GB945550A - Devices for automatically coupling and uncoupling vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

945,550. Apparatus for coupling and uncoupling railway vehicles. STAMICARBON N.V. June 7, 1960 [June 4, 1959], No. 19987/60. Heading B7T. Apparatus for coupling and uncoupling mine cars joined by pivoted hooks and links comprises a track depression 2 which will angle the two moving cars so that they will abut at 6 to give a predetermined spacing between the couplings, a tumbler 11 pivoted at 12 which can be moved by the front axle box 10 along a guide 13, a carriage 16 movable on rails 17 and connected with the tumbler 11 by a link 15, a rod 35 which is attached at one end to a pivoted eccentric 34 adapted to operate a vertically slidable link raising mechanism 31, 32 and at its other end is connected to the foremost pivot 21<SP>1</SP> of a lazy tongs linkage expandable in channel bars 18 against the action of springs 23 and held at 22, a bar 25 supporting a tumbler 27 pivoted at 28 and having a cross-bar 29 which may engage a shackle ring 9 and hook 8, and a hook tilting member 38, 40, Fig. 2, which may be moved vertically in a fixed guide 39 by a cam 36 on the carriage 16. In operation, two cars moving in the direction of the arrow 44 may be coupled as follows. The front axle box 10 moves the tumbler 11 along the guide 13 and pulls the rod 15 and the carriage 16 along the rails 17. Channel bars 18 move with the carriage and the lazy tongs are extended and carry bar 25 forwardly at a speed greater than that of the cars. The bar 29 as it moves forwardly and slightly downwardly first swings the shackle 7 forwardly and then tilts and rolls the hook 8 upwardly. The eccentric 34 is pivoted by the rod 35 and pushes 31, 32 upwardly to support the link 9<SP>1</SP> horizontally while the hook 8<SP>1</SP> is allowed to pass freely through and hang in a central slot in the portion 31. At this moment the tumbler 11 sinks below the path of the axle box 10 and is disengaged and toppled by the weight 14 so that its end 45 now points upwardly. The springs 23 then contract the lazy tongs and return the carriage 16 until the weight 14 abuts the stop 46. During the return of the carriage 16 the tumbler 27 releases the hook 8 before the member 31, 32 releases the link 9<SP>1</SP> so that the hook and link are coupled. The rear axle box 10<SP>1</SP> of the car 42 rocks the tumbler 11 back into its original position. In operation for uncoupling the hook 8 and link 9<SP>1</SP>, the member 31, 32 is removed so that the hook tilting member 27 may operate on its own to tilt the hook 8 out of engagement with the link 9<SP>1</SP> which drops under gravity. When 8<SP>1</SP> and 9 are coupled however, in addition to removing the member 31, 32 a hook tilting member 38, 40 is placed in the guide 39, Fig. 2, so that at an appropriate moment the member 38, 40 is lifted by the cam 36 and the bar 41 tilts the hook 8<SP>1</SP> leaving the link 91 hanging. The timing is adjusted so that the bar 41 acts on hook 8<SP>1</SP> before the bar 29 reaches components 7, 8, 9, so that when the hook 8<SP>1</SP> is tilted it is disengaged from the unsupported link 9. If however 38, 40 is in position when 8 and 9<SP>1</SP> pass by then bar 41 will only lift the coupling slightly and uncoupling will be effected by the cross-bar 29. The device may be modified slightly to operate on cars of different lengths or with more than two axles.