EP3502357B1 - Quick changer - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a quick coupler according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such quick couplers are used for easy and convenient changing of different attachments on construction machinery. With such a quick coupler, e.g. buckets, grabs, shears, compactors, magnets, hydraulic hammers or other attachments can be coupled or uncoupled in a few seconds and with a high safety standard from a driver's cab e.g. on a boom of an excavator.

From the CH 700 307 A1 a generic quick coupler is known. In this known quick coupler, on one side of a carrier there is a fixed first gripper with an insertion opening for receiving a first retaining bolt and on the other side of the carrier there is a second gripper which can be moved between a release position and a locking position by means of an actuator and has an insertion opening for receiving a second Retaining bolt provided. A mechanical locking member in the form of two rods extending parallel to the piston rod in the direction of the insertion openings is fastened to the second gripper, which is connected to a piston rod of the actuator. The first ends of the rods are screwed to the movable second gripper, while the second ends of the rods, which are arranged in the area of the insertion opening of the fixed first gripper, have a curvature. By shifting the gripper, the rods can be moved between an extended, receiving position and a retracted, closed position. In the retracted locking position, the bends at the end of the rods align with the retaining pin, so that even if the claws break, the retaining pin will wedge between the insertion hole and the rods, preventing the quick coupler from separating from the work tool due to material failure. However, the blocking device formed by the two bars must be activated by an operator by appropriately controlling the actuator.

An Indian WO 2004/038110 A1 disclosed quick coupler includes a carrier on one side a C-shaped first receptacle for receiving a first bolt-shaped coupling element and on the other side a second receptacle with a means of a Contains cylinder slidable hook-shaped locking element for receiving a second bolt-shaped coupling element. A locking pin is inserted into a hole in a horizontal lower part of the C-shaped first receptacle, which is designed as a bent part. However, such a safety pin does not represent a catch hook and is also not used to catch an attachment that is in motion, but is only used to securely hold the first bolt-shaped coupling element within the C-shaped first receptacle. The locking pin must also be manually inserted by the operator after proper docking and secured with an additional spring locking cotter pin. Here, too, active intervention by the operator is required to activate the safety device.

One from the pamphlet US 2012/0093572 A1 known quick coupler contains on one side of a carrier first claw-shaped receptacles for receiving a first coupling element and on the other side of the carrier second claw-shaped receptacles with a hook-shaped locking element pivotable about a transverse axis. An additional hook-shaped locking element is provided on the first claw-shaped receptacles. The two hook-shaped locking elements are coupled to one another via a linkage in such a way that they are actuated together via a piston drive. Here, too, an active intervention by the operator with a control of the piston drive is required to activate the locking elements. If the first locking element is inadvertently moved into the open position, the second locking element is also forced into the open position.

Also with one from the EP 2 119 834 A2 known quick coupler, first claw-shaped receptacles for receiving a first coupling element are provided on one side of a carrier and second claw-shaped receptacles for receiving a second coupling element are provided on the other side of the carrier. A hook-shaped first locking element which can be pivoted about a transverse axis and can be moved between an open and closed position by means of a piston drive is arranged on the first receptacles. A cam-shaped second locking element is provided on the second receptacles. The cam-shaped second locking element is coupled to the first locking element in such a way that these are actuated simultaneously by appropriate activation of the piston drive.

From the U.S. Patent No. 6,154,989 Another quick coupler is known. This includes a carrier which has first receptacles on one side for holding a first coupling element provided on an attachment and second receptacles on the other side with a locking element movable between a release position and a locking position for releasably holding a second coupling element. In order to prevent the attachments from falling and endangering people if the locking element is inadvertently moved into a release position, a catch device with a hook arrangement for holding a crossbar interacting with counter hooks on the attachment is provided on the carrier. Since the hook arrangement provided for securing is designed in one piece with the carrier, damage to the hook arrangement caused by improper use always also affects the entire carrier. A repair or an exchange is therefore associated with a considerable effort.

The object of the invention is to create a quick coupler of the type mentioned at the outset that contains a safety device that is easy to assemble and, if necessary, easy to replace.

This problem is solved by a quick coupler with the features of claim 1 . Expedient configurations and advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

In the quick coupler according to the invention, the catching device has at least one catching hook that is connected to the carrier via a non-destructively detachable connection and is non-pivotable, which is designed for catching an attachment independently of the operator for additional security. A catch hook damaged by improper use can be easily replaced without replacing the entire carrier. The entire carrier does not have to be dismantled or replaced. The interface or separation point between the support and the catch hook can also ensure that damage to the support is avoided if the catch hook arrangement is subjected to improper loads. For example, if a snap hook is used in an unauthorized manner to support an excavator on the ground for a turn or transfer, this is more likely to result in loosening of the connection between the carrier and the snap hook or damage to the easily exchangeable catch hook, whereas the wearer is affected as little as possible. The at least one catch hook is designed in such a way that it can catch an attachment coupled to the quick coupler even in the event of an unintentional release movement of a locking device and thereby prevent the attachment from being released from the quick coupler in an undesired manner. The catch hook is completely independent of the operator-controlled locking device of the quick coupler and thus offers increased safety even in the event of improper operation.

The catch device can comprise one or more catch hooks that are separate from one another or connected to one another. In a particularly expedient embodiment, the catch device can be formed by two catch hooks arranged on the first receptacles of the carrier.

In a robust and constructively advantageous embodiment, the non-destructively releasable connection can be formed by at least one connecting element and associated receptacles in the carrier and the catch hook. The connecting elements can, for example, be designed as connecting bolts and the receptacles as bores. The connecting bolt can be designed as a screw or pin. The non-destructively releasable connection can also be designed as a tongue and groove connection or in another suitable manner.

In an embodiment that is particularly advantageous for the introduction of force, the bores for the at least one connecting bolt can be arranged in a connecting web that protrudes relative to the carrier and in a connecting groove on the catch hook that corresponds to the connecting web. A particularly useful interface between the carrier and the catch hook can be created in that the connecting web on the carrier has a trapezoidal cross section with oppositely sloping outer contact surfaces and the connecting groove on the catch hook contains an associated trapezoidal cross section with opposite inner contact surfaces.

A particularly good protection of the wearer in the event of impermissible loads on the catch hook can be achieved in that the distance between a front edge of the catch hook and the hole in the catch hook is smaller than the distance from a front edge of the catch hook Connecting bridge to the hole in the connecting bridge is. As a result, the loads are more likely to be transferred to the catch hook.

However, the connecting web on the carrier can also protrude between two legs of a catch hook that are spaced apart from one another.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the catch hook can consist of a softer or more flexible material than the carrier. This can additionally ensure that the catch hook is deformed or damaged even before the carrier in the event of improper loading. For example, the carrier can be made of a tougher or more wear-resistant material than the catch hook.

In a structurally simple design, the catch hook is designed to grip around a coupling element that engages with the first receptacles.

Figur 1

einen Schnellwechsler mit einer Fanghakenanordnung in einer Perspektive;

Figur 2

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht A von Figur 1;

Figur 3

den Schnellwechsler von Figur 1 ohne Fanghakenanordnung in einer Perspektive;

Figur 4

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht B von Figur 3;

Figur 5

den Schnellwechsler von Figur 1 in einer Seitenansicht;

Figur 6

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht C von Figur 5;

Figur 7

einen Querschnitt der Trennstelle zwischen einem Fanghaken und dem Träger bei einer Belastung von unten;

Figur 8

einen Querschnitt der Trennstelle zwischen einem Fanghaken und dem Träger bei einer Belastung von oben;

Figur 9

einen Schnellwechsler mit einer zweiten Ausführungsform einer Fanghakenanordnung in einem demontierten Zustand;

Figur 10

einen Fanghaken der Ausführungsform von Figur 9 und

Figur 11

den Schnellwechsler von Figur 9 mit der zweiten Ausführungsform einer Fanghakenanordnung im montierten Zustand.

Further special features and advantages of the invention result from the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing. Show it:

figure 1

a quick coupler with a catch hook arrangement in a perspective;

figure 2

an enlarged detail view A of figure 1 ;

figure 3

the quick coupler from figure 1 without hook arrangement in a perspective;

figure 4

an enlarged detail view B of figure 3 ;

figure 5

the quick coupler from figure 1 in a side view;

figure 6

an enlarged detail view C of figure 5 ;

figure 7

a cross section of the separation point between a catch hook and the carrier when loaded from below;

figure 8

a cross section of the point of separation between a catch hook and the carrier at a load from above;

figure 9

a quick coupler with a second embodiment of a catch hook assembly in a disassembled state;

figure 10

a fishing hook of the embodiment of FIG figure 9 and

figure 11

the quick coupler from figure 9 with the second embodiment of a catch hook arrangement in the assembled state.

In figure 1 a quick coupler 1 is shown for easy and convenient changing of different attachments on construction machines, in particular excavators. With such a quick coupler, for example, swivel buckets, grippers, shears, magnets, compactors, hydraulic hammers or other mechanical or hydraulic attachments can be easily and conveniently coupled or uncoupled from a driver's cab to a boom or other attachment of an excavator or other construction vehicle.

The quick coupler 1 shown contains a carrier 2 designed as a welded or cast part, the first receptacles 3 open to the front on one side for receiving and holding a first bolt-shaped coupling element and the second receptacles 4 open downwards on the other side to receive a second bolt-shaped Contains coupling element. The first receptacles 3, which are open at the front, are designed in the form of claws or forks. The downwardly open receptacles 4 have a curved lower contact surface 5 for contacting the second bolt-shaped coupling element. The carrier 2 contains in figure 1 recognizable guide bores 6, in which an in figure 5 shown piston-shaped locking element 7 slidably guided and hydraulically between a retracted release position and an in figure 5 shown extended locking position are movably arranged. In the extended locking position, the downwardly open second receptacles 3 are closed on the underside by the locking element 7 arranged in the guide bores 6 , so that the second bolt-shaped coupling element is gripped by the locking element 7 . This creates a locking device for the detachable mounting of an attachment on the quick coupler 1 .

In the embodiment shown, the carrier 2 contains two claw-shaped first receptacles 3 for a first coupling element on one side and two receptacles 4 for a second coupling element on the other side. In addition, continuous receiving openings 9 for fastening bolts (not shown) for fastening the quick coupler 1 to a boom of an excavator or a connection part of another construction vehicle are provided on two parallel side parts 8 arranged on the upper side of the carrier 2 .

In order to couple an attachment using the quick coupler 1, the quick coupler 1, which is usually arranged on a boom of an excavator, is first moved in such a way that a first coupling element 5 arranged on an adapter or on the attachment, for example, fits into the claw-shaped receptacles 3 on one side of the quick coupler 1 is retracted. Then, with the locking elements 7 still pulled back, the quick coupler 1 is pivoted about the first bolt-shaped coupling element 5 in such a way that a second coupling element on the adapter or attachment comes to rest against the contact surfaces 5 of the receptacles 4, which are open at the bottom, on the other side of the quick coupler 1. Subsequently, the bolt-shaped locking elements 7 arranged to be displaceable in the guide bores 6 in the carrier 2 of the quick coupler 1 can be extended hydraulically, so that the second bolt-shaped coupling element is gripped under by the two locking elements on the quick coupler 2 and the attachment is thus held on the quick coupler 1.

In order to prevent an attachment coupled to the quick coupler 1 from detaching from the quick coupler in the event of an unintentional release movement of the locking element 7 caused by incorrect operation or faults and then possibly falling down when the quick coupler is in a raised position, the carrier 2 has an in figure 1 illustrated additional capture device 10 is provided. The catching device 10 is designed to grip around the coupling element which is arranged on an adapter or attachment and engages with the first receptacles 3 . The catching device 10 is designed in such a way that an attachment is caught in a catching position in the event of an unintentional release from the coupling position by engagement of the coupling element on the catch hook arrangement and is thereby held on the quick coupler.

In the embodiment shown, the catch device 10 comprises two separate catch hooks 11, which are connected to the carrier 2 via a non-destructively detachable screw or pin connection. For this purpose, the carrier 2 according to figure 2 forwardly projecting connecting webs 12 for engagement in corresponding connecting grooves 13 of the catch hook 11. How from the Figures 3 and 4 shows that the connecting web 12 has a trapezoidal cross-section with oppositely sloping outer contact surfaces 14. The connecting groove 13 in the catch hook 11 is designed as a keyway with a trapezoidal cross-section. Out of figure 6 it can be seen that the connecting groove 13 contains two oppositely sloping inner contact surfaces 15 . Receptacles 16 and 17 designed as bores are provided on the catch hooks 11 and in the connecting webs 12 for receiving bolt-shaped connecting elements 18 . In the embodiment shown, the bolt-shaped connecting elements 18 are designed as threaded bolts. However, the connecting bolts 18 can also be designed as pins.

In the Figures 7 and 8 are cross-sections of the separation point between the connecting web 12 carrier 2 and a catch hook 11 without the bolt-shaped connecting element 18 when the catch hook 11 is loaded from below and above.

It can be seen from these representations that the catch hook 11 is "turned out" of the connecting web 12 in both cases of loading, and as a result the bolt-shaped connecting element 18 (not shown) is subjected to shearing stress.

For example, if an excavator is supported on the catch hook 11 on the ground and thereby the catch hook 11 with a force in the direction of the arrow U of figure 7 is applied, the main loads are in area A on the underside of the catch hook 11 and in area B of the connecting web 12. So that area A of the catch hook 11 is more likely to be damaged with this load, the distance X from a front edge 19 of the catch hook 11 to the receptacle 16 designed as a bore in the catch hook is selected to be smaller than the distance Y from a front edge 20 of the connecting web 12 to the receptacle 17 in the connecting web 12 designed as a bore.

If, however, the catch hook 11 due to an incorrect load from above with a force in the direction of the arrow O of figure 8 applied, the areas B of the connecting web 12 and the area C at the top of the catch hook 11 are more heavily loaded. Since the distance here too W between the front edge 19 of the catch hook 11 and the receptacle 16 designed as a bore in the catch hook 11 is smaller than the distance Y from a front edge 20 of the connecting web 12 to the receptacle 17 designed as a bore in the connecting web 12, a possible Damage to the catch hook 11 rather than the connecting web 12 of the carrier 2.

In addition, the catch hook 11 is designed in such a way that the area C of the catch hook 11 located above the connecting groove 13 between the front edge 19 and the receptacle 16 designed as a bore has a larger cross section than the area below the connecting groove 13 between the front edge 19 and the as Bore-trained receptacle 16 lying area A has.

In the Figures 9 to 11 another quick coupler 1 with a second embodiment of a catching device 10 is shown. In this embodiment, too, the catch device 10 comprises two separate catch hooks 11, which are firmly connected to the carrier 2 via a non-destructively detachable pin connection. The carrier 2 has according to figure 9 below the recordings 3 projecting connecting webs 12 for engagement in corresponding connecting grooves 13 of the catch hook 11. The connecting webs 12 contain a transverse bore 21 for receiving an in figure 10 shown transverse pin 22.

How out figure 10 As can be seen, the catch hook 11 contains two legs 23 spaced apart from one another, between which the connecting groove 13 for receiving the connecting web 12 is formed. In the two legs 23 aligned bores 24 are provided for receiving the transverse pin 22. The transverse pin 22 is fixed to the carrier 2 via two retaining rings 25 . The catch hook 11 is designed in such a way that it can be dismantled via the transverse pin 22 but is fixed and not pivotable about the transverse pin 22 on the carrier 2 . In the previous embodiment, too, the catch hooks 11 are fixed and not pivotable on the carrier 2, but can be easily dismantled if necessary.

Reference List

1

quick coupler

2

carrier

3

First shot

4

Second shot

5

contact surface

6

pilot hole

7

locking element

8th

side part

9

intake opening

10

capture device

11

catch hook

12

connecting bar

13

connection groove

14

Outer contact surface

15

inner contact surface

16

Recording

17

Recording

18

fastener

19

Front edge of the catch hook

20

Front edge of the connecting bridge

21

cross bore

22

cross pin

23

leg

24

drilling

25

locking ring

Claims (12)

1. Quick changer (1) for changing attachments on a construction machine which has a support (2), first receivers (3) arranged on one side of the support (2) for receiving a first coupling element, second receivers (4) arranged on the other side of the support (2) and having at least one locking element (7) movable between a release position and a locking position for receiving a second coupling element and a catch device (10) arranged on the support (2) and having at least one catch hook (11) for catching the attachment, wherein the catch hook (11) designed for independent catching of an attachment by the operator for additional safety is connected firmly and non-pivotably to the support (2) via a non-destructive releasable connection (16, 17, 18; 22).
2. Quick changer (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the catch device (10) has several separate catch hooks (11) or those connected to one another.
3. Quick changer (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the catch device (10) has two catch hooks (11) arranged on the first receivers (3) of the support (2).
4. Quick changer (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the non-destructive releasable connection (16, 17, 18; 21, 22, 24) between the at least one catch hook (11) and the support (2) is formed by at least one connecting element (18; 22) and associated receivers (16, 17; 21, 24) in the support (2) and the catch hook (11).
5. Quick changer (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the connecting element (18; 22) is configured as a connecting bolt and the associated receivers (16, 17; 21, 24) are configured as bores.
6. Quick changer (1) according to claim 5, characterised in that the receivers (16, 17; 21, 24) are arranged in a projecting connecting bar (12) on the support (2) and on a connecting groove (13) corresponding to the connecting bar (12) on the catch hook (11).
7. Quick changer (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that the connecting bar (12) on the support (2) has a trapezoidal cross-section with opposed inclined outer contact surfaces (14) and the connecting groove (13) on the catch hook (11) has a trapezoidal cross-section with opposed inner contact surfaces (15).
8. Quick changer (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the distance between a front edge (19) of the catch hook (11) and the bore (16) in the catch hook (11) is less than the distance from a front edge (20) of the connecting bar (12) to the bore (17) in the connecting bar (12).
9. Quick changer (1) according to claim 8, characterised in that the region C of the catch hook (11) lying above the connecting groove (13) between the front edge (19) and the bore (16) has a greater cross-section than the region A lying below the connecting groove (13) between the front edge (19) and the bore (16).
10. Quick changer (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that the connecting bar (12) on the support (2) projects between two limbs (23) of the catch hook (11) spaced apart from one another.
11. Quick changer (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the support (2) consists of a tougher or more wear-resistant material than the catch hook (11).
12. Quick changer (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the at least one catch hook (11) is configured to engage around a coupling element coming into engagement with the first receivers (3).

Images