US1884154A - Railway draft rigging - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 25, 1932. J. F. o'coNNoR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Filed Nov. 17. 195o Patented Oct. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN F. OCONNOR, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO W. H. lVIINER, INC., OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE I RAILWAY DRAFT RIGrGINGr,A

i Application led November 17, 1930. Serial 110.496,13?.

This invention relates to improvements in railway draft riggings.

Oneobject of the invention is to provide in a railway draftv rigging including the usual yoke member, shock absorbing means enclosed thereby and a coupler operatively connected to the yoke and cooperating with the shock absorbing mechanism, means for supporting the yoke and maintaining'the proper alinement of the parts of the draft rigging in all operative positions thereof and preventing drooping ofthe coupler head, wherein the supporting means has engage ment with the outer end of the yoke and is movable with the same in both buff and draft, thereby reducing wear between these parts to a minimum and at all times properly supporting the yoke. A further object'of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character indicated in the preceding paragraph, which is particularly adapted for railway draft riggings,

wherein the shock absorbing mechanism is.

compressed to a greater extent in buff than in draft, in otherkwords,wherein the coupler has longer travel in buif than in draft. A proper support for the coupler shank is provided in all positions thereof, the supporting means being in the form of a shelf at the outer end of the yoke disposed outwardly 'of the connection of the coupler shank with the yoke. 1

Amore rspecific object of the invention is to provide a supporting means for the outer end 'of a yoke of a railway draft rigging, opperatively connected to the yoke for movement therewith, wherein the supporting means comprises link elements swingingly suspended from the car underframe structure A and pivotally secured to the yoke.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a swinging yoke support of the character specified-in the preceding paragraph, whereby the yoke is guided fory longi tudinalmovement in a true horizontal path.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a railway draft rigging, having longer travel in buff than in draft including a shock absorbing mechanism, a yoke co-operating with the shock absorbing mechanism, and a coupler connected to the yoke by means of a key extending through the coupler shank and the yoke and working in slots provided in the draftsills, wherein the key has the ends thereof, which Work in the draft sill slots, reduced in size to permit the additional travel in buff, and that portion of the key connecting the coupler shank and yoke is of full size to provide the necessary rugged connection therebetween;

A further object of the invention is to providel in a railway draft rigging having longer travel in bu than in draft a yoke member and rear stop means sodesigned as to permit travel of the yoke inwardly in buff to provide for longer travelk than in draft, andl wherein the main front follower is reduced in thickness to less than the standard follower, thereby permitting the use of a corre* spondingly shorter yoke,thereby reducing the amount offclearance necessary to allow the required inward movement of the yoke in buff.` f

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawing, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through the 'underframe structure of a railway car illustrating my improvements in connection therewith. Figure 2 is a horizontal, longitudinal, sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 2 2 of Figure l. Figure 3 is a longitudinal, vertical, sectional view of the underframe structure at the end of a railway car, 4illustrating a different embodiment of the invention, the center sill structure being shown in elevation. Figure 4 is a vertical, sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 4 4 of Figure 3. And Figure 5 is f a vertical, sectional view corresponding to the line 5-5 of Figure 4, also illustrating, in dotted lines, different positions of the parts. v p

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures and 2, 1 0-10 designate the channel-shaped spaced draft sills of the car underframe structure, to the inner sides of which are secured the usual front stop lugs 11--11. The stop lugs and the sills have alined coupler key guide slots 12-12. The underframe structure of the car is provided with the usual rear stop casting 13, which also forms a ller .block between the sills and has the upper part of the center bearing formed thereon. As shown in Figure 1, the casting 13 is provided with the usual center pin receiving opening. The stop casting 13 has spaced, forwardly projecting arms 14e-14 forming the rear stops proper of the railway draft rigging. The coupler of the car is indicated by 15 and is connected to the yoke of the draft rigging, as hereinafter more fully pointed out. The striking casting of the draft rigging is indicated by 16 and is fixed to the draft sills and the other part-s of the underframe structure of the car.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, I provide broadly a yoke A; a shock absorbing mechanism B; a cooperating front follower C within the yoke; a coupler key D; and a pair of yoke supporting links It- The yoke A, which encloses the shock absorbing mechanism B, has the usual top and bottom arms 17-17 connected at the rear end by a vertical section 18. At the forward end, the yoke is hooded, said hood portion being defined by spaced side walls 19-19, a top wall 20 and a bottom wall 21. The spaced side walls of the hood are pro` vided with alined coupler key receiving slots 22-22- The top wall 20 of the hood, as shown in Figure 1, is shorter than the bot` tom wall 21 and converges outwardly toward said wall. The bottom wall has a raised, thickened portion 23 at the outer or forward end thereof, which forms a support forthe coupler shank closely adjacent the head of the coupler. As shown, the supporting shelf or member 23 of the yoke is disposed 'forwardly of the coupler key receiving openings 22-22 thereof and in the normal position of the pants, as illustrated in Figure l, extends outwardly beyond the plane of the striking surface of the casting 16. A saddle plat-e 24, secured to the bottom flanges of the draft sills in the usual manner, guides the inner end portion of the yoke. At the forward end, thel yoke is supported by the links E E. Each link E is pivotally connected at the lower end to the yoke A by means of a pivot member 25 in fthe form of a pin eX- tending through alined openings in the bottom ends of the links and openings provided in depending lugs 26e-2G formed integral with the bottom wall 21 of the hood of the yoke and located adjacent the outer end of the same, as shown in Figure 1. The upper ends of the links .E are swingingly suspended from the striking casting 16 by means of a pivot pin member 27 extending through openings in the upper ends of the links and lugs 28 formed integral with the striking casting. As will be evident, the yoke A is thus supported for sliding movement lengthwise of the railway draft rigging on the saddle plate 24: and by the links E-E The links E-E being pivotally connected to the yoke and suspended from the striking casting in such a manner as to swing lengthwise of the car, provide supporting means for the forward end of the yoke, which is movable therewith, thereby reducing the wear of the parts by eliminating relative sliding move` ment between the supporting means and the 7oke.

5 The shock absorbing mechanism B, which is disposed within the yoke, is of well known form, and as herein shown, is of the friction type including a friction shell 29, friction means in the form of shoes 3() cooperating therewith and a wedge block 31 having wedging engagement with the shoes. As will be understood, the inward movement of the friction means is resisted by the usual spring dis posed within the shell 29. The shock absorbing mechanism B is so designed that the same is capable of greater compression in buff` than in draft, that is in draft it is not compressed to its full capacity. The 'main follower C is in the form of arectangular plate interposed between the wedge `block 31 of the shock absorbing mechanism B and the inner end of the shank of the coupler 15. The follower C is preferably of lesser thickness than the standard follower usually em ployed. At the inner end, the friction shell 29 of the shock absorbing mechanism is provided with the usual follower member 32 formed integral therewith and cooperating with the rear stops formed by the arms 14-14 of the casting 13. In long travel draft gears, the friction elements project so far from the end of the cylinder that there is a tendency for the same to tip out of line, thereby causing excessive wear on the bottom wall section of the mouth of the friction shell. In order to counteract this tendency, I pro vide a thimble 33 securely fastened to the follower C engaging within and closely titting a bore provided in the wedge block 31, thereby insuring correct alinement.

The coupler 15 is connected to the yoke A by means of the key D, the key D having the main body portion thereof, which is indicated by 34, extending through an opening 35 in the-coupler shank and the openings 22-22 in the side walls of the hood of the yoke.v The opposite ends 36-36 of the key, which are reduced in width, as clearly shown in Figure 2, work in the slots 12-12 of the draft sills. The key I) is so designed that the frontedges of the reduced portions 36 36 are in transverse alinemcnt with the front edge of the main body7 portion of the key, while the rear edges of said reduced sections are forwardly offset with respect to the rear edge o-f the main body portion of the same.

As shown, the key is retained in position by headed pins 37-37, which yextend through the offset ends thereof-and are retained by any well known means, such as cotters. As most clearly illustrated in Figure 2, the slots 22-22 in the hood of the yoke are of considerably shorter length than the guide slots for the key in the draft sills, and in a bufiing or inward movement of the coupler the main body portion of the key` engagespthe inner ends of the slots of the yoke before the reduced end portions of the key engagethe inner ends of the slots of the draft sills, whereby the yoke is moved inwardly to a limited extent during a bufiing action. `Inorder to accommodate this movement,k clearance is provided between the inner end of the yoke and the bottom wall ofthe strikingfcasting 13, the latter being cut away, as shown at 38.

The operation vof my improved railway draftrigging during a draft action is as follows: The coupler k15 is pulled outwardly, thereby pulling the yoke A therewith through the medium of the key D,the shock absorbing mechanism B being compressed against the front follower C by the forward movement of the yoke. The draft movement of the coupler will be limited engagement of the key D with the front ends of the slots of the draft sills. During a bufiing action, upon inward movement of the coupler 15, the main follower C will be forced rearwardly directly by the coupler, thereby compressing the shock absorb-ing mechanism B' between the follower and the rear stop means formed by the arms 14 of the casting 13. After the clearance` between the main body portion of the key D and t-he rear end walls of the slots 22 of the yoke is taken up, the yoke will be forced rearwardly in unison with the coupler, this movement being accommo- .dated by the clearance 38 at the inner end of the yokebetween the same and the filler casting 13. During this movement of the coupler shank and yoke in unison, the key D will continue to move rearwardly in the slots 12 of the draft sills until the front follower C engages the forward end of the shell 29, the slots 12 of the draft sills being of sufficient length to accommodate the necessary movement ofthe coupler key D. The buffing movement thus provided is in excess of the draft movement, as will be clear, especially upon reference to Figure 2, wherein the normal position of the parts is shown and the reduced ends 36-36 of the key D are illustrated as spaced a greater distance from the rear walls of the slots 12 than from the front walls thereof. During the bufiing and draft movement of the mechanism, the horizontal alinement of the parts is at all times maintained by the supporting means at the forward end of the yoke and the swinging link suspension for the yoke at this point.

By'providing the form ofcoupler key shown in Figures 1 and 2, having the outer ends thereof reduced and the main body portion of vstandard width, the connection between the yoke and the coupler is of adequate strength, while at the same time the longer travel of the parts is permitted without unneessarily elongat-ing the slots in the draft sil s.

Referring next to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the draft sills which areindicated by V are provided with stop lugs similar to the stop lugs illustrated inFigures 1 and 2, and a combined rear stop and filler casting, similar to the casting 13. The front stop lugs and the sills are provided with alined coupler key guide slots 112, which are identical with the slots 12 hereinbefore described. The coupler is indicated by and is connected by a key J in all respects similar to the key D, hereinbefore described, to a yoke F, which is similar to the yoke A. A shock absorbing mechanism G and a front main follower H,

similar to the corresponding parts B and C hereinbefore described, are disposed within the yoke and cooperate with the stops of the sills in the same manner. The inner end of the yoke F is also supported 'by a saddle plate, not shown, similar to the saddle plate 24 illustrated in Figure 1. At the forward end, the yoke F has the lower wall thereof upwardly offset, as indicated at 123, to provide a supporting shelf for the coupler shank adjacent the head of the same. The forward end of the yoke at the shelf portion 123 there-l of is supported by a pair of links K-K, which are in turn supported by rockers M-M fulcrumed on bearing means provided on the underframe structure of the car. As shown in Figure 4, a pair of bearing brackets or blocks 15G-150 are employed, the same being fixed to the outer sides of the draft sills 110-110. As indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the bearing blocks 150 are disposed substantially in transverse alinement with the striking casting S, which is fixed to the underframe structure of the car and forms a spacing member between the front f end portions of the draft sills. Each block is provided with a bearing seat 151 for the lower end of the corresponding rocker M. Each rocker M has a rounded lower end portion 152 cooperating with the corresponding bearing seat 151 and a forked upper end 153 providing a bearing seat for pivot means in the form of a trunnion 154 provided on the inner side of the corresponding link K between the top and bottom ends thereof. The links K are thusY supported for .swinging movement on the rockers M-M. At the lower ends, the links are Vconnected to the yoke F by means of a pivot pin 155 extending 'through a Apair of depending lugs 156-156 formed integral with thebottom ies iso

wall of the hood of the yoke F and alined openings in the bottom ends of the links K. The upper ends of the links are guided for vertical movement, the striking casting S being provided with spaced upstanding lugs 160--160, having vertical guide slots 15T- 157 therein which accommodate a pin 158 for vertical movement, the pin having its opposite ends secured in alined openings pr vided at the upper ends of the links MHM.

The operation of my improved railway draft rigging as illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5, is substantially the same as that of the structure described in connection with Figures 1 and 2, with the exception that the link supporting means illustrated in Figures 3, t and 5 provides for true horizontal movement of the forward end of the yoke F. This horizontal movement is obtained through the rocking fulcrum supporting means for the links K-I As will be evident, in both a buff and draft action, as the yoke is moved inwardly or outwardly with respect to the car proper, the supporting links K-K will swing on the trunnion members 15a-154 cooperatingiwith the forked upper ends of the rockers M, while the rockers will swing forwardly and rearwardly about the fulcrum points atlower ends thereof, thereby causing the trunnions 154--154 of the links to travel forwardly and rearwardly, as indicated by the dotted line circles 161-161 in Figure 5. Due to the rocking movement of the members M and the positioning of the pivots, as indicated at 1651-461, the lower ends of the links and the pivot pin 155 will travel in a horizontal path, assuming the full and dotted line positions indicated by 159 and 162 respectively. During` this swinging movement of the links, the upper ends of the same will be guided in a substantially vertical path by the guide slots 157 in the lugs 160 of the striking casting with which the pin 158 cooperates.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carryingl out my invention, but the same is merely illustrativev and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with the underframe structure of the car; of a yoke member; shock absorbing means within the yoke; a coupler; means connecting the shank of the coupler to said yoke; and means supporting and guiding the yoke length Yise of the car, including link means pivotally connected to the yoke and swingin gly supported on the underframe structure of the car to guide said pivotal connection in a true horizontal path.

2. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with the underframe structure of the car; of a yoke member; and means supporting and guiding the yoke for movement lengthwise of the car including links pivotally connected at their lower ends to said yoke, guide means for the upper ends of said links, and members swingingly lsupporting said links between the ends thereof. Y

3. Inl a railway draft rigging, the combination with the underframe structure of the car; of a yoke member; and means supporting and guiding the yoke for movement lengthwise of the car including a link member pivotally connected at its lower end tothe yoke, a member having rocking movement on the underframe structure of the car, pivot means inwardly of the upper end of said link, swingingly supported on said rocking member, and means guiding the upper end of said link for vertical movement.

4. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with the underframe structure of the car; of a yoke member; means supporting and guiding. the yoke for movement lengthwise of the car, includingV a pair of links pivoted to the yoke at the lower ends thereof, and rockers supporting said links on the underframe structure of the car, said rockers being pivotally connected to the links and said under-frame respectively; and means guiding the upper ends of said links including trunnion means on said links and vertical guideways therefor on the underframe structure of the car.

5. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with draft sills; of a striking casting fixed to said sills, said striking casting having guide members thereon provided with transversely alined vertical guide slots; bearing members on the underframe structure of the car disposed beneath said guide members of the striking casting; a yoke; a pair of rockers engaging in the seats of the bearing.

members, each of said rockers having a bearing seat at the upper end thereof; a link swingingly supported by each rocker, said link having a pivot lug between the ends thereof engaging the seat of the corresponding rocker, each of said links being pivotally connected at its lower end to the forward end portion of said yoke; and pivot means at the upper end of each link guided in the co-rrespending guide slot of the striking casting.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of November, 1930.

JOHN F. OCONNOR.

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