Hydraulic tool mount and sealing piston for such a mount

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydraulic tool mount having a bore into which a sealing piston is inserted, wherein the sealing piston comprises a pin, a seal and a head which are arranged one behind the other in an axial direction (A) and thus form a stack, wherein the seal comprises a circumferential sealing lip for abutment and sealing against an inner wall of the bore in order to achieve a first sealing effect, and the bore comprises a sealing seat which, when the sealing piston is inserted, forms a stop for the head in axial direction (A), so that, in an end position of the sealing piston, the head abuts the sealing seat and thereby closes the bore in order to achieve a second sealing effect. The invention further relates to a corresponding sealing piston.

Claims

1. A hydraulic tool mount comprising a bore into which a sealing piston is inserted, wherein the sealing piston comprises a pin, a seal and a head which are arranged one behind the other in an axial direction (A) and thus form a stack, wherein the seal comprises a circumferential sealing lip for abutment and sealing against an inner wall of the bore in order to achieve a first sealing effect, and the bore comprises a sealing seat which, when the sealing piston is inserted, forms a stop for the head in axial direction (A), so that, in an end position of the sealing piston, the head abuts the sealing seat and thereby closes the bore in order to achieve a second sealing effect.

2. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the sealing seat is formed as a result of the fact that the bore comprises an outer section in which the sealing piston is seated and an inner section that is tapered relative to the outer section and thus has a diameter (d1) that is smaller than a diameter (d2) of the head.

3. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the sealing seat is ring-shaped and the front of the head is configured such that, in the end position, it rests in the sealing seat in a form-locking manner.

4. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the front of the head is spherical or cone-shaped, for form-locking abutment on the sealing seat in the end position.

5. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the back of the head is plate-shaped and has a flat contact surface that abuts the seal.

6. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the seal is made of a material, the elasticity of which is greater than that of the pin and the head.

7. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the seal is made of a plastic and both the head and the pin are made of a metal.

8. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the head is made in one piece and consists of a single material.

9. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the head is formed in two parts and comprises a plate and a ball, wherein the plate adjoins the seal with a first side, wherein the plate comprises a second side, which is opposite to the first side and against which the ball abuts in the end position, so that it is pressed into the sealing seat.

10. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein an actuator is disposed in the bore for moving the sealing piston, wherein the bore comprises an actuator stop for the actuator, wherein the seal is configured to be so compressible that, in the end position of the sealing piston, the actuator can still be inserted all the way to the actuator stop.

11. The tool mount according to claim 1, wherein the seal is connected in a form-locking manner to the pin or to the head or to both via a respective plug-in coupling.

12. The tool mount according to claim 1, which, in addition to the bore for the sealing piston, comprises a separate filling bore and a ball seal for closing the filling bore.

13. A sealing piston, which is configured for use in a hydraulic tool mount according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Design examples of the invention are explained in more detail in the following with the aid of a drawing. The figures show schematically:

[0034] FIG. 1 a tool mount with a sealing piston,

[0035] FIG. 2 the sealing piston of FIG. 1 in a detail view,

[0036] FIG. 3 a variant of the sealing piston of FIG. 1,

[0037] FIG. 4 a further variant of the sealing piston of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a hydraulic tool mount 2 in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to an axis of rotation D. The tool mount 2 here is specifically an expansion chuck. The tool mount 2 comprises a bore 4, which extends in an axial direction A and along a longitudinal axis L. The cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 is also a sectional view along the longitudinal axis L. A sealing piston 6 is inserted in the bore 4. Two design examples for the sealing piston 6 are shown in detail in FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0039] The sealing piston 6 seals a pressure chamber, which is not depicted in more detail and is hydraulically connected with the bore 4, from the environment. The sealing piston 6 can be moved in the bore 4 in axial direction A, as a result of which, depending on the direction, the tool mount 2 can be clamped and released. The sealing piston 6 comprises a pin 8, a seal 10 and a head 12 which are arranged one behind the other in an axial direction A and thus form a stack. The pin 8, the seal 10 and the head 12 all extend along the longitudinal axis L, and are preferably rotationally symmetric with respect to this axis. The pin 8, the seal 10 and the head 12 are arranged directly one behind the other, so that both the head 12 and the pin 9 abut the seal 10 on opposite sides thereof.

[0040] The pin 8 is used to actuate the sealing piston 6 from the outside by means of an actuating element 14, which is also seated in the bore 4 and in this case is a screw that is seated in a corresponding thread. The actuator 14 presses on the pin 8 so that the sealing piston 6 can be moved in and out.

[0041] The seal 10 comprises a circumferential sealing lip 16 for abutment and sealing against an inner wall 18 of the bore 4 in order to achieve a first sealing effect. The sealing lip 16 here is ring-shaped and protrudes in radial direction R relative to the rest of the sealing head 6, i.e. perpendicular to the axial direction A. In the inserted state, the sealing lip 16 abuts the inner wall 18 and drags along the inner wall when the sealing piston 6 is moved, so that overall the first sealing effect results. The sealing lip 16 shown here as an example is wedge-shaped, but other profiles are suitable as well.

[0042] In the present case, the bore 4 comprises a sealing seat 20 which, when the sealing piston 6 is inserted, forms a stop for the head 12 in axial direction A, so that, in an end position of the sealing piston 6, the head 12 abuts the sealing seat 20 as shown in FIG. 1 and thereby closes the bore 4 in order to achieve a second sealing effect. When the sealing piston 6 is inserted, the sealing piston as a whole is moved inward until the head 12 hits the sealing seat 20. It is not possible to move the head 12 beyond the sealing seat 20. The head 12 then closes the bore 4 at the level of the sealing seat 20, thus relieving the load on the seal 10.

[0043] A double sealing effect is then achieved by the seal 10, which abuts the inner wall 18, in combination with an additional seal, namely the head 12 which abuts the sealing seat 20. In the end position shown in FIG. 1, the pressure of the pressure chamber is completely on the head 12 and the load on the seal 10 is completely relieved. In the clamped state, i.e. while a tool or workpiece is being clamped or unclamped, the seal 10 is free of pressure.

[0044] In the design example shown, the sealing seat 20 is formed as a result of the fact that the bore 4 comprises an outer section 22 in which the sealing piston 6 is seated and an inner section 24 that is tapered relative to the outer section 22 and thus has a diameter d1 that is smaller than a diameter d2 of the head 12. The bore 4 as a whole is therefore tapered and has a step that forms the sealing seat 20. In the present case, the sealing seat 20 and also the inner section 24 overall have a diameter d1 (i.e. inner diameter) that is at least 50% and at most 80% of the diameter d3 of the outer section 24.

[0045] The sealing seat 20 in FIG. 1 is ring-shaped and the front of the head 12 is spherical so that, in the end position, the head 12 rests in the sealing seat 20 in a form-locking manner. The sealing seat 20 in the design example in FIG. 1 is therefore funnel-shaped or cone-shaped and extends obliquely inward. As can be seen specifically in FIGS. 2 to 4, the back of the head 12 in the embodiments shown here is plate-shaped and has a flat contact surface 28 that abuts the seal 10, and here also extends perpendicular to the axial direction. This advantageously results in a distribution of the force from the front of the spherical or conical head 12 to the seal 10 over a large area. In addition, the pin 8 analogously also comprises a flat contact surface 26 that abuts the seal 10, so that the seal is enclosed on both sides by the pin 8 and head 12 and pinched between two respectively flat contact surfaces 26, 28. The seal 10 likewise comprises not further specified contact surfaces that are configured to be complementary to the contact surfaces 26, 28 of the pin 8 and the head 12.

[0046] In the present case, the seal 10 consists of an elastic material, in particular a plastic, so that the seal 10 adapts optimally to the bore 4 and thereby seals the pressure chamber. The seal 10 here is also manufactured in one piece, i.e. monolithic.

[0047] On the other hand, the head 12 in the present case consists of a rigid material, especially a metal, in particular steel, and here is also made of a similar or the same material as the inner wall 18 of the bore 4, especially the sealing seat 20 thereof. Neither the sealing seat 20 nor the head 12 are therefore made of an elastic material, but rather of a rigid material, as a result of which the seal 10 is particularly robust and wear-resistant.

[0048] The pin 8 in the present case also consists of a rigid material, especially a metal, in particular steel. The explanations relating to the head 12 also apply accordingly to the pin 8. The pin here is a simple cylinder and is manufactured in one piece, i.e. monolithic.

[0049] The head 12 and the pin 8 are manufactured with play in relation to the bore 4, so that both can be moved along the bore 4 with as little friction as possible, but still in a guided manner.

[0050] In the design examples shown, the seal 10 is made of a material, the elasticity of which is greater than that of the pin 8 and the head 12. Therefore, when clamping the tool mount 2, the seal 10 is primarily compressed and squeezed between the pin 8 and the head 12. Because the seal 10 is elastic in comparison to the head 12 and the pin 8, the length 11 of the sealing piston 6 is variable; i.e. the elastic seal 10 absorbs tolerances that result from the production of the sealing piston 6 and the bore 4.

[0051] FIGS. 2 to 4 each show a variant of the sealing piston 6 in a lateral view. In the respective design example of FIGS. 2 and 4, the head 12 is made in one piece and consists of a single material; i.e. the head 12 is monolithic. The head 12 thus comprises an upper side which abuts the seal 10 and a lower side which abuts the sealing seat 20 in the end position. The upper side is therefore preferably flat, whereas the lower side is convex, spherical in FIG. 2 and conical in FIG. 4. The lower side in FIG. 2 accordingly has a spherical section 30; here specifically a half-sphere that extends downward. The lower side in FIG. 4 analogously has a conical section 31, which extends downward. The spherical section 30 and the conical section 31 have a diameter d4 that corresponds to the diameter d2 of the head 12 or alternatively, as shown here, is smaller, so that an additional ring is formed on the lower side around the spherical section 30 or the conical section 31. It is in particular essential that the diameter d4 of the spherical section 30 or conical section 31 is larger than the inner diameter d1 of the sealing seat 20.

[0052] In the design example of FIG. 3 on the other hand, the head 12 is formed in two parts and comprises a plate 32 and a ball 34. The plate 32 adjoins the seal 10 with a first side and further comprises a second side, which is opposite to the first side and against which the ball 34 abuts in the end position, so that it is pressed into the sealing seat 20. The ball 34 has a diameter d4 that is larger than the inner diameter d1 of the sealing seat 20. When viewed in the axial direction A, the plate 32 is disposed between the seal 10 and the ball 34. The ball 34 is either attached to the plate 32 or is loose and therefore movable relative to the plate 32. The plate 32 transfers the punctiform transfer of force of the ball 34 to the seal 10 in a planar manner. The explanations apply accordingly to a not explicitly shown embodiment, in which the head 12 comprises a cone instead of the ball 34, e.g. a real cone with a point or a truncated cone.

[0053] The sealing piston 6 has a length 11, which is the sum of the respective lengths 12, 13,14 of the pin 8, the seal 10 and the head 12. The sealing piston 6 furthermore has a diameter which correspondingly results from the respective diameter d5, d6, d2 of pin 8, the seal 10 and the head 12, wherein the maximum diameter is given by the seal 10, specifically its sealing lip 16. The actual lengths 11, 12, 13, 14 and diameters d2, d5, d6, i.e. the dimensions of the sealing piston 6 and its individual parts in general, depend on the specific application and the dimensioning of the tool mount 2.

[0054] The actuator 14, which is shown in FIG. 1, is used to move the sealing piston 6 as described. In the design example shown in FIG. 1, the bore 4 comprises an additional actuator stop 36 for the actuator 14 and the seal 10 is configured to be so compressible that, in the end position of the sealing piston 6, the actuator 14 can still be inserted all the way to the actuator stop 36 as shown in FIG. 1. This provides a certain amount of tolerance for pressing the head 12 against the sealing seat 20. When the tool mount 2 is being clamped, the actuator 14 and the sealing piston 6 are first moved inward in the bore 4 until the head 12 hits the sealing seat 20. The actuator 14 can then be moved in even further to the actuator stop 36. The head 12 is already in the end position, however, and only the seal 10 is being compressed and the pin 8 is accordingly moved in further. In FIG. 1, the actuator stop 36 is configured as a ring-shaped and chamfered step within the bore 4 and the actuator 14 has a corresponding front side, which hits the actuator stop 36 when it is moved in.

[0055] In the design example shown in FIG. 1, the seal 10 is connected in a form-locking manner to the pin 8 or to the head 12 via a respective plug-in coupling 38, 40. As a result, the individual parts of the sealing piston 6 are captively connected to one another and optimal guidance when being moved in the bore is ensured. As shown, the pin 8 and the head 12 each comprise a projection, for example, which are inserted into a respective complementary recess in the seal 10. In cross-section along the axial direction A, the seal 10 then has an H-shaped cross-section. The contact surfaces 26, 28 of the pin 8 and the head 12 are both ring-shaped. In a not depicted variant there is no plug-in coupling 38, 40, so that the contact surfaces 26, 28 are perpendicular to the axial direction A, and for example completely flat, across the entire cross-section, and the head, the seal and the pin just abut one another.

[0056] In addition to the bore 4 for the sealing piston 6, the tool mount 2 shown as an example comprises a separate filling bore 42 and a ball seal 44 for closing the filling bore 42. The filling bore 42 is used to fill the pressure chamber with fluid and is otherwise closed in a pressure-tight manner by means of the ball seal 44. The ball seal 44 is configured similarly to the head 12 of the sealing piston 6 and comprises a ball 46, which abuts a sealing seat 48 of the filling bore 42 to the inside and thus closes it. The ball 46 is pressed against the sealing seat 48 via a further actuator 50. In contrast to the sealing piston 6, however, in the filling bore 42 the actuator 50 acts directly on the ball 46 without an additional seal made of an elastic material being disposed in between.