Patent GB-904150-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to automatic couplings for railway vehicles
Inventor: DADSWELL CYRIL JOHN
IPC: B61G7/08
Filed: 1959-09-24
Abstract: 904,150. Railway vehicle automatic couplings and drawgear. ENGLISH STEEL CORPORATION Ltd., and SPENCER MOULTON & CO., GEORGE Sept. 23, 1960 [Sept. 24, 1959], No. 32461/59. Class 103(5). An automatic railway vehicle coupling which may pivot about both vertical and horizontal axes is provided with a support comprising, a housing secured to and projecting from the end of the vehicle below the coupling a shelf projecting horizontally from the housing and being in the form of a lever which may pivot about both vertical and horizontal axes with respect to the housing so that the lever may pivot with and support the coupling, and two resilient pre-compressed blocks connected between the lever and the housing to resist movement of the lever about the vertical axis and to resist downward movement about the horizontal axis. The shelf 11 Fig. 3, projects from an inner housing 15 having vertical trunnions 16 pivotally carrying the housing 15 between plates 17 of an intermediate housing 18 provided with ribs 19 on its side plates 20 which slide in slots of an outer housing 23. The shelf engages in a pocket 12 in the coupler and is maintained in vertical alignment with the pocket by a pivoted stirrup 28. The trunnions 16 are formed on a block 30, Figs. 8, 9 provided with horizontal trunnions 31 for a lever 32 carrying the shelf, and the lever end 33 carries a relatively movable flanged plate 34. Pre-compressed rubber blocks 35A, 35B are bonded to the plate 34, and to plates 37A, 37B which are confined vertically by walls 38A, 38B of the housing 15 and horizontallv between stop ribs 39A, 39B. The lower end of the trunnion block 30 engages non-rotatably with a plate 43 having ends 44A, 44B of an arcuate recess 45 which confines bottom flanges 46A, 46B of the plates 37 and so provides abutment connections between the shelf 11 and the plates 37. When the shelf 11 is swung to the Fig. 9 position the end 44A of the recess 45 in the plate 43 abuts with the flange 46A of the plate 37A causing that plate to be swung towards the plate 37B which is restrained by the stop 39B, and distortion of the rubber blocks. A retractable catch pin 47 may be engaged either as shown in Fig. 9, or the coupler may be swung aside to present a chain hook, Fig. 1 (not shown), by means of a shunter's pole engaged between pegs 52 on top of the coupler head, Fig. 3, the pin 47 then locking in a hole 53. The lower wall 38B of the housing 15 is cut away to allow the shelf 11 and head 6 to swing downwardly against resistance by the rubber blocks, but upward deflection of the coupling simply allows the top 13 of the head 6 to leave the shelf. The shelf 11 is thus so mounted as to permit the coupling head 6 to pivot as required to mate with a similar but misaligned head. In another embodiment the lever 32, Figs. 10, 11, 14, extends downwardly to an integral plate 55 having an arcuate slot 56 concentric with the trunnions 16, two pre-compressed rubber blocks 57A, 57B being bonded between pairs of wedge plates 58A, 59A, and 58B, 59B. The lower wedge plates have downward pegs 60A, 60B loosely fitting the slot 56. The plate 59A has an arcuate tongue 62A which bears against a corresponding tongue 62B on the plate 59B, the tongues lying against an arcuate rib 63 on the housing 15 and concentric with a ledge 64. The ends 65A, 65B of the wedge plates 58A, 58B bear against stops 66A, 66B. With the housing 15 held by the pin 47, swinging of the shelf 11 from the central position of Fig. 11 causes the peg 60A to move the lower wedge plate 58A towards the wedge plate 58B, which latter plate is restrained by the abutment of its end 65B with the stop 66B. The movement of the wedge 58A compresses the block 57A, Fig. 12, and moves the wedge plate 58B which being free to slide with the wedge 59A brings the wedges 58B, 59B closer together and compresses the block 57B. The two blocks thus not only resist movement of the shelf 11 about the vertical axis but resist movement about a horizontal axis as the blocks are then compressed by the pivoting of the lever 32 in the vertical plane.