DE9209060U1 - Quick coupling for simultaneously connecting or disconnecting several couplings and/or connectors, in particular coupling block for front loaders on vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Disconnecting multiple couplings and/or Connectors, especially coupling blocks for Attachment front loader on vehicles

The invention relates to a quick coupling for simultaneously establishing or releasing the connections of several couplings and/or connector plugs with interlocking coupling or plug parts of hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electrical energy transmission devices, in particular a coupling block for hydraulically operated front loaders on vehicles, wherein the interlocking coupling and plug parts are located on two support plates which can be moved against one another and secured to one another in the coupling position by means of interconnected clamping levers which engage over the support plates at their edges from the outside, wherein one of the support plates is firmly mounted on the vehicle, and wherein the clamping levers can be pivoted about coaxial pivot pins on one of the two support plates and have curved engagement slots with which they engage over clamping pins protruding from opposite edges on the other support plate coaxially to one another and parallel to the pivot pins.

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Postgiro account Cologne

(Bank code 37010050) 166927-501

The quick coupling is designed for the simultaneous connection of several quick-release couplings, such as those used in particular for connecting front loaders or similar hydraulically operated attachments to vehicles, in order to reduce the coupling time by simultaneously connecting the pressure medium lines and electrical connections and to avoid the possibility of exchanging or confusing the respective connection of the various quick-release couplings and plug parts.

FR 26 45 242 discloses a multiple coupling for hydraulic connections and electrical plug connections, in which the hydraulic couplings are designed as spring-loaded quick-release couplings with locking ball locks. A lower, trough-shaped plate with the plug parts of the quick-release couplings protruding from it is firmly mounted on the tractor, while the socket parts of the coupling connections are mounted on a housing that overlaps the lower trough-shaped plate from above in the form of a cover, with clamping levers that can be rotated around a common axis and that have curved engagement slots that overlap clamping pins equipped with rollers that protrude from the lower plate at the side.

The upper box-shaped housing is designed with an upper fixed plate from which the socket parts of the quick-release couplings project downwards and pass through a second plate that is movable relative to the upper fixed plate and is connected to the sliding sleeves of the socket parts for the locking ball lock. This second movable intermediate plate is guided up and down on the box-shaped housing in vertical side slots and is moved relative to the upper fixed plate via cam tracks on the side tensioning levers during each coupling and uncoupling process so that the locking ball locks of the socket

The plug parts snap into or are released from corresponding circumferential grooves on the plug parts.

This known multiple coupling has the disadvantage that hydraulic fluid escapes from the quick-action couplings during each coupling and uncoupling process and collects in the fixed, trough-shaped lower part. The multiple coupling cannot therefore be mounted on the vehicle in a position other than the horizontal position of the lower, trough-shaped plate. In addition, the design of the coupling is extremely complicated due to the additional movable plate for operating the locking ball locks, and the socket parts of the quick-action couplings cannot be mounted sufficiently rigidly on the egg-shaped upper part to ensure a coupling connection that is always safe and low-wear. For example, flexible connecting pipes or hoses, when under pressure, can cause an offset or a tilt between the plug parts and the socket parts of the coupling connections and thus impair the function of the couplings. In addition, the lever system must ensure that the two movable plates of the multiple coupling are precisely positioned relative to one another.

In another known quick coupling for coupling parts equipped with valves, from DE-AS 12 56 006, each of the two clamping levers has a curved track that ends in a notch into which clamping pins protruding from the opposite support plate can be engaged. In addition, parallel guide pins protrude from the lower support plate next to the socket parts of the valve couplings, which engage with a small amount of play in corresponding recesses on the other support plate with the plug parts. However, the socket parts protrude far upwards from the lower support plate, so that the entire coupling is bulky and

every coupling and uncoupling process causes the hydraulic fluid to leak out and can only be cleaned again with great difficulty.

From DE 32 28 434 C2, a coupling device is also known for supplying energy to interchangeable working units of an injection molding machine, which is equipped with so-called quick-action couplings with locking ball locks, the coupling parts of which are formed by a plug sleeve and a plug pin that can be inserted axially into it, the locking means being formed by locking balls that engage in a circumferential groove of the plug pin and are held in the engaged position by a locking sleeve that can be moved axially against the spring effect. This locking sleeve must be actuated separately for each coupling and uncoupling process. In addition, this known coupling device does not have any manually operated swivel levers for establishing the coupling connection, but rather the engagement of all couplings is carried out simultaneously by a complex piston and cylinder arrangement, which is automatically controlled hydraulically from the operator's console, for example, so that the coupling process can be carried out fully automatically without any additional manual intervention by the personnel.

From DE 39 18 250 Al, a multiple coupling with several self-sealing connection couplings is also known, in which either all plug parts and/or all socket parts are each held in a mounting plate on the connection housing side with a relatively large lateral play transverse to the longitudinal center axis of the respective connection coupling. This lateral play, however, causes difficulties in the coupling process if the plug or socket parts in question are connected with flexible

connecting pipes or hoses, as already explained above in FR 26 45 242.

The invention is based on the object of designing a quick coupling for simultaneously establishing and releasing the connections of several couplings and/or connector plugs with interlocking coupling or plug parts according to the preamble of claim 1 in a robust and compact design so that the coupling connection can be easily established and released by hand using simple mechanical devices without the risk of mutual jamming of the existing plug and socket parts and without loss of hydraulic fluid.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that spring-loaded flat sealing couplings are provided as hydraulic couplings, the socket and plug parts of which engage with one another without locking ball locks, that the socket part of each flat sealing coupling is fastened with an outwardly projecting circumferential flange in a corresponding circumferential groove on a mounting opening for the socket part on the fixed support plate in such a way that it ends with its flat front side in a common plane with the coupling side of the support plate, and that the plug parts of the flat sealing couplings are rigidly fastened to the movable support plate and protrude from it so far that the two support plates lie close to one another in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings.

The quick coupling according to the invention has the advantage that the hydraulic couplings designed as spring-loaded flat sealing couplings without locking ball lock, which enable leak-free coupling and uncoupling, are absolutely rigidly attached to the two associated support plates by means of the

The tension levers attached to the side of the plate can be easily brought together and separated from one another without any mutual tilting, even under pressure in the tractor's hydraulic system as well as under residual pressure still present in the attachment or rebuilt by radiant heat from the outside. This is achieved in particular by the particularly rigid and precisely fitting recessed arrangement of the sleeve parts on the permanently mounted support plate and also by the fact that the support plates lie close to one another in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings due to the corresponding arrangement of the plug parts, so that any transverse stress is kept away from the interlocking coupling parts of the flat sealing couplings even in the coupling position. The special arrangement of the sleeve parts on the permanently mounted support plate also means that the coupling side can be kept free of dust and other dirt and cleaned in a particularly simple manner, which is particularly advantageous when using such quick couplings in agriculture.

The particularly robust, compact design of the quick coupling is further enhanced by the fact that the clamping levers with their pivot pins are hinged to the fixed support plate just below the coupling side of the support plate and thus press both coupling halves firmly together in the coupling position.

Another advantage for the compact design and for trouble-free and leak-free operation of the quick coupling is that the two support plates are circular, that the lower, fixed support plate has a slightly larger diameter than the movable upper support plate and that its circumference in the area of the two clamping levers hinged to it is flattened laterally in such a way that the clamping levers can move the sideways from the movable support plate.

protruding clamping pins in their curved engagement slots within the circumference of the fixed support plate.

It is also advantageous if the plug and socket parts of preferably four flat sealing couplings are arranged on both support plates around a central opening for a further flat sealing coupling or an electrical or pneumatic plug connection at an equal mutual angular distance of 90° and in pairs on both sides of the swivel axis of the clamping lever and the clamping pin parallel to the axis in such a way that when coupling and uncoupling all spring-loaded flat sealing couplings are always evenly compressed and released again.

The functionality of the quick coupling when coupling and uncoupling can also be improved by having at least two guide pins on the support plate with the socket parts of the flat sealing couplings coaxially to the longitudinal axes of the flat sealing couplings and on both sides of the swivel axis of the clamping levers, centrally between them and parallel to each other, which engage in matching guide openings on the support plate with the plug parts of the flat sealing couplings with sliding play.

The plug parts of the flat sealing couplings advantageously engage with an outwardly projecting circumferential flange in a corresponding circumferential groove on the mounting opening on the associated support plate and are fixed in this by means of a screw sleeve which is screwed from the rear of the support plate onto the connection end of the plug part.

Contamination of the quick coupling is further prevented by the support plates being provided with an edge

a seal around the interlocking socket and plug parts of the flat sealing couplings, whereby a round cord seal is expediently arranged on a support plate, which seals against the opposite support plate when the support plates are connected to one another. A particularly perfect seal between the two support plates is achieved in that the movable support plate, with a protruding flat middle part surrounded by a stepped recessed peripheral edge, engages in a corresponding flat recess with a protruding peripheral edge on the fixed support plate.

To ensure that the support plates are mutually secured with the interlocking flat sealing couplings in the coupling position, the clamping levers have a notch at the ends of the curved engagement slots, in which the clamping pins protruding from the movable support plate are secured in the coupling position by the pressure of the spring-loaded flat sealing couplings.

In addition, to secure the quick coupling against unintentional uncoupling, at least one of the two clamping levers can be assigned a spring-loaded locking pin parallel to its pivot axis, which fixes the clamping levers in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings to the associated support plate.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown schematically in the drawing.

Fig. 1 a quick coupling in side view with the coupling parts pulled apart,

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the plug part of the quick coupling in the direction of arrows II - II of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the socket part of the quick coupling in the direction of arrows III - III of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 a side view of the quick coupling during coupling,

Fig. 5 a side view after coupling,

Fig. 6 an enlarged partial view of a catch on the two clamping levers of the quick coupling in the coupling position ,

Fig. 7 is a likewise enlarged partial view of an additional lock for the clamping lever of the quick coupling according to section line VII - VII of Fig. 5,

Fig. 8 shows an enlarged longitudinal section through the quick coupling at the beginning of a coupling process in the position of Fig. 4,

Fig. 9 an enlarged longitudinal section through the quick coupling in an intermediate position during the coupling process and

Fig. 10 shows an enlarged longitudinal section through the quick coupling after reaching the coupling position of Fig. 5.

In the quick coupling, the interlocking socket and plug parts 2, 3 of known spring-loaded flat sealing couplings 1 without locking ball lock are seated on two support plates 4, 5, which can be moved against each other by means of interconnected clamping levers 6, 7, which overlap the support plates 4, 5 at their edges from the outside, and can be secured to each other in the coupling position of Fig. 5. The

Clamping levers 6, 7 can be pivoted together about coaxial pivot pins 8, 9 on one (4) of the two support plates 4, 5 and have curved engagement slots 10 with which they engage over clamping pins 11, 12 protruding from opposite edges on the other support plate 5 coaxially to one another and parallel to the pivot pins 8, 9.

The socket part 2 of each flat sealing coupling 1 has, following a threaded section 13 (Fig. 8 to 10), an outwardly projecting peripheral flange 14, with which it is fastened in a corresponding peripheral groove 15 at a mounting opening for the socket part 2 on the associated support plate 4, which is firmly mounted on a bracket 16 (Fig. 1, 4 and 5) on a vehicle or the like, in such a precise manner that it ends with its flat front side 17 in a common plane with the coupling side 18 of the support plate 4.

The tensioning levers 6, 7 are hinged with their pivot pins 8, 9 to the fixed support plate 4 just below the coupling side 18 of the support plate 4.

Furthermore, the plug parts 3 of the flat sealing couplings protrude from the movable support plate 5 so far that the two support plates 4, 5 lie close to one another in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings of Fig. 5 and 10.

Both support plates 4, 5 (Fig. 2 and 3) are circular, where the lower support plate 4, which is fixed to the vehicle, has a slightly larger diameter than the movable upper support plate 5 and is laterally flattened on its circumference 19 in the area of the two clamping levers 6, 7 hinged to it (Fig. 3) in such a way that the clamping levers 6, 7 hold the two clamping pins 11, 12 protruding laterally from the movable support plate 5 in their curved

engagement slots 10 within the circumference 19 of the fixed support plate 4.

On both support plates 4, 5, the socket and plug parts 2, 3 of four flat sealing couplings 1 are arranged around a central opening 20, which can be used for the assembly of another flat sealing coupling or an electrical or pneumatic plug connection, at an equal mutual angular distance 21 of 90° each and in pairs on both sides of the swivel axis 2 2 of the clamping levers 6, 7 and the clamping pins 11, 12 parallel to the axis in such a way that when coupling and uncoupling, all spring-loaded flat sealing couplings are always evenly compressed and released again.

From the support plate 4 with the socket parts 2 of the flat sealing couplings 1, two parallel guide pins 23, 24 also protrude coaxially to the longitudinal axes of the flat sealing couplings, which are arranged on both sides of the pivot axis 22 of the tensioning levers 6, 7 and centrally between them and engage in matching guide openings 25, 26 on the other support plate 5 with the plug parts 3 of the flat sealing couplings with sliding play.

The plug parts 3 of the flat sealing couplings 1 also have an outwardly projecting peripheral flange 27, with which they fit precisely into a corresponding peripheral groove 28 on the mounting opening 29 on the associated support plate 5 and are fixed in this by means of a screw sleeve 30, which is screwed from the rear of the support plate 5 onto the connection end of the plug part 3.

For a mutual sealing of the two support plates 4, 5 in the coupling position of Fig. 5 and 10, the movable upper support plate 5 is provided with a protruding,

The lower support plate 4 is formed by a flat central part 32 surrounded by a recessed peripheral edge 31, which sealingly engages in a corresponding flat depression 33 with a protruding peripheral edge 34 on the fixed support plate 4. The fixedly mounted lower support plate 4 has a round cord seal 36 inserted into a circumferential groove 35, which in the coupling position of Fig. 5 and 10 rests sealingly against the outer circumference 37 of the flat central part 32 of the upper support plate 5.

In order to fix the support plates 4, 5 to one another with the interlocking flat sealing couplings 1 in the coupling position of Fig. 5 and 10, the clamping levers 6, 7 each have a catch 38 at the ends of the curved engagement slots 10, which, as shown in the partial illustration of Fig. 6, is dimensioned such that the clamping pins 11, 12 protruding laterally from the movable support plate 5 snap into the catch recesses under the pressure of the spring-loaded flat sealing couplings when the locking position of Fig. 5 and 6 is reached and are thus secured in the coupling position.

In addition, one of the two clamping levers 6, 7 is assigned a spring-loaded locking pin 39 (Fig. 7) parallel to the common pivot axis 22, which fixes the clamping levers 6, 7 in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings of Fig. 5, 7 and 10 to the associated support plate 4.

The locking pin 39 is arranged on the fixed support plate 4 with the socket parts 2 of the flat sealing couplings and in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings, as shown in detail in Fig. 7, it engages from the inside in a coaxial bore 40 on the adjacent clamping lever 6. To release the locking pin 39 from this locking position, a

A push button 42 is arranged which can be moved by a locking pin 39 loaded by a compression spring 41.

The functionality of the quick coupling with the coupling parts of the flat sealing couplings 1 rigidly attached to the two support plates 4, 5 is shown in detail in Fig. 8 to 10. When establishing the coupling connection, the plug parts 3 of the flat sealing couplings 1, which are closed by a spring-loaded valve body 4 3, first sit on the socket parts 2, which are also still closed, on the lower support plate 4. By further pressing down the upper support plate 5 with the plug parts 3 of the flat sealing couplings 1 attached to it by means of the two clamping levers 6, 7, the tubular valve housing 44 of the plug part 3 penetrates telescopically into the likewise tubular valve housing 45 of the socket part 2 and initially presses a spring-loaded intermediate sleeve 46 downwards until it takes an inner sleeve 48 surrounding the rigid valve body 47 of the socket part 2 with it against the pressure of a supporting spring 49, whereby by further pressing down the plug part 2, on the one hand, the valve body 43 of the plug part 3 is lifted off its valve seat and then the inner sleeve 48 surrounding the valve body 47 of the socket part 2 opens the passage from the socket part 2 to the plug part 31 of the flat sealing couplings 1 in question, without any leakage occurring.

When the coupling position of Fig. 5 and 10 is reached, the movable support plate 5 with its protruding middle part 32 has penetrated into the recess 33 on the fixed support plate 4 so far that it sits with its offset peripheral edge 31 on the upper peripheral edge 34 of the lower support plate 4 and both support plates 4, 5 are sealed against each other by the circumferential round cord seal 36. The clamping pins 11, 12 of the support plate 5 fall into the catches 38 on the two clamping levers 6, 7, as shown in Fig. 5 and 6.

and secure the coupling together with the locking pin 39, which is also engaged, in this position.

To release the coupling, the process takes place after unlocking the locking pin 39 by opening the clamping levers 6, 7 in the reverse order from the position in Fig. 5 and 10 via the intermediate position in Fig. 9 to the position in Fig. 4 and 8, in which the coupling parts of the flat sealing couplings 1 are closed again and thus the upper support plate 5 with the plug parts 3 attached to it can be lifted off the socket parts 2 of the existing flat sealing couplings 1, without loss of hydraulic fluid and without air entering the hydraulic circuit.

-IH-

ATTORNEY’S FILE 2 536/92

List of reference symbols

1 Flat sealing coupling 43 Valve body 2 Socket part 44 Valve housing 3 Plug part 45 Valve housing 4 Support plate 46 Intermediate sleeve 5 Support plate 47 Valve body 6 Clamping lever 48 Inner sleeve 7 Clamping lever 49 Feather 8th Pivot bearing pin 9 Pivot bearing pin 10 Slot 11 Chucking spigot 12 Chucking spigot 13 Thread section 14 Circumferential flange 15 Circumferential groove 16 console 17 Front side 18 Clutch side 19 Circumference 20 Center opening 21 Angle section 22 Swivel axis 23 Guide pin 24 Guide pin 25 Guide opening 26 Guide opening 27 circumferential flange 28 Circumferential groove 29 Mounting opening 30 Screw socket 31 peripheral edge 32 Middle part 33 trough 34 peripheral edge 35 Circumferential groove 36 Round cord seal 37 Outer circumference 38 Rest 39 Locking pin 40 drilling 41 Compression spring 42 Push button

Claims (12)

-Ib- Applicant: 6 July 1992 Faster S.r.l. VNR; 108 545 ATTORNEY'S FILE 2 536/92 Protection claims 1. Quick coupling for simultaneously establishing or releasing the connections of several couplings and/or connector plugs with interlocking coupling or plug parts of hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electrical energy transmission devices, in particular a coupling block for hydraulically operated front loaders on vehicles, wherein the interlocking coupling and plug parts (2, 3) are located on two support plates (4, 5) which can be moved relative to one another and secured to one another in the coupling position by means of interconnected clamping levers (6, 7) which engage over the support plates (4, 5) at their edges from the outside, wherein one of the support plates (4) is firmly mounted on the vehicle, and wherein the clamping levers (6, 7) can be pivoted about coaxial pivot pins (8, 9) on one of the two support plates (4, 5) and have curved engagement slots (10) with which they can be opposite edges on the other support plate coaxially to each other and parallel to the pivot pins (8, 9) protruding clamping pins (11, 12) overlap, characterized in that spring-loaded flat sealing couplings (1) are provided as hydraulic couplings, the socket and plug parts (2, 3) of which engage with each other without locking ball locks, that the socket part (2) of each flat sealing coupling is provided with an outwardly projecting peripheral flange (14) in a corresponding circumferential groove (15) is countersunk in a mounting opening for the socket part (2) on the fixed support plate (4) in such a way that its flat front side (17) ends in a common plane with the coupling side (18) of the support plate (4), and that the plug parts (3) of the flat sealing couplings are rigidly attached to the movable support plate (5) and protrude from it so far that the two support plates (4, 5) lie close to one another in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings. 2. Quick coupling according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping levers (6, 7) are articulated with their pivot pins (8, 9) on the fixedly mounted support plate (4) just below the coupling side (18) of the support plate (4). 3. Quick coupling according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two support plates (4, 5) are circular, that the lower, fixed support plate (4) has a slightly larger diameter than the movable upper support plate (5) and is laterally flattened on its circumference (19) in the area of the two clamping levers (6, 7) hinged to it in such a way that the clamping levers (6, 7) receive the clamping pins (11, 12) protruding laterally from the movable support plate (5) in their curved engagement slots (10) within the circumference (19) of the fixed support plate (4). 4. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that on both support plates (4, 5) the socket and plug parts (2, 3) of preferably four flat sealing couplings are arranged around a central opening (20) for a further flat sealing coupling or an electrical or pneumatic plug connection at an equal mutual angular distance (21) of 90° each and in pairs on both sides of the swivel axis (22) of the clamping levers (6, 7) and the clamping pins (11, 12) parallel to the axis are arranged in such a way that when coupling and uncoupling, all spring-loaded flat sealing couplings are always evenly compressed and released again. 5. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that from the support plate (4) with the socket parts (2) of the flat sealing couplings, at least two guide pins (23, 24) protrude coaxially to the longitudinal axes of the flat sealing couplings and on both sides of the pivot axis (22) of the tensioning levers (6, 7) centrally between them parallel to one another, which engage in matching guide openings (25, 26) on the other support plate (5) with the plug parts (3) of the flat sealing couplings with sliding play. 6. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the plug parts (3) of the flat sealing couplings with an outwardly projecting circumferential flange (27) engage in a corresponding circumferential groove (28) on the assembly opening (29) on the associated support plate (5) and are fixed in this by means of a screw sleeve (30) which is screwed from the rear of the support plate (5) onto the connection end of the plug part (3). 7. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the support plates (4, 5) are designed with an edge seal around the interlocking socket and plug parts (2, 3) of the flat sealing couplings. 8. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a round cord seal (3 6) is arranged on a support plate (4), which, when the support plates (4, 5) are connected to one another, lies in a sealing manner against the opposite support plate (5). 9. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the movable support plate (5) with a protruding flat central part (32) surrounded by a stepped recessed peripheral edge (31) sealingly engages in a corresponding flat recess (33) with a protruding peripheral edge (34) on the fixed support plate (4). 10. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the clamping levers (6, 7) for the mutual fixing of the support plates (4, 5) with the intermeshing flat sealing couplings at the ends of the curved engagement slots (10) each have a catch (38) in which the clamping pins (11, 12) protruding from the movable support plate (5) are secured in the coupling position by the pressure of the spring-loaded flat sealing couplings. 11. Quick coupling according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that at least one of the two clamping levers (6, 7) is assigned a spring-loaded locking pin (39) parallel to its pivot axis (22), which fixes the clamping levers (6, 7) in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings to the associated support plate (4). - 2C 12. Quick coupling according to claim 11, characterized in that the locking pin (39) is arranged on the support plate (4) with the sleeve parts (2) of the flat sealing couplings and, in the coupling position of the flat sealing couplings, engages from the inside in a coaxial bore (40) on the associated clamping lever (6), and that a push button (42) which can be moved against the locking pin (39) is arranged on the outside of the relevant clamping lever (6) to release the locking pin from the locking position.