Working fluid cooling control system for construction machine

• US 8,127,541 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2006
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Satake, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lopez, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US12/064,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20090148310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,000 Days
• Field of Search: 603/29, 604/56
• US Class Current: 60/329
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/226 Safety arrangements, e.g. hydraulic driven fans, preventing cavitation, leakage, overheating
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2292 Systems with two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2296 Systems with a variable displacement pump
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 21/0423 Cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/20546 variable capacity
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/20576 with multiple pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/30595 with additional valves between the groups of valves for multiple output members
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/62 Cooling or heating means
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/6336 representing a state of the output member, e.g. position, speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/6343 representing a temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/6346 representing a state of input means, e.g. joystick position
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/6652 Control of the pressure source, e.g. control of the swash plate angle
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/6658 Control using different modes, e.g. four-quadrant-operation, working mode and transportation mode
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/7135 Combinations of output members of different types, e.g. single-acting cylinders with rotary motors
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 2211/85 Control during special operating conditions

Abstract

A working fluid cooling control system has a controller 100 that receives inputs signals from a traveling motor speed pickup 101, a pressure sensor 102, a signal receiving line 103a of an option selecting switch 103 and a temperature sensor 104. The controller performs predetermined arithmetic processing and controls proportional solenoid valves 105 and 106. The pressures controlled by the solenoid valves are compared with positive control command pressures in shuttle valves 109 and 110. In this way, in the case of an operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of the working fluid, minimum tilting angles of hydraulic pumps 11 and 12 are increased to increase an average flow rate of the working fluid passing through an oil cooler 40, thereby increasing an average heat discharge amount and reducing an equilibrium temperature of the working fluid.

Claims

1. A working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine having variable displacement type hydraulic pump, a plurality of members to be operated by said hydraulic pump, a heat exchanger for cooling a working fluid as an operating medium discharged from said hydraulic pump, a plurality of control valves for controlling respective flows of the working fluid delivered from said hydraulic pump to control the operation of the corresponding members to be operated, and a plurality of operation means provided for said plural control valves, respectively, the capacity of said hydraulic pump being increased depending on an increase in the operative amount of said plural operation means while the capacity of said hydraulic pump being decreased to a preset amount of a minimum capacity when said plural members to be operated enter an unoperated state, wherein the working fluid cooling control system comprises:

first detection means for detecting an operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of said working fluid from among operation patterns associated with said plural members to be operated; and

pump flow rate increasing means which increases the capacity of said hydraulic pump so as to increase an average flow rate of the working fluid passing through said heat exchanger when said first detection means detects the operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of said working fluid,

said first detection means being configured to detect, as the operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of the working fluid, at least one of two operation patterns, one being a first operation pattern such that an operation speed of one of said plural members to be operated having a higher frequency of heavy loading than at least one of the other members increases, and the other being a second operation pattern such that a particular operation mode is selected by a selector means among operation modes associated with said plural members to be operated, said particular operation mode providing a higher frequency of heavy loading than at least one of the other operation modes.

2. The working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine according to claim 1 wherein:

said selector means is capable of selecting an operation mode associated with using a crusher, as an attachment and

said first detection means detects said operation mode associated with using a crusher as said operation mode having higher frequency of heavy loading.

3. The working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine further comprises second detection means for detecting a temperature of said working fluid, and

wherein said pump flow rate increasing means increase the capacity of said hydraulic pump on the basis of both the operation pattern detected by said first detection means and the temperature of the working fluid detected by said second detection means.

4. The working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine according to claim 3, wherein said pump flow rate increasing means comprise:

means for calculating a first minimum capacity on the basis of the operation pattern detected by said first detection means;

means for calculating a second minimum capacity on the basis of the temperature of the working fluid detected by said second detection means;

means for selecting the larger capacity of said first and second minimum capacities; and

means for changing the capacities of said hydraulic pumps on the basis of the selected minimum capacity.

7. The working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of members to be operated includes a hydraulic motor for traveling,

said construction machine includes a travel structure driven by said hydraulic motor,

said first detection means being configured to detect an operation pattern in which said vehicle speed increases, as said operation pattern in which the operation speed of a member to be operated has a higher frequency of heavy loading.

5. A working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine comprising a plurality of variable displacement type hydraulic pumps, a plurality of members to be operated by each of said plural hydraulic pumps, a heat exchanger for cooling a working fluid as an operating medium discharged from said plural hydraulic pumps, a plurality of control valves for controlling respective flows of the working fluid delivered from said plural hydraulic pumps to control the operation of the corresponding members to be operated, and a plurality of operation means provided for said plural control valves, respectively, the capacities of said plural hydraulic pumps being increased depending on an increase in the operative amount of said plural operation means while the capacities of said plural hydraulic pumps being reduced to a preset amount of a minimum capacity when said plural members to be operated enter an unoperated state, characterized by further comprising:

first detection means for detecting an operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of said working fluid from among operation patterns associated with said plural members to be operated; and

pump flow rate increasing means which increase the capacity of at least one of said plural hydraulic pumps to increase an average flow rate of the working fluid passing through said heat exchanger when said first detection means detects the operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of said working fluid,

said first detection means being configured to detect, as the operation pattern corresponding to a rise in temperature of the working fluid, at least one of two operation patterns, one being a first operation pattern such that an operation speed of one of said plural members to be operated having a higher frequency of heavy loading increases, and the other being a second operation pattern such that a particular operation mode is selected by a selector means among plural operation modes associated with said plural members to be operated, said particular operation mode providing a higher frequency of heavy loading,

said pump flow rate increasing means being configured to increase the capacity of the hydraulic pump used for the operation pattern detected by said first detection means among said plurality of pumps.

6. The working fluid cooling control system for a construction machine according to claim 5, wherein:

said pump flow rate increasing means increases, when said first operation pattern is detected, not only the capacity of the hydraulic pump used in the first operation pattern, but also the capacity of another hydraulic pump other than said hydraulic pump.