Coupling and uncoupling truck trailers and semi-trailers is part of the daily routine for every professional driver. And yet accidents happen time and again. Currently, the driver has to climb behind the cab for every coupling operation, and the risk of slipping and falling is great, especially in wet, icy and snowy conditions. In confined spaces behind the cab, for example, when a refrigerated trailer with a refrigeration machine is hitched, the driver has to contort himself and no longer has a secure footing. In articulated road trains with under-hitch systems, the connections are often located far below the truck, meaning that the driver sometimes has to crawl under the towing vehicle and can hit his head in the process.
To facilitate the connection and disconnection of compressed air lines and cables and to improve occupational safety, Fliegl has developed the F-CON quick-coupling system. With the laterally mounted F-CON, the driver no longer has to climb behind the vehicle and can quickly and easily establish the connections while standing safely next to the vehicle: All that is required is to plug the control unit with the compressed air and electrical connections onto the base station on the truck and then simply flip the lever. A status LED installed as standard indicates the correct locking status; thanks to the inductive proximity sensor, no false alarms are possible, for example, due to ice or snow on the sensor.
Safety has top priority at Fliegl: With F-CON, both lines are connected at the same moment; when the parking brake is applied, the road train can no longer roll away. In the event of a hose rupture, the parking brake is activated immediately, as with the standard connection. Thanks to the "over-dead-centre detent", the control element cannot accidentally detach from the base station, even in the event of powerful shocks or vibrations.
With F-CON, it is technically impossible to interchange the lines. In addition, the system brings all lines together centrally, thus avoiding any tangled cables. F-CON is scalable and can be individually expanded with different connections. In this way, hydraulic lines can also be integrated, for example, for the forward and return flow of walking-floor trailers. Optionally available is a Connected Car version with transponder, in which auxiliary electronics in the F-CON control an additionally installed valve in the trailer or semi-trailer and only release the brake if the towing vehicle is equipped with the corresponding chip. This means, for example, that the wrong trailer cannot be accidentally hitched up at depots, and the technology also serves as theft protection.
No changes are necessary on the trailer side, as F-CON is handled as an adapter. All factory-fitted compressed air and electrical connections on the trailer or semi-trailer are fully retained and can still be used – even without F-CON. When the trailer or semi-trailer is uncoupled, the control element on the trailer side is attached to the vehicle by a magnet. On the truck side, the base station can be installed in any commercial vehicle workshop.
All components of the base station, the control unit and all screws of the system are galvanised and thus protected against corrosion. F-CON is basically maintenance-free.
