Linkage device for a coupling, in particular of a railway vehicle

Abstract

Linkage device for a couplings of railway vehicles, the coupling head of which is connected to a drawbar linked to a steering pivot of the railway vehicle, which drawbar is provided with spring elements sitting on it in order to dampen compressive and tensile force that arise, e.g., when coupling the railway vehicle. The spring elements are fastened to a plate that can be rotated about an axis of rotation of the steering pivot. In this way, they are also deflected when the coupling is deflected so that the compressive and tensile forces acting on the latter also act upon its entire surface evenly, even when the coupling is deflected. The linkage device is also provided with overload protection.

Claims

1. A linkage device for a coupling, in particular of a railway vehicle, having a drawbar connectable to a coupling head, a number of spring elements mounted on said drawbar, in particular for damping the compressive and tensile forces of the railway vehicle that arise when coupling, and a flange with a housing connectable to the railway vehicle, wherein for a deflection, the drawbar is mounted at least in a horizontal plane in a plate rotatable within the housing, which plate is disposed between the spring elements.

2. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the rotatable plate is rotatable about an axis of rotation and comprises an annular disc and a steering pivot consisting of two diametrically arranged pivot pins.

3. The linkage device according to claim 2, wherein the annular disc is provided with a central through hole for the drawbar between the spring elements.

4. The linkage device according to claim 3, wherein the through hole of the annular disc of the rotatable plate is formed on both sides with widenings, at least in the upper and the lower region, as viewed in the axial direction passing outwards from its center.

5. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the spring elements are arranged on the side of the rotatable plate facing the coupling head in order to dampen the compressive forces, while the at least one spring element is mounted on the side of the rotatable plate facing away from the coupling head in order to dampen the tensile forces.

6. The linkage device according to claim 5, wherein the number of spring elements is determined according to the respectively anticipated compressive and tensile forces.

7. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the spring elements are produced as annular discs from an elastomeric material.

8. The linkage device according to claim 7, wherein the annular discs are supported laterally against spacer discs made of sheet metal lying in between.

9. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the spring elements are fitted on the drawbar between a bushing for the coupling head disposed on the front end of the drawbar and a locking disc disposed on the rear end of the drawbar in order to fix the spring elements against the rotatable plate.

10. The linkage device according to claim 9, wherein the locking disc is pressable against the spring elements with a screw connection disposed on the rear end of the drawbar.

11. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the steering pivot with the rotatable plate is mounted in a sleeve-shaped housing with a flange fastenable to the railway vehicle.

12. The linkage device according to claim 11, wherein the housing is displacable axially within the flange, during normal operation both parts being fixed against one another with at least one preferably bolt-shaped overload element, while upon overload, the overload element is sheared off by the housing and the latter is pushed backwards by the flange together with the rotatable plate and the drawbar with the spring elements.

13. The linkage device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided on the end facing away from the coupling head with a safety component in the form of a plastically deformable tubular piece fastened to the flange, which tubular piece, absorbing energy when there is overload, co-operates with a hub of the housing that penetrates into the tubular piece.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The invention is explained in detail below by means of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. These show as follows:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a linkage device for a coupling of a railway vehicle, the sections being illustrated without shading;

[0017] FIG. 2 shows the plate of the linkage device according to FIG. 1 in a front view and the drawbar in cross-section; and

[0018] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section view of a variant of the linkage device according to FIG. 1 with a plastically deformable tubular piece as a safety component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The linkage device shown in FIG. 1 is designed as an independent assembly and it comprises a drawbar 1 with spring elements 2a, 2b mounted on the drawbar 1 for damping the compressive and tensile forces acting on the coupling, as well as a housing 3 with a flange 4, with which the assembly is fitted onto the railway vehicle or similar.

[0020] According to the invention, the spring elements 2a, 2b are disposed on both sides of a plate 5 which can be rotated about the axis of rotation 6 of a steering pivot 7 for the drawbar 1. As is evident from FIG. 2, the rotatable plate 5 comprises an annular disc 8 and a steering pivot 7 with two diametrically arranged pivot pins 9a, 9b, the annular disc 8 being provided with a central through hole 10 through which the drawbar 1 projects, while the pivot pins 9a, 9b are mounted in bore holes of the housing 3. In order to enable assembly, the housing 3 is formed along the central diametric plane by two half shells.

[0021] The through hole 10 and the drawbar 1, as viewed in cross-section, are advantageously provided on both sides with a flattening 10 so that the drawbar 1 is secured non-rotatably therein. In addition, this through hole 10 is formed, at least in the upper and the lower region as viewed in the axial direction, with widenings 10 on both sides passing outwardly from its center. This also enables deflection of the coupling in the vertical plane, the borehole being designed so that the coupling can perform a deflection in the vertical plane of approximately +/6 upwards and downwards.

[0022] The construction is designed for a deflection of the drawbar 1, and so of the coupling head, in the horizontal plane of approximately +/20 to the right and the left.

[0023] The spring elements 2a on the side of the rotatable plate 5 facing the coupling head serve to dampen the compressive forces acting on the coupling. They are produced from an elastomeric material, the spring assembly being designed with a maximum pressure stroke of overall approximately 60 mm. The spring element 2b on the side of the rotatable plate 5 facing away from the coupling head is likewise produced from an elastomeric material and on its part serves to dampen the tensile forces acting on the coupling. These tensile forces are substantially less than the compressive forces that occur. Accordingly, the spring element 2b is designed with a maximum tensile stroke of approximately 10 mm.

[0024] The number of spring elements on the front and the rear side of the rotatable plate 5 may be determined as the case arises when coupling anticipated compressive and tensile forces. In the assembly that is formed according to FIG. 1, five spring elements 2a are provided between the front bushing and the plate or this one spring element 2b is provided between the plate and a rear-side locking disc 13.

[0025] When the coupling is deflected, the rotatable plate 5 is also deflected within the limit values specified above. As a result, even when the coupling is deflected, the compressive and tensile forces acting on it act evenly over the entire surface of the spring elements 2a, 2b. As a result, the damping effect of the spring elements is optimal. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the spring elements are supported laterally by spacer discs 11 made of sheet metal lying in between.

[0026] The spring elements 2a, 2b are incorporated onto the drawbar 1 between a bushing 12 disposed on the front end of the drawbar, to which end the coupling head can be connected, for example by welding, and the locking disc 13 disposed on the rear end of the drawbar. The locking disc serves to fix the spring elements 2a, 2b and the rotatable plate 5 against the bushing 12 by being pressed against a screw connection 14 that can be screwed in at the rear end of the drawbar.

[0027] After the assembly consisting of the housing 3 with the flange 4, the rotatable plate 5 with the steering pivot 7 and the drawbar 1 with the spring elements 2a, 2b have been fitted on the railway vehicle, the coupling can be welded to the coupling head and the draw and buffing gear to the bushing 12 of the drawbar 1. The design that has been described is advantageous for the assembly of the linkage device as well as for the inspection and adjustability of the individual components.

[0028] The linkage device can also be provided with overload protection. In this case, the housing 3 can be axially displaced within the flange 4, in normal operation both parts being fixed against one another with bolt-shaped overload elements 15a, 15b which are sheared off by the housing 3 when there is overload. In this way, this housing can be pushed backwards by the flange 4 together with the rotatable plate 5 and the drawbar 1 with the spring elements 2a, 2b. The number of overload elements may vary according to a defined impact force.

[0029] Within the framework of the invention, the linkage device may also include a safety device which absorbs the impact energy within specific limits upon the impact of another vehicle. This type of device is shown in FIG. 3. The housing 3 additionally has on the end facing away from the coupling head a safety component fastened to the flange 4, which safety component is in the form of a plastically deformable tubular piece 16 which co-operates in an energy absorbing manner with a hub 17 of the housing 3 penetrating into the tubular piece 16 when there is overload.

[0030] The tube end of the tubular piece 16 provided with a diameter widening 16a projects into an annular gap 18 between the flange 4 and the housing 3 and is fastened here to the flange 4 with a releaseable connection, such as preferably a screw or bayonet connection.

[0031] The housing 3 and the flange 4 could also be made from one part if no additional overload elements are provided. The rotatable plate 5 could consist of the annular disc 8 and the pivot pins 9a, 9b which can, for example, be screwed into the latter so that the drawbar with the spring elements and the annular disc could be pushed into the housing, and then the pivot pins could be screwed into the annular disc from the outside.

[0032] The through hole 10 in the plate 5 could also be made to be almost cylindrical without any lateral flattenings 10. In addition, it could likewise be provided on both sides with widenings in the lateral regions, as viewed in the axial region, passing outwards from its center.