COOLING PACKAGE ARRANGEMENT

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an arrangement for a cooling system on a construction vehicle such as a skid steer loader or compact track loader.

2. Description of the Prior Art

[0002] A typical small frame work machine such as a skid steer loader or a compact track loader has the various heat exchangers and the fan of its cooling system fixedly mounted behind the internal combustion engine of the machine. This requires the heat exchangers and the cooling fan to be removed from the machine for servicing of the engine; a process which may take a service time of as much as eight hours.

[0003] This problem becomes increasingly acute with increased power demands of newer machine designs, and thus the need for ever larger cooling system components.

[0004] There is a need for improved arrangements for cooling system components to eliminate the problems noted above, and to allow for improved serviceability of the engines of these machines.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0005] The present disclosure provides an improved system for pivotally mounting both the cooling fan, and selected ones of the heat exchangers of the cooling system, to provide easy access to all engine and cooling system components without disassembly of the cooling system.

[0006] In one embodiment a work machine includes a machine frame, a plurality of ground engaging units for supporting the machine frame from a ground surface, an internal combustion engine supported from the machine frame and at least one heat exchanger supported from the machine frame. A cooling fan is pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame about a first pivot axis so that the cooling fan is pivotable between a closed operating position wherein that the at least one heat exchanger is located between the cooling fan and the engine, and an open access position wherein the at least one heat exchanger is accessible through an opening provided by moving the cooling fan to its open access position. The at least one heat exchanger is pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame about a second pivot axis so that the at least one heat exchanger is pivotable between a closed operating position and an open access position wherein the engine is accessible through a further opening provided by moving both the cooling fan and the at least one heat exchanger to their respective open access positions.

[0007] In another embodiment a method is provided for servicing a work machine. The work machine includes a machine frame, a plurality of ground engaging units for supporting the machine frame from a ground surface, an internal combustion engine supported from the machine frame, a cooling fan pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame about a first pivot axis, and at least one heat exchanger supported from the machine frame pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame about a second pivot axis. The method includes:

[0008]pivoting the cooling fan about the first pivot axis from a closed operating position wherein the at least one heat exchanger is located between the cooling fan and the engine, and an open access position wherein the at least one heat exchanger is accessible through an opening provided by moving the cooling fan to its open access position;

[0009]pivoting the at least one heat exchanger relative to the machine frame about the second pivot axis from a closed operating position to an open access position wherein the engine is accessible through a further opening provided by moving both the cooling fan and the at least one heat exchanger to their respective open access positions; and

[0010]accessing the engine through the further opening to service the engine.

[0011] Numerous objects, features and advantages of the embodiments set forth herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading of the following disclosure when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a work machine in the form of a skid steer loader incorporating the present disclosure.

[0013]FIG. 2 is schematic plan view of a rear portion of the work machine of FIG. 1 showing a layout of the engine and certain cooling system components.

[0014]FIG. 3 is rear perspective view of the work machine of FIG. 1 with the cooling fan pivoted to an open access position providing access to the heat exchangers.

[0015]FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view similar to FIG. 3, further showing two of the heat exchangers pivoted to an open access position providing access to the engine.

[0016]FIG. 5 is an inner perspective view of the rear door, and the cooling fan mounted therein.

[0017]FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing details of the pivotal mounting of the heat exhangers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018]Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1 a construction machine in the form of a skid steer loader is shown and generally designated by the number 10. The construction machine may also take the form of other types of loader machines such as a crawler loader, a backhoe loader or a four-wheel drive loader. The construction machine 10 includes a machine frame 12 which is supported from a ground surface 14 by a plurality of ground engaging wheels or tracks 16. The skid steer loader 10 is shown as having two front and two rear wheels 16. Other embodiments of the construction machine 10 may have two tracks such as in the form of a tracked compact loader. An operator’s station 15 is located on the machine frame 12. A prime mover 17, such as an internal combustion engine, is located on the machine frame 12 for powering the machine 10. The prime mover 17 may be enclosed by an engine housing or hood 28. As is further described below with regard to FIG. 2, the engine housing 28 may be closed at its rear end by a rear housing door 30. The prime mover 17 may drive a hydraulic pump (not shown) to provide hydraulic power to other components of the machine 10.

[0019]The machine 10 includes a work implement 18, shown in the form of a bucket 18. A lifting linkage generally designated as 20 is connected between the machine frame 12 and the work implement 18 for lifting and lowering the work implement 18 relative to the machine frame 12. The bucket 18 may be replaced with other types of work implements.

[0020]The lifting linkage 20 is a kinematic linkage including a plurality of links connected together at a plurality of pivotal joints. In the illustrated embodiment the lifting linkage includes a first link 22, and second link 24 and a third link 26. A portion of the machine frame 12may be considered to form a fourth link of the lifting linkage 20.

[0021]Movement of the lifting linkage 20 relative to the machine frame 12 is controlled by left and right lifting actuators 38. The lifting actuators may be hydraulic actuators, preferably hydraulic cylinders 38.

[0022] Movement of the work implement or bucket 18 relative to the lifting linkage 20 is controlled by an implement actuator or bucket actuator 40 which preferably is a hydraulic cylinder type actuator. Although one bucket actuator 40 is shown, there may be multiple bucket actuators 40.

[0023]The third link 24 includes a longitudinally extending boom part 46 and a downwardly extending boom part 47. The bucket 18 is pivotally connected to the forward end of the downwardly extending boom part 47 at a hinge pin 48. The bucket actuator 40 is pivotally connected at one end at pivotal connection 49 to the downwardly extending boom part 47, and at the other end at pivotal connection 51 to the bucket 18.

[0024] The lifting linkage 20 is shown in an intermediate position in FIG. 1 where the bucket 18 has been lifted above the ground 14.

[0025]Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, a cooling fan 50 is mounted in the rear housing door 30. The rear housing door 30 is pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame 12so that the rear housing door 30 and the attached cooling fan 50 are pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame about a first pivot axis 52. The rear housing door 30 and cooling fan 50 are pivotable between a closed operating position as seen in FIG. 2, and an open access position as seen in FIG. 3. The cooling fan 50 is located adjacent a rear end of the work machine 10 and faces rearward when the cooling fan 50 is in its closed position as shown in FIG. 2.

[0026]FIG. 5 shows an inner perspective view of the rear housing door 30 and cooling fan 50 separate from the remainder of the work machine 10. The rear housing door includes hinge pins 53 which in part define the first pivot axis 52. The rear housing door also includes a latch 51 for latching the rear housing door 30 in the closed position shown in FIG. 2.

[0027]As is further seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of heat exchangers 54, 56 and 58 are mounted within the engine housing 28 and are located between the cooling fan 50 and the internal combustion engine 17. When the rear housing door 30 and cooling fan 50 are pivoted to their open position as seen in FIG. 3, the heat exchangers 54, 56, and 58 are accessible through an opening 60 provided by moving the rear housing door 30 and cooling fan 50 to their open access position.

[0028]As is further seen in FIG. 4, the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 are jointly mounted on a swing frame 62 in side by side fashion, and the swing frame 62 is pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame 12 about a second pivot axis 64 so that the swing frame 62 and the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 are pivotable between a closed operating position as seen in FIG. 3 and an open access position as seen in FIG. 4. When the swing frame 62 and the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 are pivoted to their open access position as seen in FIG. 4, the engine 17 is accessible through a further opening 66 provided by moving both the cooling fan 50 and the first and second heat exchangers 54, 56 to their respective open access positions.

[0029]FIG. 6 further shows a pivotal connection between the swing frame 62 and the engine housing 28 which in part defines the second pivot axis 64.

[0030]The first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 may be referred to as at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 pivotally mounted relative to the machine frame 12 about the second pivot axis 64. The at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 pivots through an angle 72 of at least 60 degrees, and preferably at least 70 degrees when the at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 moves from the closed operating position of FIG. 3 to the open access position of FIG. 4.

[0031]The internal combustion engine 17 may include includes an auxiliary drive assembly 74 on the rear end of engine 17, and the auxiliary drive assembly 74 is accessible through the further opening 66 provided by moving both the cooling fan 50 and the at least one heat exchanger 54. 56 to their respective open access positions. The auxiliary drive assembly 74 typically includes a plurality of pulleys and drive belts whereby the internal combustion engine 17 drives various engine accessories.

[0032]In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2-4, the first and second pivot axes 52 and 64 are both substantially vertically oriented when the work machine 10 is standing on a horizontal ground surface 14. And in the embodiment illustrated, the pivotal movements of both the cooling fan 50 and the heat exchangers 54, 56 toward their respective open access positions are in the same direction when viewed from above. In the illustrated embodiment the pivotal movements of both the cooling fan 50 and the heat exchangers 54, 56 toward their respective open access positions are in the clockwise direction when viewed from above. In another embodiment, not illustrated, the pivotal axes 52, 64 could be moved to the opposite side of the engine housing 28 and the pivotal movements of both the cooling fan 50 and the heat exchangers 54, 56 toward their respective open access positions would be in a counter-clockwise direction.

[0033]As can be seen in FIGS. 3-4, a fan drive motor 68 is attached to the cooling fan 50 and is movable with the cooling fan 50 when the cooling fan 50 is pivoted between its closed operating position and its open access position. The fan drive motor 68 may be a hydraulic motor, in which case flexible hydraulic supply and return lines will be connected to the fan drive motor 68. Alternatively, the fan drive motor 68 could be an electric motor. The fan drive motor 68 may be reversible in operating direction so that the cooling fan 50 can be reversed to flush debris from the heat exchangers 54, 56 and 58.

[0034]In one embodiment, the first heat exchanger 54 may be a radiator for cooling engine coolant fluid from the internal combustion engine 17. The second heat exchanger 56 may be a hydraulic oil cooler for cooling hydraulic fluid of a hydraulic system of the work machine 10. The radiator 54 may be connected to the related components to the cooling system of engine 17 by flexible conduits 76, 78 as seen in FIG. 4. The hydraulic oil cooler 56 may be connected to the hydraulic system by flexible hydraulic conduits 80 as seen in FIG. 4.

[0035]The third heat exchanger 58 may be a fixed heat exchanger 58 fixedly mounted relative to the machine frame 12 and located above the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56, so that the fixed heat exchanger 58 and the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 are aligned generally in a common plane when the first and second heat exchangers 54 and 56 are in their closed operating position as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. In one embodiment the third heat exchanger 58 may be a charge air cooler 58 for cooling compressed air from a turbocharger of the engine 17 before the compressed air enters the engine 17.

[0036] A fourth heat exchanger 70, which may be a condenser for an air conditioning system of the machine 10, may be fixedly mounted in a generally horizontal orientation above the engine 17, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0037]The system disclosed above provides for a greatly improved serviceability of the heat exchangers 54, 56, 58 and 70, and of the engine 17 and particularly the auxiliary drive assembly 74 of the engine 17. Also, the fan 50 and its hydraulic drive motor 68 may be easily serviced.

[0038] One method of servicing the work machine 10 includes:

[0039]pivoting the cooling fan 50 about the first pivot axis 52 from the closed operating position of FIG. 2 wherein the at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 is located between the cooling fan 50 and the engine 17, and an open access position as seen in FIG. 3 wherein the at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 is accessible through the opening 60 provided by moving the cooling fan 50 to its open access position;

[0040]pivoting the at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 relative to the machine frame 12 about the second pivot axis 64 from the closed operating position of FIGS. 2 and 3 to the open access position of FIG. 4 wherein the engine 17 is accessible through the further opening 66 provided by moving both the cooling fan 50 and the at least one heat exchanger 54, 56 to their respective open access positions; and

[0041]accessing the engine 17 through the further opening 66 to service the engine 17.

[0042] Thus, it is seen that the apparatus and methods of the embodiments disclosed herein readily achieve the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. While certain preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described for purposes of the present disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement and construction of parts and steps may be made by those skilled in the art, which changes are encompassed within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.