Steerable crawler track

A steerable crawler track for an agricultural utility vehicle, comprising:

• a left-side track roller unit;
• a right-side track roller unit;
• a differential having a transmission input, which is driven by an engine, a first transmission output, coupled to the left-side track roller unit via a first friction clutch, for driving the left-side track roller unit and a second transmission output coupled to the right-side track roller unit via a second friction clutch, for driving the right-side track roller unit;
• a hydraulic transmission having a variable transmission ratio (i), wherein the first and the second transmission outputs of the differential are coupled to one another via the hydraulic transmission such that a ratio of the rotational speeds (n1, nr) of the first and the second transmission outputs is influenced by changing the transmission ratio (i) of the hydraulic transmission;
• and
• a control device operable to decouple the first and the second transmission outputs, via the respective first and second friction clutches, from the hydraulic transmission depending on an operating parameter selected from the group consisting of:
• a ground speed of the crawler track, a rotational speed of the transmission input, a rotational speed (n1, nr) of one or both of the first and the second transmission outputs, and a rotational speed of one or both of the first and the second hydrostatic units.

A steerable crawler track for an agricultural utility vehicle, comprising:

• a left-side track roller unit;
• a right-side track roller unit;
• a differential having a transmission input, which is driven by an engine, a first transmission output for driving the left-side track roller unit and a second transmission output for driving the right-side track roller unit;
• a hydraulic transmission having a variable transmission ratio (i), wherein the first and the second transmission outputs of the differential are coupled to one another via the hydraulic transmission such that a ratio of the rotational speeds (n1, nr) of the first and the second transmission outputs is influenced by changing the transmission ratio (i) of the hydraulic transmission;
• and
• a means for decoupling the transmission outputs from the hydraulic transmission;
• wherein the crawler track is configured to operate in one of first and second operating modes (M1, M2),
• wherein the first operating mode (M1) is a coupled operating mode in which the first and the second transmission outputs of the differential are coupled to one another via the hydraulic transmission such that the crawler track is steered by changing the transmission ratio (i) of the hydraulic transmission and via an associated change in the ratio of the rotational speeds of the left-side and the right-side track roller units, and
• wherein the second operating mode (M2) is a decoupled operating mode in which the first and the second transmission outputs of the differential are decoupled from the hydraulic transmission such that, in a forced driving state of the crawler track, the ratio of the rotational speeds (n1, nr) of the first and the second transmission outputs is adapted to the forced driving state.