Construction Machine Deck Layout for Urea Tank and Hose Reel Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing arrangement of a grease supply device and a urea tank in construction machines complicates deck width reduction, hinders access to the hose reel, and makes it difficult to visually check the hose reel winding and supply water to the urea tank, due to spatial constraints and overlapping components.
Innovation Solution
A construction machine design where the hose reel is positioned on the front side of the deck, and the urea tank is placed rearward, with a water inlet oriented forward to facilitate easy access and visual inspection, allowing the deck to be compact and reducing its width by utilizing the space efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the urea tank is disposed in the front right portion or front left portion of the upper slewing body, then the urea tank can be installed, but the deck width increases and transportation is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial arrangement from traditional front-side placement to rear-side placement of the urea tank, utilizing the rear deck space in a different dimensional configuration. This allows the urea tank to be installed without increasing the overall deck width, as the tank is positioned in the rear portion of the upper slewing body where space is otherwise underutilized.
2Ease of manufacture
If the hose reel and grease supply source unit are arranged in the right-and-left direction, then they can be installed, but the deck width cannot be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a lateral (right-and-left) arrangement of the hose reel and grease supply source unit to a longitudinal (front-and-rear) arrangement. By positioning these components in the front-and-rear direction on the deck, the patent utilizes the length dimension instead of the width dimension, thereby reducing the deck width while maintaining proper installation and accessibility of all components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the urea tank is disposed frontward of the grease supply source unit and hose reel, then the urea tank can be installed, but access to the hose reel and visual check of winding become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing the urea tank in front of the hose reel and grease supply source unit, the patent inverts this arrangement by positioning the urea tank at the rear. This inversion ensures that the hose reel and grease supply source unit remain accessible from the front and sides of the deck, allowing operators to easily access the hose reel for visual checks and winding operations without being blocked by the urea tank.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the urea tank is disposed rearward of the hose reel and grease supply source unit, then the urea tank can be installed, but access to the urea tank and water supply become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a water supply hose as an intermediary element that connects the water supply source to the urea tank. This hose allows water to be supplied to the rearward-positioned urea tank without requiring direct physical access to the tank itself, thereby overcoming the accessibility issue while maintaining the compact rearward placement of the urea tank for optimized deck width.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a construction machine allowing a deck to be compact while facilitating water supply to a urea tank and access to a grease supply device. The construction machine includes a hose reel (14) for grease supply disposed on a front-side portion of a deck (41) of an upper slewing body, and a urea tank 30 disposed rearward of the hose reel (14) on the deck (41) and stores urea water for exhaust gas purification. The urea tank (30) has a front surface provided with a water inlet (31) for resupplying urea water. The hose reel (14) is disposed deviated from the water inlet (31) widthwise of the upper slewing body. The water inlet (31) has a distal end located on the front side of a rear end of the hose reel (14).