Patent Grant
10472804
The present invention relates to a hydraulic control system of a construction machine.
A construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator is generally equipped with a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic actuator driven by a hydraulic fluid delivered from the hydraulic pump, and a flow control valve controlling the supply and discharge of the hydraulic fluid with respect to the hydraulic actuator. For example, in the case of a hydraulic excavator, the hydraulic actuators include a boom cylinder driving a boom of a front work device, an arm cylinder driving an arm, a bucket cylinder driving a bucket, a swing hydraulic motor for swinging a swing structure, a track hydraulic motor for traveling a track structure, etc., and a flow control valve is provided for each actuator. Further, each flow control valve has a meter-in restrictor and a meter-out restrictor. By the meter-in restrictor, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the hydraulic pump to the corresponding hydraulic actuator is controlled, and, by the meter-out restrictor, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic actuator to a tank is controlled.
In a construction machine equipped with such hydraulic actuators, when the weight of the object of support of a hydraulic actuator (e.g., an arm and a bucket (attachment) in the case of an arm cylinder) acts as a load in the same direction as the operating direction of the hydraulic actuator (hereinafter also referred to as a “negative load”), the operating speed of the hydraulic actuator increases, and, as a result, there is a shortage of the flow rate of the meter-in side hydraulic fluid, resulting, in some cases, in generation of a breathing phenomenon (cavitation). As a result, there is a fear of the operability of the construction machine deteriorating.
To cope with this problem, there exists a hydraulic circuit in which there is provided a pilot type variable opening valve in a meter-out line branching off from a rod side line connected to the rod side of a hydraulic cylinder and communicating with a tank and in which the opening area of the variable opening valve is controlled in accordance with the rod side pressure (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: JP-2006-177402-A
The requisite rod side pressure for supporting the above-mentioned negative load, that is, the meter-out pressure loss, is varied not only by the weight of the arm and attachment but also by the attitude of the arm. For example, when causing the arm to perform crowding operation in the air from an angle close to the horizontal direction to an angle close to the vertical direction with respect to the ground, directly after the starting of the expansion of the arm cylinder, that is, in a condition in which the angle of the arm is close to the horizontal direction, a high rod side pressure is required to support the negative load, whereas, in a condition in which the arm cylinder has expanded and in which the angle of the arm is close to the vertical direction, it is possible to support the negative load with a rod side pressure lower than that directly after the starting of the expansion.
In view of this, the present applicant and the present inventor have invented a hydraulic control system of the following construction, and filed a patent application thereon: A hydraulic control system includes: a control valve controlling the supply and discharge of a hydraulic fluid with respect to a hydraulic actuator; an operation lever operating the position of a spool of the control valve; a meter-out flow line through which the hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic actuator flows; a variable restrictor provided in the meter-out flow line; a pressure sensor detecting the magnitude of a negative load acting on the hydraulic actuator; and a pressure sensor for detecting an operation amount of the operation lever. The spool position of the control valve is moved in accordance with the magnitude of the negative load detected and the operation amount of the operation lever. The opening area of the variable restrictor is controlled. In this hydraulic control system, in the case, for example, where the magnitude of the negative load increases, control is performed so as to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor.
However, in the hydraulic control system of the above-described construction, if a failure or an abnormal condition is generated in the pressure sensor detecting the magnitude of the negative load acting on the hydraulic actuator, the magnitude of the negative load cannot be detected accurately, so that it is to be expected that it is impossible to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor to a magnitude small enough to support the negative load. As a result, a breathing phenomenon arises to deteriorate the operability, and, in the worst case, there is a fear of the hydraulic apparatus being damaged.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic control system of a construction machine capable of reducing the meter-out pressure loss in accordance with the variation of the negative load acting on the hydraulic actuator and capable of preventing deterioration in operability and damage of the hydraulic apparatus even when a failure or an abnormal condition arises in the pressure sensor detecting the magnitude of the negative load.
To achieve the above object, there are provided, according to a first aspect of the invention, a hydraulic actuator driven by a hydraulic fluid delivered from a hydraulic pump; one or a plurality of meter-out flow lines through which the hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic actuator flows; one variable restrictor provided in the one meter-out flow line, or a plurality of variable restrictors each provided in the plurality of meter-out flow lines; an operation device outputting an operation command signal for the hydraulic actuator in accordance with an operation amount; an operation amount sensor detecting an operation amount of the operation device; a load sensor detecting the magnitude of a negative load which is a load applied to the hydraulic actuator by an external force and which is a load in the same direction as the operating direction of the hydraulic actuator; a load abnormality sensor detecting a failure or an abnormal condition of the load sensor; and a control device which, when the load abnormality sensor does not detect a failure or an abnormal condition of the load sensor, reduces the opening area of the one variable restrictor provided in the one meter-out flow line or the sum total of the opening areas of the plurality of variable restrictors each provided in the plurality of meter-out flow lines in accordance with an increase in the magnitude of a negative load detected by the load sensor and the operation amount detected by the operation amount sensor and which, when the load abnormality sensor detects a failure or an abnormal condition of the load sensor, reduces the opening area of the one variable restrictor or the sum total of the opening areas of the plurality of variable restrictors to a predetermined value in accordance with the operation amount detected by the operation amount sensor.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hydraulic control system of a construction machine capable of preventing deterioration in operability and damage of the hydraulic apparatus even when a failure or an abnormal condition arises in a pressure sensor detecting the magnitude of a negative load.
In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a hydraulic excavator as an example of the construction machine.
In
Mounted on the track structure 303 are track hydraulic motors 318a and 318b driving the crawlers 302a and 302b. At the central portion of the swing structure 304, there is provided a swing hydraulic motor 319 swinging the swing structure 304. On the front left side of the swing structure 304, there is installed an operation room 305 accommodating an operation lever (operation device) 6 (See
The operation device 300 is equipped with a boom 310 vertically swingably mounted to a boom foot provided at the front central portion of the swing structure 304, an arm 312 mounted to the distal end of the boom 310 so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction, and a bucket 314 that is a work tool (attachment) mounted to the distal end of the arm 312 so as to be vertically rotatable.
Further, the operation device 300 has a boom cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 311 connected to the boom foot and the boom 310 and causing the boom 310 to swing in the vertical direction, an arm cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 4 connected to the boom 310 and the arm 312 and causing the arm 312 to swing in the vertical direction, and a bucket cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 315 connected to the arm 312 and the work tool 314 and causing the bucket 314 to rotate in the vertical direction. That is, the operation device 300 is driven by these hydraulic cylinders 311, 4, and 315.
The hydraulic pump 2 is of the variable displacement type, and has a displacement volume varying member, e.g., a swash plate 2a, and the swash plate 2a is controlled by a horsepower control actuator 2b so as to reduce the volume as the delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump 2 increases.
The control valve 31 is of the center bypass type, and a center bypass portion 21 is situated in a center bypass line 32. The upstream side of the center bypass line 32 is connected to the delivery line 3 of the hydraulic pump 2, and the downstream side thereof is connected to a tank 33. Further, the control valve 31 has a pump port 31a, a tank port 31b, and actuator ports 31c and 31d. The pump port 31a is connected to the center bypass line 32. The tank port 31b is connected to the tank 33, and the actuator ports 31c and 31d are connected to a bottom side hydraulic chamber and a rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 via actuator lines 35 and 34.
The pilot valve 6 has an operation lever 36 and a pilot pressure generating portion 37 containing a pair of pressure reducing valves (not shown), and the pilot pressure generating portion 37 is connected to pilot pressure receiving portions 31e and 31f of the control valve 31 via pilot lines 38 and 39. When the operation lever 36 is operated, the designated pilot pressure generating portion 37 operates on of the pair of pressure reducing valves in accordance with the operating direction thereof, outputting a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to one of the pilot lines 38 and 39.
The control valve 31 has a neutral position A and switching positions B and C, and when the pilot pressure is imparted to the pressure receiving portion 31e by the pilot line 38, switching is effected to the switching position B on the left-hand side as seen in the drawing. At this time, the actuator line 35 is on the meter-in side, and the actuator line 34 is on the meter-out side, and the hydraulic fluid is supplied to the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, expanding the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4.
On the other hand, when the pilot pressure is imparted to the pressure receiving portion 31f by the pilot line 39, switching is effected to the position C on the right-hand side as seen in the drawing. At this time, the actuator line 34 is on the meter-in side, and the actuator line 35 is on the meter-out side, and the hydraulic fluid is supplied to the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, contracting the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4. The expansion of the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4 corresponds to the arm drawing-in operation, that is, the crowding operation, and the contraction of the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4 corresponds to the arm pushing-out operation, that is, the damping operation.
Further, the control valve 31 has meter-in restrictors 22a and 22b and meter-out restrictors 23a and 23b. When the control valve 31 is at the switching position B, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid supplied to the arm cylinder 4 is controlled by the meter-in restrictor 22a, and the flow rate of the return hydraulic fluid from the arm cylinder 4 is controlled by the meter-out restrictor 23a. On the other hand, when the control valve 31 is at the switching position C, the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid supplied to the arm cylinder 4 is controlled by the meter-in restrictor 22b, and the flow rate of the return hydraulic fluid from the arm cylinder 4 is controlled by the meter-out restrictor 23b.
The hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a pressure sensor 41 detecting the pressure of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, a pressure sensor 42 detecting the pressure of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, a pressure sensor 43 detecting an arm crowding pilot pressure output by the pilot valve 6, a solenoid proportional valve 44 arranged in the pilot line 38, and a controller 45 inputting the detection signals of the pressure sensor 41, the pressure sensor 42, and the pressure sensor 43, performing predetermined computation processing, and outputting a command electric current to the solenoid proportional valve 44.
Next, the processing by the controller according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to
The controller 45 is equipped with an arm cylinder load computation section 45a, a first meter-out opening computation section 45b, a second meter-out opening computation section 45c, a cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d, an output selection section 45e, and a solenoid electric current computation section 45f.
The arm cylinder load computation section 45a inputs the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 41, and the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 42, and subtracts the product of the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 and the pressure receiving area of the rod side hydraulic chamber from the product of the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 and the pressure receiving area of the bottom side hydraulic chamber, thereby calculating the load of the arm cylinder 4.
More specifically, there are provided: a first multiplier A1 inputting the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 41 as a first input, inputting a signal corresponding to the pressure receiving area of the bottom side hydraulic chamber as a second input, and outputting the result of the multiplication of the first input and the second input; a second multiplier A2 inputting the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 42 as a first input, inputting a signal corresponding to the pressure receiving area of the rod side hydraulic chamber as a second input, and outputting the result of the multiplication of the first input and the second input; and a subtractor B inputting the output signal of the first multiplier A1 as a first input, inputting the output signal of the second multiplier A2 as a second input, and outputting the result of the subtraction of the second input from the first input. The calculated load signal of the arm cylinder 4 is output to the first meter-out opening computation section 45b.
The arm cylinder load computation section 45a operates such that, when, for example, a load in a direction opposite to the direction in which the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4 extends acts as in the case of excavating, the output of the first multiplier A1, which is the product of the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber and the pressure receiving area of the bottom side hydraulic chamber, is larger than the output of the second multiplier A2, which is the product of the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber and the pressure receiving area of the rod side hydraulic chamber, and the output of the subtractor B, which is the result of the subtraction, is positive, with a positive load being calculated as the load of the arm cylinder 4.
On the other hand, when a load in the same direction as the direction in which the piston rod of the arm cylinder 4 extends acts as in the case of the load due to the weight of the arm and attachment, the output of the first multiplier A1, which is the product of the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber and the pressure receiving area of the bottom side hydraulic chamber, is smaller than the output of the second multiplier A2, which is the product of the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber and the pressure receiving area of the rod side hydraulic chamber, and the output of the subtractor B, which is the result of the subtraction, is negative, with a negative load being calculated as the load of the arm cylinder 4.
The first meter-out opening computation section 45b inputs the arm crowding pilot pressure signal detected by the pressure sensor 43, and the load of the arm cylinder 4 calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a, and calculates the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a in accordance with the load of the arm cylinder 4 and the arm crowding pilot pressure by using the table shown in
In the table of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b, the characteristic A indicated by the solid line indicates the characteristic (maximum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure when the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a is positive. When the load signal is positive, this characteristic does not depend on the magnitude thereof. On the other hand, the characteristic B indicated by the dashed line indicates the characteristic (minimum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure when the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a is negative and the absolute value thereof is maximum. When the arm crowding pilot pressure is the same, the characteristic B corresponds to the case where the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 is negative and where the absolute value is maximum. As the absolute value is reduced, there exists a characteristic line indicating an increase in the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a in the direction of the characteristic A.
In other words, under a fixed arm crowding pilot pressure, when the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 is negative, and the absolute value is maximum, the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a is reduced to the minimum value. As the absolute value is reduced, the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a is increased in the direction of the characteristic A.
The second meter-out opening computation section 45c inputs the arm crowding pilot pressure signal detected by the pressure sensor 43, and calculates the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure by using the table shown in
The cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d inputs the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 41, and the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 42, and compares the values of these pressure signals with the maximum threshold value and the minimum threshold value. When a condition in which the threshold value is exceeded has continued a fixed period of time, it determines that the cylinder pressure sensor is in a failure/an abnormal condition. For example, when disconnection of the circuit or contact failure of the connection portion arises, the output voltage of the sensor is a minimum voltage, and when the circuit is short-circuited, it is to be expected that the output voltage of the sensor is a maximum voltage. Thus, when the threshold value is exceeded, and this condition continues for a fixed period of time, it is determined that the system is in a failure/an abnormal condition.
More specifically, there are provided a first comparator C1 which inputs as a first input the pressure signal of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 41 and which inputs the maximum threshold value as a second input, a second comparator C2 which is of the same first input as the first comparator C1 and which inputs the minimum threshold value as a second input, a third comparator C3 which inputs the pressure signal of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4 detected by the pressure sensor 42 as the first input and which inputs the maximum threshold value as the second input, a fourth comparator C4 which is of the same first input as the third comparator C3 and which inputs the minimum threshold value as the second input, a first time computing unit (timer) D1 which inputs the output signal of the first comparator A1, a second time computing unit (timer) D2 which inputs the output signal of the second comparator C2, a third time computing unit (timer) D3 which inputs the output signal of the third comparator C3, a fourth time computing unit (timer) D4 which inputs the output signal of the fourth comparator C4, and a logical sum computing unit E which inputs the output signals of the first through fourth time computing units D1 through D4.
Here, the first comparator C1 and the third comparator C3 output a digital output signal 1 when the first input exceeds the second input, which is the threshold value. The second comparator C2 and the fourth comparator C4 output the digital output signal 1 when the first input is less than the second input, which is the threshold value. The first through fourth time computing units D1 through D4 output the digital output signal 1 after the elapse of a predetermined time after the input of the input signal. The logical sum computing unit E outputs the digital output signal 1 when one of the four signals input is 1. The calculated digital output signal is output to the output selection section 45e.
The output selection section 45e inputs the output signal of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b as the first input, and inputs the output signal of the second meter-out opening computation section 45c as the second input, inputting the digital output signal from the logical sum computing unit C of the cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d as a switching signal. When the digital output signal, which is the switching signal, is 1, the output selection section 45e outputs the output signal of the second meter-out opening computation section 45c, which is the second input, as the output signal. When the digital output signal from the logical sum computing unit E of the switching signal input is 0, it outputs the output signal of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b, which is the first input. The output signal of the output selection section 45e is input to a solenoid electric current computation section 45f.
The solenoid electric current computation section 45f inputs from the output selection section 45e the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a calculated by the first meter-out opening computation section 45b or the second meter-out opening computation section 45c, and calculates a solenoid electric current value in accordance with the input value, outputting it to the solenoid proportional valve 44 as a control signal.
Next, the operation of the hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
In the following description, the state in which the pressure sensors 41 and 42 are in the normal condition and the state in which a failure or an abnormal condition has arisen in one or both of the pressure sensors 41 and 42 will be compared with each other.
First, the operation in the case where the pressure sensors 41 and 42 are in the normal condition will be described. The arm angle indicated by the horizontal axis of
In
In the case where the standard bucket is attached, in the state in which the arm angle is close to 0 degrees (horizontal), the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a is restricted, whereas, as the arm angle approaches vertical, it increases, and attains a maximum value. Here, this maximum value corresponds to the opening area characteristic of the characteristic A indicated by the solid line of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b of
In the case where an attachment heavier than the standard bucket is attached, in the state in which the arm angle is close to 0 degrees (horizontal), the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a is the minimum value, whereas, as the arm angle approaches vertical, it increases, and attains a maximum value. Here, this minimum value corresponds to the opening area characteristic of the characteristic B indicated by the dashed line of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b of
In this way, in the present embodiment, the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a is varied in accordance with the load of the arm cylinder 4, so that it is possible to reduce the meter-out pressure loss, and it is also possible to reduce the energy loss.
Here, to facilitate the understanding of the present embodiment, a case will be described where, in the controller 45 shown in
For example, in the case where the output of the pressure sensor 41 attains a maximum and fixed level independently of the actual detection pressure, the load signal of the arm cylinder calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a shown in
In this situation, when crowding is performed on the arm in the air from an angle close to horizontal with respect to the ground to vertical, a reduction is not effected to the requite opening area for the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a to support the negative load as shown in
A case will be described with reference to
For example, in the case where the output of the pressure sensor 41 has attained a maximum and fixed level independently of the actual detection pressure, the first input of the first comparator C1 of the cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d exceeds the second input, which is the maximum threshold value, so that the digital output signal 1 is output, and is input to the first time computing unit D1. The first time computing unit D1 outputs the digital output signal to the logical sum computing unit E after the elapse of a predetermined period of time since the input of the input signal. The digital output signal 1 is output to the output selection section 45e from the logical sum computing unit E.
Since the digital output signal 1, which is a switching signal, has been input, the output selection section 45e switches the output signal from the output signal of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b, which is the first input, to the output signal of the second meter-out opening computation section 45c, which is the second input. The output signal is then output to the solenoid electric current computation section 45f, and the solenoid electric current computation section 45f calculates a solenoid electric current value in accordance with the input value, and controls the solenoid proportional valve 44.
In the table of the second meter-out opening computation section 45c, there is set the characteristic (minimum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 23a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure that is the same as the characteristic B of the first meter-out opening computation section 45b, so that, even in the case of a condition in which the absolute value of the negative load acting on the arm cylinder 4 is maximum, for example, even when the arm to which a heavy attachment is attached assumes an attitude close to horizontal with respect to the ground, the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a is reduced to the requisite opening area for supporting the negative load, so that no breathing phenomenon arises.
In this way, when a failure or an abnormal condition has arisen in one or both of the pressure sensors 41 and 42, the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a is controlled based on the operation amount of the operation lever 36, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration in operability when a negative load acts on the arm cylinder 4.
In the hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, even when a failure or an abnormal condition arises in the pressure sensors 41 and 42 detecting the magnitude of a negative load, it is possible to provide a hydraulic control system of a construction machine capable of preventing deterioration in operability and damage of the hydraulic apparatus.
In the following, a hydraulic control system of a construction machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the system of the control/hydraulic circuit is roughly the same as that of the first embodiment, and it differs from the first embodiment in that the solenoid proportional valve 44 arranged in the pilot line 38 is omitted, that there is provided a meter-out branching-off line 51 branching off from the meter-out side actuator line 34 at the time of the arm crowding request and connected to the tank 33, that a meter-out control valve 52 is arranged in the meter-out branching-off line 51, and that there is provided a solenoid proportional valve 53 for effecting the switching of the spool position of the meter-out control valve 52.
The meter-out control valve 52 is a 2-port/2-position valve, and is equipped with a meter-out restrictor 52a and a pressure receiving portion 52b. The pressure receiving portion 52b is connected to an arm crowding command side pilot line 38 via a signal pressure line 54. A solenoid proportional valve 53 is arranged in the signal pressure line 54.
The solenoid proportional valve 53 reduces the arm crowding pilot pressure in accordance with a command electric current output from the controller 45, and outputs the signal pressure to the pressure receiving portion 52b.
In the first embodiment, a reduction in the meter-out pressure loss is effected by controlling the opening area of solely the meter-out restrictor 23a in the flow control valve 31 in accordance with the magnitude of the negative load, whereas the main feature of the present embodiment lies in the fact that the reduction in the meter-out pressure loss is effected by controlling the sum total of the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 23a in the control valve 31 and the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a in the meter-out control valve 52 in accordance with the magnitude of the negative load. In the present embodiment, the sum total of the opening areas of the two restrictors 23a and 52a is controlled by varying the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a in accordance with the magnitude of the negative load.
The hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention has, as the characteristic construction thereof, the pressure sensor 41 detecting the pressure of the bottom side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, the pressure sensor 42 detecting the pressure of the rod side hydraulic chamber of the arm cylinder 4, the pressure sensor 43 detecting the arm crowding pilot pressure output from the pilot valve 6, the meter-out control valve 52 arranged in the meter-out branching-off line 51, the solenoid proportional valve 53 effecting the switching of the spool position of the meter-out control valve 52, and the controller 45 inputting the detection signals of the pressure sensor 41, the pressure sensor 42, and the pressure sensor 43, performing predetermined computation processing, and outputting a command electric current to the solenoid proportional valve 53.
Next, the processing by the controller according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to
The controller 45 is equipped with an arm cylinder load computation section 45a, a third meter-out opening computation section 45g, a fourth meter-out opening computation section 45h, a cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d, an output selection section 45e, and a solenoid electric current computation section 45f. The arm cylinder load computation section 45a, the cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d, the output selection section 45e, and the solenoid electric current computation section 45f are the same as those of the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be left out. The third meter-out opening computation section 45g and the fourth meter-out opening computation section 45h differ from those of the first embodiment solely in the table setting thereof.
In the table of the third meter-out opening computation section 45g, there is set a characteristic increasing the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a as the arm crowding pilot pressure is increased, and the characteristic A indicated by the solid line indicates the characteristic (maximum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 52a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure when the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a is positive. When the load signal is positive, this characteristic does not depend on the magnitude thereof. On the other hand, the characteristic B indicated by the dashed line indicates the characteristic (minimum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 52a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure when the load signal of the arm cylinder 4 calculated by the arm cylinder load computation section 45a is negative and the absolute value thereof is maximum.
In the table of the fourth meter-out opening computation section 45h, there is set a characteristic increasing the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a as the arm crowding pilot pressure is increased, and the characteristic of this table is the same as the characteristic B of the third meter-out opening computation section 45g, and indicates the characteristic (minimum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 52a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure.
Next, the operation of the hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
First, the operation in the case where the pressure sensors 41 and 42 are in the normal condition will be described. When the pressure sensors 41 and 42 are in the normal condition, no switching signal is output to the output selection section 45e from the cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d, so that the target opening area calculated by the third meter-out opening computation section 45g is output from the output selection section 45e to the solenoid electric current computation section 45f, and the solenoid electric current computation section 45f calculates the solenoid electric current value in accordance with the input value to control the solenoid proportional valve 53.
In
In the case where the standard bucket is attached, in the state in which the arm angle is close to 0 degrees (horizontal), the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a is restricted, whereas, as the arm angle approaches vertical, it increases, and attains a maximum value. In the case where an attachment heavier than the standard bucket is attached, in the state in which the arm angle is close to 0 degrees (horizontal), the target opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a is minimum, whereas, as the arm angle approaches vertical, it increases, and attains a maximum value. Based on the above, the sum total of the opening areas of the meter-out restrictors 52a and 23a is varied within the range indicated by the dashed line B and the dotted line C in
In this way, in the present embodiment, the sum total of the opening areas of the meter-out restrictors 52a and 23a is varied in accordance with the load of the arm cylinder 4, so that, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the meter-out pressure loss, and also to reduce the energy loss.
Next, the case where a failure or an abnormal condition has arisen in one or both of the pressure sensors 41 and 42 will be described.
When the pressure sensor 41 or 42 or both of them are out of order of in an abnormal condition, a switching signal is output to the output selection section 45e from the cylinder pressure sensor failure detection section 45d, and the target opening area calculated by the fourth meter-out opening computation section 45h is output from the output selection section 45e to the solenoid electric current computation section 45f, with the solenoid electric current computation section 45f calculating a solenoid electric current value in accordance with the input value to control the solenoid proportional valve 53.
In the table of the fourth meter-out opening computation section 45h, there is set the characteristic (minimum value) of the target opening area signal of the meter-out restrictor 52a in accordance with the arm crowding pilot pressure which is the same as the characteristic B of the third meter-out opening computation section 45g, so that even under a condition in which the absolute value of the negative load acting on the arm cylinder 4 is maximum, for example, even when the arm to which a heavy attachment is attached assumes an attitude close to horizontal with respect to the ground, the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a is reduced to the requisite opening area for supporting a negative load, so that no breathing phenomenon arises.
In this way, when a failure or an abnormal condition arises in one or both of the pressure sensors 41 and 42, the opening area of the meter-out restrictor 52a is controlled based on the operation amount of the operation lever 36, so that it is possible to prevent deterioration in operability when a negative load acts on the arm cylinder 4.
In the hydraulic control system of the construction machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to attain the same effect as that of the first embodiment described above.
While in the above-described embodiments the present invention is applied to the valve device of the arm cylinder 4 of a hydraulic excavator, this should not be construed restrictively. For example, the same problem is involved in the bucket crowding operation of a hydraulic excavator, and the present invention may be applied to the valve device of the bucket cylinder. In this case, for example, in the hydraulic circuit shown in
Further, so long as various negative loads, large and small, act on the hydraulic actuator, the present invention is also applicable to the valve device of a hydraulic actuator other than the arm cylinder or the bucket cylinder of a hydraulic excavator, or to the valve device of a hydraulic actuator of a construction machine other than the hydraulic excavator (e.g., a wheel loader or a crane).
Further, the present invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiments but includes various modifications without departing from the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, the present invention is not restricted to a system equipped with all the components described in connection with the above embodiments but includes a system in which part of the components are omitted. Further, part of the components related to a certain embodiment may be added to or replace the components related to another embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-111733 | Jun 2015 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/065643 | 5/26/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016/194783 | 12/8/2016 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110083750 | Gehlhoff et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
| 20120232756 | Yuan | Sep 2012 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 11-95855 | Apr 1999 | JP |
| 2004-76904 | Mar 2004 | JP |
| 2004076904 | Mar 2004 | JP |
| 2006-177402 | Jul 2006 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability (PCT/IB/338 & PCT/IB/373) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/JP2016/065643 dated Dec. 14, 2017, including English translation of document C2 (Japanese-language Written Opinion (PCT/ISA/237)) previously filed on Aug. 30, 2017 (seven (7) pages). |
| International Search Report (PCT/ISA/210) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/JP2016/065643 dated Aug. 16, 2016 with English translation (3 pages). |
| Japanese-language Written Opinion (PCT/ISA/237) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/JP2016/065643 dated Aug. 16, 2016 (4 pages). |
| Extended European Search Report issued in counterpart European Application No. 16803218.3 dated Feb. 18, 2019 (eight (8) pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180051444 A1 | Feb 2018 | US |
