JPH11296247A - Operation lever - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set the force of an operation lever at a desirable value from a human engineering view-point on each of the pushing side, drawing side, inner side, and outer side of the laver and to simplify the whole structure. SOLUTION: The base end of an operation lever 14 is oscillatably fitted to the cover 13 of a casing, and a cam 16 is integrally formed on the base end of the base lever 14. Respective pushers 17 to be pushed by the cam 16 by obliquely turning the lever 14 in four directions, i.e., the pushing side, drawing side, inner side, and outer side of the lever 14, are formed on the cover 13 of the casing 11. Pushing side, drawing side, inner side, and outer side springs 20 to 23 are contractibly fitted between a bottom 12 and respective pushers 17 in the casing 11. The natural lengths La to Ld of these springs 20 to 23 are set up as La≈Lb>Lc>Ld.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation lever device which is provided in a construction machine such as a hydraulic shovel and is preferably used for controlling the operation of the construction machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, construction machines such as hydraulic excavators are
The vehicle generally includes a traveling body, a revolving body rotatably provided on the traveling body, and working devices such as a boom, an arm, and a bucket provided on the revolving body. An operation lever device for operating a body rotation, operation of a working device, and the like is provided.

An operating lever device of this type according to the prior art is usually provided with a casing mounted on a lever stand installed in a driver's cab, a base end side of which is swingably connected to the casing, and a distal end side of which is a free end. And an operation lever that is tilted to the side, the pull side, the inside, and the outside.

A plurality of guide holes are formed in the casing of the operating lever device in the axial direction around the base end of the operating lever, and a pusher is slidable in these guide holes. It is inserted in. A plurality of springs are provided between the pusher and the casing to constantly urge the pusher in the extension direction, and each pusher is pushed on the base end side of the operation lever by tilting the operation lever. A moving cam is provided integrally.

When the operator tilts the operating lever, the cam provided on the operating lever pushes the pusher against the spring force of the spring, and the reaction force from the spring at this time is reduced by the operating lever. The operating force is transmitted to the operator to enhance the operating feeling of the operating lever.

[0006]

By the way, in the operation lever device according to the prior art described above, the operation lever is moved to the push side, the pull side, the inside, and the outside, that is, forward, rear, left, and right by the movement of the operator's wrist. Tilt operation is performed. When the operation lever is tilted by the wrist of the operator, it is known that the operation force inward and outward is smaller than the push side and the pull side in terms of ergonomics. It is also known that the outward operation force is smaller than the inner operation force.

For these reasons, the operating force of the operating lever is set to be smaller on the inside and outside than on the push side and on the pull side, and is set on the outside to be smaller than that on the inside. It is desirable.

However, in the operating lever device according to the prior art, the operating force of the operating lever is set to the same value because the spring force of each spring that gives the operating force of the operating lever to the operator is set to be equal. It becomes the same on the side, pull side, inside and outside, and cannot satisfy the ergonomic requirements as described above. When the operation lever is tilted, the burden on the operator increases, and the arm is easily fatigued. There is a problem.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-314563, a spring force adjusting mechanism for adjusting the spring force of each spring is provided integrally with a casing, and by operating the spring force adjusting mechanism, the operating force of the operating lever is adjusted. Is disclosed that can be adjusted in four directions: push side, pull side, inside, and outside. However, this conventional technique has a problem that the structure of the entire operation lever device including the spring force adjusting mechanism is complicated, and the production cost is high.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-115140 discloses that a spring force adjusting mechanism for adjusting the spring force of a spring is provided in a casing, so that the operating force of an operating lever can be reduced on the push side, pull side, inside and outside. Which can be independently adjusted in the four directions described above. However, even in this conventional technique, there is a problem that the structure of the entire operation lever device including the spring force adjusting mechanism becomes complicated as in the other conventional techniques described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the present invention sets the operating force of the operating lever to a desired size ergonomically on the push side, the pull side, the inside and the outside. It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation lever device capable of simplifying the structure of the device as well as simplifying the entire structure of the device.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an operation lever device according to the present invention comprises a casing,
An operation lever having a base end side swingably connected to the casing and a tip end side being a free end and being tilted in a pushing side, pulling side, inward and outward directions, and provided on a base end side of the operation lever; A cam pivoted by the tilting operation of the operating lever; and a cam provided on the casing, which is pushed axially by the cam by tilting the operating lever to the pushing side, the pulling side, the inside, and the outside. It has four pushers to be moved and signal generating means for generating a signal according to the displacement of each pusher.

A feature of the structure adopted by the first aspect of the present invention is that, between the casing and each pusher, the operation lever is elastically deformed by tilting the operation lever to the push side, the pull side, the inside and the outside. Four springs are provided, and the spring constants a and b of the push-side and pull-side springs and the spring constants c and d of the inner and outer springs are set to different values.

[0014] With this configuration, the spring can be elastically deformed between the casing and the pusher by tilting the operating lever in the pushing, pulling, inward, and outward directions. The spring force of the spring at that time can be transmitted to the operator as the operation force of the operation lever.

In this case, since the spring constants a and b of the push-side and pull-side springs and the spring constants c and d of the inner and outer springs are set to different values, when the operation lever is tilted, The operating force of the operating lever can be made different between the push side and the pull side and the inside and outside.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the springs on the pushing side, the pulling side, the inner side, and the outer side set their respective spring constants a, b, c, d to a size of a ≒ b>c> d. Configuration.

With this configuration, the pushing side,
The spring constants a and b of the pulling-side springs can be set to be substantially equal to each other, and the spring constant c of the inner spring can be set smaller than those of the pushing-side and the pulling-side.
Further, the spring constant d of the outer spring can be set smaller than that of the inner spring. This allows the push side, pull side,
The outer operating forces can each be set to a desired size ergonomically.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the springs on the pushing side, the pulling side, the inner side, and the outer side have their respective spring constants a, b, c, d set as a: b: c: d = 2 to 3: 2-3:
The ratio is set to 1.3 to 1.7: 1.

With this configuration, the pushing side,
The pulling-side, inner-side, and outer-side operating forces can be set to desired ratios in terms of ergonomics.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an operation lever device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, taking an example in which the operation lever device is applied to a hydraulic shovel.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a traveling body, and 2 denotes a revolving body which is mounted on the traveling body 1 so as to be pivotable.
Has a turning frame 3, which includes:
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a cab box 4 that defines an operator's cab by a floor plate 4A and the like, and a building cover 5 that defines a machine room.
And a counter weight 6 and the like.

The turning frame 3 is provided with an actuator such as a turning motor (both not shown), and the turning body 2 is driven to turn by the turning motor. Further, a driver's seat 7 is provided on the floor plate 4A of the cab box 4.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a working device provided at the front of the revolving unit 2 so as to be able to move up and down. The working device 8 includes a boom 8A pin-connected to the revolving frame 3 of the revolving unit 2, and a boom 8
A arm 8B pin-connected to the distal end of
And a bucket 8C which is pin-connected to the tip end of the bucket. The boom 8A, the arm 8B, and the bucket 8C are rotated by actuators such as a boom cylinder 8D, an arm cylinder 8E, and a bucket cylinder 8F.

Numeral 9 denotes a lever stand provided on the floor plate 4A of the cab box 4 located on the side of the driver's seat 7. This lever stand 9 is formed as a hollow box as shown in FIGS. An opening 9A is provided at a corner on the upper end side. The lever stand 9 is provided with an operation lever device 10 described later together with a fuel lever (not shown) and the like, and various instruments and switches.

Reference numeral 10 denotes an operating lever device (only the left side is shown) which is provided on the floor plate 4A of the cab box 4 and is located on both left and right sides of the driver's seat 7.
Is constituted by a casing 11 and an operation lever 14 described later.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the casing 11 is composed of a bottomed cylindrical portion 12 and a lid portion 13 fixed to the upper end of the bottomed cylindrical portion 12 and having an outer periphery serving as a flange portion. The outer peripheral side of the lid 13 is attached to the opening 9A of the lever stand 9 by fixing means (not shown) such as a bolt.

The cover 13 is provided with four guide holes 13A at equal intervals in the front, rear, left, and right directions. Each guide hole 13A is provided with a pusher 17 described later in the axial direction. The guide is slidable on the guide.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an operation lever provided on the casing 11. The operation lever 14 includes a shaft portion 14A and a grip portion 14B, as shown in FIGS. The lower end of the shaft 14A is swingably connected to the center of the lid 13 of the casing 11 by a universal joint 15, and a cam 16 described later is attached to the operation lever 14. The grip 14B has a free end. 5 is tilted to the pushing side (front side), the pulling side (rear side), the inside (one side on the left and right), and the outside (the other side on the left and right).

Reference numeral 16 denotes a cam provided on the lower end side of the operation lever 14. This cam 16 is formed in a stepped cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and its lower end surface is a cam surface 16A. . The inner peripheral side of the cam 16 is attached to the lower end side of the operation lever 14, and the cam 16 is integrated with the operation lever 14 by tilting the operation lever 14 to the push side, the pull side, the inside, and the outside. And the cam surface 16 </ b> A presses each pusher 17.

Reference numerals 17, 17,... Denote pusher, puller, inner and outer pushers (only three are shown) provided in the guide holes 13A of the casing 11 so as to be extendable and retractable. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lower end is slidably inserted into each guide hole 13A of the casing 11, and the distal end is a spring 20, 21, or 2, which will be described later.
Each of the guide holes 13A protrudes out of the corresponding guide hole 13A due to the spring force of the spring 23. Then, when the cam 16 is swung together with the operation lever 14, the pusher 17 is pushed.
Is pushed by the cam surface 16A of the cam 16 to be displaced in the axial direction.

Are spring seats provided on the lower end surface of each pusher 17 and the bottom side surface of the bottomed cylindrical portion 12 of the casing 11, respectively. The spring seats 18 are on the pusher 17 side and the casing 11 side, respectively. And the two spring seats 18 are axially opposed to each other.
Springs 20, 21, 22, 23 are mounted between them.

Reference numerals 19, 19,... Denote position detectors (only two are shown) as signal generating means provided in the casing 11 and located in the axial lower side of each pusher 17, respectively.
The position detector 19 is provided with a detection rod 19A which protrudes in an axially upward and contractible manner.
9A is pressed against the spring seat 18 on the pusher 17 side by a relatively weak force by a spring (not shown) in the position detector 19.

The position detector 19 has the detection rod 1
A stroke sensor (not shown) for detecting the stroke amount of the 9A is built in, and the stroke amount of the detection rod 19A due to the displacement of each pusher 17 is converted into, for example, a voltage signal to convert the stroke amount of the electromagnetic type directional control valve ( (Not shown).

Reference numeral 20 denotes a push-side spring compressed between the bottomed tubular portion 12 of the casing 11 and the pusher 17 on the push side, and 21 denotes a connection between the bottomed tubular portion 12 of the casing 11 and the pusher 17 on the pulling side. The pull-side spring retracted between them is shown. Reference numeral 22 denotes a bottomed cylindrical portion 1 of the casing 11.
An inner spring 23 compressed between the inner pusher 17 and the inner pusher 17, and an outer spring 23 compressed between the bottomed cylindrical portion 12 of the casing 11 and the outer pusher 17 are shown.

Then, these springs 20, 21,
Reference numerals 22 and 23 are formed as coil springs surrounding the position detector 19, and both ends of the coil springs are elastically in contact with the spring seat 18 on the pusher 17 side and the spring seat 18 on the casing 11 side. The springs 20, 21, 22, 23 are made of spring steel having the same elastic constant per unit length.

The push-side, pull-side, inner and outer springs 20, 21, 22, and 23 have natural lengths La, Lb, Lc, and Ld as shown in FIG. It is set as follows.

[0037]

[Equation 1] La ≒ Lb> Lc> Ld

Thus, the springs 20, 21, 22, 22,
In 23, the magnitudes of the respective spring constants a, b, c, and d are set as in the following Expression 2.

[0039]

## EQU2 ## aｄb> c> d

The springs 20, 21, 22, 22
It is desirable that the ratio of the spring constants a, b, c, and d of 23 is set as in the following Expression 3 by optimizing the ratio of the natural lengths La, Lb, Lc, and Ld.

[0041]

## EQU3 ## a: b: c: d = 2-3: 2-3: 1.3-
1.7: 1

The spring constant c of the spring 22 is preferably set to be 1.5 times the spring constant d of the spring 23.

Reference numeral 24 denotes the lever stand 9 and the operation lever 14.
The dustproof cover 24 is provided between the opening 9A and the lever stand 9.
It is to prevent intrusion into the inside.

The hydraulic shovel according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its operation will be described next.

First, when the operator seated on the driver's seat 7 tilts the operation lever 14 forward to the push side, the pusher 17 on the push side pushes the cam surface 1 of the cam 16.
6A, the detection rod 1 of the position detector 19
9A is reduced. Then, an electric signal corresponding to the stroke amount of the detection rod 19A is output from the position detector 19 to the electromagnetic directional switching valve in the hydraulic circuit.

As a result, the electromagnetic directional switching valve is switched by an amount corresponding to the stroke amount of the detection rod 19A, and pressure oil from the hydraulic pump is supplied to and discharged from a hydraulic actuator such as a swing motor. This turning motor can be driven to rotate in one direction.

When the operating lever 14 is tilted to the pushing side as described above, the pushing side spring 20 is elastically deformed between the casing 11 and the pusher 17, so that the spring force of the spring 20 at this time is used. Operating lever 1
The operation force of No. 4 can be transmitted to the operator.

On the contrary, when the operating lever 14 is tilted backward in the pulling direction, the pusher 17 on the pulling side is pushed by the cam surface 16A of the cam 16 to detect the position. The turning motor can be operated to rotate the turning motor in the reverse direction.

At this time, since the pulling-side spring 21 is elastically deformed between the casing 11 and the pusher 17, the spring force of the spring 21 can be transmitted to the operator as the operating force of the operating lever 14.

On the other hand, when the operating lever 14 is tilted inward to the right, the position detector 19 is operated by the inner pusher 17, thereby operating, for example, the arm cylinder 8E in the contracting direction. At this time, the inner spring 22 is connected to the casing 11 and the pusher 1.
7, the spring force of the spring 22 can be transmitted to the operator as the operation force of the operation lever 14.

When the operation lever 14 is tilted outward to the left, the position detector 19 is operated by the outer pusher 17, whereby the arm cylinder 8E is operated, for example, in the extension direction. At this time, the outer spring 23 is connected to the casing 11 and the pusher 1.
7, the elastic force of the spring 23 can be transmitted to the operator as the operating force of the operating lever 14.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the spring constants a, b, c, and d of the springs 20, 21, 22, 23 are set to the magnitudes as shown in Equation 2, so that the operation lever 14 is pushed. Assuming that the operating forces to the side, pulling side, inward, and outward are FA, FB, FC, and FD, respectively, the following equation 4 can be set.

[0053]

[Equation 4] FA ≒ FB> FC> FD

Thus, the operation force of the operation lever 14 can be set to a desired size in terms of ergonomics in the push side, the pull side, the inner side, and the outer side, and the fatigue of the operator can be reduced. The operability of the operation lever 14 can be improved.

The springs 20, 21, 22, 2
By setting the ratio of the spring constants a, b, c, and d of Equation (3) as shown in Equation 3, the operating forces FA and FB of the operating lever 14 are obtained.
, FC and FD can be set as shown in the following Expression 5, whereby the operability of the operation lever 14 can be further improved.

[0056]

## EQU5 ## FA: FB: FC: FD = 2-3: 2-3:
1.3 to 1.7: 1

Further, the casing 11 does not require devices having complicated mechanisms such as a spring force adjusting mechanism as described in the related art, thereby simplifying the entire structure of the operation lever device 10. .

In this embodiment, spring steel having the same elastic constant per unit length is used, and the push side, pull side,
Natural lengths La, Lb, Lc, L of inner and outer springs
Although it has been described that d is set to the magnitude of Equation 1, instead of this, for example, the natural lengths of the push-side, pull-side, inner and outer springs are set to approximately the same size, and these The wire diameters Da, Db, Dc, and Dd of the springs may be set to the following equation (6).

[0059]

[Formula 6] Da ≒ Db> Dc> Dd

Also in this case, the spring constants a, b, c, and d of the push-side, pull-side, inner, and outer springs can be set to the relations of Expressions 2 and 3.

Further, by forming the pressing side, inner side and outer side springs using elastic materials made of different materials, and forming the pulling side spring using the same elastic material made of the same material as the pressing side. The spring constants a, b, c, and d of these springs may be adjusted so as to satisfy the relations of Expressions 2 and 3.

Further, in the present embodiment, the spring constant of the spring is set to be substantially the same on the pushing side and the pulling side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The spring constant may be set to be different between the push side and the pull side according to the operator's preference.

Further, in the present embodiment, the signal generating means is constituted by a position detector such as a stroke sensor, and the position detector outputs an electric signal corresponding to the displacement of the pusher to the direction switching valve. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
No. 907, a pressure reducing valve type hydraulic pilot valve may be used, and the hydraulic pilot valve may output a hydraulic signal according to the displacement of the pusher to the direction switching valve.

Further, in the present embodiment, the spring is described as being used for the left operating lever device. Alternatively, the spring may be used for the right operating lever device.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the operation lever device is described as being used for a hydraulic excavator. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used for other construction machines such as a hydraulic crane and a bulldozer. In addition to these construction machines, the present invention can be widely applied to traveling vehicles such as automobiles.

[0066]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the operating lever is tilted between the pusher, the puller, the inside and the outside between the casing and each pusher. Four elastically deforming springs are provided, and among these springs, the spring constants a and b of the push-side and pull-side springs and the spring constants c and d of the inner and outer springs are set to different values. As a result, the operating force of the operating lever can be set to a desired size in terms of ergonomics on the pushing side, the pulling side, the inner side, and the outer side, thereby reducing operator fatigue and improving the operability of the operating lever. can do. In addition, the casing does not require a device having a complicated mechanism such as a spring force adjusting mechanism as described in the related art, so that the structure of the entire operation lever device can be simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the spring constants a, b, c, d of the pushing side, the pulling side, the inner side, and the outer side spring are set.
Is set to the size of a ≒ b>c> d, so that the operating force on the push side, the pull side, the inner side, and the outer side can each be set to a desired size in terms of ergonomics. Can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the spring constants a, b, c, d of the pushing side, the pulling side, the inner side, and the outer side springs.
A: b: c: d = 2-3: 2-3: 1.3-1.
Since the ratio is set to 7: 1, the operating forces on the push side, pull side, inside and outside are each ergonomically considered.
The ratio can be set to a desired ratio, thereby also improving the operability of the operation lever.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a hydraulic shovel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing the inside of the cab box in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the operation lever device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the inside of a casing and the like in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing a casing of the operation lever device according to the embodiment in an exploded manner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 operating lever device 11 casing 14 operating lever 16 cam 17 pusher 19 position detector (signal generating means) 20, 21, 22, 23 spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] A casing, an operation lever having a base end side swingably connected to the casing and a tip end side being a free end and being tilted in a pushing side, a pulling side, an inside direction, and an outside direction; A cam provided on the base end side of the operation lever and swinging by tilting operation of the operation lever; and a cam provided on the casing to push the operation lever, pull the operation lever,
An operating lever device comprising: four pushers pushed in the axial direction by the cam by tilting inward and outward, and signal generating means for generating a signal corresponding to displacement of each pusher. Between the casing and each pusher, there are provided four springs which are elastically deformed by tilting the operation lever to the pushing side, pulling side, inward and outward, and among the springs, the pushing side, An operating lever device wherein spring constants a and b of pulling side springs and spring constants c and d of inner and outer springs are set to different values. 2. The push-side, pull-side, inner, and outer springs have respective spring constants a, b, c, and d, a ≒
2. A configuration for setting the size of b>c> d.
An operating lever device according to item 1. 3. The push-side, pull-side, inner and outer springs have respective spring constants a, b, c and d, a:
The operation lever device according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of b: c: d = 2-3: 2-3: 1.3-1.7: 1 is set.