JP4761642B2 - Crawler travel device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a crawler traveling device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A crawler traveling device is equipped as a traveling device in a field mobile machine for civil engineering, architecture, agriculture, etc., a snowmobile, a snow vehicle, a vehicle for traveling on a soft ground, and the like.
This crawler travel device is provided with a wheel train in which a plurality of wheels including drive wheels are arranged in a row on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body, and an endless belt-like shape is formed around these wheel trains by an elastic material such as rubber. The formed elastic crawler is wound and mounted.
[0003]
The crawler traveling device includes a full type in which the wheel base between the foremost wheel and the last wheel in the wheel train extends over substantially the entire length of the vehicle, and a miniaturized crawler traveling device (generally referred to as a “rice ball type”). There are three main types: 4 crawler types that are arranged in four wheel positions, and half track types in which the downsized crawler travel device is arranged only at the rear or front two wheel positions of the four wheels. The
[0004]
Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 26022440 describes an example of a full type, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-109942 discloses an example of a 4-crawler type, US Pat. No. 3,020,444, US Pat. No. 2,467,947, An example of a half track type is described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-505902, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-166388, and the like.
[0005]
Conventionally, in this type of crawler traveling device, in many cases, a tension wheel is provided on the endless inner side of the elastic crawler to press the elastic crawler outwardly while contacting the inner peripheral surface thereof.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-85766 describes a crawler traveling device (type is unknown) provided with a roller for preventing lifting that abuts on the outer peripheral surface of an elastic crawler.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
To install the tension wheel, attach it to the endless inner side of the elastic crawler, and make the elastic crawler contact the inner peripheral surface and press it outwardly. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt the structure from the design stage of the crawler traveling device.
[0007]
That is, at the beginning, the tension wheel cannot be retrofitted to the crawler traveling device that does not include the tension wheel.
For this reason, in the crawler traveling device that does not include the tension wheel, the following problem has occurred when traveling on a steep downhill.
In other words, the elastic crawler tries to move faster due to the influence of the relationship between the slope inertia based on the vehicle weight and the high ground pressure, whereas the drive wheel tries to rotate at a constant speed. A speed difference appears between the rotational speed of the drive wheels. As a result, the elastic crawler is slackened due to this speed difference, and as a result, so-called tooth skipping may occur on the drive wheels and the like.
[0008]
If such tooth skipping occurs, it will lead to damage when a driving projection is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the crawler, and when a circumferential reinforcing material such as a tensile body is embedded in the crawler, When it leads to a fracture | rupture and the width direction reinforcement bodies, such as a metal core, are embed | buried, it will lead to the abnormal wear of this.
These problems are particularly seen in the case of a half-track type, in which a heavy grounding portion such as a rolling roller is provided on one side in the front-rear direction of the wheel train.
[0009]
Even if it is assumed that, for example, the tension wheel is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the elastic crawler, as in the roller for preventing lifting described in JP-A-58-85766, the tension wheel in this case is elastic. Since it becomes the structure hold | maintained through the supporting member attached to the endless inside of a crawler, a structure complexity cannot be avoided too.
[0010]
In particular, since the support member is exposed to the outside in the width direction of the elastic crawler, there is another problem that it may be an obstacle to traveling.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of solving various problems caused by tooth skipping, particularly including a crawler traveling device that is not initially provided with a tension wheel, It is an object of the present invention to provide a crawler traveling device that has a simple structure and can be easily implemented.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has taken the following measures.
That is, the crawler traveling device according to the present invention is provided with a wheel train in which a plurality of wheels are arranged on both sides in the width direction with respect to the vehicle body, and an elastic crawler is wound around the wheel train so as to be freely circulated. In the crawler traveling device, the vehicle body is provided with a weight grounding portion on one side in the front-rear direction of the wheel train, and the plurality of wheels includes a plurality of rolling wheels arranged in a row on the grounding side, and a plurality of the rolling wheels. A drive wheel that is arranged above the wheel and forms a substantially triangular shape with the arrangement of the wheel, and the elastic crawler is disposed between the wheel and the drive wheel on one side in the front-rear direction. A tension wheel for pressing from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side is provided, and the tension wheel is attached to the vehicle body via support means disposed on the outer peripheral side of the elastic crawler.
[0012]
As described above, if the tension wheel is provided on the outer peripheral side of the elastic crawler, the tension wheel can be attached without being affected by the arrangement relationship of the wheels in the wheel train.
That is, since the tension wheel can be attached without complicating the structure, the tension wheel can be easily retrofitted even to a crawler traveling device having a configuration that does not include the tension wheel at the beginning.
[0013]
Of course, it can also be designed from the beginning with a tension wheel, which leads to the advantage that the structure can be simplified.
The tension wheel may have a structure in which the elastic crawler is pressed and biased (pressing force is pressed) by a spring or the like, or a structure in which a pressing state (pressing state) against the elastic crawler is fixed.
[0014]
Tension wheel, with respect to the vehicle body, that have weight grounding part of the compacting rollers in a longitudinal direction one side of the wheel train is provided (i.e., ing large vehicle weight) because it is particularly beneficial.
The support means is configured to be able to adjust a force for moving the tension wheel forward and backward toward the elastic crawler and pressing the outer peripheral side of the elastic crawler by the tension wheel.
[0015]
Accordingly, there are various advantages such as being able to cope with the elongation of the elastic crawler, and retracting the tension wheel to a position where it does not get in the way when changing the elastic crawler.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a crawler traveling device 1 according to the present invention.
The crawler traveling device 1 is provided with a wheel train 4 having a plurality of wheels 3 on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body 2, and an endless elastic crawler 5 is wound around the wheel train 4. In addition, a heavy grounding portion 6 such as a rolling roller is provided on one side of the wheel train 4 in the front-rear direction.
[0017]
That is, it is a half track type.
The wheel 3 forming the wheel train 4 includes a plurality of freely rotatable rolling wheels 3a arranged in a line in the front-rear direction on the ground contact side, and drive wheels 3b arranged above these rolling wheels 3a. .
The drive wheel 3b is positioned in the space above the wheel base H (grounding region) between the front wheel 3a and the last wheel 3a in the wheel train 4. Therefore, this crawler traveling device 1 constitutes a rice ball type crawler in which the arrangement of each wheel 3 has a triangular shape.
[0018]
The vehicle body 2 is equipped with an engine (not shown), and the drive wheel 3b is rotationally driven by the engine. The vehicle body 2 is provided with a cab 9 having a seat 8, and a driver can get on the cab 9 and control it.
The drive wheel 3b has a wheel shape corresponding to a pin drive system, a sprocket drive system, a friction transmission system, and the like. For example, FIG. 2 shows a pin drive system, and accordingly, drive pins 11 parallel to the axle direction are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the drive wheel 3b. Needless to say, a sprocket is provided in place of the drive pin 11 in the case of a sprocket drive system, and a friction surface is provided in the case of a friction transmission system.
[0019]
On the other hand, the elastic crawler 5 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or resin, and a lug (not shown) having a lug pattern as appropriate is provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof.
Further, the inner peripheral surface of the elastic crawler 5 has a structure that can be transmitted in accordance with the driving method of the driving wheel 3b. That is, as described above, the driving protrusion 12 is provided in the case of the pin driving method, the claw engaging portion (protrusion or hole) is provided in the case of the sprocket driving method, and the friction surface is provided in the case of the friction transmission method. In any case, the elastic crawler 5 can circulate freely in its longitudinal direction.
[0020]
The elastic crawler 5 has a circumferential reinforcing material (not shown) such as a polyester fiber, a steel cord tensile body, a cloth canvas, a woven cord material biased cord or the like, if necessary. It is embedded over the entire circumference, or a widthwise reinforcing body (not shown) such as a metal core or a resin core is embedded at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. Moreover, it is good also as a core-less type without a width direction reinforcement body depending on the case.
[0021]
In the crawler traveling device 1 according to the present invention, a tension wheel 14 that presses the elastic crawler 5 inwardly while being in contact with the outer peripheral surface thereof is provided on the endless outer portion of the elastic crawler 5 in the vehicle body 2. ing.
The tension wheel 14 is held by a damper device 15 that generates a pressing urging force in a direction in which the elastic crawler 5 is pressed inwardly (in a pressing direction), and according to the tension of the elastic crawler 5, It is automatically kept at a suitable pressing force (pressing force).
[0022]
As the damper device 15, it may be obtained by incorporating a spring therein, may be of Cylinders structure using a fluid pressure such as a hydraulic or pneumatic.
Thus, since the tension wheel 14 and the damper device 15 are provided on the endless outer side of the elastic crawler 5, there is no influence on the arrangement relationship of the wheels 3 in the wheel train 4, and the structure is complicated. It is not connected to. Therefore, the tension wheel 14 can be easily retrofitted.
[0023]
By the way, the crawler traveling device 1 shown in the first embodiment includes the heavy ground contact portion 6 such as a rolling roller, and as shown in FIG. Drive 6 with the car facing uphill.
Therefore, in this case, the rotation direction of the drive wheel 3b is the clockwise direction in FIGS.
[0024]
Therefore, the tension wheel 14 is positioned elastically at a position on the drive wheel 3b entry side (the left side of the drive wheel 3b in FIGS. 1 to 3) with respect to the rotational direction of the drive wheel 3b. The crawler 5 is pressed.
Therefore, when the vehicle body 2 travels downhill in the crawler traveling device 1, it is faster than the drive wheel 3b that tries to rotate at a constant speed due to the influence of the relationship between the slope inertia based on the vehicle weight and the high ground pressure. The elastic crawler 5 tries to move around at a speed.
[0025]
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic crawler 5 tends to be slack in a state where each driving projection 12 is biased to contact each driving pin 11 of the driving wheel 3b. It is possible to suppress the drive protrusion 12 from climbing onto the drive pin 11 by receiving the pressure due to.
That is, the elastic crawler 5 is prevented from generating a so-called tooth jump with respect to the drive wheel 3b.
[0026]
For this reason, the driving protrusion 12 is prevented from being damaged, and the circumferential reinforcing material (not shown) embedded in the elastic crawler 5 is broken or the widthwise reinforcing body (not shown) is broken. Abnormal wear and the like are also prevented in advance.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the crawler traveling device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0027]
In the crawler traveling device 1 of the second embodiment, the tension wheel 14 is attached to the vehicle body via the movable support portion 20.
The movable support portion 20 is an electric expansion / contraction device such as a ball screw mechanism, a fluid pressure cylinder, or the like, and can move back and forth in a plurality of steps or steplessly toward the elastic crawler 5.
[0028]
Therefore, the degree of tension of the elastic crawler 5 (the degree of pressing of the tension wheel 14) can be adjusted as necessary, so that the elastic crawler 5 can be accommodated for extension, and when the elastic crawler 5 is replaced, the tension wheel 14 is It can be retreated to a position where it does not get in the way.
In some cases, the tension hole 14 is pressed against the elastic crawler 5 only when necessary, such as when traveling downhill, and the tension wheel 14 is separated from the elastic crawler 5 in other cases (such as when traveling on flat ground). You can also use it.
[0029]
If used in this way, the advantage that the elastic crawler 5 can be prevented from extending even a little (that is, the life can be extended) can be obtained.
In the second embodiment, the drive wheels 3b are positioned so as to be offset from the center with respect to the wheel base H (grounding area) of the wheel train 4, so that the mounting space for the movable support portion 20 can be secured widely. is there.
[0030]
The drive system is a sprocket drive system, and the sprawler 21 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the drive wheel 3b, and the elastic crawler 5 is provided with a hole as a claw engaging portion.
Since other configurations and operational effects are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted here.
[0031]
By the way, this invention is not limited to what was demonstrated by said each embodiment, It can change suitably further according to embodiment.
For example, the crawler traveling device 1 according to the present invention can be used widely and suitably as a full type, a four crawler type, and a half track type. Of course, those vehicle applications are not limited.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, in the crawler traveling device according to the present invention, since the tension wheel is provided on the endless outer side of the elastic crawler, there is no influence on the arrangement relationship of each wheel in the wheel train, and thus the structure is complicated. Since the tension wheel can be attached without incurring the increase in the speed, the tension wheel can be easily retrofitted even to a crawler traveling device having no tension wheel.
[0033]
Of course, it can also be designed from the beginning with a tension wheel, which leads to the advantage that the structure can be simplified.
From these things, various malfunctions caused by tooth skipping can be solved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of a crawler traveling device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a case where the crawler traveling device of FIG. 1 travels on a downhill.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of a main part of a crawler traveling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crawler travel device 2 Car body 3 Wheel 3a Roller wheel 3b Drive wheel 4 Wheel row 5 Elastic crawler 6 Heavy grounding part 14 Tension wheel 15 Damper device (support means)
20 Movable support (support means)

Claims (2)

A wheel train (4) in which a plurality of wheels (3) are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body (2) is provided, and an elastic crawler (5) is wound around the wheel train (4) so as to circulate freely. A crawler travel device mounted once,
The vehicle body (2) is provided with a heavy grounding portion (6) on one side in the front-rear direction of the wheel train (4),
The plurality of wheels (3) are:
A plurality of rolling wheels (3a) arranged in a row on the ground side;
A plurality of driving wheels (3b) arranged above the plurality of rolling wheels (3a) and forming a substantially triangular shape together with the arrangement of the rolling wheels,
A tension wheel (14) for pressing the elastic crawler (5) from the outer peripheral side toward the inner peripheral side between the roller wheel (3a) and the drive wheel (3b) on one side in the front-rear direction. Is provided,
The crawler traveling device, wherein the tension wheel (14) is attached to the vehicle body (2) via support means (15, 20) disposed on the outer peripheral side of the elastic crawler (5). The support means (15, 20) is a force for moving the tension wheel (14) forward and backward toward the elastic crawler (5) and pressing the outer peripheral side of the elastic crawler (5) by the tension wheel (14). The crawler traveling device according to claim 1, wherein the crawler traveling device can be adjusted .

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