Multipurpose vehicle

Abstract

To provide a multipurpose vehicle with a power transmission device capable of outputting forward driving force to a traveling wheel through changing gear and outputting backing driving force to the traveling wheel, and a shift lever capable of performing manual operation for shift operation of the power transmission device, which can easily perform shift operation and hardly make a mistake in switching between advance movement and backing movement.SOLUTION: A multipurpose vehicle includes a lever guide 23 with a guide groove 24 into which a shift lever 14 is inserted. A forward guide groove 24f of the guide groove 24 linearly extends in a vehicle longitudinal direction in which the shift lever 14 is position therein when shift operation of a power transmission device is performed at a forward driving side. A backing guide groove 24r of the guide groove 24 is positionally deviated in a vehicle body width direction relative to the forward guide groove 24f in which the shift lever 14 is position therein when shift operation of the power transmission device is performed at a backward driving side, and positionally deviated in the vehicle longitudinal direction relative to the forward guide groove 24f.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-purpose vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] As shown in Patent Document 1, there is a multi-purpose vehicle including traveling wheels (front wheels, rear wheels), a power transmission device (transmission) capable of shifting and outputting a forward driving force toward the traveling wheels and outputting a reverse driving force toward the traveling wheels, and a shift lever that can be manually operated to perform a shift operation of the power transmission device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above multi-purpose vehicle, the power transmission device is shifted on the forward side or switched between the forward side and the reverse side by an operation of the shift lever by the driver, whereby forward shifted driving, and switching between forward driving and reverse driving are performed. There is a demand for a multi-purpose vehicle in which a shift operation is easy to perform.

[0005] The present invention provides a multi-purpose vehicle in which a shift operation is easy to perform and it is difficult to make a mistake in forward / reverse switching.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The multi-purpose vehicle according to the present invention is A traveling wheel, a power transmission device capable of shifting and outputting a forward driving force toward the traveling wheel and capable of outputting a reverse driving force toward the traveling wheel, a shift lever that can be manually operated to perform a shift operation of the power transmission device, and a lever guide having a guide groove through which the shift lever is inserted are provided. Among the guide grooves, a forward guide groove portion where the shift lever is located when the power transmission device is shifted on the forward side is formed in a state of linearly extending in the vehicle body longitudinal direction. Among the guide grooves, a reverse guide groove portion where the shift lever is located when the power transmission device is shifted to the reverse side is formed in a state of being displaced in the vehicle body width direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion and also in the vehicle body longitudinal direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion.

[0007] According to this configuration, by linearly moving the shift lever in the vehicle body longitudinal direction in the forward guide groove portion, the power transmission device is in a shift state of outputting a forward driving force at a speed corresponding to the operation position of the shift lever toward the traveling wheels. Since the traveling wheels are shifted and driven on the forward side only by linearly moving the shift lever in the vehicle body longitudinal direction, the shift operation is easy to perform. By moving the shift lever in the vehicle body width direction from the forward guide groove portion toward the reverse guide groove portion, the shift lever can be operated in the reverse guide portion. By operating the shift lever in the reverse guide groove portion, the power transmission device switches to a shift state of outputting a reverse driving force toward the traveling wheels. By moving the shift lever in the vehicle body width direction from the reverse guide groove portion toward the forward guide groove portion, the shift lever can be operated in the forward guide groove portion. By operating the shift lever in the forward guide groove portion, the power transmission device switches to a shift state of outputting a forward driving force toward the traveling wheels. To switch the power transmission device from one of the forward side and the reverse side to the other, the shift lever must be moved in the vehicle body width direction, which is different from the vehicle body longitudinal direction for shifting on the forward side. By causing an operation of moving the shift lever in the vehicle body width direction to be performed, the awareness of switching the power transmission device from one of the forward side and the reverse side to the other can be given, so that it is difficult to make a mistake in the forward / reverse switching.

[0008] In the present invention, It is preferable that the reverse guide groove portion is offset rearward of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion.

[0009] According to this configuration, by moving the shift lever from the forward guide groove portion to the rear side of the vehicle body, the shift lever can be operated to the reverse guide groove portion, and the power transmission device can be switched from the forward side to the reverse side. By moving the shift lever from the reverse guide groove portion to the front side of the vehicle body, the shift lever can be operated to the forward guide groove portion, and the power transmission device can be switched from the reverse side to the forward side. To switch between forward and reverse, the shift lever is moved in the same direction as the traveling direction to be switched, so it is difficult to make a mistake in the forward / reverse switching.

[0010] In the present invention, The shift lever is swingable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with a first pivot axis extending in the vehicle body width direction as a swing fulcrum, and is swingable in the vehicle body width direction with a second pivot axis intersecting the first pivot axis in a plan view as a swing fulcrum. It is preferable that an urging mechanism is provided for urging the shift lever to swing toward the side where the forward guide groove portion is located when viewed in the direction along the second pivot axis.

[0011] According to this configuration, to switch the power transmission device from the forward side to the reverse side, the shift lever is swung from the forward guide groove portion in the vehicle body width direction against the urging mechanism and moved to the reverse guide groove portion. Since the operating resistance is applied by the urging mechanism, the awareness of switching the power transmission device to the reverse side can be given, so it is difficult to make a mistake in switching to the reverse side.

[0012] In the present invention, A support member for supporting the lever guide is provided on the lateral side of the shift lever, and has a positioning hole opened in the support member and a positioning pin protruding from the shift lever and engaged with the positioning hole. It is preferable that a positioning mechanism is provided for positioning the shift lever by the positioning pin moving inside the positioning hole due to the swing of the shift lever and hitting the support member at the edge of the positioning hole.

[0013] According to this configuration, for example, the positioning mechanism can be used to position the shift lever so that the shift lever is not applied to the lever guide by the swinging bias of the biasing mechanism. The positioning mechanism can prevent the shift lever from being applied to the guide member at the edge of the guide groove. The support member can be utilized for the members constituting the biasing mechanism to reduce the cost.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment which is an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, regarding the vehicle body of the multi-purpose vehicle, the direction of the arrow F shown in FIG. 1 is the "front direction of the vehicle body", the direction of the arrow B is the "rear direction of the vehicle body", the direction of the arrow U is the "upper direction of the vehicle body", the direction of the arrow D is the "lower direction of the vehicle body", the direction on the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1 is the "left direction of the vehicle body", and the direction on the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 1 is the "right direction of the vehicle body". The left-right direction of the vehicle body corresponds to the vehicle body width direction.

[0016] 〔Overall Configuration of the Multi-Purpose Vehicle〕 The utility vehicle shown in FIG. 1 is used for multiple purposes such as transporting luggage and recreation. The utility vehicle is provided with a vehicle body 4 having a vehicle body frame 1, front wheels 2, which are a pair of left and right running wheels steerably and drivably provided at the front of the vehicle body frame 1, and rear wheels 3, which are a pair of left and right running wheels drivably provided at the rear of the vehicle body frame 1. A boarding section 5 is provided at a portion between the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 on the vehicle body 4. The boarding section 5 is provided with a front boarding section 5A and a rear boarding section 5B, and a rope 6 that surrounds the boarding space of the front boarding section 5A and the boarding space of the rear boarding section 5B. The front boarding section 5A is provided with a driver's seat 7 and a steering wheel 8 that steers the front wheels 2. A luggage rack 9 is provided on the vehicle body rearward of the boarding section 5. Under the loading platform 9, there are provided an engine 10 as a power source, a belt-type continuously variable transmission 11 that continuously changes the speed of the power from the engine 10 and outputs it, and a power transmission device 12 that changes the speed of the power from the continuously variable transmission 11 and outputs it toward the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3.

[0017] [Regarding front and rear wheel drive] The power transmission device 12 has a transmission case 13 and a gear transmission (not shown) provided inside the transmission case 13, and is configured to be able to shift between a forward transmission state, a neutral state, and a reverse transmission state by shifting the transmission gears.

[0018] In the power transmission device 12, on the forward side, the power input from the continuously variable transmission 11 is changed by the gear transmission to a forward driving force of three forward speeds, namely a first forward speed, a second forward speed, and a third forward speed, and is output toward the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3. In the neutral state, the output of the power input from the continuously variable transmission 11 to the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 is stopped. On the reverse side, the power input from the continuously variable transmission 11 is changed by the gear transmission to a reverse driving force and is output toward the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3. In this embodiment, the power transmission device 12 capable of changing speeds to three forward speeds and one reverse speed is used, but it is possible to use a power transmission device capable of changing speeds to two forward speeds or four or more forward speeds and two or more reverse speeds.

[0019] The output for the rear wheels of the power transmission device 12 is transmitted to a rear-wheel differential mechanism (not shown) provided inside the transmission case 13, and is transmitted from the rear-wheel differential mechanism to the left and right rear wheels 3. The output for the front wheels of the power transmission device 12 is transmitted to a front-wheel differential mechanism (not shown) by a rotating shaft (not shown) extending forward from the transmission case 13, and is transmitted from the front-wheel differential mechanism to the left and right front wheels 2.

[0020] 〔Regarding the shifting operation of the power transmission device〕 A shift lever 14 for shifting the power transmission device 12 is provided in the front passenger section 5A. In the present embodiment, the shift lever 14 is provided at a position on the right lateral side of the handle post 16 that supports the steering wheel 8 among the front panels 15 provided in the front passenger section 5A.

[0021] In FIGS. 2 and 3, the front panel 15 is omitted. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, support portions 17 provided on the vehicle body 4 are provided at two locations on the left and right sides on the back side of the front panel 15. A first fulcrum shaft 18 extending in the vehicle body width direction is rotatably held by the left and right support portions 17. A bifurcated stay 19 is fixed to the first fulcrum shaft 18. The stay 19 is fixed to the first fulcrum shaft 18 by welding. The stay 19 is rotatable with respect to the left and right support portions 17 together with the first fulcrum shaft 18. A second fulcrum shaft 20 is held by the stay 19. A cylindrical portion 14a provided at the base of the shift lever 14 is externally fitted to the second fulcrum shaft 20.

[0022] The first fulcrum shaft 18 has a first pivot axis core P1 extending in the vehicle body width direction, and is rotatably held by the left and right support portions 17 with the first pivot axis core P1 as the rotation axis core. The second fulcrum shaft 20 has a second pivot axis core P2 extending in a direction intersecting the first pivot axis core P1 in a plan view. The shift lever 14 is swingable with respect to the stay 19 with the second pivot axis core P2 as the swing fulcrum.

[0023] The shift lever 14 is supported by the left and right support portions 17 in a state where it can swing in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with the first pivot axis P1 as a swing fulcrum and can swing in the lateral width direction of the vehicle body with the second pivot axis P2 as a swing fulcrum.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, a swing arm 21 held by a first fulcrum shaft 18 and swing-operated with the first pivot axis P1 as a swing fulcrum by the first fulcrum shaft 18 and a shift operation portion 12a provided in the power transmission device 12 are connected by a linkage mechanism 22. In the present embodiment, the linkage mechanism 22 is a link mechanism. As the linkage mechanism 22, various members such as an operation cable and a linkage rod can be adopted. When the shift lever 14 is swing-operated in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body with the first pivot axis P1 as a swing fulcrum, the first fulcrum shaft 18 is rotated, and the power of the first fulcrum shaft 18 is transmitted as an operating force to the shift operation portion 12a by the swing arm 21 and the linkage mechanism 22.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shift lever 14 is configured to pass through a guide groove 24 provided in a lever guide 23. The lever guide 23 is attached to the upper surface of a support base 25. The support base 25 has support members 26 extending downward from both lateral sides of the lower portion of the support base 25, and is held by the vehicle body 4 via the left and right support members 26. Each of the left and right support members 26 is located laterally beside the shift lever 14.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4, the guide groove 24 is provided with a forward guide groove portion 24f, a reverse guide groove portion 24r, and a communication groove portion 24a. The forward guide groove portion 24f is formed to extend linearly in the vehicle body longitudinal direction. The reverse guide groove portion 24r is formed to be displaced in the vehicle body width direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f and also to be displaced in the vehicle body longitudinal direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f. The communication groove portion 24a is configured to communicate the forward guide groove portion 24f and the reverse guide groove portion 24r and guide the shift lever 14 from one of the forward guide groove portion 24f and the reverse guide groove portion 24r to the other. In the present embodiment, the reverse guide groove portion 24r is displaced to the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f. Further, the reverse guide groove portion 24r is displaced to the left side of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0027] When the shift lever 14 is moved in the vehicle body longitudinal direction in the forward guide groove portion 24f, the power transmission device 12 is configured to be shifted to a forward first gear, a forward second gear, and a forward third gear transmission state. In the present embodiment, when the shift lever 14 is operated to the most forward forward first gear position F1 among the three operation positions set in the forward guide groove portion 24f, the power transmission device 12 is shifted to a forward transmission state of the forward first gear. When the shift lever 14 is operated to the second forward second gear position F2 from the front among the three operation positions, the power transmission device 12 is shifted to a forward transmission state of the forward second gear, which is higher in speed than the forward first gear. When the shift lever 14 is operated to the third forward third gear position F3 from the front among the three operation positions, the power transmission device 12 is shifted to a forward transmission state of the forward third gear, which is higher in speed than the forward second gear. In the present embodiment, an operation position arrangement in which the lowest-speed forward first gear position F1 is located at the most forward position is adopted, but it is possible to adopt an operation position arrangement in which the forward first gear position is located at the most rear position.

[0028] When the shift lever 14 is operated to the neutral position N set in the communication groove portion 24a, the power transmission device 12 is shifted to the neutral state.

[0029] When the shift lever 14 is operated to the reverse position R set in the reverse guide groove portion 24r, the power transmission device 12 is shifted to the reverse transmission state.

[0030] The shift lever 14 can be operated to the reverse position R by moving the shift lever 14 in the vehicle width direction from the forward guide groove portion 24f through the communication groove portion 24a toward the reverse guide groove portion 24r. The shift lever 14 can be moved to the forward guide groove portion 24f and operated to the first forward speed position F1, the second forward speed position F2, and the third forward speed position F3 by moving the shift lever 14 in the vehicle width direction from the reverse guide groove portion 24r through the communication groove portion 24a toward the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a biasing mechanism 27 is connected to the shift lever 14, and the shift lever 154 is configured to be swing-biased by the biasing mechanism 27 toward the side where the forward guide groove portion 24f is located when viewed in the direction along the second pivot axis P2. In the present embodiment, the biasing mechanism 27 is a torsion spring. The coil portion of the torsion spring is externally fitted to the cylindrical portion 14a of the shift lever 14. When the shift lever 14 is moved in the communication groove portion 24a toward the reverse guide groove portion 24r to be moved from the forward guide groove portion 24f to the reverse guide groove portion 24r, an operating resistance is applied by the biasing mechanism 27.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a positioning mechanism 28 is provided across a support member 26 provided on the lateral side of the shift lever 14 and supporting the lever guide 23 and the shift lever 14.

[0033] The positioning mechanism 28 includes a positioning hole 29 opened in the support member 26 and a positioning pin 30 protruding from the shift lever 14. The tip side portion of the positioning pin 30 is engaged with the positioning hole 29.

[0034] In the positioning mechanism 28, the positioning pin 30 is pressed against the support member 26 at the edge of the lower portion 29a of the positioning hole 29 by the swinging bias of the shift lever 14 by the biasing mechanism 27 and received by the support member 26. By receiving the positioning pin 30, the shift lever 14 is positioned so as not to be pressed against the lever guide 23 at the right lateral portion of the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0035] In the positioning mechanism 28, when the shift lever 14 is operated to the forward first-speed position F1, the positioning pin 30 hits the support member 26 at the edge of the front portion 29b of the positioning hole 29 and is received by the support member 26. By receiving the positioning pin 30, the shift lever 14 operated toward the forward first-speed position F1 is positioned so as not to be pressed against the lever guide 23 at the front portion of the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0036] In the positioning mechanism 28, when the shift lever 14 is operated to the reverse position R, the positioning pin 30 hits the support member 26 at the edge of the rear portion 29c of the positioning hole 29 and is received by the support member 26. By receiving the positioning pin 30, the shift lever 14 operated toward the reverse position R is positioned so as not to be pressed against the lever guide 23 at the rear portion of the reverse guide groove portion 24r.

[0037] 〔Alternative Embodiment〕 (1) In the above embodiment, an example in which the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 are drivable is shown, but only one of the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3 may be drivable.

[0038] (2) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the reverse guide groove portion 24r is displaced rearward of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f is shown, but the reverse guide groove portion 24r may be displaced forward of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0039] (3) In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the reverse guide groove portion 24r is displaced to the left side of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f. However, the reverse guide groove portion 24r may be displaced to the right side of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion 24f.

[0040] (4) In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the shift lever 14 is swingable in the vehicle body width direction with the second pivot axis P2 as a swing fulcrum. However, the shift lever 14 may be constituted by a leaf spring and may be swingable in the vehicle body width direction by elastic deformation of the leaf spring.

[0041] (5) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the biasing mechanism 27 is provided. However, it may not be provided with the biasing mechanism 27.

[0042] (6) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the positioning mechanism 28 is provided. However, it may not be provided with the positioning mechanism 28.

Industrial Applicability

[0043] The present invention can be applied to a multi-purpose vehicle provided with a power transmission device capable of shifting and outputting a forward driving force toward a traveling wheel and outputting a reverse driving force toward the traveling wheel, and an operable shift lever for performing a shift operation of the power transmission device.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0044] 2 Front wheels (traveling wheels) 3 Rear wheels (traveling wheels) 12 Power transmission device 14 Shift lever 23 Lever guide 24 Guide groove 26 Support member 27 Biasing mechanism 28 Positioning mechanism 29 Positioning hole 30 Positioning pin P1 First pivot axis P2 Second pivot axis

Claims

1. Traveling wheels, A power transmission device capable of shifting and outputting a forward driving force toward the traveling wheels and outputting a reverse driving force toward the traveling wheels, A shift lever that can be manually operated to perform a shift operation of the power transmission device, And a lever guide having a guide groove through which the shift lever is inserted, Among the guide grooves, a forward guide groove portion where the shift lever is located when the power transmission device is shifted on the forward side is formed in a state of extending linearly in the vehicle body longitudinal direction, Among the guide grooves, a reverse guide groove portion where the shift lever is located when the power transmission device is shifted to the reverse side is formed in a state of being displaced in the vehicle body width direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion and also in the vehicle body longitudinal direction with respect to the forward guide groove portion. A multi-purpose vehicle.

2. The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the reverse guide groove portion is displaced rearward of the vehicle body with respect to the forward guide groove portion.

3. The shift lever is swingable in the vehicle body longitudinal direction with a first pivot axis extending in the vehicle body width direction as a swing fulcrum, and is swingable in the vehicle body width direction with a second pivot axis intersecting the first pivot axis in a plan view as a swing fulcrum, The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a biasing mechanism that biases the shift lever to swing toward the side where the forward guide groove portion is located when viewed in the direction along the second pivot axis.

4. A support member provided on a lateral side of the shift lever and supporting the lever guide, Having a positioning hole opened in the support member and a positioning pin protruding from the shift lever and engaging with the positioning hole, and a positioning mechanism for positioning the shift lever by the positioning pin moving inside the positioning hole by the swing of the shift lever and hitting the support member at the edge of the positioning hole. The multi-purpose vehicle according to claim 3.

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