Improvements in or relating to Means for Connecting the Bodies of Railway and Tramway Vehicles to their Under Frames.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1895
Complete Specification Lett, 20th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 23rd May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Means for Connecting the Bodies of
Railway and Tramway Vehicles to their Under Frames.
I, ALEXANDER SPENCER, of 77 Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to enable the body of a railway or tramway
vehicle to be effectually secured to its under frame without necessarily subjecting
the interposed bearing spring or springs to and impairing the cushioning action
thereof (as heretofore) by pressure beyond that due to the weight of the vehicle.
body.
For this purpose to secure together the vehicle body and under frame, which
I will hereinafter call the parts to be connected, I use connecting devices having
distance pieces of rigid material, such as metal, adapted to be secured at one of
their ends to one of the parts to be connected, free at the other end, and
arranged at the free end to enter a hole in the other of the parts to be connected,
the connection being effected by bolts carried by the distance pieces and whose
free ends are provided with tightening-up means, such as nuts or cotters, and
preferably also with washers or bearing plates, the arrangement being such that
when the parts are in position to connect a vehicle body to its under-frame, the
bolts will extend through that one of the parts to be connected into which. the
corresponding distance pieces extend, and on the nuts or equivalent devices thereon
being tightened up, they will, upon bearing either directly or indirectly against the
surface of the part through which the bolts extend, also bear against the free ends
of the distance pieces, so that no compression of the interposed bearing spring or
springs can result from the tightening up, whilst an effectual connection between
the vehicle body and under frame will be secured.
Connecting devices according to this invention can be constructed in various
forms.
In one arrangement, each distance piece is made tubular with at one end a
flange whereby it can be secured, it may be by bolts, to the underside of the
vehicle body, or to the upper side of the under frame, the bolt being made
separate from and arranged to extend through the distance piece, one end of which
is recessed to receive and hold the head of the bolt, the other or free end of the.
bolt being provided with a nut and washer or bearing plate.
The construction might be modified by forming the bolt and distance piece in.
one, the part beyond the distance piece being an extension of reduced diameter, screw
threaded and provided with a nut and washer, or it might be plain and slotted
and provided with a pin or cotter.
The distance piece might be arranged to extend through an india rubber or
other bearing spring and serve to hold the same in place. The part of the distance
piece within the spring might be made wholly or partly conical. The flange or
plate on the distance piece might be of oval or other form, preferring the same
form as the bearing spring through which it extends, and it might be recessed
on one side to partly receive such spring.
The connecting devices hereinbefore described, besides serving to effectually
secure, in a vertical direction, the body of a vehicle to its under frame without
impairing the cushioning action of the interposed bearing springs, assists also in
preventing horizontal movement of the vehicle body relatively to the underframe..

page_text: As however there need be only a few of such connecting devices I fix at intervals
to the vehicle body or to the under frame, a number of steadying pins arranged
to extend through correspondingly arranged bearing springs and into holes or
recesses in the under frame or body, as the case may be.
These steadying pins which hold the bearing springs in place, may be provided
with flanges or plates and somewhat resemble the distance pieces hereinbefore
described, but will usually be shorter, and are unprovided with connecting bolts
and nuts.
Improvements in or relating to Means for Connecting the Bodies of
Railway and Tramway Vehicles to their Under Frames.
I, ALEXANDER SPENCER, of 77 Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
-
This invention has for its object to enable the body of a railway or tramway
vehicle to be effectually secured to its under frame without necessarily subjecting
the interposed bearing spring or springs to, and impairing the cushioning action
thereof (as heretofore), by pressure beyond that due to the weight of the vehicle
body.
For this purpose, to secure together the vehicle body and the under frame, which
I will hereinafter call the parts to be connected, I use connecting devices having
distance pieces of rigid material, such as metal, adapted to be secured at one of
their ends to one of the parts to be connected, free at the other end, and arranged
at the free end to enter holes in the other of the parts to be connected, the
connection being effected by bolts which are carried by the distance pieces and
whose free ends are provided with tightening-up means such as nuts or cotters,
and preferably also with washers or bearing plates, the arrangement being such
that when the parts are in position to connect a vehicle body to its under frame,
the bolts will extend through that one of the parts to be connected into which the
corresponding distance pieces extend, and on the nuts or equivalent devices thereon
being tightened up, they will, upon bearing either directly or indirectly against
the surface of the part through which the bolts extend, also bear against the free
ends of the distance pieces, so that no compression of the interposed bearing spring
or springs can result from the tightening up, whilst an effectual connection between
the vehicle body and the under frame will be secured.
Connecting devices according to this invention can be constructed in various
forms.
According to one construction, each distance piece is made tubular with at one
end a flange whereby it can be secured-it may be by bolts-to the underside of
the vehicle body, or to the upper side of the under frame, the bolt being made
separate from, and arranged to extend through, the distance piece, one end of which
is recessed to receive and hold the head of the bolt, the other or free end of the
bolt being provided with a nut and a washer or bearing plate.
The construction might be modified by forming the bolt and distance piece in one,
the part beyond the distance piece being an extension of reduced diameter, screw-
threaded and provided with a nut and washer; or the extension may be plain
(i.e., not screw threaded) and slotted, and provided with a pin or cotter.

page_text: The distance piece might be arranged to extend through an india rubber or other
bearing spring which it serves to hold in place; such an india rubber spring may
be of any suitable shape-oval, circular, or rectangular-and with or without
embedded plates. The portion of the distance piece within the spring may be made
wholly or partly conical. The flange or plate on the distance piece might be of
oval or other form, (preferably having the same form as the bearing spring through
which it extends, and it might be recessed on one side to partly receive such spring.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings are respectively a partial longi-
tudinal vertical section and a partial end elevation of a vehicle body connected to-
its under frame by a device according to this invention;
Fig. 3 is a plan of one of the distance pieces alone.
Fig. 4 is a view similar to the lower part of Fig. 1 showing a modified
construction.
Fig. 5 is a plan showing to a smaller scale than Figs. 1 to 4, the under frame.
of a vehicle with connecting means according to this invention, the vehicle body-
being removed.
Fig. 6 is a corresponding partial side elevation, the vehicle body being in position.
Each connecting device in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 comprises a
tubular distance piece 1 that just passes through the under frame 2 and is provided
with a flange 1 of oval shape in plan (see Fig. 3), whereby it is secured by means.
of bolts 3 to the vehicle body 4. 5 is a connecting bolt, which extends through the
distance piece, has its head 6 located in a recess 7 of the flange 1, and is provided
with a nut 8 and a washer or plate 9 adapted to bear against the lower end of the
distance piece 1. 10 is an india rubber bearing spring, which is in plan of an oval
shape corresponding to that of the flange 1, which is recessed at 1b to partly
receive the spring 10. The part 1° of the distance piece within the spring is conical.
As will be seen the length of the tubular distance piece 1 is such that when the
nut 8 is fully screwed up, the washer or plate 9 will be caused to bear against the
lower end of the distance piece but will exert no pressure against the lower side
of the under frame 2 so that whilst the vehicle body and under frame can be
effectually connected together by the device described, the spring 10 will not be
subjected to any additional pressure due to tightening up the nut 8.
In the modified construction shown in Fig. 4 the bolt 5 and the distance piece 1
are made in one piece, the part 11 beyond the distance piece being an extension of
reduced diameter, screw-threaded and provided with a nut 8 and washer 9.
An india-rubber washer may in each case be placed between the plate 9 and the
under frame.
The connecting devices hereinbefore described, besides serving to effectually
secure, in a vertical direction, the body of a vehicle to its under frame without.
impairing the cushioning action of the interposed bearing springs, assist also in
preventing horizontal movement of the vehicle body relatively to the under frame.
As however there need be only a few of such connecting devices, as shown at 1*-
in Figs. 5 and 6, I fix at intervals to the vehicle body 4, as shown at 12, or it may
be to the under frame 2, a number of steadying pins arranged to extend through.
correspondingly arranged bearing springs and into holes or recesses 14 in the under
frame or body, as the case may be. Figs. 7 and 8 áre elevations at right angles.
to each other showing one of these steadying pins 12 and the adjacent parts of the
vehicle body and under frame. These steadying pins 12, which hold other bearing
springs 10 in place, may be provided with flanges or plates 12 and somewhat.
resemble the distance pieces herein before described, but will usually be shorter, and
are unprovided with connecting bolts and nuts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. For connecting the bodies of railway and tramway vehicles to their under
frames, connecting devices each comprising a distance-piece adapted to be secured

page_text: at one end to one of the parts to be connected, free at the other end, and arranged
to extend through the other of the said parts, and tightening-up means adapted
to be directly or indirectly against the part through which the distance piece extends
and also against the free end of the distance piece, the arrangement being such as
to enable a vehicle body to be effectually secured to its under frame without
necessarily subjecting the interposed bearing spring or springs to pressure beyond
that due to the weight of the vehicle body, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The use in conjunction with connecting devices of the kind referred to in the
preceding claim for connecting the body of a vehicle to its under frame, of steadying
pins fixed to one of these parts and arranged to extend through corresponding
bearing springs into holes or recesses in the other part, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. My improved connecting device constructed substantially as herein before
described with reference to and shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying
drawings, or modified according to Fig. 4 for the purpose specified.
4. My improved means for connecting bodies of railway and tramway vehicles
to their under frames constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to and shown in the drawings annexed.
11
كيفي
"
1000
301
Way or
day of April
1000
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.