Search

EP-4534817-B1 - WORK VEHICLE

EP4534817B1EP 4534817 B1EP4534817 B1EP 4534817B1EP-4534817-B1

Inventors

  • KURAHARA, Hiroki

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240913

Claims (12)

  1. A work vehicle comprising: an engine (12); an exhaust pipe (15) extending from the engine (12); a muffler (17) to which the exhaust pipe (15) is connected; and a first anti-vibration mount (21) and a second anti-vibration mount (22) with which the muffler (17) is attached to an attachment target (14) while the muffler (17) is oriented with a longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17) extending along a horizontal plane, wherein the first anti-vibration mount (21) is located on a portion of the muffler (17) on one side of the muffler (17) in the longitudinal direction (A1) and on a portion of the muffler (17) on one side of the muffler (17) in an up-down direction (A2), and the second anti-vibration mount (22) is located on a portion of the muffler (17) on another side of the muffler (17) in the longitudinal direction (A1) and on a portion of the muffler (17) on another side of the muffler (17) in the up-down direction (A2), wherein the exhaust pipe (15) is connected to the portion of the muffler (17) on the one side of the muffler (17) in the longitudinal direction (A1) and to the portion of the muffler (17) on the one side of the muffler (17) in the up-down direction (A2), characterised by , when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), a connecting portion between the exhaust pipe (15) and the muffler (17), the first anti-vibration mount (21), and the second anti-vibration mount (22) are located at three positions, with one at each of the three positions, the three positions being a position of an imaginary vertical line (B1) passing through a center of the muffler (17) when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), and positions on one side and another side, respectively, relative to the vertical line (B1), in a direction extending along a horizontal plane, when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), the connecting portion between the exhaust pipe (15) and the muffler (17) is located on the one side relative to the vertical line (B1) in the direction extending along a horizontal plane, when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), the first anti-vibration mount (21) is located at the position of the vertical line (B1), and when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), the second anti-vibration mount (22) is located on the other side relative to the vertical line (B1) in the direction extending along a horizontal plane.
  2. The work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the muffler (17) is positioned laterally to the attachment target (14) while the muffler (17) is oriented with the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17) extending along the attachment target (14), when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), the connecting portion between the exhaust pipe (15) and the muffler (17) is located on a side that is far from the attachment target (14), relative to the vertical line (B1), in the direction extending along a horizontal plane, when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), one of the first anti-vibration mount (21) and the second anti-vibration mount (22) is located at the position of the vertical line (B1), and when viewed in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17), the other one of the first anti-vibration mount (21) and the second anti-vibration mount (22) is located on a side that is near the attachment target (14), relative to the vertical line (B1), in the direction extending along a horizontal plane.
  3. The work vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a spherical joint (16) connecting the exhaust pipe (15) and the muffler (17) to each other.
  4. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first anti-vibration mount (21) and the second anti-vibration mount (22) each include an anti-vibration rubber (23) that is located on one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14) and has an opening (23a), a base (24) located on the other one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14), and a support member (25) located on the base (24), and the opening (23a) of the anti-vibration rubber (23) and the support member (25) are oriented in an identical direction, and the support member (25) is in the opening (23a) of the anti-vibration rubber (23).
  5. The work vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the opening (23a) of the anti-vibration rubber (23) and the support member (25) are oriented in the longitudinal direction (A1) of the muffler (17).
  6. The work vehicle according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the anti-vibration rubber (23) is located on the attachment target (14), and the base (24) is located on the muffler (17).
  7. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the support member (25) of the first anti-vibration mount (21) and the support member (25) of the second anti-vibration mount (22) extend in opposite directions to each other from the respective bases (24), and when the support members (25) are in the openings (23a) of the anti-vibration rubbers (23), the base (24) of the first anti-vibration mount (21) and the base (24) of the second anti-vibration mount (22) are positioned on opposite sides relative to the anti-vibration rubbers (23).
  8. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the base (24) has a pair of leg portions (24a) attached to the other one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14), and a recess (24b) located between respective ends, opposite to the other one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14), of the pair of leg portions (24a) and bent toward the other one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14), and the support member (25) is attached to the recess (24b).
  9. The work vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the leg portions (24a) each have an opening (24c).
  10. The work vehicle according to any one of claims 4 to 9, comprising: a bracket (26) attached to the one of the muffler (17) and the attachment target (14); and an attachment member (27) configured to press the anti-vibration rubber (23) against the bracket (26) to attach the anti-vibration rubber (23) to the bracket (26), wherein the attachment member (27) has an engagement portion (27b) located at one end of the attachment member (27) and configured to engage with the bracket (26), and a joining portion (27a) located at another end of the attachment member (27) and configured to be joined to the bracket (26) with a bolt (19).
  11. The work vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the bracket (26) has an opening (26c), a pair of protrusions (26a) are located at one end and another end of the opening (26c) of the bracket (26) and protrude toward a center of the opening (26c) of the bracket (26), and the anti-vibration rubber (23) rests on the protrusions (26a) and is attached to the bracket (26) by being pressed against the bracket (26) by the attachment member (27).
  12. The work vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the attachment member (27) has a pair of the engagement portions (27b), one of the engagement portions (27b) is configured to engage with one of laterally adjacent portions (26b) of one of the protrusions (26a) of the opening (26c) of the bracket (26), and the other one of the engagement portions (27b) is configured to engage with the other one of the laterally adjacent portions (26b) of the protrusion (26a) of the opening (26c) of the bracket (26).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a muffler attachment structure of a work vehicle with an engine. 2. Description of Related Art Among utility work vehicles exemplifying work vehicles with engines, there is a type of utility work vehicle in which, as disclosed in JP 2019-155998A, a muffler to which an exhaust pipe from the engine is connected is attached to a frame (corresponding to an attachment target) included in a body frame. JP 2019-155998A is an example of related art. US 2014/196973 A1, US 11 560 825 B2 and US 2004/069562 A1 disclose other examples of muffler assemblies. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to prevent damage to the mufflers of work vehicles, it has been proposed to attach the muffler to the attachment target via an anti-vibration mount. An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration for a work vehicle where a muffler is attached to an attachment target via an anti-vibration mount, the configuration allowing the muffler to be properly attached to the attachment target with a small number of anti-vibration mounts. A work vehicle of the present invention is defined in claim 1 and includes an engine, an exhaust pipe extending from the engine, and a first anti-vibration mount and a second anti-vibration mount with which the muffler is attached to an attachment target while the muffler is oriented with a longitudinal direction of the muffler extending along a horizontal plane, wherein the first anti-vibration mount is located on a portion of the muffler on one side of the muffler in the longitudinal direction and on a portion of the muffler on one side of the muffler in an up-down direction, and the second anti-vibration mount is located on a portion of the muffler on another side of the muffler in the longitudinal direction and on a portion of the muffler on another side of the muffler in the up-down direction. According to the present invention, the muffler is attached to the attachment target with the first anti-vibration mount and the second anti-vibration mount while the muffler is oriented with its longitudinal direction extending along a horizontal plane (for example, while the muffler is oriented with its longitudinal direction extending along a front-rear direction or a left-right direction). For example, if the longitudinal direction of the muffler extends along the front-rear direction, the first anti-vibration mount may be located on a lower front portion of the muffler, and the second anti-vibration mount is located on an upper rear portion of the muffler. Alternatively, the first anti-vibration mount may be located on an upper front portion of the muffler, and the second anti-vibration mount is located on a lower rear portion of the muffler. Alternatively, the first anti-vibration mount may be located on the lower rear portion of the muffler, and the second anti-vibration mount is located on the upper front portion of the muffler. Alternatively, the first anti-vibration mount may be located on the upper rear portion of the muffler, and the second anti-vibration mount is located on the lower rear portion of the muffler. According to the present invention, when viewed in a direction along a horizontal plane and orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the muffler, the first and second anti-vibration mounts are positioned on a diagonal line of the muffler, away from each other. Thus, when the muffler is attached to the attachment target with the first and second anti-vibration mounts, vibrations transmitted to the muffler from the attachment target are appropriately absorbed, even if the muffler is attached with a small number of first and second anti-vibration mounts, and damage to the muffler caused by vibrations can be prevented. In the present invention, the exhaust pipe is connected to the portion of the muffler on the one side of the muffler in the longitudinal direction and to the portion of the muffler on the one side of the muffler in the up-down direction. According to the present invention, the exhaust pipe is connected to a portion of the muffler near the first anti-vibration mount. This allows vibrations transmitted to the muffler from the exhaust pipe to be appropriately absorbed by the first anti-vibration mount and is therefore advantageous for preventing damage to the muffler caused by vibrations. In the present invention, when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the muffler, a connecting portion between the exhaust pipe and the muffler, the first anti-vibration mount, and the second anti-vibration mount are located at three positions, with one at each of the three positions, the three positions being a position of an imaginary vertical line passing through a center of the muffler when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the muffler, and positions on one side and another side, respectively, relative to the vertical line, in a direction extending along a horizontal plane. According to