Transdyne, Inc.

Danly Machine Corporation

Avondale Industries, Inc.

Carl E Tack, Jr

Francis E Heiberger

A resilient clip on pedestal wear plate comprises a base with two opposing side lips for resiliently holding the base on a railway car side frame. When installed, the wear plate serves to prevent wear on the load bearing surface of the pedestal. The side lips of the wear plate comprise a center portion with spring arms extending therefrom to resiliently attach the plate to the side frame. Because the spring arms do not depend on bending of the base for their resiliency, the wear plate of the invention provides improved service stress capabilities.

Resilient clip-on wear plate

A brake shoe key is driven into operative engagement between a conventional brake shoe and a brake shoe support head in order to removably attach the brake shoe to the head. The brake shoe key is composed of cold workable austenitic stainless steel such that the key does not form stress cracks during fabrication and becomes stronger upon installation by driving.

Brake shoe assembly and key for railway vehicles

A clip-on wear plate to protect the downwardly facing flat surface of the pedestal opening of a railway truck is provided. The wear plate has a first flat surface in contact with the downwardly facing flat surface of the pedestal and an opposed second surface in contact with the bearing adaptor. The first surface is provided with a relatively high coefficient of friction relative to the second surface to an minimize movement of the wear plate.

Stabilized pedestal wear plate

A railway truck has frames on each side divided into separate components or lever arms extending from the axles. Opposed arms are secured together by a pair of parallel torque tubes. A bolster rides on the tubes and maintains the tubes in parallel and provides frictional damping. The torsion tubes each carry a pair of torsion bars secured at the inner end to the torque tube and to the outer end to the bolster. Unequal loads on opposite wheels are carried equally by the torsion tubes.

Torsion bar railway truck

A bottom rod safety guard in the form of a loop is suspended from a brake beam. The cable ends are looped through holes in the beam, and a latch plate extends beneath the beam to provide a releaseable connection.

Bottom rod safety guard for railway brake rigging

A method of controlling a press having a slide mechanism mounted for reciprocating movement, a press drive for cycling the slide mechanism and including a press drive shaft and a mechanism for driving the shaft at a controllable angular velocity, and an automated feed mechanism for transferring workpieces in and out of at least one work station in the press in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the press slide, the method comprising the steps of driving the press drive shaft at a first, relatively fast angular velocity during a 'closed' portion of each cycle of reciprocating movement of the press slide, the 'closed' portion of each cycle including that portion of the cycle during which the press slide is working one or more workpieces, and driving the press drive shaft at a second angular velocity, slower than the first angular velocity, during an 'open' portion of each cycle of reciprocating movement of the press slide, the second angular velocity being sufficiently slow to allow the automatic feed mechanism to transfer workpieces in and out of the work station in the press during the 'open' portion of each cycle.

Short stroke press with automated feed mechanism

A clutch and brake system for starting and stopping a power press uses hydraulically actuated brake and clutch mechanisms. To start the press, the brake is hydraulically released while the clutch is hydraulically engaged at a predetermined intermediate torque level which is less than the full clutch torque level. The clutch is maintained at that intermediate torque level until the present drive shaft has attained its substantially full speed, and is then increased to the full clutch torque level. To stop the press, the clutch is hydraulically disengaged while the brake is hydraulically engaged at a predetermined intermediate torque level which is less than the full brake torque level. The brake is maintained at this intermediate torque level until the press drive shaft has substantially stopped, at which time the brake torque is increased to the full brake torque level.

Hydraulic clutching and braking system for starting and stopping a power

A control system for a press line containing a plurality of presses for performing successive operations on the same workpiece has a plurality of computer control units, each of which controls the movement of one of the presses and the workpiece transfer mechanisms associated therewith via repetitive automation cycles which correspond to and control repetitive press cycles. One of the computer control units selected as a reference unit, and all the computer control units, including the reference unit, produce a synchronizing signal at a common predetermined point in the automation cycles thereof. The synchronizing signal from the reference unit is compared with the synchronizing signal from each of the other units to determine whether the other units are lagging or leading the reference unit. The cycle times of the leading and lagging units are then adjusted accordingly.

Control system for synchronizing multiple presses in a line

A power press arrangement including one or more workpiece handling mechanisms such as loaders, unloaders, turnover devices, conveyors, etc. The various workpiece handling mechanisms are controlled in synchronism with the press or presses through numerical control systems which are coordinated with press slide positions. For each axis of controlled movement, a discrete number of desired position locations are loaded into an associated press control memory, and the data is processed into a derived motion table for each axis and followed to effect axis motion in coordination with press slide position. During operation of the press, the associated control system continuously derives motion control parameters for the controlled axes based upon the tabular values. The actual position of each controlled mechanism is also monitored and compared with the desired position at repetitive time increments to detect any position errors. A desired velocity for each controlled mechanism is also derived from the desired position signals, and the mechanism is driven at a velocity which is a function of both the desired velocity and any position error.

Computer directed loading and unloading devices

Method and apparatus for numerical control to produce contouring by simultaneous coordinated motions along two or more axes, characterized by the creation of desired velocity signals supplied as the primary inputs to velocity servos coupled to drive a member relatively along the respective axes. Although capable of practice by and susceptible of embodiment in other apparatus, a digital computer is physically organized and conditioned by a master program, and associated with an adjustable interrupt clock which measures off successive time periods .DELTA.T, so as to supply a changeable velocity command number signal to each servo proportional to the distance per .DELTA.T through which motion along the associated axis is to occur. This velocity command number is algebraically added to a theoretical position number to signal dynamically during each period .DELTA.T the axis position at which the member should reside; and the latter number is used with a dynamically signaled actual position number to re-compute and signal during each period the position error. The position errors are used as a trimming or adjusting term in the signals applied to the respective axis servos. When the signaled error exceeds a first threshold on any axis, the periods .DELTA.T are lengthened to reduce all axis velocities; when it exceeds a second threshold, the system is put into a holding mode. On the other hand, as the error is reduced below the second threshold, the system returns to the running mode and as the error is reduced below the first threshold the periods .DELTA.T are reduced to increase all axis velocities back to programmed values. The input signal applied to each axis servo includes a further historical adjustment term incrementally changed during any period when the error exceeds a predetermined value --all to the objective of making the axis servos (a) operate with substantially zero following error, (b) correct themselves if the position error becomes at all appreciable, or (c) stop if that error becomes intolerable. Because of the accuracy of velocity control, the system terminates any path segment for one block of command data when the number of elapsed periods .DELTA.T equals a precomputed number of time periods .DELTA.T required for the controlled member to travel the segment length at the commanded velocity expressed in distance per period. No comparison of command end point coordinates with actual end point coordinates is required. Automatic acceleration and deceleration is performed by starting the execution of a block of command data at the commanded velocity, and beginning an incrementing of the velocity command number during each period .DELTA.T after the number of elapsed periods becomes equal to the total of the periods for the entire block less the quantity required for the velocity to change from one block velocity to the next at the chosen incrementing or acceleration value.

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Oak Park, IL, United States of America

Carl E Tack, Jr