Clark Equipment Compnay

Joseph M Mather

Larry E Albright

Orlan J Loraas

Carman P Lynnes

Wally L Kaczmarski

Thomas M Sagaser

William R Worrell

Curtis W Vosberg

Verne W Watts

James J Bauer

Scott B Jacobson

Gerald M Berg

Lonnie D Hoechst

John W Henline

Thomas Q Haeder

Leslie H Schult

Eugene James Kielb

Logan W Johnson

Orlan J Lorass

A system for removably mounting a trenching attachment to hook and eye mounts on an end of a power unit. The trenching attachment includes a mounting frame having hook-engaging shafts and eye-engaging pins, a head drive assembly, a trenching boom assembly pivotally mounted to the head drive assembly, and a hydraulic boom cylinder for raising and lowering the boom assembly with respect to the mounting frame. With the boom assembly supported in a three-point stance adjacent the power unit, the cylinder is actuated in a first direction to rotate the mounting frame with respect to the boom assembly, and engage the shafts with the mounting frame hooks. Further actuation of the cylinder in the first direction rotates the mounting frames with respect to the boom assembly and power unit until the mounting frame pins are adjacent the mount eyes. A grease cylinder on the mounting frame is actuated to extend the pins and engage the mount eyes. The trenching boom assembly can then be raised off the ground by actuating the cylinder in a second direction. Four sets of hook and eye mounts are located at equally spaced and laterally separated positions on the end of the power unit permitting the trenching attachment to be mounted at either centerline, partial offset of full offset trenching positions. When in the full offset position the trenching boom assembly is aligned with a side of the power unit. An auger and auger shaft located on the same side of the power unit as the boom assembly can be removed to permit trenching adjacent a structure.

Trenching attachment mounting system

An engine compartment at the rear of a skid steer loader is enclosed by a rear door fabricated of sheet material and having a generally horizontally extending channel formed near its lower edge. Left and right corner bumper members molded from elastomer material have recesses formed in their back sides and are fastened to the door by bolts. Each bumper member includes a rear section which fits within and extends outwardly from the channel, and a side section which extends outwardly from the side of the door.

Rear door and bumper for a skid steer loader

Skid steer loader

A system for removably mounting a trenching attachment to hook and eye mounts on an end of a power unit. The trenching attachment includes a mounting frame having hook-engaging shafts and eye-engaging pins, a head drive assembly, a trenching boom assembly pivotally mounted to the head drive assembly, and a hydraulic boom cylinder for raising and lowering the boom assembly with respect to the mounting frame. With the boom assembly supported in a three-point stance adjacent the power unit, the cylinder is actuated in a first direction to rotate the mounting frame with respect to the boom assembly, and engage the shafts with the mounting frame hooks. Further actuation of the cylinder in the first direction rotates the mounting frame with respect to the boom assembly and power unit until the mounting frame pins are adjacent the mount eyes. A grease cylinder on the mounting frame is actuated to extend the pins and engage the mount eyes. The trenching boom assembly can then be raised off the ground by actuating the cylinder in a second direction. Four sets of hook and eye mounts are located at equally spaced and laterally separated positions on the end of the power unit permitting the trenching attachment to be mounted at either centerline, partial offset or full offset trenching positions. When in the full offset position the trenching boom assembly is aligned with a side of the power unit. An auger and auger shaft located on the same side of the power unit as the boom assembly can be removed to permit trenching adjacent a structure.

Trenching attachment mounting method

The assembly of a skid steer loader includes the fabrication of a lower frame assembly which has a transmission case with side walls and front and back end walls, and an engine mount platform which is welded to and extends from the back end wall. A hydraulic motor is mounted to each side wall of the transmission case. An engine and hydraulic pump are fastened to an engine/pump mounting bracket and coupled by a belt linkage to form an engine and hydraulic pump assembly. The engine and hydraulic pump assembly is then mounted to the engine mount platform at the back end of the lower frame assembly. Hydraulic fluid hoses which couple the hydraulic pump to the hydraulic motors can then be added. A main frame assembly having a pair of laterally spaced side members adapted to be mounted to the lower frame assembly and form side walls of an engine compartment is also fabricated. A hydraulic control valve and its associated hydraulic fluid hoses can be mounted to the main frame assembly. The main frame assembly is bolted to the lower frame assembly after the engine and hydraulic pump assembly have been fastened to the engine mount platform.

Method for assembling a skid steer loader

An electrically controlled auxiliary hydraulic system for both front and rear mounted attachments on a skid steer loader. An electrically actuated auxiliary control valve is coupled to the front and rear mounted attachments through an electrically actuated diverter valve. An operator can select between control of either the front or rear attachments by actuating a diverter switch located on a steering lever. The auxiliary control valve is then used to control the selected attachment by actuating forward, reverse and forward latch switches on the control handles. The selected attachment can also be operated in a high pressure mode by actuating a high pressure switch when extra horsepower needs to be delivered to the attachment.

Electrically controlled auxiliary hydraulic system for a skid steer

A skid steer loader includes an engine compartment and a heat exchanger compartment located behind the operator's compartment. A fan shroud mounted between the heat exchanger compartment and the engine compartment has a first air intake aperture opening into the heat exchanger compartment, a second air intake aperture opening into the engine compartment, and an exhaust port. A double-bladed radial fan is mounted for rotation within the fan shroud between the first and second air intake apertures. A fan drive mechanism coupled to the engine rotates the fan. The fan simultaneously induces a heat exchanger airflow of ambient air through the heat exchanger compartment and into the fan shroud through the first air intake aperture, and an engine compartment evacuation airflow from within the engine compartment into the fan shroud through the second air intake aperture. The heat exchanger airflow and engine compartment evacuation airflows are mixed and jointly discharged from the loader through the exhaust port.

Engine cooling system for skid steer loaders

A hydrostatic drive vehicle and a subassembly for such vehicle wherein the subassembly includes an engine and a pump mechanism arranged in a manner such that when the subassembly is assembled into the vehicle the axes of the engine and the pump mechanism are transverse of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Other parts such as an alternator, coolant pump, air cooling fan and fan shroud also may be included in the subassembly.

Transverse engine mounting

A front end loader in the form of a skid-steer loader which includes a power operated working implement and control apparatus that has a plurality of operative positions for supplying power to the working implement and at least one neutral position where power cannot be supplied to the working implement. The control apparatus is capable of being manipulated by the operator of the loader to place the control apparatus in any one of the selected operative positions or the neutral position. An operator restraint member is mounted on the skid-steer loader and has an engaged position for securing the operator to the operator position during operation of the loader and a disengaged position to permit the operator to enter or leave the loader. A locking member is engaged with the control apparatus when the restraint member is in its disengaged position and is disengaged from the control apparatus when the restraint member is in its engaged position.

Loader operator restraint system

A pair of connection devices serve as the upper connection between a traction vehicle such as a skid steer loader and an accessory apparatus such as a backhoe. Each connection device includes an anchor element including an anchor element outer end extending from the traction vehicle towards the accessory apparatus and a channel element including a channel element outer end extending from the traction vehicle and towards the accessory apparatus. The anchor element outer end and the channel element outer end have a selectively engaged position for connecting the accessory apparatus to the traction vehicle. A sleeve member is slidably disposed over and operatively connected to the channel element for movement thereon. The sleeve member has a surface adapted for selective locking contact with at least one of the outer element ends for retaining the element ends in an engaged position.

Backhoe frame wedge mount

A skid steer loader having an improved hydrostatic drive means. A skid steer loader comprises a main frame having a center compartment partially defined by a pair of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced side beams. The engine for the vehicle is mounted at the rear of the center compartment. An elongated transmission case is provided at a forward end of the center compartment and encloses the chain and sprocket drives for the vehicle. Side walls of the transmission case are displaced from the side walls of the main frame, with the drive means for the vehicle mounted on the outside of the case at a mid-portion thereof. The present improvement in the skid steer loader redesigns a drive system used with vehicles of substantially greater load capacity to provide a pair of independent hydrostatic drive means, each incorporating a hydrostatic transmission and having a gear reduction unit mounted on the outside of an elongated transmission case.

Drive system for a skid steer loader

Skid steer loader vehicle body

Provided in the hydraulic system for a skid-steer loader is a porting block controlling flow of hydraulic fluid to the driving portion of the hydraulic system. The porting block directs fluid flow to the hydrostatic pumps actuating hydrostatic drivng motors associated with the drive mechanism of a skid-steer loader. Provided within the porting block is a filter for hydraulic fluid as well as a 'cold weather' by-pass for hydraulic fluid.

Growing community of inventors

Lisbon, ND, United States of America

Joseph M Mather