Vehicle Coupling Energy Absorber With Breakaway Mounting Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing energy absorbing and dissipating devices for vehicle couplings occupy significant space and are difficult to access for servicing, limiting their effectiveness and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A compact energy absorbing and dissipating device with a fork, pin, shock-absorbing inserts, and a housing that allows sliding movement, featuring a locking element and a mounting ring with a breakaway part for energy dissipation, utilizing elastomeric inserts and a housing with cutouts for efficient energy absorption and dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing energy absorbing and dissipating devices are mounted in a special recess in the vehicle wall, then they can absorb energy during coupling movements and collisions, but they occupy significant space and are difficult to access for servicing
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into modular components including a housing, mounting ring with flange, shock-absorbing inserts, and locking elements. This segmentation allows individual components to be accessed, inspected, and serviced independently while maintaining the overall energy absorption function.
Solution Approach 2:
The shock-absorbing inserts are designed to be extractable from the housing through the opening, allowing easy removal for servicing or replacement without requiring complete disassembly of the entire device or access to deep recesses in the vehicle wall.
2Reliability
If existing energy absorbing and dissipating devices are mounted in a special recess in the vehicle wall, then they can absorb energy during coupling movements and collisions, but they occupy significant space
Solution Approach 1:
The shock-absorbing inserts are nested within the housing structure, which itself is mounted on the vehicle wall. The locking elements are nested within the housing, and the entire assembly is compactly integrated into the mounting ring, minimizing the overall volume occupied while maintaining energy absorption capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes the depth dimension by mounting the housing and shock-absorbing inserts in a compact arrangement along the axis perpendicular to the vehicle wall, rather than expanding horizontally. The opening provides access along one dimension while the compact cross-sectional footprint minimizes space occupation on the vehicle wall surface.
3Reliability
If shock-absorbing inserts are secured by stop plate and back plate with locking elements, then the structure provides stability and reliability, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stop plate and back plate are merged into a single integrated component that provides both stopping and backing functions. The locking elements are designed to simultaneously secure multiple components (housing, mounting ring, shock-absorbing inserts) with a single locking action, reducing the number of separate fastening operations required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively absorbs energy during normal movements and collisions while minimizing space usage and facilitating easy servicing by allowing components to slide and breakaway for collision energy dissipation.
Implementation Method 1
a pin is mounted with a set of shock-absorbing inserts (11)... the set of inserts (11) on the side of the fork (3) is secured by a stop plate (5), constituting a limiter for movement in the coupling pulling direction
Implementation Method 2
The breakaway part (2c) is separated from the middle part (2b) by a weakening area (2c')... the breakaway part (2c) will be separated from the middle part (2b) of the mounting ring (2) and the force will no longer be transmitted
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The present invention relates to an energy absorbing and dissipating device for vehicle coupling having a fork (3), wherein the fork (3) has a pin (7) mounted therein for mounting the lug assembly (1) connecting the vehicle coupling head, and on the rear side of the fork (3) a pin is mounted with a set of shock-absorbing inserts (11), the set of inserts (11) on the side of the fork (3) being secured by a stop plate (5), constituting a limiter for movement in the coupling pulling direction, and on the opposite side by a back plate (6) and a locking element (13), and the entire structure is closed by a locking element (10) mounted inside the housing (4), constituting a limiter for movement in the coupling pushing direction, the device additionally having a housing (4) in which the other components can move slidingly. The characteristic feature of the device is that the housing (4) is shaped like a sleeve, there is a mounting ring (4) on the outside of the housing (2); the mounting ring (2) has a flange part (2a) with screw holes (2a) for mounting to the vehicle wall and with cutting knives (14) for cutting the housing surface (4), middle part (2b) for guiding the housing (4), breakaway part (2c); the mounting ring (2) is mounted to the housing (2) using the breakaway part (2c).