GB1452148A - Automatic unlocking device for rolling stock couplers - Google Patents

Abstract

1452148 Uncoupling railway vehicles JAPANESE NATIONAL RAILWAYS and KAYABAKOGYO KK 22 Jan 1974 [30 Jan 1973] 02974/74 Heading B7T An automatic unlocking device 10, Fig. 1, for unlocking the coupling 82 of travelling rail vehicles 28, comprises: a base stand 11 installed on the ground at one side of a railway track 15; and a boom mechanism 12 supported by means of a shaft 24 mounted on the base stand 11 to allow tilting movement of the boom mechanism towards the railway track, the boom mechanism supporting a robot 13 and incorporating parallel links 22 enabling the robot to be moved with the travelling rail vehicles, the robot 13 being provided with lock release devices for unlocking the rail vehicle coupling 82. In operation, the robot 13 is moved to a position between adjacent coupled rail vehicles by means of a tilt cylinder 27. The robot 13 is pivotally mounted at one end of a pillar 21 forming part of the boom mechanism 12 and is maintained in a vertical attitude by interconnected cylinders 54, 55. The robot 13, Fig. 5, includes two pivotally mounted fingers 61 which each engage, in use, a respective rail vehicle to maintain the position of the robot relative to the coupling. The robot also includes fingers 62, 63 which are vertically moved by means of a cylinder 85 to push up a release lever 83, Fig. 1, of the coupling 82. The fingers 62, 63 may be pivoted about vertical axes to allow them to be moved to retracted positions. The robot further includes fingers 65, 66 operable to remove the fastening cotter 109 from the coupling 82. The fingers 65, 66 are mounted on an arm 64 pivotally supported by a shaft 93 on a plate 94 vertically movable on a main arm 58 of the robot. The finger 65 may be moved to a retracted position. The operation of the unlocking device 10 may be controlled by a computer.