US1871420A - Shock absorbing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

1932- w. H. MINER 1,871,420

SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANI SM Filed July 14, 1928 Z Sheets-Sheet 1 a M v 1m flJ Ifa/ EF Aug. 9, 1932'. w. H. MINER' 1,871,429

SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM Filed July 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED rarer WILLIAM H. MINER, F CHAZY, YORK, ASSIGNOR 'lO W, H. MINER, INCL, OF CHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIQN OF DELAWARE SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM Application filed July 14,

This invention relates to improvements in shock absorbing mechanisms. 7' J An object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbing mechanism of high capacity especially adapted for railway draft riggings,

including relatively movable follower members, one of the follower members having opposed side walls presenting interior abutment surfaces, a plurality of spring plates inter 10 posed between the abutment surfaces and arranged lengthwise of the mechanism, wedge means actuated through relative movement of the follower members toward each other for forcing said spring plates against the abutment surfaces to flex the same and yielding means reacting between one of said follower members and the wedge means, the compression of the yielding means and the flexing of the spring plates providing re-la tively high combined spring and frictional resistance, the frictional resistance being produced by slippage of the plates on each other during the flexing thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a shock absorbing mechanism of the character described, additional frictional resistance, by providing relative movement longitudinally of the mechanism between the springplates and the cooperating abutment surfaces of the follower member provided with the side walls;

Another object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbing mechanism for railway draft riggings, including relatively movable followers, one of which is provided with spaced side walls presenting interior abutment surfaces, two groups of spring plates interposed between said side walls and disposed lengthwise of the mechanism, the plates being supported by carriers, means actuated upon relative approach of the followers having wedging engagement with the carriers to spread the same apart and force the spring plates against the abutment surfaces of the follower to flex the plates, and spring means cooperating with the wedge means and adapted to be compressed uponv relative approach of the followers to absorb a the shocks to which the mechanism is subjected, the resistance offered by the'spring 1928. Serial N0. 292,893.

means and the spring plates being augmented by the frictional resistance produced between the wedge faces of the wedge means and carriers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbing mechanism for railway draft riggings, including relatively movable follower casings, one of the casings forming a spring cage and the other casing being provided with interior convex. abutment surfaces on the opposite side walls thereof, two groups of spring plates interposed between the bearing surfaces of the casing, the plates of each group being arranged lengthwise of the last named casing, two carriers in which the plates are mounted wedge means at opposite ends of the carriers for forcing the same laterally apart, the wedge means at one end of the casing being in the form of a block having a spring follower section forming a part thereof, and spring resistance means including a plural- 1ty of groups of spring plates disposed within the casing forming the spring cage, the groups'of spring plates being interposed between the spring follower section of the wedge block and the outer end wall of the spring cage casing.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a laminated plate spring unit for shock absorbing mechanisms, including a plurality of plate springs ofU-shape form, the legs ofone of said U-shape springs being interposed respectively between the legs of the two adjacent U-sha-pe springs, whereby the springs composing the unit are interlocked and the raw end edges of the same are overlapped by the curved'connecting sections of the springs and held spaced from the walls of the container for the spring unit to prevent damage to said walls through engagement withthe raw edge portions of the spring plates.

Other and further objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claim hereinafter following.

In the drawings, forming. a part of this specificationyFigure 1 is a horizontal,longitudinal, sectional view through a portion of a railway car underframe, to the inner sides;

of which are secured front stop lugs 11-11 and rear stop lugs 1212. The inner end portion of the shank of the coupler is designated by 13, to which is operatively secured a hood-ed yoke 14 of well known form. The improved shock absorbing mechanism proper is disposed within the yoke and the yoke in turn is supported by a saddle plate 15 detachably secured to the draft sills.

My improved shock absorbing mechanism proper comprises, broadly, a front follower casing A, a rear follower casing B; two carriers CC; two laminated plate springs DD; a main spring resistance E; a plurality of spacing members F and G; a combined spring follower and wedge member H; and a plurality of retainer bolts J.

The follower casing A is in the form of a substantially rectangular box-like member having horizontally disposed, spaced, top and bottom walls 1616, spaced, longitudinally disposed, vertical side walls 1717, and a transverse front end wall 18 which cooperates directly with the inner end of the coupler shank 13 and the front stop lugs 11 in the manner of theusual front follower. The top and bottom walls 16 of the casing are provided with sets of spaced, rearwardly extending guide arms 19-19 which engage within the front end of the rear follower casing B. The side walls 17 of the casing A are also provided with rearwardly extending arms 2020, which are guided within guideways of the casing B. As most clearly shown in Figure 3, the arms 2-0 of the side walls are spaced respectively from the top and bottom arms 19 of the top and bottom walls of the casing A. The casing A forms the spring cage member of the shock absorbing mechanism and the transverse front end wall 18 thereof is provided with a transversely eX- tending, concave bearing surface 21 'on the inner side, which cooperates with theplates of the spring resistance E.

The spring follower casing B is also in the form of a substantially rectangular box-like member having horizontally spaced, top and bottom walls 22-22, longitudinally extending, spaced, vertical side walls 2323, and a transverse,vertical, rear end wall 24:, which cooperates with the stop disposed,

lugs 12 of the draft sills in the manner of the usual rear follower.

As hereinbefore pointed out, both the casings A and B are disposed within the yoke 14 and the rear follower casing B cooperates with the inner end of the yoke 14 during a draft action. The side walls 23 of the casing B are provided with top and bottom openings 25 25,the front transverse end walls of the openings 25 forming abutment surfaces 26 which cooperate with the heads of the retainer bolts J, as hereinafter more fully pointed out. The major portions of the side walls 23, between the front and rear ends thereof, are bowed inwardly, thereby providing convex interior bearing "surfaces 2727 which are arranged longitudinally of the mechanism and cooperate with the laminated plate springsD. The front end portions of the side walls 23 are interiorly cut away to provide longitudinally extending guideways 28-28 which receive the rearwardly extending arms 20 of the follower casing A. Above and below the guideway 28 of each side wall, longitudinally extending interior slots 29-29 are provided which accommodate the shanks of the retainer bolts J. Between the front and rear ends, the side walls 23 are provided with laterally inwardly extending lugs 3030 which are also slot-ted to receive the shanks of the retainer bolts J, the slots of the lugs 30 being in substantial alignment with the slots 29, but of srnaller size, so as to substantially fit the shanks of the bolts, whereby the lugs form abutment means for the heads of theretainer bolt-s. a

The retainer bolts J have the heads thereof anchored to the casing'B, the nuts at the opposite ends of the bolts being anchored to the casing A. 'The bolts J are assembled with the casings A and B by first placing the bolts within the casing B and inserting them laterally in the slots 29 with the heads of the bolts disposed rearwardly of the abutment shoulders or surfaces 26 of the side walls.

The casing A is provided with longitudinally disposed openings 3131 at the four corners thereof, adapted to accommodate the forward end portions of the shanks of the bolts J. The casing A is assembled with the casing B by telescoping the arms 19 and 20 thereof within the casing A and passing the shanks of the retainer bolts through the openf-orward ends thereof, which are accommodated within openings 3232 provided at provided with a centrally disposed, inwardly projecting wedge section 33, having wedge faces 34-3 onthe opposite sides thereof which cooperate with the rear-ends of the lngs 31 in the side walls of the casing A. The bolts are then secured by the nuts at the carriers C-G, hereinafter more fully described.

The carriers C are disposed at opposite sides of the mechanism and are of similar design. Each carrier comprises a vertical, longitudinally disposed, inner wall 35,1ongitudinally extending, spaced, top and bottom walls 36-36, and front and rear spaced vertical end walls 37-37. As shown in Figures 1 and 4;, the carriers U are so arranged that the walls thereof are longitudinally disposed. The inner surfaces of the walls 35 are curved, as shown, thereby presenting longitudinally disposed, concave bearing surfaces 3838, which cooperate with the lam-v inated plate springs D. Each casing G is provided with a wedge face 39 at the rear end thereof, which cooperates with the wedge face 34 at the corresponding side of the wedge member 33. At the front end, each casing is also provided with a wedge face 40 on the inner side thereof, which cooperates with the combined spring follower and wedge member H.

As most clearly illustrated in Figure 4, the carriers C are of such a height as to have substantially free lateral movement between the top and bottom walls 22 of the casing B.

The laminated plate springs D are arranged respectively within the two carriers C. Each laminated plate spring C comprises a plurality of plate springmembers of U- shape form, the two legs of eachspring memher being of difierent lengths. Each laminated plate spring comprises three sets of springs, each set including two U-shaped members, the short leg of each U-shaped member being interposed between the legs of the other member. As will be evident, the parts of each set of spring plates are thus interlocked and form a unit. The connecting curved portions of the U-shaped spring, plates serve to protect the front and rear walls of the carriers from damage by the raw ends of the plates, the short leg being disposed within the curved portion of the cooperating U- shaped plate spring and the longer leg being held in spaced relation with the adjacent end wall of the corresponding carrier O by the spring members being interlocked, as hereinbefore pointed out. The outer members of the laminated plate springs D bear directly on the convex bearing surfaces 27 of the side walls of the casing B. As here inafter pointed out, the plates of the springs also have longitudinal sliding movement on the surfaces 27, thereby providing a certain amount of frictional resistance. The inner most members of the plate springs normally bear on flat, relatively short ledges at the opposite ends of the concave bearing surfaces 38 of the inner walls 35 of the carriers C, which ledges prevent the sharp corners of the adjacent plates from gouging or wearing into the concave bearing surfaces of the carriers.

The convex bearing surfaces of the side walls ofthe casing B and the corresponding concave bearing surfaces ofthe carriers G form arcs of concentric circles, so that the laminated plate springs, 'when bowed be tween said convex and concave surfaces, will have fullbearing on the same when the mechanism is fully compressed.

The main spring resistance E comprises a plurality of sets of plate springs having the spacing members F and G interposedtherebetween. As clearly shown in Figure 1, there are five sets of springs employed in the present insta nce, separated by four spacing members F and G. The three sets of plate springs disposed at the forward end of the casing A are all similar, each comprising two U-shaped spring members which are interlocked in the same manner as the U-shaped spring members of the laminated plate springs D, hereinbefore described. The remaining two sets of spring plates each comprise three spring members. The spring members of each set are of lJ-shape and the central member has the legs thereof disposed respectively between the legs of the two outer U-shaped plate members, thereby protecting the side walls of the casing A from damage by the raw ends of the spring plates in the same manner as pointed out in connection with the laminated springs D. As shown in Figure 1, the spacing members F are provided with convex bearing surfaces on the front and rear sides thereof, while the spacing members G are provided with concave bearing surfaces on the front and rear sides. The spacing members F are alternated with the spacing members G. As will be evident by the arrangement of spacing members provided, two adjacent sets of spring plates are flexed in reverse directions, the front set of spring plates being curved so as to conform to the concave bearing surface 21 of the end wall 18 of the casing A and the convex bearing surfaces of the adjacent spacing member F.

The next set of springs, as pointed-out, is flexed in the reverse direction by the co0pcrating convex and concave bearing surfaces of the adjacent spac ng members F and The convex bearing surface of the spring follower and the concave bearing surfaces of the next adjacent spacing member are curved on concentric arcs, whereby when the spring plates are flexed between the same upon full compression of the mechanism the curvature of the plates will conform to the convex and concave surfaces and the plates will have full bearing engagement with the spacing member and spring follower.

The combined spring follower and wedge member H'comprise a relatively heavy, rectangular, plate-like-section 41, which forms the spring follower member proper. The plate-like section 41 is provided with a convex bearing surface on the front side thereof,

which directly engageslthe innermost set of spring plates of the spring resistance E. At the-rear side, the plate 41 is provided with an enlarged section forming the wedge block proper. The enlarged section. is provided with wedge faces et2-l2 on the opposite sides thereof, which cooperate respectively with the wedge faces 40 of the carriers 0. The combined spring follower and wedge member H. has top and bottom forwardly projecting arms 4343 which engage between the arms 1919 at th top and bottom sides of the easing A, thereby guiding the combined spring follower and wedge block H for longitudinal movement. In addition to forming guide means for the combined spring follower and wedge member, the arms 43 also serve to house the plates of the laminated plate spring E, which are disposed between the arms. The arms 19 and 20 of the spring follower and the flanges 43 of the casing A also form supporting and guiding means at the gap between the casings A and B cooperating with the plate spring E. i

The mechanism is held of overall uniform length by the retainer bolts J and the bolts are so adjusted that the main spring resistance E and the laminated plate springs D are under initial compression in the full release position of the mechanism. As will be evident, the necessary longitudinal movement of the bolts during com ression of the mech anism is permitted by the openings 25 in the side walls of the casing B, the openings being of such a length that the heads of the bolts will not engage the inner end walls of the same when the mechanism is fully compressed. The heads of the bolts are embraced by the top and bottom walls of the openings 25 and the bolts are thus held against rotation during assembling of the mechanism and in service.

The operation of my improved shock absorbing mechanism, assuming a compression stroke, is as follows: The casings A and B will be moved inwardly relatively to each other, thereby compressing the plate springs of the main spring resistance E between the end wall 18 of the casing A and the combined spring follower and wedge member H. Dur ing the first part of the compression stroke, there will be no substantial movement of the member H, the parts being so designed that the combined frictional resistance and spring resistance afforded by the wedge members and laminated plate springs D is greater than the initial resistance afforded by the laminated plate spring E. After the laminated plate spring E has been compressed to a certain extent, the member H will'be forced rearwardly, thereby wedging apart the carriers C while the spring E is further compressed. Atthe same time, the carriers C will be forced rearwardly against the wedge section of the casing A, thus causing the carriers to be wedged apart atv their inner ends at the same time that the wedge of the memberI-I is active.

As the carriers are forced apart, the laminated springs D will be compressed against the convex side walls of the casing B, causing the plates of the springs to be flexed. Due to the rearward movement of the carriers 0 during the wedging. action, the outer members of the laminated plate springs D will be forced to slide on the bearing surfaces 27 of the casing B, thereby providing a certain amount of frictional resistance. Frictional resistance during the compression stroke will also be created between the wedge faces of the wedge members and. the wedge faces of the carriers O. Inasmuch as the spring plates, during the flexing thereof, slip on each other, slightly frictional resistance will also be had, due to the flexing of the plates. As will be evident, the resistance offered will be greatly augmented during the last part of the com pression stroke. The compression of the mechanism will continue until relative movement of the casings A and B is arrested by engagement of the inner ends of the casings. The parts are so proportioned that at the same time the casings are arrested the carriers will bear on the end wall of the casing B, the spring follower will bear on the front ends of the carriers, and the laminated plate springs D and E will be bowed to conform to the cooperating concave and convex bearing surfaces, and have full bearing thereon, the whole mechanism in effect going solid when fully compressed and acting as a solid column load transmitting member.

During release of the mechanism when the actuating force is reduced, the tendency of the spring plates to return to their normal straight condition acts to restore all of the parts to the full release position illustrated in Figure 1, the action of the laminated springs D causing the carriers to move inwardly toward. each other, thereby forcing the combined wedge and spring follower member forwardly with respect to the easing B. The casing A'is forced outwardly, due to the laminated plates, of the spring resistance E returning to their normal straight condition.

It will be evident that during the compression of the mechanism alignment of the parts is assured by the arms 19 and 20 of the casing A, which are telescoped within the front end of the casing B.

From the preceding description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be evident that I have provided an exceedingly high capacity shock absorbing mechanism of rugged construction, wherein'both spring and frictional resistance is provided. The improved mechanism is especially adapted for passenger cars having relatively light action for a considerable part of the compression stroke, during which time the spring E is actuated, followed by and blended with a heavier action during the last part of the compression stroke when the wedging action and frictional resistance becomes effective, together with the action of the laminated springs D. A decided advantage obtained by my improved construction is that the raw edges of the plate springs are held out of engagement with the walls of the containers for the same, thereby preventing damage to the walls and adding the gear.

While I have herein shown and described what I consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications which come within the scope of the claim appended hereto.

I claim:

In a shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with relatively movable follower casings, one of said casings serving as a spring cage member and having two sets of longigreatly to the life of tudinally extending spaced armsv telescopedwithin the other casing to guide said first named casing; of a laminated plate main spring resistance disposed within said spring cage casing, said spring resistance including a plurality of plate units; two sets of laminated plate springs disposed within the other casing and having bearing engagement with the side walls thereof; wedge means for forcing said two sets of laminated plate springslaterally apart, said wedge means including a combined spring follower and wedge block, having spaced arms embracing and supporting a unit of said main spring resistance, each of said arms of the spring follower slidably engaging between the spaced arms of one of said sets of arms.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 11th day of July, 1928.

WILLIAM H. MINER.

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