WORK MACHINE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-222189, filed Dec. 28, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a work machine.

2. Description of Related Art

A construction machine equipped with a hydraulic actuator is known. In a disclosed construction machine, when the number of hydraulic hoses connecting vehicle body-side piping and boom-side piping is increased, the hydraulic hoses are not only arranged in a row in the width direction of the vehicle body, but also arranged in two stages in the vertical direction of the vehicle body.

In other words, in the disclosed construction machine described, the hydraulic hoses are arranged between the upper slewing body and the proximal end side of the boom in a state of being divided into two hose groups, namely, an upper hose group arranged in the width direction of the vehicle body and a lower hose group arranged in the width direction of the vehicle body below the upper hose group.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a work machine that includes a lower travel body, an upper slewing body mounted on the lower travel body in a slewable manner, a work attachment including a boom attached to the upper slewing body in a raisable and lowerable manner, a hydraulic actuator attached to the work attachment, and a manual adjusting valve provided in piping extending from the upper slewing body to the hydraulic actuator. The manual adjusting valve is attached to the boom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a work machine according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of the work machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drive system mounted on the work machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a proximal end portion of a boom in the work machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a proximal end portion of a boom in the work machine of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of pipes passing the side of the slewing-purpose hydraulic motor in the work machine of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a work machine equipped with a hydraulic actuator, such as the aforementioned disclosed construction machine described, a manual adjusting valve may be provided in a pipe for feeding hydraulic oil to the hydraulic actuator. However, in the case where the number of hydraulic hoses connecting the vehicle body-side piping and the boom-side piping of the construction machine increases, there is a concern that accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve may be degraded.

According to the above aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a work machine capable of improving accessibility and maintainability of a manual adjusting valve provided in a pipe extending from an upper slewing body to a hydraulic actuator attached to a work attachment.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a work machine according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of the work machine 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drive system mounted on the work machine 100 of FIG. 1. Each drawing except FIG. 3 illustrates a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system having an X-axis parallel to the width direction (horizontal direction) of the work machine 100 in the posture illustrated in FIG. 1, a Y-axis parallel to the front-rear direction of the work machine 100, and a Z-axis parallel to the height direction (vertical direction) of the work machine 100. In FIG. 3, a mechanical power transmission line is indicated by a double line, a hydraulic oil line is indicated by a thick solid line, a pilot line is indicated by a broken line, and an electric control line is indicated by a dotted line.

The work machine 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is, for example, a forestry machine that performs a conveying operation of conveying logs cut at a work site such as a forest. The work machine 100 is not limited to a forestry machine, and may be a construction machine such as a shovel or a crane.

The work machine 100 includes, for example, a lower travel body 1, an upper slewing body 3, a work attachment AT, hydraulic actuators HA, and a manual adjusting valve 19, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. The work machine 100 includes, for example, a slewing mechanism 2 including slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The work machine 100 includes, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, an engine 11, a regulator 13, a main pump 14, a pilot pump 15, a hydraulic oil line 16, a control valve part 17, an engine control part 74, and an electromagnetic valve part 45.

The work machine 100 includes, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a controller 30, a positioning device 18, and, although not illustrated, an imaging device C1, a boom angle sensor S1, an arm angle sensor S2, a heel angle sensor S3, a grapple angle sensor S4, a slew angular speed sensor S5, and a communication device T1.

The lower travel body 1 includes, for example, a pair of crawlers driven by a left traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1L and a right traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1R. The slewing mechanism 2 includes, for example, a slew gear, a slew bearing, slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B, and a reduction gear, which are not illustrated, and slews the upper slewing body 3 with respect to the lower travel body 1. The upper slewing body 3 is slewably mounted on the lower travel body 1 via the slewing mechanism 2, for example.

For example, a drive system excluding some of the hydraulic actuators HA illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 30, the imaging device C1, and the like are mounted in the upper slewing body 3. For example, a counterweight 31 is attached to the rear portion of the upper slewing body 3. Further, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a cab 10 in which an operator of the work machine 100 boards is provided on the front left side of the upper slewing body 3.

Further, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the work attachment AT is attached to the front right side of the upper slewing body 3. The work attachment AT includes at least a boom 4 attached to the upper slewing body 3 in a lowerable and raisable manner. Specifically, the work attachment AT is equipped with, for example, a boom 4, an arm 5, and a heel 6A and a grapple 6B as end attachments.

The hydraulic actuators HA include, for example, a boom cylinder 7, an arm cylinder 8, a heel cylinder 9, a grapple cylinder 12, and a grapple hydraulic motor 2C, which are attached to the work attachment AT. The hydraulic actuators HA also include, for example, a left traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1L and a right traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1R mounted on the lower travel body 1, and slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B mounted on the upper slewing body 3.

The boom 4 is attached to the upper slewing body 3 via a boom foot pin 41 (see FIG. 5) parallel to the width direction of the upper slewing body 3, for example, and is rotated around the boom foot pin 41 through extension and contraction of the boom cylinder 7 to be raised and lowered. Specifically, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the boom 4 is arranged between left and right brackets 3BL and 3BR provided in the upper slewing body 3, and is rotatably attached to the left and right brackets 3BL and 3BR via the boom foot pin 41.

The arm 5 is attached to, for example, the distal end portion of the boom 4 via an arm pin parallel to the boom foot pin 41, and is opened and closed (extended and contracted) by being rotated about an arm pin through extension and contraction of the arm cylinder 8.

The heel 6A is attached to the distal end portion of the arm 5 via a heel pin that is arranged parallel to the arm pin, for example, and rotates around the heel pin through extension and contraction of the heel cylinder 9. The grapple 6B is rotatably attached to the distal end portion of the heel 6A via a grapple pin arranged parallel to the heel pin, for example.

The grapple 6B is equipped with, for example, a grapple hydraulic motor 2C and a grapple cylinder 12 illustrated in FIG. 3. The grapple hydraulic motor 2C is slewably supported via a slew pin perpendicular to the grapple pin, for example, and rotates the tongs of the grapple 6B about a shaft perpendicular to the grapple pin. The grapple cylinder 12 opens and closes the tongs of the grapple 6B by expanding and contracting, for example. Specifically, for example, the piston rod of the grapple cylinder 12 extends and the tongs of the grapple 6B are thereby closed, and the piston rod of the grapple cylinder 12 contracts and the tongs of the grapple 6B are thereby opened.

By expanding and contracting the grapple cylinder 12 to open and close the tongs of the grapple 6B, an unprocessed log RW cut in the forest can be held by the tongs of the grapple 6B as illustrated in FIG. 1. The direction of an unprocessed log RW gripped by the tongs can be adjusted by rotating the tongs of the grapple 6B by the grapple hydraulic motor 2C. Further, by extending and contracting the heel cylinder 9 to rotate the heel 6A, an unprocessed log RW gripped by the tongs of the grapple 6B can be supported at a discretionarily selected inclination by the proximal end portion of the heel 6A on the side opposite to the distal end portion.

In the case where the work machine 100 is an excavator, the work attachment AT may include a bucket as an end attachment, instead of the heel 6A and the grapple 6B. In this case, the work machine 100 may include a bucket cylinder that opens and closes the bucket (dump and crowd operations), instead of the heel cylinder 9, the grapple cylinder 12, and the grapple hydraulic motor 2C.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the manual adjusting valve 19 is provided, for example, at a pipe 20 that connects the control valve part 17 and the bottom side of the grapple cylinder 12 serving as the hydraulic actuator HA. The pipe 20 extends, for example, from the upper slewing body 3 on which the control valve part 17 is mounted to the grapple cylinder 12 attached to the work attachment AT.

The manual adjusting valve 19 is, for example, a pressure reducing valve that can manually adjust a pressure of hydraulic oil supplied to the bottom chamber of the grapple cylinder 12. The manual adjusting valve 19 is not limited to a pressure reducing valve, and may be, for example, a direction control valve that can manually switch between blocking and flowing of hydraulic oil. The manual adjusting valve 19 is manually adjusted or operated by a dealer or a user before a start of use of the work machine 100, for example.

The engine 11 is a power source of the work machine 100. The engine 11 is, for example, a diesel engine. An output shaft of the engine 11 is, for example, connected to respective input shafts of the main pump 14 and the pilot pump 15.

The regulator 13 is configured to control the discharge amount of the main pump 14. In the present embodiment, the regulator 13 is configured to adjust the swashplate tilt angle of the main pump 14 in accordance with the discharge pressure of the main pump 14, a control signal from the controller 30, or the like. The regulator 13 transmits data regarding the swashplate tilt angle to the controller 30.

The main pump 14 supplies a hydraulic oil to the control valve part 17 via the hydraulic oil line 16. In the present embodiment, the main pump 14 is a swashplate-type variable displacement hydraulic pump. The main pump 14 is controlled by the regulator 13 in terms of the discharge amount (displacement volume) per rotation.

The pilot pump 15 is configured to supply hydraulic oil to various hydraulic control devices via a pilot line 25. In the present embodiment, the pilot pump 15 is a fixed displacement hydraulic pump. The pilot pump 15 may be omitted. In this case, the function of the pilot pump 15 may be realized by the main pump 14. In other words, the main pump 14 may have a function of supplying hydraulic oil to the electromagnetic valve part 45 or the like via a throttle or the like, separately from the function of supplying hydraulic oil to the control valve part 17.

The control valve part 17 is configured to be able to selectively supply hydraulic oil received from the main pump 14 to one or a plurality of hydraulic actuators HA. In the present embodiment, the control valve part 17 includes a plurality of control valves corresponding to the plurality of hydraulic actuators. The control valve part 17 is configured to be able to selectively supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the main pump 14 to one or a plurality of hydraulic actuators HA.

The engine control unit 74 is connected to the engine 11 and controls the driving of the engine 11. The engine control part 74 outputs various data indicating the state of the engine 11 to the controller 30.

The electromagnetic valve part 45 includes a plurality of electromagnetic valves arranged at the respective pilot lines 25 connecting the pilot pump 15 and the pilot ports of the respective control valves in the control valve part 17.

As described above, the controller 30 is a calculation device that executes various calculations. The controller 30 is configured to control the electromagnetic valve part 45 based on an operation signal that is input from an operation device including an operation lever and an operation pedal in the cab 10. The controller 30 can realize raising and lowering of the boom 4, opening and closing of the arm 5, rotation of the heel 6A, opening, closing, and rotation of the tongs of the grapple 6B, slewing of the upper slewing body 3, traveling of the lower travel body 1, and the like in response to the operation signal. The controller 30 is configured to be able to accumulate various data indicating the state of the engine 11 in a memory.

The imaging device C1 is configured to capture an image of the surroundings of the work machine 100. In the present embodiment, the imaging device C1 is at least one or more of a rear camera attached to the rear end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body 3, a front camera attached to the front end of the upper surface of the cab 10, a left camera attached to the left end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body 3, and a right camera attached to the right end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body 3.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the proximal end portion of the boom 4, illustrating an example of a mounting position of the manual adjusting valve 19 in the work machine 100 of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the manual adjusting valve 19 is provided in a pipe 20 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the grapple cylinder 12 serving as the hydraulic actuator HA for opening and closing the grapple 6B attached to the distal end portion of the work attachment AT, and the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to the boom 4.

The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to, for example, a back surface 4b of the boom 4. The back surface 4b of the boom 4 is a surface facing the rear (negative Y-axis direction) of the upper slewing body 3 in a state where the boom 4 is erected so as to be substantially upright, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached, for example, above the work floor WP provided on the upper slewing body 3 in a state where the boom 4 is erected.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the work floor WP is provided, for example, on the front side (Y-axis positive direction side) of an engine hood that covers the engine 11 housed in the upper slewing body 3 and on the rear side (Y-axis negative direction side) of the boom 4. The work floor WP is, for example, a scaffold for a worker P who performs maintenance and the like of the work machine 100 to work on, and also serves as a passage for an operator who operates the work machine 100 to access the door 10d of the cab 10. Handrails HR are attached to an outer periphery portion of the work floor WP and a part of the wall of the cab 10.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached at, for example, a height at which a worker P who works standing on the work floor WP can access the manual adjusting valve 19 in a standing position of the worker P, in a state where the boom 4 is erected. Herein, the height at which a worker P can access a work area in the standing position is a height with reference to the work floor WP, and is, for example, equal to or less than the height of an operator of a small physique (1,550 mm) defined in the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS A8315:2010). The height at which a worker P can access the work area in the standing position is, for example, equal to or higher than the height from the soles to the knees of an operator of a large physique (570 mm) defined in the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS A8315:2010).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, a protective fence G is provided at a position adjacent to the boom 4 on the work floor WP. The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached, for example, at a position higher than the protective fence G in a state where the boom 4 is erected. For example, in the case where the height of the protective fence G from the scaffold one step below the work floor WP is equal to or higher than 3 m, the height of the protective fence G with respect to the work floor WP is 1, 000 mm at the minimum and 1,100 mm at the maximum as defined in the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS A8302:2017). For example, in the case where the height from the scaffold one step below the work floor WP is less than 3 m, the height of the safety fence G with respect to the work floor WP may be the above-described height, or may be 850 mm at the minimum and 960 mm at the maximum according to the standard for the handrails HR.

The manual adjusting valve 19 does not need to be attached to the back surface 4b of the boom 4. Specifically, the manual adjusting valve 19 may be attached to, for example, a side surface 4s of the boom 4. The side surface 4s of the boom 4 is, for example, a surface of the boom 4 facing the width direction (X-axis direction) of the upper slewing body 3. From the viewpoint of the accessibility to the door 10d of the cab 10 for a worker and the prevention of interference, it is preferable that the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to the side surface 4s of the boom 4 opposite to the side surface 4s adjacent to the cab 10.

The left traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1L and the right traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1R illustrated in FIG. 3 respectively rotate the left and right crawlers of the lower travel body 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 to move the work machine 100 forward, backward, or turn.

Further, the slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B are mounted in the upper slewing body 3, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and are arranged at positions adjacent to the boom 4 on the rear side of the boom 4 attached to the upper slewing body 3. The slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B included in the slewing mechanism 2 slew the upper slewing body 3 mounted on the lower travel body 1 by rotating a pinion meshing with a slew gear mounted in the lower travel body 1 via a reduction gear, for example.

In the present embodiment, the work machine 100 includes, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction (X-axis direction) of the upper slewing body 3. The dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B can increase the slew torque of the upper slewing body 3. The work machine 100 may be configured to include only a single slewing-purpose hydraulic motor.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of a proximal end portion of the boom 4 in the work machine 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a side view of the pipes 22 and 23 passing by the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B of FIG. 2. In FIGS. 5 and 6, in order to facilitate visual recognition of the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29, an illustration of some of the constituent structures of the work machine 100 is omitted. Further, FIG. 5 illustrates a state where the left and right brackets 3BL and 3BR of the boom 4 illustrated in FIG. 2 are omitted.

The pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29 illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6 extend from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA attached to the work attachment AT. Herein, the hydraulic actuators HA attached to the work attachment AT include, for example, the arm cylinder 8, the heel cylinder 9, the grapple cylinder 12, and the grapple hydraulic motor 2C, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

One end of the pipe 20 is connected to, for example, the control valve part 17 via a connecting portion 20c as illustrated in FIG. 2. The pipe 20 extends, for example, from the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3 to the grapple cylinder 12 attached to the grapple 6B included in the work attachment AT, and is connected to the bottom chamber of the grapple cylinder 12.

Similarly, one end of the pipe 21 is connected to, for example, the control valve part 17 via a connecting portion 21c as illustrated in FIG. 2. The pipe 21 extends from the control valve part 17 to the grapple cylinder 12, and is connected to a rod chamber of the grapple cylinder 12, for example.

Further, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pipe 24L extending from the control valve part 17 to the left traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1L is arranged below the pipes 20 and 21. The pipes 20 and 21 are supported by a support member S fixed to the back surface 4b of the boom 4, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 3, a drain pipe 32, for example, is connected to the manual adjusting valve 19 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The manual adjusting valve 19 is, for example, a pressure reducing valve that reduces a pressure of hydraulic oil, and can manually adjust a set pressure of hydraulic oil after the pressure reduction. The drain pipe 32 is connected to, for example, a hydraulic oil tank from the manual adjusting valve 19 attached to the boom 4 via the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3. The drain pipe 32 may be connected to the hydraulic oil tank of the upper slewing body 3 without passing through the control valve part 17.

The drain pipe 32 is a drain path for returning hydraulic oil, which is no longer required by the manual adjusting valve 19 for reducing a pressure of hydraulic oil supplied to the grapple cylinder 12 via the pipe 20, to the hydraulic oil tank, for example, when the grapple cylinder 12 is extended to close the tongs of the grapple 6B. In this way, by reducing the pressure of hydraulic oil supplied to the bottom chamber of the grapple cylinder 12 with the manual adjusting valve 19, it is possible to prevent an unprocessed log RW or lumber from being crushed when the tongs of the grapple 6B are closed.

One end of the pipe 22 is connected to, for example, the control valve part 17 via a connecting portion 22c as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6. The pipe 22 extends, for example, from the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3 to the heel cylinder 9 attached to the arm 5 and the heel 6A of the work attachment AT, and is connected to the bottom chamber of the heel cylinder 9.

Similarly, one end of the pipe 23 is connected to the control valve part 17 via a connecting portion 23c, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6. The pipe 23 extends from the control valve part 17 to the heel cylinder 9, for example, and is connected to the rod chamber of the heel cylinder 9.

Further, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pipe 24R extending from the control valve part 17 to the right traveling-purpose hydraulic motor 1R is arranged below the pipes 22 and 23. The pipes 22 and 23 are supported by a support member S fixed to the back surface 4b of the boom 4, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

The pipe 26 and the pipe 27 extend, for example, from the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3 to the grapple hydraulic motor 2C attached to the grapple 6B included in the work attachment AT, and are connected to the grapple hydraulic motor 2C.

The pipe 28 extends, for example, from the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3 to the arm cylinder 8 attached to the boom 4 and the arm 5 of the work attachment AT, and is connected to the bottom chamber of the arm cylinder 8. Similarly, the pipe 29 extends from the control valve part 17 to the arm cylinder 8, for example, and is connected to the rod chamber of the arm cylinder 8.

These pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29 include flexible tubes arranged between the upper slewing body 3 and the boom 4. The flexible tube is, for example, a flexible hose, and allows the boom 4 to be raised and lowered with respect to the upper slewing body 3. The portions of the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29 other than the flexible tube portions may be formed of, for example, a metal pipe having no flexibility.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the flexible tubes of the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, and 27 among the flexible tubes included in the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29 is a back surface-side flexible tube extending to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the flexible tube included in each of the pipes 28 and 29 is a front surface-side flexible tube extending to the front surface 4f side opposite to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, below the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29, a grease pipe 33 for supplying grease to a sliding portion of the work attachment AT, such as the boom foot pin 41, is arranged between the slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B and the boom 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipe 22 and the pipe 23 are vertically arranged (in the Z-axis direction) between the side surfaces 4s and 4s of the boom 4 in the width direction (X-axis direction) and on the right side (X-axis positive direction side) of the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B. Similarly, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipe 20 and the pipe 21 are vertically arranged between the side surfaces 4s and 4s of the boom 4 in the width direction and on the left side (X-axis negative direction side) of the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B.

Specifically, the pipe 20 and the pipe 21, which are the left back surface-side flexible pipes, are arranged between the left slewing-purpose hydraulic motor 2A of the slew device and the left side surface 4s or the left bracket 3BL of the boom 4. Similarly, the pipe 22 and the pipe 23, which are the right back surface-side flexible tubes, are arranged between the right slewing-purpose hydraulic motor 2B of the slew device and the right side surface 4s or the bracket 3BR of the boom 4. In other words, the pipe 20, the pipe 21, the pipe 22, and the pipe 23, which are the back surface-side flexible tubes, are arranged between the slew device and either the left or right side 4s of the boom 4 or either the left or right boom attachment bracket.

In other words, the pipes 20, 21, 22 and 23 include a plurality of back surface-side flexible tubes arranged vertically between the side surfaces 4s and 4s of the boom 4 in the width direction and on respective sides of the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B and extending to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4. Herein, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the outer diameter of the back surface-side flexible tube of the pipe 22 arranged in the bottom side is larger than the outer diameter of the back surface-side flexible tube of the pipe 23 arranged in the upper side, for example. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the outer diameter of the back surface-side flexible tube of the pipe 20 arranged in the lower side is larger than the outer diameter of the back surface-side flexible tube of the pipe 21 arranged in the upper side, for example.

Thus, the pressure loss of the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 20 and 22 having a large outer diameter can be reduced to be lower than the pressure loss of the flexible tubes on the back surface-side of the pipes 21 and 23 having a small outer diameter. Further, when the boom 4 is erected, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the radius of curvature of the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipe 20 and 22 having a large outer diameter can be made larger than the radius of curvature of the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 21 and 23 having a small outer diameter, and damage and deterioration of the back surface-side flexible tubes having a large outer diameter can be thereby prevented.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the pipes 28 and 29 extending from the control valve part 17 mounted on the upper slewing body 3 to the arm cylinder 8 include a plurality of front surface-side flexible tubes extending between both side surfaces 4s in the width direction (X-axis direction) of the boom 4 toward the front surface 4f side, the front surface 4f side being opposite to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4. More specifically, the pipe 28 and the pipe 29 are inserted through an opening 3BO provided in a plate 3BP connecting the left and right brackets 3BL and 3BR, for example.

On both sides of the plate 3BP connecting the left and right brackets 3BL and 3BR, for example, an attachment portion 3BM for attaching a foot pin of the boom cylinder 7 is provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of the work machine 100 of the present embodiment will be described in comparison with a related art.

Specifically, for example, in a construction machine of a related art, when the number of hydraulic actuators attached to a work device increases, the number of hydraulic hoses connecting the piping on the vehicle body side and the piping on the boom side of the construction machine increases. In this case, it is necessary to avoid interference between the plurality of hydraulic hoses and the slewing-purpose hydraulic motor by providing a pipe fixing bracket to let the plurality of hydraulic hoses pass over the slewing-purpose hydraulic motor.

In this case, the pipe fixing bracket protrudes above the work floor on the upper slewing body, and accessibility and maintainability for a worker who operates the manual adjusting valve provided in a pipe for feeding hydraulic oil to the hydraulic actuator may be impaired. In the case where the manual adjusting valve is attached to the upper slewing body, it is difficult to secure an installation space for the manual adjusting valve on the upper slewing body. Therefore, there is a concern that accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve operated by a worker on the upper slewing body may be deteriorated.

In contrast, the work machine 100 of the present embodiment includes the lower travel body 1, the upper slewing body 3 slewably mounted on the lower travel body 1, and the work attachment AT including the boom 4 attached to the upper slewing body 3 in a raisable and lowerable manner. The work machine 100 includes the hydraulic actuator HA attached to the work attachment AT, and the manual adjusting valve 19 provided in the pipe 20 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuator HA. The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to the boom 4.

With such a configuration, in the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, a worker can easily operate the manual adjusting valve 19 attached to the boom 4 standing above the upper slewing body 3 in a state where the boom 4 is erected. Thus, even if the number of the hydraulic actuators HA attached to the work attachment AT is increased, and the number of pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, and 29 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA is increased, accessibility and maintainability to the manual adjusting valve 19 provided in the pipe 20 can be improved.

In the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to the side surface 4s or the back surface 4b of the boom 4.

With such a configuration, in the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, a worker can easily operate the manual adjusting valve 19 attached to the side surface 4s or the back surface 4b of the boom 4 standing above the upper slewing body 3 adjacent to the side surface 4s or the back surface 4b of the boom 4 in the erected state. Therefore, accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved.

In the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached above the work floor WP provided on the upper slewing body 3 in a state where the boom 4 is erected.

With such a configuration, a worker who operates the manual adjusting valve 19 does not need to take a posture of bending down on the work floor WP and stretching out his/her hand downward. Therefore, accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved.

In the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, the manual adjusting valve 19 is attached at a height at which a worker who works standing on the work floor WP can access the manual adjusting valve 19 in a standing position of the worker in a state where the boom 4 is erected.

With such a configuration, the worker who passes through the passage made up of the work floor WP and reaches the position where the manual adjusting valve 19 can be manually adjusted can perform the operation, adjustment, and maintenance of the manual adjusting valve 19 while standing on the work floor WP without a need to bend down. Therefore, accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved.

In the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, the protective fence G is provided at a position adjacent to the boom 4 on the work floor WP. The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to a position higher than the protective fence G in a state where the boom 4 is erected.

With such a configuration, it is possible to improve the safety of the worker who works on the work floor WP, and it is possible to prevent the protective fence G from becoming an obstacle to the operation, adjustment, and maintenance of the manual adjusting valve 19. Therefore, accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved and safety can be improved at the same time.

The work machine 100 of the present embodiment further includes the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B mounted on the upper slewing body 3. The manual adjusting valve 19 is attached to the back surface 4b of the boom 4. The pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA include a plurality of back surface-side flexible tubes arranged vertically between the side surfaces 4s and 4s of the boom 4 in the width direction and on the respective sides of the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B and extending toward the back surface side of the boom 4.

With such a configuration, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 and extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA can be arranged on both sides of the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B without passing over the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B. Thus, even if the number of the pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA are increased, it is not necessary to provide a pipe fixing bracket for passing the back surface-side flexible tube on the dual slewing-purpose hydraulic motors 2A and 2B as in a construction machine of a related art. As a result, a sufficiently wide work floor WP can be secured on the upper slewing body 3, and accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved.

Further, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA can be arranged between the side surfaces 4s and 4s of the boom 4. Thus, when the boom 4 is raised or lowered, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 can be prevented from interfering with the upper slewing body 3, the cab 10, an unprocessed log RW, a standing tree, and the like. As a result, the back surface-side flexible tubes of the pipes 20, 21, 22, and 23 can be prevented from being damaged or deteriorated.

In the work machine 100 of the present embodiment, the pipes 28 and 29 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuators HA include a plurality of front-side flexible tubes extending between the side surfaces 4s and 4s in the width direction of the boom 4 toward the front surface 4f side, the front surface 4f side being opposite to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4.

With such a configuration, the number of pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, and 27 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4 can be reduced, and a space above the upper slewing body 3 can be secured. As a result, not only the layout of the pipes 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, and 27 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the back surface 4b side of the boom 4 can be facilitated, but also accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 can be further improved by securing the space of the work floor WP on the upper slewing body 3.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the work machine 100 capable of improving accessibility and maintainability of the manual adjusting valve 19 provided in the pipe 20 extending from the upper slewing body 3 to the hydraulic actuator HA attached to the work attachment AT.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications, substitutions, and the like can be applied to the above-described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Also, features described separately can be combined as long as no technical contradiction arises.

WORK MACHINE

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