Motor vehicles – With means for promoting safety of vehicle – its occupant or...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-24
2001-02-06
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
With means for promoting safety of vehicle, its occupant or...
C180S268000, C180S269000, C180S272000, C180S273000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182781
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to loaders and more specifically to a loader pedal locking device capable of preventing inadvertent up/down movement of a boom and unwanted tilting movement of a bucket by way of having a foot pedal locked in its neutral position when a seat bar is not lowered into an operator restraint position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Typical loaders include a vehicle body and a canopy mounted on the body for enclosing an operator's seat. The canopy is provided with a front opening that allows the operator to gain access to the operator's seat. Some types of loaders are expected to run over rough terrain, make sudden stops and turns and are subject to sudden tilting and lurching. A skid steer loader is a type of loader in which the operator often encounters rough ride conditions.
For the operator to be protected safely under the rough ride conditions, need exists for safety devices that can restrain the body of the operator to the seat. The conventional safety devices include a seat bar pivotally mounted to the opposite side walls of the canopy for swing movement about a pivot axis between a raised position and a lowered position. The seat bar remaining in the raised position permits the operator to take or leave the seat through the front opening of the canopy. The operator would be restrained between the seat and the seat bar in case where the seat bar assumes the lowered position. This will keep the operator adhered to the seat even under the rough ride conditions, thus removing the possibility of being thrown from the seat due to the sudden movement of the loader.
There may be however such an instance that a pedal is mistakenly depressed with the seat bar in the raised position, subjecting the boom and/or bucket to sudden movement and hence putting the operator in danger. As a solution to this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,980 dated Jun. 21, 1983 discloses a loader having a locking assembly which is engaged with a control link when an operator restraint member is in it's disengaged position but is disengaged from the control link when the restraint member is in it's engaged position. The control link serves to, when a pedal is depressed, shift a boom control valve and a bucket control valve from their neutral position into operative positions. Lifting up the restraint member to lock the control link in it's neutral position causes the pedal to be also locked, making it possible to avoid any inadvertent actuation of the boom and the bucket.
The locking assembly taught in the '980 patent appears not to be totally satisfactory in view of the following aspects. First of all, since the locking operation can be effected only when the control link and the pedal are in the neutral position, the control link may be left unlocked if the operator lifts up the restraint member while depressing the pedal in error. Secondly, a significant part of the locking assembly is hidden under the vehicle body and therefore deteriorates it's visibility and accessibility for maintenance. A third drawback is that the locking assembly is highly susceptible of trouble because of it's exposure to mud, sand and the like material on the ground.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the foregoing problems in mind, it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a loader that can automatically lock a foot pedal in it's neutral position whenever a seat bar is lifted up.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pedal locking device for a loader which can forcibly return foot pedals into their neutral position and then have them locked in that position independently of one another.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pedal locking device for a loader that can ease maintenance thereof, has a reduced possibility of trouble and permits ready confirmation of trouble, if occured.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a loader comprising a vehicle body with a canopy and a seat, a control valve unit for controlling flow of working fluid, a seat bar mounted to the canopy of the vehicle body for swinging movement between a lowered position in which an operator is restrained from movement away from the seat and a raised position in which the operator is released from the seat, at least one pedal operatively associated with the control valve unit and tiltable about a horizontal axis between an operative position wherein the control valve unit allows the working fluid to pass therethrough and a neutral position wherein the control valve unit inhibits passage of the working fluid therethrough, dog means connected to the pedal for unitary tilting movement with the pedal, at least one detent lever provided in front of the dog means and swingable about a vertical axis between a locking position wherein the detent lever engages with the dog means to keep the pedal in the neutral position and an unlocking position wherein the detent lever disengages from the dog means to permit the tilting movement of the pedal, and lever actuator means for bringing the detent lever into the locking or unlocking position as the seat bar is caused to move into the raised or lowered position.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3927776 (1975-12-01), Steiger
patent: 4388980 (1983-06-01), Vig et al.
patent: 4397371 (1983-08-01), Lynnes et al.
patent: 4871044 (1989-10-01), Strosser et al.
patent: 5050700 (1991-09-01), Kim
patent: 5383532 (1995-01-01), Shonai et al.
patent: 5984040 (1999-11-01), Lee
Daewoo Heavy Industries Ltd.
Draper Deanna
Johnson Brian L.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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