Construction equipment

Abstract

A compact excavator includes: a swing post which is attached to a upperstructure and which can swing in a left/right direction, a working device which is attached to the swing post and which includes a boom cylinder, a counterweight, and hydraulic hoses which extend upwards between opposite side plates of the swing post, and through which pressure oil for driving the boom cylinder of the working device is guided. The compact excavator further includes a guide plate which is provided in the swing post, and which guides the hydraulic hoses downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses from moving to approach a handrail when the hydraulic hoses attempt to expand toward the handrail due to driving of the working device.

Claims

1. A construction machine comprising: a body; a swing post which is attached to the body and which can swing a left/right direction; a working device which is attached to the swing post and which includes a plurality of hydraulic cylinders and a boom; a counterweight which is disposed in a rear part of the body to secure weight balance with the working device; and a hydraulic hose which extends upwards between a pair of opposite side plates of the swing post and through which pressure oil for driving one of the plurality of hydraulic cylinders of the working device is guided and which includes a first expansion section that is an upper side of the hydraulic hose and expands toward a structure disposed in a position on a front face of the body and a second expansion section that is a lower side of the hydraulic hose and expands toward a specified hydraulic cylinder among the plurality of hydraulic cylinders, which specified hydraulic cylinder has one end connected to the swing post, wherein a guide plate having an inclined plate portion is provided on the swing post, the guide plate is disposed between the structure and a portion where the boom is connected to the swing post, and the hydraulic hose is arranged between the guide plate and the portion where the boom is connected to the swing post, and the guide plate guides the hydraulic hose downwards by the inclined plate portion while restricting the hydraulic hose from moving to approach the structure disposed in the position on the front face of the body when the first expansion section of the hydraulic hose attempts to expand toward the structure due to driving of the working device.

2. A construction machine according to claim 1, wherein: the guide plate further includes a flat plate portion attached to the swing post, the inclined plate portion is provided to stand on the flat plate portion and has a face part disposed to face the first expansion section of the hydraulic hose, and the inclined plate portion is formed to approach the structure as it goes upwards.

3. A construction machine according to claim 1, wherein: the construction machine further comprises a guide portion which guides the hydraulic hose downwards while restricting the hydraulic hose from moving to approach the specified hydraulic cylinder when the second expansion section of the hydraulic hose attempts to expand toward the specified hydraulic cylinder due to driving of the working device.

4. A construction machine according to claim 3, wherein: the guide portion includes a rod which extends in the left/right direction perpendicular to an extension direction of the hydraulic hose, or a plate member which has a face part disposed to face the second expansion section of the hydraulic hose.

5. A construction machine according to claim 1, wherein: the construction machine consists of a compact excavator which comprises a travel base, an upperstructure, an operator's seat, and a handrail, the travel base and the upperstructure constituting the body, the operator's seat being provided on a swing frame of the upperstructure, the handrail being disposed in a position in front of the operator's seat and forming the structure; the swing post is attached to a position on a front side of the swing frame of the upperstructure; the working device includes a boom which is connected to the swing post; and the specified hydraulic cylinder includes a boom cylinder driving the boom.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 A side view showing a compact excavator constituting a first embodiment of a construction machine according to the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 A side view showing an enlarged swing post part provided in the first embodiment.

(3) FIG. 3 A main part front sectional view of FIG. 2.

(4) FIG. 4 A perspective view showing a guide plate part constituting a first guide portion provided in the first embodiment.

(5) FIG. 5 An exploded perspective view showing the guide plate shown in FIG. 4.

(6) FIG. 6 A main part side view showing an operation of the first embodiment to show a state in which a boom has begun to be raised.

(7) FIG. 7 A main part side view showing the operation of the first embodiment to show a state in which the boom has been further raised from the state shown in FIG. 6.

(8) FIG. 8 A main part side view showing the operation of the first embodiment to show a state in which the boom has been raised to an uppermost position.

(9) FIG. 9 A perspective view showing a main part configuration of a construction machine according to a second embodiment of the invention.

(10) FIG. 10 A perspective view showing a state in which a guide plate constituting a second guide portion has been removed from the state shown in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

(11) Embodiments of a construction machine according to the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(12) A first embodiment of the construction machine according to the invention is, for example, a compact excavator constituting a small-sized machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the compact excavator is provided with a travel base 1 and an upper structure 2. The travel base 1 constitutes a body. The upperstructure 2 is disposed on the travel base 1. In addition, the compact excavator is provided with a swing post 3 and a working device 4. The swing post 3 is attached to a position on a front side of a swing frame 2a of the upperstructure 2 and can swing in a left/right direction. The working device 4 is attached to the swing post 3 rotatably in an up/down direction to perform soil excavation work etc.

(13) The working device 4 includes a boom 5, an arm. 6 and a bucket 7. The boom 5 is attached to the swing post 3. The arm 6 is attached to a distal end of the boom 5. The bucket 7 is attached to a distal end of the arm 6. In addition, the working device 4 includes a plurality of hydraulic cylinders, i.e. a boom cylinder 5a, an arm cylinder 6a and a bucket cylinder 7a. The boom cylinder 5a drives the boom 4. The arm cylinder 6a drives the arm 6. The bucket arm 7a drives the bucket 7. The aforementioned boom cylinder 5a constitutes a specified oil hydraulic cylinder having one end connected to the swing post 3.

(14) An operator's seat 8 is disposed on the swing frame 2a of the upperstructure 2, and a canopy 9 is provided to cover above the operator's seat 8. A counterweight 10 is disposed in a rear part of the operator's seat 8 to secure weight balance with the working device 4. A handrail 11 constituting a structure disposed in a position on a front face of the body, i.e. the upperstructure 2 is disposed in a position in front of the operator's seat 8 on the swing frame 2a.

(15) As shown in FIG. 2, the embodiment is provided with an upper shaft 12a and a lower shaft 12b. The upper shaft 12a and the lower shaft 12b are disposed in an upper side and a lower side with a space 13 therebetween and extend vertically to connect the swing post 3 and the swing frame 2 to each other. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the embodiment is provided with a plurality of hydraulic hoses 14. The hydraulic hoses 14 pass through the space 13 between the upper shaft 12a and the lower shaft 12b and extend upwards between opposite side plates 3a and 3b of the swing post 3. Pressure oil for driving the aforementioned boom cylinder 5a, the aforementioned arm cylinder 6a, etc. is guided through the hydraulic hoses 14.

(16) In addition, the embodiment is provided with a first guide portion. The first guide portion is provided in the swing post 3. When the hydraulic hoses 14 attempt to expand toward the structure e.g. the handrail 11 disposed in the position on the front face of the upperstructure 2 due to driving of the working device 4, the first guide portion guides the hydraulic hoses 14 downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses 14 from moving to approach the handrail 11.

(17) The first guide portion includes a guide plate 20. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the guide plate 20 is provided with a flat plate portion 20b. The flat plate portion 20b has holes 20b1 and 20b2 which fit with threaded holes 3c and 3d formed in the swing post 3. The flat plate portion 20b is attached to the swing post 3 by bolts 21a and 21b which are inserted into these holes 20b1 and 20b2 and screwed down into the threaded holes 3c and 3d respectively. In addition, the guide plate 20 is provided with an inclined plate portion 20a. The inclined plate portion 20a is provided to stand on the flat plate portion 20b. The inclined plate portion 20a has a face part which is disposed to face expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14 expanded due to the driving of the work device 4. The inclined plate portion 20a is formed to approach the handrail 11 as it goes upwards.

(18) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the embodiment is further provided with a second guide portion, such as a rod 22. The rod 22 is provided in the swing post 3. When the hydraulic hoses 14 attempt to expand toward the aforementioned specified oil hydraulic cylinder, i.e. the boom cylinder 5a due to driving of the working device 4, the rod 22 guides the hydraulic hoses 14 downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses 14 from moving to approach the boom cylinder 5a. The rod 22 is configured so that one end of the rod 22 can be inserted through the side plate 3a of the swing post 3 and the other end thereof can be inserted through the side plate 3b. The rod 22 extends in the left/direction direction which is perpendicular to an extension direction of the hydraulic hoses 14. The rod 22 is fixed to the side plates 3a and 3b.

(19) When, for example, the compact excavator according the embodiment having the aforementioned configuration raises the boom 5 of the working device 4 during work, the hydraulic hoses 14 expand toward the handrail 11 in the beginning, as shown in FIG. 6. Due to this expansion, expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14 abut against the inclined plate portion 20a of the guide plate 20. Accordingly, the hydraulic hoses 14 are restricted by the inclined plate portion 20a of the guide plate 20 so as not to approach the handrail 11 any further.

(20) When the boom 5 is further raised, the hydraulic hoses 14 are guided downwards by the inclined plate portion 20a of the guide plate 20 while being restricted by the inclined plate portion 20a of the guide plate 20 so as not to move to approach the handrail 11.

(21) When the boom 5 is further raised, the hydraulic hoses 14 expand toward the boom cylinder 5a and the expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14 abut against the rod 22, as shown in FIG. 7. Accordingly, the hydraulic hoses 14 are restricted by the rod 22 so as not to approach the boom cylinder 5a any further.

(22) When the boom 5 is further raised, the hydraulic hoses 14 are guided downwards by the rod 22 while being restricted from moving to approach the rod 22. When the boom cylinder 5a has been raised to the utmost, the hydraulic hoses 14 are, for example, retained in a state shown in FIG. 8.

(23) As described above, according to the embodiment, when the hydraulic hoses 14 are expanded toward the handrail 11, the hydraulic hoses 14 are restricted by the guide plate 20 so as not to move to approach the handrail 11. On this occasion, the hydraulic hoses 14 are guided downwards by the guide plate 20 and retained to reduce the shape of the expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14. Thus, according to the embodiment, it is possible to prevent the hydraulic hoses 14 and the handrail 11 from interfering with each other. Therefore, according to the embodiment, it is possible to allow the swing post 3 to be arranged close to the handrail 11 disposed in the position on the front face of the swing frame 2a. In accordance with this, the embodiment can shorten a distance between the center of the body (i.e. the center line of rotation of the upperstructure 2) and a distal end of the bucket 7 of the working device 4, i.e. the reach, when the boom 5, the arm 6 and the bucket 7 have been expanded horizontally. The embodiment can therefore suppress the moment during work to be small. Correspondingly to this, the embodiment can reduce the weight of the counterweight 10. Accordingly, the embodiment can achieve reduction in the size and weight of the compact excavator.

(24) Moreover, in the embodiment, the first guide portion which guides the hydraulic hoses 14 downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses 14 from moving to approach the handrail 11 includes the guide plate 20 having the inclined plate portion 20a. Accordingly, when the expanded hydraulic hoses 14 have made contact with the face part of the inclined plate portion 20a of the guide plate portion 20, the hydraulic hoses 14 can be restricted by the inclined plate portion 20a so as not to move to approach the handrail 11 while the expanded hydraulic hoses 14 can be guided smoothly downwards in accordance with the inclination angle of the inclined plate portion 20a. In addition, the expanded hydraulic hoses 14 have high rigidity and give large pressing force to the inclined plate portion 20a. On the other hand, it is possible to secure a large area in a contact section of the inclined plate portion 20a with which the hydraulic hoses 14 come in contact on this occasion. Accordingly, contact surface pressure of the hydraulic hoses 14 against the inclined plate portion 20a can be suppressed to be low. Thus, the hydraulic hoses 14 making contact with the guide plate 20 can be prevented from being worn.

(25) In addition, the embodiment is provided with a second guide portion including the rod 22 which guides the hydraulic hoses 14 downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses 14 from moving to approach the boom cylinder 5a. Accordingly, when the hydraulic hoses 14 are expanded toward the boom cylinder 5a during work with the driven working device 4, the hydraulic hoses 14 can be restricted by the rod 22 so as not to move to approach the boom cylinder 5a as described above. On this occasion, the hydraulic hoses 14 are guided downwards by the rod 22 and retained to reduce the shape of the expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14. Accordingly, the hydraulic hoses 14 and the boom cylinder 5a can be prevented surely from interfering with each other so that a highly reliable compact excavator can be achieved. In addition, the second guide portion can be formed into a simple structure, which is rich in practicability and contributes to reduction of manufacturing cost.

(26) FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a main part configuration of a construction machine according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a guide plate constituting a second guide portion has been removed from the state shown in FIG. 9.

(27) The second embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the second guide portion which guides hydraulic hoses 14 downwards while restricting the hydraulic hoses 14 from moving to approach a boom cylinder 5a. For example, the second embodiment is the same compact excavator as that shown in FIG. 1, and the basic configuration, i.e. the configuration of the first guide portion etc. is equivalent to that in the first embodiment.

(28) According to the second embodiment, the second guide portion includes a plate member 30 having a face part which is disposed to face expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14, as shown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10, brackets 32a and 32b having threaded holes 33a and 33b are fixed to the swing post 3 and the plate member 30 is fastened to the brackets 32a and 32b by bolts 31a and 31b which are screwed down into the threaded holes 3a and 33b of the brackets 32a and 32b respectively.

(29) The second embodiment configured thus can also fundamentally obtain an equivalent function or effect to that in the aforementioned first embodiment. In addition, according to the second embodiment, the second guide portion includes the plate member 30. Accordingly, a large area in a contact section of the plate member 30 making contact with the expansion sections of the hydraulic hoses 14 can be secured so that contact surface pressure of the hydraulic hoses 14 against the plate member 30 can be suppressed to be low. Thus, the hydraulic hoses 14 making contact with the plate member 30 can be prevented from being worn.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(30) 1 travel base (body) 2 upperstructure (body) 2a swing frame 3 swing post 3a side plate 3b side plate 4 working device 5 boom 5a boom cylinder (specified oil hydraulic cylinder) 6 arm 6a arm cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 7 bucket 7a bucket cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 8 operator's seat 10 counterweight 11 handrail (structure) 14 hydraulic hose 20 guide plate (first guide portion) 20a inclined plate portion 20b flat plate portion 22 rod (second guide) 30 plate member (second guide)