JPH1191598A - Power steering device for travel vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To arrange a controller used in a power steering system for a travel vehicle in the engine room at the optimum position that never lowers the transmission efficiency from the steering-force output end and copes well with the larger size of the engine. SOLUTION: A controller 43 is placed in diagonal front of and above an engine 5. This location is for avoiding of the bulky portions of the engine including the engine head and the like set apart therefrom. The controller 43 is connected to a steering wheel side interlocking shaft 47 by a transmission shaft 46, which is inclined laterally outward and upward s viewed from the driver's seat as well as laterally inward and downward as viewed from the controller 43.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power steering device for a traveling vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a traveling vehicle such as a tractor, an engine is mounted in front of a driver's seat, and the engine and various devices and engine accessories attached to the periphery of the engine are surrounded by a hood. There is one in which an engine room is formed.

When a traveling vehicle is a tractor or the like, a heavy working machine is often connected to the rear of the vehicle, or the vehicle often goes up or down a steep step or the like. Special considerations are needed to achieve a good balance. Generally, it is preferable to place the center of gravity forward of the traveling vehicle. For this reason, in the engine room, among the various devices, engine accessories, and the like, relatively heavy ones are arranged forward, and conversely, light ones are arranged rearward (close to the driver's seat). .

In the power steering apparatus, a controller for operating a hydraulic actuator for steering a front wheel is provided in an upper part in front of an engine, and the controller and a steering shaft or an interlocking shaft connected to the controller. Has been developed and applied for a structure in which a transmission shaft having a telescopic part and a universal joint part is connected (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-41110). Although the technology 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]

In recent years, it has been desired to increase the output of a traveling vehicle, and accordingly, the size of the engine tends to be increased. 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-described power steering apparatus, it may be difficult to provide the controller in an upper part in front of the engine due to a space problem. It should be noted that since it is necessary to reliably and smoothly transmit even the slightest 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.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a controller used for a power steering device, the engine can be enlarged in an engine room 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 an optimal arrangement corresponding to the above.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the following technical measures have been taken in order 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 controller is provided on the upper side near the front with respect to the engine vertically disposed in front of the driver's seat. ing. The transmission shaft connecting the steering output end of the steering wheel provided at the center in the left-right direction on the front of the driver's seat and the controller is inclined outward and upward in the left-right direction as 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 left-right direction.

The steering output end of the steering wheel is an end of a steering shaft or an interlocking shaft connected to the steering shaft via a universal joint or the like, and is a portion for taking out an operation performed on the steering wheel. To tell. With such a configuration, even if the engine becomes larger,
The controller is less likely to cause interference with the engine. This is because a bulky part in the engine shape, for example, an engine head (cylinder head cover), is provided on the upper side of the engine near the front part, and the controller avoids this part. Because.

Further, since the transmission shaft for connecting the controller having such an arrangement to the steering output end of the steering wheel is provided with a natural inclination without difficulty,
The transmission efficiency between the controller and the steering output end is also improved. In particular, the transmission efficiency is further enhanced by providing the controller itself such that the operation axis thereof has substantially the same inclination as the transmission shaft.

If the muffler main body is provided horizontally on the rear upper portion of the engine, and the transmission shaft is provided so as to pass vertically between the engine and the muffler main body, the space in the engine room can be effectively used. I can do it. Also,
Since the muffler body is lightweight, it is convenient for keeping the center of gravity of the vehicle forward.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below 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 can be performed 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 transmission (not shown), and the three-point link 10 is moved up and down by the hydraulic device 9. It is provided as possible.

Various working machines 11 (tillage machine in the figure) can be connected to and disconnected from the three-point link 10 as needed. This work machine 11 has P
The drive of the engine 5 can be transmitted via the TO shaft 12. Above the front axle frame 13 extending forward from the engine 5, a hood including the engine 5 as well as various devices and engine accessories attached to the periphery of the engine 5 is entirely enclosed. An engine room is formed in the hood 14.

A cabin 15 is provided on the vehicle body 6 behind the engine 5.
A cockpit in which a steering wheel 16 and a driver's seat 17 are arranged is formed. The cabin 15 in the illustrated example 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.

In such a running vehicle 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the engine room, a belt drive unit 21, a radiator 22, a condenser for air conditioning 23 are provided from the front of the engine 5 to the front thereof. And a battery 24. 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 its front face is the grill part 2.
It is 8.

The belt driving section 21 is provided with a generator (alternator or dynamo) from the engine output shaft section 30.
A first belt 33 extends over each input portion of the radiator fan 31 and the radiator fan 32, and a second belt 36 extends over the input portion of the air conditioning compressor 34 and the tension pulley 35 from the engine output shaft 30. ing.

[0017] In the upper part of the engine 5 near the front,
The controller 43 of the power steering device is provided so as to be slightly displaced laterally 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. .

Accordingly, the controller 43 is connected to the handle 16 (see FIG. 4) via a transmission shaft 46 having joints 44 and 45 formed of universal joints at both ends.
Is connected to the steering output end 47. This transmission shaft 46
Are tilted outward in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat 17 side and upward, and tilted inward in the left-right direction and downward when viewed from the controller 43 side.

The controller 43 itself is also provided with its operating 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 set to be good.
It should be noted that the transmission shaft 46 has a telescopic part 48 at an intermediate part in the longitudinal direction.
Is provided. 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 / detaching the engine head unit 5a).

By arranging the controller 43 as described above, a reserve tank 50 of the radiator 22 can be provided in front of the controller 43. On the other hand, a muffler 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.

Accordingly, 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. And side plate 5
Not only 7 but also the grill portion 28 is swingable in the vertical direction (see FIG. 4).

The closed state of the hood 14 is held by a lock mechanism 60 provided inside the grill portion 28 as shown in FIG. The lock mechanism 60 can perform a lock switching operation by an operation piece 60a that also serves as a center mascot and protrudes from an upper surface of the grill portion 28. By the way, the present invention
It is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, the traveling vehicle 1 is not limited to a tractor.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, in the power steering apparatus for a traveling vehicle according to the present invention, since the controller is provided on the upper side near the front of the engine, the controller can be used for a large engine. The controller is also less likely to cause positional interference. A transmission shaft for connecting the controller to the steering output end of the steering wheel is
Since it is provided with a natural inclination naturally, the transmission efficiency to the controller is also suitable.

When the operating axis of the controller 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. The muffler body is installed horizontally on the upper rear part of the engine,
If the transmission shaft is provided so as to pass between the engine and the muffler main body, 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 a hood (in an engine room) shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged 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 (3)

[Claims] A controller (43) for operating a hydraulic actuator for steering a front wheel (2) is provided on an upper side of a front side of an engine (5) arranged vertically in front of a driver's seat (17). The steering output end (4
A transmission shaft (46) connecting the 7) and the controller (43) is tilted outward and upward in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat (17) side, and also in the left-right direction when viewed from the controller (43) side. A power steering device for a traveling vehicle, wherein the power steering device is tilted inward and downward. 2. The controller (43) has its operating axis centered outward and upward from the center in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat (17) side, and the controller (43) side. 2. The power steering apparatus for a traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the power steering apparatus is inclined inward and downward in the left-right direction when viewed from the viewpoint. 3. A muffler main body (53) is provided in the rear upper portion of the engine (5) in a horizontal state, and the transmission shaft (46) is provided between the engine (5) and the muffler main body (53). 3. The power steering device for a traveling vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the power steering device is provided via a space.