JPS6310242B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a snow removal device for a construction vehicle, and more particularly to a snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism for a construction vehicle in which a snow removal blade is attached to the tip of a lift arm. It is related to.

When removing snow from a road, there are many obstacles scattered on the road, such as manholes, embedded traffic lane indicators, shoulders bordering sidewalks, and guardrails. Collisions with objects often cause problems such as damage to the snow removal equipment or vehicle body, or danger to the operator.

Truck-based snowplows travel at high speeds, and both the vehicle itself and the snowplow are less strong than construction vehicle-based snowplows, so there is a high risk of causing major damage and danger in a collision with an obstacle. Therefore, in the field of high-speed snow removal vehicles based on trucks, many snow removal devices equipped with impact force buffering devices have been devised.

For example, the blade may be held in one piece or divided into several parts, or only parts of the blade that are susceptible to impact, such as the cutting edge or both ends, may be held using an elastic support member such as a spring or rubber, or a shear pin, etc. When the blade is subjected to an external load, the blade is elastically supported so that it can be displaced in the vertical or longitudinal direction, or the blade is held elastically or inelastically so that it can be reversed.

On the other hand, snowplows based on construction vehicles generally run at slow speeds and have solid bodies and snow removal equipment, so they are less likely to cause serious damage than snowplows based on trucks. snow removal equipment had not yet reached practical use.

However, even in the case of snow plows that are based on construction vehicles, damage such as separation or damage of cutting edges caused by impact from collision with obstacles, cracks in welds of snow removal equipment, or deformation of lift arms, etc. Although the number of cases is small, they are reported every year. Although these damages are being dealt with by reinforcing them each time, there has been a demand for the development of a snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism for snow removal vehicles based on construction vehicles.

In response to this demand, when considering the use of snow removal devices with impact force buffering mechanisms that have been used in conventional truck-based snow removal vehicles, these snow removal devices have the following problems.

That is, in an impact force buffering mechanism using an elastic member such as a spring or rubber, the snow removal device tends to swing due to external force constantly applied to the blade during snow removal work, and the support is unstable. Moreover, the structure is complicated and is not suitable for resisting large impact forces.

On the other hand, an impact force buffering mechanism using a shear pin has a simple structure and can easily withstand large impact forces, but if one of the shear pins is activated, the shear pin must be replaced, which is time-consuming and can be difficult depending on the mounting position. makes the replacement work dangerous.

Furthermore, the divided structure of the blade reduces the strength of the entire snow removal device.

Snowplows based on construction vehicles perform a variety of tasks, and are often used for heavy snow removal, and the load placed on the blades is usually large. Moreover, as a mainstay snowplow, it is required to be able to operate highly efficiently with minimum adjustment and maintenance time. For this reason, when a snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism is adopted for a snow removal vehicle based on a construction vehicle, this device has a strong structure that can withstand the heavy loads normally applied to the blade.
It is also easy to handle when adjusting and maintaining the equipment.
In addition, it is required that the impact force buffering device can be quickly and easily restored after operation, but the conventional snow removal device with the impact force buffering mechanism of the above-mentioned truck-based snowplow vehicle is not satisfactory in these respects.

Therefore, the present invention has been made for the purpose of preventing damage accidents of conventionally known construction vehicle-based snow plows during snow removal work. It operates reliably only when an excessive impact force is applied due to collision with an obstacle during snow removal work, and prevents damage to the snow removal equipment and the vehicle itself, while also protecting the operator's performance. The object of the present invention is to provide a snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism to ensure safety.

In general, in hydraulically operated construction vehicles, lift cylinders can be used for "floating" and "holding"; in the case of "floating", when the snow removal equipment receives an impact force, the entire snow removal equipment lifts up and absorbs the impact. Although this can be avoided, construction vehicle-based snowplows generally perform heavy snow removal work with the lift cylinder in the "hold" position.

The snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism of the present invention is intended to operate appropriately in this "held" state in which the blade posture is fixed in terms of a hydraulic circuit.

At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide a snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism that allows quick and easy adjustment and restoration of the device.

The shock absorbing snow removal device of the present invention uses a conventional one-piece blade with an additional support between the blade and the conventional support that holds the blade at the end of the lift arm, the additional support being angled. The support is pivotally supported by a cylinder so as to be tiltable in a horizontal plane, and the additional support has a pair of sliding holding members that support the inner ends of the joint supports attached to both ends of the lower back surface of the blade. The blade is pivotally supported to be able to slide up and down, and between the blade and the additional support, one end is rotatably supported on the blade at the upper part thereof, and the other end has a claw part, and there is a support in the direction of rotation. A latch engaging means that engages with the block fixed to the additional support when an elastic force is applied to the latch and can be disengaged only when an excessive external force is applied, and a blade on each side of the vertically intermediate part of the latch engaging means. A block engaging means is provided which is fixed to the additional support and is secondarily removable only when the latch engaging means is disengaged, thereby restraining relative movement of the two in the upward, rearward and left/right directions.

As a result, the strong integrated blade is mechanically held firmly, and before and after applying it to the blade,
It can withstand normal external loads in the horizontal and vertical directions, and normal snow removal workability is not impaired in any way. During snow removal work with the blade in a fixed position due to the hydraulic circuit, if the blade collides with an obstacle on the road and receives an excessive impact force,
First, the latch engagement means disengages, and then the block engagement means disengages, so that the fixed state of the blade is released, and then, due to the reaction force from the obstacle or the road surface, the blade tilts forward and slides upward. The impact force is absorbed and alleviated, thereby preventing damage to the snow removal device and the vehicle body and ensuring the safety of the operator. Furthermore, since this device is simple in structure and operation, the blade can be easily restored to the snow removal position by simply applying vertical and rotational movements to the blade, and the device can be easily adjusted.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the entire snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view. A support 3 is attached to the tip of the lift arm 1 and the tilt link 2 via a pin, and an additional support 4 is provided between the blade 5 at the tip and the support 3.

A conventional snow removal device consists of a support 3, a blade 5 and an angle cylinder 6, and does not include an additional support 4.

4 to 9 are detailed views of the impact force damping mechanism consisting of a blade reversing, sliding and retaining device provided between the additional support 4 and the blade 5.

In FIG. 4, which shows a section along the line A--A in FIG. 2, and in FIG. 5, which shows a section along the line B--B in FIG.
The sliding and holding elements, namely the guide 7, the upper block 25 and the front block 11, are provided by welding.

The additional support 4 is connected to the support 3 by a hinge pin 26, and as shown in FIG. 2, is connected to be tiltable in a horizontal plane via angle cylinders 6 (two).

In FIG. 4, on the back of the blade 5 are members for reversing, sliding and holding the blade, namely a lower bracket 14, a block 12 at the vertically intermediate portion, and upper brackets 31 and 28.
is provided by welding.

The additional support 4 is connected to the lower back surface of the blade by a blade support pin 13 via a sliding holding member 34 which is integrally welded from the slide bar 8, bracket 9, and stopper 10. Spherical bearings 17 and 18 and a collar 19 are press-fitted into the insertion portion of the blade support pin 13 of the sliding holding member 34, and a cover 15 is attached with bolts 16.

The additional support 4 and the upper rear side of the blade 5 are shown in FIGS. 7 and 7 in a partial sectional view along line D--D in FIGS. 4 and 2 showing only the latch portion. Latch 2 as shown in Figure 8.
They are connected via 0. The latch 20 is rotatably attached at one end to the bracket 31 of the blade 5 by a pin 29, and engages with a block 25 in the upper part of the additional support 4 with a pawl at the other end. This latch 20 is attached to a bolt 21 and a nut 2 protruding from a bracket 28 of the blade 5.
2. A spring mechanism consisting of a pilot 23 and a spring 24 always applies an elastic force from above to a generally horizontal position.

Furthermore, the elastic force of the spring 24 can be adjusted depending on the degree of tightening of the nut 22.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in FIG. The block 11 has a downward concave shape and has a groove extending in the front and back direction, and a block 12 is welded to the middle part of the back surface of the blade 5 in the vertical direction and is in surface contact with the bottom of the downward groove and the front end surface of the block 11. Depending on the situation, blade 5
are engaged in a state in which movement in the left/right, rearward, and upward directions is restrained.

The snow removal device with an impact force buffering mechanism according to the present invention is the first
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, it is attached to the tip of the lift arm and tilt link of a construction vehicle, and can be moved up and down and tilted forward and backward by expanding and contracting the lift cylinder and tilt cylinder, respectively. The angle cylinders 6 installed on the left and right between the support 3 and the additional support 4 are connected to a hydraulic circuit so that when one side expands, the other cylinders contract. The additional support 4 and the blade 5 fixed to the additional support 4 are tilted.

During snow removal work, the blade 5 is subjected to various external loads from front and rear, left and right, and up and down directions, so it must have a structure that has strength and rigidity to withstand these external loads. When a front or rear load is applied to the cutting edge of the blade, a moment is generated around the blade support pin 13. The moment that tends to tilt the blade forward due to the forward load is generated by the latch 20 and block 2 as shown in FIG.
5, and the moment that tends to tilt the blade rearward due to the rearward load can be received by the contact surfaces of the blocks 11 and 12 in the front-rear direction.

Block 1 is used for upthrust loads when the blade is struck against the other side, and for lateral loads.
1 and the block 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a sliding holding member 34 held by the additional support 4 and supporting the blade 5 is also inserted into the guide 7 so as to be slidable up and down, and is in contact with the front and back, left and right outer sides. Since it has a surface, it can receive longitudinal and lateral loads acting on the blade 5. The stopper 10 at the top of the sliding holding member 34 prevents the sliding mechanism from coming off downward, and can receive the downward load of the blade 5.

Due to the functions of each member mentioned above, additional support 4
The blade 5 is integrally held at the tip of the lift arm via the support 3, and functions in the same way as a conventional snow removal device without an impact force buffering mechanism during normal snow removal work.

When the blade collides with an obstacle during snow removal work and an excessive impact force is applied backwards to the cutting edge of the blade 5, a moment is generated around the blade support pin 13 in the direction of tilting the blade forward. .

As shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 7, the latch 20, which receives the moment that tends to tilt the blade forward, is normally affected by the elastic force of the spring 24 and the friction between the pawl of the latch 20 and the engagement surface of the block 25. It is in a state where it is fixed in the position where it engages with the block 25 by force. However, if an excessive moment occurs, the blade support pin 13
The force that pulls the latch 20 forward due to the surrounding moment overcomes the elastic force of the spring 24 and the frictional force of the engagement surface with the block 25, and the latch 20
is rotated upward around the pin 29 at the fixed end and removed from the block 25. From the point at which the latch 20 is about to disengage from the block 25, the blade 5 begins to tilt forward about the blade support pin 13, and when it has tilted forward by about 10 degrees, it connects to the block 12 welded to the blade 5 and the additional support 4. The upper and lower contact surfaces of the welded block 11 are separated, and the upward pressure on the blade is released. Thereby, the reaction force exerted on the blade 5 from an obstacle or the road surface is absorbed by the sliding holding member 3 slidably inserted into the guide 7 of the additional support 4.
As shown in FIG. 9, the blade 5 can rotate forward while moving upward. This movement can continue until the stop 33 on the underside of the blade contacts the pad 32 on the additional support 4.
At this point, the blade assumes a posture as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, which shows a cross section along the line DD in FIG. 2 (the latch portion is omitted), and has a large forward inclination angle.

When reversing and sliding the blade 5, the blade is located parallel to the road surface, the cutting edge is in even contact with the road surface, and the external force acts on the center of the blade or evenly on the left and right sides, so that the load is evenly applied to the left and right slide bars. If there is a problem, use Blade 5.
can be smoothly slid upward and reversed. However, in actual work, this is rare, and in general, the blade is not parallel to the road surface due to uneven or sloped roads, or when the blade is tilted, so the load on the blade is uneven. It is often a load or end load.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the blade 5 and the sliding holding member 34 are connected by spherical bearings 17 and 18, so that the blade can slide up and down regardless of its inclination. This spherical bearing also has the effect of restoring the inclination of the blade, so that even if only one end of the blade is initially in contact with the road surface, as the blade 5 reverses and slides, the entire length of the cutting edge of the blade 5 will be aligned with the road surface. , and smooth operation can be obtained. The inner distance between the guide 7 and the slide bar 8 shown in FIG. 5 is provided for the purpose of releasing the amount of displacement of the sliding holding member 34, which is displaced inward when the blade 5 is tilted.

As mentioned above, if excessive impact force is applied to the blade due to collision with an obstacle during snow removal work,
The blade is unlocked, tilted forward, and slid upward, but the blade must be restored to its initial locked state in order to continue clearing snow. In this case, by raising the lift arm 1 with the blade unfixed and pulling the tilt link 2, the blade can be moved to the blade support pin 13.
mainly caused by. At the same time, the blade 5 also moves downward as the sliding holding member 34 slides downward under the weight of the blade 5 inside the guide 7 installed on the additional support 4. When the stopper 10 of the sliding holding member 34 abuts against the upper surface of the guide 7, the movement of the blade stops, and the blade supporting pin 13 returns to its initial position when the blade was fixed. In this state, the lift arm 1 is lowered, the cutting edge of the blade 5 is brought into contact with the road surface, a load is applied to the cutting edge, the blade is rotated in the backward direction, and the latch 20 is engaged with the block 25, so that the blade 5 is turned again. It can be returned to the fixed state.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, when an excessive impact force is applied to the blade such as when colliding with an obstacle, the elastic force adjustment spring is first applied between the blade 5 and the additional support 4. The latch 20 with 24 is disengaged from the block 25, and then the engagement between the blocks 11 and 12 is disengaged, releasing the fixation of the blade. Due to the moment caused by the force, the blade can be tilted forward and reversed around the blade support pin 13 while sliding upward while being supported only by the sliding holding member 34 via the blade support pin 13.

As a result, this snow removal device acts like a solid snow removal device that does not have an impact force buffering mechanism during normal snow removal operations, but in the event of a collision with an obstacle that suddenly occurs during snow removal operations, the snow removal device will reduce the impact force. It can be absorbed by forward inversion and upward sliding movement of the blade.

Furthermore, if the vehicle continues to move forward even after the forward tilting reversal of the blade is completed, the blade is in a state of being greatly tilted forward, so it is possible to overcome the obstacle and avoid the impact force. In this way, damage to the snow removal device and the vehicle body can be prevented, and at the same time, the safety of the operator can be ensured.

Further, the magnitude of the impact force capable of operating the impact force buffering mechanism, that is, the force for releasing the fixing of the blade 5, can be arbitrarily set according to the snow removal work conditions by adjusting the spring 24 that applies an elastic force to the latch 20.

On the other hand, the blade 5, which has been released from the fixed position due to the activation of the impact force buffering mechanism, is returned to the fixed state by re-engaging with the latch 20 and the block 25, and the block 11 and the block 12 by simply operating the lift arm 1 and the tilt link 2. Can be easily restored. This restoration operation can be performed while the operator is sitting in the driver's seat, and is not exposed to the harsh cold.

Furthermore, the impact force buffering mechanism has a simple structure, does not use a hydraulic device, etc., is inexpensive, operates reliably, and is easy to handle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the entire snow removal device according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view, Figure 3 is a perspective view,
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4, FIG. The figure is a partial sectional view taken along the line D-D in Figure 2, showing only the latch part, Figure 8 is a top view of Figure 7, and Figure 9 is a
-D cross-sectional view, but the latch portion is omitted. 1: lift arm, 3: support, 4: additional support, 5: blade, 11, 12, 25: block, 13: blade support pin, 20: latch, 24: spring, 34: sliding holding member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A snow removal device for a construction vehicle in which a snow removal blade is attached to the tip of a lift arm via a support, wherein an additional support is provided between the blade and the support, and the additional support is It is pivotably supported by the support so as to be tiltable in a horizontal plane by an angle cylinder, and the additional support is slidably supported up and down on the inner end of each joint support attached to both ends of the lower back surface of the blade. a pair of sliding holding members that engage with blocks fixed to both sides of the vertically intermediate portion of the rear surface of the blade, and the upper and lower supports that restrain the upward, backward, and left-right movements of the blade; A pair of left and right blocks fixed to the front surface of the intermediate portion, and an upper portion of the additional support that engages with a latch rotatably supported at one end and having a pawl portion at the other end at the upper portion of the back surface of the blade. the latch and the block fixed to the upper part of the additional support are engaged and held by a resilient force that presses the latch in the direction of engagement; If an excessive impact force is applied to the cutting edge, the latch on the upper part of the back of the blade disengages from the block fixed to the upper part of the additional support against the elastic force, and then, The blocks fixed to both sides of the vertically intermediate portion of the back surface of the blade are disengaged from the pair of right and left blocks fixed to the front surface of the vertically intermediate portion of the additional support, and the blade is moved from the joint support portion. A snow removal device characterized in that the snow removal device can be tilted forward and reversed while being slid upward by the pair of sliding holding members that support the inner end so as to be slidable up and down.