JP7730302B2 - Ladder/boom equipped vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a ladder/boom vehicle equipped with a gyro turntable-type tilt correction device and a ladder or boom that can be extended, extended, or rotated.

BACKGROUND ART With regard to ladder/boom-equipped vehicles such as fire engines and aerial work vehicles that are equipped with ladders or booms that can be extended, extended, or rotated, some vehicles are known to be equipped with a gyro turntable-type tilt correction device that automatically keeps the ladder or boom horizontal on slopes.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a ladder truck that, when parked on a slope, moves a support member along a spherical surface relative to the vehicle body so that the rotation axis of the support member relative to the vehicle body is aligned vertically and the swing axis of the ladder attached to the support member is aligned horizontally, and that detects both of the first and second search beams emitted from one of the ladder and the ladder support and reaching the other when the ladder is in a position supported by the ladder support in the rotation direction around the rotation axis center, detects the first search beam when the distance from the support position in one rotation direction is within a set range, and detects the second search beam when the distance from the support position in the other rotation direction is within a set range, and when only one search beam is detected, rotates the ladder in a direction that detects the other search beam.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-350791

In consideration of height restrictions on roads, garages, etc., there are cases where the overall height of a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle is required to be below a specified level. However, in a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle, the ladder or boom lies above the cabin and vehicle body, so the overall height of the vehicle tends to be large. Furthermore, when a gyro turntable-type tilt correction device is installed, the clearance between the ladder or boom and the cabin, etc. is set large to take into account interference with the cabin, etc. during tilt correction, so the position of the ladder or boom is raised when stored, further increasing the overall height of the vehicle.
It should be noted that Patent Document 1 aims to facilitate the storage of ladders, and does not aim to lower the overall height of a vehicle.
Therefore, the present invention aims to achieve both suppression of the overall vehicle height while driving and prevention of interference between the ladder or boom and the cabin, etc., during tilt correction in a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle equipped with a gyro turntable type tilt correction device.

The ladder/boom-equipped vehicle of the present invention described in claim 1 comprises a cabin 10 located at the front of the vehicle, a vehicle body 20 located rearward of the cabin 10, a ladder 30 or boom that is in a prone position above the cabin 10 or vehicle body 20 when stored, a gyro turntable 40 having a lower inclined plate 41 and an upper inclined plate 42 and used to correct the inclination of the ladder 30 or boom on slopes, a support frame 50 attached to the gyro turntable 40 and supporting the rear end of the ladder 30 or boom, a receiving device 60 that supports the space between the rear end and the front end of the ladder 30 or boom, and a control means, wherein the control means rotates the lower inclined plate 41 of the gyro turntable 40 together with the upper inclined plate 42 while the receiving device 60 is being extended, aligning the lower inclined plate 41 to a predetermined rotation position, and the receiving device 60 extends upward, thereby lifting the ladder 30 or boom in a prone position and widening the gap between the cabin 10 or vehicle body 20.
The present invention as set forth in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the ladder/boom-equipped vehicle as set forth in claim 2, the control means rotates the lower inclined plate 41 of the gyro turntable 40 together with the upper inclined plate 42 while the receiving device 60 is being extended, thereby aligning the lower inclined plate 41 with a predetermined rotation position.
The present invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the receiving device 60 comprises a receiving portion 61 on which the ladder 30 or boom in a prone position is placed, a receiving holding portion 62 that holds the receiving portion 61 from below, and a receiving device cylinder 63 used to extend and retract the receiving holding portion 62, and the receiving holding portion 62 has one leg portion 62a and the other leg portion 62a, and the receiving device cylinder 63 is housed in each of the one leg portion 62a and the other leg portion 62a.
The present invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in the ladder/boom-equipped vehicle described in claim 4, an oil tank 90 for storing oil is provided between one leg 62a and the other leg 62a.
The fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the ladder/boom-equipped vehicle of the fifth aspect, the receiving device 60 is provided in the vicinity of the rear surface of the cabin 10.

According to the present invention, in a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle equipped with a gyro turntable-type tilt correction device, the gap between the ladder or boom in a prone position and the cabin, etc. is reduced, thereby lowering the overall vehicle height while driving, and when tilt correction is performed, the gap is increased, allowing tilt correction to be completed without the ladder or boom interfering with the cabin, etc.

FIG. 1 shows a ladder-equipped vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure showing the receiving device A diagram showing the receiving holder and oil tank A diagram showing lifting the ladder using the receiving device on the same level ground A diagram showing how the ladder's tilt is corrected on the same slope.

A ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a cabin located at the front of the vehicle, a vehicle body located rearward of the cabin, a ladder or boom that lies prone above the cabin or vehicle body when stored, a gyro turntable having a lower inclined plate and an upper inclined plate and used to correct the inclination of the ladder or boom on slopes, a support frame attached to the gyro turntable and supporting the rear end of the ladder or boom, and a support device that supports the space between the rear end and the front end of the ladder or boom; when the support device extends upward, the ladder or boom in its prone position is lifted, widening the gap between it and the cabin or vehicle body.
According to this embodiment, the overall height of the vehicle can be reduced by not extending the receiving device while traveling, making it easier to pass through roads with height restrictions, garages, etc. Furthermore, when performing tilt correction using a gyro turntable on a slope, the receiving device can be extended to widen the gap, allowing tilt correction to be completed without interference between the ladder or boom and the cabin or vehicle body.

The second embodiment of the present invention is a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to the first embodiment, which is equipped with a control means, and the control means controls the ladder or boom so that a downward force is applied to the ladder or boom while the receiving device is being extended.
This embodiment reliably prevents the ladder or boom from lifting off the receiving part while being raised by the receiving device. In addition, the downward force can be properly controlled by the control means, and the receiving device can be raised by balancing it with the upward force of the receiving device.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, in the ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to the second embodiment, the control means rotates the lower inclined plate of the gyro turntable together with the upper inclined plate while the receiving device is being extended, and aligns the lower inclined plate with a predetermined rotation position.
According to this embodiment, the time required for tilt correction can be reduced.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to any one of the first to third embodiments, in which the receiving device comprises a receiving section on which the ladder or boom is placed in a prone position, a receiving holding section which holds the receiving section from below, and a receiving device cylinder used to extend and retract the receiving holding section, the receiving holding section having one leg section and the other leg section, and the receiving device cylinder being housed in each of the one leg section and the other leg section.
According to this embodiment, by distributing the receiving device cylinders, the diameter of each cylinder and the diameter of the legs of the receiving and holding part can be made smaller than when there is only one receiving device cylinder. Also, it becomes easier to smoothly raise the receiving part on which the ladder or boom is placed.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention is a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to the fourth embodiment, in which an oil tank for storing oil is provided between one leg and the other leg.
According to this embodiment, by locating the oil tank, which requires a relatively large installation space, between the legs, it is easier to secure installation space for other equipment than if the oil tank were located elsewhere, and the degree of freedom in layout is increased. In addition, because the receiving device and oil tank can be handled as a unit, the installation work of the receiving device and oil tank unit can be performed more efficiently than before.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention is a ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to the fifth embodiment, in which the receiving device is provided in the vicinity of the rear surface of the cabin.
According to this embodiment, by arranging the receiving device and the oil tank on the rear surface of the cabin, i.e., on the front side of the vehicle body, it becomes easier to arrange other devices on the rear side of the vehicle body.

The ladder/boom-mounted vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Note that while this embodiment will be described as a ladder-mounted vehicle equipped with a ladder, the same principle can be applied to a boom-mounted vehicle equipped with a boom.
FIG. 1 shows a ladder-equipped vehicle according to this embodiment.
A ladder-equipped vehicle (fire ladder vehicle) comprises a cabin 10 located at the front of the vehicle and having a driver's seat, a vehicle body 20 located behind the cabin 10, a ladder 30 stored in a prone position above the cabin 10 and the vehicle body 20, a gyro turntable 40 located at the rear of the vehicle body 20, a support frame 50 located above the gyro turntable 40 and supporting the rear end of the ladder 30, a receiving device 60 located close to the rear surface of the cabin 10 and supporting the ladder 30 from below, a basket 70 attached to the tip of the ladder 30, and outriggers 80.
The ladder 30 is provided with a multi-stage ladder body 31, an extension cylinder 32 used to extend and retract the ladder body 31, an extension cylinder 33 used to raise and lower the ladder body 31, and a bending cylinder 34 used to adjust the bending angle of the bending stage.

2A and 2B show the receiving device, with Fig. 2A showing the device in an unextended state and Fig. 2B showing the device in an extended state. In Fig. 2A and 2B, the center is a front view, the left end is a left side view, and the right end is a right side view.
The receiving device 60 comprises a receiving portion 61 having a support surface on which a portion of the ladder 30 placed in a prone position is placed, with the longitudinal direction being the width direction of the vehicle, and a receiving holding portion 62 which holds the receiving portion 61 from below.
The receiving portion 61 has upwardly protruding convex portions 61a at both ends.
The receiving and holding portion 62 has a pair of legs 62 a and a pair of arms 62 b. The legs 62 a are erected vertically, and one leg 62 a and the other leg 62 a are aligned in the vehicle width direction, with the distance between them being shorter than the overall length of the receiving portion 61.
The arm portion 62b is erected obliquely from the upper surface of each of the leg portions 62a and the other leg portion 62a toward the longitudinal center of the receiving portion 61, and the upper end of one arm portion 62b and the upper end of the other arm portion 62b meet at the connection point with the receiving portion 61.
The receiving portion 61 rises as the receiving holding portion 62 extends. The maximum raised position of the receiving portion 61 is determined taking into consideration the overall height of the vehicle and the degree of interference between the ladder 30 and the cabin 10 when correcting the tilt, and is set to, for example, 200 mm from the maximum lowered position.
Each of the legs 62a and 62a houses a receiving device cylinder 63 as a hydraulic cylinder used to extend and retract the receiving and holding part 62. Although it is possible to provide one hydraulic cylinder between the legs 62a as the receiving device cylinder 63, by providing two receiving device cylinders 63 and distributing them to the left and right as in this embodiment, the diameter of each receiving device cylinder 63 and the diameter of each leg 62a can be made relatively smaller than when there is only one receiving device cylinder 63. In addition, it becomes easier to smoothly raise the receiving part 61 on which the ladder 30 is placed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the receiving holder and the oil tank.
The space between one leg 62a and the other leg 62a is provided with an oil tank 90 that stores oil to be supplied to hydraulic equipment such as the telescopic cylinder 32, the hoisting cylinder 33, the bending cylinder 34, and the receiving device cylinder 63. By providing the oil tank 90, which requires a relatively large installation space, between the legs 62a, it is easier to secure installation space for other equipment than if the oil tank 90 were provided in another location, and layout flexibility is increased. In addition, because the receiving device 60 and the oil tank 90 can be handled as a unit, installation of the receiving device 60 and the oil tank 90 can be performed more efficiently than before.
Furthermore, by arranging the receiving device 60 and the oil tank 90 on the front side of the vehicle body 20 close to the rear surface of the cabin 10, it becomes easier to arrange other equipment, etc. on the rear side of the vehicle body 20.

4A and 4B show the lifting of a ladder by a receiving device on flat ground, with FIG. 4A showing the state in which the ladder is not raised, and FIG. 4B showing the state in which the ladder is raised.
When the ladder 30 is in the stored state, the intermediate portion between the rear end and the front end rests on the receiving portion 61, and when the receiving and holding portion 62 is not extended, the ladder 30 is approximately horizontal as shown in Figure 4(a). In this state, the overall height of the vehicle is lower than when the receiving and holding portion 62 is extended and the ladder 30 is raised at the front. Therefore, when the ladder 30 is not in use, such as while driving, by not extending the receiving and holding portion 62 and keeping the ladder 30 approximately horizontal, the overall height of the vehicle can be kept within a specified height, making it easier to pass through roads and garages with height restrictions.

The gyro turntable 40 attached to the vehicle body 20 has a wedge-shaped lower swash plate 41, a wedge-shaped upper swash plate 42 positioned above the lower swash plate 41, and a disc-shaped upper disk 43 positioned above the upper swash plate 42, and is used to correct the inclination of the ladder 30 on sloped ground. The lower swash plate 41 has a sloped upper surface, and the upper swash plate 42 has a sloped lower surface, with the slopes of the two plates touching. A support frame 50 is attached to the upper disk 43.
The lower swash plate 41 and the upper swash plate 42 are each rotatable, and the horizontality of the upper circular plate 43 is adjusted by the combination of the rotational positions of the lower swash plate 41 and the upper swash plate 42. When correcting the tilt, the lower swash plate 41 is rotated to a predetermined rotational position set relative to the lower swash plate 41, and while the lower swash plate 41 is fixed at that predetermined rotational position, the upper swash plate 42 is rotated to a predetermined rotational position set relative to the upper swash plate 42.
The predetermined rotational positions given to the lower swash plate 41 and the upper swash plate 42 are determined based on the amount of inclination of the vehicle body 20 obtained by the sensors.

Figure 5 shows the state of correcting the inclination of a ladder on a slope. Figure 5(a) shows the state of this embodiment in which the ladder is lifted by extending the receiving and holding parts to correct the inclination, and Figure 5(b) shows the state of comparative example in which the ladder is not lifted but interference with the cabin occurs.
There are several types of tilt correction devices, among which the gyro turntable type tilt correction device operates when a ladder-equipped vehicle parked at a fire scene or the like is tilted forward/backward or left/right due to the slope of the ground, and operates to horizontally adjust the upper disc 43 of the gyro turntable 40 to which the support frame 50 is attached before starting firefighting or rescue operations.
The gyro turntable type tilt correction device performs tilt correction by rotating the upper inclined plate 42 and the lower inclined plate 41 and changing their relative rotational positions, but in order to avoid interference between the ladder 30 and the cabin 10, etc. during tilt correction, the underside of the ladder 30 must be at a certain distance or more from the upper surface of the cabin 10, etc.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, when traveling, the support holding portion 62 is not extended and the support portion 61 is in the lowest position to minimize the overall vehicle height, so that the gap (clearance) between the underside of the ladder 30 and the upper surface of the cabin 10 is relatively small. During tilt correction, the rotation of the upper swash plate 42 relative to the lower swash plate 41 of the gyro turntable 40 causes the tip of the ladder 30 to swing, or the ladder 30 slides on the rollers of the support portion 61, causing the contact position between the ladder 30 and the support portion 61 to shift. Therefore, if tilt correction is performed while traveling on a slope with a narrow gap, the ladder 30 will interfere with the cabin 10, as shown in FIG. 5B. Note that while FIG. 5B shows a case where the front of the ladder 30 is on a slope with a rising slope, the same problem occurs when tilt correction is performed on a slope with a falling slope or a slope sloping to the left or right.

Therefore, when performing tilt correction using the gyro turntable 40, on a slope, the receiving and holding portion 62 is extended as shown in Figure 4 (b) to raise the receiving portion 61 to the maximum raised position, thereby lifting the tip side of the ladder 30 and sufficiently separating the underside of the ladder 30 from the upper surface of the cabin 10, etc.
By performing tilt correction in this state, even if the rotation of the gyro turntable 40 causes the tip of the ladder 30 to swing or the contact position between the ladder 30 and the receiving part 61 to shift, the ladder 30 and the cabin 10, etc. do not interfere with each other, as shown in Figure 5 (a), and tilt correction can be completed.

The ladder-equipped vehicle is provided with a control means (not shown). The control means controls the raising and lowering cylinder 33 so that a downward force is applied to the ladder 30 while the ladder 30 is being raised by the extension of the receiving and holding parts 62. This reliably prevents the ladder 30 from floating off the receiving parts 61 while being raised by the receiving device 60. Furthermore, while the ladder 30 is being raised by the receiving device 60, the control means appropriately controls the downward force and balances it with the upward force of the receiving device 60, thereby allowing the receiving device 60 to be raised.
In addition, the control means controls the elevation cylinder 33 to apply a downward force to the ladder 30 while the gyro turntable 40 is being rotated to correct the tilt, and while the receiving and holding part 62 is being lowered to lower the ladder 30 after the work is completed.

Furthermore, in the case of conventional vehicles in which the receiving device is fixed and the underside of the ladder 30 is sufficiently separated from the upper surface of the cabin 10, etc., it is possible to proceed directly to tilt correction when parked on a slope. On the other hand, in the ladder-equipped vehicle of the present invention, it is necessary to extend the receiving and holding part 62 to lift the ladder 30 before tilt correction is performed using the gyro turntable 40, which means that tilt correction takes longer than in the conventional case.
Therefore, the control unit rotates the lower swash plate 41 to a predetermined rotation position in parallel with the extension of the receiving and holding portion 62. When the sensor detects that the receiving portion 61 has reached the maximum raised position and that the lower swash plate 41 has rotated to the predetermined rotation position, the control unit rotates the upper swash plate 42 to the predetermined rotation position. This reduces the time required for tilt correction compared to when tilt correction using the gyro turntable 40 is started after the receiving portion 61 has completed its upward movement.
When the lower swash plate 41 rotates to a predetermined rotation position, the upper swash plate 42 also rotates together with the lower swash plate 41, so that the relative rotation positions of the lower swash plate 41 and the upper swash plate 42 do not change and the elevation angle of the upper circular plate 43 remains constant. Therefore, even if the lower swash plate 41 is rotated while the receiving part 61 is rising, the ladder 30 will not interfere with the cabin 10.

When firefighting operations are completed and the ladder 30 is returned to the stowed position and placed on the receiving portion 61, the control unit rotates the upper swash plate 42 to the rotation position before tilt correction, and then rotates the lower swash plate 41 to the rotation position before tilt correction. However, while the lower swash plate 41 is rotating, the receiving portion 62 is retracted in parallel. This shortens the time required for dismantling compared to waiting for the rotation of the lower swash plate 41 to be completed before retracting the receiving portion 62.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Cabin 20 Vehicle body 30 Ladder 40 Gyro turntable 41 Lower swash plate 42 Upper swash plate 50 Support frame 60 Receiving device 61 Receiving portion 62 Receiving holding portion 62a Leg 63 Receiving device cylinder 90 Oil tank

Claims (5)

A cabin located at the front of the vehicle,
a vehicle body located rearward of the cabin;
a ladder or boom that is in a prone position above the cabin or the vehicle body when stored;
a gyro turntable having a lower inclined plate and an upper inclined plate and used to correct the inclination of the ladder or the boom on a slope;
a support frame attached to the gyro turntable and supporting the rear end of the ladder or the boom;
A support device that supports the ladder or the boom between the rear end and the front end ;
a control means ;
The control means controls the ladder or the boom to apply a downward force during the extension of the receiving device,
A ladder/boom-equipped vehicle characterized in that, when the receiving device extends upward, the ladder or boom in the prone position is lifted and the gap between the cabin or the vehicle body is widened. 2. The ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control means rotates the lower inclined plate of the gyro turntable together with the upper inclined plate while the receiving device is being extended, thereby aligning the lower inclined plate with a predetermined rotation position. The receiving device includes a receiving portion on which the ladder or the boom rests in the prone position;
a receiving and holding portion that holds the receiving portion from below;
a receiving device cylinder used for extending and retracting the receiving and holding part;
The receiving and holding portion has one leg portion and the other leg portion,
3. A ladder/boom-mounted vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the receiving device cylinder is housed in each of the one leg and the other leg. 4. A ladder/boom-mounted vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein an oil tank for storing oil is provided between the one leg and the other leg. 5. A ladder/boom-equipped vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein the receiving device is provided adjacent to the rear surface of the cabin.