New coupler meets contractors' requirement

Irish manufacturer CJM Engineering has introduced a new automatic coupler called the Triple Lock, which its UK importer, Exac-One, said meets all HSE and contractor requirements.

The new coupler has an extended and profiled slider mechanism into which the pin has to fit so it can be drawn over the bottom jaw by the hydraulic system to engage/disengage the attachment.

To engage an attachment, the slider has to be moved to the forward position (towards the cab) and the dipper positioned so the pin is collected in the profile and drawn over the bottom jaw. The coupler is then curled to the vertical position and the slider moved forward again to allow the rear pin to drop into position.

Returning the slider to its working position engages the rear pin and a pendulum jaw drops over the rear of the pin to prevent detachment. "As you cannot hook onto the front pin without properly engaging it, operators cannot 'pick and place' buckets, which is so frowned upon by the HSE and others," said Doug Guest, Exac-One's sales director.

Guest sees a big advantage in that the coupler does not have to be fully curled to engage or disengage because this can be impossible with some of the bigger attachments. The Triple Lock will carry a premium of about 20% on CJM's existing Deadlock automatic hitch.