The present invention relates to a fluid pressure pump unit.
Patent document 1 (JP10-68142A) discloses this type of technology in its paragraph 0002. Specifically, the paragraph describes, as a known-art, that engines and radiators in general are cooled by driving an engine and a fan directly connected to the engine so as to generate a flow of cooling air for cooling the engine and the radiator.
Fluid pressure equipment in general has a radiator for cooling hydraulic fluid, the radiator being disposed in a position apart from a fluid pressure pump. A cooling fan for cooling the radiator is additionally installed. Today, downsizing of the fluid pressure equipment is required for the purpose of improving the maintenance characteristic of the fluid pressure equipment itself or peripherals thereof.
The present invention is made in view of the problems, and is mainly intended to provide a technology for downsizing fluid pressure equipment including a fluid pressure pump and a radiator.
The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above, and means to solve the problem and its effect is described hereinbelow.
The first aspect of the present invention provides a fluid pressure pump unit structured as follows. Namely, the fluid pressure pump unit includes: a fluid pressure pump which pressurizes a hydraulic fluid; a motor which has an output shaft and drives the fluid pressure pump; a cooling fan which is connected to the output shaft of the motor and generates a flow of cooling air to cool the motor; and a radiator which receives heat from the hydraulic fluid. The motor and the radiator are overlapped at least partially with the cooling fan, when viewed from an axial direction of the output shaft of the motor. In this structure, the flow of cooling air is utilized not only for cooling the motor but also for cooling the radiator, thereby contributing to downsizing of the fluid pressure equipment.
Note that “radiator” in Patent document 1 is a member for cooling an engine. On the other hand, the “radiator” in the present invention is a member for cooling the hydraulic fluid, rather than a member for cooling the motor (corresponding to the engine). That is, the technical significance of “radiator” which is an essential element of the present invention is very different.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, the radiator is disposed between the cooling fan and the motor. This structure, which gives more priority to cooling of the radiator over cooling of the motor, excels in cooling the hydraulic fluid.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, the fluid pressure pump is disposed at the opposite side of the radiator across the motor. A passage in the fluid pressure pump and a passage in the radiator are in communication with each other through a communication passage formed in the motor. In the above structure, a special plumbing communicating the passage in the fluid pressure pump with the passage in the radiator is formed in the motor. This structure contributes to weight reduction and improvement of maintenance characteristic, compared to a case of providing the plumbing outside the motor.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, the communication passage is formed in a housing of the motor. Although the communication passage is formed inside the motor, the basic operation of the motor is not affected. Further with the structure, heat is transferred from the hydraulic fluid flowing in the communication passage to the housing of the motor, thereby contributing to cooling of the hydraulic fluid.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, the housing of the motor includes a first housing and a second housing fitted at the outside of the first housing. At least a part of the communication passage includes a groove as its constituting element, the groove being formed on one of an outer circumferential surface of the first housing and an inner circumferential surface of the second housing. This structure allows easier formation of the communication passage.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, the communication passage is formed so as to make a detour inside the housing of the motor. This structure ensures a large contact area between the hydraulic fluid flowing in the communication passage and the housing of the motor, thereby enhancing heat transfer from the hydraulic fluid to the housing.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, a first radiation fin extending in the axial direction of the output shaft is formed on the outer circumference of the motor. A second radiation fin extending in the axial direction of the output shaft is formed on the outer circumference of the radiator. The first and second radiation fins are aligned along the flow of cooling air. This structure restrains the resistance against the flow of cooling air at the boundary between the first and second radiation fins. Therefore, the flow of cooling air easily reaches the both first and second radiation fins, even if the flow of cooling air is used for cooling both the motor and the radiator.
Further, the fluid pressure pump unit is structured as follows. Namely, a unit cover covering the periphery of the first and second radiation fins is provided. With the structure, the first and second radiation fins and the unit cover form a passage for the flow of cooling air, thereby preventing dispersion of the flow of cooling air. Therefore, the flow of cooling air more easily reaches the both first and second radiation fins, even if the flow of cooling air is used for cooling both the motor and the radiator.
The second aspect of the present invention provides a fluid pressure pump unit structured as follows. Namely, the fluid pressure pump unit includes: a fluid pressure pump which pressurizes a hydraulic fluid; a motor which has an output shaft and drives the fluid pressure pump; and a cooling fan which is connected to the output shaft of the motor and generates a flow of cooling air to cool the motor. A passage for a flow of the hydraulic fluid is formed in a housing of the motor. This structure allows heat transfer from the hydraulic fluid to the housing of the motor, thus contributing to cooling of the hydraulic fluid.
The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to attached drawings.
First described with reference to
As illustrated in this figure, the hydraulic equipment 1 of the present embodiment includes: a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 2 serving as a hydraulic actuator; and a hydraulic pump unit 3 for supplying pressure oil to the hydraulic cylinder 2.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 essentially has: a hydraulic pump 4 (fluid pressure pump) which pressurizes a hydraulic oil (hydraulic fluid); a motor 5 which has an output shaft 5a and drives the hydraulic pump 4; a cooling fan 7 which is connected to the output shaft 5a of the motor 5 and generates a flow of cooling air 6 schematically illustrated by an alternate long and short dash line to cool the motor 5; and a radiator 8 for receiving heat from the hydraulic oil (hydraulic fluid). Indicated by reference numbers 10 and 11 are respectively a pump check valve and a three-position four-port directional valve. These pump check valve 10 and three-position four-port directional valve 11 are for controlling the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 2.
Next, the structure of the hydraulic pump unit 3 is further detailed with reference to
See
The cooling fan 7, the radiator 8, motor 5, and hydraulic pump 4 are sequentially aligned in this order in the axial direction of the output shaft 5a of the motor 5. That is, the radiator 8 is disposed between the cooling fan 7 and the motor 5, and the hydraulic pump 4 is disposed at the opposite side of the radiator 8 across the motor 5.
The hydraulic pump 4 and the radiator 8 are coaxially fixed by means of not-illustrated screw to the motor 5 so as to interpose therebetween the motor 5. The output shaft 5a of the motor 5 is supported by a bearing 16 provided to a flange 12a of the inside housing 12 and a bearing 17 provided to the radiator 8. On the outer circumference of the output shaft 5a is attached a schematically depicted permanent magnet 18, and this permanent magnet 18 and the output shaft 5a form a rotor 19 of the motor 5.
Where an end of the output shaft 5a to which the cooling fan 7 is provided is a leading end 20, a base end 21 of the output shaft 5a is connected to a driving unit inside the hydraulic pump 4.
In this structure, rotation of the rotor 19 of the motor 5 causes ejection of pressure oil from the hydraulic pump 4 to the directional valve 11 of
See
The hydraulic pump unit 3 further has a unit cover 24 which covers the periphery of the first and second radiation fins 22 and 23. This unit cover 24 has a cylindrical part 25 which covers the periphery of the first and second radiation fins 22 and 23 in such a manner that the cylindrical part 25 abuts the outer edges 22a of the first radiation fins 22 and the outer edges 23a of the second radiation fins 23; and a protection cover 26 provided mainly for the safety purpose. On the protection cover 26 are formed a number of slits as illustrated. In this structure, a quadrangular prism-shaped passage 44 for the flow of cooling air 6 generated by the rotation of the cooling fan 7 is formed by: two first radiation fins 22 circumferentially adjacent to each other; two second radiation fins 23 circumferentially adjacent to each other; the outer circumferential surface 13a of the outside housing 13; the outer circumferential surface 8a of the radiator 8; and the cylindrical part 25.
Further, as illustrated in
Next, the following details the passage of the hydraulic oil inside the hydraulic pump unit 3.
See
As described, the passages 27 and 31 in the hydraulic pump 4 and the cooling passage 29 in the radiator 8 are in communication with one another through the communication passages 28 and 30 formed in the motor 5. These communication passages 28 and 30 are formed inside the housing 32 of the motor 5. Specifically, the housing 32 of the motor 5 has the inside housing 12 and the outside housing 13 as is mentioned hereinabove, and the communication passage 28 includes a first passage 33, a second passage 37, and a third passage 38. The first passage 33 is formed in the outside housing 13 by boring, and communicates with the passage 27 in the hydraulic pump 4. The second passage 37 is formed by a groove 35 carved on the outer circumferential surface 34 of the inside housing 12 and the inner circumferential surface 36 of the outside housing 13, and communicates with the first passage 33. The third passage 38 is formed in the outside housing 13 by boring, and connects the second passage 37 with the cooling passage 29 in the radiator 8. The communication passage 30 is structured in substantially the same manner as the communication passage 28.
Next, the following details with reference to
As illustrated in the figure, the groove 35 includes a circumferential groove 40, a circumferential groove 42, and a plurality of communication grooves 43. The circumferential groove 40 extends in the circumferential direction from a junction 39 at which the groove 35 and the first passage 33 are connected to one other. The circumferential groove 42 extends in the circumferential direction from a junction 41 at which the groove 35 and the third passage 38 are connected to one other. The communication grooves 43 extend in the axial direction of the output shaft of the motor, and connect the circumferential grooves 40 and 42 extending parallel to each other at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, thus discretely. In other words, the groove 35 is formed in substantially a ladder-like shape. Further, considering that the groove 35 does not straightly communicate the junctions 39 and 41, it is possible to express that the communication passage 28 shown in
Next, the following describes the operation of the present embodiment. The flow of the hydraulic oil has been already described herein above. The following therefore mainly describes heat transfer.
See
As hereinabove mentioned, the hydraulic pump unit 3 (fluid pressure pump unit) of the above embodiment is structured as follows. Namely, the hydraulic pump unit 3 includes: the hydraulic pump 4 (fluid pressure pump) which pressurizes the hydraulic oil(hydraulic fluid); the motor 5 (motor) which has the output shaft 5a and drives the hydraulic pump 4; the cooling fan 7 which is connected to the output shaft 5a of the motor 5 and generates the flow of cooling air 6 to cool the motor 5; and the radiator 8 which receives heat from the hydraulic oil. The motor 5 and the radiator 8 are overlapped with the cooling fan 7, when viewed from the axial direction of the output shaft 5a of the motor 5. In this structure, the flow of cooling air 6 is utilized not only for cooling the motor 5 but also for cooling the radiator 8, thereby contributing to downsizing of the hydraulic equipment 1. If sufficient cooling effect is achievable with the above structure, there will be no need of providing another cooling device (out-mountable radiator or the like) separately from the hydraulic pump unit 3. This contributes to weight reduction of the hydraulic equipment 1 and simplifies pipe laying in the equipment, thus improving the maintenance characteristics.
Note that the above embodiment deals with hydraulic equipment as an example of a fluid pressure equipment, and uses the expression such as “hydraulic pump unit” and “hydraulic oil” frequently in the explanation in concert with the example; however, the application of the present invention is not limited to hydraulic equipment. Further, in the above embodiment, a motor using an electromagnetic force is mentioned as an example of the motor. The motor however may be an engine utilizing expansional action of combustion. Further, in the above embodiment, the cooling fan 7, radiator 8, and motor 5 are straightly aligned as shown in
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the radiator 8 is disposed between the cooling fan 7 and the motor 5. This structure, which gives more priority to cooling of the radiator 8 over cooling of the motor 5, excels in cooling the hydraulic oil. Because, when giving eye to the flow of cooling air 6 generated by the cooling fan 7, the radiator 8 is located the windward of the motor 5.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the hydraulic pump 4 is disposed at the opposite side of the radiator 8 across the motor 5. The passages 27 and 31 in the hydraulic pump 4 and the cooling passage 29 (passage) in the radiator 8 are in communication with one another through the communication passages 28 and 30 formed in the motor 5. In the above structure, a special plumbing communicating the passages 27 and 31 in the hydraulic pump 4 with the cooling passage 29 in the radiator 8 is formed in the motor 5. This structure contributes to weight reduction and improvement of maintenance characteristic, compared to a case of providing the plumbing outside the motor 5.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the communication passages 28 and 30 are formed in the housing 32 of the motor 5. Although the communication passages 28 and 30 are formed inside the motor 5, the basic operation of the motor 5 is not affected. Further with the structure, heat is transferred from the hydraulic oil flowing in the communication passages 28 and 30 to the housing 32 of the motor 5, thereby contributing to cooling of the hydraulic oil.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the housing 32 of the motor 5 includes the inside housing 12 (first housing) and the outside housing 13 (second housing) fitted at the outside of the inside housing 12. The second passage 37 which is a part of the communication passage 28 (or communication passage 30) includes the groove 35 as its constituting element, the groove 35 being formed on the outer circumferential surface 34 of the inside housing 12. This structure allows easier formation of the communication passage 28 (communication passage 30).
Instead of the above structure, the second passage 37 which is a part of the communication passage 28 may include a groove carved on the inner circumferential surface 36 of the outside housing 13, or include both this groove and the above mentioned groove 35. In the former case, that is, a case of including the groove formed on the inner circumferential surface 36, the second passage 37 is formed, for example, by that groove and the outer circumferential surface 34 of the inside housing 12. In the latter case, the second passage 37 may be structured by a combination of that groove and the above mentioned groove 35 which face with each other.
Further, in the embodiment, only the second passage 37 which is a part of the communication passage 28 has the groove 35 as its constituting element, and the other parts, namely the first and third passages 33 and 38, do not have such a groove as their constituting element. However, it is possible that the entire communication passage 28 has, as its constituting element, a groove carved on at least one of the outer circumferential surface 34 of the inside housing 12 and the inner circumferential surface 36 of the outside housing 13.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the communication passages 28 and 30 are formed so as to make a detour inside the housing 32 of the motor 5. The structure ensures a large contact area between the hydraulic oil flowing in the communication passages 28 and 30 and the housing 32 of the motor 5, thereby enhancing heat transfer from the hydraulic oil to the housing 32.
Note that, in the above embodiment, the communication passage 28 shown in
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the first radiation fin 22 extending in the axial direction of the output shaft 5a is formed on the outer circumference of the motor 5. The second radiation fin 23 extending in the axial direction of the output shaft 5a is formed on the outer circumference of the radiator 8. The first and second radiation fins 22 and 23 are aligned along the flow of cooling air 6. This structure restrains the resistance against the flow of cooling air 6 at the boundary between the first and second radiation fins 22 and 23. Therefore, the flow of cooling air 6 easily reaches the both first and second radiation fins 22 and 23, even if the flow of cooling air 6 is used for cooling both the motor 5 and the radiator 8.
The hydraulic pump unit 3 is further structured as follows. Namely, the unit cover 24 covering the periphery of the first and second radiation fins 22 and 23 is provided. With the structure, the first and second radiation fins 22 and 23 and the unit cover 24 form the passage 44 for the flow of cooling air 6, thereby preventing dispersion of the flow of cooling air 6. Therefore, the flow of cooling air 6 more easily reaches the both first and second radiation fins 22 and 23, even if the flow of cooling air 6 is used for cooling both the motor 5 and the radiator 8.
Further, as illustrated in
Thus described suitable embodiment of the present invention may be changed as follows.
Namely, for example, the hydraulic equipment 1 of the above embodiment includes a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 2. However, the hydraulic equipment 1 may adopt a single-acting hydraulic cylinder in place of the double-acting hydraulic cylinder 2.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-080027 | Mar 2008 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090246044 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |