Folding parking stand

In a combination of a parking stand together with each of a pair of downwardly and forwardly inclined lower arm sections respectively of a pair of front loader lift arms and to forward ends of which an implement is coupled, the parking stand including a support leg and a brace having opposite ends respectively pivotally mounted to the support leg and to one of said pair of lower arm sections, with the support leg and brace being movable between a folded stored position wherein said support leg and brace extend alongside each other and are fixed to said one of said pair of lower arm sections, and an unfolded parked position, wherein said support leg extends down and to the rear from said one of said pair of lower arm sections while said brace extends between the latter arm section and the support leg, the improvement comprising:

• a first mounting pin being fixed to, and projecting laterally from, one side of said one of said pair of lower arm sections at a location which is above where said brace is pivotally mounted;
• said support leg having an upper end region including a receptacle, with said receptacle being engaged with said first mounting pin when said parking stand is in said parked position;
• a releasable latch being mounted to said one of said pair of lower arm sections at a location spaced above said first mounting pin and being engaged with said upper end region of said support leg when said parking stand is in said stored position;
• said support leg and said brace each including a major channel portion including a web and flanges and which opens toward said one of said pair of lower arm sections;
• said brace being dimensioned such that opposite flanges of said brace are located at opposite sides of said one of the loader arm sections and are nested between opposite flanges of said support leg with the webs of the support leg and brace being adjacent each other when said parking stand is in said stored position and with one of the opposite ends of the brace being defined by extensions of the flanges which straddle and are pivotally connected to, said one of said lower arm sections to thereby establish the pivotal mounting between the brace and the one lower arm section, and with another of the opposite ends of the brace having a transversely extending second mounting pin joined thereto and having a lost-motion coupling with a location of said support leg approximately midway between opposite ends of the support leg, with said lost motion coupling guiding said second mounting pin for movement lengthwise of said support leg and for defining the pivotal connection between the brace and support leg;
• the webs of said brace and said support leg respectively having cooperating catch and tab surfaces formed thereon for being engaged with each other so as to prevent pivotal movement of the support leg about the second mounting pin when the support leg and brace are folded together and the support leg is positioned on the second mounting pin such that the upper end region of the support leg is properly spaced from the pivotal connection of the brace with said one of the pair of lower arm sections for being engaged with the releasable latch when the support leg and brace are pivoted together toward said stored position.