EP0306666B1 - Claw connection for toy and model railways - Google Patents

Abstract

The claw connection for toy and model railways has pre-uncoupling devices, a claw (7) which can be hooked from the side into a rigid hook of the respective counter-bearing part and can be swivelled in a horizontal plane, a bearing pin (8), which is mounted in a borehole and can be lifted out of its coupling position upwards against the force of gravity into an uncoupling position by means of a coupling lever of an uncoupling siding, said coupling lever engaging on a downwardly projecting uncoupling bolt (20), the design (10) being such that it has an outer arm (7a), which can be hooked into the rigid hook (2), and an inner arm (7b) which is bent at approximately 90 DEG to said outer arm, that the bearing borehole and the bearing pin are arranged in each case on the outer edge of the bearing part or the claw, that the bearing part has a striking mandrel (24) for the inner arm of the claw of the respective counter-coupling part. The design of the bearing is such that, when it is lifted, the claw is swivelled inwards via a forced guide and placed on the counter-bearing part, and the striking mandrel is dimensioned in such a way that it both prevents the respective counter-claw from swivelling outwards into an uncoupling position and, in banking operation, the swivelling-outwards of an inwardly placed claw is impeded, the bearing borehole (8a) for the bearing pin being conically widened towards the bottom, at least on one side, to avoid becoming jammed when rising. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a claw coupling for play and model railways with pre-decoupling, with a claw that can be hooked in from the side in a rigid hook of the respective counter-bearing part, pivotable in a horizontal plane, with a bearing journal mounted in a bore, the claw passing through a clutch lifter of a decoupling track, which engages on a downwardly projecting pivot pin, can be lifted up out of its coupling position into a decoupling position against the force of gravity, the claw having an outer arm which can be hooked into the rigid hook and an inner arm which is angled by approximately 90 ° thereto Bearing bore and the bearing pin are each arranged on the outer edge of the bearing part or the claw, the bearing part has a starting mandrel for the inner arm of the claw of the respective counter-coupling part and the starting mandrel is dimensioned so that it during the coupling process against the inner arm of the Claw bumps and the claw pivoted inward under forced guidance and placed with its outer arm on the counter-bearing part and pivoting of the respective counter-claw outwards into a decoupling position is prevented.

Such a claw coupling described in EP-A-0230897 avoids the difficulties of the earlier so-called Fox coupling (DE-A-2041361), in which the claw still had to be clamped into the coupling position by a swiveling return spring, and precisely that Manufacture and assembly of the extremely small components, especially the coil spring, had caused considerable difficulties. Due to the special coupling design according to EP-A-0230897 without a return spring, using a Thrust mandrel can claw couplings even for the smallest sizes of electric play and model railways manufactured so that both the manufacture of the individual parts, as well as the assembly no longer arise any major problems.

Because of the extremely low weight of the small coupling components, in particular the claw to be lifted, which has to fall back from the raised position solely due to gravity, difficulties can arise under unfavorable conditions, especially with extreme vibration, by the claw does not fall quickly and completely enough from a raised position by wedging the bearing pin in the associated hole by tilting it.

The invention is therefore based on the object of designing a claw coupling of the type mentioned in such a way that even under the most unfavorable conditions without any appreciably increased production or assembly effort the claw can no longer shake or get caught.

To solve this problem it is provided according to the invention that the bearing bore for the bearing journal - to avoid wedging itself when climbing - is flared at least on one side downwards.

This downward expansion of the bearing bore prevents jamming of the bearing journal in the bearing bore with only a slight inclination with respect to the vertical axis, as was previously the case, such jamming due to the inevitable manufacturing tolerances of the tiny parts of such couplings for N gauge even normal vertical lifting could never be completely ruled out.

While the extension of the bearing bore according to the invention eliminates the risk that the claw, if it has been intentionally or unintentionally raised, will no longer fall down, the further development of the invention can reduce the risk of a due to the smallness and lightness of the components Shaking, ie Counteract any unwanted lifting of the claw very simply by providing the rigid hooks and the claws with inclined surfaces lying one on top of the other. The adjoining surfaces of hooks and claws are thus designed such that the inclined contact surface for the claw points downward with the rigid hooks and the corresponding surface on the claw points upward.

Fig. 1

eine vergrößerte Draufsicht auf zwei Kupplungsköpfe während des Einkuppelvorgangs beim Zusammenfahren der Fahrzeuge,

Fig. 2

eine der Fig. 1 entsprechende Aufsicht in der Kupplungsstellung,

Fig. 3

einen Schnitt längs der Linie III-III in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4

einen Schnitt längs der Linie IV-IV in Fig. 2 und

Fig. 5

einen Teilschnitt längs der Linie V-V in Fig. 2.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention result from the following description an embodiment and with reference to the drawing. Show:

Fig. 1

2 shows an enlarged top view of two coupling heads during the coupling process when the vehicles are moving together,

Fig. 2

1 corresponding supervision in the coupling position,

Fig. 3

2 shows a section along the line III-III in FIG. 2,

Fig. 4

a section along the line IV-IV in Fig. 2 and

Fig. 5

3 shows a partial section along the line VV in FIG. 2.

Each coupling head comprises a bearing part 1 with a rigid, outwardly pointing hook 2 at the front end and a connector section 5 for insertion into standardized receiving shafts, for. B. according to the European model railroad standard NEM 362. On the bearing part 1 is a claw 7, which engages with a bearing pin 8 arranged on the outside in the bend area between an outer arm 7a and an inner arm 7b, which has a hook head 10 includes.

The bearing bore 8a for the bearing pin 8 provided at the lower end with a widened head 8b to prevent it falling out of the bearing bore, as can be seen in particular from FIG. 3, is provided with a quasi-conical extension 8c on the back, which wedges the bearing pin 8 in the bearing bore 8a prevented in the raised state. As a result, the claw 7 cannot remain in the raised position unintentionally, but falls if it is not, as will be described in more detail below, stored in a pre-uncoupled position in the pivoted position - in any case safely down again into the coupling position.

A pivot pin 20 is formed on the inner arm 7b of the claw 7 and is provided at the lower end with a thickening 22 forming a run-on slope 21. This pivot pin passes through a recess 23 of the bearing part. The run-up slope 21 is designed such that when the claw 7 is raised via a decoupling track, which, in contrast to previously known Fox couplings, not the bearing journal, but this pivot pin 20 forms the decoupling pin, the run-up slope 21 in connection with the edges of the recess 23 is a forcible Swiveling the claw 7 inwards. After driving over the coupling track, the claw falls down in this inwardly pivoted position and rests on the respective counter-bearing part 1, so that it can only be re-engaged after the carriages have been pulled apart, so that the claw 7 returns to normal lower position can fall down. Gravity alone serves as the vertical restoring force. During the pre-uncoupled pushing, the starting mandrel 24 must press on the arm 7b, so that the very claw is pressed inwards and the hook heads 10 also remain on the hook 2 of the counter-coupling. This can be achieved, for example, by making the starting mandrels 24 higher than the surface 25 of the coupling parts, that in the sliding position, in which the coupling parts are pushed together, the starting mandrels are also raised Plane of the arm 7b of the claw. In the event of any swiveling movement of the claw outwards, the arm 7b would then immediately abut the raised starting mandrel 24 and thus prevent swiveling outwards. It is not only a question of the height of the thrust pins, which must also be present and effective when the claws are in the raised position, but also of the length, ie the amount by which the couplings can be pressed together. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this would be the path a in FIG. 4. In order to enlarge this path, the bearing part in the region 26 could, for example, be provided with a recess, so that the coupling parts can move even closer to one another and thus have fewer possibilities for the pivoting movement of the Claw are given.

For the operation of the claw coupling according to the invention, the chamfers 27 on the hook heads 10 and the counter chamfers 28 on the rigid hooks are necessary. This is because they ensure that the hook heads 10 are guided safely over the hooks 2 during the coupling process, even if they should first be pivoted somewhat inwards. Only when they have been swung open so far and the hook heads have come directly behind the hooks 2, the starting mandrels 24 may come into effect.

Finally, the starting mandrels 24 should also be arranged so that they secure the coupling laterally close to one another against shear movements. Such lateral displacements of the couplings against each other would otherwise have to be intercepted by the hook heads 10 of the claws, which could break out.

When two coupling heads are moved together (cf. in particular FIGS. 1 and 2), the inner arm 7b of each claw abuts a thrust mandrel 24 of the respective counter-bearing part, which is dimensioned in length in such a way that it is automatic (caused, for example, by vibrations) ) Swiveling back of the claws 7 in the decoupling position prevented. Uncoupling is therefore only possible by lifting the claws 7 relative to the hook 2. The design can be such that the starting mandrels 24 have a low axial resilient displaceability, which can be achieved, for example, by the indicated tip, so that the starting mandrel always rests resiliently on the inner arm 7b of the counter-claw 7 and thus shakes it "the clutch is extremely difficult when jogging.

A still further safeguard against "shaking" the coupling results from the special design of the abutting surfaces of the rigid hooks 2 and claws 7. These surfaces 29 and 30 are in fact designed so that the obliquely downward contact surface 30 of the rigid hook 2 overlaps the upward sloping surface 29 of the claw 7, so that the claws and the rigid hooks only after a certain longitudinal displacement, or with the application of a force that does not occur during normal shaking, as is achieved without problems via the uncoupling track Intervention.

Claims (2)

1. A claw coupling for toy and model railways with decoupling, comprising a claw (7) swingable in a horizontal plane and capable of being hooked laterally into a rigid hook (2) of the respective counter-bearing part (1), the claw having a pivot pin (8) mounted in a bore and being liftable upwardly against gravity from its coupling position to a decoupling position by way of a coupling lifter of a decoupling rail that engages a downwardly extending swivel pin (20), the claw comprising an outer arm (7a) that is hookable into the fixed hook and an inner arm that is relatively angularly displaced by about 90°, the pivot bore and the pivot pin being arranged at the outer edge of the mounting and the claw respectively, and the mounting having a prong for the inner arm of the respective counter-coupling part, the prong being so dimensioned that during a coupling operation it pushes against the inner arm of the claw and forces the claw to be swung inwardly and to engage the counter-bearing part with its outer arm, outward swinging of the respective opposite claws to an uncoupled position being prevented, characterised in that the pivot bore for the pivot pin (8) is conically widened in a downward direction to prevent jamming of the latter as it rises.

2. A claw coupling according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rigid hook (2) and the claw (7), are provided with slanting surfaces lying on top of each other to prevent the claw (7) from rising due to vibration.

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