Self-releasing coupling element

Abstract

A coupling unit (5) for connecting a breast bar (3) to an inner wall of a horse trailer or horse transporter or for connecting the breast bar (3) to a horse harness, comprising a groove (9) in which a bolt (7) is movable upwards and downwards, wherein downward movement is restricted by a spring (6), wherein the spring (6) is pushed back by the bolt (7) when a high weight acts downwards on the bolt (7), whereby the bolt (7) can move out of the groove (9), wherein the coupling unit (5) has two springs arranged opposite one another in the groove (9).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a device for a breast bar for horse transport.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn the prior art, horse transporters, in particular horse trailers, are known which can be used for transporting one or more horses. The document EP 2 022 668 A1 describes a shut-off device for a horse box of a horse trailer with an emergency unlocking of the rod holders. Document DE 20 2017 102 985 U1 shows a securing device for a box pole in a horse box and document DE 20 2012 001 925 U1 describes variable contact elements in horse trailers.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn each horse transporter there are so-called breast bars which are mounted in front of and behind the horse as a cross bar in order that the standing horses are fixed at breast height, i.e. at about 1 meter and 20 cm height. These breast bars can only be released by lifting them from their mounting, for example on the vehicle inner wall.It happens that horses jump over the breast bar and can no longer recover alone. In this case, the screwing or anchoring of the breast bar must be released, since it is not possible to raise the breast bar. Alternatively, a screw connection on the inside of the vehicle can be loosened so that the counter support located in the interior of the horse transporter can drop down together with the rod. This is an action which, because of the nervous horse lying on the breast bar, can represent a particularly physical as well as nervously stressful force act.A problem is therefore to free the horse which has jumped over the breast bar and rests with its body on the breast bar.It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a device which enables automatic release of a horse jumped over a breast bar and rests with its torso on the breast bar.The object is achieved by the features of the main claim, wherein advantageous developments are described in the dependent claims.As a first embodiment of the invention, a coupling unit for connecting a breast bar to an inner wall of a horse trailer or horse transporter or for connecting the breast bar to a horse harness is used, comprising a groove in which a bolt is movable upwards and downwards, wherein a movement downwards is limited by a spring, wherein the spring is pushed back by the bolt when a high weight acts downwards on the bolt, whereby the bolt can move out of the groove, wherein the coupling unit has two springs arranged opposite in the groove...The device according to the invention allows a horse to free itself if it jumps over a front or rear constraint, a breast bar, in a horse transporter. This makes it possible to dispense with complicated relief measures which can be double-stressful and dangerous in the case of a then nervous horse.Exemplary embodiments are described in the dependent claims.According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, a coupling unit is provided, wherein the groove is undercut and the bolt has a head which engages into the undercut and thereby prevents the bolt from emerging from the groove transversely with respect to the direction of the groove.In yet another embodiment of the invention, a coupling unit is provided, wherein a slider restricts upward movement of the bolt.According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a coupling unit is provided, wherein a latching nose or a spring securing plug prevents the slide from leaving the coupling unit.In a further embodiment according to the invention, a coupling unit is provided, wherein the coupling unit has a device for tying a horse, in particular an eyelet.After independently releasing the horse, it should nevertheless be prevented that the horse can move completely freely. For this purpose, a device is arranged on the coupling element or coupling unit, which device holds the horse connected despite the coupling element being released. In particular, an eyelet can be used for this purpose.According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a coupling unit is provided, wherein the groove is a longitudinal groove.If the coupling unit has two opposing springs in the longitudinal groove, the bolt must overcome a double spring force in order to be able to emerge downward from the groove.It can be considered an idea of the invention to provide a coupling of the cross bar in such a way that results in a detachment of the cross bar or breast bar if a high weight rests on it. For this purpose, a spring is provided which yields when the load is too high and thereby releases the connection between breast bar and the rest of the horse harness.The individual features can of course also be combined with one another, as a result of which advantageous effects can also be produced in part which go beyond the sum of the individual effects.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFurther details and advantages of the invention will become clear from the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. They show FIG. 1 shows a horse trailer in a cross-sectional view with two horses 1, FIG. 2 shows a coupling element 5 according to the invention, FIG. 3 shows the coupling element 5 according to the invention with the bolt 7 and a washer 8 for locking the breast bar, and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the coupling element 5.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTSEMBODIMENTSFIG. 1 shows a horse trailer 2 in which two horses 1 are accommodated. For this purpose, the horses 1 are clamped in a horse harness. It can occur that the horse 1 jumps onto the breast bar 3. In this case, a large weight is located on the breastbar 3 and the coupling 5 according to the invention of breastbar 3 to the rest of the horse harness leads to a release of the connection of breastbar 3 to the rest of the horse harness or to the release of the coupling unit 5 from the vehicle inner wall of the horse transporter.FIG. 2 shows the coupling unit 5 according to the invention, which has a longitudinal groove 9 which is undercut. In this longitudinal groove, the bolt 7 can be moved upwards and downwards. The directions each refer to the plane of the drawing. The natural force of gravity exerts a downward force on the bolt 7, so that the bolt 7 rests on the spring 6. If the abdomen of a horse is on the chest rod, a force is produced downwards which is so great that the bolt 7 can overcome the spring force of the spring 6 and pushes the spring 6 back. The bolt 7 can thereby drop downwards and the connection of the breast bar 3 to the rest of the horse harness is released. The head 10 of the bolt 7 prevents the bolt 7 from falling out of the groove toward the front with respect to the plane of the drawing.FIG. 3 shows the coupling element 5 according to the invention in a particular embodiment, in which a slide 8 leads to a blockage of the bolt 7, so that the bolt 7 cannot pass upward out of the groove and the breast bar 3 can then be released from the rest of the horse harness.FIG. 4 shows the coupling element 5 in a plan view with a base plate 12 and a cover plate 13 The bolt 7 can move in the groove 9, wherein the head 10 ensures that the bolt 7 is held in the groove 9.The slide 8 can be held in the coupling element 5 by a latching nose 11. In an alternative embodiment, the slide 8 can be prevented from becoming detached from the coupling element by a spring securing split.The device according to the invention leads in particular to a self-releasing release of the horse if the horse rests on the breast bar by skipping over with its horse weight. For this purpose, the device according to the invention has one or two clamped leaf springs which can be compressed with an adjustable weight and thereby lead to the detachment of the breast bar. The device according to the invention, the coupling element, can consist of aluminum, die casting or a plastic injection molding.Advantageously, retrofitting an existing breast bar with the coupling element is possible.A round eyelet can be screwed to the coupling element, which can receive a binding knitting for fastening the horse.In an alternative embodiment, the bolt can be designed as a threaded bolt.It should be noted that the term "comprise" does not exclude further elements or method steps, as does the term "a" and "an" does not exclude a plurality of elements and steps.The reference numerals used are merely for increasing intelligibility and are not to be considered as limiting, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS1 Horse 2 horse trailer 3 cross rod / breast rod 4 direction of force if the person's torso rests on the breast rod 5 coupling location between cross rod or breast rod and remaining harness 6 spring through which the bolt 7 slides if the person's torso rests on the breast rod 7 bolt for connection to the breast rod 3 8 washer for locking the breast rod upwards 9 undercut longitudinal groove 10 head of the bolt 11 latching nose 12 base plate 13 cover plate

Claims

Coupling unit (5) for connecting a breast bar (3) to an inner wall of a horse trailer or horse transporter or for connecting the breast bar (3) to a horse harness, comprising a groove (9) in which a bolt (7) is movable upwards and downwards, wherein a movement downwards is restricted by a spring (6), wherein the spring (6) is pushed back by the bolt (7) when a high weight acts downwards on the bolt (7), whereby the bolt (7) can move out of the groove (9), wherein the coupling unit (5) has two springs arranged opposite in the groove (9).Coupling unit (5) according to claim 1, wherein the groove (9) is undercut and the bolt (7) has a head (10) which engages into the undercut and thereby prevents the bolt (7) from emerging from the groove (9) transversely to the direction of the groove (9).The coupling unit (5) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein a slider (8) restricts upward movement of the bolt (7).Coupling unit (5) according to claim 3, wherein a latching nose (11) or a spring securing pin prevents the slide (8) from leaving the coupling unit (5).Coupling unit (5) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling unit (5) has a device for tying a horse, in particular an eyelet.Coupling unit (5) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the groove (9) is a longitudinal groove.

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