Central buffer coupling for rail-borne vehicles pivotable between an operative and inoperative position

Central buffer coupling for rail-borne vehicles, comprising:

• a front shaft part carrying a coupling head of the central buffer coupling;
• a rear shaft part horizontally pivotably hinged to the chassis of the rail-borne vehicle;
• a vertical connecting pin connecting said front shaft part to said rear shaft part, said front shaft part and said rear shaft part being pivoted in relation to one another around said connecting pin;
• one of said front shaft and said rear shaft part including a fork portion extending over the other of said front shaft part and said rear shaft part to form a fork head with upper and lower fork legs in a hinge area;
• fixing means for fixing said front shaft part and said rear shaft part in an extended position, in which said coupling head is located outside of a vehicle profile and releasing said shaft parts for pivoting said front shaft part into a position in which said coupling head is located within the vehicle profile, said fixing means including a locking bar and a spring, said locking bar being limitedly displaceable in a longitudinal direction and being displaced into a locked position by force of said spring to maintain said extended position, said locking bar being associated with one of said front shaft part and said rear shaft part and engaging a vertical groove associated with the other of said front shaft part and said rear shaft part in said extended position, said locking bar being arranged in a vertical central longitudinal plane and being vertically supported by said upper fork leg and by said lower fork leg via a support plate and via bolts, said locking bar being displaceable against a force of said spring within said vertical groove, said support plates being pivotably fastened via an additional bolt on one side of said vertical central longitudinal plane to a corresponding one of said upper fork legs and said lower fork legs, said bolts being guided in an elongated hole in said support plates;
• and
• an operating element fastened to said support plates for moving said locking bar between a locked and unlocked position.