Train Coupler Adapter With Swiveling Safety Bracket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing train coupler adapters face challenges in connecting couplers of different geometries, particularly when handling operations need to be performed predominantly from the front, and ensuring secure attachment and prevention of decoupling during towing or pushing forces.
Innovation Solution
A train coupler adapter with a swiveling safety bracket and a blocking element that allows easy attachment by creating space for the hook's insertion and limits the swivel angle to prevent decoupling, featuring a front section for coupling with various coupler geometries and a rear section with an opening for the draw hook coupler's tip, along with a safety bracket that traverses over the opening to secure the hook in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the safety bracket is fixed relative to the rear section, then the structure is simple and stable, but the hook cannot be easily inserted into the opening due to obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The safety bracket is designed to be swiveling relative to the rear section, transforming from a static fixed structure to a dynamic movable one. This allows the safety bracket to move out of the way during hook insertion and then return to its blocking position to prevent hook disengagement, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and structural simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If the safety bracket is allowed to swivel freely, then the hook can be easily inserted, but the hook may disengage during towing or pushing forces
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking element is positioned in advance to limit the swivel angle of the safety bracket before any problematic disengagement can occur. This preliminary constraint ensures that while the safety bracket can swivel enough to allow hook insertion, it cannot swivel too far to permit hook disengagement under load, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
3Ease of operation
If handling operations are performed from the rear, then the safety bracket can be positioned correctly, but operations cannot be performed predominantly from the front
Solution Approach 1:
The blocking element is designed as a separate, removable component that can be installed from the front of the adapter. This extraction of the blocking function into a standalone element allows front-side installation and adjustment without requiring rear access, resolving the contradiction between front-side accessibility and assembly ease.
Data Source
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AI summary
Train coupler adapter for connecting a coupler of a first geometry with a draw hook coupler, whereby the adapter has a front section with an interface suitable to couple with a coupler of a first geometry, a rear section with an opening suitable for the tip of the hook of the draw hook coupler to be inserted into, a safety bracket at the rear section that has a traversing section that is positioned beneath the opening and traverses over the opening, whereby the safety bracket has a first arm arranged on one side of the rear section, whereby a first part of the first arm is attached to the rear section in a manner that allows a second part of the first arm to swivel relative to the rear section, a second arm arranged on the opposite side of the rear section relative to that side, on which the first arm is arranged, whereby a first part of the second arm is attached to the rear section in a manner that allows a second part of the second arm to swivel relative to the rear section, the traversing section being connected to the second part of the first arm and the second part of the second arm, whereby a blocking element is provided that limits the swivel angle of the first arm and limits the swivel angel of the second arm, whereby the blocking element has a first part that is connected to the traversing section and/or the second part of the first arm and/or the second part of the second arm and a second part that is connected to the front section or the rear section.