RU2824935C1 - Snowdog - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: vehicles.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to vehicles with caterpillar tracks. Snowdog comprises caterpillar belt (1) stretched between shaft with drive sprockets (2) and axle with tensioning sprockets (3), between which there is internal support (4) of caterpillar belt (1). On frame (5) there is internal support (4) of caterpillar belt (1), an axle with tensioning sprockets (2) and a shaft with drive sprockets (3), on top there is engine (6), a transmission with rotation transmission by means of chain (7) on shaft with drive sprockets (2). Behind on frame (5) there is hitch device (8) having degree of freedom for bending at least in vertical plane. Part of inner surface of caterpillar belt (1) free from inner support (4) is located immediately before running on sprockets (2) located behind from direction of forward motion. Inner support of caterpillar belt (1) is located only in front of direction of forward motion of its half and occupies less part of length of its working branch. Engine (6) is located in the rear part of frame (5) from the direction of forward motion so that its weight creates a force moment relative to inner support (4) of caterpillar belt (1), which presses down the shaft with drive sprockets (2) from above.

EFFECT: improved operational properties due to simultaneous improvement of structure weight distribution and reduction of dynamic loads, improved adhesion of caterpillar belt with obstacles and reduced accumulation of dirt and snow in inner space of caterpillar belt.

1 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The proposed invention relates to vehicles with a caterpillar track, namely to that part of them that is not equipped with seats for passengers and a driver, and can be effectively used for towing a trailer over rough terrain at any time of the year.

A motorized towing vehicle is known, comprising a caterpillar track stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets and an axle with tension sprockets, between which an internal support of the caterpillar track is located in the form of skids with shock absorbers, which are evenly distributed along the entire support length of the inner surface of the caterpillar track. There is a frame on which the internal support of the caterpillar track, an axle with tension sprockets and a shaft with drive sprockets are installed, an engine is located at the top in the rear part, a transmission with rotation transmission by means of a chain to a shaft with drive sprockets. At the rear of the frame there is a towing device having a degree of freedom of bending at least in the vertical plane (RU Patent for Utility Model No. 108407, IPC B62M27/02, B62D51/00, B62D55/07, B62D55/04, A63C11/10, published 20.09.2011, Bulletin No. 26).

The disadvantage of this device is that the space inside the track is cluttered by its internal support and shock absorbers. The skids located along the length of the internal surface of the track significantly weigh down the structure and prevent snow or soil that has gotten into the internal space of the track from escaping, where they accumulate, which further increases the moving weight. Therefore, the resistance to movement increases and the free traction force decreases, and the load on the transmission increases, in which the chain drive is a quickly wearing part. At sub-zero temperatures, wet snow (slush), accumulating in the internal space of the track, can lead to a loss of the ability to move when freezing. Skid supports cause the inability of the track to fit around the obstacles being overcome. All this leads to an increase in dynamic loads, resistance to movement and a decrease in the traction force when overcoming uneven ground.

A motorized towing vehicle is known, comprising a track stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets and an axle with tension sprockets, between which an internal track support is located in the form of rollers of increased diameter without shock absorbers, which are installed only in the middle part of the internal surface of the track. There is a frame on which an internal track support, an axle with tension sprockets and a shaft with drive sprockets are installed, an engine is located at the top in front, a transmission with transmission of rotation by means of a chain to a shaft with drive sprockets (RU Patent for Utility Model No. 144805, IPC B62D55/00, B62D53/00, published 08/27/2014, Bulletin No. 24).

In this device, the absence of shock absorbers makes the structure lighter, and the freeing up of space for the exit of snow or soil is achieved due to the increased diameter of the support rollers, which increases the height of the center of gravity and worsens the weight distribution of the structure, reducing its stability. At the same time, significant dynamic loads are transferred from the rollers to the frame with the front-mounted engine when moving over uneven surfaces.

A motorized towing vehicle is known, comprising a caterpillar track stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets and an axle with tension sprockets, between which an internal skid support of the caterpillar track with shock absorbers is located in the front and middle parts. There is a frame on which an internal support of the caterpillar track, an axle with tension sprockets and a shaft with drive sprockets are installed, an engine is located on top in the front part, a transmission with a transmission of rotation by means of a chain to a shaft with drive sprockets, and a towing device is located at the rear, having a degree of freedom for bending at least in the vertical plane. There is a part of the inner surface of the caterpillar track free from the internal support, located only before the run-up on the sprockets, located behind from the direction of forward movement. This design is adopted as a prototype (RU Patent for Utility Model No. 153611, IPC B62D55/00, published 27.07.2015, Bulletin No. 21).

In this device, the exit of snow or mud from the internal space of the track is freed in the rear part of the length of the working branch of the track, immediately before running onto the sprockets located behind the direction of forward movement, but there are the following disadvantages. Snow or mud accumulating in the front and middle parts, cluttered with skids, enter the rear smaller part of the length of the working branch of the track and only from there in the smaller part of its working branch they come out, and therefore accumulate in large quantities. The engine located in the front part, when running into obstacles in forward movement, experiences impacts softened by shock absorbers, but bulky and effective shock absorbers add weight to the structure. Skid supports cause the inability of the track to fit around the obstacles being overcome, which will also happen with roller supports located along most of the length of the track. All this leads to an increase in dynamic loads, resistance to movement and a decrease in the traction force when overcoming uneven ground.

The objective of the proposed invention is to improve the operational properties of a motorized towing vehicle by simultaneously achieving improved weight distribution of the structure and reducing dynamic loads, improving the adhesion of the track with obstacles and reducing the accumulation of dirt and snow in the internal space of the track.

In order to achieve the specified technical result in a motorized towing vehicle containing a track belt stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets and an axle with tension sprockets, between which an internal track belt support is located, a frame on which the internal track belt support, an axle with tension sprockets and a shaft with drive sprockets are mounted, an engine is located on top, a transmission with transmission of rotation by means of a chain to a shaft with drive sprockets, and at the rear there is a towing device having a degree of freedom for bending at least in a vertical plane, a part of the internal surface of the track belt free from the internal support, located immediately before the run-up on the sprockets located behind the direction of forward travel, the following new features are used.

The internal support of the track is located only in the half of it that is forward from the direction of forward travel and occupies a smaller part of the length of its working branch, the shaft with the drive sprockets is located behind the direction of forward travel, the engine is located in the part of the frame that is rear from the direction of forward travel in such a way that its weight creates a moment of force relative to the internal support of the track, pressing down on the shaft with the drive sprockets from above.

The proposed invention is illustrated by drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a motorized towing vehicle at the moment its front part meets an obstacle in the form of a hill; Fig. 2 shows the moment its rear part runs into a local protrusion.

The motorized towing vehicle contains a caterpillar track 1, stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets 2 and an axle with tension sprockets 3, between which an internal support 4 of the caterpillar track 1 is located. The internal support 4 can be, for example, a skid support or a roller support, with shock absorbers, balancers or without them.

There is a frame 5 on which the internal support 4 of the track 1, the axle with tension sprockets 3 and the shaft with drive sprockets 2 are mounted. On top of the frame 5 there is an engine 6, a transmission 7 with rotation transmission by means of a chain to the shaft with drive sprockets 2. The transmission 7, if necessary, can be made with a multi-stage reducer, a variator, with a reverse gear. At the rear of the frame there is a towing device 8 having a degree of freedom for bending at least in the vertical plane, for example a ball joint to which a towed trailer can be attached (not part of the device), for example in the form of a drag 9, or a wheeled trailer. The steering device is not shown in the drawings and can be made as in most motorized towing vehicles using a steering lever.

There is a part of the inner surface of the track belt 1 free from the inner support 4, located immediately before the run-up on the drive sprockets 2, located behind the forward direction. For this purpose, the inner support 4 of the track belt 1 is located only in its half forward from the forward direction and occupies a smaller part of the length of its working branch.

The engine 6 is located in the rear part of the frame 5 from the forward direction in such a way that its weight creates a moment of force relative to the inner support 4 of the track 1, pressing down on the shaft with the drive sprockets 2 from above.

The motorized towing vehicle works as follows.

Engine 6, via transmission 7, transmits torque to the shaft with drive sprockets 2, from which pushing force is transmitted to frame 5, the part of which remaining from overcoming resistance to movement is free traction force, which, via towing device 8, performs useful work in moving drags 9.

The weight of the motorized towing vehicle is transferred to the ground by the track belt 1 through the shaft with drive sprockets 2, the axle with tension sprockets 3 and the inner support 4, and also on uneven ground by the part of the track belt 1 free from the inner support 4 due to its tension and elasticity.

The forward motion of the motorized towing vehicle is used more frequently, or is the only direction of implementation of the traction force, and is the most significant due to the higher speed, and therefore the main source of dynamic loads. When the motorized towing vehicle runs over a hill with the part forward from the direction of the forward motion (Fig. 1), it rises more easily, since the engine 6 is located in the part rear from the direction of the forward motion, and therefore the device has a more favorable weight distribution for shock absorption and experiences smaller dynamic loads. Such an arrangement of the engine 6 also contributes to less immersion of the front part of the track 1 in soft soil or snow, and therefore increases the cross-country ability of the motorized towing vehicle, creating the necessary angle of attack for this.

Due to the fact that the engine 6 is located in the rear part of the frame 5 from the forward direction in such a way that its weight creates a moment of force relative to the inner support 4 of the track 1, pressing down on the shaft with the drive sprockets 2 from above, when the part of the track 1 free from the inner support 4 runs over, the track 1 cushions the inertial forces of the engine 6 located at the rear (Fig. 2). In this case, the location of the engine 6 in the rear part of the frame 5 from the forward direction simplifies the transmission of rotation to the shaft with the drive sprockets 2, which are also located at the rear, by a short arm. In turn, the location of the shaft with the drive sprockets 2 at the rear from the forward direction promotes tension from the engine 6 of the working branch of the track 1, which increases its cushioning capacity, reducing the reverse deflection. When overcoming obstacles in the form of hills, the resistance to movement increases, which means that the tension of the drive shaft with sprockets 2 of the track 1 increases, which helps to increase its shock-absorbing properties at the right moment. The resulting reverse deflection of the track 1 when running over a hill in a large part free from the internal supports 4 helps the track 1 to cover this obstacle with the transfer of a large adhesive weight by the forces of its high elasticity and tension from the shaft with drive sprockets 2, which helps to provide good adhesion and increase cross-country ability. The presence of a towing device 8, which has a degree of freedom for bending at least in the vertical plane, is also essential and necessary in this device, since the rigid base of the motorized towing vehicle and the sled 9 is not formed, the frame 5 easily performs shock-absorbing movements and the track 1 has better contact with the obstacle being overcome, repeating its hills. The release of the part of the track belt 1 that improves shock absorption from the internal supports 4 simultaneously helps to reduce the weight of the structure, and therefore to reduce the resistance to movement and increase the cross-country ability. Due to the increased shock absorption capacity of the track belt 1 and the favorable weight distribution of the structure, without increasing the dynamic loads, there is no need to use bulky and heavy shock absorbers, or they can be omitted altogether, which reduces the weight of the structure.

Soft soil or snow, when moving with the track belt 1 immersed in it, tends to get into its internal space to a greater extent in its front part, which creates a depression and pushes its sides in the soil or snow. But due to the fact that the internal support 4 is located in the front part, getting snow or soil there is difficult. Due to the fact that the internal support 4 is located only in the front half of the track belt 1 from the forward running direction and occupies a smaller part of the length of its working branch, soil or snow that has gotten into the internal space of the track belt 1 can still exit in its rear half, where a wider depression in the soil or snow has already been formed, therefore the resistance for dirt and snow to get into the internal space of the track belt 1 is greater than for their removal outside, and they do not accumulate in large quantities there and do not create additional resistance to the movement of the motorized towing vehicle.

Thus, the operational properties of the motorized towing vehicle are improved, namely, dynamic loads are reduced, resistance to movement is reduced and cross-country ability is increased.

Claims (1)

A motorized towing vehicle comprising a caterpillar track stretched between a shaft with drive sprockets and an axle with tension sprockets, between which an internal support for the caterpillar track is located, a frame on which the internal support for the caterpillar track, an axle with tension sprockets and a shaft with drive sprockets are mounted, an engine is located on top, a transmission with transmission of rotation by means of a chain to a shaft with drive sprockets, and a towing device is located at the rear, having a degree of freedom for bending in at least a vertical plane, a part of the internal surface of the caterpillar track free from the internal support, located immediately before the run-up on the sprockets located behind the forward direction, characterized in that the internal support for the caterpillar track is located only in its half forward from the forward direction and occupies a smaller part of the length of its working branch, the shaft with drive sprockets is located behind the forward direction, the engine is located in the part of the frame rear from the forward direction in such a way that its weight creates a load relative to the internal support of the caterpillar track tapes the moment of force pressing down on the shaft with drive sprockets from above.