WO2009050744A1

WO2009050744A1 - Earth moving machine

Info

Publication number: WO2009050744A1
Application number: PCT/IT2007/000721
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matteo Magrin
Original assignee: Komatsu Utility Europe S.P.A
Priority date: 2007-10-17
Filing date: 2007-10-17
Publication date: 2009-04-23

Abstract

An earth moving machine (1) comprises a chassis (2), at least one item of earth moving equipment (4) mounted on the chassis (2), a plurality of wheels (3) of which at least two are directional, a steering wheel (5) connected to the directional wheels (3) and auxiliary driving means for guiding the machine with one hand, in particular when the item of earth moving equipment is operating.

Description

Earth moving machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an earth moving machine of the type comprising a chassis or body, a plurality of wheels of which at least two directional and connected to the chassis or body, a steering wheel connected to the directional wheels to guide the machine as it travels and at least one item of earth moving equipment mounted on the chassis.

In particular, the present invention is advantageously applied in machines with items of earth moving equipment both on the front and on the rear (for example machines which have a front loading shovel and a rear articulated arm, commonly known as "backhoe loaders").

Background Art

On such machines, while working, the operator must control and manage various issues: guiding the machine, carefully positioning it and ensuring that it is in safe conditions, moving the items of working equipment, such as articulated arms, loading shovels, buckets or other tools applied in place of the loading shovel or bucket. Therefore, to facilitate operation as far as possible, functional steering wheels must be designed and fitted.

At present various types of steering wheels are known and used in earth moving machines. The steering wheel normally comprises a handgrip, a hub and a plurality of spokes connecting the hub to the handgrip. According to the prior art, the handgrip substantially has a circular shape, coaxial with the axis of rotation of the steering wheel. However, this structure has disadvantages linked to the dimensions. During machine operation, the seat on which the operator is sitting may have to be rotated for use of items of earth moving equipment which may be located at the rear of the machine. Such rotations are made difficult by the presence of a steering wheel circular handgrip, because the lower part of the handgrip may strike the operator's legs or other parts of his body. Moreover, in these conditions it is difficult for the operator to manoeuvre the steering wheel while using the items of earth moving equipment: in this situation the operator only has one hand available to use the steering wheel, because the other hand is used to control the items of working equipment.

Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is therefore to overcome the above- mentioned disadvantages.

In particular, the present invention has for an aim to ensure that the operator can easily drive the earth moving machine even while using the items of working equipment.

The present invention has for a second aim to provide a steering wheel which interferes as little as possible with the operator's operations.

These aims and others, more apparent in the description which follows, are achieved by an earth moving machine characterised in that the steering wheel comprises auxiliary driving means which the operator can operate with one hand to guide the machine when the item of earth moving equipment is operating.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention are more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred, non-limiting embodiment of an earth moving machine according to the present invention.

The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, provided by way of example only and, therefore, without limiting the scope of the invention, and in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a conventional type of earth moving machine; Figure 2 is a top perspective view of the steering wheel of the earth moving machine as presented to the operator during driving on the road;

Figure 3 is a front view of the steering wheel of the earth moving machine as presented to the operator during use of the items of working equipment; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the steering wheel in an intermediate position between those illustrated in Figures 2 and 3; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a detail of the steering wheel.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes an earth moving machine. The machine 1 has a chassis or body 2, to which a plurality of wheels 3 are connected. As shown in Figure 1 , such machines preferably have two pairs of wheels (Figure 1 shows only one wheel in each pair, since it is a side view) and at least one of these pairs of wheels is directional. The machine also has at least one item of earth moving equipment 4 and a steering wheel 5 to guide the machine as it travels.

The steering wheel 5 is integral, in a central position, with the steering column 5a and is positioned in front of a seat 6 on which the operator sits. The steering wheel 5 position in terms of height, depth and angle can be modified relative to the position adopted by the operator using prior art mechanisms. The steering wheel 5 is preferably positioned so that it is roughly horizontal and so has a substantially vertical axis of rotation. Therefore, the steering wheel 5 rotates in a substantially horizontal plane.

As shown in Figure 2, the steering wheel 5 has a compact configuration in which there are: a central hub 7, mounted on the machine 1 steering column 5a and two spokes 8 extending from the central hub 7, one from one side and the other from the opposite side.

The spokes 8 are slightly curved, with the concave part facing the position adopted by the operator, when the steering wheel 5 is in the neutral position (that is to say, when the earth moving machine 1 is moving in a straight direction). The edge 8a of the spokes 8 towards the operator forms the edge of the steering wheel 5 on the operator side. Two handgrips 9 extend from the opposite edge 8b of the steering wheel 5 spokes 8 and, more precisely, from the two ends of the edge 8b, away from the position adopted by the operator. The operator uses these handgrips 9 to hold the steering wheel 5 and so guide the machine 1 as it travels.

When working with the earth moving machine 1 , the operator must use the items of earth moving equipment 4 present on the machine 1. Therefore, more or less close to the steering wheel 5 there are means for operating the items of equipment 4, being of the conventional known type and therefore not illustrated. Since the operator usually operates said means with one hand, he has to be able to control the steering wheel 5 (and machine 1 travel while working) with the other hand.

For this purpose, as shown in Figure 3, the steering wheel 5 is equipped with a knob 10, in a position off centre relative to the steering wheel 5 axis of rotation. In this way, the operator can turn the steering wheel 5 acting with one hand only on the knob 10. To facilitate the grip, the knob 10 is not usually fixed directly on the steering wheel 5, but is connected to the latter by a rod 1 1. Moreover, to further aid the operator, the knob 10 may not be rigidly fixed to the steering wheel 5, but free to rotate about the axis passing through the rod 11. Moreover, advantageously, the knob 10 and the rod 11 are fixed on a base

12 mounted on a portion of the steering wheel 5 in such a way that it can rotate on itself. With this rotation of the base 12, the knob 10 can pass from a home position (as illustrated in Figure 2) in which it extends below the steering wheel 5 to an operating position (illustrated in Figure 3) in which it extends above the steering wheel 5. In this way, in the home position the knob 10 is hidden from the operator, whilst in the operating position it is on the operator side so that it can easily be gripped. In the embodiment illustrated, the base 12 is positioned on an outer portion of the steering wheel 5. However, there may also be configurations in which the base 12 is located in an inner portion of the steering wheel 5, but still off centre relative to the steering wheel 5 axis of rotation. On the base 12 there are also keys for locking and releasing it. When the base 12 is in one of the two positions described above (the home position or the operating position), the base 12 is locked and cannot move. To release it, there are two keys on the base 12, one on each side: a first key 13, on the side of the base 12 in which the rod 11 and the knob 10 are fixed, and a second key 14 positioned on the opposite side of the base 12. Therefore, to make the base 12 pass from the home position illustrated in Figure 2 to the operating position shown in Figure 3, the operator presses the second key 14 and substantially rotates through 180° the base 12, which automatically locks in the operating position. Vice versa, to make the base 12 pass from the operating position illustrated in Figure 3 to the home position shown in Figure 2, the operator presses the first key 13 and substantially rotates through 180° the base 12, which automatically locks in the home position.

To be able to move the machine 1 while working, advantageously the steering wheel 5 is fitted with machine 1 movement control means. These control means may advantageously take the form of a push-button which actuates machine movement, briefly referred to as the start travel push-button 15, and a push-button which inverts the machine direction of travel, briefly referred to as the invert travel push-button 16.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the start travel push-button 15 and the invert travel push-button 16 are positioned on the surface of the knob 10 on the same side on which the knob 10 is attached to the rod 11. In this way, it is easier for the operator to use them.

The earth moving machine 1 disclosed achieves the preset aims.

Firstly, the earth moving machine 1 in accordance with the present invention has a steering wheel 5 without projections extending towards the operator. Therefore, the operator can move more easily without being hindered by parts of the steering wheel 5 which may strike the legs or other parts of the body, above all when the operator has to rotate the seat 6 to control the work done by the items of earth moving equipment positioned on the rear part of the machine 1. Secondly, thanks to the presence of the knob 10, with just one hand, the operator can manage machine 1 movement. With the knob 10, operator can manage steering wheel 5 rotation and therefore the direction in which the machine 1 moves, whilst, with the push-buttons 15 and 16 he can manage setting the machine in motion and the direction of travel (forward or backward). Moreover, the possibility of rotating the base 12, on which the knob 10 rests, so that it is retracted below the steering wheel 5, makes driving the machine 1 with the two handgrips 9 easy, when the machine 1 is driven on the road.

The invention described above may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. All details of the invention may be substituted by other technically equivalent elements and, in practice, all of the materials used, as well as the shapes and dimensions of the various components, may be any according to requirements.

Claims

1. An earth moving machine ( 1 ) comprising: a chassis or body (2); a plurality of wheels, of which at least two are directional (3), connected to the chassis or body (2); a steering wheel (5) connected to the directional wheels (3) to guide the machine (1) as it travels; and at least one item of earth moving equipment (4) mounted on the chassis or body (2); the earth moving machine being characterised in that the steering wheel (5) comprises auxiliary driving means which an operator can operate with one hand to guide the machine (1) in particular when the item of earth moving equipment (4) is operating.

2. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the auxiliary driving means comprise a knob (10) mounted on the steering wheel

(5) in a position off centre relative to the steering wheel axis of rotation.

3. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the knob (10) is positioned on a base (12) rotatably mounted on a portion of the steering wheel (5) and can be moved from a home position in which the knob (10) extends below the steering wheel (5) hidden from the operator to an operating position in which the knob (10) extends above the steering wheel (5) and can be gripped by the operator.

4. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the base (12) also comprises lock and release means, allowing inhibition and enabling of the passage from the home position to the operating position and vice versa.

5. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the means for locking and releasing the base (12) comprise at least one key positioned on the base (12).

6. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the means for locking and releasing the base (12) comprise: a first key (13), positioned on the side of the base (12) on which the knob (10) is located; and a second key (14), positioned on the opposite side of the base (12).

7. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the steering wheel (5) also comprises means for controlling machine (1) movement.

8. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that the means for controlling machine (1) movement comprise: a start travel push-button (15), which if pressed sets the machine 1 in motion.

9. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the means for controlling machine (1) movement comprise: an invert travel push-button (16), which if pressed causes the machine (1) direction of travel to be inverted, switching from forward travel to reverse, and vice versa.

10. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 7 or 8 or 9, characterised in that the means for controlling machine (1) movement are positioned on the knob (10).

11. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the knob (10) is connected to the base (12) by a rod (11).

12. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 11, characterised in that the knob (10) is rotatably mounted on the rod (11).

13. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that the knob (10) is connected to the base (12) by a rod (11).

14. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the means for controlling machine (1) movement are positioned on the side of the knob (10) on which the rod (11) is located.

15. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the steering wheel (5) comprises: a central hub (7) mounted on a machine (1) steering column; a pair of opposite spokes (8) mounted on two sides of the central hub (7); and two handgrips (9) extending from each spoke (8) away from the position adopted by the operator.

16. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the steering wheel (5) has a curved configuration with the concave part towards the position adopted by the operator.

17. The earth moving machine (1) according to claim 15, characterised in that towards the operator the steering wheel (5) is delimited by the two spokes (8).