Patent ID: 6341488
Filing Date: 2002-01-29
Classification: B60K,F16H

Abstract:
A mechanism of returning to neutral for an axle driving apparatus comprising:a housing forming a fluid sump therein; a center section immersed in said fluid sump of said housing, said center section provided therein with a pair of fluid passages and at one of its external side surfaces with a pair of orifices outwardly open in said fluid sump, each of said pair of orifices being connected to each of said pair of fluid passages within said center section; a variable displacement hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor mounted onto said center section in said housing, so that fluid discharged from said hydraulic pump is circulated between said pair of oil passages within said center section through said hydraulic motor, thereby driving said hydraulic motor; a movable swash plate disposed in said housing for controlling the flowing direction and volume of fluid discharged from said hydraulic pump in accordance with its tilting direction and angle with respect to the rotational axis of said hydraulic pump, thereby controlling the rotational direction and speed of said hydraulic motor, wherein a certain position serving as a neutral position is predetermined in whole of the tilting range of said movable swash plate; a control shaft supported by said housing so as to pivot said movable swash plate, wherein the rotational operation of said control shaft determines the tilting direction and angle of said movable swash plate; and a neutral control member coupled with said control shaft so as to be rotated integrally with said control shaft, said neutral control member including a surface facing the outward openings of said pair of orifices, a pair of openings at said surfaces connected with each other through a closed oil passage within said neutral control member, wherein said openings communicate with said respective orifices when said movable swash plate is disposed at said neutral position or its vicinity.