Patent ID: 8794993

Claim:
A utility coupler operative to provide one or more utilities to industrial equipment, comprising: a tool unit affixed to industrial equipment, the tool unit comprising a housing having a generally flat surface with a longitudinal groove formed therein along a longitudinal axis parallel to the surface, the length of the groove along the housing surface exceeding the depth of the groove into the housing; a latching pin disposed in the groove transverse to the groove axis; and one or more tool unit utility couplings; and a coupling unit comprising a housing; a hooking cam member reciprocally moveable in the housing in a linear direction along the groove axis and operative to capture the latching pin; a composite cam surface on the hooking cam member operative to engage the latching pin and lock the coupling unit to the tool unit as the hooking cam member moves linearly within the groove along the groove axis; and one or more coupling unit utility couplings operative to directly contact and mate with corresponding tool unit utility couplings to pass utilities to industrial equipment when the tool unit and coupling unit are coupled together.