Construction machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10352279-B2
Application number	US-201615579652-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2016
Priority date	Jun 24, 2015
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

A construction machine includes: a partition member partitioning an accommodation space in an engine compartment into a main chamber and an intake chamber while having an inter-chamber opening; a fan disposed in the main chamber to generate cooling air flowing through an air intake opening, the intake chamber, the inter-chamber opening, and the main chamber in this order by sucking air in the engine compartment in a suction direction; a duct joined to an outer wall to enclose the air intake opening and including an inner peripheral surface enclosing a duct passage leading to the air intake opening and an outer peripheral surface. The duct extends in a duct extension direction different from the suction direction of the fan, disposed in the intake chamber to define a duct surrounding space around the outer peripheral surface of the duct.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A construction machine comprising:
an engine;
an engine compartment that has an outer wall enclosing an accommodation space and accommodates the engine in the accommodation space, the outer wall being formed with an air intake opening;
a partition member that partitions the accommodation space into a main chamber accommodating the engine and an intake chamber in communication with an outside of the outer wall through the air intake opening formed in the outer wall, the main chamber and the intake chamber being arranged in a horizontal chamber arrangement direction, the partition member having an inter-chamber opening that provides communication between the main chamber and the intake chamber and has a smaller area than an area of the intake chamber when viewed in the chamber arrangement direction;
a fan disposed in the main chamber to suck air in the engine compartment in a suction direction so as to generate cooling air flowing through the air intake opening, the intake chamber, the inter-chamber opening, and the main chamber in this order; and
a duct joined to the outer wall so as to enclose the air intake opening, the duct being a tubular member including an inner peripheral surface enclosing a duct passage leading to the air intake opening and an outer peripheral surface, the duct extending from the outer wall to an inside of the intake chamber in a duct extension direction intersecting with the suction direction, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular duct being disposed in the intake chamber so as to define a duct surrounding space around the outer peripheral surface of the duct over an entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface, the duct surround space being a part of the intake chamber,
wherein the duct extension direction is a direction orthogonal to the suction direction.

2. The construction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the duct passage has a cross-sectional area equal to a cross-sectional area of the air intake opening when viewed in the duct extension direction.

3. The construction machine according to claim 1 , wherein the duct has opposite ends in the duct extension direction, the opposite ends being a proximal end that is joined to the outer wall to surround the air intake opening and a distal end that encloses a duct outlet on a side opposite to the proximal end, the distal end being located at a position apart from the outer wall in the duct extension direction and on an outer side of an outer end of the inter-chamber opening when viewed in the suction direction.

4. The construction machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a vent member covering the duct outlet and having air permeability allowing air to pass through the vent member.

5. An intake structure for the construction machine according to claim 4 , wherein the vent member projects outward of the duct passage beyond the distal end of the duct.

6. The construction machine according to claim 4 , further comprising a sound absorber disposed so as to cover at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the duct and the vent member.

7. The construction machine according to claim 6 , wherein the sound absorber is disposed so as to cover an upstream portion of the outer peripheral surface of the vent member in the suction direction.

8. A construction machine comprising:
an engine;
an engine compartment that has an outer wall enclosing an accommodation space and accommodates the engine in the accommodation space;
a partition member that partitions the accommodation space into a main chamber accommodating the engine and an intake chamber in communication with an outside of the outer wall through an air intake opening formed in the outer wall, the main chamber and the intake chamber being arranged in a horizontal chamber arrangement direction, the partition member having an inter-chamber opening that provides communication between the main chamber and the intake chamber and has a smaller area than an area of the intake chamber when viewed in the chamber arrangement direction;
a fan disposed in the main chamber to suck air in the engine compartment in a suction direction so as to generate cooling air flowing through the air intake opening, the intake chamber, the inter-chamber opening, and the main chamber in this order
a duct joined to the outer wall so as to enclose the air intake opening, the duct including an inner peripheral surface enclosing a duct passage leading to the air intake opening and an outer peripheral surface, the duct extending in a duct extension direction different from the suction direction and being disposed in the intake chamber so as to define a duct surrounding space around the outer peripheral surface of the duct; and
a sound absorber is disposed so as to cover the inner peripheral surface of the duct, including a perforated plate formed of metal and located at a position away from the inner peripheral surface inward of the duct and an air layer formed between the perforated plate and the inner peripheral surface of the duct.

9. A construction machine comprising:
an engine;
an engine compartment that has an outer wall enclosing an accommodation space and accommodates the engine in the accommodation space, the outer wall being formed with an air intake opening;
a partition member that partitions the accommodation space into a main chamber accommodating the engine and an intake chamber in communication with an outside of the outer wall through the air intake opening formed in the outer wall, the main chamber and the intake chamber being arranged in a horizontal chamber arrangement direction, the partition member having an inter-chamber opening that provides communication between the main chamber and the intake chamber and has a smaller area than an area of the intake chamber when viewed in the chamber arrangement direction;
a fan disposed in the main chamber to suck air in the engine compartment in a suction direction so as to generate cooling air flowing through the air intake opening, the intake chamber, the inter-chamber opening, and the main chamber in this order;
a duct joined to the outer wall so as to enclose the air intake opening, the duct being a tubular member including an inner peripheral surface enclosing a duct passage leading to the air intake opening and an outer peripheral surface, the duct extending from the outer wall to an inside of the intake chamber in a duct extension direction intersecting with the suction direction, the outer peripheral surface of the tubular duct being disposed in the intake chamber so as to define a duct surrounding space around the outer peripheral surface of the duct over an entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface, the duct surround space being a part of the intake chamber; and
a vent member covering the entire duct outlet when viewed in the duct extension direction while having air permeability allowing air to pass through the vent member.

10. An intake structure for the construction machine according to claim 9 , wherein the vent member projects outward of the duct passage beyond the distal end of the duct in the duct extension direction.

11. The construction machine according to claim 9 , further comprising a sound absorber disposed so as to cover at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the duct and the vent member.

12. The construction machine according to claim 11 , wherein the sound absorber is disposed so as to cover an upstream portion of the outer peripheral surface of the vent member in the suction direction.

Assignees

• Kobe Steel Ltd
• Kobelco Constr Mach Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yamaguchi Zenzo
• Tabuchi Satoshi
• Masuda Kyoko
• Kinoshita Shinichi
• Ueda Kazuhiro

Classifications

• B60K11/00

  Arrangement in connection with cooling of propulsion units · CPC title

• B60K11/08

  Air inlets for cooling; Shutters or blinds therefor · CPC title

• F02M35/10262

  Flow guides, obstructions, deflectors or the like (for generating a charge motion in the cylinder F02B31/00; for re-atomising condensed fuel or homogenising fuel-air mixture F02M29/00) · CPC title

• F02M35/14

  Combined air cleaners and silencers · CPC title

• F01P2001/005

  Cooling engine rooms · CPC title