Automatically operatively positioned and storable outrigger pad

Claim 2

Extensible outrigger apparatus for prevention of tipping of a vehicle, comprising in combination: an outrigger leg extensible from a position of storage on the vehicle to a position of use spaced laterally outwardly and downwardly from said position of storage; a ground-engageable pad; coupling means for securing said pad to the lower end of said leg for allowing lateral translation of said pad with respect to said leg from an eccentric storage position to a substantially centered use position; means for shifting said pad from said eccentric storage position to said substantially centered use position with respect to said leg automatically upon extension of said outrigger from its storage position.

Claim 3

The device of claim 1, in which said pad comprises a substantially platelike member and said coupling means includes first and second relatively slidable members associated respectively with said leg and said pad.

Claim 4

The device of claim 2, wherein said first relatively slidable member comprises a disk connected to said leg and said second relatively slidable member comprises means defining an undercut groove on the upper surface of the pad extending from one edge thereof to a position past the center thereof for receiving said disk therein for relative slidable movement therealong, said coupling means further including a swivel connection between said disk and the end portion of said leg.

Claim 5

The device of claim 1, in which said coupling means comprises a slideway on said pad and a slider connected to said leg and slidable along said slideway, said means for shifting including a resilient tension element connected between said leg and a portion of said pad displaced from an end of said slideway for urging said pad to a substantially centered position beneath said leg.

Claim 6

The device of claim 1, including a storage carrier supported on the vehicle below the normal position of storage of said outrigger leg and adapted to receive said pad thereon for storage, interengageable latch means fixed with respect to said pad and storage carrier for maintaining said pad in an eccentric location with respect to said leg during storage and latch releasing means automatically responsive to extension of said outrigger for disengaging said latch means to allow said pad to be removed from storage carrier upon extension of said outrigger.

Claim 7

The device of claim 5, in which said latch releasing means comprises a mechanism interconnecting said latch means with said outrigger leg and including a tension element responsive to displacement of said leg in a direction substantially outboard of said pad for releasing said latch means.

Claim 8

The device of claim 1, in which said outrigger leg is shiftable from a location of storage on the vehicle to a location of use spaced outboard of said vehicle, said pad comprising a large area plate adapted for ground engagement on the underside thereof; said coupling means comprising a spaced parallel pair of angle members fixed to the upper side of said plate and having opposed flanges extendIng toward each other and spaced substantially parallel relation with said plate, said angle members extending from the edge of said plate furthest from the center of said vehicle inboard of said plate past the center thereof and being interconnected at their inboard ends by a further similar angle member for defining a slideway having a closed inboard end, a disk receivable slidably in said slideway and overlapped by said flanges for retention in such slideway, swivel means allowing tipping of said plate at least in two mutually othogonal vertical planes interconnecting said disk and the bottom portion of said leg for allowing said plate to be carried by said leg in spaced relationship to the ground while allowing swivelling and sliding of said plate with respect to said leg; said means for shifting including spaced parallel brackets on said leg and said plate extending substantially transversely to the length dimension of said slideway and located on opposite sides of said leg, said bracket on said plate being displaced beyond the closed end of said slideway, a pair of tension springs interconnecting the opposed ends of said leg and plate brackets for urging said plate to a substantially centered position beneath said leg whereat said disk is located substantially at the closed end of said slideway; and including a carrier on said vehicle below the normal stored position for said leg and comprising a spaced parallel pair of members upon which said plate is slidable, said spaced parallel members extending transversely of said vehicle in substantial alignment with the direction of extension of said outrigger, a catch on said carrier, a movable latch element and means supporting same on said plate for transverse movement with respect thereto in a direction substantially at right angles to said carrier members, said latch element being adapted to lie inboard of said catch when said plate is located on said carrier members with the outboard edge of said plate substantially flush with said side of said vehicle whereby said latch element and catch interact to prevent unintended outward movement of said plate off said carrier, a tension cable and a bell crank, said bell crank being pivotally supported on said plate and engaged at one end thereof with said latch element, said tension cable connecting the other end of said bell crank to said leg for retraction of said latch element out of obstructing relation with said catch upon tensioning of said tension cable, said bell crank being displaced inboard of said closed end of said slideway whereby movement of said leg away from said vehicle past a preselected position of maximum eccentricity with respect to said plate tensions said cable and releases said latch element from said catch to allow said springs to move said plate outboard along said carrier to a substantially centered position beneath said leg as said outrigger extends.

Claim 9

The device of claim 7, in which said disk is substantially circular and said swivel means comprises an opposed, interlinked pair of substantially C-shaped lugs fixed respectively to said disk and to said leg.

Claim 10

The device of claim 7, in which said carrier members are pivoted adjacent their inboard ends for rotation in substantially vertical planes and including means resiliently connecting the outboard ends of said members to said vehicle for resiliently resisting downward movement of said outboard ends, the outboard ends of said members being flared to assist entry of said plate thereon.