Patent ID: 7802689
Filing Date: 2010-09-28
Classification: B61G

Abstract:
1. An articulated coupling apparatus utilized in connecting together, in a substantially semi-permanent fashion, adjacently disposed ends of a pair of railway cars, said articulated coupling apparatus comprising: (a) a female connection member including: (b) a rear follower which is positioned within said second end of said female connection member adjacent to and spaced from said first end thereof, said rear follower having a bottom surface which abuttingly engages an inner surface of a bottom wall portion of said second end of said female connection member, a front surface which is disposed generally perpendicular to each of said bottom surface and such longitudinal centerline of such one of such pair of railway cars, a spherical cavity formed in said front surface, an opposed rear surface which is disposed towards said first end of said female connection member, and a pair of spaced apart tapered portions which are formed on said rear surface in spaced relationship from a top and said bottom surface of said rear follower and which are tapered at a predetermined angle downwardly and outwardly in a direction toward said first end of said female connection member; (c) a front follower which is positioned within said second portion of said second end of said female connection member, said front follower having a bottom surface which abuttingly engages said inner surface of said bottom wall portion of said second end of said female connection member, a front surface which is disposed generally perpendicular to each of said bottom surface of said front follower and the longitudinal centerline of one of the railway cars, a spherical cavity formed in said front surface of said front follower, an opposed rear surface which abuttingly engages an inner surface of said planar wall portion which closes said second portion of said second end of said of said female connection member, and an aperture which is formed through said spherical cavity and through said rear surface of said front follower in general alignment with said first aperture of said second end of said female connection member; (d) a substantially spherical member which is at least partially positioned in operable relationship within said spherical cavity formed in said front follower and said spherical cavity formed in said rear follower; (e) a shaft member having a first end thereof disposed on and secured to a portion of an outer surface of said substantially spherical member, said shaft member axially extending outwardly from said outer surface of said substantially spherical member through each of said aperture formed through said spherical cavity and through said rear surface of said front follower and said first aperture of said second end of said female connection member, said shaft member having an opposed second end thereof being positioned external to said female connection member; (f) a pair of wedges each having a top end, a bottom end which is spaced from said inner surface of said bottom wall portion of said second end of said female connection member, a tapered front surface connecting said top and bottom ends and cooperatively engaging a respective one of said pair of spaced apart portions which are formed on said rear surface of said rear follower and a rear surface connecting said top and bottom ends and abuttingly engaging an inner surface of a wall portion of said first portion of said female connection member which engages said first end of said female connection member, said pair of wedges descending downwardly during use to force said rear follower and said substantially spherical member in a direction toward said front follower and to compensate for longitudinally axial clearances forming due to wear of at least one of said substantially spherical member, said spherical cavity of front follower and said spherical cavity of said rear follower; (g) a male connection member having a first end thereof configured to be engaged with and connected to an adjacent predetermined end of a center sill member disposed substantially along a longitudinal centerline of an opposed one of such pair of railway cars, a second end thereof secured to and substantially axially aligned with said first end of said male connection member, and a cavity formed within said second end of said male connection member for operably receiving said second end of said shaft member, whereby said substantially spherical member and said shaft member enable a swivel movement of said male connection member relative to said female connection member in both a vertical direction and a horizontal direction over a predetermined range; (h) an annular groove provided on a peripheral outer surface of said second end of said shaft member in a plane transverse to a longitudinal axis thereof; (i) a pair of spaced apart apertures formed through said second end of said male connection member in alignment with said annular groove; and (j) a pair of pins, each of said pair of pins passed through a respective combination of said pair of spaced apart apertures and said annular groove.