Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61G—COUPLINGS; DRAUGHT AND BUFFING APPLIANCES
  • B61G3/00—Couplings comprising mating parts of similar shape or form which can be coupled without the use of any additional element or elements
  • B61G3/16—Couplings comprising mating parts of similar shape or form which can be coupled without the use of any additional element or elements with coupling heads rigidly connected by rotatable hook plates or discs and balancing links, the coupling members forming a parallelogram, e.g. "Scharfenberg" type
  • B61G3/20—Control devices, e.g. for uncoupling
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B61—RAILWAYS
  • B61G—COUPLINGS; DRAUGHT AND BUFFING APPLIANCES
  • B61G7/00—Details or accessories
  • B61G7/02—Hand tools for coupling or uncoupling

Definitions

• This invention relates to a coupler for a multi-car rail vehicle, in particular for automatic coupling systems (AC) and digital automatic coupling systems (DAC) in rail freight transportation (RFT).
• the invention further relates to a system as well as a car of a multi-car rail vehicle comprising the coupler and, in particular, further relates to an uncoupling method in which the coupler can be used.
• the couplings currently used in RFT create only a mechanical connection between the cars automatically.
• the European rail freight sector prepares for upgrading from a screw coupling (SC) to a DAC.
• SC screw coupling
• a DAC Type 4 permits automatic coupling of compressed air, electrical power, and data lines, in addition to the mechanical connection. It is envisaged that the DACs for rail freight transportation shall be of the Scharfenberg-type.
• Coupler heads of a Scharfenberg-type coupling have a coupling profile with a cone and a cup, the cone of one coupler head being guided into and centered in the cup of the opposing coupler head during the coupling process, thereby aligning the two coupler heads.
• Each coupler head contains a rotating metal disc, also known as "hook plate”, which is sometimes also referred to as the heart of the coupler head.
• the disc is fixedly mounted to a main pin which can rotate about a main axis together with the hook plate.
• a plunger also referred to as “coupling link” or “hoop” is pivotably mounted to one side of the disc with one of its ends.
• On the opposing side of the disc there is a "notch” in the disc.
• the rotatable disc is held in position by at least one tension spring, in which position the notch is drawn into and the hoop urged outwards of the coupler head. This is also referred to as the "coupled position" of the coupler head.
• the "coupled position" of the disc corresponds to the "ready-to-couple position" of the disc.
• the coupler heads are identical, such rotation of the disc occurs on both coupler heads simultaneously until the hoops of both coupler heads engage with the notch in the disc of the respective other coupler head.
• a dual-position coupling differs from the single-position coupling in that it includes a latching mechanism which, when the coupler head is being uncoupled against the spring force, holds the disc in the uncoupled position.
• the latching mechanism is automatically released mechanically when the two coupler heads approach each other so that the spring force of the tension springs causes the discs to rotate towards their respective coupled position.
• US 4,366,911 discloses a single-position Scharfenberg-type coupling which includes an electromechanical uncoupling mechanism.
• a lever is fixedly attached to the main pin, and a roller, which is eccentrically mounted on a rotating plate, can be moved by rotation of the rotating plate so that it engages the lever and thereby rotates the disc about the main axis from its coupled position (or ready-to-couple position) to its uncoupled position.
• the roller Upon further rotation of the rotating plate, the roller disengages from the lever so that the disc can return to its ready-to-couple position urged by the spring force of the tension spring.
• the rotating plate rotates further towards its initial position so that it is ready for the next uncoupling process.
• the rotation of the rotating plate is achieved by means of an electric motor.
• a sensor is provided to stop the electric motor when the rotating plate has reached its initial position.
• WO 2022/129021 A1 relates to a dual-position Scharfenberg-type coupling and discloses various kinds of electromechanical uncoupling mechanisms.
• an electrically actuated element of the uncoupling mechanism engages with the disc so as to rotate the disc about the main axis from its coupled position to its uncoupled or ready-to-couple position.
• the disc is held in place in that position by means of a separate latching mechanism until, during the next coupling process, such latching mechanism is released by an approaching second coupler head.
• the electrically actuated element of the uncoupling mechanism returns to its starting position by electrically actuating the uncoupling mechanism in an opposite direction.
• DE 102020119328 A1 discloses a manual uncoupling device including a hand lever attached to a pull wire so as to reduce the force needed for uncoupling the coupler head by pulling the pull wire.
• the hand lever is located on a lateral side of the car.
• the hand lever can be reached by an operator without the need to get between two cars.
• the hand lever is arranged vertically on a side of the car and is tilted outwards from the car in order to uncouple the coupler head.
• the arrangement is bulky and sticks out from the side of the car, which may be dangerous when the wagon moves.
• the forces required to be applied manually by the operators performing the uncoupling process should be low, preferably not exceeding 150 N.
• a method of uncoupling adjacent cars of a multi-car rail vehicle which are coupled together by means of two couplers may comprise the steps of:
• the automatically driven rotator in a simple form, may be an electrically driven screwdriver having a tip end which is configured to mate with the rotatable connector of the coupler.
• the couplers are uncoupled simply by means of the automatically driven rotator.
• the configuration of the coupler is preferably such that the automatically driven rotator can be easily held by the operator who performs the uncoupling process, in which case the automatically driven rotator may be a handheld device, such as a screwdriver, which may be an electrically driven screwdriver.
• screwdriver is used synonymously with the more general term “automatically driven rotator”.
• an automatically driven actuator for performing the uncoupling process, it is more likely that the uncoupling process, e.g. the rotation of the locking device, is continuous, relatively fast and operator independent, i.e. independent of the person who operates the uncoupling device.
• Using an automatically driven rotator also has the advantage that a rotational speed or speed range of the automatically driven rotator may be selected which ensures a successful uncoupling process.
• the screwdriver may receive its power from an external power source, i.e. independent from any power supply of the rail vehicle.
• the power source may be a hydraulic, pneumatic or preferably electric power source.
• the screwdriver may be driven by energy stored in the screwdriver itself, e.g. stored in a battery or in an accumulator.
• a plug-and-socket connector may be provided, wherein one of the plug and the socket is provided on the rotatable connector of the coupler and the respective other one of the plug and the socket is provided at the tip end of the screwdriver.
• the rotatable connector which comprises the plug of the plug-and-socket connector.
• the screwdriver i.e. the automatically driven rotator, or the rotatable connector is equipped with a rotary hammer function. This facilitates the removal of snow and ice from the plug or socket.
• the plug Independent of whether the plug forms part of the rotatable connector or whether it is provided on the tip end of the screwdriver, the plug preferably has a ball-shaped end with a hexagonal or other regular polygonal cross-section.
• Ball-shaped ends on hex keys also known as Allen keys or Inbus keys
• hex keys are generally known and enable a torsion-transmitting connection between the plug and the socket even when the screwdriver is in an angled position.
• the socket has a funnel shape. This facilitates engagement between the plug and the socket, which is particularly helpful when the uncoupling process is to be performed while the car of the rail vehicle is (slowly) moving.
• the screwdriver may comprise an extension so that the uncoupling process can be performed from a certain distance away from the car.
• the screwdriver comprises a lengthy rotatable rod of which the free end is configured for being connected to the rotatable connector of the coupler.
• the rotatable rod may have a length of more than 20 cm, preferably between 20 cm and 50 cm, more preferably between 30 cm and 40 cm.
• the uncoupling device when mounted on the car of the multi-car vehicle, it is preferably mounted such that the axis of rotation of the rotatable connector is oriented so as to point sideways away from the car. This way, it can be easily reached with the screwdriver when an uncoupling process is to be performed.
• the rotatable connector it may be preferable when the rotatable connector is not oriented exactly sideways, i.e. horizontally, but sideways and upwards. This is particularly advantageous when the transmission housing is mounted relatively low, e.g. below or against an underside of the car, in which case an upward-angled rotatable connector is easier accessible.
• the arrangement is preferably such that the rotatable connector does not stick out sideways beyond the car.
• the rotatable connector is preferably arranged next or close (e.g. less than 10 cm) to the outer side boundary of the car so that the distance to be overcome by the operator in order to reach the rotatable connector with the screwdriver from outside the rail track is minimal.
• the car may comprise two of the uncoupling devices, one uncoupling device arranged on each of the opposite sides of the car, so that the uncoupling process can be performed from either side of the car.
• a coupler which is suitable to be used in context with the aforementioned uncoupling method may comprise a coupler head with a locking device, such as a hook plate, which is rotatable about a main pin of the coupler head between a coupled position and an uncoupled position and which is configured to cooperate with a locking device of a corresponding second coupler head so as to couple the two coupler heads together when the locking device of each of the two coupler heads is in its respective coupled position.
• the coupler head further has a tension spring which provides a spring force configured to urge the locking device (in the following also referred to as "hook plate” for reason of simplification) towards its coupled position.
• the coupler comprises an uncoupling device having an uncoupling actuator which is arranged to move from a first actuator position (which, in the following, is also referred to as the initial or starting position) to a second actuator position, thereby causing the locking device (hook plate) to rotate from its coupled position to its uncoupled position against the spring force provided by the tension spring.
• a latching mechanism may be provided which holds the locking device (hook plate) in the uncoupled position, wherein the latching mechanism may be released when the coupler head is approached by a corresponding second coupler head.
• the coupler head is preferably a coupler head according to EN 16019:2014.
• the uncoupling device comprises the aforementioned rotatable connector which is accessible from the outside and which has an axis of rotation with the plug or socket of the plug-and-socket connector arranged on the axis of rotation. That is, the rotatable connector is configured for an external tool to be connected thereto, such as by the aforementioned screwdriver. Then, when the rotatable connector is rotated by means of the external tool, the uncoupling actuator of the uncoupling device ultimately moves from the first actuator position to the second actuator position, thereby causing the locking device in the coupler head to rotate from its coupled position to its uncoupled position against the spring force provided by the tension spring.
• the spring force of the tension spring preferably causes also the uncoupling actuator to return to the first actuator position, i.e. its starting position.
• a separate biasing element such as a torsion spring, may be arranged so as to urge the uncoupling actuator back towards its starting position.
• biasing element may act directly on the uncoupling actuator or on any other element of the uncoupling device.
• the biasing element may form part of the uncoupling device.
• the coupler is preferably a Scharfenberg-type coupler and, therefore, may further comprise as part of the coupler head:
• a linking mechanism may be provided to link the uncoupling actuator of the uncoupling device to the coupler head so that movement of the uncoupling actuator from the first actuator position to the second actuator position is transferred to the coupler head and causes the locking device in the coupler head to rotate from its coupled position to its uncoupled position.
• the linking mechanism may span a distance from the uncoupling actuator to the coupler head, e.g. when the uncoupling actuator is arranged at a side of the car far from the coupler head.
• the linking mechanism comprises a pull cable.
• a pull cable is advantageous because it allows the transfer of mechanic energy over long distances, does not require much space and is easy to adapt to different requirements.
• a hydraulic line may be provided instead of a pull cable, offering the same advantages.
• the coupler head may comprise a coupler head housing with the main pin extending from the coupler head housing.
• the linking mechanism may then be easily connected to the main pin outside of the coupler head housing.
• the uncoupling device comprises a transmission having an input end formed by the rotatable connector.
• the transmission is configured to reduce the force that needs to be applied when performing the uncoupling process.
• the arrangement may be such that an input torque of 30 Nm or less, preferably 25 Nm or less, more preferably 20 Nm or less, most preferably 15 Nm or less, applied to the rotatable connector is sufficient to cause the locking device in the coupler head to rotate from its coupled position to its uncoupled position.
• the spring forces of the tension springs which urge the locking devices (hook plates) of the two coupler heads towards their coupled position generate, together, a torque about the main pin of the coupler head of approximately 165 Nm.
• the transmission is configured such that an input torque of e.g. 15 Nm is sufficient to overcome, on the one hand, the torque of e.g. 165 Nm generated by the forces of the two tension springs and, on the other hand, any additional torques and/or forces which may be created, e.g., by friction and/or by the aforementioned separate biasing element which urges the uncoupling actuator back towards its starting position.
• the input torque to be applied via the rotatable connector may be generated by a common electric screwdriver or a similar handheld device, and the counterforce which needs to be applied to the handheld device can be easily provided by the user holding the device.
• the arrangement is such that the counterforce is 150 N or less.
• the uncoupling device comprises a torque limiter.
• the torque limiter is configured to limit the input torque that is applied via the rotatable connector to, e.g., a desired maximum torque of 15 Nm.
• Torque limiters are generally known and may include a freewheel clutch which kicks in when the maximum torque is reached or exceeded. This way, the counterforce provided to the screwdriver by the operator may accordingly be limited to, e.g, 150 N or less.
• the transmission is configured to transform rotation of the rotatable connector having a first rotational speed into rotation of a lower, second rotational speed.
• the transmission may be configured to transform the rotation of the rotatable connector into a translational movement.
• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a coupler head 1 in a coupled position.
• the coupler head 1 has a coupler face 2 at its front end and has a rear end to which a coupler rod is attached for connecting the coupler head 1 to a car of a rail vehicle.
• the coupler rod usually includes one or preferably both of a dampening device and a shock-absorbing device, as is usual in central buffer couplings.
• the dampening device and shock-absorbing device is arranged between the coupler head 1 and a car of the rail vehicle.
• the coupler head 1 further has a male cone 4, usually referred to simply as cone, and a female cone 5, usually referred to as cup, receiving the cone of a second coupler head 1 in order to align the coupler heads when they mate with their respective coupler faces 2.
• a male cone 4 usually referred to simply as cone
• a female cone 5 usually referred to as cup
• the coupler head 1 has a coupler head housing 6 delimited by a wall 3. Inside the coupler head housing 6, there is contained a locking device 7, in the following referred to as "hook plate”, which can rotate about a main pin 8.
• a coupling link 9 or hook is pivotably attached with a first end 9A to the hook plate 7 and has a second end 9B which is configured to engage a hook plate recess 7A or notch of the hook plate 7.
• a tension spring 10 connects the hook plate 7 to the coupler housing 6 so as to urge the hook plate 7 into the position shown in Fig. 1 , which shows a coupled position of the coupler head 1.
• a latching mechanism 11 which comprises a trigger 12 or stamp which is urged into an extended position by a trigger spring 13.
• the latching mechanism 11 comprises further components which are partly shown in Fig. 1 and well known to the skilled person in the art so that they will not be described here in further detail. In any case, the latching mechanism 11 usually prevents the hook plate 7 from returning, after an uncoupling process and biased by the spring force of the tension spring 10, into the coupled position shown in Fig. 1 . Instead, when the latching mechanism 11 is effective, different to what is shown in Fig.
• the hook plate 7 is held - against the spring force of the tension spring 10 - in a position in which the hook plate recess 7A is open towards the front side of the coupler head 1 so that the second end 9B of a coupling link 9 of a second coupler head can immediately engage with the hook plate recess 7A during a coupling process.
• the latching mechanism 11 can two coupler heads 1 couple together.
• a first embodiment of an uncoupling device 14 is generally shown in Fig. 3 .
• the uncoupling device 14 comprises a transmission 16 arranged in a transmission housing 17 and having an input shaft 18.
• a rotatable connector 19 is arranged on the free end of the input shaft 18 for engagement by an automatically driven rotator 20 which is shown here as a handheld device in the form of an electrically driven screwdriver having incorporated therein a battery pack or accumulator.
• the uncoupling device further comprises a linking mechanism 27 which links the transmission 16 to the coupler head 1.
• movement of the linking mechanism 27 will cause the locking device inside the coupler head 1 to rotate from its coupled position to its uncoupled position.
• the linking mechanism 27 takes the form of a Bowden cable, i.e. comprising a pull cable guided in a bendable sleeve.
• the automatically driven rotator 20 or screwdriver has an extension rod 21 extending from the device by about 40 cm.
• a plug 22 of a plug-and-socket connector which is configured to mate with a corresponding socket of the rotatable connector 19 on the input shaft 18 of the transmission 16.
• the plug 22 may have a ball-shaped end with a hexagonal or other regular polygonal cross-section so that a mating connection between the rotatable connector 19 and the screwdriver 20 is possible even when the extension rod 21 of the screwdriver is not exactly aligned with the axis of rotation of the input shaft 18.
• the rotatable connector has a funnel 24 funneling into the socket 23 so that the screwdriver 20 can be easily attached to the rotatable connector 19, e.g. even in the case that the car 100 of the multi-car rail vehicle is slowly moving.
• the input shaft 18 including the rotatable connector 19 with its funnel 24 sticks out from a transmission housing 17 in which the transmission 16 is accommodated
• the transmission housing 17 is attached to the car 100 such that nothing extends beyond a side boundary of the car 100, i.e. no part of the uncoupling device 14 extends sideways beyond a side boundary of the car 100.
• the plug-and-socket connection may be the opposite, i.e. the plug 22 may make part of the rotatable connector 19, whereas the funnel 24 and socket 23 may be arranged on the free end of the extension rod 21.
• This arrangement is even preferred because snow and ice are easier to be removed from a rotatable connector 19 having the plug 22 rather than having a socket 23 with the funnel 24.
• Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an underside of a coupler 1 having a coupler rod 26.
• the coupler rod 26 may include a dampening device and/or a shock-absorbing device, as is usual in central buffer couplings.
• the above-mentioned linking mechanism 27 in the form of a Bowden cable comprising a pull cable 27A guided in a bendable sleeve 27B is attached to the main pin 8 of the coupler head 1 on the underside of the coupler head 1. More specifically, the main pin 8 extends downwards through the wall of the coupler head housing 6 and a link arm 30 is attached to the main pin 8.
• the link arm 30 has an eyelet 30A to which one end of the pull cable 27A is attached, while the sleeve 27B of the Bowden cable is held against a holding plate 31.
• a return spring 32 which takes the form of a torsion spring in the embodiment shown, constitutes a biasing element which is arranged to pull the link arm 30 into a first position.
• FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the coupler head 1 showing the link arm 30 with the eyelet 30A which is engaged by both the pull cable 27A extending in one direction from the eyelet 30A and return spring 32 extending an opposite direction from the eyelet 30A.
• the link arm 30 is configured to freely rotate about the main pin 80 inside a hub 33.
• the hub 33 is fixedly connected to the main pin 8 and, thus, when the hub 33 is rotated by means of the link arm 30, the main pin 8 rotates accordingly.
• the hub 33 has two teeth 34 which are engageable by the link arm 30.
• the teeth 34 of the hub 33 are preferably lying against the link arm 30 or, at least, are not far distanced from the link arm 30. Then, when the pull cable 27A is pulled (towards the right in Fig. 5 ), the link arm 30 engages the teeth 34, thereby rotating the hub 33 and main pin 8 in an uncoupling direction until the latching mechanism 11 (described above in relation to Figs. 1 and 2 ) holds the locking device 7 (hook plate) in its uncoupled position. Next, when the coupler head 1 is uncoupled, the pulling force acting on the pull cable 27A may be released with the effect that the return spring 32 rotates the link arm 30 back to its starting position. This situation is shown in Fig. 5 , i.e. the link arm 30 has been pulled back to its starting position by means of the return spring 32, while the hub 33 with the teeth 34 is still held in the uncoupled position by means of the latching mechanism 11.
• Fig. 6 shows the transmission 16 with the transmission housing 17 partly broken away.
• a torque limiter 40 at the entrance of a gear box 41.
• the torque limiter 40 limits the torque transmitted to the gear box 41 to a desired maximum torque of e.g. 15 Nm or any other desired torque limit.
• a desired maximum torque e.g. 15 Nm or any other desired torque limit.
• the gear box 41 comprises a set of torque-increasing gears, such as a planetary gear system. Accordingly, the rotational speed of the output shaft 42 extending from the gear box 41 is reduced by a certain factor as compared to the rotational speed applied to the input shaft 18 by means of the screwdriver 20, and the output torque provided by the output shaft 42 is accordingly increased as compared to the input torque by the same factor.
• a cam shaft 43 is mounted on the output shaft 42 and engages a sledge 44 to which the pull cable 27A of the Bowden cable is attached. As such, rotation of the output shaft 42 results in a corresponding rotation of the cam shaft 43 and translates into a translational movement of the sledge 44, thereby pulling the pull cable 27A in a direction to uncouple the coupler head 1.
• Fig. 7 shows the transmission 16 in more detail.
• An axis of rotation 18A of the input shaft 18 is coaxial with an axis of rotation 42A of the output shaft 42. Attached to the free end of the input end 18 is the rotatable connector 19 with the funnel 24, whereas the other end of the input shaft 18 leads into the torque limiter 40 and further into the gear box 41.
• the sledge 44 has a cam surface 45 which is engageable by the cam shaft 43 upon rotation of the cam shaft 43 about the axis of rotation 42A.
• Figures 8A to 8E each show a cross section through the transmission housing 17 to illustrate the cooperation of the cam shaft 43 with the cam surface 45 of the sledge 44 which together form an "uncoupling actuator" 15 (see Fig. 7 ).
• the rotational position of the output shaft 42 in Fig. 8A basically corresponds to the position shown in Fig. 7 , i.e. the cam shaft 43 being out of engagement with the sledge 44 which is in a first, starting position in which the coupler head is in its coupled state.
• the cam shaft 43 comes into engagement with the cam surface 45 of the sledge 44.
• the sledge 44 starts to move towards the left, as indicated by an arrow in Fig. 8B , thereby starting to pull the pull cable 27A accordingly.
• the pulling movement of the pull cable 27A by means of the sledge 44 continues upon further rotation of the output shaft 42, as is shown in Fig. 8C , until the moment where the cam shaft 43 disengages from the cam surface 45 of the sledge 44, as is shown in Fig. 8D .
• the output shaft 42 is configured to be rotatable in both directions, i.e. also counter clockwise.
• the operator holding the screwdriver 20 realises the moment when the latching mechanism 11 kicks in and holds the coupler head 1 in the uncoupled position due to the fact that the torque on the screwdriver 20 suddenly decreases substantially and the screwdriver starts to revolve more quickly. Then, the operator may remove the screwdriver 20 from the rotatable connector 19.
• the entire uncoupling process using the screwdriver 20 or any other automatically driven rotator may be configured such that it does not take longer than about 1 or 2 seconds.
• Figures 9 to 11 show an embodiment with two uncoupling devices 14, one uncoupling device 14 arranged on either side of the car 100. More specifically, the transmission housings 17 are arranged on opposite sides of the car 100 on the underside of the car's undercarriage.
• the corresponding pull cables 27A each attach to the link arm 30 mounted on the coupler head 1.
• Fig. 10 is a more detailed view of the underside of the coupler head 1.
• the sleeves 27B of the Bowden cables rest against the holding plate 31, while both pull cables 27A are connected to the same eyelet 30A of the link arm 30.
• the return spring 32 is hooked to an opposing end of the link arm 30. As is further shown in Fig.
• Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a front of a car 100 of a rail vehicle according to a second embodiment.
• the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment solely in the transmission 16 and in that the rotatable connector 19 of the plug-and-socket connection comprises a plug rather than a socket.
• the transmission 16 is shown in further detail in Fig. 13A .
• the transmission housing 17 is left out in the illustration of this second embodiment for reason of better visibility of the transmission mechanism.
• the transmission 16 may be placed closer to the side of the car 100 so that the rotatable connector 19 does exactly not extend beyond the side boundary of the car.
• the transmission 16 is realized as a typical linear actuator, meaning that the rotational movement of the input shaft 18 is directly transferred into a longitudinal movement of an (uncoupling) actuator 15 to which the pull cable 27A of the linking mechanism 27 is directly attached.
• the input shaft 18 includes a threading which is engaged by the uncoupling actuator 15. Since the uncoupling actuator 15 cannot rotate but can only move in a linear direction, rotation of the input shaft 18 translates into a longitudinal movement of the uncoupling actuator 15. Also in this second embodiment can the transmission 16 move in both directions. As shown in Fig.

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