JP4533281B2 - Work machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a work machine having a working fluid pressure pipe.

  Signal exchange between electrical components mounted on conventional work machines is performed using electric wires wired to electrical components installed in each part of the machine.

In this case, in particular a hydraulic excavator, to the upper rotating body as a machine main body, the undercarriage of the machine operating section such relative to 360 ° pivotable, electrical, such as the onboard controller on the upper swing structure Since wiring from the product is difficult, electrical components such as sensors are often not attached.

On the other hand, as a means for transmitting a signal detected by a sensor provided on the lower traveling body to a controller provided on the upper swing body, a transmission antenna is provided on the lower travel body and a reception antenna is provided on the upper swing body. When transmitting a signal from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna, position the turning position of the upper swinging body relative to the lower traveling body so that the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna face each other, and transmit high-frequency electromagnetic waves from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. There is what to transmit (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-158108 (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

Thus, 3 60 ° to the lower traveling body pivotable hydraulic excavator, there are wiring lines are difficult problems, while transmitting a high-frequency electromagnetic waves from the transmitting antenna of the undercarriage to the receiving antenna of the upper frame However, there is a problem limited to the positional relationship in which the receiving antenna is opposed to the transmitting antenna in order to reliably transmit the signal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can reliably transmit a signal without using a wire having a possibility of disconnection failure and without being restricted by the positional relationship of the lower traveling body with respect to the upper swing body . An object is to provide a working machine.

The present invention relates to a lower traveling body including a fluid pressure actuator that is actuated by hydraulic oil , an upper revolving body that is turnable with respect to the lower traveling body, a pump mounted on the upper revolving body, and a supply from the pump a control valve for the directional control of the hydraulic oil, an oil pressure pipe disposed over the fluid pressure actuator of the undercarriage via the control valve from the pump, and a hydraulic actuator control valve and a lower traveling body of the upper rotating body one of the ultrasonic transceiver and the other of the ultrasonic communication hydraulic oil respectively provided oil-pressure tube into an oil pressure pipe in the oil pressure pipe in the lower traveling body in the upper rotating body as a signal transmission medium between the ultrasonic transceiver and, one ultrasonic transceiver and other ultrasonic transceiver on one of the electrical components which are connected by electric wires each and the other electrodeposition Is a work machine equipped and goods.

According to the present invention, as a signal transmission medium hydraulic oil in the oil-pressure pipe disposed over the fluid pressure actuator of the lower traveling body from the pump of the upper rotating body, the oil pressure pipe in the upper rotating body ultrasonic transceiver If, because the ultrasonic communication with the ultrasonic transceiver in the oil pressure pipe in the lower traveling body, without using a wire having a fear of disconnection defect, and the positional relationship of the lower traveling body to the upper swing structure Signals can be transmitted reliably without being restricted. In other words, conventionally, a slip ring is used in the swivel part of the upper swing body relative to the lower travel body in order to connect the electric wire to the lower travel body, but this slip ring has problems in durability and reliability. It was not easy to install electrical components on the body, but one electrical component and the other electrical component exceeded each other via hydraulic oil in the hydraulic piping for operating the fluid pressure actuator of the lower traveling body. By sonic communication, signals can be exchanged with the electrical components of the lower traveling body without providing signal transmission wires, that is, while maintaining durability and reliability, and installation of these electrical components becomes easy. . At this time, by ultrasonic communication using the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic piping connecting the lower traveling body and the upper swing body as a signal transmission medium, the signal is reliably transmitted without being limited by the turning position relationship of the upper swing body with respect to the lower traveling body. Can be transmitted.

Hereinafter, the prerequisite technology of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a hydraulic excavator 11 as a working machine, and an upper swing body 13 as a machine main body is provided on a lower traveling body 12 as a machine operating portion so as to be rotatable. As shown in the figure, there are an engine 14, a pump 15 as a fluid pressure source operated by the engine 14, a control valve 16 as a valve for controlling the direction of hydraulic oil as a working fluid supplied from the pump 15, and the like. It is installed.

  This control valve 16 is pilot-operated by a pilot valve 19 operated by an operating lever 18 provided on the left and right parts of a seat 17 on which an operator sits on the upper swing body 13 and is disposed on the side of the seat 17 By controlling the direction of hydraulic oil pressurized and supplied from the tank 20 by the pump 15, the hydraulic oil is supplied to the fluid pressure actuator 22 provided in the work device 21 as a mechanical operating unit movably mounted on the upper swing body 13. The operation of the fluid pressure actuator 22 is controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the work device 21 includes a bracket 23 projecting from the upper swing body 13 and a swing bracket 25 that is pivoted left and right by a swing cylinder 24. The base end of the boom 26 that is rotated in the vertical direction by the boom cylinder 22bm is pivotally supported, and the stick 27 that is pivoted in the front-rear direction by the stick cylinder 22st on the back of the boom is pivotally supported at the tip of the boom 26. A bucket 29 that is rotated via a linkage 28 by a bucket cylinder 22bk on the back of the stick is pivotally supported at the tip of the stick 27.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a hydraulic pipe 31 serving as a working fluid pressure pipe is provided from the pump 15 to a fluid pressure actuator 22 such as a boom cylinder 22 bm, a stick cylinder 22 st, or a bucket cylinder 22 bk. 31 and the hydraulic piping 31 in the working device 21 are at least one pair that performs ultrasonic communication using the hydraulic oil in the common hydraulic piping 31 between the control valve 16 and the fluid pressure actuator 22 as a signal transmission medium. Ultrasonic transceivers 32 and 33 are provided, respectively.

  In the hydraulic piping between the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 of the upper swing body 13 and the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 33 of the working device 21, a valve that may close the hydraulic piping, for example, the control valve 16 is not provided. . That is, the control valve 16 is provided in the hydraulic pipe 31a located at a position away from the hydraulic pipe between the ultrasonic transceiver 32 and the ultrasonic transceiver 33.

  An electrical component 35 such as a controller is connected to one ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 by an electric wire 34, and an electrical component 37 such as a sensor or an electronically controllable actuator is connected to the other ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 33 by an electric wire 36. Has been.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the working device 21 provided with the posture detection system has an electrical component (angle sensor) 37 installed at a portion where the movable member is pivotally supported. ) In the hydraulic piping 31 fixed along the movable member in the vicinity of 37, an ultrasonic transceiver 33 connected by an electrical component (angle sensor) 37 and an electric wire 36 is installed, while in the upper swing body 13 An ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 connected to an electrical component (controller) is installed in a common hydraulic pipe 31.

Next, the operation of the base technology shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

  When a transmission signal is input from the electrical component (controller) 35 to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 that has received the transmission signal converts the signal into an ultrasonic signal, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3B, a high-frequency ultrasonic signal modulated as shown in FIG. 3B is output into the hydraulic fluid whose pressure fluctuates in the hydraulic piping 31. This ultrasonic signal is transmitted to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 33 using the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic pipe 31 as a signal transmission medium, received, converted into a normal signal, and becomes a control signal for controlling the electronically controllable electrical component 37. . Therefore, the control signal of the controller can be transmitted to an actuator that can be electronically controlled without using an electric wire.

  In addition, when the electrical component 37 is a detector such as the angle sensor, the detection signal detected by the electrical component 37 is modulated into an ultrasonic signal by the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 33 and transmitted into the hydraulic oil, The hydraulic oil in the hydraulic pipe 31 is transmitted to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 as a signal transmission medium. The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 32 receives the ultrasonic signal, returns it to a normal signal, and sends the sensor information to the electrical component (controller) 35. Take in. Therefore, the controller can grasp airframe attitude information, airframe operation information, and the like from the sensor without using an electric wire.

  When performing such ultrasonic communication, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the hydraulic oil passing through the operating hydraulic pipe has a pressure fluctuation, but the pressure fluctuation is a low frequency of less than several hundred Hz. On the other hand, the modulation signal wave transmitted in the oil as shown in FIG. 3 (b) in which the portion b in FIG. 3 (a) is enlarged is an ultrasonic signal in the tens of kHz band. Communication is possible by applying this ultrasonic wave and existing communication technology.

Next, the effect of this prerequisite technology will be described.

  Using the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic piping 31 arranged from the control valve 16 to the fluid pressure actuator 22 as a signal transmission medium, the ultrasonic transceiver 32 in the hydraulic piping 31 in the upper swing body 13 and the hydraulic piping 31 in the work device 21 Since ultrasonic communication is performed with the internal ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 33, a signal can be reliably transmitted without using an electric wire that may cause a disconnection failure.

  That is, a signal is transmitted between the electrical component 35 such as the controller and the electrical component 37 installed in the movable part such as the boom 26 and the stick 27 without passing an electric wire through the bending movable part of the working device 21 with respect to the upper swing body 13. Can be exchanged, and there is no problem due to the disconnection of the electric wire, so the reliability of the product is improved.

  In addition, there is no valve or control valve 16 that prevents ultrasonic communication in the hydraulic pipe 31 between the ultrasonic transceiver 32 of the upper swing body 13 and the ultrasonic transceiver 33 of the working device 21, and the ultrasonic transceiver 32, Since the control valve 16 is provided in the hydraulic pipe 31a at a position outside the space 33, even when the control valve 16 is in a closed state, stable ultrasonic communication can be secured without being affected by the control valve 16. Furthermore, since the working oil in the hydraulic pipe 31 is a working fluid whose state is stable, a signal transmission medium suitable for performing stable ultrasonic communication can be obtained.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described on the basis of the above premise technology . In the premise technology shown in FIG. 1, the machine operating portion is the work device 21, but the machine operating portion is a lower traveling. It may be the body 12. That is, conventionally, in order to connect the electric wire to the lower traveling body 12, a slip ring is used in the turning portion of the upper revolving body 13 with respect to the lower traveling body 12, but this slip ring has a problem in durability and reliability. However, although it is not easy to install electrical components such as sensors and electronically controlled actuators on the lower traveling body 12, the lower traveling body 12 has a sprocket 42 around which a crawler belt 41 is wound as shown in FIG. Hydraulic cylinders such as a traveling motor as a fluid pressure actuator for driving the cylinder and hydraulic cylinders such as a blade lifting cylinder 44 as a fluid pressure actuator for raising and lowering the blade 43 are installed, and hydraulic piping for operating these fluid pressure actuators Therefore, through the hydraulic oil in these hydraulic pipes, the electrical components 35 such as the controller and the sensors and electronic control of the lower traveling body 12 By performing ultrasonic communication with electrical equipment such as a type actuator, signals can be exchanged with electrical equipment of the lower traveling body 12 without providing a signal transmission wire, that is, while maintaining durability and reliability, These electrical components can be easily installed.

  At this time, by the ultrasonic communication using the hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic piping connecting the lower traveling body 12 and the upper revolving body 13 as a signal transmission medium, the turning position relationship of the upper revolving body 13 with respect to the lower traveling body 12 is limited. Signal can be transmitted reliably.

  In this way, the working machine pays attention to the fact that the working fluid (hydraulic pressure) is supplied to almost all of the working machines, and the working device 21 having the movable parts such as the boom 26 and the stick 27, which have many wire disconnection problems, , Equipped with a communication system for exchanging signals by performing ultrasonic communication using hydraulic oil filled in hydraulic piping as a medium for electrical components installed in the lower traveling body 12 where wiring is difficult, According to the communication system, a signal can be transmitted without passing an electric wire through the bending movable part or the turning movable part between the upper swing body 13 and the work device 21 or the lower traveling body 12, and there is no problem due to the disconnection of the electric wire. Can improve the reliability.

  The present invention is applicable to work machines such as hydraulic excavators, crushers, and dismantling machines.

It is a perspective view which shows the premise technique of one Embodiment of the working machine which concerns on this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows the communication system of a working machine same as the above. (A) is a wave form diagram which shows the pressure fluctuation waveform of hydraulic oil, (b) is a wave form diagram which shows the example of a modulation | alteration of the signal wave by a system same as the above.

12 lower traveling structure
13 upper revolving structure
15 pump
16 Control valve
31 oil pressure piping
32, 33 Ultrasonic transceiver
34, 36 wires
35, 37 electrical components
44 Blade lifting cylinder as a fluid pressure actuator

Claims (1)

A lower traveling body including a fluid pressure actuator operated by hydraulic oil;
An upper swing body provided so as to be swingable with respect to the lower traveling body;
A pump mounted on the upper swing body and a control valve for controlling the direction of hydraulic oil supplied from the pump;
An oil pressure pipe disposed over the fluid pressure actuator of the undercarriage via the control valve from the pump,
Signaling hydraulic oil respectively provided oil-pressure tube into an oil pressure pipe in the oil pressure pipe in the lower traveling body in the upper rotating body between the hydraulic actuator control valve and a lower traveling body of the upper rotating body One ultrasonic transmitter / receiver that performs ultrasonic communication as a medium and the other ultrasonic transmitter / receiver ;
A working machine comprising one electrical component and the other electrical component connected to one ultrasonic transceiver and the other ultrasonic transceiver by electric wires, respectively .

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