Plug part and hydraulic coupling

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plug part (1) for a hydraulic coupling (2), with an unlocking sleeve (4) which can be displaced in the axial direction (3) on the plug part (1) for releasing a coupling-side retaining ring (5), wherein the unlocking sleeve (4) has an annular collar (6) and a spring device (7) supported thereon. What is essential to the invention is that the spring device (7) has a metallic corrugated spring (17). This reliably prevents the unlocking sleeve (4) from jamming on the plug part (1) and thus prevents the plug part (1) from being reliably fixed in the coupling part (12) of the hydraulic coupling (2).

Description

The present invention relates to a plug part for a hydraulic clutch having an unlocking sleeve which is displaceable in the axial direction on the plug part for releasing a retaining ring on the clutch side, according to the preamble of claim 1.DE 199 32 307 A1 discloses a plug connection for pipelines with a coupling part and a plug part of the generic type which can be inserted into a bore of the coupling part and which are connected to one another by an elastically expandable retaining ring. The retaining ring engages only with a fraction of approximately a quarter to a third of its cross section in an inner recess in the coupling part and in an outer recess in the plug part and can be pushed out of the outer recess for releasing the plug connection by displacing the unlocking sleeve, which is arranged in an intermediate space between the coupling part and the plug part. This is intended to create a plug connection which allows a low construction cost and thus a cost-effective production.DE 195 81 566 T1 discloses a fluid coupling with a male and a female coupling part, which can be connected to one another in a detachable manner in order to connect fluid lines to one another in a sealed manner.DE 28 24 943 A1 discloses a connecting device for brake lines of a motor vehicle brake system, which connecting device has a plug system, consisting of a bore in a valve body and a connector plug having a through bore, wherein the connector plug consists of a housing and a plug shank, which in turn carries a seal and has a locking mechanism.From WO 2011 / 102 637 A2 a single-key pipe connection device is known.U.S. Pat. No. 1,587,079 A discloses an unlocking sleeve for a hydraulic quick-action clutch which is spring-loaded counter to a release actuation direction.WO 1999 / 001 691 A1 discloses a plug connection with an inner part which can be inserted with a plug pin into an opening of an outer part and has a retaining element which can be deformed in the radial direction and which is arranged in a recess of the outer part and which can be deformed radially elastically during the plug-in process by a supporting element arranged on the plug pin and can be displaced into the recess. In a locking position, the plug pin is locked against being pulled out of the opening by the cooperation of the support element and the holding element. To release the plug connection, an unlocking sleeve is displaced.From DE 10 2015 105 834 A1, a plug connection for pipelines with a coupling part and a plug part is again known, wherein an axially displaceable unlocking sleeve is arranged on the plug part, which can be moved into an unlocking position against the force of a spring element. The unlocking sleeve has a shoulder with a conical section widening outwards counter to the plug-in direction, against which the spring element abuts with radial prestress. Between the spring element and the coupling part, a sealing ring, which is designed as an O-ring and has a smaller cord diameter than the spring element, is also arranged. To unlock the connection between the plug part and the coupling part, the sealing ring can be widened.DE 10 2007 059 329 A1 discloses a further plug connection for pipelines having a plug part and a coupling part, which can be connected to one another and separated from one another. The plug part can be inserted into an opening of the coupling part and locked there via a retaining element deformable in the radial direction, wherein an axially displaceable unlocking sleeve is also arranged on the plug part. This unlocking sleeve can be moved against the force of a spring element into an unlocking or releasing position, in which the retaining element can be removed from the locking position and the plug part can be released from the coupling part. The unlocking sleeve has a shoulder with a conical section widening outwards counter to the plug-in direction, against which the spring element abuts with radial prestress, whereby unlocking with low axial force can be effected.A valve body is known from KR 2017 / 0119382 A2.The disadvantage of plug parts known hitherto from the prior art is that they often have a spring device made of rubber for prestressing an unlocking sleeve into an unlocking position, for example a rubber sleeve, which, however, can age rapidly and thus break, particularly in aggressive ambient conditions and high temperatures. As a result, the plug part would then have to be replaced. It is further disadvantageous that in previous unlocking sleeves, the unlocking sleeve may also be stuck or stuck and, as a result, a false locking, which may lead to an undesired, automatic release of the hydraulic clutch during / after a filling process, may occur.The present invention therefore concerns itself with the problem of specifying an improved or at least one alternative embodiment for a plug part of the generic type, by means of which in particular a reliable locking with a coupling part can be achieved.This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.The present invention is based on the general idea of no longer causing a prestress for an unlocking sleeve for the first time by a rubber sleeve, but by a metallic corrugated spring, as a result of which a spring action, i.e. a prestress of the unlocking sleeve in its unlocking position, can be maintained in the long term and, moreover, also under the most difficult ambient or use conditions, such as, for example, high temperatures, and / or aggressive media, can be maintained in the long term. In addition, this also reliably prevents the unlocking sleeve from being stuck or jammed and, as a result, from being accidentally locked, which can lead to an undesired, automatic release of the hydraulic clutch during / after a filling process. The plug part according to the invention for a hydraulic clutch has the unlocking sleeve, which is displaceable in the axial direction on the plug part, for releasing a retaining ring on the coupling part side and thus for releasing the plug part from a coupling part of the hydraulic clutch. The unlocking sleeve itself also has an annular collar and a spring device supported thereon, wherein this spring device is now designed according to the invention as a corrugated spring. By means of the annular collar on the unlocking sleeve, a comparatively simple manual displacement of the unlocking sleeve on the plug part and thus a comparatively simple manual release of the plug part from the associated coupling part can be achieved. By the design according to the invention of the spring device as a metallic corrugated spring, adjustability of the unlocking sleeve on the plug part can be ensured in the long term and extremely reliably and almost independently of environmental conditions, whereby in particular a false locking of the plug part with a coupling part due to a clamping unlocking sleeve can be avoided.In an advantageous development of the plug part according to the invention, the metallic corrugated spring has at least one corrugated ring made of flat wire. A metallic corrugated spring with only a single corrugated ring of flat wire can create a spring device of particularly compact construction, wherein alternatively the metallic corrugated spring can also be formed from at least one corrugated ring of round wire. By means of an individually selectable strength of the flat wire or round wire used and, for example, a height of the wave crests and wave troughs, an individual influence can be exerted on a release force for actuating the unlocking sleeve.In a particularly preferred embodiment of the plug part according to the invention, at least one ring of the metallic corrugated spring is formed closed or alternatively open. Due to a closed configuration, the corrugated spring configured in this way has a higher spring constant, while due to an open configuration, i.e. a slotted ring, the corrugated spring can also be adjusted more easily in the circumferential direction when it is pressed down.In a further alternative embodiment of the metallic corrugated spring according to the invention, the latter is formed from a helically bent and at the same time corrugated wire. This makes it possible to form a metallic corrugated spring with corrugated rings arranged one above the other in a plurality of planes, as a result of which a particularly individual setting of a spring constant is possible.The present invention is further based on the general idea of specifying a hydraulic coupling having a plug part described in the preceding paragraphs and a coupling part which can be connected thereto in a sealed manner, wherein the coupling part has an insertion opening into which the plug part can be inserted. With the use of the plug part according to the invention in the hydraulic clutch according to the invention, the advantages of the plug part according to the invention described in the preceding paragraphs can be transferred to the hydraulic clutch. Specifically, these advantages are in particular due to the fact that a locking of the unlocking sleeve can be avoided and a reliable fixing of the plug part in the coupling part of the hydraulic clutch can be achieved. At the same time, with the plug part according to the invention and thus also with the hydraulic coupling according to the invention, use can be better ensured in the long term even in aggressive and temperature-loaded regions, since the aging-prone rubber sleeve has been replaced by the corrugated spring according to the invention.In an advantageous development of the hydraulic coupling according to the invention, the coupling part of the hydraulic coupling has an, in particular open, retaining ring which, when the plug part is inserted into the coupling part, is expanded, i.e. pressed, outwards by a support ring of the plug part into a depression on the coupling part side and, after the support ring has been slid over the retaining ring on the coupling part side, springs back behind the latter and thereby fixes the plug part in the coupling part. Such a retaining ring can be formed, for example, from plastic, but alternatively also from metal, and brings about an extremely reliable, since form-fitting fixing of the plug part in the coupling part.In a further advantageous embodiment of the hydraulic coupling according to the invention, the retaining ring for releasing the plug part from the coupling part can be adjusted by means of the unlocking sleeve into the depression on the coupling part side. If the hydraulic coupling is to be released, the unlocking sleeve is pressed into the coupling part counter to the spring direction of the metallic corrugated spring, whereupon the unlocking sleeve reaches through the retaining ring from the inside and expands and is thereby adjusted outwards into the recess or depression on the coupling part side. This allows a reliable mechanical and positive fixing of the plug part in the coupling part to be achieved.Further important features and advantages of the invention are evident from the dependent claims, from the drawings and from the associated description of the figures with reference to the drawings.It is understood that the features mentioned above and those still to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. The above-mentioned components of a superordinate unit, such as a device, a device or an arrangement, which are designated separately, can form separate components or components of this unit or can be integral regions or sections of this unit, even if this is illustrated differently in the drawings.Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar or functionally the same components.They show, in each case schematically, FIG. 1 a shows a sectional view through a hydraulic coupling according to the invention with a plug part according to the invention in a position which is not yet fixed, FIG. 1 bshows a detailed illustration from FIG. 1 ain the region of a bearing ring on the plug part side and of a retaining ring on the coupling part side, FIG. 2a is a view as in FIG. 1a, but with the plug part inserted further into the coupling part, FIG. 2 bshows a detailed illustration from FIG. 2 ain a state in which the bearing ring on the plug part side presses the retaining ring on the coupling part side outwards, FIG. 3a is a view as in FIG. 2a, but with the plug part pressed further into the coupling part, FIG. 3 bshows a detailed illustration from FIG. 3 a, in which the bearing ring on the plug part side has passed over the retaining ring on the coupling part side and the latter has already been sprung back again. FIGS. 4 a- e show different possible embodiments of a metallic corrugated spring of the plug part according to the invention.According to FIGS. 1 to 3, a plug part 1 according to the invention for a hydraulic clutch 2 has an unlocking sleeve 4 which is displaceable on the plug part 1 in the axial direction 3 for releasing a retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side, in particular open, (compare FIGS. 1 b, 2 band 3 b). The unlocking sleeve 4 has an annular collar 6 and a spring device 7 supported thereon. according to the invention, this spring device 7 is now designed as a metallic corrugated spring 17, which offers the great advantage that it not only avoids the locking sleeve 4 being stuck or locked and problems resulting therefrom, such as, for example, a false locking, which can lead to an undesired, automatic release of the hydraulic clutch 2 during / after a filling process, but is also significantly more wear-resistant and aging-resistant than rubber collars used hitherto. The rubber collars used hitherto in this region could lead to an undesired clamping of the unlocking sleeve 6 on the plug part 1, as a result of which a bearing ring 8 on the plug part side has not been reliably locked to a retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side.The metallic corrugated spring 17 has at least one corrugated ring 9 made of flat wire (compare FIGS. 4 aand 4 cto 4 e), which can be designed as a single ring, as is shown in FIGS. 4 band 4 e, or which has a plurality of planes in a helical manner, as is shown in FIGS. 4 a, 4 cand 4 d. Alternatively, it is of course also conceivable for the ring 9 to consist of a corrugated round wire, as is illustrated according to FIG. 4 b. The individual rings 9 can be placed one above the other in a helical manner, so that the individual planes of the corrugated spring 17 are formed from a continuous flat wire or round wire.If individual wave troughs 10 and wave peaks 11 of all planes lie one above the other in the axial direction 3, the wave spring 17 shown in FIG. 4 ahaving a comparatively high spring constant results with a short spring travel. If wave troughs 10 and wave peaks 11 meet in axial direction 3 alternately in successive planes, as is shown in FIGS. 4 cand 4 d, a wave spring 17 with a lower spring constant and a greater spring travel results.As an alternative to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 ato 4 e, the corrugated spring 17 can also have a closed ring 9 or a plurality of closed rings 9.On the plug part 1 there is provided a support ring 8 which is arranged in a groove on the plug part side. When the plug part 1 is inserted into an opening 19 of a coupling part 12 of the hydraulic coupling 2 in the insertion direction 18, the bearing ring 8 on the plug part side is pushed past the inside of the retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side, the preferably slotted retaining ring 5 being widened at the same axial height by the bearing ring 8 and the retaining ring 5 being pressed into a depression 13 on the coupling part side, as is illustrated in accordance with FIG. 2 b. If the plug part 1 is pressed further into the coupling part 12 in the insertion direction 18, the support ring 8 travels over the retaining ring 5, whereupon the latter springs back radially inward again and thereby fixes the plug part 1 in the coupling part 12, so that when the plug part 1 is pulled out of the coupling part 12, the plug part 1 is supported via its support ring 8 on the retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side and the latter is clamped at a bevel 14 of the depression 13.The plug part 1 is sealed in the coupling part 12 via at least one, preferably a plurality of, seals 20If the plug part 1 is now to be released from the coupling part 12 again, the unlocking sleeve 4 on the plug part 1 is pressed in the direction of the coupling part 12, as a result of which the latter presses the retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side via the bevel 14 back into the depression 13 by way of its front edge 15 (compare FIG. 3 b ) and the support ring 8 on the plug part side can thereby pass over the retaining ring 5 on the coupling part side again.At the front in the insertion direction 18, an O-ring seal 16 can be arranged on the spring device 7, which can be designed as a dirt ring, wherein this O-ring seal 16 can alternatively also be arranged on the coupling part 12.All in all, a reliable and extremely wear-resistant plug connection can be created with the plug part 1 according to the invention and the hydraulic coupling 2 according to the invention, wherein, in particular, jamming of the unlocking sleeve 4 on the plug part 1 can be reliably prevented by the spring device 7 designed as a metallic corrugated spring 17. By preventing the unlocking sleeve 4 from jamming on the plug part 1, it is possible to reliably prevent the expanded coupling part-side retaining ring 5 from springing back when the plug part 1 is inserted into the coupling part 12, i.e. into an associated insertion opening, and thus no reliable connection is created.A spring device 7 designed as a metallic corrugated spring 17 can furthermore be produced cost-effectively and with virtually any spring properties.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 199 32 307 A1

[0002] DE 195 81 566 T1

[0003] DE 28 24 943 A1

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 1,587,079 A

[0006] DE 10 2015 105 834 A1

[0008] DE 10 2007 059 329 A1

[0009]

Claims

Plug part (1) for a hydraulic clutch (2), - with an unlocking sleeve (4) which can be displaced in the axial direction (3) on the plug part (1) for releasing a retaining ring (5) on the clutch side, - wherein the unlocking sleeve (4) has an annular collar (6) and a spring device (7) supported thereon, characterized in that the spring device (7) has a metallic corrugated spring (17).Plug part (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the metallic corrugated spring (17) has at least one corrugated ring (9) made of flat wire.Plug part (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the metallic corrugated spring (17) has at least one corrugated ring (9) made of round wire.Plug part (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metallic corrugated spring (17) is formed from a helically corrugated flat wire or round wire.Plug part (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one ring (9) of the metallic corrugated spring (17) is of closed design.Plug part (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one ring (9) of the metallic corrugated spring (17) is designed to be open.Plug part (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug part (1) has a support ring (8).Hydraulic coupling (2) having a plug part (1) according to one of the preceding claims and a coupling part (12) which can be connected thereto in a sealed manner.Hydraulic coupling (2) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the coupling part (12) has an open retaining ring (5) which, when the plug part (1) is inserted into the coupling part (12), is pressed outwards by a support ring (8) of the plug part (1) into a depression (13) on the coupling part side and, after passing the support ring (8), springs back behind the latter in the insertion direction (18) and fixes the plug part (1) in the coupling part (12).Hydraulic coupling (2) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the open retaining ring (5) for releasing the plug part (1) from the coupling part (12) can be adjusted by means of the unlocking sleeve (4) into the depression (13) on the coupling part side.

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