Patent Grant
9890518
The present invention relates to a hydraulic drive system provided for a construction machine such as an excavator or the like, and in particular to a hydraulic drive system for a construction machine that recovers positional energy of a front work implement when the front work implement is lowered.
Patent Document 1 describes a hydraulic drive system as below. A first holding valve is provided in an actuator line between the bottom-side chamber of a boom cylinder and a directional control valve (a changeover valve). A recovery pump motor is disposed via a second holding valve in a line branching from the actuator line. The recovery pump motor is connected on the discharge side thereof to a tank via a proportional restrictor. This hydraulic drive system is such that during the boom-lowering operation in midair in which the boom cylinder can be contracted under the self-weight of a front work implement, the recovery pump motor is rotated by opening the second holding valve to discharge the hydraulic fluid from the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder. The rotation of the recovery pump rotates a generator to recover the positional energy of the front work implement. If the front work implement is brought into contact with the ground for excavating, a directional control valve is switched so as to supply hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder. In addition, the first and second holding valves are opened to discharge the hydraulic fluid in the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder for ensuring a necessary excavating force.
Patent Document 2 describes a hydraulic drive system that includes a jack-up changeover valve and a flow control valve. The jack-up changeover valve is switched when the pressure in the bottom-side chamber of a boom cylinder becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. With the switching operation of this changeover valve the flow control valve opens or closes a line adapted to supply hydraulic fluid from a main pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder. The hydraulic drive system is such that during the boom-lowering operation in midair in which the boom cylinder can be contracted under the self-weight of a front work implement, the jack-up changeover valve is switched to close the flow control valve. The supply of the hydraulic fluid from the main pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder is blocked. In addition, the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder is supplied to the rod-side chamber for recovery. Thus, pump-consumption horsepower is controlled during the boom-midair lowering operation. During the jack-up in which the boom cannot be lowered under self-weight, the jack-up changeover valve is not switched because of the low pressure in the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder. The flow control valve is held at an open position and hydraulic fluid is supplied from the main pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder. Thus, the jack-up operation is enabled.
Patent Document 1: JP-2009-299719-A
Patent Document 2: WO2004-070211
The hydraulic drive system described in Patent Document 1 is such that during the boom-midair lowering operation in which the boom cylinder is contracted under the self-weight of the front work implement, the positional energy of the front work implement is recovered as electric energy for improving energy efficiency. It is conceivable that the jack-up operation can also be performed, similarly to the case of performing the excavating, by switching the directional control valve to supply hydraulic fluid from the main pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder and by opening the first and second holding valves to discharge the hydraulic fluid in the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder. To that end, however, it is necessary to install the first and second holding valves and to control the opening and closing thereof. The circuit configuration of the hydraulic drive system becomes complicated. As a result, difficulties may probably occur in terms of installation space and costs. During the jack-up operation, it is necessary to supply hydraulic fluid from the main pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder; therefore, there is room for improvement in view of energy efficiency.
The hydraulic drive system described in Patent Document 2 is such that during the boom-midair lowering operation in which the boom cylinder is contracted under the self-weight of the front work implement, the recovery of the hydraulic fluid is achieved by supplying the hydraulic fluid in the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder to the rod-side chamber. However, the positional energy of the front work implement cannot be recovered as electric energy. The jack-up operation can be performed by using the pressure in the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder to switch the jack-up changeover valve and the flow control valve and supplying the hydraulic fluid from the main pump to the bottom-side chamber of the boom cylinder. It is necessary, however, to install the jack-up changeover valve and the flow control valve in order to allow for both the boom-midair lowering operation and the jack-up operation. The circuit configuration of the hydraulic drive system becomes complicated. Thus, difficulties probably occurs in terms of installation space and costs. Also in this conventional technology, the jack-up operation needs to supply the hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic pump to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder. Thus, there is room for improvement in view of energy efficiency.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic drive system for a construction machine that can allow for both boom-midair lowering operation and jack-up operation and that can improve energy efficiency more than ever.
To achieve the above object, a first invention is a hydraulic drive system for driving a working element in a construction machine, including: a main pump; a double-acting hydraulic cylinder driven by hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump for driving the working element, the hydraulic cylinder having a rod-side chamber and a bottom-side chamber, the working element having a self-weight acting in a direction in which the hydraulic cylinder contracts; an operating device; a directional control valve adapted, when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in a rising direction, to supply hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump to the bottom-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder and to return the hydraulic fluid discharged from the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder to a tank; a discharge line connecting the bottom-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder to the tank; a hydraulic pump/motor disposed in the discharge line; a first variable restrictor disposed in a portion of the discharge line between the hydraulic pump/motor and the tank; a recovery circuit for connecting a portion of the discharge line between the hydraulic pump/motor and the variable restrictor to the rod-side chamber of the boom cylinder; a generator/electric motor connected to the hydraulic pump/motor for integral rotation therewith; and a control unit configured to control the generator/electric motor as a generator and to control an opening area of the first variable restrictor such that a certain recovery flow rate is supplied from the recovery circuit to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the descending direction and the hydraulic cylinder is descendable under the self-weight of the working element, the control unit further configured to control the generator/electric motor as an electric motor and to control the opening area of the first variable restrictor such that the certain recovery flow rate is supplied from the recovery circuit to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the descending direction and the hydraulic cylinder is not descendable under the self-weight of the working element.
With this characteristic, if the operating device is operated for the working element to work in a descending direction and the working element can be turned under the self-weight thereof, the generator/electric motor is operated as a generator to recover the positional energy. The hydraulic fluid after the recovery is partially supplied to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder via the recovery circuit. Thus, energy efficiency can be improved without supplying the hydraulic fluid to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder from the main pump. If the working element cannot be turned under the self-weigh thereof, the generator/electric motor is operated as an electric motor to operate the hydraulic pump/motor as a pump. The hydraulic fluid is supplied from the bottom-side chamber to rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder. Therefore, the jack-up is enabled without supplying the hydraulic fluid to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder from the main pump. Thus, the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine has a simplified circuit configuration, probably causes no difficulty in terms of installation space and costs, has no need to supply the hydraulic fluid from the main pump during the jack-up operation, and achieves an improvement in energy efficiency.
In the first invention, a second invention further includes a pressure detecting device for detecting pressure in the bottom-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder. When the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the descending direction, with the pressure detected by the pressure detecting device being equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, the control unit determines that the hydraulic cylinder is descendable under the self-weight of the working element, whereas if not, the control unit determines that the hydraulic cylinder is not descendable under the self-weight of the working element.
This can achieve, with the simple configuration, a determination as to whether or not the working element can be turned under the self-weight thereof.
In the first invention, a third invention further includes: a first line for connecting the directional control valve to the bottom-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder; a second line for connecting the directional control valve to the rod-side chamber of the hydraulic cylinder; and a second variable restrictor disposed in the first line. The directional control valve is configured such that, when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the rising direction, the main pump becomes connected to the first line and the second line becomes connected to the tank, and when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the descending direction, the first line becomes connected to the tank and the second line becomes blocked. The control unit controls the second variable restrictor such that, when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the rising direction, the second variable restrictor becomes an open state, and when the operating device is operated for the working element to work in the descending direction, the second variable restrictor switches into a closed state, the switching speed into a closed state decreasing as the operation speed of the operation device increases.
This can increase the response speed of the hydraulic cylinder in response to the operation of the operation device encountered when the hydraulic cylinder is operated, particularly, when operated in the lowering direction. Thus, an improvement in operability can be achieved.
In the first invention, a fourth invention is such that when the operating device is operated in the direction in which the working element lowers, with the hydraulic cylinder not being descendable under the self-weight of the working element, the control unit controls the rotation speed of the generator/electric motor for controlling a delivery rate of the hydraulic pump/motor.
This can achieve the lowering-directional operation speed of the working element in accordance with the operation amount and operation speed of the operation device with the configuration to recover the positional energy of the working element.
In the first invention, a fifth invention is such that when the operating device is operated in the direction in which the working element lowers, with the hydraulic cylinder not being descendable under the self-weight of the working element, the control unit controls the capacity of the hydraulic pump/motor for controlling the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump/motor.
This can achieve the lowering-directional operation speed of the working element in accordance with the operation amount and operation speed of the operation device with a simple configuration.
The present invention can, with a simple configuration, perform both the boom-midair lowering operation and the jack-up operation and improve energy efficiency more than ever.
Embodiments of a hydraulic drive system for a construction machine of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.
<Construction Machine>
A construction machine provided with a hydraulic drive system according to the present invention will first be described with reference to
Referring to
The track structure 110 is composed of a pair of crawlers 111a, 111b (only one side is shown in
The front work implement 130 includes a boom 131 supported for turning on the swing structure 120, a boom cylinder 5 for driving the boom 131, an arm 133 supported for turning in the vicinity of a leading end portion of the boom 131, an arm cylinder 134 for driving the arm 133, a bucket 135 supported for turning at an end of the arm 133, and a bucket cylinder 136 for driving the bucket 135.
A first embodiment of a hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the present invention is described with reference to
Referring to
The boom cylinder 5 is a double acting type single rod cylinder. The boom cylinder 5 has a rod-side chamber 5a and a bottom-side chamber 5b. The boom cylinder 5 is mounted to the boom 131 so that the boom 131 may be turned in a rising direction when the boom cylinder 5 is extended and the boom 131 may be turned in a lowering direction when the boom cylinder 5 is contracted. The self-weight of the boom 131 of the front work implement 130 acts in the contracting direction of the boom cylinder 5.
The hydraulic drive system includes a directional control valve 4, a first line 20, a second line 21 and a discharge line 22. The directional control valve 4 controls the flow (a direction and a flow rate) of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the main pump 2 to the boom cylinder 5. The first line 20 connects the directional control valve 4 to the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5. The second line 21 connects the directional control valve 4 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. The discharge line 22 connects the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 to a tank T.
When assuming a neutral position, the directional control valve 4 blocks the first line and the second line to return the hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump 2 to the tank T. When a control lever device 6 is operated to move the boom 131 in the rising direction, the main pump 2 is connected to the first line 20 to supply the hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump 2 to the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5. In addition, the second line 21 is connected to the tank T to return the hydraulic fluid discharged from the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 to the tank T. When the control lever device 6 is operated in the lowering direction of the boom cylinder 5, the directional control valve 4 returns the hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump 2 to the tank T directly. In addition, the directional control valve 4 connects the first hydraulic line 20 to the tank T and blocks the second line 21.
A variable restrictor 12, the degree of restriction (the opening area) of which is variable, is located in the first line 20. The opening area of the variable restrictor 12 is controlled by an electromagnetic valve 13. The electromagnetic valve 13 is controlled in the opening area thereof in response to a control signal (a target current value I) from a controller 19.
A holding valve 9 and a pressure sensor (a pressure detecting device) 15 are located in the first line 20 at a portion close to the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5. The holding valve 9 is a pilot check valve, which is opened when the control lever device 6 is operated so that the front work implement 130 may be operated in the lowering direction. The pressure sensor 15 detects the pressure in the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 and outputs the pressure thus detected to the controller 19.
A hydraulic pump/motor 7 is located in the discharge line 22 at a portion between the holding valve 9 and the tank T. A generator/electric motor 10 is connected to the hydraulic pump/motor 7 so as to be rotated integrally with the hydraulic pump/motor 7. The hydraulic pump/motor 7 functions as a hydraulic motor that is rotated by the hydraulic fluid which flows out from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 when the boom 131 lowers under the self-weight thereof. In this way, the rotating shaft of the generator/electric motor 10 is rotated to allow the generator/electric motor 10 to function as a generator. The hydraulic pump/motor 7 functions as a hydraulic pump that is rotated by the rotation of the generator/electric motor 10 which functions as an electric motor during jack-up or the like. In this way, the hydraulic fluid in the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 is partially supplied to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via a recovery circuit 23 (described later) and the second line 21.
The generator/electric motor 10 generates electric energy, which is stored in a battery 18c via an inverter 18a and a chopper 18b. In addition, the generator/electric motor 10 is rotated using the electric energy thus stored in the battery 18c. The generator/electric motor 10 is controlled in power generation torque and rotation speed, for its functioning as a generator or an electric motor, in response to control current outputted by the controller 19 so that the lowering speed of the boom 131 may become a lowering speed corresponding to the operation amount of a control lever 6a of the control lever device 6.
A variable restrictor 11, the opening area of which is variable, is located in the discharge line 22 at a portion between the hydraulic pump/motor 7 and the tank T. The variable restrictor 11 is controlled in the opening area thereof by an electromagnetic valve 14. The electromagnetic valve 14 controls the opening area in response to a control signal (a target current value I) from the controller 19.
The recovery circuit 23 is disposed between the second line 21 and a portion of the discharge line 22 between the hydraulic pump/motor 7 and the variable restrictor 11 so as to connect such a portion of the discharge line 22 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. The recovery circuit 23 has a check valve 8 adapted to permit the flow of hydraulic fluid only in a direction from the discharge line 22 toward the second line 21.
The control lever device (the operating device) 6 for controlling the moving direction of the boom cylinder 5 is installed in a cabin of the hydraulic excavator 100. The control lever device 6 has the control lever 6a and pilot valves (pressure-reducing valves) 6b1, 6b2. If the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 is operated in a boom-raising direction A, the pilot valve 6b1 produces a pilot pressure according to the operation amount of the control lever 6a using the discharge pressure of the pilot pump 3 as an original pressure. In addition, the pilot valve 6b1 outputs the pilot pressure to a pilot line 6c to switch the directional control valve 4 to an “a” position. If the control valve 6a is operated in a boom-lowering direction B, the pilot valve 6b2 produces a pilot pressure according to the operation amount of the control lever 6a using the discharge pressure of the pilot pressure as an original pressure. In addition, the pilot valve 6b2 outputs the pilot pressure to a pilot line 6d to switch the directional control valve 4 to a “b” position and to open the holding valve 9 via a pilot line 6e branching from the pilot line 6d. A pressure sensor 16 for detecting the pressure (the pilot pressure) of the hydraulic fluid of the pilot line 6e is provided in the pilot line 6e. The pressure sensor 16 outputs the pressure signal detected thereby to the controller 19.
The controller 19 is a control unit. The controller 19 calculates the target currents I used to control the opening areas of the electromagnetic valves 13, 14 on the basis of the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 16 provided in the pilot line 6d and the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 15 provided in the discharge line 22. In addition, on the basis of the computing results, the controller 19 controls the electromagnetic valves 13, 14 to control the opening areas of the variable restrictors 11, 12. Further, on the basis of the pressures detected by the pressure sensors 15 and 16, the controller 19 calculates a torque instruction value used to control the rotation speed of the generator/electric motor 10 and outputs it to the inverter 18a to control the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump/motor 7.
—Operation—
A description is next given of the operation of the hydraulic driving system for the construction machine according to the first embodiment described with reference to
—Boom-Raising—
In the hydraulic excavator 100 as illustrated in
—Boom-Midair Lowering—
A description is next given of operation encountered when an operator operates the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 in the boom-lowering direction B in a state where the front work implement 130 is in midair, that is, in a state where the front work implement 130 assumes such a posture as to be able to turn in the lowering direction under the self-weight of the boom 131.
If the operator operates the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 in the boom-lowering direction B, the pilot valve 6b2 of the control lever device outputs the pilot pressure according to the operation amount of the control lever 6a to the pilot line 6d, thereby switches the directional control valve 4 to the “b” position. At the same time, the pilot pressure acts on the holding valve 9 via the pilot line 6e to open it, allowing hydraulic fluid to flow out from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5. In this case, because of gravitational force acting on the front work implement 130, the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 becomes high-pressure, which is detected by the pressure sensor 15. In addition, the pressure sensor 16 detects the pilot pressure acting on the holding valve 9.
The pilot pressure detected by the pressure sensor 16 may be higher than the minimum pressure of the pilot pressure and the pilot pressure detected by the pressure sensor 15 may be equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. In such a case, the controller 19 determines that the front work implement 130 can be turned under the self-weight of the boom 131. In addition, the controller 19 exercises the control as below.
The controller 19 first exercises such control as to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor 12 so that the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 may not flow in the first line 20 but flow in the discharge line 22.
As shown in
The controller 19 controls the generator/electric motor 10 as a generator.
The controller 19 controls the opening area of the variable restrictor 11 to control the flow rate (the recovery flow rate) of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the bottom-side chamber 5b to rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via the hydraulic pump/motor 7 and via the recovery circuit 23 becomes a flow rate according to the lowering speed of the boom cylinder 5 corresponding to the operation amount of the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 and the rod-side chamber 5a is prevented from having negative pressure.
As shown in
The control is exercised as described above. The hydraulic fluid is discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5. The hydraulic fluid thus discharged flows in the discharge line 22 via the holding valve 9 to rotate the hydraulic pump/motor 7 for power generation operation of the generator/electric motor 10. The electric power thus generated is stored in the battery 18c. Thus, the positional energy of the boom 131 is recovered as electric energy. The hydraulic fluid that has rotated the hydraulic pump/motor 7 partially flows into the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via the check valve 8 of the recovery circuit 23. The remaining of the hydraulic fluid returns to the hydraulic operating fluid tank T via the variable restrictor 11.
As described above, the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 is partially supplied to the rod-side chamber 5a side of the boom cylinder 5 as a recovery flow rate. Therefore, the hydraulic fluid is not supplied from the main pump 2 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. Thus, the drive energy of the main pump 2 can be saved.
—Jack-Up—
A description is next given of operation in the case where the track structure 110 is partially lifted from the ground by operatively lowering the boom 131 to allow the front work implement 130 contacting with the ground to push the ground (jack-up).
An operator continuously operates the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 in the boom-lowering direction B. When the bucket 135 of the front work implement 130 comes into contact with the ground, a pressing force acts on the front work implement 130. In this case, a pull force acts on the boom cylinder 5; therefore, the pressure of the hydraulic fluid in the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 is lowered.
The pilot pressure detected by the pressure sensor 16 may be higher than the minimum pressure of the pilot pressure. In addition, the pressure of the hydraulic fluid on the bottom-side chamber 5b side of the boom cylinder 5 detected by the pressure sensor 15 may be equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure. In such a case, the controller 19 determines that the front work implement 130 cannot be turned in the lowering direction under the self-weight of the boom 131, that is, that jack-up operation is instructed. In addition, the controller 19 exercises the control as below.
The controller 19 performs the same processing as during the boom-midair lowering operation, and thereby outputs a target current value I to the electromagnetic valve 13 so as to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor 12.
As shown in
The controller 19 controls the opening area of the variable restrictor 11 as below. Hydraulic fluid is supplied from the bottom-side chamber 5b to rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via the hydraulic pump/motor 7 and the recovery circuit 23. The flow rate (the recovery flow rate) of such hydraulic fluid is made equal to a flow rate necessary to allow the pressing force needed to lift a portion of the track structure 110 from the ground to act on the front work implement 130 via the boom cylinder 5.
As described above, the controller 19 has the preset target opening area A1 appropriate for boom-midair lowering operation and the preset target opening area A2 appropriate for jack-up operation. The controller 19 selects the target opening area A2 for the jack-up operation as a target opening area A (Block 9f). The controller 19 next converts the target opening area A (A2) thus selected to the target current value I of the electromagnetic valve 14 and outputs an associate control current to the electromagnetic valve 14 (Block 9g). The electromagnetic valve 14 is operated in response to the target current value I outputted from the controller 19 to produce pilot pressure corresponding to the target current value I using the discharge pressure of the pilot pump 3 led via the lines 25, 27 as an original pressure and outputs it to a pilot line 28. The pilot pressure outputted to the pilot line 28 is led to the operation port of the variable restrictor 11. The variable restrictor 11 is adjusted in response to the pilot pressure so that its opening area becomes A2.
The control is exercised as described above. Because of the electric operation of the generator/electric motor 10, the hydraulic pump/motor 7 is operated as a pump. The hydraulic fluid is sucked from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 and is partially supplied to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via the check valve 8 of the recovery circuit 23. In this way, the boom cylinder 5 is contracted, so that the pressing force necessary to lift a portion of the track structure 110 from the ground acts on the front work implement 130 via the boom cylinder 5 for the jack-up operation.
As described above, the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 is partially supplied as a recovery flow rate toward the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. Therefore, the hydraulic fluid is not supplied to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 from the main pump 2. Thus, the drive energy of the main pump 2 can be saved.
—Effects—
The hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment as described above is configured as follows: the generator/electric motor 10 which recovers the positional energy of the front work implement 130 is operated as an electric motor during the jack-up; and the hydraulic pump/motor as a recovery motor is rotated as a pump. The lines and the circuits are arranged so that when the control lever 6a is operated in the lowering direction B of the boom 131, the hydraulic fluid is supplied from the bottom-side chamber 5b to rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. During the boom-midair lowering operation in which the front work implement 130 can be turned under the self-weight of the boom 131, the hydraulic pump/motor 7 is operated as a motor and the generator/electric motor 10 is operated as a generator. The power generation operation is performed by the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 to recover positional energy. Thus, an improvement in energy efficiency is achieved. The hydraulic fluid after the recovery is partially supplied to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5 via the recovery circuit 23. Therefore, it is not necessary to supply the hydraulic fluid from the main pump 2 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. During the jack-up operation in which the turning of the front work implement 130 under the self-weight of the boom 131 is impossible, the generator/electric motor 10 is operated as an electric motor to operate the hydraulic pump/motor 7 as a pump. Because of the pumping operation of the hydraulic pump/motor 7, the hydraulic fluid is supplied from the bottom-side chamber 5b to rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5. In this way, the jack-up operation is performed without supplying the hydraulic fluid from the main pump 2 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5.
Consequently, unlike the hydraulic drive system described in Patent Document 1, it is not necessary during the jack-up operation to install the first and second holding valves and control the opening and closing thereof. In addition, the circuit configuration of the hydraulic drive system is not complicated; therefore, no difficulty would arise in terms of installation space and costs. During the jack-up operation, it is not necessary to supply hydraulic fluid from the main pump 2 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5; therefore, energy efficiency can be improved.
Unlike the hydraulic drive system described in Patent Document 2, it is not necessary to install the jack-up switching valve and the flow control valve in order to perform both the midair lowering operation of the boom 131 and the jack-up operation. The hydraulic drive system of the present embodiment has advantages as below. The circuit configuration of the hydraulic drive system is not complicated; therefore, no difficulty would arise in terms of installation space and costs. During the jack-up operation, it is not necessary to supply hydraulic fluid from the main pump 2 to the rod-side chamber 5a of the boom cylinder 5; therefore, energy efficiency can be improved.
The pressure sensor 15 to detect the pressure in the bottom-side chamber 5b is provided in the first line 20. The control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 may be operated in the lowering direction of the front work implement 130. In addition, the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 15 may be equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure. In such a case, the controller 19 determines that the boom cylinder 5 is in the state of being lowered under the self-weight of the boom 131 of the front work implement 130. Otherwise, the controller 19 determines that the boom cylinder 5 is not in the state of being lowered under the self-weight of the boom 131 of the front work implement 130. In this way, the determination as to whether or not the turning of the front work implement 130 under the self-weight of the boom 131 is possible can be achieved with a simple configuration.
Further, when the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 is operated in the rising direction A of the front work implement 130, the controller brings the variable restrictor 12 into the opening state. When the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 is operated in the lowering direction B of the front work implement 130, the controller 19 controls the variable restrictor 12 in the closing direction. In addition, the controller 19 controls the operation speed in the closing direction at that time so as to be reduced as the operation speed of the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 is increased. The response speed of the boom cylinder 5 can be increased in response to the operation of the control lever 6a encountered when the front work implement 130 is operated in the rising direction and in the lowering direction. Thus, an improvement in operability can be achieved. In particular, the hydraulic pump/motor 7 starts to move slowly because of inertia; therefore, hydraulic fluid cannot quickly flow in the discharge line 22 at the time of the lowering operation of the front work implement 130. However, the variable restrictor 12 is controlled in the closing direction and the operation speed in the closing direction at that time is controlled so as to be reduced as the operation speed of the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 is increased. Therefore, the hydraulic fluid is discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 via the first line. Thus, responsiveness can be improved.
The delivery rate of the hydraulic pump/motor 7 is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the generator/electric motor 10. With this configuration for recovering the positional energy of the front work implement 130, the operation speed of the boom cylinder 5 in the lowering direction according to the operation amount and operation speed of the control lever 6a can be achieved.
A second embodiment of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the present invention is next be described with reference to
Additionally, the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment has a directional control valve 4A. When the directional control valve 4A assumes a neutral position and the boom 131 is operated in the rising direction, the configuration of the directional control valve 4A is almost the same as that of the directional control valve 4 of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment. When the control lever device 6 is operated in the lowering direction of the boom 131, the directional control valve 4A assumes the neutral position to block the first and second lines and returns the hydraulic fluid discharged from the main pump 2 to the tank T. Further, the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment has, in place of the pilot line 6e, a pilot line 6e1 to transfer pilot pressure to the holding valve 9.
Additionally, the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment has, in place of the lines 25, 27, a line 25a to lead the discharge pressure of the pilot pump 3 to the variable valve 11 via the electromagnetic valve 14.
The other configurations are almost the same as those of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment described above.
—Operation—
A description is given of the operation of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment described above.
In the hydraulic excavator 100 as illustrated in
In a state where the front work implement 130 assumes such a posture as to be able to turn in the lowering direction under the self-weight of the boom 131, the operator may operate the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 in the boom-lowering direction B. In such a case, the directional control valve 4A is first switched to the neutral position to block the first line 20A and the second line 21. Therefore, the hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 flows in the discharge line 22 in accordance with the starting of the hydraulic pump/motor 7. The other operations are almost the same as those of the boom-midair lowering operation in the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment.
The jack-up operation is performed as below. In the state where the front work implement 130 is in contact with the ground, further the boom 131 is operatively lowered to allow the front work implement 130 to push the ground, whereby the track structure 110 is partially lifted from the ground. In such a case, the directional control valve 4A is switched to the neutral position to block the first line 20A and the second line 21. The hydraulic fluid discharged from the bottom-side chamber 5b of the boom cylinder 5 flows to the discharge line 22 in accordance with the starting of the hydraulic pump/motor 7. The other operations are almost the same as those of the jack-up operation in the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment.
—Effects—
The hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment is inferior in operability to the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment. However, the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the second embodiment produces almost the same effects as those of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the first embodiment and has a merit in which the system configurations are more simplified.
—Configuration—
A third embodiment of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the present invention is described with reference to
The other configurations are almost the same as those of the first embodiment of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine described above.
—Operation—
The operation of the hydraulic drive system for the third embodiment described above is described with reference to
In the hydraulic excavator as illustrated in
In the state where the front work implement 130 assumes such a posture as to be able to turn in the lowering direction under the self-weight of the boom 131, the operator may operate the control lever 6a of the control lever device 6 in the boom-lowering direction B. In such a case, the controller 19 performs the same processing as during the boom-midair lowering operation of the first embodiment, and thereby outputs a target current value I to the electromagnetic valve 13 so as to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor 12.
The controller 19 controls the generator/electric motor 10 as a generator.
The controller 19 performs the same processing as during the boom-midair lowering operation of the first embodiment, and thereby outputs a target current value I to the electromagnetic valve 13 for controlling the opening area of the variable restrictor 12.
The jack-up operation is carried out as below. In the state where the front work implement 130 is in contact with the ground, further the boom 131 is operatively lowered to allow the front work implement 130 to push the ground, whereby the track structure 110 is partially lifted from the ground. In such a case, the controller 19 performs the same processing as during the jack-up operation of the first embodiment, and thereby outputs a target current value I to the electromagnetic valve 13 so as to reduce the opening area of the variable restrictor 12.
The controller 19 controls the generator/electric motor 10 as an electric motor.
Further, the controller 19 performs the same processing as during the boom-midair lowering operation of the first embodiment, and thereby outputs a target current value I to the electromagnetic valve 14 so as to control the opening area of the variable restrictor 11.
—Effects—
Also the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine of the third embodiment can produce also the same effects as those of the first embodiment of the hydraulic drive system for the construction machine described above.
The lowering speed of the boom cylinder 5 according to the operation amount of the control lever 6a can be achieved with a simple configuration by controlling the capacity of the hydraulic pump/motor 7 to control the delivery rate of the hydraulic pump/motor 7.
<Others>
Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above but can be modified or applied in various ways.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-245728 | Nov 2012 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2013/077995 | 10/15/2013 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2014/073338 | 5/15/2014 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7827787 | Cherney | Nov 2010 | B2 |
| 9260835 | Kang, II | Feb 2016 | B2 |
| 9512596 | Kang, II | Dec 2016 | B2 |
| 20120180470 | Schroeder et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2 518 218 | Oct 2012 | EP |
| 4279838 | Mar 2009 | JP |
| 4279837 | Jun 2009 | JP |
| 2009-299719 | Dec 2009 | JP |
| 2010-112559 | May 2010 | JP |
| 2004070211 | Aug 2004 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Machine translation of JP2009299719A. 2009. |
| Extended European Search Report received in corresponding European Application No. 13852377.4 dated Jun. 20, 2016. |
| International Preliminary Report on Patentability received in corresponding International Application No. PCT/JP2013/077995 dated May 21, 2015. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150252554 A1 | Sep 2015 | US |
