GB2348180A - Railway vehicle coupler with motor driven locking member - Google Patents

Abstract

A coupler for a rail vehicle comprises an articulated knuckle joint (3) mounted within a housing (2) and a locking member (5) movable between an inoperative position in which it does not inhibit articulated movement of the knuckle joint (3) and an operative position in which it prevents such movement. The locking member (5) is movable between its positions by rotation of an actuator shaft which carries a lever movable through rotation of the shaft into contact with the locking member (5) to move the locking member (5) to its inoperative position and, on rotation in the opposite direction, to allow the locking member to return to its operative position. The actuator shaft is driven through a connector by a rotary motor having a drive shaft whose axis of rotation is coaxial with the longitudinal axes of the connector and the actuator shaft.

Description

COUPLERS FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES This invention relates to couplers for railway vehicles.

Couplers of railway vehicles such as carriages and wagons having articulated knuckle joints which engage complementary articulated joints of adjoining railway vehicles are known. The engaged articulated joints are secured in place by locking members which generally move under gravity from inoperative positions above the respective joint to operative positions in which the locking members are effectively jammed between tail pieces of the knuckle joints and surfaces of the coupler housings.

Hitherto, when coupled railway vehicles are to be disconnected, each locking member has to be moved to its raised inoperative position by imparting movement to a series of levers and cranks to turn a shaft which carries a hook shaped lever which engages an adjacent surface of the locking member. Manual systems are slow to operate, labour intensive, prone to wear and are extremely difficult to automate when applied to several rail vehicles.

It has also been proposed to turn the coupler shaft through a linear pneumatic cylinder via a similar system of levers, rollers and/or cranks.

Such linear pneumatic systems solve some of the problems occasioned by manual operation but are still subject to disadvantages mainly because of the complexity of the crank and lever system. It will be appreciated that the setup and maintenance of components of a linear pneumatic system are critical to its reliable operation. Installin-g these components around an existing coupler body is difficult and the result is a cumbersome exposed mechanism which is prone to damage and wear in every day use.

The present invention sets out to provide a coupler for railway vehicles which overcomes, or at least alleviates, many of the disadvantages to be found in existing manually and pneumatically operated couplers.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a coupler for a rail vehicle, which comprises an articulated knuckle joint mounted within a housing and a locking member movable between a raised inoperative position in which it does not inhibit articulated movement of the knuckle joint and a lowered operative position in which it prevents such articulated movement, the locking member being movable between its lowered and raised positions by rotation of an actuator shaft which carries a lever movable through rotation of the shaft into contact with the locking member to lift the same to its raised position and, on rotation in the opposite direction, to allow the locking member to return to its operative position, the actuator shaft being driven through a connector by a rotary motor having a drive shaft whose axis of rotation is coaxial with the longitudinal axes of the connector and the actuator shaft.

Preferably the motor is a double acting pneumatic or hydraulic rotary vane motor. Other types of rotary motor (e. g. an electric motor) may, however, be employed.

The coaxial connector may comprise a tubular sleeve formed with a lengthwise extending slot into which a pin or key carried by the drive shaft of the motor extends to impart rotation thereto. The end of the tubular sleeve remote from the motor may be segmented whereby, on rotation of the drive shaft of the motor, one edge of the segmented sleeve end cooperates with an abutment carried by the actuator shaft to rotate the same to lift the locking member to its raised position, the dimensions of the segment being such that rotation of the sleeve in the opposite direction releases the actuator shaft to cause the locking member to return to its lowered operative position under gravity or under the action of a return spring.

The end of the tubular sleeve remote from the motor may also define a bearing for one end of the actuator shaft.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 are plan views partly in section of a rail vehicle coupler in accordance with the invention, an articulated knuckle joint of the coupler being shown in its locked and open positions In Figures 1 and 2 respectively ; Figures 3 and 4 are side views partially in section of the illustrated coupler in its locked and open positions respectively ; Figures 5 and 6 are side and plan views of an operating mechanism for the coupler apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 to 4; Figures 7 and 8 are respectively side and cross-sectional views of a component of the operating mechanism illustrated in Figures 5 and 6; Figures 9 and 10 are respectively sections taken along lines IX-IX and X-X of Figure 7; and Figure 11 is a plan view partly in section of the illustrated coupler.

The articulated joint illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is mounted for rotation on a shaft 1 within a housing 2 and inclues a knuckle 3 and tailpiece 4. The joint may be spring loaded (not shown) so that it normally adopts the position shown in Figure 2 but can be moved against the action of the spring to the position shown in Figure 1 through contact, for example, with a knuckle joint of another rail vehicle. As will be seen from Figure 1, the coupler includes a locking member 5 which can be moved from an upper position out of contact with the knuckle 3 and a lowered position in which it sits between the tailpiece 4 and a contact surface 6 of the housing 2. When in this position, the locking member prevents articulation of the knuckle 2 thereby preventing uncoupling of rail vehicles.

The raised and lowered positions of the locking member 5 can also be seen in Figures 3 and 4. When in its lowered position, the bottom surface of the locking member 5 makes contact with and imparts rotation to a pivotally mounted indicator 7 which provides a visual indication that the coupler is in its locked condition.

When the couplers of adjoining rail vehicles are connected, the pulling load is transmitted through the S-shaped pulling faces 8 of the adjoining knuckle joints, and each joint is prevented from opening by the body of the respective locking member 5, this being jammed between the respective knuckle tailpiece 4 and the contact surface 6 of the adjacent side wall of the housing.

If the running conditions are such that vibration and jolting and the like cause one or each locking member 5 to lift, an anticreep feature becomes operative, preventing the locking members from becoming disengaged.

The locking member 5 is moved between its inoperative and operative positions through rotation of an actuator shaft 10. Actuator shaft 10 carries a locking lever 11 formed with a hook having a lower arm 12 and an upper arm 21 within the mouth of which is located a lifting arm 9 of the locking member 5. Thus, rotation of the shaft 10 when the locking member 5 is in its operative position shown in Figures 1 and 3, lifts the locking member upwards into the coupler head until a point is reached it is clear of the knuckle tailpiece. At this point, if the knuckle joint is spring loaded it will be automatically rotated about the shaft 1 until it reaches the limit of its travel, i. e. the unlocked position shown in Figures 2 and 4. If the knuckle joint is not spring loaded, the coupling may be opened manually, or by withdrawing the other coupling knuckle. In either case, when the knuckle is in the open position, the tailpiece now obstructs the"free-fall"of the locking member 5. The coupling may now be considered to be ready for re-coupling.

If the knuckle joint is now swung into its closed position, either manually or under the action of another coupler, the tailpiece of the joint will move into a position which at some point will allow the locking member 5 to fall into the locked position.

It is important that when the knuckle joint is in the open position, the locking member 5 is not forced against the knuckle tailpiece 4 by the upper arm 21 of the locking lever 11. This would result in the system becoming jammed in the open position, with the possibility of damage occurring if the mechanism were to be forced closed. The geometrical design of the segmented connecting sleeve 16 allows the shaft 10 to turn without forcing the locking lever and locking member onto the knuckle tailpiece.

The lower and upper arms 12,21 of the hook of the locking lever are shown in Figure 11. If through vibration or jolting the locking member is displaced upwards, the lifting arm 9 of the locking member 5 contacts the upper arm 21 of the locking lever 11 causing rotation of the locking lever 11 about the operating shaft 10. The flat face formed on the lower arm 12 of the locking lever 11 then contacts a corresponding face on the locking member 5 causing the locking member 5 to be pressed against the coupler body 2 thereby resulting in a jammed condition, preventing further upward displacement of the locking member 5 and therefore preventing the coupler from being unintentionally unlocked.

In order for the anticreep feature to operate correctly, the locking lever and shaft must be free to rotate without excess friction or obstruction. The geometrical design of the segmented connecting sleeve allows the shaft 10 to turn without turning a drive motor 14 of the shaft. This motor 14 will be described in greater detail with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Attempting to turn the motor 14 under anticreep conditions would be impossible due to excessive friction caused within the motor.

As mentioned previously, rotation of the actuator shaft 10 has hitherto been effected either manually or pneumatically through a series of levers and cranks.

As will be seen from Figures 5 and 6, in the present invention the actuator shaft 10 is turned by a double acting pneumatic rotary vane motor 14. The axis of rotation of the drive shaft 15 of the motor 14 is c-axial with the axis of rotation of the actuator shaft 10 and the drive shaft 15 is connected to the actuator shaft 10 through a connecting sleeve 16. This sleeve is shown in greater detail in Figures 7 to 10 of the drawings.

The sleeve 16 is a relatively loose fit on the drive shaft 15 and has formed in one of its sides a longitudinally extending slot 17 into which protrudes a drive pin 18 carried by the drive shaft 15. The end of the sleeve 16 remote from the motor 14 is partially segmented to present two longitudinally extending surfaces 19 which can be engaged by an abutment surface 20 of the actuator shaft 10. Thus rotation of the drive shaft through 90 imparts rotation to the actuator shaft to lift the locking member to its inoperative raised position, the locking member being lifted through cooperation of the lifting arm and the hook 12 of the locking lever 11. The locking member is retained in its inoperative position through the support provided by one longitudinal surface 19 of the sleeve 16. Rotation of the actuator shaft in an opposite sense releases the locking member from its contact with the sleeve to cause the member to return to its locked position under gravity.

Several or all of the motors may be operated automatically from a central control positioned, for example, in the cabin of the train to which the carriages or wagons are coupled.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is merely exemplary of railway vehicle couplers in accordance with the invention and that modifications can readily be made without departing from the true scope of the invention.

Claims (7)

1. CLAIMS 1. A coupler for a rail vehicle, which comprises an articulated knuckle joint mounted within a housing and a locking member movable between a raised inoperative position in which it does not inhibit articulated movement of the knuckle joint and a lowered operative position in which it prevents such articulated movement, the locking member being movable between its lowered and raised positions by rotation of an actuator shaft which carries a lever movable through rotation of the shaft into contact with the locking member to lift the same to its raised position and, on rotation in the opposite direction, to allow the locking member to return to its operative position, the actuator shaft being driven through a connector by a rotary motor having a drive shaft whose axis of rotation is coaxial with the longitudinal axes of the connector and the actuator shaft.
2. 2. A coupler as claimed in claim 1 wherein the motor is a double acting pneumatic or hydraulic rotary vane motor.
3. 3. A coupler as claimed in claim 1 wherein the motor is an electric motor.
4. 4. A coupler as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the coaxial connector comprises a tubular sleeve formed with a lengthwise extending slot into which a pin or key carried by the drive shaft of the motor extends to impart rotation thereto.
5. 5. A coupler as claimed in claim 4 wherein the end of the tubular sleeve remote from the motor is segmented whereby, on rotation of the drive shaft of the motor, one edge of the segmented sleeve end co-operates with an abutment carried by the actuator shaft to rotate the same to lift the locking member to its raised position, the dimensions of the segment being such that rotation of the sleeve in the opposite direction releases the actuator shaft to cause the locking member to return to its lowered operative position under gravity or under the action of a return spring.
6. 6. A coupler as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the end of the tubular sleeve remote from the motor also defines a bearing for one end of the actuator shaft.
7. 7. A coupler for a railway vehicle substantially as herein described and as described with reference to Figures 1 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.