Hook and carrier arrangement

Abstract

A hook for fastening a hand-held working apparatus to a belt arrangement (10) has an open frame (46) with an access opening (23) and a closure member (22). The closure member (22) at least partly closes the access opening (23) in a rest position (32) of the closure member (22). The closure member (22) can be swiveled from the rest position (32) to a first open position (33) and to a second open position (34), so that a hand-held working apparatus which is arranged on the belt arrangement (10) can in a simple manner be both fastened to the belt arrangement and detached therefrom. A carrier arrangement with a hand-held working apparatus, a belt arrangement (10) and a fastening device (50) for fastening the working apparatus to the belt arrangement (10) comprises a hook (9) and an element to be engaged in the hook (9).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS[0001]The right of foreign priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) based on Federal Republic of Germany Application No. 10 2007 048 104.9, filed Oct. 6, 2007, the entire contents of which, including the specification, drawings, claims and abstract, are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to a hook of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1 and to a carrier arrangement of the type specified in the preamble of claim 15.[0003]A brush cutter, to which a carrier belt can be fastened by means of a snap hook, is known from DE 35 36 676 A1. Snap hooks of this type conventionally have a spring-loaded closure member which can be swiveled inward into the receiving opening of the hook counter to the force of the spring. Toward the outside of the hook, the closure member is conventionally secured in a form-fitting manner.[0004]In order to detach a working apparatus from a carrier arrangeme...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The invention is based on the object of providing a hook for fastening a hand-held working apparatus to a belt arrangement, which hook allows simple securing of the working apparatus to the belt arrangement and simple detachment of the working apparatus from the belt arrangement. A further object of the invention is to specify a carrier arrangement allowing simple fastening and detachment of a working apparatus to and from a belt arrangement.

[0008]In order to achieve simple securing and simple detachment of the working apparatus to and from the belt arrangement, provision is made for the closure member to close the access opening in a rest position lying between end positions, and for the closure member to be swivelable from the advantageously central rest position to a first and to a second open position as the end position. In this case, advantageously one open position is associated with the fastening process and a second open position is associated with the detachment of the working apparatus from the belt arrangement. The two open positions or end positions can as a result be adapted to the movement of the working apparatus during engagement or during detachment, thus allowing the closure member to be swiveled into the respective open position by way of the working apparatus itself. Swiveling of the closure member by hand may thus be dispensed with. This simplifies the operation. The operator has both hands available for holding and moving the working apparatus.

[0010]Advantageously, the closure member is held resiliently in the rest position. A simple configuration is obtained if the closure member is held in the rest position by way of its inherent elasticity. An additional spring element may thus be dispensed with. This produces a simple and robust construction.

[0011]Provision is made for the hook to have a free end delimiting the access opening and for the closure member to be, in the rest position, at a spacing from the free end of the hook. The spacing is in this case advantageously smaller than the diameter of an element to be engaged in the hook, so that the closure member prevents accidental disengagement of the engaged element. At the same time, the spacing allows unimpeded swiveling of the closure member in both directions. A mechanical stop, which defines a position of the closure member, may as a result be dispensed with. This allows wear to be minimized, and the service life of the hook is extended.

[0012]A simple configuration of the closure member is achieved if the closure member has a first leg and a second leg, the two legs running on opposing sides of the frame of the hook and being joined together by a connecting portion. Advantageously, the first leg is mounted on a first swivel bearing and the second leg is mounted on a second swivel bearing on the frame, the swivel axes of the two swivel bearings being at a spacing from each other. As a result of the fact that the two interconnected legs rotate about different swivel axes, a stable rest position can be achieved. During swiveling of the connecting member from the rest position, the legs and the connecting portion are deformed owing to the mutually set-apart swivel axes. This ensures that the closure member swivels owing to its inherent elasticity back into the rest position as soon as the element to be engaged has passed the access opening.

[0013]In order to achieve the same forces in both swiveling directions, provision is made for the two swivel axes to lie, in the rest position of the closure member, in a plane with the connecting portion. Advantageously, the legs of the closure member run, between the respective swivel bearing and the connecting portion, straight and in the plane spanned by the swivel axes. A simple configuration is obtained if the closure member is configured as a wire hoop. The wire hoop can be manufactured in a simple manner. As a result of the fact that the rest position is defined by the orientation of the two swivel bearings, no precise tolerances must be adhered to in the manufacture of the hoop. A robust, simply constructed system is obtained.

Problems solved by technology

This operation is comparatively awkward.

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