CN112081839A

CN112081839A - Agricultural machine and automatic clutch device and automatic clutch method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112081839A
Application number: CN201910518514.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 朱明�; 张剑; 吴迪; 姚远
Original assignee: FJ Dynamics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: FJ Dynamics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-15
Filing date: 2019-06-15
Publication date: 2020-12-15

Abstract

The invention discloses an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof, wherein the automatic reasonable device comprises a driving part and a transmission part which is connected with the driving part in a driving way, the transmission part further comprises a shifting arm and a shifting rod, the shifting rod comprises a rod element and a shifting wheel element which is arranged at the inner end part of the rod element, the outer end part of the rod element is arranged at the fixed end of the shifting arm, when the driving part drives the driving end of the shifting arm to move upwards, the shifting wheel element drives a driven gear of a driven gear set of a gearbox to be separated from a driving gear of a driving gear set, so that the power transmission of the gearbox is cut off, when the driving force provided by the driving part is removed, the driven gear moves towards the driving gear and the driven gear is fixed on the driving gear, to restore power transmission to the transmission.

Description

Agricultural machine and automatic clutch device and automatic clutch method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to agricultural machinery, in particular to agricultural machinery and an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof.

Background

Agricultural machinery is a working device widely used in agricultural production, such as but not limited to rice transplanter, tiller, plant protection machine, etc., and the advent of agricultural machinery has greatly improved agricultural production efficiency and reduced labor intensity, and has prompted rapid progress of agricultural production toward mechanization and modernization. In recent years, with the rapid development of scientific technology, especially the rapid development of sensing technology and positioning technology, the development of automated agricultural machinery has been proposed on a routine basis. Different from the existing agricultural machinery, the automatic agricultural machinery based on sensing technology and positioning technology is expected to realize unmanned driving and operation so as to further improve the agricultural production efficiency and reduce the labor intensity. The present agricultural machine includes a frame (including a steering wheel or an armrest, and other directional control portions), and an internal combustion engine, a transmission, a clutch, a shift lever, a set of wheels, a series of transmissions, and a seat, which are provided in the frame, wherein the transmission is connected to the internal combustion engine, the transmissions are connected to the transmission and the wheels, so that the transmission transmits power output from the transmission to the wheels to drive a work (e.g., walk) of the agricultural machine, the clutch and the shift lever are respectively connected to the transmission, and the clutch and the shift lever are respectively located in the vicinity of the seat, and a driver drives the agricultural machine by riding the seat. When the agricultural machine needs to be shifted (torque-converted), first, the driver operates (e.g., steps on) the clutch to cut off the power transmission of the transmission; secondly, the driver operates (e.g., manually operates) the shift lever to change the gear engagement position in the transmission case; the driver then operates (e.g. releases) the clutch to resume power transmission of the gearbox; thereby allowing the agricultural machine to shift (torque-convert) as the gear engagement position of the transmission case is changed. That is, if the gear shift of the transmission of the agricultural machine is to be realized, the clutch must be used to cut off the power transmission of the transmission before the gear shift and the clutch must be used to recover the power transmission of the transmission after the gear shift, otherwise the gear of the transmission is easily damaged due to the bad phenomenon of "gear rattle".

Further, there are automatic transmissions such as a hydraulic automatic transmission, an electric automatic transmission, a stepped mechanical automatic transmission, and a stepless mechanical automatic transmission which are shifted by a planetary gear mechanism and which are automatically shifted according to the degree of an accelerator pedal and the change in vehicle speed. Although these automatic transmissions have the advantage of automatic transmission, they have relatively poor stability and high maintenance cost, and particularly, agricultural machines are generally used in complicated and severe use environments, such as rice transplants applied to paddy fields or muddy fields, which makes the automatic transmissions unsuitable for use in agricultural machines.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof, wherein the automatic clutch device can realize automatic clutch of a gearbox of the agricultural machine for subsequent gear shifting operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof, wherein the automatic gear shifting device provides a driving part and a transmission part, the transmission part connects the driving part and the transmission case, wherein the driving part switches or restores the power transmission of the transmission case by driving the transmission part, so as to realize the automatic clutch of the transmission case.

An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof, wherein the driving part includes an electric push rod which generates power in a telescopic manner, thereby ensuring reliability of the automatic clutch device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch apparatus and an automatic clutch method thereof, wherein the transmission part is a mechanical transmission part to ensure that the transmission part can effectively transmit the driving force generated by the driving part to the transmission case to cut off or resume the power transmission of the transmission case.

An object of the present invention is to provide an agricultural machine, an automatic clutch device and an automatic clutch method thereof, in which the transmission part is a mechanical transmission part, so that the maintenance cost and the repair cost of the agricultural machine can be greatly reduced by implementing the automatic clutch of the transmission case through the automatic clutch device, compared with the conventional automatic transmission case.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic clutch device for an agricultural machine for cutting off or returning power transmission of a transmission of the agricultural machine, wherein the transmission includes a transmission housing having an inner space and a lever passage communicating with the inner space at a front side of the transmission housing, a driving gear set having a driving gear, a driven gear set having a driven gear and a boss portion, and an elastic member disposed between the driven gear and the boss portion and capable of moving the driven gear toward the driving gear to fix the driven gear to the driving gear, wherein the automatic clutch device includes a driving part and a driving part drivably connected to the driving part, wherein the transmission portion further comprises:

the shifting arm is provided with a fixed end and a driving end corresponding to the fixed end; and

a shift lever, wherein said shift lever includes a lever member and a dial wheel member, said lever member having an inner end portion and an outer end portion corresponding to said inner end portion, wherein said lever member extends from the outside of said transmission case to said inner space through said shift lever passage of said transmission case such that said inner end portion of said lever member is held in said inner space of said transmission case and said outer end portion of said lever member is held in the outside of said transmission case, wherein said dial wheel member is mounted to said inner end portion of said shift lever, and said driven gear is drivably mounted to said dial wheel member, wherein said outer end portion of said lever member is fixedly provided to said dial arm, and said dial arm extends from said outer end portion of said lever member toward one end portion of said transmission case.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the driven gear has a ring-shaped slot and the wheel element has at least one detent, wherein the detent of the wheel element is positioned in the ring-shaped slot of the driven gear.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the wheel setting member includes a wheel setting body and two wheel setting arms extending from the wheel setting body at an interval to form a wheel setting space therebetween, each of the wheel setting arms is provided with one of the seizing protrusions, and the seizing protrusions are held in the wheel setting space, wherein the wheel setting body is mounted to the inner end portion of the rod member, wherein a portion of the driven gear is rotatably held in the wheel setting space of the wheel setting member so that the two seizing protrusions are held on opposite sides of the driven gear in a symmetrical manner with each other.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the fixed end of the toggle arm is drivably mounted to the drive portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the transmission portion further includes a first tie rod, a second tie rod, and a steering arm, wherein a middle portion of the steering arm is rotatably mounted to the transmission case, wherein both ends of the first tie rod are rotatably mounted to the driving end of the dial arm and one end portion of the steering arm, respectively, one end portion of the second tie rod is rotatably mounted to the other end portion of the steering arm, and the other end portion of the second tie rod is drivably mounted to the driving portion.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the end of the second tie rod is slidably mounted to the steering arm.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the steering arm has an elongated first mounting channel allowing the first mounting channel to extend from the end of the steering arm towards the middle, wherein the end of the tie rod is rotatably and slidably mounted to the first mounting channel of the steering arm.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the drive portion is an electric push rod.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided an agricultural machine comprising:

a running gear including a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels;

a frame device including a frame body, a pair of front axles and a pair of rear axles, wherein the pair of front axles are respectively symmetrically disposed at both sides of a front end portion of the frame body, and each of the front wheels is respectively disposed at each of the front axles, wherein the pair of rear axles are respectively symmetrically disposed at both sides of a rear end portion of the frame body, and each of the rear wheels is respectively disposed at each of the rear axles;

a power unit including a power mechanism and a transmission case connected to the power mechanism, wherein the transmission case includes a transmission case, a driving gear set, a driven gear set, an elastic member and two transmission case output shafts, the transmission case has an inner space, a shift lever passage communicating with the inner space at a front side of the transmission case, and an output shaft passage communicating with the inner space at both ends of the transmission case, the driving gear set has a driving gear, the driven gear set has a driven gear and a protrusion, the elastic member is disposed between the driven gear and the protrusion, and the elastic member is disposed to move the driven gear toward the driving gear to fix the driven gear to the driving gear, and each of the transmission case output shafts extends toward each of the front axles to be connected to the front axles; and

an automatic clutch device comprising a driving portion and a driving portion drivably connected to the driving portion, wherein the driving portion further comprises a shift arm and a shift lever, wherein the shift arm has a fixed end and a driving end corresponding to the fixed end, wherein the shift lever comprises a lever member and a dial member, the lever member having an inner end and an outer end corresponding to the inner end, wherein the lever member extends from the outside of the transmission case to the inner space through the shift lever passage of the transmission case such that the inner end of the lever member is held in the inner space of the transmission case and the outer end of the lever member is held in the outside of the transmission case, wherein the dial member is mounted to the inner end of the shift lever, and the driven gear is drivably mounted to the dial member, wherein the outer end portion of the lever member is fixedly provided to the fixed end of the lever arm, and the lever arm is extended from the outer end portion of the lever member toward one end portion of the transmission case.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the driving gear has at least one positioning groove, and the driven gear has at least one positioning protrusion, wherein the positioning protrusion of the driven gear is detachably positioned at the positioning groove of the driving gear.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the driving gear has at least one positioning protrusion, and the driven gear has at least one positioning groove, wherein the positioning protrusion of the driving gear is detachably positioned at the positioning groove of the driven gear.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is further provided an automatic clutching method for an agricultural machine, wherein the automatic clutching method comprises the steps of:

(a) when a driving end of a shifting arm is pulled upwards by a driving part to allow the shifting arm to drive a shifting wheel element to swing through a rod element, a driven gear of a driven gear set is allowed to be separated from a driving gear of a driving gear set to cut off the power transmission of a gearbox; and

(b) when the driving force applied to the shifting arm by the driving part is cancelled to allow an elastic element to restore the initial state, the elastic element pushes the driven gear of the driven gear set to move towards the driving gear of the driving gear set and fixes the driven gear to the driving gear to restore the power transmission of the gearbox.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the step (a) further comprises the steps of:

(a.1) the driving part pulls the rear end part of a pull rod of a second pull rod towards the direction of the rear end part of a machine frame body;

(a.2) the second tie rod drives one end of a steering arm in a direction toward the rear end of the housing body downward and one end of the steering arm in a direction toward the front end of the housing body upward in a manner allowing the middle of the steering arm to rotate about one axis; and

(a.3) the steering arm pulls the drive end of the toggle arm upward through a first pull rod.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an agricultural machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2A and 2B show the disassembled state of the agricultural machine according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

Fig. 3 shows a partial state of the agricultural machine according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates a spatial structural relationship of an automatic clutch device and a transmission of the agricultural machine.

Fig. 4 shows a partial state of the agricultural machine according to the above-described preferred embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates an exploded structural relationship of the automatic clutch device and the transmission case of the agricultural machine.

Fig. 5A and 5B respectively show a partial state of the agricultural machine according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates a structural relationship between a driving part and a transmission part of the automatic clutch device and a gear relationship of the transmission case when the automatic clutch state of the agricultural machine is in a first state.

Fig. 6A and 6B respectively show a partial state of the agricultural machine according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates the structural relationship of the driving part and the transmission part of the automatic clutch device and the gear relationship of the transmission case when the automatic clutch state of the agricultural machine is in a second state.

Detailed Description

The following description is presented to disclose the invention so as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention. The preferred embodiments in the following description are given by way of example only, and other obvious variations will occur to those skilled in the art. The basic principles of the invention, as defined in the following description, may be applied to other embodiments, variations, modifications, equivalents, and other technical solutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that in the present disclosure, the terms "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for ease of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or components must be constructed and operated in a particular orientation and thus are not to be considered limiting.

It is understood that the terms "a" and "an" should be interpreted as meaning that a number of one element or element is one in one embodiment, while a number of other elements is one in another embodiment, and the terms "a" and "an" should not be interpreted as limiting the number.

Referring to fig. 1 to 6B of the drawings, an agricultural machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed and illustrated in the following description, wherein the agricultural machine includes a frame device 10, a power device 20, a traveling device 30 and an automatic clutch device 50.

Specifically, the rack device 10 includes a rack body 11, a pair of front axles 12, and a pair of rear axles 13, wherein the rack body 11 has a front end portion 111 and a rear end portion 112 corresponding to the front end portion 111, wherein the pair of front axles 12 are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the rack body 11, and the pair of front axles 12 are held at the front end portion 111 of the rack body 11, and accordingly, the pair of rear axles 13 are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the rack body 11, and the pair of rear axles 13 are held at the rear end portion 112 of the rack body 11. The power unit 20 is mounted to the housing body 11 to be supported by the housing body 11. The automatic clutch device 50 is connected to the power unit 20 for cutting off or restoring the power transmission of the power unit 20. The running gear 30 includes a pair of front wheels 31 and a pair of rear wheels 32, wherein the pair of front wheels 31 are respectively provided to the pair of front axles 12 such that the pair of front wheels 31 are symmetrically held to each other on both sides of the front end portion 111 of the frame body 11, and correspondingly, the pair of rear wheels 32 are respectively provided to the pair of rear axles 13 such that the pair of rear wheels 32 are symmetrically held to each other on both sides of the rear end portion 112 of the frame body 11. The power output from the power unit 20 can be transmitted to a pair of the front wheels 31 through a pair of the front axles 12 to drive the pair of the front wheels 31 to rotate, and can be transmitted to a pair of the rear wheels 32 through a pair of the rear axles 13 to drive the pair of the rear wheels 32 to rotate. When the pair of front wheels 31 and the pair of rear wheels 32 are driven to rotate, the pair of front wheels 31 and the pair of rear wheels 32 can drive the agricultural machine to travel, for example, the pair of front wheels 31 and the pair of rear wheels 32 can drive the agricultural machine to advance, retreat, turn, and the like.

More specifically, the front axle 12 includes a front axle high end 121, a front axle low end 122, and a front axle transmitting portion 123. The front axle high end portion 121 is attached to the front end portion 111 of the chassis body 11. The front axle low end 122 is rotatably held at a lower portion of the front axle low end 122, thus allowing the front axle low end 122 to rotate relative to the front axle high end 121. The front axle transmitting portion 123 includes a front axle high end transmitting portion 1231 and a front axle low end transmitting portion 1232, wherein the front axle high end transmitting portion 1231 extends from the front axle high end portion 121 to the front axle low end portion 122 in such a manner as to be rotatably held inside the front axle high end portion 121 and inside the front axle low end portion 122, such that the front axle high end transmitting portion 1231 enables the front axle low end portion 122 to be reliably held at a lower portion of the front axle high end portion 121, wherein the front axle low end transmitting portion 1232 extends from inside to outside of the front axle low end portion 122, and the front axle low end transmitting portion 1232 and the front axle high end transmitting portion 1231 are engaged with each other inside the front axle low end portion 122, wherein the front wheel 31 is mounted to the front axle low end transmitting portion 1232, such that when the front axle low end portion 122 is driven to rotate relative to the front axle high end portion 121, the front axle lower end 122 causes the front wheels 31 to turn synchronously and at the same amplitude.

The rear axle 13 includes a rear axle main body 131 and a rear axle transmitting portion 132. The rear axle main body 131 is mounted at the high end thereof to the rear end 112 of the housing body 11. The rear axle transmitting part 132 includes a rear axle high-end transmitting part 1321 and a rear axle low-end transmitting part 1322 engaged with the rear axle high-end transmitting part 1321, wherein the rear axle high-end transmitting part 1321 is rotatably held inside the rear axle main body 131, the rear axle low-end transmitting part 1322 extends from the inside to the outside of the rear axle main body 131, and wherein the rear wheel 32 is mounted to the rear axle low-end transmitting part 1322.

The power unit 20 includes a power mechanism 21, a transmission case 22, a power transmission mechanism 23, and a power distribution mechanism 24, wherein the transmission case 22 is connected to the power mechanism 21, the power transmission mechanism 23 is connected to the transmission case 22 and the power distribution mechanism 24, wherein the front axle transmitting portion 123 of each front axle 12 is connected to the transmission case 22, and the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of each rear axle 13 is connected to the power distribution mechanism 24, respectively, so that when the power mechanism 21 outputs power to the transmission case 22, the transmission case 22 can transmit power to each front wheel 31 through the front axle transmitting portion 123 of each front axle 12 to drive each front wheel 31 to rotate, and the power distribution mechanism 24 can transmit power from the power transmission mechanism 23 to each rear wheel 32 through the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of each rear axle 13 to drive each rear wheel 32 to rotate The rear wheel 32 rotates. The rotation of the front wheels 31 and the rotation of the rear wheels 32 can drive the agricultural machine to walk, for example, the rotation of the front wheels 31 and the rotation of the rear wheels 32 can drive the agricultural machine to move forward, backward, turn and the like.

Specifically, the transmission case 22 has a pair of transmission case output shafts 221, wherein the transmission case 22 is provided to the housing body 11, and the transmission case 22 is held between a pair of the front axles 12. Each of the transmission output shafts 221 of the transmission 22 extends toward each of the front axles 12, respectively, and the front axle high end transmission portion 1231 of the front axle transmission portion 123 of the front axle 12 is drivably connected to the transmission output shaft 221 of the transmission 22, so that the power output from the transmission 22 can be transmitted to the front axle transmission portion 123 of the front axle 12 via the transmission output shaft 221. For example, the forward axle high end transmission 1231 of the forward axle 12 is drivably connected to the transmission output shaft 221 of the transmission 22 in such a manner that the forward axle high end transmission 1231 and the transmission output shaft 221 of the transmission 22 mesh with each other.

Preferably, the gearbox output shaft 221 of the gearbox 22 extends to the interior of the front axle high end portion 121 of the front axle 12 to allow the front axle high end transmission portion 1231 of the front axle 12 to be drivably connected to the gearbox output shaft 221 of the gearbox 22 within the interior of the front axle high end portion 121. More preferably, the front axle high end portion 121 of the front axle 12 is mounted to the transmission housing 22 such that the front axle high end transmission portion 1231 of the front axle 12 is drivably connected to the transmission housing output shaft 221 of the transmission housing 22 internally of the front axle high end portion 121.

The power distribution mechanism 24 has a pair of power distribution output shafts 241, wherein the power distribution mechanism 24 is provided to the frame body 11, and the power distribution mechanism 24 is held between a pair of the rear axles 13. Each of the power distribution output shafts 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 extends toward each of the rear axles 13, respectively, and the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of the rear axle 13 is drivably connected to the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 so that the power output from the power distribution mechanism 24 can be transmitted to the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of the rear axle 13 via the power distribution output shaft 241. For example, the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of the rear axle 13 is drivably connected to the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 such that the rear axle transmitting portion 132 and the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 mesh with each other.

Preferably, the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 extends to the inside of the rear axle main body 131 of the rear axle 13 to allow the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of the rear axle 13 to be drivably connected to the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 inside the rear axle main body 131. More preferably, the rear axle main body 131 of the rear axle 13 is mounted to the power distribution mechanism 24 such that the rear axle transmitting portion 132 of the rear axle 13 is drivably connected to the power distribution output shaft 241 of the power distribution mechanism 24 inside the rear axle main body 131.

It should be noted that, in the preferred example of the agricultural machine shown in fig. 1 to 6B, a pair of the front wheels 31 and a pair of the rear wheels 32 of the agricultural machine are both driving wheels, so that the power output from the gearbox 22 can be directly transmitted to each of the front wheels 31 through each of the front axles 12 to drive each of the front wheels 31 to rotate, and the power output from the gearbox 22 is transmitted to each of the rear wheels 32 indirectly through the power distribution mechanism 24 after being transmitted to the power distribution mechanism 24 through the power transmission mechanism 23 to drive each of the rear wheels 32 to rotate, thereby driving the agricultural machine to walk. Alternatively, in another example of the agricultural machine of the present invention, the pair of front wheels 31 of the agricultural machine are driving wheels, so that the power unit 20 of the agricultural machine may not need to be provided with the power transmission mechanism 23 and the power splitting mechanism 24, that is, each front wheel 31 can propel the agricultural machine when the power output from the transmission case 22 is transmitted to each front wheel 31 via each front axle 12 to drive each front wheel 31 to rotate.

It is also worth mentioning that the type of the power mechanism 21 is not limited in the agricultural machine of the present invention, for example, the power mechanism 21 may be, but not limited to, an internal combustion engine, an electric motor. For example, in the preferred example of the agricultural machine of the present invention shown in fig. 1 to 6B, the power mechanism 21 is an internal combustion engine, so that the power device 20 further includes a fuel tank 25 for containing chemical fuel (such as gasoline, diesel oil, etc.), wherein the power mechanism 21 is connected to the fuel tank 25 to provide power by burning the chemical fuel contained in the fuel tank 25.

Further, referring to fig. 1 and 2A, the agricultural machine includes a mounting bracket 200, the mounting bracket 200 is mounted to the rear end 112 of the frame body 11, wherein a functional component can be mounted to the mounting bracket 200, for example, the functional component can be, but is not limited to, a seedling transplanting mechanism, so that the agricultural machine has a seedling transplanting function after the seedling transplanting mechanism is mounted to the mounting bracket 200. Preferably, referring to fig. 2B, the agricultural machine further includes a functional component output shaft 300, the functional component output shaft 300 is drivably connected to the transmission case 22 and extends from the transmission case 22 toward the rear end 112 of the frame body 11, and when the functional component is mounted on the mounting bracket 200, the functional component output shaft 300 can be mounted on the functional component to transmit the power output from the transmission case 22 to the functional component. In addition, the agricultural machine further includes a housing 400, and the housing 400 is mounted to the frame body 11 to form an integral appearance of the agricultural machine.

Further, the transmission case 22 includes a transmission case 222, a driving gear set 223, and a driven gear set 224. The transmission housing 222 has an inner space 2221, an input shaft path 2222, a shift lever path 2223 and two output shaft paths 2224, wherein the input shaft path 2222 is connected to the inner space 2221 at one end of the transmission housing 222, the shift lever path 2223 is connected to the inner space 2221 at the side of the transmission housing 222, and each of the output shaft paths 2224 is connected to the inner space 2221 at the opposite ends of the transmission housing 222. The driving gear set 223 has a driving input shaft 2231 and a driving gear 2232 drivably connected to the driving input shaft 2231, wherein the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223 is rotatably held in the inner space 2221 of the transmission housing 222, and the driving input shaft 2231 of the driving gear set 223 extends from the inner space 2221 of the transmission housing 222 to the outside through the input shaft passage 2222 of the transmission housing 222 to be connected to the power mechanism 21. The driven gear set 224 has a driven gear 2241, the driven gear 2241 is rotatably held in the internal space 2221 of the transmission case 222, and the driven gear 2241 can be fixed to the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223 so that the driven gear 2241 and the driving gear 2232 move in synchronization. Each of the transmission output shafts 221 is drivably connected to the driven gear set 223 at the inner space 2221 of the transmission housing 222, respectively, and the transmission output shafts 221 extend from the inner space 2221 of the transmission housing 222 to the outside of the transmission housing 222 through the output shaft passages 2224 of the transmission housing 222 to be connected to the front axle high end transmission 1231 of the front axle 12.

Preferably, the front axle high end portion 121 of the front axle 12 is mounted to the outside of the transmission housing 222 of the transmission case 22 to allow the transmission output shaft 221 extending to the outside of the transmission housing 222 through the output shaft passage 2224 of the transmission housing 222 to extend to the inside of the front axle high end portion 121 of the front axle 12 to engage with the front axle high end transmitting portion 1231 of the front axle 12.

That is, when the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 is fixed to the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 222, the driving gear 2232 can be rotated by the power inputted from the power mechanism 21 through the driving input shaft 2231 of the driving gear set 223, and the driven gear 2241 can be rotated synchronously by the rotation of the driving gear 2232, so that the power is outputted from the transmission output shaft 221 to the front axle transmission unit 123 of the front axle 12.

Further, the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223 has at least one positioning groove 22321, and the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 has at least one positioning protrusion 22411, wherein when the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 is positioned in the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232, the driven gear 2241 is fixed to the driving gear 2232, so that the driven gear 2241 can be rotated in synchronization with the driving gear 2232, and accordingly, when the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 is disengaged from the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232, the driven gear 2241 is separated from the driving gear 2232, and at this time, the driven gear 2241 can be kept still even though the driving gear 2232 rotates. Alternatively, the positioning groove 22321 is provided with the driven gear 2241, and the positioning protrusion 22411 is provided on the driving gear 2232, so that the driven gear 2241 is fixed to the driving gear 2232 when the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driving gear 2232 is positioned in the positioning groove 22321 of the driven gear 2241.

Preferably, the gear box 22 includes a resilient member 225, wherein one end of the resilient member 225 abuts against the convex portion 2242 of the driven gear set 224 and the other end abuts against the driven gear 2241, and the resilient member 225 is configured to provide the driven gear 2241 with a tendency to move toward the driving gear 2232 so that the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 is positioned in the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232. It is worth mentioning that the male part 2242 of the driven gear set 224 may be, but is not limited to, a gear.

It will be appreciated that when the driven gear 2241 is operated to move in a direction away from the driving gear 2232 so that the positioning protrusions 22411 of the driven gear 2241 are disengaged from the positioning grooves 22321 of the driving gear 2232, the driven gear 2241 and the convex portion 2242 cooperate with each other to compress the resilient member 225. When the external force driving the driven gear 2241 to move away from the driving gear 2232 is removed, the elastic element 225 can restore the original state to drive the driven gear 2241 to move toward the driving gear 2232, so as to allow the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 to be positioned in the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232, so that the driven gear 2241 is fixed to the driving gear 2232.

With continued reference to fig. 1-6B, the automatic clutch device 50 includes a driving portion 51 and a transmission portion 52, the transmission portion 52 is drivably connected to the driving portion 51, and the transmission portion 52 can extend to the internal space 2221 of the transmission housing 222 through the lever path 2223 of the transmission housing 222 of the transmission case 22 to connect to the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 of the transmission case 22, wherein the driving portion 51 can drive the driven gear 2241 to move away from the driving gear 2232 through the transmission portion 52 to disengage the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 from the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232 to cut off the power transmission of the transmission case 22. Preferably, the driving part 51 of the automatic clutch device 50 is capable of operating based on a clutch signal when the agricultural machine generates the clutch signal.

It should be noted that the manner in which the agricultural machine generates the clutch signal is not limited in the present invention, for example, the agricultural machine may generate the clutch signal based on a shift signal, and the shift signal generated by the agricultural machine is based on the operating state of the agricultural machine.

Specifically, the transmission portion 52 includes a shift lever 521, and the shift lever 521 further includes a dial wheel element 5211 and a lever element 5212. The lever member 5212 has an inner end 52121 and an outer end 52122 that corresponds to the inner end 52121, wherein the lever member 5212 extends from the exterior of the transmission housing 222 to the interior space 2221 of the transmission housing 222 through the lever passage 2223 of the transmission housing 222 such that the inner end 52121 of the lever member 5212 is retained in the interior space 2221 of the transmission housing 222 and the outer end 52122 of the lever member 5212 is retained in the exterior of the transmission housing 222. The thumb wheel element 5211 is mounted to the inner end 52121 of the lever element 5212, and the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 is drivably connected to the thumb wheel element 5211.

It is worth mentioning that the transmission housing 222 of the transmission case 22 is configured to prevent the lever member 5212 of the transmission part 52 from being displaced, while only allowing the lever member 5212 to rotate in the lever passage 2223 of the transmission housing 222. When the lever component 5212 rotates, the lever component 5212 can drive the dial wheel component 5211 to rotate synchronously to swing the dial wheel component 5211, so that the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 is driven by the dial wheel component 5211 to move in a direction away from the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223, so that the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 is disengaged from the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232, so as to cut off the power transmission of the transmission case 22, and at this time, the elastic element 225 is pressed by the driven gear 2241 and the protruding portion 2242 to generate elastic deformation. When the external force driving the lever member 5212 to rotate is removed, the resilient member 225 can restore the initial state to drive the driven gear 2241 to move toward the driving gear 2232, so as to allow the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 to be positioned in the positioning slot 22321 of the driving gear 2232, so that the driven gear 2241 is fixed to the driving gear 2232, and thus, the power transmission of the transmission case 22 can be restored.

Preferably, the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 has a ring slot 22412, the dial element 5211 has at least one locking protrusion 52111, wherein the locking protrusion 52111 of the dial element 5211 is positioned in the ring slot 22412 of the driven gear 2241, in such a way that the locking protrusion 52111 of the dial element 5211 can be always retained in the ring slot 22412 of the driven gear 2241 even when the driven gear 2241 is rotated by the driving gear 2232. More preferably, the thumb wheel element 5211 comprises a thumb wheel body 52112 and two thumb wheel arms 52113 extending from the thumb wheel body 52112 at intervals so as to form a thumb wheel space 52114 of the thumb wheel element 5211 between the two thumb wheel arms 52113, wherein each of the thumb wheel arms 52113 is provided with one of the locking protrusions 52111, and the two locking protrusions 52111 are retained in the thumb wheel space 52114. A part of the driven gear 2241 is rotatably held in the wheel movement space 52114 defined by the two wheel movement arms 52113 of the wheel movement element 5211 to allow the two snap lugs 52111 to be held on opposite sides of the driven gear 2241 in a mutually symmetrical manner. The wheel main body 52112 of the wheel setting member 5211 is mounted to the inner end 52121 of the lever member 5212.

The transmission part 52 further includes a dial arm 522, the dial arm 522 has a fixed end 5221 and a driving end 5222 corresponding to the fixed end 5221, wherein the outer end portion 52122 of the lever member 5212 is fixedly secured to the fixed end 5221 of the toggle arm 522, and the toggle arm 522 extends from the outer end portion 52122 of the lever member 5212 in the direction of one end of the gear box 22, thus, when the driving end 5222 of the toggle arm 522 is moved upward, the toggle arm 522 can drive the toggle lever 521 to rotate relative to the transmission housing 222, so as to allow the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 to disengage from the positioning slot 22321 of the driving gear 2232 by the driven gear 2241 moving away from the driving gear 2232 when the thumb wheel element 5211 swings, thereby cutting off the power transmission of the transmission case 22.

It is worth mentioning that the manner in which the outer end portion 52122 of the lever member 5212 is fixedly disposed on the fixed end 5221 of the dial arm 522 is not limited in the agricultural machine of the present invention. For example, the outer end 52122 of the lever member 5212 can be latched to the fixed end 5221 of the dial arm 522, or the outer end 52122 of the lever member 5212 can be welded to the fixed end 5221 of the dial arm 522, or the lever member 5212 and the dial arm 522 can be a unitary structure.

The transmission portion 52 further includes a first pull rod 523, a steering arm 524, and a second pull rod 525. The steering arm 524 is rotatably mounted at a middle portion thereof to the transmission case housing 222 of the transmission case 22, and the steering arm 524 has a first mounting passage 5241 and a second mounting passage 5242 at both ends thereof, respectively. The toggle arm 522 has a third mounting passage 52223 formed at the drive end 5222. The first tie rod 523 has a tie rod high end portion 5231 and a tie rod low end portion 5232 corresponding to the tie rod high end portion 5231, wherein the tie rod high end portion 5231 of the first tie rod 523 is rotatably mounted to the second mounting channel 5242 of the steering arm 524, and the tie rod low end portion 5232 of the first tie rod 523 is rotatably mounted to the third mounting channel 52223 of the dial arm 522. The second tie rod 525 has a tie rod front end 5251 and a tie rod rear end 5252 corresponding to the tie rod front end 5251, wherein the tie rod front end 5251 of the second tie rod 525 is rotatably mounted to the first mounting channel 5241 of the steering arm 524 and the tie rod rear end 5252 of the second tie rod 525 is drivably mounted to the drive portion 51. Preferably, the driving part 51 is mounted to the housing body 11.

When the driving portion 51 pulls the second pull rod 525 towards the rear end 112 of the housing body 11, the second pull rod 525 drives the steering arm 524 to perform driving action relative to the transmission case 22, so as to move the end portion of the steering arm 524 where the first mounting channel 5241 is formed downwards and move the end portion of the steering arm 524 where the second mounting channel 5242 is formed upwards, and the steering arm 524 pulls the driving end 5222 of the dial arm 522 upwards through the first pull rod 523, so that the dial wheel element 521 drives the driven gear 2241 to move away from the driving gear 2232, and the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 is allowed to disengage from the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232, so as to cut off the power transmission of the transmission case 22.

Preferably, the driving portion 51 is an electric push rod, so that the driving portion 51 can pull the second pull rod 525 to move toward the rear end 112 of the rack body 11 by contracting. Alternatively, the driving part 51 is a driving motor, so that the driving part 51 can pull the second pulling rod 525 to move towards the rear end 112 of the rack body 11 by rotating.

It is worth mentioning that the first pull rod 523 is rotatably mounted to the dial arm 522 in such a manner that the pull rod lower end portion 5232 of the first pull rod 523 is mounted to the third mounting channel 52223 of the dial arm 522, so that the first pull rod 523 and the dial arm 522 can relatively rotate only in one plane, thereby limiting the rotation manner of the first pull rod 523 and the dial arm 522. The first tie rod 523 is rotatably mounted to the steering arm 524 in such a manner that the tie rod high end portion 5231 of the first tie rod 523 is mounted to the second mounting passage 5242 of the steering arm 524, so that the first tie rod 523 and the steering arm 524 can relatively rotate only in one plane, thereby restricting the manner in which the first tie rod 523 and the steering arm 524 rotate. The second tie rod 525 is rotatably mounted to the steering arm 524 in such a manner that the tie rod front end portion 5251 of the second tie rod 525 is mounted to the first mounting channel 5241 of the steering arm 524, so that the second tie rod 525 and the steering arm 524 can relatively rotate only in one plane, thus limiting the manner in which the second tie rod 525 and the steering arm 524 rotate. The second link 525 is rotatably attached to the driving unit 51 such that the link rear end portion 5252 of the second link 525 is attached to the driving unit 51, and thus the second link 525 and the driving unit 51 can relatively rotate only in one plane, thereby restricting the manner of rotation of the second link 525 and the driving unit 51.

Preferably, the first mounting channel 5241 of the steering arm 524 is an elongated mounting channel extending from the end of the steering arm 524 in a medial direction to allow the tie rod front end 5251 of the second tie rod 525 to move within the first mounting channel 5241 of the steering arm 524. Specifically, when the driving portion 51 drives the second tie rod 525 to move within the first mounting passage 5241 of the steering arm 524, the external force applied to the steering arm 524 is cancelled, such that the external force applied to the first tie rod 523, the toggle arm 522 and the toggle lever 521 is cancelled, such that the elastic element 225 drives the driven gear 2241 to move toward the driving gear 2232 to allow the positioning protrusion 22411 of the driven gear 2241 to be positioned at the positioning groove 22321 of the driving gear 2232 during the process of restoring the initial state of the elastic element 225, such that the driven gear 2241 is fixed to the driving gear 2232 to restore the power transmission of the transmission case 22.

Alternatively, in one modified example of the agricultural machine of the present invention, the driving end 5222 of the pick arm 522 can be directly drivably connected to the driving portion 51 to allow the driving portion 51 to directly drive the driving end 5222 of the pick arm 522 to move up and down.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention further provides an automatic clutch method of the agricultural machine, wherein the automatic clutch method comprises the steps of:

(a) when the driving portion 51 pulls the driving end 5222 of the dial arm 522 upward to allow the dial arm 522 to swing the dial wheel element 5211 via the lever member 522, the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 is allowed to disengage from the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223 to cut off the power transmission of the transmission case 22; and

(b) when the driving force applied to the toggle arm 522 by the driving portion 51 is cancelled to allow the elastic element 225 to return to the initial state, the elastic element 225 pushes the driven gear 2241 of the driven gear set 224 to move toward the driving gear 2232 of the driving gear set 223 and fixes the driven gear 2241 to the driving gear 2232 to return to the power transmission of the transmission case 22.

(a.1) the drive part 51 drives the rear end part 5252 of the second tie bar 525 toward the rear end part 112 of the housing body 11;

(a.2) the second tie rod 525 moves one end of the steering arm 524 downward toward the rear end 112 of the housing body 11 and one end of the steering arm 524 upward toward the front end 111 of the housing body 11 in such a manner as to allow the middle portion of the steering arm 524 to rotate about one axis; and

(a.3) the steering arm 524 pulls up the driving end of the dial arm 522 through the first pull rod 523.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments are only examples, wherein features of different embodiments may be combined with each other to obtain embodiments which are easily conceivable in accordance with the disclosure of the invention, but which are not explicitly indicated in the drawings.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention described above and shown in the drawings are given by way of example only and are not limiting of the invention. The objects of the invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The functional and structural principles of the present invention have been shown and described in the examples, and any variations or modifications of the embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the principles.

Claims

1. An automatic clutch apparatus for an agricultural machine for cutting off or returning power transmission of a transmission of the agricultural machine, wherein the transmission includes a transmission housing having an internal space and a lever passage communicating with the internal space at a front side of the transmission housing, a driving gear train having a driving gear, a driven gear and a boss portion, a driven gear set disposed between the driven gear and the boss portion, and an elastic member disposed to move the driven gear toward the driving gear to fix the driven gear to the driving gear, characterized by comprising a driving portion and a transmitting portion drivably connected to the driving portion, wherein the transmission portion further comprises:

a lever, wherein said lever includes a lever member and a thumb wheel member, said lever member having an inner end and an outer end corresponding to said inner end, wherein the lever member extends from an exterior of the transmission housing to the interior space through the lever channel of the transmission housing, such that the inner end portions of the lever member are held in the inner space of the transmission housing and the outer end portions of the lever member are held outside the transmission housing, wherein the dial wheel element is mounted to the inner end portion of the dial rod, the driven gear is drivably mounted to the dial wheel element, wherein the outer end portion of the lever member is fixedly provided to the fixed end of the lever arm, and extending the lever arm from the outer end of the lever member toward one end of the transmission case.

2. The automatic clutch device according to claim 1, wherein the driven gear has an annular catch groove, the thumb wheel member has at least one catch, wherein the catch of the thumb wheel member is positioned in the annular catch groove of the driven gear.

3. The automatic clutch device according to claim 2, wherein the wheel setting member includes a wheel setting body and two wheel setting arms extending from the wheel setting body at a distance from each other to form a wheel setting space between the two wheel setting arms, each of the wheel setting arms is provided with one of the seizing protrusions, respectively, and the seizing protrusions are held in the wheel setting space, wherein the wheel setting body is mounted to the inner end portion of the lever member, wherein a portion of the driven gear is rotatably held in the wheel setting space of the wheel setting member so that the two seizing protrusions are held on opposite sides of the driven gear in a symmetrical manner with each other.

4. The automatic clutch device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fixed end of the dial arm is drivably mounted to the driving portion.

5. The automatic clutch device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission portion further includes a first tie rod, a second tie rod, and a steering arm, wherein a middle portion of the steering arm is rotatably mounted to the transmission case, wherein both ends of the first tie rod are rotatably mounted to the driving end of the pick arm and one end portion of the steering arm, respectively, one end portion of the second tie rod is rotatably mounted to the other end portion of the steering arm, and the other end portion of the second tie rod is drivably mounted to the driving portion.

6. The automatic clutching device of claim 5, wherein an end of the second tie rod is slidably mounted to the steering arm.

7. The automatic clutch device according to claim 6, wherein the steering arm has a first mounting channel of an elongated shape to allow the first mounting channel to extend from an end portion of the steering arm toward a middle portion, wherein an end portion of the tie rod is rotatably and slidably mounted to the first mounting channel of the steering arm.

8. The automatic clutch device according to claim 5, wherein the driving portion is an electric push rod.

9. The automatic clutch device according to claim 7, wherein the driving portion is an electric push rod.

10. An agricultural machine, comprising:

a running gear including a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels;

an automatic clutch device comprising a driving portion and a driving portion drivably connected to the driving portion, wherein the driving portion further comprises a shift arm and a shift lever, wherein the shift arm has a fixed end and a driving end corresponding to the fixed end, wherein the shift lever comprises a lever member and a dial member, the lever member having an inner end and an outer end corresponding to the inner end, wherein the lever member extends from the outside of the transmission case to the inner space through the shift lever passage of the transmission case such that the inner end of the lever member is held in the inner space of the transmission case and the outer end of the lever member is held in the outside of the transmission case, wherein the dial member is mounted to the inner end of the shift lever, and the driven gear is drivably mounted to the dial member, wherein the outer end portion of the lever member is fixedly provided to the lever arm, and the lever arm is extended from the outer end portion of the lever member toward one end portion of the transmission case.

11. An agricultural machine according to claim 10, wherein the drive gear has at least one detent and the driven gear has at least one detent, wherein the detent of the driven gear is detachably located in the detent of the drive gear.

12. An agricultural machine according to claim 10, wherein the driving gear has at least one positioning projection and the driven gear has at least one positioning groove, wherein the positioning projection of the driving gear is detachably positioned at the positioning groove of the driven gear.

13. An agricultural machine according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the driven gear has an annular slot and the wheel element has at least one detent, wherein the detent of the wheel element is located in the annular slot of the driven gear.

14. An agricultural machine according to claim 13, wherein the wheel pusher member includes a wheel pusher body and two wheel pusher arms extending from the wheel pusher body at a distance from each other to form a wheel pusher space therebetween, each of the wheel pusher arms being provided with one of the catches, respectively, and the catches being held in the wheel pusher space, wherein the wheel pusher body is mounted to the inner end portion of the rod member, wherein a portion of the driven gear is rotatably held in the wheel pusher space of the wheel pusher member so that the two catches are held on opposite sides of the driven gear in a symmetrical manner with respect to each other.

15. An agricultural machine according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the fixed end of the kicker arm is drivably mounted to the drive portion.

16. An agricultural machine according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the transmission portion further comprises a first tie rod, a second tie rod and a steering arm, wherein a central portion of the steering arm is rotatably mounted to the gearbox, wherein both ends of the first tie rod are rotatably mounted to the drive end of the pick arm and one end of the steering arm, respectively, one end of the second tie rod is rotatably mounted to the other end of the steering arm, and the other end of the second tie rod is drivably mounted to the drive portion.

17. An agricultural machine according to claim 14, wherein the transmission portion further includes a first tie rod, a second tie rod, and a steering arm, wherein a middle portion of the steering arm is rotatably mounted to the gearbox, wherein both ends of the first tie rod are rotatably mounted to the drive end of the kicker arm and one end portion of the steering arm, respectively, one end portion of the second tie rod is rotatably mounted to the other end portion of the steering arm, and the other end portion of the second tie rod is drivably mounted to the drive portion.

18. An agricultural machine according to claim 17, wherein an end of the second tie rod is slidably mounted to the steering arm.

19. An agricultural machine according to claim 18, wherein the pitman arm has an elongated first mounting channel to allow the first mounting channel to extend from an end of the pitman arm in a medial direction, wherein an end of the tie rod is rotatably and slidably mounted to the first mounting channel of the pitman arm.

20. An agricultural machine according to claim 19, wherein the drive portion is an electric push rod.

21. An automatic clutch method of an agricultural machine, characterized by comprising the steps of:

22. The automatic clutching method of claim 21, said step (a) further comprising the steps of: