WORK VEHICLE WITH FOLD-OUT TIPPING EDGE

Abstract

A skip apparatus for a working vehicle has a skip that is pivotable upward about a carrying axle and that has a pouring edge via which pourable material is able to be poured out of the skip. The skip apparatus additionally has an emptying device which is pivotable relative to the skip about a pivot axle on the skip during a pivoting movement. The emptying device has an inlet side and an outlet side. The inlet side is arranged in a region of the pouring edge such that the pourable material, which is poured out of the skip via the pouring edge, passes into the emptying device via the inlet side. The pivoting movement of the emptying device is guided in a defined manner by a guiding device. A working vehicle having such a skip apparatus also is provided.

Claims

1. A skip apparatus for a working vehicle, the skip apparatus comprising: a skip that is pivotable upward about a carrying axle and that has a pouring edge via which pourable material is able to be poured out of the skip; and an emptying device which is pivotal relative to the skip about a pivot axle daring a pivoting movement, the pivot axle being provided on the skip; wherein the emptying device has an inlet side and an outlet side; the inlet side is arranged in a region of the pouring edge such that the pourable material, which is poured out of the skip via the pouring edge, passes into the emptying device via the inlet side; and wherein the pivoting movement of the emptying device is guided in a defined manner b a guiding device.

2. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emptying device is pivotable by the guiding device in the opposite direction to the pivoting movement of the skip.

3. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, during a pivoting movement of the skip about the carrying axle, a change in height of the outlet side of the emptying device is less than a change in height of the pouring edge.

4. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet side is at a greater horizontal distance from the carrying axle than the pouring edge.

5. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet side is arranged at a lower height than the pouring edge.

6. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the emptying device has a channel extending between the inlet side and the outlet side.

7. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the channel has a planar bottom region and side regions that rise obliquely to side walls from the planar bottom region.

8. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the skip is carried by a carrying device on which the carrying axle is provided; and wherein the guiding device is arranged so as to act between the carrying device and the emptying device in order to guide the pivoting movement of the emptying device relative to the skip.

9. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guiding device has a control device which couples the emptying device to the carrying device.

10. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control device has at least one control element which is fastened to the emptying device and which is pivotable relative to the carrying device.

11. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control element is held on the carrying device in a pivotable manner via a control arm axle; and wherein the control arm axle extends parallel to the carrying axle and at a distance therefrom.

12. The skip apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guiding device is removable from at least one of the emptying device and the carrying device, such that the emptying device is freely pivotable relative to the skip.

13. A working vehicle comprising: a drive unit which has a drive; a skip unit which has a skip apparatus, wherein the skip apparatus comprises a skip that is pivotable upward about a carrying axle and that has a pouring edge via which pourable material is able to be poured out of the skip; and an emptying device which is pivotable relative to the skip about a pivot axle during a pivoting movement, the pivot axle being provided on the skip; wherein the emptying device has an inlet side and an outlet side; the inlet side is arranged in a region of the pouring edge such that the pourable material, which is poured out of the skip via the pouring edge, passes into the emptying device via the inlet side; and wherein the pivoting movement of the emptying device is guided in a defined manner by a guiding device; and further comprising a joint, arranged between the drive unit and the skip unit, for coupling the drive unit to the skip unit such that the drive unit and the skip unit are movable relative to one another about at least one vertical axis (Z) of the working vehicle.

14. The working vehicle claimed in claim 13, wherein the joint is an articulated swivel joint; and the articulated swivel joint has a lower ball joint that connects the skip unit to the drive unit, and an upper ball joint that connects the skip unit to the drive unit, the upper ball joint being arranged above the lower ball joint; a first component of the upper ball joint is fixedly connected to the skip unit; and wherein a second component of the upper ball joint is connected to the drive unit via a rod that is movable relative to the drive unit.

15. The working vehicle as claimed in claim 13, wherein the skip is pivotable about the carrying axle; the carrying axle is arranged to one side of a wheel axle; and wherein the skip extends from one side of the wheel axle to another side of the wheel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] These and further advantages and features of the invention are described in more detail in the following text by way of examples with the aid of the accompanying figures, in which:

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a working vehicle with a rotatable driver's seat in the forward position;

[0046] FIG. 2 shows the working vehicle with the driver's seat in the rearward direction;

[0047] FIG. 3 shows a side view of a skip device with a skip in the transport position (starting position) and with an emptying device;

[0048] FIG. 4 shows the skip device with the skip in the pivoted-up position (emptying position);

[0049] FIG. 5 shows the skip device with the guiding device removed from the emptying device; and

[0050] FIG. 6 shows the skip device with a skip pivoted about the vertical axis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a side view of what is known as a dumper, serving as a working vehicle. Dumper is the designation given for example to relatively small articulated dump trucks.

[0052] The dumper shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 has a rotatable driver's station, as explained below. The emptying device according to the invention can, of course, also be used in a dumper with a stationary driver's station, however.

[0053] The working vehicle has a drive unit 1 and a skip unit 2 which each carry a rigid wheel axle 3 having wheels. Arranged between the drive unit 1 and the skip unit 2 is what is known as an articulated swivel joint 4. Such an articulated swivel joint 4 has already been described above and serves to couple the drive unit 1 to the skip unit 2 such that the drive unit 1 and the skip unit 2 are movable, or pivotable, relative to one another both about a vertical axis Z and about a longitudinal axis X.

[0054] Pivoting about the vertical axis Z allows a steering movement such that the two wheel axles 3 can be set at an angle with respect to one another (known as an articulated movement).

[0055] Mobility about the longitudinal axis X is also referred to as “swiveling” and considerably increases the off-road capability of the working vehicle.

[0056] The pivoting movement about the vertical axis Z is brought about by a steering apparatus which comprises a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit 5. With the aid of the piston-cylinder unit 5, the angular position between the drive unit 1 and the skip unit 2 can be set.

[0057] The skip unit 2 carries a skip 6 on its top side. The skip 6 is pivotable, or raiseable, about a carrying axle 7 by a hydraulic raising mechanism that is not illustrated in FIG. 1. As a result, the skip 6 carrying for example loose bulk material can be emptied easily via a pouring edge 8. Furthermore, the skip 6 can be mounted on the skip unit 2 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis (axis A in FIG. 6).

[0058] Constructed on the drive unit 1 is a driver's protective structure 9 which encloses, inter alia, a driver's seat 10 and various operating elements (steering wheel, joystick, gas and brake pedals). The driver's protective structure 9 is formed, inter alia, by bars which provide rollover protection, realizing a ROPS/FOPS structure.

[0059] The driver's seat 10 is fastened to a rotary mount 11 which also carries the further operating elements. The rotary mount 11 is mounted in a rotatable manner relative to the rest of the drive unit 1 via a plain hearing 12. Alternatively to the plain bearing 12, the rotary mount 11 can also be mounted by means of a ball bearing or with the aid of relatively small rollers.

[0060] In particular, the rotary mount 11 is pivotable through 180° between a forward position and a rearward position, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows the rotary mount with the driver's seat 10 in the forward position. A driver sitting on the driver's seat 10 looks forward in the direction of travel, away from the skip 6.

[0062] FIG. 2, shows the same working vehicle, but with the rotary mount 11 in a rotated position and thus the driver's seat 10 in the rearward position. In this case, a driver sitting on the driver's seat 10 looks in the rearward position, toward the skip 6.

[0063] As FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show, in this case not only the driver's seat 10 is pivoted but also the entire driver's station with all of the operating elements.

[0064] Although a dumper, serving as working vehicle, with a driver's seat that is pivotable in the direction of travel and in the rearward direction, has thus been described by way of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a dumper with a fixed, non-pivotable driver's seat can also be used as working vehicle according to the invention.

[0065] FIG. 3 shows a side view of the skip unit 2 with the skip 6, which is pivotable about the carrying axle 7.

[0066] While FIG. 3 shows the skip unit 2 in the starting or transport position, FIG. 4 shows the skip unit 2 with the skip 6 in the fully raised position (emptying position).

[0067] The raising of the skip 6 takes place with the aid of a piston-cylinder unit 15 (FIG. 4), which pivots the skip 6 about the carrying axle 7 relative to a carrying device 16 carrying the skip 6.

[0068] Provided adjoining the pouring edge 8 is an emptying device 17, which is pivotable about a pivot axle 18 relative to the skip 6. The emptying device 17 has an inlet side 19 and outlet side 20 with an outlet edge 21. The emptying device 17 is not shown in the working vehicle illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, but can readily be provided there in the region of the pouring edge 8.

[0069] The emptying device 17 is configured in the form of a channel and extends over the entire width of the pouring edge 8, in order to receive all of the bulk material that passes out of the skip 6 via the pouring edge 8 when the skip 6 is raised, and to carry it away from the wheel axle 3.

[0070] The pivoting movement of the emptying device 17 relative to the skip 6 is guided by two laterally attached control rods 22 that serve as guide devices or control elements, and of which in each case only one, namely the front control rod 24 in the perspective view, is visible in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0071] The control rods 22 thus couple the underside a the emptying device 17 to the carrying device 16. The coupling of the control rods 22 takes place in this case via axles or joints 23.

[0072] As a result of the dimensioning of the control rods 22 and the position of the joints 23, the emptying device 17 is forced to carry out a pivoting movement, which it executes relative to the skip 6 while the skip 6 pivots, as can be seen in particular by comparing FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0073] In FIG. 3, a sliding surface 24 (bottom surface of the channel), guiding the bulk material, of the emptying device 17 forms an obtuse angle W relative to the substantially horizontally oriented top edge of the skip 6.

[0074] In the pivoted-up position or the skip 6, shown in FIG. 4, this angle W is approximately 180° or somewhat more than 180°, i.e. has been enlarged compared with the lowered transport position in FIG. 3.

[0075] By way of the control rods 22, the emptying device 17 is thus forced to carry out a pivoting movement relative to the skip 6, which is directed counter to the pivoting direction of the skip 6. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the skip 6 is pivoted upward, that is to say counterclockwise. The emptying device 17 with the sliding surface 24, by contrast, is pivoted clockwise about the pivot axle 18 relative to the skip 6.

[0076] As a result of the coordinated movement, it is possible, at any time, to keep the outlet edge 21, at which the bulk material leaves the skip unit 2, away from the wheel axle 3, in order to avoid soiling. As a result of the pivoting of the channel-like emptying device 17 relative to the skip 6, and in particular as a result of the pivoting movement of the emptying device 17 in the opposite direction relative to the skip 6, the outlet edge 21 is displaced somewhat upward, compared to a situation in which the emptying device 17 were to be connected fixedly to the skip 6 and would at least execute the pivoting movement along therewith. The outlet edge 21 is thus displaced somewhat upward, as a result of which it is possible to prevent the outlet edge 21 from penetrating into the bulk material (for example the liquid concrete) already let out.

[0077] FIG. 5 shows a variant in which the control rods 22 have been removed. In this case, on account of its deadweight, the emptying device 17 hangs freely downward and serves as an additional protective guard for protecting the wheel axle 3, without directly guiding the bulk material.

[0078] FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment in which the skip 6, together with the carrying device 16, is pivotable about a vertical axis A with respect to the rest of the skip unit 2. The skip 6 can thus be moved into a suitable position with its pouring edge 8 and the emptying device 17, in order to be able to let the bulk material out in a targeted manner. For example, it is possible in this way to let the bulk material out not only in front of or behind the working vehicle, but also laterally thereto—as shown n FIG. 6.

[0079] In order to rotate the skip 6 and the carrying device 16, a corresponding rotary drive, not shown in FIG. 6, is provided.