FI13035Y1 - Support element for supporting a caterpillar track and arrangement in a caterpillar unit of a caterpillar vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A support means (20) for supporting a crawler vehicle (1) crawler track (10); which support means (20) is an elongate piece which can be fastened with fastening means to a belt body (15) belonging to the belt unit (9) of the belt vehicle (1) for supporting the crawler belt (10) against the road surface, characterized in that the support means (20) comprises a support plate ( 17) with several mounting openings (18); and several separate fastening pins (16) transverse to the support plate (17) and the first ends of which are attachable to the strap body (15), and the other ends of which are provided with fastening means for fastening in the fastening openings (18) of the support plate (17). In addition, the protection requirements 2-5.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a support member of a track unit in the undercarriage of a tracked vehicle for supporting a track.

The invention further relates to an arrangement in a track unit of a tracked vehicle.

The subject matter of the invention is described in more detail in the preambles of the independent claims of the application.

Excavators and similar heavy implements typically use rotating tracked platforms comprising an upper frame and a lower frame. The lower frames are equipped with two roller units, each with a track and a roller frame on which the swivel and support rollers are supported.

Especially in off-road use and on uneven ground, the crawler tracks may turn so that the machine's ability to travel and stability may be impaired. Thus, various support bodies have been developed, the so-called to support the tracks towards the chassis when the tracks tend to tilt. Problems have been identified with the current support bodies, in particular with regard to their usability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The idea of the invention is to provide a new and improved support member and arrangement for a roller unit N25 of a undercarriage of a tracked vehicle. The characteristic features 3 of the support member according to the invention are shown in the characterizing part of the first independent device claim. The characteristic features of the arrangement according to the invention are shown in the characterizing part S of the second independent device claim. = The idea of the presented solution is that the support member S comprises a support plate with several mounting holes. Tu-> The tongue is intended to be fixed in a substantially vertical position. For mounting, the support member comprises a plurality of separate mounting pins that are transverse to the support plate. The first ends of the mounting pins are attached to the roll body, and their opposite second ends comprise mounting means for attaching the support plate to the mounting holes.

One advantage of the presented solution is that the support element has a simple and easily modifiable fastening solution. In addition, the support element has a sturdy structure and is able to provide good protection for the roller unit and is able to improve the usability of the roller vehicle.

Due to its plate-like structure, the support plate has a high bending stiffness in the direction of the forces coming from the running surface, whereby the loads applied to the support element through the roll are distributed to the entire support plate structure and through the fixing pins to the roll body. In this case, the support plate withstands even point loads very well without twisting, for example when crossing rocks.

According to one embodiment, the support plate has a lower edge comprising a base rail. The base rail may comprise a plate or portion transverse to the side surface of the support plate, the outer surface of which is adjustable towards the track.

According to one embodiment, the support plate has a lower edge which is adapted to act directly as a supporting surface towards the roll pieces in a situation where support is required.

According to one embodiment, the support plate is fastened with a screw connection to the other end of each fastening pin, whereby the support plate is a removable piece. In this case, the support plate can be fastened in place and removed without damaging the structure. N 30 According to one embodiment, the fastening between the support plate and the fastening pins comprises a screw fastening. K According to one embodiment, the support plate is fastened to the fastening pins by means of bolts. N According to one embodiment, the support plate S 35 of the support member can be easily removed by repairing the rollers of the roller unit,

for replacements and maintenance, and for cleaning and maintenance of the entire roller unit. According to one embodiment, the support plate of the support member can be easily detached and transferred to another tracked vehicle. In this case, the support member can be utilized in several similar machines instead of a single tracked vehicle, as long as they are provided with a similar arrangement of mounting pins.

According to one embodiment, the support plate is provided with two or more alternative mounting hole arrangements, whereby it can be attached to two roller units provided with different mounting pin arrangements.

According to one embodiment, the fixing pins are fixed to the roll body.

According to one embodiment, the first ends of the fastening pins are fastened to the roll body by welding seams.

According to one embodiment, the outer second ends of the fastening pins are provided with a threaded hole for fastening bolts.

According to one embodiment, the number of both mounting pins and mounting holes per support member is 5 to 10.

According to one embodiment, the other ends of the fastening pins comprise a shoulder adapted to abut the inner side surface of the support plate.

N According to one embodiment, the free end of the mounting pin A may have a smaller diameter portion P passing through the mounting plate mounting hole and having a limited axial distance N30, and a larger diameter portion E, wherein there is an axial shoulder surface between the smaller diameter and larger diameter K portions. S According to one embodiment, the fixing pins of the support member do not extend laterally of the track units S35 beyond the track unit. In this case, the fastening pins are protected by the track shoes or track shoes of the track. Even when

the vehicle is operated without a support plate and the mounting pins are free, they are protected by the track against stones, stumps and other obstacles.

According to one embodiment, the support member comprises a cup-shaped washer between the fixing screw and the outer side of the support plate. In this case, the cup-shaped washer comprises a space or housing for receiving the base of the fastening bolt so that the end of the bolt is protected by the washer.

According to one embodiment, the support member is dimensioned to extend the entire length of the track between the swivel rollers.

According to the embodiment, the support plate is dimensioned to extend in the height direction at least above the center line of the roll body.

According to one embodiment, the support plate is dimensioned to extend in the height direction at least to the height of the upper surface of the roll body.

According to the embodiment, the elongate support plate comprises curved ends when viewed from the side.

According to one embodiment, the support plate is adapted to provide lateral protection for at least the lower support rollers, but can also protect the pivot rollers as well as the upper support rollers.

According to one embodiment, the support plate is made of a steel plate at least 20 mm thick. Typically, the thickness of the plate is 20-50 mm.

N According to one embodiment, the weight of the support member A is at least 500 kg, whereby the support member is also adapted to act as an additional weight <Q. N 30 According to one embodiment, the support member E can be intentionally made large in mass, whereby it can be used to increase the mass of the tracked vehicle. In this way, the capacity of the implement can be increased without compromising stability. N The center of gravity of the additional mass formed by the support member is located low, very close to the ground. In addition, when the extra weight is in the lower frame, it does not strain the bearing and transmission between the lower frame and the upper frame. With this solution, the weight of a tracked vehicle can be easily and variably increased by up to several thousand kilograms. According to one embodiment, the solution relates to an arrangement in the track unit of a tracked vehicle. The tracked vehicle comprises a lower frame and an upper frame pivotally fitted above it. The lower body has two parallel roller units at a transverse distance from each other, each roller unit comprising a track having the shape of a closed loop and adapted to pass through the pivot rollers. The roller unit also has a plurality of upper support rollers and a plurality of lower support rollers on the inner surfaces of the track. Said pivot rollers and support rollers are supported on the roll body of the roll unit. Furthermore, the at least one roll unit is provided on at least one side of the roll body with a support member fixed to the roll body longitudinally of the roll unit and at a vertical distance from the inner surface of the section below the roll chain. The roll body comprises a plurality of transversely fixed mounting pins, and the support member comprises a vertical support plate releasably attached to the free ends of said mounting pins. According to one embodiment, the roll unit comprises a support member only on one side of its roll body. According to one embodiment, the lower frame of the tracked vehicle comprises in its two track units support members S only on the side of the inner sides of the track frames. 0 According to one embodiment, the lower frame of the tracked vehicle Q in both track units comprises support members N30 only on the sides outside the track frames. E According to one embodiment, the roll unit comprises = support members on both sides of its roll body. There are thus two or four N support members in the lower body of the tracked vehicle.

OF D

According to one embodiment, the lower body of the crawler vehicle comprises support members on both sides of the roll units on both sides of the roll units. There are thus a total of four support members in the lower body.

The idea of one embodiment is that the crawler vehicle is an excavator in which at least one crawler unit of the lower frame is provided with at least one support member shown in this document.

The idea of one embodiment is that the crawler vehicle is an excavator intended specifically for forest use or ditch excavation, the boom of which is equipped with a forest work device, such as a tipping head or a dredging device, or a ditch bucket.

The above embodiments and the features set forth therein may be combined to provide the desired solutions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some embodiments of the illustrated solution are shown in more detail in the following figures, in which Figure 1 schematically shows a tracked vehicle with a chassis provided with support members such as that shown; Figure 2 schematically shows a side view Fig. 3 is a schematic and side view of a support member plate, Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of a roller unit provided with a support element as shown, Fig. 5 shows schematically and from the direction of travel N an arrangement in which a support plate is bolted to the fixing pin S on the side of the roll body,

Fig. 7 schematically shows the principle of fastening the support member, Fig. 8 schematically shows a side view of an alternative support plate, Fig. 9 shows a possible cross-section of the support plate according to Fig. 8 with a base rail on one side and a substantially L-shaped profile, and Fig. 10 shows a possible cross-section of the support plate according to Fig. 8 with no bottom rail at all.

For the sake of clarity, some embodiments of the presented solutions are shown in simplified form in the figures. In the figures, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same elements and features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows a crawler vehicle 1, in this case an excavator, the boom 2 of which is equipped with a forestry machine 3 for use in forestry. or the lower carriage and the upper carriage 5 between them for turning the lower carriage 6 with respect to the lower carriage 6. In addition to the cab 7, a power unit 8 with its auxiliary devices is arranged on the upper carriage 5. The lower carriage 6 comprises two adjacent roller units 9 at a transverse distance from each other. The track unit 9 comprises a track chain 10, N which may comprise a chain to which a large number of N track pads are attached, or alternatively the track may be formed of track shoes articulated to each other. N The track 10 has the shape of a closed loop and is adapted to run around the turning rollers 11a, 11b. Furthermore, the chain N 10 is supported on the inside by means of the upper support rollers S12 and the lower support rollers 13. N Figure 2 shows a roller unit 9, the roller chain 10 of which is subjected to a strong load F below, which causes the roller pads or the like of the track chain 10 to protrude and tilt.

This is illustrated by dashed line 14. Such a loading situation can occur, for example, when crossing rocks and stumps, and further when operating on a sloping or uneven surface.

In order to prevent this tilting and to provide better stability, the roller unit 9 can be provided with the support element shown in this document.

Attached to the roll body 15 of the roll unit 9 of Fig. 2 are a plurality of fixing pins 16 to which the support plate 17 shown in Fig. 3 can be attached.

The ends of the support plate 17 may be rounded.

Fig. 4 shows the roll unit 9 after being provided with a support member 20 comprising a support plate 17 and fixing pins 16. Fig. 5 shows a greatly simplified support element 20 fixed to the side surface of the roll body 15 by means of a transverse fixing pin 16 and fixing members.

The fastening members comprise a fastening bolt 21 and a washer 22. The washer 22 may be cup-shaped.

The outermost end of the fixing pin 16 may have a shoulder surface 23 against which the support plate 17 is tightened.

In Fig. 5, the track chain 10 is shown in a simplified manner and may comprise roller pads 24a, 24b, which N may be attached to a chain portion 25, which chain portion A may be supported by the upper support rollers 12 and the lower support rollers <Q 13.

The lower surface of the support plate 17 has a base rail 19, which N 30 is spaced from the inner surface of the roller plate 24a, the member there is a gap 26 between the base rail 19 and the roller plate 24a so that the K base rail 19 does not continuously drag against the roller plates.

S As shown in Fig. 5, the support plate 17 may extend N vertically over the roll body 15 toward the upper roll plate S 35 24b.

Fig. 6 illustrates a solution in which the outer part 15a of the roll body 15 is provided with a first support member 20a and the inner part 15b is provided with a second support member 20b. The dimensions of the support plates 17a, 170 may differ from each other, and likewise the fixing points of the fixing pins 16a, 16b may be arranged at different points. The dimensions of the fastening pins 16a, 16b can also be selected on a case-by-case basis.

Figure 7 also shows the components of the support member 20 and the fastening principle. The fixing pin 16 is fixed in the figure by welding seams 27 to the roll body 15.

Fig. 8 shows an alternative support plate 17 with a transverse base rail 19 extending to one side at the bottom. The assembly then has a substantially L-shaped cross-sectional profile at A-A, as shown in the figure.

Fig. 10 shows a further alternative cross-sectional profile for the support plate 17 according to Fig. 8, the lower surface of which is adapted to act directly as a support surface without any base rail. In some cases, therefore, the use of a base rail in the structure is not necessary. If the lower surface is worn later during use, a base rail or the like can be attached to the support plate.

It should be noted that the washer may be different from that shown in the figures. It is still possible that the mounting pins are without shoulders. The ends of the support plate may in some cases also be non-rounded. It is still possible for N to construct a support plate which extends as a single piece A only to a part between the pivot rollers. In this case, part of said portion may be without support, or N 30 it is possible to use two or more support plates E in succession and cover the whole distance or a significant part thereof. The figures and their description are intended only to illustrate the idea of the invention. However, the scope of the invention is defined in the claims of the application.

Claims (5)

Protection requirements A support means (20) for supporting a crawler vehicle (1) crawler track (10); which support means (20) is an elongate piece which can be fastened with fastening means to a belt body (15) belonging to the belt unit (9) of the belt vehicle (1) for supporting the crawler belt (10) against the driving surface, characterized in that the support means (20) comprises a support plate (17) with several mounting openings (18); and several separate fastening pins (16) transverse to the support plate (17) and the first ends of which are attachable to the strap body (15), and the other ends of which are provided with fastening means for fastening in the fixed openings (18) of the support plate (17). Support means according to protection claim 1, characterized in that the support plate (17) has a lower edge with a bottom rail (19) which has a transverse portion towards the side surface of the support plate (17) whose outer surface can be arranged against the caterpillar band (10). Support means according to protection claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support plate (17) is connected with a screw connection to the other end of the fastening pin (16), the support plate (17) 5 being a detachable piece. Support means according to one of the preceding protective claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the support means (20) are dimensioned such that it extends between S breaking rollers (11a, 11b) over the entire length of the N caterpillar belt (10). and so dimensioned that it extends at least above the center line of the belt frame (15); that the support plate (17) consists of a steel plate with a thickness of at least 20 mm; that the weight of the support member (20) is at least 500 kg, the support member (20) being arranged to also function as an additional weight. An arrangement at a belt unit (9) of a tracked vehicle (1), said tracked vehicle (1) having a lower body (6) and an upper body (5) rotatably mounted thereon; and which lower frame (6) has two parallel band units (9) at a transverse distance from each other; and wherein both belt units (9) have a caterpillar belt (10) which has the shape of a closed loop and which is arranged to run via breaking rollers (11a, 11b), as well as several upper support rollers (12) and several lower support rollers (13) on the side where the inner surfaces of the crawler belt (10) are located, and wherein the breaking rollers (11a, 11b) and the support rollers (12, 13) are supported against the belt body (15) of the belt unit (9); characterized in that at least one of the belt units (9) on at least one of its sides on the belt frame (15) is provided with a support member (20) which is attached to the belt body (15) in the longitudinal direction of the belt unit (9) and at a vertical distance from the inner surface of the lower portion of the caterpillar belt (10); that the strap body (15) includes a plurality of transverse S fixed mounting pins (16); and A that the support member (20) includes a vertical support N (17) which is releasably attached to the free ends of said attachment pins (16). = a 05 S S D