Automatic railway car electrical and pneumatic coupler

A railcar coupler which integrates fluid and electrical connectors into one modular unit with increased facility for automatically making such connections when cars are pushed together while achieving compatibility between Janney type and Automatic Intermodal Railway Car Couplers.

This application claims the benefit of application Ser. No. 10/696,366.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to railway vehicles, more specifically to couplers for joining a plurality of railway cars and locomotives together to form long trains.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Couplers for connecting railway cars and locomotives together into trains are well known to those knowledgeable in the mechanical arts. The earliest couplers were simple iron chains hung between hooks attached to the ends of railway cars. Cars and locomotives using this very simple system required separate coil spring bumpers projecting from their corners to absorb the shock of impacting each other to prevent damage whenever the train stopped or slowed down. Modern Janney-type couplers, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,733 to Gagliardino, a variation on the Type E coupler standard on American railways since 1932, perform both the connecting and shock absorbing functions. These have a pivotal vertical knuckle adapted to engage an identical vertical knuckle on an adjacent coupler so that when the couplers are brought into contact with each other, the two knuckles are pivoted into an interlocking engaging position. The use of oil and gas filled shock absorbers to cushion the impact when cars contact each other is also well known to those knowledgeable in the art, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,303 to Hodges.

Gagliardino teaches that to permit a railway train to safely negotiate curves in the tracks, the couplers are pivotally connected to the railway car so that, pursuant to an American Association of Railways specification, each coupler can pivot 13 degrees in a horizontal plane to either side of the longitudinal center line of the car. Therefore, to join a pair of railway cars together, it may be necessary to pivot the couplers so that they are generally aligned and directly opposed to each other. While proper straight alignment may naturally result when a pair of cars are uncoupled while on a length of straight track, there are times when they are not properly aligned for joining. For example, when a pair of cars are uncoupled while on a curved track, the couplers will not normally extend perpendicularly from the end of the railway car, making proper coupling impossible when they are later moved onto a straight track. Similarly, there are times when railway cars to be coupled together are on a length of curved track, and the coupler shanks are oriented perpendicularly from the ends of the car to be joined rather than pivoting toward each other 13 degrees for proper joining. Accordingly, it may be necessary for a conductor or trainman to manually position the couplers by pushing or pulling them into proper alignment before the cars can successfully be joined by manually moving the couplers into alignment. If attempts to join a pair of railway cars are made when the couplers are not properly aligned, the impact of misaligned couplers may cause damage to one or both couplers.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,101, Blute teaches that highway truck trailers can be coupled together to form trains using a horizontally oriented V shaped member, such as found on 5th wheel turntables of highway truck tractors. These usually include a U shaped jaw that pivots around a vertically oriented pin, such as the kingpin found on highway truck semi-trailers. The V shaped member does not need to be in perfect alignment with the pin for successful coupling.

Statement of the Problem:

Advancements in transport refrigeration, hazardous material cargo monitoring, railway vehicle braking and control systems, and even national security requirements to prevent terrorism, have created a need for additional connections between railway cars such as compressed air hoses to power brakes and electrical cables to power refrigeration units, monitor access doors, or transmit data from temperature sensors. Electrically controlled anti-lock brakes, for instance, will allow railway trains to stop in a shorter distance without wearing flat spots on their steel wheels. Temperature sensors connected to the wheels will be able to detect hot wheel bearings and other potentially catastrophic maintenance problems before they occur, even on unmanned remote control trains. Because no provision for these additional fluid and electrical connections is included in existing railway car couplers, considerable manual labor is involved in attaching these additional wires and hoses and again in disconnecting them when cars are to be separated from a train. It is desired to provide a coupler that incorporates additional fluid and electrical connections and can also be operated remotely without manual adjustment or control.

It is well known in the art that fluid and electrical connectors, unlike railway couplers which are designed to be identical at each end of a railway car, work best when they are asymmetrical, such as a male plug that fits inside a female socket, or a female hose that fits over the end of a male spigot. Male to male electrical connections, such as between the pantograph of an electric trolley and overhead wires, are prone to arcing and other short circuits that are extremely destructive to computer microprocessors. Similarly, female to female fluid connections, such as the twist together glad hand connectors presently used for coupling railway car air brake hoses, are prone to leaks and require inspection, as well as manual adjustment and control. It is therefore further desired to provide a coupler having both male and female parts such that each end of a railway car can be selectively made male or female as the need arises and that both ends of a railway vehicle will be identical despite having asymmetrical parts.

Advancements in intermodal technology have made it feasible to remove railway cars from the tracks for the purpose of loading, unloading, or transport by means other than rail. Existing couplers and connectors are often very heavy and protrude from the ends of railway cars making it difficult for cranes and intermodal vehicles to lift the cars on and off the tracks. Protruding couplers take up excessive amounts of space when railway cars are placed close together on ships and barges. It is further desired to provide a coupler capable of being retracted within the body of the railway vehicle to minimize space when transported away from the railway tracks, yet will be compatible with older railway couplers already in use.

In application Ser. No. 10/696,366, I disclosed a coupler for intermodal rail vehicles having increased facility to be automatically coupled and uncoupled when an intermodal vehicle is placed upon or lifted off of railway tracks. It is therefore also further desired to provide a coupler compatible with both the Automatic Intermodal Railway Car Coupler disclosed in application Ser. No. 10/696,366 as well as older Janney type couplers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Automatic Railcar Electrical and Pneumatic Coupler of my invention comprises a male coupler to be attached in the rear of a railway car and a female coupler to be attached in the front of a second railway car so that when the cars are pushed together in contact with each other, they will be coupled together without damage to either car or their contents. The male coupler further comprises a horizontal shaft, which is hollow to accommodate fluid and electrical connectors, and a vertical shaft protruding underneath the horizontal shaft. The female coupler further comprises a receptacle containing fluid and electrical connectors that can be joined with those in the horizontal shaft of the male coupler such that an optional knuckle can catch and restrain the vertical shaft of the male coupler to allow the cars to be pivotally connected together. The receptacle of the female coupler is attached to the shaft of a second male coupler mounted at a right angle to the female coupler on a common pivot along the centerline of the vehicle so that the rail car can be either male or female depending on the position of the male coupler. When the male coupler is extended, the railcar is male and when the male coupler is retracted, the female coupler automatically pivots into such a position that the vehicle automatically becomes female. The receptacle of the female coupler is provided with a V shaped housing so that the horizontal shaft of a male coupler does not need to be perfectly aligned with the receptacle for successful coupling between two railcars.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I will now describe the preferred embodiment of my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals are used to refer to like parts.

FIG. 3shows a side cut away view of a fluid and electrical receptacle10, which is mostly cylindrical and hollow to receive a horizontal shaft11partially within. The horizontal shaft11is also hollow so it can contain a plurality of fluid and electrical connectors (not shown). The electrical connectors can be of the pin or spade types well known to those skilled in the electrical arts to be used for connecting electrical circuits of highway trailers to highway vehicles and should be attached to an electrical connector14projecting from the receptacle10. Though only a pin type male electrical connector14is shown, one skilled in the electrical arts will recognize that a broad variety of connectors such as video and fiber optic connectors can also be used.

Due to the great variety of electrical connectors available to perform highly specialized tasks, such as connecting a plurality of computers installed in different railway cars together in a common data network, no preferred embodiment of electrical connectors is claimed in this invention, except to say that a broad variety of connectors can be accommodated. If only a single low voltage electrical connection is needed, then it is preferred that the horizontal shaft11be electrically isolated from the rest of the vehicle with an insulating coating so that it can engage the connector14directly, as shown inFIG. 3, without the need for additional connectors within.

To help guide the horizontal shaft11into proper position so that fluid and electrical connections can be made during a coupling operation, the receptacle10should have a conic or horn shaped orifice with asymmetrical wings48,49which appear in the shape of a “V” when viewed from above, as shown inFIG. 4, so that the horizontal shaft11does not need to be perfectly aligned with the receptacle for successful coupling. It will be understood that one wing48protrudes farther forward than the other wing49to better accommodate the twists of the spring15and the vertical shaft19which will be described in greater detail below. To protect electrical connectors from dirt and corrosion when not in use and also to provide an air tight seal when the horizontal shaft11is engaged, the receptacle10should be provided with a paraboloidally shaped flexible dust boot12which inverts when contacted by the horizontal shaft during a coupling operation to be pushed inside the cylindrical portion of the receptacle when coupling is complete. It is well known that electrical connectors are often lubricated with electrically conductive grease which gathers dust and other contaminants, thus it is preferred that male electrical connectors, such as plugs, spades, and pins, such as the connector14, be installed inside the boot12of the receptacle10and any female connectors, such as jacks and sockets (not shown), be installed inside the hollow horizontal shaft11. The boot12is preferably made of fiber reinforced silicon rubber or a similar grease resistant plastic material with a plurality of slits13on its tip to allow the horizontal shaft11to pass through it during a coupling operation, yet return to normal position to provide a dust resistant seal when the male coupler50is not engaged.

It is well known to those knowledgeable in the art that the preferred working fluid for railway car brakes is compressed air, therefore in my preferred embodiment, a fluid connection completely fills the horizontal shaft11, entirely surrounding any electrical connectors inside, thus eliminating the need for separate hoses and fluid connectors. Unless a fluid other than compressed air is used, the horizontal shaft11does not require a dust boot because the rapid discharge of compressed air resulting from the normal operation of railway car brakes is thought to be sufficient to prevent contamination of any electrical connectors inside. While a spring operated cap (not shown) could be fitted to the end of the shaft11with a tab extending from the side to open the cap when contacting the dust boot12during a coupling operation, and other means of obtaining an air tight seal on the receptacle10could also be used, such as rubber “O” rings, the paraboloidal boot12is the preferred method of sealing the receptacle because the discharge of compressed air from the horizontal shaft11when aligned with, but not connected to the receptacle, such as during an uncoupling operation, could result in contamination of any electrical contacts inside if dust protection is not provided. The dust boot12also allows for a looser more flexible fit between the shaft11and the receptacle10to reduce the possibility of damage to electrical connectors during coupling. It will be understood that additional fluid connections, such as a hydraulic connection (not shown), could also be included inside the receptacle10and horizontal shaft11beside any electrical connectors. Regardless of the type of fluid, the receptacle10should contain a valve assembly23to prevent working fluid from escaping through the hose25when the brakes of the railway car are released without a receptacle being connected to the attached horizontal shaft, or a shaft being connected to the receptacle by automatically closing off fluid flow when an excessive difference between the fluid pressure and outside atmospheric pressure is detected. Such valves are well known in the railroad industry to prevent air from escaping from an air braking system when a railway car is the last car of a train. Those knowledgeable in the art will understand that the electrical connector14could give the valve assembly23additional facility to vent pressure for rapid application of the railway car's brakes (not shown) when voltage is applied to a solenoid (not shown) inside the valve assembly23by remote control. This would be a design improvement over radio controlled brake valves commonly used to vent pressure from the ends of trains because air can be vented from all of the cars of a train simultaneously to achieve a shorter stopping distance while an anti-lock brake system (not shown) controls the brake pressure to prevent flat spotting of the steel railway car wheels. It is well known in the railroad industry that venting brake pressure only from the locomotive and rear car of a train without the facility to control brake pressure on individual cars often leads to flat spotting. Those knowledgeable in the art will also understand that if compressed air is to be used as the preferred working fluid, it is also preferable that a small amount of air bypass the valve assembly to keep any electrical connectors inside the unused shaft and receptacle free of dust.

FIG. 4shows a top plan view of a male coupler50partially enclosed within a receptacle10of an adjacent coupler. The horizontal shaft11is rigidly attached to a shock absorbing coil spring15by a flange16. The horizontal shaft11prevents the shock absorbing spring15from bending out of alignment when cars contact each other during a coupling operation, the shaft being mostly slidably attached to the spring except for the rigid attachment at the flange16so that the opposite end of the shaft, which is attached to another receptacle, is able to slide inside the spring and be pushed back when the spring is compressed to prevent damage to any electrical and fluid connectors inside resulting from the force of impact. The spring15also gives the receptacle10increased facility to move from side to side to prevent damage to connectors within when the horizontal shaft11is not in perfect alignment during coupling. One end of the spring15further comprises a vertical shaft17which is pivotally attached either to the shank30of a Janney type coupler as shown inFIG. 3or a vehicle frame18as shown inFIG. 6orFIG. 7. The other end of the spring15further comprises a second vertical shaft19which can be restrained by a female coupler20which will be described in greater detail below. Those knowledgeable in the art will recognize that because the vertical shaft17and the vertical shaft19of an adjacent coupler will share a common axis A when two couplers are joined together into one assembly as shown inFIG. 4, the helical coils of the spring15must be joined to the shaft17at such an angle that the shafts17and19of adjacent couplers do not come into contact. The bottom of the horn shaped orifice of the receptacle10to which the wings48and49are attached must be partially hollow as shown inFIG. 3so as to permit the passage of the vertical shaft19of an adjacent coupler partially within. It is also desirable that a notch47be provided in the top and side of the orifice as shown inFIG. 4to permit the passage of the vertical shaft17partially within should the spring15to which it is attached become extended in length during the acceleration of a train. It is well known in the railroad industry that couplers with slidably mounted shanks, such as most Janney type couplers, can cause cargo damage during acceleration due to the sudden jolt when a coupler shank slides outward to the limit of its scope and jerks a railcar suddenly forward. Those knowledgeable in the art will recognize that the spring15is a design improvement over couplers with sliding shanks because it can stretch to allow a more gradual acceleration of the railcar and that mounting the male coupler50and the receptacle10together on a common pivot avoids the problem of excessive wear on railway wheel flanges that would result if the male and female parts were mounted on separate pivots offset from the centerline of the vehicle.

FIG. 4also shows that a hose28supplies fluid to a pneumatic piston29, which is pivotally connected between both the receptacle10and the shank30as shown inFIG. 3, which applies tractive force to extend the male coupler50outward from the vehicle for the purpose of engaging an adjacent coupler located on an adjoining railcar. Those knowledgeable in the art will understand that other means of extending the male coupler can also be used and that such means could also be attached to parts of a railway car other than the shank30such as the vehicle frame18shown inFIGS. 6 and 7. The piston29may also incorporate oil and gas shock absorbing features well known to those knowledgeable in the art to increase facility to dampen the occilations of the spring15after a coupling operation. Because the spring15allows a limited amount of vertical angular movement of the horizontal shaft11, the pivots32and33are preferably universal joints or ball joints. The piston29may also be fitted with an internal or external spring (not shown) to pivot the male coupler50through at least ninety degrees of horizontal rotation around the vertical shaft17when fluid is not supplied to the piston so that the attached receptacle10can be engaged by another male coupler mounted on a second railway car. A cap24can be hung from the vehicle frame18to engage the end of the horizontal shaft11when it is retracted to protect any electrical connectors inside from dust as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 5shows a top cutaway view of the female coupler20ofFIGS. 2 and 3at elevation B. The downward extending end of the spring15that comprises the vertical shaft19is restrained by a knuckle21and an anvil22which may further comprise semi-cylindrical surfaces to completely surround the vertical shaft19on axis A. Alternatively, the housing of the female coupler20can further comprise a wall34to partially surround the vertical shaft19on axis A. The knuckle21is connected to the female coupler20by a vertical pivot and is held closed by a spring35that will allow the knuckle to fold flat against the housing36during a coupling operation. It will be understood that although a leaf spring35is shown, other types of springs and flexible materials can also be used. The anvil22is slidably connected to the female coupler20so that it can be pushed back by the vertical shaft19during a coupling operation. When the vertical shaft19passes behind the folded knuckle21, the spring35snaps the knuckle into its normal location as shown, restraining the vertical shaft19. Fluid can then be supplied through the hose37to the piston chamber38, which is rigidly attached to the female coupler20so as to actuate, by means of a connecting rod51, linear movement of the anvil22to force it against the vertical shaft19which in turn is thrust against the knuckle21so that it is horizontally restrained in every direction on a plane perpendicular to axis A. The anvil22can also comprise a safety catch26capable of fitting into a notch27on the vertical shaft19to restrain the shaft in the vertical dimension. Those knowledgeable in the art will recognize that more than one knuckle could also be used and that different means of actuating the anvil22other than a pneumatic piston chamber can also be used. A handle39is provided on the knuckle21for manual uncoupling. As long as no fluid pressure is supplied to the piston chamber38, a trainman can push laterally on the handle39to bend the spring35and fold the knuckle21against the housing36. If fluid is supplied through the hose25and the hose37to the chamber38with the knuckle21folded against the housing36, the anvil22will push the vertical shaft19and the male coupler50completely out of the female coupler20, at the same time pulling the horizontal shaft11, which is rigidly connected to the vertical shaft19by a flange16, out of the receptacle10, causing fluid pressure in hose25to be lost, which those knowledgeable in the railroad industry will understand will automatically result in the railway car brakes (not shown) being set to prevent the car from rolling after being uncoupled. Alternatively, the handle39can be provided with a remote control (not shown) to accomplish this task without the need for a human operator.

It is intended that the vertical shaft19will hang unrestrained without a female coupler if fluid and electrical connections are made according to the present invention between two Janney type couplers. Janney type couplers perform the same function as the female coupler, thus having both Janney type and female type couplers attached to the same railway car would be redundant. It is thought that only locomotives will be equipped with both a female type coupler and a Janney type coupler as shown inFIG. 2because most railway cars lack the underlying structure on their vehicle frames needed to rigidly mount a female type coupler. It is well known that most railway locomotives have snow plows, bumpers, or cow catchers to which a female coupler can easily be attached and that most railway cars lack such features, thus it is expected that only the male coupler50and the female receptacle10will be mounted on cars with Janney type couplers and not the female coupler20. Female couplers are to be preferred on intermodal railway vehicles intended to be lifted off of the tracks and transported by means other than by rail, such as the portable intermodal railway cars40and60shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, because they do not project outward from the ends of the vehicle in such a way as to take up excessive amounts of space when carried on ships and barges. It will be understood that the portable intermodal railway vehicle40inFIG. 6has attachment points59similar to those of intermodal cargo containers to give it increased facility to be lifted on and off of railway tracks by the same types of cranes and equipment used for lifting intermodal containers on and off of railway cars. One knowledgeable in the art will recognize that in the event of a breakdown, maintenance defect, or other malfunction, the railcar40inFIG. 6could be lifted off of the tracks and carried as cargo on the railcar60inFIG. 7to ensure the on time delivery of time sensitive freight.

One skilled in the art will recognize that other methods for providing controls may be selected without departing from the teachings of this invention. It is intended that railway cars and locomotives equipped with this invention should also be equipped with computer microprocessors and sensors multiplexed together to communicate along a common data link as part of any electrical connections described above so that railway train operators will have continuous control over the status of every component of a railway train and that cars can be selectively coupled and uncoupled by remote control. It is further intended that male couplers and female receptacles be mounted on older railway vehicles having Janney type couplers so as to ensure compatibility with portable intermodal railway vehicles having only Automatic Intermodal Railway Car Couplers. An auxiliary air coupler52is provided as shown inFIGS. 1 and 3to allow compatibility with older Janney type couplers not equipped with fluid and electrical receptacles according to the present invention.

Although I have now described my preferred embodiment of my invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that my invention may take other forms without departing from the spirit or teachings thereof. The foregoing description is intended, therefore, to be illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of my invention is to be defined by the following claims: