Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Patent
1981-05-01
1983-11-22
Mitchell, David M.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
296146, 280163, 180 8912, 49208, B62D 3306
Patent
active
044164866
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a cab for an agricultural, industrial or construction vehicle.
Self-propelled combine harvesters are subject to an overall width limitation in order to make them acceptable as road-going vehicles. This in turn imposes limitations on engine and cab size and layout. In particular, it is well known to arrange the engine and cab alongside one another at the front of the harvester and to provide access to the cab through a door on that side of the cab opposite the engine. An entry platform is provided alongside the door and thus adds to the overall width of the harvester. For reasons of safety and convenience the platform cannot be made too narrow. In particular, if the door opens outwards over the platform it has to open sufficiently to allow access by the driver but to be safe it should not open beyond the periphery of the platform. Generally, the door is hinged along its upright leading edge so as to open forwards over the platform. Steps may be provided up to the rear edge of the platform and a handrail may be provided along the outer edge of the platform and steps and limit outwards opening movement of the door.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a cab for a combine harvester that makes more efficient use of the overall width of the harvester.
According to the invention, a cab has front, rear and side walls and a driver access door that is hinged along its forward upright edge to an adjcent side wall and opens outwards to the outer limit of an entry platform that is provided alongside the doorway and is mounted from the rear, and is characterized in that the access door is adapted so that it assumes a closed position in which it is angled from said adjacent side wall towards the rear wall so that it faces both sideways and rearwards and at least part of the entry platform lies within the width of the cab between the side walls.
The angled disposition of the doorway thus improves access to the cab whilst reducing the extent to which the entry platform need extend outwards beyond the line of said adjacent side wall.
In order to further improve access to the cab, the door is preferably supported by a hinge assembly so that the top of the door moves outwards further than the bottom of the door during opening, thereby giving increased width for access at shoulder height.
The hinge assembly may be such that the upper hinge member is fixedly connected to the door at one end and is pivotally connected relative to said adjacent side wall at its other end at a point spaced forwards of the leading edge of the door and offset inwards from the plane of the door. For example, the upper hinge member may be cranked relative to the door thereby producing an additional outwards movement of the top of the door as it opens.
Alternatively or additionally the hinge assembly may be such that the hinge axis is inclined rearwards from top to bottom, so that the top and bottom portions of the door move about horizontally displaced centres and thereby produce said outwards movement of the top of the door relative to the bottom of the door.
For reasons of safety and convenience a hand-rail may be provided along the outer edge of the platform and steps. Preferably, the hand-rail is pivotally connected to the door at a point spaced away from the hinge axis towards the rear edge of the door, and is shaped so that it moves with the door and allows an increased opening movement.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-propelled combine harvester fitted with a cab according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the cab of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the cab of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the cab of FIG. 1 with the door closed;
FIG. 5 is a rear elevation of the cab of FIG. 1 with the door open; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a cab similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 5 but with a modifie
REFERENCES:
patent: 116287 (1871-06-01), Farrel
patent: 3278222 (1966-10-01), Mullet
patent: 3279843 (1966-10-01), Hafer
patent: 3802530 (1974-04-01), Purcell
patent: 3998489 (1976-12-01), Blakeslee
patent: 4074788 (1978-02-01), Joubert
patent: 4221274 (1980-09-01), Martin, Jr.
Colotte Guy E. P.
McNaught James B.
Farris Robert L.
Massey-Ferguson Services N.V.
McCarthy Joseph
Mitchell David M.
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