DE29609993U1 - Vehicle load carrier - Google Patents

Description

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The invention relates to a vehicle load carrier with load introduction via a trailer ball coupling, whereby the load introduction from the carrier to the coupling ball takes place through two ball cap parts which form-fittingly enclose the coupling ball and which has a folding screw which can be pressed against the ball neck and a neck fork.

Such a carrier is described in the German utility model G 94 13 008.6. In the vehicle load carrier described in this utility model, the load is transferred from the carrier mainly to the ball head and only to a small extent to the neck fork in the ball neck. The known vehicle load carrier also has the disadvantage that it only fits a certain number of commercially available coupling geometries in a way that does not impair safety. A further disadvantage of the vehicle load carrier described in this utility model is that the anti-twisting security of the folding screw is not always guaranteed in the case of, for example, increased loading and/or poor road conditions, so that the carrier can fold down automatically and unintentionally.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a vehicle load carrier in which the load is introduced from the carrier to the ball head and, to a not insignificant extent, also to the ball neck, which fits a wider range of coupling geometries and in which the anti-twisting security of the folding screw is increased.

This task is solved by a vehicle load carrier with load introduction via a trailer ball coupling, where the load is introduced from the carrier to the coupling ball by two ball cap parts that surround the coupling ball in a form-fitting manner and which has a folding screw that can be pressed against the ball neck and a neck fork,

which is characterized in that the neck fork is positively connected to the ball neck. This means that the load is transferred from the carrier to the ball head and to a considerable extent to the ball neck, which contributes to increasing safety.

In a preferred embodiment, the neck fork has a conicity towards the ball neck, i.e. it is conically widened towards the ball neck. This shifts the support point of the neck fork on the coupling neck far forward, i.e. in the direction of the vehicle, which means that it is further away from the vertical axis through the ball center of the trailer coupling. This significantly increases the torsion resistance of the vehicle load carrier.

To prevent unwanted frictional wear between the carrier and the ball head of the trailer coupling due to metallic contact, the two dome-shaped molded parts are preferably made of plastic or have a plastic coating.

The spherical cap parts can be arranged so that they can be folded. One spherical cap part can also be designed as a fixed bearing half-shell and the other spherical cap part as a folding half-shell. The spherical cap parts are pressed against each other using lever mechanisms, with the levers being secured in their end position with handwheels. Threaded bolts onto which the handwheels are screwed are detachably connected to the load carrier so that they can be replaced if they become worn.

In a further preferred embodiment of the vehicle load carrier, the neck fork has at least five positions in the vertical direction for connecting and disconnecting from the carrier. This height adjustability advantageously leads to the vehicle load carrier being securely positioned on a

Fits a wide range of coupling hook geometries available on the market.

In a further preferred embodiment of the vehicle load carrier, the neck fork has at least two positions in the vertical direction following the course of the ball neck for connecting and disconnecting from the carrier. This arrangement of the neck fork according to the invention, which simultaneously serves as a twist protection around the vertical axis and as a stop for rotation around the transverse axis, not only achieves height adjustability, but also a variable distance from the vertical axis. This advantageously leads to the distance required to prevent rotation around the vertical axis between the support of the neck fork on the ball neck and the vertical axis running through the ball head being present even with ball necks with a large diameter and/or a flat course of the ball to the clamping point on the vehicle. This distance from the vertical axis is achieved by the possibility of fastening the neck fork in front of or behind the carrier housing for receiving the ball head. Depending on the arrangement chosen, the neck fork is then located closer or further away from the ball head, which results in a different distance between the support of the fork on the ball neck and the projection of the ball head height above it. This distance is of great importance for the anti-twisting security.

For couplings with a small distance to the vehicle, such as four-hole ball flanges, the vehicle load carrier can be attached to the vehicle using adjustable screw bolts.

Support the base plate of the ball flange.

In another particularly preferred embodiment,

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The folding screw of the vehicle load carrier is secured against loosening by a protective device. This protective device is preferably a split pin with

Stop bolts are designed. The split pin to prevent accidental folding can be inserted through the cap screw. The split pin hits two stop bolts that are offset by 90 degrees. This graduation prevents the folding screw from becoming undesirably loose. This way, even with increased loading or poor road conditions, the folding screw cannot come loose and thus cause the carrier to fold down automatically and unintentionally, since if the folding screw breaks loose, it can only turn a quarter of a turn at most.

Other embodiments for the protective device against automatic loosening can be cross bolts attached to the folding screw with a safety cable, a ratchet lock or a fold-out lever that prevents the screw from turning.

For safety reasons, the folding screw should be at least

have a diameter of at least 16 mm.

The invention is explained in more detail in the following embodiment with reference to the drawing. It shows

Fig. 1 a part of the coupling attachment of the vehicle load carrier with the folding protection in side view,
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Fig. 2 a part of the coupling attachment with the

adjustable neck fork in side view,

Fig. 3 the neck fork according to the state of the art in side view,

Fig. 4 the neck fork according to the state of the art in front view,

Fig. 5 the neck fork according to the invention in side view,! and

Fig. 6 the neck fork according to the invention in front view.;

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The holder for the ball head is marked with (1). This holder for the holder is made using ball cap parts. These enclose the ball head (2), which sits on the ball neck (3). The folding screw (8) has a pressing piece (4) on the end facing the ball neck (3). (5) is the holder housing for the ball head (2), and (6) is the threaded block of the holder for the folding screw. Stop bolts (7) for anti-twisting can be mounted on this. They prevent the permanent split pin (9) from rotating with the folding screw (8).

In Fig. 6 the neck fork (10) is shown, which in this special embodiment has five holes as positions for being able to be detachably connected to the carrier housing (5).

Claims (6)

• * • t ··· Protection claims 1. Vehicle load carrier with load introduction via a trailer ball coupling, whereby the load introduction from the carrier to the coupling ball takes place through two ball cap parts which surround the coupling ball in a form-fitting manner, and which has a folding screw which can be pressed against the ball neck and a neck fork, characterized in that the neck fork (10) is connected to the ball neck (3) in a form-fitting manner. 2. Vehicle load carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the neck fork (10) is conically widened towards the ball neck (3). 3. Vehicle load carrier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the neck fork (10) has at least five positions in the vertical direction for connecting and detaching from the carrier (5). 4. Vehicle load carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the neck fork (10) has at least two positions for connecting and detaching from the carrier (5) in a vertical direction following the course of the ball neck (3). 5. Vehicle load carrier according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the folding screw (8) is secured against automatic loosening by a protective device. 6. Vehicle load carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that the protective device against automatic loosening is equipped as a split pin (9) with a stop bolt (7).