proceeds, the underframe moves through the production line, along appropriate stages of which the underframe undersurfaces are sand or grit blasted to prepare them for application of protective paints, and then the paints are applied using appropriate power spray equipment. Under these conditions, the adjuster can be subject to the same amount of blasting and painting that the underframe undersurfaces are, with the result that the blasting particles and paint are forced into the adjuster enclosed mechanism from either end of same.

In accordance with this invention, the critical parts of the adjuster 10 are fully masked by bag type cover 40, which comprises a tube 42 formed from a flexible plastic film material, such as polyethylene, to define the elongate configuration indicated, in which the end 44 is fully open, and the end 46 is partically closed by hav ing opposing edge portions 48 and 50 (see FIG. 3) of same suitably bonded together as at 52 to define spaced openings 54 and 56 on either side of the closed end 46.

In the preferred form of the invention, the cover 42 is formed from polyethylene or its equivalent having a thickness on the order of 0.005 inch.

In using the invention, the brake rigging is assembled in the usual manner at the appropriate point in the assembly line, and when the rigging is ready to receive an adjuster 10, the adjuster is extended to its desired length and then the oepn end 44 of the cover pulled over the clevis 18 end of the adjuster and toward the clevis 14 end of same, with care being taken to insert the respective clevis arms 62 and 64 through the openings 54 and 56 of the cover closed end 46, with the closed portion 66 of the cover end 46 being pulled firmly up against the hub protion 68 of the clevis 18. The open end 44 of the cover 40 is drawn completely over the trigger tube 20 and then tied firmly in place in one of the manners indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5 - 7, depending on the make of adjuster involved. For the adjuster 10, the cover end 44 is tied firmly against the pull rod 12 between the adjuster bracket ring portion 32 and the trigger tube 20 by employing flexible tie band 70.

The tie band 70 may be of any suitable flexible type, the common type of tie band used for securing plastic disposal bags being satisfactory for this purpose, and generally comprising a ribbon 72 of paper material in which a wire strand 74 is embedded (see FIG. 4).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the bonded area 52 at the closed end 46 of the cover is formed by heat sealing the two edge portions 48 and 50 together.

After the cover 40 is applied to the adjuster 10 in the manner indicated, the adjuster is mounted in the brake rigging in the usual manner, with the cover applied thereto as shown. Further processing of the car underframe structure continues, and when the car underframe surfaces are threaded for painting, by blasting or the like, and then such surfaces are painted, the critical parts of the adjuster 10 are fully masked by cover 40. It is intended that the cover 40 remain on the adjuster 10 until the car is ready for service, at which time the cover 40 can be removed. However, the nature of cover 40 is such that if it is not removed, it will not interfere with essential operation of the adjuster, and the bag will eventually become fragmented and separate from the adjuster as the car is used in service. Removal is recommended, however, for environmental considerations.

For the adjuster make 10A shown in FIG. 5, the cover 40 is applied in a similar manner, as illustrated, as the adjuster control rod assembly 25A is generally similar to that of adjuster 10. However, for the adjuster make 10B shown in FIG. 6, the bracket 30B that corresponds to bracket 30 of adjuster 10 is affixed to a tubular member 60 movable on pull rod 12A as part of the adjuster operation, and cover end 44 is therefore brought around to one side of pull rod 12A and is tied about bracket 30B. As to the adjuster make 10C, the clevis 14C is integral with the adjuster housing, and cover end 44 is brought around to one side of the housing and tied in place about bracket element 62.

It will therefore be seen that the invention provides a convenient and effective way of fully masking the

3,850,141 critical parts of the adjuster against contamination during the assemblying procedures of the railroad car, and yet is of a nature that will permit operation of adjuster in the event that the cover is not removed before the car goes into service. The flexible nature of the bag is such, and the tie connection that is made with respect to the adjuster at the cover end 44 is such that operation of the brake rigging, including operation of the adjuster, is unimpeded by the presence of the cover 40. For instance, in the adjuster 10, the tie connection at cover end 44 merely slides readily longitudinally of the pull rod 12 under the operation of the trigger rod 24, or the spring means within the trigger tube 12, for slack take up and let out purposes, as the case may be.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not to be limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, since those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.