JPH09254834A - Crawler traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain stable traveling even on a road surface with a steep incline by providing elongating and contracting means for connecting a crawler lower traveling body to an upper loading body, which are provided on the front and rear parts on both right and left sides of the upper loading part and elongated and contracted in the direction of top and bottom, and an inclination detecting means for detecting the angle of inclination of the upper loading part. SOLUTION: A drive sprocket 22 and an idler wheel 23 of a tumbler engaged with a crawler belt 21 are provided on the inner surface side of the crawler belt 12, and the center of the outer periphery is built up to be domed. Further, hydraulic cylinders 11 (11A-11D) are provided on the front and the rear on both. right and left sides of an upper loading part in such a manner as to be elongated and contracted in the direction of top to and from bottom, thereby connecting the lower traveling bodies 20 and the upper loading part 30. The front and rear of both right and left sides of the upper loading part 30 are respectively provided with an inclination detecting sensor, whereby the start of a traveling vehicle's tilting down forward is detected and output to a control part to control a hydraulic circuit in such a manner as to horizontally keep the upper loading part. Thus, roll or the like can be prevented so as to enable stable traveling.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crawler type traveling vehicle having a crawler type lower traveling body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a crawler type traveling vehicle provided with a crawler type lower traveling body capable of traveling in a forest has been used as one of the working vehicles for cutting and holding trees. The crawler-type lower traveling body has a crawler belt (endless track), and rotates the crawler belt by rotationally driving the starting wheel of the tumbler to travel.
It is suitable for running on rough roads such as forests.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional crawler-type traveling vehicle, the entire crawler-type traveling vehicle tilts when traveling on a steeply inclined road surface or when overcoming rocks scattered on the road surface. There was a problem that it could become unstable and even roll over. An object of the present invention is to allow a crawler-type traveling vehicle to travel stably even on a road surface having a steep slope.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is a crawler type traveling vehicle provided with a crawler type lower traveling body, wherein the crawler type lower traveling body and an upper mounting body are provided. And the expansion means for expanding and contracting in the up-and-down direction on the left and right sides of the upper mount, respectively, and the front and rear parts on the left and right sides of the upper mount, respectively. It is characterized by comprising an inclination detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the mounting body, and an expansion / contraction amount control means for controlling an expansion / contraction amount of the expansion / contraction means based on a detection result of the inclination detection means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a crawler-type traveling vehicle having a crawler-type lower traveling body, the crawler-type lower traveling body and an upper mounting body are connected to each other, and a front portion on each of left and right sides of the upper mounting body is connected. And a hydraulic cylinder provided in the rear part, which is expanded and contracted in the vertical direction by hydraulic pressure, a hydraulic circuit which independently controls the supply of oil for each hydraulic cylinder and expands and contracts each hydraulic cylinder, and the upper mounting body. Provided at the front and rear respectively on the left and right sides, detects the tilt angle of the upper mounting body, based on the output signal of the tilt detection sensor, which outputs a signal according to the tilt angle, And a hydraulic control unit that controls the hydraulic pressure of each hydraulic circuit so as to reduce the inclination angle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the crawler type traveling vehicle according to the second aspect, fixed pipes provided on both left and right sides of a front portion of the upper mount body and fixed to the upper mount body, and the fixed pipes are fixed. At least a portion of the pipe is inserted into the fixed pipe, and the hydraulic cylinder arranged at the front part of the upper mount is provided in the support pipe. And both ends thereof are respectively connected to the fixed pipe and the movable pipe of the support pipe.

The invention of claim 4 relates to claim 2 or claim 3.
In the crawler type traveling vehicle according to,
It has a first port and a second port respectively connected to the first port and the second port of the hydraulic cylinder, opens an amount according to the output signal of the tilt detection sensor, and releases the oil to the hydraulic cylinder. A control valve that switches a supply port to the first port or the second port, and a hydraulic pump that supplies oil from an oil tank to the control valve are provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the crawler type traveling vehicle according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, a second hydraulic pressure for controlling the rotational drive of the starting wheel of the crawler type lower traveling body. A circuit, the second hydraulic circuit has a first port and a second port, and a hydraulic motor that rotationally drives the starter wheel by hydraulic pressure, and the first port or the second port of the hydraulic motor. A direction switching valve that switches the rotation direction of the hydraulic motor by supplying oil to one of the ports, and a hydraulic pump that supplies oil from an oil tank to the direction switching valve.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the crawler-type traveling vehicle according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the hydraulic control unit is configured to control the inclination angle based on the detection result of the inclination detection sensor. Is approximately 0, the hydraulic cylinder becomes the longest, and the hydraulic pressure of each hydraulic circuit is controlled so that the hydraulic cylinder contracts according to the size of the tilt angle.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a crawler type traveling vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “traveling vehicle”) according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is similar to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view, a side view and a front view of the traveling vehicle 10 of FIG. First, the configuration of the traveling vehicle 10 of this embodiment will be described.
The traveling vehicle 10 includes a crawler-type lower traveling body (hereinafter simply referred to as “lower traveling body”) 20 having a crawler belt 21 that is a so-called endless track, and an upper mounting body 30 mounted on the lower traveling body 20. ing.

On the inner surface side of the crawler belt 21, a starter wheel 22 and an idler wheel 23 of a tumbler engaged with the crawler belt 21 are provided. Starting wheel 22 and idler wheel 23
Is formed in a middle-high shape with the center of the outer periphery raised. As a result, it is possible to improve the ground contact property on a sloping ground (see the portion A in FIG. 6). Hydraulic cylinder 11 (11A
11D) are expandable / contractible by hydraulic pressure, and are provided at the front and rear parts on the left and right sides of the upper mounting body 30 respectively so as to be capable of expanding and contracting in the vertical direction, and connect the lower traveling body 20 and the upper mounting body 30 to each other. are doing.

Support pipes 12 are attached to the left and right front portions of the upper mounting body 30, respectively. The support pipe 12 is a fixed pipe 12a fixed to the upper mounting body 30, and at least a part of the movable pipe 1 is inserted into the fixed pipe 12a and slidable in the fixed pipe 12a.
2b. A shaft 13 is welded to the moving pipe 12b, and the shaft 13 is engaged with the lower traveling body 20. The front two hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11C are arranged in the support pipe 12, and the upper end and the lower end thereof are respectively fixed pipes 12.
a and the moving pipe 12b are fixed.

That is, of the hydraulic cylinders 11, two on the rear side directly connect the lower traveling body 20 and the upper mounting body 30, but two on the front side via the support pipe 12. The lower traveling body 20 and the upper mounting body 30 are connected. This structure is provided to prevent the hydraulic cylinder 11 from being directly overloaded.

Further, inclination detection sensors (not shown) are attached to the front and rear portions of the left and right sides of the upper mounting body 30, respectively. As the inclination detection sensor, conventionally known various types can be used. For example, by detecting a change in the liquid surface level proportional to the inclination as a change in the capacitance and converting it into an electric signal, the inclination can be detected. One that outputs a current value proportional to the angle is given.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the hydraulic circuit 40 mounted on the traveling vehicle 10. Hydraulic circuit 4
0 is for controlling expansion and contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 11, and is composed of a hydraulic pump 41, a flow dividing valve 42, a control valve 43, and the like. The hydraulic pump 41 is a constant-capacity hydraulic pump that pushes oil from the suction side to the discharge side to generate hydraulic pressure, and has ports 41a and 41b serving as a suction portion and a discharge portion, respectively. The hydraulic pump 41 has
For example, a gear pump, a vane pump, etc. are used.

The flow dividing valves 42 (42A to 42C) are valves for dividing the oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 41 into the respective control valves 43 and sending the divided oil. Each hydraulic cylinder 11 (11A
11D) are ports 11a and 11b, respectively.
And has a shape that expands when oil is supplied from the port 11a and contracts when oil is supplied from the port 11b. The control valves 43 (43A to 43D) are valves that switch the direction of oil flow and open a predetermined amount under the control of a control unit (not shown). Each control valve 43 is
It has ports 43a and 43b, which are connected to the ports 11a and 11b of the hydraulic cylinder 11, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the hydraulic circuit 50 mounted on the traveling vehicle 10. Hydraulic circuit 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes a hydraulic circuit for controlling the rotational drive of the lower traveling body 20, which is composed of a hydraulic pump 51, a diversion valve 52, a direction switching valve 53, a hydraulic motor 54 and the like.
The hydraulic pump 51 and the diversion valve 52 are similar to the hydraulic pump 41 and the diversion valve 42 described above, respectively. The hydraulic motors 54 (54A, 54B) are motors that perform a rotational motion using the pressure (hydraulic pressure) of the oil discharged from the hydraulic pump 51, and the port 5 that serves as an oil inflow section or an oil outflow section, respectively.
4a and 54b. The hydraulic motor 54 is connected to the starting wheel 22 of the undercarriage 20.
Is driven to rotate.

The direction switching valve 53 is a valve for switching the flow direction of the oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 51, and has ports 53a and 53b connected to the ports 54a and 54b of the hydraulic motor 54, respectively. . By switching the oil flow direction of the direction switching valve 53, oil flows from the ports 54a to 54b of the hydraulic motor 54 or from the ports 54b to 54a, and the rotation direction of the hydraulic motor 54 is switched.

Next, the operation of the traveling vehicle 10 will be described. First, in the initial state, in FIG.
The oil supplied from No. 1 flows into the hydraulic cylinder 11 from the port 43a of the control valve 43. As a result, each hydraulic cylinder 11 becomes the longest. When the traveling vehicle 10 is on the flat ground, each tilt detection sensor transmits a signal having a tilt angle of substantially 0 to the control unit. As a result, the control unit maintains the current state of the hydraulic cylinder 11.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where the traveling vehicle 10 is traveling downhill and uphill respectively.
First, when traveling on a downhill as shown in FIG. 5A, the (four) inclination detection sensors attached to the upper mounting body 30 detect that the traveling vehicle 10 starts to incline forward. Then, the current value corresponding to the tilt angle is output to the control unit. Upon receiving this, the control unit controls the hydraulic circuit 40 so as to keep the upper mounting body 30 horizontal.

That is, the control unit controls the control valves 43B and 43D in FIG. 3, and supplies a predetermined amount of oil from the ports 43b of the control valves 43B and 43D, respectively, to the hydraulic cylinder 1.
1B and 11D so that the hydraulic cylinders 11B and 11D at the rear of the left and right sides are contracted. As a result, of the hydraulic cylinders 11, the front hydraulic cylinder 11
The hydraulic cylinders 11B and 11D on the rear side contract by a predetermined amount while keeping the lengths of A and 11C. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in (a), the horizontal state of the upper mounting body 30 is maintained. On the other hand, when traveling uphill as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the reverse control is performed and only the front hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11C contract, so that the upper mounting body 30
Is kept horizontal.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which the traveling vehicle 10 is traveling on a sloping ground rising to the left and rising to the right, respectively. When traveling in the direction in which the hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11B are higher as shown in FIG. 6A,
The inclination detection sensor detects that the traveling vehicle 10 starts to lean leftward (upward rightward in the drawing). Then, the current value corresponding to the tilt angle is output to the control unit. The control unit is
Upon receiving this, the hydraulic circuit 40 is controlled so as to keep the upper mounting body 30 horizontal.

That is, the control unit controls the control valves 43A and 43B in FIG. 3, and supplies a predetermined amount of oil from the ports 43b of the control valves 43A and 43B, respectively, to the hydraulic cylinder 1.
1A and 11B so that the left front and rear hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11B are contracted. As a result, of the hydraulic cylinders 11, the right hydraulic cylinder 1
The lengths of 1C and 11D remain the same, and the left hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11B contract by a predetermined amount. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in (a), the horizontal state of the upper mounting body 30 is maintained. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
Is traveling to the right (upward to the left in the figure), it is controlled in the opposite manner to the above, and the right hydraulic cylinder 1
Since only 1C and 11D contract, the horizontal state of the upper mounting body 30 is maintained.

Further, if the control of the hydraulic cylinder 11 shown in FIG. 5 and the control of the hydraulic cylinder 11 shown in FIG. 6 are combined, whichever direction the road surface is inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle 10. Even if there is, the upper mount 30 can be kept horizontal.

7 to 9 are side views showing a state where the lower traveling body 20 on the left side passes over an obstacle (rocks scattered on the road surface; shaded portions in the drawings). First, as shown in FIG. 7, when the left lower traveling body 20 starts to climb up an obstacle, the tilt detection sensor detects that the upper mounting body 30 has started to lean forward to the left. Based on this detection, the control unit controls the hydraulic circuit 40 so as to contract the hydraulic cylinder 11A on the front left side. With this control,
Since only the hydraulic cylinder 11A contracts by an amount corresponding to the tilt angle, the upper mount 30 is kept horizontal.

When the traveling vehicle 10 advances in the direction of the arrow (leftward) in this state from this state, the lower traveling body 20 on the left side completely rides on the obstacle as shown in FIG. At this time, the inclination detection sensor detects that the inclination is gradually increasing from the left front upward in FIG. 7 to the left upward. In response to this, the control unit controls the hydraulic circuit 40 so as to contract the left-side rear hydraulic cylinder 11B. By this control, the hydraulic cylinders 11A and 11B contract by an amount corresponding to the inclination angle thereof, so that the upper mounting body 30 is kept horizontal.

When the traveling vehicle 10 further advances in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, the lower traveling body 20 on the left side comes to land from the front as shown in FIG. At this time, the inclination detection sensor detects that the traveling vehicle 10 is gradually inclined to the left rearward upward from the leftward upward in FIG. In response to this, the control unit controls the hydraulic circuit 40 so as to extend the hydraulic cylinder 11A on the front left side. By this control, the hydraulic cylinder 11A extends by an amount corresponding to the tilt angle, so that the upper mounting body 30 is kept horizontal. After that, when the traveling vehicle 10 further advances, the control unit, based on the detection result of the tilt detection sensor, the hydraulic cylinder 11B on the rear left side.
The hydraulic circuit 40 is controlled so as to extend.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following various modifications are possible within an equivalent range. (1) Although the hydraulic cylinder 11 is automatically controlled by the control unit, it may be expanded and contracted manually. (2) The traveling of the traveling vehicle 10 is generally performed by remote control operation, but the upper mounting body 30 may be provided with a driver's seat so that the vehicle can be driven. (3) A winch may be connected to the traveling vehicle 10 to assist the traveling of the traveling vehicle 10.

[0029]

According to the present invention, the upper mounting body can be kept horizontal when traveling on a road surface having a steep slope or when riding over rocks scattered on the road surface. As a result, the crawler-type traveling vehicle can be prevented from rolling over and can travel stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a crawler type traveling vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, a side view, and a front view of the traveling vehicle 10 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a hydraulic circuit 40 mounted on the traveling vehicle 10.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a hydraulic circuit 50 mounted on the traveling vehicle 10.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where the traveling vehicle 10 is traveling downhill and uphill respectively.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which the traveling vehicle 10 is traveling on a sloping ground rising to the left and rising to the right, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state where the left lower traveling body 20 gets over an obstacle.

8 is a side view showing a state where the traveling vehicle 10 further travels from the state of FIG. 7.

9 is a side view showing how the traveling vehicle 10 further travels from the state of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Crawler type traveling vehicle 11 Hydraulic cylinder 12 Support pipe 12a Fixed pipe 12b Moving pipe 13 Shaft 20 Lower traveling body 30 Upper mounting body 40 Hydraulic circuit 50 Hydraulic circuit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A crawler-type traveling vehicle including a crawler-type lower traveling body, wherein the crawler-type lower traveling body and an upper mounting body are connected to each other, and the crawler-type lower traveling body is provided at a front portion and a rear portion on both left and right sides of the upper mounting body. An expansion / contraction means for expanding and contracting in the vertical direction; inclination detecting means provided on the front and rear of the left and right sides of the upper mounting body for detecting the inclination angle of the upper mounting body; and a detection result of the inclination detecting means. A crawler-type traveling vehicle, comprising: an expansion / contraction amount control means for controlling an expansion / contraction amount of the expansion / contraction means. 2. A crawler-type traveling vehicle having a crawler-type lower traveling body, wherein the crawler-type lower traveling body and an upper mounting body are connected to each other, and the crawler-type lower traveling body is provided at a front portion and a rear portion on both left and right sides of the upper mounting body. , A hydraulic cylinder that is expanded and contracted in the vertical direction by hydraulic pressure, and an oil supply is controlled independently for each hydraulic cylinder,
A hydraulic circuit for expanding and contracting each of the hydraulic cylinders and front and rear portions on the left and right sides of the upper mounting body, respectively, are provided to detect an inclination angle of the upper mounting body and output a signal according to the inclination angle. A crawler-type traveling vehicle comprising: a tilt detection sensor; and a hydraulic control unit that controls a hydraulic pressure of each of the hydraulic circuits based on an output signal of the tilt detection sensor so as to reduce a tilt angle. 3. The crawler-type traveling vehicle according to claim 2, wherein fixed pipes provided on both left and right sides of a front portion of the upper mount body and fixed to the upper mount body, and at least a part of the fixed pipe. A support pipe configured by a movable pipe that is inserted into the fixed pipe and slidable in the fixed pipe, wherein the hydraulic cylinder disposed in the front part of the upper mount is disposed in the support pipe, and both ends thereof are provided. Are connected to the fixed pipe and the movable pipe of the support pipe, respectively. 4. The crawler type traveling vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the hydraulic circuit includes a first port and a second port respectively connected to the first port and the second port of the hydraulic cylinder. A control valve for opening an amount corresponding to the output signal of the inclination detection sensor and switching the oil supply port to the hydraulic cylinder to the first port or the second port; A crawler-type traveling vehicle comprising: a hydraulic pump that supplies a control valve. 5. The crawler-type traveling vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a second hydraulic circuit that controls rotational drive of a starting wheel of the crawler-type lower traveling body, The second hydraulic circuit has a first port and a second port, and is connected to a hydraulic motor that rotationally drives the starting wheel by hydraulic pressure, and one of the first port and the second port of the hydraulic motor. A crawler-type traveling vehicle comprising: a direction switching valve that switches the rotation direction of the hydraulic motor by supplying oil, and a hydraulic pump that supplies oil from an oil tank to the direction switching valve. 6. The crawler type traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the hydraulic control unit has an inclination angle of substantially 0 based on a detection result of the inclination detection sensor. When the hydraulic cylinder becomes the longest,
A crawler-type traveling vehicle characterized in that the hydraulic pressure of each hydraulic circuit is controlled so that the hydraulic cylinder contracts in accordance with the magnitude of the inclination angle.