US1986380A - Limited travel draft gear construction - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1935. H. 1.. SPENCE LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 27, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 avwento'c Meril 'aence 'flA/a flbtomu Jan. 1, 1935. H. L. SPENCE 1,936,330

LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 27, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m 5 m w l I I C l/ H a 1 Q ,9:

E I a "i avweutoz fizderfzkfaence Jan. 1, 1935. H. L. sPENcE LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 27, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Jan. I, 1935 This invention-relates to limited travel'draft gear constructions, and more particularly to means whereby the draft gear may be compressed inibuff agreater amount than is'usual and com- (.3; pressedinpull a lesser amountthan inbufi.

An object-of the inventionis'to provide novel and improved means of the type referred 'to, which shall be ofsimple construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, easy to assemble'and durable inservice; Another object is the provision ofv a draft gear construction wherein greater compression in buff than in pull is effectively attained without interference with or complication of the spring construction and without taking up space which would'otherwise'be available for springs. Other features and advantages of the-invention willnbecomeapparentv as the description proceeds.

A preferred embodiment of myyinvention .will now-be:describedin:connection with the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section of draft mechanism in which the invention is incorporated. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a vertical section show! ing the construction illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective of the yoke.

For purposes of illustration, the construction is shown as including a yoke of the vertical type, to the forward end of which is pivoted a swiveling coupler. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in connection with other types of yoke and coupler. Shown at A are car sills joined at their forward ends by striking casting B and at their rearward ends by back stop casting C. A friction draft gear of suitable construction is shown as comprising a housing member 1, into the forward end of which there telescopes a wedge or follower 2. Shockabsorbing or cushioning mechanism of any suitable or convenient type may be interposed between said wedge and housing members, the gear here shown for purposes of illustration being of the same type as that disclosed in the pending application of Ernest H. Schmidt and Hubert L. Spence, Serial No. 319,064, filed November13, 1928, Patent No. 1,913,414, June 13, 1933. Springs 3 included in said shock absorbing mechanism are shown within the housing 1. The rear end of housing 1 may abut against projections 4 on the back stop casting, while the follower 2 is adapted to abut against draft lugs 5 secured to the sills. A yoke 6 is shown as extending above and below the draft gear and having a portion 6-a for abut- ;ment "against the rear of the draft gear housing '1, and a portion 'B bftGwhich "is pivoted at 7 the shank 8 of the coupler '9 in a known manner.

In. order "to provide "for; say 4" travel 'offthe gear in .buif theback "stop castingis cutaway .asat 10 anamount ample'forthe desired travel 'andLSufiicient clearance; This increased travel of :the rgear in buff is particularly desirabledn- 'a'smuch :as 'buffing shocks are ordinarily con-, siderably greater than those in poll. On the other handgit is not desirable tovhave this amount of :trav'el'in pull, especially in long trains. "However, the varied and conflicting requirementslof a draft gear construction make it difficult to provide for such lesser travel in pull without complicating the construction of "the draft gear orintroducing .structural weaknesses.

@I :have 'foundithat: by providing the yoke with projections 6c and by extending the draft lugs 5 upwardly and downwardly, as at 5-a, sufficiently to engage the projections on the yoke, the travel of the gear in pull is simply and effectively limited to the desired amount. It is advantageous to provide lateral projections 6c at either side of the yoke and on both its upper and lower portions and to provide corresponding extensions on the lugs 5 for each of these projections. For example, the distance between each projection 6-0 and the corresponding draft lug may desirably be 2 /2". That is, the yoke and lugs will go solid after the yoke has moved forward 2 while the housing section 2 is permitted to travel 4 in buff before going solid against the housing section 1. The projections on the yoke conveniently pass above and below the housing section 2, and contact directly with the extensions of the draft lugs which are secured to the sills.

It maybe noted that in this construction n extra room is required for the parts which limit the travel of the gear in pull, the projections 6--c and extensions 5--a being accommodated in the space which is available without modification of standard sill and draft gear constructions. 45 By reason of this compact construction there is room for a draft gear of increased length with respect to the usual standard draft gear of 24%", while the standard overall dimension of 5' 6 50 from the center of the bolster to the face of the striking casting is maintained. The size of the springs and accordingly the spring capacity may. also be increased by reducing the length of the back stop casting C. For instance, a gear some 55 8" longer than standard may be accommodated in this simple manner.

It is obvious that instead of the construction shown other types of yoke could be used and the coupler and yoke could be connected in other manners, as by a known draft key. When'such key is used, the sills should be cut away to permit the desired travel of the key, and clearance provided so that the draft key in pull will not go solid against the striking casting and preventthe operation of the yoke projections.

The terms and expressions which'I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. In a railway draft mechanism, a coupler, a yoke having upper and lower arms integrally connected at their rear ends, a connection between said yoke and coupler for causing the yoke to move with the coupler in both draft and buff, car. sills having front draft lugs secured thereto, a draft gear engaging said draft lugs and enclosed by said yoke, said draft lugs extending above and below said draft gear adjacent the connection between said yoke and coupler and into the planes of said yoke arms and lateral extensions on said yoke arms spaced normally a predetermined distance rearwardly of said draft lugs and movable in draft into contact with said draft lugs to limit the pulling travel of said coupler.

2. In a railway draft mechanism, a pair of draft. sills, means extending transversely of said sills at their forward ends, a coupler having a shank resting directly on said means, a yoke movable with respect to said means and said sills and having upper and lower arms integrally connected at their rear ends, a connection between said yoke and coupler for causing the yoke to move with the coupler in both draft and buff, front draft lugs secured to said sills, a draft gear engaging said draft lugs and enclosedby said yoke, said draft lugs extending above and below said draft gear adjacent the connection between said yoke and coupler and into the planes of said yoke arms, and lateral extensions on said yoke arms spaced normally a predetermined distance rearwardly of said draft lugs and movable in draft into contact with said draft lugs to limit the pulling travel of said coupler.

3. In a railway draft mechanism, a coupler, a yoke having upper and lower arms integrally connected at their rear ends, a connection between said yoke and coupler for causing said yoke to move with said coupler in both draft and buff, car sills having front draft lugs secured thereto, a draft gear engaging said draft-lugs and enclosed by said yoke, said draft lugs extending above and below said draft gear adjacent the connection between said yoke and coupler and into the planes of said yoke arms, and lateral extensions on said yoke arms spaced normally a predetermined distance rearwardly of said draft lugs and movable in draft into contact with said draft lugs to limit the pulling travel of said coupler and yoke to an extent less than the travel of the coupler and yoke in buff, said yoke having a greater cross sectional area between said lateral extensions and the connection with the coupler than rearwardly of said extensions for transmitting draft stresses to said sills in excess of those required to compress the gear a predetermined amount.

HUBERT L. SPENCE.

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