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US 8,037,952 B2Granted
Adjustable hand controls for small loader
AssigneeClark Equipment Company
InventorTimothy Bock
Life of this patent
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AssigneeClark Equipment Company
InventorTimothy Bock
Estimating the term…
A control system for a walk behind loader which includes a control plate that is mounted to a shaft about an upright axis, wherein pivoting the control plate about the upright axis provides a steering input to the loader. A control handle is pivotally mounted about a generally horizontal axis and movable to provide for a direction and speed control input coupling through a control link. The control handle is mounted onto a handle mounting section section, that in turn is pivotally mounted to a support about an axis that is substantially coincident with the an axis coupling the handle to the control link, so that the control handle can be moved as the handle mounting section pivots between a raised and lowered position without causing a change in the position of controls controlled by the handle. The loader is capable of being operated by an operator walking on the ground when the control handle is in the lowered position, and by an operator standing on a platform attached to the loader, when the control handle is in the raised position.
A control system for a vehicle having a frame, comprising:
A self-propelled walk behind vehicle having a control support plate at a rear portion of the vehicle accessible to an operator behind the vehicle, the control support plate having a first section mounted on a support pivotable about an upright axis, a control handle mounting section pivotally mounted to the first section of the control support plate about a first axis extending laterally of a fore and aft direction of the vehicle, the control handle mounting section extending rearwardly of the first section of the control support plate and rearwardly of the first axis, a control handle pivoted to the control handle mounting section about a second axis spaced rearwardly from the first axis and actuable about the second lateral axis from an unactuated position, the control support plate and control handle being operably coupled to control forward and rearward movement and direction of the vehicle, the control handle mounting section being movable about the first axis relative to the first section of the control support plate about the first axis to thereby move the control handle in its unactuated position to different elevations relative to a supporting surface for the vehicle without changing the unactuated position of the control handle about the second axis.
An adjustable height control for a mobile vehicle having a drive controllable by a standing operator from a rear of the vehicle, a control support plate on the vehicle at the rear of the vehicle, a control handle mounting section pivotally mounted about a first generally lateral axis to the control support plate and extending rearwardly from the control support plate, a control handle for controlling drive functions of the vehicle pivotally mounted on the control handle mounting section about a second lateral axis independent of the first axis and actuable to pivotable positions about the second lateral axis from an unactuated position, pivoting of the control handle mounting section about the first axis moving the control handle between a first height and a second height without changing the unactuated position of the control handle about the second axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.