Tracked motorcycle
The compact single-track vehicle design with adaptive track drives and pneumatic bearing protection addresses complexity and durability issues, enhancing maneuverability and soil protection by ensuring consistent road contact and extended track life.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- RU · RU
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- БЕЛЬДЮГИН ВЛАДИМИР АЛЕКСАНДРОВИЧ
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-19
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing single-track vehicles face issues such as complexity, lack of repairability, heavy weight, short track life, uneven track loads, and short lifespan of bearings, particularly in off-road conditions, limiting their maneuverability and soil cover protection.
A compact, single-track vehicle design with adaptive track drives and pneumatic bearing protection, utilizing a vertical inclined steering column and adaptive track movers with torsional bending and pneumatic bearing protection, allowing horizontal and vertical tilting while maintaining road contact, and a chain transmission system for maneuverability and durability.
Enhances maneuverability and reduces soil destruction by ensuring consistent road contact and extended track life, while providing repairable components and improved bearing protection.
Smart Images
Figure 00000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a compact, single-track vehicle with a caterpillar track. The device is designed to transport a person off-road and on soft soils. Interest in caterpillar motorcycles stems from their increased cross-country ability compared to wheeled vehicles and their high maneuverability and fuel efficiency compared to two-track vehicles.
[0002] The SU 1444233 A1 lightweight single-track all-terrain vehicle is known. It consists of front and rear sections connected by upper and lower bearing assemblies. The front section houses the engine and the suspended drive sprocket. The rear section houses the driver's seat and footrests, and the suspended rear support wheel. The track is a chain of individual rubber tracks connected by a cable along the axis of symmetry and rubber cords on either side of the cable. Turning is accomplished by turning the steering wheel, which, via levers and rods, rotates an eccentrically mounted disc. Rotating the disc on the axis causes a turning moment between the front section and the rear section.
[0003] The disadvantages of this device include its complexity, lack of repairability, heavy weight, and short track life. Uneven track loads occur when tilted. Only narrow, non-standard tracks can be used. The bearings have a short lifespan in off-road conditions.
[0004] The RU 2821602 tracked motorcycle is known for its distinctive single-track design, which encompasses a frame housing the engine, drive sprocket, support and idler rollers, and a guide bogie with controls, as well as side wheels that act as roll limiters. The track consists of a single closed V-belt arranged along the longitudinal axis of symmetry, with shoes rigidly attached to its outer perimeter, equipped with lugs and ridges.
[0005] The disadvantages of this device include its complexity, lack of repairability, heavy weight, and short track life. The wide, obstructive dimensions are due to the presence of side wheels that limit roll. Uneven track loads are applied when the track is tilted. Only narrow, non-standard tracks can be used. The bearings have a short lifespan in off-road conditions.
[0006] The closest in design is the tracked all-terrain vehicle RU 5632441. This all-terrain vehicle has a layout and control principle similar to a two-wheeled motorcycle. It comprises a frame with a driver's seat, a driven rear track, and a steering front element in the form of a track on a bogie frame with guide wheels and rollers capable of rotation around the vertical-tilting axis of the front fork and swinging around the horizontal axis. An electric drive for the front track is also available.
[0007] Disadvantages: Inability to steer like a motorcycle when using a wide track. Uneven track load when tilted. No front track drive, and with an electric drive, it's difficult to do. Short lifespan of track bearings in off-road conditions.
[0008] The purpose of the invention is to improve driving and operational qualities, and reduce the destruction of the soil cover.
[0009] Drawings are provided to explain the device:
[0010] Fig. 1 - General view of the tracked motorcycle
[0011] Fig. 2 - adaptive tracked mover side view
[0012] Fig. 3 - section A-A in Fig. 2
[0013] Fig. 4 - Pneumatic bearing protection system
[0014] Fig. 5 - Transmission
[0015] The tracked motorcycle consists of a front 1 and rear 2 sections of Fig. 1, connected by a vertical inclined steering column consisting of an upper 3 and lower 4 bearing assemblies.
[0016] Front section 1 Fig. 1 - control leading track module, consisting of fork 5, to which are attached: steering wheel 6, upper 3 and lower 4 bearing units of the steering column, adaptive track drive 7, transmission 8, protection system of running bearings Fig. 4.
[0017] Rear section 2 of Fig. 1 - leading track module. Contains: supporting frame 9, upper 3 and lower 4 steering column bearing assemblies, engine 10, transmission 8, adaptive track drive 11, running bearing guard Fig. 4, saddle 12, driver's footrests 13.
[0018] To enable horizontal and vertical tilting of the motorcycle while maintaining the full contact area with the road surface, an adaptive track mover is used. In principle, the front 7 and rear 11 movers in Fig. 1 are the same, therefore, for the sake of simplicity, one drawing is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. The effect of torsional bending of the soft or special track 14 in Fig. 2 in the transverse direction is used. Units 17, 18, 19, 20 - axles with rollers at the ends make up the running support balance beam bogie with a transverse horizontal swing axis 21. The axes of units 17 and 20 are located parallel to the horizon of the vehicle, raised to a height T and are guides. (The value of T is selected based on the height of the road unevenness.) Units 18 and 19 - transverse support balance beams with a center 22 in the middle, their axes are located parallel to the road surface. The axes of nodes 15 and 16 are located parallel to the horizon of the vehicle.In the front module, unit 15 is an axle with guide rollers, unit 16 is an axle with drive sprockets.
[0019] In the rear module, unit 15 is an axle with drive track sprockets, unit 16 is an axle with guide rollers. One of the suspension options is a pendulum 24 fixed on a hinge 23, on which a running balance bogie 17-18-19-20 is mounted through an axle 21. Shock absorption is performed by block 25. When hitting an uneven road, bogie 17-18-19-20 relative to axle 21 goes around the obstacle, and block 25 takes the impact, maintaining the contact area with the road. When the vehicle is tilted relative to the road surface, transverse balancers 18, 19 tilt around center 22 and torsional bending occurs on track sections 17-18, 18-19, 19-20. The contact area of the track with the road is maintained. This design does not prevent the vehicle from tilting sufficiently for steering, and the tilt angle is limited by the elasticity of the track and the ability of the cross balancers 18 and 19 to rotate around their axes. The pins 26 prevent the rollers from extending beyond the track.
[0020] The adaptive track drive utilizes a pneumatic bearing protection system (Fig. 4) and is a device for feeding crankcase gases from a four-stroke engine into the bearing assembly cavities. The axle of the undercarriage bearing assembly is a hollow tube 27, at the end of which a bearing 28 is attached. Crankcase gases 30 are pumped into the tube cavity through a fitting 29, creating excess pressure. The undercarriage roller 31 is blind on one end and has a hole for bearing 28 on the other. A cuff 32, a metal buffer 33, and a retaining ring 34 are installed on this end. The bearing is under excess pressure, preventing dirt from penetrating inside.
[0021] The transmission in Fig. 5 is a chain drive from the engine 10 to the leading track sprockets of the front and rear sections. In the rear section, the motion is transmitted from the engine output shaft 35 by chain drive 36 to the shaft 37 of the leading track sprockets. In the front section, the motion is transmitted from the engine output shaft 35 by chain drive 38 to the input shaft 39 of the CV joint 40 of the steering column, then through the CV joint from its output shaft 41 by chain drive 42 to the axle 43 of the leading track sprockets. The CV joint pivot axis and the steering column rotation axis coincide.
[0022] The vehicle is controlled in a motorcycle-like manner, that is, by using the steering wheel and changing the driver's center of gravity.
[0023] Currently, several prototypes have been manufactured and successfully tested.
Claims
A tracked motorcycle consisting of a front driving control section containing a steering wheel, controls and a transmission, a rear driving section containing a frame, an engine, a driver's seat, a transmission, connected to each other by a steering column, characterized in that the driving sections contain adaptive tracked propellers, each containing a running support balance beam bogie with a transverse horizontal swing axis (21) and nodes (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20), enveloped by a track (14) with a torsional bending effect between nodes (17-18), (18-19), (19-20), the axes of the nodes (15, 16, 17, 20) are located parallel to the horizon of the vehicle, are raised and are guides, the nodes (18, 19) are transverse support balance beams with a center (22) in the middle and with axes located parallel to the road surface, a suspension between the transverse the swing axis (21) and a body of arbitrary design that does not interfere with the operation of the adaptive propulsion unit,allowing for uniform full contact with the road when the vehicle is tilted and driving over obstacles and not interfering with the tilt sufficient for control.