Patent Application
20090269181
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to attachments for lifting machines, such as skid steers, front end loaders, forklifts, tractors or the like, and more particularly, to adjustable gripping arms for a lifting machine that are removably attached to the machine to releasably grasp and move objects such as posts, poles, hay bales, barrels and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various attachments have been made to enable lifting machines, such as skid steers, front end loaders, tractors, forklifts, and the like, to lift loads that the conventional bucket, forks, or three-point hitch can handle only with difficulty. However, these attachments are usually single-purpose devices, being specially designed for one particular type of machine and one particular type of load, with each attachment having its own dedicated mounting system. It would be desirable to provide a gripping mechanism adapted for attachment to a variety of machines and that can be adapted to grip and manipulate a variety of loads of different configuration and size.
Thus, adjustable gripping arms for a lifting machine solving the aforementioned problems are desired.
The adjustable gripping arms for a lifting machine are removably attachable to a lifting machine, such as a front-end loader, a tractor, a telescopic forklift, a skid steer, an excavator, a 3-point hitch, and similar medium to heavy-duty machinery. The adjustable gripping arms allow the vehicle to releasably grasp and move or manipulate objects of various size and configuration, such as posts, poles, bales, barrels, and the like.
The adjustable gripping arms include a support frame or base plate adapted for releasable mounting on the front of the machine. The support frame includes an upper portion and a lower portion. A pair of brackets are each mounted to a respective one of a pair of longitudinally opposed side edges of the support frame. A pair of hydraulic pistons are further provided, with each hydraulic piston having opposed first and second ends. The first end of each hydraulic piston is pivotally secured to a respective one of the pair of brackets.
Interchangeable pairs of gripping arms are provided, with each gripping arm having an upper end, a lower end and a central portion. The second ends of the pair of hydraulic pistons are each pivotally secured to a respective central portion of a respective one of the pair of gripping arms. The upper ends of the pair of gripping arms each have an upper mounting portion, so that the upper mounting portions are releasably and pivotally secured to an upper surface of the upper portion of the support frame. Similarly, the lower ends of the pair of gripping arms each have lower mounting portions, with the lower mounting portions being releasably pivotally secured to a lower surface of the lower portion of the support frame. Once attached, a longitudinal distance between the upper mounting portions and a longitudinal distance between the lower mounting portions, with respect to the support frame, are user selectable and adjustable.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
As shown in
As best shown in
The upper portion of frame 12 preferably includes at least one vertical support 32 mounted on the upper frame member 26 for supporting an upper bar 34. Further, a pair of brackets 22 are each mounted to a respective one of a pair of longitudinally opposed side edges of sidewalls 16 and extend outwardly therefrom.
As shown in
Lifting machines, such as skid steer loaders, forklifts and the like typically and conventionally include “quick pin” or “quick attach” connectors at the front ends thereof, allowing various tools and attachments to be easily, releasably attached thereto. As best shown in
As shown in
In order to aid in the adjustable attachment of the gripping arms 110 to the support frame 12, a plurality of upper openings 36 are formed through the upper bar 34 of the upper portion of the support frame 12, and a plurality of lower openings 20 are formed through the base 14 of the lower portion thereof. The pluralities of upper and lower openings 36, 20, respectively, are arrayed along the longitudinal direction, as shown. A pair of removable upper pivot pins 58 or the like, and a pair of removable lower pivot pins 60 or the like are provided so that the pair of removable upper pivot pins 58 are releasably and removably inserted through a respective pair of the upper openings 36 and a pair of openings formed through the rear mounts 56. Similarly, the pair of removable lower pivot pins 60 are releasably and removably inserted through a respective pair of openings formed through the lower mounting portions 111 of the pair of gripping arms 110 and a selected pair of the plurality of lower openings 20. As shown in
Lifting machines, such as skid steer loaders, forklifts and the like are conventionally provided with auxiliary hydraulic controls. In use, the hydraulic cylinders 38 are attached to the auxiliary hydraulic inputs of the machine V, allowing the operator of the machine V to selectively actuate the hydraulic cylinders 38 to open and close the gripping arms 110 about the object to be lifted or moved. Further, at least one retaining member 30 is preferably secured to the upper portion of the support frame 12 for releasably securing at least one hose associated with the pair of hydraulic pistons 38. Although shown as substantially U-shaped, it should be understood that retaining members 30 may be sized and shaped according to the particular type of hose or cable being used.
As best shown in the embodiment of
Each gripping arm 110 further includes an upper clamping member 64 secured to an inner surface of the laterally extending upper strut 54 and a lower clamping member 62 secured to an inner surface of the laterally extending lower strut 50. The clamping members 64, 62 are formed from a resilient frictionally engaging material, such as plastic, for gripping the object without causing damage from pressure thereto.
In
Each gripping arm 120 further includes a plurality of a vertically extending supports 76 joined to the laterally extending upper, lower and central struts 75, 77, 74 and vertically extending therebetween. Each second end of the pair of hydraulic pistons 38 is pivotally secured between a respective adjacent pair of the laterally extending central struts 74 by a pivot pin 78 or the like.
In
Each gripping arm 130 further includes a vertically extending support 83 joined to the second ends of the laterally extending upper strut 80 and the laterally extending lower strut 81 and extending therebetween. Further, each gripping arm 130 includes a central support 88, with each second end of the pair of hydraulic pistons 38 being pivotally secured to a bracket 90 of a respective one of the central supports by a pivot pin 92 or the like.
In
Each gripping member portion 94 is pivotally secured to the respective second end of the respective laterally extending strut 100 by a pivot pin 102 or the like. Further, each laterally extending strut 100 includes a central portion, and each second end of the pair of hydraulic pistons 38 is pivotally secured to a respective one of the central portions. Further, as shown, each laterally extending strut 100 is preferably angled adjacent the central portion thereof.
The present invention may also extend to gripping arms having other configurations, e.g., tree pot arms and tree shear arms. The universal base plate or support frame 12 permits the gripping arms 110, 120, 130, and 140 to be quickly and easily exchanged by removing an replacing four pins, namely, the four pins securing opposite ends of the hydraulic cylinders 38 between the support frame 12 and the gripping arms 110, 120, 130, 140, thereby extending the versatility of the lifting machine V to lift, move, set, or otherwise manipulate loads of various sizes and shapes, the support frame 12 permitting quick attachment to any lifting machine V having a standard skid steer quick attach pin system.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
