RU2822346C1 - Friction absorbing device of automatic coupler of freight cars and method of its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: rail vehicles.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to railway transport, namely to friction absorber of automatic coupler of freight cars and method of its operation. Freight cars automatic coupler friction absorbing device comprises a friction absorbing device housing with a closed end part and an open opposite part, pressure cone with a central hole and three friction wedges located relative to each other at angle of 120°, support plate. Between the support plate and the closed end part of the housing of the friction absorbing device there is a reciprocating-support device in the form of a package of elastic polymer elements of small and polymer element of a large with washers of reciprocating support assembly, tightened to each other along longitudinal axis of friction absorbing device by means of tightening bolt through pressure cone tightened by tightening bolt nut respectively. At the same time each friction wedge has recesses on the surface contacting with inner surface of the housing of the friction absorbing device, in which antifriction inserts of the friction wedge are installed, respectively.

EFFECT: friction absorbing device has improved power characteristics from the beginning of operation without a long period of running-in, simpler and more reliable assembly technology, increased strength of housing, increased range of damping of frictional self-oscillations, besides, risk of breakage of housing in places of protrusions is reduced.

2 cl, 11 dwg

Description

The claimed technical solution relates generally to railway transport, namely to a group of inventions related to friction draft gears of the automatic coupler of freight cars and methods of its operation, which have higher strength characteristics of the housing compared to the prototype, which are ensured by increasing the thickness of the housing to 22 mm versus 18-20 mm (locally) and a bottom thickness of up to 30 mm versus 20 mm, which together makes it possible to achieve higher strength properties of the claimed friction draft gear of the automatic coupler; these modifications provide the ability to minimize the occurrence of cracks in the neck and base of the body, Moreover, the claimed technical solution has structural simplicity, more effective load-absorbing properties and other improved technical characteristics. At the same time, the claimed friction draft gear, in terms of simplifying the design compared to the prototype, is characterized by the absence of 2 fixed plates and 4 ceramic plates that were welded to the fixed plate (two for each) and the absence of welding in four places from a wear-resistant material - an electrode , which is welded in a known manner, for example by spot welding, etc. At the same time, these changes make it possible to achieve simultaneous and significant simplification of the design (ten design elements are eliminated as such), which leads to a simplification of the technology of assembly, repair and maintenance throughout the entire operating cycle of the claimed device. These improvements generally lead to cheaper production and increased efficiency when used for its intended purpose.

In addition, the declared technical solution is of paramount importance for the proper functioning of the railway fleet of freight cars used in the Russian Railways of the Russian Federation, since it is aimed at import substitution, due to the fact that on the date of submission of application materials to the territory of the Russian Federation, supplies of not only automatic couplers, but also components for him. As of the date of submission of application materials to Russian Railways, elastic elements of the foreign company Durel (which are not produced in the Russian Federation) are not used, however, the applicant has serially mastered and begun production of a similar element from materials based on granular material, identical in physical and mechanical properties to granules, from which elastic elements from Durel are produced. Serial production of these granules has been established in the People's Republic of China. Thus, the missing high-quality foreign materials were successfully replaced by the applicant with domestic analogues of elastic elements made from Russian-made TPE-E CKK 65.1 material, which allows the applicant to effectively perform tasks for Russian Railways and eliminate damage under the conditions of economic sanctions.

At the same time, in the applicant’s opinion, attention should be focused on the fact that thanks to the serial development of the new design, based on the declared technical solution, a significant reduction in the load on the forging production of the Russian Federation as a whole, involved in government orders for Russian Railways, is ensured. This is achieved both by reducing a significant number of friction elements compared to the prototype chosen by the applicant. A number of basic structural elements of both the body and the internal elements of the friction draft gear of the automatic coupling device have been subjected to modification (modernization) (see below for a more detailed analysis), which leads to a significant increase in the efficiency of the stated technical solution when used for its intended purpose.

From the researched level of technology, the applicant identified friction absorbing devices in which the function of a return-supporting device is performed by a package of elastic elements made of polymers, and the energy absorption unit is a friction pair - a friction wedge and the friction surface of the housing. Next, the applicant presents a more detailed analysis of the level of technology identified by the applicant.

From the researched level of technology, an invention was identified under patent RU 2777343 “Absorbing apparatus”. The essence is an absorbent apparatus containing a hollow body with a closed end part and an opposite open end part, through which the main axis passes, and the said open end part is made with elongated friction surfaces converging inward on the pyramid, friction shoes made as a whole with an internal inclined friction surface and two outer friction surfaces in close contact with two corresponding inner friction surfaces of the open end part of the housing, with all friction surfaces of the friction shoe converging on the pyramid, and also containing a wedge with the possibility of axial movement in the open end part of the housing and receiving external force with converging on the pyramid inwards with friction surfaces, the number of which is equal to the number of friction shoes and with which it is in close contact with the internal inclined friction surface of the corresponding friction shoe, driving the friction shoes located in the housing between the wedge and the internal friction surfaces of the open end part, designed to absorb the shock load that occurs when applying force to the wedge, a pressure element adjacent to the friction shoes, a rod located coaxially with the body and installed at the bottom of its closed end part, and a dynamic load absorber installed between the closed end part of the body and the pressure element, made of a set of elastic elements installed on the rod and designed to act through the pressure element on the friction shoes to ensure their contact with the wedge and the corresponding internal friction surfaces of the open end part of the housing, characterized in that the wedge is made in the lower part with a conical blind recess designed to locate the upper part of the rod in it during movement of the wedge, and at the initial moment of movement the rod is not located in the conical blind recess of the wedge, the pressure element is made in the center with a hole in which the rod is placed, which in turn is located relative to the side protrusion of each friction shoe with the first technological gap and relative to the surface of the conical blind recesses of the wedge with a second technological gap, wherein the first technological gap between the rod and the side protrusion of each friction shoe is always greater than the second technological gap between the rod and the surface of the conical blind recess of the wedge, the pressure element for positioning relative to the friction shoes is made with protrusions that are placed between the friction shoes with technological clearance relative to the friction shoes, the internal inclined surface of each friction shoe and the corresponding friction surface of the wedge converging on the pyramid are located relative to the main axis of the body at the first specified angle of 35 ± 6°, each outer friction surface of the friction shoe and the corresponding elongated friction surface converging on the pyramid of the open end parts of the housing are located at a second specified angle of 2.5 ± 2°, each of the friction shoes has a flat inner surface in contact with the upper flat surface of the pressure element, and the flat inner surface of the friction shoes and the upper flat surface of the pressure element are located relative to the axis of the housing under the third specified an angle of about 90±5°, and the pressure element is designed in such a way that the flat inner surface of the friction shoes and the upper flat surface of the pressure element are located at a distance of 54±50 mm relative to the lower flat surface of the pressure element, which interacts with a set of elastic elements, each the friction shoe is located in its lower part with a technological gap relative to the set of elastic elements. The absorbent apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that each elastic element is formed by two plates and a polymer element installed between them, made of a polymer blank having a durometric hardness in the range between approximately 30 and 50 on the Shore D scale and located between two metal plates, located perpendicular to the axis of the body.

In short, the absorbent apparatus contains a hollow body with a closed end part and an opposite open end part, friction shoes, a wedge, a pressure element, a rod and a dynamic load absorber. The wedge is made in the lower part with a conical blind recess for placing the upper part of the rod in it during the movement of the wedge. The pressure element is made in the center with a hole in which the rod is placed. The technological gap between the rod and the side protrusion of each friction shoe is always greater than the technological gap between the rod and the surface of the conical blind recess of the wedge. The pressure element is made with projections that are located between the friction shoes. Each elastic element is formed by two plates and a polymer element installed between them. The housing in the upper part is made with protrusions directed towards the axis. The wedge in the lower part is made with lateral projections located between the friction shoes.

The disadvantage with regard to the design and method of operation of the above structures is the inability to adjust the compression force when assembling the device, which does not allow compensating for unfavorable tolerance runs (i.e. the sum of the tolerances may exceed the maximum tolerance values) on the dimensions of the mating parts that determine the length and force of the initial tightening return-support device, and, as a consequence, leads to instability of the power characteristics and energy intensity indicators of the draft gear as a whole.

Also, in this design, only elastomeric elements that constantly spring the friction system are kept from spontaneous disassembly, which does not exclude spontaneous disassembly when polymer elements subsidence due to prolonged and intense work under high loads or overloads, depending on the weight of the composition (see Fig. 7). The explanation for this is that during operation of the draft gear, to absorb shocks or traction forces, the metal components of the friction unit operate under significant loads or overloads, as a result of which over time, after exposure to repeated forces, the elastic elements located inside the housing may lose their shape , the pressure plate may deviate from its original position. As a result of this, the entire structure, when exposed to intense loads and overloads, is subject to wear during its intended use and loses its stability, which negatively affects the reliability of the draft gear as a whole.

Taking into account the fact that the pressure cone and the body of the device are not subjected to precision machining in the hooking area during production, deviations in tolerances can be significant, which can lead to incomplete contact of parts in the hooking areas (see Fig. 8), and instead of the distribution of dynamic load arising at the moment of release from the “sticking” of the friction elements and under the influence of the elastic elements and the pushing force from the preliminary compression of the elastic elements, the entire load is concentrated on one protrusion, which can lead to breakage of the protrusion and, as a consequence, failure of the entire apparatus (see Fig. 6 ).

Repairing this kind of device failure requires replacing the entire case, which is financially and labor-intensive and not technologically advanced in general.

In addition, during repairs for disassembling and assembling this draft gear, it is necessary to have special expensive equipment in car repair depots that provides preliminary pre-compression of the elastic elements and rotation of the wedge to engage with the housing protrusions. Existing equipment does not allow this. Thus, mass repair of such devices in car repair depots is difficult to implement.

Also, a disadvantage of this design is that cases of uneven one-sided compression of the return-supporting device cannot be excluded due to the fact that when cars collide, the direction of the external force may not coincide with the longitudinal axis of the device and the presence of distortions between the pressure cone and the devices resulting from runaway tolerances. This can lead to jamming of the draft gear and, thereby, increase the dynamic shock loads on the structure of the car as a whole.

From the level of technology examined by the applicant, a patent for utility model No. 90397 “Absorbing apparatus” was identified, the essence of which is an absorbing apparatus containing a body with a closed end part and an opposite open end part, through which the main axis passes, and the open end part is made with a cone converging inward elongated friction surfaces, and also containing a force-receiving cone installed with the possibility of axial movement in the open end part of the housing, friction shoes located circumferentially in the housing between the cone and the internal friction surfaces, in the recesses of which liners are installed, and capable of contacting the cone and the inner friction surface, a stop adjacent the friction shoes, and a stack of elastomeric pads mounted between the closed end portion of the housing and the stop to act through the stop on the friction shoes to ensure their contact with the cone and the internal friction surface, each individual elastomeric pad is equipped with a plate, and each of the shoes has an inclined inner surface in contact with the inclined inner surface of the cone, each of the friction shoes has an inclined outer surface in contact with elongated converging internal friction surfaces, each of the friction shoes has a flat inner surface in contact with the flat outer surface with which a stop is made, characterized in that the smallest diameter of the conical surface is opposite the closest to the open end part of the elastomeric cushion, and the gap between the inner surface of the housing and the side surface of the package of plates and elastomeric cushions does not exceed 20% of the maximum diameter of the inner surface of the housing, and the cone and stop are made solid.

The disadvantage of the known design is the complexity of the design, which reduces the efficiency when used for its intended purpose.

From the identified level of technology, a friction-polymer shock absorber is known according to the patent RU 2225306 “A draft gear for a railway car with a large working stroke”, the essence is a friction-elastomer draft gear containing a housing with a closed end part and an opposite open end part, between which the main axis passes , wherein said open end part is made with elongated friction surfaces converging inwards, as well as a force-receiving wedge installed with the possibility of axial movement in the open end part of the housing, friction elements located in the housing between the wedge and the internal friction surfaces and capable of contacting a wedge and an internal friction surface to absorb the shock load that occurs when force is applied to the wedge, a spring stop adjacent to the friction elements, and a package of elastomeric pads installed between the closed end part of the housing and the spring stop to act through the stop on the friction elements to ensure their contact with a wedge and an internal friction surface, characterized in that the friction elements are made in the form of a set of friction shoes located around the circumference, each of which has an inclined internal surface in contact with the inclined internal surface of the wedge, and the inclined internal surface of the friction shoe and the internal surface of the wedge are located relative to the main axis of the housing at a first specified angle of about 35±3°, each of the friction shoes has an inclined outer surface in contact with elongated conical internal friction surfaces, and the inclined outer surface and the elongated conical internal friction surface are located relative to the axis of the specified housing under a second specified angle of about 2.25±0.25°, each of the friction shoes has a flat inner surface in contact with a flat outer surface, with which the specified spring stop is made, and the flat inner surface of the friction shoes and the flat outer surface of the stop are located relative to the axis of the housing at the third specified angle of about 90±4°. A friction-elastomer draft gear containing a housing with a closed end part and an opposite open end part, between which the main axis passes, and the open end part is made with elongated friction surfaces converging inwards, as well as a wedge containing a force-receiving force, installed with the possibility of axial movement in the open end portion of the housing, friction elements located in the housing between the wedge and the internal friction surfaces and capable of contacting the wedge and the internal friction surface to absorb the load arising when force is applied to the wedge, a spring stop adjacent to the friction elements, and a package of elastomeric pads , installed between the closed end part of the housing and the spring stop to act through the stop on the friction elements to ensure their contact with the wedge and the internal friction surface, characterized in that the friction elements are made in the form of a set of friction shoes located around the circumference, each of which has an inclined inner a surface in contact with the inclined inner surface of the wedge, wherein the inclined inner surface of the friction shoe and the inclined inner surface of the wedge are located relative to the main axis of the body at a first given angle, each of the friction shoes has an inclined outer surface in contact with elongated converging inner friction surfaces, and the inclined outer surface of the friction shoe and the elongated converging inner friction surface are located relative to the housing axis at a second specified angle, each of the friction shoes has a flat inner surface in contact with a flat outer surface with which the spring stop is made, wherein the flat inner surface of said friction shoes and the flat outer surface of the stop are located relative to the axis of the housing at a third specified angle, the package of elastomeric pads contains a number of elastomeric pads, each of which is made with a guide hole, the wedge is made with a central channel, each friction shoe has a heel part made with a recess, the spring stop is made with a central hole, and attached to the closed end portion is a guide rod passed through the guide holes, the central hole and partially through said central channel. A friction-elastomer draft gear comprising a housing with a closed end part having an outer surface and an open opposite end part having an outer surface, between which the main axis passes, and the open end part is made with elongated friction surfaces converging inwards into a cone, as well as a wedge containing a force-receiving force , installed with the possibility of axial movement in the open end part of the housing, friction elements located in the housing between the wedge and the internal friction surfaces and capable of contacting the wedge and the internal friction surface to absorb the shock load that occurs when a force is applied to the wedge, a spring stop adjacent to friction elements, and a package of elastomeric pads installed between the closed end part of the housing and the spring stop to act through the spring stop on the friction elements to ensure their contact with the wedge and the internal friction surface, characterized in that the friction device contains a set of friction shoes located around the circumference, each of which has an inclined inner surface in contact with the inclined inner surface of the wedge, and the inclined inner surface of the friction shoe and the inclined inner surface of the wedge are located relative to the main axis of the said body at a first predetermined angle, each of the friction shoes has an inclined outer surface in contact with the elongated converging on the cone with internal friction surfaces, and the inclined outer surface of the friction shoe and the elongated internal friction surface converging on the cone are located relative to the axis of the housing at a second specified angle, each of the friction shoes has a flat inner surface in contact with the flat outer surface with which the spring stop is made, Moreover, the flat inner surface of the friction shoes and the flat outer surface of the stop are located relative to the axis of the housing at a third given angle, and the working stroke of the apparatus is about 118 mm with the value of the useful stroke related to the installation length being about 0.21.

More briefly, the known draft gear comprises a housing with a closed end portion and an opposite open end portion, between which a main axis extends. The open end part is made with elongated internal friction surfaces converging inward. A wedge is installed in the open end part of the said housing with the possibility of axial movement, and friction elements are placed in the housing between the wedge and the elongated internal friction surfaces. At the end of the package of elastomeric pads there is a spring stop adjacent to the friction elements. The surfaces of the friction elements, mated to the wedge with an elongated internal friction surface converging on a cone and a spring stop, are located relative to the main axis, respectively, at the first given angle of about (35±3)°, at the second given angle of about (2.25±0.25)° and the third given angle is about (90±4)°.

The disadvantages of all of the above designs (with regard to jamming of the friction unit) are: reduced efficiency due to the instability of the power characteristics of the shock absorber, manifested in the form of an abrupt change in force during shock compression and associated with frictional self-oscillations during sliding (see Fig. 5).

This design of the apparatus has low energy intensity, which manifests itself in the seizing (jamming) of the wedge system when the steel-steel friction pair operates.

The disadvantage of both analogues is the low energy intensity of new devices as delivered from the manufacturer, associated with the unused friction surfaces of the pressure cone, friction shoes and housing made by casting or stamping. Does not provide reliable protection against the action of longitudinal forces and accelerations of cars with cargo of high value and sensitive to dynamic loads at a collision speed of cars of 10-12 km/h, the reason for this is that having a small contact patch (due to uneven extrusion of the wedge towards the body) and, as a result, has an asymmetrical distribution of thrust forces on the walls of the housing (see Fig. 5), which entails uneven wear (i.e., lack of wear on the friction surfaces of the pressure cone, friction shoes and housing, made by casting or stamping), which accordingly leads to reducing the reliability and stability of characteristics, the local pressure of the wedge on the friction surfaces of the housing extremely increases the risk of jamming of the draft gear on large working strokes with strong alternating impacts. The above leads to an insufficient degree of protection of the car structure from the effects of alternating loads on friction surfaces. This happens because the design uses friction pairs (wedge, cone, body) and these parts must be run-in after installation to achieve the maximum surface contact area; such run-in during manufacture is not provided for in the analyzed structures.

From the researched level of technology, the applicant identified two inventions. The first is according to patent RU No. 2225306, in which, according to the description and illustrations, the draft gear body has ring grooves in which bronze inserts are placed to reduce the adhesion of the friction shoes to the body. The second is the invention to patent RU No. 2441786. The brief essence of the invention is a method for installing ready-made lubricant inserts in a draft gear housing that has a friction hole section with an inner surface. The method includes the following steps: making at least two recesses on the inner surface of the friction hole, each recess being shaped in such a way that it can accommodate one of the ready-made antifriction (lubricating) inserts; placing one of the ready-made lubricating inserts into each recess and simultaneous pressing of all inserts into the recesses with a force sufficient to ensure that the inserts fit firmly into the recesses.

In the first of the descriptions presented above, the inserts are made of metal antifriction (lubricant) materials. Preferably, the inserts have a shape complementary to the inner surface of the friction hole and the mating sliding surfaces of the friction members included in the draft gear of railway cars. In the second, each anti-friction (lubricating) insert is basically H-shaped.

Thus, the presence of grooves in the housing significantly reduces its strength of the housing structure; in this place and, as a result, during the operation of the device, kinks (destruction) of the housing are formed and, as a consequence, failure of the devices as a whole (see Fig. 4) In this case after reaching maximum output during operation of the device, a critical decrease in the thickness of the housing walls is observed, which leads to cracking of the housing, and this, as a consequence, leads to failure of the device as a whole.

Moreover, if the housing walls wear out or break, the device can only be repaired by completely replacing the expensive housing. At the same time, the installation of liners that act as a dry lubricant on the body is technically difficult to implement and cannot be implemented during repairs in car repair depots due to the lack of equipment specially designed for repairs.

From the researched level of technology, an invention was identified under patent RU No. 2674215 “Friction-polymer shock absorber ” , the essence is Frictional shock absorber for automatic coupling devices of railway vehicles, containing a housing in which a pressure cone with hooks, friction wedges, movable and stationary friction plates with wear-resistant elements are placed, characterized in that the set of elastic elements consists of five identical elements made of material of the type "Durel".2. The friction shock absorber according to claim 1, characterized in that the polymer elastic elements are connected to each other by means of round plates, in the center of which bushings are installed to prevent the polymer elements from touching the central rod.3. A friction shock absorber according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a washer is installed at the bottom of the housing to prevent contact of the elastic element with the central rod.

The disadvantage of the invention in relation to the design is the low shock-absorbing properties caused by the fact that it contains 5 elastic elements of equal diameter, in the center of which massive restrictive bushings are installed that reduce the volume of the elastic elements, as a result of which the elastic elements are limited in their maximum capacity for energy absorption.

Another fundamental drawback, not related to technology, is the refusal to supply imported polymer elastic elements made from materials from Germany such as “Durel”, which are not produced on the territory of the Russian Federation, which, in conditions of geopolitical risks, precludes their use for their intended purpose.

Although such draft gears have a high shock-absorbing capacity, they tend to transfer a high amount of force to the car structure during the operating cycle, due to the fact that at the end of their operating stroke, the polymer elastic elements in such a device, due to the relatively short base of their package, experience significant critical deformations, and also significantly increase in diameter during compression. This causes microcracks to appear over time in the polymer elastic elements and their intense abrasion on the walls of the draft gear housing or on a part of its friction unit, which reduces the durability of the polymer elastic elements and impairs the reliability of the draft gear.

From the level of technology identified by the applicant, the closest analogue was identified, chosen by the applicant as a prototype, this invention “Friction draft gear of an automatic coupler of freight cars and its method of operation” according to RF patent No. 2789912, the essence is a friction draft gear of an automatic coupler of freight cars, containing a housing in in the form of a glass, a pressure cone with a central hole, friction wedges with a support plate, movable and stationary friction plates, as well as a return-support device located between the base plate and the bottom of the housing in the form of a package of elastic polymer elements, with friction wedges, movable and stationary friction plates , as well as a package of elastic polymer elements are compressed using a coupling bolt and nut through the pressure cone and the side of the body bottom, providing initial tightening of the draft gear prepared for installation in the automatic coupler of freight cars, characterized in that mesh sealing stiffeners are made on the side walls of the body dimensions of at least 40×40 mm and a height of at least 2 mm, while on the narrowed corner part of the body parallel to the bottom there are stiffening ribs in two places, the side walls of the body in cross section have dimensions in the ratio of at least L/13 mm, where L – width of the friction draft gear side; the bottom of the body is made with a thickness of at least 1/10 L; the set of elastic polymer elements is made of four elastic polymer elements of small diameter and one elastic polymer element of larger diameter, made from high-strength TPE-E polymer produced in Russia. The friction absorbing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic polymer element located at the bottom of the housing and installed on the boom, unlike the four remaining elastic polymer elements, has an increased outer diameter D1.13 and an increased diameter of the internal hole d1.77 with an increased energy intensity. The method of operation of a friction draft gear according to claim 1, which consists in the fact that when the friction draft gear is operating, at the initial moment of applying axial compression to a set of five elastic polymer elements, there is a smooth increase in the rigidity and energy intensity of the four elastic polymer elements of small diameter placed, while when the thrust plate reaches the movable friction plates, the latter begin to mix together with the pressure cone with a central hole, creating additional friction; at the same time, the 5th elastic polymer element is included in the work, which has a high energy intensity due to the increased mass of the overall characteristics, creating additional compression resistance and eliminating the mechanical impact on the supporting flanges of the body by fixed plates, with the possibility of eliminating the radial forces acting on the destruction of the body, while The supporting shelves of the housing are made integral with the housing from high-alloy steel grade 30 KhML.

The disadvantage of the known technical solution is a more complex design compared to the stated technical solution, due to the fact that it requires the use of special equipment and tools, not only during its manufacture at the manufacturer, but also during maintenance and repair, in the conditions of Russian Railways repair shops on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Thus, all the well-known devices described above are generally quite similar to each other in that they have low efficiency when used for their intended purpose, reduced energy intensity, while at the same time low manufacturability in production and repair, while some analogues have the risk of spontaneous disassembly, distortion of the pressure cone, In addition, analogues are characterized by the fact that when operating in wide ranges of frictional self-oscillations, which can lead to their complete failure.

Further, the applicant presented more detailed descriptions of the shortcomings of the analogues presented above in general, while the above analogues have basic similarities in the design of the main structural elements, while the information is presented of an explanatory nature and a final analysis of the above analogues is provided, in their general disadvantages when used for their intended purpose .

The first disadvantage of the known devices in general is that the friction mechanism, when absorbing energy, exerts asymmetrically distributed spacer forces on the housing walls due to the extrusion force (pressure) exerted on the friction wedge only from one side - from the cone side and, as a result, a small contact patch with the friction surface of the housing (see Fig. 5), which requires a large amount of time to break in the unit at the beginning of operation. In addition, making the supporting side of the friction wedge at a right angle to the axis of the device can lead to dynamic impacts at the moment of separation from the “adhesion” of the friction wedge from the friction surface of the body and produce an impact on the locking protrusions on the body of the device by acting on the pressure cone, resulting in the protrusions on the body may burst and break off (see Fig. 6).

The second disadvantage known devices in general is the fixation of the pressure cone in the body of the device only due to the protrusions on the body and the pressure cone. This solution does not allow adjusting the initial tightening of the return-supporting device (as shown in Fig. 9), disassembling and reassembling the device in most car repair depots due to the lack of specialized equipment that allows you to tighten the cone and rotate it around the axis for removal. Also, due to run-off tolerances at the places of engagement of the cone with the body, distortions occur (see L1 < L2) in the operation of the apparatus Fig. 8, and the risk of cracks and protrusions breaking off from the body (see Fig. 6, cracks from dynamic impacts), which can lead to expensive repairs and replacement of the housing.

The third disadvantage of the known devices is the installation of liners that act as a dry lubricant with preliminary cutting of grooves in the neck of the body, which, on the one hand, reduces the strength of the body by reducing the thickness of the body in the places of the grooves (see Fig. 4 ) , on the other hand, it creates technical difficulties during assembly, since installing liners in the above-mentioned grooves requires special tools for temporary installation of liners on the grooves, and special equipment for fixing and subsequent pressing of liners into the above grooves, while the latter is often not available in car repair depots.

The fourth disadvantage of the known devices is the narrow range of damping of frictional self-oscillations due to the use in the device of elements with identical mass and dimensional characteristics, and premature failure of polymer elastic elements due to significant critical deformations.

The technical result of the claimed technical solution is the elimination of four identified shortcomings of the analogues and the prototype by developing the claimed friction draft gear of the automatic coupler of freight cars and its method of operation, which has:

1. Increased power characteristics of the draft gear from the moment of the start of operation without a long period of running-in, due to the elimination of asymmetrically distributed spacer forces, due to the use of a second angle on the friction wedge, which in turn will also soften the return stroke of the friction unit from the influence of the supporting return device at the moment of release from adhesion, due to slight pressing of the friction wedge against the housing wall on the return stroke. (see Fig. 9 - 11).

2. A simpler and more reliable assembly technology, including during repair of the device in car repair depots, eliminating the possibility of spontaneous disassembly, eliminating distortion in the operation of the pressure cone, and reducing the risk of body breakage at the protrusions, due to the use of a bolt and nut instead of tightening the cone into the body at the locations of the protrusions.

3. Increased strength of the housing due to the elimination or minimization of cracking in the places of grooves for liners on the friction surface of the housing, as well as increased manufacturability in assembly and repair due to the transfer of liners to friction wedges (see Fig. 2).

4. Increasing the range of damping of frictional self-oscillations due to the stepwise inclusion in the work of polymer-elastic elements and the second (2nd) angle of the friction wedge. (see Figs 10-11).

5. Reducing the risk of housing breakage at the protrusions by using a bolt and nut instead of screwing a cone into the body instead of the protrusions.

The essence of the claimed technical solution is a friction draft gear of an automatic coupler for freight cars, containing a friction draft gear body with a closed end part and an open opposite part, a pressure cone with a central hole, and three friction wedges located relative to each other at an angle of 120°, a support plate, between which and the closed end part of the friction draft gear body there is a return-supporting device in the form of a package of small elastic polymer elements and a large polymer element with washers of the return-supporting unit, tightened together along the longitudinal axis of the friction draft gear using a coupling bolt through a pressure cone, tightened with a nut of the coupling bolt, respectively, and each friction wedge has, on the surface in contact with the inner surface of the friction draft gear housing, recesses in which the anti-friction inserts of the friction wedge are installed, respectively. The method of operation of the friction draft gear of the automatic coupler of freight cars according to claim 1, which consists in the fact that under the action of an impact load on the friction draft gear, the pressure cone moves towards the bottom of the friction draft gear body, initially compressing a set of four elastic polymer elements small, as increasing the load, there is a gradual increase in rigidity and energy intensity from the beginning of four small elastic polymer elements, pressing the friction wedges to the friction draft gear housing, exerting disjoining pressure from the pressure cone, while the friction force between the friction wedges and the side walls of the friction draft gear housing increases; at a small shock load, the pressure of the upper elastic blocks and friction wedges is small, so the polymer array works mainly as an elastic element; at higher shock loads, the pressure cone acts on the pressure wedges, compressing the small elastic elements upon reaching a critical point, after which the elastic element is activated the polymer element is large, having greater energy intensity due to increased mass-dimensional characteristics, creating additional compression resistance and exerting extrusion pressure on the second corner of the friction wedge through the support plate, respectively, thereby increasing the friction area and pressing force, while the work spent on bringing into the action of the friction draft gear is spent mainly on overcoming friction forces and is completely absorbed, turning into thermal energy, due to which a significantly smaller impact force in absolute value is transferred to the car structure; at the same time, the anti-friction inserts of the friction wedge act as a solid lubricant between the rubbing surfaces of the side walls of the friction draft gear housing and the friction wedges, thereby reducing the heating of these surfaces and thereby preventing the effect of jamming of the friction wedges in the friction draft gear housing, due to the phenomenon of “seizing”; after the cessation of the impact load, which does not exceed the maximum permissible value, the return compression force of the small elastic elements is sufficient to overcome the frictional forces between the friction wedge and the pressure cone, and between the friction wedge and the support plate, respectively, to return to its original position; in this case, the block of polymer elastic elements, small and large, exerts pressure on the support plate, which, in turn, transmits force to the friction wedges through the second angle on the friction wedges, thereby exerting a bursting force on the friction walls of the friction draft gear housing, which, in turn turn, creates insignificant but sufficient resistance to eliminate dynamic impact at the moment of separation from the “setting” state after significant impact loads.

The claimed technical solution is illustrated by the following materials:

Figure 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a friction draft gear.

Figure 2 shows a view of the friction wedge located at an angle of 45° to the motion vector of the friction wedge.

Figure 3 shows the principle of operation of the friction unit under maximum loads, in particular the direction of the acting and opposing forces, the effect of extrusion of the friction wedges, and an increase in the friction area of the friction wedges on the friction surface of the apparatus body.

In FIG. Figure 4 shows the risk zones for crack formation due to the presence of stress concentrators and a decrease in the thickness of the housing in the places where anti-friction liners are installed on existing apparatus housings.

In FIG. Figure 5 shows the principle and disadvantages of the operation of existing draft gears with an angle of 90° in the zone of transmission of the friction wedge force to the support plate. The reason for the incomplete contact of the rubbing friction surfaces due to the absence of a 2nd angle on the friction wedge and the support plate is shown.

Figure 6 shows the places of probable cracking of the friction draft gear housing 1 due to dynamic impacts at the moment of release from the adhesion of the friction wedge 3 and the friction draft gear housing 1 as a result of the highest loads and removal of the load.

In FIG. Figure 7 shows a conventional top view of the friction draft gear, illustrating the risk of spontaneous unwinding of the pressure cone.

In FIG. Figure 8 shows tolerance runs that can lead to distortions of the pressure cone.

In FIG. 9-11 show graphic illustrations of load characteristics depending on the load mode on the apparatus, in a state from pre-compression to a state of maximum load.

The positions in the figures indicate:

1 – friction draft gear housing,

2 – pressure cone,

3 – friction wedge,

4 – anti-friction insert of the friction wedge,

5 – mesh sealing ribs (according to the prototype),

6 – stiffeners (according to the prototype),

7 – support plate,

8 – small polymer element (4 pieces, outer diameter 131, inner diameter 35, height 89, weight 1140 g),

9 – large polymer element (external diameter 148 mm, internal 62 mm, height 90, weight 1400 grams),

10 – coupling bolt,

11 – nut of the coupling bolt,

12 – washer of the return-support unit.

Next, the applicant provides a description of the claimed technical solution.

The claimed friction draft gear for the automatic coupler of freight cars (hereinafter referred to as the friction draft gear) consists of the following structural elements:

1 – friction draft gear housing,

2 – pressure cone,

3 – friction wedge,

4 – anti-friction insert of the friction wedge,

7 – support plate,

8 – polymer element (small 4 pieces, outer diameter 131, inner diameter 35, height 89, weight 1140 g),

9 – polymer element (large, external diameter 148 mm, internal 62 mm, height 90, weight 1400 grams),

10 – coupling bolt,

11 – nut of the coupling bolt,

12 – washer of the return support unit.

Thus, the friction draft gear contains a friction draft gear body 1 with a closed end part and an open opposite part, a pressure cone 2 with a central hole, and three friction wedges 3 located relative to each other at an angle of 120°, a support plate 7, between which and In the closed end part of the friction draft gear body 1 there is a return-support device in the form of a package of elastic polymer elements small 8 and a large polymer element 9 with washers of the return-support unit 12, tightened together along the longitudinal axis of the friction draft gear using a coupling bolt 10 through a pressure cone 2, tightened with the nut of the coupling bolt 11, respectively, while Each friction wedge 3 has on surface A, in contact with the inner surface of the friction draft gear body 1, recesses B, into which anti-friction liners of the friction wedge 4 are installed, respectively.

The following is a detailed Example 1 of a specific implementation of the claimed friction draft gear .

Polymer elastic elements, namely a package of high-strength polymer elements 8 and 9, are divided into two sections made of Russian-made TPE-E CKK 65.1 material, while elastic polymer elements 8 and 9, respectively, are manufactured in 2 types of execution with two types weight and dimensions characteristics. At the end part of the friction draft gear housing 1, a more reinforced polymer element large 9 is installed with release under the bonnet G for free movement of the head of the coupling bolt 10.Wherein the package of elastic polymer elements 8 and 9 is compressed with the help of a coupling bolt 10 and a nut of a coupling bolt 11 through the pressure cone 2 and the bonnet D of the bottom of the friction draft gear housing 1, respectively, thereby ensuring the initial tightening of the friction draft gear (see Fig. 9), prepared for installation in the automatic coupler of freight cars. Friction wedges are characterized by the fact that they have a second angle B of 80°±5 relative to the longitudinal axis of the friction draft gear on the contact surface with the support plate 7, while the set of elastic polymer elements 8 and 9 is made of four elastic polymer elements of small diameter 8 and one elastic polymer element of larger diameter 9, made of high-strength polymer TPE-E produced in Russia.

The friction draft gear in a particular case of implementation is distinguished by the fact that the elastic polymer element 9, located at the bottom of the housing and installed on the bonnet G, in contrast to four elastic polymer elements of smaller diameter 8, has an increased outer diameter, namely, a larger outer diameter 148 mm, a larger internal diameter of 62 mm, a greater height of 90 mm, and a greater weight of 1400 grams, respectively, while the increased diameter of the internal hole, along with other parameters, also contributes to a significant increase in the energy intensity of the draft gear as a whole.

Next, the applicant provides Example 2 of the claimed method of operation of the claimed friction draft gear (see Fig. 3, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, respectively).

Under the influence of an impact load on the friction draft gear, the pressure cone 2 shifts towards the bottom of the friction draft gear body 1, initially compressing a set of four small elastic polymer elements 8; as the load increases, there is a smooth increase in rigidity and energy intensity from the beginning of the four small elastic polymer elements 8, pressing the friction wedges 3 to the body of the friction draft gear 1, exerting disjoining pressure (see Fig. 5) from the side of the pressure cone 2. In this case, the friction force between the friction wedges 3 and the side walls of the housing of the friction draft gear 1 increases. With a small shock load, the pressure of the upper elastic blocks and friction wedges 3 (Fig. 5) is small (Fig. 9, 10). Therefore, the polymer array will work mainly as an elastic element. At higher shock loads, the pressure cone 2 acts on the pressure wedges 3, compressing the small elastic elements 8 upon reaching the critical point, after which the large elastic polymer element 9, which has greater energy consumption due to its increased weight and size characteristics, is activated, creating additional compression resistance and exerting extrusion pressure (see Fig. 3) on the second corner B of the friction wedge 3 through the support plate 7, respectively, thereby increasing the friction area and pressing force (see Fig. 3, Fig. 11). In this case, the work expended on actuating the friction draft gear is spent mainly on overcoming frictional forces and is completely absorbed, turning into thermal energy, due to which a significantly smaller shock force in absolute value is transferred to the car structure.

In this case, the anti-friction inserts of the friction wedge 4 act as a solid lubricant between the rubbing surfaces of the side walls of the friction draft gear housing 1 and the friction wedges 3, thereby reducing the heating of these surfaces and thereby preventing the effect of jamming of the friction wedges 3 in the friction draft gear body 1, due to the known the phenomenon of “grasping” present in analogues.

After the cessation of the impact of the shock load, which does not exceed the maximum permissible value, the return force of compression of the elastic elements of small 8 is sufficient to overcome the friction forces between the elements of positions 3 and 2, 3 and 7, respectively, to return to their original position.

In this case, the block of polymer elastic elements 8 and 9 exert pressure on the support plate 7, which, in turn, transmits force to the friction wedges 3 through the second angle B on the friction wedges 3, thereby exerting a pushing force on the friction walls of the friction draft gear body 1 , which in turn creates an insignificant but sufficient resistance to eliminate dynamic impact at the moment of separation from the “setting” state after significant impact loads.

Next, the applicant presents more detailed explanations of the figures of the claimed technical solution, illustrated in Figure 1 - Figure 11, indicating the operating features of the claimed technical solution in terms of the interaction of structural elements when implementing the method of its operation under conditions of practical loads, when used for its intended purpose.

In FIG. Figure 1 shows a general cross-sectional view of the friction draft gear, with

In FIG. 2 shows the friction wedge (3) in close-up from FIG. 1, on the left is a friction wedge, ¾ view, on the right is a side view of the friction wedge (3), namely the location and types of inclined placement of anti-friction liners 4 “B” (enlarged) on two planes “A”, the friction wedge (3) from Fig. . 3, and a view (angle of inclination) of the placement of the conical surface “B” in section, in contact with the support plate 7, which is a counter part with an identical angle of inclination of the friction wedge along the conical plane “B”.

In FIG. Figure 3 shows an illustration of the principle of operation of a friction unit with a maximum contact area, with two pairs of arrows F1 (top) and two pairs of arrows F2 (bottom) showing the effect of alternating forces on the friction unit, and perpendicularly directed arrows showing the direction of the pushing forces acting on the body 1 draft gear, showing the direction of the impact of the pushing forces transmitted to the housing 1 through the friction wedge 3, to which, in turn, through the pressure cone 2 and the support plate 7, the extrusion forces of the entire cargo train are transmitted during braking and/or impacts during operation freight train.

In FIG. Figure 4 shows the most vulnerable areas of the hulls of the majority of operating draft gears existing at the date of submission of application materials.

Figure 5 shows an illustration of the shortcomings on the side of the support plate 7, placed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the friction unit, while arcuate arrows show the resulting forces that contribute to the destruction of the housings of known analogues.

Figure 6 shows zones with stress concentration in the neck of the housing with protrusions susceptible to cracks and subsequent breakout from the effects of dynamic impacts of the pressure cone in analogues, leading to the failure of the friction draft gear as a whole.

Figure 7 shows an illustration of the risk of spontaneous unscrewing of the pressure cone, leading, as a consequence, to spontaneous disassembly of the draft gear as a whole.

Figure 8 shows an illustration of the tolerance run-off (L1 and L2, respectively) and the conditional value of the uneven engagement of the cone with the body of the apparatus.

In FIG. 9 on the left is an illustration of the claimed friction draft gear without load, on the right is a graph of a preloaded draft gear in the state of delivery to the consumer.

In FIG. 10 on the left is an illustration of the claimed friction draft gear, under minor loads (car collisions), on the right is a graph of the resulting load forces depending on the load values.

In FIG. 11 on the left is an illustration of the claimed friction draft gear, on the left is a graph of the power characteristics of the operation of the friction unit under significant loads or high loads, during intensive work under load of the friction draft gear with a maximum friction area on the body, taking into account inclusion in work, with an upper count of 5- th, (9) elastic element of the friction draft gear.

Thus, based on the materials presented above, we can conclude that the applicant has achieved the stated technical results , namely;

1. An increase in the power characteristics of the friction draft gear has been achieved since the start of operation without a long period of running-in, achieved through a creative approach, namely through the simultaneous elimination of the following disadvantages inherent in analogues:

– eliminating asymmetrically distributed spacer forces due to the use of a second angle on the friction wedge, which, in turn, softens the return stroke of the friction unit from the influence of the supporting return device at the moment of de-sticking,

– due to slight pressing of the friction wedge against the housing wall during the return stroke. (see Fig. 9 - 11 ).

2. An increase in the manufacturability of the assembly has been achieved, including during the repair of the device in car repair depots, due to the features of the declared design (see a detailed description of the principle of operation of the design), which ensured the possibility of eliminating such factors as eliminating the possibility of spontaneous disassembly, eliminating distortion in work pressure cone, and reducing the risk of housing breakage at the projections by using a bolt and nut instead of screwing the cone into the housing instead of the projections.

3. Increasing the strength of the body and eliminating cracking in the places of grooves for the liners on the friction surface of the body, as well as increasing manufacturability in assembly and repair by transferring the liners to the friction wedges (see Fig. 2).

4. The range of damping of frictional self-oscillations has been increased due to the stepwise inclusion of polymer-elastic elements and the second (2nd) angle of the friction wedge (see Figs 10-11).

5. The risks of case breakage in the places of protrusions are reduced by increasing the thickness of the case, using preliminary compression of elastic elements through a bolt/nut connection and instead of screwing the cone into the case instead of the protrusions available in analogues.

In addition to the above, the claimed technical solution provides the possibility of obtaining additional technical results arising from the main technical results obtained by the applicant, namely:

6. Significant simplification of the design has been achieved.

7. Improved assembly manufacturability has been achieved.

8. Increased maintainability has been achieved.

Based on the above, it seems possible to draw a logical conclusion that all technical results have been achieved in the claimed technical solution and all the shortcomings of the prototype have been eliminated, which continues to be mass-produced as of the date of filing the application. At the same time, the declared technical solution passed all the required industrial tests both from the applicant and from the consumer, namely in the certification laboratory of Russian Railways, and received confirmation as a more reliable, less labor-intensive and more technologically advanced device, ready for serial production from the applicant, while the applicant Preparations for production were carried out for the production of serial products for the consumer.

Claims (2)

1. A friction draft gear of an automatic coupler for freight cars, containing a friction draft gear body with a closed end part and an open opposite part, a pressure cone with a central hole and three friction wedges located relative to each other at an angle of 120°, a support plate between which and the closed At the end part of the friction draft gear body there is a return-supporting device in the form of a package of small elastic polymer elements and a large polymer element with washers of the return-supporting unit, tightened together along the longitudinal axis of the friction draft gear using a tightening bolt through a pressure cone, tightened with a tightening bolt nut accordingly, each friction wedge has, on the surface in contact with the inner surface of the friction draft gear housing, recesses into which the anti-friction inserts of the friction wedge are installed, respectively. 2. The method of operation of the friction draft gear of the automatic coupler of freight cars according to claim 1, which consists in the fact that under the action of an impact load on the friction draft gear, the pressure cone moves towards the bottom of the friction draft gear body, initially compressing a set of four small elastic polymer elements, as the load increases, there is a gradual increase in the rigidity and energy intensity of first four small elastic polymer elements, pressing the friction wedges against the friction draft gear body, exerting disjoining pressure from the pressure cone, while the friction force between the friction wedges and the side walls of the friction draft gear body increases; at a small shock load, the pressure of the upper elastic blocks and friction wedges is small, so the polymer array works mainly as an elastic element; at higher shock loads, the pressure cone acts on the pressure wedges, compressing the small elastic elements upon reaching a critical point, after which the elastic element comes into play the polymer element is large, having greater energy intensity due to increased weight and size characteristics, creating additional compression resistance and exerting extrusion pressure on the second corner of the friction wedge through the support plate, respectively, thereby increasing the friction area and pressing force, while the work spent on actuating the friction draft gear, is spent mainly on overcoming friction forces and is completely absorbed, turning into thermal energy, due to which a significantly smaller impact force in absolute value is transferred to the car structure; at the same time, the anti-friction inserts of the friction wedge act as a solid lubricant between the rubbing surfaces of the side walls of the friction draft gear housing and the friction wedges, thereby reducing the heating of these surfaces and thereby preventing the effect of jamming of the friction wedges in the friction draft gear housing, due to the phenomenon of “seizing”; after the cessation of the impact load, which does not exceed the maximum permissible value, the return force of compression of the small elastic elements is sufficient to overcome the frictional forces between the friction wedge and the pressure cone and between the friction wedge and the support plate, respectively, to return to its original position; in this case, the block of polymer elastic elements, small and large, exert pressure on the support plate, which, in turn, transmits force to the friction wedges through the second angle on the friction wedges, thereby exerting a bursting force on the friction walls of the friction draft gear housing, which, in turn turn, creates insignificant but sufficient resistance to eliminate dynamic impact at the moment of separation from the “grasping” state after significant impact loads.