Patent ID: 7306077

Claim:
A fail-safe weight-responsive skate retarder for slowing or stopping a moving rail car having at least one wheel riding on a running rail, the wheel and running rail each having opposed side surfaces, the car having a given weight and its wheel having a predetermined width, said fail-safe weight-responsive skate retarder comprising: first and second brake rails, one brake rail being aligned along each side of the running rail, said brake rails being substantially parallel to the side surfaces of the running rail and wheel; a lever mechanism having first and second levers, said first lever holding said first brake rail and said second lever holding said second brake rail, said first and second levers being proximal a middle portion of said lever mechanism, said middle portion extending under and supportably engaging the running rail, said middle portion being movable between a lower fail-safe position, an elevated braking position and a raised non-operable position, said braking rails being spaced closer together than the width of the wheel when in said lower fail-safe position, said braking rails engaging the side surfaces of the wheel when in said elevated braking position, and said braking rails being spaced further apart than the width of the wheel when in said raised non-operable position, said lever mechanism being biased toward said lower fail-safe position; a release mechanism movable between activated and non-activated positions, said release mechanism forcibly engaging said middle portion of said lever mechanism and selectively moving said lever mechanism to said raised non-operable position when said release mechanism is in said activated position; and, wherein said lever mechanism moves from said lower fail-safe position to said elevated braking position when the wheel of the car enters between and spreads said brake rails apart, said levers raising the running rail and car to said elevated braking position, and said brake rails applying a braking force to the side surfaces of the wheel when in said elevated braking position, said braking force corresponding to the weight of the car, said lever mechanism is located between adjacent ties, and said first and second levers have outer ends, said outer end of said first lever being supported by a first lever support, said outer end of said second lever being supported by a second lever support, and each of said lever supports being mounted to and extending between said adjacent ties.