STEP ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTOR

• US 3,603,429 A
• Filed: 07/15/1970
• Issued: 09/07/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Larry L. Shepherd
• Original Assignee: Larry L. Shepherd
• Inventors: Shepherd, Larry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Machado, Reinaldo P.
• Application Number:
  US05/055,061
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 182/46,90,91,196 280/166,163
• US Class Current: 182/91
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 3/00 Arrangements of steps or ladders facilitating access to or on the vehicle, e.g. running-boards construction of steps for railway vehicles B61D23/00 ; ladders E06C

Abstract

A U-shaped step member for attachment to the frame of a tractor. The step member is molded entirely from an elastomeric material and has a foot supporting portion reinforced by a metal insert. The legs of the step member are formed as straps and, when attached to the tractor, are designed to deflect when a force is applied to the foot supporting portion along the longitudinal axis thereof but will resist deflection when a horizontally directed force is applied to the foot supporting portion along the plane of the latter and in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the foot supporting portion.

Claims

1. In a tractor having an exposed lower frame portion susceptible to encountering obstacles, a step member attached to and depending from said frame portion, said step member comprising a foot supporting portion made from an elastomeric material, a metallic plate encapsulated within said foot supporting portion and having substantially the same configuration as said foot supporting portion, a pair of straps made from said elastomeric material and having the lower ends thereof integrally formed with the opposite ends of said foot supporting portion, each of said straps having its major dimension located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the foot supporting portion, and fastener means rigidly connecting the upper ends of said straps to said frame portion so as to allow said foot supporting portion to deflect when a force is applied along said longitudinal axis and resist swinging movement about a horizontal axis passing through the fastener means of both of said straps when a force is applied to said foot supporting portion along an axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis.

2. In a scraper having a tractor with an exposed longitudinally extending lower frame portion susceptible to encountering obstacles, a step member made entirely from an elastomeric material and attached to and depending from said frame portion along the longitudinal axis thereof, said step member comprising a flat rectangular foot supporting portion located in a horizontal plane, a metallic plate having substantially the same configuration as said foot supporting portion encapsulated within said foot supporting portion, a pair of straps having the lower ends thereof integrally formed with the opposite ends of said foot supporting portion, each of said straps having its major dimension substantially the same as the width dimension of said foot supporting portion and located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the foot supporting portion, and a pair of axially spaced bolts rigidly connecting the upper ends of each of said straps to said frame portion so as to allow said foot supporting portion to deflect when a force is applied thereto along the longitudinal axis thereof and resist deflection when a horizontally directed force is applied to the foot supporting portion along the plane of the latter and in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis.