STEERING CYLINDER AND TRACTOR WITH A STEERING CYLINDER

Abstract: A steering cylinder for a tractor with internal, adjustable steering stops that do not occupy packaging space beyond the cylinder itself. End caps (40, 42) of the cylinder, between the piston rod (18) and the cylinder, serve as the stops. The end caps (40, 42) are threadably mounted in the cylinder to enable adjustment. The stops (40, 42) can be rotated relative to the cylinder to thread the stops (40, 42) in or out, thereby changing the stroke of the steering cylinder. Once the stops (40, 42) are set to the desired location, they are held in place by a retainer (48, 50) that is bolted to the cylinder. The retainers (48, 50) can be selectively removed from the cylinder and then used as a wrench to rotate the stops (40, 42) to adjust the cylinder stroke. Adjustment is needed when different wheel and tire combinations are mounted on the tractor or when the tread width is changed. A travel limiter (60, 62) is mounted to the cylinder to prevent complete withdrawal of the stops (40, 42) and the resulting loss of hydraulic oil.

Description: STEERING CYLINDER AND TRACTOR WITH A STEERING CYLINDER The present invention relates to a hydraulic steering system including a cylinder with opposite ends, a piston rod extending through the cylinder and beyond both ends, a piston carried on the rod between the rod and the cylinder and end caps mounted in the cylinder at the ends thereof between the piston rod and the cylinder and having bores through which the rod extends. Further the invention relates to an agricultural tractor having such a steering hydraulic cylinders for turning the front tires- It is known to equip an agricultural tractor with a hydraulic front steering cylinder that is a double acting cylinder having a piston rod extending in both directions from the cylinder. The rod is coupled to left and right steering knuckles of the tractor by tie rods to turn the front wheels. The extent to which the front wheels can be ' turned is often controlled by steering stops formed on the steering knuckle and the axle housing. The steering stops may include a boss on the axle and a threaded fastener on the steering knuckle. The fastener head contacts the boss to limit rotation of the knuckle to prevent further turning. The threaded fastener can be turned in or out to adjust the extent of steering travel for different wheel and tire combinations. With the increasing popularity of front suspension axles for agricultural tractors, there is greater competition for space between the tractor chassis and the steering knuckles, making it more difficult to package steering stops at the steering knuckle. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide adjustable steering stops for a hydraulic steering cylinder that does not interfere with suspension components to thereby provide greater flexibility to the suspension designer for locating the suspension components. This object is achieved by the present invention according to one of the claims 1 or 10. Further advantageous arrangements and developments of the invention appear from the dependent claims. According to the present invention, the steering stops are provided internal to the steering cylinder and thus do not occupy additional packaging space beyond the cylinder itself. In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention the hydraulic steering cylinder has a piston rod extending through and beyond both ends of the cylinder. A piston carried by the rod between the rod and the cylinder transfers the hydraulic force into linear motion of the rod. The rod extends through end caps at each end of the cylinder. The end caps are each threadably mounted to the cylinder and serve as the steering stops. When the piston travels to the point where the piston contacts the stops, travel of the piston is stopped. The stops can be rotated relative to the cylinder to thread the stops in or out, thereby changing the stroke of the steering cylinder. Once the stops are set to the desired location, they are locked in place by a retainer that is bolted to the cylinder. The retainers can be selectively removed from the cylinder and then used as a wrench to rotate the stops to adjust the cylinder stroke. Adjustment is needed when different wheel and tire combinations are mounted on the tractor or when the tread width is changed. A travel limiter is mounted to the cylinder to prevent complete withdrawal of the stops and the resulting loss of hydraulic oil. The invention and further advantageous developments and arrangements of the invention will now be described and explained in more detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of an agricultural tractor having the steering cylinder of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the front wheel drive differential case and steering cylinder, Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the steering cylinder and differential case as seen from substantially the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the steering cylinder and front differential case as seen from substantially the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is an exploded enlarged perspective view of the steering stop and retainer. With reference to Fig. 1, a tractor 10 having the steering cylinder of the present invention is shown. The tractor 10 includes rear wheels 12 and front wheels 14. The front wheels 14 are steering wheels and rotate about an upright, though not necessarily vertical, axis to steer the vehicle. Rotation of the wheels 14 about the upright axis is provided through a rotating steering knuckle at each end of the front axle in a conventional manner for a vehicle. A steering cylinder 16 shown in Figs. 2 - 4 is connected to each steering knuckle through left and right tie rods, not shown, also in a known manner. The cylinder 16 includes a piston rod 18 extending through the cylinder and beyond the opposite ends of the cylinder. In the embodiment shown, the cylinder 16 is mounted to a front drive differential case 20 that also houses the front drive components for the mechanical front wheel drive. While shown in this context, the steering cylinder with adjustable stops according to the present invention can be incorporated into other steering cylinders that are not mounted to a front drive differential or are not used with a mechanical front wheel drive. The cylinder includes a cylinder cap 22 having a flange 23 bolted to the differential case 20 by a plurality of bolts 24. The cylinder cap 22 forms the left end of the cylinder while a cylinder cap 26 forms the right end of the cylinder. A sleeve 32 extends between the cylinder caps 22, 26. The cylinder caps 22, 26 and sleeve 32 form the cylinder 16. 0- rings 33 form seals between the cylinder caps 22, 26 and the sleeve 32 while 0-rings 35 form seals between the cylinder caps 22, 26 and the differential case 20. The piston rod 18 carries a piston 28 that extends radially from rod 18 to the inner surface 30 of the sleeve 32. Oil passage 34 through the cylinder cap 22 and oil passage 36 through the differential case 20 and cylinder cap 26 allow oil to enter and leave the cylinder on each side of the piston 28. The oil pressure moves the piston 28 to the left or to the right to turn the- front wheels 14. The tie rods (not shown) are connected to the piston rod 18 in the sockets 38 formed in the two ends of the rod 18. The right hand end of the piston rod 18 is shown with a boot 39 covering the socket 38. A similar boot is mounted to the left-hand end of the piston rod as well. Piston travel to the right and left is limited by end caps 40, 42 that form stops for the piston travel. The piston travel is stopped when the piston makes contact with either of the stops 40 or 42. The stop 40 is threadably mounted to the cylinder cap 22 while the stop 42 is threadably mounted to the cylinder cap 26. O-ring seals 44 and 46 are provided between the respective stops and cylinder caps. The threads enable the stops 40 and 42 to move in and out relative to the cylinder caps by rotation of the stops. Thus, the position of the stops can be changed to change the length of the stroke of the piston 28. Stops 40 and 42 are held in place by a retainers 48, 50 respectively. The retainer 48 is secured to the cylinder cap 22 by a bolt 52 while the retainer 50 is secured to the differential case 20 by a bolt 54. The retainers as shown in Fig. 2 are crescent shaped and extend around half of the stops 40, 42. As shown in Fig. 5 the retainers have an axially inwardly extending flange portion 56. The flange portions 56 are contoured with outwardly extending ridges 57 that seat into grooves 58 in the stops 40 and 42 to hold the stops against rotation. When it is necessary to rotate the stops 40, 42, the bolts 52, 54 are removed and the retainers 48, 50 are used as wrenches to rotate the stops 40, 42. Afterwhich, the bolts 52, 54 are again bolted to the cylinder to hold the stops 40, 42 in place as described above. To avoid inadvertent excessive withdrawal of the stops 40, 42, travel limiters 60, 62 are mounted to the cylinder cap 22 and the differential case 20 respectively. The travel limiters 60, 62 are washers and are secured by bolts 64. The travel limiters 60, 62 prevent inadvertent withdrawal of the stops 40, 42 and the subsequent loss of hydraulic fluid from the steering cylinder. The stops 40, 42 do not utilize any space outside of the physical volume of the steering cylinder, thus freeing space along the front axle for suspension and front drive components . In addition, the stops maintain the ability to adjust the steering cylinder stroke length. The invention should not be limited to the above- described embodiment, but should be limited solely by the claims .

Claims: Claims 1. Hydraulic steering system including a cylinder with opposite ends, a piston rod (18) extending through the cylinder and beyond both ends, a piston (28) carried on the rod (18) between the rod (18) and the cylinder and end caps (40, 42) mounted in the cylinder at the ends thereof between the piston rod (18) and the cylinder and having bores through which the rod (18) extends, characterized by end caps (40, 42) threadably mounted in the cylinder to enable the axial positions of the end caps (40, 42) in the cylinder to be adjusted by rotation of the end caps (40, 42) . 2. The steering system as defined by claim 1 wherein the end caps (40, 42) are accessible from the exterior of the cylinder to turn the end caps (40, 42) . 3. The steering system as defined by claim 1 or 2 wherein the end caps (40, 42) are sealed to the piston rod (18) and the cylinder by O-rings (44, 46) . 4. The steering system as defined by one of the claims 1 to 3 further comprising a retainer (48, 50) removably mounted at each end of the cylinder and engaging each end cap (40, 42) to fix the end cap (40, 42) from rotation to hold the end cap (40, 42) in place. 5. The steering system as defined by claim 4 wherein the retainers (48, 50) are bolted to the cylinder. 6. The steering system as defined by claim 4 or 5 wherein the retainers (48, 50), wherein removed from the cylinders, are used as wrenches to rotate the end caps (40, 42) . 7. The steering system as defined by one of the claims 1 to 6 further comprising travel limiters (60, 62) to prevent the end caps (40, 42) from being completely removed from the cylinder. 8. The steering system as defined by claim 7 wherein the end cab (40, 42) is selectively removable. 9. The steering system as defined by one of the claims 1 to 8 wherein the cylinder is integrated into a mechanical front wheel drive differential housing (20) . 10. Tractor having a hydraulic steering system which is defined by one or more of the preceding claims.

Inventors: BOWMAN DENNIS AARON, NIEBERGALL JAMES ALBERT, BOWMAN, DENNIS, AARON, NIEBERGALL, JAMES, ALBERT
Applicants: DEERE & CO, DEERE & COMPANY
Application year: 2001
Main classification: B62D5
IPC codes: B62D5, F15B15