Traction-buffer device

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of transport engineering and concerns traction-buffer devices installed between the cars of a railway train. The objective is to eliminate the misalignment of the support element during its movement along the longitudinal axis and to ensure the smooth operation of the traction-buffer device. This objective is achieved by a traction-buffer device that includes a traction rod aligned along the longitudinal axis, a support element capable of contacting it, as well as traction elements. Eyelets are formed in the front part of the traction elements, and the rear part of the traction elements contains a support-traction element. A spring device is located between the support element and the rear stop. Additionally, the traction elements are made in the form of a tubular body with a neck, where a guide insert is installed. The guide insert is in contact with the traction elements and is designed to enable mutual longitudinal movement with the support element while limiting the angular movement of the support element relative to the longitudinal axis. Other elements of the invention are also described.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the field of transport engineering and concerns energy absorption devices and traction-buffer devices installed between railway cars.

[0002] Various designs of traction-buffer devices are known, for example, the energy-absorbing device [1, Patent EP4342763A1, IPC B61G9 / 06, priority 20.09.2022, published 27.03.2024], which is accepted as a prototype. The device includes a body consisting of two chambers - the first and the second, bounded by front and rear plates. Elastic-deformable elements are placed in the first and second chambers. The first and second chambers are located respectively in the front and rear parts of the body. The front plate of one of the chambers is connected to the rear plate of the other chamber. The traction force compresses the first chamber, and the buffer force compresses both chambers.

[0003] The disadvantage of the prototype [1] is the insufficiently reliable centering of the front and rear plates of the body, which contact the elastic-deformable elements of the front and rear chambers.

[0004] The analysis and identified shortcomings of the above-described variants of traction-buffer devices determine the task of the invention - to eliminate the misalignment of the support element during its movement along the longitudinal axis and ensure the smooth operation of the traction-buffer device.

[0005] The objective is achieved by the fact that the traction-buffer device, designed to be installed in a pocket (3) of a railway coupling unit equipped with a front stop (1) and a rear stop (2), contains along the longitudinal axis (O1) a traction rod (4), a support element (5) capable of contacting it, and traction elements (6), with eyelets (7) formed at the front part, and the rear part of the traction elements (6) containing a support-traction element (8). A spring device (9) is located between the support element (5) and the rear stop (2). The traction elements (6) are made in the form of a tubular body (T), with a neck (10) where a guide insert (11) is placed, which is in contact with the traction elements (6) and is designed to allow longitudinal movement relative to the support element (5) while limiting angular movement relative to the longitudinal axis (O1). The length (a) of the guide insert (11) exceeds the shortest distance (b) from the longitudinal axis (O1) to the wall of the traction element (6).

[0006] The described distinctive features ensure the elimination of the misalignment of the support element (5) due to the tight fit of the guide insert (11), on which the spring device (9) acts with force. As a result, the support element (5) and the guide insert (11) behave as a single unit. At the same time, the guide insert (11) moves freely along the longitudinal axis (O1), thus achieving the movement of the support element (5) along the longitudinal axis (O1) without misalignment.

[0007] Furthermore, the greater the length (a) of the guide insert (11), the more the angular displacement of the support element (5) is limited in directions away from the longitudinal axis (O1), and the more precise and smooth its movement along the longitudinal axis (O1).

[0008] Additional distinctive features of the invention, aimed at enhancing the mentioned advantages: The guide insert (11) is made with a support bottom (12); The guide insert (11) is designed to repeat the internal guiding contour of the tubular body (T); Hooks (13) are made on the support element (5), which contact the guide insert (11) to limit the lateral displacement of the support element (5) away from the longitudinal axis (O1) and to limit the angular movement of the support element (5) relative to the longitudinal axis (O1); Protrusions (14) are made on the support element (5), which contact the eyelets (7) to limit the lateral displacement of the support element (5) away from the longitudinal axis (O1); Compression limiters (15) of the spring device (9) are made in the neck (10) of the tubular body (T); The guide insert (11) is connected to the support element (5); The guide insert (11) is made integral with the support element (5); The guide insert (11) has an internal cavity (16) where an additional spring device (17) with an additional support element (18) is located; The tubular body (T) extends beyond the support-traction element (11) towards the rear stop (2), in contact with which an internal guide element (19) is made, with the rear spring device (20) located between the mentioned internal guide element (19) and the support-traction element (8); The external guiding element (21) is equipped with limiting stops (22) that restrict the movement of the tubular body (T) along the longitudinal axis (O1) towards the rear stop (2); The traction elements (6) contain limiting hooks (23), which function to move the support-traction element (8) along the longitudinal axis (O1) relative to the traction elements (6) towards the eyelets (7) and limit the movement of the mentioned support-traction element (8) towards the rear part of the traction elements (6); The support-traction element (8) is made integral with the traction elements (6).

[0009] The essence of the invention is explained by illustrations, where: Figure 1 shows a front cross-section of the traction-buffer device; Figure 2 shows a horizontal cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant of the construction with hooks on the support element (5) and the support bottom (2) made separately from the guide insert (11); Figure 3 shows the same as in Figure 2, but for the case where the support bottom (2) and the guide insert (11) are made as a single unit; Figure 4 shows a front cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant with a rear spring device (20); Figure 5 shows a front cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant with rear (20) and additional (17) spring devices, as well as the installed internal guiding element (19) ; Figure 6 shows a front cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant with rear (20) and additional (17) spring devices, as well as the installed external guiding element (21) ; Figure 7 shows the same as in Figure 4, as well as for the case with hooks (13) on the support element (5) and limiting hooks (23) on the traction elements (6); Figure 8 shows a horizontal cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant with a rear spring device (20) and the installed external guiding element (21), as well as the presence of limiting hooks (23) on the traction elements (6); Figure 9 shows a horizontal cross-section of the traction-buffer device for the variant with an additional spring device (17) and the installed external guiding element (21), as well as the presence of limiting hooks (23) on the traction elements (6); Figure 10 shows section A-A from Figure 1; Figure 11 shows section B-B from Figure 1.

[0010] The traction-buffer device is designed for installation in a railway coupling unit pocket (3) equipped with a front stop (1) and a rear stop (2) (Fig. 1-9). It includes a traction rod (4) aligned along the longitudinal axis (O1), a support element (5) capable of contacting it, as well as traction elements (6). Eyelets (7) are formed in the front part of the traction elements (6), while the rear part of the traction elements (6) contains a support-traction element (8). A spring device (9) is located between the support element (5) and the rear stop (2).

[0011] The traction elements (6) are made in the form of a tubular body (T), with a neck (10) (Fig. 1-9). In the neck (10) of the mentioned tubular body (T), a guide insert (11) is installed, which is in contact with the traction elements (6) and designed to ensure mutual longitudinal movement with the support element (5), while limiting angular movement of the support element (5) relative to the longitudinal axis. The length (a) of the mentioned guide insert (11) is greater than the shortest distance (b) from the mentioned longitudinal axis (O1) to the wall of the traction element (6).

[0012] Such a design ensures the elimination of the misalignment of the support element (5) during its movement along the longitudinal axis (O1) and smooth operation of the traction-buffer device.

[0013] The guide insert (11) may be made with a support bottom (12) (Fig. 1-4). The mentioned guide insert (11) and the support bottom (12) may be made as a single unit (e.g., as a casting or forging), and also joined by detachable (e.g., threaded) or non-detachable (e.g., welded) connections.

[0014] The guide insert (11) may be designed to follow the internal guiding contour of the tubular body (T) (Fig. 11). Such a design improves the mutual centering of parts and reduces the risk of misalignment and jamming.

[0015] A gap (24) may be made between the guide insert (11) and the traction elements (6), allowing it to be filled with an anti-friction material (Fig. 1-9, 11). This ensures smooth mutual movement of the parts and reduces the risk of misalignment.

[0016] Hooks (13) may be made on the support element (5), contacting the guide insert (11) to limit the lateral displacement of the support element (5) from the longitudinal axis (O1) (Fig. 2, 3, 7). The mentioned hooks (13) are also designed to limit the angular movement of the support element (5) relative to the longitudinal axis (O1). These hooks (13) may surround the guide insert (11) both externally (Fig. 2, 3) and internally (Fig. 7). The described design provides additional centering of the support element (5).

[0017] Protrusions (14) may also be made on the support element (5), contacting the eyelets (7) to limit the lateral displacement of the support element (5) from the longitudinal axis (O1) (Fig. 10).

[0018] Compression limiters (15) for the spring device (9) may be made in the neck (10) of the tubular body (T) (Fig. 2, 3, 8, 9). The presence of these limiters (15) prevents excessive deformation of the spring device elements (9).

[0019] The guide insert (11) may be connected to the support element (5) (Fig. 3). The connection may be either detachable (e.g., threaded) or non-detachable (e.g., welded).

[0020] The guide insert (11) may be made as a single unit with the support element (5) (e.g., as a forging or casting). This design provides additional limitation of the support element (5) away from the longitudinal axis (O1).

[0021] The guide insert (11) may be made with an internal cavity (16), where an additional spring device (17) with an additional support element (18) may be located (Fig. 5, 6). The use of an additional spring device (17) increases the energy absorption capacity of the traction-buffer device and improves its characteristics.

[0022] The tubular body (T) may be extended beyond the support-traction element (11) toward the rear stop (2), in contact with which an internal guide element (19) may be made (Fig. 5). A rear spring device (20) may be located between the mentioned internal guide element (19) and the support-traction element (8). The use of the rear spring device (20) further increases the energy absorption capacity of the traction-buffer device.

[0023] Between the rear stop (2) and the support-traction element (8), an external guiding element (21) may be made, which surrounds the tubular body (T) (Fig. 4, 6-9). The rear spring device (20) may also be located inside the mentioned external guiding element (21) (Fig. 4, 6-8).

[0024] The external guiding element (21) may be equipped with limiting stops (22) (Fig. 4). These limiting stops (22) are designed to limit the movement of the tubular body (T) along the longitudinal axis (O1) toward the rear stop (2). This design prevents excessive deformation of the rear spring device (20) elements.

[0025] The traction elements (6) may contain limiting hooks (23) (Fig. 7-9). These limiting hooks (23) function to move the support-traction element (8) along the longitudinal axis (O1) relative to the traction elements (6) toward the eyelets (7). The limiting hooks (23) also limit the movement of the mentioned support-traction element (8) toward the rear part of the traction elements (6).

[0026] The support-traction element (8) may be made as a single unit with the traction elements (6) (Fig. 1-6). The mentioned support-traction element (8) and traction elements (6) may be made as a single unit (e.g., as a casting or forging), or joined by detachable (e.g., threaded) or non-detachable (e.g., welded) connections.

[0027] Principle of Operation: The described traction-buffer device operates as follows: In the case of a train moving on a curved track section, the traction rod (4) rotates in the horizontal plane, creating a certain angle between the longitudinal axis (O1) and the axis of the traction rod (4). The support element (5) moves linearly along the longitudinal axis (O1) due to its contact with the guide insert (11). The traction force is transmitted from the traction rod (4) through the eyelets (7), traction elements (6), support-traction element (8), spring devices (9, 17, 20), support bottom (12), guide insert (11), and support element (5) to the front stop (1). The energy of oscillations from the traction force is converted into the energy of elastic deformation of the spring devices (9, 17, 20).

[0028] Thanks to the presence of hooks (13) and protrusions (14) on the support element (5), as well as the length (a) of the guide insert (11) exceeding the shortest distance (b) from the longitudinal axis (O1) to the wall of the traction element (6), the misalignment of the support element (5) is eliminated during its movement along the longitudinal axis (O1), ensuring the smooth operation of the traction-buffer device.Information Sources:

[0029] 1. Patent EP4342763A1, IPC B61G9 / 06, priority 20.09.2022, published 27.03.2024 / prototype /

Claims

1. A traction-buffer device, made with the possibility of installation in a pocket (3) of a railroad coupling unit provided with a front stop (1) and a rear stop (2), and containing a stop and traction rod (4) placed along a longitudinal axis (O1), a support element (5), made with the possibility of contact with it, as well as traction elements (6), in the front part of which eyelets (7) are formed, and the rear part of the traction elements (6) contains a support and support-traction element (8), and between the support element (5) and the rear stop (2) there is a spring device (9), characterized in that the traction elements (6) are in the form of a tubular body (T) having a neck (10), wherein the neck (10) of said tubular body (T) contains a guide insert (11), located in contact with the traction elements (6) and designed to allow mutual longitudinal movement with the support element (5) with limitation of angular movement of the support element (5) relative to the longitudinal axis (O1), wherein the length (a) of said guide insert (11) is greater than the shortest distance (b) from said longitudinal axis (O1) to the wall of the traction element (6).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide insert (11) is made with a thrust bottom (12)3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide insert (11) is made to follow the inner guide contour of the tubular body (T).

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support member (5) has hooks (13) in contact with the guide insert (11) with the possibility of limiting the displacement of the support member (5) away from the longitudinal axis (O1) and with the possibility of limiting the angular displacement of the support member (5) with respect to the longitudinal axis (O1).

5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support member (5) has protrusions (14) in contact with the lugs (7) to limit the displacement of the support member (5) away from the longitudinal axis (O1).

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the neck (10) of the tubular body (T) is provided with compression stops (15) of the spring device (9).

7. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide insert (11) is connected to the support member (5).

8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the guide insert (11) is made in one piece with the support element (5).

9. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide insert (11) is provided with an internal cavity (16) in which an additional spring device (17) is arranged, provided with an additional support element (18).

10. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubular body (T) is extended behind the support-pulling element (11) towards the rear stop (2), in contact with which the inner guide element (19) is made, wherein a rear spring device (20) is arranged between said inner guide element (19) and the support-traction element (8).

11. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that between the rear stop (2) and the support-traction element (8) there is an outer guide element (21) in contact therewith covering the tubular body (T), wherein a rear spring device (20) is arranged inside said outer guide element (21).

12. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer guide element (21) is provided with limit stops (22) having the function of limiting the movement of the tubular body (T) along the longitudinal axis (O1) towards the rear stop (2).

13. Device according to any one of Claim 11, Claim 12, characterized in that the traction elements (6) comprise restrictive hooks (23), made with the function of moving the support-traction element (8) along the longitudinal axis (O1) relative to the traction elements (6) towards the lugs (7) and with the function of restricting the movement of said support-traction element (8) towards the rear of the traction elements (6).

14. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the support-traction element (8) is made in conjunction with the traction elements (6).

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