Quick-release fastener device formed of two connection parts, for attaching a tool to the end of the arm of a machine

The present invention relates to a quick-release fastener device formed of two connection parts, for attaching a tool such as a bucket to the end of the arm of a machine such as a hydraulic shovel or the like, the first part being intended to be attached to the bucket and comprising a coupling pin or hook, the second part being intended to be attached to the arm and comprising a hook or pin intended to be coupled to the pin or hook, as the case may be, of the first part, the second part comprising a slidably mounted locking plate biased by spring means, and the first part comprising a locking hook projecting from the first part on the opposite side to the side from which the coupling pin or hook projects, the locking hook being intended to pass through a through-opening formed in the slidable locking plate in order to be hooked to an edge of the opening once the locking plate has slid in order to ensure the locking of the quick-release fastener device and thus the attachment of the bucket to the machine.

Quick-release fastener devices of this kind are already known, for example, from FR2809709 or FR2946061.

The aim is to enhance the safety of this kind of device even further.

According to the invention, a quick-release fastener device for attaching a tool such as a bucket to the end of the arm of a machine such as a hydraulic shovel or the like, comprising a first connection part intended to be attached to the bucket and a second connection part intended to be attached to the arm, the first part comprising a base plate having a front edge and a rear edge, a coupling pin or hook protruding from the lower face of the base plate on the rear side, and a locking hook protruding from the upper face of the base plate, the second part comprising a hook or pin intended to be coupled to the coupling pin or hook, as the case may be, of the first part, and a slidably mounted locking plate biased by spring means, the locking hook of the first part being intended to pass through a through-opening formed in the slidable locking plate of the second part in order to be hooked to an edge of the opening once the locking plate has slid in order to ensure the locking of the quick-release fastener device, is characterised in that the front edge of the base plate of the first part defines a notch, in particular in a flared shape.

Preferably, the locking hook has a shank part and a head part projecting laterally from the shank part in the forward direction, and the notch extends so far as to be vertically in line with the head part of the locking hook, in particular as far as the shank part.

By thus providing a notch of this kind at the front, it is ensured that soil or other waste products are not introduced between the two connection parts during the locking of the quick-release fastener, thereby preventing the locking plate from improperly sliding under the locking hook while giving the false impression that locking has been fully achieved; in the event of impacts or vibrations while the machine is in operation, this could result in the tool, which is improperly locked to the arm of the machine, unhooking and falling off. A quick-release fastener that is much safer during use is thus ensured.

Preferably, the first connection part comprises at least one rear tab, in particular two rear tabs, one left and one right, in the form of coupling hooks intended to be coupled to a pin of the second connection part.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the front edge is notched in that it comprises a central portion and two portions, one right and one left, which are tilted with respect to the central portion, in particular by an angle of between 30° and 60°, in particular of 45°, so as to form the notch.

Preferably, the front edge defines two front prominences, one left and one right, on either side of the notch.

According to an advantageous embodiment, when viewed in a longitudinal section from back to front, each prominence comprises an upper end portion that is curved, in particular in the form of a circular arc, having its concavity facing downwards.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the two prominences, one left and one right, end in two protuberances, one right and one left, respectively.

In particular, when viewed in a longitudinal section from back to front, each protuberance comprises, starting from the lower surface of the base plate, a curved end portion having its concavity facing downwards, which is preceded by a curved intermediate portion having its concavity facing upwards, which in turn is preceded by a rectilinear portion that is vertical or substantially vertical, for example forming an angle of 5° to 10° with the vertical, and extends up to the upper face of the base plate.

Preferably, in the upper surface of the base plate of the first part, left-hand and right-hand side shoulders are formed which define respective left-hand and right-hand flow channels which extend between the rear edge and the front edge and through which water and/or soil and/or other waste products can flow.

In particular, when viewed from above, the inner side walls of the shoulders each comprise a rear portion, an intermediate portion and a front portion, the front ends of the intermediate portions being closer to the longitudinal central axis of the base plate than the rear ends are.

Preferably, the upper surfaces of the shoulders are sloped downwards from the outside inwards.

According to an advantageous embodiment, at the front end of the second connection part, two abutments, one left and one right, project from the lower face of the base plate.

Preferably, at least one part of the rear face of each abutment comprises a surface whose shape is complementary to the upper end surface of each prominence such that the prominences and the abutments are in surface contact when the device is in the locking position, and in particular there is formed in each abutment a respective recess whose shape is complementary to that of the protuberances of the first part such that said protuberances are received within said recesses when the device is in the locking position.

In particular, there is formed in each abutment a respective region having a surface whose shape is complementary to the upper end surface of the prominences of the first part such that said prominences are in surface contact with said regions when the device is in the locking position.

In particular, each recess is open on the underside, laterally to the outside, and rearwards.

Preferably, when the protuberances are received in the recesses, the vertical inner side faces of the protuberances bear against a respective inner wall of the recesses.

Preferably, two protrusions, one left and one right, project from the lower face of the base plate of the second part in the region of the rear edge.

In particular, each protrusion comprises a central, concave region, the concavity of which faces downwards and is of a complementary shape to the upper, convex face of the two hook-shaped tabs, one left and one right, of the first part such that the two protrusions come into surface contact with the two hook-shaped tabs when the device is in the locking position.

The present invention also relates to a first connection part intended to be part of a quick-release fastener according to the invention.

In particular, according to the invention, a first connection part intended to be part of a quick-release fastener device for attaching a tool such as a bucket to the end of the arm of a machine such as a hydraulic shovel or the like, said device comprising the first connection part intended to be attached to the bucket and a second connection part intended to be attached to the arm, the first part comprising a base plate having a front edge and a rear edge, a coupling pin or hook protruding from the lower face of the base plate, and a locking hook protruding from the upper face of the base plate, the second part comprising a hook or pin intended to be coupled to the coupling pin or hook, as the case may be, of the first part, and a slidably mounted locking plate biased by spring means, the locking hook of the first part being intended to pass through a through-opening formed in the slidable locking plate of the second part in order to be hooked to an edge of the opening once the locking plate has slid in order to ensure the locking of the quick-release fastener device, is characterised in that the front edge of the base plate of the first part defines a notch, in particular in a flared shape.

In the various drawings, elements having the same function are denoted by the same reference numeral.

shows a first connection partof a quick-release fastener device according to an embodiment of the invention. This first partis intended to be rigidly connected to a bucket, in particular by the underside, and to be coupled to the second connection partshown in, which in turn is rigidly connected, in particular by the top side, to the arm of the machine by means of vertical flanges and pins (not shown).

The first connection partcomprises a base plate, from the rear edgeof which there project two hook-shaped coupling tabs,, one right and one left, which are intended to be hooked to a spindle or pinprotruding from the second partin order to achieve the coupling of the two partsand.

A locking hookextends substantially vertically with respect to the upper face of the platein that it comprises a shank partand a head partwhich extends laterally forwards from the shank part.

The front edgeis notched in that it comprises a rectilinear central portionand two rectilinear portionsand, one right and one left, which are tilted with respect to the rectilinear central portion, in particular by an angle of between 3° and 60°, in particular of 45°, so as to form a notch. The notchextends under the head partof the hook, in particular as far as the shank part.

The front edgedefines, on either side of the notch, two prominences,, one left and one right, which end in the form of two protuberances, one right and one left, respectively. When viewed in a longitudinal section (from back to front), each protuberance comprises, starting from the lower surface of the base plate, a curved end portionhaving its concavity facing downwards, which is preceded by a curved intermediate portionhaving its concavity facing upwards, which is in turn preceded by a rectilinear portionthat is vertical or substantially vertical, for example forming an angle of 5° to 10° with the vertical, and extends up to the upper surface of the base plate.

Furthermore, in the upper surface of the plate, left-hand and right-hand side shouldersare formed which, together with a central seat, define respective left-hand and right-hand flow channels which extend from the rear edge to the front edge and through which water and/or soil and waste products can flow. When viewed from above, the outer side walls of the shoulders are substantially rectilinear from the rear edge to the front edge, whereas the inner side walls of the shoulders each comprise a rectilinear rear portion, a rectilinear intermediate portionand a rectilinear front portion. The rectilinear front and rear portionsandare parallel to one another and parallel to the outer side walls, the intermediate portion being tilted with respect to the two portionsand, in particular by an angle of between 10° and 45°, in particular between 20° and 30°, the front ends of the intermediate portionsbeing closer to the centre than the rear ends are. The upper surfaces of the shouldersare sloped downwards from the outside inwards.

The head partof the hook comprises a front upper surface that is tilted with respect to the vertical, in particular by an angle of between 3° and 60°, and a lower surfacethat faces downwards while being substantially horizontal but in particular slightly tilted by an angle of a few degrees. The head partfurther comprises two lugs, one left and one right, which extend laterally towards the left and the right with respect to the rest of the head part.

shows a first embodiment of a connection part. A different embodiment is shown in. In the embodiment of, the locking plate and the springs have been omitted. In the embodiment of, they are identical to those in the embodiment of.

The second connection partcomprises a base plate, from the lower face of which two ringsextend, through which the pin or spindleis intended to pass in order to allow the two connection parts,to be coupled together by hooking the hooksandto the spindle.

Moreover, an upper locking plateis mounted on the base plateso as to be slidable with respect thereto, the slidable platebeing biased rearwards by means of two springs, the respective rear ends of the springs being attached to lugsformed in the region of the raised rear edge of the plate.

In both the base plateand the slidable plate, respective through-openingsandare formed, which face one another and are of a substantially rectangular shape having a width dimension that is substantially equal to the width dimension of the headof the hook in the region of the two lugs, the size of the openings being sufficient, however, to allow the hookto pass therethrough while ensuring a certain amount of centring achieved owing to the substantially identical width dimensions of both the hook in the region of the lugsand the rectangular through-openings.

At the front end of the second connection part, two abutments,,, one left and one right, project from the lower face of the base plate. There is formed in each abutment,a respective recess,whose shape is complementary to that of the protuberances of the prominences,such that said protuberances are received within said recesses when the device is in the locking position. Each recess is open on the underside, laterally to the outside, and rearwards. When the protuberances are received in the recesses,, the vertical inner side faces of the protuberances bear against a respective inner wall,of the recesses,.

Two protrusions, one left and one right, project from the lower face of the base platein the region of the rear edge. Each protrusion comprises a central, concave region, the concavity of which faces downwards and is of a complementary shape to the upper, convex faceof the two hook-shaped tabs,, one left and one right, such that, as can be seen in particular in, the two protrusions come into surface contact with the two tabs,when the device is in the locking position.

Two fingers, one left and one right, project from the upper face of the base plateand are intended for interacting with flexible strips(well known in the art; see in particular FR-A-2946061) in order to ensure additional locking safety by preventing the slidable platefrom falling down in the event that the springs constraining it let go or break.

Two studs, one left and one right, project from the upper face of the base plateon the front side, substantially in the region of the front edge of the opening in the slidable plate, their function being to receive a cylindrical spindle(omitted inbut visible in) on each side, which is intended for holding the locking plate in its receptacle as it moves in translation during the locking operation. Said spindlesare offset upwards by a few millimetres with respect to the locking plate in order to give said plate a certain degree of tipping freedom over an angle alpha (shown in) when the first connection partlifts the locking plate up in order to trigger the locking. These cylindrical spindlesare also used as a maximum abutment during the unlocking of the plate.

A central hook-shaped toeprojects from the upper face of the base plateand forms a stop for the locking plate as it moves rearwards.

To implement the locked connection between the first and second connection parts of the quick-release fastener device, the operator first ensures that the two hooksandof the first partare hooked to the spindleprotruding from the second connection part, then brings about a relative rotational movement of the two connection parts by means of the arm of the machine.

show the different locking and unlocking steps.

Firstly, before the locking operation, the second connection part, in particular the locking plate, has to be placed in an “armed” position, i.e. shifted forwards so that its through-openingis substantially in line with the through-openingin the base plate.

To achieve this arming, a fork-shaped wrenchis used, there being a studprotruding laterally from oneof the prongs of the fork whereas the other pronghas a shape adapted to the shape of the front edge of the base plate so that, once the studhas been inserted into a holeformed in a bumpprojecting upwards from the locking plate, said fork can come into contact with the front edge of the base platein order to raise it and thus, by means of the wrench, pull the locking plateforwards with respect to the base plate, counter to the springs, while passing over a humpprotruding from the upper face of the base plate. This humphas a rear facethat is tilted, in particular by around 45°, and a vertical front face, the tilt of the rear faceallowing a rear rimof the locking plate to pass over the hump as the plate moves forwards. The steps for switching the plate into the armed state are identical to those shown infor illustrating the unlocking and uncoupling of the two connection parts.

In the armed position, the rear face of the rear rimof the locking platebears against the vertical front faceof the hump, in particular in accordance with surface-to-surface contact.

show the different relative positions of the two connection partsandduring the coupling and locking operations.

In, the two partsandare hooked to one another by the hooks,and the spindle, the locking platebeing in the armed position.

First, the two connection parts continue their relative rotational movement until a shoeprotruding from the central seatbehind the head of the hookabuts the lower faceof the rear rimof the locking plate, as shown in.

The effect of the two connection parts continuing their relative rotation is that the locking plate tips by an angle Alpha (permitted by the spindlesbeing positioned offset slightly upwards, as shown in), the effect of which is to raise the rear rimof the locking platebeyond the hump. At the same time, the head of the hookis passed above the locking plate.