Patent Application
20100107454
The present disclosure relates generally to a method and actuation mechanism for raising and lowering a machine frame, and more particularly to a method and actuation mechanism for adjusting a wheel axis of rotation relative to the frame.
Earthmoving equipment is used to perform a variety of operations, including loading, or capturing, material, such as soil, at one location and dumping, or depositing, the material at another location. For example, such material movement may be employed to adjust elevations at a project site. Scrapers, which typically provide quick load, dump, and maneuver time, may be used to perform such operations, and generally include a machine having a bowl within which the material may be captured, and a cutting edge located adjacent a cut opening of the bowl. Although various scraper configurations are available, scrapers are often pulled by a tractor, such as a wheeled or track type tractor. In addition, scrapers may provide their own traction via a separate engine that applies rim pull, or power, to the wheels of the scraper. In either arrangement, scrapers may also be pushed or pulled by a separate machine, or tractor, to provide additional power for scraper operations.
During a typical operation, or duty cycle, the scraper may be pulled forward, at a material capturing location, while the cutting edge of the bowl is pivoted downward to cut through the material. The cutting edge, oriented perpendicular to the direction of travel, may also serve to guide the material into the bowl. When the bowl is loaded to some desired capacity, the cutting edge of the bowl may be pivoted upward so that the cutting edge is out of contact with the material, and the machine may be transported to a location where the soil is to be deposited. After the material is deposited, often with the assistance of an ejector mechanism, the scraper may be returned to the material capturing location, and the duty cycle may be repeated.
Often, there is a desire to provide a level cut with the cutting edge of the scraper. However, if the bowl of the scraper is loaded unevenly, a side of the bowl may be weighted more heavily, which may result in an uneven cut. Operating across a path having various topographical changes may cause the left or right set of wheels to operate at an elevated level relative to the other set of wheels, which may also result in an uneven cut. To improve cutting in these situations, the cutting edge may be adjusted toward a parallel position relative to the material. According to one example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,561,924, one of the wheel hubs, supporting left and right wheels on eccentric spindles, may be rotated slightly to tilt the bowl of the scraper and, thus, cutting edge, to reorient the cutting edge relative to the ground. Specifically, a linear actuator, actuated by a motor, is used to independently adjust a rotation of the wheel hubs, through a horizontal displacement, to tilt the bowl and, thus, cutting edge relative to the ground. Although this arrangement may provide more even cutting, it should be appreciated that there is also a continuing need to improve efficiency of scraper operations by reducing the energy required to fill the bowl to its desired capacity.
The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect, a machine includes an axle assembly coupled with a frame and defining a central axis. The axle assembly includes a wheel axle disposed within a spindle housing, and a rotary actuator configured to rotate the wheel axle about the central axis by rotating the spindle housing.
In another aspect, a machine includes a frame and an axle assembly coupled with the frame. The axle assembly includes a central axle having a central axle gear at an end thereof. A first wheel axle is disposed within a first spindle housing and includes a first wheel axle gear rotatably coupled with the central axle gear. An actuator is configured to rotate the first wheel axle about the central axle by rotating the first spindle housing.
In yet another aspect, a scraper includes a scraper bowl supported on a frame and having a scraper blade disposed at a front portion thereof. An axle assembly, including a central axle, is coupled with the frame and disposed at a rear portion of the scraper bowl. A first wheel axle is rotatably coupled with a first end of the central axle and disposed within a first spindle housing. A second wheel axle is rotatably coupled with a second end of the central axle and disposed within a second spindle housing. A rotary actuator is configured to rotate the first wheel axle and the second wheel axle about the central axle by rotating the first spindle housing and the second spindle housing.
An exemplary embodiment of a machine 10 is shown generally in
Scraper bowl 22 may define a cut opening 24, at a front portion 26 of the scraper bowl 22, with a cutting edge, such as a scraper blade 28, positioned adjacent the cut opening 24. During an exemplary operation, the scraper bowl 22 may be pivoted downward about the axle assembly 20, such as by using one or more scraper bowl actuators or cylinders 30, to engage the scraper blade 28 with material 32, such as, for example, soil. Such material 32 may be collected within the scraper bowl 22 as the tractor 14 and scraper 12 are maneuvered over the material 32. Although a simplified embodiment is described, it should be appreciated that scraper 12 may include additional components or features, such as, for example, an auger attachment, elevator mechanism, or ejector.
The tractor 14 may provide the sole means for propulsion and, in such arrangements, the tractor 14 and scraper 12 may include a single drive axle, such as, for example, a drive axle of a front axle assembly 34. The front axle assembly 34 may be coupled with a frame 36, or front frame, of the tractor 14, which may support a front engine compartment 38. An engine, such as an internal combustion engine, or other power source may be housed within the front engine compartment 38 and may provide power to front wheels 40 of the front axle assembly 34. According to some embodiments, the scraper 12 may also include propulsion means, such as an internal combustion engine or other power source disposed within a rear engine compartment 42, for driving rear wheels 44 of axle assembly 20, also referenced herein as a rear axle assembly. The rear axle assembly 20, disposed at a rear portion 46 of the scraper bowl 22, may thus, according to such tandem powered arrangements, provide its own power, or traction.
An operator control station 48 may be supported on the front frame 36, and may include known devices, such as, for example, a seat assembly 50 and a steering device 52 that facilitate operator control of the tractor 14 and/or scraper 12. The operator control station 48 may include various other devices, including, but not limited to, one or more machine operation controllers 54. For example, one or more machine operation controllers 54 may be provided for selecting or controlling an engine speed of an internal combustion engine provided within either or both of engine compartments 38 and 42. Further, one or more machine operation controllers 54 may be provided for controlling operation of the scraper 12, such as by controlling movement of the scraper bowl actuators or cylinders 30. Additional controls and devices, as should be appreciated, may also be provided within the operator control station 48 for controlling various operational aspects of the tractor 14 and/or scraper 12. Such control, as referenced herein, may include either of mechanical or electronic control means, or a combination thereof.
Turning now to
A first wheel axle 74 and a second wheel axle 76, which may each be powered by an internal combustion engine, or other power source, of rear engine compartment 42, may, in turn, be configured to drive wheels, such as wheels 44 of
Since the second end 72 of central housing 60, including second spindle housing 68, may represent a mirror image of the corresponding components described with respect to the first end 66, only the first end 66 will be described in greater detail. Specifically, as shown in
Turning now to
An exemplary control system for controlling the scraper 12, and other components, of machine 10 and/or tractor 14 is shown generally at 130 in
The memory 136 may comprise temporary storage areas, such as, for example, cache, virtual memory, or random access memory, or permanent storage areas, such as, for example, read-only memory, removable drives, network/internet storage, hard drives, flash memory, memory sticks, or any other known volatile or non-volatile data storage devices. Such devices may be located internally or externally to the electronic controller 132. One skilled in the art will appreciate that any computer based system or device utilizing similar components for controlling the machine systems or components described herein, is suitable for use with the present disclosure.
The electronic controller 132, and additional electronic controllers of the control system 130, may communicate via one or more wired and/or wireless communications lines 138, or other similar input/output circuits. Further, the electronic controller 132 may communicate with one or more sensors, or other devices, associated with the specific machine system(s) controlled by the electronic controller 132. For example, and referring generally to
The actuator 140, also referred to herein as a rotary actuator, may include a first electronically controlled rotation mechanism 142 and a second electronically controlled rotation mechanism 144. The first and second electronically controlled rotation mechanisms 142 and 144, which may, for example, include electric or hydraulic motors, may be configured to rotate the first repositioning drive shaft 110 and a second repositioning drive shaft 146, respectively. The second repositioning drive shaft 146, as should be appreciated, may operate in a manner similar to that of first repositioning drive shaft 110 and, therefore, will not be separately described. Specifically, for example, the first electronically controlled rotation mechanism 142 may be configured to rotate the first driven end 112 of the repositioning drive shaft 110. As a result of the rotation, the repositioning drive gear 116 of the repositioning drive shaft 110 may drivingly engage the internal gear surface 118 and, thus, rotate the repositioning disk 92 and first spindle housing 62 relative to the central housing 60. Further, such rotation may cause the first wheel axle 74, disposed within the first offset channel 64 of first spindle housing 62, to rotate about the central axis A1 or, according to the exemplary embodiment, central axle 98.
Accordingly, the electronic controller 132 may adjust, or rotate, the wheel axis of rotation A2, defined by offset channels 64 and 70, relative to the central axis A1, through a continuous range of orientations, as provided by the internal gear surface 118. Further, an alignment feature may be provided to maintain the pair of wheel axles 74 and 76 along the offset axis A2 during rotation. For example, the electronic controller 132, in response to actuation of a machine operation controller 54, may be configured to simultaneously transmit a first actuation signal to the first electronically controlled rotation mechanism 142 and a second actuation signal to the second electronically controlled rotation mechanism 144 to rotate first and second wheel axles 74 and 76 to similar orientations relative to the central axis A1. Such adjustment means may allow a greater vertical displacement of the wheel axis of rotation A2, as defined by first and second wheels axles 74 and 76, relative to the central axis A1 than horizontal displacement.
It should be appreciated that the axle assembly 20 and control system 130, as described herein, may provide a means for adjusting a vertical position of the frame 18, which supports the rear portion 46 of scraper bowl 22. Such adjustments may be made electronically and, further, may be made in response to a position of the front portion 26 of the scraper bowl 22 and/or a weight of material 32 within the scraper bowl 22. For example, it may be desirable to lower the rear portion 46 of the scraper bowl 22, by adjusting the wheel axis of rotation A2, when the front portion 26 and, thus, cutting edge 28 of the scraper bowl 22 has been lowered and at least some material 32 has been collected within the scraper bowl 22. Once the scraper bowl 22 has reached a desired capacity, and the collected material 32 is being deposited at a desired location, the wheel axis of rotation A2 may be raised, or returned to a neutral position, using the adjustment means described herein. Additional adjustments, as should be appreciated, may be made, as desired, throughout operation of the scraper 12.
The present disclosure finds potential application in any machine, such as a tractor scraper or a towed scraper, which utilizes a bowl, such as a scraper bowl. Further, the disclosure may be specifically applicable to scrapers having a cutting edge of the scraper bowl that may be lowered by pivoting the cutting edge about an axle assembly. Yet further, the present disclosure may be applicable to scrapers requiring improved efficiency, including reduced energy consumption, during operations. Such machines may include, but are not limited to, single engine scrapers, tandem powered scrapers, scrapers operating in a push-pull configuration, and other machines known in the art that utilize a bowl for collecting material.
Referring generally to
Utilizing the axle assembly 20 and method, as may be implemented by control system 130, described herein, may reduce energy consumption when machine 10 is at least partially loaded, as described above. Specifically, for example, when a partially loaded state of the scraper bowl 22 is detected, an operator may actuate a machine operation controller 54 to effectively lower a rear portion 46 of the scraper bowl 22 and, thus, reduce an angle of the scraper bowl 22 relative to the ground. Such adjustment, as should be appreciated, may reduce the energy, or power, required to maneuver the partially loaded and, thus, weighted scraper bowl 22 over the material 32. Additional benefits, including improvements to unloading material 32 from scraper bowl 22 by adjusting the wheel axis of rotation A2, may also be recognized.
It should be appreciated that the rotary actuator 140, as described herein, may include any actuator causing movement by rotating or turning on an axis. As such, the rotary actuator 140 described herein does not include a linear actuator for causing rotation, such as rotation of first spindle housing 62 relative to central housing 60. Specifically, as explained above, rotary actuator 140 includes, for example, first repositioning drive shaft 110 that, when rotated, engages repositioning drive gear 116 with internal gear surface 118 to rotate first spindle housing 62. Rotating first spindle housing 62, as should be appreciated, causes rotation of first wheel axle 74 about central axle 98. Rotating both first wheel axle 74 and second wheel axle 76, as described herein, effectively adjusts wheel axis of rotation A2 relative to the frame 18, thus raising or lowering the rear portion 46 of the scraper bowl 22 relative to the ground. Further, such rotation may be effected while power is transmitted through the central axle 98 to first and second wheel axles 74 and 76.
It should be understood that the above description is intended for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other aspects of the disclosure can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.
