JP2008037343A - Radiator grill device for construction machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radiator grill device capable of shortening a warming operation time for warming the cooling water of an engine and a hydraulic fluid of a hydraulic device and preventing the excessive cooling of the cooling water and the hydraulic fluid. <P>SOLUTION: The radiator grill device (14) is provided with a louver (30) mounted to a radiator opening (16) so as to be openable and closable; a drive means (32) for opening and closing the louver (30); a water temperature detection means (34) of the engine cooling water and an oil temperature detection means (36) of the hydraulic fluid; and a control means (38) for positioning the louver (30) at "a closed position" when at least one of the water temperature and the oil temperature is lower than respective set temperatures and for positioning the louver (30) at "an opened position" when both the temperatures are higher than the set temperatures. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a radiator grill apparatus suitable for construction machines such as bulldozers and hydraulic excavators.

For example, construction machines such as a bulldozer and a hydraulic excavator include an engine cooling water radiator that is a cooler together with an engine and an oil cooler for hydraulic oil in an engine room. Cooling air generated by a fan driven by the engine is passed through these coolers.

The fan, for example, sucks outside air from an opening formed in the upper surface of the engine compartment and flows it as cooling air to the cooler, and the air that has absorbed the heat is discharged out of the engine compartment through a radiator opening that faces the cooler. The A construction machine includes a relatively large cooler and a radiator opening having a large opening area because of a large work load and a high-speed driving unlike an automobile.

A radiator grille is provided in the radiator opening (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A typical radiator grill is provided with a louver in which a plurality of slats are arranged in the shape of a door to improve ventilation.
JP 2001-055098 A (FIG. 1)

However, the conventional construction machine of the form as described above has the following problems to be solved.

When the construction machine is started, a warm-up operation is performed in order to warm engine coolant, hydraulic fluid, and the like. A fan driven by the engine rotates in accordance with the rotation of the engine. The cooling air from the fan is discharged from the radiator opening through the cooler regardless of the temperature of the cooling water, the temperature of the hydraulic oil, the temperature of the outside air, and the like. Therefore, there is a problem that warm-up operation takes time in cold districts and in cold weather. Since the radiator includes a known thermostat, the cooling water does not flow to the radiator until a predetermined temperature is reached. However, since the working oil always flows to the oil cooler, heating means such as a heater is provided if necessary.

Further, when the engine is rotating, the cooling air always passes through the radiator and the oil cooler and is discharged from the opening of the radiator. Therefore, there is a problem that the cooling water and the hydraulic oil are supercooled in a cold region and at a cold time. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described facts, and its technical problem is that the warm-up operation time for warming the cooling water for the engine of the construction machine and the hydraulic fluid for the hydraulic device can be shortened. It is another object of the present invention to provide a radiator grill device for a construction machine that can prevent overcooling of hydraulic oil.

According to the present invention, as a radiator grill device for a construction machine that solves the above technical problem, a louver that is openably and closably attached to a radiator opening facing the radiator in the engine compartment, a drive means that opens and closes the louver, and an inflow to the radiator The engine cooling water temperature detecting means and the oil temperature detecting means of the hydraulic oil flowing into the oil cooler provided in the radiator, and the driving means are controlled based on the detection results of the water temperature detecting means and the oil temperature detecting means, And a control means that is positioned in the “closed position” when at least one of the water temperature and the oil temperature is lower than the set temperature, and in the “open position” when both are higher than the set temperature. A radiator grill apparatus is provided.

Preferably, the louver includes a plurality of slats attached so as to be rotatable about an axis, and the plurality of slats are an “open position” oriented substantially horizontally and a “closed position” oriented substantially vertically upward. It is rotated between.

A radiator grill device for a construction machine configured according to the present invention includes a louver that is attached to a radiator opening so as to be openable and closable. The louver is driven by a drive unit and a control unit based on an engine cooling water temperature and a hydraulic oil temperature. When at least one of these is lower than the set temperature, it is positioned at the “closed position”, and when both are higher than the set temperature, it is positioned at the “open position”.

Therefore, when the water temperature or oil temperature is lower than the set temperature, closing the louver and closing the radiator opening causes substantially no cooling air to flow through the radiator and oil cooler, and warm air in the engine compartment is not discharged to the outside. The operation time can be shortened, and overcooling of cooling water and hydraulic oil can be prevented.

Hereinafter, a radiator grill device for a construction machine configured according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of a bulldozer as a typical construction machine.

This will be described with reference to FIG. The bulldozer denoted by reference numeral 2 includes a pair of left and right endless track type traveling bodies 4 and 4 and a body 6 attached to the traveling bodies 4 and 4. An engine compartment 8 that houses an engine, a radiator, and the like is provided at the front of the body 6, and a driver's seat 10 is provided at the rear. In front of the body 8 and the traveling bodies 4, 4, a soil removal device 12 that is freely attached to the body 8 in the vertical direction is provided.

The engine chamber 8 is formed of a steel plate in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and includes a radiator opening 16 provided with a radiator grill device 14 on a vertical surface at the front end. The upper surface of the engine chamber 8 is provided with a ventilation opening 18, an engine intake cleaner 20, an exhaust pipe 22, and the like.

1 will be described with reference to FIG. The radiator opening 16 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape extending up and down. An engine cooling water radiator 24 is disposed on the inner side facing the opening, a hydraulic oil cooler 26 is provided on the inner side of the radiator 24, and an inner side is driven by the engine 28. And a fan 29 for generating cooling air.

The radiator grille device 14 includes a louver 30 attached to the radiator opening 16 so as to be openable and closable, a driving means 32 for opening and closing the louver 30, an engine coolant water temperature detecting means 34 flowing into the radiator 24, and an operation flowing into the oil cooler 26. Oil temperature detecting means 36 for oil, control means 38 for controlling the driving means 32 based on the detection results of the water temperature detecting means 34 and the oil temperature detecting means 36 are provided.

As will be described in detail later, the control means 38 controls the drive means 32 so that the louver 30 is moved to a “closed position” (shown by a solid line in FIG. 1) when at least one of the detected water temperature and oil temperature is lower than the set temperature. When both are higher than the set temperature, the position is set to the “open position” (position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1).

When the louver 30 is in the “open position”, the outside air sucked from the ventilation opening 18 (FIG. 4) of the engine chamber 8 by the fan 29 passes through the radiator 24 and the oil cooler 26 as cooling air, and passes through the louver 30 in the radiator opening 16. Then, it is discharged out of the engine compartment 8 as indicated by the white two-dot chain arrows.

The louver 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 together with FIG. The louver 30 includes a plurality (10 in the embodiment) of slats 30a. The slat 30a is formed by bending a band steel plate slightly shorter than the horizontal width of the radiator opening 16 into a mountain shape with a cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. One side of the rectangular long side of the slat 30a is welded and joined to a round bar shaft 30b which has an insertion end into the radiator opening 16 at both ends and forms an axis X. The wing plate 30a is attached to the radiator opening 16 so as to be rotatable about the axis X, with the concave side of the mountain-shaped cross section being the upper side.

On one end side of the round bar shaft 30b, a drive shaft 30d is integrally provided in parallel with the round bar shaft 30b via a rectangular thick plate block 30c on the opposite side of the wing plate 30a across the axis X. The end of the drive shaft 30d protruding from the block 30c is rotatably inserted into a bar-like link 40 having a rectangular cross section extending vertically. The drive means 32 described above for driving the link 40 in the vertical direction along the radiator opening 16 is connected to the lower end portion of the link 40.

The driving means 32 is formed by a well-known electric cylinder that can be expanded and contracted, and is connected to a power source 42 via a control means 38.

When the link 40 is moved to the lower position (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1) by the driving means 32, the plurality of blades 30a attached to the axis 40 so as to be rotatable about the axis X are moved by the respective drive shafts 30d attached to the link 40. When the link 40 is set to the upper position (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), the "open position" is set to be substantially horizontal. Positioned. Thus, the plurality of slats 30a are driven by the drive means 32 in an “open position” (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) and a “closed position” (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). The position is rotated between the positions indicated by solid lines in FIG.

The control means 38 sets, for example, T1 = 70 ° C. and T2 = 10 ° C. as the water temperature setting temperature T1 and the oil temperature setting temperature T2. These set temperatures are appropriately set according to the operating conditions of the construction machine, the load of the engine, the hydraulic equipment, and the like.

The control procedure of the control means 38 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 together with FIG.

In step S1, the water temperature t1 is detected by the water temperature detection means 34, and the oil temperature t2 is detected by the oil temperature detection means 36, and the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the detected water temperature t1 is compared with the set temperature T1, and when t1 is lower than T1, the process proceeds to step S3, and when it is higher, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, the louver 30 is positioned at the “closed position” by the driving means 32, and the process proceeds to step S1.

In step S4, the detected oil temperature t2 and the set temperature T2 are compared. When t2 is lower than T2, the process proceeds to step S3, and the louver 30 is positioned at the “closed position” by the driving means 32, and when it is higher, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, the louver 30 is positioned at the “open position” by the driving means 32, and the process proceeds to step S1.

The effect of the radiator grill device 14 of the construction machine as described above will be described.

A radiator grill device 14 for a construction machine constructed according to the present invention includes a louver 30 attached to the radiator opening 16 so as to be openable and closable. The louver 30 is driven by drive means 32 and control means 38 based on the engine coolant temperature and hydraulic oil temperature. When at least one of the water temperature and the oil temperature is lower than the set temperature, it is positioned at the “closed position”, and when both are higher than the set temperature, it is positioned at the “open position”.

Therefore, when the water temperature or the oil temperature is lower than the set temperature, the louver 30 is closed and the radiator opening 16 is closed, so that the cooling air does not substantially flow through the radiator 24 and the oil cooler 26, and the warm air in the engine chamber 8 is also externally generated. Therefore, the warm-up operation time can be shortened, and the cooling water and hydraulic oil can be prevented from being overcooled.

The louver 30 includes a plurality of vanes 30a that are pivotably mounted about the axis X, and the plural vanes 30a are "open position" oriented substantially horizontally and "closed" oriented substantially vertically upward. Since the position is rotated, the cooling air discharged from the radiator opening 16 is discharged upward (indicated by a two-dot chain line white arrow in FIG. 1). Therefore, it is possible to prevent blown away processed objects around the construction machine, for example, earth and sand that are processed above the earth discharging plate 12 of the bulldozer 2 (FIG. 4).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a radiator grill device for a construction machine configured according to the present invention. The figure seen from the BB arrow direction of FIG. (A) The enlarged view of the part of the louver of FIG. 1, (b) Sectional drawing seen in the AA arrow direction of (a). The flowchart which shows the control procedure of a control means. The figure which looked at the bulldozer which is a construction machine provided with the radiator grill apparatus comprised according to this invention from diagonally forward.

Explanation of symbols

2: Bulldozer (construction machine)
8: Engine compartment 14: Radiator grill device 16: Radiator opening 24: Radiator 26: Oil cooler 30: Louver 30a: Blade 32: Driving means 34: Water temperature detecting means 36: Oil temperature detecting means 38: Control means X: Axis

Claims (2)

A grill device provided at a radiator opening facing a radiator in an engine compartment,
A louver attached to the radiator opening so as to be openable and closable;
Driving means for opening and closing the louver;
A means for detecting the temperature of engine coolant flowing into the radiator and a means for detecting the temperature of hydraulic oil flowing into the oil cooler provided in the radiator;
The driving means is controlled based on the detection results of the water temperature detecting means and the oil temperature detecting means, and the louver is set to the “closed position” when at least one of the water temperature and the oil temperature is lower than the set temperature, and both are higher than the set temperature. Sometimes with control means positioned in the "open position",
A radiator grill device for a construction machine. Louver
It is equipped with a plurality of slats attached so as to be rotatable around an axis,
Multiple slats
It is rotated between an “open position” that is substantially horizontal and a “closed position” that is substantially vertically upward.
2. The radiator grille for a construction machine according to claim 1.

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