Control mechanism for hydraulic locking device

A control mechanism for use with a hydraulic device employed to control relative movement between two members, said hydraulic locking device including a hydraulic cylinder connected to one of the members, a piston rod extending outwardly through one end of the hydraulic cylinder to an exposed end of the piston rod and connected to the other of the two members, and an operating rod operative when moved to a release position with respect to the piston rod to release the hydraulic locking device so it can be reset to alter the separation between the two members, said control mechanism comprising in combination:

• a conduit having a proximal end associated with the piston rod and having a distal end;
• a cable extending through said conduit, slidable within it, and including a proximal end and a distal end;
• push button means affixed to the distal end of said conduit for moving said cable under control of an operator through a stroke with respect to said conduit;
• lever means affixed to the piston rod, connected to the proximal end of said conduit, coupled to the proximal end of said cable and responsive to movement of said cable to move the operating rod to the release position with respect to the piston rod, the movement of the operating rod being less than the movement of said push button means to achieve a mechanical advantage;
• a spring clip secured to said lever means and retaining said lever means to the exposed end portion of the piston rod to permit said lever means to be attached to the piston rod without the use of tools;
• a ball affixed to said cable and pivotably and removably engaging said lever means to avoid bending of the cable as said lever means is moved and to facilitate disengagement of said cable from said lever means when said cable is cut;
• said conduit further comprising a threaded collar connecting the proximal end of said conduit to said lever means for altering the length of the conduit under control of an operator to preset the positions of the distal end of the cable at the beginning and the end of the stroke, with respect to the distal end of said conduit;
• said spring clip slidably mounted on said lever means to permit an operator selectively to slide said spring clip from a first position in which said spring clip engages said piston rod for retaining thereto said lever means to a second position in which said spring clip does not engage said piston rod, said spring clip shaped to urge in the first position frictional engagement of said threaded collar with said lever means to prevent rotation of said threaded collar, and shaped to release said threaded collar when moved to said second position, to permit rotation of said threaded collar for altering the length of the conduit.