Cabin for a work vehicle

• US 8,033,899 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2006
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kubota Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kubota Corporation
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Nobushige, Nagasawa, Shota, Inaba, Daisuke, Mukai, Hisao, Sato, Kenichi, Motoki, Aya
• Primary Examiner(s): McAllister; Steve
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kosanovic; Helena
• Application Number:
  US11/371,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20070044492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,043 Days
• Field of Search: 454/69, 296/39.3
• US Class Current: 454/69
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00021 Air flow details of HVAC devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00378 for tractor or load vehicle cabins
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/00235 Devices in the roof area of the passenger compartment

Abstract

A cabin for a work vehicle comprises: a driver'"'"'s seat positioned within the cabin; cabin frames including at least a transverse frame located in a rear region of the cabin; a roof supported by at least some of the cabin frames; at least one air-conditioning duct located within the roof; an air conditioning unit located rearwardly with respect to a rearward end of a seat portion of the driver'"'"'s seat and adjacent the transverse frame for conditioning air and for feeding air-conditioned air into the at least one air-conditioning duct.

Claims

1. An air conditioning system for a cabin of a work vehicle comprising:

a roof (7) of the cabin (1); and

an air conditioning unit (A) arranged in a rear portion of the roof (7), wherein

the roof (7) comprises a hollow outer roof (13) and an inner roof (14),

the inner roof (14) has a rearward portion thereof formed as a low ceiling portion bulging downward,

the outer roof (13) has a rearward portion thereof formed as an upward recess from a plane of joint with the inner roof (14), and

the air conditioning unit (A) is provided in a space formed between the low ceiling portion and the recess,

an air-conditioning duct (15) comprising right and left lateral air-conditioning ducts (15B, 15B) is located frontwardly with respect to the air conditioning unit (A) and in right and left lateral regions of the roof (7), which branches from the air conditioning unit (A) and extends to a front side of the roof (7),

the inner roof (14) has right and left lateral portions as downward bulging portions,

each of the right and left lateral air conditioning ducts (15B, 15B) is disposed in a space formed between the corresponding bulging portion of the inner roof (14) and a lower face of the outer roof (13),

the system further comprises an interior air intake duct (a) for guiding interior air from the interior of the cabin (1) to the air conditioning unit (A),

a circulation opening (14A) for drawing air inside the cabin (1) into the air condition unit (A) is formed in a rear portion of a ceiling recess between the right and left downward bulging portions of the inner roof (14), and an ambient air feed opening (13C) for drawing ambient air into the air condition unit (A) is formed in the lower face of the outer roof (13), the circulation opening (14A) and the ambient air feed opening (13C) being vertically opposed to each other, and

a switching valve (17) switchable between a state in which the circulation opening (14A) is opened and the ambient air feed opening (13C) is closed and a state in which the circulation opening (14A) is closed and the ambient air feed opening (13C) is opened is supported swingably about a laterally extending axis at a position frontward of the circulation opening (14A) and the ambient air feed opening (13C).

2. The air conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein

an ambient air intake opening (13B) for drawing ambient air thereinto to be conditioned by the air conditioning unit (A) is formed laterally of the air conditioning unit (A), and

the ambient air from the ambient air intake opening (13B) is provided to the ambient air feed opening (13C) through an inside of the outer roof (13).