GB2470739A - Telehandler vehicle having improved drive train layout - Google Patents

Abstract

A telehandler vehicle la comprises a chassis 2 (2a, 2b), a driver's cab (14 see fig 4), a drive train and a telescopically extensible and retractable boom 9 that is pivotally mounted to boom mounts provided on the chassis 2. The drive train includes an engine 3, a radiator and a transmission. The transmission comprises a gearbox 5 and fore and aft drive shafts 6a, 6b which drive front and rear axles of the telehandler 1. Drive from the gearbox 5 is transferred to the fore and aft drive shafts 6a, 6b via a drive splitter which is positioned intermediate the front and rear axles. The invention aims to improve weight distribution, lifting capacity and viewing location compared to prior art trucks.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS TO A TELEHANDLER

The present invention relates generally to the field of variable reach forklifts, commonly known as telescopic loaders or telehandlers.

Telehandlers, which find widespread use in the agricultural and construction industries in the movement of materials and heavy loads for the purposes of stockpiling or vehicle loading, comprise a chassis, motive power means and transmission, a driver's cab and a telescopic boom to which a lifting carriage or similar attachment is mountable. Typically the chassis is either rigid or of swivel construction, the swivel-type comprising an articulated joint provided between forward and rear chassis sections. The telescopic boom which extends from the chassis and which is arranged to lie in a substantially horizontal plane when lowered is commonly capable of achieving a lift angle of around 70 degrees from the horizontal and extending to lengths in excess of 10 metres. The engine and ancillary equipment are typically located towards the rear of the telehandler either behind, beside or below the driver's cab. This arrangement provides a number of drawbacks including poor visibility from the driver's cab, high cab height, compromised weight distribution and excessive heat around the driver's cab.

It is therefore an the object of the present invention is to provide a telehandler with an improved drive-train layout, the telehandler having improved weight distribution and lifting capacity as well as improved viewing location compared to prior art trucks.

Accordingly the present invention provides a telehandler comprising a chassis, a driver's cab, a drive train and a telescopically extensible and retractable boom that is pivotally mounted to boom mounts provided on the chassis, the drive train including an engine, a radiator and a transmission, the transmission comprising a gearbox and fore and aft drive shafts which drive front and rear axles of the telehandler, characterised in that drive from the gearbox is transferred to the fore and aft drive shafts via a drive splitter, the drive splitter being positioned intermediate the front and rear axles.

Advantageously, the engine, the radiator and the gearbox are located behind the rear axle, the gearbox and the radiator being arranged forward of the engine which is mounted at the rearmost position on the chassis.

Ideally, the gearbox is connected directly to the engine and is located at a level on the chassis at least partially below the lower level of the engine.

Preferably, the chassis is an articulated chassis having a forward chassis section and a rear chassis section.

Advantageously, in this arrangement the radiator is positioned above the gearbox at a location directly behind the driver's cab so that its upper end occupies the highest position aft of the driver's cab. This enables a cowling provided over the radiator and engine to slope sharply downwardly towards the back edge of the chassis thereby providing an improved rear view from the cab.

Conveniently, the location of the radiator directly behind the driver's cab causes cool air to be drawn around said cab and warm air to be passed over the engine and out the rear of the telehandler thereby mitigating excessive build up of heat in and around the cab.

Advantageously, the gearbox is placed lower within the chassis in comparison to prior art telehandlers thereby enabling the cab to be mounted at a lower position on the chassis which in turn provides increased headroom within said cab. Conveniently, the associated lower floor height of the cab gives an operator an improved view during the loading and unloading of articles which are elevated on a lifting carriage provided on the telescopic boom.

Advantageously, the optimal weight distribution achieved by placing the engine, the radiator and the transmission at the rear of the chassis behind the rear axle and at a position furthest from the lift carriage enhances the telehandler's stability with the resultant improved counter balancing effect increasing the lifting capacity of the telehandler.

Conveniently, the engine is provided with a bottom pulley that is adapted to provide drive means for auxiliary equipment such as a power take-off unit or an hydraulic drive unit.

The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which are shown, by way of example only, one embodiment of the telehandler according to the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the chassis or a telehandler of the prior art; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of the chassis of a telehandler in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation of the telehandler of the prior art; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the telehandler of the invention; Figure 5 is rear perspective view of the telehandler or the invention; and Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of the chassis of the telehandler of the invention.

Referring initially to Figure 1, a telehandler 1 of the prior art comprises an articulated chassis 2 having a forward chassis section 2a and a rear chassis section 2b. The telehandler further comprises a drive-train having an engine 3 and transmission, the transmission comprising gearbox 5, fore and aft drive shafts 6a, 6b which drive front and rear axles 7a, 7b, respectively. The telehandler also comprises a telescopic boom 9 that is pivotally mounted to boom mounts 10 provided on the chassis and which is telescopically extensible and retractable means of hydraulic ram or rams 11. A lifting carriage 9a is provided at the terminal end of telescopic boom 9. In the telehandler of the prior art, a radiator 4 is located at the rear of chassis 2 at a location behind engine 3. A prop shaft 8 transfers drive output from engine 3 to gearbox 5 from where drive to the front and rear axles is transferred to the front and rear axles 7a, 7b, respectively. In this arrangement gearbox 5 is located at a position spaced apart from engine 3 and between front and rear axles 7a, 7b such that shaft 8 extends over the rear axle 7b. As radiator 4 is located behind engine 3 and is arranged in a substantially upright position proximate a rearmost location of the chassis, any cowling or engine covering 13 (Figure 3) provided on the telehandler will extend substantially horizontally from behind the driver's cab thus obscuring an operator's rear view. As cooling air drawn through radiator 4 by means of fan 4a passes over engine 3 in the direction of the driver's cab 14 (Figure 3), said cab can become uncomfortably hot for an operator inside. Similarly, heat rising from the transmission contributes to raised temperatures in and around the cab.

Referring now to Figure 2, an improved layout for a telehandler in accordance with the present invention is shown. Components of the apparatus indicated by reference numerals 2 through to 11 are common with those of the prior art telehandler 1 shown in Figure 1. In the Figure, telehandler 1A is shown having an engine 3 positioned at the rear of chassis section 2b with gearbox and transmission module 5 being located at a position behind rear axle 7b and in direct connection with engine 3. Gearbox 5 is ideally located at a level on the chassis at least partially below the lower level of engine 3.

To provide drive to axles 7a, 7b there is provided a drive splitter 12 which is located intermediate said axles, the drive splitter receiving drive from gearbox 5 via shaft 8A and distributing it fore and aft to each axle via drive shafts 6a, 6b, respectively.

As gearbox 5 is coupled directly to engine 3 without a drive shaft extending between them and spanning axle 7b as is the case with the telehandler of the prior art above, gearbox 5 can be placed lower within chassis section 2b which advantageously enables radiator 4 to be located directly above said gearbox and ahead of engine 3. In this arrangement radiator 4 is located directly behind driver's cab 14 as shown in Figure 4 and its upper end occupies the highest position aft of said cab and as a result of which cowling 13 which is provided over the radiator and engine slopes sharply downwards towards the back edge of the chassis as shown in Figure 4 and FigureS. Advantageously, this arrangement provides an improved rear view from the cab, the floor of which can be placed at a lower position on the chassis since it is no longer restricted by a gearbox directly below. As a result of the lower floor of the cab, the space within the cab is greatly improved with increased headroom and an enhanced, more comfortable, working environment for the operator. Furthermore, the lower floor level of the cab allows the operator to sit lower within the cab thereby giving an improved view during the loading and unloading of articles which are elevated on lifting carriage 9a. Beneficially the location of radiator 4 directly behind the driver's cab causes cool air to be drawn around said cab and warm air to be passed over the engine and out the rear of the telehandler and so the issue of excessive heat build up in and around the cab is diminished.

Referring to Figure 6, the complete drive-train which includes engine 3, gearbox and transmission module 5 (not visible), shaft 8A, drive splitter 12 and drive shafts 6a, 6b (not visible), lies along the centreline X-X of the telehandler 1A. Axle 7b is transversely pivoted across centreline X-X thereby enabling the telehander to be driven over uneven ground.

The optimal weight distribution achieved by placing engine 3, radiator 4 and transmission at the rear of the chassis behind rear axle 7b and at a position furthest from lift carriage 9a enhances the telehandler's stability and the resultant improved counter balancing effect also increases the lifting capacity of the telehandler.

By moving the engine to the rear of the telehandler a bottom pulley (not shown) which would previously have been used to drive the radiator fan of a telehandler of the prior art becomes available for alternative use. In the present invention this bottom pulley is adaptable to provide drive means for auxiliary equipment such as a power take-off unit or an hydraulic drive unit.

It is thought that the present invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, the forms hereinbefore described being merely preferred or exemplary embodiments thereof.

Claims (9)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A telehandler comprising a chassis, a driver's cab, a drive train and a telescopically extensible and retractable boom that is pivotally mounted to boom mounts provided on the chassis, the drive train including an engine, a radiator and a transmission, the transmission comprising a gearbox and fore and aft drive shafts which drive front and rear axles of the telehandler, characterised in that drive from the gearbox is transferred to the fore and aft drive shafts via a drive splitter, the drive splitter being positioned intermediate the front and rearaxles.
2. 2. A telehandler as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the engine, the radiator and the gearbox are located behind the rear axle, the gearbox and radiator being arranged forward of the engine which is mounted at a rearmost position on the chassis.
3. 3. A telehandler as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the gearbox is connected directly to the engine and is located at a level on the chassis at least partially below the lower level of the engine.
4. 4. A telehandler as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the radiator is positioned above the gearbox at a location directly behind the driver's cab so that its upper end occupies the highest position aft of the driver's cab.
5. 5. A telehandler as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the radiator draws cool air around the driver's cab and passes warm air over the engine and out the rear of the telehandler so as to mitigate excessive heat build-up in and around the driver's cab.
6. 6. A telehandler as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein an engine cowling provided over the engine and radiator slopes downwards towards the back edge of the chassis so as to provide an improved rear view from the driver's cab.
7. 7. A telehandler as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the chassis is an articulated chassis having a forward chassis section and a rear chassis section.
8. 8. A telehandler as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the engine is provided with a bottom pulley that is adapted to provide drive means for auxiliary equipment such as a power take-off unit or an hydraulic drive unit.
9. 9. A telehandler substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.