Automatic Centre Coupler

The Variants 9

This frontal acting line connector with two air lines, electrical coupler, and with protection flap paved the way to the unified coupler, realized 4 years later by OSShD and UIC.
Variant 9.1

The line coupler has been improved against variant 8 as following:

Possibility of change of electrical coupler also if coupled
Improved centring elements of line connector
Ones more the attempt to use an automatic cock mechanism

The main disadvantages of this variant were:

Functional reliability of the protection flap
The force to couple too high
Strength problems at the control mechanism and at the centring elements of the line connector
Unsafe function of the butt contacts of the electrical coupler

Variant 9.2

The most important modification against the forerunner were improvements of the centring elements of the line connector and the transition of the electrical coupler at the top position.

Variant 9.3

This variant was the last attempt to place the line connector with lateral contact surface for unification. This variant realized the request of possibility to change washer of air coupler and the electrical coupler in the coupled position.

The progress of unifying between OSShD and UIC stopped the further development of this potential solution. The risk to fail the realization of a full functional solution in a reliable time seemed too high.

Variant 9.4

This version showed satisfactory test results. But the unification resulted an other solution for the line connector. The main reason was the use of plug connection for the electrical lines instead of butt contacts. Consequently for the line connector most of the corresponding elements from the UIC-solution have been used (the UIC used up to this time already the plug connections).

Variant 9.5