JPH11139358A - Crawlers and vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the size of the crawler by reducing the size of the frame structure supporting the driving wheels and the rotating wheels, absorb vertical vibrations, and at the same time, start driving the vehicle to the crawler belt from the driving wheels. A strong driving force is obtained by reducing the loss of power transmission. In a triangular crawler (2), a frame (17) supporting a driving wheel (3) and rolling wheels (4) to (7) has an integral structure. It is wound. The four rolling wheels 4 to 7 provided in the front-rear direction include three front wheels, that is, the front rolling wheel 4 and the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7 are mounted with rubber tires 9 and a pair of rear wheels located at the rear end. Guide roller 10 whose rolling wheel is made of metal
It is composed of

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crawler mounted on a vehicle to improve running performance on rough terrain and the like.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a crawler in which a crawler belt is wound around a driving wheel and a plurality of rolling wheels disposed below the driving wheel and a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been conventionally known a technique in which a crawler is mounted on a drive shaft of a vehicle such as an automobile instead of a tire to improve running performance on a snowy road or off-road. In particular, as a crawler for an automobile, a structure is known in which a crawler belt is wound in a substantially triangular shape around a driving wheel (sprocket) that transmits driving force to the crawler belt and a plurality of rolling wheels that mainly receive a load ( For example, JP-A-49-19535 and JP-A-4-8.
682, JP-A-6-305456, etc.).

[0003] Normally, since the rolling wheels are supported by a frame that supports the driving wheels, vibrations of the rolling wheels that have picked up and down (unevenness) on the road surface during traveling of the vehicle are transmitted via the frames and the driving wheels. Since the power is transmitted to the vehicle body, the ride comfort of the vehicle deteriorates. Therefore, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 29977
JP, JP-A-3-193573 and JP-A-62
In order to prevent vibration caused by unevenness of the road surface from being transmitted to the vehicle body, JP-A--25286 and the like disclose a frame that supports the drive wheels and a frame (subframe) that supports the rolling wheels, and a rubber or the like is provided between the two frames. A crawler wheel in which an elastic member such as a spring is interposed is disclosed.

For example, in a crawler disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-193573, as shown in FIG. 8, a frame 71 on which driving wheels (not shown) are supported, and rolling wheels (intermediate rollers) 72 are supported. A rubber block 74 is interposed between the roller block 73 and the roller block 73. According to this configuration, the vibration of the rolling wheel 72 is absorbed by the rubber block 74 and transmission of the vibration to the vehicle body is prevented. However, in order to reduce the size of the crawler, the size of the rubber block 74 interposed between the frames 71 and 73 cannot be so large, and the size of the rubber block 74 is limited. Therefore, in such a configuration in which the frame is formed as a separate structure, the vibration cannot be sufficiently absorbed in order to satisfy the miniaturization of the crawler.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 53-98633 discloses a crawler 81 having a structure shown in FIG. 9 in which a driving wheel and a wheel are supported by a common frame. The sprocket (drive wheel) 82 and each of the rolling wheels 83 to 85 arranged in three pairs in the front-rear direction below the sprocket 82 are supported by a common frame 86. The crawler belt 87 is composed of a sprocket 82 and wheels 83 to
It is wound so as to circumscribe 85. Wheel 83 ~
Reference numeral 85 denotes an annular rubber body (rubber tire) 88 mounted thereon, and a plurality of small-diameter auxiliary wheels 89 supported by a common frame 86 are provided between them. In the crawler 81, the vertical vibration due to the unevenness of the road surface is absorbed by the rubber tire 88 being bent by the elastic deformation. Therefore, vibration can be absorbed while the frame space is made compact.

[0006]

Generally, a crawler adjusts the tension of a crawler belt by determining the positions of two (or two pairs) of front and rear rolling wheels and driving wheels (sprockets). ing. However, the crawler 8 shown in FIG.
In 1, rolling wheels 83 to 85 are all annular rubber bodies (rubber tires)
Since the roller 88 was mounted, the two front and rear (two pairs) rolling wheels 83 and 85 which determine the tension of the crawler belt 87 were also very flexible with the annular rubber body (rubber tire) 88 mounted.

In order to obtain a strong driving force from the crawler 81 when the vehicle starts running, when the crawler belt 87 starts rotating by the driving force of the sprocket 82, a strong tension is applied to the crawler belt 87 between the sprocket 82 and the wheel 85. Need to be granted. However, since the rolling wheel 85 is provided with the annular rubber body (rubber tire) 88, the crawler belt 87
Is pulled by the sprocket 82, the rolling wheel 85 is bent by the pulling force at that time, and both the crawler belt 87 and the
No strong tension was applied to the rear side sandwiched between 2,85. For this reason, a loss occurs in which a part of the driving force of the sprocket 82 is absorbed by the bending of the rolling wheel 85, and a problem that the driving force of the crawler 81 cannot be obtained as large as expected from the crawler 81 for the driving force of the sprocket 82 occurs. there were.

Further, there is a problem that the tension of the crawler belt 87 becomes unstable if the rolling wheels 83 and 85 before and after determining the tension of the crawler belt 87 are deflected even during traveling. If the crawler belt 87 is unstable, loss of force transmission is likely to occur, and the crawler belt 8
This causes problems such as the generation of a fluttering sound of the swaying 7.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a crawler by reducing the size of a frame structure for supporting driving wheels and rolling wheels, thereby reducing the size of a crawler. It is an object of the present invention to provide a crawler and a vehicle that can absorb the vibration of the vehicle and can obtain a strong driving force by reducing the loss of the transmission of the force from the driving wheels to the crawler belt when the vehicle starts running. A second object of the present invention is to alleviate a shock when a vehicle climbs over a protrusion or a step while achieving the first object. A third object is to stabilize the tension of the crawler belt during running.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a driving wheel connected to a rotating shaft of a vehicle and a front wheel disposed at a front end below the driving wheel. A crawler provided with a roller, a rear roller disposed at a rear end, an intermediate roller disposed between the two rollers, and a crawler belt wound around the drive wheel and each roller. At least one of the rolling wheels and the intermediate rolling wheels has a small spring constant having a vibration absorbing characteristic, and the rear rolling wheels have a larger spring constant than the intermediate rolling wheels.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object, in the first aspect of the present invention, the front rolling wheel and the intermediate rolling wheel are provided with rubber tires so that their spring constants are increased. Is smaller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve a third object, in the first aspect of the present invention, the front wheel has a larger spring constant than the intermediate wheel.
In the invention described in claim 4, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the rolling wheel having a larger spring constant than the intermediate rolling wheel is a metal rolling wheel.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the crawler according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is mounted on a rotating shaft of the vehicle. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotating shaft of the vehicle rotates, and the driving wheels connected to the rotating shaft rotate. The crawler belt wound around the wheel rotates and the crawler runs and rotates. Vertical vibrations due to road surface irregularities and the like are absorbed by the small spring constant of the intermediate rolling wheel that absorbs vibration. Further, at the start of traveling, a strong tension is applied to the crawler belt at a portion between the drive wheel and the rear wheel, due to a spring constant larger than that of the intermediate wheel of the rear wheel. Therefore, loss of transmission of force from the drive wheels when the crawler belt starts rotating is small, and a strong drive force can be obtained from the crawler.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by mounting rubber tires on both the front wheel and the intermediate wheel, a small spring constant having a vibration absorbing property is obtained. Vertical vibrations caused by unevenness of the road surface are absorbed by the rubber tire of the intermediate rolling wheel being bent by elastic deformation, and shocks when climbing over protrusions and steps are mitigated by the rubber tire of the front rolling wheel being bent by elastic deformation. Is done. Moreover, the contact area between the crawler belt and the front obstacle increases due to the bending of the front wheel, and the performance of getting over the obstacle improves.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 1 of the present invention,
In addition to the effect of the invention described in (1), both the front rolling wheel and the rear rolling wheel have a larger spring constant than the intermediate rolling wheel, so that the tension of the crawler belt is stabilized.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1 of the present invention,
In addition to the effects of the invention described in any one of claims 3 to 3,
Since the rear wheel is a metal wheel and has high rigidity, it hardly bends. For this reason, the loss of transmission of the force transmitted from the driving wheels as the rotational force of the crawler belt when the crawler starts rotating can be suppressed to a sufficiently small value, and a strong driving force can be obtained from the crawler at the start of traveling. And
During running, the tension of the track is stabilized. Further, if both the rear wheel and the front wheel are metal wheels, the tension of the crawler belt is further stabilized.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the crawler according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is mounted on a rotating shaft of the vehicle. The same operation as that of the invention described in any one of item 4 is obtained.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, an automobile 1 as a vehicle is provided with a triangular crawler 2 as a crawler instead of four tires.
The automobile 1 is a four-wheel drive vehicle. The structure of the four triangular crawlers 2 is symmetric on both the left and right sides of the vehicle, but has the same structure except for that.

As shown in FIG. 1, the triangular crawler 2 includes a driving wheel (sprocket) 3, a front wheel 4, and a rear wheel 5
And two intermediate rollers 6, 7 disposed between the front and rear rollers 4, 5, and a rubber wound around the drive wheel 3 and the rollers 4 to 7 so as to form a substantially triangular shape. And a crawler belt 8 made of steel. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, each of the rolling wheels 4 to 7 is spaced at a predetermined interval in the width direction so as to guide the protrusions 8 a formed at a constant pitch on the inner peripheral surface of the crawler belt 8. Left and right pairs are provided. The front and rear wheels 4, 5 are located slightly higher than the intermediate wheels 6, 7, and when traveling on a horizontal road surface, the intermediate wheels 6, 7 mainly support the load.

A hollow (pneumatic) rubber tire 9 having the same diameter is mounted on each of the front wheel 4 and the intermediate wheels 6 and 7. The rear wheel 5 is composed of a metal (steel or aluminum) guide roller 10 having a slightly smaller diameter than the other wheels 4, 6, and 7. In other words, the rear roller 5 has a spring constant sufficiently larger than the spring constant of the rubber tire 9 constituting the two (two pairs) of intermediate rollers 6, 7, and is a rigid and hard metal guide roller. 10 is adopted. In addition,
FIG. 1 shows a state in which one of the two rear wheels 5, 7 disposed outside the pair is removed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a large number of teeth 3a are formed on the drive wheel 3 over the entire circumference at a constant pitch capable of meshing with the projection 8a. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive wheel 3 is provided with an adapter 12 which is integrally and rotatably fixed to a hub 11 serving as a rotation shaft provided on the automobile 1, a plurality of (six in this embodiment) bolts 13 and It can be fixed via a nut 14.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a cylindrical support portion 15 is formed at the center of the drive wheel 3 so as to project outward (to the right in FIG. 2). The drive wheel 3 is supported so as to be rotatable relative to a frame 17 via a bearing 16 fitted on the support portion 15. The frame 17 is elongated so as to have a predetermined length in the front-rear direction, and has a rectangular cross-section cylindrical sub-frame portion 17a supporting each of the rotating wheels 4 to 7, and is welded to the front and back of the upper surface of the sub-frame portion 17a. A pair of support portions 17b and 17c and a pair of arm portions 17d extending frontward and rearward on the side of the drive wheel 3 and having both front and rear ends fixed to the support portions 17b and 17c are provided.
d is integrally fixed. The support portion 15 of the drive wheel 3 is supported by a center boss 17e of the frame 17.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the two guide shafts 18 extend along the arc at the upper edge of the drive wheel 3 on both sides in the width direction of the drive wheel 3, and each of the support shafts 17b , 17
The supporting plate 19 is attached to the supporting plate 19 fixed to the upper surface of the supporting member c by supporting both ends thereof. The two guide shafts 18
For preventing the crawler belt 8 from coming off, positioned at an equal distance on both sides of the tooth portion 3a of the drive wheel 3, restricting the displacement of the crawler belt 8 in the width direction by abutting the protrusion 8a. It is.

Four (eight in total) rolling wheels 4 to 7 provided in pairs on the left and right sides are respectively supported by the sub-frame portion 17a. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the three boss portions 17f are fixed to the sub-frame portion 17a at three locations at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction so as to penetrate in the width direction. Bearings 20, 21, 22 are provided on each boss 17f.
Are fitted, and the rotating shafts 23, 24, 25 are rotatably supported by the bearings 20, 21, 22, respectively. A pair of left and right metal rims 26 are attached to both ends of each of the rotating shafts 23, 24, 25. The rubber tire 9 is mounted on each rim 26.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rim 26
Disc-shaped guides 27 and 28 having different outer diameters according to the difference between the front rolling wheel 4 and the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7 are formed to extend so as to cover the inner surface of the rubber tire 9. Guide 27,
Numeral 28 is provided to avoid contact between the rubber of the rubber tire 9 and the protruding portion 8a.
28 guides the projection 8a. The outer diameters of the guides 27 and 28 are both smaller than the outer diameter of the rubber tire 9, and the outer diameter of the guide 27 of the front wheel 4 is formed larger than the outer diameter of the guide 28 of the intermediate wheels 6 and 7. I have. The rubber tire 9 is used for the front wheel 4 among the front and rear wheels 4 and 5 mainly determining the tension of the crawler belt 8.
Is worried about a change in the tension of the crawler belt 8 due to the deflection of the rubber tire 9 constituting the above. For this measure, the guide 27 of the front wheel 4 is made large in diameter, and the outer circumferential surface of the guide 27 is brought into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the crawler belt 8 to restrict the displacement of the crawler belt 8 in the loosening direction. The tension of the crawler belt 8 is stabilized by reducing the deflection of the rubber tire 9. The contact surfaces (peripheral end surfaces) of the guides 27 and 28 are formed to be curved so as not to damage the inner peripheral surface of the crawler belt 8.

On the other hand, the rear wheel 5 has the following support structure. An arm 29 is attached to the rear end of the sub-frame portion 17a so as to be swingable about a support shaft 30. That is, the base end of the arm 29 is
7a is fixed to a collar 31 loosely inserted into a support shaft (bolt in the present embodiment) 30 fixed to the rear end portion. A boss 29 a is fixed to the tip of the arm 29 in such a manner that its axis can be held horizontally regardless of the swing angle of the arm 29. A bearing 32 is fitted to the boss 29a,
The rotating shaft 33 is rotatably supported by the bearing 32. The guide rollers 10 are mounted on both ends of the rotating shaft 33 in a left and right pair.

Arm 3 extending obliquely upward from boss 29a
A support member 35 is in contact with the distal end of 4. One end of a rod 36 is screwed into the screw hole portion of the support member 35, and the other end of the rod 36 is rotatably inserted into a round hole provided on the rear surface of the support portion 17c. Rod 36
The support member 35 and the guide roller 10 can be adjusted in the front-rear direction by rotating the hexagonal portion by engaging a wrench. By adjusting the position of the guide roller 10, the tension of the crawler belt 8 is adjusted.

The guide roller 10 is formed by bending a metal disk 37 as a two plate material into a predetermined shape, and joining the periphery of each central portion by welding to form a ring shape. The two discs 37 are tapered outward slightly from the center and open obliquely in a tapered shape, extend toward the outer periphery so as to maintain a constant width, and are further bent inward at the periphery to form a pair of extending portions 10a. Has formed. An outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 10 is formed by the pair of extending portions 10a bent inward. The pair of extending portions 10a face each other at a predetermined distance, and a gap G formed between the pair of extending portions 10a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 10 so as to extend in the circumferential direction. .
The extending portion 10a has an arc shape (R shape) in which a cross-sectional shape on a cut surface passing through the axis of the guide roller 10 is convex toward the outer peripheral side.

On the inner peripheral surface of the guide roller 10 (tapered surface where the two disks 37 separate from the joint), a plurality of holes 10 are provided at regular intervals in the circumferential direction for each disk 37.
b is formed. The plurality of holes 10b formed by the two disks 37 are joined in a state of being shifted in the circumferential direction by half of the pitch, so that the plurality of holes 10b are formed.
b is arranged in a staggered manner. The hole 10b is formed only on the inner peripheral surface (tapered surface) so as not to extend to the side surface of the guide roller 10, and the cross section of the extension 10a is formed in an arc, so that the guide roller 10 against the load is provided. Has increased the strength.

The reason why the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 10 (the surface in contact with the crawler belt 8) is formed by the pair of extending portions 10a in which the two disks 37 are bent inward is that a high load is applied to the guide roller 10. In this case, the guide rollers 10 are deformed so that each disk 37 escapes inward, and the guide rollers 10 are prevented from expanding in the width direction. This is to prevent the guide roller 10 from expanding in the width direction and causing the side portion of the guide roller 10 to rub against the side surface of the protrusion 8a forcibly, thereby preventing the side surface of the protrusion 8a from being worn and damaged.

Further, since wet sand or the like sandwiched between the guide roller 10 and the crawler belt 8 flows into the guide roller 10 from the gap G formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, excessive tension is applied to the crawler belt 8. Biting of wet sand or mud to be applied is less likely to occur. The guide roller 10 has a plurality of holes 10b.
Is formed in order to discharge wet sand or the like that has entered the inside of the guide roller 10 from the gap G. And
By staggering the holes 10b, discharge of sand and the like is promoted. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the triangular crawler 2 has a lower edge portion of the driving wheel 3 partially inserted into a gap in the width direction of the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7, and the driving wheel 3 and the intermediate rolling wheel 6 7 has a wrap structure that partially overlaps in a side view. With this wrap structure, the flattening of the triangular crawler 2 is realized.

The present embodiment is characterized by the shape of the peripheral portion of the drive wheel 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the teeth 3a are formed in a mountain shape so as to be able to mesh with the projections 8a, and the width (thickness) thereof is slightly smaller than the width of the projections 8a. The connecting portion 3b connecting the teeth 3a is connected to the teeth 3a.
Is formed to a thickness of about 1/4 or less of the thickness of the connecting portion 3b. By forming a tapered surface on the periphery of the connecting portion 3b that becomes thinner toward the distal end, the projection 8a is engaged. Tooth 3a
The width of the bottom surface of the valley portion 40 formed therebetween is, for example, about 1/10 (for example, 2 to 3 mm) of the width of the tooth portion 3a.

When traveling on snowy roads or muddy roads, the thickness of the connecting portion 3b is reduced, and a flat surface formed on the bottom surface of the valley portion 40 is made as narrow as possible by forming a tapered surface on the peripheral portion thereof. The accumulation (adhesion / growth) of snow and mud on the valley portion 40 is suppressed. In the present embodiment, the drive wheels 3 are reinforced by the ribs 3c so that the thickness of the tooth portions 3a on the inner diameter side is made as thin as the connecting portion 3b, thereby reducing the weight of the drive wheels 3. .

Next, the automobile 1 equipped with the triangular crawler 2
The operation of will be described. The triangular crawler 2 is connected to a hub 11 of the automobile 1 through an adapter 12 as shown in FIG.
By fixing the drive wheels 3 using the nuts 3 and the nuts 14, four tires are mounted on the hubs 11 of the automobile 1 by exchanging tires, as shown in FIG.

In the automobile 1, the driving force of the driving wheel 3 is adjusted to the tooth portion 3a.
The crawler belt 8 is transmitted to the crawler belt 8 through meshing between the crawler belt 8 and the protruding part 8a, and the crawler belt 8 rotates by the transmitted force to travel.
At the start of running of the automobile 1, a force is applied to the crawler belt 8 from the drive wheels 3 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 at a portion where the teeth 3a and the protrusions 8a mesh with each other. At this time, the rear wheel 5 is made of a metal guide roller 10.
Since it is a rigid body made of and does not bend like a rubber tire, a strong tension is applied to the crawler belt 8 in a portion between the driving wheel 3 and the rear rolling wheel 5. That is, the driving force of the driving wheels 3 is converted to the rotational force of the crawler belt 8 without loss.
Therefore, a strong driving force can be obtained at the start of traveling by the triangular crawler 2.

During traveling, the front three wheels 4, 6, 7 guide the projection 8a via three pairs of guides 27, 28, and project between the pair of guide rollers 10 constituting the rear wheel 5. When the portion 8a is guided, the crawler belt 8 is guided so as not to shift in the width direction. The rolling wheels 4 and 5 before and after determining the tension of the crawler belt 8 are made of a rigid metal guide roller 10 in which the rear rolling wheel 5 is rigid. It is feared that the deflection of the wheel 4 makes the tension of the crawler belt 8 unstable. However, in a state where the guide 27 of the front rolling wheel 4 is formed to have a large diameter and the tension of the crawler belt 8 is stretched (in a state where the crawler belt 8 is mounted on each of the wheels 3 to 7 and can travel), the outer peripheral surface of the guide 27 is Rubber tire 9 almost in contact with crawler belt 8 and constituting front wheel 4
Is extremely small. Accordingly, since the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 10 and the outer peripheral surface of the guide 27 come into contact with each other and the displacement of the crawler belt 8 in the loosening direction (the direction of decreasing the inner diameter) is regulated, the tension of the crawler belt 8 is stabilized during traveling. .

During traveling, an external force from the road surface is input to each of the wheels 4 to 7 via the crawler belt 8. Vertical vibrations due to unevenness of the road surface are mainly caused by the rubber tires 9 of the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7.
Is absorbed by bending due to elastic deformation. Also,
When the vehicle goes over a projection or a step such as a stone on a road surface, the rubber tire 9 of the front wheel 4 is bent by elastic deformation, so that a shock when the vehicle gets over the projection or the step is reduced. When the crawler crosses the step, if the step and the front and rear axes of the crawler are orthogonal to each other, the crawler belt comes into contact with the guide 27 due to the deformation of the front rolling wheel, so that the shock to get over the step increases. In contrast, if the front and rear axes of the crawler climb over (diagonally to the step), the front wheel can be deformed more than the gap between the crawler belt and the guide. Few. The same is true for the protrusion. Further, since the rubber tire 9 is hollow, it absorbs vibrations well, and shocks when climbing over protrusions and steps are well mitigated.

As described in detail above, the present embodiment has the following advantages. (1) Since the rubber tires 9 are mounted on the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7,
Vibration in the vertical direction due to unevenness of the road surface can be absorbed by bending due to elastic deformation of the rubber tire 9 to improve ride comfort. Further, since the rear wheel 5 is made of a rigid metal guide roller 10 which does not bend like a rubber tire, a strong tension is applied to the rear portion of the crawler belt 8 at the start of the running of the automobile 1 so that a force is applied. The transmission force of the triangular crawler 2 can be increased with almost no transmission loss.

(2) Since the rubber tire 9 is mounted on the front wheel 4, when the vehicle goes over a bump or step such as a stone on a road surface,
Due to the bending due to the elastic deformation of the rubber tire 9, a shock at the time of getting over a projection or a step can be reduced. Therefore, even when overcoming bumps and bumps,
The ride comfort can be improved.

(3) Of the rolling wheels 4 and 5 before and after determining the tension of the crawler belt 8, only the rear rolling wheel 5 is formed of a rigid metal guide roller 10. Is provided to reduce the deflection of the rubber tire 9, so that the tension of the crawler belt 8 can be stabilized even during traveling. For this reason, the loss of transmission of force from the driving wheels 3 to the crawler belt 8 can be suppressed even during traveling, and problems caused by unstable tension of the crawler belt 8, such as prevention of rattling of the crawler belt 8, can be prevented. be able to.

(4) The frame 17 is composed of the driving wheels 3 and the respective rolling wheels 4
7 are commonly supported, so that the frame for supporting the driving wheels and the frame for supporting the rolling wheels are separated from each other and a rubber block is interposed between the two. Compared with the conventional structure, the frame structure becomes compact, and the triangular crawler 2 can be downsized.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, but may be implemented as follows. ○ The front wheel is not limited to a rubber tire.
As shown in FIG. 5, two front wheels 4 and rear wheels 5 (2
Pair) is formed of a rigid metal guide roller 10. That is, the rolling wheels 4 and 5 before and after determining the tension of the crawler belt 8
Are made of a material having a spring constant larger than that of the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7. According to this configuration, since the front and rear wheels 4 and 5 are made of rigid metal, the effect of alleviating the shock at the time of climbing over the protrusion or the step cannot be obtained as compared with the above embodiment, but the tension of the crawler belt 8 is reduced. It can be further stabilized.

In order to stabilize the tension of the crawler belt 8, it is required that the front and rear wheels 4, 5 have a large spring constant to some extent.
If a material having a spring constant larger than that of the rubber tire is used, the tension of the crawler belt 8 can be stabilized compared to the conventionally known crawler structure in which all the rolling wheels are mounted with the same rubber tire as the intermediate rolling wheel. Can.

For example, solid rubber tires may be used for the front and rear rollers 4, 5 instead of the intermediate rollers 6, 7 using hollow rubber tires. A configuration in which a solid rubber tire is used for the front wheel 4 and a metal wheel such as the guide roller 10 is used for the rear wheel 5 for the intermediate wheels 6 and 7 using hollow rubber tires. It can also be. According to the latter configuration, it is possible to increase the driving force for running the crawler at the start of running,
Is a solid rubber tire having an intermediate spring constant between the hollow rubber tire and the metal guide roller 10,
It is possible to alleviate the shock at the time of climbing over the protrusions and steps, and to stabilize the tension of the crawler belt 8 during running to some extent.

As shown in FIG. 6, the wheels 4, 6, 7 may be replaced with hollow rubber tires 9 to form solid rubber tires 50. Also according to this configuration, the intermediate wheels 6, 7 can absorb vertical vibrations caused by unevenness of the road surface by bending of the rubber tire 50 due to elastic deformation of the rubber tire 50, and can also absorb the front wheels 4.
Due to the elastic deformation of the rubber tire 51 described above, the shock at the time of climbing over a protrusion or a step can be reduced. Therefore, the riding comfort of the automobile 1 can be improved. However, since the wheels 4, 6, and 7 do not have a smaller spring constant than when a hollow rubber tire is used, the vibration absorbing effect and the shock reducing effect are inferior to those of the above-described embodiment.

Further, in order to increase the driving force for starting the crawler at the start of traveling, the rear rolling wheel 5 must be connected to the other rolling wheels in comparison with a conventionally known crawler structure in which the same rubber tire is mounted on all the rolling wheels. It is required to have a higher spring constant and to be hard, and it is sufficient to use a material having a larger spring constant for the rear wheel 5 than the rubber constant of the rubber tire of the other wheel.

Therefore, in addition to the configuration shown in the above embodiment and FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 7, the rolling wheels 4, 6, 7 are hollow rubber tires 9, and the rear rolling wheel 5 is a solid rubber tire 50.
The configuration may be such that the spring constant of the rear wheel 5 is larger than the spring constants of the other wheels 4, 6, 7. According to this configuration, by using the solid rubber tire 50 for the rear wheel 5, although not as rigid as the metal guide roller 10, compared with the conventional configuration in which all the wheels are hollow rubber tires, At the start of traveling, the driving force of the running of the crawler can be increased.

The present invention is applied to a crawler having a frame structure in which a frame for supporting driving wheels and a frame for supporting each wheel are separately provided, and an elastic member such as a rubber bush is interposed therebetween to connect both frames. It may be. The rubber bush is reduced in size to reduce the size of the frame structure, and the vibration absorbing effect is enhanced by cooperation between the elasticity of the rubber tire of the intermediate rolling wheel and the elasticity of the rubber bush. Also with this configuration, the frame structure can be reduced in size, so that the crawler can be downsized while absorbing vertical vibration, and the rear rolling wheel with a large spring constant reduces the crawler's running drive force at the start of running. Can be stronger.

The material of the rolling wheel having a larger spring constant than that of the rubber tires constituting the intermediate rolling wheels 6 and 7 may be any material that satisfies the strength and thermal characteristics required for the rolling wheel. Hard rubber may be used.

The crawler is not limited to a substantially triangular shape. For example, a crawler capable of displacing the front wheel and the rear wheel upward with respect to the intermediate wheel to be deformed into a substantially pentagonal shape may be used.

The vehicle is not limited to an automobile, but may be applied to an industrial vehicle such as a forklift or a crawler mounted on a construction machine. The technical terms used in the description are defined as follows.

"Rubber tire: provided on the outer periphery of the wheel,
An annular rubber part that constitutes the wheel. Not only rubber tires generally referred to but also rubber rollers and the like are included. The invention grasped from the embodiment and not described in the claims will be described below together with its effects.

(A) In claim 1 or 2, the rubber tire is a hollow rubber tire. According to this configuration, the vertical vibration can be more efficiently absorbed. (B) In claim 1 or claim 2, the rubber tire is a solid rubber tire. According to this configuration, the same effect as the invention described in claim 1 or 2 can be obtained.

(C) In any one of claims 1 and 2, and any one of (a) and (c), the rear wheel is a rigid body. According to this configuration, a stronger driving force can be obtained at the start of traveling.

(D) Claims 1, 2 and (a)
In any one of the above, the rear wheel is equipped with a solid rubber tire. The same effect as the dependent claims can be obtained.

(E) In claim 3, the rear wheel is at least rigid. According to this configuration, a stronger driving force can be obtained at the start of traveling. (F) In claim 3, both the front wheel and the rear wheel are rigid. According to this configuration, a stronger driving force can be obtained at the start of traveling, and the track can be further stabilized.

(G) In claim 3, the front rolling wheel is equipped with a solid rubber tire, and the rear rolling wheel is rigid. According to this configuration, a stronger driving force can be obtained at the start of traveling, and furthermore, both the effect of reducing the shock when the vehicle goes over the protrusion or the step and the effect of stabilizing the tension of the crawler belt can be obtained, though the effect is weakened. be able to.

(H) Claims 1 to 5, (A) to (C)
In any one of (g), the drive wheel and the frame supporting each of the rolling wheels have an integral structure. According to this configuration, the frame has an integral structure common to each wheel,
The size of the crawler can be reduced.

(I) Claims 1 to 5, (A) to (C)
In any one of (h), the wheel for mounting the rubber tire includes a metal guide for guiding a protrusion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the crawler belt. According to this configuration, since the metal guide guides the protrusion formed on the crawler belt, and the rubber tire does not directly guide the protrusion, the side of the rubber tire that is weaker than the ground contact portion in terms of strength. Can be protected, and damage from the side of the rubber tire can be prevented.

(G) In (i), among the guides, the guide provided on the front wheel is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the crawler belt to reduce the deflection margin of the rubber tire mounted on the front wheel. The outer diameter is limited. According to this configuration, since the amount of deflection of the rubber tire used for the front wheel is regulated to be small by the guide abutting on the inner circumferential surface of the crawler belt, even if the rubber tire is used for the front wheel, The tension can be stabilized.

[0061]

As described in detail above, according to the first and fifth aspects of the present invention, at least the intermediate rolling wheel among the front rolling wheel and the intermediate rolling wheel has a small spring constant having a vibration absorbing property. The rear wheel has a larger spring constant than the intermediate wheel, so the crawler can be made smaller with a small frame structure, and the small spring constant of the intermediate wheel can absorb vertical vibration. Due to the large spring constant of the rolling wheels, loss of transmission of force from the driving wheels to the crawler belt can be reduced, and a strong driving force can be obtained from the crawler at the start of traveling.

According to the second and fifth aspects of the present invention, both the front rolling wheel and the intermediate rolling wheel are provided with a small spring constant by mounting rubber tires. It can be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the rubber tire of the wheel, and the shock at the time of climbing over the protrusion or the step can be reduced by the elastic deformation of the rubber tire of the front wheel.

According to the third and fifth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect, both the front and rear wheels have a larger spring constant than the intermediate wheels. Even during running, the tension of the crawler belt can be stabilized. Therefore, it is possible to prevent troubles caused by the unstable tension of the crawler belt.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, since the rolling wheel having a spring constant harder than that of the intermediate rolling wheel is made of a rigid metal rolling wheel, the rear rolling wheel is made of metal. In this case, a stronger driving force can be obtained from the crawler at the start of traveling, and if both the front and rear wheels are metal wheels, the tension of the crawler belt can be further stabilized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a triangular crawler according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view of a triangular crawler.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an automobile equipped with a triangular crawler.

FIG. 5 is a side view of another example of a triangular crawler.

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view showing another example of a triangular crawler different from FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan sectional view showing another example of a triangular crawler different from FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing a crawler according to the related art.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a crawler according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automobile as a vehicle, 2 ... Triangle crawler as a crawler, 3 ... Drive wheel, 4 ... Front rolling wheel, 5 ... Backward rolling wheel,
6, 7: intermediate rolling wheel, 8: crawler belt, 8a: protrusion, 9: rubber tire, 10: guide roller, 11: hub as a rotating shaft, 17: frame, 50: rubber tire.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeo Awazu 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshimasa Kimura 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A driving wheel connected to a rotating shaft of a vehicle, a front rolling wheel disposed at a front end below the driving wheel, a rear rolling wheel disposed at a rear end, and disposed between the two rolling wheels. A crawler provided with the intermediate rolling wheel, the driving wheel and the crawler belt wound around each rolling wheel, wherein at least the intermediate rolling wheel of the front rolling wheel and the intermediate rolling wheel has a small vibration absorbing characteristic. A crawler having a spring constant, wherein the rear wheel has a larger spring constant than the intermediate wheel. 2. The crawler according to claim 1, wherein the front rolling wheel and the intermediate rolling wheel are provided with rubber tires to reduce the spring constant. 3. The crawler according to claim 1, wherein the front wheel has a larger spring constant than the intermediate wheel. 4. The wheel having a spring constant greater than that of the intermediate wheel is a metal wheel.
A crawler according to any one of the preceding claims. 5. A vehicle in which the crawler according to claim 1 is mounted on the rotating shaft.