Work vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11260922-B2
Application number	US-201816496151-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2018
Priority date	Mar 29, 2017
Publication date	Mar 1, 2022
Grant date	Mar 1, 2022

Abstract

A work vehicle includes a vehicle body, a plurality of traveling devices for driving traveling, a plurality of bending link mechanisms supporting the plurality of traveling devices to the vehicle body with allowing the plurality of traveling devices to be elevated/lowered independently of each other, a driving mechanism capable of changing respective postures of the plurality of bending link mechanisms independently of each other, and an idle wheel freely rotatably supported to an intermediate bending portion of each one of the plurality of bending mechanisms.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A work vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body;
a plurality of traveling devices for driving traveling;
a plurality of bending link mechanisms supporting the plurality of traveling devices to the vehicle body, with allowing the plurality of traveling devices to be elevated/lowered independently of each other;
a driving mechanism capable of changing respective postures of the plurality of bending link mechanisms independently of each other; and
an idle wheel freely rotatably supported by an intermediate bending portion of each one of the plurality of bending mechanisms.

2. The work vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the driving mechanism is capable of changing the posture of the bending link mechanism, with maintaining a state of the intermediate bending portion of the bending link mechanism being bent toward a vehicle body front/rear intermediate side.

3. The work vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the driving mechanism is capable of changing the posture of the bending link mechanism to an extended posture in which the traveling device and the idle wheel respectively is located on more of a vehicle body front/rear outer side than a vehicle body front/rear direction outer end.

4. The work vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at each of the left and right sides on the front of the vehicle body and at each of the left and right sides on the rear of the vehicle body a set of the bending link mechanism, the traveling device and the idle wheel is provided.

5. The work vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the idle wheel is nonmotorized.

6. The work vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
the bending link mechanism includes a first link having one end portion thereof supported to the vehicle body to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, and a second link having one end portion thereof pivotally connected to the other end portion of the first link to be pivotable about the horizontal axis and having the other end portion thereof supported to the traveling device; and
the idle wheel is supported to a pivot connecting portion between the first link and the second link.

7. The work vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the driving mechanism includes a first hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the first link relative to the vehicle body, and a second hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the second link relative to the first link.

8. A work vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body;
a plurality of traveling devices for driving traveling;
a plurality of idle wheels provided in correspondence with the respective plurality of traveling devices;
a supporting mechanism configured to support the plurality of traveling devices to the vehicle body, with allowing change in positions of the traveling devices independently of each other, the supporting mechanism being configured to support the plurality of idle wheels to the vehicle body, with allowing change in positions of the idle wheels independently of each other; and
a driving mechanism capable of variably operating the supporting mechanism;
wherein the traveling device and the idle wheel corresponding to the traveling device together constitute a traveling functional portion; and
wherein the supporting mechanism is switchable, in each one of the plurality of traveling functional portions, between a traveling state in which the traveling device is placed on a ground surface and a free moving state in which the idle wheel is placed on the ground surface and the traveling device corresponding thereto is set above the ground surface.

9. The work vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of idle wheels are nonmotorized.

10. The work vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the driving mechanism is switchable between an all traveling state in which all of the plurality of traveling functional portions are set to the traveling state and a partial traveling state in which at least one of the plurality of the traveling functional portions is set to the free moving state.

11. The work vehicle of claim 10 , wherein:
a pair of right and left traveling functional portions is provided on a front side of the vehicle body, and another pair of right and left traveling functional portions is provided on a rear side of the vehicle body; and
when the driving mechanism is in the partial traveling state, either one of the pair located on the vehicle body front side and pair located on the vehicle body rear side is set to the traveling state, and the other is set to the free moving state.

12. The work vehicle of claim 8 , wherein:
the supporting mechanism includes a plurality of bending link mechanisms configured to support the plurality of traveling devices by the vehicle body, with allowing elevation and lowering of the plurality of traveling devices independently of each other; and
the bending link mechanism includes a first link having one end portion thereof supported by the vehicle body to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, and a second link having one end portion thereof pivotally connected to the other end portion of the first link to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, the second link having the other end portion thereof supported by the traveling device; and
the idle wheel is supported to a pivot connecting portion between the first link and the second link.

13. The work vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the driving mechanism includes a first hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the first link relative to the vehicle body, and a second hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the second link relative to the first link.

14. A work vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body;
a plurality of traveling devices for driving traveling;
a plurality of bending link mechanisms supporting the plurality of traveling devices to the vehicle body, with allowing the plurality of traveling devices to be elevated/lowered independently of each other; and
a driving mechanism capable of changing respective postures of the plurality of bending link mechanisms independently of each other;
wherein the bending link mechanism includes a first link having one end portion thereof supported to the vehicle body to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, and a second link having one end portion thereof pivotally connected to the other end portion of the first link to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, the second link having the other end portion thereof supported to the traveling device;
wherein the driving mechanism includes a first hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the first link relative to the vehicle body, and a second hydraulic cylinder capable of changing a pivotal posture of the second link relative to the first link;
wherein the first hydraulic cylinder and the second hydraulic cylinder are respectively disposed proximate the first link; and
wherein one end side of the first hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to a supporting member on the vehicle body side via a first coupling member and pivotally connected to one end side of the first link via a second coupling member, the other end side of the first hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to the other end side of the first link, and
one end side of the second hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to one end side of the first link and the other end side of the second hydraulic cylinder is pivotally connected to one end side of the second link via a third coupling member and pivotally connected to the other end side of the first link via a fourth coupling member.

15. The work vehicle of claim 14 , further comprising:
a plurality of turning mechanisms configured to s

Assignees

• Kubota Kk

Inventors

• Ishikawa Junichi
• Hiraoka Minoru

Classifications

• B60G3/20 Primary

  all arms being rigid · CPC title

• B62D61/12 Primary

  with variable number of ground engaging wheels, e.g. with some wheels arranged higher than others, or with retractable wheels (for manoeuvring purposes only B60S) · CPC title

• B62D61/10

  with more than four wheels {(tractors of the low ground pressure type B62D49/002)} · CPC title

• B62D63/02

  Motor vehicles · CPC title

• B60G2300/07

  Off-road vehicles · CPC title