Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
  • B62D55/00—Endless track vehicles
  • B62D55/06—Endless track vehicles with tracks without ground wheels
  • B62D55/075—Tracked vehicles for ascending or descending stairs, steep slopes or vertical surfaces
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
  • B62D55/00—Endless track vehicles
  • B62D55/08—Endless track units; Parts thereof
  • B62D55/30—Track-tensioning means

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an assembly on a terrain- travelling motor vehicle having a pair of caterpillar bogies pivotably attached to the frame of the vehicle, as recited in the preamble of the appurtenant independent claim 1.
• a terrain-travelling motor vehicle of the type mentioned above is known from the applicant's own Norwegian Patent No. 148,219.
• a terrain-travelling vehicle wherein the body of the vehicle is raised and lowered, optionally the bogie arms are raised and lowered independently of one another, to maintain a desired position of the vehicle body when driving over uneven ground, without this affecting the tautness of the belt.
• the maintenance of uniform tautness of the belt while driving over uneven ground is achieved in said patent by means of the pressure cylinder described in the introduction of the patent, which acts upon the belt-tensioning arm, being pressurized at a specific desired pressure.
• the tautness of the belt may at any time be decreased or increased by regulating said pressure depending on land conditions and independently of the up-and-down pivoting movements of the bogie, which take place with the aid of the pressure cylinder provided for the raising and lowering thereof.
• the vehicle will assume a bumpy or rolling movement when driven over rugged terrain. This is due primarily to the fact that when one, or both of the caterpillar bogies drives into an obstacle in the form of a rock or stump, the forward wheel of the caterpillar bogie will climb the obstacle and thereby pivot the caterpillar bogie upward, with a corresponding transfer of movement to the vehicle frame.
• the purpose of the present invention is to provide a caterpillar bogie wherein said movement associated with collision with and climbing over an upwardly projecting obstacle is substantially moderated by virtue of the fact that the forward wheel of the caterpillar bogie is permitted to pivot upward at the same time as the center belt support ⁇ ing wheel between the forward and rear bogie wheels is pivoted downward. This enables the forward wheel of the caterpillar bogie to climb up over the obstacle at the same time as the belt supporting wheel is pressed downward and raises or turns the caterpillar bogie upward with less movement than in the known construction.
• the caterpillar bogie shows a front wheel having a belt tensioning arm and a belt supporting wheel provided at respective ends of an auxiliary bogie arm pivotably supported at the center section thereof on the forward end of the bogie arm mentioned above.
• the pressure cylinder used to move the belt tensioning arm is journalled, with the one end thereof that is opposite the belt tensioning arm, to the bogie arm or the auxiliary bogie arm.
• Said one end of the pressure cylinder is preferably mounted on/at the center section of the auxiliary bogie arm.
• mount said one end of the pressure cylinder at the forward end of the bogie arm in close proximity to the support of the auxiliary bogie arm on the bogie arm.
• Figure 1 shows a terrain-travelling motor vehicle as seen from the side and in partial section
• Figure 2 shows the frame of the motor vehicle with a caterpillar bogie on a level, horizontal surface
• Figure 2a and Figure 2b show in perspective the bogie arm and the auxiliary bogie arm of the caterpillar bogie in exploded view and in mounted state, respectively,
• Figures 3 - 9 show the same as Figure 2, but with the caterpillar bogie pivoted up or down depending on the ground conditions and with , ?. auxiliary bogie pivoted into various positions to illustrate how the caterpillar bogie according to the invention adapts itself to the surface while simulta ⁇ neously maintaining a uniform desired tautness in the belt, and
• Figures 10a and 10b show the previously known caterpillar vehicle according to Norwegian Patent No. 148,219, seen respectively from the side and from above, herewith to illustrate clearly the present invention and the advantages thereof in relation to said previously known terrain- travelling motor vehicle.
• each wheel 5a of the rear wheel pair 5 in the caterpillar bogie pair is supported in the frame 3 of the vehicle, while each wheel 7a in the front wheel pair 7 is supported on a respective pivotable arm 9 on the forward end of the bogie arm 8 provided on each bogie, which bogie arm is supported at the rear end thereof by means of shaft journals 4 proximate to and in front of the center of the rear wheel pair 5.
• Arm 9 is movable by means of a pressure cylinder 10, which is pressurized at a desired, adjustable pressure for maintaining a desired tautness in the bogie belt 2a during the pivoting movement of bogie arm 8, as well as during the continual changes in the configuration of the lower part of the bogie belt occurring during driving over uneven ground.
• the bogies 2 are independently and/or mutually pivotable and adjustable in relation to each other in the vertical plane by means of pressure cylinders 6, which are controllable from the cab 3b of the vehicle.
• a belt supporting wheel 11 is mounted on bogie arm 8, which wheel 11 preferably has a smaller diameter than the front and rear wheels 7a, 5a, and which abuts with the lower part of belt 2a.
• bogie belt 2a will slacken when bogie arm 8 is pivoted upward by with the aid of pressure cylinder 6.
• This slack is taken up by belt tensioning arm 9, which pivots front wheel 7 forward due to the fact that pressure cylinder 10 is pressurized in a manner known per se, whereby the pressure cylinder connected to the extension of belt tensioning arm 9 maintains the desired tautness in the belt whether it is slackened as bogie arm 8 is pivoted upward or is tightened as bogie arm 8 is pivoted downward, or as the lower part of belt 2a is subjected to changes in configuration as the belt passes over irregularities such as roots and rocks on the ground terrain.
• each bogie 2 has preferably the same diameter, whereby the vehicle on a less irregular surface is able to move equally well forward and backwards.
• the bogies 2,2 are pivotable upward and downward independently of each other, and can thereby compensate for traverse driving in sloping terrain so that the frame and the cab of the vehicle are held approximately level, and bogies 2,2 may also be raised and lowered in connection with passing over depres ⁇ sions and elevations on one side or the other of vehicle 1.
• the drive member or pressure cylinder 10 for the pivoting of belt tensioning arm 9 and for the maintenance thereby of desired tautness of the belt consists of a hydraulic cylinder 10' with a piston 10''arranged on the top side of bogie arm 8, the end of cylinder 10' being supported at 12 on the forward part 8' of the bogie arm, and the piston/piston rod 10' being supported at 13 on an extension of belt tensioning arm 9 which extends upwardly from the arm support 14 on bogie arm 8.
• bogie 2 When passing obstacles such as rocks or roots with this known motor vehicle, one or the other of the bogies 2 will, on hitting a root or rock, climb up thereon as bogie 2 pivots upward about support 4 for bogie arm 8 in frame 3. On continued driving over said obstacle, bogie 2 with belt 2a will raise itself up over the obstacle and simultaneously also raise frame 1, as belt 2a will not adapt its form to that of the obstacle due to supporting wheel 11, which contributes toward maintaining an approximately straight line in the lower part of belt 2a.
• Pressure cylinder 2 may, of course, also be mounted with said end thereof on the bogie arm 8 itself at the forward end thereof and close to the support 15 (not shown) for auxiliary bogie arm 8a.
• the rear bogie wheel 5a must, in the same manner as with the known construction, climb all the way over and pass the obstacle, thereby raising frame 3.
• the difference is that the initial climbing motion of the bogie and the passage over irregularities are rendered smoother by means of the described auxiliary bogie arm 8a, compared with the known caterpillar bogie described above, wherein said upward pivoting of bogie 8 takes place at the same instant as the front bogie wheel 7a climbs/enters the obstacle/elevation.
• a further advantage with the new caterpillar bogie is that it is capable of climbing up over and passing higher obstacles in relation to what the known caterpillar bogie is capable of. This is achieved by virtue of the fact that the front bogie wheel 7a due to auxiliary bogie arm 8a is capable of yielding and pivoting upward as shown in Figure 5, simultaneously as supporting wheel 11 is pressed downward and pivots bogie arm 8 upward.
• the caterpillar bogie can hereby pass over substantially higher obstacles than the known caterpillar bogie described in the introduction above. Due to the fact that auxiliary bogie arm 8a with front bogie wheel 7a and supporting wheel 11 is capable of adapting to the various ground configurations, there is achieved under all conditions a smoother running of the caterpillar bogie 2, as shown in Figures 3 - 9.
• each of the caterpillar bogies may be controlled individually, as mentioned above, from the cab 3b of the motor vehicle.
• the present terrain-travelling motor vehicle is capable of moving forward in a surprisingly smooth manner over extremely rugged terrain.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Handcart (AREA)
• Control Of Direct Current Motors (AREA)
• Road Repair (AREA)
• Control Of Multiple Motors (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19895230

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (9)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1992
  • 1992-06-15 NO NO922342A patent/NO175048B/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1993
  • 1993-06-15 WO PCT/NO1993/000094 patent/WO1993025429A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1993-06-15 EP EP93913649A patent/EP0644842A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1993-06-15 JP JP6501355A patent/JPH07507749A/ja active Pending
  • 1993-06-15 AU AU43607/93A patent/AU4360793A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1993-06-15 CA CA002138031A patent/CA2138031A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events