Quick change system and adapter for quick change system

Abstract

SOLUTION: To provide a quick change system comprising a quick changer (1) and an adapter (2) connectable to the quick changer (1) to replace an attachment of a construction machine, having a lock device having a lock element (16) to securely lock specific coupling elements between the quick changer (1) and the connectable adapter (2) to each other, the quick changer system including a mechanical safety device (9) interlocking with the lock device of the quick changer (1), where the mechanical safety device (9) is provided with an additional safety device having at least one lock element (25) movable to a lock position to lock at least one lock element (16) at the lock position.EFFECT: A quick change system prevents unintentional loosening of an attachment and prevents risk and damage on people to improve work safety very much.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a quick-change system according to the preamble of claim 1. The present invention also relates to an adapter for such a quick-change system. [Background technology]

[0002] Such quick-change systems are used for easy and convenient exchange of various attachments of construction machines. For example, this allows tilt buckets, grapples, shears, compactors, magnets, hydraulic hammers and other attachments to be coupled to and detached from the boom of an excavator in a matter of seconds from the driver's seat and with high safety standards. They generally comprise an adapter on the mounting side and a quick-changer arranged on the construction machine, the quick-changer having, for example, a claw-like first receptacle on one side for holding a first coupling element arranged on the adapter and a second receptacle on the other side, at least one locking element being movable between a release position and a locking position for releasably fixing a second coupling element arranged on the adapter.

[0003] A typical quick-change system is known from DE 10 200 03 133 A1. This quick-change system comprises a quick-changer which comprises a claw-shaped first receptacle for a first coupling element on one side of the support and a second receptacle on the other side of the support, and in which at least one locking element is movable between a release position and a locking position for releasably fixing the second coupling element. An adapter belonging to the quick-changer has two pin-shaped coupling elements arranged at a predefined distance from each other between the parallel side walls for connecting the adapter to the quick-changer.

[0004] Such quick change systems have a requirement to prevent unintentional loosening of the adapter from the quick changer due to operator error or technical failure to prevent the attachment from falling off and potentially endangering personnel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] German patent number 102018128479 Summary of the Invention

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to devise a quick-change system and an adapter for such a quick-change system, which makes it possible to avoid unintentional loosening of the adapter from the quick-changer, thereby increasing safety.

[0007] This object is achieved by a quick-change system having the features of claim 1 and by an adapter having the features of claim 6. Practical embodiments and advantageous modifications of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

[0008] A quick-change system for exchanging attachments on a construction machine according to the invention includes a quick-changer and an adapter connectable to the quick-changer, the adapter including coupling elements arranged at a predetermined distance from each other between two side walls and the quick-changer, a support, a first receptacle arranged on one side of the support for receiving the first coupling element and a second receptacle arranged on the other side of the support for receiving the second coupling element, and a locking device having at least one locking element movable by a drive between a release position and a locking position for securely locking the second pin-like coupling element on the second receptacle. The quick-change system is characterized by a mechanical safety device interlocking with the locking device of the quick-changer, the mechanical safety device including at least one locking element movable into a locking position for locking the at least one locking element in the locking position.

[0009] The additional safety device allows the locking device to be locked in the locked position, reliably preventing unintentional movement of the locking device due to incorrect operation or malfunction. In this way, mechanical fixing of the locking device in the locked position can be achieved independently of a separate drive. Thus, unintentional loosening of an attachment that is correctly coupled to the quick changer by an adapter can be prevented. Thus, danger to persons and damage to objects can be prevented, and occupational safety can be significantly improved.

[0010] In one practical embodiment, at least one locking element can have a U-shaped cross section for engaging above the piston rod of the drive of the locking device, which drive is preferably designed as a piston cylinder drive, so that the locking element can engage above the piston rod and be wedged between the support and the housing, preventing the locking element from moving to the release position and opening the quick changer.

[0011] In a particularly useful variant, the mechanical locking device may comprise two locking elements connected to one another and movable between a locked position for locking the two pin-like locking elements in the extended locked position and a released position allowing the two pin-like locking elements to be moved between the extended locked position and the retracted released position.

[0012] In order for the two locking elements to be actuated jointly, they can conveniently be connected to one another by a connecting rod.

[0013] The mechanical locking device is preferably integrated into the adapter, but can also be located within the quick changer or designed as a separate assembly to be used as needed.

[0014] The present invention also relates to an adapter for a quick change system for exchanging attachments of a construction machine, comprising coupling elements arranged at a predetermined distance from each other between two side walls for coupling to a quick changer equipped with a locking device and a mechanical safety device, the adapter having at least one locking element on the inside of the side walls movable between a lowered release position and a raised locking position for locking at least one locking element of the locking device.

[0015] In a particularly stable and safe design, the mechanical locking device is preferably arranged on the inside of the two side walls and comprises two locking elements with a U-shaped cross-section connected to one another, which can be manually moved between a lowered, released position and a raised, locked position.

[0016] The two locking elements are conveniently arranged on actuating elements which extend through slit-like openings in the side walls and project outwardly relative to the side walls. Thus, the locking elements can also be moved manually from the released position to the locked position if the adapter is not accessible from below through a base plate or attachment fixed to the adapter. The position of the locking elements is also clearly visible from the outside via the actuating elements which project outwardly from the side walls.

[0017] A retaining device may be disposed on at least one side wall to secure the two locking elements in both the lowered release position and the raised locking position. The retaining device may include a retaining pin that may be inserted through a through hole of the at least one brace on the side wall and through a through hole of the actuating element. The retaining pin may be secured via a locking pin.

[0018] Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred practical embodiment, with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1]1 shows a quick change system with a quick changer and an adapter in a non-fixed position. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the quick-change system of FIG. 1 in an unlocked position. [Diagram 3] 1 shows a quick change system having a quick changer and an adapter in a fixed position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the quick-change system in the locked position of FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 shows the adapter with the safety in the lowered, released position. [Figure 6] 6 shows detail A of the adapter of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 1 shows the adapter with the safety device in a raised, safe position. [Figure 8] 8 shows detail B of the adapter of FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] A practical embodiment of the quick-change system in the coupled position is shown in Fig. 1, which comprises a quick-changer 1 and an adapter 2 which can be connected to the quick-changer 1 for easy exchange of attachments of a vehicle, in particular a construction machine. With such a quick-change system, tilt buckets, grapples, shears, magnets, compactors, hydraulic hammers and other attachments can be easily and conveniently connected and disconnected from the driver's cab to the boom or other attachments of the construction vehicle.

[0021] The adapter 2, which can be fixed to the attachment or integrated in the attachment, comprises a support element consisting of a base plate 3 and two sides 4 with two mutually spaced-apart coupling elements 5 and 6. The coupling elements 5 and 6 used for connection to the quick changer 1 are arranged between the two parallel sides 4, which are mutually spaced and arranged at right angles to the base plate 3. In the practical embodiment shown, a pin-shaped first coupling element 5 and a second pin-shaped coupling element 6 arranged at a certain distance therefrom are provided between the two cheek-shaped sides 4 of the support element for releasable connection to the quick changer 1. The two pin-shaped coupling elements 5 and 6 are inserted with their corresponding ends into corresponding holes 7 and 8 in the two sides 4 of the adapter 2 and fixed there. A mechanical safety device 9, which will be explained in more detail below, is also provided in the adapter 2 to prevent unintentional opening of the quick changer 1.

[0022] The quick changer 1 can be mounted, for example, on the boom of an excavator and includes a support 10 having two parallel sides 11 in which are provided successive receptacle openings 12 for fixing pins 13 for fixing the quick changer 1 to the connection part of an excavator boom or another construction vehicle.

[0023] As can be seen from Fig. 2, the quick changer 1 has a claw-like or fork-like first receptacle 14 opening forwards on one side of the support 10 for receiving and holding the first pin-like coupling element 5, and a second receptacle 15 opening backwards and downwards on the other side for receiving the second pin-like coupling element 6. The quick changer 1 is also provided with a locking device having two locking elements 16 movable between a release position and a locking position for securely locking the second pin-like coupling element 6.

[0024] In the illustrated embodiment, the locking element 16 consists of two parallel locking pins, which are guided to move in guide holes in the support 10 and are movable via a drive between a retracted release position and an extended locking position, as shown in Fig. 2. In the extended locking position, as shown in Fig. 2, the downwardly open second receptacle 15 is closed at the bottom via the pin-like locking element 16, so that the second pin-like coupling element 6 is engaged by the pin-like locking element 16 and the adapter 2 can be held on the quick-changer 1. Instead of the two pin-like locking elements 16, only one locking element can also be provided.

[0025] In the illustrated embodiment, the drive designed as an H-cylinder for moving the locking element 16 of the locking device is designed as a hydraulic cylinder piston drive with two hydraulic pistons arranged inside the H-shaped housing 18. The H-shaped housing 18 comprises two parallel outer parts 20 connected to each other via a central part 19, in which a pressure chamber is arranged to accommodate two parallel hydraulic pistons with outwardly protruding piston rods 21. One of the piston rods 21 of the hydraulic pistons arranged in the two outer parts 20 of the housing 18 is shown in FIG. 2. The pin-shaped locking element 16 for securely locking the second coupling element 6 is arranged in the two parallel parts 20 of the H-shaped housing 18 on the side opposite to the two piston rods 21. The piston rod 21 is fixed by its outer end to the support 10 and the H-shaped housing 18 can be moved between a locked position shown in Figure 2 and a retracted release or exchange position by corresponding pressurization of pressure chambers arranged inside the two outer parts 20 of the housing 18 having the pin-like locking element 16 arranged thereon. In the locked position of Figure 2, the pin-like locking element 16 extends below and engages the second pin-like coupling element 6 to positively lock the adapter 2.

[0026] To couple the adapter 2 to the quick changer 1, the quick changer 1, which is generally arranged on the boom of an excavator, is first moved so that the first pin-like coupling element 5 on the adapter 2 is retracted into the claw-like first receptacle 14 on one side of the quick changer 1. The quick changer 1 then pivots about the first pin-like coupling element 5 with the locking element 16 retracted, so that the second pin-like coupling element 6 on the adapter 2 comes into contact with the contact surface of the downwardly opening receptacle 15 on the other side of the quick changer 1 and stops. The locking element 16, which is movably arranged in the support 10 of the quick changer 1, can be protruded by a servo drive 17, so that the second pin-like coupling element 6 on the adapter 2 engages with the two pin-like locking elements 16 on the quick changer 1 and thus the adapter 2 can be held on the quick changer 1.

[0027] The adapter 2 is provided with a mechanical fall safety device to prevent the attachment coupled to the quick changer 1 via the adapter 2 from coming loose and potentially falling to the elevated position of the quick changer 1 in the event that the locking element 16 from the quick changer 1 is unintentionally released due to erroneous operation or failure of the servo drive unit 17. The fall safety device is located on the adapter 2 or the attachment and is designed to surround the coupling element 5 that engages with the first receptacle 14.

[0028] In the illustrated embodiment, the fall safety device includes two separate catch hooks 22 that are not rigidly arranged on the support 10 of the quick changer 1, but rather pivotally connected to the support 10 via a type of hinge so as to be pivotable about a transverse axis 23. The two catch hooks 22 are arranged on the two receptacles 14 and are designed to surround the coupling elements 5 on the adapter 2 or attachment and to capture the attachment by the coupling elements 5 engaging the catch hooks 22 in the catch position while the locking element 16 moves unintentionally to the release position. This pivotable arrangement allows the catch hooks 22 to move between an upwardly inclined fixed position that completely surrounds the receptacle 14 shown in FIG. 2 and a downwardly inclined exchange catch position that allows the exchange procedure.

[0029] A tab-like control element 24 interlocking with the coupling element 5 on the adapter 2 is arranged on the catch hook 22 for pivoting the catch hook 22 independently of the locking device between a downwardly inclined exchange catch position and an upwardly inclined fixed position. The catch hook 22 is pressed into its downwardly inclined exchange catch position by a resetting device arranged on the support. This ensures that the catch hook 22 is located in its downwardly inclined exchange catch position independently of the position of the quick changer 1 when an attachment is not yet connected. In the downwardly inclined exchange catch position of the catch hook 22, the exchange of the attachment can be carried out with the attachment on the ground and, if necessary, the attachment is fixed in the catch position by the engagement of the coupling element 5 with the catch hook 22 and thereby fixed to the quick changer 1, while the catch hook 22 in the upwardly inclined fixed position completely surrounds the receptacle 14 for the coupling element 5.

[0030] The adapter 2 is shown in Fig. 5 to Fig. 8 with the mechanical safety device 9 in the lowered release position and in the raised lock position. The mechanical safety device 9 comprises two parallel clamp-like locking elements 25 on the inside of the two side walls 4, which can be moved between the lowered release position shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 and the raised lock position shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. The two locking elements 25 with a U-shaped cross section are designed so that in the raised lock position they can engage above the two piston rods 21 and be pushed between the support 10 and the housing 18 of the drive. The housing 18 in which the pin-like locking elements 16 are arranged can thus be prevented from moving to the retracted release position or to the exchange position. In the raised fixed position, the housing 18 in which the locking elements 16 are arranged is thus locked in the locked position by the two locking elements 25. Thus, unintentional opening of the quick changer 1 is prevented and the properly connected adapter 2 can be reliably held in the quick changer 1.

[0031] As can be seen especially in Figures 7 and 8, the two clamp-like locking elements 25 are arranged on an inclined actuating element 27 which projects outwardly with respect to the side wall 4 and extends through a slit-like opening 26 in the side wall 4 of the adapter 2. The two actuating elements 27 have an inclined outer part 28 which projects outwardly with respect to the side wall 4 and are connected to each other by a connecting rod 29. The locking elements 25 can be manually pushed from the raised, locked position shown in Figure 8 to the lowered, released position shown in Figure 6 via the inclined outer part 28 of the actuating element 27 against the force of a spring device 30.

[0032] A through hole 31 visible in FIG. 1 is provided in the inclined outer part 28 of the actuating element 27 protruding against the side wall 4 for inserting a retaining pin 32 so that the locking element 25 can be fixed both in the raised locking position and in the lowered release position. On the left and right of the outer part 28 on the outside of the two side walls 4, outwardly protruding braces 33 and 34 are arranged with upper and lower through holes 35 and 36 for inserting the retaining pin 32. A retaining device for fixing the two locking elements 25 both in the lowered release position and in the raised locking position is formed by the retaining pin 32 and the braces 33, 34. The retaining pin 32 can be fixed by a locking pin 37 designed as a spring clip. The retaining pin 32 and the locking pin 37 can be fixed against loss on the adapter 2 by a wire cable. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Quick Changer 2 Adapter 3 Base plate 4 side wall 5 First coupling element 6 Secondary Coupling Element 7 holes 8 holes 9 Safety equipment 10 Support 11 Side 12 Receptacle opening 13 Fixing pin 14 First Receptacle 15 Second Receptacle 16 Rock Elements 17 Servo drive unit 18 Housing 19 Central part 20 Outer part 21 Piston rod 22 Catch Hook 23 Horizontal axis 24 Control Elements 25 Rock Elements 26 Opening 27 Actuating Elements 28 Outer part 29 Connecting Rod 30 Spring device 31 Through hole 32 Retaining pin 33 Brace 34 Brace 35 Upper passage hole 36 Lower passage hole 37 Lock pin

Claims

1. A quick change system for exchanging attachments of a construction machine, comprising a quick changer (1) and an adapter (2) connectable to the quick changer (1), the adapter (2) including coupling elements (5, 6) arranged at a predetermined distance from each other between two side walls (4), the quick changer (1) including a support (10) and a first receptacle (14) arranged on one side of the support (10) for receiving the first coupling element (5) and a second receptacle (15) arranged on the other side of the support (10) for receiving the second coupling element (6). a locking device having at least one locking element (16) movable by a drive (18, 21) between a release position and a locking position for securely locking the second pin-like coupling element (6) on the second receptacle (15), and characterized by a mechanical safety device (9) including at least one locking element (25) interlocking with the locking device of the quick changer (1) and movable to a locking position for locking the at least one locking element (16) in the locked position.

2. 2. The quick change system according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one locking element (25) has a U-shaped cross section for engaging above a piston rod (21) of the drive part (18, 21) of the locking device.

3. 3. The quick change system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mechanical safety device (9) comprises two locking elements (25) connected to each other, the locking elements (25) being movable between a locking position for locking the two pin-like locking elements (16) in the extended locking position and a release position allowing the two pin-like locking elements (16) to be moved between the extended locking position and the retracted release position.

4. 4. A quick change system according to claim 3, characterized in that the two locking elements (25) are connected to each other by a connecting rod (29).

5. 3. A quick-change system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mechanical safety device (9) is integrated in the adapter (2).

6. An adapter (2) for a quick change system for exchanging attachments of a construction machine, the adapter (2) comprising coupling elements (5, 6) arranged at a predetermined distance from each other between two side walls (4) for coupling to a quick changer (1) equipped with a locking device, the adapter (2) being characterized by a mechanical safety device (9) comprising at least one locking element (25) movable between a lowered release position and a raised locking position inside the side walls (4) for locking at least one locking element (16) of the locking device.

7. 7. The adapter (2) according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking element (25) has a U-shaped cross section.

8. 8. The adapter (2) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the mechanical safety device (9) comprises two locking elements (25) connected to each other and arranged inside the two side walls (4), which can be moved between the lowered, released position and the raised, locked position.

9. 9. The adapter (2) according to claim 8, characterized in that the two locking elements (25) are arranged on an actuating element (27) which projects outwardly with respect to the side wall (4) and extends through a slit-like opening (26) in the side wall (4).

10. 10. The adapter (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that on at least one side wall (4) a retaining device (32, 33, 34) is arranged for fixing the two locking elements (25) both in the lowered release position and in the raised locking position.

11. The adapter (2) according to claim 10, characterized in that the retaining device (32, 33, 34) comprises a retaining pin (32) which can be inserted through a through hole (35, 36) of at least one brace (33, 34) of the side wall (4) and through a through hole (31) of the actuating element (27).

12. 12. Adapter (2) according to claim 11, characterized in that the retaining pin (32) is fixed by a locking pin (37).

Images