Patent ID: 8581596

Claim:
A construction machine comprising: a lower traveling structure; an upper swivel structure mounted on the lower traveling structure; a swivel motor for swiveling the upper swivel structure; a swivel brake to be actuated to hold the swivel motor in a stopped state; a swivel operating lever to be operated for driving the swivel motor to swivel the upper swivel structure; a motor drive circuit for driving the swivel motor by a battery through an inverter, the inverter supplying electric power to the swivel motor to drive the swivel motor when the swivel operating lever is operated to swivel the upper swivel structure and cutting off supply of the electric power to the swivel motor when the swivel operating lever is not operated; a swivel motor controller for controlling the operation of the inverter, the swivel motor controller being adapted to release the swivel brake when the swivel operating lever is operated to swivel the upper swivel structure, and to actuate the swivel brake when the swivel operating lever is not operated; signal output means for applying a voltage signal, which is adapted for detection of a current leakage, between the swivel motor drive circuit and a body of the construction machine; signal detection means for detecting the voltage signal applied by the signal output means; lever operation detection means for detecting whether the swivel operating lever is operated to swivel the upper swivel structure or not; and determination means for determining occurrence or non-occurrence of the current leakage based on the signal detected by the signal detection means, the determination means operating the inverter through the swivel motor controller to bring the swivel motor into a power supplied state where the swivel motor is just supplied with the electrical power so as to generate no torque unless the swivel operating lever is operated and determining the occurrence or non-occurrence of the current leakage in the power supplied state of the swivel motor when following conditions are satisfied: (A) a power-on operation for connecting the battery to the inverter is performed, (B) the swivel operating lever is not operated to swivel the upper swivel structure, and (C) the determination as to the occurrence or non-occurrence of the current leakage has not yet been made even once.