Motor vehicles – With means for detecting wheel slip during vehicle...
Patent
1990-03-16
1993-06-15
Hill, Mitchell J.
Motor vehicles
With means for detecting wheel slip during vehicle...
36442407, 36443112, B60K 2816, B60L 310, E02F 920
Patent
active
052194116
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a power output of an engine of a crawler vehicle such as large sized bulldozers at a time when shoe slip of such crawler vehicle occurs in operation, the crawler vehicle being provided with working equipments such as dozing units or blades, ripping units or rippers and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adaptive engine power output mode setting method (hereinafter simply referred to as the adaptive engine output mode setting method) for automatically keeping the engine of the crawler vehicle in an optimum power output condition according to rates of the shoe slip or shoe slip rates of the crawler vehicle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In general, during traveling of the crawler vehicles such as bulldozers and the like, power outputs of the engines of the crawler vehicles are transmitted to sprocket wheels of the vehicles through power trains containing torque converters, transmissions, bevel gears, steering clutches, steering brakes and final reduction gears, so that crawlers running round the sprocket wheels of the crawler vehicles are driven by the power outputs of the engines to enable the crawler vehicles to travel. Consequently, drawbar-pulls or tractive forces produced in the crawlers of the vehicles can be calculated from both of the power outputs of the engines and total reduction rates of the power trains of the crawler vehicles.
On the other hand, in the crawler vehicles, the power outputs of the engines thereof are manually controlled through main control levers of the vehicles so as to be set on predetermined values. The power outputs of the engines thus controlled through the main control levers are reduced by depressing deceleration pedals of the crawler vehicles. When the deceleration pedals having been depressed are released from external depressing forces exerted by an operator of the vehicle, the predetermined values of the power outputs of the engines are recovered.
Drawbar-pulls of tractive forces of the crawler vehicles in traveling depend on slip rates of shoes of crawlers of the vehicles on the ground, the slip rates of the shoes being hereinafter simply referred to as the shoe slip rates. Until the shoe slip rates of the vehicles reach predetermined critical values, the drawbar-pulls or tractive forces of the vehicles increase as the shoe slip rates increase. However, when the shoe slip rates exceed the predetermined critical values, the crawlers of the vehicles merely slip on the ground: to cause many disadvantages such as large energy loss and excessive wear of the crawlers; and to make it impossible to effectively utilize the power outputs of the engines for producing sufficient drawbar-pulls or tractive forces.
For example, in bulldozing operation conducted by a blade unit of a bulldozer or in ripping operation conducted by a ripper unit of the bulldozer, when the bulldozer is subjected to an excessive load to cause a shoe slip, such shoe slip is recognized by an operator of the bulldozer. After that, the operator depresses a deceleration pedal of the bulldozer to lower a power output of an engine of the bulldozer, and simultaneously he operates the bulldozer's working equipment such as the blade unit and the ripper unit so as to reduce the load, through which the drawbar-pull or tractive force of the bulldozer is lowered. The above operator's cumbersome manual operation for resolving disadvantages resulted from the shoe slip requires a high degree of skill.
Namely, in control operation of the shoe slip conducted through the operator's manual operation, the operator must depress the deceleration pedal after he recognizes the shoe slip, and simultaneously he must operate the working equipment of the bulldozer. Consequently, such operator's manual operation is very cumbersome, and requires extreme caution. In addition, in actual operation of the bulldozer, the power output of the engine is manually lowered by the operator after he recognizes the shoe slip having occurr
REFERENCES:
patent: 4282933 (1981-08-01), Suganami et al.
patent: 4630685 (1986-12-01), Huck, Jr. et al.
patent: 4986377 (1991-01-01), Moriarty
patent: 5012418 (1991-04-01), Petzold, Rainer
WO 89/02520, Abstract, Title: Shoe Slip Control Method and Apparatus Therefor for Caterpillar.RTM. Vehicle--Date: Mar. 23, 1989.
Yamada Hideki
Yamamoto Shigeru
Hill Mitchell J.
Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
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