Rapid tool coupling device

Abstract: In the rapid tool coupling device for digger tools, a tool is provided with two pivots operating as means for hooking-up, the tool comprising: a body (1) provided with mobile hooks (2) which are actuated to achieve stable removable couplings with at least one of the two pivots. At least one plurality of first supports (5) and at least one second support (6), are predisposed to couple with a corresponding plurality of pairs of the two pivots, which pairs comprise a first pivot (3) and a second pivot (4), and which can be removably fixed to the body (1).

Description: Specifically, though not exclusively, the invention is usefully applied for all tools, in particular buckets, which are hooked up using two parallel pivots predisposed on the bucket, which are used for hooking up to a rapid-coupling device provided on the end of the digger manoeuvring arm. Numerous manufacturers of diggers and digger tools exist on the market. Also numerous are the different types of attachments, which are generally dimensioned and configured so that only tools having complementary attachments can be hooked up to them. All this constitutes a serious limitation to tool use, as it is not easy to obtain a full range of tools, buckets or otherwise, for a single digger. US 6 233 852 discloses a coupler device for adapting a variety of excavator apparatuses to engage a variety of excavating buckets. The coupler device has a mounting plate, a connecting device for connecting the mounting plate to the excavator apparatus, and a device for connecting the mounting plate to the excavating bucket.The device for connecting the mounting plate to the excavating bucket may include a front hook, a rear hook and a device moving the rear hook with respect to the front hook to adapt to a variety of excavating buckets. The main aim of the present invention is to provide a rapid coupling device which obviates the limitations of the prior art with a simple solution. These aims and advantages and others besides are all achieved by the present invention, as it is characterised in the appended claims. Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows of an embodiment of the invention, illustrated by way of example and not to be considered limiting in the accompanying figures of the drawings, in which: figure 1 is a partially-sectioned schematic side view according to line III-III of figure 3; figure 2 is a side view of a detail of figure 1; figure 3 is a schematic side view from the left of figure 2; figure 4 is an exploded side view of a detail of figure 2. With reference to the figures of the drawings, 1 denotes in its entirety the body of a rapid coupling device for digger tools, of the type in which the tool, in the figures denoted by 7, is provided with a first pivot 3 and a second pivot 4 which together constitute means by which the tool will be hooked up. The body 1 is provided with blocking devices comprising mobile hooks 2 which achieve stable but removable couplings with at least one of the two pivots 3 and 4, and especially with the second pivot 4. The hooking-up is achieved by coupling the pivots 3 and 4 in special coupling seatings 50 and 60 especially afforded in first supports 5 and second supports 6 which are removably fixed on the body 1. Each body 1 is predisposed to receive a pair of first supports 5 and a pair of second supports 6. The supports of each pair are positioned in such a way that the surfaces of the seatings 50 and 60 are aligned so as to be able to couple respectively with the first pivots 3 and the second pivots 4. The first supports 5 and the second supports 6 are mounted easily removably on the body 1, and can be constrained thereon in predetermined positions. For each tool 7, i.e. for each hooking-up system constituted by a first pivot 3 and a second pivot 4, a set formed by a pair of first supports 5 and a pair of second supports 6 is provided. Thus by mounting the right supports 5 and 6 on the body 1, the desired tool can be fixed thereon. It is not certain that in each case the above-described conditions will arise. It is perfectly possible that even with a plurality of different tools 7 it will be necessary only to have a corresponding plurality of first supports 5 but only one second support 6 - or vice versa. In this case the first pivots 3 (or second pivots 4) of a plurality of tools 7, not very different in type one from another, can be coupled in a single seating 50 (or 60) of a first support 5 (or second support 6), the same seating being suitable for all of the tools 7, while the geometrical and dimensional difference in the attachment is present only in the seatings 60 (or 50) of the second supports 6 (or first supports). More generally, there is a plurality of first supports 5 which corresponds to a plurality of second supports 6, which are predisposed to couple with a corresponding plurality of the first pivots 3 and the second pivots 4, and which can in all cases be removably fixed to the body 1. The stability of the couplings is ensured by the fact that a single pair, formed by a first pivot 3 and a second pivot 4 on a single tool 7, is coupled with another pair constituted by first supports 5 and second supports 6. The relative constraint between the first supports 5 and the body 1 is removable and uses the same references on the body for all the first supports 5. The relative constraint between the second supports 6 and the body 1 is removable and uses the same references on the body for all the second supports 6. In particular, the references are constituted by holes 11 made on the body 1 for allowing any first support 5 to be bolted thereon, and by other holes 12, also made on the body 1 for allowing any second support 6 to be bolted thereon. The adaptation of the tool attachment to a specific tool 7 is made easy by making the attachment itself as a sort of modular structure which comprises a body 1, provided with mobile hooks 2 which in the illustrated embodiment are moved by a pneumatic cylinder 8, and a double plurality of pairs of first supports 5 and second supports 6 which are easily mountable on, and dismountable from, the body 1. A special combination of first supports 5 and second supports 6 corresponds to each tool. When mounted on the body 1, by using the predetermined references, a rapid attachment can simply be obtained, which corresponds to the particular coupling dimensions of the single tool.

Claims: A rapid tool coupling device for releasably securing any one digging tool to a working machine, said any one digging tool having been selected for use from a variety of available digging tools (7) with various pin connections, whereby each digging tool (7) is provided with a pin connection unit comprising a first pin (3) and a second pin (4), the rapid tool coupling device comprising: a body (1), couplable to the working machine; a plurality of first supports (5), destined to engage one of said first and second pins of the pin connection unit of a selected digging tool and at least one second support (6), destined to engage the other one of said first and second pins, each of said supports removably attachabed to said body (1) whenever a selected digging tool is to be secured to a working machine in use by means of the rapid tool coupling device; displaceable hooks (2) for latching onto one of the two pins (3, 4) of a selected digging tool (7), characterised by further comprising a plurality of supports additional to those originally destined to secure a first selected digging tool, at least a portion of said plurality of additional supports being destined to secure at least a second selected digging tool having a pin connection unit with pins of a different size and/or with a different pin spread, such that, upon removal of at least one of said original supports from releasable attachment and after attachment of an appropriate number of corresponding additional supports, a second selected digging tool may then be secured by the rapid tool coupling device instead of a first digging tool. The rapid tool coupling device of claim 1, characterised in that it comprises a plurality of the first supports (5) and a plurality of the second supports (6) which are predisposed to couple with a corresponding plurality of the first pins (3) and the second pins (4) . The rapid tool coupling device of claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the first supports (5) and the second supports (6) are respectively provided with seatings (50 and 60) for contactingly housing the first pins (3) and the second pins (4); a pair formed by a first support (5) and a second support (6) corresponding to a single pair, formed by a first pin (3) and a second pin (4) of a single tool (7). The rapid tool coupling device of claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the first supports (5) and the second supports (6) can be constrained to the body (1) in predetermined positions, with removable constraints. The rapid tool coupling device of claim 4, characterised in that the removable constraints use same references on the body (1) for all the first supports (5). The rapid tool coupling device of claim 4, characterised in that the removable constraints use same references on the body (1) for all the second supports (6). The rapid tool coupling device of claim 5, characterised in that the references are constituted by holes (11) made on the body (1) for allowing a connection by bolting of any of the first supports (5) on the body (1). The rapid tool coupling device of claim 6, characterised in that the references are constituted by holes (12) made on the body (1) for allowing a connection by bolting of any of the second supports (6) on the body (1).

Inventors: MANTOVANI ALBERTO, MANTOVANI, ALBERTO
Applicants: MANTOVANIBENNE S R L, MANTOVANIBENNE S.R.L.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: E02F3
IPC codes: E02F3