JPH0826028A - Horn device of construction machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively warn operators and the like around a construction machine by always same and understandable tone quality, and by warning sound of different sound volume required for a work in the daytime and a work at night. CONSTITUTION:A horn 10a is used for high frequency sound and a horn 10b is used for low frequency sound. These are always simultaneously operated, but the warning sound is changed into two steps by a connecting state changeover means 16. The connecting state changeover means 16 changes the two horns into the series connection or the parallel connection. When a switch 15 for operating an illuminating lamp is OFF, the horns are connected to a power source 11 in parallel, and hence the horns are in the state of generating the warning sound of large sound volume. When the switch 15 for operating the illuminating lamp is ON, the illuminating lamp 13 is lighted, the horns are connected to the power source 11 in series by the connecting state changeover means 16, and hence the horns are in the state of generating the warning sound of small sound volume.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alarm horn device installed on a construction machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a construction machine, for example, in a hydraulic excavator, an upper revolving structure is rotatably provided on a lower traveling structure, and a front working mechanism including a front attachment such as a boom, an arm and a bucket is provided on the upper revolving structure. To be Then, for example, when excavating earth and sand and loading it on a dump truck, the front working mechanism is operated to excavate earth and sand by a bucket, and the earth and sand are accommodated in the bucket. The bucket is moved to the upper side of the dump truck and the earth and sand in the bucket are discharged to the dump truck.

The above-mentioned work is performed in a hydraulic excavator, but an operator may perform work in the peripheral portion of the hydraulic excavator at a work site. It is extremely dangerous for this operator to operate the hydraulic excavator while working within the working range of the front working mechanism or within the turning radius of the upper swing body. For this reason, a horn is attached to the hydraulic excavator, and when the operator confirms that the worker is in a dangerous area, the horn is activated to alert the worker. There is.

[0004] In recent years, in urban civil engineering and the like, there is much nighttime work, and the ambient noise is not so loud at night. Therefore, even if the volume of the alarm sound from the horn is reduced to some extent, the operator can be sufficiently informed. In order to reduce noise at night, it is preferable to reduce the volume of the horn. On the other hand, when working in the daytime, the ambient noise is much louder than at night, and since it is not necessary to pay attention to the noise during the nighttime, a loud alarm sound is generated by giving priority to safety. Is preferable.

From the above, two types of horns, a high volume horn and a low volume horn, can be mounted on a construction machine, and can be switched between the high volume horn and the low volume horn by using switching means. In the daytime work, the volume horn is activated to increase the volume, and at night work, the volume horn is activated to reduce the volume when the horn is activated. Those are known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-169836.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, although two horns are provided, only one horn operates, so a large volume is required. Even in the case, only one horn operates, and it cannot be said that the volume is sufficient. Moreover, since the alarm sound that is generated is a single sound, various noises are generated in the surroundings, and in a place where the noise itself is severe, the alarm sound may not necessarily be transmitted to the operator. There is a problem in that the functions may not be fully exhibited. In addition, the sound quality of the alarm sound is different because the different horns operate during the daytime and nighttime, and the operator has the disadvantage that the alarm sound and the noise are mistakenly recognized.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a horn device that can more effectively warn an operator or the like around a construction machine.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a construction machine with a plurality of alarm horns, each of which is connected in series to a power source. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a connection state switching means for switching between a connection state and a parallel connection state.

[0009]

For example, when two horns are installed in a construction machine and the horns are operated in parallel with each other, a warning sound of a predetermined volume is generated. On the other hand, when switching to the serial connection state, the volume is substantially reduced to 1/4 of that in the parallel connection state. Therefore,
When the horn is operated by operating the connection state switching means and holding the horn in the parallel connection state during the daytime work, an alarm sound is generated at a large volume. In addition, when working at night, when the horn is operated by connecting the horn in series, the alarm sound is reduced. That is, regardless of whether the horn operates at a high volume or a low volume, all horns always operate at the same time. Even if you don't use, you can increase the volume considerably.
Further, since the alarm sound is generated by the same horn both during the day and at night, the sound quality of the alarm sound does not change between daytime and nighttime. Furthermore, it is possible to make the frequencies of a plurality of horns different, and by using the high-frequency horn and the low-frequency horn to set the respective frequencies as appropriate, workers working around the work site, etc. It is possible to generate an alarm sound with a sound quality that is most easy to hear.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a hydraulic excavator as an example of a construction machine. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a lower traveling body, and an upper revolving structure 2 is installed on the lower traveling structure 1 so that the upper revolving structure 2 can rotate.
And a front working mechanism 4 are provided. The front working mechanism 4 has a boom 5 provided on the upper revolving structure 2 so as to be able to move up and down. An arm 6 is rotatably connected to the tip of the boom 5 in the vertical direction. As a front attachment, for example, a bucket 7 is rotatably connected to the. The boom 5, the arm 6 and the bucket 7 are driven by the boom cylinder 5a, the arm cylinder 6a and the bucket cylinder 7a, respectively.

This hydraulic excavator can be moved forward and backward by a traveling hydraulic motor mounted on the undercarriage 1, and the upper revolving structure 2 is moved to the lower traveling structure 1 by operating the revolving motor. The front working mechanism 4 is operated by turning the cylinders 6a to 7a. For example, in order to perform the work of excavating earth and sand and loading it on a dump truck, first, the front working mechanism 4 is moved to the excavation position.
And the bucket 7 is operated to excavate the earth and sand. After that, the upper swing body 2 is swung to displace the front working mechanism 4 to the upper position of the dump truck.

When performing the above work, there are cases where a worker is working at the work site, and this worker is within the movable range of the front working mechanism 4 and the turning radius of the upper swing body 2. This worker must be alerted as it is dangerous to get inside. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, two horns 10a,
10b is provided. Each of these horns 10a, 10
Of the b, one horn 10a is a high frequency horn,
The other horn 10b is a low frequency horn. The two horns 10a and 10b are always operated at the same time, but the volume of the alarm sound can be changed in two steps.

Therefore, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the control circuit for the horns 10a and 10b. In the figure, 11 is a power source, and this power source 11 is usually composed of a battery mounted on a hydraulic excavator. Further, 12 is an indicator lamp and 13 is an illumination lamp. The indicator lamp 12 is for indicating that the horns 10a and 10b have been activated, and is provided on an operation panel or the like provided in the cab 3. The illumination lamp 13 is for illuminating a work area during nighttime work, and the illumination lamp 13 is attached to, for example, a portion near the driver's cab 3, a boom 5 forming the front work mechanism 4, or the like. 1
Reference numeral 4 is a horn operation switch, and 15 is a lighting lamp operation switch.

Reference numeral 16 is a connection state switching means, which connects the power source 11 to the horn 10.
It is for switching the connection state such as connecting a and 10b in series or in parallel. This connection state switching means 16 has two
It is composed of a pair of switching devices 17 and 18, and solenoids 19 and 20 for switching the switching devices 17 and 18, respectively. The + side electrode of the horn 10 a is connected to the power supply 11 via the horn actuation switch 14, and the − side electrode is connected to the fixed contact 17 a of the switching device 17. The + side electrode of the horn 10b is connected to the fixed contact 18a of the switch 18, and the − side electrode is grounded. The first switching contact 17b of the switching device 17 is grounded, and the first switching contact 18b of the switching device 18 is connected to the power supply 11 via the horn operating switch 14. On the other hand, the second switching contacts 17c of the switching devices 17 and 18,
18c are connected to each other.

In the switching devices 17 and 18, the fixed contacts 17a and 18a are always connected to the first switching contacts 17b and 18b. In this state, the horns 10a and 10b are connected to the power source 11 in parallel. Has become. On the other hand, when the illumination lamp operating switch 15 is turned on, the solenoids 19 and 20 are excited and the fixed contacts 17a and 1
8a is switched to a state where it is connected to the second switching contacts 17c and 18c, and the horns 10a and 10b are switched to a state where they are connected in series to the power supply 11.

With the above construction, the illumination lamp 13 need not be turned on when the hydraulic excavator is working during the daytime, so the illumination lamp operating switch 15 is held in the OFF state. It Therefore, in this state, in the connection state switching means 16,
The fixed contacts 17a, 18a are the first switching contacts 17b, 18
The horns 10a and 10b are connected to the power supply 11 in parallel by being connected to the power source 11. Therefore, the horn operation switch 14
When turned on, the horns 10a and 10b generate a loud alarm sound. On the other hand, at night work, since it is necessary to illuminate the work area, the illumination lamp operating switch 15 is turned on and the illumination lamp 13 is turned on. Along with this, a switching device 17, which constitutes the connection state switching means 16,
The fixed contacts 17a, 18a of 18 are the second switching contacts 17
horn 10 so that it can be connected to c and 18c.
The a and 10b are connected to the power supply 11 in series. In this state, when the horn actuating switch 14 is turned on, a low-volume alarm sound is generated from the horns 10a and 10b.

For example, if the power supply voltage is 24V and the resistance of the horns 10a and 10b is 8Ω, then 24V is applied to the horns 10a and 10b in parallel.
Since the voltage of 1 is applied, a current of 3 A is consumed in each case. Therefore, each consumes 72 W of power, and therefore 144 W of power is consumed as a whole, so that an alarm sound of a volume corresponding to this power is generated. On the other hand, in the serial state, the horns 10a and 10b are respectively applied with a voltage of 12V, and therefore each consumes a current of 1.5A. When the power is consumed, an alarm sound with a volume corresponding to the power consumption is generated. From the above, the power consumption in the serial state is 1 compared to that in the parallel state.
Since it is / 4, the volume is also about 1/4.

Thus, the two horns 10a, 10b
, It is necessary to use a large horn for high volume because these two horns 10a, 10b are operated at maximum volume during daytime work in which a high volume alarm sound needs to be generated. There is no. In addition, when working at night when it is necessary to reduce noise, two horns 1
0a and 10b are activated, and about 1 / maximum volume
Since the volume is reduced so as to be 4, there is no difference in the sound quality between the high volume and the low volume, and the surrounding workers can be alerted with the alarm sound of the constant sound quality. Even in an environment where a sound is generated, the worker can clearly recognize the alarm sound. Particularly, of the two horns 10a and 10b, the frequency of the alarm sound from the horn 10a is set to be high and the frequency of the alarm sound from the horn 10b is set to be low. In contrast, there is a significant difference, and a composite sound that can be easily identified by the operator can be obtained, which is more preferable.

In the above embodiment, two horns are used, but the number of horns is not limited to this. Further, switching of the connection state between the parallel connection state of high volume and the series connection state of low volume is configured to be performed in conjunction with lighting of the illumination lamp, which allows night work to be performed. When the lighting lamp necessary for the lighting is turned on, the alarm sound with a low volume is surely switched to a state where the alarm sound is generated. However, the connection state switching means does not necessarily have to be configured to switch in conjunction with the illumination lamp, and may be configured to switch using a switching means separate from the illumination lamp.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of alarm horns are installed on a construction machine, and each of these horns is connected in series to a power source, and in parallel connection. Since it is configured to have a connection state switching means for switching to a state in which it is turned on, an alarm sound that requires different volumes for daytime work and nighttime work is used, and workers around the construction machine etc. are always heard with the same sound quality. It has the effect of being able to effectively warn with easy sound quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a hydraulic excavator as an example of a construction machine to which a horn device is attached.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a mounted state of a horn that constitutes the horn device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram of a horn included in the horn device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower traveling structure 2 Upper revolving structure 10a, 10b Horn 11 Power supply 13 Lighting lamp 14 Horn operating switch 15 Lighting lamp operating switch 16 Connection state switching means 17, 18 Switching device 19, 20 Solenoid

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connection state switching means for installing a plurality of alarm horns on a construction machine, and switching each of the horns to a power source between a series connection state and a parallel connection state. A horn device for a construction machine, which is configured to be provided. 2. The horn device for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the horns are configured to operate at different frequencies. 3. Switching the connection state of each horn is
The horn device for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the horn device is configured to interlock with an ON / OFF operation of an illumination lamp.