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US 6,584,710 B1Granted
Skid steer vehicle with suspension locking by manipulation of loader or bucket controls
AssigneeCase Corporation
InventorsHong-Chin Lin, Peter J. Dix, Troy D. Bateman, Brian E. Felsing, Anthony J. Lamela, Daniel B. Shore
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A skid steer vehicle with sprung suspensions is configured to lock the suspensions whenever the operator manipulates a manual control that generates a signal to move the loader arms or the bucket of the vehicle. The operator control, such as a joystick, sends a signal to an electronic controller indicating that the operator has moved the control and is thereby requesting the loader arms or bucket to move. The electronic controller responds to this signal by moving the loader arms or bucket and simultaneously locking the suspensions.
Claims15
A skid steer vehicle comprising:
- a chassis having a left side and a right side;
- at least one loader arm pivotally coupled to the chassis to pivot about a substantially horizontal axis;
- at least one hydraulic cylinder coupled to the at least one loader arm to raise and lower the at least one loader arm with respect to the chassis;
- an engine coupled to the chassis;
- first and second variable displacement hydraulic pumps coupled to the engine to provide two separately controllable sources of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
- four non-steerable and ground-engaging wheels coupled to the chassis to drive the vehicle over the ground, wherein the wheels are disposed two on each side of the chassis in a fore-and-aft relation and support substantially the entire weight of the vehicle;
- four control arms pivotally coupled to the chassis and coupled to the four wheels to permit the wheels to pivot at least in a vertical direction with respect to the chassis;
- at least two hydraulic motors for driving the wheels wherein at least one motor is driven by fluid from the first pump and in turn drives the wheels on the left side of the chassis and at least another motor is driven by fluid from the second pump and in turn drives the wheels on the right side of the chassis;
- four hydraulic cylinders, each cylinder operably coupled to one of the wheels to control at least the vertical position of the wheels with respect to the chassis;
- a first operator-actuable control configured to signal a desired movement of the at least one loader arm;
- and
- an electronic controller operably coupled to the first operator-actuable control to both (a) lock the four wheels in a vertical position with respect to the chassis and (b) move the at least one loader arm when the first operator-actuable control is manipulated by the operator.
9 more elements
A skid steer vehicle comprising:
- a chassis having a left side and a right side;
- at least one loader arm pivotally coupled to the chassis to pivot about a substantially horizontal axis;
- at least one hydraulic cylinder coupled to the at least one loader arm to raise and lower the at least one loader arm with respect to the chassis;
- an engine coupled to the chassis;
- first and second variable displacement hydraulic pumps coupled to the engine to provide two separately controllable sources of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
- four non-steerable and ground-engaging wheels coupled to the chassis to drive the vehicle over the ground, wherein the wheels are disposed two on each side of the chassis in a fore-and-aft relation and support substantially the entire weight of the vehicle;
- two control arms pivotally coupled to the chassis and coupled to the two forward wheels to permit the two forward wheels of the four wheels that are disposed on either side of the chassis to pivot at least in a vertical direction with respect to the chassis;
- at least two hydraulic motors for driving the wheels wherein at least one motor is driven by fluid from the first pump and in turn drives the wheels on the left side of the chassis and at least another motor is driven by fluid from the second pump and in turn drives the wheels on the right side of the chassis;
- two hydraulic cylinders, each cylinder operably coupled to one of the two forward wheels to control at least the vertical position of the two forward wheels with respect to the chassis;
- a first operator-actuable control configured to signal a desired movement of the at least one loader arm;
- and
- an electronic controller operably coupled to the first operator-actuable control to both (a) lock the two forward wheels in a vertical position with respect to the chassis and (b) move the at least one loader arm, in response to operator manipulation of the first operator-actuable control.
9 more elements
A method of locking suspensions of a skid steer vehicle including
- a chassis having a left side and a right side;
- at least one loader arm pivotally coupled to the chassis to pivot about a substantially horizontal axis;
- at least one hydraulic cylinder coupled to the at least one loader arm to raise and lower the at least one loader arm with respect to the chassis;
- an engine coupled to the chassis;
- first and second variable displacement hydraulic pumps coupled to the engine to provide two separately controllable sources of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
- four non-steerable and ground-engaging wheels coupled to the chassis to drive the vehicle over the ground, wherein the wheels are disposed two on each side of the chassis in a fore-and-aft relation and support substantially the entire weight of the vehicle;
- two control arms pivotally coupled to the chassis and coupled to the two forward wheels to permit the two forward wheels of the four wheels that are disposed on either side of the chassis to pivot at least in a vertical direction with respect to the chassis;
- at least two hydraulic motors for driving the wheels wherein at least one motor is driven by fluid from the first pump and in turn drives the wheels on the left side of the chassis and at least another motor is driven by fluid from the second pump and in turn drives the wheels on the right side of the chassis;
- two hydraulic cylinders, each cylinder operably coupled to one of the two forward wheels to control at least the vertical position of the two forward wheels with respect to the chassis;
- a first operator-actuable control configured to signal a desired movement of the at least one loader arm;
- and
- an electronic controller operably coupled to the first operator-actuable control, to said at least one hydraulic cylinder, and to said two hydraulic cylinders, wherein the method includes the steps of:
- manually manipulating the first operator-actuable control to generate a signal indicative of an operator request to move said at least one loader arm;
- transmitting said signal indicative to the electronic controller;
- moving said at least one loader arm responsive to the signal indicative of the operator request;
- and
- locking the two forward wheels from moving vertically with respect to the chassis in response to the signal indicative of the operator request.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.