The present invention relates to controls for hydrostatic transmissions and more specifically relates to a mechanism for neutralizing a hydrostatic traction drive transmission in response to actuation of a traction drive brake or clutch.
It is known to interlock manually operable traction drive brake or clutch controls with those for controlling the direction and speed of a hydrostatic traction drive transmission so that the transmission is placed in a neutral condition, and a speed and direction control lever is placed in its neutral position in response to movement of levers for effecting brake engagement or clutch disengagement. One example of such interlocked controls is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,105 granted to Matter on May 12, 1970.
The known interlocked controls suffer from one or more of the drawbacks of being relatively complex, of requiring specially configured cam slots for effecting simultaneous neutralizing of the transmission control arm and control lever and of requiring frequent adjustment of control linkage elements to ensure such simultaneous neutralizing.