Coupler shank bearing arrangement for supporting railroad car couplers on coupler carriers

Claim 1

In a railroad car wheeled for riding on track rails and having a body including a center sill projecting from one end of the car and equipped with a coupler striker casting and a coupler mounted on the center sill for swinging movement sidewise of the car and movement longitudinally of the car in response to buff and draft forces acting on the coupler, said coupler including a shank extending through the casting for connection to the sill, with the shank being hollow and defining a lower wall on the underside of same, and a coupler carrier supported by the center sill and having a load support surface on which the coupler shank rests, a coupler shank bearing arrangement interposed between the coupler shank and the coupler carrier, said bearing arrangement comprising: a bearing structure comprising a body formed from an ultra high molecular weight polymer material of dry self lubricating characteristics, said body being shaped to define: a lower generally planar bearing plate portion riding on the coupler carrier and an upper mounting portion upstanding from said bearing plate portion of said body, said body mounting portion comprising: a rectilinear ridge structure defining a base section integral with said body bearing plate portion, and a head section projecting normally of and away from said body bearing plate portion and having a crest extending longitudinally of and substantially paralleling said ridge structure, said bearing plate portion engaging the coupler shank lower wall on one side of said bearing plate portion, said ridge structure between said crest and said base section of said body defining an apex portion extending along either side of said ridge structure adjacent said crest and projecting laterally of said ridge structure and at approximately equal levels above said bearing plate portion, said ridge structure defining a slot extending longitudinally thereof and opening at said crest for the full length of said ridge structure to divide said ridge structure into a plurality of parallel mounting walls extending longitudinally of said ridge structure, said slot extending through the depth of said ridge structure to approximately said base section thereof, said coupler shank lower wall being formed to define a slot extending longitudinally of said shank in which said body ridge structure is received, said coupler shank slot being dimensioned transversely of said coupler shank to substantially complement the transverse dimension of said ridge structure base portion, said ridge structure at the level of said apex portions having a dimension transversely of said ridge structure that is greater than said coupler shank slot transverse dimension, said ridge structure slot being dimensioned transversely of said ridge structure such that said walls are spaced from each other along said crest, said ridge structure apex portions being disposed within the coupler shank, said coupler shank along said slot thereof defining a lip on either side of said slot underlying the respective ridge structure apex portions, whereby said shank lips serve as stops opposing dislodgement of said ridge structure from said shank slot.