US 9,541,943 B2Granted

Operation lever and grip

AssigneeKubota Corporation

InventorsTakayuki Tokuda, Masahiro Yamamoto, Teruo Kunizawa

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Abstract

Provided is an operation lever adapted to make a blade perform an action other than an up and down action by rotatably a grip around the shaft center of a lever shaft. The operation lever has a lever shaft operable back and forth, corresponding to an up and down action of a blade of a dozer unit, and a grip provided on an upper part of the lever shaft and capable of rotating in a clockwise direction and counterclockwise direction from a neutral position around a shaft center of the lever shaft by a predetermined rotation angle, corresponding to an angle action or a tilting action of the blade. The grip includes a return-to-neutral spring adapted to return the grip from a rotated position to a neutral position, and the rotation angle of the grip in the clockwise direction is set to be different from that in the counterclockwise direction.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An operation lever for operation of a blade of a dozer unit disposed on a construction machine, the blade being operated in an up and down action, in an angle action and in a tilting action, the angle action moving the blade to differentiate back and forth positions of longitudinal ends of the blade, the tilting action moving the blade to differentiate vertical positions of longitudinal ends of the blade, comprising:

a lever shaft including:
an upper part extending upward, the upper part being located above a center portion of the lever shaft relative to a longitudinal direction of the lever shaft, the lever shaft being configured to be operable back and forth, corresponding to the up and down action of the blade;
and
a grip provided on the upper part of the lever shaft, the grip including:
a grip core member attached to the lever shaft, the grip core member including:
a first stopper and a second stopper;
and
a grip main body configured to be rotated about a shaft center of the lever shaft and being supported by the grip core member, thereby being capable of rotating in a clockwise direction and in a counterclockwise direction from a neutral position by a predetermined rotation angle, such that rotation of the grip main body is configured to cause movement of the blade in the angle action and in the tilting action, wherein
the first stopper is configured to restrict the rotation of the grip main body in the counterclockwise direction from the neutral position by a first predetermined rotation angle, and
the second stopper is configured to restrict the rotation of the grip main body in the clockwise direction from the neutral position by a second predetermined rotation angle, and
wherein the second predetermined rotation angle is different from the first predetermined rotation angle.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/335,085Filed 18 Jul 2014
Priority: JP 2013-15196022 Jul 2013
Published: US 2015/0020635 A122 Jan 2015
Granted: 10 Jan 2017
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

G05G 1/06
Controlling members for hand actuation by pivoting movement, e.g. levers: details of their grip parts
E02F 3/964
Arrangements on backhoes for alternate use of different tools: of several tools mounted on one machine
E02F 9/2004
Drives; Control devices: control mechanisms, e.g. control levers
G05G 1/04
Controlling members, e.g. knobs or handles; Assemblies or arrangements thereof; Indicating position of controlling members: controlling members…