CONFIGURATION OF GEARSHIFT VARIANTS

Abstract

A method is provided for configuring different numbers of gearshift variants in a stepped powershift transmission for an agricultural working machine. The method includes providing a transmission unit, a front-mounted range unit, a gear reduction unit, a rear-mounted range unit, a housing, a drive shaft, a lay shaft an output shaft, and a hydraulic control arrangement. The same transmission unit is used for all the numbers of gearshift variants while an identical spatial orientation of the shafts is maintained for all the numbers of gearshift variants. The method further includes adapting exclusively the gearshift variants by varying the front-mounted range unit or the rear-mounted range unit.

Claims

1. A method for configuring different numbers of gearshift variants in a stepped powershift transmission for an agricultural working machine, comprising: providing a transmission unit, a front-mounted range unit, a gear reduction unit, a rear-mounted range unit, a housing, a drive shaft, a lay shaft an output shaft, and a hydraulic control arrangement; using the same transmission unit for all the numbers of gearshift variants; maintaining an identical spatial orientation of the shafts for all the numbers of gearshift variants; and adapting exclusively the gearshift variants by varying the front-mounted range unit or the rear-mounted range unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising carrying out the configuration of different numbers of gearshift variants by adding or omitting gearwheel steps.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using the same hydraulic control arrangement for each configuration.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising configuring steps of the front-mounted range unit to rotate in the same direction.

5. A transmission unit of a stepped powershift transmission for an agricultural working machine, comprising: a front-mounted range unit, a gear reduction unit, a rear-mounted range unit, a housing, a drive shaft, a lay shaft, and an output shaft, wherein, the transmission unit comprises a modular system for configuring at least two different members of gearshift variants.

6. The transmission unit according to claim 5, wherein the transmission unit comprises a modular system for configuring at least three different numbers of gearshift variants.

7. The transmission unit according to claim 5, wherein the transmission unit comprises a modular system for configuring at least four different numbers of gearshift variants.

8. The transmission unit according to claim 5, further comprising a reverse gear integrated by the gear reduction unit.

9. The transmission unit according to claim 5, wherein steps of a front-mounted range unit are configured for the same direction of rotation.

10. A powershift transmission for an agricultural machine, comprising: a housing; an input for receiving torque from a drive; an output; a front-mounted range unit arranged between the input and the output, the front-mounted range unit comprising a first plurality of gearwheel steps for achieving a first number of gear steps; a rear-mounted range unit arranged between the input and the output downstream of the front-mounted range unit, the rear-mounted range unit comprising a second plurality of gearwheel steps for achieving a second number of gear steps; and a reduction gear unit arranged between the front-mounted range unit and the rear-mounted range unit, the reduction gear unit comprising at least a low step and a high step; wherein, the front-mounted range unit, rear-mounted range unit and reduction gear unit form a modular system comprising either three or four shafts; further wherein, a spatial orientation between the shafts is the same for the modular system regardless of whether there are three or four shafts.

11. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, further comprising a drive shaft, an output shaft, and a lay shaft, the lay shaft oriented between the drive shaft and the output shaft.

12. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, further comprising a drive shaft, an output shaft, a first lay shaft, and a second lay shaft, the first and second lay shafts being oriented between the drive shaft and the output shaft.

13. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, wherein each of the first plurality and second plurality of gearwheel steps comprises a gearwheel and a clutch.

14. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, further comprising a reverse shaft disposed in the reduction gear unit.

15. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, further comprising a low shaft disposed in the reduction gear unit.

16. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, wherein the reduction gear unit comprises a plurality of clutches including a high clutch, a low clutch, and a reverse clutch.

17. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, wherein the front-mounted range unit comprises at least three or four gear steps.

18. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, wherein the rear-mounted range unit comprises at least three or four gear steps.

19. The powershift transmission according to claim 10, wherein the transmission achieves at least 12 gear speed variants between the input and the output.

20. The powershift transmission according to claim 19, wherein the transmission achieves 12, 18, 24, or 32 gear speed variants between the input and the output.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an agricultural working machine,

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a three-shaft variant of a powershift transmission with 18 gearshift variants,

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a three-shaft variant of a powershift transmission with 32 gearshift variants,

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a four-shaft variant of a powershift transmission with 18 maximum gearshift variants, and

[0030] FIG. 5 shows a four-shaft variant of a powershift transmission with 32 gearshift variants.

[0031] Corresponding reference numerals are used to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The embodiments of the present disclosure described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present disclosure.

[0033] In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an agricultural working machine is provided in the form of a tractor 10 and any desired implement 12 which is towed by the tractor and is embodied, for example, as a round bale press. The implement 12 comprises a chassis 14 which is supported on wheels 16 and has a bale-forming chamber 18. The implement 12 is towed by the tractor 10 by a drawbar 20. The driveable elements of the drawbar 20 are driven by the tractor 10 by a power take-off shaft 22.

[0034] The tractor 10 comprises a chassis 24 which is supported on front, steerable wheels 26 and driven wheels 28 at the rear. An operator workstation with a seat 32 is located in a cab 30. A steering wheel 34, an accelerator pedal 36 and an operator position 38 can be activated from the seat.

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a powershift transmission. According to the illustration in FIG. 2, this is a three-shaft design of a powershift transmission with a total of 18 gearshift variants. The three-shaft variant according to FIG. 2 has an even number of tooth meshes. A drive or input shaft 40 is connected to a drive 42 which is embodied in the embodiment as an internal combustion engine. The powershift transmission according to FIG. 2 comprises a front-mounted range unit 44, a gear reduction unit 46 and a rear-mounted range unit 48. The torque is transmitted to a bevel gear 54 via an output shaft 50. The front-mounted range unit comprises, according to the embodiment in FIG. 2, a total of three gear steps I, II and III with three gearwheels 54 and three clutches 56.

[0036] A reverse step is integrated into the gear reduction unit. The rear mounted range unit 48 comprises a total of three range unit steps A, B and C with three gearwheels 54 and three clutches 56. Apart from the drive shaft 40 and the output shaft 50, the powershift transmission also comprises a gear reduction unit 58. Furthermore, the low shaft 60 and the reverse shaft 62 are also present in the powershift transmission.

[0037] The powershift transmission according to FIG. 2 is configured of 18 gearshift variants. The number of gearshift variants is obtained by multiplying the number of gear steps of the front-mounted range unit 44 by the shift steps of the gear reduction unit 46 times the number of range unit steps of the rear-mounted range unit 48. In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, this results in 323 and therefore a total of 18 gearshift variants.

[0038] According to the illustration in FIG. 3, a total of 32 gearshift variants are configured in the same transmission unit, which is permanently bounded by the identical housing as in FIG. 2 and has the same shaft arrangement as in FIG. 2. According to the disclosure, the dimensions in the transmission unit are selected such that a further gearwheel unit 64 can be added both in the front-mounted range unit 44 and in the rear-mounted range unit 48. Each additional gearwheel unit 64 comprises a gearwheel 54 and a clutch 56.

[0039] In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the powershift transmission has a total of 32 gearshift variants. The total number of gearshift variants results from the number of gear steps of the front-mounted gear unit 44, which in the embodiment according to FIG. 3 comprises a total of four gear steps I, II, III and IV, wherein each gear step is equipped as a gearwheel step 64 with a gearwheel 54 and a clutch 56. The number of gear steps of the front-mounted range unit 44 is multiplied by the two gears of the gear reduction unit (high and low) and then also by the number of range unit steps. In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, these are four range unit steps A, B, C, D. This results in a total number of gearshift variants of 424, and therefore 32 gearshift variants.

[0040] FIGS. 4 and 5 each show four shaft embodiments. These are also sometimes referred to as two-shaft designs. In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, there is an uneven number of tooth meshes. In the variants according to FIGS. 4 and 5, an additional shaft 66 is present compared to the embodiments in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shaft 66 is part of the rear-mounted range unit 48. The low step of the gear reduction unit 46 is located on the shaft 66.

[0041] In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, the three gear steps of the front-mounted step 44, specifically I, II and II, which each comprise a gearwheel set 64 with a gearwheel 54 and a clutch 56, and the two shift steps of the gear reduction unit 46, the high and low step, and the three range unit steps of the rear-mounted range unit 48, specifically A, B and C, result in a total of 18 shift variants by multiplication: 323.

[0042] According to the disclosure, for the configuration according to FIG. 5, the same transmission unit is used as in FIG. 4, wherein all the shafts have the same spatial orientation in an identical fixed housing which surrounds the transmission unit. According to the disclosure, the dimensions of the transmission unit are selected such that a further gearwheel step 64 can be added both in the front-mounted range unit 44 and in the rear-mounted range unit 48. Therefore, with 424 this results in a total of 32 gearshift possibilities.

[0043] While embodiments incorporating the principles of the present disclosure have been disclosed hereinabove, the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Instead, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.