Railway clip insulator with two stable positions for standby, parked or preloaded position and installed, loaded or final position
View Patent ↗A rail seat includes a concrete rail tie; a pair of rail clip support shoulders cast in place in said rail tie each said shoulder having a rail face between its external sides; a pair of shoulder insulators each shaped to lie against the rail face of the rail shoulder; a pair of rail clips each having a base section adapted to seat within the rail clip support shoulder and a toe section adapted to seat on the rail base. The clip and toe insulator assembly is loaded on the shoulder in a vertical direction so that parts of the toe insulator seat within pockets in the shoulder that enable the clip and insulator assembly to move laterally towards the rail but not away from it and the clip base is aligned with the shoulder slot ready to enter it when the clip is moved laterally to the parked position which applies a small downward force to the clip toes and at this stage lie outside the limits of the rail base and finally the clip can be moved laterally into the installed position where the toe insulators sit on top of the rail base and securely hold it down.
1. A railroad tie and rail seat assembly for supporting a rail which includes:
a. a rail tie;
b. a pair of rail clip support shoulders attached to the said rail tie and each said shoulder having a rail base abutment face and on the opposite side there is a slot which extends towards the rail and is capable of accepting a clip base when applied laterally towards the rail;
c. a pair of shoulder insulators each shaped to lie between the rail base edge and the rail abutment face of the shoulders:
d. a pair of rail clips each having a base section adapted to slide into the rail clip support shoulder slot and a toe section adapted to seat on the rail base, the toe section comprising a pair of bifurcated arms extending from the said base section and being bent into a curve so that the toes lie adjacent but beyond the clip base;
e. a pair of toe insulators each captive on the rail clip toes to electrically insulate the clip from the rail base, each rail clip and captive toe insulator forming a clip and toe insulator assembly;
f. the clip and toe insulator assembly is configured to be placed in a loaded position on the rail clip support shoulder in a vertical direction so that parts of the toe insulator seat within pockets in the rail clip support shoulder that enable the clip and toe insulator assembly to move laterally towards the rail but not away from the rail in the loaded position, wherein the toe insulator includes a wing configured to abut with portions of the support shoulder to prevent movement of the toe insulator away from the rail in the loaded position;
g. in the loaded position the clip base is aligned with the shoulder slot and enters the shoulder slot when the clip and toe insulator assembly is moved, laterally to a parked position in which the clip and toe insulator lie outside limits of the rail base; and
h. in an installed position for the clip and toe insulator assembly the toe insulators sit on top of the rail base and securely hold the rail base down.
2. A rail seat assembly comprising:
a rail clip including a base section, which is configured to slide into a slot of a rad clip support shoulder, and a toe section, which is configured to seat on a rail base of the rail clip support shoulder, placing the rail clip adjacent a rail;
a toe insulator captive on the rail clip and configured to electrically insulate the rail clip from a rail base, the rail clip and captive toe insulator forming a clip and toe insulator assembly, wherein:
the clip and toe insulator assembly is configured to be placed in a loaded position on the rail clip support shoulder in a vertical direction so that parts of the toe insulator seat within pockets in the rail clip support shoulder that enable the dip and toe insulator assembly to move laterally towards the rail but not away from the rail in the loaded position, wherein the toe insulator includes a wing configured to abut with portions of the rail clip support shoulder to prevent movement of the toe insulator away from the rail in the loaded position;
in the loaded position the clip base is aligned with the shoulder slot and enters the shoulder slot when the clip and toe insulator assembly is moved laterally to a parked position in which the clip and toe insulator lie outside limits of the rail base; and
in an installed position for the clip and toe insulator assembly the toe insulators sit on top of the rail base and securely hold the rail base down.