Zugkupplung

Abstract

The invention relates to a coupling with a coupling head which is pivotably mounted about a horizontal pivoting axis in a coupling head receptacle, wherein the coupling head is pivotable about the horizontal pivoting axis between an active position in which it is aligned for coupling with a corresponding coupling head within a horizontal plane, and an inactive position in which it is pivoted out of the horizontal plane; wherein a locking device is provided with which the coupling head can be locked in the horizontal plane. The coupling according to the invention is characterized in that the locking device comprises a locking pin which can be inserted through a first guide in the coupling head and a second guide in the coupling head receptacle in order to secure the coupling head positively against rotation about the pivot axis.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a train coupling with a coupling head which is pivotably mounted about a horizontal pivot axis in a coupling head receptacle, for example at the end of a drawbar.

[0002] A generic train coupling is disclosed, for example, in WO 2021 / 185497 A1. This comprises a coupling head of an automatic coupling, which can be pivoted into a horizontal coupling plane as needed. Furthermore, a second coupling device in the form of a drawbar eye is provided, which can be pivoted into the coupling plane when the coupling head has been pivoted from an active position in the coupling plane to an inactive position outside the coupling plane. To pivot the coupling head, an actuating device is provided, which is attached to a drawbar, to the end of which the coupling head is pivotably connected, and comprises a drive device that engages an articulated arrangement eccentrically to a horizontal articulated axis about which the coupling head is pivotable. The articulated arrangement supports the coupling head pivotably about the horizontal articulated axis.The drive device is designed, for example, as a hydraulic or pneumatic linear motor and holds the coupling head in its active position in the coupling plane.

[0003] Another drawbar coupling with a drawbar eye and automatic drawbar coupling, which can be optionally pivoted into a horizontal plane to serve as a coupling, is disclosed in EP 3 590 784 A1. The automatic drawbar coupling has a coupling head that is detachably attached to a drawbar for easy replacement. The attachment can be achieved via a clamp sleeve arrangement or via locking pins.

[0004] A disadvantage of the known train couplings is that the alignment of the coupling head in its active position in the horizontal plane is subject to tolerances, so that, particularly if the coupling head is designed as an automatic coupling head, problems can arise when coupling with an oppositely identical coupling head, which require manual adjustment.

[0005] The present invention is based on the object of specifying a train coupling with a coupling head of the type shown, with which it is possible to lock the coupling head precisely and reliably in its active position against pivoting of the coupling head about the pivot axis.

[0006] The object of the invention is achieved by a train coupling having the features of claim 1. The dependent claims describe advantageous and particularly useful embodiments of the invention.

[0007] A train coupling according to the invention has a coupling head that is pivotably mounted about a horizontal pivot axis in a coupling head receptacle, wherein the coupling head is pivotable about the horizontal pivot axis between an active position, in which it is aligned for coupling with an opposing coupling head within a horizontal plane, and an inactive position, in which it is pivoted out of the horizontal plane. Furthermore, a locking device is provided, with which the coupling head can be locked in the horizontal plane. The locking device therefore blocks pivoting of the coupling head about the horizontal pivot axis. When the locking device is released, it releases this pivoting of the coupling head from the active position within the horizontal plane to the inactive position outside the horizontal plane, for example, pivoting downwards and / or preferably upwards.

[0008] According to the invention, the locking device comprises a locking pin that can be inserted through a first guide in the coupling head and a second guide in the coupling head receptacle in order to positively secure the coupling head against rotation about the pivot axis. When the locking pin is inserted through the first guide and the second guide, it locks the coupling head against pivoting about the pivot axis, so that the coupling head remains precisely aligned in the desired active position in the horizontal plane. If, however, the locking pin is pulled out of at least one of the two guides, in particular from both guides, it releases the pivoting of the coupling head about the pivot axis, so that the coupling head can be pivoted about the pivot axis from the active position to the inactive position.

[0009] Since, according to the invention, the plug pin locks the coupling head in its active position in a form-fitting manner directly in the area of ​​the coupling head receptacle, it can be ensured that the coupling head is always aligned exactly within the horizontal plane when it has been pivoted into its active position.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the coupling head is permanently connected to the coupling head receptacle. According to an alternative embodiment, the entire coupling head or parts of the coupling head can be removed from the coupling head receptacle so that the coupling head or the coupling parts can be replaced. For example, the actual coupling device(s) can be removed from the remaining part of the coupling head to be replaced with similar or different coupling devices.

[0011] Preferably, the coupling head receptacle has a first stop against which the coupling head abuts when pivoting into the active position. The stop is arranged such that the first guide and the second guide are aligned with each other. This facilitates the insertion of the plug pin into the first guide and the second guide.

[0012] Preferably, the locking pin, when inserted into the first guide and the second guide, is rotatable about its longitudinal axis within the first and second guides and has at least one radial projection that can be rotated with the locking pin to form an undercut with a stop surface on the coupling head receptacle, in order to block withdrawal of the locking pin from the first and second guides. This prevents accidental withdrawal of the locking pin from the first and second guides.

[0013] Preferably, the radial projection is designed as a lever extending perpendicularly or at an angle to the longitudinal axis. This facilitates its rotation behind the stop surface.

[0014] Particularly preferably, the stop surface extends below the longitudinal axis in the active position of the coupling head. This means that the radial projection only needs to be rotated downwards, either actively or under its own weight, to form the undercut with the stop surface.

[0015] Particularly preferably, the locking pin is rotatable in the inserted state upon application of a torque, and the radial projection, which is designed, for example, as a cylindrical lever, has a length and a weight that, when the locking pin is inserted, exerts a drive torque on the locking pin about its longitudinal axis, wherein the drive torque is greater than the torque. Thus, when inserted, the locking pin automatically rotates with the radial projection behind the stop surface on the coupling head receptacle to form the undercut.

[0016] To facilitate easy rotation of the locking pin in the inserted state, the locking pin is preferably held at least substantially free from any clamping force in the inserted state, which could be generated, for example, by the weight of the coupling head. This can be achieved by appropriately positioning the first stop in the coupling head receptacle, which in particular absorbs the entire weight force or the torque generated by the weight of the coupling head, which acts to rotate the coupling head downward about the pivot axis. Accordingly, several such first stops can also be provided.

[0017] It is advantageous if the locking pin can only be inserted into the first and second guides in one rotational position about the longitudinal axis, in which the radial projection is arranged with a rotation angle of less than 180°, in particular less than 135° or 90°, relative to the stop surface and is also arranged on the side of the stop surface relative to a vertical plane. This ensures that the desired drive torque acts on the locking pin due to the weight force to move the radial projection behind the stop surface.

[0018] Particularly preferably, the coupling head receptacle comprises a fork shape with two forks between which the coupling head is received. Each fork can then have a bore, with the two bores together forming the second guide.

[0019] The first guide is preferably formed by a step in a radially outer surface of a housing of the coupling head.

[0020] For example, at least one pressure piece is provided in the step, which limits the contact surface of the socket pin in one or both directions of rotation of the coupling head around the pivot axis to less than two-thirds or less than half of the mutual distance between the forks in the area of ​​the socket pin. This limits the friction surface between the socket pin and the coupling head, which facilitates the rotation of the socket pin in the inserted state.

[0021] In order to be able to rotate the plug pin particularly easily, the at least one pressure piece preferably has a friction-reduced surface, at least in comparison to the surface of the coupling head arranged next to it.

[0022] The coupling head receptacle is preferably formed by an axial end of a pull rod.

[0023] The coupling head is in particular an automatic train coupling.

[0024] Particularly preferably, the coupling head comprises a first coupling device of a first type, in particular with a coupling projection and coupling opening, for example with a coupling cone and coupling funnel, and the towing coupling further comprises a second coupling device of a second type, different from the first type, in particular with a towing eye or towing hook. The second coupling device is then preferably alignable or aligned within the horizontal plane in the inactive position of the coupling head.

[0025] The coupling head with coupling projection and coupling opening is designed in particular as a coupling head of a Scharfenberg coupling, preferably with a frog.

[0026] In particular, the second coupling device can only be pivoted into the horizontal plane when the coupling head is in its inactive position.

[0027] The invention will be described below using an exemplary embodiment and the figures.

[0028] They show: Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a train coupling according to the invention with the coupling head within the horizontal plane; Fig. 2 the train coupling from the Fig. 1 with the coupling head pivoted slightly upwards from the horizontal plane around the pivot axis; Fig. 3 the train coupling from the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 with the coupling head in its inactive position and a second coupling device in an active position within the horizontal plane; Fig. 4 an embodiment of the locking device with plug pin; Fig. 5 a schematic representation of a train coupling with plug pins and stops.

[0029] In the Fig. 1 shows a coupling head 1 of a train coupling, which is mounted in a coupling head receptacle 3 about a horizontal pivot axis 2. The coupling head receptacle 3 is provided at the axial end of a drawbar 16, which is connected with its other axial end in a horizontally pivotable manner, for example, to a car body 19.

[0030] The pull rod 16 has a longitudinal axis 20 which, together with the pivot axis 2, forms a horizontal plane in which the Fig. 1 shown active position of the coupling head 1 and which can also be referred to as the coupling plane.

[0031] In order to secure the coupling head 1 in the horizontal plane against pivoting around the pivot axis 2, a locking device 4 with plug pins 5 is provided, which is inserted into the Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 is described as an example. How one can especially from the Fig. 4, the coupling head receptacle 3 has a fork shape with two forks 11, 12, between which the coupling head 1 is received. Each fork 11, 12 comprises a bore 7.1, 7.2, which together form a second guide 7. The radially outer surface of a housing 14 of the coupling head 1 forms a first guide 6. The locking device 4 comprises a plug pin 5, which is inserted into the first guide 6 in the coupling head 1 and the second guide 7 in the coupling head receptacle 3, whereby the coupling head 1 is positively secured against rotation about the pivot axis 2 in the horizontal plane, i.e. in its active position.

[0032] The plug pin 5 has a longitudinal axis 8, about which it can be rotated when inserted into the first guide 6 and the second guide 7. The plug pin 5 also has a radial projection 9, here in the form of a lever, which, when the plug pin 5 is inserted into the first guide 6 and the second guide 7, can be rotated behind a stop surface 10 on the coupling head receptacle in order to positively block withdrawal of the plug pin 5 from the first guide 6 and the second guide 7.

[0033] The rotation of the locking pin 5 such that the radial projection 9 moves behind the stop surface 10 is preferably possible solely by the weight of the radial projection 9, so that an automatic blocking occurs after the locking pin 5 is inserted into the first guide 6 and the second guide 7. For this purpose, the first guide 6 in the coupling head 1 preferably has one or more pressure pieces 15, which comparatively reduce the contact area between the coupling head 1, here its housing 14, and the locking pin 5. The pressure piece(s) 15 can furthermore have a friction-reducing surface.

[0034] In the illustrated embodiment, the first guide 6 is formed by a step 13 in the radially outer surface of the housing 14, and thrust pieces 15 are inserted into this step 13, which ensure that the plug pin 5 bears against the pivot axis 2 in both directions of rotation of the coupling head 1. The contact surface is reduced to less than half the width of the housing 14 between the forks 11, 12, relative to each pivot direction.

[0035] In the Fig. 1 to 3, it is shown by way of example that the coupling head 1 has a first coupling device 17 in the form of a Scharfenberg coupling with a coupling cone 17.1 and coupling funnel 17.2. The towing coupling further has a second coupling device 18 with a towing eye 18.1. Such a towing eye 18.1 can establish a towing connection with a towing hook.

[0036] The second coupling device 18 can in particular only be pivoted into the horizontal plane, i.e. the coupling plane, about the pivot axis 2 when the coupling head 1 is in its Fig. 3 shown inactive position. According to one embodiment, the pivoting of the second coupling device 18 is positively coupled to the pivoting of the coupling head 1, so that the coupling head 1 and the second coupling device 18 are always pivoted together about the pivot axis 2. As shown in the Fig. 2, however, a separate pivoting of the coupling head 1 and the second coupling device 18 about the pivot axis 2 can also be provided.

[0037] For pivoting the coupling head 1 about the pivot axis 2, a drive 21 is provided, which according to the embodiment in the Fig. 1 to 3 is designed as a hand crank and according to the embodiment in the Fig. 4 as electric, pneumatic or hydraulic drive.

[0038] According to an embodiment not shown in detail, the coupling head 1 can also be pivoted without a separate gear, for example by hand, by applying a corresponding manual force to the coupling head 1.

[0039] In the Fig. 5 shows by way of example that the coupling head receptacle 3 has a first stop 22, against which the coupling head 1, here with a coupling head stop 23, strikes when it is pivoted from its inactive position to its active position and has reached the active position. In this position, the Fig. 4, and the plug pin 5 can be easily inserted into these guides 6, 7 with very little play. Accordingly, the coupling head 1 is held exactly in the horizontal plane when the plug pin 5 is inserted.

[0040] In the illustrated embodiment, the coupling head receptacle 3 has a second stop 24, against which the coupling head 1, here with its coupling head stop 23, strikes when the coupling head 1 is rotated into its inactive position. A corresponding locking device, for example, with a locking pin, could be provided here to positively hold the coupling head 1 in the inactive position.

[0041] The first stop 22 could also additionally or alternatively be provided at the rear, that is to say on the rear side of the coupling head 1 facing the coupling head receptacle 3 or the pull rod 16, and / or at the bottom of the coupling head receptacle 3 or the pull rod 16, in particular as a counter surface to a coupling head stop 23 in the form of a nose or projection on the coupling head 1 protruding from the radially outer surface of the housing 14, wherein the coupling head stop 23 on the coupling head 1 then strikes the first stop 22 from below and / or from the front when the coupling head 1 is in its active position.In this case, the first stop 22 and the coupling head stop 23 can preferably be provided at least substantially centrally between the forks 11, 12, while in the illustrated embodiment, both forks 11, 12 are preferably each provided with a first stop 22, against which a coupling head stop 23 abuts in order to evenly absorb the weight of the coupling head 1. One or more such first stops 22 can prevent jamming forces between the plug pin 5 and the first and second guides 6, 7. List of reference symbols 1 coupling head 2 swivel axis 3 Coupling head holder 4 locking device 5 socket pins 6 first lead 7 second lead 7.1 Drilling 7.2 Drilling 8 Longitudinal axis 9 Radial projection 10 Stop surface 11 Fork 12 forks 13th level 14 housings 15 Pressure piece 16 Drawbar 17 first coupling device 17.1 Clutch cone 17.2 Clutch funnel 18 second coupling device 18.1 Towing eye 19 Car body 20 Longitudinal axis 21 Drive 22 first attack 23 Coupling head stop 24 second attack QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] WO 2021 / 185497 A1

[0002] EP 3 590 784 A1

[0003]

Claims

[1] A train coupling comprising a coupling head (1) which is mounted in a coupling head receptacle (3) so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis (2), the coupling head (1) being pivotable about the horizontal pivot axis (2) between an active position in which it is aligned within a horizontal plane for coupling with an oppositely arranged coupling head, and an inactive position in which it is pivoted out of the horizontal plane; a locking device (4) being provided with which the coupling head (1) can be locked in the horizontal plane; characterized by that the locking device (4) comprises a plug-in pin (5) which can be inserted through a first guide (6) in the coupling head (1) and a second guide (7) in the coupling head receptacle (3) in order to positively secure the coupling head (1) against rotation about the pivot axis (2). [2] Train coupling according to claim 1, characterized bythat the coupling head receptacle (3) has a first stop (22) against which the coupling head (1) strikes when pivoting into the active position, so that the first guide (6) and the second guide (7) are aligned with one another. [3] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by in that the plug pin (5), when inserted into the first guide (6) and the second guide (7), is rotatable about its longitudinal axis (8) within the first guide (6) and the second guide (7) and has at least one radial projection (9) which is rotatable with the plug pin (5) to form an undercut with a stop surface (10) on the coupling head receptacle (3) in order to block withdrawal of the plug pin (5) from the first and second guide (6, 7). [4] Train coupling according to claim 3, characterized by that the radial projection (9) is designed as a lever running perpendicular or at an angle to the longitudinal axis (8). [5] Train coupling according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized by that the stop surface (10) extends below the longitudinal axis (8) of the plug pin (5) in the active position of the coupling head (1). [6] Train coupling according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized by that the plug-in pin (5) is rotatable in the inserted state by applying a torque and the radial projection (9) has a length and a weight which, in the inserted state of the plug-in pin (5), exert a drive torque about the longitudinal axis (8) on the plug-in pin (5), wherein the drive torque is greater than the torque. [7] Train coupling according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized bythat the plug pin (5) can only be inserted into the first and second guide (6, 7) in a rotational position about the longitudinal axis (8), in which the radial projection (9) is arranged with a rotation angle of less than 180°, in particular less than 135° or 90°, relative to the stop surface (10) and is further arranged relative to a vertical plane on the side of the stop surface (10). [8] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the coupling head receptacle (3) forms a fork shape with two forks (11, 12) between which the coupling head (1) is received, and each fork (11, 12) has a bore (7.1, 7.2) which together form the second guide (7). [9] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that the first guide (6) is formed by a step (13) in a radially outer surface of a housing (14) of the coupling head (1). [10] Train coupling according to claim 9, characterized by that in the step (13) at least one pressure piece (15) is provided, which limits a contact surface of the plug pin (5) in one or both directions of rotation of the coupling head (1) about the pivot axis (2) to less than two thirds or half of a mutual distance between the forks (11, 12) in the region of the plug pin (5). [11] Train coupling according to claim 10, characterized by that the at least one pressure piece (15) has a friction-reduced surface. [12] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by that the coupling head receptacle (3) is formed by an axial end of a pull rod (16). [13] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by that the coupling head (1) comprises an automatic coupling device. [14] Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized bythat the coupling head (1) has a first coupling device (17) of a first type, in particular with a coupling projection and coupling opening, such as a coupling cone (17.1) and coupling funnel (17.2), and the traction coupling further has a second coupling device (18) of a second type different from the first type, in particular with a towing eye (18.1) or towing hook, wherein the second coupling device (18) is preferably alignable or aligned within the horizontal plane in the inactive position of the coupling head (1).

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