Patent Application
20110000637
This invention relates to a heat exchanger assembly for a construction machine, which is useful, for example, in a hydraulic excavator, hydraulic crane, wheel loader or the like.
In general, a hydraulic excavator is provided with heat exchangers such as radiator for cooling engine coolant and an oil cooler for cooling hydraulic oil that operates various actuators. These heat exchangers are mounted such that they can be cooled by cooling air produced by rotation of a fan. Over a surface of each heat exchanger exposed to the cooling air, a dustproof net is arranged to avoid clogging of the heat exchanger itself. The dustproof net is attached to the heat exchanger by bolts.
To facilitate the attachment/detachment work of these dustproof nets, the above-mentioned conventional technology limits the bolted attachment to upper parts of the dustproof nets and designs lower parts of the dustproof nets in an insertable formation.
However, unscrewing of the bolts is needed to detach the dustproof nets from the heat exchangers. Whenever cleaning the dustproof nets, this irksome unscrewing of the bolts is required.
Although the lower parts of the dustproof nets are designed in the insertable formation, the dustproof nets flatter by the wind pressure of cooling air if the lower parts are of a construction that they are simply fitted in slots. It is, therefore, impossible to adopt a construction that omits the bolted fixing of the upper parts of the dustproof nets. Especially in a hydraulic excavator of the small swing radius type or a compact excavator having a construction that an operator's cab and heat exchangers are mounted with a small distance between them, noises produced by this flapping become harsh to the operator's ear.
An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger assembly for a construction machine, which can facilitate attachment/detachment work of a dustproof net and can attach the dustproof net with suppressed flapping.
To achieve the above-described object, the invention is characterized in that in a heat exchanger assembly for a construction machine, said assembly being provided with a frame, a drive source mounted on the frame, a heat exchanger mounted on the frame for cooling the drive source, a fan mounted on the frame for supplying cooling air to the heat exchanger, and a dustproof net arranged upstream of the heat exchanger in a flow of the cooling air produced by the fan, the dustproof net is provided with a frame section, a net section held taut within the frame section, and a clipping part attached to the frame section, the clipping part is arranged such that the clipping part can be releasably fastened to a clipped part formed on a side of the heat exchanger, at least one of the clipping part and dipped part is provided with an elastic member, and a projecting portion of the clipped part is set equal or greater in dimension to or than a recessed portion of the clipping part such that the clipping part and clipped part can be brought into fitting engagement with the elastic member being interposed therebetween.
By the invention constructed as described above, the attachment/detachment work of the dustproof net can be facilitated without needing the use of a tool, and the dustproof net can be attached with suppressed flapping.
The invention of the subject application is characterized in that in the invention, the frame is arranged swingably.
The invention of the subject application is characterized in that in the invention, the dustproof net is provided at an upper part of the frame section with a handle portion.
By the invention constructed as described above, a contribution can be made to an improvement in the readiness of pulling out the dustproof net.
The invention of the subject application is characterized in that in the invention, the handle portion is arranged integrally with the clipping part.
By the invention constructed as described above, it is possible to facilitate assembly work that attaches the handle portion and clipping part to the frame section.
The invention of the subject application is characterized in that in a heat exchanger assembly for a construction machine provided with a travel base having a pair of track frames and tracks wrapped around the respective track frames, a revolving upperstructure swingably mounted on the travel base, an operator's cab mounted on a front part of the revolving upperstructure, a counterweight mounted on a rear part of revolving upperstructure, an engine compartment cover extending over between the operator's cab and the counterweight on the revolving upperstructure, a fan mounted inside the engine compartment cover, heat exchangers arranged inside the engine compartment cover and mounted at locations where the heat exchangers are exposed to cooling air produced by rotation of the fan, and dustproof nets arranged on upstream sides of the respective heat exchangers, the dustproof nets are each provided with a frame section, a net section held taut within the frame section, a handle portion attached to an upper part of the frame section, a first clipping part arranged integrally with the handle portion, and a second clipping part attached to a lower part of the frame section, the first clipping part and second clipping part are arranged such that the first clipping part and second clipping part can be releasably fastened, respectively, to clipped parts formed on support frame members on which the heat exchangers are supported, and the first clipping part and second clipping part are provided at end portions thereof with bent portions, respectively, at least one of the bent portions and the clipped parts are provided with elastic members, respectively, and projecting portions of the clipped parts are set equal or greater in dimension to or than recessed portions defined at the bent portions such that the bent portions and clipped part can be brought into fitting engagement, respectively, with the elastic members being interposed therebetween.
According to the present invention, the attachment/detachment work of a dustproof net can be facilitated, and the dustproof net can be attached with suppressed flapping.
Based on an embodiment applied to a hydraulic excavator, the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
The revolving upperstructure 6 is constructed of a revolving frame 8 swingably mounted on the swing mechanism 5, a counterweight 9 mounted on a rear end of the revolving frame 8, a cab 10 mounted as an operator's cab on a front side of the revolving frame 8 and in a neighborhood of amounted basal end portion of the front working mechanism 7, and an engine compartment cover 11 extending over a space between the cab 10 and the counterweight 9.
The front working mechanism 7 is comprised of a boom 7a pivotally mounted at a basal end portion thereof on the revolving frame 8, an arm 7b pivotally arranged at a basal end portion thereof on a free end portion of the boom 7a, and a bucket 7c pivotally attached to a free end portion of the arm 7b.
Reference is next had to
As illustrated in
As depicted in
On upstream sides of the oil cooler 20 and radiator 21, the air cooler 22 is fixedly supported by the support frame members 27,27, and an upper part of the air cooler 22 is fixed by a beam member 28 arranged bridging the paired support frame members 27,27. The area of a heat dissipating part of the air cooler 22 is set substantially equal to the total of respective heat-dissipating parts of the oil cooler 20 and radiator 21.
On a lateral side of the paired support frame member 27,27 as viewed relative to a body, the condenser 24 for the air conditioner is mounted via a pair of brackets 29,29. This condenser 24 for the air conditioner is pivotally supported on one of the brackets 29, and is arranged detachably relative to the other bracket 29.
A description will hereinafter be made about details of the dustproof nets 25 as essential parts of the present invention.
As shown in
The clipping parts 33 include upper clipping parts 34 attached to the upper part of the frame section 30 and a lower clipping part 35 attached to a lower part of the frame section 30.
As illustrated in
The handle portion 32 is formed of a pair of rising portions 32a extending upwardly from the support plate member 32d and a grip portion 32c formed in conjunction with upper ends of the respective rising portions 32a via corresponding rounded bent portions 32b. The grip portion 32c is arranged substantially in parallel with the support plate member 32d. The elastic member 36, which has a turned U-shape in cross-section, fits on and covers the handle portion 32.
To the support plate member 32d, the upper part of the frame section 30 is secured by fixing means such as welds or bolts.
On the side of the heat exchangers to which the dustproof nets 5 are to be attached, on the other hand, an upper support member 27a is arranged on an outboard side of the body relative to the beam member 28 arranged bridging the paired support frame members 27,27 and in parallel with the beam member 28 as shown in
As depicted in
The clearance dimensions of each bent portion 34e and its corresponding upper clipped part 37a are set such that as illustrated in
Handling of this embodiment will hereinafter be described based on the attachment and detachment work of the dustproof nets 25.
When the hydraulic excavator 1 is operated for a predetermined time, foreign matter adheres to the net sections 31 of the dustproof nets 25 and surfaces of the radiator 21, oil cooler 20 and the like. To clean the dustproof nets 25 in particular, the dustproof nets 25 are upwardly pulled out to detach the same as illustrated in
In the above-described embodiment, the dustproof nets 25 are attached only by the mutual fitting engagement between the clipping parts 34,35 and the clipped parts 37a, 37b with the elastic members 38 being interposed therebetween. The dustproof nets 25 can, therefore, be pulled out or inserted without performing attachment/detachment work of fixing members such as bolts by using a tool. As a consequence, the attachment/detachment work of the dustproof nets 25 can be facilitated, thereby making it possible to shorten the time required for maintenance.
Owing to the arrangement of the dustproof nets such that the elastic members 38 fitted on the upper clipped parts 37a and the bent portions 34e are fitted together, the dustproof nets can be attached with suppressed flapping. As a consequence, it is possible to avoid noises, which are harsh to the operator's ear and would otherwise be produced by flapping.
The above embodiment was described based on the example as applied to the self-propelling hydraulic excavator 1. However, the present invention can also be applied to a hydraulic excavator of the type equipped with no travel base or the type having no swing function, and can also be applied to a crane or wheel loader.
The above description was made by taking, as an example, the dustproof nets in which the clipping parts 33 and handle portions 32 were integral with each other. However, the clipping parts 33 and handle portions 32 may be formed discretely from each other. When it is desired to reduce the weight of the dustproof nets 25 or when the vertical dimensions of the dustproof nets 25 are shortened to facilitate their pulling-out, for example, the dustproof nets 25 may be formed without absolutely needing the handle portions 32.
Although not shown in any one of the figures, the formation of the upper clipping parts and lower clipping parts in a common shape can contribute to a reduction in the number of parts and also to a reduction in cost when the clipping parts and the handle portions are formed discretely or when the dustproof nets are formed without the handle portions.
The above embodiment was described by taking, as an example, the radiator 21 and oil cooler 20 mounted side by side, so that the dustproof nets 25 were also arranged in a paired form. However, one of the dustproof nets 25 may obviously be omitted when the radiator 21 and oil cooler 20 are mounted in series.
The above embodiment was described by taking, as an example, the upper clipped parts 37a and lower clipped parts 37b with the elastic members fitted thereon. Similar advantageous effects can also be brought about when elastic members are fitted in the upper clipping parts 34 and lower clipping parts 35.
It is to be noted that the first clipping part and second clipping part recited in the claim correspond to the upper clipping part 34 and lower clipping part 35, respectively.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-056415 | Mar 2008 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2009/054074 | 3/4/2009 | WO | 00 | 9/1/2010 |
