Work vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12427824-B2
Application number	US-202118037410-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2021
Priority date	Dec 11, 2020
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

A work vehicle includes: a body 1 ; a plurality of travel wheels 2 at front and back portions of the body 1 on each of left and right sides; a plurality of holder mechanisms A held by the body 1 and holding the respective travel wheels 2 in such a manner as to be capable of moving the travel wheels 2 independently of one another relative to the body 1 ; a detector B configured to detect a state of a travel surface; and a controller C configured to, based on the state that the detector B has detected, control the holder mechanisms A to move the travel wheels 2 relative to the body 1.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A work vehicle, comprising:
a body;
a plurality of travel wheels at front and back portions of the body on each of left and right sides;
a plurality of holder mechanisms held by the body and holding the respective travel wheels in such a manner as to be capable of moving the travel wheels independently of one another relative to the body;
a detector configured to detect a state of a travel surface; and
a controller configured to, based on the state that the detector has detected, control the holder mechanisms to move the travel wheels relative to the body.

2. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the controller controls the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the body becomes apart from the travel wheels by a distance in an up-down direction relative to the vehicle in response to the detector detecting an unevenness on the travel surface, wherein the distance is increased in response to detecting the unevenness as being increased.

3. The work vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein:
the distance in the up-down direction is larger than the unevenness.

4. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the holder mechanisms each comprise:
a bendable link mechanism; and
an orientation changer configured to change an orientation of the bendable link mechanism independently,

wherein the bendable link mechanism has a leading end provided with a corresponding one of the travel wheels, and
wherein the controller controls the orientation changers.

5. The work vehicle according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a plurality of hydraulic motors each disposed at the leading end of a corresponding one of the bendable link mechanisms and configured to drive a corresponding one of the travel wheels, and
wherein the orientation changers each comprise a hydraulic cylinder.

6. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the controller controls the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the body becomes apart from the travel wheels by a distance in a front-back direction relative to the vehicle in response to the detector detecting an unevenness on the travel surface, and
the distance is larger as the unevenness is larger.

7. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the controller controls the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the body becomes apart from the travel wheels by a distance in a left-right direction relative to the vehicle in response to the detector detecting an unevenness on the travel surface, and
the distance is larger as the unevenness is larger.

8. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the holder mechanisms are each configured to change a direction of a rotation axis of a corresponding one of the travel wheels independently, and
the controller controls the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the respective rotation axes of the travel wheels are not orthogonal to a sloping direction of the travel surface.

9. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the detector is a camera configured to capture an image of the travel surface.

10. The work vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an obstacle detector configured to detect an obstacle forward in a direction in which the work vehicle is traveling,
wherein the holder mechanisms are each configured to change a direction of a rotation axis of a corresponding one of the travel wheels independently, and
wherein the controller is configured to, in response to the obstacle detector detecting an obstacle forward in the direction in which the work vehicle is traveling, control the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the respective rotation axes are not orthogonal to the direction in which the work vehicle is traveling.

11. A work vehicle, comprising:
a body;
a plurality of travel wheels at front and back portions of the body on each of left and right sides;
a plurality of holder mechanisms held by the body and holding the respective travel wheels in such a manner as to be capable of moving (i) the travel wheels independently of one another relative to the body and (ii) respective rotation axes of the travel wheels independently of one another;
an obstacle detector configured to detect an obstacle forward in a direction in which the work vehicle is traveling; and
a controller configured to, in response to the obstacle detector detecting an obstacle forward in the direction in which the work vehicle is traveling, control the holder mechanisms in such a manner that the respective rotation axes are not orthogonal to the direction in which the work vehicle is traveling.

Assignees

• Kubota Kk

Inventors

• Ida Yusuke
• Hiraoka Minoru
• Ishikawa Junichi
• TAKASE Shunya

Classifications

• B60G2800/914

  Height Control System · CPC title

• B60G2800/01

  Attitude or posture control · CPC title

• B60G2600/182

  Active control means · CPC title

• B60G2500/30

  Height or ground clearance · CPC title

• B60G2400/823

  Obstacle sensing · CPC title