Patent GB-945056-A (GB)
Title: A hitch for a road semi-trailer and a freight transportation system
IPC: B61D3/18
Filed: 1960-12-22
Abstract: 945,056. Wagons for transporting vehicles. GENERAL AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION. Dec. 22, 1960 [Dec. 22, 1959], No. 44042/60. Heading B7L. [Also in Division B8] A railway car 100, Figs. 1, 2 and 36, for indiscriminately transporting either road vehicle semi-trailers 200A or 200B or freight carriers 800, comprises a centre sill 101, formed of a pair of longitudinally extending and laterally spaced I-beams 104, Fig. 3, and supported at its ends by trucks 102; a pair of spaced hitches 300 for securing loaded trailers on the car, each hitch 300 being pivotable between the beams 104 from a storage position below the top of the sill to an erected position in which its upper end is connectible by a fifth-wheel mechanism to a trailer king pin 202 whilst the hitch is automatically connected to an associated shock absorbing device 400 housed between the beams; and at least one hitch 900, Fig. 36, connected to one shock absorber 400 at the end thereof opposite to that to which a hitch 300 is connected, the hitch 900 being raisable from a storage position between the beams to an erected position in which its upper end is connected to a container 800. A hitch 900 may be connected to each shock absorbing device 400. A semi-trailer 200B differs from a semi-trailer 200A in that in addition to rear road wheels 201 it is provided with rollers 205 between the wheels and at a higher level. During transportatiori, a trailer 200A has its wheels 201 supported on platforms 107 extending from the sides of the centre sill whilst a trailer 200B has its rollers 205 supported on the tops 106 of the beams 104 with its wheels 201 out of contact with the platforms 107. A freight container 800 is provided with rollers 802 which, during transportation of the container, engage the tops 106 of the beams. The platforms 107 and tracks 106 of coupled cars 100 are interconnected by pivotal bridging platforms 121 and bridging rails 120 as described with reference to Fig. 4 (not shown). Each hitch 300, Fig. 20, comprises a standard 302 pivoted at its lower end by a trunnion tube 301 rotatable in the centre sill, the upper end of the standard is pivoted at 503 to a fifth wheel mechanism 500 for latching to a trailer king pin. Intermediate its length the standard is pivotally connected at 308 to a strut 303 pivotally carrying at its lower end latch elements 352 and also pivotally connected to a shaft 344 carrying at its ends slide shoes 345 engaging in trackways 346 carried by webs of the I-beams. In the erected position of the hitch 300 the latches 352 automatically snap-over and connect with a tie bar 406 forming part of the associated shock absorbing device 400, the latches being urged downwardly by springs 353. The latches 352 may be raised to release them and the hitch from the bar 406 by operating a strike-button 381 carried on the standard 302. This button is connected to the latches through a pivoted lever 373 on the strut, a connecting rod 376, a lever 367 pivoted to the strut 303, and a link 368 pivoted to the lever 367 at 370 and to a cam 363 at 369, the cam being arranged between and pivoted to the latches on a pivot pin 364. When the latches are released from the bar 406 the shoes 345 move along the trackways and the hitch moves into a collapsed state between the I-beams under the action of gravity. During this movement a torsion bar 324 within the trunnion 301 is stressed so as to provide a torque tending to erect the standard, all as described with reference to Figs. 26 to 29 (not shown). The fifth wheel mechanism 500, Figs. 11 and 13, comprise top and bottom plates 501, 510 the top plate 501 being slotted at 511 to receive a king pin of a trailer. Between the plates are pivoted, on pins 514, a pair of locking elements 515, urged to a locking position shown in Fig. 11, by a slide block 522 between the plates and under the urge of a spring 525. The slide block can be moved to the position shown in Fig. 13 by operating a strike button 531 connected to the block 522 by a plunger 527 guided in brackets below the bottom plate 510. The locking elements 515 are then movable by the relatively moving king pin 202 to positions in which they remain unlatched by engagement of the block 522 with cams 519 on the elements 515. Each shock absorbing device 400, Fig. 30, comprises a pair of shafts 401 connected at their ends by tie bars 405, 406 and slidable in brackets 402 secured to the webs 104 of the I-beams. Surrounding each shaft 401 between the associated brackets 402 are collars 404 and stacked resilient snubbing rings 403. When the bar 406 is moved in either direction due to shocks causing the trailer to move longitudinally of the car and to pivot the hitch 300 about its trunnion 301, one or other collar 404 is moved to compress the rings 403 against the bracket 402 which is remote from the collar. A hitch 900, Fig. 39, comprises a rectangular-shaped cradle 901 connected at 902 to slide shoes 903 slidable in trackways 904 carried by the webs 104 and a rectangular shaped piston 905 slotted at two opposite sides to slidably engage the tie bar 405 of the associated cushion device 400. A jack 90 having a base 908 on the tie bar 405 and a screw 909 having a head 910 engaging the top plate 906 of the piston, is operable by a rod 911 passing through one slot 912 and a longitudinal slot 104a in the adjacent web 104. The piston is thus raisable to engage within a complementary shaped box-like structure 803 in the underframe 801 of the freight container which frame has rollers 802 to engage the rails 106. Latches 917 within the piston are normally pulled thereinto by springs 920 as shown but when the piston is raised they are caused, by the engagement of heads 922, on rods 915 fixed in the piston, with the underside of the bar 405, to be projected through holes 919 in the piston to engage latch keepers 804 in the structure 803, as shown in dotted lines. A modified form of hitch 300 described with reference to Fig. 32 (not shown) is arranged to be at an angle of about 25 degrees to the vertical when erected so that vertical movements of a connected trailer are absorbed by the associated shock absorber 400 in addition to longitudinal shocks. Moreover some energy generated by the longitudinal movement of a trailer is absorbed by lifting the trailer against the action of gravity. In a further modification the top of the standard 302 is provided with shock absorber mechanism as described with reference to Figs. 33 to 35 (not shown). Loading and unloading.-For loading and unloading semi-trailers on the railway car there is provided a tractor 600, Figs. 17 and 18, having wheels 602 to engage the platforms 107; abutments 608 and 609 on the chassis 601 for respectively and sequentially engaging the buttons 531 and 381 (see Fig. 20); a fifth wheel mechanism 603 operable by a cable 604 from the tractor cab; and a pivoted link and hook assembly 605, 606 also operable from the cab by a cable 607. The trailer 200B is first connected to the tractor 600 in a railway yard and then backed on to the left-hand end of the railway car 100, Fig. 1, the rear end of the trailer in this instance being supported by the rollers 205 engaging the rails 106 on the tops of the I-beams 104. The trailer is backed over the hitch 300 until the hook 606 on the tractor is disposed above a hook shaft 311 carried by the standard 302 which is in its storage position. The hook and its link 605 are then lowered until the shaft 311 is engaged by the hook and thereafter the tractor is moved forwardly to raise the hitch and position its fifth wheel mechanism 500 behind the fifth wheel mechanism 603. The latter is then operated to uncouple it from the king pin 202 whilst the tractor is still driven forwardly so that the standard 302 is fully erected and its mechanism 500 is automatically engaged with the king pin as the mechanism 603 is moved from beneath the trailer. The locking elements 515 are moved to the locking positions from the positions shown in Fig. 13 by the king pin 202 engaging protuberances 517 on the elements whereby the elements are secured in the latched position by the block 522 entering the space between the cams 519. Thereafter the tractor is backed slightly to release the hook 606. In the unloading operation the tractor 600 is backed on to the car 100 until the rear end of the chassis is immediately forward of the hitch 300 in its erected position. Upon further backing movement the mechanism 603 is moved below the front end of the trailer and the abutments 608 and 609 sequentially operate the buttons 531 and 381 to first release the mechanism 500 from the king pin 202 and to unlatch the hitch 300 from the associated cushion 400. The abutment 609 also effects rotation of the standard 302 in a clockwise direction and the latter then moves by gravity to its storage position. As the mechanism 500 disengages the king pin 202 the mechanism 603 engages the latter. Thereafter the tractor and connected trailer can be driven off the railway car. Specification 945,057 is referred to.