US3587871A - Draft gear - Google Patents

Abstract

A DRAFT GEAR HAVING OPPOSED FOLLOWERS BEING UNITARILY FORMED WITH CENTRAL WEDGING SECTIONS, EACH HAVING AT LEAST TWO INCLINED FLAT SURFACES DISPOSED IN DIVERGING RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER. A PAIR OF ALIGNMENT RIDGES OR TRACK FORMERS ARE PROVIDED ON EACH OF HE INCLINED SURFACES SO AS TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC FRICTION PATHWAY FOR THE MOVEMENT OF FRICTION SHOES OR WEDGE ELEMENTS THEREON. THE WEDGING SECTIONS HAVE DROPOFFS OR ARE RELIEVED AT THE ENDS THEREOF SO THAT ABUTMENT SHOULDERS WILL NOT BE FORMED DURING WEAR OF THE INCLINED SURFACES BY THE FRICTION SHOES OR ELEMENTS. THE MATERIALS USED IN CONSTRUCTING THE GEAR ARE OF HIGH QUALITY STEEL AND THE WEDGING ELEMENTS OR SHOES IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE COMPONENTS, HAVING WORKING OR CONTACTING ENGAGEMENTS, ARE CONTOURED SO AS TO ALLOW FOR EASY

PASSING OF THE MOVING MEMBERS, THEREBY REDUCING UNDESIRED FRICTIONAL ENGAGING CONTACTS.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Bertil E. Peterson Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Chicago, Ill. Auomey --Mann, Brown. Mc Williams & Bradway [2]] Appl. No. 794,926 [22] Filed Jan. 29,1969 [45] Patented Jcu fl il z h C ABSTRACT: A draft gear having opposed followers being [73] Ass'gnee M We estmg ompany unitarily formed with central wedging sections, each having at least two inclined flat surfaces disposed in diverging relation- [54) DRAFT GEAR ship with respect to one another. A pair of alignment ridges or track formers are provided on each of the inclined surfaces so 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

as to provide a specific friction pathway for the movement of 1 Cl 213/38 friction shoes or wedge elements thereon. The wedging seci l CI 8 9/10 tions have dropoffs or are relieved at the ends thereof so that B61g/9/13 abutment shoulders will not be formed during wear of the Fled 0 Search t 2 i inclined urfaces the friction shoes or elements The materials used in constructing the gear are of high quality steel [56] References (med and the wedging elements or shoes in conjunction with the UNITED STATES PATENTS remainder of the components, having working or contacting 1,374,671 4/1921 O'Connor 213/38 engagements, are contoured so as to allow for easy passing of l,409,039 3/1922 Symington.. 2l3/38 the moving members, thereby reducing undesired frictional l,968.559 7/1934 Kinne 2l3/38 engaging contacts.

o g 1 f; A V [/1 L V I/ 110 i I 37 I V I b av o 14 if I ml 7 //a 20a v g DRAFT GEAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to draft gears of the friction type for railroad cars, particularly those that are used for hauling ore and similar cargoes. The draft gear of this invention is particularly adapted for long wear and has a high capacity for absorbing and dissipating energy.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The prior art draft gears have employed followers in draft gear constructions which have been separate and apart from the central wedging sections and have designed the central wedging sections, generally in the form of flat inclined surfaces, in such a manner that, during normalwear and tear, an abutment shoulder near the terminus of the inclined surface would be built up by the friction element or shoe riding on the inclined surface. Additionally, no provision has been made to positively guide the friction shoe or element in its path of travel on the wedging sections nor has provision been made for smooth and easy running contact of the shoe elements with the inclined-surface wedging sections.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The draft gears of this invention obviate all of the aforementioned shortcomings. One embodiment of the invention is specifically directed to a draft gear comprising a pair of opposed followers each having a unitarily formed central wedging section. Each of the wedging sections have at least two inclined flat surfaces which may be considered as diverging in nature. A pair of guiding ridges spaced inwardly from the edges of each of the inclined surfaces form a friction pathway over which a pair of wedge or shoe elements mounted in opposed relation are operatively supported for travel within and over a major portion of the friction pathway. In one embodiment a recess is provided in the inclined surface so as not to buildup wear abutments or shoulders after the gear has been in service for a relatively short period of time. Spring means provided to resist the movement of the friction elements or shoes over the inclined wedging sections of the followers completes the essential components of the gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a central plan section of the gear in the normal or release position with parts of the car structure shown in plan and partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is an end view of one of the friction shoe elements depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. I, the gear being in the closed or buff position; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the follower and unitary central wedging section member depicted in FIGS. I and 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For purposes merely of illustration, the draft gear of this invention is depicted and will be described as it specifically relates to an exemplary application and consequently the disclosure is not to be taken as delimiting of the invention as it is intended that the invention be measured by the appended claims.

Referring specifically to the drawing and for the purpose of showing the manner of mounting the gear 2 on a car, there is shown a pair ofdraft sills at 4 with draft lugs 6 and buffing lugs 8 attached thereto. The butt ofa couplet is shown at 10 and its extension shown here as a loop form or yoke at 12.

The gear 2 comprises a pair of follower and wedging members I4 and 16 which are enclosed within the loop 12 and cooperate respectively with the draft and buffing lugs 6 and 8. Each of the members 14 and 16 are provided with a central wedging extension I8 and respectively, each ofwhich comprises a pair of diverging inclined surfaces 18a, 18b and 20a and 2012, respectively. It will be seen that the follower and wedging members 14 and 16 are of unitary construction and are formed in one piece with an integral center web section 22 and 24 of the members 14 and 16 respectively for physical strength and support. It will be readily seen that the overall design of the members 14 and 16 are such that there are relief sections at the end of each inclined surface such as 14a, 14b of member 14 and 16a and 16b of member 16. The reason for these reliefs or dropoffs will be fairly apparent as the description proceeds hereinafter. Suffice to say at this point that the wedging elements hereafter-described are designed to ride off the inclined surfaces at specified loads.

The inclined surfaces 18a, 18b of member 14 and 20a and 20b of member 16 respectively form, in conjunction with spaced pairs of ridges 26, 27, 28 and 29 of the follower members, a friction pathway or surface. The ridges and their placement are best seen in FIG. 4.

Cooperating with each of the inclined surfaces of the wedge portions 18 and 20 are a pair of floating wedge elements or friction shoes 30 and 32 provided with an aperture 31 and 33 respectively for support on the straining rod 34. The friction elements or shoes 30 and 32 have inclined surfaces such as 30a and 32a congruent and parallel to the inclined surfaces of the wedge portions 18 and 20. The rounded corners 35 (see FIG. 2) and contoured shape as at 37 of the friction elements 30 and 32 provide for ease of mobility along the friction path or surface formed between the pairs of ridges on the inclined surfaces of the wedge portions 18 and 20 of the followers 14 and 16 respectively.

The seat members 36 and 38 retain the friction elements 30 and 32 against the inclined surfaces of the followers, which contact is obtained by springs 40 and 42 acting against end retaining seats 44 and 46 held on straining rod 34 by end nut members 50 and 52.

As is well known in the art, the movement of the friction shoe elements 30 and 32 on the friction surfaces or friction pathway absorbs certain impacts and other forms of energy to buffer from these forces the car on which the gear is mounted. The reason for the dropoffs or reliefs 14a, 14b and 16a, 16b in the follower portions 18 and 20 of followers 14 and 16 respectively will be fairly apparent from a review of FIG. 3. Since the movement of the friction shoes will be to move over the friction surfaces in aligned relation, because of the pairs of ridges 26, 27, 28 and 29, the controlled movement over the edge of the inclined surfaces such as at 14a, 14b, 16a and 16b will cause any metal or materials scraped from the inclined surfaces to drop off the outer edge or furthest edge of the inclined surface rather than building up to a shoulder or other type of abutment that would prohibit movement of the friction shoe along the entire path formed by the inclined surfaces.

Generally speaking the contours of the respective parts that come into engaging contact are curved or rounded to allow ease of passing contact. For instance, the upstanding post portions 54 of follower 14 have rounded corners as at 540, likewise at 55 to cooperate with the friction shoes for smoothpassing contacts. The design of a draft gear as shown in the drawings obtains in addition to the attributes already noted, increased friction areas. For instance, with the herein disclosed design a 33 percent gain in friction area is obtained when the gear is in the neutral or open position. The type gear illustrated has a total friction area, in the neutral position, of 37.44 square inches, whereas in the closed position it has a total frictional area of 33.00 square inches which latter FIG. is approximately a 69 percent gain over prior art designed draft gears having friction areas of 28.12 square inches in the neutral and 19.50 square inches in the closed positions. The unitary manner of having the wedge extensions formed with the follower, the contoured configurations of the friction shoe elements as well as the alignment ridges in the inclined friction surfaces provide for significant improvements in the construction and operation of draft gears.

The specific type of gear illustrated herein for purpose of disclosure is, as indicated heretofore, one of unitary cast design; of materials of high-quality steel, such as a high-quality magnesium one, which is readily cast. ldeally and preferably, the working components of the gear are quenched and tempered to obtain a Brinell hardness within the range of about 4 l 5-477. The gear is particularly adapted for use on ore cars having a l75-inch pocket to accommodate the gear. At the present time. gears of the prior art design not having the features aforedescribed have achieved eight years of wear whereas it is anticipated that the draft gear illustrated and described herein will have at least 12 to 14 years of wear because of the increased area of the wedge and shoe members, even though the frictional capacity of the draft gear will remain essentially the same. These and other attributes of the invention will make themselves readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

lclaim:

l. A draft gear comprising a pair of opposed followers each having a unitarily formed central wedging section having at least two inclined flat surfaces, 21 pair of guiding ridges spaced inwardly from the edges of each. of said inclined surfaces thereby forming a friction pathway, a pair of wedge elements mounted in opposed relation and supported for travel over and within a major area of said friction pathway, and spring means resisting the movement of the named parts. with a relief portion being provided between the follower and central wedging section to thereby permit overriding movement of said wedge elements on said friction pathways.

2. The draft gear in accordance with claim 1 wherein the edges of said follower and said friction elements are curved and contoured to allow for smooth moving contact between each other.

3. The draft gear in accordance with claim 2 wherein the wedge element mounted for movement on said friction pathway has a contoured and tapered forward portion for sliding engagement on said inclined flat surfaces.

4. The draft gear in accordance with claim 3 wherein the opposed followers having unitarily formed central wedging sections are formed in cast fashion in one procedure.

5. The draft gear in accordance with claim 4 wherein the material of construction is high-manganese steel.

6. The draft gear in accordance with claim 5 in combination with an ore car having a l7 /-inch pocket to receive a draft gear and said draft gear is adapted to be received within said pocket.

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