Crawlers and vehicles

Abstract

To provide a crawler and a vehicle that are able to correct an uneven load applied to a grounding wheel.SOLUTION: In a crawler 4 having, along a longitudinal direction, three or more grounding wheels 8 arranged in contact with ground via a crawler belt 9 and supporting a vehicle body 2, rear grounding wheels located on a rear side and constituting at least a half of the grounding wheels 8 in number are arranged rearward as compared with a case where all the grounding wheels 8 are equally arranged in the longitudinal direction. If there are eight grounding wheels, for example, two forward wheels and six rear wheels may be used as front grounding wheels and rear grounding wheels, respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a crawler and a vehicle equipped with the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles such as transport vehicles that travel on rough ground may be equipped with crawlers as a traveling device. The crawlers are provided, for example, in pairs on the left and right sides of the vehicle body, and include a drive wheel and an idler wheel provided at the front and rear of the frame, a plurality of wheels (hereinafter referred to as "ground wheels" in this specification) arranged between the drive wheel and the idler wheel in the front-rear direction, and tracks surrounding the drive wheel, the idler wheel, and the ground wheel. The multiple ground wheels are attached, for example, below the frame, and contact the ground via the tracks to support the weight of the entire vehicle. Then, the rotation of the drive wheel causes the idler wheel and the ground wheel to move together with the tracks wrapped around the drive wheel, and the vehicle moves.

[0003] Incidentally, examples of prior art documents relating to this type of crawler and a vehicle equipped with the same include Patent Document 1 listed below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-68267 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the crawler described above, the plurality of ground contact wheels are generally arranged at equal intervals in the front-rear direction. However, in the case of a transport vehicle carrying a load such as soil and sand, the load is not necessarily distributed evenly when the load is loaded. In other words, in most cases, the load of the load is applied unevenly to the plurality of ground contact wheels that are arranged evenly (in appearance) on the vehicle. For this reason, when the load is loaded, the load is concentrated on the ground contact wheels located near the center of gravity of the entire vehicle (center of gravity including the load), resulting in a problem that the life of a particular ground contact wheel is shortened.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a crawler and a vehicle that can correct the unevenness of the load applied to the ground-contacting wheels. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a vehicle that has eight ground contact wheels along the front-rear direction that contact the ground via tracks and support the vehicle body. The vehicle body is provided with a loading platform at the rear. A crawler comprising: The front two of the grounding wheels are called front grounding wheels and the rear six are called rear grounding wheels, and the two rear grounding wheels closer to the front of the six rear grounding wheels are attached to a second swing beam, and the two middle rear grounding wheels of the six rear grounding wheels are attached to a third swing beam, Among the grounding rings, the rear six grounding rings are arranged more rearward than when all eight grounding rings are arranged evenly in the front-rear direction, For the distance between the lowest point of the front ground wheel and the lowest point of the rear ground wheel, The rear grounding wheels are arranged such that the ratio of the distance between the lowest point of the front grounding wheel and the lowest point of the rearmost grounding wheel is 0.6 or more and 0.7 or less; The position of the center of gravity including the load is configured to be the midpoint between the swing pin forming the swing axis of the second swing beam and the swing pin forming the swing axis of the third swing beam; The term "loaded" refers to a state in which cargo is loaded onto the loading platform so as to be transportable, The center of gravity is the center of gravity of the entire vehicle including the cargo. The present invention relates to a crawler characterized by the above-mentioned.

[0012] In addition, in the crawler of the present invention, A frame attached to the vehicle body, a ground contact wheel supported by the frame, and a crawler belt wound around the ground contact wheel, The grounding wheel is The above The roller may be configured as a swing roller supported swingably on the frame.

[0013] The present invention also relates to a vehicle equipped with the above-mentioned crawler.

[0014] The vehicle of the present invention may be a transport vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The crawler and vehicle of the present invention have the excellent effect of correcting unevenness in the load applied to the ground-contacting wheels. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a reference example of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a side view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a crawler and a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 1, which is a transport vehicle for rough terrain, is provided with a platform 3 at the rear of a body 2, and is provided with a pair of crawlers 4 as traveling devices on both the left and right sides of the body 2 (only the crawler 4 on the left side of the body 2 is shown in Fig. 1). The crawler 4 includes a frame 5 attached to the body 2 so as to extend in the front-rear direction, a drive wheel 6 and an idler wheel 7 supported respectively on the front and rear ends of the frame 5, a number of ground wheels 8 arranged between the drive wheels 6 and the idler wheels 7 in the front-rear direction, and a track 9 wrapped around the entire drive wheels 6, the idler wheels 7, and the ground wheels 8.

[0019] In the case of the first embodiment, the grounding wheels 8 are configured as oscillating rollers, and a total of eight grounding wheels 8a to 8h arranged along the front-rear direction are supported to be oscillatingly on the lower part of the frame 5 via a total of four oscillating beams 10 (10a to 10d) in pairs. That is, the grounding wheels 8a and 8b are rotatably attached to the front and rear of the first oscillating beam 10a, the grounding wheels 8c and 8d to the front and rear of the second oscillating beam 10b, the grounding wheels 8e and 8f to the front and rear of the third oscillating beam 10c, and the grounding wheels 8g and 8h to the front and rear of the rearmost fourth oscillating beam 10d, and the upper part of each oscillating beam 10 (10a to 10d) is rotatably attached to the frame 5 via an oscillating pin 11 (11a to 11d).

[0020] When the vehicle 1 is traveling, the driving wheels 6 are driven, and the rotational force is transmitted to the idler wheels 7 and the eight ground wheels 8 via the track 9, and the driving wheels 6, the idler wheels 7, and the ground wheels 8 rotate together with the track 9. The vehicle 1 moves relative to the ground as the track 9 rotates along the outer periphery of the driving wheels 6, the idler wheels 7, and the ground wheels 8 while the ground wheels 8 support the entire weight of the vehicle 1. At this time, the ground wheels 8 configured as swing rollers can swing relative to the vehicle body 2 around the swing pin 11. As a result, even if the ground is somewhat uneven when traveling on rough ground, the individual ground wheels 8 swing up and down to absorb the unevenness, and vibration applied to the vehicle body 2 can be suppressed.

[0021] The above configuration is similar to that of a typical transport vehicle, but the vehicle 1 and crawler 4 of the first embodiment are characterized by the arrangement of the ground contact wheels 8a to 8h.

[0022] First, an example of a typical arrangement of the ground contact wheels 8a to 8h is shown as a reference example in Fig. 2. In the example shown here, a total of four oscillating beams 10a to 10d are arranged evenly in the front-rear direction, and a total of eight ground contact wheels 8a to 8h attached thereto are also arranged evenly in the front-rear direction.

[0023] 1, the distance between the first oscillating beam 10a and the second oscillating beam 10b among the oscillating beams 10a to 10d is set larger than the distance between the second oscillating beam 10b and the third oscillating beam 10c, and the distance between the third oscillating beam 10c and the fourth oscillating beam 10d. That is, the grounding wheels 8a, 8b (these are referred to as the front grounding wheels) attached to the first oscillating beam 10a among the grounding wheels 8a to 8h are arranged forwardly relative to the other grounding wheels 8c to 8h (these are referred to as the rear grounding wheels).

[0024] In this way, the present invention is characterized in that when three or more grounding wheels are provided along the front-rear direction on the crawler 4, more than half of the grounding wheels (rear grounding wheels) located at the rear are arranged closer to the rear than when all grounding wheels are arranged evenly in the front-rear direction. Note that in some crawlers, multiple wheels are installed coaxially in the left-right direction as grounding wheels, but in the definition in this specification, these wheels are treated as one grounding wheel. That is, for example, in the crawler 4 shown in FIG. 1, three wheels, an outer wheel, an inner wheel, and a middle wheel, are installed coaxially in the left-right direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) at the position shown as grounding wheel 8a, but in this specification, these are collectively treated as one grounding wheel 8a.

[0025] The arrangement of the ground wheels 8 in the first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to numerical values. When the swing beams 10 are evenly arranged as in the reference example shown in FIG. 2, the position of the lowest point P1 of the third ground wheel from the front (the ground wheel located at the front of the rear ground wheels) 8c is such that, if the distance between the lowest point P0 of the front ground wheel 8a and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost ground wheel 8f is d0, and the distance between P1 and P2 is d, then d / d0=5 / 7≒0.71. In contrast, in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, d / d0=0.65 or so. In this way, when two ground wheels 8a and 8b are set as front ground wheels and six ground wheels 8c to 8h are set as rear ground wheels among the eight ground wheels 8, it is preferable to arrange each ground wheel 8 so that d / d0 is 0.6 or more and 0.7 or less.

[0026] The effect of the above-mentioned arrangement of the ground-contacting wheels 8 will now be described. In the case of the vehicle 1 which is a transport vehicle, a load C such as earth and sand is loaded on the loading platform 3 as shown by the dashed line in Figures 1 and 2. At this time, the center of gravity of the entire vehicle 1 including the load C is at the position indicated by the symbol G in the figures, for example.

[0027] 2, the position of the center of gravity G in this state is slightly forward of the swing pin 11c that forms the swing axis of the third swing beam 10c, and a particularly large load is applied to the ground contact wheels 8e, 8f attached to the third swing beam 10c. As a result, the lifespan of some of the ground contact wheels 8e, 8f and the third swing beam 10c becomes shorter than that of the other ground contact wheels 8 and the swing beam 10a, and the service life of the entire crawler 4 becomes shorter.

[0028] On the other hand, in the case of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the position of the center of gravity G is near the midpoint between the swing pin 11b forming the swing axis of the second swing beam 10b and the swing pin 11c forming the swing axis of the third swing beam 10c in the front-rear direction, and the load is applied almost evenly to the ground contact wheels 8c, 8d attached to the second swing beam 10b and the ground contact wheels 8e, 8f attached to the third swing beam 10c. Of course, the position of the center of gravity G varies forward and backward depending on the loading state of the load C, so it is not strictly uniform, but the load imbalance is greatly corrected compared to the reference example shown in Fig. 2. As a result, the service life of the entire crawler 4 is improved.

[0029] That is, in the conventional crawler 4 as shown in Fig. 2, the ground contact wheels 8 are arranged evenly in appearance, but such an arrangement is not necessarily suitable for the load distribution when loaded. In this first embodiment, the position of the center of gravity G when the load C is loaded is taken into consideration, and the arrangement of the ground contact wheels 8 is changed accordingly, and the rear ground contact wheels are arranged further rearward, so that the load distribution to each ground contact wheel 8 when loaded can be made closer to even.

[0030] As described above, when the crawler 4 has eight ground contact wheels 8 in the front-rear direction, the value of d / d0 shown in Fig. 1 is preferably 0.6 or more and 0.7 or less. If d / d0 is less than 0.6, the rear ground contact wheels will be too far rearward relative to the center of gravity G, which may actually impair the uniformity of the load distribution, and conversely, if d / d0 is a value exceeding 0.7, the above-mentioned functions and effects will not be fully exhibited.

[0031] Furthermore, when no cargo C is loaded, the center of gravity G shifts forward from the position shown in Figure 1, but since the load applied to the grounding wheels 8 is small when the vehicle is unloaded, this does not significantly shorten the lifespan of any particular grounding wheel 8 or swing beam 10.

[0032] In addition, although the above embodiment shows an example in which the ground contact wheels 8 are configured as oscillating rollers, the configuration of the present invention is not limited to this. The ground contact wheels (wheels that contact the ground via tracks and support the weight of the vehicle) that make up the crawler may be attached so as not to oscillate with respect to the vehicle body or frame. It is also possible for the drive wheels or idling wheels to also function as ground contact wheels.

[0033] In addition, although a transport vehicle carrying cargo C on the loading platform 3 is shown as an example of the vehicle 1 here, the application of the above-mentioned arrangement of the ground contact wheels is not limited to such a transport vehicle. If the vehicle carries heavy parts or machinery at the rear of the vehicle body, the load can be similarly corrected by the above-mentioned arrangement of the ground contact wheels.

[0034] As described above, in the first embodiment, the crawler 4 has three or more ground contact wheels 8 arranged in the front-rear direction that contact the ground via the tracks 9 and support the vehicle body 2, and among the ground contact wheels 8, the rear ground contact wheels 8c-8h, which are more than half and are located at the rear, are arranged further rearward than when all the ground contact wheels 8a-8h are arranged evenly in the front-rear direction. In this way, by appropriately arranging the ground contact wheels 8 with respect to the load distribution, it is possible to correct the load imbalance and improve the service life of the crawler 4.

[0035] In the first embodiment, eight ground contact wheels 8 are provided along the front-rear direction, of which the front two are designated as front ground contact wheels and the rear six are designated as rear ground contact wheels, and the ground contact wheels 8 are arranged so that the ratio of the distance d between the lowest point P1 of the ground contact wheel 8c located at the forefront among the rear ground contact wheels 8c-8h and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost ground contact wheel to the distance d0 between the lowest point P0 of the frontmost ground contact wheel 8a and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost ground contact wheel 8h is 0.6 or more and 0.7 or less. In this way, the load imbalance can be preferably corrected for the crawler 4 having eight ground contact wheels 8.

[0036] In the crawler 4 of the first embodiment, the ground contact wheel 8 is configured as an oscillating roller supported on the frame 5 so as to be capable of oscillating.

[0037] Furthermore, since the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment is provided with the above-mentioned crawler 4, it can achieve the same effects as those described above.

[0038] Moreover, since the vehicle 1 of the first embodiment is a transporter, the same operational effects as those described above can be achieved in a transporter that transports cargo C.

[0039] Therefore, according to the first embodiment, unevenness in the load applied to the ground contacting wheels can be corrected.

[0040] 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown here, of the six grounding wheels 8 attached to the crawler 4 along the front-rear direction, the front two grounding wheels 8a, 8b are called front grounding wheels, and the rear four grounding wheels 8c-8f are called rear grounding wheels. In this case, if the lowest point of the grounding wheel 8c located at the forefront of the rear grounding wheels is P1, the distance between the lowest point P0 of the foremost grounding wheel 8a and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost grounding wheel 8f is d0, and the distance between P1 and P2 is d, then it is preferable to arrange the grounding wheels 8 so that d / d0 is 0.5 or more and 0.6 or less.

[0041] 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown here, of the five ground wheels 8 attached to the crawler 4 along the front-rear direction, the front two ground wheels 8a and 8b are called front ground wheels, and the rear three ground wheels 8c to 8e are called rear ground wheels. In this case, if the lowest point of the ground wheel 8c located at the forefront of the rear ground wheels is P1, the distance between the lowest point P0 of the foremost ground wheel 8a and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost ground wheel 8e is d0, and the distance between P1 and P2 is d, it is preferable to arrange the ground wheels 8 so that d / d0 is 0.4 to 0.5.

[0042] 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown here, of the seven ground wheels 8 attached to the crawler 4 along the front-rear direction, the front two ground wheels 8a and 8b are called front ground wheels, and the rear five ground wheels 8c to 8g are called rear ground wheels. In this case, if the lowest point of the ground wheel 8c located at the forefront of the rear ground wheels is P1, the distance between the lowest point P0 of the foremost ground wheel 8a and the lowest point P2 of the rearmost ground wheel 8g is d0, and the distance between P1 and P2 is d, then it is preferable to arrange the ground wheels 8 so that d / d0 is 0.55 to 0.66.

[0043] The second to fourth embodiments described above can also correct the unevenness of the load applied to the ground contacting wheels.

[0044] The crawler and vehicle of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the number of ground contact wheels per crawler and the combination of the number of front and rear ground contact wheels can be other than those shown above. Of course, various modifications can be made to the configuration of each part without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1. Vehicle (transport vehicle) 4. Crawler 5 Frames 6 Drive wheels 7 Idle wheel 8 Grounding wheel 8a Grounding wheel 8b Grounding wheel 8c ground wheel 8d ground wheel 8e ground wheel 8f ground wheel 8g ground wheel 8h ground wheel 9 Tracks C. Cargo d Distance d0 distance P0 lowest point P1 lowest point P2 lowest point

Claims

1. A crawler having eight ground contact wheels arranged in a front-rear direction and supporting a vehicle body through a crawler belt, and a loading platform at a rear of the vehicle body, The front two of the grounding wheels are called front grounding wheels and the rear six are called rear grounding wheels, and the two rear grounding wheels closer to the front of the six rear grounding wheels are attached to a second swing beam, and the two middle rear grounding wheels of the six rear grounding wheels are attached to a third swing beam, Among the ground contact rings, the rear six ground contact rings are arranged more rearward than when all eight ground contact rings are arranged evenly in the front-rear direction, For the distance between the lowest point of the front ground wheel and the lowest point of the rear ground wheel, the rear grounding wheels are arranged such that the ratio of the distance between the lowest point of the front grounding wheel and the lowest point of the rearmost grounding wheel is 0.6 or more and 0.7 or less; The position of the center of gravity including the load is configured to be the midpoint between the swing pin forming the swing axis of the second swing beam and the swing pin forming the swing axis of the third swing beam; The term "loaded" refers to a state in which cargo is loaded onto the loading platform so as to be transportable, The center of gravity is the center of gravity of the entire vehicle including the cargo. A crawler characterized by:

2. A vehicle comprising a frame attached to the vehicle body, a ground wheel supported by the frame, and a track wrapped around the ground wheel; 2. The crawler according to claim 1, wherein the ground contact wheel is configured as an oscillating roller supported so as to be oscillable relative to the frame.

3. A vehicle comprising the crawler according to claim 1 or 2.

4. 4. The vehicle according to claim 3, which is a transport vehicle.

Images