Caterpillar Inc.

Gerald L Graf

John E Francis

Kenneth J McGuire

Robert Quincy Elliott

Kem D Ahlers

Terry A Moore

Automatic and simultaneous retraction of a pair of stabilizer legs for a backhoe loader machine is beneficial for the operator when operation of the backhoe loader is complete. Instead of retracting the stabilizer legs by manually holding a pair of control switches continuously in a control position, the operator may simply push an auto-up switch with a single, &ldquo;one-touch&rdquo; contact. Once the auto-up switch has been activated by the &ldquo;one-touch&rdquo; contact, a timer relay is enabled. The timer relay acts independently of the auto-up switch to control the simultaneously retraction of the stabilizer legs without any further contact to the auto-up switch. When the timer relay is enabled, it sends a signal to activate the control switches for a preselected time. The activation of the control switches actuates a pair of solenoid valves which control the movement of the stabilizer legs from any one of a plurality of extended positions to a fully retracted position within the preselected time.

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Cary, NC, United States of America

Gerald L Graf