The invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:
As illustrated in
The rod bracket 30 includes a circular wall portion defining a recess 32 in which a free end of the rod 20 may be inserted and thus engaged with the bracket. As shown in
According to the invention, the rod 20 defines an axially extending cavity 26. In its simplest form, the rod 20 comprises a steel tube. A tether 60 is disposed in the cavity 24 and free ends 62, 64 of the tether 60 extend from the opposite ends 22, 24 of the rod 20 and are secured to a supporting structure in the cabin.
In the illustrated embodiment, the free ends 62, 64 of the tether 60 extend from holes 26 formed in the rod 20 at the ends 22, 24. Alternatively, the free ends 62, 64 of the tether could extend from the open end of the rod through a hole 36 formed in the portion of the rod bracket 30 defining the recess 32.
The free ends 62, 64 of the tether 60 are secured to supporting structure to anchor the rod 20 and prevent its separation from the rod brackets 30. In the illustrated embodiment, the free ends 62, 64 pass through holes 7 in the surface 5 and are secured to the mounting brackets 50. As shown, the free ends 62, 64 are formed as loops, and encircle the mounting brackets 50.
Alternatively, a stud or other projection could be mounted to the surface 5 on the side opposite the rod brackets 30 to engage the loop. According to another alternative, the free ends 62, 64 of the tether 60 could looped through holes 34 formed in the rod bracket 30, shown in
According to another alternative, the free ends 62, 64 could be clamped or bolted to the rod bracket 30, as shown by the clamp 70 in
The tether may be secured to both the rod bracket 30 and the cab surface 5, which would anchor both the rod 20 and rod brackets 30 to the cab surface. According to one embodiment, illustrated in
The tether 60 may be formed as a cable, wire rope, a webbing material strap, a braided wire belt or strap, a chain, or a similar elongated element having sufficient tensile strength to anchor the rod. If a strap is used, the tether could be secured to a supporting structure by providing a hole in the tether and using a fastener to secure the tether to the structure.
The invention has been described in terms of preferred structure, principles and embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that variations and substitutions can be made in practicing the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.