Railway rolling stock – Trucks – Supplemental wheel
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-17
2003-06-10
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railway rolling stock
Trucks
Supplemental wheel
C105S004200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06575101
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved coupling arrangement that may be used with conventional railway bogies for the purpose of forming a train of highway trailers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Highway trailers that can be used on both highways and railways have been known for some time and the economic benefits resulting from the use of trailers that may be used in either a “road” mode or a “rail” mode are well established.
Generally, these types of trailers include retractable wheel assemblies wherein the highway wheels may be retracted and drawn closer to the underside of the trailer. This enables a railway bogie to be placed under the trailer such that when the trailer's wheels are retracted, the trailer becomes supported by the railway bogie and hence may be transported by rail.
Various forms of interconnection between the trailer and the railway bogie have been proposed, but these have generally involved significant alteration to either the trailer, the railway bogie, or both. In particular, it has been usual for the railway bogie to be placed underneath the rear of a leading trailer to support the weight of that trailer. Connection with the following trailer has usually been effected by directly interconnecting the two trailers.
Whilst this arrangement has been relatively successful, it has required the retractable wheel assembly to be capable of sliding along the underside of the trailer to ensure no interference between the highway wheel assembly of the trailer and the railway bogie. Consequently, there has been a requirement placed upon highway trailers to include extra mechanisms to effect the sliding of the wheel assembly away from the rear of the trailer. This results in increased manufacturing cost of such trailers and a reduction in the pay load of the trailers both in “rail” and “road” mode due to the extra weight of the sliding mechanism.
The requirement for a trailer to include a sliding mechanism for a retractable wheel assembly is avoided in the present invention in that the improved arrangement retains the railway bogie at a sufficient distance from the rear of the leading trailer such that there is no interference between the railway bogie and the wheels when the wheel assembly is retracted. An improved coupler according to the present invention has the benefit of reducing the cost of manufacture of the trailers and the weight of the trailers, which in turn, improves the pay load of hauling the trailers in both the “road” and “rail” mode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a coupling arrangement for forming a train of highway trailers including;
at least one leading trailer including a rearwardly disposed locating means and a retractable highway wheel assembly;
at least one following trailer including a forwardly disposed locating means and a retractable highway wheel assembly; and
a coupler removably and pivotally mounted upon a railway bogie, the coupler including a forwardly projecting coupling means and a rearwardly disposed coupling means, the forwardly projecting coupling means capable of engagement with the leading trailer's rearwardly disposed locating means and the rearwardly disposed coupling means capable of engagement with the following trailer's forwardly disposed locating means;
such that, upon engagement of the respective coupling means with the respective locating means, the forwardly projecting coupling means forms a generally rigid beam from the rear of the leading trailer to the interface between the coupler and the railway bogie, and upon generally vertical retraction of the leading trailer highway wheel assembly to the underside thereof, no interference between the highway wheel assembly and the railway bogie occurs.
The formation of a generally rigid beam from the rear of the trailer to the railway bogie by the forwardly projecting coupling means of the coupler when engaged with the locating means allows the railway bogie to be maintained at a sufficient distance from the rear of the trailer such that there is no interference between the highway wheel assembly and the railway bogie. As a result, the trailer is not required to include any means to slide the highway wheel assembly forward to avoid interference with the railway bogie.
In a preferred form of the present invention, the forwardly projecting coupling means includes a V shaped member generally residing in a horizontal plane, with the rearwardly disposed locating means including a generally vertically aligned pin such that the V shaped member forms a “gathering” mechanism by which the coupling means “gathers” the pin and thus locates the forwardly projecting coupling means. It is also preferred that the rearwardly disposed locating means include at least one load bearing surface that will resist a generally vertically downwardly directed force and at least one load bearing surface that will resist a generally vertically upwardly directed force. Preferably, when correctly located, the V shaped member rests upon the at least one load bearing surface resisting generally vertically upwardly directed forces and the at least one load bearing surface resisting generally vertically downwardly directed forces.
It is preferred that the engagement of the forwardly projecting coupling means with the rearwardly disposed locating means occur by way of a forwardly disposed engagement means located at the centre of the V shaped member which is capable of releasable engagement with the pin of the rearwardly disposed locating means, thereby retaining the free ends of the V shaped member in contact with the load bearing surfaces in the rearwardly disposed locating means when the pin is engaged in the forwardly disposed engagement means. Preferably the forwardly disposed engagement means includes a self-latching mechanism that engages the pin as the coupler is urged toward the locating means and the pin travels into the forwardly disposed engagement means at the centre of the V shaped member.
It is also preferred that the rearwardly disposed coupling means be pivotally connected to the coupler, the aixs of rotation residing in a generally horizontal plane thereby enabling angular movement of the coupling means with respect to the following trailer. Preferably, the rearwardly disposed coupling means also includes a V shaped member generally residing in a horizontal plane, and the forwardly disposed locating means on the following trailer includes a generally vertically aligned pin similarly forming a gathering mechanism by which the coupling means gathers the locating means pin.
It is also preferred that the engagement of the rearwardly disposed coupling means with the forwardly disposed locating means occur by way of a rearwardly disposed engagement means located at the centre of the rearwardly disposed V shaped member which engages the locating means pin. For the forwardly disposed locating means, it is preferred that the pin be retractable. In this respect, for convenience and safety reasons, it is preferred that the pin be retracted upwards to an inoperative position and extended downward to an operative position.
The generally V shaped member and the pin of either the forward or rearward coupling mechanisms assists in overcoming difficulties that have been experienced with prior coupling arrangements in relation to coupling the railway bogie with the trailer. Some prior arrangements have included converging side walls in the coupling mechanism of both the bogie and the trailer, effectively forming a mating male-female connection. Disadvantageously, this type of arrangement increases the friction associated with coupling the mechanism and hence increases the difficulty in obtaining a secure coupling between the bogie and the trailer. In the preferred embodiment, the only frictional force resisting the passage of the pin to the centre of the member is that due to the contact between the pin and the inner side wall of the V shaped member.
It is preferable that the pin engaging means for either or both of the forwardly and rearwar
Blute Terence Stanley
Gilsmore Peter Wayne
Tappert Jann Michael
Air-Ride (S.A.) Pty LTD
Jacobson & Holman PLLC
McCarry, Jr. Robert J.
Morano S. Joseph
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