Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02297997 2000-02-03
A R
TITLE OF THE INVENTION: ERGONOMIC ARMREST AND JOYSTICK
ASSEMI3LY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ergonomic armrest and joystick support
for operators of heavy machinery.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that many operators of heavy machinery such as forestry
machines suffer from neck, shoulder and back pains. This is mainly due to the
operator
being obliged to keep his arms raised above the machine's armrests while
operating the
machine in order to effect long lever strokes or activate awkwardly placed
manually-operable
controls which require the operator to lift and possibly maintain his arms
above the armrests.
Short joysticks or other types of manual controls used to control the various
machine
movements together with a support for the manual controls and for an
associated armrest
have been in use for sometime, but these known assemblies are difficult to
adjust in the right
position to suit a specific operator and often come out of adjustment when
subjected to heavy
shocks such as when the machine travels in roadless rough terrain, e.g. in a
forest.
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OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide an
ergonomic armrest and manual controls support which obviates the above noted
disadvantages in that it enables the operator to first adjust the position of
his manual
controls in space along X,Y,Z axes with respect to his seat and backrest so
that his hand and
arm are in a comfortable position with respect to the manual controls, and
then to adjust the
position of the armrest while the operator's hand is in position over the
manual controls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a support of the kind
described, which is relatively simple and inexpensive but yet of sturdy
construction being
capable of resisting heavy shocks without becoming maladjusted.
SiJMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The assembly of the present invention comprises a bracket to be secured to
a stationary member at the back and on the side of an operator's seat and
above said seat, a
generally horizontally disposed bar forwardly extending from said bracket and
having a rear
and a front end, a first connector assembly connecting the rear end of said
bar to said bracket,
a manual controls support located forwardly of said front end, a second
connector assembly
connecting said manual controls support to the front end of said bar, said
first and second
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connector assemblies capable of adjustably positioning said manual controls
support relative
to said bracket along X,Y,Z axes, an arnvest located above said bar
intennediate its front and
rear ends and a third connector assembly connecting the underside of said
armrest to said bar
and capable of adjustably positioning said armrest above said bar to a
selected height and
inclination and to a selected distance from said bracket.
Preferably, the manual controls support is further stabilized by a post
secured
to the front of the seat and upstanding from one side thereof. Preferably, the
post is made
of at least two telescopic sections and a lock releasably locks said two
telescopic sections in
adjusted telescoped position.
Preferably, said post releasably supports said manual controls support in its
adjusted position, said first connector assembly releasably allowing upward
pivoting of said
bar of said manual controls support and of said armrest in out of the way
position to permit
the operator's ingress to or egress from the side of said seat.
Preferably, said bar has a uniform non circular cross-sectional shape along
its
length and said third connector assembly includes a sleeve slidably
surrounding said bar but
not rotatable around the same, and a knob operated locking bolt carried by
said sleeve to
releasably engage said bar and lock said sleeve at an adjusted position along
said bar.
Preferably, the first connector assembly includes a link having one end
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pivoted to said bracket about a generally horizontal axis, a second sleeve
slidably but not
rotatably receiving said rear end of said bar, a first universal joint
connecting said second
sleeve to the other end of said link and manually operated locks carried by
said bracket and
by said second sleeve to lock the rear end of said bar in adjusted height and
distance relative
to and forwardly of said bracket.
Preferably, said second connector assembly includes a second universal joint
and manually operated locks to lock said manual controls support in a selected
inclination
longitudinally and transversely of said bar.
Preferably, said third connector assembly includes a pair of longitudinally
slotted elongated plates secured to and depending from the underside of said
armrest and
straddling opposite sides of said sleeve, a block secured to said sleeve and
disposed between
and in register with said elongated plates, a knob, and a bolt extending
through said block
and through said plate slots and screwed into said knob for pressing said
elongated plates
against said sleeve on opposite sides thereof and lock said armrest into a
selected height and
inclination.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings, like reference numerals indicate like elements
throughout.
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Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chair to be used by an operator of heavy
machinery and fitted with two assemblies in accordance with the present
invention, one on
each side of the chair.
Figure 2, is a side elevation of the chair and one armrest assembly.
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the chair of figure 1.
Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views taken from different angles of one
armrest and joystick support assembly in accordance with the present
invention.
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the chair flanked by the two armrest
assemblies, and further showing the attachment of the armrest support
structure to the chair
underside. And
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the chair with one armrest assembly, showing
the attachment of the armrest support structure to the chair underside and
further showing
a security chain linking the relatively movable front and rear portions of the
amnrest
assembly.
DETAII.ED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The operator of a heavy machinery such as forestry machinery is seated in a
seat S fitted with a backrest B so as to operate joysticks J with each of his
hands. Joysticks
J can be replaced by any suitable manual controls, such as levers, push
buttons and the like
to operate the various movements of the machinery components.
There is an assembly in accordance with the invention mounted on each side
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of the seat S and backrest B. Each assembly includes a bracket 2 to be secured
to the back
of the backrest B or to an adjacent part of the cabin structure in which the
seat is located.
The assembly further includes a straight bar 4 of uniform non circular cross-
section
preferably of square cross-section. The bar 4 has a rear end 6 and a front end
8. Rear end
6 is connected to the bracket 2 by a first connector assembly 10.
A joystick or manual controls support 12 is connected to the front end 8 of
bar 4 by a second connector assembly 14. An armrest 16, located above an
intennediate
portion of bar 4 is connected to the latter by a third connector assembly 18.
Front end 8 of
bar 4 is firmly supported by a post 20 which is secured to a bracket 22 fixed
to the underside
of the seat S at the front of the same. As shown in figures 6 and 7, brackets
22, 22 are
attached to the opposite end portions of a transverse support rod 22a which
transversely
extends along the seat S underside. Support rod 22a is in turn carried by tie
plates 22b, 22b
mounted on the seat S support tracks Sl, SZ.
Bracket 2 has a back flange 24 secured by bolts 26 to the back of backrest B
or to the cabin structure as defined above. The bracket 2 is therefore
disposed above the seat
S and at the level of the backrest. A flat stock link 28 is pivoted on a
horizontal pivot bolt
30 secured to bracket 2. Link 28 has a concentric slot 32 through which a
tightening bolt 34
extends fitted with a manually operated knob screw 36.
Therefore, the vertical inclination of link 28 can be firmly adjusted by
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screwing knob 36. A first universal joint is mounted at the forward end of
link 28, this joint
consists of two U-shaped members 38,40 with overlapping horizontal flanges
interconnected
by a vertical pivot bolts 42 and with the web of member 38 pivoted to the
outer end of link
28 by a horizontal pivot bolt 44. A sleeve 46 is secured to the U-shaped
member 40 in which
the rear end 6 of bar 4 is slidably and non rotatably inserted. A tightening
bolt 48 is screwed
within sleeve 46 and is operated by a knob 50 to tighten the bar 4 in a
longitudinally adjusted
position within sleeve 46.
The second connector assembly 14 simply consists of an end plate 52 welded
or otherwise secured to the front end 8 of bar 4 and an L-shaped plate 54 is
pivoted against
end plate 52 by means of a bolt and nut assembly 56.
Manual controls support 12 is a flat, generally horizontal, U-shaped plate
disposed for supporting the joystick J or other set of manual controls and has
a rearwardly
extending vertical ear 58 which is pivoted by bolt and nut 60 to the forwardly
extending
flange of L-shaped plate 54. This flange has a slot (not shown) concentric
with bolt 60
through which a tightening bolt 64 extends, being operated by a knob 66.
Third connector assembly 18 includes an armrest supporting sleeve 68 which
is slidably mounted around the non circular bar 4, and can be adjustably
locked to the same
by a knob operated sleeve engaging bolt 70.
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A block 72 is secured on top of sleeve 68 and a U-shaped member providing
a web 73 and a pair of parallel elongated legs 74, serves to support armrest
16 in adjusted
position on bar 4. Legs 74 have transversely registering longitudinal slots 76
and straddle
block 72 and the sides of sleeve 68. A bolt 78 extends across the registering
slots 76 and is
screwed into a knob operated nut 80. Operation of knob 80 serves to tighten
the two
elongated plates 74 against the sides of block 72 and of sleeve 68 to thereby
adjust armrest
16 both angularly and longitudinally of bar 4. Furthermore, armrest 16 is
pivotally mounted
by a vertical pivot on top of the web 73 for free rotation thereon so that the
orientation of the
armrest transversely of bar 4 can be changed to suit the operator's desire.
Post 20 consists of a two telescopic section namely lower post section 82 and
upper post section 84 Lower post section 82 is secured on top of a transverse
horizontal rod
86 which supports the post of the two assemblies on each side of the seat.
This transverse
rod 86 is fixed under the seat. The total length of the two telescopic post
sections 82, 84 can
be adjusted by a knob-operated screw 88 extending through the lower section 82
and
tightened against upper telescopic section 84. The latter is attached to end
plate 52 by means
of a horizontal pivot 90, see figure 5, which is transverse to the post
sections 82, 84.
Therefore, horizontal bar 4 is no longer held in cantilevered position but is
firmly supported
at its front end by the post 20. Adjustment of the two post sections 82, 84 by
means of the
knob 88 will fumly adjust the vertical position of the manual controls support
12, relative
to seat S.
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When the machinery operator wants to enter or leave seat S from the side,
the two knobs 88 and 36 are simply loosened and bar 4 is raised about
horizontal pivot 30
allowing separation of the two telescopic post sections 82,84. In operative
position, rigid
bar 4 directly connects the support plate 12 to the bracket 2 and is firmly
supported by the
front post 20. Therefore, the device forms a strong support for both the
manual controls such
as joystick J and the armrest 16 and will resist any shocks normally caused by
heavy mobile
machineries such as forestry machinery travelling in rough terrain in a
forest.
Figure 7 shows that a security chain 92 can be provided on the assembly
according to the invention, to link the relatively movable front and rear
portions thereof.
More particularly, the rear end portion of chain 92 is attached to sleeve 46,
and the front end
portion of chain 92 is attached to the end plate 52. In an operative position
of the assembly,
as shown in figure 7, the intermediate portion of chain 92 loosely hangs under
elongated bar
4. The purpose of chain 92 is to prevent bar 4 from accidentally falling off
from sleeve 46,
especially while the forestry machine is moving. Indeed, loosening knob 50 to
adjust the
position of the armrest 16 and of the joystick support 12 by sliding bar 4 in
sleeve 46, can
allow accidental disengagement of bar 4 from sleeve 46. This can become
dangerous if, for
example, a vehicle equipped with the assembly according to the invention is
moving while
the operator accomplishes this last described adjustment, and the bar 4 falls
off from its
sleeve 46, then the joystick J supported by support 12 be pivoted under the
fall into an
undesirable position, consequently transmitting undesirable commands to the
machinery.
Chain 92, or any other suitable stopper member, prevent this from happening.
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