1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Skid Steer Loader frame.
2. Prior Art
Skid Steer Loaders are provided with frames whereon are mounted the cab, the working arm, the wheels and the operative equipment.
In particular a first known type provides for frames obtained by means of welding and composed of a base element with substantially horizontal development from whose front and lateral edges develop upwards respectively a front wall having, in front elevation view, a rectangular shape and two mutually specular lateral walls having, in lateral elevation view, an xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d shape. The base portion of the L has a squared off profile, higher than the front wall.
Over the base portions of the L shaped walls is mounted the drive""s cab of the Skid Steer Loader, whilst laterally thereto are fastened the wheels.
The vertical portions of the two L""s are positioned in correspondence with the rear part of the base element.
The two parts of the vertical portions of the L""s oriented towards the front part of the frame are also connected by means of a welded xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shaped connecting element, which is indispensable to guarantee a good rigidity to the frame since on the vertical portions of the L shaped walls is secured the operative arm of the Skid Steer Loader.
The three vertical walls and the base element define among them a housing compartment in which all the equipment of the Skid Steer Loader is inserted.
This first type of frame, however, has considerable drawbacks.
A first drawback occurs when assembling the machine on the assembly line.
With frames constructed according to this first example of prior art, the mounting of the operative equipment in the housing compartment of the frame must necessarily be effected piece by piece within said compartment. Because of the shape of the frame, once the equipment is mounted inside the compartment it is stuck therein and can only be removed by disassembly.
A second drawback stems from the fact that, due to the shape of the housing compartment given by the vertical walls, it is inconvenient to perform maintenance operations on the operative equipment located inside said compartment.
An additional drawback is represented by the presence of the connecting element which limits the rear visibility to the operator sitting in the cab.
To overcome at least the drawbacks relating to the assembly of the Skid Steer Loaders provided with frames constructed according to the first example of prior art described above, a second type of Skid Steer Loader frames has been developed, which provides for frames comprising two complementary units able to be superposed.
Once joined, the two units give rise to a frame substantially corresponding to the one according to the first example of prior art described above.
In particular a first lower unit comprises the base element and means for mounting the wheels, whilst the second upper unit comprises the vertical walls and the connecting element.
The upper unit is removably fastened over the lower unit by means of bolted connections.
When the machine is assembled, the operative equipment is assembled separately and then positioned over the lower unit.
Subsequently, the upper unit is positioned over the lower unit and the operative equipment and fastened thereto.
However, the second example of prior art described above also has a series of drawbacks.
First of all, frames constructed according to the second example of prior art have the same drawbacks described for the first example of prior art, in terms of maintenance and visibility.
Moreover, a frame composed of two units has a higher cost of construction than the frames of the first example of prior art described, which offsets the benefits obtained by simplifying the Skid Steer Loader assembly.
In this situation, the technical task constituting the basis for the present invention is to obtain a Skid Steer Loader frame that overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks.
In particular, a technical task of the present invention is to obtain a Skid Steer Loader frame that allows for a rapid assembly of the machine and at the same time has a competitive cost relative to the frames in use today.
Another technical task of the present invention is to obtain a Skid Steer Loader frame that allows for easier access to the operative equipment of the machine during maintenance operations.
A further technical task of the present invention is to obtain a Skid Steer Loader frame that guarantees a good rear visibility to an operator sitting in the cab.