A Device For Interconnecting Hydraulic or Pneumatic
The invention relates to an electropneumatic central unit for a commercial vehicle made up of modules with electrical and/or pneumatic components, where in the individual modules are accommodated in module housings which are releasably connected to one another in a defined position and on which standardized pneumatic and electrical connections are arranged such that, when the module housings are connected, connections which are associated with one another and are arranged on opposing connectionfaces of the module housings form direct electrical and pneumatic connections with one another.
In addition to this, a plurality of electropneumatic components are also integrated in a common housing, with the result that only one controller and one pneumatic and electrical power supply are required. However, this procedure has thedisadvantage that the number of variations grows depending on the level of equipment features. At the same time, repair costs are increased if the entire device has to be replaced in the event of a fault in one of the integrated systems.
Threaded connectors are mainly one-directional or rotate around a single axis. Connections established with threaded caps lack this limitation but the caps prevent them from being positioned at all close together. Bolts must be dimensioned to the length of the final product, and the connection can be disestablished only by removing the bolts. Connectors that employ clamps or clips cam usually be interconnected only along one direction. A drawback common to all these approaches is the need for separate parts.
The object of the present invention is a device for interconnecting hydraulic or pneumatic components, especially electromagnetically actuated valves, each valve having on its outer surface the male or female half of a snap-together connector, the male half being provided with a radial stop that extends into the female half and is secured there by at least one mechanism that locks into place behind it that can in particular be employed in connectors comprising several components, especially extending in all three directions. The components can be interconnected rapidly without having to rotate them one against the other and with no need for separate parts that can get lost. There need be no empty space between the components. Finally, individual components can be removed without having to dismantle the connector as a whole.
The basic concept of the present invention is to provide locking mechanisms that operate in conjunction, one fixed to the male half and the other permanently attached to the female half. The two halves can be fastened together and separated just by pivoting a lever that extends out of the female half. The lever can be pivoted in two directions by hand or with a small tool, allowing assembly even in complicated situations.
The components can finally be locked into place by rotating the ring out of the assembly position and into the locking position, wherein they are firmly fastened together. To separate the components pneumatic components, the ring must be rotated back out of the locking position and into the assembly position and then against the resilience afforded by the material into the release position. One particular advantage of this embodiment is that the connection can be established with only one hand but disestablished only with two hands and accordingly not accidentally.