Drift adjustment for skid steering system
View Patent ↗An adjustment stop screw or bolt is provided for adjusting the full forward speed position of at least one steering lever on a skid steer loader. The stop screw will engage a member movable with the steering lever below the operator's platform. The stop screw can be adjusted through an opening in operator's platform to change the stopped forward speed position of the lever, and thus the full forward speed position of the linkage that controls the motor operated by that lever. This in turn adjusts the speed of the drive motor in a full forward position of the lever. The adjustment is made to match the output speeds of the drive motors on both sides of the skid steer vehicle.
1. An adjustment device for matching speed of lever actuated variable speed drive motors on a skid steer vehicle, the skid steer vehicle having a pivoting shaft that pivots to change the speed of a selected drive motor and having an operator's platform, a control lever mounted on the pivoting shaft and moveable from a neutral position to a forward speed position wherein the selected drive motor is in operation at a corresponding speed, an adjustable position stop screw mounted on a side of the operator's platform opposite from an operator, the stop screw being positioned adjacent an opening in the operator's platform and accessible from the operator's side of the platform, the stop screw engaging and stopping a movable portion of the lever at the forward speed position.
2. The adjustment device of claim 1 , wherein said lever is mounted onto the pivoting shaft, the pivoting shaft having a saddle and a U-bolt for holding the lever on the pivoting shaft, said stop screw being positioned to engage a closed end of the U-bolt when the lever is in the forward speed position.
3. The adjustment device of claim 1 , wherein the forward speed position is the maximum forward speed position of the lever.
4. The adjustment device of claim 1 , wherein the control lever extends through an opening into an operator's compartment, and is accessible to an operator from the operator's compartment.
5. The adjustment device of claim 1 , wherein said operator's platform has a front portion, and the opening to access the stop screw is through the front portion.
6. An adjustment device for a skid steer loader having drive motors on opposite sides thereof, said drive motors being controlled by separate control levers for direction and speed control, the control levers having a neutral position and a full forward speed position, an adjustable stop screw for stopping at least one of the levers in the full forward speed position, said stop screw being mounted on a bracket positioned adjacent a movable portion of the at least one lever with which it is associated, the stop screw being threadable along an axis of the screw toward and away from said movable portion of the at least one lever, said movable portion of the at least one lever comprising a clamping U-bolt that clamps the at least one lever to a pivoting shaft, said stop screw being positioned adjacent an operator compartment platform, the platform having an opening aligning with the stop screw so the stop screw is accessible from an interior of the operator compartment platform.
7. The adjustment device of claim 6 , wherein the pivotal shaft is rotatably mounted on a skid steer loader, a saddle for holding an end of the shaft, said at least one lever being clamped onto the saddle with the clamping U-bolt and a second U-bolt, and one of the U-bolts being aligned to be engaged by the stop screw when the at least one lever moves to its full forward speed position.
8. A method of adjusting the speed of a first drive motor driving wheels on a first side of a skid steer vehicle relative to the speed of a second drive motor driving wheels on a second side of the skid steer vehicle, the speed of the first and drive motors being adjustable by moving first and second control levers, respectively, the method comprising moving the first and second control levers for the respective first and second drive motors to a full forward speed position, providing an adjustable stop on an exterior of an operator's compartment of the skid steer vehicle for at least one of the control levers in the full forward speed position and accessible from an interior of the operator's compartment, and adjusting the stop for the at least one control lever from the interior of the operator's compartment with both control levers in the full forward speed position until the first and second drive motors drive the wheels on the respective sides of the vehicle at substantially equal velocity.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the adjusting step is performed until the skid steer vehicle moves in a substantially straight line when both of the control levers are in the full forward speed position.