The present application belongs to the technical field of coupling devices for train couplers and particularly relates to an automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers.
As the basic composition of a coupling device for couplers, an uncoupling device functions to push a coupler knuckle mechanism to rotate so as to uncouple couplers. Prior uncoupling methods include manual uncoupling and automatic uncoupling, wherein the prior automatic uncoupling method for railway vehicles in China is pneumatic uncoupling. A conventional uncoupling device is shown in
In order to solve the above technical problems, the Chinese Utility Model CN200981560Y discloses a compact tight-lock coupler, wherein an uncoupling cylinder is disposed in an inner cavity of a coupler body, and one end of the uncoupling cylinder is hinged to an uncoupling crank while the other end thereof is mounted on an inner wall of the coupler body. During uncoupling, uncoupling cylinders of two couplers are inflated, and piston push rods drive uncoupling cranks to push two coupler knuckles to rotate until the two couplers may be uncoupled from each other. After the two couplers are uncoupled from each other, the coupler knuckles return to the to-be-coupled positions due to the tension of tension springs. The uncoupling device provides a technical means for hinging a cylinder piston rod to a coupler knuckle mechanism, so that the technical problems of the large lateral force applied to the cylinder piston and the damage to the paint on the coupler knuckle caused by the cylinder piston rod are solved during uncoupling. However, this uncoupling device still has the following technical problems.
During the coupler coupling process, coupler knuckles of two couplers are pushed to rotate by thrust forces from two trains. After the couplers are rotated to a maximum angle, due to the resistance from the cylinder rod, the coupler knuckles are difficult to quickly rotate and lock the two couplers under the tension of the tension springs.
In order to solve the above technical problems, the Chinese Utility Model CN201136515Y discloses a link-type automatic uncoupling device for tight-lock couplers, wherein a central shaft is disposed in an inner cavity of a coupler knuckle, a spindle is fixedly mounted on the central shaft, an uncoupling crank is hinged to the spindle by a connecting rod, and a cylinder piston of an uncoupling cylinder is positioned at the tail of the spindle. In addition, the uncoupling device further provides a spring sheathed on the cylinder piston. With the uncoupling device, during the coupler coupling process, the load experienced by the tension spring when pulling the coupler knuckle to return to its position is relieved. However, in this uncoupling device, the resistance generated when the tension spring pulls the coupler knuckle to return to its position is not completely eliminated, so during the coupler coupling process, the coupler knuckle is still very difficult to quickly rotate and lock two couplers under the tension of the tension spring.
In view of the problems in the prior automatic uncoupling devices for couplers, the present application provides a novel automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers.
The present application employs the following technical solutions.
An automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers comprises a coupler knuckle spindle and a driving unit. The driving unit comprises a cylinder body hinged to a coupler body and a telescopic member axially movable along the cylinder body. The automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers further comprises a first rotating member, a boss and a boss stopper, wherein the first rotating member comprises a crank hinged to the telescopic member and a rotating part fixedly connected to the crank, with the rotating part being sheathed on the coupler knuckle spindle. The driving unit unidirectionally drives the telescopic member so that the rotating part drives the coupler knuckle spindle to unidirectionally rotate by the contact of the boss with the boss stopper, so as to realize coupler uncoupling; and, after the driving unit drives the telescopic member to return to its position, the rotation of the coupler knuckle spindle for achieving coupler coupling is not limited by the rotating part.
As a preferred embodiment, the automatic uncoupling mechanism for coupler further comprises a second rotating member for limiting the movement of the rotating part in an axis direction of the coupler knuckle spindle, and the second rotating member is fixedly connected to the coupler knuckle spindle.
As a preferred embodiment, the boss is fixedly mounted on the rotating part.
As a preferred embodiment, a groove is formed on a side face of the coupler knuckle spindle, the boss stopper is a radial sidewall of the groove, and the dimension of the groove in a circumferential direction of the coupler knuckle spindle is greater than or equal to the maximum movement distance of the boss.
As a preferred embodiment, the boss stopper is of a block structure fixed on the coupler knuckle spindle.
As a preferred embodiment, a groove is formed on the second rotating member, the boss stopper is a radial sidewall of the groove, and the dimension of the groove in a circumferential direction of the coupler knuckle spindle is greater than or equal to the maximum movement distance of the boss.
As a preferred embodiment, the boss stopper is of a block structure fixed on the second rotating member.
The above implementations may be summarized as below.
(1) A groove is formed on a side wall of the coupler knuckle spindle or on the second rotating member, the boss stopper is a radial sidewall of the groove, and the dimension of the groove in a circumferential direction of the coupler knuckle spindle or the second rotating member is greater than or equal to the maximum movement distance of the boss. During movement, the boss is driven by the rotating part to push a side of the groove, so as to eventually rotate the coupler knuckle spindle.
(2) The boss stopper is of a block structure fixed on the coupler knuckle spindle or on the second rotating member. During movement, the boss is driven by the rotating part to push the boss stopper to move, so as to eventually rotate the coupler knuckle spindle.
As an alternative embodiment, the arrangement positions between the boss and the groove/block structure may be changed with each other, i.e., the boss is disposed on the coupler knuckle spindle or on the second rotating member, while the groove or the block structure is formed on the rotating part. The boss and the groove/block structure are matched with each other, and the boss is driven to move by the groove or the block structure. During movement, the block structure or a side of the groove is driven by the rotating part to push the boss, so as to rotate the coupler knuckle spindle.
As a preferred embodiment, the driving unit is an electric cylinder.
As a preferred embodiment, a sleeve is provided between an inner wall of the first rotating member and a side face of the coupler knuckle spindle.
As a preferred embodiment, the second rotating member is fixed on the coupler knuckle spindle by two or more screws.
As a preferred embodiment, the mechanism further comprises a manual uncoupling device, comprising a handle; one end of the handle is a rotating head, and a clamping member is provided on a face of the rotating head.
As a preferred embodiment, in accordance with the actual mounting approach of the second rotating member, the clamping member is of a raised structure or a hole structure.
Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present application are as follows:
1. The present application improves the uncoupling mechanism of the existing automatic coupling device for couplers, that is, by providing the first rotating member, the boss and the boss stopper and configuring the split-type connection relationship between the first rotating member and the coupler knuckle spindle, the coupler knuckle spindle may be rotated simultaneously with the first rotating member during the uncoupling process, and independently operated during the coupling process, so as to ensure that the tension spring drives the coupler knuckle to rotate rapidly and lock the coupler, thereby it is beneficial to implement the coupler coupling under the promise of ensuring automatic uncoupling approach of high efficiency.
2. The automatic uncoupling mechanism provided by the present application may reduce the lateral force of the coupler knuckle to the driving unit during the uncoupling process of the coupler, and may cause the spring to drive the coupler knuckle to rotate rapidly and lock the coupler during the coupler coupling process.
3. The automatic uncoupling approach of the existing railway vehicles in China are all pneumatic uncoupling. However, the pneumatic uncoupling approach has low response speed, difficult maintenance and poor stability, and the pneumatic uncoupling requires an air source, generally an air compressor, with the disadvantages of occupying a large volume and having a large noise, etc. Therefore, by using the electric cylinder, the existing pneumatic uncoupling approach is improved into an electric uncoupling approach, thereby improving the response speed and stability of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers, reducing the maintenance cost of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers, saving space and improving comfort.
4. Although the application of the electric uncoupling approach may achieve the technical effect such as the above-mentioned high response speed and high stability, the electric cylinder used in the electric uncoupling approach has a high self-locking force, which has a great hindrance to the couple of the couplers of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers. Therefore, in order to overcome the difficult that the electric uncoupling approach may not be applied to the automatic uncoupling device for couplers, the present application combines the split-type connection approach of the first rotating member with the coupler knuckle spindle and the electric uncoupling approach, thereby improving the stability of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers and the efficiency of uncoupling, and ensuring the smooth implement of the couplers coupling process.
in which:
1′ coupler body; 2′ coupler knuckle spindle; 3′ coupler knuckle; 4′ coupling rod; 5′ pin; 6′ tension spring; 7′ cylinder piston rod; 1 coupler knuckle spindle; 2 driving unit; 201 cylinder body; 202 telescopic member; 3 coupler body; 4 first rotating member; 401 crank; 402 rotating part; 5 boss; 6 boss stopper; 7 second rotating member; 8 screw; 9 washer; 10 groove; 11 upper sidewall; 12 coupler knuckle; 13 coupling rod; 14 pin; 15 tension spring; 16 key; 17 first shaft sleeve; 18 second shaft sleeve; 19 sleeve; 20 manual uncoupling device; 21 handle; 22 rotating head; 23 clamping member.
In the following, the present application is specifically described by way of exemplary embodiments. However, it should be understood that elements, structures, and features of an embodiment may be beneficially incorporated into other embodiments without further recitation.
In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms “inside”, “outside”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “clockwise”, “anticlockwise” and the like indicate the positional or positional relationship according to the positional relationship shown in the drawings merely for the convenience of describing the present application and the simplified description, but do not indicate or imply a devices or an element referred to must be of a particular orientation, constructed and operated in a particular orientation and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present application. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and the like are used merely for descriptive purposes and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.
As shown in
The hinged connection may be a direct hinged connection between components, or may be an indirect hinged connection. As shown in
In order to prevent the movement of the first rotating member 4 in an axis direction of the coupler knuckle spindle 1 from causing the unstable rotation of the first rotating member 4, as a preferred embodiment, the automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers further includes a second rotating member 7 for limiting the movement of the rotating part 402 in the axis direction of the coupler knuckle spindle 1, and the second rotating member 7 is located above the rotating part 402 and fixedly connected to the coupler knuckle spindle 1.
By providing the first rotating member 4, the boss 5 and the boss stopper 6 and by providing the split-type connection between the first rotating member 4 and the coupler knuckle spindle 1, the coupler knuckle spindle 1 is enabled to simultaneously rotate with the first rotating member 4 during the coupler uncoupling process but independently rotate during the coupler coupling process. Consequently, it is ensured that the tension spring drives the coupler knuckle to quickly rotate and lock the couplers, and it is advantageous for smooth coupler coupling under the premise of ensuring high efficiency of the automatic uncoupling approach.
As a specific embodiment, as shown in
In order to understand the technical solutions of the present application more clearly, the conventional techniques related to the present application will be briefly described herein. As shown in
In the case of understanding the technical solutions of the present application in combination with the prior art, in order to enable the coupler knuckle 12 to completely return to its position by the tension spring 15 during the coupler coupling process, as a preferred embodiment, the dimension of the groove 10 in a circumferential direction of the coupler knuckle spindle 1 should be greater than or equal to the maximum movement distance of the boss 5.
The maximum movement distance of the boss means that: during uncoupling, it can be ensured that the boss 5 is able to push (directly or indirectly) the coupler knuckle spindle 1 to rotate and thus drive the coupler knuckle 12 and the coupling rod 13 to a completely uncoupling position; while during coupling, it is ensured that the rotation of the boss 5 will not be hindered by the second rotating member 7 or the coupler knuckle spindle 1 (except for friction).
The above specific embodiment has the following advantages. On one hand, by providing the second rotating member 7, the rotation of the rotating part 402 is more stable; on the other hand, by arranging the boss stopper 6 on the second rotating member 7 and fixing the second rotating member 7 by two or more screws 8, the relative rotation between the second rotating member 7 and the coupler knuckle spindle 1 is further limited, so that the damage to the coupler knuckle spindle 1 caused by a direct contact of the boss 5 with the coupler knuckle spindle 1 is avoided and it is advantageous for ensuring longer service life of the coupler knuckle spindle 1.
As another variant of the above specific embodiment, as shown in
As a variant of the above specific embodiment, the boss stopper 6 may also be of a block structure (not shown). The block structure may be fixedly mounted on the second rotating member 7 and correspond to the boss 5 in terms of position; or the block structure may be fixed on the coupler knuckle spindle 1 and correspond to the boss 5 in terms of position.
The advantageous of designing the boss stopper 6 as a block structure is that, compared with the approach of forming the groove 10, the approach of providing a block structure has no requirement on the dimension limitation and convenient for machining. If the approach of mounting the block structure on the coupler knuckle spindle 1 is employed, the second rotating member 7 merely functions to limit the axial movement of the rotating part 402, and the number of the screws 8 is not limited.
It is to be noted that, for the approach of arranging the boss stopper 6 on the coupler knuckle spindle 1, the second rotating member 7 may be omitted. In this way, it is also possible to achieve the purpose of ensuring a smooth coupler coupling process by the automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers in the present application.
As a variant of the above specific embodiment, the specific structures of the boss 5 and the boss stopper 6 may be changed with each other. For example, in the above specific embodiment, the boss 5 is arranged on the rotating part 402, the groove 10 is arranged on a side face of the coupler knuckle spindle 1 or on the second rotating member 7, and when the telescopic member 202 is stretched out, a side (as the boss stopper 6) of the groove 10 is pushed by the boss 5 so as to eventually rotate the coupler knuckle spindle 1; and after change, the boss may be arranged on a side face of the coupler knuckle spindle 1 or on the second rotating member 7, the groove is formed on the rotating part 402, and when the telescopic member 202 is stretched out, the boss is pushed by a side of the groove so as to eventually rotate the coupler knuckle spindle 1.
Or, when the originally used boss stopper 6 is of a block structure, after change, the boss may be arranged on a side face of the coupler knuckle spindle 1 or on the second rotating member 7, and the block structure is arranged on the rotating part 402. In this case, when the telescopic member 202 is stretched out, the boss is pushed by the block structure so as to eventually rotate the coupler knuckle spindle 1.
As an improvement of the above specific embodiment, as shown in
It is to be noted that, although the technical effects such as high response speed and high stability can be achieved by replacing the existing pneumatic uncoupling approach with the electric uncoupling approach, the electric cylinder used in the electric uncoupling approach has a very high self-locking force, which will greatly hinder the coupler coupling of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers. Therefore, in order to overcome the difficulty that the electric uncoupling approach cannot be applied to the automatic uncoupling device for couplers, the present application combines the split-type connection approach of the first rotating member 4 and the coupler knuckle spindle 1 with the electrical uncoupling approach, so that the stability and uncoupling efficiency of the automatic uncoupling device for couplers can be improved and the smooth coupler coupling process can also be ensured.
As an improvement of the above specific embodiment, as shown in
As a preferred embodiment, the present application further provides a manual uncoupling device 20, which may be used for realizing manual uncoupling for couplers in a case where the crank 401 or the rotating part 402 does not operate properly. As shown in
When the screws 8 are embedded into the outer surface of the second rotating member 7, the clamping members 23 are of a raised structure matched with the screws. As shown in
Now the operation process of the automatic uncoupling mechanism for couplers in the present application will be described by taking the specific structure shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201610778788.8 | Aug 2016 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2017/097009 filed on Aug. 11, 2017, which in turn claims the priority benefits of Chinese application No. 201610778788.8 filed on Aug. 31, 2016. The contents of these prior applications are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4073385 | Reed | Feb 1978 | A |
4391380 | Hoose | Jul 1983 | A |
5503280 | Hanano | Apr 1996 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
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201136515 | Oct 2008 | CN |
202439714 | Sep 2012 | CN |
106274958 | Jan 2017 | CN |
200981560 | Nov 2017 | CN |
20 2007 001 773 | Apr 2007 | DE |
448876 | Jun 1936 | GB |
1314438 | Jun 1973 | GB |
1 328 253 | Aug 1973 | GB |
Y 1971-034175 | Jun 1967 | JP |
Entry |
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The International Search Report of corresponding International PCT Application No. PCT/CN2017/097009, dated Oct. 27, 2017. |
The Chinese Search Report of corresponding China patent application No. 201610778788.8. |
Search Report for EP17836441. |
The first Office Action of the parallel JP application. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20190144013 A1 | May 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2017/097009 | Aug 2017 | US |
Child | 16244089 | US |