JP3738960B2 - snowblower - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for improving the operability of a snowplow.
[0002]
[Prior art]
5 (a) to 5 (c) are operation explanatory views of a conventional snow removal machine.
(A) shows a snow remover 100 that removes snow while moving forward, and moves forward as indicated by an arrow by the action of the crawler 101 and rotates the auger 103 and the blower 104 by the action of the engine 102 to collect the snow collected by the auger 103. An auger type self-propelled snowplow that can throw snow through the chute 105 is shown.
At this time, the travel operation lever 111 on the operation panel 110 is in the F (forward) position, and the auger lifting lever 112 is in the DN (down) position.
[0003]
When the snowplow 100 is moved backward for reasons such as the length of the snow to be removed being large or changing the traveling direction of the machine, the following operation is performed.
In (b), the traveling operation lever 111 of the operation panel 110 is switched to N (neutral) as shown by the arrow (1). This stops the snow blower 100 that is moving forward. Next, the auger elevating lever 112 is switched to UP (raised) as shown by arrow (2). Then, the elevating cylinder 106 extends, the swing frame 108 swings up with respect to the body frame 107 on the crawler 101 side, and as a result, the auger 103 and the like rise.
[0004]
In (c), the travel control lever 111 of the operation panel 110 is switched to R (reverse) as indicated by the arrow (3). The snowplow 100 is now retracted as shown by the arrow.
In this conventional example, in order to reverse the snowplow 100 that is moving forward, the three operations of the arrows (1) to (3) must be performed in this order.
Conversely, when switching from reverse to forward, it is necessary to perform three operations in order, such as temporarily stopping the reverse snowplow 100, lowering the raised auger, and performing forward operation. Therefore, since the operation of the two levers 111 and 112 is complicated and an error in the procedure is not allowed, it cannot be said that the operability is good.
[0005]
Therefore, a snow remover proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-28416 "Snow Remover" is required. That is, the snow removal machine disclosed in the above publication is characterized in that “the snow removal machine is automatically raised during the backward operation of the machine body”. Specifically, in FIG. 1 of the same publication, when the speed change lever 22 (the reference numeral is left as described in the publication) is switched to reverse, the engagement plate 25 attached to the speed change lever 22 lowers the elevating lever 27. The position is moved from the neutral position to the lifted position such as the lifted position, and the lift detecting switch 26 is operated to stop the rotation of the auger. That is, when the snow remover that performs the snow removal work while moving forward is moved backward, the auger rises and the auger stops.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
6 (a) and 6 (b) are explanatory views of the operation of a snow remover equivalent to the snow remover disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-28416. However, the code and name were changed.
In (a), the snow removal work can be performed by turning the auger 103 while moving the snow removal machine 100 forward only by switching the traveling operation lever 111 of the operation panel 110 to “F”.
In (b), the auger 103 is raised only by switching the traveling operation lever 111 of the operation panel 110 to “R”, and the rotation of the auger 103 is stopped (specifically, an “auger clutch” (not shown) from the connected state). The rotation is stopped by switching to the cutting state.) And the snowplow 100 can be moved backward as indicated by the arrow.
[0007]
In the snow remover disclosed in the above publication, that is, the snow remover described with reference to FIG. 6, the auger automatically rises and stops rotating each time it moves backward. However, in the snow removal work, when the load is applied to the auger, it moves backwards slightly to discharge the snow around the auger sufficiently, and when the load becomes lighter, it moves forward so that the auger gets caught in the snow. , There are times when the forward and backward movements that move forward are repeated frequently.
Considering such a high-frequency back-and-forth movement specific to a snow remover, the problem of shortening the life of the clutch by turning on and off the “auger clutch” is a problem, and the technique of the above publication is not appropriate. Therefore, the snowplow 100 described with reference to FIG. 5 is regularly used, and this does not improve the operability at all, and does not reduce the burden on the operator or the driver.
[0008]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an auger automatic raising technique suitable for a snowplow.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in claim 1, a swing frame is swingably attached to a body frame of a traveling body traveling on a road surface, and a snow removing member such as an auger and a dozer and a drive source for driving the snow removing member are attached to the swing frame. The snow remover can change the distance from the road surface to the snow removal member by extending and retracting the lifting cylinder that spans between the swing frame and the machine frame. In order to raise the snow removal member when three pieces of information are obtained: selection information, reverse information for moving the traveling body backward, and clutch engagement information for engaging the clutch provided between the drive source and the snow removal member. It is provided with the control part which performs the automatic raise control which operates a raising / lowering cylinder.
[0010]
When automatic operation is selected, the snow removal member such as an auger is not raised if the clutch is “disengaged” even in reverse. If the snow removal member is in a non-driven state, it is possible to move backward without raising the snow removal member.
As a result, in a snow remover that frequently repeats forward and reverse, the number of times the snow removal member can be automatically raised can be limited, and the number of clutch engagements and disconnections can be greatly reduced, thereby extending the life of the clutch. it can. It goes without saying that the driver's burden can be reduced because of the automatic driving.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a snowplow according to the present invention, and this snowplow 10 has an engine that performs snow removal work such as an electric motor, an auger and a blower on a road surface (including a snow surface). A swinging frame 30 is swingably attached to a traveling body 20 that travels, and a machine body frame 21 of the traveling body 20, and an auger 31 and a blower 32 as snow removal members are disposed in front of the swing frame 30.
[0012]
Specifically, the traveling body 20 includes a body frame 21, drive wheels 22L and 22R (L is a left suffix when viewed from the driver, R is a subscript indicating the same right, and so on), idle wheels 23L and 23R, crawler 24L, 24R, reduction wheels 25L and 25R connected to drive wheels 22L and 22R, and electric motors 26L and 26R, and a swing frame 30 is attached to the body frame 22 via a pivot 28 and 28 so as to be able to swing in the front and back direction of the drawing. Elevating cylinders 33L and 33R are spanned between the swing frame 30 and the body frame 21, and an engine 35 as a drive source and an auger clutch 36 (shown by symbols) as power connection / disconnection means are provided on such a swing frame 30. The structure will be described with reference to FIG. 2.), drive shaft 37, blower 32, auger shaft 38, auger 31 and auger housing. 9 is a bulk equipped with self-propelled snowplow.
[0013]
Reference numeral 41 denotes a battery, 42L and 42R denote handles, 44 denotes an operation panel, and 45 denotes a control unit.
The traveling body may be one that travels with a tire, or one that has a front tire and a rear crawler, and may be anything that can travel on a snow surface.
The snow removal member may be a dozer.
[0014]
2 (a) and 2 (b) are configuration diagrams and operation diagrams of the auger clutch employed in the snowplow of the present invention.
In (a), a belt 48 is wound around a first pulley 46 attached to the output shaft of the engine 35 and a second pulley 47 attached to the drive shaft 37, and the belt 48 is tensioned by a clutch cylinder 49. The clutch cylinder 49 is preferably a solenoid driven plunger.
[0015]
As a result, the second pulley 47 interlocked with the first pulley 46 is rotated, and the drive shaft 37 is rotated. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the auger 31 and the blower 32 connected to the drive shaft 37 rotate.
Therefore, in (a), the auger clutch is in the connected state, and this will be referred to as the clutch “connected”.
[0016]
In (b), the clutch cylinder 49 is retracted to make the belt 48 loose. The first pulley 46 rotates but the second pulley 47 does not rotate.
Therefore, in (b), the auger clutch is in a disengaged state, and this is referred to as a clutch “disengagement”.
[0017]
3 is a plan view of the operation panel of the snowplow according to the present invention. The operation panel 44 includes an auger lifting lever 51, an auger clutch lever 52, a travel operation lever 53, and a direction / speed operation lever 54. The operation of each lever is as follows.
[0018]
The auger raising / lowering lever 51 is a lever that controls the raising / lowering of the auger 31 and the like by extending / contracting the raising / lowering cylinders 33L, 33R in FIG.
In the auger raising / lowering lever 51, automatic operation, raising (manual operation), and lowering (manual operation) can be selected.
[0019]
The auger clutch lever 52 is a lever that controls connection and disconnection of the auger clutch by extending and contracting the clutch cylinder 49 of FIG.
The traveling operation lever 53 is a lever that feeds the electric motors 26L and 26R in FIG. 1 to move the snowplow 10 forward or backward, and stops power feeding to stop the snowplow 10.
The direction / speed operation lever 54 is connected to a potentiometer (variable resistor) 55, and the potentiometer 55 generates a voltage signal corresponding to forward high speed-forward low speed and reverse low speed-reverse high speed in a stepless manner. The forward / rearward direction and high / medium / low speed can be determined based on the above.
[0020]
The operation of the snowplow having the operation panel 44 described above will be described next.
FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the snowplow according to the present invention, and STxx indicates a step number.
ST01: First, the position of the auger lift lever is checked. In FIG. 3, it is checked whether the auger raising / lowering lever 51 is in the automatic, raising or lowering position.
ST02: When raising is selected, the lifting cylinder is extended.
ST03: As a result, the auger moves up.
ST04: When lowering is selected in ST01, the lifting cylinder is contracted.
ST05: As a result, the auger descends.
The above ST02 to ST05 belong to the manual operation and are different from the automatic ascent of the present invention.
[0021]
ST06: When automatic operation is selected in ST01, it is checked in FIG. 3 whether or not the auger clutch is in the “contact” position.
If the auger clutch is "contact", the auger or blower is spinning.
If the auger clutch is “disengaged”, the auger or blower is stopped. At this time, the clutch is disengaged, so there is no load on the engine and it is not possible to move forward or backward while the auger is lowered. There is no problem in terms of engine load.
Therefore, the process proceeds to ST07 only when the auger clutch is “contact” where the auger or blower is rotating.
[0022]
ST07: Here, it is checked whether or not the traveling operation lever is in the “running” position, that is, whether the traveling operation lever 53 in FIG. 3 is in the “running” or “stop” position.
If the travel operation lever 53 is in the “stop” position, the auger remains lowered and there is no problem. Therefore, when the traveling operation lever is not “running”, the control flow is removed, and only when the traveling operation lever is “running”, the process proceeds to ST08.
[0023]
ST08: It is checked whether or not the direction / speed operation lever is in the “reverse” position, that is, whether the direction / speed operation lever 54 in FIG. 3 is in the “forward” or “reverse” position.
If the snowplow is moving forward, it will not be eligible for automatic auger lift.
Accordingly, the process proceeds to ST09 only when the direction / speed operation lever is in the “reverse” position.
[0024]
ST09: The lifting cylinder is extended.
ST10: As a result, the auger is automatically raised.
The above flow shows an example. For example, the order of ST06 to ST08 can be changed.
[0025]
In summary, in FIG. 1, a swing frame 30 is swingably attached to a body frame 21 of a traveling body 20 traveling on a road surface, and a snow removing member such as an auger 31 and a dozer and the snow removing member are driven to the swing frame 30. In the snow remover 10 that can change the distance from the road surface to the snow removal member by attaching a drive source (engine 35) and extending and lowering the elevating cylinders 33L and 33R spanned between the swing frame 30 and the machine body frame 21. This snowplow 10 includes automatic driving selection information (see ST01 in FIG. 4) for selecting automatic driving, reverse information for moving the traveling body 20 backward (see ST08 in FIG. 4), and between the drive source 35 and the snow removing member. When the three pieces of information including the clutch engagement information (see ST06 in FIG. 4) for bringing the clutch 36 provided in Lifting cylinder 33L to raise the member actuates the 33R control unit 45 to perform automatic increase control (ST09 see FIG. 4), characterized in that it comprises.
[0026]
That is, when automatic operation is selected, the auger and blower are not raised if the clutch is “disengaged” even in reverse. If the auger or blower is in a non-driven state, it is possible to move backward without raising the auger or blower.
As a result, the number of times the auger and blower can be raised automatically in a snowplow that frequently moves forward and backward is limited, and the number of connection and disconnection of the auger clutch is greatly reduced. Can be extended. It goes without saying that the driver's burden can be reduced because of the automatic driving.
[0027]
The auger clutch may be a clutch having a structure other than that described in FIG. 2, for example, an electromagnetic clutch or a gear meshing clutch. In the embodiment, the drive source for turning the auger or blower is an engine, but the drive source may be an electric motor. Similarly, an electric motor is used as a drive source for moving the traveling body forward and backward, but it can be replaced with an engine.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention exhibits the following effects by the above configuration.
The snow removal machine of claim 1 includes automatic operation selection information for selecting automatic operation, reverse information for reversing the traveling body, and clutch engagement information for engaging a clutch provided between the drive source and the snow removal member. When three pieces of information are obtained, a control unit that performs automatic ascent control for operating the elevating cylinder to raise the snow removal member is provided.
[0029]
When automatic operation is selected, the snow removal member such as an auger is not raised if the clutch is “disengaged” even in reverse. If the snow removal member is in a non-driven state, it is possible to move backward without raising the snow removal member.
As a result, in a snow remover that frequently repeats forward and reverse, the number of times the snow removal member can be automatically raised can be limited, and the number of clutch engagements and disconnections can be greatly reduced, thereby extending the life of the clutch. it can. Since it is automatic driving, the burden on the driver can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a snowplow according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a structural view and an operation diagram of an auger clutch employed in the snow remover according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of operation of the snowplow according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram of operation of a conventional snowplow. FIG. 6 is a diagram of operation of a snowplow equivalent to the snowplow disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-28416. [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Snow removal machine, 20 ... Running body, 21 ... Airframe frame, 24L, 24R ... Crawler, 26L, 26R ... Electric motor, 30 ... Swing frame, 31 ... Auger as snow removal member, 33L, 33R ... Lifting cylinder, 35 ... Engine as drive source, 45 ... control section, 51 ... auger lift lever, 52 ... auger clutch lever, 54 ... direction / speed control lever.

Claims (1)

A swing frame is swingably attached to a body frame of a traveling body traveling on a road surface, and a snow removing member such as an auger and a dozer and a drive source for driving the snow removing member are attached to the swing frame, and is hung on the swing frame and the body frame. In the snow remover that can change the distance from the road surface to the snow removing member by extending and retracting the handed lifting cylinder,
This snow remover has three types of information: automatic operation selection information for selecting automatic operation, reverse information for moving the traveling body backward, and clutch engagement information for bringing the clutch provided between the drive source and the snow removal member into an engaged state. A snow remover comprising: a control unit that performs automatic ascent control for operating the elevating cylinder to raise the snow removal member when information is obtained.

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