Rear steer angle indicator for articulating vehicle

Claim 1

In a vehicle having a steerable wheelmounted mainframe and a wheelmounted engine frame articulately mounted to the rear of the mainframe, the articulation joint comprising a forwardly extended, horizontally disposed tongue portion on the engine frame and a rearwardly extended horizontally disposed plate mounted on a vertically disposed plate portion of the mainframe, both plate and tongue portion pivotally connected by a vertically disposed pin, an improved rear steer angle indicator unit comprising: sensing means capable of converting mechanical motion to electrical signals, said sensing means mounted on the side of said vertically disposed mainframe plate portion opposite the articulation joint; gauge means electrically connected to said sensing means and capable of indicating the degree and direction of movement of the engine frame relative to the mainframe; sensing arm means inserted through said vertically disposed mainframe plate portion and connected with said sensing means, said sensing arm means comprising an L-shaped arm the upper portion of which is inserted into said sensing means about a normally horizontal axis, and the lower portion of which depends from the upper portion parallel and closely adjacent a rear face of said vertically disposed mainframe plate portion; and linkage means connected at one end thereof to the engine frame tongue at a location between said tongue and said plate, and at the other end thereof to said sensing arm means, whereby movement of the tongue relative to said vertically disposed mainframe plate portion results in like amount of movement of said sensing arm means in said sensing means and consequent indication by said gauge means of the degree and direction of movement of the engine frame relative to the mainframe.