Vehicle having transverse leveling means

A self-propelled high ground clearance load lifting vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body,
• ground engaging means for supporting said vehicle body for movement over uneven surfaces, said ground engaging means comprising a pair of transversely spaced ground engaging wheels and an axle assembly interconnecting said wheels including a high ground clearance transverse axle disposed in a horizontal plane above the horizontal plane containing the rotational axis of the wheels, power means between said ground engaging means and said vehicle body for tilting said vehicle body in a transverse direction relative to said ground engaging means,
• means for positioning a load with respect to said vehicle body, including an extensible boom pivotally mounted on said vehicle body, said boom being movable in a vertical plane to position a load substantially above said vehicle body;
• automatic level sensing means responsive to deviation of said vehicle body from a transverse level position by a predetermined angle, said sensing means comprising a first sensor responsive to a vehicle transverse angular deviation of a first angle, a first control switch for actuating said first sensor, a second sensor responsive to a vehicle transverse angular deviation of a second angle, said second angle being larger than said first angle, a second control switch for actuating said second sensor, and including a valve responsive to each of said first and said second sensors, said sensing means effecting actuation of said power means to prevent said body from tilting transversely beyond said predetermined angle regardless of the transverse attitute of said ground engaging means.

A self-propelled, high ground clearance fork lift vehicle comprising:

• a. a vehicle body including a fork lift for vertically positioning a load with respect to said body;
• b. ground engaging means for supporting said vehicle for movement over uneven surfaces, said ground engaging means including longitudinally spaced apart pairs of transversely spaced front and rear wheels, a generally U-shaped axle assembly interconnecting said front wheels and interconnecting said rear wheels, each axle assembly including a pivotal, center mounted transverse axle disposed in a horizontal plane above the horizontal plane containing the rotational axis of the wheels;
• c. automatic level sensing means responsive to a predetermined angular deviation of said vehicle body in a transverse direction from a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said sensing means including a first sensor responsive to a vehicle transverse angular deviation of a first angle, a first control switch for selectively actuating said first sensor, a second sensor responsive to a vehicle transverse angular deviation of a second angle larger than said first angle, a second control switch for selectively actuating said second sensor;
• d. power means between said vehicle body and said ground engaging means for tilting said vehicle body about said longitudinal axis relative to said ground engaging means, said power means including at least one pair of hydraulic rams each being connected at one end to said vehicle body and at their other end to opposite ends of one of the front and rear axles;
• e. valve means responsive to said sensing means for actuating said power means to prevent said body from tilting transversely beyond said predetermined angle regardless of the transverse attitude of said ground engaging means;
• said valve means actuating the appropriate one of said hydraulic rams to maintain the vehicle body within a transverse angular deviation of said predetermined angle;
• said valve being responsive to each of said first and second sensors.

A self-propelled load lifting vehicle comprising:

• a. a vehicle body;
• b. means for vertically positioning a load with respect to said vehicle body;
• c. ground engaging means for supporting said vehicle body for movement over uneven surfaces, said ground engaging means including a pair of transversely spaced front wheels, a pair of transversely spaced rear wheels spaced longitudinally from said front wheels, a front axle assembly interconnecting said front wheels including a pivotal, center mounted transverse front axle, a rear axle assembly interconnecting said rear wheels including a pivotal, center mounted transverse rear axle;
• d. automatic level sensing means including a first sensor responsive to a vehicle body transverse angular deviation from a vertical plane through the longitudinal axis of the vehicle of a first angle and a second sensor responsive to a vehicle body transverse angular deviation from said vertical plane of a second angle, said second angle being larger than said first angle;
• e. control means for selectively actuating each of said first and second sensors;
• f. power means for tilting said vehicle body relative to said ground engaging means about a longitudinal axis, said power means comprising at least one pair of hydraulic rams one of which being connected at one end to said vehicle body and at its other end to one end of one of said front and rear axles, the other ram being connected at one end to said vehicle body and at its other end to the other end of said one of said front and rear axles;
• and
• g. a valve responsive to each of said first and second sensors for actuating the appropriate one of said rams to prevent the vehicle body from tilting transversely beyond the angular deviation corresponding to the actuated sensor.