Articulated connector
AssigneeA. Stucki Company
InventorDonald Wiebe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An articulated rail car connector for joining the adjacent ends of rail car platforms which are supported on a common truck bolster, the connector including in one preferred embodiment a pair of nested center plates which support the adjacent car platforms upon such a truck bolster and which are longitudinally slideable with respect to one another, and a drawbar pivotally connected between the adjacent car platforms to transmit longitudinally directed buff and draft loads therebetween.
Claims17
In a rail car connecting apparatus that is operable to transmit buff and draft loads between a pair of adjacent rail car platform ends that are supported for relative movement with respect to each other and for movement thereof along a railway track, a connector assembly, comprising:
- a first connector portion adapted to be affixed to one of such a pair of platform ends;
- a second connector portion adapted to be affixed to the other of such a pair of platform ends;
- said first and second connector portions including mutually engageable bearing means which are cooperable to provide support for one of said first and second connector portions by the other and to permit relative pivotal movement of said first and second connector portions with respect to each other about given axes of rotation;
- an elongated draft appliance extending longitudinally of said first and second connector portions;
- said first and second connector portions including respective longitudinally spaced connection means connecting the respective said connector portions to said draft appliance;
- and said connection means being disposed with respect to said mutually engageable bearing means such that at least some of said given axes of rotation move longitudinally with respect to at least one of said connection means in response to at least some modes of such relative pivotal movement between said first and second connector portions.
In a rail car connecting apparatus that includes a draft applicance which is operable to transmit buff and draft loads between the adjacent ends of a pair of rail car platforms which are supported for movement along a railway track, a connector assembly comprising:
- a first connector portion adapted to be affixed with respect to one of such rail car platforms and having a first bearing portion which is adapted to engage a center plate of a railway truck bolster for support of said first connector portion with respect to such a railway track;
- a second connector portion adapted to be affixed with respect to the other of such rail car platforms;
- said first and second connector portions including respective cooperable center plate bearing portions which are mutually engageable for support of said second connector portion with respect to said first connector portion and for relative rotation of said first and second connector portions about a first pivot axis;
- said first and second connector portions including respective pivot connection means for pivotal connection of said first and second connector portions, respectively, to such a draft applicance for pivotal movement thereof with respect to such a draft appliance about respective, longitudinally spaced second and third pivot axes;
- and
- said center plate bearing portions being disposed with respect to the respective said pivot connection means such that said first pivot axis moves longitudinally with respect to at least one of said second and third pivot axes in response to pivotal movement of said connector portions with respect to such a draft applicance.
In a connector apparatus for supporting the adjacent ends of a pair of rail car platforms with respect to a common truck, the combination comprising:
- a first rigid connector means affixed to one of such rail car platforms and extending outwardly therefrom;
- a second rigid connector means affixed to the other of such rail car platforms and extending outwardly therefrom into longitudinally adjacent relation with said first rigid connector means;
- said first and second rigid connector means including respective first and second bearing portions which are mutually engageable and at least one of said first and second rigid connector means further including another bearing portion which is cooperable with such a truck in a manner that said another bearing portion and said first and second bearing portions provide gravitational support of said first and second rigid connector means with respect to such a truck;
- said first and second rigid connector means including respective draft connection portions which are spaced longitudinally apart when said first and second bearing portions are mutually engaged;
- and
- a draft means cooperable with said draft connection portions, respectively, to transmit buff and draft loads therebetween independently of said first and second bearing portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.