Patent Grant
8152007
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic coupler for a model railroad car.
2. Description of the Related Art
For coupling model railroad cars, various types of automatic couplers adapted to be coupled in an automatic manner, including the Arnold type coupler, have been proposed.
For example, there has been proposed an automatic coupler comprising a coupler body enclosed in a holder case fixed to a model railroad car body, in a manner that the coupler body is allowed to swing from side to side, the coupler body including a knuckle portion of a hook-like shape open at one side, when viewed from above, and a receiving portion of a thumb-like shape facing the open side of the knuckle portion (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-331177). In this automatic coupler, normally, a coil spring retains the coupler body in a standard position, and thus, retains the receiving portion in an engagement position relative to the knuckle position, or position in which the receiving portion is a minimum distance away from the open side of the knuckle position. The automatic coupler includes a metal rod projecting from the underside of the coupler body obliquely downward, and by this metal rod being attracted toward the knuckle portion side by a magnet placed between rails, the automatic coupler is uncoupled. The automatic coupler is thus adapted to be coupled and uncoupled in an automatic manner.
In real railroad cars, couplers are very small compared with car bodies, according to which, couplers for model railroad cars are very small. It is therefore desirable that the coupler for model railroad cars should be composed of a small number of components and easy to assemble.
The automatic coupler disclosed in the above publication, however, includes a coil spring for retaining the coupler body in the standard position and thus retaining the receiving portion in the engagement position relative to the knuckle portion, and a metal rod projecting from the underside of the coupler body obliquely downward and adapted to be attracted toward the knuckle portion side by a magnet placed between rails. This automatic coupler is thus complicated in structure and composed of a large number of components, and accordingly, difficult to assemble and expensive.
An object of the present invention is provide an automatic coupler for a model railroad car, very similar in shape to the real automatic coupler but simple in structure and composed of a small number of components, and thus easy to assemble and moderate in price.
In order to achieve the above object, an automatic coupler for a model railroad car according to the present invention comprises a coupler body and a holder for holding the coupler body in a manner allowing the coupler body to swing from side to side, said coupler body including a knuckle portion and a receiving portion provided at a distal end of a coupler trunk, said knuckle portion being a hook-like shape open at one side, when viewed from above, said receiving portion being a thumb-like shape facing the open side of the knuckle portion and adapted to shift between an engagement position in which the receiving portion is a minimum distance away from the open side of the knuckle portion and a release position in which the receiving portion is a maximum distance away from the open side of the knuckle portion, said holder being adapted to be fixed to an end of a model railroad car, wherein said coupler body is composed of a knuckle coupler member and a receiving coupler member, said knuckle coupler member is formed of a trunk provided with said knuckle portion at a distal end and an engagement portion of an approximate U-shape, when viewed from above, at a proximal end, said receiving coupler member is formed of a trunk provided with said receiving portion at a distal end and an engagement portion of an approximate U-shape, when viewed from above, at a proximal end, said knuckle coupler member and said receiving coupler member are combined in a manner allowing relative turning motion between them, thereby allowing said receiving portion to shift between said engagement position and said release position, said holder is composed of a lower holder member and an upper holder member, said lower holder member includes a holder plate, a holder shaft and a spring portion integrally formed, said holder plate supporting said coupler body under a part of the coupler trunk nearer to the proximal end and an engagement portion of the coupler body composed of said engagement portions of the knuckle coupler member and the receiving coupler member, said shaft projecting from the holder plate and adapted to engage with said engagement portion of the coupler body in a manner allowing said coupler body to swing from side to side, said spring portion being adapted to surround said engagement portion of the coupler body engaged with the holder shaft and including end portions adapted to contact and push on the opposite sides of the coupler trunk, in a region nearer to the proximal end, thereby retaining the coupler body in a standard position, said upper holder member is adapted to be fixed to the lower holder member with the coupler body interposed between, thereby covering a part of the coupler trunk nearer to the proximal end and the engagement portion of the coupler body, and said coupler body and said holder have a guide mechanism for fitting the coupler body to the holder and allowing the coupler body to follow a curve when the car travels on the curve.
As understood from above, in the automatic coupler for the model railroad car according to the present invention, the coupler body is assembled by combining the knuckle coupler member, formed of a trunk provided with a knuckle portion at a distal end and an engagement portion of an approximate U-shape at a proximal end, and the receiving coupler member, formed of a trunk provided with a receiving portion at a distal end and an engagement portion of an approximate U-shape at a proximal end. In the coupler body thus assembled, relative turning motion between the knuckle coupler member and the receiving coupler member is allowed, so that the receiving portion can shift between the engagement position and the release position. The coupler body is mounted on the lower holder member with the engagement portion of the coupler body fitted between the holder shaft and the spring portion, and the coupler trunk fitted between the end portions of the spring portion, where the holder plate supports the coupler body under a part of the coupler trunk nearer to the proximal end and the engagement portion of the coupler body. Then, the upper holder member is placed over the coupler body and fixed to the lower holder member. The coupler body is thus enclosed in the holder. Although the coupler body is normally retained in a standard position by the spring portion, the guide mechanism allows the coupler body to turn against the force exerted by the spring portion to follow a curve when the car travels on the curve.
The above-described automatic coupler thus enables smooth travel of the car on a curve, and at the same time presents an improved appearance.
The present invention can thus provide an automatic coupler for a model railroad car very similar in shape to the real automatic coupler but simple in structure and composed of a small number of components, and thus easy to assemble and moderate in price.
A further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific example, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
With reference to the drawings attached, an automatic coupler for a model railroad car according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
As shown in
As shown in
A guide pin 4e is provided on the upper surface of the coupler trunk 4a, at a position adjacent to the engagement portion 4c and widthwise central, to project upward, while a stopper pin 4f is provided on the lower surface of the coupler trunk 4a, at a position adjacent to the knuckle portion 4b and widthwise central, to project downward.
The receiving coupler member 5 of the coupler body 2, on the other hand, is formed of a coupler trunk 5a of a rod-like shape provided with a receiving portion 5b of a thumb-like shape facing the open side of the knuckle portion 4b, when viewed from above, at a distal end, and an engagement portion 5c of an approximate U-shape, when viewed from above, at a proximal end. The engagement portion 5c is greater in width than the coupler trunk 5a. When viewed from above, the coupler trunk 5a tapers, or becomes smaller in width, in a manner that the opposite sides 5d gradually approach each other, approximately from the middle up to the engagement portion 5c.
A transversely elongated hole 5f (elongated in the left-to-right direction) is provided in the upper surface of the coupler trunk 5a, at a position adjacent to the receiving portion 5b and widthwise central, to correspond to the stopper pin 4f. As described later, the elongated hole 5f is adapted to receive the stopper pin 4f and allows the receiving portion 5b to shift relative to the knuckle portion 4b, between an engagement position in which the receiving portion 5b is a minimum distance away from the open side of the knuckle portion 4b and a release position in which the receiving portion 5b is a maximum distance away from the open side of the knuckle portion 4b.
The coupler trunk 4a and engagement portion 4c of the knuckle coupler member 4 are identical in shape to the coupler trunk 5a and engagement portion 5c of the receiving coupler member 5 so that the knuckle coupler member 4 can be placed over the receiving coupler member 5 with the coupler trunk 4a and engagement portion 4c in agreement with the coupler trunk 5a and engagement portion 5c.
The knuckle coupler member 4 and the receiving coupler member 5 are each integrally formed from resin such as plastic, such that the knuckle portion 4b and the receiving portion 5b have shapes very similar to the knuckle portion and the receiving portion of an automatic coupler fitted to a real railroad car. The coupler body 2 is assembled by placing the knuckle coupler member 4 over the receiving coupler member 5 with the coupler trunk 4a and engagement portion 4c in agreement with the coupler trunk 5a and engagement portion 5c, and the stopper pin 4f fitted in the elongated hole 5f.
To make the description simple, the coupler trunks 4a and 5a, the engagement portions 4c and 5c, and the sides 4d and 5d of the knuckle coupler member 4 and the receiving coupler member 5 thus stacked will be referred to as a coupler trunk 2a, an engagement portion 2c and a side 2d of the coupler body 2, respectively.
In other words, the coupler body 2 is divided into two members vertically stacked, where the upper member is formed of a coupler trunk 4a provided with a knuckle portion 4b at a distal end and an engagement portion 4c at a proximal end, and the lower member is formed of a coupler trunk 5a provided with a receiving portion 4b at a distal end and an engagement portion 5c at a proximal end. A stopper pin 4f provided on the lower surface of the upper member, at the distal end of the coupler trunk 4a, is fitted in an elongated hole 5f provided in the upper surface of the lower member, at the distal end of the coupler trunk 5a, to allow relative turning motion between the knuckle coupler member 4 and the receiving coupler member 5, thereby allowing the receiving portion 5b to shift relative to the knuckle portion 4b, between the engagement position and the release position.
The lower holder member 6 comprises a holder plate 6a supporting the coupler body 2 under a part of the coupler trunk 2a nearer to the proximal end and the engagement portion 2c, a holder shaft 6b for allowing the coupler body 2 to swing from side to side, and a spring portion 6c for retaining the coupler body 2 in a standard position.
The holder shaft 6b, in the shape of a hollow cylinder, projects upward from the holder plate 6a, on a rear side (the side on which the engagement portion 2c is located), at a widthwise central position, and has, on its top face, plural, for example two engagement claws 6d circumferentially equally spaced apart. The coupler body 2 is mounted on the lower holder member 6 with the engagement portion 2c in sliding contact with the outer circumference of the holder shaft 6b, and thus allowed to turn. The holder plate 6a also has holes 6e in its forward part, on either side, for use in fixing the upper holder member 7 to the lower holder member 6.
The spring portion 6c is of a thin plate-like shape and extends symmetrically on the left and right sides. More specifically, the spring portion 6c circularly surrounds the holder shaft 6b concentrically, and is constricted near the front end such that the front end portions 6f, 6f extend approximately parallel to each other with a front-to-back central line interposed, up to near the front end of the holder plate 6a. The width of the spring portion 6c is slightly smaller than the height of the holder shaft 6b so that the spring portion 6c is arranged with its lower edge slightly above the holder plate 6a and its upper edge slightly below the top face of the holder shaft 6b, and thus allowed to be deformed.
The space between the holder shaft 6b and the spring portion 6c is adapted to receive the engagement portion 2c of the coupler body 2 in a manner allowing the coupler body 2 to turn. The distance between the front end portions 6f, 6f is slightly smaller than the width of the coupler trunk 2a to ensure that the front end portions 6f, 6f contact the opposite sides 2d of the coupler body 2, each formed of the sides 4d and 5d, in a region nearer to the proximal end.
The lower holder member 6 is integrally formed from resin such as plastic to ensure that the spring portion 6 has elasticity. Such integral forming of the lower holding member 6 comprising the holder plate 6a, the holder shaft 6b and the spring portion 6c offers advantages such as a reduction in the number of components and ease of assembly, which will be described later.
The upper holder member 7 is a plate-shaped member approximately equal in size to the holder plate 6a of the lower holder member 6, and has a hole 7b of a diameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of the holder shaft 6b, at a position corresponding to the holder shaft 6b, and engagement holes 7c adapted to receive the engagement claws 6d, in the inner surface of the hole 7b. The upper holder member 7 has also, in its forward part, holder legs 7d extending downward from the lower surface, on either side, to correspond to the holes 6e in the lower holder member 6. Each holder leg 7d has, at its lower end, a projection 7e adapted to fit in the hole 6e. The length of the holder legs 7d is equal to the length of the holder shaft 6b of the lower holder member 6.
The upper holder member 7 further has a guide groove 7f adapted to receive the guide pin 4e of the knuckle coupler member 4, to the front side of the hole 7b. The guide groove 7f includes two parts extending from a point near the hole 7b, diagonally to the left and right sides, toward the front end of the upper holder member 7, and thus having an approximate flatten V-shape as a whole. The guide groove 7f and the guide pin 4 constitute a guide mechanism 8 for fitting the coupler body 2 to the upper holder member 7 and allowing the coupler body 2 to be drawn forth from the holder 3 to follow a curve when the car travels on the curve.
The upper holder member 7 has also, at its rear end, a fitting portion 7g adapted to be fixed at the end of the car. Also the upper holder member 7 is formed from resin such as plastic.
Next, the assembly and function of the above-described coupler 1 will be described.
First, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Here, the front end portions 6f, 6f are elastically in contact with the opposite sides 4d of the tapered coupler trunk 4a and the opposite sides 5d of the tapered coupler trunk 5a, thereby retaining the knuckle coupler member 4 and the receiving coupler member 5, and thus, the coupler body 2 in a standard position as shown in
Then, as shown in
By fixing the upper holder member 7 to the lower holder member 6 with the coupler body 2 interposed between them in this manner, the coupler 1 is completed.
When the coupler body 2 is in the standard position as shown in
The knuckle coupler member 4 and the receiving coupler member 5 are vertically stacked to form the coupler body 2, where the coupler trunk 4a and the engagement portion 4c are in agreement with the coupler trunk 5a and the engagement portion 5c, respectively, and the spring portion 6c pushes on the sides 4d, 5d on either side, thereby retaining the receiving portion 5b in the engagement position relative to the knuckle portion 4b, or position in which the receiving portion 5b is a minimum distance away from the open side of the knuckle portion 4b, as shown in
The coupler 1 is fitted to the model car 10 by fixing the fitting portion 7g of the upper holder member 7 to the end 10a of the model car 10 indicated by a two-dot chain line in
When viewed in
With respect to the coupler 1, by virtue of combination of the stopper pin 4f and the elongated hole 5f, pushing on the receiving portion 5b toward the release position in this manner causes the receiving coupler member 5 to turn, against the force exerted on the coupler trunk 5a by the spring portion 6c, as shown in
As shown in
Suppose that the model car 10 enters a curved track, and thus points diagonally as indicated by arrow A in
Specifically, since the engagement portion 2c is an approximate U-shape open at the rear as shown in
The arrangement allowing the coupler body 2 to turn to follow a curve enables smooth travel of the car. Drawing forth the coupler body 2 from the holder 3 results in an increase in distance between the coupled cars, which prevents the ends of the cars from contacting each other, and thus ensures satisfactory travel of the coupled cars even on a curve with a small radius of curvature. In addition, the coupler presents a good appearance even when the coupled cars travel on a curve with a small radius of curvature. When the coupled cars enter a straight track following the curve, the coupler body 2 of coupler 1 returns to and is retained in the standard position as shown in
Although in the described embodiment, the coupler body 2 is formed from resin, it may be formed from a metal such as a zinc alloy, an aluminum alloy or the like by die-casting. Automatic couplings fitted to real cars have a backlash (play) between the mating surfaces of the coupler bodies engaged, so that when a train consisting of a locomotive and cars, coupled by such couplers, starts traveling, the coupler pairs make a noise successively, from the first coupler pair, or coupler pair coupling the locomotive and the first car, to the last coupler pair. Also the automatic couplers 1 for a model railroad car according to the above-described embodiment have a backlash (play) between the mating surfaces of the coupler bodies engaged. Thus, if the coupler body 2 is formed from a metal, the coupler pairs fitted to model cars can make a noise when the model cars start traveling, which suits consumers' taste, thus improving the consumers' satisfaction.
In the described embodiment, the coupler body 2 is divided into upper and lower members vertically stacked, where the upper member is formed of a coupler trunk 4a provided with a knuckle portion 4b at a distal end, and the lower member is formed of a coupler trunk 5a provided with a receiving portion 5b at a distal end. The coupler body 2 may, however, have a reverse arrangement such that the upper member is formed of a coupler trunk 5a provided with a receiving portion at a distal end and the lower member is formed of a coupler trunk 4a with a knuckle portion at a distal end.
In the described embodiment, the guide mechanism 8 is composed of a guide pin 4e provided on the upper surface of the upper coupler trunk 4a to project upward and a guide groove 7f in the upper holder member 7. The guide mechanism may, alternatively, be formed by providing a guide pin on the lower surface of the lower coupler trunk 5a to project downward, and providing a guide groove in the lower holder member 6.
The guide groove is not restricted to the approximate flattened V-shape. It may be another shape, for example an arc-shape or an elliptical shape.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-188371 | Aug 2009 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3469713 | Edwards et al. | Sep 1969 | A |
| 5931322 | Storzek | Aug 1999 | A |
| 7383962 | Webster et al. | Jun 2008 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2002331177 | Nov 2002 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110036800 A1 | Feb 2011 | US |
