Hydrostatic Traction Drive and Vehicle with Such a Hydrostatic Traction Drive

Abstract

A hydrostatic traction drive for a vehicle with a hydrostat includes a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic motor, and an electronic control unit. The hydraulic pump has an adjustable stroke volume, and includes an adjustment device configured to adjust the adjustable stroke volume. The hydraulic motor is arranged with the hydraulic pump in a hydraulic circuit, in particular a closed hydraulic circuit. The electronic control unit is configured to exclusively control the hydrostat so that the traction drive is controllable without knowledge or control of specific components thereof. The electronic control unit has a defined interface configured to pass a target value for an operating parameter of the hydrostat to the electronic control unit.

Claims

1. A hydrostatic traction drive for a vehicle with a hydrostat, comprising: a hydraulic pump that includes an adjustment device configured to adjust a stroke volume of the hydraulic pump; a hydraulic motor that is arranged with the hydraulic pump in a hydraulic circuit; and an electronic control unit configured to exclusively control the hydrostat, and including a defined interface configured to pass an operating parameter of the hydrostat to the electronic control unit.

2. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, wherein the hydraulic motor includes a further adjustment device configured to adjust a hydraulic displacement of the hydraulic motor.

3. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, wherein the defined interface is defined via a CAN protocol.

4. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is a target value for a torque to be exerted by the hydraulic motor, or is a revolution rate of the hydraulic motor.

5. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, wherein the defined interface is further configured to output operating limits and current state parameters.

6. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, further comprising at least one of: at least one further hydraulic pump; and at least one further hydraulic motor.

7. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 5, further comprising: a further hydraulic motor; wherein the operating parameter includes a first target value for the hydraulic motor and a second target value different from the first target value for the further hydraulic motor.

8. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 5, further comprising: a further hydraulic motor; wherein the operating parameter includes a target torque value for the hydraulic motor and a target revolution rate for the further hydraulic motor.

9. A vehicle, comprising: a hydrostatic traction drive that includes: a hydraulic pump that includes an adjustment device configured to adjust a stroke volume of the hydraulic pump; a hydraulic motor that is arranged with the hydraulic pump in a hydraulic circuit; and an electronic control unit configured to exclusively control the hydrostat, and including a defined interface configured to pass an operating parameter of the hydrostat to the electronic control unit; and an electronic vehicle control unit configured to specify a behavior for the vehicle, and to communicate via the defined interface with the electronic control unit.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, further comprising: a manual gearbox; and a computing device, wherein the vehicle control unit and the electronic control unit are virtual control units executed by the computing device.

11. The hydrostatic traction drive of claim 1, wherein the hydraulic circuit is a closed circuit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] An exemplary embodiment of a vehicle according to the disclosure is represented in the drawings. Using the figures of said drawings, the disclosure is now described in detail.

[0023] In the figures

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a harvester for the forest and

[0025] FIG. 2 shows the hydrostatic traction drive and the vehicle control unit of the harvester of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The timber harvester according to FIG. 1 comprises a hydrostatic traction drive 10 with a hydraulic pump 11 that is adjustable in the displacement volume thereof and that comprises an adjustment device 12, and with a hydraulic motor 13 that is also adjustable in the displacement volume thereof and that comprises an adjustment device 14. The hydraulic pump 11 and the hydraulic motor 13 are fluidically connected to each other in a closed hydraulic circuit via two working lines 15 and 16. The hydraulic pump is adjustable in two opposite directions from a neutral position in which the displacement volume is zero, so that the direction of travel of the vehicle can be changed just by adjusting the hydraulic pump past zero. Usually, the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor are axial piston machines. The hydraulic pump 11 can be driven by a diesel engine 18 by means of a shaft 17. The hydraulic motor 13 drives an output shaft 19 that is mechanically connected to two wheels of the timber harvester in a manner that is not shown in detail.

[0027] The pressure in the working line 15 is detected with a pressure sensor 20. The pressure in the working line 16 is detected with a pressure sensor 21. The revolution rate of the output shaft 19 is detected with a revolution rate sensor 22. The displacement volume of the hydraulic pump 11 is detected with a swivel angle sensor 23.

[0028] Finally, there is a temperature sensor 24 connected to the working line 15, with which the temperature of the hydraulic oil is detected. The sensors 20 to 24 convert the detected variables into electrical signals.

[0029] The hydrostatic traction drive 10 includes furthermore an electronic control unit 30 to which the variables detected by the sensors 20 to 24 are delivered as electrical signals. The electronic control unit 30 is only designed for controlling the hydrostat, the essential components of which are the hydraulic pump 11 and the hydraulic motor 13. For the purposes of said control, the control unit 30 is connected via an electrical line 31 to the adjustment device 12 of the hydraulic pump 11 and via an electrical line 32 to the adjustment device 14 of the hydraulic motor 13. The adjustment device 12 of the hydraulic pump 11 can for example comprise two pressure regulating valves and a control piston that is adjoined by two control chambers that are subjected to different control pressures via the two pressure regulating valves.

[0030] The adjustment device of the hydraulic motor 13 can for example be a so-called EP adjuster, with which a swivel angle of the axial piston machine is adjusted in proportion to the magnitude of an electric current to which an electromagnet of a regulating valve is subjected, wherein the swivel angle, converted using a compression spring, is fed back as a force acting on the regulating valve against the force of the electromagnet.

[0031] The timber harvester according to FIG. 1 comprises an electronic vehicle control unit 40 that analyzes all the interfaces on the vehicle, such as for example the human machine interfaces or the temperature signals, and controls the behavior of the vehicle by influencing the diesel engine, the working hydraulics, the fan, the lighting, the air conditioning system or a target value for the traction drive. The control unit 30 of the hydrostatic traction drive has a defined interface, via which it communicates bidirectionally with the electronic vehicle control unit 40. The vehicle control unit 40 notifies the control unit of the operating mode in which the hydrostatic traction drive is to be operated and the target values that are necessary for this.

[0032] A target torque M.sub.Hydromotor,soll that is to be output by the hydraulic motor is notified if the vehicle is to be driven according to a torque demand to be applied to the output shaft 18. For example, the target torque can be positive for an acceleration or negative for a braking process. The torque applied by the hydraulic motor 13 results from the product of the instantaneous volumetric displacement and the pressure difference across the hydraulic motor 13 that can be determined using the signals of the two pressure sensors 20 and 21. The instantaneous volumetric displacement can be determined in the present case using the signals of the revolution rate sensor 22, because the volumetric displacement of the hydraulic motor is adjusted by the EP adjuster depending on the revolution rate of the output shaft 19 and the value of the actual volumetric displacement is detected depending on the current flowing through the electromagnet of the EP regulating valve.

[0033] A target revolution rate n.sub.Hydromotor,soll for the hydraulic motor is communicated if the vehicle is to be driven at a speed determined by the revolution rate of the output shaft 19. The revolution rate of the hydraulic motor 13 results from the output of the hydraulic pump 11 and the volumetric displacement of the hydraulic motor 13. The electronic control unit can now act, while taking into account the signal of the revolution rate sensor 22, so that at low revolution rates the hydraulic motor 13 is adjusted to the maximum volumetric displacement thereof and the target revolution rate of the output shaft 19 is achieved by suitably adjusting the hydraulic pump. For revolution rates higher than a revolution rate at which the hydraulic pump is at full displacement, the hydraulic motor 13 is adjusted to volumetric displacements that are smaller than the maximum volumetric displacement thereof.

[0034] For both of the above operating modes, in addition a power limit P.sub.Hydropumpe,soll for the hydraulic pump 11 can be output by the vehicle control unit 40 to the control unit 30. This type of pump regulation that is generally referred to as power regulation of the hydraulic pump is actually a torque regulation with more accurate consideration, wherein the maximum torque that can be demanded of the hydraulic pump results from the pressure difference across the hydraulic pump that can be determined using the signals of the two pressure sensors 20 and 21 and the current displacement volume of the hydraulic pump 11 that can be determined using the signals of the swivel angle sensor 23. However, during the determination of the maximum torque for the hydraulic pump, the vehicle control unit 40 can take into account the revolution rate of the shaft 17 that is known because of the revolution rate of the diesel engine, so that true power regulation is achieved.

[0035] As already mentioned, the communications between the control unit 30 and the vehicle control unit 40 are bidirectional. The control unit 30 communicates to the vehicle control unit 40 operating limits such as M.sub.Hydromotor,max, n.sub.Hydromotor,max and P.sub.Hydropumpe,max and current values of different parameters such as for example T.sub.Hydrostat, which are taken into account by the vehicle control unit 40 during the specification of the target values.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0036] 10 hydrostatic traction drive [0037] 11 hydraulic pump [0038] 12 adjustment device for 11 [0039] 13 hydraulic motor [0040] 14 adjustment device for 13 [0041] 15 working line [0042] 16 working line [0043] 17 drive shaft [0044] 18 diesel engine [0045] 19 output shaft [0046] 20 pressure sensor [0047] 21 pressure sensor [0048] 22 revolution rate sensor [0049] 23 swivel angle sensor [0050] 24 temperature sensor [0051] 30 electronic control unit [0052] 31 electrical line [0053] 32 electrical line [0054] 40 electronic vehicle control unit