Filling adapter (claw angle adjustment)

Abstract

A filling adapter for a container to be filled with media, in particular for the filling of containers on assembly lines for the production of motor vehicles where the filling adapter is equipped with a hose pack, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic lines. The filling adapter is equipped with a clamping drive housing with a stationary part and a receiving part for clamping claws. The receiving part can be operatively connected with a union nut such that, after loosening the union nut, the position of the clamping claws can be rotationally adjusted, allowing rotation of the filling adapter with respect to the container to be filled. A clamping drive housing includes a toothing, with which the receiving part for the clamping claws engages by way of a locking pin.

Claims

1. A filling adapter for initially filling containers with operating substances on assembly lines for the production of motor vehicles, wherein the filling adapter is equipped with a hose pack, electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic lines, wherein the filling adapter comprises a clamping drive housing comprising a stationary part and a receiving part for clamping claws, wherein the receiving part can be brought into operative connection with a union nut so that after loosening the union nut, the position of the clamping claws can be rotationally adjusted so that the filling adapter can be rotated according to the container to be filled, and wherein a toothing in which the receiving part for the clamping claws engages by way of a locking pin is configured in the clamping drive housing.

2. A filling adapter for a container comprising: a first, non-rotatable part comprising a union nut and a toothing comprising a plurality of circumferentially arranged teeth spaced apart by a pitch distance; and a second, rotatable part comprising a plurality of clamping claws, a threaded portion and a pin; wherein when the union nut is disengaged from the threaded portion, the second part is rotatable relative to the first part about a longitudinal axis of the filling adapter; wherein when the second part is at a desired rotational position relative to the first part, the pin engages the toothing and the union nut engages the threaded portion such that the second part is rotationally fixed relative to the first part; and wherein the clamping claws are rotationally adjustable in discrete increments defined by the pitch distance to accommodate the container to be filled.

Description

DRAWINGS

(1) The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the clamping system when the union nut is tightened, and

(3) FIG. 2 shows the clamping system when the union nut is loosened.

(4) Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(6) A filling adapter according to the present disclosure is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The filling adapter is suitable for a container to be filled with media or operating substance, such as oils, gases, coolants and the like, during the initial filling of the container on an assembly line for the production of motor vehicles. Accordingly, the filling adapter comprises a clamping system including a clamping drive housing including a first, stationary part 1 and a second, rotatable receiving part 3 for the clamping claws 2. The receiving part 3 is connected to the stationary part 1 using a union nut 4, wherein the union nut 4 is guided in a threaded portion 5. Furthermore, the clamping drive housing is configured with a toothing 6 (e.g., a series of projections or teeth spaced apart by a pitch distance). The receiving part 3 for the clamping claws 2 engages this toothing 6 by means of a locking pin 7.

(7) The receiving part 3 via the threaded portion 5 can be brought into operative connection with the union nut 4 so that after loosening the union nut 4, the position of the clamping claws 2 can be rotationally adjusted such that the filling adapter can be rotated to adapt to the container to be filled. Once tightened via the threaded portion 5, the union nut 4 can be prevented from loosening by way of the locking pin 7 engaging the toothing 6.

(8) The filling adapter of the present disclosure enables the claws 2 on the clamping drive to be adjusted to different angular positions, and according to the pitch of the toothing 6, this can be achieved in particularly small increments, as desired. The filling adapter of the present disclosure results in a finely graded angular adjustment of the claws 2.

(9) The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.