Back to results
US 10,953,739 B2Granted
Work vehicle
AssigneeMultihog R&D Limited
InventorsJames Mcadam, Gerard Mchugh, Anthony Duff, Dallan Mchugh, Daniel Mcelchar, Samuel Hampshire
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeMultihog R&D Limited
InventorsJames Mcadam, Gerard Mchugh, Anthony Duff, Dallan Mchugh, Daniel Mcelchar, Samuel Hampshire
Estimating the term…
A work vehicle (1) comprising a forward part (3) and a rearward part (7) pivotally coupled about a main vertical pivot axis (10) for steering thereof. A power take-off shaft (29) is located adjacent a forward end (31) of the forward part (3) and is mechanically driven from a main output drive shaft (15) of an engine (14) located in the rearward part (7). A step-up gearbox (20) steps up the speed from the main output drive shaft (15) onto first and second output shafts (23, 24) for driving first and second hydraulic pumps (27, 28) which provide hydraulic supplies for motive power and for operating attachments attached to the forward end (31) of the forward part (3). A step-down gearbox (30) receives drive directly from the main output drive shaft (15) of the engine (14) and produces a stepped-down drive on an output shaft (33) of the step-down gearbox (30) with a gear ratio of 2:1. A main drive transmission shaft (35) transmits drive from the step-down gearbox (30) to the power take-off shaft (29) at the regulatory speed of a power take-off shaft in the range of 540 rpm to 1000 rpm, thereby minimising the speed of the mechanical drive required from the rearward part (7) to the forward part (3), and reducing the mechanical drives required from the rearward part (7) to the forward part (3) to a single mechanical drive.
A work vehicle comprising a forward part supported on a pair of forward ground engaging wheels, and a rearward part supported on a pair of rearward ground engaging wheels, at least one of the pairs of forward ground engaging wheels and rearward ground engaging wheels being rotatably driven by at least one hydraulic drive motor, the rearward part of the work vehicle being pivotally coupled to the forward part thereof about a substantially vertically extending main pivot axis for facilitating steering of the work vehicle, an engine located in the rearward part of the work vehicle, the engine comprising a main output drive shaft, a first hydraulic pump located in the rearward part of the work vehicle powered by drive derived from the main output drive shaft of the engine, the first hydraulic pump being configured to produce a hydraulic power supply for powering the at least one hydraulic drive motor, a power take-off shaft rotatably mounted in the forward part of the work vehicle, a mechanical step-down drive transmission means located in the rearward part of the work vehicle, the mechanical step-down drive transmission means having an input shaft driven by drive derived from the main output drive shaft of the engine and an output shaft for producing drive for transmission to the power take-off shaft, the mechanical step-down drive transmission means having a step-down gear ratio to produce drive on the output shaft thereof of rotational speed less than the rotational speed of the main output drive shaft of the engine, and a main mechanical drive transmission means transmitting drive from the output shaft of the mechanical step-down drive transmission means to the power take-off shaft located in the forward part of the work vehicle.
A method for driving a power take-off shaft of a work vehicle wherein the work vehicle comprises a forward part supported on a pair of forward ground engaging wheels, and a rearward part supported on a pair of rearward ground engaging wheels, at least one of the pairs of forward ground engaging wheels and rearward ground engaging wheels being rotatably driven by at least one hydraulic drive motor, the rearward part of the work vehicle being pivotally coupled to the forward part thereof about a substantially vertically extending main pivot axis for facilitating steering of the work vehicle, an engine located in the rearward part of the work vehicle, the engine comprising a main output drive shaft, a first hydraulic pump located in the rearward part of the work vehicle powered by drive derived from the main output drive shaft of the engine, the first hydraulic pump being configured to produce a hydraulic power supply for powering the at least one drive motor, the power take-off shaft being rotatably mounted in the forward part of the work vehicle, the method comprising locating a mechanical step-down drive transmission means in the rearward part of the work vehicle, the mechanical step-down drive transmission means having an input shaft and an output shaft, driving the input shaft of the mechanical step-down drive transmission means by drive derived from the main output drive shaft of the engine, configuring the mechanical step-down drive transmission means to have a step-down gear ratio to produce drive on the output shaft thereof of rotational speed less than the rotational speed of the main output drive shaft of the engine, and transmitting drive from the output shaft of the mechanical step-down drive transmission means to the power take-off shaft located in the forward part of the work vehicle through a main mechanical drive transmission means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.