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EP-4741249-A1 - COUPLING DAMPER FOR A TRAIN COUPLING OF A RAIL VEHICLE

EP4741249A1EP 4741249 A1EP4741249 A1EP 4741249A1EP-4741249-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle, with a reversible damping device comprising a plurality of elastomer elements, pressure plates and a tie rod, with an irreversible damping device comprising a deformation pipe and a deformation element acting on the deformation pipe to deform it, wherein the reversible damping device and the irreversible damping device extend along a longitudinal axis of the coupling damper, and the reversible damping device is at least partially positioned within the irreversible damping device. Said coupling damper is characterized in that the reversible damping device has a central pressure plate, which can be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis and which is arranged between the elastomer elements for damping tensile and impact forces in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and the central pressure plate forms the deformation element or acts on it for deforming the deformation pipe.

Inventors

  • Palakurthiwar, Naveen Kumar
  • Sampatkumar, Muppidi
  • RIENECK, FRANK

Assignees

  • Voith Patent GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251105

Claims (15)

  1. Coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle; with a reversible damping device (1) comprising a plurality of elastomer elements (2), pressure plates (3, 4, 5) and a tie rod (6), with an irreversible damping device (10) comprising a deformation pipe (11) and a deformation element (12) acting on the deformation pipe (11) to deform it, wherein the reversible damping device (1) and the irreversible damping device (10) extend along a longitudinal axis (X) of the coupling damper, and the reversible damping device (1) is at least partially located within the irreversible damping device (10); characterized in that the reversible damping device (1) has a central pressure plate (3), which can be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X) and which is arranged between the elastomer elements (2) for damping tensile and impact forces in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X), and the central pressure plate (3) forms the deformation element (12) or acts on it for deforming the deformation pipe (11).
  2. Coupling damper as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the middle pressure plate (3) forms the deformation element (12) in one piece or carries it.
  3. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the middle pressure plate (3) is positioned at least partially in radial direction inside the deformation pipe (11).
  4. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the deformation element (12) is a conical ring that engages the deformation pipe (11) in radial direction from inside.
  5. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the middle pressure plate (3) is mounted on the tie rod (6) so that it can be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X).
  6. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the reversible damping device (1) has a first pressure plate (4) at the end and a second pressure plate (5) at the end, which can be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X), and enclose the middle pressure plate (3) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X) with at least one elastomer element (2) interposed between them.
  7. Coupling damper as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the second pressure plate (5) is arranged in radial direction inside the deformation pipe (11) and acts in radial direction on the inside of the deformation pipe (11) to guide it during displacement in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X).
  8. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the middle pressure plate (3) comprises an axial projection (7), with which it engages the deformation pipe (11) and/or the second pressure plate (5) for guiding during movement in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X).
  9. Coupling damper according to one of the claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the reversible damping device (1) has a housing (8), which encloses the tie rod (6), the middle pressure plate (3) and in particular, the first and second pressure plates (4, 5), and the deformation pipe (11) is at least largely, in particular substantially completely, positioned within the housing (8).
  10. Coupling damper as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the housing (8) has an end plate (8.1), in which the deformation pipe (11) is mounted with an axial end (11.1).
  11. Coupling damper as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the second pressure plate (5), in particular with an axial extension (5.1), is guided in radial direction inside the deformation pipe (11).
  12. Coupling damper as claimed in claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the axial end (11.1) of the deformation pipe (11) is embedded in radial direction between the axial extension (5.2) and the end plate (8.1).
  13. Coupling damper as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the deformation pipe (11) in the non-deformed state comprises a cylindrical section (11.2) and a widened section (11.3) and the middle pressure plate (3) is positioned in the widened section (11.3), the cylindrical section (11.2) in particular, forming the axial end (11.1).
  14. Coupling damper as claimed in one of the claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the housing (8) forms an axial stop (8.2) for the middle pressure plate (3) facing away from the deformation pipe (11) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (X).
  15. Coupling damper as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the tie rod (6) comprises a pivot pin (9) for the articulated connection of a coupling rod (13) of the tow coupling.

Description

The present invention relates to a coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle according to the generic term of claim 1. Tow couplings of rail vehicles comprise a coupling rod, which is mounted on the rail vehicle, i.e. its car body, in particular in the frame of the car body, so that it can be pivoted about a vertical axis of rotation and, if necessary, can be moved in vertical direction. Such coupling dampers conventionally comprise a reversible damping device, which is able to reversibly, i.e. non-destructively, transfer forces transmitted via the coupling rod during operation of the tow coupling, as well as an irreversible damping device, which is designed to absorb energy in the event of an accident and can accordingly absorb much greater compressive forces than what are transmitted with the reversible damping device and can convert them as far as possible into deformation energy, in order to avoid deformation of a critical area of the car body. An embodiment of such a coupling damper with a reversible as well as an irreversible damping device is disclosed in WO 2017/178213 A1. The reversible damping device and the irreversible damping device are arranged in series with one another, wherein the reversible damping device and/or a housing thereof can be located at least partially within a deformation pipe of the irreversible damping device in the direction of the longitudinal axis. This saves axial installation space. WO 2023/121537 A1 discloses a coupling damper with a reversible damping device, which comprises a plurality of elastomer elements and two end pressure plates, wherein a piston damper is additionally arranged in radial direction within the elastomer elements between the pressure plates. EP 2 640 620 B1 discloses a further coupling damper for a tow coupling with a frame-shaped structure that encloses the damping devices on both sides. EP 2 072 370 B1 discloses a coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle according to the generic term of claim 1. The coupling damper comprises a reversible damping device with a plurality of elastomer elements, pressure plates and a tie rod. Further, an irreversible damping device is envisaged, comprising a deformation pipe and a deformation element acting on the deformation pipe to deform it. The reversible damping device and the irreversible damping device both extend along a longitudinal axis of the coupling damper, and the reversible damping device is at least partially located within the irreversible damping device. This allows the overall length and the necessary installation space for the coupling damper to be significantly reduced. In some known rail vehicles, a limited space is foreseen within the frame of the car body for the reversible damping device of a conventional coupling damper. For example, such a holding space has a length of 510 mm. However, in such setups, irreversible damping devices are arranged outside the space, for example inside the coupling rod. Even the previously mentioned coupling damping devices with reduced axial length are still too long to fit into such a space in the frame of the car body. The present invention is, therefore, based on the object of specifying a coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle, which comprises a reversible damping device and an irreversible damping device, which can be arranged together in a holding space that is greatly reduced in the direction of the longitudinal axis, for example in the aforementioned holding space with a maximum length of 510 mm. Said object is achieved by a coupling damper with the features of claim 1. The dependent claims describe the preferred and particularly expedient embodiments of the invention. Said coupling damper for a tow coupling of a rail vehicle can, in particular, be arranged completely outside the coupling rod, in particular in a holding space in the frame of a car body of the rail vehicle. The coupling damper according to the invention has a reversible damping device. The reversible damping device comprises a plurality of elastomer elements, pressure plates and a tie rod. For example, the elastomer elements are elastically prestressed in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the coupling damper by means of the pressure plates and the tie rod. The coupling damper also has an irreversible damping device. The irreversible damping device comprises a deformation pipe and a deformation element that acts on the deformation pipe to deform it. The reversible damping device and the irreversible damping device extend along the longitudinal axis of the coupling damper, and the reversible damping device is at least partially positioned within the irreversible damping device so as to reduce the axial length. According to the invention, the reversible damping device comprises a central pressure plate, which can be moved along the longitudinal axis and is arranged between the elastomer elements to dampen tensile and impact forces in the direction