Vehicles in motion

Abstract

To provide a running vehicle which enables change of a hydro-static transmission (HST) between a standard HST and a high specification HST with easy operation.SOLUTION: A running vehicle enables a standard HST 7 and a high specification HST 8 to be selectively mounted thereon and includes a vehicle body frame structure which fixes a transmission 6 and fixes the standard HST 7 or the high specification HST 8 to an area located rearward of the transmission 6. A rear surface of the transmission 6 is provided with a common connected part 60 to which both of a standard connection part 70 provided on a front surface of the standard HST 7 and a high specification connection part 80 provided on a front surface of the high specification HST 8 may be connected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a traveling vehicle capable of selectively mounting a standard HST and a high-specification HST.

Background Art

[0002] In traveling vehicles such as work vehicles, an HST (Hydraulic Sttic Transmission) is mounted as a continuously variable transmission. In particular, in multi-purpose vehicles and the like, as the HST, a shoe-less type HST (a kind of standard HST) that is standardly used and a shoe HST (a kind of high-specification HST) that is of higher specification (high-spec) than the shoe-less type are used.

[0003] The multi-purpose vehicle shown in Patent Document 1 mounts a shoe-less type HST (standard HST) as the main transmission. In this shoe-less type HST, the tip of the plunger piston is formed into a hemispherical surface, and this hemispherical surface directly abuts on the bearing housing of the swash plate. The engine power is continuously variable by the HST, and the power further shifted through the auxiliary transmission is supplied to the front wheels and the rear wheels.

[0004] In the combine shown in Patent Document  2, a shoe-less type low-pressure HST (standard HST) is used for the continuously driven traveling HST, and a shoe type high-pressure HST (high-specification HST) is used for the rotary HST. The crawler traveling device is driven by the transmission power from the traveling HST and the rotary HST.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] When installing HSTs (Hydrostatic Transmissions) in work vehicles such as work vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles, for example, standard HSTs are installed in vehicles operated under standard loads, and high-spec HSTs are installed in vehicles operated under high loads. However, after a user purchases a desired vehicle, they may request to replace a standard HST with a high-spec HST or vice versa due to a change in the purpose of operation or an HST failure. Conventional HST-equipped vehicles only consider replacing HSTs with identical HSTs when necessary for maintenance and inspection. Therefore, replacing HSTs with partially different shapes or structures requires the removal of various components of the power transmission mechanism, including the transmission, and the modification or addition of HST support members. Such HST replacements are extremely time-consuming operations.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that can easily switch between a standard HST and a high-spec HST. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle according to the present invention is capable of selectively mounting a standard HST and a high-spec HST, and comprises a left rear wheel unit, a right rear wheel unit, and a vehicle body frame structure that fixes the transmission and fixes the standard HST or the high-spec HST behind the transmission, and the rear surface of the transmission is provided with a common connecting portion that can be connected to either a standard connecting portion provided on the front of the standard HST or a high-spec connecting portion provided on the front of the high-spec HST. 、 When the standard HST is installed, a standard stabilizer is used as the stabilizer connecting the left rear wheel unit and the right rear wheel unit. When the high-spec HST is installed, a high-spec stabilizer having a different shape from the standard HST is used. ru. Furthermore, the vehicle according to the present invention is a work vehicle comprising: a transmission that changes the speed of power from a drive source and transmits it to the driving wheels; an HST positioned behind the transmission and having a front surface that is detachably connected to the rear surface of the transmission; and a vehicle body frame structure that supports the transmission and the HST. The vehicle frame structure is configured to selectively mount either a standard HST or a high-spec HST, which differ from the HST hydraulic specification and at least some of the external dimensions, and the differences in support conditions caused by the differences in external dimensions are absorbed by the support structure of the vehicle frame structure for the standard HST and the high-spec HST.

[0009] With this configuration, when replacing an HST, the main task is to remove the previously installed HST from the common coupling part of the transmission and connect the HST to be installed to the common coupling part. In other words, the common coupling part located on the rear of the transmission is connected to the standard coupling part located on the front of the standard HST, or the high-spec coupling part located on the front of the high-spec HST. By releasing this connection, the standard HST or high-spec HST is removed from the transmission towards the rear, and then the high-spec HST or standard HST is inserted from the rear of the transmission and connected to the rear of the transmission, thereby completing the HST replacement. Since it is not necessary to remove the transmission, replacing between a standard HST and a high-spec HST is a simple operation.

[0010] The HST (Hydraulic Transmission) is equipped with a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor, making it a considerably heavy component. Therefore, simply connecting it to the transmission using only a common connecting part is not sufficient from a structural mechanics standpoint to support the HST. For this reason, it is preferable that the HST be connected to the vehicle frame structure via some kind of fixing member. In this invention, the vehicle frame structure is provided with a common fixing frame that can be connected to either the standard HST or the high-spec HST. Since both the standard HST and the high-spec HST are not only connected to the transmission using a common connecting part, but are also connected to the vehicle frame structure via the common fixing frame, the support of the HST is strengthened from a structural mechanics standpoint.

[0011] In the present invention, the vehicle body frame structure includes a pair of left and right main frames extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and a pair of left and right upper frames extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body above the main frames, and the space defined by the rear ends of the main frames and the upper frames becomes the access space when the standard HST and the high-spec HST are mounted on the vehicle body frame structure. In this configuration, the space defined by the rear ends of the main frames and the upper frames located at the rear of the vehicle body can be used as the access space when the standard HST and the high-spec HST are mounted on the vehicle body frame structure, so when replacing the HST, the work of taking the removed HST out from the rear of the vehicle body and the work of taking the newly connected HST out from the outside through the rear of the vehicle body to the common connection part of the transmission becomes easy.

[0012] High-spec HSTs have enhanced functionality compared to standard HSTs, and therefore have parts that protrude from the external shape of the standard HST. If such protruding parts extend to the rear of the vehicle body rather than into the interior of the vehicle body, these parts need to be guarded. The rear guards for high-spec HSTs and standard HSTs, which are guard members for this purpose, have different shapes. In this invention, the rear guard for guarding the rear protrusion of the standard HST, or the rear guard for guarding the rear protrusion of the high-spec HST, is supported by a common guard support part supported by the vehicle body frame structure. In this configuration, since the guard support part for supporting the rear guard of the high-spec HST or the guard support part of the standard HST to the vehicle body frame structure is common, the design and cost burden for an HST interchangeable structure is reduced.

[0013] When the HST is located at the rear of the vehicle body, the stabilizer connecting the left rear wheel unit and the right rear wheel unit must have a shape that avoids interference with the HST. Therefore, if the shape of the standard HST and the shape of the high-spec HST differ around the stabilizer, the stabilizer used when the standard HST is installed will be different from the stabilizer used when the high-spec HST is installed. For this reason, in the present invention, when the standard HST is installed, a standard stabilizer is used as the stabilizer connecting the left rear wheel unit and the right rear wheel unit, and when the high-spec HST is installed, a high-spec stabilizer having a different shape from the standard HST is used.

[0014] Regarding the structure of the transmission and HST, the transmission shaft from the transmission is connected to the input shaft (HST pump shaft) of the HST, and the output shaft (HST motor shaft) of the HST is connected to the gear shift input shaft of the transmission. In order to easily realize power transmission between the transmission and the HST when replacing the HST, in this invention, the common connection part exposes a first transmission shaft that can be connected to the HST input shaft of the standard HST and the high-spec HST, and a second transmission shaft that can be connected to the HST output shaft of the standard HST and the high-spec HST. With this configuration, when the standard HST and the high-spec HST are connected to the common connection part, power transmission between the transmission and the HST can be easily realized by connecting the HST input shaft to the first transmission shaft and the HST output shaft to the second transmission shaft using a coupling or the like.

[0015] In multi-purpose vehicles, including off-road vehicles, standard load vehicles are equipped with shoeless type HSTs, while high load vehicles are equipped with shoe type HSTs. However, there is a significant demand to replace shoeless type HSTs with shoe type HSTs when they fail. To meet this demand, in the present invention, the standard HST is a shoeless type HST, the high-spec HST is a shoe type HST, and the preferred vehicle for the present invention is a multi-purpose vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] It is an overall side view of a multi-purpose vehicle. [Figure 2] It is a schematic diagram showing the power train of a multi-purpose vehicle. [Figure 3] It is a schematic diagram explaining the replacement between a standard HST and a high-spec HST. [Figure 4] It is a rear view showing the common connected part of the transmission. [Figure 5] It is a front view showing the standard connection part of the standard HST. [Figure 6] It is a front view showing the high-spec connection part of the high-spec HST. [Figure 7] It is a perspective view showing the body frame structure. [Figure 8] It is a side view showing the periphery of the rear part of the standard HST. [Figure 9] It is a side view showing the periphery of the rear part of the high-spec HST.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] In this specification, unless otherwise specified, "front" means the front in the longitudinal direction (travel direction) of the machine body, and "rear" means the rear in the longitudinal direction (travel direction) of the machine body. Also, the left-right direction or the lateral direction means the transverse direction (machine body width direction) orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the machine body. "Up" or "down" is the positional relationship in the vertical direction (perpendicular direction) of the machine body, showing the relationship at ground height.

[0018] Next, as one specific embodiment of the traveling vehicle according to the present invention, a multi-purpose vehicle will be described using the drawings.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-purpose vehicle includes a front wheel unit 10, a rear wheel unit 20, a driving unit 3 disposed between the front wheel unit 10 and the rear wheel unit 20, and a loading platform 4 disposed behind the driving unit 3 and above the rear wheel unit 20.

[0020] As shown in Figure 2, the front wheel unit 10 consists of a left front wheel unit 10L and a right front wheel unit 10R. The left front wheel unit 10L has a steerable left front wheel 11, and the right front wheel unit 10R has a steerable right front wheel 12. The left front wheel 11 is supported by the vehicle frame structure 9 by the left suspension 13, and the right front wheel 12 is supported by the vehicle frame structure 9 by the right suspension 14. The rear wheel unit 20 consists of a left rear wheel unit 20L and a right rear wheel unit 20R. The left rear wheel unit 20L has a left rear wheel 21, and the right rear wheel unit 20R has a right rear wheel 22. The left rear wheel 21 is supported by the vehicle frame structure 9 by the left suspension 23, and the right rear wheel 22 is supported by the vehicle frame structure 9 by the right suspension 24.

[0021] The powertrain PT extends below the cargo bed 4, between the left rear wheel unit 20L and the right rear wheel unit 20R. This multi-purpose wheel is a four-wheel drive type, with power from the powertrain PT transmitted to the front wheel unit 10 and the rear wheel unit 20. The cargo bed 4 is pivotable at its rear end around a lateral axis relative to the rear end position of the vehicle body.

[0022] The driver's compartment 3 is equipped with a driver's seat 31 where the driver sits, and an auxiliary seat 32 located adjacent to the driver's seat 31. In addition, a steering wheel 33 for controlling the steering of the front wheels 1, a main gear shift lever 34, and the like are positioned in front of the driver's seat 31.

[0023] The powertrain PT comprises an engine 5, a transmission 6, and a standard HST 7 as a Hydraulic Static Transmission (HST). Specifically, the engine 5, transmission 6, and standard HST 7 are integrally connected in the order of front to rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and are vibration-damped and fixed to the vehicle body frame structure 9.

[0024] Although the internal structure of transmission 6 is not shown in the drawing, this transmission 6 is equipped with a sub-transmission that further shifts the continuously variable drive force obtained by the standard HST7 into multiple gears, a gear-type forward / reverse transmission for switching between forward and reverse, and a differential mechanism for the rear wheels.

[0025] The engine 5 is positioned so that the axis of its engine output shaft (crankshaft: not shown) faces the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The first transmission shaft 61 (see Figure 3), which is connected to the engine output shaft, passes through the transmission 6 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 3, and is connected to the HST input shaft 71 of the standard HST 7. This transmits the driving force of the engine 5 to the standard HST 7. The HST output shaft 72 of the standard HST 7 is connected to the second transmission shaft 62, which functions as the input shaft of the transmission 6. This transmits the continuously variable power from the standard HST 7 to the transmission 6.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, the transmission 6 supplies shifting power to the left rear wheel 21 and the right rear wheel 22 via the rear output shaft 63, and also to the left front wheel 11 and the right front wheel 12 via the front output shaft 64 and the drive shaft 65.

[0027] As schematically shown in Figure 3, the vehicle of the present invention allows for the replacement of the HST from a standard HST7 to a high-spec HST8, or vice versa. The standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8 differ in at least some of their specifications, such as capacity, allowable load, shifting characteristics, and allowable operating pressure, and as a result, at least some of their external dimensions differ. In this embodiment, the high-spec HST8 is a shoe-type HST, and the standard HST7 is a shoeless type HST.

[0028] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a common connecting portion 60 is provided on the rear surface of the transmission 6, and the first transmission shaft 61 and the second transmission shaft 62 are exposed on the common connecting portion 60. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, a standard connecting portion 70 is provided on the front surface of the standard HST 7, which can be connected to the common connecting portion 60 provided on the rear surface of the transmission 6. As shown in Figures 3 and 6, the high-spec HST 8 is also provided with a high-spec connecting portion 80 which can be connected to the common connecting portion 60 provided on the rear surface of the transmission 6. The standard connecting portion 70 and the high-spec connecting portion 80 are given different names to distinguish them from each other, but they have substantially the same structure and are in surface contact with each other in at least a part. The standard connecting portion 70 exposes the HST input shaft 71, which is the input shaft of the standard HST 7, and the HST output shaft 72, which is the output shaft of the standard HST 7. Similarly, the high-spec connecting section 80 exposes the HST input shaft 81, which serves as the input shaft for the high-spec HST8, and the HST output shaft 82, which serves as the output shaft for the high-spec HST8. When the common connecting section 60 and the standard connecting section 70 are connected, the HST input shaft 71 of the standard HST7 is connected to the first transmission shaft 61 using a coupling or the like, and the HST output shaft 72 of the standard HST7 is connected to the second transmission shaft 62 using a coupling or the like. When the common connecting section 60 and the high-spec connecting section 80 are connected, the HST input shaft 81 of the high-spec HST8 is connected to the first transmission shaft 61 using a coupling or the like, and the HST output shaft 82 of the high-spec HST8 is connected to the second transmission shaft 62 using a coupling or the like. In other words, the first transmission shaft 61 and the second transmission shaft 62, the HST input shaft 71 and HST output shaft 72 of the standard HST7, and the HST input shaft 81 and HST output shaft 82 of the high-spec HST8 are all arranged in the same phase relationship with respect to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

[0029] This multi-purpose vehicle has various structural features that facilitate the swapping of the standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8. These features are explained using Figures 7 to 9.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7, the vehicle body frame structure 9 includes a pair of left and right main frames 91 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and a pair of left and right upper frames 92 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body above the main frames 91. The upper frames 92 extend further rearward from the rear end of the main frames 91. Below the rear extension 92a of the upper frames 92, a rear structure 93 is provided, which functions as a rear member of the main frames 91. The rear structure 93 consists of a bottom plate 94 that extends horizontally and is connected to the main frames 91, and a group of vertical arms 95 that connect the left and right ends of the bottom plate 94 to the rear extension 92a of the upper frames 92. The transmission 6 is supported in the front region of the rear structure 93, and the standard HST 7 or high-spec HST 8 is supported in the rear region of the rear structure 93. The space defined by the rear end of the main frame 91, that is, the rear end of the rear structure 93 in this embodiment, and the rear end of the upper frame 92, that is, the rear end of the rear extension 92a, becomes an access space AS that is opened up for the removal and installation (replacement) of the standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8.

[0031] The front longitudinal arm of the longitudinal arm group 95 of the rear structure 93 is used for connecting and fixing the transmission 6. The rear longitudinal arm of the longitudinal arm group 95 of the rear structure 93 is used for connecting and fixing the standard HST7 or the high-spec HST8. In other words, the longitudinal arm group 95 functions as a common fixing frame that can be connected to either the standard HST7 or the high-spec HST8.

[0032] Due to the difference in shape between the standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8 (for example, the overall length of the shoe-type HST is longer than the overall length of the shoeless HST), the rear guard structure of the HST differs between a multi-purpose vehicle equipped with a standard HST7 and a multi-purpose vehicle equipped with a high-spec HST8. Figure 8 shows the standard HST rear guard 96S for guarding the rear projection of the standard HST7, and Figure 9 shows the high-spec HST rear guard 96H for guarding the rear projection of the high-spec HST8. The standard HST rear guard 96S and the high-spec HST rear guard 96H are each supported by a common guard support portion 97. In this embodiment, the common guard support portion 97 is the last arm of the vertical arm group 95 of the rear structure 93. When the standard HST7 is installed, the standard HST rear guard 96S is connected to the guard support portion 97, and when the high-spec HST8 is installed, the high-spec HST rear guard 96H is connected to the guard support portion 97. As shown in Figure 9, a multi-purpose vehicle equipped with a high-spec HST8 has a hitch body 98 used for towing operations connected to the rear end of the vehicle frame structure 9.

[0033] Due to the difference in shape between the standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8, the HST operating link used in the standard HST7 (standard HST operating rod 73) and the HST operating link used in the high-spec HST8 (high-spec HST operating rod 83) have different shapes. Figure 8 shows a part of the standard HST operating rod 73, and Figure 9 shows a part of the high-spec HST operating rod 83. Most of the components of the standard HST operating rod 73 and the high-spec HST operating rod 83 are interchangeable.

[0034] Due to the difference in shape between the standard HST7 and the high-spec HST8, the stabilizer used in multi-purpose vehicles equipped with the standard HST7 (standard stabilizer 25S) and the stabilizer used in multi-purpose vehicles equipped with the high-spec HST8 (high-spec stabilizer 25H) have different shapes. Figure 8 shows the standard stabilizer 25S, and Figure 9 shows the high-spec stabilizer 25H. The stabilizer fixing device 26 that secures the standard stabilizer 25S and the high-spec stabilizer 25H can be standardized.

[0035] [Another embodiment] (1) In the above-described embodiment, a shoeless type HST was used as the standard HST7 and a shoe type HST was used as the high-spec HST8. However, the standard HST7 and high-spec HST8 may be selected from shoeless type HSTs with different specifications, or from shoe type HSTs with different specifications. Various HSTs with different specifications can be selected as the standard HST7 and high-spec HST8.

[0036] (2) In the above-described embodiment, an engine 5 was used as the power source for the power unit 2, but an electric motor or a hybrid type may also be used.

[0037] (3) In the above-described embodiment, it was a four-wheel drive vehicle, but it may also be a front-wheel drive vehicle or a rear-wheel drive vehicle. It may also be configured as a three-wheel type.

[0038] Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, as long as no inconsistencies arise. Moreover, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the object of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]

[0039] This invention is applicable to vehicles equipped with an HST (Hydrostatic Transmission). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 6: Transmission 9: Vehicle frame structure 10: Front wheel unit 20: Rear wheel unit 23: Left suspension 24: Right suspension 25H: High-spec stabilizer 25S: Standard stabilizer 26: Stabilizer mounting bracket 60: Common connected part 61: First transmission shaft 62: Second transmission shaft 70:Standard connection part 71: HST input axis 72: HST output axis 73: Standard HST operating rod 80: High-spec connecting section 81: HST input axis 82: HST output axis 83: High-spec HST operating rod 91: Main frame 92: Upper frame 92a: Rear extension 93: Post structure 94: Bottom plate 95: Vertical arm group 96H: Rear guard for high-spec HST 96S: Rear guard for standard HST 97: Guard support section AS: Access Space PT: Powertrain

Claims

1. A vehicle capable of selectively being equipped with a standard HST and a high-spec HST, The vehicle body frame structure includes a vehicle frame structure that fixes the transmission and fixes the standard HST or the high-spec HST behind the transmission, The rear surface of the transmission is provided with a common connecting portion that can be connected to either the standard connecting portion provided on the front of the standard HST or the high-spec connecting portion provided on the front of the high-spec HST. A vehicle in which, when the standard HST is installed, a standard stabilizer is used as a stabilizer connecting the left rear wheel unit and the right rear wheel unit, and when the high-spec HST is installed, a high-spec stabilizer having a different shape from the standard HST is used.

2. A work vehicle comprising: a transmission that changes the speed of power from a drive source and transmits it to the driving wheels; an HST positioned behind the transmission and having a front surface that is detachably connected to the rear surface of the transmission; and a vehicle body frame structure that supports the transmission and the HST, The vehicle frame structure is configured to selectively mount either a standard HST or a high-spec HST, which differ from the standard HST hydraulic specification and at least some of the external dimensions, as the HST. A vehicle in which differences in support conditions resulting from the differences in external dimensions can be absorbed by the support structure for the standard HST and the high-spec HST of the vehicle body frame structure.

3. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the differences in power transmission conditions due to the differences in external dimensions can be absorbed by the input / output shaft coupling arrangement structure between the transmission and the standard HST and the high-spec HST.

4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle body frame structure is provided with a common fixed frame that can be connected to either the standard HST or the high-spec HST.

5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the rear guard for guarding the rear projection of the standard HST, or the rear guard for guarding the rear projection of the high-spec HST, is supported by a common guard support portion supported by the vehicle body frame structure.

6. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the rear surface of the transmission is provided with a common connecting portion that can be connected to either a standard connecting portion provided on the front of the standard HST or a high-spec connecting portion provided on the front of the high-spec HST, and the common connecting portion exposes a first transmission shaft that can be connected to the HST input shafts of the standard HST and the high-spec HST, and a second transmission shaft that can be connected to the HST output shafts of the standard HST and the high-spec HST.

7. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the standard HST is a shoeless type HST and the high-spec HST is a shoe type HST.

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