Railway wheel and axle assembly

Claim 1

An improved car wheel structure for supporting heavy load, said structure being of the type comprising a. a shaft or axle having an outboard end and a shoulder spaced from and facing said outboard end, b. an anti-friction bearing assembly supported on said axle outboard of said shoulder, c. a wheel mounted on said bearing assembly and rotatable thereon relative to said axle, and d. pressure plate means secured to the outboard end of said axle for pressing said assembly against said shoulder; wherein the improvement comprises e. a sleeve mounted on the outboard end of said axle between said pressure plate means and said assembly, f. a first pressure plate in said pressure plate means and bearing against the outboard end of said sleeve and spaced from the end of said axle, g. a second pressure plate in said pressure plate means bearing against said first pressure plate outboard thereof for pressing said first pressure plate against said sleeve h. one of said pressure plates having a central protruberance extending toward the other for limiting the mutual contact between said pressure plates to the central parts thereof in substantially axial alignment with said axle, and i. a set of bolt means in said pressure plate means arranged in spaced relation about said central portion and passing through said first and second plates and threadedly engaging in the end of said axle in spaced relation about its central axis, j. said bolt means passing through said first plate loosely, whereby tightening of said bolt means exerts pressure via said second plate, said protruberance, said first plate, and said sleeve against said assembly, while providing for relative tilting of said first and second pressure plates about said protruberance on bending of said axle.