JPH08324447A - Vehicular device for changing wheel direction - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the number of cylinders and reduce its cost by carrying out change over between the vertical running and horizontal running of a pair of right/left wheels b first/second running change cylinders and the steering of both wheels b one steering cylinder at the vertical running time. CONSTITUTION: Front wheels 4, 5 and knuckle arms 17a, 17b are installed on a pair of right /left rotation shafts 11a, 11b and rotational arms 18a, 18b are installed between both rotational shafts 11a, 11b. A first running change cylinder 22 is connected between both arms 18a, 17b by setting the loose end parts of the left side turning arm 18a and a right side knuckle arm 17b in a rear side. A second running change cylinder 25 is connected between the right side turning arm 18b and the left side knuckle arm 17a. Further, a link 28 is connected between both turning arms 18a, 18b and a steering cylinder 29 is connected between a car body 1 and the left side turning arm 18a. Thereby, at the vertical running A time, steering can be carried out by one steering cylinder 29.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wheel turning device for a vehicle that can be switched between longitudinal and transverse traveling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a wheel turning device for a vehicle of this type, for example, those shown in FIGS. That is, 51 is a vehicle equipped with wheels 52 at four front, rear, left, and right positions, and a body frame 53 includes a rotation shaft 54 that is rotatable in the left and right directions.
Is provided, and a pair of wheels 52 is provided below the rotary shaft 54 with an axle frame 55 interposed therebetween.

A travel switching arm 56 is rotatably connected to the rotation shaft 54 at the upper end of the rotary shaft 54, and between the free end of the travel switching arm 56 and the vehicle body frame 53. A traveling switching cylinder 57 capable of switching the wheels 52 between longitudinal traveling A (normal longitudinal traveling) and transverse traveling B (horizontal traveling).
Is provided. A knuckle arm 58 is connected and fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 54, and a wheel 52 is provided between the free end of the knuckle arm 58 and the free end of the travel switching arm 56.
A steering cylinder 59 that steers the vehicle is provided.

According to this, as shown in FIG. 11, during longitudinal traveling A, the piston rod 60 of the steering cylinder 59 expands and contracts by turning the steering handle,
The rotary shaft 54 rotates via the knuckle arm 58, and the pair of left and right wheels 52 is steered to the right or left. At this time, since the turning radii on the inside and the outside of the curve are different, the piston rods of the steering cylinders 59 are arranged so that the steering angle of the wheel 52 located inside the curve is larger than the steering angle of the wheel 52 located outside. 60 strokes are controlled individually.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, by shortening the piston rod 61 of the travel switching cylinder 57, the travel switching arm 56 rotates, and the rotary shaft 54 rotates via the steering cylinder 59 and the knuckle arm 58. 9 wheels 52
The vehicle is steered by 0 degrees and switched from the longitudinal traveling A to the transverse traveling B. Then, by extending the piston rod 61 of the travel switching cylinder 57, the travel switching arm 56 rotates in the reverse direction, the rotating shaft 54 rotates in the reverse direction via the steering cylinder 59 and the knuckle arm 58, and the wheels 52 steer 90 degrees. Then, the vehicle returns from the transverse traveling B to the longitudinal traveling A.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional type, since the traveling switching cylinder 57 and the steering cylinder 59 are required for each wheel 52, respectively,
There was a problem that the cost was high.

Further, when turning left and right during longitudinal travel A, the steering angle of the wheels 52 located inside the curve must be made larger than the steering angle of the wheels 52 located outside, so that each steering cylinder 59 Piston rod
Controlling 60 strokes individually is technically very complicated and expensive.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the number of cylinders is reduced to enable switching between vertical and horizontal travel.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wheel turning device for a vehicle, which can easily control the steering angle of the wheel during longitudinal traveling with a simple mechanism.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle wheel diverting device according to the present invention is provided with a pair of left and right rotating shafts, which are rotatable in the left-right direction, on a vehicle body.
An axle frame and a knuckle arm are provided, wheels are provided on the axle frame, a pair of left and right rotating arms that are rotatable in the left and right directions are provided between the rotating shafts, and a free end of the rotating arm on one side is provided. Part and the free end of the knuckle arm on the other side are located on either side of the front and rear, and the free end of the rotating arm on the other side and the free end of the knuckle arm on the one side are moved forward and backward. On the other side, between the free end of the rotating arm on one side and the free end of the knuckle arm on the other side, the wheel on the other side can be switched between longitudinal running and transverse running. A switching cylinder is connected so that the wheel on one side can be switched between longitudinal running and traverse running between the free end of the rotating arm on the other side and the free end of the knuckle arm on the one side. Two traveling switching cylinders are connected to each other, and between the two rotating arms, a link for rotating both rotating arms in the same direction. In coupled, to the body, in which the steering cylinder is provided to rotate the rotating arm of one side to steer the pair of left and right both wheels.

[0010]

According to the above construction, by expanding and contracting the piston rod of the steering cylinder, the rotary arm on one side rotates, and the rotary arm on the other side rotates via the link. Rotate in the same direction as the moving arm.
The knuckle arm on the other side is interlocked with the rotation of the rotating arm on one side through the first traveling switching cylinder, and the second traveling switching is performed on the rotation of the rotating arm on the other side. The knuckle arm on one side is interlocked via the cylinder to rotate in the same direction as the knuckle arm on the other side. As a result, the pair of left and right rotating shafts rotate in the same direction, so that the wheels are steered left and right.

Further, by expanding and contracting the piston rod of the first travel switching cylinder, the rotating shaft on the other side rotates via the knuckle arm on the other side, and the wheel on the other side moves 90 degrees.
The vehicle is steered once to switch from longitudinal traveling to transverse traveling. At the same time, by expanding and contracting the piston rod of the second travel switching cylinder, the one-sided rotary shaft is rotated via the one-sided knuckle arm, and the one-sided wheel is steered 90 degrees to move vertically. It is possible to switch from traveling to traveling laterally. Further, when returning both wheels from transverse traveling to longitudinal traveling, the first traveling switching cylinder and the second traveling switching cylinder may be operated in reverse.

As described above, for the pair of left and right wheels,
To switch these two wheels between longitudinal and transverse traveling, 2
Although it is necessary to use two cylinders (first traveling switching cylinder and second traveling switching cylinder), one steering cylinder can be commonly used to steer both wheels to the left and right in the longitudinal traveling. The number of cylinders can be reduced compared to

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 is a transportation vehicle for carrying a large load, and its vehicle body 2 is composed of a body frame 3 for supporting the load. The vehicle body 2 is provided with a pair of left and right front wheels 4, 5 and rear wheels 9, 10, and a driver's cab 6 is provided in the front portion of the bottom surface of the vehicle body 2.

The front wheels 4 and 5 are the front wheel redirection devices 7.
By this, the longitudinal traveling A and the transverse traveling B are switched, and the rear wheels 9 and 10 are switched to the longitudinal traveling A and the transverse traveling B by the rear wheel redirecting device 8.

In the following, first, the front wheel redirecting device 7 will be described.
The configuration of will be described. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, in the front portion of the vehicle body frame 3, rotary shafts 11a, 11b rotatable in the left-right direction are provided in the housings 12a, 12b.
A left and right pair are provided via a bearing (not shown) provided inside b. Axle frames 13a and 13b are provided under the rotary shafts 11a and 11b, respectively, and the front wheels 4 and 5 are respectively idle with a drive wheel 14 rotatably supported on both sides of the axle frames 13a and 13b. The wheels 15 and the double tire form. Of these, drive wheel 14
It is rotationally driven by a hydraulic motor 16 provided on each axle frame 13a, 13b.

Knuckle arms 17a and 17b are provided at the upper ends of the rotary shafts 11a and 11b, respectively. Of these, the free end of the left knuckle arm 17a is the rotating shaft 11a.
The free end of the right knuckle arm 17b is directed rearward of the rotary shaft 11b.

A pair of left and right rotating arms 18a and 18b are provided at the center front portion between the two rotary shafts 11a and 11b. Of these, the left rotation arm 18a is attached to the left end of a mounting bracket 19 provided on the vehicle body frame 3 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction about a fulcrum 20. In addition, the right rotation arm 18b is provided at the right end of the mounting bracket 19,
It is attached so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction about a fulcrum 21, and both ends are free ends. The free end of the left rotary arm 18a is directed rearward of the fulcrum 20, and the front free end of the right rotary arm 18b is directed forward of the fulcrum 21.

Between the free end of the left rotary arm 18a and the free end of the right knuckle arm 17b, the right front wheel 5 can be switched between longitudinal travel A and traverse travel B by a hydraulic type. The one travel switching cylinder 22 is connected. The tip of the piston rod 23 of the first travel switching cylinder 22 is connected to the free end of the right knuckle arm 17b, and the first travel switching cylinder 22
The main body 24 is connected to the free end of the left rotating arm 18a.

Further, the left front wheel 4 can be switched between longitudinal traveling A and transverse traveling B between the free end portion of the front portion of the right rotating arm 18b and the free end portion of the left knuckle arm 17a. A second hydraulic switching cylinder 25 is connected. The tip of the piston rod 26 of the second travel switching cylinder 25 is connected to the free end of the left knuckle arm 17a, and the main body 27 of the second travel switching cylinder 25 is the free end of the front of the right rotating arm 18b. Are linked to.

A link 28 is provided between the free end of the left rotary arm 18a and the rear free end of the right rotary arm 18b to rotate the rotary arms 18a and 18b in the same direction. It is connected. Further, the vehicle body frame 3 is provided with a steering cylinder 29 for turning the left turning arm 18a to steer the pair of left and right front wheels 4, 5. The tip of the piston rod 30 of the steering cylinder 29 is connected to the free end of the left rotating arm 18a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear wheel redirecting device 8 is arranged in a state where the front wheel redirecting device 7 is rotated by 180 degrees and is rotated left and right. Yes, its configuration is the same as that of the front wheel redirecting device 7.

In the cab 6, a switching lever 33 that can be switched between a longitudinal traveling position and a transverse traveling position.
And a steering handle 34. When the switching lever 33 is switched to the longitudinal traveling position, the steering cylinders 29 of the front wheel redirecting device 7 and the rear wheel redirecting device 8 operate in conjunction with the steering handle 34. Further, when the switching lever 33 is switched to the transverse traveling position, each steering cylinder 29 is separated from the steering handle 34, and the second traveling switching cylinder 25 of the front wheel redirecting device 7 and the rear wheel redirecting device 7 are separated. 8 first drive switching cylinder 22
And are linked to the steering wheel 34, respectively. Further, the first and second traveling switching cylinders 22 and 25 of the front and rear wheel redirecting devices 7 and 8 are operated in conjunction with the switching lever 33.

The operation of the above structure will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the vehicle 1 is turned to the right in the longitudinal travel A, the steering wheel 34 is rotated to the right so that the steering cylinder 29 of the front wheel redirecting device 7 interlocks with the steering wheel 34. The piston rod 30 extends so that the left rotating arm 18a rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 20, and the right rotating arm 18b rotates clockwise around the fulcrum 21 via the link 28.

Therefore, the knuckle arm 17b on the right side rotates clockwise through the first traveling switching cylinder 22 in conjunction with the left rotating arm 18a, and the second traveling switching cylinder 25 on the right side. The left knuckle arm 17a also rotates in the clockwise direction in conjunction with the right rotation arm 18b. As a result, the pair of left and right front rotary shafts 11a and 11b both rotate clockwise, so that both front wheels 4 and 5 are steered to the right.

Simultaneously with the operation of the front wheel redirecting device 7, the steering cylinder 29 of the rear wheel redirecting device 8 is operated.
The piston rod 30 is shortened and both rear wheels 9 and 10 are steered to the left by a movement opposite to that of the front wheel redirecting device 7.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle 1 can turn right with a small turning radius by the four-wheel steering system.

At this time, the piston rod 23 of the first traveling switching cylinder 22 and the piston rod of the second traveling switching cylinder 25
Since 26 and 26 are fixed, the first traveling switching cylinder 22 and the second traveling switching cylinder 25 correspond to the tie rods of the Ackermann type steering mechanism generally known in the past. Therefore, the steering angle of the right front wheel 5 becomes larger than the steering angle of the left front wheel 4 and the steering angle of the right rear wheel 10 becomes larger than the steering angle of the left rear wheel 9 without requiring complicated control.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 6, when the vehicle 1 is turned left in the longitudinal running A, the steering wheel 34 is rotated counterclockwise to rotate the steering wheel 29 in the steering cylinder 29 of the front wheel turning device 7. And the piston rod 30 of the steering cylinder 29 of the rear wheel redirecting device 8 expands, and the front wheels 4, 5
Is steered to the left and both rear wheels 9 and 10 are steered to the right.

Also in this case, since the piston rod 23 of the first traveling switching cylinder 22 and the piston rod 26 of the second traveling switching cylinder 25 are fixed to each other, complicated control is not required and the left front wheel 4 is not moved. The steering angle becomes larger than the steering angle of the right front wheel 5, and the steering angle of the left rear wheel 9 becomes larger than that of the right rear wheel 10.

When the vehicle 1 is moved from the longitudinal traveling A to the transverse traveling B as shown in FIG. 8, first, the steering handle 34 is returned to its original position and both front wheels 4, 5 and both rear wheels are returned as shown in FIG. Orient 9 and 10 straight in the vertical direction (front-back direction). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the switching lever 33 is switched from the longitudinal traveling position to the transverse traveling position, so that the piston rod 23 of the first traveling switching cylinder 22 of the front wheel redirecting device 7 extends to the rod end. Then, the right rotating shaft 11b rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise through the knuckle arm 17b, so that the right front wheel 5 rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise.
The vehicle is steered once to switch from the longitudinal traveling A to the transverse traveling B. At the same time, the piston rod 26 of the second travel switching cylinder 25 is shortened, and the left rotary shaft 11a is knuckle arm.
Since it rotates 90 degrees clockwise through 17a, the left front wheel 4
Turns 90 degrees clockwise and runs longitudinally A to traverse B
Is switched to. When the left front wheel 4 is switched to the position of the transverse traveling B, a detector (not shown) detects the left front wheel 4 and the operation of the second traveling switching cylinder 25 is stopped.

At the same time, the piston rod 23 of the first travel switching cylinder 22 of the rear wheel redirecting device 8 extends to the rod end, and the piston rod 26 of the second travel switching cylinder 25 shortens, so that both The rear wheels 9 and 10 are switched from the longitudinal traveling A to the transverse traveling B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the wheels 4, 5, 9 and 10 are switched from the longitudinal traveling A to the transverse traveling B, and the vehicle 1 can traverse.

Further, when the vehicle is switched to the transverse traveling B, the steering wheel 34 is rotated to interlock with the steering wheel 34 and the second wheel redirecting device 7 of the front portion is rotated.
The travel switching cylinder 25 and the first travel switching cylinder 22 of the rear wheel redirecting device 8 are actuated to redirect both the left front wheel 4 and the left rear wheel 9 in the same direction as shown in FIG. 9 or 10. be able to. As a result, the vehicle 1
It is also possible to convert.

When the front wheels 4 and 5 and the rear wheels 9 and 10 are to be returned from the transverse traveling B to the longitudinal traveling A, the switching lever 33 is switched from the transverse traveling position to the longitudinal traveling position. The first traveling switching cylinder 22 and the second traveling switching cylinder 25 of the rear wheel rearrangement device 7 and the rear wheel rearrangement device 8 are reversely operated, and as shown in FIG.
And both rear wheels 9 and 10 are returned to the longitudinal traveling A.

As described above, as shown in FIG. 2, with respect to the pair of left and right front wheels 4 and 5, two cylinders (in order to switch the front wheels 4 and 5 between the longitudinal traveling A and the transverse traveling B) ( The first traveling switching cylinder 22 and the second traveling switching cylinder 25) are required, but in the longitudinal traveling A, steering of both front wheels 4, 5 to the left and right can be commonly performed by using one steering cylinder 29. Therefore, the number of cylinders can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Similarly, the number of cylinders for both rear wheels 9 and 10 can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Therefore, the cost is reduced.

In the above embodiment, the transportation vehicle 1 for transporting a load is described as an example of the vehicle, but an industrial vehicle such as a forklift may be provided with the front and rear wheel redirecting devices 7, 8.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, two wheels, a drive wheel 14 and a free wheel 15 are provided for each axle frame 13a, 13b, but one wheel or four wheels are provided. The wheels may be provided.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, with respect to a pair of left and right wheels, two cylinders (a first traveling switching cylinder and a second traveling switching cylinder for switching between the longitudinal traveling and the transverse traveling) are used. A travel switching cylinder) is required, but since one steering cylinder can be commonly used to steer both wheels to the left and right during longitudinal travel,
The number of cylinders can be reduced, and thus cost can be reduced.

When the vehicle is turned to the left or right during vertical traveling, the piston rods of the first traveling switching cylinder and the piston rods of the second traveling switching cylinder are fixed to each other. The travel switching cylinder and the second travel switching cylinder correspond to the tie rods of the Ackermann type steering mechanism generally known from the past. Therefore, the steering angles of the wheels on one side of the left and right sides are larger than the steering angles of the wheels on the other side without requiring complicated control, and the cost can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle wheel turning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the vehicle when making a right turn in longitudinal traveling.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vehicle at the time of turning left in longitudinal traveling.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the wheel turning device when switching to traverse running.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the vehicle during lateral traveling.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the vehicle when the wheels are turned in the lateral traveling.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the vehicle when the wheels are turned during traverse traveling.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a wheel turning device for a vehicle in a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a wheel redirecting device when switching to traverse running in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 vehicle 2 vehicle body 4, 5 front wheel 7 front wheel redirection device 8 rear wheel redirection device 9, 10 rear wheel 11a, 11b rotating shaft 13a, 13b axle frame 17a, 17b knuckle arm 18a, 18b rotating arm 22 1st traveling switching cylinder 25 2nd traveling switching cylinder 28 Link 29 Steering cylinder A Vertical traveling B Horizontal traveling

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body is provided with a pair of left and right rotating shafts rotatable in the left-right direction, an axle frame and a knuckle arm are provided on each rotating shaft, wheels are provided on the axle frame, and between the rotating shafts. , A pair of left and right rotating arms that are rotatable in the left-right direction are provided, and the free end portion of the rotating arm on one side and the free end portion of the knuckle arm on the other side are set to either the front or rear side. , The free end of the turning arm on the other side and the free end of the knuckle arm on the one side are set to the other front and rear sides, and the free end of the turning arm on one side and the knuckle arm on the other side are set. A first traveling switching cylinder capable of switching the wheels on the other side between longitudinal traveling and transverse traveling is connected between the free end portion and the free end portion, and the free end portion of the rotating arm on the other side and the knuckle on one side. A second traveling switching cylinder capable of switching one side wheel between longitudinal traveling and transverse traveling between the free end portion of the arm. The two rotating arms are connected by a link for rotating the rotating arms in the same direction, and the rotating arm on one side is rotated to connect the pair of left and right wheels to the vehicle body. A vehicle wheel turning device having a steering cylinder for steering.