Patent ID: 7270486

Claim:
An optical signal coupling for two vehicles coupled with one another, especially rail vehicles coupled with one another, with a first coupling part fixed to one vehicle and a second coupling part fixed to the other vehicle, between which optical signals are transmitted, the first coupling part containing a sending device which creates the optical signals to be transmitted, and the second coupling part containing a receiving device which detects the transmitted optical signals; the first and second coupling parts each being a light conducting element of which elements one has a spherically concave end surface and the other has a spherically convex end surface with an identical radius of curvature and of which at least one is so elastically biased that the light conducting elements are pressed against one another with their end surfaces when the two vehicles are coupled with one another, the light conducting elements each including a light opaque sleeve and a transparent core received in the sleeve, the light opaque sleeves being electrically conducting and in that upon the pressing together of the end surfaces the light conducting elements of the first and second coupling parts establish an electrical contact between the associated sleeves through which electric signals from one coupling part can be transmitted to the other coupling part.