Patent ID: 8136683

Claim:
A draft gear assembly for cushioning buff and draft dynamic impact forces encountered during make-up and operation of a railway vehicle, said draft gear assembly comprising: (a) an elongated yoke removably mountable within a hollow center sill of a railway vehicle body, said yoke having a yoke head which is adapted to connect to an end of a coupler shank, a butt end axially opposing said yoke head, a pair of elongated substantially parallel spaced-apart top and bottom strap members each having an inner surface, an outer surface, a front end and a rear end, said rear end of each strap member being joined to said butt end of said yoke and said front end of said each strap member being joined to said yoke head; (b) a rear follower positioned intermediate said top and said bottom strap members transversely to a longitudinal central axis of said yoke, said rear follower sized to abut a draft gear seat formed within said butt end of said yoke and a pair of rear stops secured to such center sill when said draft gear assembly is in a position to cushion such buff dynamic impact forces; (c) a front coupler follower positioned intermediate said top and said bottom strap members transversely to said central axis of said yoke, said front coupler follower sized to abut a pair of front stops formed in a striker casing engaging such center sill when said draft gear assembly is in a position to cushion such draft dynamic impact forces; and (d) an elongated compressible elastomeric spring positioned intermediate said front coupler follower and said rear follower in axial alignment with said central axis of said yoke, said compressible elastomeric spring including a stack having a predetermined plurality of elastomeric pads separated by a predetermined plurality of plate like members, each of said predetermined plurality of elastomeric pads and each of said predetermined plurality of plate like members positioned transversely to said central axis of said yoke and laterally within such center sill, wherein said each of said predetermined plurality of elastomeric pads is compressed along said central axis toward said rear follower to cushion such buff dynamic impact forces and is compressed along said central axis toward said front coupler follower to cushion such draft dynamic impact forces, and wherein said each of said predetermined plurality of plate like members moves along said longitudinal axis during cushioning of such buff and draft dynamic impact forces.