US1943043A - Draft gear - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 9, 1934. D. F. SPROUL 1,943,043

DRAFT GEAR Filed March 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .Donadfliproub Jana 1934- 'n. F. SPROUL 1,943,043

DRAFT GEAR Filed March 7, 1928 2 SheetsSheet 2 Do $5 RE; 42 w m Patented Jan. 9, 1934' DRAFT GEAR Donald F. Sproul, Chicago, Ill., assignor of onehalf to- Cardwell Westinghouse 00., a corporation of Delaware, and one-half to W. H. Miner, Inc, a corporation of Delaware Application March 7, 1928.

7 Claims.

The invention relates to draft gears of the type in which resistance is secured by the use of one or more sets of nested bowed spring plates, means being provided for applying pressure to the plates tending to straighten them.

The object of the invention is to provide shoes forming seats for the ends of the spring plates and friction surfaces for sliding engagement with other parts of the gear; and it consists of a structure such as hereinafter described and as" shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the gear;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a wedge element and Fig. 5 is a View in perspective of one of the friction shoe.

The coupler butt 10, coupler extension or yoke 11, and front follower plate 12 are of common form.

A casing or chambered follower 13, enclosed within the yoke 11, serves or may serve to transmit the stress of buff to the bufling lugs (not shown) elements of the gear, and, as shown, carries at its open end. a set of wedges 14, 15, which are formed integrally with its side walls.

A second set of wedges 16, 1'7, cooperate with the wedges 14, 15 and are seated against the front follower 12. Interposed between the wedges 16, 1'7, are two groups, 18, 19, of nested bowed spring plates, disposed lonigtudinally of the gear, the groups bowing inwardly and bearing against each other. Friction and bearing shoes 20, 21, 22 and 23, are applied to the ends of the two groups of spring plates, those at their forward ends resting against the follower 12, and those at their rearward ends resting against the plate 24. Preferably the shoes 20 to 23 are L-shaped, each having an arm, as 25, seating against the inner face of one of the wedges 16, 17.

The inner or rearward end of each of these wedges normally engages the plate 24, and has an outwardly extending flange 26, increasing the area of the bearing contact therewith, and forming a lip for normally engaging the rearward end of one of the wedges 14, 15.

Helical springs, as 2'7, 28, react between the closed rearward end of the casing 13 and the plate 24, which constitutes a spring seat. The length of the casing 13 is such that when the gear It also houses the spring and wedging Serial No. 259,693

is fully compressed its forward end comes in. contact with the follower 12, and limits the compressivemovement. Normally the wedges 16, 1'7, and the spring plates 18, 19, project beyond the open end of the casing 13, but are at alltimes supported by its bottom wall.

The cooperative action of the gear elements in draft and buff is the same. In the one case the casing 13 is drawn forward; in the other the wedges 16, 17, and spring plates 18, 19, and their associated parts, are forced backward. In both instances the movement is resisted by the springs 27, 28, and in both wedges 16, 1.7, are are forced inwardly, compressing and flattening the spring plates. Friction is developed between the follower 12 and the wedges 16, 17; between the shoes 20 to 23 and the plates 12 and 24;. and between the arms 25 of the shoes 21,v 23, and the wedges 16, 17, as the straighteningv of the spring plates 18, 19, moves the plate 24 away from the wedges 16, 17.

The shoes 20 to 23 protect the follower 12 and plate 24 from the thrust pressure of the individual spring plates which otherwise would tend to corrugate their faces and provide a series of ribs over which the group of plates must ride as the gear is compressed and released. The shoes and their arms thus provide for frictional engagement of parts of substantial area and smooth surface, and prevent excessive strains upon the spring plates by permitting the free movement of thei ends inward and outward.

While an eificient and, so far as now advised, preferred form of construction is shown, the invention is of suflicient scope to include other embodiments.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a draft gear, in combination, a pair of followers, two groups of nested bowed spring plates, the convex faces of the two groups being in contact, shoes interposed between the ends of the plates and the followers frictionally engaging the latter and having arms facing the concave faces of the plates, wedge sets acting on the outer faces of the arms for straightening the plates, means for urging the wedging elements together, and spring means for resisting the elongation of the plates due to their straightening by the wedging action.

2. In a draft gear, in combination, a casing having wedging faces on its side walls adjacent its open end, a spring housed within the casing, a follower plate forming a seat for one end of the spring, a follower facing the open end of the casing, a pair of groups of nested bowed plates positioned longitudinally of the gear between the follower and the follower plate and having their convex faces in contact, L-shaped plates each having one arm interposed between and bearing upon one of the groups of spring plates and the named follower plate and its other arm projecting along the outer face of the plates, and a pair of wedges cooperating with the casing wedges and bearing on the last-named arms of the L-shaped plates.

3. In a draft gear, in combination, a plate follower, an opposed chambered follower, a spring and a seat therefor housed within the chambered follower, two groups of longitudinally disposed inwardly bowed spring plates interposed between the plate follower and the spring seat and normally under pressure from both, wedge means acting laterally inward upon the spring plates, and plates interposed between each group of spring plates, the spring seat, the plate follower and the wedge means and having frictional engagement with the spring seat and follower.

4. In a draft gear, in combination, a plate follower, an cpposed chambered follower having an open end and inwardly and backwardly inclined wedge faces adjacent thereto, a movable spring seat within the chambered follower, a spring reacting between the seat and the closed end of the chambered follower, a pair of wedges seated against the plate follower and cooperating with the wedge faces of the chambered follower, their inner faces being parallel with the axis of the gear, and angle plates seated against the inner faces of the wedges and respectively against the plate follower and the spring seat, and two groups of longitudinally disposed inwardly bowed spring plates, the ends of the plates bearing upon transverse flanges of the angle plates and urging the spring seat inwardly by reason of their elongation as they are straightened, due to the wedge pressure.

5. A draft gear comprising in combination a pair of stop engaging followers, a helical spring reacting upon one of the followers, a spring seat at the opposite end of the spring, two groups of opposed longitudinally disposed inwardly bowed spring plates, located between the spring seat and the other follower, independent friction shoes interposed respectively between the spring seat and the last-named follower and the ends of the bowed plates and being. laterally movable with the plates, wedge means for straightening the plates and thereby compressing the helical spring, and means resisting outward lateral movement of the wedge means.

6. In a draft gear, in combination, a pair of sill-engaging followers one thereof being a plate and the other being chambered, a spring Withing the chambered follower and reacting against its closed end, a spring seat engaging the other end of the spring, two groups of laterally engaged nested inwardly bowed spring plates located between the plate follower and the spring seat, friction shoes interposed between the ends of the spring plates and both the follower and spring seat, and wedge means urging the spring plates and shoes laterally inward upon compression of the gear and thereby straightening and elongating such plates against the resistance of the first-named spring.

'7. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a casing having interior inwardly converging, opposed surfaces; of a main follower, said casing and follower being movable toward and away from each other lengthwise of the mechanism, a pair of blocks movable inwardly of the casing. withsaid main follower, said blocks being forced laterally toward each other by movement inwardly on said converging casing surfaces; a main spring resistance within the easing; a laminated plate spring including longitudinally disposed spring plate members interposed between said blocks adapted to move inwardly in unison with the main follower to transmit the actuating force to said main spring resistance and compress the same during relative approach of the follower and casing, said spring plates yieldingly resisting relative later- 110 a1 approach of the shoes, said plates being normally bowed and being flexed to straighten the same by pressure exerted by relative approach of the shoes, thereby effecting lengthwise elongation of said laminated plate spring means and 115 compression of said main spring resistance to an extent in excess of the relative movement of the casing and main follower; and spring follower means interposed between the inner ends of the plates of the laminated plate spring and the 120 main spring resistance, said spring follower including a follower plate bearing directly on the main spring resistance and shoes laterally movable on said spring follower plate and engaging the inner ends of the plates of the laminated 125 plate spring.

DONALD F. SPROUL.

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