EP0836681A1

EP0836681A1 - Ball and socket joint coupling with locking device

Info

Publication number: EP0836681A1
Application number: EP95941278A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gösta Källqvist
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-12-09
Filing date: 1995-11-29
Publication date: 1998-04-22
Also published as: WO1996018046A1; SE9404124L; SE503789C2; SE9404124D0

Abstract

A ball-and-socket coupling having a first coupling member (3) and a second coupling member (4) which comprises a coupling housing having a ball cup (6), the first coupling member (3) comprising a ball member (5) insertable in the ball cup (6); a locking device (8), preferably in the form of a spring, being arranged with two pins (9, 10) which are insertable into diametrically opposite holes (11,12) in the second coupling member (4), thereby securing the inserted ball member (5) to the ball cup (6); the ball-and-socket coupling (2) comprising an actuating means (13) adapted to the locking device (8) and provided with sliding surfaces (14, 15) which separate the pins (9, 10) when the locking device (8) is angularly turned about its pins (9, 10).

Description

Ball and socket joint coupling with locking device

TECHNICAL FIELD:

The present invention relates to the field of couplings, especially to ball-and-socket couplings. These couplings are provided with some sort of locking device to hold the ball in its seat. The present invention relates to a ball-and-socket coupling fitted with an actuating means combined with such a locking device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Swedish Published Application 460,061 (E01H 5/06) discloses a skid shoe for a snowplough and similar implements, which is provided with a ball-and-socket joint connecting a plate to an implement, thereby allowing the plate to rotate freely about its mounting and to be tilted in all directions. The locking of the ball-and-socket joint is effected by a spring clip with two opposed locking pins being arranged in holes in a collar which is an extension of the ball cup. This prevents the ball from sliding out of the ball cup. For mounting as well as removing this spring clip, some sort of tool is required for pressing the clip apart so as to release the locking pins from the holes in the collar. This mounting and dismounting operation is relatively compli¬ cated since the spring resistance is considerable. There is also a risk of people being damaged during mounting/dismounting.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

The object of the present invention is to solve the problems stated above and to provide a device which in a significantly simpler and safer manner permits mounting and dismounting of the coupling. A further object of the invention is to provide a coupling which in a better and simpler way than before permits the connecting of implements to implement supports.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The invention relates to a ball-and-socket coupling which can be used, for instance, for a front end mounting of a side wing plough to be used in snow clearance. The coupling is held together by a locking device in the form of a torsion spring with two opposed locking pins, which are arranged in holes in the coupling housing. In order to actuate this torsion spring, an actuating means is attached to one coupling member and designed such that the torsion spring, when angularly turned, slides along inclined sliding surfaces arranged on the locking device, thereby separating the ends of the spring and, thus, permitting the mounting/dismounting of the coupling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

The invention will now be described in more detail by means of embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a mounting for a side wing plough provided with an actuating means for the locking device for a ball-and-socket coupling according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the coupling along line A-A in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the coupling along line B-B in Fig. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

Fig. 1 shows the present invention together with a mounting for a side wing plough for snow clearance. The mounting is arranged with a mounting plate 1 on which a ball-and-socket coupling 2 is mounted at a suitable angle. The ball-and-socket coupling 2 intends to connect a first coupling member 3 to a cylindrically formed second coupling member 4. The first coupling member 3 comprises a ball member 5, see Fig. 2, which is adapted to slide movably in a seat 6 formed in the second coupling member 4. The first coupling member 3 is provided with a neck 7 of smaller diameter than the ball member 5 in connection with the ball member 5 for preventing, by means of a locking device 8 insertable in the neck, the first coupling member 3 from leaving the second coupling member 4. The locking device 8 is formed as a torsion spring, whose two ends are extended in parallel and bent at an angle of 90° and are each formed with an opposed pin 9, 10, the pins being adapted to be inserted into diametrically opposite holes 11 , 12 in a collar of the second coupling member 4, thereby securing the inserted ball member 5 to the second coupling member 4. As shown in Fig. 1, the locking device 8 is turnable about its pins 9, 10.

The ball-and-socket coupling 2 is further provided with an actuating means 13 adapted to the locking device 8 and attached to the second coupling member 4 in the vicinity of the holes 11 , 12 in a plane parallel to the centre line extending through the two holes 11 , 12. The distance between the holes 11 , 12 and the actuating means 13 corresponds to the lever when actuating the locking device 8. According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the actuating means is mounted per¬ pendicular to the mounting plate 1 of the mounting. The actuating means 13, see Fig. 3, is arranged as a planar plate symmetrically designed about the vertical line through the coupling. The actuating means 13 is further formed with separating sliding surfaces 14, 15, which are arranged at an angle of 30-45° to the vertical line. The surfaces 14, 15 indicated in the embodiment according to Fig. 3 act in a sepa¬ rating manner when the locking device 8 is turned upwards, i.e. away from the mounting plate 1 of the mounting, but the actuating means may, of course, be formed with surfaces acting in a separating manner on the locking device 8 when turning the same in the opposite direction. The extension of this turning is called operating angle and should be 40-70°. The actuating means 13 is further provided with stop means 16, 17 formed as vertical shoulders which prevent the locking device 8 from being laterally displaced more than to the permitted degree, i.e. which centre the locking device 8 relative to the second coupling member 4.

The actuating means 13 serves as a mounting/dismounting tool for the ball-and- socket coupling 2 in such a manner that, before mounting of the coupling, the lock- ing device 8, i.e. the spring, is turned such that its two legs are located outside the separating sliding surfaces 14, 15. The pins 9, 10 are now pulled so far out of the holes 11 , 12 of the second coupling member 4 that the first coupling member 3 and its ball member 5 can unimpededly be moved into the ball cup 6. When the ball member 5 is positioned in the ball cup 6, the spring is turned such that its legs slide along the sliding surfaces 14, 15 towards one another to the position shown in Fig. 3. The dismounting of the coupling is carried out in the opposite manner, i.e. the spring is turned such that its legs slide apart along the sliding surfaces 14, 15, whereby the pins 9, 10 of the spring are pulled apart, thereby permitting the first coupling member 3 and its ball member 5 to be pulled out of the second coupling member 4.

The closer to the holes the actuating means is mounted, the sjiorter the lever, which means that the force required for the actuating operation decreases, but also that the displacement of the pins decreases. As a result, the angle of the sliding sur- faces to the vertical line should possibly be increased or the length of the sliding surfaces be increased (thereby increasing the angle of actuation). Thus, this is a matter of dimensioning on the basis of the desired motions and forces.

Claims

Claims:

1. A ball-and-socket coupling having a first coupling member (3) and a second coupling member (4), which comprises a coupling housing with a ball cup (6), said first coupling member (3) comprising a ball member (5) insertable in the ball cup (6); a locking device (8), preferably in the form of a spring, being arranged with two pins (9, 10) which are insertable into diametrically opposite holes (11, 12) in the second coupling member (4), thereby securing the inserted ball member (5) to the ball cup (6), c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the ball-and-socket coupling (2) com¬ prises an actuating means (13) adapted to the locking device (8) and provided with sliding surfaces (14, 15) which separate said pins (9, 10) when the locking device (8) is angularly turned about its pins (9, 10).

2. The ball-and-socket coupling as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the sliding surfaces (14, 15) are arranged at an angle of 30-45° to the vertical line extending through the coupling.

3. The ball-and-socket coupling as claimed in claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the actuating means (13) is provided with stop means (16, 17) for centring the position of the locking device (8) relative to the sec¬ ond coupling member (4).

4. The ball-and-socket coupling as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the actuating means (13) is fixedly arranged on the second coupling member (4).