JPH04237820A - Engine cooling water quantity alarm device for working machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately judge whether cooling water is insufficient or not, so as to give alarm of cooling water shortage to a worker in an earlier stage by using a working machine provided with a cooling water quantity detector of an engine, and whereby judging the quantity of water only when the cooling water in a reservoir tank is not vibrated even at the time of working. CONSTITUTION:In a C/U 21, signals are read from a running lever, a turning lever, and tilted angle sensors 22-24, at a step 1, step 3, and at a step 5, and when the running and turning are stopped while a working machine main body is not tilted, it means that there is no movement of the surface of cooling water in a reservoir tank 13, and accurate quantity of water 15 is judged in a water quantity judging process continued thereafter, and when the water is insufficient, an alarm lamp 25 is lighted.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is an engine cooling water amount alarm system for a working machine, which is preferably installed in a working machine such as a hydraulic excavator and used to detect the amount of cooling water stored in a cooling water tank of an engine. Regarding.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an example in which a conventional engine cooling water amount alarm system for a working machine is used in a hydraulic excavator.

In the figure, 1 is a lower running body equipped with a crawler track 1A;
Reference numeral 2 indicates an upper revolving body which is rotatably mounted on the upper side of the lower traveling body 1 and constitutes a working machine main body together with the lower traveling body 1, and the upper revolving body 2 includes an operator's cab 2A, a machine room 2B, etc. A support bracket 3 for a working device 4, which will be described later, is integrally provided. In addition, the upper revolving structure 2 includes a machine room 2B.
An engine 11 and the like equipped with a reserve tank 13, which will be described later, are provided.

[0004] Reference numeral 4 denotes a working device installed at the front part of the revolving upper structure 2 so as to be able to move up and down. An arm 6 is connected with a pin to the tip side of the
and a bucket 7 rotatably pin-coupled to the distal end side of the arm 6, which are operated by a boom cylinder 8, an arm cylinder 9, and a bucket cylinder 10 as cylinder devices.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an engine as a prime mover provided in the machine room 2B and equipped with a cooling fan 11A.The engine 11 is connected to a hydraulic pump (not shown) and is driven by pressure oil from the hydraulic pump. The swing lever, travel lever, and boom lever, arm lever, and bucket lever of the working device 4 provided in the chamber 2A (all not shown)
The traveling motor, the swing motor (none of which are shown), the cylinders 8, 9, 10, etc. of the lower traveling body 1 are operated through the motor. Note that the swing lever, boom lever, arm lever, and bucket lever are normally operated in combination by two operation levers.

12 is a cooling fan 11 of the engine 11.
The radiator 12 is connected to the cooling water flow path of the engine 11 via a circulation pipe (none of which is shown), and supplies the cooling water M to the engine 1.
The engine 11 is cooled by circulating it through the cooling water flow path 1, and this cooling water M is cooled in the radiator 12 by the wind from the cooling fan 11A. 1
3 indicates a reserve tank as a cooling water tank for replenishing the cooling water M to the radiator 12;
3 is connected to the radiator 12 via a pipe 14, and is adapted to replenish the circulating cooling water M when the amount of the circulating cooling water M becomes insufficient.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a water gauge as a water amount detection means for detecting the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13. The water gauge 15 is fixed to the side surface of the reserve tank 13 and is composed of a potentiometer or the like. A gauge body 15A, a rotary rod 15B provided on the gauge body 15A so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a float 15C provided at the tip side of the rotary rod 15B and floating along the liquid surface of the cooling water M. The float 15C is configured to float in the vicinity of the side surface of the reserve tank 13 in the vertical direction. The water gauge 15 is connected to the rotary rod 15B via a float 15C floating along the surface of the cooling water M.
The gauge main body 15A outputs a signal corresponding to the liquid level of the cooling water M as a water amount detection signal.

In the conventional technology configured as described above, by driving the engine 11, the cooling water M is supplied to the engine 1.
1 and the radiator 12 to circulate between the engine 1 and the radiator 12.
The engine 11 is cooled by absorbing the heat generated by the engine 11. Then, when starting the engine 11, in order to check the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13, a start check switch (not shown) is turned on. A detection signal corresponding to the amount of cooling water M is output as a voltage to a controller (not shown), and this controller
In the controller, it is determined whether the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 exceeds a predetermined amount based on the input voltage, and when it is determined that the amount exceeds the predetermined amount, a A provided cooling water amount OK lamp (not shown) is lit to notify the operator that the amount of cooling water M is appropriate.

[0009]

By the way, in the above-mentioned prior art, the amount of cooling water M stored in the reserve tank 13 is checked by the operator turning on a start check switch when starting the engine 11. If you forget to turn on this check switch,
Work may be started without realizing that the cooling water M is insufficient, and the engine 11 may not be reliably cooled and the engine 11 may seize up. Further, even if the normal amount of water is checked using a start check switch when starting the engine 11, there is a problem in that the amount of cooling water decreases due to water leakage during operation and the engine 11 seizes up.

[0010] Therefore, in order to detect water leakage during operation, a warning lamp (not shown) may be turned on based on a signal from the water gauge 15, but in this case, when the lower traveling body 1 is running, The water level of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 fluctuates when the upper rotating body 2 rotates, and the warning lamp may frequently turn on even though the water level is at an appropriate level. There is a problem in that it is not possible to determine whether the amount of cooling water M in the tank 13 is an appropriate amount.

The present invention was developed in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and the present invention can accurately determine whether or not the amount of cooling water in the engine is appropriate during operation, and can quickly prevent water leakage. The object of the present invention is to provide an engine cooling water amount alarm device for a working machine that can detect the amount of water.

0012

[Means for Solving the Problems] The features of the configuration adopted by the first invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems are: a cooling water amount detection means for detecting the amount of cooling water in a cooling water tank; a running detection means for detecting whether or not the vehicle is running;
a running determining means for determining whether the working machine main body is running or stopped based on a signal from the running detecting means; and when the running determining means determines that the working machine main body is running and stopped. a cooling water amount determination means for determining whether or not the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank is insufficient based on a signal from the cooling water amount detection means; and a determination that the amount of cooling water is insufficient by the cooling water amount determination means. The reason is that an alarm means that is activated at certain times is provided.

Furthermore, the feature of the configuration adopted by the second invention is that the cooling water amount detection means detects the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank, and the rotation detection means detects whether or not the upper rotating structure is rotating. , a turning determination means for determining whether the upper rotating structure is rotating or stopping based on a signal from the turning detecting means; and when the turning determining means determines that the upper rotating structure has stopped rotating. cooling water amount determining means for determining whether or not the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank is insufficient based on a signal from the cooling water amount detecting means; and determining that the amount of cooling water is insufficient by the cooling water amount determining means. The reason is that an alarm means is provided which is activated when the alarm occurs.

[0014] The present invention also includes a tilt angle detecting means for detecting the tilt angle of the working machine body, and a tilt determining means for determining whether or not the working machine body is tilted based on a signal from the tilt angle detecting means. and the cooling water amount determining means determines whether or not the amount of cooling water is insufficient based on the signal from the cooling water amount detecting means when the tilt determining means determines that the work machine main body is not tilted. You can also do this.

[0015]

[Operation] With the above configuration, the amount of water in the cooling water tank is detected by the water amount detection means even while the work equipment is in operation, and based on this detection signal, the water amount determination means determines whether the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank is insufficient. Water leakage, etc. can be reliably detected even when the work equipment is in operation by interrupting this determination when traveling, turning, or when the work equipment body is tilted. I can do it.

[0016]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the embodiment, the same components as those in the prior art described above are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 indicates a controller constituted by a microcomputer or the like;
1 has a water gauge 15 on the input side, a travel lever sensor 22,
It is connected to a turning lever sensor 23, a tilt angle sensor 24 serving as a tilt angle detecting means, and the output side is connected to an alarm lamp 25 serving as a warning means. The controller 21 stores programs shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in its memory circuit, and performs processes such as checking the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13. Further, the controller 21 is connected to a storage area 21 of a storage circuit.
A predetermined water amount V0 for determining whether the water amount V of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 is an appropriate water amount, and a predetermined time T0 (for example, 3 seconds) that is the waiting time of the timer T are stored.

The traveling lever sensor 22 constitutes traveling detecting means, and is adapted to detect whether the traveling lever, which is operated when the hydraulic excavator is traveling, is in the traveling position or in the stop position. Further, the swing lever sensor 23 constitutes a swing detection means, and is configured to detect whether the swing lever operated when the upper swing structure 2 is turned is at a swing position or a stop position.

The cooling water amount alarm system for a hydraulic excavator according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its basic operation is not particularly different from that of the prior art.

Therefore, the cooling water M by the controller 21
The water amount check determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, in step 1, the travel lever sensor 2
2 reads whether the travel lever is in the travel position or the stop position, and in step 2 it is determined whether or not the hydraulic excavator is traveling based on the signal from the travel lever sensor 22. If the determination is "YES", Returning to step 1, the following process is repeated, and when the determination is "NO", the hydraulic excavator is stopped, so the process moves to step 3. Then, in step 3, whether the swing lever is in the swing position or the stop position is read from the swing lever sensor 23, and in step 2, the signal from the swing lever sensor 23 is used to determine whether or not the upper swing structure 2 is swinging. “Y” is determined.
When the determination is ``ES'', the process returns to step 1 and the following process is repeated, and when the determination is ``NO'', the process moves to step 5 because the upper revolving body 2 is in the rotating stopped state. Next, in step 5, the inclination angle of the hydraulic excavator is read from the inclination angle sensor 24, and in step 6, based on the inclination angle signal from the inclination angle sensor 24, it is determined whether the hydraulic excavator is inclined more than a predetermined angle. When the judgment is ``YES'', the hydraulic excavator is stopped on uneven ground etc., so the process returns to step 1 and the following process is repeated. When the judgment is ``NO'', the hydraulic excavator is stopped on flat ground etc. Therefore, the process moves to step 7.

[0022] Then, in step 7, controller 2
1 is reset and started, and in step 8 it is determined whether or not the timer T is longer than a predetermined time T0, and when the determination is "NO",
Since the timer T is less than the predetermined time T0, wait in step 8 until the predetermined time T0 is exceeded, and
When it is determined as "S", the shaking of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 due to inertial running or inertial turning operation has subsided, and the fluctuation of the water surface has decreased, so the process moves to step 9 and the cooling water is adjusted as shown below. Performs a check determination process for the amount of water in M.

That is, in step 9, the water volume V of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 is read from the water volume gauge 15, and in step 10, it is determined whether or not this water volume V is larger than a predetermined water volume V0, and the determination is ``YES''. When this happens, it can be determined that the amount V of the cooling water M is the appropriate amount, so the process moves to step 11 and the alarm lamp 25 is kept turned off.

Further, when the determination in step 10 is "NO", the amount V of the cooling water M is significantly reduced, and the cooling water M is
Since it can be determined that the water is leaking from inside the reserve tank 13 to the outside or that the cooling water M is insufficient, the process moves to step 12, where the alarm lamp 25 is turned on and the operator is asked to check the amount of cooling water M in the engine 11. Alerts you that there is a shortage. Then, in step 13, the process returns to repeat this process.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the engine 1
When the water level of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 of 1 is fluctuating, that is, while the hydraulic excavator is running, the upper revolving structure 2
When the excavator is turning or the excavator is tilted,
Since the amount of cooling water cannot be detected accurately, the water amount gauge 15
In addition to interrupting the reading of the water amount V from the reserve tank 13, when the predetermined time T0 has elapsed and fluctuations in the water level of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 have substantially subsided after running, turning operations, etc. , the accurate amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 can be detected based on the signal from the water amount gauge 15. Then, the amount of water V detected when the water surface of the cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 has little fluctuation.
By comparing the predetermined amount of water V0 with the amount of water V0, it is possible to reliably determine whether the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 is appropriate or insufficient.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even when the hydraulic excavator is in operation, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the amount of cooling water M in the engine 11 is insufficient. The operator can always know whether the amount of cooling water M in the reserve tank 13 is insufficient without having to turn on a start-up inspection switch each time before work. In addition, since it is possible to easily check the amount of cooling water M without turning on the start inspection switch, it is possible to prevent workers from forgetting to check the amount of water. The reduction can be detected early, the engine 11 can be reliably cooled, and the engine 11 can be reliably cooled.
It can effectively prevent seizure of engine 1.
1's lifespan can be effectively extended.

In the above embodiment, steps 1 and 2 of the program shown in FIG.
Steps 3 and 4 are turning determination means, step 5,
Step 6 is a specific example of the slope determination means, and Step 1
Steps 0 to 13 are specific examples of water amount determining means.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where a hydraulic excavator is used as the working machine was explained as an example, but in the case of a wheel loader or the like without the upper revolving structure 2, the program shown in FIG. By omitting steps 3 and 4, it is possible to accurately check the amount of cooling water M.

On the other hand, in the case of a work machine that is normally used for stationary work and is not provided with the lower running body 1, etc., the processing of steps 1 and 2 of the program shown in FIG. 2 may be omitted. can.

Further, in the above embodiment, the travel lever sensor 22 and the swing lever sensor 23 are used, but these sensors 22 and 23 are for detecting the tilt angle of the travel lever and the swing lever. Alternatively, it may be one that detects pilot pressure from a travel lever or a swing lever. Alternatively, the operation or stoppage of the travel motor, swing motor, etc. may be directly detected.

Further, in the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the alarm lamp 25 is used as the alarm means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and alarm means such as a buzzer or voice synthesis may be used.

[0032]

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the first invention, water amount detection means is provided in the cooling water tank attached to the engine, and it is detected whether the work machine main body is running or stopped. However, since the structure is provided with a water amount determining means for determining whether or not the amount of water is insufficient based on the signal from the water amount detecting means when the main body of the work machine is stopped,
When the main body of the work machine is running, that is, when the water level of the cooling water in the cooling water tank is fluctuating, the water amount determination based on the detection signal from the water amount detection means is interrupted, and the cooling water in the cooling water tank is stopped. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the water amount due to fluctuations in the water surface, and when the vehicle is stopped, the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank can be accurately detected by the detection signal from the water amount detection means, and the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank can be accurately detected. By accurately determining the lack of water in the engine and issuing a warning, it is possible to effectively prevent engine seizure and the like.

Further, according to the second invention, the water amount detection means is provided in the cooling water tank attached to the engine, and it is detected whether the upper revolving structure is rotating or stopped, and the upper revolving structure is Since the structure is provided with water amount determining means for determining whether or not the amount of water is insufficient based on the signal from the water amount detecting means when the upper rotating body is rotating, that is, cooling When the water level of the cooling water in the water tank is fluctuating, the water volume determination based on the detection signal from the water volume detection means is interrupted, preventing erroneous detection of water volume due to fluctuations in the water level of the cooling water in the cooling water tank. When the revolving body is not rotating, the lack of cooling water can be accurately detected based on the detection signal from the water amount detection means, and engine seizure and the like can be effectively prevented.

Furthermore, an inclination angle detection means for detecting the inclination angle of the work equipment main body is provided to detect whether or not the work equipment main body is tilted, and when the work equipment main body is not tilted, the water amount detection means detects the inclination angle of the work equipment main body. By making a determination based on the signal, it is possible to more accurately detect the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing cooling water amount check determination processing.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing water amount check determination processing following FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an overall view of a conventional hydraulic excavator.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an engine, a radiator, a reservoir tank, etc.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lower traveling body 2 Upper rotating body 4 Working device 11 Engine 13 Reserve tank (cooling water tank) 15 Water quantity gauge (water quantity detection means) 21 Controller 22 Travel lever sensor (travel detection means) 23 Swivel lever sensor (swivel detection means) ) 24 Tilt angle sensor (Tilt angle detection means) 25 Alarm lamp (Alarm means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A work machine body that can travel, a work device installed on the work machine body so as to be able to move up and down, an engine installed as a prime mover on the work machine body, and a cooling device for cooling the engine. A working machine comprising a cooling water tank storing water, a cooling water amount detection means for detecting the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank, and a running detection means for detecting whether the working machine main body is running. whether the work machine main body is traveling based on a signal from the traveling detection means;
a running determination means for determining whether the work equipment is stopped, and a cooling water amount in the cooling water tank based on a signal from the cooling water amount detection means when the running determination means determines that the work machine body is stopped. An engine for a working machine, characterized in that it is provided with a cooling water amount determining means for determining whether or not the cooling water amount is insufficient, and an alarm means that is activated when the cooling water amount determining means determines that the cooling water amount is insufficient. Cooling water level alarm device. [Claim 2] An undercarriage body; an upper revolving body which is rotatably provided on the lower car body and constitutes a working machine body together with the lower car body; and an upper revolving body which is provided on the upper revolving body so as to be movable up and down. In a working machine comprising a working device, an engine provided as a prime mover in the upper revolving structure, and a cooling water tank storing cooling water for cooling the engine, the amount of cooling water for detecting the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank. a detection means, a turning detection means for detecting whether the upper revolving structure is turning, and a turning for determining whether the upper revolving structure is turning or stopped based on a signal from the turning detection means. determining means; and determining whether or not the amount of cooling water in the cooling water tank is insufficient based on a signal from the cooling water amount detecting means when the rotation determining means determines that the upper rotating body has stopped rotating. 1. A cooling water amount alarm device for a working machine, comprising: a cooling water amount determining means for determining the amount of cooling water; and an alarm means that operates when the cooling water amount determining means determines that the amount of cooling water is insufficient. 3. An inclination angle detection means for detecting an inclination angle of the work implement main body; and an inclination determination means for determining whether the work implement main body is tilted based on a signal from the inclination angle detection means. and the cooling water amount determining means determines whether or not the cooling water amount is insufficient based on the signal from the cooling water amount detecting means when the tilt determining means determines that the work machine body is not tilted. The engine cooling water amount alarm device for a working machine according to claim 1 or 2.