Driving crank for tarpaulin-type winding systems

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive crank for tarpaulin rolling systems, comprising a deflection gear (2) for connection to the crossbar of a tarpaulin, which is connected to a drive rod (3) which is provided at its end opposite the deflection gear (2) with a handpiece (4, 4') comprising an attachment piece 41, an offset piece 42 arranged at an angle to this, and a handle 43 arranged at an angle to the offset piece 42, wherein a non-circular, in particular polygonal, connecting piece for connecting the drive rod (3) to a cordless screwdriver is arranged.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a drive crank for tarpaulin winding systems, comprising a deflection gear for connection to the cross bar of a tarpaulin, which receives a drive rod which is provided at its end opposite the deflection gear with a handle which comprises an attachment piece, an offset piece positioned at an angle to the latter and a handle positioned at an angle to the latter.

[0002] Such drive cranks, such as those disclosed in DE 90 030 962 U1, also commonly referred to as "Rollfix," are used in particular for winding and unwinding tarpaulins covering openings, such as those used, for example, in tarpaulin bodies on trucks. A crossbar, usually with a rectangular cross-section, is attached approximately in the middle of the tarpaulin. When rotated, the tarpaulin moves upwards along the upper half of the tarpaulin, wrapping the upper half and the lower half between them, and vice versa. The drive crank has a deflection gear, which is connected to a drive rod on the drive side and is rotationally fixedly connected to the crossbar on the output side. Via the deflection gear, a rotation of the essentially vertically oriented drive rod is converted into a rotation of the horizontally oriented crossbar.The drive rod is rotated manually using a handpiece located at the end of the drive rod. To save space, the drive crank is often hinged in the middle, allowing it to be folded.

[0003] Drive cranks of the above type have proven themselves for decades and are characterized by their simple and robust design. However, the disadvantage of this previously known solution is its rather complex handling when winding and unwinding a tarpaulin.

[0004] This is where the present invention comes in. The invention is based on the object of providing a drive crank that is easier to handle while still having a simple and robust design. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a drive crank having the features of the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

[0005] The invention provides a drive crank that is easy to handle and has a simple and robust design. The provision of a non-circular, particularly polygonal, connector for connecting the drive rod to a cordless screwdriver enables simple, faster rotation of the drive rod using a standard cordless screwdriver, which is a standard part of every truck's standard equipment.

[0006] In a further development of the invention, the drive rod is provided with the connecting piece at one end, wherein the connecting piece is designed as an external non-circular, in particular as an external polygon for use in a compatible drive socket of a cordless screwdriver. This allows the drive rod to be easily connected to the cordless screwdriver in a rotationally fixed manner via a drive socket clamped in the cordless screwdriver. If the connecting piece is designed as an external hexagon, a commercially available drive socket can be used. The fact that the handle has a receiving bushing, which preferably has a non-circular, in particular polygonal, inner contour, with which it is detachably plugged onto the connecting piece and connected to it in a rotationally fixed manner, also enables manual operation of the drive crank. For operation using a cordless screwdriver, the handpiece can be simply pulled off the connecting piece.

[0007] Alternatively, the drive rod can also be provided with the connecting piece at the end, wherein the connecting piece is designed as a bushing, preferably as an internal non-circular bushing, in particular an internal polygonal bushing for receiving an external non-circular insert, in particular an external polygonal insert of a cordless screwdriver, and wherein the handpiece has an external non-circular, in particular polygonal, shaft with which it is detachably inserted into the connecting piece and connected thereto in a rotationally fixed manner.

[0008] In this context, an internal non-circular bushing is understood to mean a bushing whose inner contour has a non-circular cross-section. An external round insert is understood to mean an insert, in particular a pin or a shaft, whose outer contour has a non-circular cross-section.

[0009] The handpiece, which comprises an attachment piece, an offset piece positioned at an angle to the attachment piece, and a grip piece positioned at an angle to the offset piece, can be designed as a single, rigid handpiece. Alternatively, the attachment piece, offset piece, and grip piece can be pivotally connected to one another, forming a foldable handpiece.

[0010] In one embodiment of the invention, a securing element, in particular a locking pin or a locking screw, is provided, which axially secures the plug connection between the connector and the handpiece. This ensures that the handpiece is securely connected to the connector. The securing element is preferably formed by a thumb screw. This allows for tool-free tightening or loosening.

[0011] In a further embodiment of the invention, the attachment piece is pivotally connected to the offset piece via a first hinge, which can be locked in the aligned position of the attachment piece and offset piece, and the offset piece is pivotally connected to the handle piece via a second hinge, which can be locked in the aligned position of the offset piece and handle piece, wherein the handle piece has the connecting piece at its free end. This allows the attachment piece, offset piece and handle piece to be aligned with the drive rod, after which the connecting piece can be connected to a cordless screwdriver and the drive rod can be rotated using this. For manual operation, the attachment piece, offset piece and handle piece can be angled to one another to form a handpiece.

[0012] Preferably, the first hinge and / or the second hinge can be locked at a right angle to each other. This ensures a stable design of the handpiece for manual operation.

[0013] In a further development of the invention, the connecting piece is designed as an external non-circular part, in particular as an external polygon, for use in a compatible drive socket of a cordless screwdriver. A compatible drive socket is understood to mean a drive socket into which the external non-circular part or the external polygon can be inserted in a rotationally fixed manner, and via which a torque can be transmitted to the external non-circular part or the external polygon.

[0014] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the connecting piece is designed as an internal non-circular bushing, in particular an internal polygonal bushing for receiving a compatible external non-circular insert, in particular an external polygonal insert of a cordless screwdriver.

[0015] In one embodiment of the invention, a grip sleeve is slidably mounted on the extension piece, by means of which the first hinge can be locked in the aligned position of the extension piece and offset piece. This allows for easy locking of the extension piece and offset piece. The grip sleeve is simply positioned over the first hinge, preventing any pivoting movement.

[0016] In a further embodiment of the invention, a grip sleeve is slidably mounted on the handle, by means of which the second hinge can be locked in the aligned position of the offset piece and the handle. This allows for easy locking of the offset piece and the handle in a corresponding manner.

[0017] In a further development of the invention, at least one retaining element is arranged on the offset piece, by means of which at least one grip sleeve can be fixed in a position slipped over a hinge. This prevents the unintentional release of a locked hinge.

[0018] In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one retaining element is designed in the form of an elastic ring, in particular a rubber ring. This provides a simple, force-locking connection between the grip sleeve and the offset piece.

[0019] In a further embodiment of the invention, the two grip sleeves have a connecting element for detachable connection on their mutually facing end faces, by which they can be connected to each other. This allows for simple protection against accidental release of both fixed hinges. The connecting elements of the grip sleeves are preferably designed to form a magnetic connection, a snap-in connection, or a screw connection.

[0020] Further developments and refinements of the invention are specified in the remaining subclaims. Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail below. They show: Figure 1: schematic representation of a drive crank for tarpaulin winding systems; Figure 2: schematic representation of the drive rod with handle of a drive crank according to Figure 1in a first embodiment; Figure 3 shows the drive rod from Figure 2 after removal of the handpiece; Figure 4 the schematic representation of the drive rod with handpiece of a drive crank according to Figure 1 in a second embodiment; Figure 5 shows the handpiece of the arrangement from Figure 4 in a mutually aligned position of the attachment piece, offset piece and handle; Figure 6 the representation of the handle from Figure 5 with grip sleeves in locking position; Figure 7 the representation of the handpiece from Figure 6 in folded position of the drive crank; Figure 8 the schematic representation of the drive rod with handpiece of a drive crank according to Figure 1 in a third embodiment and Figure 9 the representation of the drive rod from Figure 8 with the handpiece removed.

[0021] The drive crank 1 chosen as an exemplary embodiment essentially consists of a deflection gear 2, which is connected on the drive side to a drive rod 3, which has a handle 4 at its end, comprising an extension piece 41, an offset piece 42 positioned at an angle to the extension piece, and a grip piece 43 positioned at an angle to the extension piece. The drive rod 3 is designed as a hollow cuboid-shaped tube and is provided approximately centrally with a folding hinge 31, via which it can be folded in a defined pivoting direction. The design of the deflection gear 2 with the connected drive rod 3 is generally known and will not be described in detail here.

[0022] In the embodiment according to Figure 2The handpiece 4 is rigidly constructed in one piece and is connected to the drive rod 3 via a coupling piece 5. The coupling piece 5 comprises a cuboid-shaped base 51, from which a hexagon insert 52 protrudes orthogonally to the base. The base 51 is positively inserted into the drive rod 3 and is axially secured by a locking pin 53, which is inserted through a bore 32 provided for this purpose in the drive rod 3 into a transverse bore in the base 51. The locking pin 53 is captively attached to the drive rod 3 via a safety cable 54.

[0023] The attachment piece 41 of the handpiece 4 is provided with an end piece having a hexagonal blind hole, the inner contour of which essentially corresponds to the outer contour of the hexagonal insert 52 onto which it is attached (cf. Fig. 2). In the exemplary embodiment, the extension piece 41 is axially fixed to the hexagon insert 52 via a retaining ring 6. In this embodiment, the drive rod 3 can be rotated either manually via the handpiece 4 or - after removing the handpiece - by a cordless screwdriver. A commercially available drive nut is placed on the hexagon insert 52 and clamped in the drill chuck of the cordless screwdriver, or the hexagon insert 52 is clamped directly into the drill chuck of the cordless screwdriver. Alternatively, the extension piece 41 can also be axially secured by a screw inserted into it, which is clamped against the hexagon insert 52.

[0024] In the embodiment according to Figure 4The attachment piece 41 is pivotally connected to the offset piece 42 via a first hinge 45, which in turn is pivotally connected to the handle 43 via a second hinge 46. A grip sleeve 47 is slidably arranged on each of the attachment piece 41 and the handle 43. The two hinges 45, 46 are designed such that they can be locked in a position at a right angle, thus achieving a stable design of the handpiece 4' for manual operation (see Fig. 4 ). An external hexagon section 44 is arranged on the end of the handle 43.

[0025] In Figure 5The offset piece 42 and the gripping piece 43 of the handpiece 4' are pivoted into common alignment via the hinges 45, 46 so that they form a common axis with the drive rod. By moving the two gripping sleeves 47 in the direction of the offset piece 42, the hinges 45, 46 are fixed in this position. A stop ring 48 is applied to the offset piece 42 as a stop for the two gripping sleeves 47. To fix the gripping sleeves 47 in this position, the offset piece 42 is further provided with a rubber ring 49 on both sides of the stop ring 48, spaced from the latter. The rubber rings 49 are dimensioned such that the gripping sleeves 47 can be pushed over them against slight resistance, whereby the rubber rings 49 develop a restoring force by which the gripping sleeves are held in the stop position.In this "stretched" form of the handpiece 4', a standard drive socket can be mounted on the external hexagon section 44, which is clamped into the chuck of a cordless screwdriver, or the external hexagon section 44 can be clamped directly into the chuck of the cordless screwdriver. This embodiment also allows for manual operation via the handpiece 4 as well as drive via a cordless screwdriver.

[0026] In Figure 7 The upper section of the drive crank is shown folded over the hinge 31. The "stretched" shape of the handle 4' results in a very compact arrangement. The grip sleeve 47 facing the attachment piece 41 engages in a clamping receptacle 32 arranged for this purpose on the drive rod 3.

[0027] In the embodiment according to Figure 8The handpiece 4 is rigidly constructed in one piece and is connected to the drive rod 3 via a coupling piece 6. The drive rod 3 is designed as a telescopic rod whose length can be adjusted via an adjusting screw 30. The coupling piece 6 comprises a handle 61, which has an enlarged-diameter collar 62 at one end, to which a cuboid-shaped base 63 is connected, which is provided with a transverse bore through it. At the end opposite the base 63, an external hexagon section 64 is arranged on the handle 61. A grip sleeve 65 is rotatably mounted on the handle 61. The base 63 is positively inserted into the drive rod 3 and is axially secured by a locking pin 66, which is inserted through a bore 32 provided for this purpose in the drive rod 3 through the transverse bore of the base 63. In the exemplary embodiment, the locking pin 66 is secured by a cotter pin (not shown).Alternatively, a rivet or a screw can be arranged instead of the locking pin 66.

[0028] The extension piece 41 of the handpiece 4 is provided with an axial blind hole 411, the inner diameter of which essentially corresponds to the enveloping circle diameter of the external hexagon section 64. The extension piece 41 has a radial threaded bore into which a grip screw 412 is screwed. The extension piece 41 is pushed onto the external hexagon section 64 with its blind hole 411 and is axially and rotationally fixed to the external hexagon section 64 via the grip screw 412, which is screwed clampingly against the external hexagon section 64. Alternatively, the blind hole 411 can also be provided with an inner contour that essentially corresponds to the outer contour of the external hexagon section 64 onto which it is pushed.

[0029] In this embodiment, the drive rod 3 can be rotated either manually via the handpiece 4 or—after removing the handpiece—by a cordless screwdriver. A commercially available drive socket is placed on the external hexagon section 64, which is clamped into the drill chuck of the cordless screwdriver, or the external hexagon section 64 is clamped directly into the drill chuck of the cordless screwdriver.

Claims

1. Drive crank for tarpaulin winding systems, comprising a deflection gear (2) for connection to the crossbar of a tarpaulin, which is connected to a drive rod (3) which is provided at its end opposite the deflection gear (2) with a handle (4, 4') comprising an attachment piece 41, an offset piece 42 positioned at an angle to the latter, and a handle piece 43 positioned at an angle to the offset piece 42, characterized in that a non-circular, in particular polygonal, connecting piece is arranged for connecting the drive rod (3) to a cordless screwdriver.

2. Drive crank according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe drive rod (3) is provided at its end with the connecting piece, wherein the connecting piece is designed as an external non-circular shape, in particular as an external polygon for use in a drive nut of a cordless screwdriver that is compatible therewith, and wherein the handpiece (4) has a receiving bushing that preferably has a non-circular, in particular polygonal, inner contour, with which it is detachably plugged onto the connecting piece and is connected thereto in a rotationally fixed manner.

3. Drive crank according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive rod (3) is provided at its end with the connecting piece, wherein the connecting piece is designed as a bushing, preferably as an internal non-circular bushing, in particular an internal polygonal bushing for receiving an external non-circular insert, in particular an external polygonal insert of a cordless screwdriver, and wherein the handpiece (4) has an external non-circular, in particular polygonal, shaft with which it is detachably inserted into the connecting piece and connected thereto in a rotationally fixed manner.

4. Drive crank according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a securing element, in particular a securing pin (53) or a securing screw, is arranged, by means of which the plug connection between the connecting piece and the handpiece (4) is axially secured.

5. Drive crank according to claim 1, characterized in that the extension piece (41) is pivotally connected to the offset piece (42) via a first hinge (45) which can be locked in the aligned position of the extension piece (41) and the offset piece (42), and that the offset piece (42) is pivotally connected to the handle piece (43) via a second hinge (46) which can be locked in a mutually aligned position of the offset piece (42) and the handle piece (43), wherein the handle piece (43) has the connecting piece at its free end.

6. Drive crank according to claim 5, characterized in thatthe connecting piece is designed as an external non-circular piece, in particular as an external polygon for use in a compatible drive socket of a cordless screwdriver.

7. Drive crank according to claim 5, characterized in that the connecting piece is designed as an internal non-circular bushing, in particular an internal polygonal bushing for receiving an external non-circular insert, in particular an external polygonal insert of a cordless screwdriver.

8. Drive crank according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that a grip sleeve (47) is slidably arranged on the extension piece (41), by means of which the first hinge (45) can be locked in the aligned position of the extension piece (41) and the offset piece (42).

9. Drive crank according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that a grip sleeve (47) is slidably arranged on the handle (43), by means of which the second hinge (46) can be locked in the mutually aligned position of the offset piece (42) and the handle (43).

10. Drive crank according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that at least one holding element is arranged on the offset piece (42), by means of which at least one grip sleeve (47) can be fixed in a position slipped over a hinge.

11. Drive crank according to claim 10, characterized in that the at least one holding element is designed in the form of an elastic ring, in particular a rubber ring (49).

12. Drive crank according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the two grip sleeves (47) have a connecting element for detachable connection on their mutually facing end faces, by means of which they can be connected to one another.

13. Drive crank according to claim 12, characterized in that the connecting elements are designed to form a magnetic connection, a snap-in connection or a screw connection.

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