Title of Invention

RADIATOR DUST PROOF APPARATUS FOR WORK VEHICLE

Abstract

In a radiator dust proof apparatus for a work vehicle including an engine cooling radiator mounted erect to a supporting portion of a vehicle body via a cushioning member and a radiator supporting member for supporting an upper end of the radiator, the invention provides the apparatus capable of slidably attaching/detaching a dust proof member while preventing deterioration in the cushioning effect for the radiator. At a lower end of the radiator, there is provided a lower supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator. At an upper end of the radiator, there is provided a connecting portion to be connected to the radiator supporting member, to this connecting portion, there being an upper supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator! and a dust proof member for the radiator is detachably supported to the lower supporting rail and the upper supporting rail to be slidable along the width direction of the radiator. (Selected Figure) Fig. 3

Full Text

RADIATOR DUST PROOF APPARATUS FOR WORK VEHICLE [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a radiator dust proof apparatus for a work vehicle including an engine cooling radiator mounted erect to a supporting portion of a vehicle body via a cushioning member and a radiator supporting member for supporting an upper end of the radiator. [Background Art] A technique for detachably mounting a dust proof member for an engine cooling radiator is known from e.g. Patent Document 1, JP No. 9-328018A. According to the technique disclosed in JP No. 9-328018A, a dust proof member attaching groove is formed in each one of a pair of dust proof member attaching rails which extend vertically on the opposed lateral sides of the radiator, so that the attachment of the dust proof member is done by inserting the dust proof member into the dust proof member attaching grooves from above the radiator. And, detachment of the dust proof member is done by lifting up the dust proof member from the dust proof member attaching grooves as being guided by the dust proof attaching rails. [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by Invention] With the work vehicle described above, when the lower end of the dust proof member is supported to the lower end of the radiator and the upper end of the dust proof member is supported to a connecting portion provided at the upper end of the radiator to be connected to the radiator supporting member, the dust proof member and the radiator can be disposed as closely as possible to each other. Also, the connecting portion of the radiator can be utilized as the dust proof member supporting means. In this case, if the above-described technique is employed, this would sometimes result in deterioration in the cushioning effect for the radiator. That is, when the conventional technique is employed, the dust proof member is to be slidably attached/detached vertically relative to the radiator. Hence, the supporting rails oriented along the vertical direction of the radiator are to be connected between the connecting portion and the lower end of the radiator. With this, the connecting portion located at the upper end of the radiator is connected to the lower end of the radiator via the support rails, which makes elastic deformation thereof difficult. As a result, vibration due to traveling or engine driving can easily be transmitted to the radiator. The object of the present invention is to provide a radiator dust proof apparatus for a work vehicle, capable of slidably attaching/detaching a dust proof member with utilizing a connecting portion of a radiator as supporting means for supporting rail and which yet can readily prevent deterioration in the cushioning effect for the radiator. [Means for Solving Problem] According to a characterizing feature of the present invention, in a radiator dust proof apparatus for a work vehicle including an engine cooling radiator mounted erect to a supporting portion of a vehicle body via a cushioning member and a radiator supporting member for supporting an upper end of the radiator, wherein at a lower end of the radiator, there is provided a lower supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator; at an upper end of the radiator, there is provided a connecting portion to be connected to the radiator supporting member; to this connecting portion, there is supported an upper supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator; and a dust proof member for the radiator is detachably supported to the lower supporting rail and the upper supporting rail to be slidable along the width direction of the radiator. With the above-described construction, the upper supporting rail is supported to the connecting portion of the radiator and this upper supporting rail, together with the lower supporting rail provided at the lower end of the radiator, together constitute a supporting rail means, which slidably and detachably supports the dust proof member to be slidable along the transverse direction of the radiator. Therefore, through the utilization of the connecting portion of the radiator as the supporting means of the upper supporting rail, and without connecting the connecting portion of the radiator via the supporting rails to the lower end of the radiator, the dust proof member can be slidably detachably supported. Therefore, while the dust proof member can be readily attached or detached by sliding this dust proof member, the connecting portion of the radiator is used as the supporting means for the upper supporting rail, so that the construction can be simple. Moreover, as the connecting portion of the radiator is not connected to the lower end of the radiator, the elastic function of the connecting portion can be effectively utilized so that the cushioning member can effectively provide its cushioning effect for the radiator. In the above construction, preferably, the connecting portion is a tongue piece extending from the upper end of the radiator. Further preferably, the connecting portion is a tongue piece made of a metal plate, which is elastically deformable by vibration of the radiator supporting member. With the above-described construction, the connecting portion is allowed to effectively provide its cushioning effect through its elastic deformation. Therefore, in addition to the cushioning effect provided by the cushioning member, additional cushioning effect by the connecting portion too can be provided effectively. As a result, the cushioning effects can be provided such that vibration in the radiator due to vehicle vibration from traveling or engine driving can be effectively restricted. In the above-described construction, preferably, the radiator supporting member has a portal shape as viewed from the fore/aft direction of the vehicle body; the radiator supporting member is mounted erect on a front wheel supporting frame via a battery mounting deck; and the connecting portion is connected to a supporting piece portion provided at an upper end of the radiator supporting member. In the above-described construction, preferably, the connecting portion includes a supporting piece and to this supporting piece, the upper supporting rail is supported. [Brief Description of the Drawings] [Fig. l] an overall side view of a work vehicle, [Fig. 2] an overall plan view of the work vehicle, [Fig. 3] a side view of an engine section, [Fig. 4] a front view of a radiator supporting construction, [Fig. 5] a plan view of a radiator dust proof apparatus, [Fig. 6] a perspective view showing a radiator supporting member, a lower supporting rail and an upper supporting rail, [Fig. 7] a front view illustrating process of attaching/detaching a dust proof member, and [Fig. 8] a front view showing the radiator dust proof apparatus under a dust proof member attached condition. [Mode of Embodying the Invention] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an overall side view showing a work vehicle relating to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an overall plan view of the work vehicle relating to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these figures, the work vehicle relating to the embodiment of the invention includes a pair of right and left steerable and drivable front wheels 1, 1, a pair of right and left drivable rear wheels, 2, 2, an engine section A having an engine 3 mounted at a front portion of the vehicle body, a driver's section B mounted at a rear portion of the vehicle body and including a driver's seat 5 disposed between a pair of right and left rear wheel fenders 4, 4. Thus, the vehicle is constructed as a self-propelled vehicle. At rear portions of a vehicle body frame 6 of this self-propelled vehicle, there are mounted a link mechanism 10 having a pair of right and left lift arms 11, 11 and a power takeoff (PTO) shaft 7. In this work vehicle, to a rear portion of the venicle body, there can be connected a rotary plow implement (not shown) via the link mechanism 10 and power of the engine 3 can be taken off the PTO shaft 7 to be transmitted to the rotary plow implement, whereby the vehicle can be constructed as a riding type plowing machine. In this way, when various implements are drivably attached to the rear portion of the vehicle body, this work vehicle can constitute various riding type work machines. Fig. 3 is a side view of the engine section A. As shown in this figure and Fig. 1, in addition to the engine 3, the engine section A further includes a radiator 20 mounted on the vehicle body more forwardly than the engine 3, and a rotary fan 21 disposed between this radiator 20 and the engine 3. This rotary fan 21 and the radiator 20 together effect cooling of the engine 3. More particularly, the rotary fan 21 is rotatably driven by an output shaft 3a of the engine 3, so that by the air blowing effect of the rotary fan 21, ambient air present outside an engine hood 22 is drawn into the engine hood 22 through an air inlet opening 23 to generate cooling air flow and as this cooling air flow is caused to be communicated to a heat exchanger section 20a (see Fig. 4) from the front side of the vehicle body to the rear side of the vehicle body, so that engine cooling water circulating in the engine 3 and the radiator 20 is cooled by the radiator 20. Fig. 3 shows the construction of a radiator supporting construction in its side view. Fig. 4 is a front view of the radiator supporting construction. As shown in these figures, the radiator 20 is mounted erect to a supporting portion 24 provided in a front wheel supporting frame 6a constituting a front portion of the vehicle body frame 6 via cushioning members 25 provided between the supporting portion 24 and the opposed ends in the radiator transverse direction (vehicle body transverse direction) of a lower tank portion 20b as a lower end of the radiator 20. An upper end of the radiator 20 forms an upper tank portion 20c and at opposed ends in the radiator transverse direction of the upper tank portion 20c, there are provided connecting portions 26. These connecting portions 26 are connected via connecting screws 30 to supporting piece portions 29 provided at upper ends of a radiator supporting member 28 mounted erect adjacent the vehicle body front side of the supporting portion 24, whereby the upper ends 20c of the radiator 20 are supported to the radiator supporting member 28. The radiator supporting member 28 is mounted erect to the front wheel supporting frame 6a via a battery mounting deck 27. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the radiator supporting member 28. As shown in this figure and Fig. 4, the radiator supporting member 28 includes a supporting member body 28a formed of a bent frame bent to provide a portal shape as seen along the fore/aft direction of the vehicle body, and a connecting member 28b interconnecting a pair of right and left column portions of the supporting member body 28a. In operation, the radiator supporting member 28 facilitates the feeding of the engine cooling air flow to the radiator 20 as the engine cooling air is circulated between the right and left column portions of the supporting member body 28a. Fig. 3 shows the construction of the cushioning member 25 in its cross section. As shown in this figure, each cushioning member 25 includes a retaining attaching portion 25a provided at the lower end of the cushioning member 25, a main cushioning portion 25b provided at the upper end of the cushioning member 25, and a supporting hole 25c extending vertically through the cushioning member 25. These right and left paired cushioning members 25 are formed of rubber material. More particularly, each cushioning member 25 is rendered into a predetermined attached condition when the retaining attaching portion 25a is engaged into an attaching hole 24a defined in the supporting portion 24 and an attaching projection 20d provided in the lower tank portion 20b of the radiator 20 is engaged into the supporting hole 25c, so that the retaining attaching portion 25a and the main cushioning portion 25b together provide cushioning effect to restrict vibration in the radiator 20 which is caused by vehicle body vibration generated from traveling or engine driving. As shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the pair of right and left connecting portions 26 of the radiator 20 are formed of tongue pieces made of metal plates extending from the upper tank portion 20c along the fore/aft direction of the vehicle body. These connecting portions are elastically deformed by the vibration in the radiator supporting member 28 due to travehng or engine driving, so that the connecting portions provide cushioning effect for restricting vibration in the radiator 20 due to the vibration in the radiator supporting member 28. As shown in Fig. 3, the engine section A includes a radiator dust proof apparatus 35 having a dust proof member 36 provided at the vehicle body wise front side (the cooling air introducing face side) of the radiator 20, so that dust introduced together with the engine cooling air is received by the dust proof member 36, thus being prevented from flowing into the radiator 20. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the radiator dust proof apparatus 35. As shown in this figure as well as in Figs. 3 and 4, in addition to the dust proof member 35, the radiator dust proof apparatus 35 further includes a lower supporting rail 37 oriented along the transverse direction of the radiator and provided at the lower tank portion 20b as the lower end portion of the radiator 20 and an upper supporting rail 38 oriented along the transverse direction of the radiator and supported to supporting pieces 26a provided in the pair of right and left connecting portions 26, 26. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 38. As shown in these figures, the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 38 include guide grooves 39 extending between one terminal end to the other terminal end of the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 38, attaching/detaching openings 40 which open the guide grooves 39 to the outer side in the radiator transverse direction at one terminal end of the lower supporting rail 37 or the upper supporting rail 38, and stoppers 41 which close the guide grooves 39 at the other terminal end of the lower supporting rail 37 or the upper supporting rail 38. The lower supporting rail 37 includes a pair of connecting pieces 37a connected to the lower tank portion 20b of the radiator 20. Fig. 7 shows the front face side construction of the dust proof member 36. As shown in this figure, the dust proof member 36 includes a dust proof mesh 36a and a shape retaining frame 36b connected to the periphery of this dust proof mesh 36a. Pig 7 is a front view showing attachment/detachment procedure of the dust proof member 36. Fig. 8 is a front view showing the radiator dust proof apparatus 35 under the dust proof member attached condition. As shown in these figures, the dust proof member 36 will be inserted into the guide grooves 36 through the attaching/detaching openings 40 of the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 38 and will be slid along the guide grooves 39 in the radiator transverse direction until the member 36 comes into contact with stoppers 14. With this, the dust proof member 36 can be attached under a predetermined assembled condition, so that the entire cooling air introducing face of the radiator 20 can be covered with the dust proof member 36. Conversely, by sliding the dust proof member 36 along the guide grooves 39 of the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 3 toward the side where the attaching/detaching openings 40 are provided and pulling the member 36 out through the attaching/detaching openings 40 of the lower supporting rail 37 and the upper supporting rail 38, the dust proof member 36 can be detached. [Description of Reference Numerals] 20 radiator 24 supporting member 25 cushioning member 26 connecting portion 28 radiator supporting member 36 dust proof member 37 lower supporting rail 38 upper supporting rail CLAIMS 1. A radiator dust proof apparatus for a work vehicle including an engine cooling radiator mounted erect to a supporting portion of a vehicle body via a cushioning member and a radiator supporting member for supporting an upper end of the radiator, wherein at a lower end of the radiator, there is provided a lower supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator; at an upper end of the radiator, there is provided a connecting portion to be connected to the radiator supporting member; to this connecting portion, there is supported an upper supporting rail extending along the width direction of the radiator! and a dust proof member for the radiator is detachably supported to the lower supporting rail and the upper supporting rail to be slidable along the width direction of the radiator. 2. The radiator dust proof apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is a tongue piece extending from the upper end of the radiator. 3. The radiator dust proof apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the connecting portion is a tongue piece made of a metal plate, which is elastically deformable by vibration of the radiator supporting member. 4. The radiator dust proof apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the radiator supporting member has a portal shape as viewed from the fore/aft direction of the vehicle body; the radiator supporting member is mounted erect on a front wheel supporting frame via a battery mounting deck; and the connecting portion is connected to a supporting piece portion provided at an upper end of the radiator supporting member. 5. The radiator dust proof apparatus according to any one of claims 14, wherein the connecting portion includes a supporting piece and to this

Documents:

0485-che-2009 abstract.jpg

0485-che-2009 abstract.pdf

0485-che-2009 claims.pdf

0485-che-2009 correspondence-others.pdf

0485-che-2009 description (complete).pdf

0485-che-2009 drawings.pdf

0485-che-2009 form-1.pdf

0485-che-2009 form-18.pdf

0485-che-2009 form-3.pdf

0485-che-2009 form-5.pdf

485-CHE-2009 AMENDED CLAIMS 16-07-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 07-09-2009.pdf

485-CHE-2009 ENGLISH TRANSLATION 29-04-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 29-04-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 16-07-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 FORM-1 16-07-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 FORM-3 16-07-2014.pdf

485-CHE-2009 POWER OF ATTORNEY 16-07-2014.pdf

485-Che-2009-Petition 137 for POR.pdf