AU633242B2

AU633242B2 -

Info

Publication number: AU633242B2
Application number: AU2840792A
Authority: AU
Priority date: 1992-11-17
Filing date: 1992-11-17
Publication date: 1993-01-21
Anticipated expiration: 1998-11-17
Also published as: AU2840792A

Description

P/00/01 2 2&/5/91 AUSTRA J 2 4 2 Regulation 3.2 Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

'C"#OMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT Invention Title: QUICK-LOCKING HITCH FOR EXCAVA.QR.IMPJEME 4.T The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:i ~Y -I 0

O

i This invention relates generally to earth-moving machines and relates in particular to a manually operable safety and quick-locking hitch for use with links between attachment and tilting pins of an assembled excavator bucket and arm.

According to the invention there is provided a manually-operable, safety and quick-locking hitch for use when interchanging buckets via boom and bucket attachment pins of an assembled excavator bucket and arm, the hitch comprising a body having a pair of walls with laterally-aligned boom attachment pin holes and bucket attachment pin slots, a bucket pin retaining slide mounted within the body fo: longitudinal movement between the side walls and which has bucket pin locoking means thereon and which is adapted. to be moved to and fro between one position to lock a bucket attachment pin into bucket pin retaining slots and to close the slots and another position to open the slots and enable the pin to be released from the hitch, the slide being movable by manually rotating a bolt with an externally threaded portion mounted within a fixed, internally-threaded member or portion of the slide.

Preferably or according to one form, the hitch comprises a body having a pair of spaced plate-like side walls with two pairs of laterally-aligned boom attachment pin holes and three bucket attachment pin slots comprising a laterally extending slot and a pair of vertically extending slots, a bucket pin retaining slide having bucket pin locking hooks thereon and which is r, -2mounted within the body for longitudinal movement between the side walls and which is adapted to be moved to and fro between a retracted or inward position so that the pin-locking hooks engage a bucket attachment pin placed within the bucket pin vertical retaining slots and to retain the pin within the vertical slots and the hitch and an extended or outer position to open the vertical slots and release the pin from the hitch, the slide being movable by manually rotating a bolt with an externally threaded portion rotatably mounted within an internally-threaded member such as a captive nut fixed to the slide or within an internally threaded portion of the slide.

Preferably, further and external locking means 15 such as a linch pin adpted to be placed in a hole of an externally-projecting portion of the slide, are provided to lock and unlock the bucket rear pin retaining slide with respect to an end plate adapted to bear against the ends of side walls of the body of the hitch.

A non-limiting example of an embodiment or .practical arrangement of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the 2 hitch body with slide removed.

Figure 2 is a rear end view.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional assembly view.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the slide.

Figure 5 is an inverted plan view of the aPla~ i ~-rs~e LCLIE~ assembly of Figure 3, Figure 6 is a plan view of the slide.

Figure 7 is an end view of the slide.

Figure 8 is an end view of the assembled hitch locked with locking pin.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a manually-operable, safety and quick-locking hitch for use with attachment and tilting links of an assembled excavator bucket and arm, the hitch has a body formed by a pair of spaced side walls 10, 11 of steel plate rigidly connected by a lateral base plate to form a slide cavity. Each side wall preferably has formed therein two pairs of laterally-aligned, pin-receiving .o holes and three laterally-aligned, pin-receiving slots 15 labelled hereinafter. The upper portion 10a, Ila of each side wall 10, 11, has two pairs of aligned cylindrical holes surrounded by circumferential bearing sleeves for placement there-through of an excavator boom attachment pins (not shown) these holes comprise boom attachment front pin receiving holes 13, 13a and boom attachment rear pin receiving holes 14, 14a. There is also formed within a lower portion of the side walls of the hitch body, two pairs of lower pin-receiving, halfmoon slots comprising a side entry slot 15 opening into an edge of one or front end of the lower wall portions of the side walls of the hitch body and which comprise a bucket front attachment pin holder and a pair of bottom entry slots 16, 16a opening into lower edges and for holding a bucket attachment rear pin. Within the cavity MEN OMOM-r -4between the lower portion of the side walls there is preferably and removably mounted a pin-retaining slide 17 formed of twin slide plates of steel joined by a top plate 18 adapted to slide upon fixed internal guides 19, 20, for movement within and along the lower portions of the side walls 10, 11 of the hitch body, The slide 17 has a plurality of identical hook-like bucket pinlocking members 21, 21a, 21b formed thereon and the slide is adapted to be moved to and fro between a rectracted or inward position to open bottom entry pin-receiving slots 16, 16a and an outer or extended position to close these slots to lock the bucket pin into the hitch, The slide 17 is movable by hand rotation of a bolt 22 with an externally threaded portion mounted within a fixed internally-threaded member such as the captive hexagonal nut 23. The shaft of the bolt passes through a hole formed or drilled in the end plate 24 of hitch so that the head of the bolt 22 is retained behind the end plate 24. The pin- 20 retaining slide 17 is further lockable onto and i unlockable with respect to the bucket rear attachment pin of the hitch by means of a linch pin 25 placed in a hole formed in the projecting end portion of the slide the end portion of which is adapted to project through a transverse slot in the end plate 24 which can be either a separate loose plate or can be welded to the end edges of each side wall of the hitch.

Claims

1. A manually-operable, safety and quick-locking hitch for use when interchanging buckets via boom and bucket attachment pins of an assembled excavator bucket and arm, the hitch comprising a body having a pair of walls with laterally aligned boom attachment pin holes and bucket attachment pin slots, a bucket pin retaining slide mounted within the body for longitudinal movement between the side walls and which is adapted to be moved to and fro between one position to lock a bucket attachment pin within bucket pin retaining slots and to close the slots and an another position to open the slots and enable the pin to be released from the hitch, the slide being movable by rotation of a bolt with an externally threaded portion mounted within a fixed, internally-threaded member or portion of the slide.

2. The hitch according to claim 1 wherein the body has a pair of spaced plate-like side walls with two pairs of laterally-aligned boom attachment pin holes and three bucket attachment pin slots, a bucket pin retaining slide being mounted within the body for longitudinal movement between the side walls and which is adapted to be moved to and fro between a retracted or inward position to lock a bucket pin within a pair of retaining vertical lower slots and an extended or outer position to open the lower slots and release the pin and bucket from the hitch, the internally-threaded member being a captive nut fixed to the slide or an internally threaded portion of the slide. I1C

3. The hitch according to claim 1 or 2 wherein external additional locking means such as a linch pin placed in a hole of an externally-projecting portion of the slide, are provided to lock and unlock the bucket rear pin retaining slide with respect to an end plate adapted to bear against the ends of side walls of the body of the hitch. Dated this 13th day of November 1992 T K ENGINEERING PTY.LTD By Our Patent Attorney JOHN L.DAVIES CO. 0 A manulai~v-operable. qliick-lockin:7, safety hitrh for .nterchan-1e-able attachment of an f-mcavatin- !:uc:ket to an oxac avator boom, has a body with two side walls (10, 11) Joined bv a base.,- plate (12) to house a slide (17) which is designed to be moved along flixed internal guide-s klg an upper -part (10a,10b1 of each wall. has two pairs of lateral ly alignedl b-oom pin attachment holes, 13, l3a, 14,14a) and a lower nart has a nair of side slots l5I-3 and bottom slots (167) fror attachmentl of bicket att~achment pDins: the bottom saots are-- cloIsable by slide hook inembera (21, 21a, 21.b) whi-rh relteas-ably lock a bucket-atta,7hneit pin into thie slide (17) by manudi rotation of a thre-aded encL of a bolIL (22) in a captive nut on the -elidez the bolt head is retained in .the slide byv An end plate (24) and one- end of thle slide projects, throuigh a hole in the end plate (24) and the slIide (17) can then7- be doubly locked in the body of the hitch by passing a linich pin (25' through a hole in the pr cjlei :tiig end of the slide.