Method and apparatus for hydrostatically driving a vehicle with each drivable wheel driven by at least one hydraulic motor connected to at least one hydraulic source

Abstract

In a process for hydrostatically driving a vehicle comprising at least two ideal axles (12) of which each has at least one drivable wheel (11), each drivable wheel (11) being driven by at least one hydraulic motor (9) connected to at least one hydraulic source (6), and the driving power being transmitted from a hydraulic motor (9) via a transmission system (10, 35) to the respective wheel (11), the vehicle is to be usable under different performance requirements and is to be produced and operated in a simple and inexpensive manner. This is achieved in that the drivable wheels (11) are initially driven with a first identical ratio of the transmission system (10, 35), while, when a first load limit is reached, the effective drive of the wheels (11) of at least one ideal axle (12) is reduced and, when a second load limit is reached, the ratio of the transmission system (10, 35) is changed, and at least the wheels (11) driven before the first load limit are equally driven. Furthermore, a hydrostatic drive, in particular for performing the process, with at least two ideal axles which have each a drivable wheel (11), each drivable wheel (11) being connected to at least one hydraulic motor (9) connected to at least one hydraulic source (6) and a transmission system (10, 35) being arranged between each hydraulic motor (9) and the associated wheel (11), is suggested for the solution of the above-mentioned technical problem in such a manner that the ratio of the transmission system (10, 35) is variable.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.