Ventilation – Vehicle – Having inlet airway
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-30
2001-11-06
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Vehicle
Having inlet airway
C055S493000, C055S505000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312327
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a vandal resistant housing for a fresh air filter for an off road work vehicle. The housing is latched to the operator's cab by a latch located inside the operator's cab. The housing is removed from outside the operator's cab allowing servicing of the filter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Off road work vehicles may be provided with operator's cabs. These cabs in turn are provided with heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to provide operator comfort in a variety of climatic conditions. These systems draw fresh outside air into the operator's cab through a fresh air filter. It is desirable that the fresh air filter be serviced from outside the operator's cab. This prevents dirt and dust collected by the filter from being deposited into the cab. One problem with this arrangement is that vandals sometimes take these filters.
SUMMARY
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fresh air filter that can be serviced from outside the operator's cab and that can only be serviced by persons having access to the interior of the operator's cab.
It is a feature of the present invention that the fresh air filter is held in place by a housing that is latched in place by a latch located inside the operator's cab.
The operator's cab of a work vehicle defines an enclosed space from which the operator controls the vehicle. This enclosed space is locked to prevent unauthorized access. The operator's cab is provided with a HVAC system, the HVAC system having a fresh air filter for introducing filtered fresh air to the HVAC system. The fresh air filter is mounted to the operator's cab and is held in place by a housing. The housing comprises a pivotal door that is mounted to the exterior of the operator's cab. The housing is held in place by a latch having a handle that is located inside the operator's cab.
The housing is a plastic molded door having integral pivot studs that pivotally engage the operator's cab. The door is provided with a back wall having a first opening located adjacent to the filter and through which fresh air passes to the filter. The door is also provided with louvers for providing a pneumatic path for fresh air to reach the filter. The pneumatic path extends first upwardly from the louvers and then downwardly towards the filter. The back wall of the door is also provided with a latch hole into which a latch extends.
In the illustrated embodiment the latch comprises an expandable rubber sleeve. The expandable rubber sleeve is compressed between a jam nut and the back wall to expand the sleeve and latch the door in place. The jam nut Is mounted to a rod. The rod is slidably positioned in a fixed washer assembly. The other end of the rod opposite the jam nut is mounted to a latch handle. The latch handle has a camming surface defining a latched position and an unlatched position. The rubber sleeve is mounted on the rod between the jam nut and the washer assembly. When moving the handle to its latched position, the rod is withdrawn towards the operator's cab. As the rubber sleeve is trapped between the jam nut and the washer assembly, the sleeve bulges outwardly latching the door in a closed position as the latch hole is smaller than the bulged rubber sleeve.
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patent: 4137983 (1979-02-01), Gray
patent: 4290792 (1981-09-01), Eckstein et al.
patent: 4365541 (1982-12-01), Marques et al.
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patent: 5119718 (1992-06-01), Wagner et al.
patent: 5385378 (1995-01-01), Hakamada et al.
patent: 5833528 (1998-11-01), Baum et al.
patent: 42 24 051-A (1994-01-01), None
patent: 57-155118-A (1982-09-01), None
Averkamp Timothy Aloysius
Hachmann Robert Joseph
Neagle Stuart Lee
Deere & Company
Joyce Harold
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