GB2162804A

GB2162804A - Vehicle controls and instrumentation

Info

Publication number: GB2162804A
Application number: GB08420157A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Alcock
Original assignee: HUNSLET
Current assignee: HUNSLET
Priority date: 1984-08-08
Filing date: 1984-08-08
Publication date: 1986-02-12
Also published as: GB8420157D0

Abstract

A locomotive operator's seat 10 is pivotally mounted about a pivot arrangement 18 whereby the seat 10 may be moved to face more towards either one of two opposed intended directions of travel of the vehicle. Mounted on the seat are instrument pods and vehicle controls for controlling gear change, brakes, throttle and headlights. Two microswitches 46 in the region of the pivot arrangement are able to alter some of the instruments, or the function of some of the controls when the seat is moved from facing more towards one direction to facing more towards the other. An operator is able to pivot the seat while being located on the seat by pulling a knob 44 to release a plunger which otherwise locks the pivot arrangement. That plunger is only able to lock the seat in a plurality of positions in each of which the seat faces more towards either direction of travel (i.e. the seat is not able to be locked sideways on to the direction of travel). In an alternative arrangement (not shown) when the seat faces the side of the vehicle the controls are rendered inoperative. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicle operator's seat The present invention relates to a vehicle operator's seat and is particularly, although not exclusively applicable to an operator's seat on a locomotive.

Locomotives are required to travel in either direction, and conventionally have been made with two operator's positions, each with its own set of controls and instrumentation, one at each end of the locomotive. The operator can then sit at the position appropriate to the direction of travel, and in that position he will be at the front of the locomotive. Obviously the provision of duplicate operator's positions at opposite ends of the locomotive is expensive, and wasteful of space. It is known to have a single operator's position at one end, and to provide a special seat on which the operator can face in either direction of travel - though in one direction he will be seated at the rear of the locomotive. Even then it is necessary to provide two sets of instruments which the operator can view respectively depending upon the direction he is facing.It is also necessary to provide two sets of controls, si.nce otherwise certain controls would operate in an unconventional manner (e.g. pushing a forward/reverse selector lever forwardly, would cause the locomotive to travel in the reverse direction in one seating position).

Another problem which arises particularly with locomotives for use in confined spaces, for example in mines is that the operator may wish to face partly to one side, particularly on bends. If a two position seat is provided which will allow this, then the controls and instruments will not be directly in front of the operator when he is facing partly to one side, even if two sets of controls and instrumentation are provided.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a vehicle adapted to travel in a selected one of first and second opposed directions, the vehicle includes an operator's seat, which is able to face more towards either the first or second directions, and driving controls and/or instrumentation arranged to move with the seat. Thus two sets of driving controls, each mounted to be operable when the operator faces more towards the first or second direction, and each taking up space on the vehicle do not necessarily have to be provided.

Furthermore, the driving controls which are arranged to move with the seat will always be in the same position relative to an operator located on the seat no matter in which direction the seat faces, this feature being particularly important in locomotives for use in mines where the operator may wish to face partly to one side of the vehicle.

Where instrumentation is arranged to move with the seat, it is not necessary to mount a duplicated set of instrumentation on the vehicle for each direction of travel with one of the sets being visible when the operator faces more towards the first or second directions. Furthermore, the instrumentation is always in the same position relative to an operator regardless of the direction in which the seat faces.

The vehicle may include switching means arranged to be able to alter functions of the vehicle when the seat is moved from facing more towards one direction to facing more towards the other direction. Thus functions of the vehicle can be altered simply by the seat being moved.

One such function which can be altered may be the action of the direction selector lever whereby, whichever direction the operator's seat is facing, that direction corresponds to the direction of movement of the vehicle initiated by moving the gear selector lever to the marked forward position.

Thus there is no need to provide a different direction selector lever for each position of the operator's seat. An alternative or additional function which may be altered by the movement of the seat is the lighting of the vehicle whereby headlights may be caused to shine from the end of the vehicle towards which the operator faces with tailights shining from the other end. A further function which could be affected by the movement of the seat could be the instrumentation.

The seat may be arranged to be able to be locked in a position in which it faces the side of the vehicle which may allow an operator conveniently to mount or dismount from the vehicle, possibly through a door on the side of the vehicle. When the seat is facing the side of the vehicle the controls may be rendered inoperative whereby, when a driver has left the vehicle after locking the seat sideways on, the vehicle may not be moved.

Alternatively, the seat may be arranged to be secured in a selected one of a number of positions in each of which positions the operator faces more towards one direction than the other. This feature may ensure that the seat cannot be secured in a position in which it faces towards neither direction thereby leaving the operator unsure of the response which he will get from the controls.

The seat may be arranged to pivot on the vehicle, possibly about a vertical axis to provide a convenient way of moving the seat relative to the vehicle. The seat may be arranged to be secured in the selected position by means of a retractable locking member mounted on one of the seat or the vehicle and able to extend into a selected one or a number of recesses on the other of the seat or vehicle. This may provide a convenient way of securing the seat and may also be arranged to prevent the locking of the seat in a position in which it faces neither direction by ensuring that no recess is aligned with the locking member at that position.

The locking member may be retractable by an operator located on the seat. Biasing means may be provided to act on the locking member in order to bias the locking member towards a position in which it tends to engage with a recess aligned therewith.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a vehicle adapted to travel in a selected one of first and second opposed directions, the vehicle includes an operator's seat which is able to face more towards either of the first or second directions, and switching means associated with the seat arranged to be able to alter functions of the vehicle when the seat is moved from facing more towards one direction to facing more towards the other direction. The seat may include instrumentation and, alternatively or additionally, driving controls mounted to move with the seat. The switching means may be arranged to render driving controls inoperative when the seat faces the side of the vehicle.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a locomotive drivers seat arrangement, and Figure 2 is a plan view of the seat arrangement.

As shown in Figure 1, the driver's seat arrangement includes a horizontally extending seat 10 and arm rest assembly and an upwardly and rearwardly extending back support 12. The underside of the seat 10 is fixed to an intermediate portion 14 by a series of bolts 16 and a pivot arrangement 18 is fixed to the underside of the intermediate portion 14 by a series of bolts 20. The intermediate portion may comprise a spring cushioning device.

The pivot arrangement 18 comprises a downwardly extending tubular member 22 which rests on a platform 24 and into which extends a pivot post 26 secured to the platform 24.

As shown in Figure 2, a housing 28 is fixed to the outside of the tubular portion 22, the housing 28 containing a spring 30 which acts on a plunger 32 extending through the tubular portion to bias the plunger towards the pivot post. The pivot post includes a number of recesses 34 within a selected one of which the plunger may extend in order to lock the seat and prevent pivotal movement on the pivot post. In one embodiment (not shown) the recesses are so arranged on the pivot post that the plunger is unable to extend into a recess in order to lock the seat in a position in which it extends perpendicularly to the intended direction of travel of the vehicle. Thus the seat can only be locked in a position in which it faces more in one direction of travel than the other, and can not be locked sideways on to the vehicle.In an alternative embodiment shown, the seat is able to be locked in a position in which it is sideways onto the vehicle so that the driver can get in an out of the seat through the door on the side of the vehicle.

The plunger 32 can be retracted from the recess in the post in order to permit the seat arrangement to pivot about the post by an operator on the seat.

This retraction is enabled by a cable connected to the plunger, the cable extending within a flexible conduit 36 which passes through a support 38 located on the underside of the intermediate portion 14 up to a mounting 40 located on the right hand arm rest 42 of the seat. A knob 44 (on Figure 1) is secured to the end of the cable at the arm rest and, by pulling the knob the plunger can be withdrawn and the seat pivoted.

A number of functions of the vehicle are arranged to be controlled in dependence on the rotational position of the seat. In the embodiment where the seat cannot be locked in a sideways on position, there is no doubt about how these functions are operating. In the embodiment shown, when the seat is locked in the sideways position, the controls of the vehicle are rendered inoperative whereby, when a driver leaves the vehicle, the vehicle is left in an inoperative state.

Controlling these functions are two microswitches 46 shown in Figure 2 which are arranged to co-operate with a groove 48 extending part of the way around the outwardly facing surface of the tubular portion 22. The functions are arranged to be controlled in dependence upon whether the seat is facing more in one direction of possible travel of the locomotive than the other. Thus, for example, if the driver is facing one such direction, and he moves a four position gear change gear selector lever 50 on the left hand arm rest 52 into the forwards position he knows that the vehicle will move in the direction in which he is facing.Similarly, if the driver is facing in the other direction the microswitches 46 will sense the rotational position of the seat and, when the gear selector lever 50 is moved into the forwards position, the vehicle will move in the direction in which the driver is now facing. The microswitches may be arranged to reverse electrical switches associated with the controls in order to alter the functions. In order to ensure that there can be no doubt about how the various functions are operating the microswitches 46 are arranged such that with the seat locked sideways onto the vehicle the driving controls are inoperative.

The left hand arm rest 52 is also provided with a service brake valve 54. The right hand arm rest 56 includes a parking brake valve 58 and a throttle valve 60.

Extending from the end of each arm rest and facing upwardly towards the driver are a pair of instrument pods 60 and 62.

The instrument pod 60 on the right hand arm rest includes a wiper switch 64, a rear headlight switch 68 and a front headlight switch 70. Any of these functions may be arranged to be altered automatically upon reversal of the direction in which the seat faces. Also included on the pod 60 are an oil pressure gauge 72, a water temperature gauge 74 and a water temperature indicator 76, a lubricating oil pressure indicator 78 an alternator indicator 80a and a transmission temperature indicator 80b.

The instrument pod 62 on the left hand arm rest 52 includes front and rear sanding switches 82 includes an air pressure gauge 84, a fuel gauge 86, an hour meter gauge 88 and a keyswitch 90.

One of the reasons for providing the seat arrangement is that the locomotive upon which it is mounted is used in industries where the space which the vehicle has to travel through may be extremely confined necessitating a very compact driver's cab with little space for duplicate seating and controls. Furthermore, there is usually not room to turn the locomotive around at the end of its run thus requiring the vehicle to be able to travel with equal facility in opposite directions.

Claims

1. A vehicle adapted to travel in a selected one of first and second opposed directions, the vehicle including an operator's seat being moveable to face more towards either of the first or second directions, and switching means associated with the seat arranged to be able to alter functions of the vehicle when the seat is moved from facing more towards one direction to facing more towards the other direction.

2. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 1 including instrumentation mounted to move with the seat.

3. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 including driving controls mounted to move with the seat.

4. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 2 or 3 including a single set of instrumentation and/or driving controls.

5. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the switching means are arranged to render driving controls inoperative when the seat faces the-side of the vehicle.

6. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the switching means are arranged to alter the function of the direction selector lever when the seat is moved from facing more towards one direction to facing more towards the other direction.

7. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the switching means are arranged to enable headlights to shine from the end of the vehicle towards which the seat faces, and tailights to shine from the other end.

8. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the switching means are arranged to alter the function of instrumentation.

9. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the seat is arranged to be able to be locked in a position in which it faces the side of the vehicle.

10. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 9 in which, when the seat is facing the side of the vehicle, the controls are rendered inoperative.

11. A vehicle as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8 in which the seat is arranged to be secured in a selected one of a number of positions in each of which positions the operator faces more towards one direction than the other.

12. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the seat is arranged to pivot on the vehicle.

13. A vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim in which the seat is arranged to be secured in a selected position by means of a retractable locking member mounted on one of the seat or the vehicle and able to extend into a selected one of a number of recesses on the other of the seat or vehicle.

14. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 13 in which the locking member is retractable by an operator located on the seat.

15. A vehicle as claimed in Claim 13 or 14 in which biasing means are provided to act on the locing member in order to bias the locking member towards a position in which it tends to engage with a recess aligned therewith.

16. A vehicle adapted to travel in a selected one of first and second opposed directions, the vehicle including an operator's seat which is able to face more towards either the first or second directions, and driving controls and/or instrumentation arranged to move with the seat.

17. A vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.