GB2047634A

GB2047634A - Agricultural or industrial vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2047634A
Application number: GB7909172A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Massey Ferguson Perkins Ltd
Current assignee: Perkins Engines Group Ltd
Priority date: 1979-03-15
Filing date: 1979-03-15
Publication date: 1980-12-03
Also published as: IT1131423B; FR2451284A1; GB2047634B; IT8020682A0; FR2451284B1

Abstract

The vehicle is provided with a body 10 having an opening closed off by a detachable panel member 14 which carries an electrical appliance such as a pair of head lights 41. The panel member 14 is held in place by a pair of lugs 15 at its bottom and a hook-shaped latch 19 at its top (Fig. 4). Blocks 52 of resilient material are arranged to be sandwiched between the panel member 14 and the surrounding vehicle body to hold the panel member securely in position when the latch is fully engaged. The electrical circuit to the electrical appliance from a source of electrical energy carried by the body is arranged to be completed when the latch is fully engaged by contact between first contact means 44 carried by the panel member and second contact means carried by the body. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in tractors This invention relates to detachable panel members, and particularly to such panel members for use as radiator grilles for use on agricultural or industrial vehicles such as tractors.

It has long been a requirement on an agricultural or industrial tractor to have a readily removable radiator grille to give easy access to the radiator grille and ancillary equipment such as filters, oil coolers and batteries etc., which are often mounted behind such grilles.

Not only must such grilles be readily detachable and reattachable but they must also be capable of remaining securely in their operating position on the vehicle under all likely operating conditions.

Additionally there exists a requirement to provide agricultural and industrial tractors with lights which are not obstructed by the front end weight arrangements frequently used on such tractors and are not so exposed to damage as has been the case in many previous tractor designs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle having a detachable panel member arrangement which is suitable for use as a radiator grille and which takes into account one or both of the above requirements.

Thus, according to the present invention there is provided a tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle having a body provided with an opening, a detachable panel member for closing-off the opening, an electrical appliance carried by said panel member, a source of electrical energy carried by said vehicle body, first electrical contact means carried by said panel member and connected with said appliance, second electrical contact means carried by said body and connected with said source of electrical energy, latching means for securing said panel member in position closing-off said opening, and resilient means arranged to act against said panel member to bias said member against the action of said latching means to hold the panel member securely in said position, said latching means being arranged, when fully engaged to hold said first and second electrical contact means in electrical contact thus enabling the appliance to be powered from said source.

Clearly the present invention provides an arrangement suitable for use as a detachable tractor radiator grille carrying one or more lights.

When used for this purpose the detachable panel member, which will be in the form of a radiator grille, is preferably arranged to fit inside a frame or collar member which completely surrounds the perimeter of the detachable grille. This thus provides a construction in which the lights carried by the grille are well protected against damage. Also by positioning the lights in the upper part of the grille it can be ensured that the light beam is not obstructed by any front end weights which may be used.

Conveniently, the resilient means may comprise one or more blocks of resilient material such as rubber secured either to the grille or body and arranged to be compressed when the latching means is engaged thus ensuring the secure location of the grille and the maintenance of the electrical contact between the first and second contact means.

In a preferred arrangement the latching means has a position of initial engagement in which the detachable panel is loosely held in said position and a fully engaged position in which said panel is securely held in position against the action of the resilient means with the first and second means in electrical contact.

Conveniently the latching means can be in the form of a latch which is pivotally mounted on the grille and has a hook-shaped portion engageable with a pin carried by the body, the hook-shaped portion having a cam surface which contacts the pin as the latch is pivoted towards its closed position and pulls the grille towards the body.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the front part of a tractor fitted with a detachable grille embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is an end view in the direction of the arrow A of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a section on the line B-B of Fig.

1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the latching means used to secure the grille in position on the tractor; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the latching means showing its engaged and disengaged conditions; Figures 6 and 7 show side and end views respectively of the part of the electrical connecting means for the grille lights which is mounted on the grille, and Figures 8 and 9 show side and end views respectively of the other part of the electrical connecting means for the grille lights which is mounted on the tractor body.

Referring to the drawings the tractor has a bonnet or hood 10 which covers the engine 11 and radiator 1 2 and which terminates at the front in a hard nose 1 3. The hard nose surrounds a detachable radiator grille 14.

The bottom of the removable grille is provided with a pair of transversely spaced inverted U-shaped sheet metal lugs 1 5 shown in Fig. 1. These two lugs are arranged to project through holes 1 6 (see Fig. 3) in a transversely extending sheet metal member 17 shown in Fig. 1. The grille is held in position within the hard nose 1 3 by a latching means 1 8 which is shown in greatest detail in Figs. 4 and 5.

The latching means comprises a hookshaped latch 1 9 which is pivoted at 20 on a support member 21 which is secured by two tabs 22 to the inside of the grille 14. The support member 21 is provided with a notch 23 which is arranged to receive a pin 24 carried by the hard nose 1 3. The pin 24 is in fact mounted on a plate 25 which is bolted below a bracket 26 by two nut and bolt assemblies 27 and 28. Nut and bolt assembly 27 extends through a simple hole 29 while assembly 28 extends through a slot 30 which allows the position of the pin 24 to be adjusted inwardly and outwardly relative to the hard nose as indicated by the arrow R in Fig.

4. The hook portion 31 of the latch member 1 9 which engages the pin 23 is provided with a cam surface 32 which co-operates with the pin 24 so that as the latch member is pivoted from the open position shown by the chain dotted line 33 in Fig. 5 to the fully closed position shown in the full lines 34 the support member 21 and hence the grille 14 is pulled in towards the hard nose. When the latch is in the fully engaged position shown by the full lines 34 the pin 24 is within a shallow notched portion 35 of the cam surface 32.

The latch member 1 9 operates in an overcentre manner under the action of a hoopshaped spring 36 which has two coils and a first end portion 37 which projects through a hole 38 in the latch member 1 9 and a second end portion 39 which projects through a hole 40 in the support member 21. When the latch is in the fully engaged position the spring 36 occupies the position shown by the circle 36a in Fig. 3 and the spring applies a force generally in the direction of the arrow X of Fig. 5 thus securely holding the latch in a fully engaged position. When the latch is swung to the fully open position the hole 38 crosses the line Z between the hole 40 and the pivot 20 as the spring 36 moves to the position indicated by the chain line 36b in Fig. 5.Thus with the hole 38 now in the position 38a the spring 36 applies a force generally in the direction of the arrow Y of Fig. 5 thus holding the latch in the fully open position.

The grille 14 is thus located within the hard nose 1 3 both by the two lugs 1 5 and the latching means 1 8.

As can be seen from Fig. 2 the grille 14 carries two headlights 41. A battery (not shown) which powers these headlights is sited on the main part of the tractor and is connected to the headlights in the grille by a connector arrangement shown in detail in Figs. 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

The connector arrangement is in two parts, a first part 42 which is mounted on the inside of the grille adjacent the latching means 1 8 by two mounting lugs 43 provided on the support member 21. The connector part 42 has three contact members 44 each of which is pivoted about an axis 45 (see Fig. 7) and is spring biased by a spring 46 within a cylindrical moulding 47. The rear of each member 44 is connected with a wire 48 which is in turn linked with the appropriate contact on the headlights.

The other part 49 of the connector basically comprises a plastics moulding including three contact pads 50 which are connected with the battery and which are arranged to register with the edges 51 of the members 44 when the grille is clamped in position using the latching means 18.

As will be seen from Fig. 7 when the edges 51 of the members 44 contact the pads 50 the members 44 pivot generally in the direction of the arrow Z of Fig. 7 against the action of the springs 46 and thus rub along the pads 50 to ensure a good electrical contact. This rubbing action each time the grille is secured in position together with the relatively high pressure caused by the edge contact between the members 44 and the pads 50 ensure that a good electrical contact is maintained between the two parts of the connector even under adverse operating conditions.

In order to ensure that the grille is held securely in position within the hardnose by the lugs 1 5 and the latching means 1 8 a series of thin rubber blocks 52 (e.g. Neoprene) are bonded to the inside of the grille around its perimeter. Thus when the grille is clamped in position by the latching means 1 8 these rubber blocks are compressed between the inside of the grille and a flange 53 formed around the inside of the hardnose 1 3.

As will be appreciated the grille is mounted within the hard nose by inserting the lugs 1 5 through the holes 1 6 and then tipping the top portion of the grille with its latching means 1 8 towards the hard nose with the latch 1 9 in the fully open position. When the rubber blocks 52 on the inside of the grille contact the hard nose flange 53 the latch 1 9 is then rotated so that the hook portion 31 engages behind the pin 23. Initial engagement of the hook portion behind the pin losely retains the grille in position within the hard nose and further rotation of the latch member towards the fully closed position causes the cam surface 32 on the latch member to co-operate with the pin 23 to draw the grille further into the hard nose and compress the rubber blocks 52.

The electrical connector parts 42 and 49 may be so positioned that when the hook part 31 of the latch 19 initially engages the pin 23 the contact members 49 are not in contact with the corresponding pads 50, this contact being made as the latch 1 9 is further rotated towards its fully closed position.

Claims

1. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle having a body provided with an opening, a detachable panel member for closing-off the opening, an electrical appliance carried by said panel member, a source of electrical energy carried by said vehicle body, first electrical contact means carried by said panel member and connected with said appliance, second electrical contact means carried by said body and connected with said source of electrical energy, latching means for securing said panel member in position closing-off said opening, and resilient means arranged to act against said panel member to bias said member against the action of said latching means to hold the panel member securely in said position, said latching means being arranged when fully engaged to hold said first and second electrical contact means in electrical contact thus enabling the appliance to be powered from said source.

2. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle according to claim 1 in which the detachable panel member is in the form of a radiator grille, the electrical appliance is one or more lights, and a frame or collar member completely surrounds the perimeter of the opening to protect the lights or lights against damage.

3. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the resilient means comprises one or more blocks of resilient material secured either to the detachable panel member or body and arranged to be compressed when the latching means is engaged thus ensuring the secure location of the detachable panel member and the maintenance of electrical contact between the first and second contact means.

4. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the latching means has a position of initial engagement wherein the detachable panel member is loosely held in said position and a fully engaged position wherein said panel is securely held in position against the action of the resilient means with the first and second means in electrical contact.

5. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the latching means comprises a latch which is pivotally mounted on the detachable panel member and has a hookshaped portion engageable with a pin carried by the body, the hook-shaped portion having a cam surface which contacts the pin as the latch is pivoted towards its closed position and pulls the detachable panel member towards the body.

6. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle according to claim 4 and claim 5 in which bias means act on the latch, the bias means being arranged to go overcentre on movement of the latch between the fully engaged and initial engagement positions.

7. A tractor or similar agricultural or industrial vehicle including a detachable panel member arrangement constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.