EP3992054B1

EP3992054B1 - Foldable vehicular coupler and vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP3992054B1
Application number: EP19907492.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Quan Liu; Hui Liu; Jibo Liu; Huanjun LIU
Original assignee: CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co Ltd
Current assignee: CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-09
Filing date: 2019-11-25
Publication date: 2023-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-25
Also published as: EP3992054A4; EP3992054A1; WO2020140646A1; EP3992054C0

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the technical field of rail vehicles, and in particular to a foldable coupler for a rail vehicle, and a vehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

The coupler buffer device is one of the most basic and important components of a vehicle, the function thereof is to connect locomotives and alleviate the longitudinal impact between trains. In train rescue or reconnection operation, after mechanically coupled, it is necessary to control the extension of electrical coupler for reconnection. After the reconnection is completed, de-marshalling is required, and it is necessary to decouple the coupled mechanical coupler and electrical coupler.
A foldable coupler includes a fixed arm and a rotating arm that can rotate relative to the fixed arm. The folding is realized by the rotation of the rotating arm relative to the fixed arm. For example, Chinese Patent Publication CN106274960A discloses a foldable coupler, including a front pull rod and a rear pull rod, wherein the front pull rod and the rear rod are unlocked by manually pulling a handle during the folding process, and are also controlled by the handle during the extension process.
WO2008/132124A1 discloses a central buffer coupling comprising a coupling head, a coupling shaft, and a bearing block that can be attached to the face of a carriage body. wherein the coupling shaft has a front shaft part carrying the coupling head and a rear shaft part hinged horizontally pivotally on the bearing block, the parts being pivotable in the horizontal plane relative to each other about an axis of rotation defined by a connecting pin, and wherein the central buffer coupling furthermore has a pivoting mechanism for pivoting the front shaft part relative to the rear shaft part.
EP1985518A1 discloses a central buffer coupling, having a pivoting mechanism with a slotted gate fixed to one shaft component and having a sliding guide.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present application is to provide a foldable coupler and a vehicle with the foldable coupler.
According to the present invention there is provided a foldable coupler as defined in the independent claim.
Optionally, a power output end of the driving mechanism is connected with the force transfer component to transfer the driving force to the first arm through the force transfer component.
Optionally, the rotation center of the force transfer component is deviated from a longitudinal plane where the axis of the rotating arm mechanism is located. In other words, the force transfer component is located at a first side of the rotating arm mechanism.
Optionally, a first mounting seat is arranged on the first arm, and the force transfer component or the driving mechanism is rotatably connected with the first mounting seat; and, a second mounting seat is arranged on the second arm, and correspondingly, the driving mechanism or the force transfer component is rotatably connected with the second mounting seat.
Optionally, after being mounted, the driving mechanism and the force transfer component are longitudinally spaced apart from a rotating plane of the first arm and the second arm. In other words, the driving mechanism and the force transfer component are located above or below the rotating arm mechanism.
Optionally, within a rotation range of the force transfer component, at least one stopper for stopping the rotation of the force transfer component is arranged on the first arm.
Optionally, relative to the rotation center of the force transfer component, at least one of the stoppers is located on a side closer to the second arm.
Optionally, the second arm further includes:

a locking groove, including a bilateral wall;
the foldable coupler further includes:
- a locking block, which is rotatably connected with the first arm, the rotation center of which is located at an upper side or a lower side of the locking groove, and which is able to be clamped into or disengaged from the locking groove during the rotation process; and
- a connecting mechanism, which is connected with the force transfer component and the locking block, respectively; the force transfer component transferring the driving force to the locking block through the connecting mechanism, so that during the rotation of the force transfer component, the locking block is driven to rotate to move relative to the locking groove.

Optionally, the connecting mechanism includes a first component, a second component and a transition block connected to the first component and the second component, respectively; the first component is further connected to the force transfer component, and the second component is further connected to the first arm; the transition block is further connected to the rotation center of the locking block to drive the rotation of the locking block; and, the second component is an elastic member, and is stretched when the locking block is disengaged from the locking groove.
Optionally, the transition block has a first plate and a second plate approximately in an "L"-shape; the first component is a pull rope, which pulls the first plate to move through a pillar on the first plate so as to drive the locking block to rotate; and, the second component is a spring, which connects with the second plate and drives the locking block to rotate reversely (i.e., moving in a direction opposite to the direction of pulling the pull rope) by pulling the second plate.
Optionally, the bilateral wall of the locking groove is a second wall on a side (i.e., a first side) close to the rotation direction of the rotating arm mechanism and a first wall opposite to the second wall, and the first wall extends in a direction towards the first arm relative to the second wall.
Optionally, the driving mechanism and the rotation center thereof and the rotation center of the force transfer component are located at the first side of the rotating arm mechanism, and the stopper and the connecting mechanism are located at the second side of the rotating arm mechanism.
Optionally, the foldable coupler further includes a third mounting seat, one end of the rotating arm mechanism connected to the vehicle body is connected to the third mounting seat through a shaft, and the third mounting seat is connected to the vehicle body.
Optionally, a buffer mechanism is further arranged between the rotating arm mechanism and the third mounting seat.
The present application further provides a method for operating a foldable coupler, applied to the foldable coupler described above, the method including the following steps:

when the foldable coupler needs to be folded in an unfolded state, the driving mechanism is retracted to drive the force transfer component to rotate, further the connecting mechanism drives the locking block to rotate and the locking block is disengaged from the locking groove, thereby unlocking the coupler; and, the driving mechanism is continuously retracted to drive the first arm to rotate relative to the second arm or drive the second arm to rotate relative to the firs arm, to realize a folded state; and
when the foldable coupler needs to be unfolded in the folded state, the driving mechanism is extended to drive the force transfer component to rotate so as to drive the driving mechanism to relax and drive the locking block to rotate; and, after the force transfer component reaches to the stopper, the driving mechanism and the force transfer component mainly drive the first arm to rotate relative to the second arm or mainly drive the second arm to rotate relative to the first arm, to reach an unfolded state, at this time the locking block returns to the locking groove for locking.

More specifically, when the foldable coupler needs to be folded in the unfolded state, the driving mechanism is retracted to drive the force transfer component to rotate, the force transfer component pulls the first component (e.g., the pull rope), driving the transition block to rotate, further driving the locking block to rotate, and the locking block is disengaged from the locking groove to unlock the coupler, at this time the second component is stretched to generate a resilience force; and, the driving mechanism is continuously retracted to drive the first arm to rotate relative to the second arm or drive the second arm to rotate relative to the first arm, to reach a folded state; and
when the foldable coupler needs to be unfolded in the folded state, the driving mechanism is extended to drive the force transfer component to rotate, and the first component is relaxed; the second component drives the transition block to rotate in an opposite direction due to the resilience force, so as to drive the locking block to rotate (at this time, the force transfer component may drive the first arm to rotate relative to the second arm or drive the second arm to rotate relative to the first arm); and, when the force transfer component reaches the stopper, the driving mechanism and the force transfer component mainly drive the first arm to rotate relative to the second arm or mainly drive the second arm to rotate relative to the first arm, to reach an unfolded state, at this time the locking block returns to the locking groove along the guide zone for locking.
The present application further provides a vehicle, including the foldable coupler described above.
The coupler of the present application has the following beneficial effects.

(1) Compared with the foldable couplers in the prior art, in some implementations of the present application, by additionally providing the driving device and the force transfer component, the whole structure is simple; and, by using one driving element, the automatic unlocking, folding, unfolding and locking of the coupler can be realized.
(2) Locking can be realized in an unfolded or folded state, and the movement process can be controlled without additional sensing components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a front view of an unfolded state of one implementation of the foldable coupler;
Fig. 2 is a top view of an unfolded state of one implementation of the foldable coupler;
Fig. 3 is a top view of a folded state of one implementation of the foldable coupler;
Fig. 4 is a front view of an unfolded state of another implementation of the foldable coupler;
Fig. 5 is a top view of a folded state of another implementation of the foldable coupler;
Fig. 6 is a rear perspective view of the first arm based on Fig. 1;
Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view of the second arm based on Fig. 1;
Fig. 8 is a front perspective view of the mating relationship between the first arm and the second arm;
Fig. 9 is a rear perspective view of the mating relationship between the first arm and the second arm;
Fig. 10 is a rear view of the mating relationship between the first arm and the second arm;
Fig. 11 is a first enlarged rear view based on Fig. 1;
Fig. 12 is a second enlarged rear view based on Fig. 1;
Fig. 13 is a top view of an unfolded state of still another implementation of the foldable coupler; and
Fig. 14 is a top view of a folded state of still another implementation of the foldable coupler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with specific embodiments. However, it should be understood that elements, structures and features in one embodiment may also be advantageously incorporated into other embodiments without further description.
In the description of the present application, it should be noted that terms such as "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features.
In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the most of the orientation terms in the present application are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings merely for the convenience of describing the present application and the simplified description, but do not indicate or imply a devices or an element referred to must be of a particular orientation, constructed and operated in a particular orientation and therefore should not be construed as limiting the present application. It should be noted that "up" and "down" in the present application are mainly determined based on the use of the coupler, as shown in Fig.1, close to the ground (bottom) as "down", and close to the upper side as "up".
In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "connect", "connecting" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense unless otherwise clearly specified and limited. For example, they might be fixed connection, detachable connection, or integrated connection; might be direct connection or indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and might be internal connection of two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms in the present application can be understood under specific circumstances.
As shown in Figs. 1-5, a first implementation of the present application provides a foldable coupler (might be referred to as a coupler for short hereinafter). The foldable coupler includes a coupler head 1, a rotating arm mechanism 2 and a folding mechanism 3.
The rotating arm mechanism 2 includes: a first arm 21, and a second arm 22 rotatably connected with the first arm 21. The first arm 21 can rotate relative to the second arm 22. The rotating arm mechanism 2 includes a coupler head mounting end 23 connected to the coupler head 1, and a vehicle body mounting end 24 connected to a vehicle body 4. The rotating arm mechanism 2 is mounted between the coupler head 1 and the vehicle body 4. The vehicle body mounting end 24 is a relatively fixed end, and the coupler head mounting end 23 is a relatively rotating end (as shown in Figs.3, 5 and 14).
The folding mechanism 3 includes a driving mechanism 31 and a force transfer component 32. The driving mechanism 31 is mounted on the second arm 22, and the force transfer component 32 is rotatably mounted on the first arm 21. The driving mechanism 31 is connected with the force transfer component 32 to transfer a driving force to the first arm 21 through the force transfer component 32, so that the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 rotate relative to each other.
To sum up, the rotating arm mechanism 2, the vehicle body 4 and the coupler head 1 are mounted in the following two ways.
In a first implementation, as shown in Figs. 1-5, the vehicle body mounting end 24 is located at the second arm 22, that is, one end of the second arm 22 is connected to the vehicle body 1 while the other end thereof is rotatably connected to the first arm 21. Correspondingly, the coupler head mounting end 23 is located at the first arm 21, that is, one end of the first arm 21 is connected to the coupler head 1 while the other end thereof is rotatably connected to the second arm 22.
In a second implementation, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the vehicle body mounting end 24 is located at the first arm 21, that is, one end of the first arm 21 is connected to the vehicle body 1 while the other end thereof is rotatably connected to the second arm 22. Correspondingly, the coupler head mounting end 23 is located at the second arm 22, that is, one end of the second arm 22 is connected to the coupler head 1 while the other end thereof is rotatably connected to the first arm 21.
In order to solve the connection problem between the vehicle body mounting end 24 and the vehicle body 4, the foldable coupler further includes a third mounting seat 5. The first arm 21 or the second arm 22 can be connected to the third mounting seat 5 through a shaft, to realize the mounting of the rotating arm mechanism 2 and the vehicle body 4. It should be understood that, in some implementations or drawings, the vehicle body 4 is omitted, and only the third mounting seat 5 is shown. Optionally, in order to make the foldable coupler have buffering and energy-absorbing effects, the foldable coupler further includes a buffer mechanism 6. With reference to Figs. 1-3, the buffer mechanism 6 is arranged between the rotating arm mechanism 2 and the third mounting seat 5. The first arm 21 or the second arm 22 is connected to the buffer mechanism 6, and the buffer mechanism 6 is then connected to the third mounting seat 5 through a shaft. When two couplers are used in pair, two coupler head ends are connected oppositely to connect adjacent carriages. During mounting, the coupler is assembled by the coupler head 1 and mounted on the vehicle body through the third mounting seat 5. The buffer mechanism 6 buffers and absorbs the collision energy during the running process of the vehicle. However, the buffer mechanism 6 can be omitted. The coupler without the buffer mechanism 6 has only the coupling effect but has no buffering and energy-absorbing effects. This kind of structure can refer to Figs. 4 and 5.
In the above two implementations, after the driving mechanism 31 applies a driving force to the force transfer component 32, the rotation of the rotating arm mechanism 2 from the coupler head 1 to the vehicle body 4 can be realized, so that the coupler is folded, as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 14.
Optionally, the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are rotatably connected by the following structure. Specifically, with reference to Figs. 6 and 7, the first arm 21 includes first mounting holes 2101, and the second arm 22 correspondingly includes a second mounting hole 2201. A first pin shaft 7 passes through the mounting holes 2101, 2201 to assemble the first arm and the second arm together. Preferably, in order to realize more stable mounting of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22, in the present implementation, a concave clamping groove 2103 is formed on the head 2102 of the first arm 21 on a side close to the second arm 22, the two first mounting holes 2101 are located at the clamping groove, and the head 2202 (having the second mounting hole) of the second arm 22 stretches into the clamping groove 2103. The first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are connected by running the first pin shaft 7 through the second mounting hole 2201 and the upper and lower first mounting holes 2101. The clamping groove plays an auxiliary fixation role.
The force transfer component 32 and the driving mechanism 31 can be realized by the following structure. The force transfer component 32 adopts a force transfer rod 33. A power output end 311 of the driving mechanism 31 is connected to the force transfer rod 33, to transfer the driving force to the first arm 21 through the force transfer rod 33. The driving mechanism 31 can adopt an air cylinder or an electric push rod. That is, the driving mechanism 31 can adopt a telescopic structure of an electric or pneumatic mechanism.
Referring to Figs. 1-3, if the first arm 21 is connected to the coupler head 1 and the second arm 22 is connected to the vehicle body 4, through the extension or retraction of the air cylinder or the electric pull rod, the driving mechanism 31 pulls the force transfer rod 33 to rotate relative to a mounting shaft 34 thereof on the first arm 21. During the rotation process, the first arm 21 is driven to rotate relative to the second arm 22. On this basis, a relatively rotatable mechanism is formed between the first arm 21 and the second arm 22. During folding, the first arm 21 rotates toward one side of the second arm 22; while during unfolding, the first arm 21 extends straight relative to the second arm 22, and the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are located on the same axis. The rotation direction of the first arm 21 and that of the second arm 22 depend on the mounting positions of the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33. In the top view shown in Fig. 2, the rotation centers 35, 34 of the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 are mounted on the same side of the axial direction of the coupler, and the first arm 21 can rotate toward this side.
Or, referring to Figs. 13 and 14, if the second arm 22 is connected to the coupler head 1 and the first arm 21 is connected to the vehicle body 4, the driving force of the driving mechanism 31 passes through the force transfer rod 33 and is then relatively converted into a reacting force to the second arm 2, so that the second arm 22 rotates relative to the first arm 21. The specific principle is as described above and will not be repeated here.
As a further optimization of the implementation of the present application, the rotation center 34 of the force transfer rod 33 is deviated from a longitudinal plane where the axis of the first arm 21 is located (that is, as shown in Figs. 2 and 13, located on the first side 8 of the foldable coupler, i.e., the first side 8 (but not the middle) of the foldable coupler or rotating arm mechanism in Fig. 2). The main bodies of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are cylinders. Here, the longitudinal plane refers to a longitudinal plane where the axis of the cylinder is located from the perspective of the normal mounting state of the coupler. This kind of structure forms an eccentric structure, which is more advantageous for the rotation of the first arm 21 when a force is applied to the force transfer rod 33.
Specifically, a first mounting seat 2104 is arranged on the first arm 21, and the force transfer rod 33 is mounted on the first arm 21 through the first mounting seat 2104. The force transfer rod 33 is connected with the first mounting seat 2104 through a shaft; the shaft is the rotation center 34 of the force transfer rod 33. Correspondingly, a second mounting seat 2203 is arranged on the second arm 22, and the driving mechanism 31 is mounted on the second mounting seat 2203 through a rotating shaft; the shaft is the rotation center 35 of the driving mechanism 31.
After being mounted, the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 are longitudinally spaced apart from a rotating plane of the first arm 21. According to the specific service environment of the coupler, after being mounted, the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 are located on the upper side or the lower side of the rotating plane of the first arm 21, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The end face of the first mounting seat 2104 used for mounting the force transfer component is a first mounting face 2105, and the mounting face of the second mounting seat 2203 used for mounting the driving mechanism is a second mounting face 2204. With reference to Figs. 1 and 4, the first mounting face 2105 and the first arm 21 have unequal heights, and the second mounting face 2204 and the second arm 22 have unequal heights. In addition, by taking the first mounting face 2105 and the second mounting face 2204 being located above the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 as an example, the first mounting seat 2104 and the second mounting seat 2203 are arranged on the same side (i.e., the first side 8) of the coupler, so that the foldable coupler can relatively rotate toward the first side 8. Since the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 are higher than the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 after they are mounted, the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 will not affect the relative rotation of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the following structure can also be used: the first mounting face 2105 and the second mounting face 2204 are located below the first arm 21 and the second arm 22. Since the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 are also located below the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 mounted, the relative rotation of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 will also not be affected.
As a preferred implementation, in order to realize the locking of the rotation action during unfolding, a stopper 2106 is arranged in the rotation direction of the force transfer component 32. In the present implementation, the stopper 2106 is arranged on the first arm 21. The number of the stopper 2106 can be selected according to the stopping requirements.
In the present implementation, one coupler unfolding stopper 2106 is arranged. Relative to the rotation center 34 of the force transfer component 32, in the radial direction of the coupler, the stopper 2106 and the rotation center 34 of the force transfer rod 33 are located on different sides of the radial direction, that is, the stopper 2106 is located at the second side 9 of the coupler. In the lengthwise direction of the coupler, the stopper 2106 is located at a side closer to the buffer mechanism 6 relative to the rotation center 34 of the force transfer rod, that is, the stopper 2106 is closer to the second arm 22 than the rotation center 34 of the force transfer rod. With reference to Fig. 2, in the unfolded state of the coupler, the force transfer rod 33 is resisted against the stopper 2106 to limit the further rotation of the force transfer rod 33, so as to realize the rotation positioning of the coupler in the unfolded state.
When the coupler is in use, it is necessary to ensure the unfolded state. In order to further realize the locking in the unfolded state, an unfolded locking structure is further designed. The following implementation can be selected.
The second arm 22 further includes:
a locking groove 2205, the locking groove 2205 being located at an end 2206 (i.e., a head 2202) of the second arm and including a bilateral wall 2207, as shown in Fig. 7.
As shown in Figs. 8-12, the foldable coupler further includes:

a locking block 10, which is rotatably connected with the first arm 21, the rotation center 101 of which is located at an upper side or a lower side of the locking groove 2205 (at the lower side as shown in Fig. 8), and which can be clamped into or detached from the locking groove 2205 during the rotation process; and
a connecting mechanism 12 (with reference to Figs. 9 and 10, which are rear views based on Fig. 1), which is connected to the force transfer rod 33 and the locking block 10, respectively, to drive the locking block 10 to rotate to move relative to the locking groove 2205 during the rotation process of the force transfer rod 33. When the coupler is in the unfolded state, the locking block 10 is clamped into the locking groove 2205 limiting the relative rotation of the first arm 21 and the second arm 22, so as to realize the locking of the first arm 21 relative to the second arm 22; and, when the coupler is folded, the locking block 10 is disengaged from the locking groove 2205 to unlock the first arm 21 and the second arm 22.

More specifically, as shown in Fig. 7, the bilateral wall 2207 is a second wall 2209 on a side close to the rotation direction of the rotating arm mechanism 2, and a first wall 2208 opposite to the second wall 2209. Relative to the second wall 2209, the first wall 2208 extends in a direction towards the first arm 21. That is, the first wall 2208 is longer than the second wall 2209. During the rotation process, the locking block 10 is disengaged from a side of the second wall 2209 for unlocking, and then moves along a guide zone 2210 (the process shown in Figs. 11-12). Since the side at which the rotating arm mechanism 2 rotates is the first side 8 of the coupler or the rotating arm mechanism 2, it can be known that the shorter second wall 2209 is close to the first side 8, while the first wall 2208 is close to the second side 9.
Since the locking block 10 is rotatably connected to the first arm 21, the locking block 10 can rotate relative to the rotation center 101 in the locking groove 2205 so that it is clamped into or disengaged from the locking groove 2205. Specifically, as shown in Figs. 9-12, a fixation seat 2107 is arranged on a bottom end face 2111 of the clamping groove 2103 of the first arm, and the locking block 10 is connected to the fixation seat 2107 through a second pin shaft 11. The second pin shaft 11 becomes the rotation center 101 of the locking block 10. A groove opening 2110 is correspondingly formed on the bottom portion 2108 and upper portion 2109 of the clamping groove 2103, respectively, and the locking block 10 passes through the groove openings 2110. Thus, the locking block 10 can move left and right in the groove openings 2110 relative to the fixation seat 2107, and is clamped into or disengaged from the locking groove 2205. Fig. 11 shows a schematic view of the locking block 10 being clamped into the locking groove 2205, and Fig. 12 shows a schematic view of the locking block 10 being pulled and disengaged from the locking groove 2205. In order to better show the movement of the locking block 10 in the figures, the locking block 10 is denoted by shadow, and some components are omitted.
As shown in Figs. 9-12, the connecting mechanism 12 specifically includes a first component 121 and a second component 122. The first component 121 is connected with the force transfer rod 33 and the locking block 10, respectively. The second component 122 is connected with the locking block 10 and the first arm 21, respectively, and the second component 122 is an elastic member. In the present implementation, the first component 121 adapts a pull rope 123, and the second component 122 adopts a spring 124; wherein the first component 121 is used to pull the locking block 10 to rotate away from the locking groove 2205, and the second component 122 is used to rotate the locking block 10 to be clamped into the locking groove 2205.
When the driving mechanism 31 pulls the force transfer rod 33 to rotate, the force transfer rod 33 transfers the pull force to the locking block 10 through the pull rope 123, so that the locking block 10 moves in the groove openings 2110 and at the same time the locking block 10 moves towards the outer side of the locking groove 2205. In the process of disengaging the locking block 10 from the locking groove 2205, the spring 124 is stretched. The tensile force of the spring 124 is used as a resilience force, thereby ensuring that the locking block 10 can smoothly enter the locking groove 2205 in the process from rotation to unfolding of the coupler.
Specifically, the foldable coupler also has a transition block 15. As shown in Fig. 9, the transition block 15 is located at the second side 9 of the coupler, and has a first plate 151 and a second plate 152 which are approximately in an "L"-shape. The transition block 15 is connected with the locking block 10 to drive the locking block 10 to rotate.
Specifically, the following way can be employed. The transition block 15 is in key connection with the second pin shaft 11, and the second pin shaft 11 is in key connection with the locking block 10. Therefore, when rotating, the transition block 15 can drive the second pin shaft 11 to rotate, further to drive the locking block 10 to rotate.
Optionally, a pillar 153 is arranged on the first plate 151; and, the first end of the first component 121 or the pull rope is connected with the force transfer component 32, while the second end thereof passes around the pillar 153 and is then mounted on the first arm 21 (at this time, the pillar 153 is similar to a pulley) or the second end thereof is directly connected to the pillar 153. Thus, the first component 121 is indirectly connected with the locking block 10 through the pillar 153 and the transition block 15. When the force transfer rod 33 pulls the pull rope, the pull rope drives the transition block 15 to rotate so as to drive the locking block 10 to rotate away from the locking groove 2205 (as shown in Fig. 12, both the transition block and the locking block rotate counterclockwise).
The first end of the second component 122 or the spring is connected with the second plate 152, while the second end thereof is connected with the first arm 21. For example, the second end can be fixed to the first arm 21 through a bolt 16. A hook groove 154 is formed on the second plate 152 to better mount the second component 122. When the pull rope pulls the locking block 10 away from the locking groove 2205, due to the rotation of the transition block 15, the spring is slowly stretched; and, when the force transfer rod 33 relaxes the pull rope 33, the spring drives the transition block 15, and the transition block 15 drives the locking block 10 to rotate and enter the locking groove 2205 along the guide zone 2210 so that the locking block is locked in the locking groove.
In the present implementation, the force transfer component 32 can move with the driving mechanism 31 to realize the folding and unfolding of the coupler, and can also operate with the connecting mechanism 12 to realize the locking of the coupler when unfolded and the unlocking of the coupler when folded, without executing the folding or unfolding of the coupler and the locking or unlocking of the coupler as two operation procedures. In the present implementation, the coordination of the force transfer component 32 and the connecting mechanism 12 is tactfully utilized, so that the time and manpower are saved greatly.
The operation processes of folding, unfolding and locking the foldable coupler will be described in detail below. The use of an air cylinder as the driving mechanism is taken as an example, and a cylinder rod of the air cylinder is connected to the force transfer rod 33. Meanwhile, the first arm 21 being connected to the coupler head 1 and the second arm 22 being connected to the vehicle body 4 are taken as an example. If other types of driving mechanism connecting ways are adopted, or the second arm 22 is connected to the coupler head 1 and the first arm 21 is connected to the vehicle body 4, the folding principle of the coupler is the same as or similar to the following principle except that only the rotating body is different, and will not be repeated here.

1. unfolded and locked state

When the foldable coupler is in this state, the first arm 21 and the second arm 22 are in the same straight line, the driving mechanism 31 is in the stretched state, and the locking block 10 is located in the locking groove 2205, with reference to Figs. 1 and 2.

2. Unlocking and folding process

When it is ready to fold the foldable coupler, the driving mechanism 31 is retracted. From the perspective shown in Fig. 2, the driving mechanism 31 drives the force transfer rod 33 to rotate clockwise, the force transfer rod 33 pulls the first component 121 (i.e., the pull rope 123), and the first component 121 moves towards the direction of the coupler head 1 to pull the transition block 15 to rotate about the second pin shaft 11 so as to drive the locking block 10 to rotate away from the locking groove 2205. After the locking block 10 is completely disengaged from the locking groove 2205, the coupler is unlocked. Thereafter, the pull force of the driving mechanism 31 is completely converted by the force transfer rod 33 into the moment of pulling the first arm 21 to rotate clockwise, and the coupler is folded, as shown in Fig. 3. Meanwhile, during this process, the second component 122 (i.e., the spring 124) is stretched to generate a resilience force.

3. Unfolding process

When it is ready to unfold the foldable coupler, the driving mechanism 31 is extended, and the power output end 311 thereof acts on the force transfer rod 33. The force transfer rod 33 rotates counterclockwise to drive the first component 121 (i.e., the pull rope 123) to move away from the direction of the coupler head 1. Meanwhile, the resilience force of the second component 122 (i.e., the spring 124) acts on the transition block 15 to drive the transition block 15 to rotate about the second pin shaft 11 until the force transfer rod 33 reaches the limiting position of the stopper 2106. During this process, due to the rotation of the second pin shaft 11, the locking block 10 also rotates therewith. Subsequently, the driving mechanism 31 and the force transfer rod 33 drive the first arm 21 to rotate counterclockwise, and the locking block 10 moves along the arc-shaped guide zone 2210 until the locking block 10 enters and is locked in the locking groove 2205 under the action of the guide zone 2210 and the second wall 2209. At this time, the coupler is in the unfolded state.
The present application designs an automatic foldable coupler. The unlocking, folding, unfolding and locking actions of the coupler can be realized by one driving device, so that not only the automatic folding is realized, the number of driving elements and position feedback sensors is decreased, and the intermediate control process is simplified greatly. Compared with the existing products, the automatic foldable coupler has remarkable technical advantages.
An implementation of the present application further provides a vehicle, including the foldable coupler described above.

Claims

A foldable coupler for a vehicle, including,
a coupler head (1);

a rotating arm mechanism (2), including a first arm (21), and a second arm (22) rotatably connected with the first arm (21); and

a folding mechanism (3), including a driving mechanism (31) and a force transfer component (32); the driving mechanism (31) being mounted on the second arm (22), the force transfer component (32) being rotatably mounted on the first arm (21); the driving mechanism (31) being connected with the force transfer component (32) to transfer a driving force to the first arm (21) through the force transfer component (32), so that the first arm (21) and the second arm (22) rotate relative to each other;

wherein the first arm (21) is connectable to a vehicle body (4), and the second arm (22) is connected to the coupler head (1); or, the first arm (21) is connected to the coupler head (1), and the second arm (22) is connectable to the vehicle body (4);

characterised in that,

the force transfer component (32) is a force transfer rod (33); and the driving mechanism (31) is a telescopic structure of an electric or pneumatic mechanism.
The foldable coupler according to claim 1, wherein a rotation center of the force transfer component (32) is deviated from a longitudinal plane where the axis of the rotating arm mechanism is located.
The foldable coupler according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a first mounting seat (2104) is arranged on the first arm (21), and the force transfer component (32) or the driving mechanism (31) is rotatably connected with the first mounting seat (2104); and, a second mounting seat (2203) is arranged on the second arm (22), and correspondingly, the driving mechanism (31) or the force transfer component (32) is rotatably connected with the second mounting seat (2203).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein after being mounted, the driving mechanism (31) and the force transfer component (32) are longitudinally spaced apart from a rotating plane of the first arm (21) and the second arm (22).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the force transfer component (32) is arranged on the first arm (21), and within a rotation range of the force transfer component (32), at least one stopper (2106) for stopping the rotation of the force transfer component (32) is arranged on the first arm (21).
The foldable coupler according to claim 5, wherein relative to the rotation center of the force transfer component (32), at least one of the stoppers (2106) is located at a side closer to the second arm (22).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the second arm (22) further includes,
a locking groove (2205), including a bilateral wall (2207);

the foldable coupler further includes,

a locking block (10), rotatably connected with the first arm (21); the rotation center (101) of the locking block (10) is located at an upper side or a lower side of the locking groove (2205); and the locking block (10) is able to be clamped into or disengaged from the locking groove (2205) during the rotation process; and

a connecting mechanism (12), connected with the force transfer component (32) and the locking block (10), respectively; the force transfer component (32) transferring the driving force to the locking block (10) through the connecting mechanism (12), so that during the rotation of the force transfer component (32), the locking block (10) is driven to rotate to move relative to the locking groove (2205).
The foldable coupler according to claim 7, wherein the connecting mechanism (12) includes a first component (121), a second component (122) and a transition block (15) connected to the first component (121) and the second component (122), respectively; the first component (121) is further connected to the force transfer component (32), and the second component (122) is further connected to the first arm (21); the transition block (15) is further connected to the rotation center of the locking block (10) to drive the rotation of the locking block (10); and, the second component (122) is an elastic member, and is stretched when the locking block (10) is disengaged from the locking groove (2205).
The foldable coupler according to claim 8, wherein the transition block (15) has a first plate (151) and a second plate (152) substantially in an "L"-shape; the first component (121) is a pull rope, pulling the first plate (151) to move through a pillar (153) on the first plate (151) so as to drive the locking block (10) to rotate; and, the second component (122) is a spring, connecting with the second plate (152) and driving the locking block (10) to rotate reversely by pulling the second plate (152).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 7-9, wherein the bilateral wall (2207) of the locking groove (2205) is a second wall (2209) on a side close to the rotation direction of the rotating arm mechanism (2) and a first wall (2208) opposite to the second wall (2209), and the first wall (2208) extends in a direction towards the first arm (21) relative to the second wall (2209).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein further includes a third mounting seat (5), one end of the rotating arm mechanism (2) connected to the vehicle body (4) is connected to the third mounting seat (5) through a shaft, and the third mounting seat (5) is connected to the vehicle body (4).
The foldable coupler according to claim 11, wherein a buffer mechanism (6) is further arranged between the rotating arm mechanism (2) and the third mounting seat (5).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein a power output end of the driving mechanism (31) is connected with the force transfer component (32) to transfer the driving force to the first arm (21) through the force transfer component (32).
The foldable coupler according to any one of claims 7-10, wherein the driving mechanism (31), the rotation center of the driving mechanism (31), and the rotation center of the force transfer component (32) are located at a first side (8) of the rotating arm mechanism (2); and the stopper (2106) and the connecting mechanism (12) are located at a second side (9) of the rotating arm mechanism (2).
A vehicle including the foldable coupler according to any one of claims 1-14.