Patent ID: 9365221
Filing Date: 2016-06-14
CPC Classification: B61H

Claim Text:
1. A strut for a brake beam assembly, the strut comprising: a strut body extending along a longitudinal axis between a proximal end and a distal end, the strut body including at least one slot defined in the strut body configured to receive and support a brake lever; a compression member engager configured to connect the strut body to a compression member of the brake beam assembly, the compression member engager being connected to the distal end of the strut body; and a tension member engager configured to engage a tension member of the brake beam assembly, the tension member engager being connected to the proximal end of the strut body, wherein the strut body comprises a stationary portion defining the proximal end of the strut body and the distal end of the strut body, wherein the stationary portion of the strut body is non-rotatably connected to the compression member engager and the tension member engager, and wherein the stationary portion of the strut body includes an internal wall defining an internal cavity of the strut body extending longitudinally through the strut body from the proximal end of the strut body to the distal end of the strut body and two pairs of opposing elongated openings extending through the strut body from the internal wall to an exterior of the strut body, wherein the strut body also comprises a strut insert slidably and rotatably disposed within the internal cavity of the strut body, wherein the strut insert at least partially defines the at least one slot and is rotatable within the internal cavity of the strut body about the longitudinal axis of the strut body with respect to the stationary portion of the strut body, the compression member engager, and the tension member engager such that the at least one slot may be oriented at opposing angles with respect to a horizontal plane extending through the longitudinal axis of the strut body, and wherein the at least one slot of the strut body is defined by the strut insert and at least one pair of the two pairs of opposing elongated openings.