Abstract: A coupling wherein a spherical or ring-shaped female coupling member has sockets for pins at the ends of rod-shaped male coupling members. Each pin has a conical displacing portion in front of a cylindrical peripheral surface which is formed with a pair of recesses, and the female coupling member contains a pair of movable retaining elements for each socket and springs, rubber pads or like parts which bias the retaining elements into the recesses of a pin in the respective socket. The conical displacing portion serves to spread the retaining elements apart during introduction of the pin into a selected socket, and the pin is thereupon secured in inserted positoin by an internally threaded sleeve which surrounds the end of the rod and can be moved into abutment with the external surface of the female coupling member in order to urge undercut portion of surfaces in the recesses of the inserted pin against the respective retaining elements.

Abstract: A connector which can releasably couple two confronting or divergent flanges of a profiled structural member with a hollow second member has a housing which is insertable into the second member and contains two retaining arms with hook-shaped jaws projecting from the open front end of the housing. The arms are movable toward or away from each other into and from positions of overlap with the flanges before they are retracted to engage the jaws with the respective flanges. The jaws are movable to positions of overlap with the flanges by one or more displacing members and to retracted positions by one or more motion transmitting members. The displacing members and the motion transmitting members receive motion from one or more eccentrics or disc cams of an actuator which is rotatably mounted in the second member on a shaft which can be disengaged from the second member to allow for extraction of the entire connector from the second member.