Traction coupling

Abstract

The invention relates to a train coupling with a coupling head that can be pivoted about a horizontal axis of rotation from a substantially horizontal coupling position into a stowed position oriented obliquely or perpendicularly to the horizontal coupling position. The train coupling according to the invention is characterized in that the coupling head is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner or in a drive connection on a hollow shaft that can be rotated about the axis of rotation; the train coupling has a pivoting device for pivoting the coupling head about the axis of rotation, wherein the pivoting device comprises a gear with a gear input and a gear output, and the hollow shaft is connected with an axial end in a drive connection to the gear output; and the drive connection is flexible radially to the axis of rotation.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a train coupling with a coupling head which can be pivoted about a horizontal axis of rotation from a substantially horizontal coupling position into a stowed position oriented obliquely or perpendicularly to the horizontal coupling position.

[0002] A generic train coupling for mixed coupling between an automatic central buffer coupling and a draw hook, as particularly related to the present invention, is disclosed in EP 3 590 784 B1. In such a train coupling, the automatic central buffer coupling can be pivoted upwards from a horizontal coupling position about a horizontal axis of rotation into a vertical stowage position, and the draw hook can be pivoted upwards from a vertical stowage position about the horizontal axis of rotation into a horizontal coupling position. The automatic central buffer coupling has a coupling head that is pivotably mounted on a bolt about the axis of rotation.

[0003] The disadvantage of the conventional coupling is that a drive must be installed on the outside of the coupling, which increases the required installation space. Furthermore, the design is complex.

[0004] The present invention is based on the object of improving a train coupling of the type shown in such a way that a compact, durable construction is achieved and the coupling head can be easily pivoted by hand from its coupling position to the stowed position and back.

[0005] 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.

[0006] The train coupling according to the invention has a coupling head which can be pivoted about a horizontal axis of rotation from a substantially horizontal coupling position into a stowage position oriented obliquely or perpendicularly to the horizontal coupling position.

[0007] According to the invention, the coupling head is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner or in a drive connection on a hollow shaft which can be rotated about the axis of rotation.

[0008] The train coupling according to the invention further comprises a pivoting device for pivoting the coupling head about the axis of rotation, wherein the pivoting device comprises a gear with a gear input and a gear output and the hollow shaft is connected with an axial end in a drive connection to the gear output.

[0009] According to the invention, the drive connection is flexible radially to the axis of rotation.

[0010] The invention achieves a very compact design of the traction coupling. The radial flexibility of the drive connection also reduces the transfer of weight forces from the coupling head to the transmission. Preferably, the weight forces of the coupling head are completely decoupled from the transmission output.

[0011] The invention prevents increasing weight forces from being transferred into the gearbox when wear occurs in the hollow shaft bearing, which can lead to tilting of the hollow shaft relative to the horizontal axis of rotation, because the hollow shaft can be inclined relative to the gearbox output. Otherwise, the weight and operating forces of the hollow shaft would be transferred to the gearbox output as the hollow shaft bearing wear progresses.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the invention, the axial end of the hollow shaft facing the gearbox is directly connected to the gearbox output.

[0013] Preferably, the drive connection is formed by a plug connection.

[0014] For example, the axial end of the hollow shaft has a hollow shaft flange, and the gearbox output has a gearbox shaft flange. The hollow shaft flange and gearbox shaft flange are coaxially aligned and mechanically connected via the drive connection. When the hollow shaft bearing is not worn, the coaxial alignment is generally exact. When the bearing is worn, the hollow shaft flange may tilt slightly relative to the gearbox shaft flange, depending on the extent of bearing wear.

[0015] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the hollow shaft flange and / or the transmission shaft flange comprise axial projections arranged one behind the other around the rotation axis, which engage in axial recesses of the respective other flange, i.e., the axial projections of the hollow shaft flange engage in the axial recesses of the transmission shaft flange, and the axial projections of the transmission shaft flange engage in the axial recesses of the hollow shaft flange, thereby creating a radial clearance. As a result, the hollow shaft flange can be tilted slightly relative to the transmission shaft flange, namely by the amount of the radial clearance, in the radial direction relative to the rotation axis, if bearing wear allows such tilting.

[0016] Preferably, the axial projections and axial recesses also form an axial play with each other so that the tilting movement is not prevented by an axial impact of the axial projections on the base of the axial recesses.

[0017] Preferably, the gearbox output is spring-loaded circumferentially around the rotational axis against the hollow shaft. This prevents rattling due to circumferential play. Furthermore, the spring preload can facilitate lifting the coupling head by acting in the direction of a lifting twist of the coupling head around the rotational axis.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one drive spring is arranged in the transmission or in an input drive connection with the transmission input, in front of the transmission input in the direction of torque transmission from the transmission input to the transmission output. The spring force of such a drive spring can be amplified by the transmission. If necessary, several drive springs, in particular two drive springs, are connected in parallel for this purpose.

[0019] Particularly preferably, the input drive connection comprises a drive shaft rotatable about the axis of rotation and the hollow shaft encloses this drive shaft, preferably concentrically.

[0020] The drive shaft can be directly connected to the gearbox input.

[0021] The gear unit is preferably mounted axially next to the drive shaft and the hollow shaft in the direction of the rotation axis, advantageously on a common axial side of the drive shaft and the hollow shaft.

[0022] According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one drive spring is arranged on the drive shaft, in particular axially outside a second axial end of the hollow shaft, thus on the axial side of the hollow shaft and in particular also of the drive shaft facing away from the transmission.

[0023] The at least one drive spring preferably engages the drive shaft in such a way that it exerts a torque thereon, and is supported in particular on a stationary component of the traction coupling, for example, a coupling rod or a housing of the traction coupling. For example, the at least one drive spring is designed as a spiral spring.

[0024] Particularly preferably, at least two drive springs are provided parallel to each other in the power flow and, in particular, positioned axially adjacent to each other, advantageously directly adjacent to each other, on the drive shaft. This allows half the drive force to be exerted on the drive shaft even if the spring breaks.

[0025] The gear unit is preferably designed as a cycloidal gear unit in order to provide a very high reduction ratio from fast to slow with a corresponding torque increase, for example of at least 10:1, preferably in the range of 20:1 to 50:1, particularly preferably in the range of 25:1. However, other gear unit designs, in particular with such a reduction ratio, are also possible.

[0026] According to a favorable embodiment of the invention, the drive shaft is provided with a manual drive or has an interface for a manual drive. The manual drive is particularly simply formed by a locking pin, and the interface is formed by a transverse bore in the drive shaft into which the locking pin can be inserted. This allows the locking pin to be used as a lever for rotating the drive shaft.

[0027] It is particularly advantageous if the plug pin is also used, when it is not required to rotate the drive shaft, to secure the coupling head in its coupling position and / or in its stowed position against pivoting about the axis of rotation, for example by providing corresponding openings into which the plug pin is inserted in order to lock the coupling head against a stationary component of the train coupling.

[0028] The invention is particularly preferably applicable to a train coupling in which the coupling head has a first mechanical coupling lock and the train coupling has a second mechanical coupling lock which is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner to the first mechanical coupling lock and can be pivoted together with the latter about the axis of rotation, wherein the second mechanical coupling lock lags behind or leads the first mechanical coupling lock when pivoting about the axis of rotation, in particular by substantially 90°.

[0029] For example, the first mechanical coupling lock is designed as a central buffer coupling and the second mechanical coupling lock as a draw hook.

[0030] The invention will be described below using an exemplary embodiment and the figures.

[0031] They show: Figure 1 is a schematic isometric view of a train coupling according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic axial section through the axis of rotation of the train coupling from the Figure 1 Figure 3 shows a schematic exploded view of the drive or bearing for a coupling head of a traction coupling according to the invention; Figure 4 shows a schematic view of the traction coupling according to the invention.

[0032] In the Figure 1an embodiment of a train coupling according to the invention is shown with a coupling head 1, which is designed as a Scharfernberg type coupling head with a coupling cone and a coupling funnel on a front plate and forms a first mechanical coupling lock 21. The train coupling further has a second mechanical coupling lock 22, which is designed as a draw hook. The coupling head 1 with the first mechanical coupling lock 21 and the second mechanical coupling lock 22, which is arranged at the end of a corresponding support, can each be pivoted about the axis of rotation 2 into a horizontal coupling position and into a stowed position arranged obliquely or vertically thereto, so that a corresponding rail vehicle equipped with the train coupling can be coupled either with the first mechanical coupling lock 21 or with the second mechanical coupling lock 22 to an oppositely identical coupling lock.Preferably, the two mechanical dome closures 21, 22 are coupled to one another in a rotationally fixed manner, as in the embodiment shown, such that one of the two mechanical dome closures 21, 22 is always in the dome position and the other of the two mechanical dome closures 21, 22 is in the stowed position.

[0033] As usual, the coupling head 1 is arranged at the end of a coupling rod 23, which is mounted horizontally pivotably in a bearing block 24.

[0034] The horizontal axis of rotation 2 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 25 of the coupling rod 23. The horizontal coupling position lies in particular in a horizontal plane spanned by the axis of rotation 2 and the longitudinal direction 25.

[0035] A pivoting device 4 is provided for pivoting the coupling head 1 about the rotation axis 2 against the weight of the coupling head 1. This pivoting device 4 results in particular from the Figures 2 to 4 in conjunction with the Figure 1 . Thus, the coupling head 1 is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner on a hollow shaft 3 that can rotate about the rotation axis 2. The pivoting device 4 comprises a gear 5 with a gear input 6 and a gear output 7. The gear 5 is designed, for example, as a cycloidal gear.

[0036] The hollow shaft 3 is connected with an axial end 3.1 in a drive connection 8 to the gearbox output 7, directly. For this purpose, the hollow shaft 3 has a hollow shaft flange 3.3, which forms the axial end 3.1 of the hollow shaft 3 facing the gearbox 5. The gearbox output 7 has a gearbox shaft flange 7.1 opposite the hollow shaft flange 3.3. In the unworn state of the bearing of the hollow shaft 3 in a stationary housing 26, both the hollow shaft flange 3.3 and the gearbox shaft flange 7.1 are aligned perpendicular to the horizontal axis of rotation 2. If the bearing of the hollow shaft 3 in the housing 26 wears, the hollow shaft 3 can tilt by the extent of the wear compared to the original perpendicular alignment to the horizontal axis of rotation 2. This is Figure 4 represented by the curved arrow.

[0037] In order to prevent such tilting from increasingly exerting bearing forces in the radial direction to the rotation axis 2 on the gear shaft flange 7.1 through the hollow shaft 3, the hollow shaft flange 3.3 and the gear shaft flange 7.1 are not rigidly connected to one another, but rather the hollow shaft flange 3.3 can be tilted relative to the gear shaft flange 7.1 in the radial direction to the rotation axis 2. Nevertheless, torque can be transmitted from the gear shaft flange 7.1 to the hollow shaft flange 3.3 in any position of the hollow shaft flange 3.3 via the drive connection 8 to drive the hollow shaft 3 or to spring-load the hollow shaft 3.

[0038] For this purpose, the transmission shaft flange 7.1 and the hollow shaft flange 3.3 are connected to each other via a plug-in connection, which includes axial projections 9 (in the illustrated embodiment, but not necessarily) on the transmission shaft flange 7.1, and axial recesses 10 (in the illustrated embodiment, but not necessarily) on the hollow shaft flange 3.3. The axial projections 9 engage in the axial recesses 10, forming a radial clearance 11 and an axial clearance 12. Thus, the drive connection 8 prevents the hollow shaft flange 3.3 from tilting relative to the transmission shaft flange 7.1.

[0039] In the direction of torque transmission in the sense of lifting the coupling head 1, an input drive connection 13 with a drive shaft 15 rotatable about the rotation axis 2 is provided in front of the transmission input 6. The transmission input 6 is formed, for example, by a transmission input element 16, which is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner on the drive shaft 15. The drive shaft 15 is (in the non-worn state of the coupling) concentrically enclosed by the hollow shaft 3. As can be seen from the Figure 2On the input side of the drive shaft 15, two drive springs 14 are positioned axially next to one another. These springs engage the drive shaft 15 on the one hand and are supported in or on a stationary component of the traction coupling, for example, the housing 26 or the coupling rod 23, on the other. The drive springs 14 exert a torque on the drive shaft 15, pivoting the coupling head 1 upwards from the horizontal coupling position into the vertical stowed position.

[0040] The spring force of the mainsprings 14 is amplified by the gear 5. Thus, with a comparatively small spring force of the mainsprings 14, the comparatively heavy coupling head, which weighs, for example, 200 kg or more, can be pivoted upwards almost independently about the rotation axis 2, with the remaining necessary force easily being applied by an operator. For this purpose, the operator can either act directly on the coupling head 1 or use a locking pin 19 as a lever, which is inserted into a transverse bore 20 in the drive shaft 15. The locking pin 19 can also be used alternatively to secure the coupling head 1 in the coupling position and the stowed position.Thus, a manual drive 17 or an interface 18 for a manual drive 17 is provided on the drive shaft 15. Such a manual drive 17 or such an interface 18 can also be designed differently than shown here, with plug-in pins 19 and transverse bores 20. For example, a hand crank permanently connected to the drive shaft 15 or a hand crank that can be inserted into a corresponding interface 18 on the drive shaft 15 can be used as the manual drive 17. Other embodiments are possible.

[0041] The drive springs 14 are, as shown, preferably positioned on the drive shaft 15 directly adjacent to the second axial end 3.2 of the hollow shaft 3, which faces away from the gear 5. The illustrated embodiment with the gear 5 at one axial end 3.1 of the hollow shaft 3 and the drive springs 14 and optionally the manual drive 17 at the second axial end 3.2 of the hollow shaft 3 allows a very compact design of the pivoting device 4 to be achieved. List of reference symbols

[0042] 1 Coupling head 2 Horizontal axis of rotation 3 Hollow shaft 3.1 First axial end 3.2 Second axial end 3.3 Hollow shaft flange 4 Swivel device 5 Gearbox 6 Gearbox input 7 Gearbox output 7.1 Gearbox shaft flange 8 Drive connection 9 Axial projection 10 Axial recess 11 Radial play 12 Axial play 13 Input drive connection 14 Mainspring 15 Drive shaft 16 Gearbox input element 17 Manual drive 18 Interface 19 Plug pin 20 Cross bore 21 First mechanical coupling lock 22 Second mechanical coupling lock 23 Coupling rod 24 Bearing block 25 Longitudinal direction 26 Housing

Claims

1. A towing coupling with a coupling head (1) which can be pivoted about a horizontal axis of rotation (2) from a substantially horizontal coupling position into a stowage position oriented obliquely or perpendicularly to the horizontal coupling position; characterized in that the coupling head (1) is mounted in a rotationally fixed manner or in a drive connection on a hollow shaft (3) which can be rotated about the axis of rotation (2); the traction coupling has a pivoting device (4) for pivoting the coupling head (1) about the axis of rotation (2), wherein the pivoting device (4) comprises a gear (5) with a gear input (6) and a gear output (7) and the hollow shaft (3) is connected with an axial end (3.1) in a drive connection (8) to the gear output (7); and the drive connection (8) is flexible radially to the axis of rotation (2).

2. Train coupling according to claim 1, characterized in that the axial end (3.1) of the hollow shaft (3) is directly connected to the gearbox output (7).

3. Train coupling according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive connection (8) is formed by a plug connection.

4. Train coupling according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the axial end (3.1) of the hollow shaft (3) has a hollow shaft flange (3.3) and the gear output (7) has a gear shaft flange (7.1), which are aligned coaxially with each other, and the hollow shaft flange (3.3) and the gear shaft flange (7.1) are mechanically connected to each other via the drive connection (8).

5. Train coupling according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the hollow shaft flange (3.3) and / or the transmission shaft flange (7.1) has axial projections (9) arranged one behind the other around the rotation axis (2) over the circumference, which engage in axial recesses (10) of the other flange, transmission shaft flange (7.1) or hollow shaft flange (3.3), thereby producing a radial play (11).

6. Train coupling according to claim 5, characterized in thatthe axial projections (9) and axial recesses (10) form an axial play (12) with respect to one another.

7. Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the gear output (7) is spring-loaded in the circumferential direction around the horizontal axis of rotation (2) against the hollow shaft (3).

8. Train coupling according to claim 7, characterized in that in the transmission (5) or in an input drive connection (13) with the transmission input (6), at least one drive spring (14) is arranged in front of the transmission input (6) in the direction of a drive torque transmission from the transmission input (6) to the transmission output (7).

9. Train coupling according to claim 8, characterized in that a spring force of the at least one mainspring (14) is amplified by the gear (5).

10. Train coupling according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in thatthe input drive connection (13) comprises a drive shaft (15) rotatable about the horizontal axis of rotation (2) and the hollow shaft (3) encloses the drive shaft (15), in particular concentrically.

11. Train coupling according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one drive spring (14) is arranged on the drive shaft (15), in particular axially outside a second axial end (3.2) of the hollow shaft (3).

12. Train coupling according to claim 11, characterized in that the at least one mainspring (14) acts on the drive shaft (15), exerting a torque thereon, and is supported in particular on a stationary component of the traction coupling, such as a coupling rod (23) or a housing (26).

13. Train coupling according to claim 12, characterized in that the at least one mainspring (14) is designed as a spiral spring.

14. Train coupling according to one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in thatat least two drive springs (14) are provided parallel to one another in the force flow and are in particular positioned axially next to one another on the drive shaft (15).

15. Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the gear (5) is designed as a cycloid gear.

16. Train coupling according to one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the drive shaft (15) has a manual drive (17) or an interface (18) for a manual drive (17).

17. Train coupling according to claim 16, characterized in that the manual drive (17) comprises a plug pin (19) and the interface (18) is formed by a transverse bore (20) in the drive shaft (15) into which the plug pin (19) can be inserted.

18. Train coupling according to claim 17, characterized in that the coupling head (1) can additionally be secured with the plug pin (19) in its coupling position and / or in its stowed position against pivoting about the rotation axis (2).

19. Train coupling according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the coupling head (1) has a first mechanical coupling lock (21) and the traction coupling has a second mechanical coupling lock (22) which is arranged in a rotationally fixed manner to the first mechanical coupling lock (21) and can be pivoted together with the latter about the horizontal axis of rotation (2), wherein the second mechanical coupling lock (22) lags behind or leads the first mechanical coupling lock (21) when pivoting about the horizontal axis of rotation (2), in particular by at least substantially 90°.

20. Train coupling according to claim 19, characterized in that the first mechanical coupling lock (21) is designed as a central buffer coupling and the second mechanical coupling lock (22) is designed as a draw hook.

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