Patent ID: 8201504

Claim:
A constant contact side bearing assembly for a railcar, comprising: a housing including upstanding wall structure defining a central axis for said side bearing assembly; a multipiece cap arranged in operable combination with said housing and including a first member arranged within said housing and having wall structure arranged to frictionally contact the wall structure of said housing during vertical movements of said first member, with the wall structure of said first member being arranged to one side of the central axis of said side bearing assembly, a second member arranged within said housing and carried by said first member, said second member including wall structure arranged to frictionally contact said wall structure of said housing during vertical movements of said second member, with the wall structure of said second member being arranged to a second side of the central axis of said side bearing assembly, and wherein a portion of said second member extends beyond the wall structure of said housing and defines a friction surface for said cap, with said friction surface being urged into constant engagement with a related part on said railcar; a spring arranged within said housing and generally centralized below both of said first and second members of said multipiece cap for urging the friction surface on said cap into frictional contact with said related part on said railcar; and wherein said first and second members of said multipiece cap define non-vertical interengaging and slidable surfaces therebetween and disposed at an angle ranging between about 20 degrees and about 30 degrees relative to a horizontal plane for maintaining the wall structure on each of said members in frictional contact with the wall structure of said housing thereby limiting horizontal shifting movements of said friction surface relative to said housing while maintaining vertical reciprocity of said cap relative to said housing during operation of said side bearing assembly.