Patent ID: 7325499
Filing Date: 2008-02-05
Classification: B61F

Abstract:
1. A constant contact side bearing assembly for a railcar having an elongated body, with said side bearing assembly being adapted to be accommodated within a multiwalled receptacle defining an elongated and open top recess, said receptacle including a pair of laterally spaced sidewalls rigidly joined to a pair of longitudinally spaced endwalls, and with the sidewalls and endwalls of said receptacle being arranged in upstanding relation relative to a bolster on which said elongated body of said railcar is carried, said constant contact side bearing comprising: a base adapted to be accommodated between the upstanding sidewalls and endwalls of said recess defined by said receptacle on said bolster, with said base including a pair of laterally spaced sides adapted to extend generally parallel to the sidewalls on said receptacle and which are rigidly joined to a pair of longitudinally spaced ends adapted to extend generally parallel to the endwalls on said receptacle, with the sides and ends of said base defining a closed marginal edge for an open top cavity, generally rectangular in plan, and having four corners; a friction member guided for movements relative to said base and having a generally flat upper portion adapted to biased against an underside of the elongated body of said railcar after said side bearing assembly is arranged in operable combination with said railcar; and an elastomeric spring, generally rectangular in plan, with two side surfaces and two end surfaces extending between two vertically spaced surfaces, with said spring being adapted to be nested within the open top cavity defined by and between the sides and ends of said base for absorbing, dissipating and returning energy imparted to the upper portion of said friction member during a work cycle of said side bearing assembly, and with one of said two side surfaces and two end surfaces of said elastomeric spring having a generally convex shaped configuration extending predominately between the vertically spaced surfaces, and with one of said two side surfaces and two end surfaces of said elastomeric spring having a concave shaped configuration extending predominantly between the spaced vertical surfaces such that, upon application of a sufficiently downwardly directed force on said friction member, said spring deforms in a predetermined manner horizontally toward the four corners of the marginal edge defining said cavity while deformation of the side surfaces of said elastomeric spring is restrained so as to maintain an operable relationship between the spring and the sides of said base during a work cycle of said side bearing assembly.