Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 This invention relates generally to rail joints
and more particularly, to an improved insulated rail joint
including an insulative base member provided with means to
preclude migration of the base member during passage of rail
traffic over the joint.
The present invention is especially adapted for use
in a rail joint wherein joint bars of the chair type are
employed. Examples of such an insulated rail joint are
found in the patents to Thomson No. 1,315,690 dated Sept-
ember 9, 1919 and Hamilton, No. 3,416,728 dated December 17,
1968. In providing insulative inserts for use in such rail
joints, the state of the art has progressed to such a point
that superior compositions are now available in the form of
synthetic resinous compounds such that little problem exists
insofar as deterioration or lack of dimenisonal stabilityduring the use of such inserts. ~lowever, experience has
shown that regardless of the composition of the insulative
inserts, the cumulative effect of rail traffic passing over
such a rail joint invariably produces a migration or creep-
ing displacement of the insulative inserts in a longitudinaldirection with one end of the insert eventually disappearing
from view between one end of the joint bar and the juxta-
posed rail base flange while the other end of the insert
travels progressively away from the opposite end of the joint
i 25 bar with the ultimate effect that the insulative integrity
of the assembled joint is compromised.
By the present invention an improved insulated
rail joint is provided wherein an insulative insert or base
piece adapted to be inserted intermediate a rail base flange
and the foot portion of a joint bar is constructed with ex-
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1 posed terminal sections longitudinally projecting beyond both
ends of a joint bar. Fixedly disposed relative the top surface
of each of the terminal sections of the base piece are stop
or end abutment members forming elevated elements having an
inner abutment surface juxtaposed each end of the joint bar
such that the joint bar is in effect sandwiched between the
spaced apart abutment surfaces of the two stop members where-
upon the base piece is precluded from longitudinal migration
in either direction during subsequent rail travel over the
joint assembly.
Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the
present invention is to provide an improved insulated rail
joint including an insulative base piece disposed inter-
mediate a rail base flange and joint bar and including
exposed terminal sections projecting beyond the ends of the
joint bar and provided with elevated stop memhers thereupon
engageable with the joint bar ends.
A further object of the present invention is to
provide an improved insulated rail joint including an
insulative base piece having terminal sections extending
longitudinally beyond the rail joint bar ends and provided
with integral elevated stop members engageable with both
ends of the joint bar.
Still another object of the present invention is
to provide an improved insulated rail joint including an
insulative base piece having exposed terminal sections formed
with cut-out portions therein and projecting beyond the two
ends of a joint bar and provided with separate stop members
therethrough offering elevated abutment surfaces engageable
with the joint bar ends.
1 Another object of~the present invention is to`~
provide an improved insulated rail joint including an
insulative base piece provided with exposed terminal sections
projecting beyond the two ends of a joint bar and provided
with elevated stop members thereupon comprising a plurality
of members disposed through cut-outs in each of the base
piece terminal sections.
~ ith these and other objects in view which will
more readily appear as the nature of the invention is
better understood, the invention consists in the novel
construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein-
a~ter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.
Preferred and practical embodiments of the
invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly
in section, of an insulated rail joint according to the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view illustrati~g a modi-
fication of the base piece shown in ~ig. l; and-
~ Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a further modi-
fication of the base piece as shown in Fig. 1.
Similar reference characters designate corres-
ponding parts throughout the several figures of the draw-
ing.
Referring now to the drawing, particularly Fig. 1,
the present invention will be seen to relate to an insulated
rail joint assembly, generally designated A and which includes
a pair of longitudinally aligned rails R and R' with each
rail section including the usual head 1, web 2 and base
flange 3. Joining the two rail sections R and R' is a joint
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1 bar J disposed adjacent each web 2 and having a head or "~
upright 4 and foot 5 provided with the base 6 spaced there-
bet~en, As is well known in the art, the joint bar head 4
is adapted to be disposed within the head fillet 7 of the
rail and is electrically isolated therefrom by means of a
suitable insulative head piece 8 while the rail base flange
3 is disposed within the throat defined between the joint
bar foot 5 and base 6.
The foot and base of the joint bar are electrically
isolated from the base flange 3 of the rail by means of the
insert or base piece B comprising a substantially V-shaped
member constructed of any suitable well known insulative
comp~s~ition~ such as synthetic resin. The base piece B
includes a lower arm 9 disposed beneath the rail base
flange 3 and upper arm 10 disposed atop the rail base
flange 3 which latter is joined to the former by means
of the end wall 11. The lower arm 9 extends inwardly from
a point substantially adjacent the vertical center axis of
the rail web 2 while the upper arm 10 will he seen to extend
inwardly from the end wall 11 and terminates in a curved
base fillet section 13 engageable with the base fillet 1
of the rail.
Quite obviously the structure illustrated in Fig. 1
of the drawing is duplicated on the other side of the rail
centerline and for purposes of clarity only one set of the
involved components are shown~ Likewise, the illustration
of the conventional joint bolts, bolt holes and end posts are
omitted as these components form no part of the present in-
vention and are well known to those skilled in the present art.
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1 For ease of assembly the base piece B is usual"lv
constructed to provide a member having limited resilience
and is configured such that when slipped over a rail base
flange 3 a close continuous contact is achieved between the
upper arm 10 and the top surface 15 of the rail base flangeas well as between the lower arm 9 and the bottom surface 16
of the rail base flange. The important feature to note is
that the base piece B is constructed of a length sufficient
to provide a central section 17' having a length equal to that
of the joint bar J and includes an exposed terminal section
17-17 projecting longitudinally beyond each end face 18 of the
joint bar foot 5. The foregoing is combined with means project-
ing upwardly from each top surface 19 of the terminal sections 17
to provide a stop or end abutment member P.
In the embodiment of Fil~. 1, the member P will be
understood to comprise an inte~ral tab cut-out from the
terminal sectIon 17 of the base piece B. Such construction
is readily achieved by cutting along two lines to permit
bending of the tab to the illustrated elevated position thus
leaving the cut-out portion 20. This eliminates the need for
manufacturing the stop members P separately and thereafter
assembling same to the terminal sections 17.
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, the base
piece s' includes modifiea end abutment members comprising
separate insertable clip components P' of insulative material
each having a top wall 21 and a bottom wall 22 engaging res-
pectively, the terminal section upper arm top surface 19 and
undersurface 23. Rigid attachment of the abutment member P'
is achieved by the provision of a transverse cut-out portion
comprising the slot 24 through the upper arm 10 along the
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1 juncture between the central base piece section 17' and each
exposed terminal section 17-17. When assembled as shown in
the left hand portion of Fig. 2 of the drawing, the abutment
member P' will be seen to form a rigidly attached ~-clip.
In the further modification shown in Fig. 3, the
base piece B" includes the end abutment means li~ewise compris-
ing separate components and in this instance a plurality of non-
metallic rivets P" are affixed through cut-out portions compris-
ing holes 25 in the upper arm 10 of the base piece terminal
sections 17 to provide at each exposed terminal section 17 a
pair of transversely spaced apart abutment members each having an
elevated peripheral surface disposed along the juncture of the
base piece central section 17' and exposed terminal sections 17-17.
In all modifications of the present invention, the
end abutment member will be understood to provide an elevated
top wall 21' (Fig. 1), 21 (Fig. 2) or 21" (Fig. 3) joined to
an inner abutment surface 26, 26' or 26" respectively, which
surface itself extends normal to the longitudinal axis of the
rails and is constantly juxtaposed the adjacent end 18 of the
joint bar so that effective means is provided to preclude any
longitudinal migration of the base piece B. s' or s" in either
direction during rail travel over the assembled joint A.
Adaptability of any one of the described base pieces
to rail joint assemblies utilizing joint bars of varying
lengths is readily accomplished as it will be appreciated
that in each case the extent and location of the cut-out
portions 20, 24 or 25 may be selectively varied to alter the
resultant location of the inner abutment surfaces 26, 26' or
26".
