JPH09175128A - Towed vehicle connecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] (Correction) [Problem] When the towing vehicle is braked, relative movement occurs between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder of the coupling device of the towed vehicle, and the towed vehicle is braked. However, in the case where the gas damper is used as the shock absorber, the driver feels like pushing up when the inertial brake is released. SOLUTION: A spring (34) is arranged between a member (23) on the inner cylinder (3) side and a stopper (24) at the tip of the outer cylinder (5) to push up due to a gas damper (6 '). The spring (34) absorbs the relative movement between the two cylinders (3, 5) that causes the feeling.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connecting device for connecting a trolley (a towed vehicle) for a boat or the like to a towing vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connecting device for connecting a trolley for a boat or the like (a towed vehicle) to a towing vehicle such as an RV vehicle is disclosed in Jpn.
It is publicly known as disclosed in No. -3950 and No. 48-3951. The connecting device is shown in FIG. 6 and its basic structure will be described. The coupling device 1 includes a coupler as a coupler coupled to a towing vehicle or an inner cylinder 3 fixed to the hook 2 side.
And an outer cylinder 5 fixed to the dolly, that is, the towed vehicle 4 side. A movable shaft of a gas spring 6 as a shock absorber in the inner cylinder 3, that is, one end of a plunger 7 is supported by the inner cylinder 3, and a case front end of the gas spring 6 is pivotally supported by a shaft body or a bracket 8 in the outer cylinder 5. The bracket 8 is supported by the outer cylinder 5 and has an elongated slit 9. A closing plate or pin 10 penetrating the rear part of the inner cylinder 3 passes through the slit 9 and includes a buffer member or block 11, and inside the slit 9, one end of a movable lever or brake lever 12 extends. Lever 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a connecting shaft or brake cable 14 rotatably supported by a support plate or supporter 13 fixed to the outer cylinder 5 and connected to a brake device (not shown) of a wheel of the carriage 4.
Has.

When the towing vehicle is normally towing the carriage 4 forward, the inner cylinder 3 is pulled forward via the hook 2, but the block 11 fixed to the pin 10
Since the bracket 8 is brought into contact with the front end of the bracket 8 with the slit 9 and the bracket 8 is pulled forward together with the inner cylinder 3 and the bracket 8 is fixed to the outer cylinder 5, both the outer cylinder 5 and the carriage 4 are towed forward. It will be. If the brake is applied while the towing vehicle is traveling in front, only the towing vehicle is decelerated and the carriage 4 tries to approach the towing vehicle. That is, relative movement occurs between the inner and outer cylinders 3 and 5 (however, the bracket 8
And the gas spring 6 always take a fixed position with respect to the outer cylinder 5), while pushing the plunger 7 into the gas spring 6 and moving the block 11 backward.
Moves, and then the block 11 pushes one end of the lever 12 to rotate the lever 12 clockwise. As a result, the cable 14 is pulled, and the brake device of the truck 4 is automatically applied in response to the braking operation of the towing vehicle or a sudden deceleration. The gas spring 6 functions to prevent a sudden brake on the truck 4. When the brake operation is released, the inner cylinder 3 is pulled forward by the further forward movement of the towing vehicle, the block 11 comes into contact with the front end of the bracket 8, and the carriage 4 is towed via the bracket 8 and the outer cylinder 5.

When the towing vehicle is moved backward to move the carriage 4 backward, relative movement occurs between the towing cylinders 3 and 5, and the brake device of the carriage 4 acts. Therefore, prior to the reverse of the towing vehicle, a spring (not shown) is attached to the outer cylinder 5.
The space holding lever 15 supported via the inner cylinder 3 and the outer cylinder 3
Prevent relative movement between them. As a result, there is no braking action on the bogie 4 when the towing vehicle moves backward.

When the forward operation is started at the same time as the rearward movement of the towing vehicle is completed, the inner cylinder 3 moves slightly forward with respect to the outer cylinder 5, but this movement releases the engagement between the lever 15 and the lever receiver 16. The lever 15 is automatically returned to the position shown by the biasing force of the spring.

Although not shown, an operating rod or a manual handle for braking the truck when the truck is not traveling is connected to the lever 12.

[0007]

In the conventional coupling device,
Since a gas spring is used, due to its characteristics, when the inertial brake is released, the exerciser feels a kind of push-up feeling, but this push-up feeling is not desirable, and there are voices who desire improvement. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a towed vehicle connecting device that satisfies the above-mentioned demand for improvement.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention basically uses a gas damper,
Further, a means is used in which a stopper is arranged at the tip of the outer cylinder and a member on the inner cylinder side is opposed to the stopper via a spring. Due to its characteristics, this gas damper restricts a sudden relative movement between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder when the inertia brake is released, and eliminates the feeling of thrust. Further, the spring functions to prevent relative movement between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder and prevent the brake of the towed vehicle from being locked.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a gas damper 6'is used in place of the gas spring, but its basic configuration is substantially the same as the basic configuration shown in FIG. A part of the explanation of the action will be omitted.

A pedestal 17 is fixed at a proper position on the outer cylinder 5. The pedestal 17 has a leg portion 18 at a lower portion thereof, and when the towed vehicle is stored alone, the leg portion 18 is landed to maintain the posture of the towed vehicle. The pedestal 17 preferably comprises a U-shaped member, and a pulley 22 is provided between the opposite side walls of the pedestal 17. The cable 20 is fixed to one side of the hollow intermediate member 21 using a nut. The handle 19, the cable 20, and the pulley 22 constitute a hand brake that manually operates the brake device when parking or the like. One end of the brake cable 14 is also fixed to the other side of the intermediate member 21 by using a nut. The brake cable 14 and the cable 20 on the handle 19 side are arranged almost on the same line, and the directions of the forces are matched. In addition, the use of the intermediate member 21 requires that both cables 1
There is an advantage that the tensions of 4 and 20 can be adjusted independently. One end of the brake lever 12 is pivotally supported on the opposite side wall of the intermediate member 21 on the line connecting the center lines of the cables 14 and 20.

When the vehicle to be towed is left alone, and the vehicle to be towed is kept in the braking state, the handle 19 is pulled and the brake cable 14 is passed through the intermediate member 21.
To the left (as seen in Fig. 1) and turn on the brake system of the truck. As described with reference to FIG. 6, when the truck is towed and the truck as a vehicle to be towed moves forward with respect to the towing vehicle due to inertial force during the towing of the truck, relative movement between the inner and outer cylinders 3 and 5 occurs. As a result, the brake lever 12 rotates clockwise (see FIG. 1). As a result, the intermediate member 21 and the brake cable 14 move to the left, and the brake device of the truck is turned on.

The movement of the inner cylinder 3 with respect to the outer cylinder 5 is restricted by bringing the lever receiver 23 fixed to the inner cylinder 3 closer to a stopper 24 made of an elastic material via a spring 34. As a result, the sudden approach of both cylinders 3 and 5 at the time of releasing the inertia brake is absorbed by the spring 34 to eliminate the feeling of pushing up,
Further, the lock state of the brake device of the truck can be prevented in advance, and the braking effect can be optimized. The spring 34 is arranged between the lever receiver 23 and the stopper 24, but does not prevent the hook member 28 from being locked to the protrusion 26. The arrangement of the spring 34 enables omission of the attachment of the spacing holding lever 27, so that the second embodiment of the present invention can be obtained by removing the spacing holding lever 27 from the example of FIG.

The cylindrical stopper 24 is made of an elastic material,
The inner peripheral surface thereof is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 3 and functions as a seal member. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a bellows or the like to prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering between the tubes 3 and 5.
It should be noted that a spacer 25 for aligning the centers of the two cylinders 3 and 5 and holding their relative positions is fixed to an appropriate position on the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 5, and this spacer 25 may also have a sealing function.

The lever receiver 23 has an arcuate projection 26 at the bottom thereof, and a hook member 28 fixed to the tip of the interval holding lever 27 can be engaged with the projection 26. The hook member 28 has an arcuate surface that is seated on the protrusion 26 and an arcuate surface that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 3 on its front and back sides. The distance holding lever 27 has a U-shaped cross section and is arranged between the opposite side walls of the pedestal 17, and has a pair of spaced pins 29, 29.

A pair of cam grooves 31, 32 are provided in front of the pedestal 17.
Can wear. The pair of pins 29, 29 enter the cam grooves 31, 32. As a result, the interval holding lever 27 is supported on the pedestal 17 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and rotatable. One cam groove 31 is formed by an intersection of an arc centered below the cam groove and an arc centered laterally, and the pin 29 moves left and right and up and down. The other cam groove 32 is also made by the same method as the one cam groove 31, but the arc having the center on the side is made small.

FIG. 1 shows a normal towing traveling state of a towed vehicle by a towing vehicle. Both pins 29, 29 are cam grooves 3
Positioned below 1, 32, the distance holding lever 27 is lowered to the left, and the inner cylinder 3 is completely free to move with respect to the outer cylinder 5. FIG. 3 shows a preparatory stage in which the forward traveling is interrupted and the vehicle moves backward. The operator holds the distance holding lever 27 of the towed vehicle stopped, and moves it from the state of lowering left in FIG. 1 to a substantially horizontal position, and moves it to the front to move the hook member 28 to the protrusion 26.
To sit on. That is, the state of FIG. 3 is obtained. When the towing vehicle is retracted from the state shown in FIG. 3, the hook member 28 comes into contact with the stopper 24 due to the rearward movement of the inner cylinder 3 as shown in FIG. Is regulated. Thus, the clockwise movement of the brake lever 12 does not occur despite the relative movement between the inner and outer cylinders 3, 5. That is, the towed vehicle can be retracted.
In this state, the pins 29, 29 are located behind the cam grooves 31, 32.

When the forward movement is started after the predetermined backward movement is completed, the inner cylinder 3 advances relative to the outer cylinder 5 as shown in FIG. Due to its own weight or the like, 27 surely rotates so as to be in a state of descending to the left, and the state of FIG. 1 is entered to enter the normal forward traveling state. In the state of FIG. 1, the brake state can be freely obtained as described above. A guide groove 33 extending in the lateral direction is provided below the cam groove 32 of the pedestal 17, and the guide groove 32 is provided in a state in which the interval holding lever 27 is substantially horizontal.
A hole that matches the
By holding a holding pin (not shown) through the guide groove 33, the state shown in FIG. 3 can be held.

In the present invention, since the spring is arranged between the stopper and the member on the inner cylinder side (corresponding to the distance maintaining lever), the use of the gas damper makes it possible to eliminate the feeling of push-up which is conventionally felt. Become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a coupling device according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an intermediate member that connects a brake lever and a brake cable.

FIG. 3 is a partial side view showing a relationship between a distance holding lever and a lever receiver.

FIG. 4 is a partial side view showing the relationship between the distance holding lever and the stopper when the towing vehicle is moving backward.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view showing the gap holding lever immediately before it is disengaged from the lever receiver as the towing vehicle advances.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the basic configuration of the towed vehicle connecting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Coupler or Hook 3 Inner Cylinder 4 Bogie (Towed Vehicle) 5 Outer Cylinder 6'Gas Damper (Shocker) 7 Plunger 8 Bracket 11 Block 12 Brake Lever 14 Brake Cable 17 Pedestal 19 Handbrake Handle 21 Intermediate Member 23 Lever Receiver 24 Stopper 26 Projection 27 Spacing Holding Lever 28 Hook Member 29, 29 Pin 31, 32 Cam Groove 33 Guide Groove 34 Spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer cylinder having a rear portion connected to a tow vehicle, an inner cylinder connected to the tow vehicle through a connector, an inner cylinder at one end and a gas damper at the other end. In a towed vehicle connecting device having a bracket linked to the outer cylinder and a brake lever pivotally supported on the outer cylinder side and having one end linked to the bracket, an inner peripheral surface of the front end of the outer cylinder slides on an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder. A towed vehicle connecting device, wherein a member that is in contact with a stopper is disposed and a member fixed to the inner cylinder faces the stopper via a spring. 2. The towed vehicle connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the member that abuts against the stopper is a lever receiver that receives a gap holding lever.