JPH0117909B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vehicle coupling machine for towing a vehicle, and more specifically, the locking/unlocking operation of a coupling hook that clamps a kingpin can be performed not only manually but also automatically. This invention relates to a manual and automatic operating device for a vehicle coupling machine that can be used in a variety of ways.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle coupling machine includes, for example, a coupler base 1 provided on the vehicle to be towed, and a pair of coupling hooks 3, 3 that rotate around a shaft 2 against a spring (not shown). is installed. The connecting hooks 3, 3 grip the king pin 4 of the towed vehicle with the clamping portions 5, thereby making it possible to connect the two vehicles. In such a vehicle coupling machine, in order to prevent the king pin 4 from coming off the coupling hook 3 while the vehicle is in motion, a lock plunger 7 is provided which can move forward and backward into the engagement groove 6 at one end of the coupling hooks 3, 3. is engaged.

By the way, in order to remove the king pin 4 from the connecting hook 3, the operation of disengaging the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove 6 is performed using a guide portion 8 provided on the lock plunger 7 (see FIG. 3) as shown in FIG. and an elongated hole 11 into which the pin 10 on the coupler base 1 is loosely fitted.
Pull the manual operation lever 12 guided by the spring 13 in the direction of the arrow 14 to remove the engagement pin 15 on the manual operation lever 12 from the engagement part 17 provided on the rib 16 of the coupler base 1. This is done by That is, when the manual operation lever 12 is moved linearly as described above, the manual operation lever 1
A lock guide 18 protruding from the coupler base 1 rotates the stopper link 20 in the direction of the arrow 23 about a shaft 22 fixed to the coupler base 1 against a spring 21. The lock plate 25 moves in the direction of the arrow 26 via the rod 24 connected to its tip, and the hole 28 formed in the rib 27 of the coupler base 1 opens. A spring 30 is interposed in the plunger rod 29 of the lock plunger 7, and the spring 30 constantly urges the lock plunger 7 toward the engagement groove 6 of the connecting hook 3.
Against this, the manual operation lever 12 is moved to the pin 10.
When the lock plunger 7 is rotated in the direction of arrow 31 around , the lock plunger 7 is moved in the direction of arrow 32 via the guide portion 8, and the tip of the plunger rod 29 passes through the hole 28 and protrudes from the rib 27.
is removed from the engagement groove of the pair of connecting hooks 3. At this time, the lock lever 35 shown in FIG.
a, and its engaging protrusion 35b engages with the engaging surface 7a carved in the lock plunger 7, and the lock plunger 7 is not restored by the spring 30 in the direction of the engaging groove 6. state. Therefore, each connecting hook 3 is rotatable on its own axis 2, and when the towing vehicle is moved forward, the king pin 4 of the stopped vehicle moves each connecting hook 3 against a spring (not shown). Rotate it and it will come off from the clamping part 5 of the pair of connecting hooks 3.
At this time, the lock lever 35 is moved to the spring 33 by the pin 9 implanted in the rotating connecting hook 3.
The lock lever 35 and the lock plunger 7 are unlocked. The locking plunger 7 is restored by the spring 30 in the direction of the engagement groove 6, the manual operating lever 12 returns to the original position shown in the figure via the guide part 8, and at the same time the hole 28 is also closed by the locking plate 25.

Conversely, when the king pin 4 is to be held by the connecting hook 3, the manual operation lever 12 is operated in the directions of arrows 14 and 31 in the same manner as in the case of disengagement described above, and the lock plunger 7 is disengaged from the engagement groove 6. At this time, the lock plunger 7 attempts to be restored toward the engagement groove 6 by the spring 30, but the engagement protrusion 35b of the lock lever 35 engages with the engagement surface 7a of the lock plunger 7, preventing its movement. be done. When the towing vehicle is moved backward in this state, the king pin 4 guided by the guide surface 1a (see FIG. 1) of the coupler base 1 fits between the pair of connecting hooks 3. When it is inserted, the connecting hook 3,
As 3 rotates, pin 9 moves to lock lever 35.
to release the lock plunger 7. As a result, the lock plunger 7 is fitted into the engagement groove 6 of the pair of connecting hooks 3, 3 by the spring 30, and the release of the king pin 4 is prevented. As the lock plunger 7 is restored, the manual operation lever 12 also moves via the guide part 8, and the engagement pin 15 is fitted into the engagement part 17 by the spring 13 and locked. is also closed by a locking plate 25. The movement of the lock plunger 7 that locks the connecting hook 3 is doubly prevented by the lock plate 25 and the engaging portion 17 to ensure safety. That is, unless the manual operating lever 12 is operated in the directions of arrows 14 and 31, the locking of the connecting hook 3 by the lock plunger 7 will not be released.

Incidentally, when the spring 30 for restoring the lock plunger 7 is not provided, the lock lever 35 described above is also unnecessary. In this case, the state in which the plunger rod 29 protrudes from the hole 28 is maintained unless the manual operation lever 12 is operated, but the spring 13 causes the engagement pin 15 of the manual operation lever 12 to press against the sliding surface 34. It is also maintained by However, when fitting the lock plunger 7 into the engagement groove 6 of the connecting hook 3, it goes without saying that the manual operation lever 12 must be operated in the opposite direction of the arrow 31.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As described above, vehicles can be connected and disconnected from each other using a manually operated lever, but this operation must be performed by an operator outside the vehicle. The driver who brings the vehicle close to another vehicle must get out of the vehicle or another worker must perform the operation, which has the drawback of requiring time and labor.

By the way, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-22773 describes a device for automatically locking or releasing a coupling hook in a vehicle coupling machine manually or by an actuator. This is the rear end of the lock plunger that engages and disengages from the engagement groove of the connecting hook.
A piston rod of an air cylinder fixed to the edge of the coupler base is attached, and the air cylinder is operated remotely.

However, since the air syringe must be installed so that it protrudes greatly from the coupler base,
The vehicle coupling machine itself becomes bulky. and,
When rotating the manual operating lever to disengage the lock plunger from the engagement groove of the connecting hook, the piston in the air cylinder must also be displaced, and a large operating force is required to rotate the manual operating lever. This poses a problem of increasing the burden on the worker. Further, the lock plunger and the piston rod of the air cylinder are integrated, and the piston at the end thereof is not restrained within the cylinder due to the function of the air cylinder. As a result, when the lock plunger is fitted into the engagement groove of the connecting hook, if an undesired force is applied to the manual operation lever or the like, a situation occurs in which the lock plunger is displaced and disengaged from the engagement groove.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to enable vehicle coupling to be performed using a manual operation lever, and to enable remote and automatic operation independent of that operation. The vehicle coupler should be made more compact by considering the mounting position of the actuator necessary for operation, and it should be possible to easily operate it manually without applying operating force to the actuator when operating with a manual operation lever, and furthermore, it should be possible to operate it automatically. While achieving this, it mechanically prevents or releases the displacement of the lock plunger that fits into the engagement groove of the coupling hook and maintains the locked state of the coupling hook, improving the safety and reliability of the vehicle coupling machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manual and automatic operating device for a vehicle coupling machine that realizes the following.

[Means to solve the problem]

As shown in FIG. 4, the manual and automatic operating devices in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
A pair of connecting hooks 3, 3 (see Figure 1) are rotatably attached to the coupler base 1, and in order to lock the rotation of the connecting hooks, the lock plunger 7 is displaced and attached to one end of the connecting hook 3. The lock plunger 7 is inserted into the formed engagement groove 6 (see Fig. 1).
A manual operation lever 41 that engages and disengages the lock plunger 7, and a stopper link 20 that rotates as the manual operation lever 41 moves linearly via a lock guide 18 provided on the manual operation lever 41 prevent or displace the lock plunger 7. Locking means 1 to release blocking
9 is applied to an operating device for a vehicle coupling machine.

Its characteristic feature is a dogleg-shaped link 42 with one end that pushes the lock guide 18.
is rotatably supported on the coupler base 1 at its intermediate portion. On the other hand, the lock plunger 7 has a plunger guide 45 protruding from it, and a dogleg-shaped link 42.
A guide link 44 formed with an elongated hole 46 into which a plunger guide body 45 is loosely fitted and which pushes the lock plunger 7 in the direction of disengaging from the engagement groove 6 is connected to the other end of the guide link 44 via the connecting link 43. A piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 49, which is swingably mounted on the coupler base 1, is rotatably connected to the guide link 44, directly or indirectly.

[Effect]

When the lock plunger 7 is remotely disengaged from the engagement groove using the hydraulic cylinder 49, the hydraulic cylinder 49 is slightly extended from its initial state. Since the movement of the lock plunger 7 is restricted by the lock means 19, the guide link 44, which is restrained by the plunger guide body 45 and cannot be displaced,
It rotates around the plunger guide 45. Therefore, the guide link 44 and the connecting link 43
The dog-legged link 42 rotates through the lock guide 18, which pushes the lock guide 18 and pushes the stopper link 2.
0 is rotated. At the same time that the lock means 19 is released from preventing the lock plunger 7 from displacing, the stopper link 20 moves the manual operating lever 41 linearly. When the hydraulic cylinder 49 is further extended, the guide link 44 also rotates significantly, and the plunger guide body 45 is displaced. The lock plunger 7, whose displacement prevention has already been released, moves and comes out of the engagement groove 6 of the connecting hook 3. Therefore, each of the connecting hooks 3, 3 becomes rotatable, and the king pin 4 held therebetween can be released.

When the king pin 4 is to be held between the connecting hooks 3, 3, the king pin is inserted into the holding portions of the pair of connecting hooks, and then the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinder 49 is released. When the lock plunger 7 is restored, the connecting hook is locked by the lock plunger 7, and the manual operation lever 41 is also rotated in the restoration direction. When the manual operation lever 41 is further restored by linear movement, the lock plunger 7 is also prevented from being displaced by the locking means 19 via the stopper link 20.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the lock plunger is moved by a manual operation lever, and the hydraulic cylinder is arranged so as to overlap the manual operation engagement/disengagement mechanism having the lock means for blocking and releasing the movement of the lock plunger, and so as not to interfere with each other. Since the automatic locking/unlocking mechanism is provided, the vehicle can be connected using a manual operation lever, but it can also be performed automatically and remotely independently of the manual operation. Therefore, if an automatic locking/unclosing mechanism is used to clamp and release the kingpin from the coupling hook of the coupler base,
This eliminates the need for a driver who brings the towing vehicle close to another vehicle to get out of the vehicle and performs the operation, and there is no need for other workers to operate the vehicle, and the efficiency of the coupling operation can be greatly improved.

In addition, the hydraulic cylinder is not arranged to protrude from the coupler base, and the bulk of the vehicle coupler can be reduced. Furthermore, although automatic operation using the hydraulic cylinder is possible, no operating force is applied to the hydraulic cylinder during manual operation, making manual operation extremely easy. Since the lock plunger and the hydraulic cylinder are not integrated, it is possible to install a locking means for blocking and releasing the block from displacement of the lock plunger in conjunction with the operation of the manual operating lever or the hydraulic cylinder. As a result, even if an undesired force is applied to the lock plunger, the lock plunger can be restrained by the lock means, and the safety and reliability of the vehicle coupler are improved.

[Examples] The present invention will be described in detail below based on Examples.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the coupler base 1 showing the main parts of the manual and automatic operation device 40 in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention. A pair of rotatable connecting hooks are provided for clamping. In order to lock the rotation of the connecting hook, a locking plunger 7 that fits into the engaging groove 6 at one end of the connecting hook, a manual operating lever 41 that displaces the locking plunger 7 to engage and disengage from the engaging groove, and a pin or the like are provided. Through the lock guide body 18, the locking means 19 and the engaging portion 17 for blocking or releasing the blocking of the lock plunger 7 are operated by the stopper link 20, which rotates as the manual operating lever 41 moves linearly in the direction of the arrow 14. A manually operated locking/unlocking mechanism is installed.

By the way, so as to overlap with the above-mentioned mechanism, a dogleg-shaped link 42 having one piece for pushing the lock guide 18 is connected to the shaft 53 at its intermediate portion.
The coupler base 1 is rotatably supported by the coupler base 1. A connecting link 43 is connected to the other end of the doglegged link 42, and is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 49 via a guide link 44 and auxiliary links 47 and 48, which will be described later. On the other hand, connecting hook 3,
A plunger guide 45 such as a pin is provided protruding from the plunger rod 29 of the lock plunger 7 which is engaged with and disengaged from the engagement groove 6 of No. 3. One end of a triangular guide link 44 formed with an elongated hole 46 into which the plunger guide body 45 is loosely fitted and which pushes the lock plunger 7 in the direction of disengaging from the engagement groove 6 is connected to the connecting link 43. and is attached to the other piece of the doglegged link 42. The elongated hole 46 provided in the middle part of this guide link 44 is
One end of an auxiliary link 47 is attached to the other end of the connecting link 43, which has a length corresponding to the amount of displacement of the lock plunger 7, and is located on the opposite side of the elongated hole 46 from the connecting part of the connecting link 43. The tip of another triangular auxiliary link 48 is connected to the other end of the auxiliary link 47, and the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 49, which is swingably mounted on the coupler base 1, is rotatably attached to the middle part of the auxiliary link 48. It is connected to the. The other end of the auxiliary link 48 is at the end of the coupler base 1 and the shaft 5
1, and the tip of the auxiliary link 48 to which the auxiliary link 47 is connected can be swung by the expansion and contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 49. In addition, the hydraulic cylinder 49
The auxiliary links 47, 48 may be omitted if they can be provided at a position where they can be directly connected to the other end of the guide link 44.

According to such a configuration, the following operation can be performed.

First, when disengaging the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove using the manual operation lever 41 in order to remove the king pin from the connecting hook, the hydraulic cylinder 4
9 is reduced in size as shown in FIG. 4, and is operated according to the procedure explained in FIG. First, when the manual operation lever 41 is pulled in the direction of the arrow 14, the stopper link 20 rotates in the direction of the arrow 23 about the shaft 22 against the spring 21 via the lock guide 18, and as a result, the lock plate 2
5 opens the hole 28, but the doglegged link 42 is left as it is. Next, when the manual operation lever 41 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 31,
The lock plunger 7 passes through the guide part 8 through the arrow 32.
At the same time, the plunger guide 45 moves in the direction of the arrow 50 within the elongated hole 46 of the stationary guide link 44, and the lock plunger 7 is disengaged from the engagement groove of the connecting hook. Thereafter, the kingpin is released in the same manner as described in the conventional example.

On the other hand, when the king pin is to be held between the connecting hooks, the manual operation lever 41 is first moved as described above while the positions of the dogleg-shaped link 42 and the guide link 44 are held by the hydraulic cylinder 49. Operate in the directions of arrows 14 and 31 in the same way as in the case of liberation. At this time, the plunger guide body 45 moves together with the lock plunger 7 in the direction of arrow 50 within the elongated hole 46 of the guide link 44 held by the hydraulic cylinder 49, and the lock plunger 7 is removed from the engagement groove. At this time, the lock plunger 7 attempts to be restored toward the engaging groove 6 by the spring 30, but its movement is prevented by the lock lever 35 shown in FIG. 1, allowing the connecting hook to rotate. Therefore, when the king pin is inserted into the clamping portion, the lock plunger 7 is locked by the lock lever 35.
is unlocked. As a result, the lock plunger 7 is restored by the spring 30, and its plunger guide 45 moves again in the direction opposite to the arrow 50 within the elongated hole 46 of the guide link 44. Accordingly, the lock plunger 7 is fitted into the engagement groove 6, and the manual operation lever 41 is also restored in the direction opposite to the arrow 31 via the guide portion 8 and returned to its original position by the spring 13. At this time, the spring 21 causes the lock plate 25 to close the hole 28 via the stopper link 20, and the engagement pin 15 of the manual operation lever 41 is engaged with the engagement portion 17, thereby preventing movement of the lock plunger 7. .

Next, when disengaging the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove remotely from the driver's seat using the hydraulic cylinder 49 in order to remove the king pin from the connecting hook,
The hydraulic cylinder 49 is slightly extended from the initial position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. At this time, the lock plate 25 closes the hole 28 and the lock plunger 7 maintains the same position, so the auxiliary link 48, which rotates in the direction of arrow 52 about the shaft 51 of the coupler base 1, The auxiliary link 47 that is displaced along with the plunger guide body 45
The guide link 44, which is in a state where it cannot be displaced due to being restrained by the arrow, is rotated about the plunger guide body 45. Therefore, the dog-legged link 42 rotates around the shaft 53 via the guide link 44 and the connection link 43, which pushes the lock guide 18, and the stopper link 20 moves to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Rotate until. As a result, the hole 28 becomes open, and the manual operation lever 41 moves in the direction of the arrow 14 against the spring 13 to remove the engagement pin 15 from the engagement portion 17. In this state, the hydraulic cylinder 49
When the guide link 44 extends further from the two-dot chain line position to the solid line position shown in FIG.
8 and 47, the plunger guide body 45
is displaced in the direction of arrow 32. At this time, since the doglegged link 42 remains in almost the same position via the connecting link 43, the opening of the hole 28 is maintained, and the plunger rod 29 penetrates through the hole 28 against the spring 30. Then, the lock plunger 7 is removed from the engagement groove of the connecting hook 3. As the lock plunger 7 moves, the manual operation lever 41 is also rotated in the direction of arrow 31 via the guide portion 8. Therefore, each connecting hook 3, 3 becomes rotatable on its respective shaft 2, and the king pin 4 becomes in a state in which it can be released. Note that unless the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinder 49 is released, the lock plunger 7 will not release the spring 3.
Although the lock lever 35 described in FIG.
If this is provided, the lock plunger 7 will be prevented from restoring even if the hydraulic pressure is released. In this state, when the towing vehicle moves forward, the king pin 4 of the stopped vehicle connects the pair of connecting hooks 3, 3.
The connecting hooks 3, 3 are removed from the clamping portion 5 while being rotated.

On the other hand, when the lock plunger 7 is remotely inserted into the engagement groove 6 from the driver's seat using the hydraulic cylinder 49 in order to hold the kingpin between the connecting hooks, the kingpin is inserted into the holding portion of the pair of connecting hooks. After that, the working pressure of the hydraulic cylinder 49 is released in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. The lock plunger 7 has a manual operation lever 41 and a guide link 44.
At the same time, the spring 30 restores it to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, and the engagement pin 15 of the manual operation lever 41 reaches the engagement part 17 from the sliding surface 34, and the manual operation lever 41 is moved by the spring 13 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. will be restored. At this time, stop link 2
0 is restored by the spring 21, and the lock plate 2
5 closes the hole 28, and the manual operation lever 4
One engagement pin 15 is locked by a locking portion 17. As a result, the locking of the connecting hook by the lock plunger 7 is maintained, and the lock plunger 7
will also be in a restrained state.

Note that when the spring 30 for restoring the lock plunger 7 is not provided, for example, a double-acting cylinder is employed as the hydraulic cylinder 49, and the lock plunger is first reduced from the solid line position to the two-dot chain line position shown in FIG. The plunger 7, manual operation lever 41, and guide link 44 are restored to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Then, when the hydraulic cylinder 49 is further reduced to the solid line position shown in FIG. 4, the manual operation lever 41 is restored by the spring 13. Other operations are the same as described above.

As can be seen from the above description, while the connection of the vehicle can be performed using a manual operation lever, it can also be performed remotely from the driver's seat independently of the operation. Therefore, when using an automatic locking/unlocking mechanism, the driver may get out of the vehicle and operate it.
There is no longer a need for other workers, and the efficiency of the connection operation is greatly improved. In addition, when a problem occurs in the hydraulic mechanism that operates the hydraulic cylinder, the automatic operation engagement/disengagement mechanism can be used to ensure operational safety. Furthermore, the hydraulic cylinder is not arranged to protrude from the coupler base due to its structure, and the vehicle coupling machine can be made more compact.
Although automatic operation using the hydraulic cylinder is possible, when manual operation is performed, no operating force is applied to the hydraulic cylinder, making manual operation simple and easy. Further, since the lock plunger and the hydraulic cylinder are only indirectly connected, a lock means may be provided to prevent and release the lock plunger from displacement in conjunction with the operation of the manual operation lever or the hydraulic cylinder. Even if an undesired force acts directly or indirectly on the lock plunger, the lock plunger can be restrained by the locking means, and the safety and reliability of the vehicle coupler can be ensured.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a bottom view of the coupler base showing the overall outline of the vehicle coupler, Figure 2 is a plan view of a manual operation device for a vehicle coupler having a conventional manual operation lock engagement/disengagement mechanism, and Figure 3 is the figure 2. FIG. 4 is a main part diagram showing the operating state of the manual and automatic operating devices in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operating state. 1...Coupler base, 3...Connection hook, 4...
... King pin, 6 ... Engagement groove, 7 ... Lock plunger, 18 ... Lock guide body, 19 ... Lock means, 20 ... Stopper link, 41 ... Manual operation lever, 42 ... "V" shape Link, 43...
... Connection link, 44 ... Guide link, 45 ... Plunger guide body, 46 ... Elongated hole, 49 ... Hydraulic cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pair of connecting hooks rotatably attached to the coupler base in order to clamp the king pin of the towed vehicle, and a lock plunger being displaced to lock the rotation of the connecting hooks. a manual operating lever that engages and disengages the lock plunger from an engagement groove formed at one end of the connecting hook; and a lock guide provided on the manual operating lever that rotates as the manual operating lever moves linearly. In the operating device for a vehicle coupler, which is provided with a locking means for blocking or releasing the blocking of displacement of the lock plunger by means of a stopper link, a dogleg-shaped link having one piece for pushing the lock guide, The lock plunger is rotatably supported by the coupler base at its intermediate portion, a plunger guide is protruded from the lock plunger, and the other end of the dogleg-shaped link has a
A guide link formed with an elongated hole into which the plunger guide body is loosely fitted and which pushes the locking plunger in a direction to disengage from the engagement groove is attached via a connecting link, and a guide link is attached to the guide link directly or indirectly. A manual and automatic operating device for a vehicle coupler, characterized in that a piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder swingably mounted on a coupler base is rotatably connected.