EP1445385B1

EP1445385B1 - Tool quick coupler

Info

Publication number: EP1445385B1
Application number: EP04002724A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giorgio Cangini
Original assignee: Cangini Benne SRL
Current assignee: Cangini Benne SRL
Priority date: 2003-02-07
Filing date: 2004-02-06
Publication date: 2006-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-06
Also published as: ATE346192T1; ITBO20030056A1; DE602004003268D1; DE602004003268T2; EP1445385A1; DK1445385T3; ES2276177T3

Abstract

A connecting device for tools is provided with a first member (2) and a second member (3) fit to be fixed to a tool (100) and to a support (101) that, in an operational condition, they transmit to each other strength mainly oriented in a strength direction (S). <??>The device (1) includes at least a arrest mean (7) associated to one of the members (2, 3) and sliding in comparison to this latter in a sliding direction (D) tilted in comparison to the average strength direction (S), to detachably engage, in a linking condition (C), at least a respective housing mean (9) of the remaining member (3, 2). Said arrest mean (7) being provided with at least a wedge surface (10) tilted in comparison with its sliding direction (D) and fit, in the linking condition (C), to match at least a corresponding second flat surface (11) of the housing mean (9). <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention refers to the field of mechanical links and refers to a connecting device for tools fit for linking said tool to driving means such as articulated arm means of ground moving or demolition vehicles, for agricultural or for shearing devices and the like and generally to mechanically connect, in removable way, mechanical elements of different kind.
There are known hook device for tools, such as buckets and pneumatic hammer for demolition, provided with a first member fixed to such tools and of a second member fixed to a support such as the end of an articulated arm.
Generally, such known devices are provided with pivots or prismatic elements fit to be inserted in slots of the elements for their mutual hooking and detachable fixing. Said devices sometimes are also equipped with safety locks to block the pivots or the prismatic elements.
A drawback of said known devices consists in that the pivots or prismatic elements, matching the slots with the necessary slack for their engagement and for the disconnection, under the effect of the vibrations, of the impulsive strength and of the hits, they violently crash against the edges of the slots of the members having the tendency to get disconnected, to be damaged up to break the safety locks causing unfavorable and dangerous openings.
Other drawback of such known device consists in that they are difficult and complicate to be hooked and to be unhooked causing losses of time and risks for the safety of the operators.
Documents WO95/18894, FR-A-2809779, DE-U-9314409, US-A-4674945 and FR-A-2826028 disclose a tool coupling device for coupling a tool to a support and transferring, in use, forces between them.
An object of the present invention is to propose a connecting device for tools to reduce the connecting slacks, to minimize the mutual movement of the elements of the device caused by vibrations, hits and impulsive strengths, and therefore very strong, reliable and safe.
Other purpose is to propose a device to avoid the risk of unfavorable releasing also in case of fault or of breakage.
Further object is to propose a simple device fast to hook and to unhook.
The above mentioned objects are reached according to the contents of the claims.
The features of the invention are underlined in the following, with particular reference to the attached drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a side view of the connecting device for tools whose first member is fixed to a tool and whose second member is fixed to an articulated arm support;
figure 2 shows an axonometric view of the device of figure 1 in a stand alone and partially connected condition;
figure 3 shows a section view of the device of figure 2;
figure 4 shows a top view of the device of figure 2;
figures 5 and 6 show plan and axonometric views of an latching means of the device of figure 1;
the figures 7 and 8 show section and axonometric views of the first member of the device of figure 1;
the figures 9 and 10 show section and axonometric views of the second member of the device of figure 1;
the figures 11 and 12 show partial plant views of the device of figure 1 in extreme conditions of block of the latching means respectively toward the inside and the outside.

With reference to the figures from 1 to 12, numeral 1 indicates the device object of the present invention, provided with a first member 2 and of a second member 3 respectively fit to be fixed, for instance by means of a welding, to a tool 100, such as a pneumatic hammer or a bucket, and to a support 101, such as an articulated hydraulic arm of a vehicle.
The members first 2 and second 3 can be mutually hinged by means of respective hook means first 5 and second 6, substantially consisting of pivots for respective hooks insertable one in the others and detachable in correspondence of a predetermined mutual orientation of the members 2, 3 in which the pivots can enter in the hooks.
The device is provided with an latching means 7, approximately flattened parallelepiped shaped, associated to the second member 3 and fit for detachably engaging a respective housing mean 9 of the remaining member 3 in a linking condition C in which also the hook means first 5 and second 6 are mutually constrained.
The latching means 7 is constrained to slide, in a sliding direction D, by sliding means 22, of plain or guide kind, of the second member 3.
In alternative the sliding means 22 can consist of a pivot for the sliding rotation of the latching means 7.
In the linking condition C and in correspondence of the operation, the tool 100 and the support 101 transmit to each other, through the device 1, vibrations, hits and impulsive strengths mainly directed in an average strength direction S, for instance approximately coincident with the axis of a pneumatic hammer tool 100.
In the linking condition C, the sliding direction D of the latching means 7 is nearly orthogonally tilted in comparison to the strength direction S.
The latching means 7 is bifurcated and is provided with two wedge surfaces 10, flat and tilted in comparison to the sliding direction D and, in the linking condition C, fit for matching correspondent second flat surfaces 11 carried out in two openings separated by a stiffening leg of the housing mean 9.
In alternative, the invention provides that the latching means is not bifurcated being provided with a single wedge surface 10 for a flat surface 11 carried out in a single opening of the housing mean 9.
The wedge surfaces 10 and the housing mean 9 are on sides of the members 2, 3 nearly opposite to the hook means first 5 and second 6.
Members 2, 3 are provided with respective means of positioning first 23 and second 24 comprising pivots and respective open slots mutually matching in the linking condition C for the consolidation of the link of the device 1.
The second member is equipped with two elastic means 16, of compressed helical spring type, to elastically push the latching means 7 in the sliding direction D toward the housing mean 9.
In the linking condition C the two elastic means 16, pushing the wedge surfaces 10 against the second flat surfaces 11 of the housing mean 9, cause the mutual approach of the members 2, 3 up to the complete mutual matching of the positioning means first 23 and second 24.
The latching means 7 has two safety surfaces 15, nearly perpendicular to the strength direction S, each of them being outside and adjacent to the respective wedge surface 10 with which it forms an angle different from zero, in the linking condition C.
The latching means 7 has a first.main face 13 nearly flat and approximately perpendicular to the strength direction S; the opposite second main face 14, parallel to the first 13, has, close to its edge transversal to the sliding direction D, the wedge surfaces 10 tilt toward the first face 13 and linking the second face 14 the same, with the respective safety surfaces 15 also approximately perpendicular to the strength direction S and therefore parallel to the main faces 13, 14.
Optionally, the invention provides that each safety surface 15 is slightly tilted in opposite direction to the respective wedge surface 10 in comparison to the main faces 13, 14, or that its geometric plan contains the rotation axis of the hook means first 5 and second 6.
The latching means 7 is provided with a shaped hollow cutout portion 17 for a blocking means 18 hinged to the second member 3 and rotating between two extreme conditions of block of the latching means 7 to the inside N and toward the outside E in comparison to the second member 3.
The blocking means 18 is hook shaped to prevent the latching means 7 to slide toward the inside of the device 1, in other word, toward a condition inside N, matching a shaped protrusion 19 of the hollow cutout portion 17.
The blocking means 18 is rotationally hinged to the second member 3 and is rotationally operated by driving means 21 consisting of a rotation pivot fixed to the blocking means 18 and provided with an external hexagonal head for the driving by means of a nuts spanner.
The first member 2 is provided with a stop mean 20 consisting of a pivot with a beveled head for matching the blocking means 18 fit for, in correspondence of the link of the members 2, 3 of the device 1, partially hocking the hollow cutout portion 17 matching the blocking means 18 causing its rotation from the inside N block condition toward the outside E block condition.
The operation of device 1 provides that the members fixed to the tool and to the support are set, through the driving of the latter, in predetermines and mutual orientation for the insertion of the pivots in the hooks of the hook means first 5 and second 6 of the device.
Subsequently to such insertion and to the rotation of the driving means 21 for the positioning of the blocking means 18 in the extreme condition inside N of block of the latching means 7, a rotation of the second member 3 around the axes of the hook means carried out by means of the support 101 up to the mutual matching of the positioning means first 23 and second 24 causes the positioning of the portion of the arrest latching means 7, having the wedge surfaces 10, in front of the housing mean 9.
The rotation of the driving means 21 for the positioning of the blocking means 18 in the extreme outside E condition of block of the latching means 7 releases the latching means 7 that, under the pushing of the elastic means 16, engages the housing mean 9 positioning the wedge surface 10 against the second flat surface 11 causing the reduction of the linkage slacks of the device. An eventual force having a bigger intensity than that of the elastic means and acting on the latching means 7 toward the inside N condition it is stopped by the matching of the shaped protrusion 19 of the hollow cutout portion 17 with the hook of the blocking means 18 preventing the exit of the latching means 7 from the housing mean 9.
Due to the inclined plane realized by the wedge surfaces 10 and second flat surfaces 11, the vibrations and impulsive strengths oriented along the strength direction S, transmit to the latching means 7 strengths toward the inside N condition and therefore pushing the latching means 7 outside the housing mean 9, but this is prevented from the safety surface 15. In case of a movement of exit of the latching means 7 caused by strengths direct according to the strength direction S, the matching between such latching means 7 and the housing mean 9 it would happen in correspondence of the safety surface 15 whose orientation in comparison to the strength direction S can annul, or reverse, the effect of said strengths avoiding the risk of exit.
An advantage of the present invention is to provide a reliable and sure connecting device for tools to reduce the linking slacks to minimize the mutual movements of the elements of the device caused by vibrations, hits and impulsive strengths and therefore very strong, reliable and safe.
Other advantage is to provide a device to avoid the risk of unfavorable releasing also in case of a fault or of breakage.
Further advantage is to furnish a simple and fast device to hook and to unhook.
Other advantage is to furnish a device for mechanical detachable linking for almost all kind and type of elements requiring a stable, precise and strong linkage.

Claims

Tool coupling device (1) for coupling a tool (100) to a support (101) and transferring, in use, forces between the tool (100) and the support (101) mainly in a principal force direction (S), comprising:
- a first member (2) attachable to the tool (100),

- a second member (3) attachable to the support (101),

- latching means (7) on the second member (3) and constrained to slide by sliding means (22) of the latching means (7) relative to said member (2, 3) in a sliding direction (D) which is inclined to said principal force direction (S) for latching the one member onto the other member,

- the latching means (7) being slidable between a latching and an unlatching position,

- housing means (9) on the other member (2) for engagement with the latching means (7) in the latched position,

- the latching member (7) comprising a wedge surface (10) inclined to said sliding direction (D) which matches in the engaged position with a second flat surface (11) of the housing means (9);
the latching means (7) is provided with a shaped hollow cutout portion (17) for a blocking means (18) hinged to the second member (3) and rotating between two extreme conditions of block of the latching means (7) toward the inside (N) and the outside (E) relative to the second member (3); said device (1) being characterized in that the blocking means (18) is hook shaped to prevent the latching means (7) to slide toward the inside of the device (1) matching a shaped protrusion (19) of the hollow cutout portion (17).
Device according to claim 1 characterized in that each latching means (7) has at least a safety surface (15) external and adjacent to the at least one wedge surface (10) with which forms an angle different from zero.
Device according to the claim 2 characterized in that each safety surface (15) is nearly perpendicular to the strength direction (S).
Device according to the claim 2 characterized in that the latching means (7) has approximately a flattened parallelepiped form with a first main face (13) nearly flat and the opposite second main face (14) having, close to one its edges transversal to the sliding direction (D), the wedge surface (10) tilted toward the first face (13) and linking the second face (14) with at least one safety surface (15) parallel to the main faces (13, 14).
Device according to the claim 4 characterized in that the main faces (13, 14) are approximately perpendicular to the strength direction (S).
Device according to the claim 5 characterized in that each safety surface (15), in comparison to the main faces (13, 14), is slightly tilted in opposite direction of the wedge surface (10).
Device according to the claim 1 characterized in that includes a set of elastic means (16) for pushing the latching means (7) in the sliding direction (D) toward the housing mean (9).
Device according to the claim 1 characterized in that comprises driving means (21) of the blocking means (18) to operate and to hinge this last to the second member (3).
Device according to the claim 1 characterized in that the first member (2) in equipped with a stop mean (20) fit, in correspondence of the linking of the members (2, 3) of the device (1), for partially engaging the hollow cutout portion (17) matching the blocking means (18) causing its rotation from the condition of block in the inside (N) toward the condition of block to the outside (E).
Device according to the claim 1 characterized in that the stop mean (20) substantially consists of a pivot having a beveled head for matching the blocking means (18).