Patent ID: 8033533

Claim:
A mounting member for mounting an air spring actuator to at least one brake beam of a railway car mounted brake assembly, the air spring actuator having a pair of spaced apart end surfaces and at least one inflatable air spring defining an exterior peripheral surface of the air spring actuator, each of the pair of spaced apart end surfaces having a plurality of threaded fasteners extending outwardly therefrom, said mounting member comprising: (a) a plate member disposed substantially vertically during use of the brake assembly, said plate member having a first substantially planar surface thereof disposed in abutting relationship with one of the pair of spaced apart end surfaces of the air spring actuator, said plate member further having a plurality of mounting apertures formed through a thickness thereof, each of said plurality of mounting apertures aligned with and sized to pass therethrough a respective one of the plurality of threaded fasteners extending outwardly from the one of the pair of end surfaces, said plate member exposing the exterior peripheral surface of the at least one inflatable air spring to an atmospheric operating environment characterized by a presence of detrimental extraneous foreign material when the railway car mounted brake assembly is in use; (b) an elongated flange disposed, in a substantially horizontal plane during use of the air spring actuator assembly, on an opposed second substantially planar surface of said plate member between top and bottom edges thereof, said elongated flange extending outwardly from said opposed second substantially planar surface of said plate member, wherein a first end of said elongated flange is positioned at about one side edge of said plate member and wherein an opposed second end of said elongated flange is positioned in proximity to an opposed side edge of said plate member; (c) a pair of apertures formed through a thickness of said elongated flange in a spaced apart relationship along a length thereof; (d) a support having one end thereof disposed on said second end of said elongated flange, said support extending in a direction wherein an opposed end of said support is disposed forward of said first substantially planar surface portion of said plate member, said support having a portion thereof disposed generally horizontally when said mounting member is installed on the railway car mounted brake assembly; and (e) an aperture disposed in said opposed end of said support.