JPH0948370A - Trailer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the minimum turning radius furthermore, and to realize a small sharp turn, by reducing the size difference (so-called widening) between the outermost turning radius (a turning radius of a wheel of the front wheel shaft of a trailer) and the innermost turning radius (a turning radius of the wheel of the rear wheel shaft of the trailer), even though the longest shaft-to- shaft distance between a front wheel shaft of a tractor and a rear wheel shaft of a trailer is same as the conventional vehicles. SOLUTION: In a trailer 1 in which the front side of a chassis 2 is supported rotatable around a vertical shaft to a tractor 3 through a coupler 4, and the rear side of the chassis 2 is supported to wheels 5, a support mechanism 20 to support the wheels 5 rotatable around a vertical shaft P to the chassis 2; a turning positioning mechanism 30 to position the wheels 5 at an adequate position as well as to turn the wheels 5; and a lock mechanism 40 to lock the wheels 5 at a turning neutral position allowable to unlock; are provided, and the 'widening' to be the size difference between the outermost turning radius and the innermost turning radius is reduced by rotating the wheels 5 in a turning operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a trailer in which a front side of a chassis is connected to a tractor and a rear side of the chassis is supported by a wheel portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional trailer, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a front side of a chassis 2 of a trailer 1 is supported by a tractor 3 via a coupler 4 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis.
The rear side of the chassis 2 is supported by the wheel portion 5 fixed to the chassis 2. The wheel unit 5 includes a pair of wheel shafts 6 and 6 provided in front and rear in parallel, and a wheel 7 rotatably provided to the left and right of each wheel shaft 6 and 6.

[0003]

By the way, in a combined vehicle in which a trailer is connected, there is an advantage that the minimum turning radius is smaller than that of a single vehicle having the same length because there is a coupler 4 in the combined vehicle. However, since the trailer-coupled vehicle is a relatively long vehicle, there are places where the vehicle cannot turn completely depending on road conditions such as a relatively narrow road, and there is a demand to further reduce the minimum turning radius.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even if the farthest axial distance L (FIG. 1) between the front wheel shaft of the tractor and the rear wheel shaft of the trailer is the same as the conventional one. , The dimensional difference (so-called widening E) between the outermost turning radius RA of the connected vehicle (the turning radius of the wheel of the front wheel shaft of the tractor) and the innermost turning radius RB (the turning radius of the wheel of the rear wheel shaft of the trailer). It is an object of the present invention to provide a trailer which is small in size and has a minimum turning radius, and has a small turning radius.

[0005]

According to the technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems, the front side of the chassis is supported by the tractor via a coupler so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis of the chassis. In a trailer whose rear side is supported by wheels, a support mechanism for rotatably supporting the wheels with respect to a chassis about a vertical axis, and a rotational positioning for rotating the wheels and positioning them at appropriate positions. And a mechanism. Then, if necessary, a lock mechanism is provided to lock the wheel portion in the rotational neutral position so that the wheel portion can be unlocked.

[0006] In addition, if necessary, the support mechanism includes a lower seat to which the wheel portion is attached, an upper seat facing the lower seat and provided at a lower portion of the chassis, and the lower seat and the upper seat. It is configured with a thrust bearing interposed between the seats. Furthermore, if necessary, the rotation positioning mechanism is
An arm extended to the lower seat, a hydraulic cylinder having one end rotatably connected to the chassis and the other end rotatably connected to the arm, and a piston of the hydraulic cylinder is expanded and contracted through the arm. And a hydraulic circuit for rotating the lower pedestal.

Further, if necessary, the wheel portion includes a pair of front and rear wheel shafts provided side by side, wheels provided on the left and right sides of the respective wheel shafts, and front and rear wheel shafts provided on the left and right sides. Is connected via a beam box, a connecting shaft in the vehicle width direction that connects the pair of left and right beams to each other, and a trunnion bracket that supports the connecting shaft with respect to the chassis. .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, similarly to the above, in the trailer 1, the front side of the chassis 2 is rotatably supported by the tractor 3 around the vertical axis via the coupler 4 and the rear side of the chassis 2 is the wheel. Part 5
Supported by. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the wheel portion 5 includes a pair of wheel shafts 6 and 6 provided in front and rear in parallel,
Two wheels 7 provided on the left and right of the wheel shafts 6 and 6, respectively.
And a pair of beams 9 respectively provided on the left and right to connect the front and rear wheel shafts 6 via a beam box 8, a connecting shaft 10 in the vehicle width direction for connecting the pair of left and right beams 9, and the connection. A trunnion bracket 11 that supports the shaft 10 with respect to the chassis 2 is provided. In FIG. 6, 12 is a beam 9 and a connecting shaft 10.
It is a bearing member interposed between and.

In the trailer 1 as described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, 20 is a support mechanism for rotatably supporting the wheel portion 5 with respect to the chassis 2 about the vertical axis P, and 30 is the wheel portion 5. A rotary positioning mechanism that rotates the wheel and positions it at an appropriate position, and a lock mechanism 40 that unlocks the wheel portion 5 at the rotary neutral position so as to be unlocked.

The support mechanism 20 is provided through a ring-shaped and disk-shaped lower receiving seat 21 to which the trunnion bracket 11 of the wheel portion 5 is attached, and a mounting member 22 which faces the lower receiving seat 21 and is located below the chassis 2. The ring-shaped and disk-shaped upper seat 23 and the thrust bearing 24 interposed between the lower seat 21 and the upper seat 23 are provided. The outer ring 25 of the thrust bearing 24 is fixed to the lower seat 21 by bolts or the like, and the inner ring 26 of the thrust bearing 24 is fixed to the upper seat 23 by bolts or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 7, the rotary positioning mechanism 30 has a pair of arms 31 extending in the rear portion of the lower seat 21 and arranged side by side, and one end of the arm 31 on the chassis 2. A hydraulic cylinder 32 having a piston 32a rotatably connected to the other end rotatably connected to the pair of arms 31 and a piston 32a of the hydraulic cylinder 32 is expanded and contracted to move downward through the arm 31. And a hydraulic circuit 33 for rotating the seat 21. Hydraulic cylinder 3
2 is provided so that the wheel portion 5 is located at the pivotal neutral position shown in FIG. 1 (normally, the axial cutting angle of the trailer 1 is zero) at the neutral position of the piston 32a.

As shown in FIG. 7, the hydraulic circuit 33 has an extension allowable position S1 for allowing the oil supplied from the hydraulic pump 34 to the hydraulic cylinder 32 for the extension of the hydraulic cylinder 32, and the oil supply. Is provided with a three-position switching solenoid valve 35 for switching between three positions, that is, a reduction allowable position S2 for allowing the hydraulic cylinder 32 to be reduced and a stop position S3 for stopping the oil supply and stopping the expansion and contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 32. . A control switch 36 of the three-position switching solenoid valve 35 is provided in the driver's seat so that it can be operated in the driver's seat of the tractor 3. The control switch 36 switches the three-position switching solenoid valve 35 from the stop position S3 to either the extension allowable position S1 or the contraction allowable position S2 by switching. A battery 37 operates the solenoid valve 35.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the lock mechanism 40 includes a lock pin 41 which is vertically movable under the chassis 2 and a lock pin 41 which is fixed to the chassis 2 through a mounting member 42 to slide the lock pin 41. A guide tube 43 for movably guiding, a lock tube 44 formed with a fitting insertion hole 44a in which the lock pin 41 provided in the arm 31 and moved downward at the rotation neutral position of the wheel portion 5 is fitted, 41
And a drive unit 45 for vertically moving.

The drive unit 45 is rotatably provided on a support 46 outside the guide tube 43, and one end of which is pivotally supported by the lock pin 41 to pivotally move the lock pin 41, and a chassis. 2 is composed of an air cylinder 48 having a piston 48a which is fixed to the lower part of 2 and contracts when driven and expands by a spring force when the drive is released, and a rod 49 which connects the piston 48a of the air cylinder 48 and the other end of the link 47. ing. When the air cylinder 48 is driven, the lock pin 41 is inserted via the rod 49 and the link 47.
Is moved up to unlock the wheel portion 5, while the lock pin 41 is moved down via the rod 49 and the link 47 when the air cylinder 48 is released from driving, so that the wheel portion 5 is locked at the turning neutral position. The driving operation of the air cylinder 48 is performed by operating an air valve at the driver's seat, for example.

Therefore, in the trailer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
It is connected through and travels. In this combined vehicle, the hydraulic cylinder 3 of the rotary positioning mechanism 30 is normally traveling.
2 is set to the neutral position, the wheel portion 5 is positioned at the turning neutral position, the air cylinder 48 of the lock mechanism 40 is released, and the lock pin 41 is moved downward to lock the wheel portion 5 at the turning neutral position. Keep it. As a result, not only the straight running but also the turning operation similar to the conventional one can be performed. In this case, since the wheel portion 5 is locked at the rotation neutral position by the lock mechanism 40, the rotation of the wheel portion 5 can be surely stopped, and therefore the normal traveling can be surely performed. It can be done and safety is ensured.

Further, when turning a place which cannot be turned at the turning neutral position of the wheel portion 5, for example, a place where the road cannot be turned depending on road conditions such as a relatively narrow road, the following operation is performed. . First, the lock mechanism 40
The air cylinder 48 of the drive unit 45 of the
Also, the lock pin 41 is moved upward via the link 47 to unlock the wheel portion 5. Next, while turning the handle of the trailer 1, the control switch 36 of the rotation positioning mechanism 30 is arranged so that the wheel portion 5 rotates in the same direction as the cutting direction.
The three-position switching solenoid valve 35 to the expansion allowable position S1 or the contraction allowable position S2, and oil is supplied from the hydraulic pump 34 to the hydraulic cylinder 32 to expand or contract the hydraulic cylinder 32. . As a result, a rotational force is applied to the arm 31, the lower seat 21 of the support mechanism 20 rotates with respect to the upper seat 23 via the thrust bearing 24, and the wheel portion 5 rotates in a desired direction. .
Then, for example, by visual inspection, at an appropriate rotational position of the wheel portion 5, by the control switch 36 of the rotational positioning mechanism 30,
The three-position switching solenoid valve 35 is placed in the stop position S3 to stop the supply of oil from the hydraulic pump 34 to the hydraulic cylinder 32 and stop the expansion and contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 32. As a result, the wheel portion 5 is stopped at the rotation position.

In this case, since the support mechanism 20 is constructed by interposing the thrust bearing 24 between the lower seat 21 and the upper seat 23, the wheel portion 5 can be rotated while receiving a load from the thrust bearing 24. It is done smoothly. Further, since the rotary positioning mechanism 30 is operated by the hydraulic cylinder 32, it is easy to increase the rotational force and it is easy to oppose the load acting on the trailer 1. In this case, since the wheel portion 5 rotates, the mobility of the combined vehicle is improved, the area occupied by the road surface is reduced, and the entire combined vehicle turns. That is, since the trailer 1 has one more joint point at the wheel portion 5, as shown in FIG. 8, the outermost turning radius RA of the combined vehicle (the turning radius R of the wheel of the front wheel shaft of the tractor 3).
1) and the innermost turning radius RB (the rear wheel shaft 6 of the trailer 1
The dimensional difference from the wheel turning radius R3) (so-called widening E) becomes smaller, so that the minimum turning radius becomes even smaller and a small turn becomes possible.

[0018]

In FIG. 8, the farthest axial distance L (FIG. 1) between the front wheel shaft of the tractor 3 and the rear wheel shaft 6 of the trailer 1 is set to the same condition (9710 mm) and the trailer according to the embodiment of the present invention. An example in which the trailer 1 and the conventional trailer 1 are compared is shown. The front wheel outside the tractor 3 has a radius of curvature R1 (RA)
= 12000 mm, the radius of curvature of the inner rear wheel of the trailer 1 is R2 (RB) = 746 in the conventional example.
0 mm, and in the embodiment, R3 (RB) = 8420 mm
And the width E was reduced. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, even on a road with a road width H = 5500 mm and a radius of curvature of the outermost circumference R = 13000, the conventional example cannot turn completely, but in the example, turn with a margin. I was able to.

In the above embodiment, if a detection unit using a limit switch or the like for detecting the rotation angle of the wheel unit 5 and a display unit for displaying the detection result of the detection unit in the driver's seat are provided, it is possible to visually check. It is desirable because it can be operated without depending on. If the hydraulic circuit 33 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 of the rotary positioning mechanism 30 is operated in conjunction with the handle of the tractor 3, the wheel 5 can be automatically rotated, which is extremely convenient. If the lamp is turned on when the trailer 1 has a shaft cutting angle of zero, the lock operation by releasing the drive of the air cylinder 48 can be reliably performed. Furthermore, although the drive unit 45 of the lock mechanism 40 is configured by using the air cylinder 48, it is not necessarily limited to this, and a hydraulic cylinder, an electric cylinder, or the like may be appropriately changed. Also, the rotary positioning mechanism 30 is not limited to the hydraulic cylinder 32, and other means may be used.

[0020]

As described above, according to the trailer of the present invention, since the wheel portion can be pivoted and positioned at an appropriate position, the number of joint points in the wheel portion is increased by one and the tractor and the tractor are combined. In the combined vehicle of No. 2, it is possible to reduce the widening which is a dimensional difference between the outermost turning radius and the innermost turning radius. Therefore, even if the farthest axial distance between the front wheel shaft of the tractor and the rear wheel shaft of the trailer is the same as the conventional one, it is possible to further reduce the minimum turning radius and reduce the area occupied by the road surface. To improve the mobility of the car,
It is possible to improve the turning performance in a place where the road width is relatively narrow.

Further, in the case where a lock mechanism for releasably locking the wheel portion at the turning neutral position is provided, since the wheel portion can be locked at the turning neutral position, the turning of the wheel portion during normal traveling is performed. You can definitely stop it,
Therefore, there is an effect that normal traveling can be surely performed and safety can be achieved.

Further, when the support mechanism is constructed by interposing the thrust bearing between the lower seat and the upper seat, it is possible to smoothly rotate the wheel portion while receiving a load from the thrust bearing.

Further, when the rotary positioning mechanism is operated by the hydraulic cylinder, the rotating force can be easily increased and the load acting on the wheel portion can be easily opposed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view (a) and a side view (b) showing a trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a tractor.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of the trailer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a middle CC line sectional view.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a trailer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a sectional view taken along the line DD.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a hydraulic circuit of the rotary positioning mechanism of the trailer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a turning locus of a trailer combined vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention in comparison with a turning locus of a conventional trailer combined vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Trailer 2 Chassis 3 Tractor 4 Coupler 5 Wheel Section 6 Wheel Shaft 7 Wheel 8 Beam Box 9 Beam 10 Connecting Shaft 11 Trunnion Bracket 20 Support Mechanism P Vertical Axis 21 Lower Seat 23 Upper Seat 24 Thrust Bearing 30 Rotating Positioning Mechanism 31 Arm 32 Hydraulic cylinder 33 Hydraulic circuit 34 Hydraulic pump 35 3 Position switching solenoid valve 36 Control switch 40 Lock mechanism 41 Lock pin 43 Guide tube 44 Lock tube 45 Drive section 48 Air cylinder L Farthest axial distance RA Outermost turning radius (of tractor Wheel turning radius of front wheel axle R1) RB Innermost turning radius (Turning radius of trailer wheel axle of rear wheel R2, R3) E Widening

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A trailer in which a front side of a chassis is rotatably supported by a tractor via a coupler around a vertical axis, and a rear side of the chassis is supported by a wheel portion. A trailer comprising: a support mechanism that rotatably supports the wheel portion; and a rotation positioning mechanism that rotates the wheel portion and positions the wheel portion at an appropriate position. 2. The trailer according to claim 1, further comprising a lock mechanism for releasably locking the wheel portion at a rotational neutral position. 3. The support mechanism includes a lower seat to which the wheel portion is attached, an upper seat facing the lower seat and provided at a lower portion of the chassis, and interposed between the lower seat and the upper seat. 3. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the trailer comprises a thrust bearing. 4. An arm extending to the lower seat, the hydraulic cylinder having one end rotatably connected to the chassis and the other end rotatably connected to the arm. The trailer according to claim 3, further comprising: a hydraulic circuit that expands and contracts a piston of the hydraulic cylinder to rotate the lower seat through an arm. 5. The wheel portion includes a pair of wheel shafts provided in front and rear in parallel, wheels provided on the left and right of each wheel shaft, and front and rear wheel shafts provided on the left and right via a beam box. A pair of beams that are connected together, and a connecting shaft in the vehicle width direction that connects the pair of left and right beams to each other,
The trailer according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the trailer comprises a trunnion bracket that supports the connecting shaft with respect to the chassis.