MOBILE WORKING MACHINE HAVING A PIVOTABLE OPERATOR'S CABIN

Abstract

The invention relates to a mobile working machine that comprises an undercarriage, a superstructure rotatably supported on the undercarriage, a boom pivotably supported at the superstructure, and an operator's cabin mechanically connected to the superstructure via a lifting apparatus. The operator's cabin is adjustable in its height above the ground by means of the lifting apparatus, with the operator's cabin being able to be moved by means of the lifting apparatus from a working position spaced apart from the ground into a mounting position in which the operator's cabin sits on the ground. The lifting apparatus further comprises in accordance with the invention a lifting arm that is arranged between the operator's cabin and the superstructure and that is pivotably supported at the superstructure about two non-parallel pivot axes independently of one another.

Claims

1. A mobile working machine comprising an under carriage, a superstructure rotatably supported on an undercarriage, a boom pivotably supported at the superstructure, and an operator's cabin that is mechanically connected to the superstructure by a lifting apparatus and that is adjustable in height above a ground by the lifting apparatus, wherein the operator's cabin can be moved by means of the lifting apparatus from a working position spaced apart from the ground to a mounting position in which the operator's cabin sits on the ground, and vice versa, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises a lifting arm that is arranged between the operator's cabin and the superstructure and that is pivotably supported at the superstructure about two non-parallel pivot axes independent of one another.

2. A working machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lifting arm at the operator's cabin is pivotably supported about the two non-parallel pivot axes independent of one another.

3. A working machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two non-parallel pivot axes are a vertical and a horizontal pivot axis.

4. A working machine in accordance with claim 3, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises a parallelogram guidance, wherein the lifting arm is designed as a twin arm and wherein each arm of the twin arm is respectively pivotably supported at the superstructure and at the operator's cabin about the horizontal pivot axis.

5. A working machine in accordance with claim 4, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises at least one or two pivot joints whose axes of rotation are not oriented horizontally, the axes of rotation being vertically oriented.

6. A working machine in accordance with claim 5, wherein the lifting arm is coupled to the superstructure via a pivot joint of the two pivot joints and is coupled to the operator's cabin via another pivot joint of the two pivot joints.

7. A working machine in accordance with claim 5, wherein the each arm of the twin arm are pivotably supported at least one of the two pivot joints.

8. A working machine in accordance with claim 5, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises at least one actuator by means of which the at least one of the two pivot joints is rotationally actuable.

9. A working machine in accordance with claim 5, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises two actuators and the two pivot joints, with the two pivot joints being rotationally actuable by means of the actuators, in particular independently of one another.

10. A working machine in accordance with claim 9, wherein the actuators are controllable such that on a movement of the operator's cabin by means of the lifting apparatus from the working position to the mounting position, or vice versa, an angle between the operator's cabin and the superstructure can be held constant, whereas a distance between the operator's cabin and a longitudinal axis of the superstructure is variable.

11. A working machine in accordance with claim 9, wherein the actuators are hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, or mechanical actuators.

12. A working machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lifting apparatus comprises an actuator by means of which the operator's cabin is adjustable in its height, in particular vertically pivotable.

13. A working machine in accordance with claim 4, wherein the lifting apparatus is adapted such that the operator's cabin is always aligned horizontally on a movement of the lifting apparatus, with the lifting apparatus in particular comprising a parallelogram guidance having a lifting arm configured as the twin arm.

14. A working machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the operator's cabin is configured to be placed on the ground, while the superstructure is aligned in parallel with the undercarriage in a direction of travel of the working machine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0029] Further features, details, and advantages of the invention result from the embodiment explained in the following with reference to the Figures.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a working machine in accordance with the invention in a side view;

[0031] FIG. 2 shows the working machine in accordance with the invention of FIG. 1 in a frontal view;

[0032] FIG. 3 shows the working machine in accordance with the invention of FIG. 1 in a plan view; and

[0033] FIG. 4a shows a first side and frontal views of the working machine in accordance with the invention with the operator's cabin in a working position;

[0034] FIG. 4b shows a second side and frontal views of the working machine in accordance with the invention with the operator's cabin in a transport position;

[0035] FIG. 4c shows a third side and frontal views of the working machine in accordance with the invention with the operator's cabin in a mounting position.

[0036] FIGS. 1-4a,b,c are shown approximately to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In FIG. 1, an embodiment of the mobile working machine 10 in accordance with the invention is shown in a lateral view, while FIG. 2 shows a frontal view, and FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the working machine 10. The working machine 10 comprises a travelable undercarriage 12, i.e. an undercarriage 12 comprising a chassis, having a plurality of supports 13 which can be folded out and on which a superstructure 14 is rotatably supported. A boom, not shown in further detail here, can be pivotably connected about a horizontal axis to the superstructure 14 in an articulated manner. In general, the working machine in accordance with the invention can be a material transfer machine or an earth-moving machine such as an excavator, in particular a hydraulic excavator.

[0038] The working machine 10 can be controlled from an operator's cabin 16 by the operator. The operator's cabin 16 is not directly connected to the superstructure 14, but rather via a lifting apparatus. The lifting apparatus comprises a lifting arm 20 that is respectively connected to the superstructure 14 and to the operator's cabin 16 via an actively actuable pivot joint 32, 34. The lifting arm 20 is designed as a twin arm so that the operator's cabin 16 is vertically pivotable, i.e. adjustable in its height above the ground, via a parallelogram guidance. The twin arm 20 comprises an upper arm 22 that is configured as an individual pivot arm extending over the total width of the lifting arm 20. The twin arm 20 furthermore comprises a lower arm 24 that comprises two individual pivot arms that are configured as bars, extend in parallel, and are arranged next to one another below the upper arm 22.

[0039] The upper arm 22 and the lower arm 24 are respectively pivotably supported at one end via a horizontal pivot axis at the pivot joint 32 at the superstructure side. At the other end, the upper and lower arms 22, 24 are likewise respectively pivotably supported at the pivot joint 34 at the operator's cabin side via a horizontal pivot axis. The lifting arm 20 furthermore comprises an actuator 26 that is designed as a hydraulic cylinder and that is arranged between the pivot joint 32 at the superstructure side and the lower side of the upper arm 22 and that connects these components to one another. The lifting arm 20 is vertically pivoted by extending and retracting the actuator 26 so that the operator's cabin 16 is vertically traveled. The parallelogram guidance implemented by the twin arm 20 provides that the operator's cabin 16 always, i.e. in every position, has the same angle of inclination, is therefore in particular horizontally aligned.

[0040] As can above all easily be recognized in FIG. 3, the operator's cabin 16 cannot only be adjusted in its height above the ground by means of the lifting apparatus in accordance with the invention, but also in its lateral distance from the superstructure 14 or from the longitudinal axis 40 of the superstructure 14. It is in particular possible that the operator's cabin 16 is always aligned along the longitudinal axis 40 of the superstructure 14 and is laterally pivoted or moved with respect to the superstructure 14 on a movement by means of the lifting apparatus such as the distance in the direction of the perpendicular from the longitudinal axis 40, which distance is shown as a double arrow in FIG. 3, is variable independently of the height of the operator's cabin 16. This is made possible in that the lifting arm 20 is coupled to the superstructure 14 and to the operator's cabin 16 via two pivot joints 32, 34. The pivot joints 32, 34 each have a vertical axis of rotation about which they are rotationally movable or rotatable independently of one another by means of actuators. This is indicated by the black arrows in FIG. 3.

[0041] The rotational parts of the pivot joints 32, 34 respectively facing in the direction of the lifting arm 20 are for this purpose configured as holders 36, 38 to which the upper and lower arms 22, 24 of the lifting arm 20 are connected in an articulated manner. The respective other rotational parts of the pivot joints 32, 34 are fixedly connected to the operator's cabin 16 and to the superstructure 14. The operator's cabin 16 can be laterally pivoted by a correspondingly synchronized actuation in opposite directions of the actuators of the pivot joints 32, 34 without the angle with respect to the superstructure 14 changing.

[0042] The operator's cabin 16 is consequently independently adjustable both in its height above the ground and in its distance from the superstructure 14 by means of the lifting apparatus in accordance with the invention. It is thereby possible, in comparison with known solutions in which operator's cabins are fastened to lifting arms aligned along the longitudinal direction of the superstructure and only vertically pivotable, to place the operator's cabin 16 on the ground laterally next to the working machine 10 or the undercarriage 12 (mounting position) without the superstructure 14 having to be separately rotated with respect to the undercarriage 12. The operator's cabin 16 can thus be moved into the mounting position in a space saving manner while the superstructure 14 remains aligned in the direction of travel of the working machine 10 (in the present example, this means that the longitudinal axes of the undercarriage 12 and of the superstructure 14 are aligned in parallel).

[0043] FIGS. 4a-c show the embodiment of the working machine 10 in accordance with the invention shown in FIGS. 1-3 in a respective side view (left illustrations) and in a frontal view (right illustrations) for three different positions of the operator's cabin 16 such as in a working position (FIG. 4a), in the transport position (FIG. 4b), and in the mounting position (FIG. 4c).

[0044] In the mounting position, the operator's cabin 16 is placed on the ground laterally next to the undercarriage 12 so that it can be mounted or exited safely and comfortably by the operator.

[0045] In the transport position, the operator's cabin 16 is at a specific height above the ground, namely approximately at the height of the superstructure 14. In addition, the operator's cabin 16 is not laterally outwardly pivoted so that the operator's cabin 16 and the lifting apparatus take up as little space as possible or do not project or only minimally project over the vehicles edges. In this position, the working machine 10 can be transported in a space-saving manner on a flatbed truck, for example.

[0046] In the working position, the operator's cabin 16 is located at a certain height above the ground, for example (as shown in FIG. 4a) above the height of the superstructure 14 so that the operator has a good overview of the operating site and of the working machine 10. It is possible by means of the lifting apparatus to move the operator's cabin 16 into a plurality of different working positions that are adapted to the respective deployment situation. For example, the operator's cabin 16 can only be rotated with respect to the lifting arm 20 by means of the pivot joint 34 at the cabin side. The height can be set via the actuator 26. Independently of this, the operator's cabin 16 can also be moved laterally relative to the superstructure 14, with the relative angle to the longitudinal axis 40 of the superstructure 14 either being able to be held constant or being able to be varied.

[0047] Alternatively to the embodiment shown in the Figures, provision can also be made that only a single pivot joint 32 is present between the lifting arm 20 and the superstructure 14, with the angle between the lifting arm 20 and the operator's cabin 16 being fixed. It is also possible with such a variant to place the operator's cabin 16 next to the working machine 10 in a space saving manner without having to rotate the superstructure 14 with respect to the undercarriage 12.

[0048] It is furthermore possible that the lifting arm 20 comprises a plurality of lower lifting arms or lower pivot arms connected via joints and/or that further lifting arms or pivot arms are provided between the pivot joint 32 and the superstructure 14 and/or the pivot joint 34 and the operator's cabin 16.

[0049] FIGS. 1-4 a, b, c show example configurations with relative positioning of the various components. If shown directly contacting each other, or directly coupled, then such elements may be referred to as directly contacting or directly coupled, respectively, at least in one example. Similarly, elements shown contiguous or adjacent to one another may be contiguous or adjacent to each other, respectively, at least in one example. As an example, components laying in face-sharing contact with each other may be referred to as in face-sharing contact. As another example, elements positioned apart from each other with only a space there-between and no other components may be referred to as such, in at least one example. As yet another example, elements shown above/below one another, at opposite sides to one another, or to the left/right of one another may be referred to as such, relative to one another. Further, as shown in the figures, a topmost element or point of element may be referred to as a top of the component and a bottommost element or point of the element may be referred to as a bottom of the component, in at least one example. As used herein, top/bottom, upper/lower, above/below, may be relative to a vertical axis of the figures and used to describe positioning of elements of the figures relative to one another. As such, elements shown above other elements are positioned vertically above the other elements, in one example. As yet another example, shapes of the elements depicted within the figures may be referred to as having those shapes (e.g., such as being circular, straight, planar, curved, rounded, chamfered, angled, or the like). Further, elements shown intersecting one another may be referred to as intersecting elements or intersecting one another, in at least one example. Further still, an element shown within another element or shown outside of another element may be referred as such, in one example.

[0050] As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word a or an should be understood as not excluding plural of said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. References to one embodiment or one example of the present invention are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments comprising, including, or having an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional elements not having that property. The terms including and in which are used as the plain-language equivalents of the respective terms comprising and wherein. Moreover, the terms first, second, and third, etc., are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements or a particular positional order on their objects.

[0051] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention and to enable a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art to make and practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims. Such other examples are within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. Aspects from the various embodiments described, as well as other known equivalents for each such aspects, can be combined by one of ordinary skill in the art to construct additional embodiments and techniques in accordance with principles of this application.