Front End Loader (Patent No: 833368)

Inventor: Demkiw, Eugene

Location: Vegreville

Comments: N/A

Description: The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. The front end loader assembly for tractors which comprises: a pair of boom- supporting uprights arranged in transversely spaced substantially coplanar relationship for attachment to the sides of a tractor;
forwardly-extending boom means having the rear end thereof attached to the uprights for pivotal movement about a transverse axis between an extended and a retracted position;
tool means mounted on the forward end of the boom means adapted to support the front end of the loader while attaching the rear end thereof to a tractor;
a pair of elongate side beams rigidly attached adjacent their rear ends to the uprights in transversely spaced substantially coplanar relation to one another said side beams cooperating with the tool means to support the loader in free standing position when demounted from the tractor, and said side beams cooperating with the uprights and the tractor when attached to the sides of the latter to define a mobile base for the boom and tool means;
servo motor means connected between the boom means and base therefor, said servo motor means being operative upon actuation with the rear end of the loader mounted upon a tractor to raise and lower the tool means, and said servo motor means being operative upon actuation with the loader demounted and the tractor supporting the rear end thereof to raise the side beams off the ground into a substantially horizontal position;
and, loader mounting means mountable on the tractor for releasably fastening the loader thereto and supporting the rear end of the latter while being connected, said mounting means including two part connecting means and guide means, said connecting means having one part carried on the rear end of the loader and the other part adapted to be mounted on the sides of the tractor in position to engage said first-mentioned part upon forward movement of said tractor between the side beams with the latter supported in substantially horizontal position, said guide means being mountable on the sides of the tractor in position to engage the side beams upon forward movement of the tractor therebetween, and said guide means being spaced forwardly of said tractor-mounted connecting means part a distance such that it cooperates therewith to prevent the loader from falling forward while remaining in position relative to the center of mass of said loader so as to constitute the sole support for the rear end thereof until completely mounted.

2. In combination:
a tractor having a driver compartment located at the rear end thereof forwardly of the rear axle;
a pair of boom- supporting uprights arranged in substantially coplanar relation and transversely- spaced for attachment on opposite sides of the tractor forwardly of the driver1s compartment;
forwardly - extending boom means having the rear end thereof connected to the uprights for pivotal movement about a transverse axis between an extended and a retracted position;
tool means mounted on the front end of the boom means;
a pair of elongate side beams having their rear extremities rigidly connected to the uprights in position to project forwardly therefrom in substantially coplanar relation to one another, said side beams cooperating with the uprights to define a base for the boom and tool means when mounted on the tractor, and said base cooperating with the tool means to support said boom means in free-standing position when demounted from the tractor;
servo motor means connected between the base and boom means operative upon actuation to move same relative to one another between their extended and retracted positions;
two-part connecting means having one part carried by the rear extremity of the base and the other part mounted on opposite sides of the tractor forwardly of the driver compartment, said parts being positioned and adapted to engage one another and cooperate to form a releasable connection upon forward movement of the tractor between the side beams with the latter supported in retracted position;
and, guide means mounted on the sides of the tractor ahead of the tractor-mounted connecting means part in position to engage and lift the side beams free of the ground upon forward movement of the tractor therebetween, said guide means co-operating with the tool means to support the boom means while the base is being connected to the tractor, and said guide means cooperating with the connecting means to support the base on the tractor in cantilever fashion so as to enable the tool means to be lifted free of the ground upon actuation of the servo motor means into extended position.

3. A front end loader assembly for use with a tractor comprising:
a pair of side members, each attached to one side of the tractor, each carrying a pair of outwardly extending pin members, the first pin member being positioned adjacent the front end of the tractor and the second pin member being positioned approximately half way between the front and rear axles of the tractor;
and a detachable, pivoting-type loader, adapted to be pivoted into the mounted position from a ground position about the said first pin members, said loader, when mounted, comprising:
a frame, having a horizontal U-shaped yoke adapted to embrace the front end of the tractor, comprising a front cross beam and rearwardly extending side beams, each said side beam supported by the said first and second pin members and extending back to the second pin member, and a pair of substantially vertical posts, each said post being rigidly secured adjacent its lower end to a side beam adjacent its rear end;
a pair of forwardly extending frame arms, each such frame arm being pivotally connected adjacent its rear end to the upper end of one of the two vertical posts;
a bucket, pivotally mounted on the forward ends of the frame arms;
hydraulic cylinder means, pivotally connecting the frame and frame arms, for actuating the said arms;
hydraulic cylinder means, pivotally connecting the frame arms and bucket, for actuating the said bucket;
a stop member, located intermediate the front and rear ends of each side beam, projecting from the surface of the side beam, adapted to limit sliding movement of the said beam on the first pivot member during pivoting;
each said side beam adapted to disconnectedly engage with its supporting second pin member, when the loader is mounted, to prevent upward movement of the rear end of the side beam and longitudinal movement of the yoke;
each said side beam further adapted to disconnectably engage with its supporting first pin member, when the loader is mounted, to prevent upward movement of the front end of the side beam;
said loader having its centre of gravity located forwardly of the front pin members when mounted with its frame arms extended forwardly.

4. The improved method for mounting a free-standing tool-carrying loader on a tractor when said loader includes a boom, a tool at the front end of the boom adapted to support the latter, a pair of transversely spaced uprights with side beams projecting forwardly therefrom co-operating to define a base pivotally attached to the rear end of the boom and co- operating with the tool to support said loader in free- standing position, servo motor means interconnecting the boom and base operative upon actuation to move same relative to one another between extended and retracted positions, and connecting means carried by said base and tractor adapted to form a releasable connection therebetween when said tractor is positioned between said side beams with the latter supported in retracted position, which includes the steps of:
continual1y and exclusively supporting the rear end of the loader with the front end of the tractor until the side beams can be raised free of the ground into retracted position and said tractor moved forwardly therebetween to complete the connection, and thereafter carrying both the front and rear ends of the loader in cantilever fashion upon the front end of the tractor by supporting the base therewith at longitudinally spaced points located behind said loader's center of mass so that the tool can be lifted free of the ground upon actuation of the servo motor into extended position.