JPS632712A - Wheel lifting device for amphibious vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the hydro-cruising performance by providing a wheel lifting means so that wheels can be moved between their protruded position below a vehicle body and their lifted position upward. CONSTITUTION:During the land traveling of an amphibious vehicle 1, dampers 15, 16 of a wheel shifting mechanism 11 are kept horizontal, and front and rear wheels 3, 4 are protruded below a vehicle body. During the hydro-cruising, the operation handle 14d of the wheel shifting mechanism 11 is rotated to rotate a worm wheel 14b upward. Thereby, a suspension link 18 is half rotated, the front damper 15 is pulled upward and the rear damper 16 is pulled downward respectively, a front leading arm 12 and a rear trailing arm 13 are rotated using hinges 2c, 2f as fulcrums respectively, and the front and rear wheels 3, 4 are lifted. Accordingly, during the hydro-cruising, wheels are lifted to reduce the water resistance, thus the cruising perfomance is improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a wheel lifting device for an amphibious vehicle.

(Prior Art) Amphibious vehicles have been known in the past, and such amphibious vehicles are equipped with multiple pairs of wheels on both sides of a box-shaped vehicle body.
It is equipped with a propulsion device such as a screw at the rear, allowing it to run on land and water, and when running on water, it is common to run with the wheels immersed in water (for example,
(Refer to Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-177837).

Therefore, this type of amphibious vehicle has wheels that protrude outside the vehicle body, so when running on water, the wheels directly experience water resistance, reducing the running speed, and also have poor water drainage, making it difficult to turn. There is also a problem that the running performance when running on water is poor.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention improves running performance when running on water by raising wheels for land running when running on water and reducing the amount of protrusion of the wheels from the vehicle body to reduce water resistance while running. The purpose is to

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an amphibious vehicle equipped with a vehicle body capable of floating on ice, a military bulletin board for traveling on land, and a propulsion device for traveling on water. a wheel that moves the wheel to both a first position in which the front wheel is projected downward from the vehicle body and a second position in which the wheel is moved upward from the first position; Equipped with a moving mechanism.

When the amphibious vehicle travels on land, the wheels are projected downward from the vehicle body and held at a first position. When running on water, the wheels are pulled upward and held in the second position to reduce water resistance during running.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 is an amphibious vehicle, which has a boat-like floating vehicle body 2 with a front axle 3 and rear wheels 4 mounted on both sides, and a propulsion device 5 disposed at the rear of the vehicle body 2, allowing it to travel on land and on water. It is possible.

The front wheel 3 is attached to both ends of a wheel 6, and the wheel 6 is connected to a final reduction gear 7. The final reduction gear 7 has a drive shaft 8
It is connected to the engine 9 via. Further, the front wheels 3 are steered by a handle of a rack and pinion type steering device 10, for example, to rotate left and right. Note that the front axle 3 is suspended on a front suspension, while the rear wheels are suspended on a rear suspension.

The propulsion device 5 is a jet propulsion device that spouts water,
It is equipped with an impeller, a jet nozzle, etc., and can propel the vehicle body 2 by spouting water sucked up from the water intake port of the duct rearward from the spout port in conjunction with the rotation of the engine 9.

Further, on both sides of the vehicle body 2, there is a first position where the wheels 3.4 protrude below the vehicle body 2, and a second position where the wheels 3.4 are moved upward from the first position.
A wheel moving mechanism 11 is arranged to move the vehicle to both positions.

Note that wheel moving mechanisms 11 disposed on both left and right sides of the vehicle body 2
Since they are the same, the wheel moving mechanism 11 on the right side of the vehicle body 2 in the drawings will be explained below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the wheel moving mechanism 11 includes a front leading arm 12, a rear trailing arm 13, an operating handle 14, and the like.

The front leading arm 12 is curved in a substantially arched shape and has a U-shaped tip 12a, and a small hole 1 at the tip.
The front shaft 3 is attached via a king pin inserted through the shaft 2b. The other end 12c is supported by a hinge 2c fixed to a front edge 2b of a base 2a provided at the bottom of the vehicle body 2.

Also, the other end 1 of this front leading arm 12
2c is integrally formed with a protrusion 12d that protrudes upward.

A small hole is provided at the tip of this protrusion 12d.

The negative end of a front spring damper unit 15 (hereinafter abbreviated as front damper) is pivotally supported via a bolt 12a inserted through the small hole. The other end of the front damper is connected to a support member 17 fixed to the upper surface 2d of the base 2a.
The suspension link 18 (hereinafter abbreviated as a suspension link) is pivotally supported at the lower end of a suspension link 18 (hereinafter abbreviated as a suspension link). The front damper 15, like the rear damper 16 described later, has springs 15b and 16b wound around telescopic piston rods 15a and 16a, and absorbs vibrations transmitted to the wheels when traveling on land and provides vibration to the vehicle body 2. The configuration is such that it is not transmitted.

The rear trailing arm 13 is approximately doglegged and has a tip 13.
A through hole 13b is provided in a, and the through hole ! The rear wheel 4 is attached via a shaft inserted through the shaft 3b. The other end 13c is supported by a hinge 2f fixed to the rear end 2e of the base 2a. Further, the other end 13c of this rear trailing arm 13 is integrally formed with a protrusion 13d that protrudes upward. A small hole is provided at the tip of the protrusion 13d, and one end of the rear damper 16 is pivotally supported via a bolt 13e inserted through the small hole.

The operating handle 14 moves the front leading arm 12 and the rear trailing arm 13 up and down, and is attached to the upper end of a worm gear 14a that is supported by a holding member 14c and projects therefrom. A handle 14d is provided at the end of the operating handle 14. The holding member 14c is fixed to the inwardly projecting side M2g of the vehicle body 2. The other end of the worm gear 14a is supported by a support 14e fixed to the upper surface 2d of the base 2&. Reference numeral 14b denotes a worm wheel, which is approximately fan-shaped and has serrated ratchet teeth cut into its periphery, which mesh with the worm, and can be rotated up and down by the rotation of the handle 14d. The end of the worm wheel 14b is engaged with the engaging portion 18a of the suspension link 18, and is supported by a support member 17 fixed to the upper surface 2d of the base 2a. Note that the base 2
A projection 2h is provided on the upper surface 2d of the suspension link 18 to serve as a stopper when the suspension link 18 rotates, while a stepped portion 21 is formed on the base 2a to enable the suspension link 18 to rotate approximately half a rotation when the suspension link 18 rotates.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the amphibious vehicle 1 travels on land, the front and rear wheels 3.degree. 4 are held in a first position protruding below the vehicle body 2, as shown by the solid line Tl in FIG. At this time.

Each damper 15, 16 of the wheel moving machine [11 is maintained horizontally, and one normal automobile run is performed.

When traveling on water, rotate the handle 14d of each operating handle 14 of the wheel moving mechanism 11 clockwise to move the worm wheel 14.
Rotate b upward.

The suspension link 1 is linked to the rotation of the worm wheel 14b.
8 rotates approximately half a turn, the front damper 15 is pulled upward and the rear damper 16 is pulled downward.

When the front and rear dampers 15.16 are pulled,
The front leading arm 12 and the rear trailing arm 13 each have a hinge 2c.

It rotates about 2f as a fulcrum, and the front and rear wheels 3.4 of each tip end are pulled upward as shown in FIG. 5.

When the wheel is pulled up, it is housed in the vehicle body 2 and held in a second position where the amount of downward protrusion of the vehicle body is limited, as shown by the solid line T3 in FIG.

When moving from water travel to land travel, each operating handle 14
is reversely rotated to rotate the worm wheel 14b and the suspension link 18 approximately half a turn, and the front and rear dampers 15.
16 is returned to the horizontal position and the front and rear wheels 3 and 4 are made to protrude below the vehicle body 2 and held in the first position where land travel is possible.

Note that although the wheel moving mechanism 11 according to this embodiment has been described with reference to the case where the operating handle 14 is manually operated, it is also possible to connect a motor to the shaft of the worm gear 14a via a reducer to electrically move the wheels 3 and 4 up and down. It can also be done.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention pulls up the wheels for land running and stores them inside the car body when running on water, reducing the amount of protrusion of the wheels below the car body, thereby reducing the water resistance experienced while running on water. This greatly reduces the vehicle speed, increases the running speed, and improves turning performance such as tight turns, making it possible to improve overall running performance when running on water.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an amphibious vehicle showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same embodiment, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the wheel moving mechanism, and Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the wheel moving mechanism. The perspective view, Section 5, and Figure 6 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the wheel lifting device.6 2...Vehicle body, 3...Front wheel, 5...
・-Propulsion device, 1゜・・・Steering device, 1
1...Wheel movement mechanism. 12...Front leading arm, 13.
...Rear trailing arm, 14...
operation handle. Patent applicant Mazda Motor Corporation 1-- Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A vehicle body that can float on water and wheels for running on land,
In an amphibious vehicle equipped with a propulsion device for traveling on water,
A wheel lifting means is provided, and the wheel lifting means moves the wheel to both a first position where the wheel projects downward from the vehicle body and a second position where the wheel is moved upward from the first position. A wheel lifting device for an amphibious vehicle, characterized in that it is equipped with a wheel moving mechanism that moves the wheels.