JPH11158830A - Snow removing device with caster for working vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve those problems such as premature wear of a ski, uneven snow removal, damage to road surface, noise due to contact with road surface, and damage due to collision with road surface by providing a ski device slid on a running road surface on a snow removing device in a snow removing device such as snow plow to be installed on a working vehicle such as wheel loader at the front in the forward running direction. SOLUTION: A caster 10 having a rotatable elastic wheel 2 which is rolled on a road surface and the rolling direction of which is directed to the traveling direction of the working vehicle is installed on a snow removing device 4. Also, a caster supporting bracket 12 is installed rotatably in the longitudinal direction relative to the snow removing device 4, and a damping member 5 is provided in a contact part between the caster supporting bracket 12 and the snow removing device 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a snow removal device with casters for a working vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A snow plow is a typical example of a snow removing device mounted on a front end of a working vehicle such as a truck, a wheel loader, and a tractor. The work vehicle equipped with the snow plow is made to travel forward, and the snow accumulated on the road is shaved and pushed away by the front face of the snow plow, thereby performing a snow removal operation. A ski device formed to slide on a running road surface is provided below the snow plow.
By this ski device, the height from the road surface to the snow plow is maintained, the snow plow is prevented from entering the road surface, and the snow removal is carried out evenly. A typical example of a ski device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-162295, and an improved example thereof is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-32031.

[0003]

The conventional ski apparatus of the above-described embodiment has the following problems to be solved in the snow removing operation. That is, (1) Since the ski device slides on the road surface, the portion that comes into contact with the road surface is likely to be worn early. (2) The ski rides on obstacles such as manholes and protrusions on the road surface, preventing even snow removal. (3) Since the ski device is made of steel in terms of strength and wear resistance, it is easy to damage the road surface and road signs on the road surface. (4) Noise occurs due to contact between the ski and the road surface. (5) When the snow removing device lifted by the mounting means of the work vehicle (for example, a lift arm of a wheel loader) is dropped on the road surface, the ski device or the snow removing device itself is easily damaged by an impact with the road surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has a technical problem in a snow removing device having a ski device mounted on a work vehicle, in which early ski wear, uneven snow removal, road surface damage, and road surface damage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a snow removing device for a working vehicle, which can solve the above-mentioned problems such as contact noise with a vehicle, collision damage to a road surface, and the like.

[0005]

According to the present invention, as a snow removing device for a working vehicle which solves the above technical problem, a snow removing device mounted on a front portion in a traveling direction of the working vehicle includes: A caster with a caster for a working vehicle is provided, which is provided with casters having rotatable elastic wheels that roll on a road surface and the rolling direction follows the traveling direction of the work vehicle.

[0006] Therefore, by providing the casters with the rotatable elastic wheels, the snow removing device is maintained at a set height from the road surface, and at the same time, the conventional problems such as early ski wear, uneven snow removal, and road surface. Problems such as damage, contact noise with the road surface, and collision damage with the road surface are eliminated.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the casters are
A support bracket attached to the snow removing device, a caster shaft attached to the support bracket with an axis extending vertically and upwardly inclined rearward in the traveling direction of the work vehicle,
A caster arm having one end attached to the caster shaft and the other end rotatably attached to the elastic wheel.

Therefore, the caster shaft inclined toward the work vehicle and the caster arm attached to the caster shaft,
The elastic wheels always follow the traveling direction of the work vehicle.

Further, the support bracket is mounted so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction of the snow removing device with the upper portion being centered on the lower portion to which the lower end of the caster shaft is mounted.
A buffer member is interposed at a contact portion with the snow removing device due to the swing of the support bracket.

Therefore, the impact of the road surface on the elastic wheel is transmitted to the caster arm, the caster shaft, and the support bracket, and the support bracket swings to cause the shock-absorbing member provided between the snow removal device and the support bracket to swing. In the abutment, the impact is further damped in addition to damping by the elastic wheels.

Further, the caster arm is attached to the caster shaft,
The position of the caster shaft in the axial direction is adjustable.

Therefore, the caster arm is moved and adjusted in the axial direction of the caster shaft, and the distance between the snow removing device and the road surface is arbitrarily adjusted.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a snow removing device with casters for a working vehicle constructed in accordance with the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG.
In the wheel loader, which is a working vehicle, a snow plow 4 as a snow removal device is provided at the front of the wheel loader 2 in the traveling direction (the left side in FIG. 5) of a lift arm 2a which can swing vertically. It is attached to and is attached to. The snow plow 4 has a snow removal blade 4a formed on its front surface in an arc shape when viewed from the side of the wheel loader 2 (the state shown in FIG. 5), and is interposed between the snow removal blade 4a and the lift arm 2a to remove snow. It has a support 4b for supporting the blade 4a, and a cutting edge 4c as a cutting blade attached to the lower end of the snow removal blade 4a. The snow removing blade 4a and the cutting edge 4c
In the vehicle width direction of the wheel loader 2 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 5), the width of the wheel loader 2 exceeds the outer width of the left and right wheels. A caster 10 having rotatable elastic wheels 8 that rolls on a road surface 6 and whose rolling direction follows the traveling direction of the wheel loader 2 is provided below the left and right ends of the snow plow 4 in the width direction.

The caster 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the snow plow 4
Is shown on one side (left side), and the same caster 10 on the other side (right side) of the snow plow 4 is shown.
Is attached. The caster 10 is attached to the support bracket 12 attached to the snow plow 4, and the axis 14 a is inclined to the support bracket 12 in the up-down direction and upward (to the right in FIG. 1) in the traveling direction of the wheel loader 2. The vehicle includes a caster shaft 14 and a caster arm 16 having one end attached to the caster shaft 14 and the other end rotatably attached to the elastic wheel 8.

The support bracket 12 is formed integrally by welding various steel members to each other. The support bracket 12 is formed of a thick steel plate into a substantially rectangular shape, and is attached to the back surface of the snow removal blade 4a of the snow plow 4 in a vertical direction (up and down direction in FIG. 1). A lower plate 12b erected below the main plate 12a;
an upper plate 12c formed in a shape similar to that of the lower plate 12b and larger than the lower plate 12b, and erected in parallel with the lower plate 12b above the main plate 12a;
A round boss 12d provided on the chevron top remote from the main plate 12a of the upper plate 12b;
A round boss 12e provided at the top of the chevron remote from 2a;
A reinforcing plate 12f that connects the lower plate 12b and the upper plate 12c, and an erect member that stands on the opposite side of the lower plate 12b below the main plate 12a with an interval in the left-right direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). It has a pair of bearing plates 12g, 12g (one of them is visible in FIG. 1).

Each of the lower plate 12b and the round boss 12d, and the upper plate 12c and the round boss 12e has a bearing hole 12h and a bearing hole 12j penetrating through the same axis 14a.
The upper plate 12c is provided to be inclined from the main plate 12a at an inclination angle α in a direction away from the rear surface of the snow removal blade 4a (to the rear in the traveling direction of the wheel loader 2). The upper bearing hole 12j has a larger diameter than the lower bearing hole 12h. This inclination angle α is 7 ° to 1
Advantageously, it is in the range of 5 °. Each of the pair of bearing plates 12g, 12g is provided with a bearing hole 12k penetrating through the same axis in the left-right direction of the snow plow 4 (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1).

Bearing holes 12h and 1 of support bracket 12
A caster shaft 14 is rotatably inserted into 2j. The caster shaft 14 is made of a high-strength alloy steel, and has a bearing hole 12h and a bearing hole 1 of the support bracket 12 at both ends.
2j is formed with a bearing portion to be fitted. A male screw 14b to which a caster arm 16 (the caster arm 16 will be described later in detail) is formed between the two bearing portions. The upper end of the caster shaft 14 is used to manually rotate the caster shaft 14 about the axis 14a.
The handle 14c is attached. Caster shaft 14
The washer 15a and the washer 15b that are respectively in contact with the round boss 12d and the round boss 12e of the support bracket 12 are attached to both ends. The washer 15a and the washer 15b are attached to the caster shaft 14 by an appropriate means, for example, the caster shaft 14 and the washer 15a or the caster shaft 1.
4 and a pin penetrated through a hole penetrated by the washer 15b. Thus, when the caster shaft 14 is attached to the support bracket 12, the axis 14a
It does not move in the direction of.

The caster arm 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The caster arm 16 is connected to the caster shaft 14.
And a steel cylindrical boss 16a formed with a female screw to be screwed into the male screw 14b, and a thick steel plate is cut out in a boomerang shape, and one end is welded to the boss 16a such that the other end of the boomerang hangs downward. Arm 16b. The other end of the arm 16b has an elastic wheel 8
An axle hole 16c is provided for mounting the arm 16b in the thickness direction of the arm 16b.

The axle 17 is made of a high-strength alloy steel,
The caster arm 16 is attached to each side of the axle hole 16c so as to protrude therefrom. The axle 17 is the arm 1 of the caster arm 16.
The nut 6a is fixed with two nuts 17a. In the present embodiment, two elastic wheels 8 are mounted on each protruding portion of the axle 17, one each. The elastic wheel 8 has a pneumatic rubber tire 8a, and a mounting boss 8b of the pneumatic rubber tire 8a is
It is rotatably attached to the axle 17 by b, 17c, and a nut 17d.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, mainly referring to FIG.
The support bracket 12 mounting portion of the angling plow 4 will be described. A bearing plate 12 of a support bracket 12 is provided at a lower portion of a back surface of the snow removing blade 4 a of the angling plow 4.
g and 12g are mounted on the bearing plate 4e.
The bearing plate 12e is positioned so as to sandwich one bearing plate 12g between the two bearing plates 4e. Each of the bearing plates 4e is provided with a bearing hole 4f penetrating in the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4) on the same axis.
Above the bearing plate 4e on the back surface of the angling plow 4, two buffer pads 5 serving as buffer members are horizontally aligned and attached by bolts 5c.
The cushioning pad 5 is formed by baking a rectangular parallelepiped synthetic rubber pad 5b on a rectangular steel plate 5a and mounting bolts 5c at the center of the steel plate 5a.
And the rubber pad 5b is provided with a bolt escape hole. The buffer pad 5 may have any other appropriate shape, for example, a columnar shape, or any other suitable material, for example, a synthetic resin.
Etc. can be used. The mounting position of the buffer pad 5 is such that the main plate 1 of the support bracket 12 is
It is positioned so that the upper end of 2a may contact. An angle plate 4d having an L-shaped cross section is mounted horizontally above the buffer pad 5 on the back of the angling plow 4. The angle plate 4 d has a main plate 1 of the support bracket 12 due to a channel shape formed by its L-shaped cross section and the back surface of the angling plow 4.
It is attached so as to sandwich the upper end of 2a and the buffer pad 5.

Referring to FIG. 1, attachment of the caster 10 to the angling plow 4 will be described. First, the upper end of the main plate 12a of the support bracket 12 is
And the angle plate 4d. Next, the center of the bearing hole 12k of the bearing plate 12g of the support bracket 12 and the center of the bearing plate 4e and the bearing hole 4f of the angling plow 4 are aligned, and the pin 13 is inserted. The pin 13 is fixed to the bearing plate 4e by attaching a bolt 13a to a screw hole provided in the bearing plate 4e. Thus, the support bracket 12 has the upper portion between the cushion pad 5 and the angle plate 4d in the front-rear direction of the snow removing device 4 centering on the lower portion where the lower end side of the caster shaft 14 is attached, that is, with the pin 13 as the center. It is attached so that it can swing freely.

The operation of the snow removal device with casters as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) Height H of cutting edge 4c of snow plow 4 from traveling road surface 6 of wheel loader 2
(See FIG. 5) is adjusted to a desired height. This height H
Turns the handle 14c of the caster shaft 14 (see FIG. 1) by hand, and moves the caster arm 1 to which the elastic wheel 8a is attached.
The position 6 is easily adjusted by moving the boss 16a of the caster arm 16 up and down. As can be easily understood from FIG. 5, as the height H decreases, the amount of snow remaining on the road surface 6 after snow removal decreases.

(2) The wheel loader 2 is moved forward, and the snow on the front surface of the snow plow 4 is shaved by the cutting edge 4c and pushed by the snow removing blade 4a to remove snow.
At this time, the lift arm 2 wearing the snow plow 4
a is a floating state in which vertical swing is not restricted, so that the snow plow 4
The height H with respect to the road surface 6 is maintained by the elastic wheels 8.
For example, when the snow loader 2 does not perform the snow removal operation by the snow plow 4, the lift arm 2 a is swung upward to lift the snow plow 4, and the elastic wheel 8 is separated from the road surface 6.

(3) Since the snow plows 4 are supported by the rotatable elastic wheels 8 as described above,
Even if the elastic wheel 8 comes into contact with a projection such as a road sign or a manhole cover, the impact is buffered by the elastic wheel 8.

(4) The elastic wheel 8 is rotatably mounted on a caster arm 16 of a caster shaft 14 inclined rearward at an inclination angle α, and the caster shaft 14 further includes an upper plate 12c of the support bracket 12 and Lower plate 1
The elastic wheel 8 is mounted on the wheel loader 2b so as to be swingable about the axis 14a.
It easily follows changes in the direction of travel, such as left and right turns. Even when the snow removal blade 4a of the snow plow 4 is tilted forward (to be tilted in the direction shown by the arrow 2b in FIG. 5) in order to change the cutting angle of the cutting edge 4c with respect to snow, etc. Thereby, the elastic wheel 8 easily follows the traveling direction.

(5) The support bracket 12 is attached so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction with its lower part as the center, and the upper end thereof is provided with the buffer pad 5 between the rear surface of the snow plow 4 and the road surface 6. In addition to the elastic wheels 8, the shock is absorbed by the buffer pads 5 against the thrust of the elastic wheels 8 from above.

As described above, the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified or modified within the scope of the present invention. It is. For example, (1) In the present embodiment, the snow plow 4 is adopted as a snow removing device, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other snow removing devices, for example, a rotary snow removing device that blows off snow with a blower or the like. (2) In the present embodiment, two elastic wheels 8 are attached to the casters 10, but the size of the snow removal device,
The number of the elastic wheels 8 may be one depending on the weight or the like, and the number is not limited.

[0030]

According to the snow removing device with casters of the working vehicle constructed in accordance with the present invention, the elastic wheels are provided so as to be freely adjustable in height and swingable about the inclined caster shaft. Since the shock-absorbing member is provided between the support bracket for attaching the shaft and the snow removal device, wear, snow removal problems, which are problems in the conventional ski device,
Problems such as damage to the road surface, contact noise with the road surface, and damage due to collision with the road surface are excluded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a snow removing device with casters of a work vehicle configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction of arrows AA.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the elastic wheel mounting portion as viewed in the direction of arrows BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a caster mounting portion viewed in the direction of arrows CC in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a work vehicle equipped with a snow removing device with casters configured according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Wheel loader (work vehicle) 4: Snow plow (snow removal device) 5: Buffer pad (buffer member) 6: Road surface 8: Elastic wheel 10: Caster 12: Support bracket 14: Caster shaft 16: Caster arm

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A snow-removal device mounted on a front portion of a working vehicle in a traveling direction, wherein the snow-removing device includes a rotatable elastic wheel that rolls on a road surface and the rolling direction follows the traveling direction of the work vehicle. A snow remover with a caster for a working vehicle, comprising a caster having: 2. The caster comprises: a support bracket attached to the snow removing device; and a caster shaft attached to the support bracket such that an axis of the caster is inclined in a vertical direction and upward in a rearward direction in a traveling direction of the work vehicle. The caster snow removing device for a working vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a caster arm having one end attached to the caster shaft and the other end rotatably attached to the elastic wheel. 3. The snow removal device according to claim 3, wherein the support bracket is mounted so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction of the snow removal device around a lower portion to which a lower end side of the caster shaft is attached, and the support bracket is swung. 3. The snow removing device with casters for a work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a cushioning member is interposed in a contact portion with the caster. 4. The snow removing device with a caster for a working vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the caster arm is attached to the caster shaft so that the position of the caster shaft in the axial direction can be adjusted.