JP2005075226A - Tank of construction machinery - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maximize the tank volume and to allow easy attachment or detachment of a tank with an obstacle avoided in a maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel tank 19 comprises non-deforming parts 20 and 21 that do not deform and a bellows-like telescopic section 22 disposed between them, and is constituted horizontally telescopically. The fuel tank 19 is installed in an expanded state at the maximum in a range of a tank installation space. While, in a maintenance such as cleaning of the fuel tank 19, the tank can be attached or detached in a contracted state to a size allowing avoidance of the obstacle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a tank such as a fuel tank used for construction machines such as a hydraulic excavator.

  The conventional technology and its problems will be described using a hydraulic excavator as an example.

  9 and 10 show a small hydraulic excavator called a mini excavator. Reference numeral 1 denotes a crawler type lower traveling body, and an upper revolving body 2 is mounted on the lower traveling body 1 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. The upper revolving body 2 includes a boom 3, an arm 4, a bucket 5 and these. A working device A composed of cylinders 6, 7, and 8 for driving the boom, arm, and bucket is mounted.

  The upper swing body 2 is configured by attaching an upper frame 9 with devices such as an engine, a guard panel 10 covering the same, a driver's seat 11 and the like.

  The upper frame 9 has a bottom plate 12. On the bottom plate 12, the left and right sides (right and left sides when viewed in the state of being seated on the driver's seat 11) are arranged in the front-rear direction. A main frame (sometimes referred to as a vertical rib) 13, 14 as a vertical wall extending, and a partition wall 15 extending in the left-right direction across the main frames 13, 14 are provided. A drive unit such as an engine (not shown) is installed in the rear portion (engine room) of the partitioned upper frame.

  On the other hand, support pillars 16 and 16 are vertically mounted on the left side of the front portion of the bottom plate 12 with a space in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 11, the driver's seat 11 in FIG. Is installed, and a fuel tank 18 for storing fuel is installed in a space formed between the bottom plate 12 and the floor plate 17.

  The fuel tank 18 is preferably capable of storing as much fuel as possible so that it can be operated for a long time with a single refueling.

With respect to the capacity of the fuel tank 18, as shown in Patent Document 1, there is a technique for changing the tank maximum capacity by making the insertion depth of the retainer provided in the fuel filler port into the tank variable by an insert member. It has been proposed that it is possible to increase the tank capacity by this technique.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-3434

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since the adjustment range of the internal volume by the insert is very small, the effect of expanding the tank volume is low and the request cannot be sufficiently met.

  Therefore, it is desired that the fuel tank 18 itself has a large size and a large volume as long as the space of the machine allows. However, the following problems have arisen here.

  That is, the fuel tank 18 needs to be removed periodically for maintenance such as internal cleaning, and therefore, it is required that the fuel tank 18 be easily removable from the outside.

  For this reason, when the fuel tank 18 is made large, especially in a machine in which equipment is stood up and arranged, such as a mini excavator, even if the tank space itself is present, there are obstacles around the tank so that it cannot be detached. There is.

  For example, in the example of FIGS. 10 and 11, if the fuel tank 18 is maximized as indicated by a two-dot chain line, the support pillars 16 and 16 become obstructed and the fuel tank 18 cannot be detached.

  Therefore, the fuel tank 18 has to be reduced to a size where the support pillars 16 and 16 do not obstruct the attachment / detachment as shown by solid and oblique lines in FIGS. For this reason, the expansion of the tank volume is practically impossible, and when a large volume is required, there is no choice but to add another tank.

  Moreover, since the fuel tank 18 is originally large enough to be held by both hands, the detaching operation is troublesome.

  The present invention solves the above problems and provides a tank for a construction machine that can be easily detached while maximizing the tank volume.

  The invention of claim 1 is provided with an expansion / contraction part that expands and contracts in at least one direction, and is configured to be able to be expanded / contracted in a direction in which the volume of the entire tank changes by the expansion / contraction part.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the stretchable portion is formed in a bellows shape by a flexible material.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, a non-deformable portion that does not deform and a stretchable portion are integrated.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the third aspect, an expansion / contraction part is provided between two non-deformation parts.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first or second aspect, the entire tank is formed as an expansion / contraction portion so as to be capable of expansion / contraction.

  Invention of Claim 6 is used as a fuel tank of the construction machine provided with the lower traveling body and the upper turning body mounted on the lower traveling body in the configuration of any one of Claims 1 to 5, It is configured such that it can be taken out from the outside in a tank installation space formed between the bottom plate and the floor plate of the upper frame constituting the upper revolving structure, and the expansion / contraction part expands and contracts in the horizontal direction.

  The invention according to claim 7 is formed by combining a plurality of separable containers into a predetermined tank shape.

  The invention of claim 8 is configured such that, in the configuration of claim 7, the oil supply ports of the respective containers are connected in communication by an oil supply pipe so that oil supply is possible at the same time.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the seventh or eighth aspect, the upper revolving structure is used as a fuel tank of a construction machine including a lower traveling structure and an upper revolving structure mounted on the lower traveling structure. Are accommodated in a tank installation space formed between a bottom plate and a floor plate of the upper frame so as to be removable from the outside, and the containers are combined in a state of being separable in the horizontal direction.

  According to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the tank is expanded / contracted in at least one direction by the expansion / contraction portion, and the volume changes accordingly, so that the tank is maximized in the permitted space (a large capacity is ensured). On the other hand, during the desorption, the whole can be reduced so that it can be easily desorbed while avoiding obstacles.

  Also, since it is possible to set various tank capacities with one tank, there is no need to manufacture and use different types of tanks having different capacities according to the size of the machine as in the prior art. That is, it can be shared by a plurality of models having different sizes. This is advantageous in terms of the cost of the tank.

  Here, in claim 2, since the tank is deformed by the expansion and contraction action of the bellows, the amount of deformation can be increased.

  Further, in the third and fourth aspects, since the tank is formed by integrating the non-deformable portion that does not deform and the stretchable portion, the entire shape of the tank can be stabilized by the non-deformable portion.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the fifth aspect, since the entire tank is expanded and contracted as an expansion / contraction portion, the entire tank can be easily manufactured and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  On the other hand, according to the inventions of the seventh to ninth aspects, a plurality of containers are combined to form a single tank. Therefore, as in the inventions of the first to sixth aspects, avoiding obstacles for each container while securing a large capacity. The tank can be easily detached.

  In addition, according to the first to ninth aspects of the invention, the tank can be reduced or divided so that it can be handled easily, so that the detachment work itself is facilitated.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1st Embodiment (refer FIGS. 1-3)
In the first embodiment, a fuel tank 19 obtained by improving the fuel tank 18 shown in FIGS.

  The fuel tank 19 has non-deformable portions 20 and 21 made of a material that is hard and does not flexibly deform (or hardly be deformed flexibly), such as metal or hard plastic, on both the front and rear sides. The elastic part 22 formed in a bellows shape with a flexible material is integrally provided between 21.

  The expansion / contraction part 22 is connected / integrated to the non-deformable parts 20, 21 by appropriate connection means such as screwing, tacking, and adhesion, and the entire tank is illustrated by the expansion / contraction action of the expansion / contraction part 22 in the front-rear direction. 1 is configured to be expanded and contracted into an expanded state shown in FIG. 1 and a contracted state shown in FIG.

  The stretchable part 22 is formed of a material that is flexible and does not leak fuel (light oil) or deteriorate or be damaged by the fuel, for example, various plastic materials or rubber materials having oil resistance and waterproofness, The both side non-deformable portions 20 and 21 are connected in a liquid-tight state using a seal member or the like.

  Moreover, the recessed parts 20a and 21a for escape with respect to the support pillars 16 and 16 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

  The fuel tank 19 is installed at a predetermined position (on the left side of the front portion on the bottom plate 12 of the upper frame 9) in a state where the fuel tank 19 is expanded to the maximum extent within the range of the installation space as shown by the solid lines in FIGS.

  Therefore, the tank capacity can be maximized, and the machine can be operated for a long time with one refueling.

  When the fuel tank 19 is removed for periodic maintenance, the non-deformed portions 20 and 21 on both sides are supported by the support pillars 16 and 21 as shown by two-dot chain lines in FIGS. Reduce to a size that does not hit 16 and take it out to the side.

  In addition, after the maintenance, after being inserted into the installation position from the side in a reduced state, it may be expanded in the front-rear direction to return to the original shape.

  That is, the fuel tank 19 can be easily detached while securing a large capacity.

  Furthermore, since the size can be freely expanded and reduced, various tank capacities can be set. This eliminates the need to manufacture and use different types of tanks with different capacities according to the size of the machine as in the prior art. That is, it can be shared by a plurality of models having different sizes. This is advantageous in terms of cost and the like.

  In addition, since the expansion / contraction action of the expansion / contraction part 22 (bellows) is used, the deformation amount (volume difference between the contracted state and the expanded state) of the tank 19 can be increased.

  In addition, since the three-member configuration in which the stretchable portion 22 is provided between the non-deformable portions 20 and 21 on both sides, the tank shape can be stabilized by the non-deformable portions 20 and 21 on both sides.

Second embodiment (see FIGS. 4 and 5)
The fuel tank 23 shown in the second embodiment is suitable for the case where the obstacle 27 hits the upper side (or the lower side) of the tank as shown in the figure when the tank is attached and detached. The telescopic part 26 is connected and integrated.

  Also with this fuel tank 23, basically the same operational effects as the fuel tank 19 of the first embodiment can be obtained.

Third embodiment (see FIG. 6)
In the fuel tank 28 of the third embodiment, the expansion / contraction part 31 provided between the non-deformation parts 29, 30 on both sides is not a bellows shape shaped into a regular waveform, but can be freely made like soft rubber. A flexible material that can be flexibly deformed is irregularly formed into a cylindrical shape that can be folded and extended, and can be expanded and contracted by the folding and extending action of the stretchable portion 31.

  In the figure, as a modified form of the fuel tank 19 of the first embodiment, a case where concave portions 29a, 30a for supporting column escape are provided in the non-deformed portions 29, 30 on both sides and the entire tank expands and contracts in the front-rear direction is illustrated. doing. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the entire tank is expanded and contracted in the vertical direction as in the second embodiment.

  This fuel tank 28 can also provide the same operational effects as in the first and second embodiments.

  In addition, since the material is expanded and contracted by the flexible deformation action of the soft material, the stretchable part 31 can be manufactured easily and at a lower cost than the case of the bellows shape.

Fourth embodiment (see FIG. 7)
The fuel tank 32 shown in the fourth embodiment is entirely formed in a bellows shape as an expandable portion.

  According to this fuel tank 32, since it is a one-member structure, the entire tank can be easily manufactured and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In addition, it is good also as a shape which can be folded and extended like the expansion-contraction part 31 of 3rd Embodiment instead of a bellows shape.

  However, when this bellows type or folding / extending type tank configuration is adopted, in order to maintain the shape of the entire tank, a shape retaining frame or fixing tool is detachably provided around the tank, and this fixing tool is attached to the machine. It is desirable to adopt a configuration that stops.

Fifth embodiment (see FIG. 8)
A fuel tank 33 according to the fifth embodiment is configured by combining separable first, second, and third containers 34, 35, and 36 in the same tank shape as the fuel tank 19 of the first embodiment. .

  Both the first and second containers 34 and 35 are installed side by side on the outside of the tank installation space, and are provided with recesses 34a and 35a for escaping to the support columns 16 and 16 in a plan view square shape. The third container 36 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in plan view, assuming that the third container 36 is installed inside the containers 34 and 35.

  When removing the fuel tank 33, the first container 34 is taken obliquely forward, the third container 36 is taken forward, and the second container 35 is shifted forward and then removed laterally (the reverse is the case when re-installing). Insert in the procedure of).

  Similarly to the first to fourth embodiments, this fuel tank 33 can be easily detached and attached during maintenance while maximizing the tank capacity.

  In this embodiment, the respective oil supply ports 37, 38, 39 are connected to each other by the oil supply pipe 40 so that all the containers 34 to 36 can be supplied with oil at the same time.

  The oil supply pipe 40 is connected to the oil supply ports 37 to 39 through joints so as to be separated from the containers 34 to 36 when the tank is removed.

  The present invention is particularly suitable for the fuel tanks mentioned in the above embodiments, but can be applied to any non-pressure tank or low-pressure tank, and can also be applied to, for example, a hydraulic oil tank for construction machinery.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the tank is expanded or contracted only in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction is exemplified, but the tank may be configured to be expanded or contracted in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

It is a perspective view of the expansion state of the fuel tank concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the contraction state of the tank. It is a schematic plan view of the state which installed the tank in the upper frame of the hydraulic shovel. It is a front view of the expansion state of the fuel tank concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the contraction state of the tank. (a) is a reduced state of the fuel tank concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention, (b) is a perspective view which shows the expanded state of the tank, respectively. It is a perspective view of the fuel tank concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of the state which installed the fuel tank concerning 5th Embodiment of this invention in the upper frame of the hydraulic shovel. 1 is a schematic side view of a hydraulic excavator to which the present invention is applied. It is a schematic plan view of the upper frame of the shovel and a conventional fuel tank. It is the XI-XI line expanded sectional view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower traveling body 2 Upper revolving body 9 Upper frame 12 Upper frame bottom plate 17 Floor plate 19, 23, 28 Fuel tank 20, 21, 24, 25, 29, 30 Non-deformation part of fuel tank 22, 26, 31 Same expansion and contraction Portion 32 Fuel tank formed entirely as an expansion / contraction part 33 Divided fuel tank 34, 35, 36 Containers 37, 38, 39 constituting the fuel tank Filling port 40 of each container Connecting the filling ports

Claims (9)

  A construction machine tank comprising an expansion / contraction portion extending and contracting in at least one direction, and configured to be capable of expansion / contraction deformation in a direction in which the volume of the entire tank changes by the expansion / contraction portion.   The construction machine tank according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable portion is formed in a bellows shape by a flexible material.   The tank of a construction machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the non-deformable portion and the expansion / contraction portion that are not deformed are integrated.   The construction machine tank according to claim 3, wherein an expansion / contraction part is provided between the two non-deformation parts.   The tank for construction machinery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the entire tank is formed as an expansion / contraction portion so as to be capable of expansion / contraction deformation.   It is used as a fuel tank of a construction machine having a lower traveling body and an upper swing body mounted on the lower traveling body, and is formed between a bottom plate and a floor plate of an upper frame constituting the upper swing body. The construction machine tank according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the construction machine tank is accommodated in a tank installation space so as to be removable from the outside, and the expansion and contraction part extends and contracts in a horizontal direction.   A construction machine tank comprising a plurality of separable containers combined in a predetermined tank shape.   8. The construction machine tank according to claim 7, wherein the oil supply ports of the containers are connected to each other by an oil supply pipe so as to be able to supply oil simultaneously.   It is used as a fuel tank of a construction machine having a lower traveling body and an upper swing body mounted on the lower traveling body, and is formed between a bottom plate and a floor plate of an upper frame constituting the upper swing body. 9. The construction machine tank according to claim 7, wherein the tank is stored in the tank installation space so as to be removable from the outside, and the containers are combined in a state where they can be separated in the horizontal direction.

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