US3399631A - Articulated railway car - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 3, 1968 H. B. WEBER ARTICULATED RAILWAY CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1966 INVENTOR. //4/VJ 5 W552 p 3, 1968 H. B. WEBER 3,399,631

ART ICULATED RAILWAY CAR Filed Aug. 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 0 0 o A 5 i 36 0 Q Q JO Q40 v Q A l T9 67 f o f IQ Q Q Q 7 .4? 0 (3 J5 a; 64 j? F/G 4 47 w 52 w p as 47 66 2 22 i! W 66 I 4/ W W INVENTOR #444; 5? WZEZ? F/G 6 BY 05rd?! Sept. 3, 1968 H. B. WEBER 3,399,631

ARTICULATED RAILWAY CAR Filed Aug. 1, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR MW United States Patent 3,399,631 ARTICULATED RAILWAY CAR Hans B. Weber, Redford, Ohio, assignor to Midland-Ross Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 569,239 7 Claims. (Cl. 1054) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE DESCRIPTION The cars of an articulated unit are connected semipermanently and remain connected until they need to be separated for repair or other servicing. As the prior art indicates, car-to-car connections need not comprise a complicated automatic coupler and draft riggings of independent cars, but may take a linearly rigid form permitting only angling freedom of a car relative to a coupling point but no relative linear motion of cars within such unit.

The present invention is concerned essentially with a simplified car-to-car connection which has general applicability in connecting vehicels of any type which are permitted to be connected together without provision for relative linear movement. The invention is particularly applicable to articulated vehicles wherein the component cars are supported on trucks located under the car-to-car coupling centers. Car construction of this type is found advantageous in some fields of use because there is no overhang of the coupling center between cars with respect to the nearest car truck. Overhang is a wellknown aspect in the construction and operation of conventional independent cars, and is easily coped with in cars of independent type because of the angling freedom of the coupler shanks with respect to parent cars.

An important object of the present invention i to provide a car-to-car coupling for adjacent cars of :a train which effects semi-permanent, linearly non-yielding relationship of the cars but allows relative universal angling of the ears, and allows ease of connecting the components of the coupling.

Another object is to provide a car-to-car coupling for connecting railway cars which share an undercarriage common to both, such as a conventional four or six-Wheel car truck.

It is also an object to provide a car-to-car coupling which is structurally related to a car truck centered immediately under the coupling in a manner as to stably support adjacent ends of the cars.

It is also an object to supply the car-to-car coupling of the foregoing objects with readily removable components such as those portions of the coupling which sustain the greatest rates of wear.

A further object of the invention is to effect linear compactness of the coupling in order to minimize stresses imposed on coupling components by the weight of the cars and the loads carried thereby.

Still another object is to provide a car-to-car coupling conforming to the above named objects which is structurally correlated with car trucks of conventional or standard design except for possible minor bolster modification.

This invention carries out the above objects and others apparent below in the structural arrangement described below comprising a coupling for connecting end portions of cars of adjacent end-to-end relationship, and a car truck which supports such car end portions. The coupling comprises an insert element and an ambient element, each in fixed relation with respective adjacent cars and projecting frontwardly therefrom into male and female relationship, and means, including a pm which extends through and joins distal portions of the elements in a manner enabling them, as well as respective cars, to pivot with respect to a center of relative universally pivotal movement.

It is a feature of the invention that the elements and the parent cars are in longitudinally non-yielding relation with such pivotal center. The ambient element has an upper Wall and a lower wall partially defining a cavity therein for receiving the distal portion of the insert element. Such walls of the ambient element have bearing portions in journal-bearing coaxial relation with the pin. The opposing inner surfaces of the walls have recesses located radially outwardly from the bearing portions to provide vertically-angling freedom of that portion of the insert element extending into the distal portion of the ambient element. Because of the heavy vertical loading occurring within the coupling when used in connection with cars that share a comm-on car truck for support, an important and more specific aspect of the invention is the bearing structure in the lower part of the coupling which accommodates the relative universal angling movements of the coupling elements, but during connecting or uncoupling of adjacent cars, the insert element may be inserted into or withdrawn from the ambient element along a generally straight-line path.

In the drawing with respect to which the invention is described:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of railway cars arranged in train relationship in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view in larger scale than FIG. 1 illustrating end portions of cars with the coupling thereof centered over a four-wheel car truck;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the articulated car structure shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3a is a fragmentary front elevation of side bearings and associated car structure shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in still larger scale and in section of the coupling for connecting the adjacent car portions of FIGS. 1 to 3 as taken along a central longitudinal vertical plane represented by line IV-IV of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the coupling and car and truck portions as shown in FIG. 4, partially sectioned along a horizontal plane containing the pivotal center of the coupling as represented by line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse elevation with portions of the coupling and side frame sectioned along' a vertical transverse plane NN as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary schematic plan view illustrating a side-bearing arrangement in respect to end portions of two coupled car bodies in place over bolster and car truck structure;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary schematic side view of side bearings and associated structure shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view in fragmentary cross section taken along line IXIX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary schematic plan view of a modified side-bearing arrangement and associated end portions of cars in place over bolster and car truck structure;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side elevation of side bearings and associated structure shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a view in fragmentary cross section taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary schematic shortened plan view of a side-bearing arrangement in association with portions of three connected cars and underlying truck and bolster structure.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary side view of side bearings and associated structure shown in FIG. 13; and

.FIG. is a cross sectional view taken along line XVXV of FIG. 14.

FIG. 1 illustrates a series of cars 4, 5, 6, and 7, illustrative also of a train of many more cars, in which an adjacent pair of end portions of two cars are directly supported on one car truck, such as the trucks 9 and 10. The load forces imposed on any one truck from the cars connected therewith are transmitted from the cars to the truck through a car-to-car coupling, such as couplings 11. At the extreme ends of a series of such cars, the car portions may comprise a car truck such as car trucks 12 and 14, supporting only the end portions of cars at the termini of the series in a conventional manner. The train or series of cars may also comprise automatic couplers 15 connected with respective cars by shock-absorbing draft rigging including draft gears of conventional design.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a pair of adjacent car portions, e.g., portions of cars 4 and 5 and the associated car truck 9 in enlarged plan and elevation views to bring out greater detail of the structure in semi-permanently connecting cars sharing a common car truck within an articulated vehicle. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the coupling 11 shown comprises an insert or male coupling element 17 and an ambient or female coupling element 18 with the distal portions thereof connected at the intersections of a central longitudinal vertical plane M--M of the cars and a transverse vertical plane NN extending at right angles to the plane M-M. The intersections of these planes define a vertical axis of a pin 19 which extends through the distal portions of the coupling elements in male and female relationship. Because the pin 19 is received by a complementary bore 21 in a bolster 22 of the car truck 9, it functions and may be known as a king pin in the common parlance of the trade. Other than the special construction of the bolster 22 hereinbelow described, the car truck 9 may be of any conventional design. In describing structure herein the front end of either element 17, 18 is its distal end and any part of that element or its parent car spaced therefrom is relatively rearward.

In achieving a coupling that may be readily coupled along a simple, straight line path of one element thereof into the other and yet provide relative universal angling freedom of the elements, a major aspect of the invention is the interrelationship of the distal portions of coupling elements 17 and 18. In this connection, it should be noted that element 18 comprises an upper wall 24 and a lower wall 25 which have bearing portions 26 and 27, respectively, and partially define a cavity 28 therebetween. The walls are spaced slightly greater than the height or thickness of that portion of the element 17 in order that it may be admitted into the cavity 28. As one option, the lower bearing portion 27 may provide partial or entire vertical support for the element 17 within element 18. When the pin 19 is withdrawn from the element 18, it is obvious that the element may pass into and out of the element 18 lengthwise of a longitudinal axis A-A.

However, to construct the walls 24 and 25 with the spacing of the bearing portions thereof closely approximating the height of the portion of element 17 inserted therebetween requires that the walls 24, 25 be recessed radially outwardly from the bearing portions in order that the concavo-convex wall 31 of element 17 has freedom of movement as the coupling elements execute relative vertically-angling movements. Hence (see FIG. 4) the upper wall 24 is recessed at 32 and 33 along arcs about the axis PP, and the wall 25 has an annular recess 35 concentric with respect to the axis PP and the bearing portion 27, which provide the insert element with vertical angling freedom while simultaneously executing horizontal angling about the axis P-P in any desired ranges of both vertical and horizontal angling movements.

In the embodiments shown, the insert element 17 is provided with an opening 37 of rear semi-circular contour and of forward partially spherical contour to define the spherically concave surface 38 of the wall 31. The opening 37 thus accommodates the pin 19 and a bearing block 39 having a forward surface of complementary curvature to the surface 38. The block 39 has a rear partially cylindrical surface 31 complementary to the portion of the side surface of the pin 19. The block 39 is brought into play during draft action on the parent cars of the coupling and functions as a wear-absorbing element along with the pin 19 as replaceable expendable component-s of the coupling.

The outer spherically convex surface 42 of the element 17 is engageable with a rearward spherically concave surface 43 of the element 18. This surface is front facing with respect to the car to which the element 18 is fixed and optionally may be defined by an integral wall of that element, but as shown, is the front face of a wear plate 45 of box-like outer shape to fit the rearmost portion of the cavity 28. This wear plate is intended to be readily replaceable upon reconditioning of the coupling. As FIG. 5 makes apparent, a portion of the element 17 forwardly of the axis P-P is tapered at 46a and 47a away from the lateral walls of the element 18, and the forward lateral wall portions of element 18 are flared forwardy relative to car 5 alongside a portion of the element 17 disposed rearwardly of the axis PP to allow desired relative angling movements of elements 17 and 18 in a horizontal plane.

Another important feature of the present invention is the provision of a pair of annular rings 47 and 48 within the recess 35. The ring 48 seats along the bottom of the recess 35 and is intended to maintain a substantially fixed position with respect to an upper center plate 49 for the car defined by the wall 25. The upper surface 51 of the ring 48 is spherically concave and functions as a seat for the ring 47 which is spherically convex along its under surface 52. Because of a clearance 53 between the rings and the bearing portion 27, the ring 47 is free to shift with respect to the center of revolution 30 along the spherical surface 51 in response to relative vertical angling movements of the elements 17 and 18. The spherical surfaces of the rings have center point 30 as a center of revolution. As shown, the undersurface of the element 17 is engaged by the upper surface of the ring 47 as the result of the car truck 22 being the sole support of adjacent ends of two cars connected through respective elements 17 and 18.

However, to facilitate the transfer of element 17 into and out of element 18, the upper surface 55 of the ring 47 is on an approximate level with the upper surface of the bearing portion 27 when the elements 17, 18 are in longitudinal non-angled alignment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In providing for the structure just described, the lower wall 25 is shaped to provide, almost automatically, an outer cylindrical surface 59 and an annular disk surface 60 defining the upper center plate 49 of the car. The lower center plate 61 of the car is defined by a center portion of the bolster 22. As shown, the upper surface of the bolster forms a flange 63 protruding above the flat upper surface 64 of the bolster. The flange encircles a flat disk surface 65 overlaid by thin wear plate 66. The diameters of the upper and lower center plates, the dimensions of the rings 47 and 48, and the undersurfaces of element 17 components are selected in accordance with forces imposed thereon through the coupling elements 17, 18 by respective cars and ladings carried thereby.

In trains of cars incorporating the invention, side sway or roll is controlled by lower side-bearings mounted on the bolster 22 at each side of the coupling and upper side-bearings fixed to the end sill of one or both of the adjacent cars. In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 6, the bolster comprises side- bearings 71, 72 fixed to the remainder of the bolster at the upper side thereof and presenting upwardfacing flange surfaces. Each bolster side bearing is engageable by an upper side bearing of each car. For example, the lower side-bearing 72 is engaged by an upper side-bearing 73 of car 4 and an upper side-bearing 74 of car 5. In a similar manner the lower side-bearing 71 is engaged by upper side- bearings 76 and 77 of cars 4 and 5, respectively. The upper side-bearings 73 to 76 are of strongly reinforced construction and attached in a very substantial manner to the frames of respective cars since they are on occasion subjected to heavy loads. The upper side-bearings which share a common lower side-bearing, as arranged according to FIGS. 2 and 3, are in tandem relationship and are spaced sufliciently from each other to prevent engagement of the ends thereof as cars 4 and 5 negotiate any anticipated curve.

The type of side-bearings portrayed by FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 differ from those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 primarily in the design of the upper side-bearings attached to the car end structure. In this instance, car 4 is equipped with upper side- bearings 81 and 82 spaced equidistantly from opposite sides of the vertical center plane MM but more closely together than upper side-bearings 83 and 84 attached to the end structure of car 5. The side-bearings of both cars are of sufiicient length in the longitudinal direction of the train to extend past the transverse vertical center plane NN when the cars 4 and 5 are positioned on track of normally anticipated curvatures. With this arrangement of upper side-bearings, sway or roll forces of the cars may be transmitted to the bolster in the region of its longitudinal center plane NN rather than to one side of such plane in a manner tending to tilt the bolster about an axis extending transversely of the car lengths.

FIGS. 10, 11, and 12 illustrate another arrangement of upper side-bearings mounted on the end structures of opposed car ends. In this arrangement, the car 4 is provided with side- bearings 86 and 87 both of which are of channelshape cross section in a vertical plane taken transversely of the cars. The side- bearings 86, 87 are attached to a car 4 at a level enabling them to directly engage the lower side- bearings 71 and 72 of the bolster 22. These side-bearings are positioned preferably equidistantly from the central longitudinal vertical plane MM. The car 5 is equipped with upper side-bearings 88 and 89, each of which has its undersurface extending from its parent car toward the adjacent car in horizontally overlapping relation with an upper horizontal surface of the adjacent upper bearing of the opposed car. For example, the undersurface 91 of the upper side-bearing 88 is closely superposed with respect to an upper surface 92 of the lower web 93 of the side-bearing 86. Both upper side-bearings extend past the transverse median plane NN of the bolster at all normally anticipated curvatures of the track on which the cars 4 and 5 may be positioned.

FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 illustrate still another arrangement of upper side-bearings in which the side frame has lower side- bearings 71, 72 which, as shown, may be similar to the lower side-bearings of the previously described embodiments. Each car has a pair of upper side- bearings 95, 96 which under normal conditions are in close superposition with the lower side- bearings 71 and 72. Each car also has a pair of wings 97 and 98 which extend transversely of the cars from opposite sides of the coupling element 18 and are fixed or integral therewith. Observing car 5, for example, each car may be made resistant to sway or roll by its pair of upper side- bearings 95, 96 at one end of the car and its pair of wings 97, 98 at the other end of the car. Sway control is thus derived by anti-sway means projecting from each end of the car to the adjacent car 7 truck bolster shared by the anti-sway means of the adjacent cars both fore and aft of each car.

Since there is some anti-sway control inherent in the seating of the upper center plate of element 18 on the lower center plate of the bolster, an optional arrange ment under some circumstances is to provide the arrangement of FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 without side wings 97, 98 of the coupling element 18.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention of excluding su-ch equivalents of the invention described or portions thereof as fall within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An articulated railway-car structure comprising:

(A) end portions of two cars in adjacent end-to-end relationship;

(B) a car-to-car coupling comprising an insert element and an ambient element fixed to adjacent respective cars and having frontward distal portions in malefemale relationship, and means including a pin extending through and joining said distal portions with respect to a center of relative universally-pivotal movement of the elements in longitudinally nonyielding relation with said center;

(C) said ambient element having an upper wall and a lower wall partially defining a cavity therein;

(D) said walls having bearing portions in journalbearing coaxial relation with said pin, said bearing portions being spaced and disposed with respect to upper and lower surfaces of the insert element to define an approximately straight-line path along which said portion of the insert element is admitted therebetween, the inner surfaces of said walls having recesses located radially outwardly from said bearing portions to provide vertically-angling freedom of said portion of the insert element within said portion of the other element; and

(E) upward-facing, universally-tilting bearing means disposed in said lower wall in generally concentric, radially-outward relation with said bearing portion thereof and in engagable relation with the under surface of said insert element.

2. The articulated railway-car structure of claim 1 wherein:

said center occurs approximately along the axis of said pin midway between said bearing portions.

3. The articulated vehicle structure of claim 1 wherein:

(A) said center occurs approximately along the axis of said pin midway between said bearing portions;

(B) said insert element has a thickness disposing its longitudinal axis through said center;

(C) said ambient member comprises a wear plate having a spherically concave surface concentric to said center and facing said king pin, and said insert element has a spherically convex end surface of curivature complementary to that of said wear plate; an

(D) said insert element has an opening receiving said pin of sufficient size enabling said spherically curved surfaces to engage under car-to-car bufiiing loads.

4. The articulated railway-car structure of claim 1 wherein said universally-tilting bearing means is provided by:

(A) an annular recess in said lower wall defining an upward-facing concave partially-spherical surface concentric to said center; and

(B) a support ring having an undersurface complementary to, and resting on, said annular recess surface, said ring having a larger inside diameter than said bearing portion of the lower wall to render the ring universally tiltable on said annular recess surface, the ring having a vertical thickness disposing its upper surface generally flush with the upper surface of said lower-wall bearing portion.

5. The articulated railway-car structure of claim 1 (A) said lower wall having an annular upward-facing recess concentric to said pin axis; and

(B) a detachable base ring seated immovably in said annular recess and having an upper partially-spherical concave surface concentric to said center, and a support ring having a spherically convex undersurface of curvature complementary to said base 7. An articulated railway-car structure according to claim 1 wherein:

(A) said insert element comprises a bearing block and a forward wall having a spherically convex outer surface and a spherically concave inner surface partially defining an opening through said distal portion thereof, said concave and convex surfaces are concentric with respect to said center, said pin extends through said opening, said bearing block is disposed between said pin and said inner concave ring upper surface, said support ring having a larger 10 wall surface and is engageable with, and may rest inside diameter than said bearing portion of the on the upper surface of, said bearing portion of the lower Wall to render the ring universally tiltable on lower wall, said block has front and rear surfaces said base ring surfaces, said rings having a vertical of complementary curvature, and engageable, with thickness disposing the upper surface of the supper; said pin and said inner concave surface of said end ring approximately flush with the upper surface 0 wall, respectively;

said lower-wall bearing portion. (B) said ambient element comprises a detachable wear 6. The articulated railway-car structure of claim 1 plate seated in the rear of said cavity having a wherein: spherically concave surface of complementary cur- (A) said insert element comprises a bearing block and vature with said end-Wall convex surface; and

forward end wall having a spherically convex outer (C) said opening is large enough for movement of the surface and a spherically concave inner surface parpin therein to allow engagement of said end wall tially defining an opening through said distal portion with said wear plate during car-to-car buffing acthereof, said concave and convex surfaces are contionr centric with respect to said center, said pin extends through said opening, said bearing block is disposed References Cited between said pin and said inner concave wafll sur- UNITED STATES PATENTS face, said block has front and rear surfaces 0 complementary curvature, and engageable with, said pin 4/1941 Bfrrows et 21367 XR and said inner concave surface of said end wall, 2341333 5/1941 K1m 1e 213 67 XR respectively; 2,268,313 12/1941 Urbinatl 105-4 (B) said ambient element has a spherically concave 2,712,479 7/1955 Hadfie1d 308-437 surface of complementary curvature with said end 2,737,903 3/1956 Mcqormlck wall convex surface defining the rear end of said 3,216,370 11/1965 Kuhgke 105-4 cavity; and

(C) said opening is large enough for movement of the pin therein to allow engagement of said end wall a rear front-facing surface of the ambient element during car-to-car bufiing action.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner.

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