United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

United Technologies Corporation

General Railway Signal Corporation

George A Bonner

Jack W Wilson, Jr

Douglas L Kisling

Mark Alan Hager

Lee E Hansen

Daniel W Van Alstine

Charles M Eggebrecht

George E Ludwick

Allen Baughman

James E Fisher

Barry A Taft

Milo R Rodriguez

There is provided an electric motor driven switch machine for positioning a railroad track at a switching point having rail point detection and indication mechanism. In particular, the detection and indication mechanism has a latch out mechanism that identifies a latch out condition when the railroad tracks are not at, or near, their proper positions before or after switching the railroad tracks. The detection and indication mechanism includes a four bar linkage which comprises a point detector bar, two cam followers, and a link arm assembly. The cam followers, supported in part by the link arm assembly, are connected to two point detector switches, so that the switch machine is operating when either one of these switches is closed or the railroad tracks are being switched. The latch out mechanism, located on the link arm assembly, may produce and indicate a latch out condition, thereby causing the two point detector switches to be held open until the railroad tracks are switched again from a remote location or at the switch machine. Optionally, a latch out switch may be added to the detection and indication mechanism in order to sustain the latch out condition and prevent the railroad tracks from being switched from a remote location until a safe condition is restored manually at the switch machine.

Point detection and indication with latch out means

A variable guide vane 12 bushing assembly 10 which features means that prevents bushing rotation. A bushing 16 comprises flats 16b on its outer sleeve, the flats interlock with race track shaped holes 20a on a tab-lock washer 20. The tab-lock washer spans two or more adjacent vane stems (12,14) and thus is not susceptible to rotation. A retainer 24 and the vane arm 26 assemble on top of the tab-lock washer to complete the assembly.

Anti-rotation guide vane bushing

An improved vane platform feather seal is disclosed for use in turbine engines. This feather seal contains a flat, thin feather seal, which is attached by adhesive to ease assembly to an L-shaped retainer plate to result in a combined thickness of 0.032 inches. This new seal may be used to replace the inner vane platform seals which are currently used in F-100 turbine engines, which have a history of not bending easily to conform to seal slots. The new seal provides improved platform sealing without loss of platform retention in the event of vane burn through.

Vane platform sealing and retention means

A cylindrically shaped spacer between a shaft and hub of a turbine rotor of a gas turbine engine as fabricated from a flexible resilient material and interference fitted at discrete points on either side of the transverse axis of the spacer between the shaft and spacer and between the hub and spacer to impart a twist of the spacer about this axis to remain in contact with the hub and shaft throughout its entire rotating envelope.

Means for maintaining concentricity of rotating components

Growing community of inventors

Palm Beach Gardens, FL, United States of America

George A Bonner