EP3382103B1 - Rapid coupling system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a quick coupler for coupling a tool such as an excavator bucket, bucket grab or demolition tongs to a tool operator such as an excavator handle or the like, with a coupler body which, on opposite end faces, has on the one hand a coupling receptacle for receiving a first locking part of a coupler part to be coupled and on the other hand a locking receptacle for receiving a second locking part of the coupler part to be coupled, wherein at least one movable locking part for locking the second locking part is assigned to at least the locking receptacle, wherein said locking element can be actuated manually via an actuating gear arranged on the coupler body.

Such a quick coupler is, for example, from the document U.S. 2013/160 269 A1 known, wherein the movable locking parts of the coupler body are prestressed by a spring device and can be actuated by a link system, an actuating shaft being provided with a square in order to be able to attach an actuating tool.

On construction machinery such as hydraulic excavators or articulated grabs such as wood handling machines or demolition equipment or similar material handling machines, quick couplers are often used to couple various tools such as clearing buckets, shell grabs or demolition tongs to an excavator handle or similar tool guides such as Articulated booms used to be able to use different tools without long changeover times.

Such quick couplers can have, as locking elements, in particular two spaced-apart locking axes on one coupling part, while the other coupling part, in particular the coupling part on the excavator stick side, can have a preferably hook-shaped coupling receptacle for hooking onto a first of the two locking axes and a locking receptacle for locking on the second locking axis. After the first locking pin has been hooked into the coupling mount, the two coupling parts can be pivoted relative to one another, with the locking pin located in the coupling mount forming the axis of rotation, so that the second locking pin enters or is pivoted into the locking mount, where the second locking pin mentioned is then secured by a locking element such as an extendable wedge can be locked, so that at the same time it is no longer possible to move the first locking axis out of the coupling receptacle. To move the said locking element, an externally powered actuator is provided, which can be designed, for example, as a hydraulic cylinder and can usually be actuated by hydraulic pressure from the device.

The locking axes mentioned on one coupling part can be formed by locking bolts, which can extend parallel to one another on the corresponding coupling part, although other structural parts of the coupling part, such as projecting lugs, knuckles, engagement stubs in the form of projections or Recesses can serve as locking parts, for example in the form of pockets, which are adapted in shape to the coupling receptacle or the locking receptacle of the other coupling part.

The dimensions and the locking parts of such quick couplers are also the subject of standards for the compatibility of an excavator handle to ensure the coupler half used with various tools on which a coupler half is mounted, which can come from different manufacturers depending on the tool and must be compatible with the handle-side coupler half that the two coupler halves can move together and lock. Such standardization has taken place, for example, in the form of the so-called S coupler or the S standard, which stipulates the dimensions and arrangement of the locking elements and receiving mouths and was defined by the Swedish institute Maskinleverantörerna and was last published on May 28, 2010. In the manner described above, this S coupler has two parallel, spaced-apart transverse bolts as locking parts on one coupler half, while the other coupler half has a jaw-shaped coupling receptacle on the one hand and an L-shaped locking receptacle on the other, which are closed by a pair of extendable locking bolts or can then also be closed in a U-shaped or mouth-shaped receptacle.

Furthermore, the writing shows WO 2016/198638 A1 a quick coupler in which the locking elements can be moved in and out from a drive shaft via rotary control parts, a hand tool for manually actuating the quick coupler being able to be connected to said drive shaft. In addition, a hydraulic rotary motor is connected to said drive shaft in order to also be able to actuate the drive shaft and thus the locking element by motor.

Further examples of such quick couplers are from the documents EP 1 852 555 A2 , DE 20 2012 007 124 U1 , DE 20 2014 001 328 U1 known.

Modern variants of such quick couplers can often be actuated hydraulically. The locking elements are associated with hydraulic actuating actuators, for example in the form of hydraulic cylinders, by means of which the locking elements can be moved in and out. Are hydraulically actuated tools to be coupled, the coupler halves also have hydraulic couplings that move together automatically when the two coupler halves are pivoted together.

However, there is still a need for manually operated coupler halves, particularly in smaller operations or for infrequently used machines for which fully hydraulic quick coupler systems are not worth it or are too expensive.

Such manually operable quick couplers usually have an actuating mechanism, which is arranged on the coupler body, on which the locking elements mentioned can be moved in and out or in some other way between locking and unlocking positions. The required actuating forces are reduced by means of such actuating gears in order to ensure simple manual operation. For example, a lever mechanism can be provided, which can be actuated by a rotatable rotary control part, so that favorable manual actuation can be achieved via the lever ratios. A wrench or a similar tool, as is known in a comparable form for loosening and tightening the wheel nuts when changing a wheel on a motor vehicle, can be detachably attached to the said rotary control part, for example via a polygonal plug connection, in order to actuate the rotary control part. Such an actuating mechanism usefully also includes a spring that prestresses the locking element.

Due to the actuating gear, however, it has hitherto been difficult to couple such a manually operated quick coupler to coupler halves on which hydraulic and/or power circuit couplings are also arranged, since the actuating gear and the coupler body surrounding the actuating gear would collide with such hydraulic or power circuit couplings. Such hydraulic or energy circuit couplings are usually arranged centrally between the opposite locking parts, which are to be moved into the coupling and locking receptacles, and are therefore located exactly where the said adjusting gear is arranged on the opposite coupler half. As a result, can So far, such manually operated quick couplers have only been coupled with coupler halves that have no such hydraulic or energy circuit couplings.

Proceeding from this, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved quick coupler of the type mentioned which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and further develops the latter in an advantageous manner. In particular, a safe and at the same time simple manual locking should be made possible with a compact design, even if the opposite coupler half has hydraulic or other energy circuit couplings.

According to the invention, the stated object is achieved by a quick coupler system according to claim 1. Preferred developments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

It is therefore proposed, in addition to the locking elements that are assigned to the locking recess, to also assign at least one securing element to the receiving recess in order to secure the locking part received therein, and to connect both elements, i.e. the locking element and the securing element, to the common drive shaft in order to to be able to lock and unlock both the locking elements and the locking elements with a rotational movement of the common drive shaft. According to the invention, both the locking element assigned to the locking receptacle and a movable, additional securing element, which is assigned to the coupling receptacle for securing the first locking part accommodated therein, can be actuated by the common drive shaft and are articulated via an actuating link on a rotary control part that is non-rotatably connected to the common drive shaft. so that the locking element and the securing element proceed in opposite directions to one another by rotating the common drive shaft in one direction of rotation. In particular, the locking element moves to one side of the quick coupler body into the locking receptacle provided there, while the securing element moves towards the opposite side of the coupler body into the coupling receptacle provided there when the common drive shaft is rotated in one direction. If the drive shaft is rotated in the opposite direction of rotation, the locking and securing elements move in opposite directions to their unlocking position.

Advantageously, said drive shaft can extend between the coupling mount and the locking mount across the coupler body, in particular in a direction perpendicular to the adjustment directions of the locking and securing elements, wherein advantageously a through-hole can be provided in a side wall of the coupler body through which the drive shaft can extend to an outside of the coupler body to be coupled with a hand tool. As an alternative, the hand tool can also be pushed through the mentioned through-hole in order to be coupled to the drive shaft in the mentioned side wall or also inside the mentioned side wall.

In principle, the hand tool can be coupled in different ways. For example, the hand tool can be slipped onto the drive shaft in a rotationally fixed manner by means of a shaft-hub connection, so that the hand tool and the drive shaft extend approximately coaxially to one another. Alternatively, the hand tool and the drive shaft can also be arranged offset from one another, for example by providing a pinion in a rotationally fixed manner on the drive shaft and a pinion in a rotationally fixed manner on the hand tool and being able to mesh in the sense of a spur gear stage. Alternatively or in addition to such a spur gear stage, a bevel gear stage can also be connected between the hand tool and the drive shaft on the coupler body in order to tilt or bend the axis of rotation of the hand tool relative to the axis of rotation of the drive shaft. At the same time, a reduction or translation between the hand tool and by such a pinion or gear stage Drive shaft are generated, which allows a particularly effortless, smooth actuation of the quick coupler.

The additional securing element can advantageously be moved into the coupling receptacle at an angle and/or at an acute angle in order to prevent the locking part located there from slipping out of the coupling receptacle in a form-fitting manner. In particular, the named coupling receptacle can form a mouth-shaped blind groove with a groove longitudinal axis, which is open on a side of the coupler body that faces away from the locking receptacle, the coupling receptacle with its named groove longitudinal axis toward an actuating axis of the securing element and/or to a connecting plane , which goes through both the coupling receptacle and the locking receptacle, can extend at an acute angle. If one considers the approximately cuboid coupling body, for example, in a horizontally aligned position, the aforementioned coupling receptacle can, for example, be inclined upwards at an acute angle and/or inclined downwards at an acute angle, with the securing element being able to be moved substantially horizontally and partially being able to be displaced into the coupling receptacle to block the entry and exit path for the associated locking piece.

Advantageously, the locking element can also be moved substantially horizontally when said cuboid coupling body is viewed in a horizontal position. In this case, the locking element and the securing element can both be moved horizontally or along axes that are essentially parallel to one another, which has a favorable effect on actuation by the common drive shaft and at the same time enables a compact, flat design of the coupler.

Advantageously, the rotary control parts, on which the locking part on the one hand and the securing element on the other hand are articulated via the actuating link already mentioned, on opposite sides of the Drive shaft extend and be arranged such that the actuating link of the locking element and the securing element are overstretched when rotating the drive shaft from the unlocked position into the locking position and each pass a dead center. With such a configuration, in which the actuating link is overstretched and a dead center is passed, the drive shaft can be held securely in the locking and unlocking position by moving against rotary stops, without the need for special, additional safety measures, for example in the form of locking bars would be required.

The securing element on the one hand and the locking element on the other hand can be connected to the rotary movement of the common drive shaft in different ways, in particular in such a way that the securing element is coupled to the rotation of the drive shaft essentially free of play, positively controlled, while the locking element has a limited clearance with respect to the rotary movement of the Has drive shaft, for example by providing a longitudinal groove or a slot, which can form an articulation point of the actuating link. This makes it possible to move the locking element in a form-fitting manner against the locking element or in the sense of a stop against the locking element, even if the actuating link is overstretched when approaching the locking position and passes the dead center. Advantageously, a prestressing device, for example in the form of a spring device, can be assigned to the mentioned clearance in order to move the locking element into the contacting, abutting position on the locking part.

The free space mentioned is relatively small and in any case limited in such a way that the locking element blocks the locking receptacle sufficiently even if the free space is used, in order to reliably prevent the locking element from falling out.

On the other hand, the additional securing element, which is assigned to the coupling receptacle, can implement the rotary drive shaft of the drive shaft in a positively controlled manner without free movement. In particular, due to the aforementioned inclined position of the coupling receptacle, the securing element does not have to be driven to the stop, but it may be sufficient to drive said securing element sufficiently far obliquely into the coupling receptacle in order to block the way for the locking part.

Furthermore, it is proposed to move the actuating gear for manual actuation of the at least one locking element out of the collision area with the hydraulic or power circuit couplings on the coupling part to be coupled and to move the coupler body in the area that is intended to be connected to the named hydraulic or power circuit couplings of the counterpart when coupling lie comes to spare, so that the hydraulic or energy circuit couplings can enter the recessed area. According to the invention, the coupler body has, in a central section between its coupling and locking receptacles provided on opposite end faces, a recess open towards the coupling part to be coupled for receiving and/or retracting hydraulic connections of the coupler part to be coupled, the actuating gear for manual actuation of the at least one locking part next to said Recess, the recess is arranged leaving free. Such a recess in combination with an arrangement of the actuating gear on the edge or next to the named recess allows the hydraulic connections to move into the named recess between the coupler structural parts and/or actuating gear sections arranged on the edge and the coupler body can thus be moved onto the coupler part to be coupled without colliding. At the same time, the quick coupler can continue to be used for hydraulic-free coupler solutions, since in this case the recess mentioned in the coupler body simply remains free if no hydraulic or energy circuit couplings are provided on the counterpart.

Said recess can form a cup-shaped or trough-shaped indentation in the underside of the coupler body, ie in the side of the coupler body that is moved onto the coupling part to be coupled when it is coupled, the said cup-shaped or trough-shaped depression being sufficiently deep to allow the hydraulics - To be able to record energy circuit couplings on the coupling part to be coupled. In particular, said recess can be at the edge of stiffening and/or strength-increasing structural thickenings and/or edge beads and/or actuating gear sections of the manually operable Be bordered or surrounded setting gear, such structural thickening or edge beads can be advantageously provided on at least two or three edge sides of said recess.

In particular, the structural thickenings or edge thickenings mentioned can extend along the side edges of the coupler body, while the central area of the coupler body is spared by such structural thickenings and/or can be formed by a flat, thin plate or a similarly thin structural sheet metal or part.

In an advantageous further development of the invention, the above-mentioned actuating gear sections can also be arranged at least partially within the said beadings which surround the edges.

In an advantageous further development of the invention, said central recess can be designed at least partially as a through-hole, so that a central through-hole with a free viewing axis is provided in the coupler body. Said through-hole can go centrally through the coupler body and extend from the underside of the coupler body, which is intended to be moved onto the counterpart or coupler part to be coupled, to its upper side. Through such a through-hole, any hydraulic or energy circuit couplings present on the coupler part to be coupled remain accessible from above or through the mentioned through-hole, even when the quick coupler is coupled. In addition, the quick coupler can be built particularly flat, regardless of the overall height of any hydraulic couplings that may be present.

Said recess in the coupler body can vary in size, and in any case it is dimensioned sufficiently large to accommodate the hydraulic or energy circuit couplings present on the counterpart. Also with differently positioned hydraulic or energy circuit couplings To ensure collision-free moving together, said recess can advantageously have a clear width of more than 50% or more in the transverse direction - i.e. transverse to the actuating axis of the locking element and/or transverse to the plane of the coupling movement and/or parallel to the bolt-shaped locking parts of the coupler part to be coupled Possess 66% of the width of the entire coupler body. In the longitudinal direction - i.e. approximately in the direction of the spacing of the two coupling and locking receptacles from one another - the recess can advantageously have a clear width or length of at least more than 33% or more than 50% of the spacing of the coupling and locking receptacles, with a length of more than 66% of said spacing of the recordings is possible. A sufficiently large recess in this way prevents the coupler body from colliding with the hydraulic connections on the counterpart, even if the clutch moves incorrectly.

In an advantageous further development of the invention, the adjusting gear installed next to the said recess can have a rotatably mounted rotary adjusting part which, by turning via an actuating link, displaces the locking element with which the locking receptacle is closed or the locking part accommodated therein is locked. A spring device can advantageously be coupled to said rotary control part, in particular in such a way that when the rotary control part is rotated, a dead center is passed and the rotary control part can be prestressed by the spring device into opposite end positions, which can correspond to the locked and unlocked positions of the coupler. The spring device is more relaxed in both end positions of the rotary control part than in the intermediate dead center position, so that the spring device can hold the actuating mechanism both in the unlocked position and in the locked position by spring force. In order to move from the unlocked position to the locked position or vice versa from the locked to the unlocked position, the spring force mentioned must be overcome manually.

Advantageously, the mentioned spring device on the one hand and the actuating link on the other hand, which converts the rotary movement of the rotary control part into a control movement of the locking element, can be arranged on different or opposite sides of the locking part. This achieves a particularly slim design, so that the subassembly, comprising the rotary control part, the actuating link and the spring device, can extend laterally along the coupler body and/or along the recess, without the subassembly having to compromise the recess and the retractability of the hydraulic clutches in the Would impede or limit the area of the recess. Nevertheless, the assembly mentioned can be made relatively long or utilize a large part of the available length of the coupler body, as a result of which a favorable leverage effect and a spring device of simple construction can be provided.

Said spring device can advantageously act directly on said rotary control part and/or prestress a tensioning link which is articulated on the one hand on said rotary control part and on the other hand is slidably guided on the coupler body. In particular, the spring device can be assigned to said preload link in such a way that said preload link is preloaded along its longitudinal direction and the spring force attempts to be displaced relative to the coupler body. This displacement movement of the clamping link, which is acted upon by spring force, attempts to rotate the rotary control part into one of its end positions.

Advantageously, the quick coupler can have two locking elements associated with said locking seat and capable of locking a locking portion received therein. Advantageously, each of the named locking elements is assigned its own actuating gear assembly, each comprising a rotary actuating part, an actuating link articulated thereto and a spring device, with the named actuating gear assemblies advantageously being located laterally on opposite ones edges of the coupler body and/or on opposite sides of the aforesaid recess.

The two actuating gear assemblies can be synchronized by a synchronization shaft, which connects the two rotary control parts to one another and synchronizes them with regard to their rotation. However, such a rotary synchronization of the two rotary control parts and thus the locking movement of the locking elements can also be achieved by the actuating tool to be attached, which can, for example, replace or have the synchronization shaft mentioned. For example, the hand tool can be inserted into both rotary control parts from one side, for example via a polygonal recess and/or a splined shaft recess and/or an otherwise torque-transmitting recess in the two rotary control parts. The two actuating gear assemblies can also be synchronized by the hand tool to be used, so that even more space is available for the coupling movement when the actuating tool is removed.

Alternatively, however, the two actuating gear assemblies mentioned can also be actuated using separate actuating tools.

Advantageously, the at least one rotary control part can be positioned on the coupler body in such a way that the axis of rotation of the rotary control part is aligned with a recess provided in a side flange of the coupler part to be coupled, so that said axis of rotation of the rotary control part is in one area when it is moved together or coupled , which is bounded by side flanges of the coupler part to be coupled. In other words, the axis of rotation of the rotary control parts moves into an interior space between the side flanges of the coupler part to be coupled, as a result of which a particularly flat design of the quick coupler is made possible.

In order to still be able to attach the actuating tool to the rotary control part from the side, the rotary control part is positioned in such a way that its axis of rotation - when coupled - is aligned with a through-hole provided in the said side flange of the coupler part to be coupled. The actuating tool to be attached can thus be inserted through the said through-hole in the side flange and brought into engagement with the rotary control part.

In an advantageous development of the invention, the named drive shaft can not only be actuated manually by coupling a hand tool, but the quick coupler can also include a drive or a positioning actuator that can be actuated by external energy, in order to rotate the drive shaft by means of external energy and thus retract and extend the locking and securing element to be able to

For this purpose, the common drive shaft can have a control actuator connection for connecting such a control actuator for rotating the drive shaft, said control actuator connection being provided, for example, on one of the rotary control parts already mentioned or on a further rotary control part that is non-rotatably connected to the drive shaft.

The control actuator mentioned can fundamentally be designed differently. In an advantageous development of the invention, a pressure medium cylinder can be provided, for example, which can be actuated hydraulically or optionally also pneumatically. Advantageously, such a setting actuator can extend essentially parallel to a connecting plane that goes through the locking recess and the coupling receptacle, wherein said setting actuator can be aligned with its longitudinal and/or effective axis advantageously essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

As an alternative or in addition to such a pressure medium cylinder, the setting actuator can also have an electric motor and/or an electric setting actuator.

Fig. 1:

eine schematische Seitenansicht eines Schnellkupplers nach einer vorteilhaften Ausführung der Erfindung, der an einen Auslegerstiel eines Baggers angebaut ist und als Anbauwerkzeug einen Grablöffel ankuppelt,

Fig. 2:

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Schnellkupplers aus Fig. 1 in einer abgekuppelten Stellung, in der die beiden miteinander kuppelbaren Kupplungsteile kurz vor dem Einhaken am Hakenabschnitt gezeigt sind,

Fig. 3:

eine schematische Darstellung des elektrisch/hydraulischen Antriebsystems des Schnellkupplers aus den vorhergehenden Figuren nach einer vorteilhaften Ausführung der Erfindung,

Fig. 4:

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Schnellkupplers aus Fig. 3 schräg von unten, d.h. von der dem anzukuppelnden Kupplerteil zugewandten Seite her, die die ausfahrbaren Verriegelungselemente an der Verriegelungsaufnahme zeigen,

Fig. 5:

eine Draufsicht auf die Unterseite des Schnellkupplers aus den Figuren 3 und 4, d.h. auf die dem anzukuppelnden Kupplerteil zugewandten Seite, die die Anordnung der beiden Stellgetriebe rechts und links der Ausnehmung zeigen, und

Fig. 6:

eine schematische, teilgeschnittene Darstellung des Schnellkupplers in einer Seitenansicht, die die gegenläufig verfahrbaren Verriegelungs- und Sicherungselemente und deren Anbindung an eine gemeinsame Antriebswelle zeigt, wobei die Teilansicht (a) die Antriebswelle in einer Drehstellung zeigt, in der die Sicherungs- und Verriegelungselemente entriegelt sind und die Teilansicht (b) die Antriebswelle in einer Drehstellung zeigt, in der die Sicherungs- und Verriegelungselemente verriegelt sind,

Fig. 7:

eine teilgeschnittene, perspektivische Darstellung des Schnellkupplers aus den vorhergehenden Figuren, die einen mit der Antriebswelle gekoppelten Stellantrieb in Form eines Hydraulikzylinders zeigt, und

Fig. 8:

eine teilgeschnittene, perspektivische Darstellung des Schnellkupplers aus den vorhergehenden Figuren, die einen an die Antriebswelle angekoppelten Stellantrieb in Form eines Elektromotors zeigt.

The invention is explained in more detail below using a preferred exemplary embodiment and associated drawings. In the drawings show:

Figure 1:

a schematic side view of a quick coupler according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, which is attached to a boom arm of an excavator and couples a digging bucket as an attachment,

Figure 2:

a perspective view of the quick coupler 1 in an uncoupled position, in which the two coupling parts that can be coupled together are shown shortly before hooking onto the hook section,

Figure 3:

a schematic representation of the electric/hydraulic drive system of the quick coupler from the preceding figures according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention,

Figure 4:

a perspective view of the quick coupler 3 diagonally from below, i.e. from the side facing the coupler part to be coupled, showing the extendable locking elements on the locking receptacle,

Figure 5:

a plan view of the underside of the quick coupler from the Figures 3 and 4 , ie on the side facing the coupler part to be coupled, showing the arrangement of the two adjusting gears to the right and left of the recess, and

Figure 6:

a schematic, partially sectional view of the quick coupler in a side view, showing the locking and securing elements that can be moved in opposite directions and their connection to a common drive shaft, the partial view (a) showing the drive shaft in a rotational position in which the securing and locking elements are unlocked and the partial view (b) the drive shaft in one shows the rotational position in which the securing and locking elements are locked,

Figure 7:

a partially sectioned, perspective view of the quick coupler from the previous figures, showing an actuator coupled to the drive shaft in the form of a hydraulic cylinder, and

Figure 8:

a partially sectioned, perspective view of the quick coupler from the previous figures, which shows an actuator coupled to the drive shaft in the form of an electric motor.

As 1 shows, the quick coupler 1 can be mounted between the free end of the boom arm 5 of an excavator 30 and the tool 4 to be attached thereto, with said attachment tool 4 in 1 is designed as a digging shovel, but of course can also include other corresponding construction, handling or demolition tools, for example in the form of shell grabs, demolition tongs, scissors or the like in a conventional manner. The mentioned quick coupler 1 can be mounted on the mentioned boom 5 by means of a coupler part 2 on the handle side about a lying pivot axis aligned transversely to the longitudinal axis of the boom 5 so that the quick coupler 1 together with the tool 4 mounted on it, for example by means of a pressure medium cylinder 36 and an interposed pivot piece 37 relative to the boom arm 5 can be pivoted.

By means of a tool-side coupler part 3 - cf. 2 - On the other hand, said quick coupler can be attached to the attachment tool 4 and/or an interposed rotary drive.

As the figures 2 and 3 show, one of the two coupler parts 2 and 3, preferably the handle-side coupler part 2, on the one hand, comprise a coupling receptacle 6 and, on the other hand, a locking receptacle 10, which has two Locking parts, for example in the form of locking axles 13 and 14, can be hooked or engaged on the other, preferably tool-side, coupler part 3. Contrary to what is shown in the drawing, it would also be conceivable in principle to provide a locking axis and a receptacle on one coupler part and a locking axis and a receptacle on the other coupler part, although the embodiment shown has two receptacles, i.e. locking receptacle and coupling receptacle on one coupler part and two locking axes corresponding thereto is preferred on the other coupler part, since the associated securing and locking elements and their actuation can then be combined on one coupler part.

As 2 shows, the coupling receptacle 6 and the locking receptacle 10 each form a jaw-shaped receptacle open to one side, into which the locking axes 13 and 14 can move, which can be formed by transverse bolts or locking bolts, cf. 2 . The coupling receptacle 6 and the locking receptacle 10 are advantageously arranged and configured in such a way that when a first locking axis 13 of one coupler part 3 is retracted or hooked into the preferably hook-shaped coupling receptacle 6 of the other coupler part 2, the two coupler parts can be pivoted relative to one another , in such a way that the coupling mount 6 or the locking pin 13 accommodated therein form the axis of rotation and the second locking pin 14 can move into the locking mount 10 through the corresponding pivoting movement, so that the two coupler parts 2 and 3 are coupled to one another in a two-stage coupling process be able. First, the coupling receptacle 6 is hooked onto the first locking axis 13, so that the locking receptacle 10 can then be brought into engagement with the second locking axis 14 by pivoting the two coupler parts 2 and 3 relative to one another—which can be done, for example, by actuating the aforementioned pivoting cylinder 36.

If the second locking axis 14 is retracted into the locking receptacle 10, said second locking axis 14 is locked in the locking receptacle 10 or the locking receptacle 10 is closed so that the second locking axis 14 can no longer exit. For this purpose, a locking element 11 is provided, for example in the form of a locking wedge, which can be moved on the opening side of the locking receptacle 10 in front of the locking axis 14 accommodated therein, cf. 3 . A tool 15 can advantageously be used for manual actuation of said locking element 11 .

By locking the locking element 11, not only is the second locking axis 14 held in the locking receptacle 10, but the two coupler parts 2 and 3 are also locked together, since the coupling receptacle 6 is designed in such a way that the first locking axis 13 accommodated therein cannot protrude from the coupling receptacle 6 can come out when the second locking axis 14 is caught in the locking receptacle 10.

Nevertheless, the coupling receptacle 6 is advantageously also assigned a securing element 25 which secures or locks the locking pin 13 in the coupling receptacle 6 and prevents the locking pin 13 from being able to be moved out of the coupling receptacle 6 . Said securing element 25 can comprise a movable locking part which can be moved into the coupling receptacle 6 in the area of the open end thereof, cf. 6

(b).

As the Figures 3-5 show, two locking elements 11 are advantageously associated with the locking receptacle 10 in order to lock the second locking axis 14 therein, said locking elements 11 advantageously being able to be arranged on opposite edge or side portions of the coupler body 7.

Likewise, two securing elements 25 can be assigned to the coupling receptacle 6 in order to lock the first locking axis 14 therein, wherein said securing elements 25 can advantageously be arranged on opposite edge or side sections of the coupler body 7 .

The two locking elements 11 and the two securing elements 25 can advantageously be driven manually via an adjusting gear 12, with each locking element 11 and securing element 25 being assigned its own adjusting gear assembly, which can be synchronized with one another via the tool 15 to be attached or a synchronization shaft.

As figure 5 best shows, each control gear subassembly of the control gear 12 comprises a rotary control part 16, which is mounted on the coupler body 11 so that it can rotate about a transverse axis approximately parallel to the longitudinal extent of the locking receptacle 10 or transverse to the longitudinal axis of the locking element 11, the rotary axes of the two rotary control parts 16 advantageously being aligned with one another can be aligned.

On the one hand, an actuating link 17 is articulated on said rotary control part 16, which on the other hand is articulated on the associated locking element 11. If the rotary control part 16 is rotated, said actuating link 17 converts the rotary movement into a displacement of the locking element 11 . For this purpose, said locking element 11 is mounted on coupler body 7 so that it can be displaced longitudinally.

In order to be able to move the securing element 25, a second rotary control part 26 can be provided, which can be configured separately from the first rotary control part 16, but can also be combined with the rotary control part 16 mentioned. An actuating link 27 directs the securing element 25 to said rotary control part 26 in order to convert a rotation of the rotary control part 16 into a translatory sliding movement of the securing element 25 .

Advantageously, the rotary control parts 16 and 26 extend on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, so that the locking and securing elements 11 and 25 are moved in opposite directions to one another when the rotary control parts are rotated in one direction of rotation, cf. in comparison to one another Fig. 6 (a) and Fig. 6(b).

On the other hand, a tension link 18 is articulated on said rotary control part 16 and/or the rotary control part 26 and is slidably guided on the coupler body 7 on the other hand. To be more precise, said tensioning link 18 is displaceably guided on a rotatable stop 19, so that the tensioning link 18 can be displaced on the stop 19 when the rotary control part 16 rotates, with the stop 19 being able to rotate at the same time in order to take into account the pivoting of the tensioning link 18 .

Said tensioning link 18 is prestressed by a spring device 20, wherein said spring device 20 can be arranged between said stop 19 and a shoulder of tensioning link 18, for example in the form of a helical spring that is pushed over tensioning link 18.

The tensioning force of the spring device 20 attempts to displace the tensioning link 18 in one direction, which causes rotational pretensioning of the rotary control part 16 and/or the rotary control part 26 .

The spring device 20 and the tension link 18 are arranged on the rotary control part 16 in such a way that when the rotary control part 16 is rotated from the unlocked position to the locked position and vice versa from the locked position to the unlocked position, a dead center position is passed and the spring device 20 touches the rotary control part 16 once trying to bias in one direction and the other time. In other words, the spring device 20 clamps the rotary control part 16 on the one hand in the unlocked end position and on the other hand in the locked end position, depending on which side said dead center has been passed.

Advantageously, the two adjusting gear assemblies of the adjusting gear 12, each comprising the rotary control parts 16 and 26, the actuating links 17 and 27, the tensioning link 18 and the spring device 20, extend along an elongated installation space which is located on the side or edge on the left or right of the coupler body 7 , so that the actuating gear assemblies are limited in their extension to the right and left edge areas of the coupler body 7.

Advantageously, the spring device 20 and the tension link 18 on the one hand and the actuating link 17 on the other hand are arranged on opposite sides of the rotary control part 16 in order to achieve an overall very slim design of the control gear assemblies.

As figure 5 shows, the two actuating gear assemblies can be synchronized with one another by a drive or synchronization shaft 21, which couples the two rotary control parts 16 with one another, so that they are rotated synchronously with one another.

Said drive shaft 21 can be permanently installed or, alternatively, can be formed by the actuating tool 15 to be attached, which can be inserted into both rotary control parts 16 and 26 from one side. For this purpose, the rotary control parts 16 and 26 can have a torque-transmitting plug-in recess, for example in the form of a polygonal hole or a profile shaft recess.

The rotary control parts 16 and 26 can advantageously be arranged in such a way that the actuating tool 15 can be inserted through a through-hole 22 which can be inserted in one of the side flanges of the coupler part 3 to be coupled, cf. 2 .

As the Figures 3-5 show, the coupler body 7 of the coupler part 2 has a central recess 8 which is provided between the coupling and locking seats 6 and 10 and extends on the underside of the coupler body 7, cf. figures 4 and 5 .

Said recess 8 is bordered like a frame, on the one hand by the aforementioned coupling and locking receptacles 6 and 10 and the sections of the coupler body 7 that form them, and on the other hand by longitudinal webs extending in the longitudinal direction, which form the coupler body 7 on the right and left and the Connect the two coupling and locking mounts 6 and 10 to each other. The central area of the coupler body 7 is thus recessed, with the aforementioned recess 8 being able to extend over more than two thirds of the width of the coupler body 7 and over at least half the length in terms of the spacing between the two coupling and locking receptacles 6 and 10.

In particular, said recess 8 can form a central cup-shaped or trough-shaped depression in the underside of coupler body 7, which is moved onto coupler part 3 to be connected during coupling, with said recess 8 on the right and left of strength-enhancing, stiffening structural thickening, in particular in the form of can be bordered by beaded edges 23. The beaded edges 23 mentioned can form an elongated hollow box profile or consist of a solid longitudinal beam or web, so that the thickness of the coupler body at the lateral beaded edges 23 is massively increased compared to the recessed central area and is in particular a multiple of the thickness in the central area. As 4 and figure 5 show, the central recess 8 can be bordered along three sides by such edge beads, with edge beads 23l and 23r arranged on the left and right being at least partially designed as a hollow box profile and/or being able to accommodate the actuating gear sections of the actuating gear 12. A transverse edge bead 23q can form the receiving mouth 6 and/or side edge mouths 6 connect to each other and be designed, for example, in the form of a solid half-shell profile.

In the recessed central area between said edge beads 23, the coupler body 7 can consist essentially only of a structural plate 24, for example in the form of a sheet metal plate, in particular sheet steel plate, or a thin, approximately flat structural part, which can also be made like a framework or net or mesh.

As the figures 4 and 5 show, in the central structural part 24, which is significantly thinner than the beaded edges 23 and which connects the beaded edges 23 to one another, a central through-hole 8a can be provided, which can form part of the cutout 8 and in the region of which the cutout is located 8 extends from the bottom to the top of the coupler body 7. The aforementioned through-hole 8a can, for example, have an extent whose clear width is more than 50% or even more than 66% of the width of the entire coupler body and/or whose clear length is more than 33% or even more than 50% of the spacing of the coupling and locking recordings is.

The actuating gear 12 extends laterally to the right and left of the mentioned recess 8 and leaves the mentioned recess 8 free, so that hydraulic couplings 9 present on the coupler part 3 to be coupled can move into the recess 8 or between the two coupling and locking receptacles 6 and 10 without colliding can drive in.

Said adjusting gear 12 can extend at least partially inside said edge beads 23l and 23r, whereby alternatively or additionally said edge beads 23 can also have recesses in which said adjusting gears 12 are exposed.

As can be seen from Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b), the quick coupler is advantageously characterized in that both the locking element 11 assigned to the locking receptacle 10 and a movable securing element 25, which is connected to the coupling receptacle 6 for securing the first locking part accommodated therein 13, can be actuated by the common drive shaft 21 and are each articulated via an actuating link 17, 27 to a rotary control part 16, 26 that is non-rotatably connected to the common drive shaft 21, so that the locking element 11 and the securing element 25 can be rotated in one direction by rotating the common drive shaft 21 Rotate in opposite directions to each other.

It can advantageously be provided that said drive shaft 21 extends between the coupling receptacle 6 and the locking receptacle 10 across the coupler body 7 and a side wall 7s of the coupler body 7 has a through-hole 28 through which the drive shaft 21 extends to an outside of the coupler body 7 extends out and / or the hand tool with the drive shaft 21 can be coupled.

Provision can advantageously be made for coupling receptacle 6 to form a mouth-shaped blind groove with a longitudinal groove axis 29 that is open on a side that faces away from locking receptacle 10, with longitudinal groove axis 29 facing an adjustment axis 25a of securing element 25 and/or a connection plane 30, which goes through both the coupling receptacle 6 and the locking receptacle 10, is inclined at an acute angle.

It can advantageously be provided that the rotary control parts 16, 26, on which the locking element 11 on the one hand and the securing element 25 on the other hand are articulated, extend on opposite sides of the drive shaft 11 and are arranged in such a way that the actuating links 17, 27 of the locking element 11 and of the Securing element 25 are overstretched when rotating the drive shaft 21 from the unlocked position to the locking position and each pass a dead center.

In a further development of the invention, the quick coupler can be characterized in that the securing element 25 is coupled to the rotary movement of the drive shaft 21 via the actuating link 27 and the rotary control part 26, at least essentially without play, and the rotary movement of the drive shaft 21 is positively controlled and converted into an actuating movement of the securing element 25 , While the locking element 11 relative to the drive shaft 21 has a limited clearance, which is preferably associated with a biasing device for biasing in an end position of the clearance.

Advantageously, it can be provided that a monitoring sensor system 31 for monitoring the locking has at least one rotational position sensor 32 for monitoring when a locking rotational position of the drive shaft 21 has been reached and two recording sensors 33, 34, which are assigned to the coupling receptacle 6 on the one hand and the locking receptacle 10 on the other hand and the presence of the first and second locking parts 13, 14 in the coupling receptacle 6 and the locking receptacle 10.

Provision can advantageously be made for the common drive shaft 21 to have a setting actuator connection for connecting a setting actuator 35 actuated by external energy in order to rotate the drive shaft 21 .

In a further development of the invention, the quick coupler can be characterized in that the actuating actuator 35 comprises at least one pressure medium cylinder 36 which extends essentially parallel to a connection plane which goes through both the coupling mount 6 and the locking mount 10 .

In a development of the invention, the quick coupler can be characterized in that the setting actuator 35 includes an electric motor and/or an electric setting actuator.

Claims (12)

1. Quick coupler system for coupling a tool (4) to a tool guide such as an excavator stick (5), having a coupler body (7) and a coupler part (3) which can be coupled thereto, wherein the coupler body (7) has, in the region of opposite end faces, on the one hand a coupling receptacle (6) for receiving a first locking part (13) of the coupler part (3) to be coupled and, on the other hand, a locking receptacle (10) for receiving a second locking part (14) of the coupler part (3) to be coupled, wherein at least the locking receptacle (10) is assigned at least one movable locking element (11) for locking the second locking part (14), wherein said locking element (11) being manually operable via an actuating gear (12) arranged on the coupler body (7) and having a rotatably mounted drive shaft (21) which can be coupled with a hand tool, wherein both the locking element (11) associated with the locking receptacle (10) and a movable securing element (25), which is assigned to the coupling receptacle (6) for securing the first locking part (13) accommodated therein, can be actuated by the common drive shaft (21) and are in each case articulated via an actuating link (17, 27) to a rotary actuating part (16, 26) connected fixedly in terms of rotation to the common drive shaft (21) so that the locking element (11) and the securing element (25) move in opposite directions to one another by rotation of the common drive shaft (21) in one direction of rotation, characterized in that the coupler body (7) has a recess (8) in a central section between its coupling and locking receptacles (6, 10) which is open towards the coupler part (3) to be coupled, and the actuating gear (12) is positioned next to the recess (8), leaving the recess (8) free, and the coupler part (3) has hydraulic and/or energy couplings between the two first and second locking parts (13, 14) which project towards the coupler body (7) and can be brought into the recess (8) of the coupler body (7).
2. Quick coupler system according to the preceding claim, wherein said drive shaft (21) extends transversely across the coupler body (7) between the coupling receptacle (6) and the locking receptacle (10), and a side cheek (7s) of the coupler body (7) has a through recess (28) through which the drive shaft (21) extends to an outside of the coupler body (7) and/or the hand tool can be coupled to the drive shaft (21).
3. Quick coupler system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rotary actuating parts (16, 26), to which the locking element (11) on the one hand and the securing element (25) on the other hand are articulated, extend on opposite sides of the drive shaft (11) and are arranged in such a way that the actuating links (17, 27) of the locking element (11) and of the securing element (25) are overextended when the drive shaft (21) is rotated out of the unlocking position into the locking position and in each case pass over a dead point.
4. Quick coupler system according to the preceding claim, wherein the securing element (25) is coupled to the rotary movement of the drive shaft (21) via the actuating link (27) and the rotary actuating part (26) at least substantially without backlash, and the rotary movement of the drive shaft (21) is converted in a positively controlled manner into an actuating movement of the securing element (25), while the locking element (11) has a limited free travel relative to the drive shaft (21), which is preferably associated with a preloading device for preloading into an end position of the free travel.
5. Quick coupler system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the recess (8) is at least partially a through recess (8a), which is designed to be open both towards the side of the coupler body (7) facing the coupler part (3) to be coupled and towards the opposite side of the coupler body (7), the recess (8) having, in the transverse direction transverse to the plane of the coupling movement, a clear width (B) of more than 1/2 or more than 2/3 of the width of the entire coupler body (7) and, in the longitudinal direction, which is connecting the two coupling and locking receptacles (6, 10), a length (L) of more than 1/3 or more than 1/2 of the spacing of the coupling and locking receptacles (6, 10) from one another.
6. Quick coupler system according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the recess (8) is bordered at the edge by stiffening and/or strength-increasing edge beads (23) of the coupler body (7), wherein in the region of said edge beads (23) the thickness (D) of the coupler body (7) is a multiple of the coupler body (7) in the region of the recess (8), wherein in particular said recess (8) forms a cup- or trough-shaped depression in an underside of the coupler body (7), which is bordered by said edge beads (23) on at least two or three sides, wherein the actuating gear (12) is at least partially accommodated inside or in the region of the edge beads (23).
7. Quick coupler system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a spring device (20) is coupled to the rotary actuating part (16) in such a way that, when the rotary actuating part (16) is rotated, a dead point is passed and the rotary actuating part (16) can be tensioned in opposite end positions by the spring device (20), wherein the spring device (20) preloads a tensioning link (18) which is articulated in a hinged manner to the rotary actuating part (16) and is guided displaceably on the coupler body (7).
8. Quick coupler system according to the preceding claim, wherein the spring device (20) and the actuating link (17) of the locking element (11) are arranged on opposite sides of the rotary actuating part (16) and extend along a common plane oriented perpendicularly to the axis of rotation of the rotary actuating part.
9. Quick coupler system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuating gear (12) has two actuating gear assemblies each comprising rotary actuating parts (16, 26) and actuating links (17, 27) for respective locking and securing elements (11, 25), which can be moved elementary in opposite directions, and a spring device (20), wherein the actuating gear assemblies extend in opposite lateral edge regions of the coupler body (7) and/or along opposite sides of the recess (8) for preloading two locking elements (11), which are assigned to the locking receptacle (10), and two securing elements (25), which are assigned to the coupling receptacle (6), wherein the rotary actuating parts (16, 26) of the two actuating gear assemblies of the actuating gear (12) being rotationally synchronized and coupled to one another by the common drive shaft (21) and/or an insertable actuating tool (15).
10. Quick coupler system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the common drive shaft (21) has an actuator connection for connecting an externally power operated actuator (35) for rotating the drive shaft (21).
11. Quick coupler system according to the preceding claim, wherein the actuator (35) comprises at least one pressure medium cylinder (36) extending substantially parallel to a connection plane, which is passing through both the coupling receptacle (6) and the locking receptacle (10).
12. Quick coupler system according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the actuator (35) comprises an electric motor and/or an electric actuator.

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