Hydraulic transmission vehicle

• US 20040209718A1
• Filed: 03/22/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yanmar Company Limited (Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Yanmar Agricultural Equipment Co. Ltd. (Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.), Yanmar Company Limited (Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Fumio, Kubota, Yukio, Noma, Yasuo, Kuroda, Akifumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,037,236 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 474/18
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/103 of fluid type
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0642 Idle condition
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/186 Status of parking brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/1888 Control of power take off [PTO]
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/22 Agricultural vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/221 Tractors
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2037/088 Power split variators with summing differentials, with the input of the CVT connected or connectable to the input shaft
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2037/0886 with switching means, e.g. to change ranges
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2059/148 Transmission output torque, e.g. measured or estimated torque at output drive shaft
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 2061/168 Forced shifts into neutral for safety reasons, e.g. in case of transmission failure or emergency braking
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 47/04 the mechanical gearing being of the type with members having orbital motion
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/16 Dynamometric measurement of torque
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/22 Idle position
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/46 dependent on a comparison between speeds
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 59/54 dependent on signals from the brakes, e.g. parking brakes
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/439 Control of the neutral position, e.g. by zero tilt rotation holding means
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/46 Automatic regulation in accordance with output requirements
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/465 for achieving a target input speed
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/468 for achieving a target input torque
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 61/47 for achieving a target output speed
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 : Engine management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/84 : Data processing systems or methods, management, administration

Abstract

A hydraulic transmission (21) has an electric actuator (86) for changing its output/input rotation speed ratio. A controller (19) of the actuator memorizes a command current value to the actuator supposing that load is not applied on the hydraulic transmission, and calculates a value of load applied on the hydraulic transmission by calculating a difference between an actual command current value to the actuator and the memorized command current value. A command current value is compensated based on the value of load, and the actuator receives feedback to be controlled. A vehicle may have a differential mechanism (10), which combines rotation powers on input side and output side of the hydraulic transmission. A detector (82) detects rotation speed of a main speed change output shaft (27) serving as an output shaft of the differential mechanism. If the detected rotation speed differs from target rotation speed of the shaft (27) determined based on operation of a speed change operation tool, the actuator is forcedly controlled. This difference is supposed to be caused by load applied on the hydraulic transmission, whereby the load is calculated.

Claims

1. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

a hydraulic transmission;

an electronic actuator for changing an output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission; and

a controller of the actuator memorizing a command current value for the actuator supposing that load is not applied on the hydraulic transmission, and calculating a value of load applied on the hydraulic transmission by calculating a difference between an actual command current value for the actuator and the memorized command current value.

2. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a differential mechanism which combines rotation powers of input side and output side of the hydraulic transmission.

3. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a command current value is compensated based on the value of load applied on the hydraulic transmission, and the actuator is controlled by feedback control method.

4. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

a PTO shaft, wherein a value of load applied on the PTO shaft is calculated based on load applied on the hydraulic transmission and load applied on an engine.

5. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

speed change operation means;

a hydraulic transmission having a swash plate;

an actuator, wherein a slant angle of the swash plate is changed via the actuator corresponding to operation of the speed change operation means so as to change an output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission;

an axle;

a drive shaft interlocking with the axle; and

rotation speed detection means for detecting a rotation speed of the drive shaft interlocking with the axle, wherein a target rotation speed of the drive shaft is set to a value corresponding to the slant angle of the swash plate set by operation of the speed change operation means, and wherein, if a rotation speed of the drive shaft detected by the rotation speed detection means differs from the target rotation speed, the slant angle of the swash plate is compensatively controlled via the actuator.

6. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 5, wherein a compensational degree of the swash plate slant angle is detected as load applied on the hydraulic transmission.

7. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 5, wherein a compensational operation degree of the actuator is detected as load applied on the hydraulic transmission.

8. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising:

a PTO shaft, wherein a value of load applied on the PTO shaft is calculated based on load applied on the hydraulic transmission and load applied on an engine.

9. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to one of claims 5 to 8, further comprising:

a differential mechanism which combines rotation powers of input side and output side of the hydraulic transmission, wherein an output shaft of the differential mechanism serves as the drive shaft whose rotation speed is detected by the rotation speed detection means.

10. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

speed change operation means;

a hydraulic transmission having a swash plate;

an actuator, wherein a slant angle of the swash plate is changed via the actuator corresponding to operation of the speed change operation means so as to change an output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission; and

a differential mechanism which combines powers of input side and output side of the hydraulic transmission, wherein a drive mode of the vehicle can be switched between a mode setting output of the hydraulic transmission without passing the differential mechanism as traveling drive power and a mode setting output of the differential mechanism as traveling drive power, and the actuator is controlled so as to reduce a change rate of the swash plate position at the time of switching the drive mode while moving the movable swash plate to a set target position of the swash plate.

11. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

a hydraulic transmission including a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor provided with respective movable swash plates; and

an electronic actuator for moving one of the movable swash plates of the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor so as to change an output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission, the electronic actuator being provided with a dead zone against command current, wherein, when the actuator is moved across the dead band, the command current is changed between upper and lower thresholds demarcating the dead band without a time lag.

13. A hydraulic drive vehicle according to claim 11, further comprising:

a switch disposed in the vicinity of the brake pedal so that the switch can be operated simultaneously with the brake pedal, wherein the switch is provided to select whether the hydraulic transmission is turning into neutral or not when the brake pedal is depressed and the engine is idling.

12. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

a brake pedal; and

a hydraulic transmission which is turned into neutral by depressing the brake pedal while the engine is idling.

14. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

an engine whose rotation speed is detected; and

a hydraulic transmission, wherein an output rotation of the hydraulic transmission is detected after the hydraulic transmission is operated for speed changing, wherein an output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission is changed in proportion to the rotation speed of the engine, and wherein the hydraulic transmission is provided with a dead band for preventing the output/input speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission from changing regardless of change of the rotation speed of the engine.

15. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

an electronic governor of the engine;

an engine rotation speed detector;

a hydraulic transmission whose output/input rotation speed ratio can be changed by electronic control, and

a controller controlling the governor and the hydraulic transmission, and memorizing a map concerning torque and rotational speed of the engine for obtaining an optimal fuel consumption, wherein the controller compares engine torque detected by the governor and engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed detector with torque and rotation speed on the map, and wherein, when the detected values differ from the values on the map, the controller controls one or both of the governor and the hydraulic transmission so as to cancel the difference.

16. A hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

an engine;

an electronic governor provided to the engine and calculating engine load;

an engine rotation speed detector detecting a rotation speed of the engine;

a hydraulic transmission whose output/input rotation speed ratio can be changed by electronic control, and

a controller controlling the output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission and memorizing a map of maximum engine torque corresponding to the detected engine rotation speed, wherein, when the engine load detected by the governor is higher than engine load equivalent to the maximum engine torque corresponding to the engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed detector, the controller reduces the output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission, and when the former is lower than the later, the controller increases the output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission.

17. A transmission for a hydraulic drive vehicle, comprising:

a working machine vertically movably attached to the vehicle;

an engine;

an electronic governor of the engine;

an engine rotation speed detector;

a hydraulic transmission whose output/input rotation speed ratio can be changed by electronic control, and

a controller controlling the governor and the hydraulic transmission, wherein, when the vehicle starts turning and a command signal for pulling the working machine up is emitted, the controller controls the governor so as to reduce the engine rotation speed and increases the output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission so as to compensate for the decrease of vehicle speed accompanying with the decrease of the engine rotation speed, and when the vehicle stops turning and a command signal for pulling the working machine down is emitted, the controller controls the governor so as to return the engine rotation speed to the set rotation speed and decreases the output/input rotation speed ratio of the hydraulic transmission so as to restrict the increase of vehicle speed accompanying with the increase of the engine rotation speed.