Deere & Company

James E Thompson

Albert Anthony Obermeier

Robert Lynn Mayfield

Howard Thomas Uehle

Leonard E Sandvik

Marc A Elliott

Robert Dean Dixon

Nicholas S Novick

An air distribution system for a vehicle cab is disclosed herein. Fresh air is drawn into the system, filtered and transferred to the interior of the vehicle cab. The system uses a blower for transferring air into the cab with all fresh air passing first through a fresh air filter. The fresh air filter has air flow from a hollow interior out through air permeable sides. This air flow traps particulates within the interior of the filter which is then easily removed from an air filter chamber without emptying dirt into the chamber or on the operator. Furthermore during operation, accumulated dust and dirt is kept within the filter and does not drop off on or around the cab. This system may be used for simple ventilation or may be combined with other air conditioning and air recirculation means thereby providing a total vehicle ventilation system.

Ventilation system and filter

A multi-directional vibration attenuator seat is capable of limited, restrained movement in any direction within a generally horizontal plane in response to vibration and other motions of the seat and the vehicle in which the seat is mounted. The limited movement is made possible by a seat arrangement in which an intermediate assembly is disposed on top of and slidable relative to a base assembly along a first axis with a seat supporting upper assembly being disposed on and slidable relative to the intermediate assembly along a second axis extending in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of the first axis. The seat is normally maintained in and is restrained from movement out of a nominal position relative to the base assembly by a plurality of springs. A pair of shock absorbers disposed generally perpendicular to each other damp movement of the seat along the first and second axes respectively. An adjuster latch and lever arrangement is used to position the base assembly at a selected location along a pair of slidable adjusters on which the base assembly is mounted. Attenuating movement of the seat can be locked out by a manually controlled lever which drops a pin through an aperture in the base assembly from the upper assembly to lock the various assemblies together. The seat is preferably mounted for rotation about the upper assembly, which rotation can be locked out by a swivel lock lever and toothed plate arrangement.

Multi-directional vibration attenuator seat

A seat suspension system, which includes a height adjustment valve for positioning a seat at a desired height in response to manual positioning of a height adjustment lever by controlling the amount of hydraulic fluid supplied to a cylinder having a piston therein coupled to the seat, provides damping of vertical motion of the seat by an accumulator coupled to the cylinder via a conduit so as to receive the hydraulic fluid from the cylinder and two different valves disposed in the conduit. A manually adjustable flow control valve has an adjustable orifice within the conduit for providing the seat with a nominal amount of damping. The damping of the suspension system is increased beyond the nominal amount in response to seat velocity in a downward direction by the second valve which responds to the pressure of hydraulic fluid flowing from the cylinder to the accumulator so as to restrict the flow of the fluid by an amount dependent upon the fluid pressure and thereby the rate of change of downward movement of the seat. At the same time the second valve is generally unresponsive to the pressure of fluid flowing in an opposite direction from the accumulator to the cylinder so as to be unidirectional in nature.

Velocity sensitive seat damper system

A vibration attenuator seat includes a seat assembly with a pair of paralleled shafts slidable in horizontally positioned, ultra low friction, linear bearings mounted in a base assembly. A seat adjustment assembly has a bottom part which is a part of the base assembly and a latch in its top part for engaging the bottom part to lock the top and bottom parts in a plurality of positions. A pin secured to the top part of the assembly centers the seat assembly relative to the top part by being connected by one preloaded, closed-coil spring to one end of the seat assembly and by a second preloaded, closed-coil spring to the other end. The body of a shock absorber positioned parallel to the shafts is secured to the pin and the rod is secured to the seat assembly. The latch allows positioning adjustment of the seat assembly relative to the base assembly and the shock absorber attenuates shocks and vibrations between the base and seat assemblies while the springs provide preloaded biasing towards the adjusted position.

Vibration attenuator seat

A disposable pressure vessel includes a gas valve containing cylindrical cap encircled by an O-ring. The cap is bonded to an annular flared portion of a generally cylindrical rubber bladder and is disposed in a hollow cylindrical housing such that the cap compresses the flanged portion of the bladder against a shoulder in the cylindrical housing. The cap is held in place by three equally circumferentially spaced, lanced portions of the cylindrical housing and the O-ring seals the interior of the cylindrical housing from the exterior.

Disposable pressure vessel

A vehicle seat assembly includes an actuator controlled by a three-position spool valve which is connected by an adjustable two-link linkage to the seat. The valve is directly responsive to the geometry of the linkage to urge the seat, regardless of the load on the seat, to a ride position established by the linkage.

Hydraulic suspension seat assembly

A seat backrest having a contourable upholstered portion supported by a rigid frame includes means to impart a curvature to the upholstered portion to produce a desired supporting contour in the lumbar area of the seat's occupant. The contour-producing means includes a lumbar pad, a resilient member connecting the lumbar pad to the frame, and means operable from the side of the backrest for moving and holding the connecting member in a plurality of positions.

Seat backrest having an adjustable lumbar support

A seat backrest having a contourable upholstered portion supported by a rigid frame includes means to impart a curvature to the upholstered portion to produce a desired supporting contour in the lumbar area of the seat's occupant. The contour-producing means includes a lumbar pad, a flexible member connecting the lumbar pad to the frame, and means operable from the side of the backrest for moving and holding the connecting member in a plurality of positions.

A seat assembly has a seat frame tiltably supporting a back frame for movement about an axis parallel to the intersection of planes parallel to the seat and back frames, and has an adjusting mechanism for controlling the degree of tilt from a position to the side of and exterior to the seat frame. The adjusting mechanism includes a tilt adjustment slide movable in a channel provided in the side of the seat frame and having a groove therein oblique to the direction of movement of the slide. The slot engages a stud mounted in the back frame and movement of the slide towards and away from the axis of tilt causes the stud to move relative to the channel resulting in movement of the back frame relative to the seat frame.

Growing community of inventors

Cedar Falls, IA, United States of America

James E Thompson