Motor vehicles – Special driving device – Portable track
Patent
1998-08-27
2000-11-14
Hurley, Kevin
Motor vehicles
Special driving device
Portable track
180906, B62D 5510
Patent
active
061456101
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to apparatus for locking together the movable parts of a structure provided for varying the gauge of variable gauge track-laying undercarriage and in self-propelled road-going or off-road machinery which moves on wheels.
BACKGROUND ART
In the construction of undercarriages intended for different machines, the variation in gauge is achieved by forming the structure of the undercarriage with telescopic cross-beams actuated by suitable hydraulic means. Known solutions fall within two typical arrangements.
A first frequently-used arrangement, provides for the telescoping of the cross-beams, which enables the tracks of the undercarriage to be moved towards or away from each other independently by means of hydraulic cylinders located outside the cross-beams themselves. In this case the telescoping of the cross-beams takes place in a staggered manner on the corresponding sides of the undercarriage, resulting in structural imbalances which, because of the irregular distribution of the masses in question, affects the stability of the entire carriage with unacceptable consequences in certain applications such as lifting machines, for example, track laying cranes.
In this arrangement, the operations of narrowing or widening the gauge are normally carried out manually and, in any case, the travel limit and adjusting devices are operated manually or by interlocked controls without valves and without any guarantee of the locking of the movable parts of the structure in the fully-extended working positions.
A second arrangement, designed specifically for application to so-called mechanically integrated lifting devices provides cylinders for controlling the variable gauge to operate within the telescopic cross-beams connecting the tracks. This arrangement is characterised by the engagement of locking pins for ensuring that there are no geometric variations in the gauge of the undercarriage during working, which is manual both in terms of control and engagement of the stops.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages mentioned above. The invention solves the problem by using apparatus for guiding the telescopic movement which is simple to make, is operated by remote control and is provided with a negative-type of control which operates in the case of damage to or breakdown of the parts of the mechanism. Integrated structural locking apparatus has been provided in which all the components used for varying the gauge of the undercarriage are within the support structure. They are locked so as to prevent any possible relative movement during use of the machine equipped with the undercarriage. Finally they are distributed symmetrically so as not to cause any imbalance in the stability of the machine during operation.
The main advantage of the invention lies essentially in the fact that it avoids the presence of external members for the control and adjustment of the width of the gauge.
Moreover the invention compensates for play between the structural parts which could cause loss of precision or loss of stability of the entire machine and hence reduce safety.
Other significant operating advantages are due to the fact that each control operation can be carried out directly by the operator in the cab without any need for manual operations and hence without the need for any operations from the ground. More particularly, this enables constant adjustment of the geometry of the structural parts even when the machine is moving. This possibility is a very significant operating improvement of the invention.
More particularly, manual intervention may be limited solely to the adjustment of play in the telescopic sliding movement and this corresponds to a further operating advantage since this is exclusively a maintenance operation which typically is intermittent, even though programmed, and does not have operating significance in the command and control sequence relating to the variation of the gauge. Finally it should be stressed th
REFERENCES:
patent: 3205961 (1965-09-01), Nolte
patent: 3313368 (1967-04-01), Carter et al.
patent: 3820616 (1974-06-01), Juergens
patent: 3894598 (1975-07-01), Yeou
patent: 4431074 (1984-02-01), Langerud
patent: 5598896 (1997-02-01), Haest
patent: 5901800 (1999-05-01), Wilson et al.
Caterpillar Inc.
Hurley Kevin
Morrison John W.
Perry William C.
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