Skid steer vehicle having an anti-diving system
First Claim
1. 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;
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 means for indicating the fore-and-aft acceleration of the vehicle; and
an electronic controller operably coupled to the means for indicating and responsive to the means for indicating to (a) lock two rear wheels of the four wheels when the vehicle experiences a forward acceleration greater than a predetermined forward acceleration, and (b) to lock two front wheels of the four wheels when the vehicle experiences a forward deceleration greater than a predetermined forward deceleration.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A skid steer vehicle has sprung suspensions, variable displacement pumps and motors connected to those pumps that drive the wheels on the vehicle as well as an electronic controller that receives signals that indicate fore-and-aft acceleration of the skid steer vehicle. Based on these signals, the controller determines whether the forward acceleration exceeds a predetermined value and locks up the rear suspensions if that value is exceeded. It also determines whether the forward deceleration exceeds a predetermined value and locks up the front suspensions if that value is exceeded. The signals can be provided by an accelerometer, a satellite receiver, wheel/motor speed sensors, sensors in the pumps that signal the specific displacement of the pumps such as their swash plate positions, or memory locations that contain previously calculated specific displacement commands that are used to drive the pumps to a particular specific displacement.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A skid steer vehicle comprising:
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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;
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 means for indicating the fore-and-aft acceleration of the vehicle; and
an electronic controller operably coupled to the means for indicating and responsive to the means for indicating to (a) lock two rear wheels of the four wheels when the vehicle experiences a forward acceleration greater than a predetermined forward acceleration, and (b) to lock two front wheels of the four wheels when the vehicle experiences a forward deceleration greater than a predetermined forward deceleration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification