JPH0455912B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vehicle coupling machine for towing a vehicle, and more specifically, the locking and disengaging operation of a coupling hook that holds a kingpin can be performed not only manually but also manually. The present invention relates to manual and automatic operating devices in vehicle hitches that can be carried out automatically.

[Prior art]

As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle coupling machine includes, for example, a coupler base 1 provided on the vehicle to be towed, and a pair of coupling hooks 3 that rotate around a shaft 2 against a spring (not shown). It is installed. The connecting hook 3 grips the king pin 4 of the towed vehicle with the gripping portion 5, thereby making it possible to connect the vehicles. In such a vehicle coupling machine, in order to prevent the king pin 4 from coming off the coupling hook 3 while the vehicle is in motion, a lock plunger 7 that can move forward and backward is provided in the engagement groove 6 at one end of the coupling hook 3. It is engaged.

Incidentally, in order to remove the king pin 4 from the connecting hook 3, the operation of disengaging the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove 6 is performed using a guide portion 8 provided on the lock plunger 7 (see FIG. 8) as shown in FIG. ]
and the elongated hole 1 into which the pin 9 on the coupler base 1 is loosely fitted.
0 is guided in the direction of arrow 13 against the spring 12 attached to the coupler base 1, and the engagement pin 14 is attached to the rib 15 of the coupler base 1 on the manual operation lever 11. This is done by disengaging from the engaging portion 16. That is, when the manual operating lever 11 is moved linearly as described above, the lock guide 17 such as a pin protruding from the manual operating lever 11 pushes the stop ring 19 of the locking means 18 against the spring 20. It rotates in the direction of arrow 22 around a support shaft 21 fixed to coupler base 1. The lock plate 24 is moved in the direction of the arrow 25 via the rod 23 connected to its tip, and the hole 27 formed in the rib 26 of the coupler base 1 is opened. A spring 2 is attached to the plunger rod 28 of the lock plunger 7.
9 is interposed, and the lock plunger 7 is always urged against the engagement groove 6 of the connecting hook 3 shown in FIG. 6 by this elastic force. When the lever 11 is rotated about the pin 9 in the direction of arrow 30, the lock plunger 7 is moved in the direction of arrow 31 via the guide portion 8, and the tip of the plunger rod 28 is moved into the hole 27.
The lock plunger 7 is disengaged from the engagement groove of the pair of connecting hooks 3.
At this time, the lock lever 32 shown in FIG. 6, which is supported by the coupler base 1, is rotated around the shaft 32a by the spring 33, and its engagement protrusion 32b is fitted into the engagement surface 7a carved on the lock plunger 7. However, the lock plunger 7 is maintained in an unrestored state in the direction of the engagement groove 6 by the spring 29. Therefore, each connecting hook 3 is rotatable on its own axis 2, and when the towing vehicle is moved forward, the king pin 4 of the stopped vehicle moves each connecting hook 3 against a spring (not shown). axis 2
Rotate around the center to remove it from the gripping portions 5 of the pair of connecting hooks 3. At this time, the rotating connecting hook 3
The pin 34 installed in the lock lever 32
rotates against the spring 33, so that the lock lever 32 is unlocked from the lock plunger 7. Therefore, lock plunger 7
is restored by the spring 29 in the direction of the engagement groove 6, the manual operation lever 11 returns to the original position shown in the figure via the guide part 8, and at the same time the hole 27 is also restored by the spring 29.
It is closed by the lock plate 24 which is interlocked with the movement of the stopper link 19 restored at 0.

Conversely, when the king pin 4 is to be held by the connecting hook 3, first operate the manual operation lever 11 in the directions of arrows 13 and 30 in the same manner as in the above-mentioned release, and remove the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove 6. . At this time, the lock plunger 7 tries to be restored in the direction of the engagement groove 6 by the spring 29, but the engagement protrusion 32b of the lock lever 32 (see FIG. 6) fits into the engagement surface 7a of the lock plunger 7. Its movement is blocked. When the towing vehicle is moved backward in this state, the king pin 4 guided by the guide surface 1a of the coupler base 1 fits between the pair of connecting hooks 3. And connecting hook 3
As the lock lever 32 rotates around the shaft 2, the pin 34 rotates the lock lever 32.
releases the lock of the lock plunger 7. As a result, the spring 29 causes the lock plunger 7 to
are fitted into the engagement grooves 6 of the pair of connecting hooks 3, and the king pin 4 fitted into the clamping portion 5 is prevented from disengaging. As the lock plunger 7 is restored, the manual operation lever 11 also moves via the guide part 8, and the engagement pin 14 is fitted into the engagement part 16 from the sliding surface 35 by the spring 12 and locked.
At the same time, the hole 27 is also closed by the lock plate 24. Therefore, the movement of the lock plunger 7 that locks the connecting hook 3 is caused by the movement of the lock plate 24.
And the engaging portion 16 doubles the prevention and ensures safety. That is, the manual operation lever 11 is
3 and the direction of the arrow 30, the locking of the connecting hook 3 by the lock plunger 7 will not be released.

In this way, vehicles can be connected and disconnected from each other using a manual operation lever, but this operation must be performed by an operator outside the vehicle, and the kingpin must be inserted into the coupling hook of the coupler base. In addition, the driver who brings the towing vehicle close to another vehicle must get out of the vehicle or another worker must perform the operation, which is time-consuming and requires a large number of workers. Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-184068, the present applicant proposed a vehicle in which the connection of vehicles can be performed by a manual operation lever, and which can also be operated remotely from the driver's seat independently of that operation. A manual and automatic operating device in the coupling machine was proposed. As shown in FIG. 7, the structure includes coaxially supporting an auxiliary link 36 that rotates together with the stopper ring 19, and as shown in FIG. The main link 37 is rotatably supported by a shaft 38 in the middle thereof, and a hydraulic actuator 39 is connected to one end of the main link 37, and a plunger guide 40 protruding from the lock plunger 7 is connected to the other end of the main link 37. A plunger pushing part 41 that slides and pushes it only from one direction is provided.

According to such a configuration, the manual operation lever 11 is pushed, pulled and rotated via the main link 37 by the expansion and contraction operation of the hydraulic actuator 39, and although detailed explanation is omitted, it is as if the manual operation lever is being operated. The coupling machine operates in the same way. That is, the stopper link 19 and the plunger rod 28 are interlocked by the operation of the main ring 37, and the desired connection and release operations are realized remotely. Note that when operating the manual operating lever 11, the operating pressure of the fluid pressure actuator 39 is released in advance.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

According to the above proposal, remote operation, which was previously impossible, can be realized, but troubles may occur due to the configuration. Since vehicle hitches are usually mounted outside the vehicle, some or all of the hitch's components are exposed, so dirt or stones may get caught in or become stuck in the hitch. For example, when the hydraulic actuator 39 is activated when the rod 23 or the lock plate 24 for opening and closing the hole 27 is stuck due to a bit of gravel, the main link 37 will move as shown in the dashed-dot line in FIG. 10, which will be described later. It attempts to rotate in the direction of arrow 42 at the initial position without moving to the position shown in FIG. With this rotation, the manual operation lever 11 is also about to be rotated via the plunger guide 40, lock plunger 7, and guide portion 8 (see FIG. 8). Therefore, the engaging pin 14 may be damaged on the plunger guide 40 and the manual operation lever 11 which are protruded from the plunger rod 28. In some cases, the plunger rod 28 may press against the lock plate 24 that closes the hole 27, causing damage to both.

The above is a case of a trouble caused by an intruder from the outside, but as a problem arising from the configuration, as shown in FIG.
The auxiliary link 36 is supported by the stopper link 1.
Since it is supported by the support shaft 21 of No. 9, there are two centers of rotation. This complicates the structure of the link mechanism, which increases the chances of malfunction. On the other hand, if we look at the operation, although it was not explained in detail in the above explanation, the first
0 with the behavior shown in Figure 0. The main link 37 is
It swings from the initial position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7 to the position shown by the solid line, but during this period it passes through the position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. This is so that the hole 27, which is closed by the locking plate 24, can be opened before the plunger rod 28 is retracted in the direction of the arrow 31. That is, when the fluid pressure actuator 39 expands a little, the main link 37 tries to rotate around the shaft 38, but the plunger pushing part 41 of the main link 37 is pushed against the lock plunger 7 biased by the spring 29. Since the main link 37 is in contact with the protruding plunger guide 40, rotation of the main link 37 is prevented and only movement in the direction of the arrow 43 is possible. Due to its movement, axis 3
8 also moves, the auxiliary link 36 is rotated, the stopper link 19 is interlocked, and the lock plate 24 is moved to the hole 2.
Evacuate from 7. When the hydraulic actuator 39 expands further, the main link 37 as shown in FIG.
is rotated, and the plunger rod 28 can protrude from the open hole 27. In such an operation, when the main link 37 moves as shown in FIG. 10, the main link 37 is in a state where a force is applied to the plunger guide body 40. Since the plunger rod 28 is pressed by the plunger guide 40 against the spring 29, the tip of the plunger rod 28 is pressed against the lock plate 2.
Contact 4. At this time, the lock plate 24 is about to open the hole 27 by the swinging of the stopper link 19, so the tip of the plunger rod 28 and the lock plate 24 are in a sliding state, and eventually the lock plate 24 is in a sliding state.
4's movement will be hindered. As a result, the hole drilling operation is not smooth, and maintenance such as sufficient lubrication is required.

The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and
The purpose of this is to reduce the center of rotation to create a mechanism with smooth operation and a small number of parts, to prevent damage or destruction of parts due to unspecified operation when a part malfunctions, and to It is an object of the present invention to provide a manual and automatic operation device for a vehicle coupling machine, which allows individual parts to operate smoothly while avoiding interference from other parts, and which causes fewer operational troubles.

[Means for solving problems]

The features of the manual and automatic operating devices in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.
The explanation is as follows with reference to the drawings.

In order to lock a pair of rotatable connecting hooks 3, 3 that clamp the king pin 4 of the towed vehicle, a manual operating lever 11 is provided for engaging and disengaging a lock plunger 7 from an engagement groove 6 at one end of the connecting hook. ,
The operating device for a vehicle coupler is provided with a locking means 18 for preventing the movement of the lock plunger 7 by a stopper link 19 that is interlocked with the push/pull operation of a manual operation lever via a lock guide 17, the stopper link 19 An auxiliary arm 51 is attached to the support shaft 21, which rotates independently of the rotation of the stopper link, and which is linked to the push/pull and rotation of the manual operation lever 11, and rotates integrally with the auxiliary arm 51. The plunger guide body 40 protruding from the lock plunger 7 is maintained in an immovable state when the manual operation lever 11 rotates as the manual operation lever 11 is pushed or pulled, and when the manual operation lever 11 rotates as the manual operation lever 11 rotates, the plunger guide body 40 remains stationary. A plunger arm 55 is provided that moves the guide body 40 to move the lock plunger 7 backward, and an actuator 5 that operates the manual operation lever 11 via the rotation shaft 54 of the auxiliary arm 51.
8 is installed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is an auxiliary arm that rotates on a support shaft of a stopper link independently of the rotation of the stopper link, and is linked to the push/pull and rotation of a manual operation lever 1, and is A plunger arm is provided which rotates together with the auxiliary arm so as to maintain the plunger guide in an immovable state while retracting the lock plunger by the rotation of the manual operation lever. Since the actuator for actuation is installed, the vehicle coupler can be operated not only manually but also remotely by actuating the actuator. At this time, even if some parts become inoperable due to pebbles getting stuck in them, damage or destruction of the components can be prevented without causing undesired behavior.
Furthermore, sliding between the plunger rod and the lock plate is avoided, and both can operate independently and smoothly. Furthermore, the mechanism made up of component parts is simplified and the number of parts is reduced, making it possible to provide a vehicle coupler with fewer troubles.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on examples thereof.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main parts of the manual and automatic operating device 50 in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention. A possible pair of connecting hooks 3,3 are provided. In order to lock the rotation of the connecting hook, a lock plunger 7 is fitted into an engaging groove 6 at one end of the connecting hook, and a manual operation lever 11 is used to engage and disengage the locking plunger from the engaging groove.
A manually operated locking/disengaging mechanism is installed which includes a locking means 18 and an engaging portion 16 which are interlocked with the linear movement of the manual operating lever 11 in the direction of arrow 13 via a lock guide 17 such as a pin.

A stopper ring 19 in the locking means 18 is rotatable around a support shaft 21 fixed to the coupler base 1, and the locking plate 24 and rod 23 are moved by the elastic force of the spring 20 as in the case of FIG. While the hole 27 is closed, the hole 27 can be opened by pivoting around the support shaft 21 by the lock guide body 17 which is moved by the push and pull operation of the manual operating lever 11. An auxiliary arm 51 is attached to the support shaft 21 and is linked to the push/pull and rotation of the manual operation lever 11 . That is, an elongated hole 52 is formed in the auxiliary arm 51, into which another lock guide body 53 protruding from the manual operating lever 11 is fitted. In addition, by selecting the shape and direction of the elongated hole 52 formed in the auxiliary arm at the initial position of the auxiliary arm 51 (the position shown in the figure), the auxiliary arm 51 can be rotated in conjunction with the push/pull and rotation of the manual operation lever 11. It is designed to move. The center of rotation of the auxiliary arm 51 is a rotation shaft 54 fitted onto the support shaft 21, and a plunger arm 55, which will be described below, is also attached, and the auxiliary arm 51 always rotates together with the plunger arm 55.

As can be seen from the above description, the plunger arm 55 rotates independently of the rotation of the stopper link 19, and rotates in conjunction with the push/pull operation of the manual operation lever 11.
While the plunger guide body 40 protruding from the lock plunger 7 is maintained in an immovable state, the plunger guide body 40 is moved when the manual operation lever 11 is rotated, and the lock plunger 7 is moved backward. That is, the plunger arm 55 also has an elongated hole 5.
6 is formed, and a plunger guide 4 is formed therein.
0 is inserted. In addition, plunger arm 5
By selecting the shape and direction of the elongated hole 56 formed in the plunger arm 55 at the initial position (the position shown) of 5, the plunger arm 55 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the manual operation lever 11. There is. The elongated hole 56 formed in the plunger arm 55 described above only needs to be linked in movement with the plunger guide body 40, so instead of the elongated hole 56, a recessed portion 56A as shown in FIG. 2 may be used. There is no problem even if there is.

The arm mechanism described above has its rotation axis 54.
A swinging arm 57 as shown in FIG.
8 pistons 58a are connected via clevises 59. Note that even without the swing arm 57,
It is sufficient that the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder 58 can be converted into the rotational movement of the rotation shaft 54. Of course, the auxiliary arm 51 or the plunger arm 5
5 may be rotated by an air cylinder 58. According to this telescopic operation of the actuator, the manual operation lever 11 can be moved and rotated in the direction of the arrow 13, and the coupler can also be remotely operated via the actuator 58.

The operation of this configuration will be described next. First, when the lock plunger 7 is disengaged from the engagement groove by the manual operation lever 11 in order to remove the king pin from the connecting hook, the air cylinder 58 is contracted as shown in FIG. It is operated according to the following procedure. When the manual operation lever 11 is pulled in the direction of the arrow 13, the stop ring 1 is moved through the lock guide 17.
9 rotates about the support shaft 21 in the direction of arrow 22 against the spring 20 and moves to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. On the other hand, the auxiliary arm 51 also rotates about the rotation shaft 54 via the lock guide 53, as shown by the two-dot chain line. The plunger arm 55 also rotates due to the rotation of the rotation shaft 54, but the plunger guide body 40 is not moved because the elongated hole 56 is an arcuate groove centered on the support shaft 21. Therefore, the lock plunger 7 does not move, and the plunger rod 28 locks the lock plate 24.
Never come into contact with. During this time, the lock plate 24 is retracted from the hole 27 by the rotating stopper link 19. When the manual operation lever 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow 30 from the solid line in FIG.

Conversely, when the king pin is to be held in the connecting hook, the manual operation lever 11 is operated in the directions of arrows 13 and 30 in the same manner as in the case of disengagement described above, and the lock plunger 7 is removed from the engagement groove. At this time, the lock plunger 7 is connected to the spring 29 (see Fig. 1).
However, the sixth
The locking lever 32 shown in the figure prevents its movement and allows the connecting hook to rotate. Therefore, when the king pin is inserted into the clamping portion 5, the lock plunger 7 is unlocked by the lock lever 32. As a result, the lock plunger 7 is restored by the spring 29, and its plunger guide 40 is returned to its original position. Therefore, the lock plunger 7 is fitted into the engagement groove 6, and the manual operation lever 11 is also restored in the direction opposite to the arrow 30 via the guide portion 8, and the spring 1
2 returns it to its original position. At this time, due to the movement of the lock guide 40 and the spring 20, the lock plate 24 closes the hole 27 via the stopper link 19 of the lock means 18, and the engagement pin 14 of the manual operation lever 11 is engaged with the engagement portion 16. The movement of the lock plunger 7 is prevented.

Next, a case will be described in which the air cylinder 58 is used to remotely disengage the lock plunger 7 from the engagement groove from the driver's seat in order to remove the king pin from the connecting hook. With the manual operation lever 11 in a state where the lock plunger 7 is fitted into the engagement groove of the connecting hook as shown in FIG. 4, the air cylinder 58 is slightly extended from the initial position indicated by the solid line. As a result, the rotation shaft 54 rotates via the swing arm 57 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the rotation of the auxiliary arm 51 in the direction of arrow 59 causes the manual operation lever 11 to move in the direction of arrow 13. When the air cylinder 58 is further extended, the plunger guide 53 engaged with the elongated hole 52 of the auxiliary arm 51 moves as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5 while sliding on the hole wall. As a result, the manual operating lever 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow 30. In this way, the manual operation lever 11 operates as if it were being operated by the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder 58. The operation of the components in the coupler therefore occurs in the same manner as in the case of direct operation by the manual operating lever 11.

On the other hand, when the lock plunger 7 is inserted into the engagement groove remotely from the driver's seat using the air cylinder 58 in order to lock the kingpin into the connecting hook, the kingpin is inserted into the holding portion of the pair of connecting hooks. After that, the hydraulic pressure of the air cylinder 58 is released in the state shown by the dashed line shown in FIG. The lock plunger 7 is connected to a spring 29 together with a manual operation lever 11 and a plunger arm 55 (see Fig. 1).
, the engagement pin 11 of the manual operation lever 11 is moved from the sliding surface 35 to the engagement portion 16.
Therefore, the manual operation lever 11 is moved by the spring 1.
2 [see FIG. 1], it is restored to the solid line position shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the lock plate 24 closes the hole 27 via the lock guide 40 and the stopper link 19, and the engagement pin 14 of the manual operation lever 11 is engaged with the engagement portion 16. As a result, the locking of the connecting hook by the lock plunger 7 is maintained, and the lock plunger 7 also enters the locked state.

In this way, the vehicle coupler can be operated not only manually but also remotely by activating the actuator. At this time, even if the hole 27 cannot be opened due to a pebble getting stuck in some parts, a force is only applied to the plunger arm 55 to make it operate as specified, and an undesired operation may occur. The application of unreasonable force based on the behavior of the robot is avoided. Moreover, sliding of the plunger rod 28 and the lock plate 24 while the lock plunger 7 is being disengaged from the engagement groove is avoided, and both can operate independently and smoothly. Furthermore, the mechanism made up of component parts is simplified, the number of parts is reduced, and the structure is less trouble-prone, so that various excellent practical effects are exhibited.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the main parts showing the initial state of the manual and automatic operating devices in the vehicle coupling machine of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a modification of the auxiliary arm and the plunger arm,
Fig. 3 is a view taken along the - line in Fig. 1, Figs. 4 and 5 are plan views showing the operating state, Fig. 6 is an overall schematic diagram of the vehicle coupler, and Fig. 7 is a manual operation according to the prior art. and a plan view of the operating device of the vehicle coupler having an automatic operation lock engagement/disengagement mechanism, FIG. 8 is a view taken along the - arrow in FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a view taken along the - arrow in FIG. 10, and FIG. is an explanatory diagram of the operating process. 3...Connection hook, 4...King pin, 6...
Engagement groove, 7... Lock plunger, 11... Manual operation lever, 17... Lock guide body, 18... Lock means, 19... Stopper link, 21... Support shaft, 40... Plunger guide body, 51... ...Auxiliary arm, 55... Plunger arm, 58... Actuator (air cylinder).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A manual operating lever that engages and disengages a locking plunger from an engagement groove at one end of the coupling hook in order to lock a pair of rotatable coupling hooks that clamp the king pin of the towed vehicle. , a lock means for preventing the movement of the lock plunger by a stopper link that is interlocked with the push/pull operation of a manual operation lever via a lock guide body, and the operating device for a vehicle coupler includes: a support shaft of the stopper link; , an auxiliary arm is attached that rotates independently of the rotation of the stopper link and is linked to the push/pull and rotation of the manual operation lever. During the rotation associated with the operation, the plunger guide protruding from the lock plunger 7 is maintained in an immovable state, and during the rotation associated with the rotation of the manual operation lever, the plunger guide is moved to move the lock plunger backward. A manual and automatic operation device for a vehicle coupling machine, characterized in that: a plunger arm is provided to actuate the manual operation lever;