A kind of automatic centering device of coupler and assembly method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic centering device for a coupler and an assembly method thereof. The automatic centering device for a coupler of the present invention comprises: a mounting seat; a pivoting center shaft, which is detachably fixedly mounted relative to the mounting seat in the up-down direction, and whose lower end partially extends below the mounting seat; a centering shell, which is pivotally mounted on the lower end of the pivoting center shaft and is located below the mounting seat, and whose bottom shell has a lower opening and whose left and right shells respectively have lateral through holes; a centering disk, which is arranged inside the centering shell and can be detachably fixedly connected to the lower end of the pivoting center shaft located in the centering shell via the lower opening of the centering shell; and a left centering torque generating assembly and a right centering torque generating assembly, which are respectively arranged symmetrically on both sides of the centering disk, and respectively penetrate the lateral through holes on the corresponding sides and are detachably fixedly mounted corresponding to the lateral through holes. The automatic centering device for a coupler of the present invention is easy to assemble and has low manufacturing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of couplers of rail vehicles and relates to an automatic centering device for a coupler and an assembling method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The coupler of a rail vehicle is installed on its body through a coupler buffer device, which can realize automatic coupling. In the uncoupled free state, assuming that the coupler deflects at a normal small angle in the horizontal direction, it needs to be able to automatically return to the center position (such as the longitudinal center line of the body of the rail vehicle). If it fails to return to the center position, it will have a certain impact on the automatic coupling of the coupler. The automatic coupler centering device mainly positions the coupler on the longitudinal center line of the body, and can realize the automatic centering function after the coupler deflects at a small angle relative to the body.

[0003] However, the automatic centering device of the coupler is usually used as an auxiliary component of the coupler buffer device to provide an auxiliary function of automatic centering. When designing its structure, the simplicity of its assembly is not considered, and the assembly operation is usually cumbersome and difficult.

[0004] Invention patent CN101857041B, named "Compact centering device", discloses a compact centering device, which includes a centering sleeve, a centering body, a roller, a roller plug, and a rotating shaft. The centering sleeve is installed on the mounting seat of the buffer and is tightly connected with the roller plug. The centering body and the rotating shaft are fastened to the buffer system of the buffer. The centering body is equipped with a centering element, and the centering element and the rotating shaft of the rotating mechanism of the buffer system rotate synchronously. The centering device is relatively compact, but it is relatively cumbersome when assembled internally, especially the disc spring is pressed into the piston, and the whole assembly is placed in the centering sleeve, which puts forward high requirements for the processing accuracy of parts and the assembly accuracy, and is inconvenient. Summary of the invention

[0005] The objective of the present disclosure is to effectively solve or at least alleviate one or more of the above-mentioned problems and / or other problems existing in the existing automatic centering device for couplers, thereby providing the following technical solutions.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an automatic coupler centering device, which is arranged corresponding to a coupler buffer device and is used to output a centering torque that makes the coupler buffer device tend to be substantially consistent with the longitudinal center line of the body of a railway vehicle, and the automatic coupler centering device comprises:

[0007] Mounting seat;

[0008] A pivot center shaft, which is detachably fixed relative to the mounting seat in the up-down direction, and whose lower end partially extends below the mounting seat;

[0009] A centering shell, which is pivotally mounted on the lower end of the pivot center axis and is located below the mounting seat, and has a lower opening on its bottom shell and lateral through holes on its left and right side shells respectively;

[0010] a centering plate, which is disposed inside the centering shell and can be detachably fixedly connected to the lower end of the pivoting central shaft located in the centering shell through the lower opening of the centering shell; and

[0011] The left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly are respectively arranged on both sides of the centering disk in a left-right symmetrical manner, and respectively penetrate the lateral through holes on the corresponding sides and are detachably fixedly installed corresponding to the lateral through holes.

[0012] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, a supporting device for partially supporting the coupler buffer device is detachably fixedly mounted on the centering housing and is capable of transmitting the centering torque output from the centering housing.

[0013] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, a bolt hole is provided at the front end of the centering housing, and the bolt hole cooperates with a fixing bolt to detachably fix the supporting device on the centering housing.

[0014] According to additional or alternative embodiments, the automatic coupler centering device further comprises:

[0015] The fastening bolts are used to fix the centering plate up and down on the lower end of the pivoting center shaft.

[0016] According to additional or alternative embodiments, the automatic centering device for the coupler further comprises: a housing lower cover, which is used to cover the lower opening of the centering housing.

[0017] According to additional or alternative embodiments, the automatic coupler centering device further comprises:

[0018] The anti-wear disc is penetrated by the pivot center shaft and the upper surface or the lower surface thereof is in contact with the mounting seat.

[0019] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, the upper end of the pivot center shaft is provided with a relatively radially outwardly protruding limiting plate, and the limiting plate is provided with a rotation-stopping notch, and the rotation-stopping notch partially exposes the pivot center shaft;

[0020] Among them, the automatic centering device of the coupler also includes a stop plate, which is detachably positioned and installed on the mounting seat corresponding to the stop groove, so as to prevent the pivot center axis from rotating relative to the mounting seat and prevent the pivot center axis from moving up and down relative to the mounting seat.

[0021] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, an upper pin hole and a lower pin hole are provided on the mounting seat, and the pivot center axis sequentially passes through the upper pin hole, the swing center hole of the coupler buffer device and the lower pin hole.

[0022] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, centering grooves are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the centering disk, and the rollers in the left centering torque generating assembly or the right centering torque generating assembly act on the centering grooves respectively and can roll back and forth along the centering grooves.

[0023] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, a square boss is disposed at the lower end of the pivot center shaft; and an anti-rotation groove for accommodating the square boss is disposed on the centering disk.

[0024] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, two anti-rotation blocks are further included, each of which has a lower protrusion, and the lower protrusion can fall into the first through hole at the bottom of the anti-rotation groove to surround and form a square groove for accommodating the square boss.

[0025] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, a relatively upwardly convex sub-boss is provided on the centering disk; and an anti-rotation groove for accommodating the sub-boss is provided at the lower end of the pivot center shaft.

[0026] According to additional or alternative embodiments, the left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly each include:

[0027] A housing side cover, which is detachably fixedly mounted on the side surface of the centering housing and covers the lateral through hole;

[0028] A centering spindle, which passes through the lateral through hole of the centering housing and is installed and positioned between the housing side cover and the centering disk;

[0029] the roller pivotally mounted on the first end of the centering spindle; and

[0030] An elastic element, which is sleeved on the sleeve rod at the second end of the centering core shaft and abuts against the housing side cover;

[0031] Among them, the coupler connected to the coupler buffer device swings left and right relative to the longitudinal center line, causing the roller to roll back and forth relative to the centering groove, thereby pushing the centering core shaft to move toward the shell side cover along the center line direction of the lateral through hole and compressing the elastic element. The elastic element outputs a rebound force due to its compression and reacts on the shell side cover, thereby generating the centering torque acting on the centering shell via the shell side cover.

[0032] According to additional or alternative embodiments, the left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly each further include: a cylindrical pin for pivotally mounting the roller in the roller seating groove of the first end of the centering spindle.

[0033] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, the edge portion of the centering disk is inserted into the roller seating groove, and the first end of the centering core shaft is also provided with a roller pin hole arranged perpendicular to the roller seating groove, the cylindrical pin is installed in the roller pin hole, and the cylindrical pin is restricted in the roller pin hole by a retaining ring.

[0034] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for assembling the automatic centering device of a coupler of the present disclosure is provided, comprising the steps of:

[0035] Using the pivot center shaft to complete the pivot connection between the mounting seat and the coupler buffer device; installing the centering housing and the centering plate on the lower end of the pivot center shaft from below the mounting seat; and

[0036] The pre-assembled left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly are respectively passed through a lateral through hole and fixedly installed on the centering housing.

[0037] The above features, operations and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0039] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an automatic centering device for a coupler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded view of the automatic centering device for a coupler according to the illustrated embodiment.

[0041] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the automatic centering device for a coupler according to the illustrated embodiment.

[0042] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 AA section view of the automatic centering device of the coupler shown.

[0043] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A top view of the automatic centering device for a coupler of the illustrated embodiment, wherein a cross-sectional view of the centering mandrel on one side is shown.

[0044] Figures 6 to 8 yes Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the pivot center shaft used in the automatic centering device of the coupler of the embodiment shown, wherein: Figure 6 is the front view of the pivot axis, Figure 7 is a top view of the pivot axis, Figure 8 A side view of the pivot center axis.

[0045] Figures 9 to 11 yes Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the centering plate used in the automatic centering device of the coupler of the embodiment shown, wherein: Fig. 9 This is a top view of the centering plate. Fig.10 This is the left view of the centering plate. Fig.11 This is the BB cross-section of the centering plate.

[0046] Figure 12 to Figure 14 yes Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the centering mandrel used in the automatic centering device of the coupler of the embodiment shown, wherein: Fig.12 This is the main view of the centering mandrel. Fig.13 The CC section of the centering mandrel is shown below. Fig.14 DD section view of the centering mandrel.

[0047] Fig.15 yes Figure 1 The basic assembly flow chart of the automatic centering device for couplers of the illustrated embodiment.

[0048] Fig.16 It is a cross-sectional view of an automatic centering device for a coupler according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] Figure 17 to Figure 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a pivot center shaft according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein: Fig.17 is the front view of the pivot axis, Fig.18 It is a right side view of the pivot center axis.

[0050] Figures 19 to 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a centering plate according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein: Fig.19 This is a top view of the centering plate. Fig. 20 This is the GG cross-section view of the centering disk.

[0051] Description of labels:

[0052] 10. Automatic centering device for coupler, 110. Mounting seat, 111a. Upper pin hole, 111b. Lower pin hole, 120. Pivot center axis, 121. Anti-wear disc,

[0053] 122, pin rod, 123, limit plate, 124, anti-rotation groove,

[0054] 1241, edge, 1251, screw, 249, fastening nut,

[0055] 125, square boss, 126, bolt hole, 128, anti-rotation plate,

[0056] 130, centering housing, 131, pivot center axis positioning mounting hole,

[0057] 132, lateral through hole, 133, bolt hole, 140, centering plate,

[0058] 141, disc body, 142, centering groove, 143, boss,

[0059] 144, anti-rotation groove, 145, second through hole, 146, first through hole,

[0060] 148, anti-rotation block, 149, fastening bolts, 150, centering spindle,

[0061] 151, sleeve rod, 152, step, 153, centering plate clamping end,

[0062] 154, roller placement groove, 155, retaining ring installation positioning groove, 156, roller pin hole, 160a, left centering torque generating component, 160b, right centering torque generating component,

[0063] 161. Elastic element, 162. Cylindrical pin, 163. Roller,

[0064] 164, anti-wear bushing, 165, retaining ring, 171, housing side cover,

[0065] 172, housing lower cover, 320, pivot center axis, 325, anti-rotation groove,

[0066] 326, positioning hole, 340, centering plate, 344, sub-boss,

[0067] 70, support device, 790, fixing bolt, 80 coupler buffer device,

[0068] 810, swing center hole, 89, longitudinal center line,

[0069] 249. Tighten the nut. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The present invention is more fully described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated. However, the present invention may be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments given herein. The above embodiments are given to make the disclosure herein comprehensive and complete, so that the understanding of the scope of protection of the present invention is more comprehensive and accurate.

[0071] Terms such as “comprise” and “include” indicate that in addition to the components directly and explicitly stated in the specification and claims, the technical solution of the present invention does not exclude the situation where it has other components that are not directly or explicitly stated.

[0072] For ease of explanation and understanding, the corresponding x-direction, y-direction and z-direction are defined in the accompanying drawings; among them, the direction in which the longitudinal centerline of the body of the rail vehicle is located is defined as the x-direction, the up and down height direction of the mounting seat is defined as the z-direction, the y-direction is perpendicular to both the x-direction and the z-direction, and the positive direction of the x-direction points to the inner end of the body.

[0073] In the description of this article, among the directional terms such as "left", "right", "up", "down", "front", and "rear", "left" and "right" are defined with respect to the y direction, and the positive direction of the y direction may correspond to the right, and the negative direction of the y direction may correspond to the left; "up" and "down" are defined with respect to the z direction, and the positive direction of the z direction may correspond to the top, and the negative direction of the z direction may correspond to the bottom; "front" and "rear" are defined with respect to the x direction, and the positive direction of the x direction may correspond to the rear, and the negative direction of the x direction may correspond to the front. It should be understood that these directional terms are relative concepts, which are used to describe and clarify relative positions, and the corresponding specific orientations may change accordingly according to the change of the orientation in which the automatic centering device of the coupler is installed.

[0074] The following is a specific description of the automatic coupler centering device 10 being applied to a coupler (not shown) installed on a gas-liquid coupler buffer device 80. It will be understood that the automatic coupler centering device 10 can also be applied to automatic centering of couplers installed on other types of coupler buffer devices such as a mastic coupler buffer device 80.

[0075] like Figure 1-Figure 2 and Figure 5 , illustrating the application environment of the automatic coupler centering device 10. For example, a coupler may be installed at the front end of the coupler buffer device 80. The automatic coupler centering device 10 has a mounting seat 110 and can be fixedly mounted on a body of a rail vehicle (not shown in the figure) through the mounting seat 110. The automatic coupler centering device 10 is arranged corresponding to the coupler buffer device 80.

[0076] The coupler buffer device 80 can be partially supported by the supporting device 70, and the supporting device 70 can limit the relative rotation of the coupler buffer device 80 relative to the supporting device 70 through the left and right arms. The rear end of the supporting device 70 can also be specifically fixed to the coupler buffer device 80 by fixing bolts.

[0077] Under normal circumstances, the center line of the coupler connected to the coupler buffer device 80 is consistent with the longitudinal center line 89 of the vehicle body, that is, it is in the center position. However, the coupler is also allowed to swing left and right relative to the longitudinal center line 89 due to various reasons. For example, it swings left and right within a small angle range. This swing will cause the coupler or its traction rod to deviate from the longitudinal center line 89, that is, deviate from the center position; under such a left and right swinging condition, the automatic coupler centering device 10 of the embodiment of the present disclosure will be able to automatically output a signal that makes the coupler buffer device 80 tend to align with the longitudinal center line 89 of the vehicle body (such as Figure 5 The centering torque is maintained substantially the same as shown in FIG. 1 , so that the coupler and its traction rod etc. can automatically return to the position before the swing. Wherein, this centering torque can be transmitted through the support device 70 and act on the coupler buffer device 80.

[0078] Specifically, see Figures 1 to 5 The automatic centering device 10 of the coupler mainly includes important components such as a mounting seat 110, a pivot center shaft 120, a centering housing 130, a centering plate 140, a left centering torque generating component 160a and a right centering torque generating component 160b.

[0079] The mounting seat 110 can be fixedly mounted on the body of the rail vehicle, and of course, can also be fixedly mounted on, for example, an assembly table during assembly. The mounting seat 110 can be fixed to the body by, for example, four mounting bolts, so that it can swing left and right with the body. The mounting seat 110 can be integrally processed and has sufficient strength. Specifically, the mounting seat 110 can be provided with upper and lower parallel ear protrusions, each of which is provided with a pin hole, for example, an upper pin hole 111a and a lower pin hole 111b; the ear protrusion and the side wall of the mounting seat 110 can form a semi-open inner cavity, so that the rear end of the coupler buffer device 80 is conveniently placed in the inner cavity, and when the pivot center shaft 120 is installed, the swing center hole 810 of the rear end of the coupler buffer device 80 can be placed between the upper pin hole 111a and the lower pin hole 111b and aligned with them up and down, and the pivot center shaft 120 thus penetrates them in the up and down direction, and the coupler buffer device 80 can swing horizontally around the pivot center shaft 120. It will be understood that the specific structure of the mounting base 110 is not limited by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0080] The pivot center shaft 120 is detachably fixedly mounted relative to the mounting seat 110 in the up-down direction, and its lower end partially extends below the mounting seat 110 (see Figure 3 ), the extended portion will be used to pivotally install the positioning centering housing 130. In one embodiment, in conjunction with Figures 6 to 8 The pivot center shaft 120 has an upper end and a lower end. The upper end of the pivot center shaft 120 is provided with a relatively radially outwardly convex limiting plate 123, and the limiting plate 123 is provided with a rotation-stopping notch 124 (see Figure 6 and Figure 8 ), the anti-rotation slot 124 can make the pivot center shaft 120 partially exposed; the radial dimension of the limiting plate 123 is larger than the axial diameter of the pivot center shaft 120, so that it radially protrudes relative to the main body of the pivot center shaft 120 (i.e., the pin rod 122); the limiting plate 123 is roughly circular in shape but a part of it is notched to form the anti-rotation slot 124, and the anti-rotation slot 124 has a straight edge 1241. Corresponding to the anti-rotation slot 124, the automatic centering device 10 of the coupler is also provided with an anti-rotation plate 128, and the anti-rotation plate 128 is partially accommodated in the anti-rotation slot 124. Therefore, the anti-rotation slot 124 can be used to position and fix the anti-rotation plate 128. After being accommodated by the anti-rotation plate 128 or falling into the anti-rotation slot 124, it is further detachably mounted on the mounting seat 110 (see Figure 3 ), one side edge of the anti-rotation plate 128 can contact the edge 1241 of the anti-rotation slot 124 to prevent the pivot center shaft 120 from rotating relative to the mounting seat 110, and the partial bottom surface of the anti-rotation plate 128 can abut against the pivot center shaft 120; thus, after the anti-rotation plate 128 is fixed, the limit plate 123 and the anti-rotation plate 128 can limit the pivot center shaft 120 from rotating relative to the mounting seat 110 and moving up and down. Specifically, the anti-rotation plate 128 can be correspondingly in the shape of a square block, and can be fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the mounting seat 110 by nuts or the like.

[0081] The lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 is provided with a square boss 125 , on which a bolt hole 126 may be opened, which is used to detachably fix the centering plate 140 exemplified below on the square boss 125 .

[0082] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the centering housing 130 is pivotally mounted on the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 and is located below the mounting seat 110. The centering housing 130 can be constructed to be roughly formed with an inner cavity, which can be used to accommodate components such as the centering disk 140. A lower opening can be opened on the bottom shell of the centering housing 130 to facilitate the installation and removal of the centering disk 140 and the like; lateral through holes 132 are opened on the left and right side shells of the centering housing 130, respectively, which are used to install the left centering torque generating assembly 160a and the right centering torque generating assembly 160b of the following example respectively; the upper shell of the centering housing 130 can be opened with a pivot center shaft positioning and mounting hole 131, and the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 can pass through the pivot center shaft positioning and mounting hole 131, so that the centering housing 130 can be pivotally mounted on the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120.

[0083] The centering housing 130 can be fixedly connected to the rear end of the support device 70, so that the support device 70 can swing within a small angle range relative to the pivot center axis 120 together with the centering housing 130. Specifically, a plurality of bolt holes 133 are provided at the front end of the centering housing 130, and the bolt holes 133 can be used to install the fixing bolts 790, so that the bolt holes 133 cooperate with the fixing bolts 790 to detachably fix the support device 70 on the centering housing 130.

[0084] In one embodiment, see Figure 2 The pivot center shaft 120 may also be equipped with a plurality of anti-wear discs 121, which are penetrated by the pivot center shaft 120, and whose upper or lower surfaces are in contact with the mounting seat 110, for example, in contact with the lugs corresponding to the upper pin hole 111a or the lower pin hole 111b. Specifically, there may be four anti-wear discs 121, and one anti-wear disc 121 may be provided at the place where the centering housing 130 contacts the centering disc 140, at the place where the mounting seat 110 contacts the rear end of the coupler buffer device 80 (the upper and lower contact surfaces), and at the place where the mounting seat 110 contacts the centering housing 130, thereby reducing the wear caused by the pivoting action.

[0085] See also Figure 2-Figure 4 , Figures 9 to 11 The centering plate 140 is disposed inside the centering housing 130 and can be detachably fixedly connected to the lower end of the pivoting center shaft 120 located in the centering housing 130 through the lower opening of the centering housing 130, for example, the centering plate 140 is fixed up and down on the lower end of the pivoting center shaft 120 (for example, fixedly mounted on the square boss 125) by fastening bolts 149. Accordingly, the automatic centering device 10 for the coupler can also be provided with a housing lower cover 172 to cover the lower opening of the centering housing 130, which can also be detachably mounted on the bottom housing of the centering housing 130 by means of nuts, etc., so that dust and foreign matter can be prevented from entering the centering housing 130.

[0086] The centering disk 140 can be roughly disk-shaped, having a disk body 141, and centering grooves 142 are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the centering disk 140. Specifically, the centering groove 142 can be formed by a notch on the edge of the disk body 141, and the groove opening direction of the centering groove 142 can be roughly toward the lateral through hole 132 on the corresponding side. Specifically, the center line of the centering groove 142 and the center line of the lateral through hole 132 are in roughly the same direction, and they can be deflected forward by a certain angle relative to the y-axis, thereby forming an angle of, for example, 5° to 10° with the y-axis.

[0087] The centering plate 140 is restricted from rotating relative to the pivot center shaft 120. To this end, the centering plate 140 may be provided with an anti-rotation groove 144 for accommodating the square boss 125 of the pivot center shaft 120. The anti-rotation groove 144 may be formed by radially penetrating the boss 143 on the centering plate 140 from left to right, so that it is easy to process and shape. The width of the anti-rotation groove 144 is substantially equal to the width of the square boss 125. Furthermore, a second through hole 145 may be provided at the center position of the bottom of the anti-rotation groove 144 for the fastening bolt 149 to pass through. A first through hole 146 may be provided on each of the left and right sides of the second through hole 145. Correspondingly, two anti-rotation blocks 148 are provided. Each anti-rotation block 148 The anti-rotation block 148 has a lower convex portion (e.g., a cylindrical lower convex portion). Before the centering plate 140 is fixedly installed, the lower convex portion of the anti-rotation block 148 can be preliminarily dropped into the first through hole 146 at the bottom of the anti-rotation groove 144. The length of each anti-rotation block 148 is substantially equal to the width of the anti-rotation groove 144. In this way, the two anti-rotation blocks 148 in the anti-rotation groove 144 can surround and form a square groove for accommodating the square boss 125, and the square groove can prevent the centering plate 140 from rotating relative to the square boss 125. The centering plate 140 and the anti-rotation block 148 of the above embodiment have a simple structure, are easy to process and form, and are easy to assemble.

[0088] Continue as Figure 2 , Figure 5 As shown, the left centering torque generating assembly 160a and the right centering torque generating assembly 160b are arranged in a left-right symmetrical manner on the automatic centering device 10 for the coupler. For example, they can be arranged symmetrically relative to the xz plane where the longitudinal center line 89 is located, and have the same structure. Similarly, the centering plate 140 can also be designed symmetrically relative to the xy plane where the longitudinal center line 89 is located. In this way, no matter which direction the coupler deflects to the left or right, the automatic centering device 10 for the coupler can output the corresponding centering torque to make the coupler tend to return to the center.

[0089] In one embodiment, the centering torque generating assembly 160a or 160b includes a housing side cover 171, a centering spindle 150, a roller 163, an elastic element 161, a cylindrical pin 162, a retaining ring 165, an anti-wear bushing 164, etc.

[0090] The shell side cover 171 is detachably fixed on the side of the centering shell 130 and covers the lateral through hole 132. For example, it is fixed on the outer end face of the lateral through hole 132 by bolts, etc. The shell side cover 171 not only has the function of preventing dust and foreign matter from entering the centering shell 130, but more importantly, it can be used to position and install the centering core shaft 150. Specifically, a positioning groove can be formed in the shell side cover 171 for the second end of the centering core shaft 150 to be installed and positioned.

[0091] The centering mandrel 150 can pass through the lateral through hole 132 of the centering housing 130 and be installed and positioned between the housing side cover 171 and the centering plate 140 (see Figure 5 ); the first end (i.e., the inner end) of the centering spindle 150 can be specifically provided with a roller seating groove 154, in which a roller 163 can be pivotally mounted, and the roller 163 can act on the centering groove 142; the roller seating groove 154 also has a card slot function, which can dock the roller seating groove 154 on the edge portion of the disc body 141 of the centering disk 140 toward the anti-rotation groove 144, thereby preventing the centering spindle 150 from rotating; the second end (i.e., the outer end) of the centering spindle 150 is positioned and mounted on the shell side cover 171, for example, mounted on a positioning groove formed in the shell side cover 171.

[0092] The elastic element 161 can specifically be but is not limited to a butterfly spring (i.e., a disc spring), which can be mounted on the sleeve rod 151 at the second end of the centering core shaft 150, and the two ends of the elastic element 161 are respectively against the shell side cover 171 and the step 152, so that the elastic element 161 can output a reaction force to the shell side cover 171 and the centering shell 130 when compressed, thereby outputting a centering torque.

[0093] It should be noted that the centering core shaft 150 is basically limited in the z direction, but it can be moved along the center line direction of the lateral through hole 132. For example, the roller 163 can roll back and forth along the centering groove 142 respectively. When rolling back and forth, the roller 163 can push the centering core shaft 150 to move along the center line of the lateral through hole 132 in the xy plane, thereby causing the elastic element 161 to be compressed or released.

[0094] Taking the left and right swing of the coupler connected to the coupler buffer device 80 relative to the longitudinal center line 89 as an example, the swing will cause the roller 163 to roll back and forth relative to the centering groove 142, thereby pushing the centering core shaft 150 to move toward the shell side cover 171 roughly along the center line direction of the lateral through hole 132 and compress the elastic element 161. Accordingly, the elastic element 161 outputs a rebound force due to its compression and reacts on the shell side cover 171, thereby generating a centering torque acting on the centering shell 130 via the shell side cover 171.

[0095] In one embodiment, the roller 163 is detachably mounted in the roller mounting groove 154 via a cylindrical pin 162; Figure 12 to Figure 14As shown, a roller pin hole 156 is provided at the first end of the centering core shaft 150, which can be arranged in the z direction and perpendicular to the roller mounting groove 154. When the roller 163 is placed in the roller mounting groove 154 and its center hole is aligned with the roller pin hole 156, the cylindrical pin 162 can be inserted and installed in the roller pin hole 156; to prevent the cylindrical pin 162 from falling off from the roller pin hole 156, a retaining ring installation positioning groove 155 for positioning and installing the retaining ring 165 can be opened on the outer wall of the centering core shaft 150 corresponding to the roller pin hole 156. After the cylindrical pin 162 is inserted and installed in the roller pin hole 156, the retaining ring 165 can be positioned and installed in the retaining ring installation positioning groove 155 to clamp the cylindrical pin 162, so that the cylindrical pin 162 can be restricted in the roller pin hole 156 by the retaining ring 165.

[0096] The specific automatic centering principle of the automatic centering device 10 of the coupler of the above embodiment is as follows: when the coupler connected to the coupler buffer device 80 swings left and right relative to the longitudinal center line 89, the swinging coupler buffer device 80 will drive the centering shell 130 to swing left and right through the support device 70; the roller 163 on the corresponding side will roll back and forth relative to the centering groove 142, thereby pushing the centering core shaft 150 to move toward the shell side cover 171 roughly along the center line direction of the lateral through hole 132 and compress the elastic element 161; accordingly, the elastic element 161 outputs a rebound force due to its compression and reacts on the shell side cover 171, thereby generating a centering torque acting on the centering shell 130 via the shell side cover 171; the centering torque can act on the coupler buffer device 80 through the support device 70, so that the coupler buffer device 80 and its coupler will tend to return to the longitudinal center line 89 under the action of the centering torque, thereby achieving automatic centering. At the same time, the roller 163 will automatically return to the center of the centering groove 142 under the component force of the pressure of the elastic element 161 to prepare for the next automatic centering.

[0097] The automatic centering device 10 of the above embodiment has a simple structure and each component can be processed relatively simply, and the processing accuracy requirement is not high. Therefore, it can be implemented at a relatively low cost. In addition, the overall structure of the automatic centering device 10 of the coupler is relatively compact, and the installation space required is not large. In particular, the automatic centering device 10 of the coupler is easy to assemble. Fig.15 The following example illustrates an assembly method of the automatic coupler centering device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0098] First, in step S910 , the pivoting center shaft 120 is used to complete the pivoting connection between the mounting seat 110 and the coupler buffer device 80 .

[0099] Specifically, the mounting seat 110 is fixed on the assembly table by, for example, four mounting bolts, and the corresponding anti-wear disk 121 is installed at the place where the mounting seat 110 contacts the coupler buffer device 80. The swing center hole 810 of the coupler buffer device 80 and the pin holes 110a and 110b of the mounting seat 110 are aligned up and down by a sling, and the pivot center shaft 120 is inserted; at the same time, the pivot center shaft 120 is detachably fixed to the mounting seat 110, for example, the anti-rotation plate 128 is aligned and matched with the anti-rotation groove 124 of the limit plate 123, and the pivot center shaft 120 is fixed to limit the relative rotation and up and down movement of the pivot center shaft 120.

[0100] Further, in step S920 , the centering housing 130 and the centering plate 140 are installed on the lower end of the pivoting central shaft 120 from below the mounting seat 110 .

[0101] Specifically, two anti-wear disks 121 are installed on the upper and lower end surfaces of the pivot center shaft positioning mounting hole 131 of the centering shell 130, and the centering shell 130 together with the anti-wear disks 121 are mounted on the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120; two anti-rotation blocks 148 are installed in the centering disk 140 outside the centering shell 130, wherein the circular boss of the anti-rotation block 148 can fall into the first through hole 146 of the centering disk 140 to form a square groove; the centering disk 140 is installed into the centering shell 130 from the lower opening of the centering shell 130, and the square boss 125 of the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 partially falls into the square groove of the centering disk 140, and the centering disk 140 and the pivot center shaft 120 are fixed together by tightening bolts 149.

[0102] Further, in step S930 , the left centering torque generating assembly 160 a and the right centering torque generating assembly 160 b are respectively passed through a lateral through hole 132 and fixedly mounted on the centering housing 130 .

[0103] In step S930, various components on the centering spindle 150 (such as the roller 163, the cylindrical pin 162, the retaining ring 165, the elastic element 161, etc.) can be pre-installed on the centering spindle 150 outside the centering housing 130, and the installation is also very convenient; specifically, the roller 163 is first placed in the roller placement groove 154 and the center hole thereof is aligned with the roller pin hole 156, and the cylindrical pin 162 is installed in the roller pin hole 156. The retaining ring 165 is then embedded in the retaining ring mounting positioning groove 155, so that the roller 163 is pivotally mounted on the first end of the centering core shaft 150; then, the anti-wear bushing 164 can also be mounted on the outer circumference of the centering core shaft 150 and the step 152, and the anti-wear bushing 164 will contact the inner surface of the lateral through hole 132 to reduce the wear of the centering core shaft 150 during operation, and the elastic element 161 can also be mounted on the sleeve rod 151.

[0104] In step S930, the pre-installed centering spindle 150 can pass through the lateral through hole 132 of the centering shell 130 as a whole, and the roller mounting groove 154 at its first end is aligned with the edge portion of the centering disk 140 and combined with the edge portion. At this time, the roller 163 is in contact with the centering groove 142 of the centering disk 140; then, the side cover 171 of the fixed shell is installed in alignment with the lateral through hole 132, and the lateral through hole 132 is closed, thereby basically completing the fixed installation of the left centering torque generating assembly 160a and the right centering torque generating assembly 160bd.

[0105] Further, in step S940, optionally, the housing lower cover 172 is aligned with the lower opening on the bottom housing of the centering housing 130 and fixedly mounted on the centering housing 130. Finally, the support device 70 can be mounted on the centering housing 130 using four fixing bolts 790 with the aid of a lifting device. In this way, Figure 1 The exemplary automatic centering device 10 for a car coupler is basically assembled. It can be seen that the assembly process of the above embodiment does not require a special installation process, nor does it require a flipping operation of the counterweight mounting seat 110 and the car coupler buffer device 80, and the assembly is simple and not complicated.

[0106] It should be noted that the automatic centering device for couplers is not limited to the use of Figure 3 The centering plate 140 is fixed to the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 by tightening the bolts 149 shown. Fig.16 A screw rod 1251 is provided on the square boss 125 at the lower end of the pivot center shaft 120 of the automatic coupler centering device 20 along the z direction. The screw rod 1251 has an external thread, and a fastening nut 249 is correspondingly provided on the corresponding screw rod 1251. After the screw rod 1251 passes through the centering plate 140, the centering plate 140 and the pivot center shaft 120 are fixed together by screwing in the fastening nut 249. The specific arrangement or structure of other components of the automatic coupler centering device 20 may be the same as the corresponding components of the automatic coupler centering device 10, and will not be repeated here.

[0107] It should be noted that the matching mode between the centering plate and the pivot center axis in the automatic centering device of the coupler is not limited to the above embodiment; Figure 17 to Figure 18 , Figures 19 to 20 , which show yet another way of cooperation between the centering plate 340 and the pivot center shaft 320.

[0108] See also Figure 17 to Figure 18 Compared with the pivot center shaft 120 of the above embodiment, the pivot center shaft 320 has an anti-rotation groove 325 at its lower end instead of a square boss 125. Figures 19 to 20Compared with the centering disk 140 in the above embodiment, the centering disk 340 is provided with a square sub-boss 344 instead of the anti-rotation groove 144 on the boss 143 of the centering disk 340; the sub-boss 344 and the anti-rotation groove 325 are configured to cooperate with each other to prevent the centering disk 340 from rotating relative to the pivot center axis 320. Specifically, the anti-rotation groove 325 is also provided with a bolt hole 126, and it can also be provided with a positioning hole 326, the function of the positioning hole 326 is similar to the first through hole 146, before the centering disk 340 is fixedly installed, the lower convex portion of the anti-rotation block 148 can fall into the first through hole 146 of the anti-rotation groove 325 in advance, and the length of each anti-rotation block 148 is substantially equal to the width of the anti-rotation groove 325, so that the two anti-rotation blocks 148 in the anti-rotation groove 325 can surround and form a square groove for accommodating the sub-boss 344. When the centering plate 340 is fixedly installed, the centering plate 340 and the pivot center shaft 320 can also be connected together by passing the fastening bolt 149 through the second through hole 145 of the centering plate 340 and screwing it into the bolt hole 126 of the anti-rotation groove 325.

[0109] It should be noted that the above-mentioned automatic coupler centering device 10 can be applied by analogy to other types of coupler buffer devices to realize automatic centering of the coupler connected thereto, and certain components of the automatic coupler centering device 10 can be adaptively improved in design corresponding to the specific structure and / or type of the coupler buffer device, for example, the specific structure of the mounting seat 110 can be improved in design corresponding to the coupler buffer device to which it is pivotally connected.

[0110] The above examples mainly illustrate the automatic centering device of the coupler and the assembly method thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention. Although only some of the embodiments of the present invention are described, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in many other forms without departing from its subject matter and scope. Therefore, the examples and embodiments shown are regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the present invention may cover various modifications and substitutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An automatic coupler centering device, arranged corresponding to a coupler buffer device and used to output a centering torque that makes the coupler buffer device tend to be substantially consistent with the longitudinal center line of the body of a railway vehicle, characterized in that: The automatic coupler centering device comprises: Mounting seat; A pivot center shaft is detachably fixedly mounted relative to the mounting seat in the up-down direction, and its lower end partially extends below the mounting seat; an upper pin hole and a lower pin hole are provided on the mounting seat, and the pivot center shaft sequentially passes through the upper pin hole, the swing center hole of the coupler buffer device, and the lower pin hole; The upper end of the pivot center shaft is provided with a relatively radially outwardly protruding limiting plate, and the limiting plate is provided with a rotation-stopping notch, and the rotation-stopping notch partially exposes the pivot center shaft; The automatic centering device for the coupler further comprises a stop plate, which is detachably positioned and mounted on the mounting seat corresponding to the stop notch, so as to prevent the pivot center axis from rotating relative to the mounting seat and prevent the pivot center axis from moving up and down relative to the mounting seat; A centering shell, which is pivotally mounted on the lower end of the pivot center axis and is located below the mounting seat, and has a lower opening on its bottom shell and lateral through holes on its left and right side shells respectively; A centering plate, which is disposed inside the centering shell and can be detachably fixedly connected to the lower end of the pivoting central shaft located in the centering shell through the lower opening of the centering shell; A left centering torque generating assembly and a right centering torque generating assembly are respectively arranged on both sides of the centering plate symmetrically, and respectively penetrate the lateral through holes on the corresponding sides and are detachably fixedly installed corresponding to the lateral through holes; The left and right sides of the centering plate are respectively provided with centering grooves, and the rollers in the left centering torque generating assembly or the right centering torque generating assembly act on the centering grooves respectively and can roll forward and backward along the centering grooves; The lower end of the pivot center shaft is provided with a square boss; the centering plate is provided with an anti-rotation groove for accommodating the square boss; Two anti-rotation blocks, each of which has a lower convex portion, and the lower convex portion can fall into the first through hole at the bottom of the anti-rotation groove to surround and form a square groove for accommodating the square boss; The fastening bolts are used to fix the centering plate up and down on the lower end of the pivoting center shaft.

2. The automatic centering device for couplers according to claim 1, characterized in that: A supporting device for partially supporting the coupler buffer device is detachably fixedly mounted on the centering housing and is capable of transmitting the centering torque output from the centering housing.

3. The automatic centering device for couplers according to claim 2, characterized in that: The front end of the centering shell is provided with a bolt hole, which cooperates with a fixing bolt to detachably fix the supporting device on the centering shell.

4. The automatic centering device for couplers according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The housing lower cover is used to cover the lower opening of the centering housing.

5. The automatic centering device for couplers according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The anti-wear disc is penetrated by the pivot center shaft and the upper surface or the lower surface thereof is in contact with the mounting seat.

6. The automatic centering device for couplers according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly each include: A housing side cover, which is detachably fixedly mounted on the side surface of the centering housing and covers the lateral through hole; A centering spindle, which passes through the lateral through hole of the centering housing and is installed and positioned between the housing side cover and the centering disk; The roller is pivotally mounted on the first end of the centering spindle; and An elastic element is sleeved on the sleeve rod at the second end of the centering core shaft and abuts against the shell side cover. The coupler connected to the coupler buffer device swings left and right relative to the longitudinal center line, causing the roller to roll back and forth relative to the centering groove, thereby pushing the centering core shaft to move toward the shell side cover along the center line direction of the lateral through hole and compressing the elastic element. The elastic element outputs a rebound force due to its compression and reacts on the shell side cover, thereby generating the centering torque acting on the centering shell via the shell side cover.

7. The automatic centering device for a coupler according to claim 6, characterized in that: The left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly each further include: a cylindrical pin for pivotally mounting the roller in the roller seating groove at the first end of the centering spindle.

8. The automatic centering device for a coupler according to claim 7, characterized in that: The edge portion of the centering disk is stuck in the roller seating groove, and the first end of the centering core shaft is also provided with a roller pin hole arranged perpendicular to the roller seating groove. The cylindrical pin is installed in the roller pin hole, and the cylindrical pin is restricted in the roller pin hole by a retaining ring.

9. An assembly method of the automatic centering device for a coupler as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The method comprises the steps of: using the pivot center axis to complete the pivot connection between the mounting seat and the coupler buffer device; Installing the centering housing and the centering plate on the lower end of the pivoting center shaft from below the mounting seat; as well as The pre-assembled left centering torque generating assembly and the right centering torque generating assembly are respectively passed through a lateral through hole and fixedly installed on the centering housing.

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