JP7615972B2 - Work vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a work vehicle such as an agricultural tractor, and in particular to a protective structure for a communication control unit and the like arranged on the upper surface of the cabin roof of the vehicle.

A known work vehicle has a communication control unit mounted on the roof of the cabin that encloses the driver's seat, a guard that encloses the communication control unit from above, and a cover that covers the communication control unit from above (Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-196319 A

When configured in this way, the guard member protects the communication control unit and prevents damage. However, in recent work vehicles that have become more multifunctional, the number of parts mounted on the roof has also increased, making it necessary to protect the entire roof when putting the cover on.

The present invention aims to prevent unexpected interference with the hood cover that covers the communication control unit mounted on the top surface of the roof to protect it from dust and rainwater.

This invention takes the following technical measures to solve the above problems:

The invention described in claim 1 comprises a cabin 16 surrounding a driver's seat 7 on a traveling vehicle body 1, side mirror brackets 46L, 46R for attaching side mirrors 47L, 47R to left and right front supports 18L, 18R of the cabin 16, hook fasteners 60L, 60R for hoisting the cabin 16 are provided on left and right rear supports 20L, 20R, front base stays 53L, 53R are provided on the left and right side mirror brackets 46L, 46R, and rear base stays 63L, 63R are provided on the left and right hook fasteners 60L, 60R, respectively, and these front base stays 53 Left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R are provided between the rear base stays 63L, 63R and the left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R. A status indicator light 40 is provided on the cabin 16 via an indicator light bracket 41 to indicate the status of the traveling vehicle body 1. The status indicator light 40 is arranged so that it can be changed between a working position in which it protrudes above the cabin roof 22 and a storage position in which it does not protrude above the cabin roof 22. The left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R are arranged so that they are higher than the top surface of the cabin 16 roof 22 and are positioned outside the status indicator light 40 in the lying-down storage position.

The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, wherein the left and right rear base stays 63L
, 63R , a rear pipe frame 51 is provided at the rear of the roof 22 of the cabin 16, and the rear pipe frame 51 is provided rearward of the rear obstacle sensor 67.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the rear pipe frame 51 has U-shaped ends fixed to the left and right rear base stays 63L, 63R and is inclined upward at the rear.

According to the invention described in claim 1, the left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R are arranged to be higher than the upper surface of the roof 22 of the cabin 16 and to be located outside the status indicator lamp 40 in the collapsed storage position. Therefore, when the top cover is hung from above, the entire roof 22 can be protected, and the status indicator lamp 40 located near the roof 22 can also be protected.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect described in claim 1, the rear pipe frame 51 can protect the rear obstacle sensor 67.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect described in claim 2, the rear pipe frame 51 has the vertical parts 51a of the left and right rear support stay pipe frames 51 fixed to the rear base stays 63L, 63R and is provided with an upward rearward incline, so that the rear obstacle sensor 67 can be protected even when the hood cover is on and the hood is bent.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tractor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cabin of the tractor as viewed from above and in the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cabin of the tractor as viewed from below and in front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the roof of the tractor as viewed from diagonally above the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the roof of the tractor as viewed from diagonally above and behind. FIG. 2 is a side view of the front upper part of the cabin of the tractor. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a status indicator light and its supporting structure on the right side of the vehicle body of the tractor. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a status indicator light and its support structure on the left side of the vehicle body of the tractor. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the positioning unit, communication control unit, and support structure of the tractor, viewed obliquely from the rear. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cabin of the tractor with the pipe frame attached thereto, as viewed from above and in the front direction. FIG. 2 is a side view of the cabin of the tractor with the pipe frame attached. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cabin of the tractor with the pipe frame attached. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a front base stay and its surroundings of the tractor. FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away side view of the rear base stay and its surroundings of the tractor.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that when referring to a pair of left and right components, the reference characters L and R are used to indicate the left and right sides of the vehicle body 1, respectively, and L and R may be omitted in some cases.

Figures 1 to 11 show a tractor, with a diesel engine E mounted inside a bonnet 2 at the front of the vehicle body 1, the rotational power of the engine E being transmitted to a transmission in a transmission case 3, and the rotational power reduced by the transmission is transmitted to front wheels 4 and rear wheels 5. A steering wheel 6 for steering the front wheels 4 is provided behind the engine E, and a driver's seat 7 is installed behind the steering wheel 6. A hydraulic cylinder case 8 is provided at the rear upper part of the transmission case 3, and lift arms 9 constituting part of a hydraulic lifting mechanism are rotatably attached to both the left and right sides of the cylinder case 8. The lift arms 9 move up and down by the extension and contraction of a lifting hydraulic cylinder 10. A three-point link mechanism consisting of a top link 11 and left and right lower links 12 is provided at the rear of the vehicle body, and a rotary working machine R is attached to the link mechanism, and the lower links 12 are connected to the lift arms 9 via a lift rod 13, making it possible to lift and lower the working machine R.

The steering wheel 6, driver's seat 7, etc. are covered by a cabin 16. The cabin 16 is fixed to the vehicle body via an elastic member such as anti-vibration rubber, which makes it difficult for vibrations of the vehicle body to be transmitted to the cabin 16.

The cabin 16 is made up of a floor 17, front pillars 18 erected at the front left and right of the floor 17, rear pillars 20 erected at the rear left and right of the driver's seat 7, intermediate pillars 62 erected at the middle of the left and right fenders 19, and an upper frame 21 connecting the upper ends of these pillars, and is covered with a roof 22.

The roof 22 of the cabin 16 is equipped with driving support devices such as a surveillance camera, an obstacle sensor, a positioning controller, and a camera controller. The mounting configuration of these devices will be described in detail below. The surveillance camera 23 captures images of the front, rear, and sides of the tractor body to obtain image data, and the positioning controller 25 as a positioning unit transmits and outputs information for calculating the position of the body to a control unit C equipped on the body 1 via a camera controller 27 as a communication control unit that communicates with a communication terminal. The obstacle sensor 24 is, for example, an infrared sensor, and can detect obstacles in front of and behind the body. In this embodiment, the camera controller 27 is given as an example of a communication control unit, but it may be replaced by a controller that calculates and controls sensor information from each part of the body 1.

The positioning controller 25 is equipped with a positioning antenna (not shown), a base station (not shown) information receiving antenna 26, a calculation unit (not shown), and an output unit (not shown). The positioning antenna acquires satellite signals from GPS satellites, etc., and the calculation unit processes the satellite signals and correction signals received by the antenna 26 from the base station to calculate the vehicle's position information, driving direction, etc. This position information, etc. is transmitted to the control unit C by the output unit.

The camera controller 27 also includes a calculation unit that processes the image data captured by the surveillance camera 23, a transmission circuit (not shown) that transmits the calculation results, and multiple (two in the illustrated example) communication antennas 28. The calculation results of the image data are transmitted to a control unit C mounted on the vehicle body 1.

The location information, image data, etc. sent to the control unit C can be configured to be sent to an external management server, and by providing a communication terminal (e.g., a mobile terminal) capable of communicating with this management server, it is possible to obtain information about the vehicle body 1 through this communication terminal, check the vehicle body condition, or remotely operate the vehicle body 1.

The housing 27a housing the camera controller 27 and the housing 25a housing the calculation unit of the positioning controller 25 are disposed above the front side of the roof 22. That is, a band-shaped front frame 31 is provided that is supported in a horizontal position so as to span between bracket members 30L, 30R fixed to the front support 18 or the upper frame 21, and the housing 27a of the camera controller is fixedly supported in the front and rear positions at the left and right intermediate portions of the front frame 31, with the housing 27a of the camera controller at the front position and the housing 25a of the positioning controller 25 at the rear position. The front frame 31 is disposed so as to be positioned slightly forward of the top end of the windshield 38 in a side view of the vehicle body 1.

In detail, a forward protruding frame 32f, which is U-shaped in plan view, is fixed to the front wall of the center of the left and right of the front frame 31, and a rear protruding frame 32r, which is similarly U-shaped and somewhat long, is fixed to the rear wall, and a flat plate 32a is fixed to the upper surfaces of the front and rear protruding bodies 32f, 32r, to form a control unit bracket 32 that straddles the front and rear of the front frame 31. Then, the housing 27a of the camera controller 27 is fixed to the front position, and the housing 25a of the positioning controller 25 is fixed to the upper surface of this control unit bracket 32, with the housing 27a positioned in the front position and the housing 25a positioned in the rear position, respectively. For example, a flange portion formed on the housing side is overlapped with the control unit bracket 32, and the overlapping portion is bolted.

Antenna guards 33L, 33R are provided on the left and right sides of the control unit bracket 32 as protective frames. That is, a round bar is formed into a U-shape, and the lower ends of the front legs 33Lf, 33Rf are inserted into small receiving parts 34L, 34R fixed in a forward protruding state from the upper end of the front frame 31 and fixed with nuts or the like. On the other hand, the rear legs 33Lr, 33Rr of the antenna guards 33L, 33R are provided so as to be close to and in contact with the upper surface of the cabin roof 22, and a shock-absorbing rubber 35 is provided at their lower ends. Specifically, the cylindrical rubber 35L, 35R is inserted from the lower end of the rear legs 33Lr, 33Rr. With this configuration, even if the antenna guards 33L, 33R are pressed by vehicle body vibration or external force and come into contact with the cabin roof 22, the upper surface will not be damaged. The antenna guards 33L and 33R are set to a height equal to or greater than the height of the antenna 26 of the positioning controller 25 and the height of the communication antennas 28, 28 of the camera controller 27. They are slightly wider than the left-right width of the housing 25a of the positioning controller 25 and the housing 27a of the camera controller 27, and are positioned slightly higher than the antennas 26, 28, 28, so that they can guard the housings 25a, 27a and the antennas 26, 28, 28.

In a side view, the antenna guards 33L, 33R are positioned so that they overlap the antenna 26 of the positioning controller 25 and the communication antennas 28, 28 of the camera controller 27, so that the antenna 26 can be protected when the hood member that covers the vehicle body to protect it from wind and rain is put on or removed, and there is little risk of damage due to unexpected interference.

The positioning controller 25 and camera controller 27 are arranged close to each other in the front and rear, so the harnesses 36 can be bundled together and run along the rear wall surface of the front frame 31, making the wiring work easier and improving the finished product.

A front camera 23f capable of capturing images of the area in front of the vehicle body 1 is disposed in front of the front frame 31. That is, a pair of camera brackets 37 are provided in the center of the front of the front frame 31, and the camera body is provided so that the image capturing angle can be adjusted up and down. Therefore, the front camera 23f can be protected by the control unit bracket 32 and camera controller 27 located above. Note that the positioning controller 25 as a positioning unit and the camera controller 27 as a communication control unit can be arranged in an interchangeable order, but if the positioning controller 25 is arranged in the front position, it can be protected by the control unit bracket 32 and positioning controller 25.

At the rear end of the control unit bracket 32, a flat plate 32a is fixed to the upper surfaces of the front and rear protrusions 32f, 32r to keep the gap with the cabin roof 22 constant. However, since there is a risk of the bracket 32 swinging back and forth around the contact point with the front frame 31, a treatment is provided to prevent damage due to contact with the roof 22. In other words, a buffer material 38 is provided below the rear end of the control unit bracket 32. With this configuration, vibrations transmitted from the roof 22 of the cabin 16 can be suppressed, preventing damage due to contact with the roof 22.

Next, the installation configuration of the status indicator lamp 40 that displays the status during autonomous driving when the traveling vehicle body 1 is configured to be capable of autonomous driving will be described. The status indicator lamp 40 is configured to be layered and can light up different warning colors, and can distinguish the status of the vehicle body 1 during autonomous driving by various lighting methods, for example, by lighting up green for normal work driving, lighting up red for abnormality, lighting up yellow for obstacle detection, and flashing when the vehicle is stopped, and is arranged on the left and right front of the cabin 16. That is, the support seat bracket 42 is fixed to the indicator lamp bracket 41 on the front support pillar 18 of the cabin 16, and the above-mentioned status indicator lamp 40 is fixed in an upright position on this support seat bracket 42. The status indicator lamp 40 fixed to the support seat plate 42 is arranged so as to be located on the opposite side of the head position of the operator seated in the driver's seat 7 across the front support pillar 18, and during normal driving by various operations by the operator, the indicator lamp 40 can be hidden by the front support pillar 18 without obstructing the operator's field of vision.

The indicator light bracket 41 is fixed to the front support 16 by welding or the like, but the support seat bracket 42 is provided so that the angle can be freely changed relative to the indicator light bracket 41. In other words, the indicator light bracket 41 is fastened to the indicator light bracket 41 at two points by a combination of bolts 43 and nuts 44 so that it can be attached and detached, but one of the two points 43a, 44a can be arbitrarily changed in position along the arc-shaped guide hole 41a formed in the indicator light bracket 41, centered on the other 43b, 44b, and fastened. Therefore, the angle of the support seat plate 42 and the status indicator light 40 can be changed so that they can be collapsed backward together, and they can be switched between an upright working position and a collapsed storage position (Figure 7). The height of the support seat bracket 42 and the rotation angle of the status indicator light 40 are set (designed) so that in the upright working position, it protrudes above the cabin roof 22, and in the collapsed storage position, it does not protrude above the cabin roof 22. This allows the vehicle to be stored in the shed when not in motion, saving space in the shed. Furthermore, when the entire vehicle is covered, if the status indicator light 40 is in the upright position, it is susceptible to damage due to the load placed on it, but in the lying-down storage position, the load is reduced and damage can be prevented.

The status indicator light 40 for the stored position is set to be located above the top of the cabin door 39 and below the cabin roof 22 (Figure 7). Therefore, even when the status indicator light 40 is in the stored position, the cabin door 39 can be opened and closed, and there is no hindrance to ascending and descending.

As mentioned above, the support base bracket 42 is fastened to the indicator light bracket 41 at two points by bolts 43 and nuts 44 so that it can be detached from the indicator light bracket 41. One of these points, 43a and 44a, can be repositioned around the other point, 43b and 44b, along the arc-shaped guide hole 41a formed in the indicator light bracket 41. Therefore, the position can be easily changed by loosening one bolt 43b.

The support seat brackets are arranged on the left and right, and side cameras 23s, which are part of the surveillance camera 23, are arranged on the lower outer surface of each of the left and right support seat brackets 42L, 42R via camera brackets 45L, 45R. The side cameras 23s, 23s are arranged so that their vertical angles can be freely adjusted relative to the camera brackets 45L, 45R.

A bracket 46 for a side mirror is provided on the front support 18 of the cabin 16 below the indicator light bracket 41 that supports the indicator light 40, and a stay 48 having a side mirror 47 is attached to the front end of this bracket 45 so that it can be rotated freely around a vertical axis.

The status indicator light 40 is set in such a way that the top end of the status indicator light 40 in the upright position is lower than the height of the antenna guard 33, and the entire status indicator light 40 in the upright position is located inside the aircraft body relative to the side mirror 47. With this configuration, when the vehicle body is covered, the load can be distributed between the antenna guard 33 and the side mirror 47, and the load on the status indicator light 40 can be reduced even when the status indicator light 40 is in the upright position during work.

The side camera 23s is located inside the vehicle body 1 and below the status indicator lamp 40, and is protected by the status indicator lamp 40 and the side mirror 47, which is fixed to the front support 18 of the cabin 16.

The configuration of the left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R and the rear pipe frame 51, which are provided to avoid interference with the top sheet that covers the entire vehicle body and to protect the housing 25a and antenna 26 that house the calculation unit, etc. of the positioning controller 25, and the housing 27a and communication antenna 28 that house the calculation unit, etc. of the camera controller 27 from dust and rainwater, will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 15.

As described above, the side mirror brackets 46L, 46R are provided on the left and right front pillars 18L, 18R of the cabin 16 to mount the side mirrors 47L, 47R. The mirror stays 48L, 48R are extended from the side mirror brackets 46L, 46L so as to be rotatable around a vertical pivot point, and the side mirrors 47L, 47R are supported in a suspended manner on the tip side of the mirror stays 48L, 48R. The front base stays 53L, 53R of L-shaped members to which the pipe insertion cylinder 52 is fixed are fixed to the vertical flat plate portions 46aL, 46aR of the side mirror brackets 46L, 46R. In detail, the vertical flat plate portions 46aL, 46aR are fixed in a sandwiched manner by the inner stays 54 that face the vertical plate portions of the front base stays 53L, 53R. That is, the vertical plate portions of the front base stays 53L, 53R and the opposing inner stays 54 are spaced apart at a fixed distance by tubes 55 and small bolts 56, and the two are fastened in a sandwiched manner by knob bolts 57 that pass through the side mirror brackets 46L, 46R. A vertically oriented pipe can be passed through the pipe insertion cylinder 52.

On the other hand, the left and right rear pillars 20L, 20R of the cabin 16 are equipped with hook fasteners 60L, 60R for lifting the cabin 16. The hook fasteners 60L, 60R are configured to be fixed to the upper ends of the rear pillars 20L, 20R in a lateral overhanging shape by welding a flat plate member having a thickness of appropriate strength and a notch 60a that can be used to fasten a hook (not shown). The left and right hook fasteners 60L, 60R are fixed to the rear base stays 63L, 63R, which are provided with pipe insertion cylinders 61 and 62 at two positions, front and rear. In other words, the rear base stays 63L, 63R are formed by forming a framework of multiple plate members (three in the illustrated example) at an appropriate interval above and below, and the front pipe insertion cylinder 61 is provided by fixing the plate member in a penetrating manner above and below, allowing a vertically oriented pipe material to be inserted. Similarly, the pipe insertion cylinder 62 located on the rear side is also configured to allow a vertically oriented pipe to be inserted.

The rear base stays 63L, 63R are overlapped with the hook fasteners 60L, 60R and fastened with knob bolts 64. 65 is a positioning pin. The cylinders 61, 62 can be passed through a vertically oriented pipe material, just like the cylinder 52.

The left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R, which are inverted U-shaped in side view, are attached between the cylinders 52 of the front base stays 53L, 53R and the front pipe insertion cylinders 61 of the rear base stays 63L, 63R. The vertical portions 50a, 50b are inserted from above into the cylinders 52 of the front base stays 53L and the front pipe insertion cylinders 61 of the rear base stays 63L, 63R. Each vertical portion 50a, 50b has flanges 50c, 50d that define the pipe insertion position.

The rear of the roof 22 is formed to protrude rearward beyond the rear support pillar 20 to improve the design and to form a space for mounting an air conditioning unit. A rear monitoring camera 23r is mounted on the underside of the rear end protruding portion 22a of the roof 22 so that the downward angle can be adjusted backward by a camera bracket 65, and a rear obstacle sensor 67 is mounted using a sensor bracket 66. The rear surface of the rear obstacle sensor 67 is surrounded by the license plate mounting base plate 68. The obstacle sensor 67 is configured to be located above the rear obstacle sensor 67 and the rear monitoring camera 23r, so that it can be positioned without interfering with the imaging by the monitoring camera 23r.

The rear pipe frame 51 is formed so as to roughly follow the rear edge of the roof in a plan view, and is positioned above and behind the roof 22 while being inserted into the cylinders 62 provided on the rear side of the left and right rear base stays 63L, 63R, and its rear edge is located behind the rear obstacle sensor 67 in a plan view. Furthermore, the rear pipe frame 51 is provided in an inclined posture (angle α in FIG. 12) so that it is higher toward the rear in a side view. Therefore, the rear pipe frame 51 can protect the rear obstacle sensor 67 and the rear monitoring camera 23r. In addition, the left and right vertical parts 51a of the pipe frame 51 are inserted from above and fixed into the rear pipe insertion cylinders 62L, 62R of the rear base stays 63L, 63R, and the rear pipe frame 51 is provided with an upward inclination, so that the rear obstacle sensor 67 and the rear monitoring camera 23r can be protected even when the top cover is hung and the frame is bent. The vertical section 51a has a flange 51b that determines the position for inserting the pipe.

The left and right pipe frames 50L, 50R and the rear pipe frame 51 have vertical sections 50a, 50b and 51a at their lower ends with cotter pin insertion holes 50e and 51e. This configuration makes it possible to prevent accidental removal of the cotter pin.

In the above embodiment, the positioning controller 25 or the camera controller 27 is used as an example of a communication control unit, but the present invention can be applied to any control unit that is placed on the top surface of the roof 22.

Reference Signs List 1 Traveling vehicle body 7 Driver's seat 16 Cabin 18 Front support 20 Rear support 40 Status indicator light 41 Indicator light bracket 46 Side mirror bracket 47 Side mirror 50 Left and right pipe frames 51 Rear pipe frame 53 Front base stay 60 Hook fastener 63 Rear base stay 67 Rear obstacle sensor

Claims (3)

The vehicle body (1) is provided with a cabin (16) surrounding the driver's seat (7), side mirror brackets (46L, 46R) for attaching side mirrors (47L, 47R) are provided on the left and right front pillars (18L, 18R) of the cabin (16), hook fasteners (60L, 60R) for hoisting the cabin (16) are provided on the left and right rear pillars (20L, 20R), front base stays (53L, 53R) are provided on the left and right side mirror brackets (46L, 46R), and rear base stays (63L, 63R) are provided on the left and right hook fasteners (60L, 60R), and these front base stays (53L, 53R) and rear A work vehicle characterized in that left and right pipe frames (50L, 50R) are provided between the base stays (63L, 63R), a status indicator light (40) that indicates the status of the traveling vehicle body (1) is provided on the cabin (16) via an indicator light bracket (41), the status indicator light (40) is arranged so as to be changeable between a working position in which it protrudes above the cabin roof (22) and a storage position in which it does not protrude above the cabin roof (22), and the left and right pipe frames (50L, 50R) are arranged so as to be higher than the top surface of the cabin (16) roof (22) and to be positioned outside the status indicator light (40) in the lying-down storage position. 2. A work vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein a rear pipe frame (51) is provided between left and right rear base stays ( 63L, 63R ), a rear obstacle sensor (67) is provided at the rear of a roof (22) of the cabin (16), and the rear pipe frame (51) is provided rearward of the rear obstacle sensor (67). 3. A work vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the rear pipe frame (51) has U-shaped ends fixed to left and right rear base stays ( 63L, 63R ) and is inclined upward at the rear.

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