Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate

Abstract

This invention relates to a rotary and / or pivot unit designed to be fitted to a construction machine, which includes a connecting piece (1) and a carrier (6) movably mounted on the connecting piece (1) for a tool or quick-change element (8) for attaching a tool or construction device, where the carrier (6) is arranged on the connecting piece (1) so that it can be rotated by motor around a axis of rotation (8) by means of a rotary drive (8) and / or tilted around an axis of oscillation (3) by means of an oscillating drive (4, 5). According to the invention, the rotary and / or pivot unit has a central lubricant supply (27) which includes a lubricant pump (29) that can be operated automatically and is fitted with a lubricant reservoir (28) to transport the lubricant to different lubrication points (32).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a rotary and / or swiveling unit for attachment to a construction machine according to the preamble of claim 1. Such a machine is disclosed in document DE 10 2022 132871 B3.

[0002] Such rotary and / or swivel units are used on excavators or other comparable construction machinery between an attachment of the machine and the tool to expand the range of motion. These rotary and swivel units typically include a connecting part that can be mounted on the machine and a carrier movably arranged on the connecting part for coupling a tool or attachment. The carrier is rotatable about an axis of rotation by a rotary drive and / or tiltable about a pivot axis orthogonal to the axis of rotation by a swivel drive. A combined rotary and swivel unit, also referred to as a tiltrotator, is known from DE 10 2020 127 313 B3.There, the carrier of a quick coupler is rotatable about a rotary axis by means of a hydraulic rotary drive and pivotable about a swivel axis orthogonal to the rotary axis by means of a hydraulic tilt drive, mounted on a connection part that can be attached to an excavator. With such a tiltrotator, the attachments coupled to the quick coupler, such as tilting buckets, grapples, shears, compactors, magnets, hydraulic hammers, or the like, can be rotated not only about a swivel axis arranged transversely to the longitudinal axis of an excavator arm, but also about a rotary axis orthogonal to this swivel axis.

[0003] Rotary and / or swiveling units of the aforementioned type typically have a large number of different lubrication points that must be regularly lubricated to ensure proper operation and prevent wear. However, regular lubrication is often neglected or forgotten during daily operation, which can lead to undesirable wear and resulting damage and operational disruptions.

[0004] The object of the invention is to create a rotary and / or swiveling unit of the type mentioned above that ensures regular lubrication of the different lubrication points even without separate intervention.

[0005] This problem is solved by a rotary and / or swiveling unit with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0006] The rotary and / or swivel unit according to the invention comprises a connection part that can be mounted on the construction machine and a support for coupling a tool or attachment, movably arranged on the connection part. The support is rotatable about a rotational axis by a rotary drive and / or tiltable about a pivot axis by a swivel drive. The rotary and / or swivel unit also includes a central lubrication supply with an automatically actuated lubricant pump and a lubricant reservoir. The automatically actuated lubricant pump on the rotary and / or swivel unit allows the various lubrication points of the rotary and / or swivel unit to be supplied with lubricant from the lubricant reservoir, even without a connection to a central lubrication system on the construction machine and without any separate intervention by the operator.The lubricant pump can be activated automatically, for example, when the rotary and / or swivel drive is operated or when the construction machine is started. This ensures that the lubrication of the various lubrication points, which is crucial for preventing wear, is not overlooked. Because the lubricant supply is integrated into the rotary and / or swivel unit and independent of the construction machine's central lubrication system, no lubricant lines or specially designed couplings are required between the rotary and / or swivel unit and a central lubrication system on the construction machine.

[0007] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, a housing section is mounted on the connecting part, pivotally about a pivot axis and tiltable by a rotary drive. Within this housing, the support is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis orthogonal to the pivot axis and is driven by the rotary drive. With such a rotary and tilting unit, also known as a tiltrotator, attachments coupled to the unit, such as tilting buckets, grapples, shears, compactors, magnets, hydraulic hammers, or the like, can be rotated not only about a pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of an excavator arm, but also about a rotational axis orthogonal to this pivot axis.

[0008] In a particularly practical design, the lubricant pump is connected via a supply line to a distribution unit for distributing the lubricant pumped by the lubricant pump to the various lubrication points. This allows the lubricant to reach the respective lubrication points in a predetermined manner. The distribution unit allows the quantity of lubricant required by each lubrication point to be specified. Several lubricant supply lines leading to the different lubrication points can be connected to the distribution unit.

[0009] Advantageously, a lubrication quantity control device is arranged on the lubricant pump to adjust the amount of lubricant delivered by the lubricant pump when it is activated. This allows the amount of lubricant delivered from the lubricant reservoir by the lubricant pump when it is activated.

[0010] The lubricant pump can be arranged on or attached to the housing part of the rotary and / or swivel unit that can be tilted about the pivot axis. The distribution unit is also preferably arranged on or attached to the housing part that can be tilted about the pivot axis.

[0011] In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the lubricant pump can be designed as a hydraulically actuated lubricant pump with a hydraulically actuated pump piston. However, the lubricant pump can also be electrically actuated and, for example, activated by an electrical control signal when the construction machine is started. This also ensures regular lubrication of the rotary and / or swiveling unit.

[0012] The lubricant pump can conveniently be activated by controlling the slewing drive or the rotary drive. In the case of a hydraulic rotary and slewing drive and a hydraulically actuated lubricant pump, the lubricant pump can be connected via a bypass line to a hydraulic circuit H2 for controlling the slewing drive or to a hydraulic circuit H1 for controlling the rotary drive.

[0013] The rotary drive can include a hydraulic motor that can be controlled by the first hydraulic circuit H1, and the swivel drive can be formed by two double-acting actuators that can be moved in opposite directions and controlled by the second hydraulic circuit H2.

[0014] A quick-change device designed for attaching a tool can be arranged on the carrier. Alternatively, a gripper or other tool can be directly mounted on the carrier 6. Furthermore, the carrier can also serve as the housing for a quick-change device.

[0015] The connecting part can include two spaced-apart bolt-shaped coupling elements for connecting it to a quick coupler. This allows the connecting part, and thus the rotary / swivel unit, to be coupled to an excavator arm via a quick coupler and used in a sandwich configuration with another lower quick coupler for the automatic changing of attachments. Alternatively, the connecting part can also be permanently mounted to an excavator arm.

[0016] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The drawings show: Figure 1A rotary and swivel unit with a quick coupler and automatic lubrication supply in a first perspective view; Figure 2 Enlarged detail view of the rotary and swiveling unit of Figure 1 and Figure 3 a hydraulic circuit arrangement for controlling the automatic lubrication supply of the in the Figure 1 and 2 shown rotary and swivel unit.

[0017] The in Figure 1A rotary and swiveling unit, also known as a tiltrotator, shown in perspective, comprises a connecting part 1 that can be mounted either directly or via a hydraulically actuated quick coupler to an excavator arm or other attachment of a construction machine. A housing part 2 is pivotally mounted to this connecting part 1 about a pivot axis 3 and is tiltable about this pivot axis by means of a swivel drive formed here by two hydraulic actuators 4 and 5. A support 6 is rotatably mounted in the housing part 2, which can be tilted relative to the connecting part 1, about a rotation axis 7 orthogonal to the pivot axis 3. A rotary drive 8 allows the support 6 to rotate 360°. In the illustrated embodiment, a quick coupler 9, designed for attaching a tool, is arranged on the support 6. However, a grab or other tool can also be directly mounted on the support 6.Furthermore, the carrier 6 can also be designed as the housing of a quick coupler.

[0018] The rotary drive 8, designed here as a hydraulic drive, contains a hydraulic motor 10, by which the carrier 6 can be rotated 360° around the axis of rotation 7 relative to the housing part 2 via a gearbox with a worm wheel arranged inside the housing part 2 and a drive worm rotatable by the hydraulic motor 10.

[0019] The housing part 2 is pivotably mounted on the connecting part 1 via laterally projecting bearing journals 11 within two spaced-apart bearing eyes 12 about the pivot axis 3, which is orthogonal to the axis of rotation 7. It can be pivoted relative to the connecting part 1 by approximately + / - 45° about the pivot axis 3 via the hydraulic rotary actuator formed by the two actuating cylinders 4 and 5. The tiltrotator, also referred to as a rotary-tilt actuator, allows the attachments coupled to the quick coupler 9 not only to be rotated about the axis of rotation 7, but also to be tilted relative to the connecting part 1 about the pivot axis 3, which is orthogonal to the axis of rotation 7. This expands the range of motion and thus increases the application range.

[0020] In the illustrated embodiment, the connecting part 1 has two parallel side walls 13 and front and rear cross pieces 14 with bearing eyes 12 arranged thereon. The housing part 2 is pivotably mounted about the pivot axis 3 via the two bearing pins 11 in the bearing eyes 12 of the front and rear cross pieces 14. In the two side walls 13 of the illustrated connecting part 1, two parallel and spaced-apart bolt-shaped coupling elements 15 and 16 are arranged for connection to a hydraulically actuated quick coupler (not shown) mounted on the construction equipment.

[0021] An embodiment of a hydraulically actuated quick coupler arranged on an excavator arm or other construction equipment for the automatic coupling of the tiltrotator is disclosed in DE 10 2018 128 479 A1. For the known design and operation of such a hydraulically actuated quick coupler, explicit reference is made to this publication. However, the connecting part 1 could also be mounted directly on a stick and a coupler of an excavator without the intermediate use of a hydraulically actuated quick coupler.

[0022] In the illustrated embodiment, the rotary actuator is formed by two double-acting actuators 4 and 5, each with a cylinder housing 18 attached to the respective side wall 13 of the connecting part 1 via a bracket 17, and a hydraulically movable piston rod 19 slidably arranged within the cylinder housing 18. The free ends of the piston rods 19 are connected to the drive housing 9 via a ball joint 20 and a corresponding bracket 21. By extending and retracting the two piston rods 19 of the actuators 4 and 5, the housing part 2, with the rotatably mounted support 6 therein, can be tilted relative to the connecting part 1. The rotary actuator can also be formed by a hydraulic motor or another suitable hydraulic drive.

[0023] The quick coupler 9, designed for attaching a tool or implement, comprises a housing 22 constructed as a welded or cast part. This housing has first receptacles 23, open on one side, for receiving and holding a first bolt-shaped coupling element on the tool side, and second receptacles 24, open on the other side, for receiving and holding a second bolt-shaped coupling element on the tool side. The first receptacles 23, open on one side, are claw- or fork-shaped. The second receptacles 24, open on the other side and downwards, have a curved lower contact surface for the engagement of a bolt-shaped coupling element. A manually or hydraulically actuated locking device with two locking positions within bores 25 is provided on the second receptacles 24. These locking devices have a locking position between an extended locking position and a retracted unlocking position.A movable locking bolt 26 is provided for changing positions. The locking bolts 26 can be moved manually, e.g., via a manually pivoting lever, or hydraulically between the retracted unlocking / changing position and the extended locking position. Various tools or attachments, such as tilting buckets, grapples, shears, compactors, magnets, hydraulic hammers, or the like, can thus be coupled to the quick coupler 9.

[0024] As can be seen particularly from the enlarged detail view of Figure 2As can be seen, the rotary and swivel drive includes a central lubrication supply 27 with an automatically actuated lubricant pump 29 equipped with a lubricant reservoir 28 and a distribution unit 31 connected to the lubricant pump 29 via a supply line 30 for distributing the lubricant to different lubrication points 32. The lubricant reservoir 28, designed as a container to hold a sufficient quantity of grease or a suitable lubricant, is arranged on the lubricant pump 29 and can be mounted together with it on the housing part 2. For example, a lubricating grease is used as the lubricant, which is provided in the lubricant reservoir 28. For distributing the lubricant to the various lubrication points 32, several lubricant supply lines 33 leading to the individual lubrication points 32 are connected to the distribution unit 31.The amount of lubricant required by the individual lubrication points 32 can be specified via the distribution unit 31.

[0025] In Figure 3Figure 1 shows a circuit diagram of a hydraulic circuit arrangement for controlling the rotary drive 3 formed here by the hydraulic motor 10, the slewing drive formed by the two actuating cylinders 5 and 6, and the lubricant pump 29 of the central lubricant supply 27 of the rotary and slewing drive. The circuit arrangement includes a control device 34, e.g., mounted on an excavator, which comprises a first control valve 35 designed as a 4 / 3-way valve for controlling a first hydraulic circuit H1, used here for controlling the hydraulic motor 10 of the rotary drive 3, and a second control valve 36 designed as a 4 / 3-way valve for controlling a second hydraulic circuit H2, used here for controlling the two actuating cylinders 5 and 6 of the slewing drive.The second hydraulic circuit H2 controls the two actuator cylinders 4 and 5 of the slewing drive via a branch 37 and four connections 38 to 41 such that the actuator cylinders 4 and 5 extend and retract in opposite directions, thus allowing the carrier 6 to be tilted about the pivot axis 3. A lowering brake locking valve 42 is installed upstream of each of the connections for extending and retracting the two actuator cylinders 4 and 5.

[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the lubricant pump 29 is designed as a hydraulically actuated lubricant pump with a hydraulically actuated pump piston 43 and a lubrication quantity control device 44 for adjusting the amount of lubricant delivered. The lubricant pump 29 is controlled by hydraulic circuit H2 via a bypass line 45 branching off from hydraulic circuit H2. This ensures that when the two actuator cylinders 4 and 5 are actuated to operate the rotary drive, the lubricant pump 29 is simultaneously activated to supply the lubrication points 32 with lubricant. The bypass line 45 can also branch off from the first hydraulic circuit H1, so that when the hydraulic motor 10 of the rotary drive 8 is actuated, the lubricant pump 29 is activated. This also ensures regular lubrication.

[0027] The invention is not limited to the rotary and swiveling unit described in detail above. The central and automatically actuated lubrication device can also be used for pure rotary or swiveling units. Reference symbol list

[0028] 1 Connection part 2 Housing part 3 Swivel axis 4 First actuating cylinder 5 Second actuating cylinder 6 Carrier 7 Swivel axis 8 Rotary drive 9 Quick coupler 10 Hydraulic motor 11 Bearing journal 12 Bearing eyes 13 Side plate 14 Cross piece 15 First coupling element 16 Second coupling element 17 Bracket 18 Cylinder housing 19 Piston rod 20 Ball joint 21 Bracket 22 Housing 23 First mount 24 Second mount 25 Bore 26 Locking bolt 27 Central lubrication supply 28 Lubricant reservoir 29 Lubricant pump 30 Supply line 31 Distributor unit 32 Lubrication point 33 Lubricant supply line 34 Control unit 35 First control valve 36 Second control valve 37 Branch 38 First connection 39 Second connection 40 Third connection 41 Fourth connection 42 Lowering brake locking valve 43 Pump piston 44 Lubrication quantity control device 45 Bypass line

Claims

1. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate for attachment to a construction machine, which contains a connection part (1) and a support (6) arranged movably on the connection part (1) for a tool or a quick coupler (8) for coupling a tool or attachment, the support (6) being arranged on the connection part (1) such that it can be rotated motorically about an axis of rotation (8) by means of a rotary drive (8) and / or tilted about a pivot axis (3) by means of a pivot drive (4, 5), characterized by a central lubricant supply (27) with an automatically actuable lubricant pump (29) provided with a lubricant reservoir (28) for delivering a lubricant to different lubrication points (32) of the rotating and / or pivoting aggregate.

2. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 1, characterized in that a housing part (2) is arranged on the connection part (1) which is mounted so as to be pivotable about the pivot axis (3) and can be tilted by the pivot drive (4, 5), in which the support (6) is mounted so as to be rotatable about the axis of rotation (7) orthogonal to the pivot axis (3) and can be motorically rotated by the rotary drive (8).

3. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lubricant pump (29) is connected via a supply line (30) to a distributor unit (31) for distributing the lubricant delivered by the lubricant pump (29) to the different lubrication points (32).

4. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 3, characterized in that several lubricant supply lines (33) leading to the different lubrication points (32) are connected to the distributor unit (31).

5. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a lubricant amount regulation device (44) is arranged on the lubricant pump (29) for adjusting the amount of lubricant delivered by the lubricant pump (29) when it is activated.

6. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the lubricant pump (29) is arranged on the housing part (2).

7. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lubricant pump (29) is designed as a hydraulically actuated lubricant pump with a hydraulically actuated pump piston (43).

8. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the lubricant pump (29) is activated by actuating the pivot drive (4, 5) or by actuating the rotary drive (8).

9. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 8, characterized in that the lubricant pump (29) is connected via a bypass line (45) to a hydraulic circuit H2 for activating the pivot drive (4, 5), a hydraulic circuit H1 for activating the rotary drive (8) or another hydraulic circuit.

10. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 8, characterized in that the rotary drive (8) comprises a hydraulic motor (10) which can be actuated by the first hydraulic circuit H1.

11. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the pivot drive (4, 5) is formed by two double-acting actuating cylinders which can be moved in opposite directions and can be actuated by the second hydraulic circuit H2.

12. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that a quick coupler (9) designed for coupling a tool or attachment is arranged on the support (6).

13. Rotating and / or pivoting aggregate according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the connection part (1) contains two spaced-apart bolt-shaped coupling elements (15, 16) for coupling the connection part (1) to a quick coupler.