COUPLER KNUCKLE

• US 20140217052A1
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pennsy Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pennsy Corporation
• Inventors: Brook, Zachary Ryan, Tavares, Manuel, Schmidt, Michael J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,481,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 213/155
• CPC Class Codes: B61G 1/28 with vertical bolt or pin
• CPC Class Codes: B61G 3/04 with coupling head having a guard arm on one side and a knuckle with angularly-disposed nose and tail portions pivoted to the other side thereof, the nose of the knuckle being the coupling part, and means to lock the knuckle in coupling position, e.g. "A.A.R." or "Janney" type
• CPC Class Codes: B61G 7/00 Details or accessories

Abstract

An improved coupler knuckle with an improved interior configuration for handling forces imparted on the knuckle and transferring said imparted forces through the knuckle and improving handling of linear force loads and their transmission the interior having a force handling structure that includes spaced apart layers and cavities, with a cavity extending between the nose section and the tail section of the coupler knuckle.

Claims

1. An improved coupler knuckle having a nose section and a tail section, the tail section having an opening therein, and wherein said knuckle has at least one cavity formed therein which communicates with said opening in said tail section.

2. The coupler knuckle of claim 1, wherein a bore extends through a transverse length of the knuckle from said knuckle nose section to said knuckle tail section.

3. The coupler knuckle of claim 2, said knuckle having at least one nose opening in said nose section and at least one tail opening in said tail section, wherein said at least one nose opening communicates with said transverse bore in said nose section and wherein said at least one tail opening communicates with said transverse bore in said tail section.

4. The coupler knuckle of claim 1, including a pin bore, said pin bore being disposed in said nose section, and wherein said pin bore communicates with said at least one cavity and with said opening in said tail section.

5. The coupler knuckle of claim 1, including a plurality of transverse layers formed in the nose section, an upper pulling lug and a lower pulling lug, the upper pulling lug and lower pulling lug being provided on the tail section, wherein said upper pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one of said plurality of transverse layers, and wherein said lower pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one other one of said plurality of transverse layers.

6. The coupler knuckle of claim 3, including a plurality of transverse layers formed in the nose section, an upper pulling lug and a lower pulling lug, the upper pulling lug and lower pulling lug being provided on the tail section, wherein said upper pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one of said plurality of transverse layers, and wherein said lower pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one other one of said plurality of transverse layers.

7. The coupler knuckle of claim 1, wherein said wherein said coupler knuckle is constructed from grade E steel.

8. The coupler knuckle of claim 1, wherein said coupler knuckle is constructed from an austempered material.

9. The coupler knuckle of claim 8, wherein said austempered material is austempered metal.

10. The coupler knuckle of claim 9, wherein said austempered metal is austempered ductile iron.

11. The coupler knuckle of claim 9, wherein said austempered metal is austempered steel.

12. The coupler knuckle of claim 9, wherein said austempered metal is selected from the group consisting of austempered ductile iron, austempered steel and austempered alloy steel.

13. The coupler knuckle of claim 10, wherein said austempered ductile iron comprises ductile iron alloyed with one or more metals selected from the group consisting of nickel, molybdenum, manganese, copper and mixtures thereof, wherein said ductile iron alloyed with said one or more said metals is austempered to produce said coupler knuckle.

14. A coupler knuckle having an improved interior configuration for facilitating improved force handling, wherein said coupler knuckle includes force handling means for handling forces imparted on the knuckle and transferring said imparted forces through the knuckle.

15. The coupler knuckle of claim 14, wherein said force handling means comprises a force handling structure.

16. The coupler knuckle of claim 15, wherein said force handling structure comprises a plurality of transverse layers being spaced apart and separated by cavities.

17. The coupler knuckle of claim 16, the knuckle having a nose area, wherein said spaced apart layers are provided in the nose area of the knuckle, and wherein the knuckle has a pin bore, wherein said pin bore is formed in each of said spaced apart layers, and wherein the respective pin bores in each spaced apart layer are aligned to form a continuous pin bore extending through the coupler knuckle.

18. The coupler knuckle of claim 17, wherein said cavities are provided between said transversely spaced apart layers, and where said cavities are defined by adjacently spaced apart layers, and wherein said cavities communicate with said pin bore.

19. The coupler knuckle of claim 16, wherein said transverse layers are provided along a path parallel to the forceload direction.

20. The coupler knuckle of claim 16, wherein said spaced apart layers are disposed in a parallel arrangement and are transversely aligned with the pulling areas of the knuckle tail.

21. The coupler knuckle of claim 14, said coupler knuckle having a nose section and a tail section, wherein said coupler knuckle has pulling lugs on the tail section.

22. The coupler knuckle of claim 16, said coupler knuckle having a nose section and a tail section, wherein said coupler knuckle has pulling lugs on the tail section, and wherein each of said pulling lugs is aligned with at least one of said plurality of layers in a pulling direction. The coupler knuckle of claim 18, wherein said spaced apart layers include a top layer and bottom layer and two mid layers, wherein each mid layer extends from the nose of the coupler knuckle to the tail of the coupler knuckle, wherein each of said mid layers has at least a portion thereof disposed in the knuckle interior and at least another portion thereof that forms an exterior of said knuckle.

24. The coupler knuckle of claim 17, wherein said knuckle has a wall forming the exterior of the nose area, said wall having an exterior surface forming an exterior surface of the coupler knuckle, and said wall having an interior, said interior connecting with said plurality of transverse spaced apart layers.

25. A coupler knuckle comprising:

a nose section;

a tail section,

the tail section having an opening therein;

at least one cavity formed in said tail section which communicates with said opening in said tail section;

a bore extending through a transverse length of the knuckle from said knuckle nose section to said knuckle tail section;

at least one nose opening in said nose section;

at least one tail opening in said tail section;

wherein said at least one nose opening communicates with said transverse bore in said nose section and wherein said at least one tail opening communicates with said transverse bore in said tail section;

a pin bore disposed in said nose section;

wherein said pin bore communicates with said at least one cavity and with said opening in said tail section;

a plurality of transverse layers formed in the nose section,

an upper pulling lug;

a lower pulling lug,

wherein said upper pulling lug and said lower pulling lug are provided on the tail section;

wherein said upper pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one of said plurality of transverse layers, and

wherein said lower pulling lug is aligned in the same transverse plane as at least one other one of said plurality of transverse layers.