US1960069A - Limited travel draft gear - Google Patents

Description

May 22, 1934 E. H. SCHMIDT LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR Filed OCT'. 27, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 f b QN S.

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May 22, 1934. E. H. SCHMIDT LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR Filed OCt. 27, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QwN HIS ATTORNEY- May 22, 1934- E. H. SCHMIDT LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR Filed Oct. 27, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mum. mm,

Hfs ATToRl/-UL' May 22, 1934. E. H. SCHMIDT LIMITED TRAVEL DRAFT GEAR Filed Oct. 27. 1931 4 Sheets--Sheerl 4 Patented May 22, 1934 "LIMITED TRAVEL 'DRAFT Ernest H. Schmidt, Cleveland Heights, YOhio, .assignor jto National Malleable and Steel VCast- `ilgs Company, GlevelancL'Ohio, a corporation o -0hio Application October 27, 1931, Serial No. A571,324

2 Claims.

This invention l.relates to draft vgear appliances and -more .particularly to the provision of vmeans .for :limiting the :travel of 4a railway `draft ,gear to a'less amount =in .pull -thanin buff.

,An-object .of the invention is to provide novel and improved appliances of this type which 4are of simple construction, inexpensive yto manufacture, easy vto assemble and disassemble, Yand durable inservice. :Another object .is to .provide a draft vgear construction .wherein greater .compression .in buil than in vpull .is ,attainedwithout complicating spring :arrangements .or :occupying spaceiotherwise available for springs. .Other.ob jects and advantages ,will .be apparent as the description of preferred :embodiments `of ,the inven- .tion proceeds.

Reference will now be'had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly broken away and partly in section, of .one embodiment -of Vmy 4in- 'vention Fig. .2 is a side elevation, also partly Fin .-section, of fthe construction shownfinFig. -1, and

Fig. 3 is-an .enlargedsection'taken on the vline 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking .in the ,direction of the arrows.

. Figs. 4 and 5 are Views similar, respectively, to Figs. l and 2, but of a modified construction embodying `my invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section Aon the Aline v6 .i6'of `Fig. `5.

In Figs. 1, 2 and l3 there are shownat A .car sills joined at their forward ends by striking .casting B and at their rearward Vends Aby back stop ,casting C. A friction draft gear .of suitable construction is shown as comprising a vwedge or follower member -l, which telescopes into the Sforward end of a housing member 2,. Shock absorbing or cushioning mechanism of any suitable or convenient type may be interposed 'between said wedge and housingmem-bers, the gearfhereshown for purposes of illustration being of vthe 'same type as that disclosed in the pending application of -Ernest H. Schmidt and Hubert'L. Spence, Serial No. 319,064, filed November A13, 1928, .Patent No. 1,913,414, June 13, 1933. The `shock absorbing mechanism of such gearincludes springs'fland 5, the relatively large spring 4 being centrally located between smaller springs 15. .Forwardtravel of wedge vor follower l may be limited by abutment thereof against rear anged extensions B" of the draft lugs which are shown as integral with the striking casting, while rearward movement of the housing member 2 is limited by flanged extensions 15 of the back stop casting C. A yoke 7 `is -shown .as o'f the vertical 1type. withla coupler shank 8 secured las at i9 Lto its Eforward iportion for swiveling action. The'rear end F1a ofithe yoke A extends Yalong :the 2backof the housing .mem-

ber 2 for compressing-fthedraftgeanunder .pulling to theusual 21/2" to-r 2%".

Although `this increased travel -is-desirable '-in buff, sincebuing shocks 1in practice aregenerally much more severe than those'in pull, aPlesser travel is desirableinpull. 'Inorder to`limitthe`ltravel ofthe gear in pull, I-'provlidefslots `111 in 'fthe-draft gear Yhousing 2, the housing being suitably reinforced iby inwardly extending flanges lv112 at either side thereof, :andiat the .rear ends fof the slots. Intof-said slots 1141 there extend -s'tub lrkeys 14 which may -adyantageous'lyibe secured to the sills in the 'manner hereafterdeseribed. *When no external forces are appliedtorthefconstruction the housing member 2 is lin -`its yrear-most position as shown in Fig. 1, and the fkeys lie inthe liervward ends of the slots. Re'inforcing flange's"13 may be provided -at 1 the v:forward ends of the slots 1'1, as shown. `It will befun'derstoodithat though the vreinforcing flanges '13 at the Yfor-wardends of the slots A-are shown in abutmentwith the fkeys, while the housinglmember 2 is at the same-f time in abutment withshoulders v11i-on the backfstop casting, either the'shoulders orthe ilangesinayfbe out away or omitted, so that 'all :thefforce is taken on the other. 'It is generally'desirable,ihowever, to have the back stop casting arranged to -receive the severe buing shocks, fwhilelthejslots llm'ay `be long enough to prevent lthe transmission of bufng shocks tothe keys.

'For securing the keys to the sills, openings are preferably formed inthe latter to permitthe'keys to pass therethrough, whilebrackets 16 With-central openings for receiving the keys arealigned with the openingsin the sills and secured thereto as by rivets 17. The bracketsmay be conveniently cast with aligned holes in their upper and lower walls for pins V18 which passltherethrough 'and through corresponding openings in fthe fkeys to .locate the latter. .Displacement ofthe pins `may ibe prevented by placing'cotter pins through holes 19 in the portions of the pins which extend below the brackets.

In order to insure the necessary strength when the draft gear housing goes solid against the keys, it is desirable to extend the keys for some distance into the housing and to correspondingly extend the anges at the ends of the slots, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3. To accomplish this without interfering with the springs, it is desirable to employ a spring arrangement such as that shown so that the ends of keys may lie between the springs. For this purpose the ends of the keys between the springs are shown conveniently tapered as at 14a. 'Iheir other ends may be T-shaped as at 14h, to aid in locating the keys in assembling the construction. The brackets may advantageously have shouldered portions 20 for engaging the sides of the openings in the sills so that some of the forces imposed on the brackets are transmitted directly to the sills instead of through the rivets.

It is thought that the operation of the construction will be apparent from the above description, but it may be noted that under bufling forces the draft gear wedge or follower l is free to travel say 4 in buff, while the keys 14 prevent the housing member 2 from traveling more than the desired distance, say 2 to 21/2 in pull.

It may also be pointed out that in this construction no complicated draft gear is required, the only change required in gears of known type being a different casting for the housing member 2. Moreover, the full length of the space between backrstop and striking castings is available for the draft gear. For instance, the gear shown is 337/8" in length as compared with the standard length of 24%", while standard dimensions of the car from truck center to the face of the striking casting are retained.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, there is shown a modified construction which accomplishes genn erally Vthe same results as the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In this modied form, the usual sills A are joined by striking casting B and back stopV casting C', while the yoke 3G is of the horizontal Farlow type. Draft gear wedge or follower 31 and housing 32 are shown, the draft gear being, for example, of the same type as hereinbefore noted and including Vsuitable springs (not shown) as illustrated in Fig. 3. The yoke has a portion 33 which engages the rear end of housing member 32 for compressing the draft gear Linder pulling shocks, and in order to limit said compression, or, in other words, the travel of the housing 32, there are shown provided in the yoke, slots 34 adapted to receive the ends of stub keys 35 which extend into the slots and may be secured to the sills in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3. The width of the keys is shorter than the length of the slots, at least over the portions of the keys which lie in the slots, so that the desired travel of say 21/2 in pull is permitted before the yoke goes solid against the keys. However, to provide a stronger anchorage for the keys, they may be widened at their outer portions, which are shown as seated in Ybrackets 36, the latter being provided with openings of practicallythe same width as the enlarged portions of the keys and secured to the outer sides of the sills in any suitable manner, as by rivets 37. These brackets preferably have shouldered portions 38 whichabut against the sills, for purposes already indicated. The keys may be secured in the brackets by pins 39, and are shown as T-shaped for aiding in locating the pins in corresponding holes in the brackets and keys.

In this type of construction the keys are located so that the rear ends of the slots in theV yoke go solid against them after the desired travel in pull, say 21/2". As shown, the coupler 40 acts on the yoke through the usual draft key 41, while dimension b (Fig. 4) is slightly greater than a, (the latter being, for example, 21/2) so that sufcient clearance is provided to prevent the key 41 from engaging the striking casting. Said key, hence, is relieved of bending forces which would otherwise be applied at its ends. In bufng, the coupler, acting through follower or wedge V31, is free to compress the gear the desired amount, say 4". Normally, the yoke seats against the back stop casting, which, moreover, is best adapted to take bun'ing forces, and clearance 42 (Fig. 4) is provided between each of the keys 35 and the forward ends of the respective slots 34 in the yoke, to relieve the yoke of such forces.

It may be noted that in this construction the space available for the draft gear is not limited or reduced by the means for limiting the travel, and that no changes whatsoever are required to be made in the gear itself.

Moreover, the keys 35 are easily interchangeable so that by simply substituting other keys, the travel of the gear in pull may be readily varied or provision made for wear which may occur. By making the width of the portion of the key in the bracket Wider than the portion in the slot, a firm seat is always provided for keys having varying widths of slot entering portions. It will be appreciated that keys such as are shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 could also be employed in the construction of Figs, 1, 2 and 3. Y

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

l. In aV railway car draft appliance, a draft gear including a center spring and side springs and a housing member therefor, a slot formed in the housing, a car sill, and a key secured to the car sill and extending into the housing between the side springs, but terminating short of the center spring and being constructed and arranged for engaging one end of the slot to limit the travel of the housing to a less amount in pull than in buff. 5

2. In a railway car draft appliance, a draft gear comprising a housing member including a center spring and side springs, a yoke member, a oar sill member at either side of said draft gear, slots formed in said sill members, and projections carried by said sill members and extending toward said housing member, said projections extending from either side toward said center spring and between side springs on the saine side of the gear and terminating short of said center spring, said projections being constructed and arranged to limit the longitudinal movement of said housing member relative to said sill.

ERNEST H. SCHMIDT.

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