JP3550484B2 - Power steering device for traveling vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a power steering device for a traveling vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a traveling vehicle such as a tractor, an engine is mounted in front of a driver's seat, and the engine room is surrounded by the hood by surrounding the engine with various devices and engine accessories attached to the periphery of the engine. Some are formed.
[0003]
When the traveling vehicle is a tractor, etc., heavy work equipment is often connected to the rear of the vehicle, and the vehicle often goes up and down steep steps. Special consideration is needed for doing so. Generally, it is preferable to place the center of gravity forward of the traveling vehicle. Therefore, in the engine room, among the various devices and engine accessories, relatively heavy ones are arranged forward, and conversely, light ones are arranged rearward (close to the driver's seat). .
[0004]
Note that, in the power steering device, a controller for operating the hydraulic actuator for steering the front wheels was provided in an upper part in front of the engine, and the controller and a handle shaft or an interlocking shaft connected thereto were previously described. We have developed and applied for a structure that connects with a transmission shaft having a telescopic part and a universal joint part (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-41110). Although the technique described in this publication does not directly focus on putting the center of gravity of the vehicle forward, as a result, it is one of effective means for shifting the center of gravity.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, it has been desired to increase the output of traveling vehicles, and accordingly, the size of engines has tended to increase. For this reason, various strict restrictions are imposed on the layout of various devices and engine accessories in the engine room, and the layout is becoming complicated.
[0006]
For this reason, in the above power steering apparatus, it may be difficult to provide the controller in an upper part ahead of the engine due to a space problem.
It should be noted that since it is necessary to reliably and smoothly transmit the delicate rotation at the steering output end to the controller, the position of the controller cannot be moved to any location. It was necessary to always keep in mind the transmission efficiency between the unit and the controller.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a controller used in a power steering device, a large-sized engine or the like in an engine room is dealt with without deteriorating transmission efficiency from a steering output end. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power steering device for a traveling vehicle that can realize the optimum arrangement.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, the following technical measures have been taken to achieve the above object.
That is, in the power steering device for a traveling vehicle according to the present invention, in the controller for operating the hydraulic actuator for steering the front wheels, the engine disposed vertically in front of the driver's seat is provided on the upper side near the front of the engine. ing. The transmission shaft connecting the steering output end of the steering wheel provided at the center in the left-right direction in front of the driver's seat and the controller is inclined outward and upward in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat side, Further, when viewed from the controller side, it is in a state of being inclined inward and downward in the horizontal direction.
[0009]
The steering output end of the handle is an end of a handle shaft or an interlocking shaft connected to the handle shaft via a universal joint or the like, and refers to a portion from which an operation performed on the handle is taken out.
With such a configuration, even when the size of the engine is increased, the controller hardly causes interference with the engine. This is because a bulky part in the engine shape, such as an engine head (cylinder head cover), is provided in the center of the upper part of the engine near the front, and the controller avoids this part. It is.
[0010]
In addition, since the transmission shaft for connecting the controller having such an arrangement and the steering output end of the steering wheel is provided with a natural inclination, it is possible to provide the transmission shaft between the controller and the steering output end. Transmission efficiency is also improved.
In particular, the transmission efficiency of the controller itself is further enhanced by providing the controller itself such that the operation axis has substantially the same inclination as the transmission shaft.
[0011]
If the muffler main body is provided in the rear upper portion of the engine in a horizontal state, and the transmission shaft is provided so as to pass between the engine and the muffler main body vertically, the space in the engine room can be effectively used. Further, since the muffler main body is lightweight, it is convenient for keeping the center of gravity of the vehicle forward.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is an outer side view of the traveling vehicle 1 to which the power steering device according to the present invention is applied.
First, the traveling vehicle 1 will be briefly described. The traveling vehicle 1 in the illustrated example is a two-axis, four-wheel tractor having a front wheel 2 used for steering and auxiliary traveling drive and a rear wheel 3 used for main traveling drive. Switching from two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive is possible by driving from the engine 5. A hydraulic device 9 having a lift arm 8 is provided at the rear of the vehicle body 6 including the engine 5 and a mission (not shown), and the three-point link 10 is moved up and down by the hydraulic device 9. It is provided as possible.
[0013]
The three-point link 10 can be connected to or disconnected from various working machines 11 (tillage machine in the illustrated example) as needed. The drive of the engine 5 can be transmitted to the work machine 11 via the PTO shaft 12.
Above the front axle frame 13 extending forward from the engine 5, a hood covering the engine 5, the engine 5, and various peripheral equipment and engine accessories is provided. An engine room is formed in the hood 14.
[0014]
A cabin 15 is provided on the vehicle body 6 behind the engine 5, and a cockpit in which a steering wheel 16 and a driver's seat 17 are arranged is formed in the cabin 15. The cabin 15 in the figure is provided with an opening / closing door 18 for getting on and off, so that the cockpit can be made a closed space, so that the air conditioning (air conditioner) can control the cooling and heating.
[0015]
In such a traveling vehicle 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the engine room, a belt driving unit 21, a radiator 22, an air conditioning capacitor 23, and a battery 24 are provided from the front of the engine 5 toward the front thereof. , And a headlight 25, a horn 26, and the like are provided further in front of the battery 23. An air cleaner 27 is provided on the upper part of the battery 23, and the front surface thereof serves as a grill portion 28.
[0016]
The belt drive unit 21 includes a first belt 33 extending from the engine output shaft unit 30 to each input unit of the generator (alternator or dynamo) 31 and the radiator fan 32, and the first belt 33 extending from the engine output shaft unit 30 to the air conditioning compressor 34. And a second belt 36 stretched over the input portion and the tension pulley 35.
[0017]
A controller 43 of the power steering device is provided at an upper portion of the engine 5 near the front thereof in a position slightly displaced from the engine head 5a. The controller 43 switches the direction in which the hydraulic pressure is applied and the pressure applied to the hydraulic actuator (not shown) that steers the front wheel 2 in accordance with the operation state (rotation direction and rotation angle) of the handle 16. .
[0018]
Therefore, the controller 43 is connected to the steering output end 47 of the handle 16 (see FIG. 4) via transmission shafts 46 having joints 44 and 45 formed of universal joints at both ends. The transmission shaft 46 is tilted outward in the left-right direction and upward as viewed from the driver's seat 17 side, and tilted inward in the left-right direction and downward as viewed from the controller 43 side.
[0019]
Further, the controller 43 itself is also provided with its operation axis inclined in substantially the same direction as the transmission shaft 46. For this reason, the transmission efficiency between the controller 43 and the steering output end 47 is considered to be good.
The transmission shaft 46 is provided with a telescopic part 48 at an intermediate part in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, abundant flexibility can be obtained in the transmission operation, and the transmission efficiency can be improved. In addition, connection and disconnection with the controller 43 can be easily performed at the time of maintenance of the engine 5 (when attaching and detaching the engine head 5a).
[0020]
By arranging the controller 43 as described above, the reserve tank 50 of the radiator 22 can be provided at the front of the controller 43.
On the other hand, a muffler main body 53 is provided above the rear of the engine 5, that is, near the driver's seat 17. An exhaust guide pipe 54 rising from the engine 5 is connected to the muffler body 53, and an exhaust pipe 55 extending forward from the same side as the exhaust guide pipe 54 in a bent shape and then rising upward is connected. Have been.
[0021]
Therefore, the transmission shaft 46 is provided by effectively utilizing the space formed between the engine 5 and the muffler main body 53 in the vertical direction.
The hood 14 surrounding such an engine room has a top plate portion 56 and side plate portions 57 on both left and right sides thereof and is formed in a U-shaped cross section (see FIG. 2). The grille 28 described above is integrally attached to the front end of the bonnet 14, and the top plate 56 includes a swing support 58 (see FIG. 1) provided at an upper portion of the rear end. The grill portion 28 as well as the side plate portion 57 is swingable in the vertical direction (see FIG. 4).
[0022]
The closed state of the bonnet 14 is held by a lock mechanism 60 provided inside the grill portion 28 as shown in FIG. The lock mechanism 60 is capable of performing a lock switching operation by an operation piece 60a that also serves as a center mascot and protrudes from the upper surface of the grill portion 28.
By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
[0023]
For example, the traveling vehicle 1 is not limited to a tractor.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, in the power steering device for a traveling vehicle according to the present invention, the controller is provided on the upper side near the front of the engine, so that the controller has a large position even for a large engine. Interference is unlikely to occur. Further, since the transmission shaft for connecting the controller and the steering output end of the steering wheel is provided with a natural inclination, the transmission efficiency for the controller is also favorable.
[0025]
When the operation axis of the controller itself is provided so as to have the same inclination as that of the transmission shaft, there is an advantage that the transmission efficiency is further enhanced.
If the muffler main body is provided in the rear upper part of the engine in a horizontal state, and the transmission shaft is provided so as to pass between the engine and the muffler main body vertically, the space in the engine room can be effectively used. Further, since the muffler body is lightweight, it is convenient to keep the center of gravity of the vehicle forward.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an enlarged side view showing the inside of the hood (in an engine room) shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 4 is an outer side view of a traveling vehicle to which the power steering device according to the present invention is applied.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Running vehicle 2 Front wheel 5 Engine 14 Bonnet 16 Handle 17 Driver's seat 43 Controller 46 Transmission shaft 47 Steering output end 53 Muffler body

Claims (2)

Front wheels (2) controller for operating the hydraulic actuator for steering (43) is provided on the front toward the upper side with respect to the driver's seat (17) vertically in front placed engine (5), further, the muffler body (53 ) Is provided horizontally on the rear upper portion of the engine (5), and a steering output end (47) of a steering wheel (16) provided at the center in the left-right direction in front of the driver's seat (17) and the controller (43). A transmission shaft (46) connecting the engine and the muffler main body (53) is inclined outward and upward in the left-right direction as viewed from the driver's seat (17) via a vertical space between the engine (5) and the muffler body (53). A power steering device for a traveling vehicle, wherein the power steering device is tilted inward and downward in the left-right direction as viewed from the controller (43). The controller (43) itself has its operating axis inclined outward and upward from the center in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat (17) side, and also has a horizontal axis viewed from the controller (43) side. The power steering device for a traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the power steering device is inclined inward and downward.

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