Patent Description:
In tropical regions, the ambient temperature is often very high, and sunlight may strike directly onto an operator of an industrial vehicle, which causes inconvenience to the operator while performing a work operation. However, also in other regions of the world, be it during summer time or other time of the year, being stricken by direct sunlight may be cause inconvenience for an operator. To protect operators, some industrial vehicles are provided with sun shades. However, there is still room for improvement. Document <CIT> discloses an example of a rotating sun shade, while <CIT> shows an industrial vehicle with a sliding sun shade.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an industrial vehicle sun protector for the protection of an operator located in the cabin of an industrial vehicle. The industrial vehicle sun protector comprises:.

In some examples, said different selectable deployed positions comprise a plurality of discrete predefined deployed positions. A technical benefit may include that providing a plurality of discrete predefined deployed positions may be relatively easy from a technical point of view. For example, there may be a mechanism which includes a number of selectable latching positions, such as a protrusion to be engaged with different recesses to provide different latching positions (or conversely, a recess to be engaged with different protrusions to provide different latching positions). Although having discrete predefined deployed positions may be advantageous, this disclosure is not limited to that. Indeed, in in some examples, said different selectable deployed positions may be selected in a stepless manner. For example, there may be a mechanism in which a protrusion may run in a track and be locked in position at any selected position of such a track.

In some examples, a pivoting of the shade member from the stored position to any one of the different selectable deployed positions results in an angular displacement of the shade member within a range of <NUM>° - <NUM>°. A technical benefit may include that even though the stored position may be a horizontal position so as to keep the shade member well out of the way when not in use, an angular displacement range of <NUM>° - <NUM>° may provide for good sun protection throughout normal working hours.

In some examples, said different selectable deployed positions comprise at least three discrete predefined positions:.

In some examples, said mounting arrangement comprises a hook-shaped hinge and a locking member, wherein the shade member is fixedly connected to the hook-shaped hinge and follows the movements of the hook-shaped hinge, wherein the hook-shaped hinge is pivotably connected to the locking member, and is lockable to the locking member in different rotational positions relative to the locking member, said different rotational positions corresponding respectively to the stored position and the different selectable deployed positions of the shade member. A technical benefit may include that a hook-shaped hinge may allow the shade member to extend substantially horizontally when in the stored position (for instance extend adjacent to the inside of the roof), while also allowing the shade member to rotate around, past the edge of the roof such that it can be located and held outside of the cabin in the different deployed positions.

In some examples, one of said hook-shaped hinge and said locking member is provided with a locking pin, wherein the other one of said hook-shaped hinge and said locking member is provided with a pattern of holes or recesses that present a plurality of areas for receiving the locking pin, wherein the locking pin is selectively insertable into any one of said areas to lock said hook-shaped hinge in a desired one of said different rotational positions relative to the locking member. A technical benefit may include that this provides for a simple yet effective way of locking the shade member in the stored position or in any one of the deployed positions. It should be understood that in some examples, the locking pin may be provided on the hook-shaped hinge and the pattern of holes or recesses may be provided in the locking member, whereas in other examples, the locking pin may be provided in the locking member and the pattern of holes or recesses may be provided in the hook-shaped hinge. Either component having the pattern of holes or recesses may, for example, be plate-like, although other configurations are readily conceivable.

In some examples, the hook-shaped hinge has a first end portion, a second end portion, and an intermediate portion located between the first end portion and the second end portion, wherein the first end portion and the second end portion extend at an angle relative to each other. A technical benefit may include that this may allow the shade member to be conveniently stored out of the way and yet allowing the shade member to rotate around, past the edge of the roof such that it can be located and held outside of the cabin in the different deployed positions.

In some examples, the pivotable connection between the hook-shaped hinge and the locking member is located at the first end portion of the hook-shaped hinge, wherein the fixed connection between the shade member and the hook-shaped hinge is located at the second end portion of the hook-shaped hinge. Similarly to above, a technical benefit may include that the shade member may be conveniently stored out of the way and yet allowing the shade member to rotate around, past the edge of the roof such that it can be located and held outside of the cabin in the different deployed positions.

In some examples, the mounting arrangement comprises at least another pivotable hook-shaped hinge, wherein the shade member is fixedly connected to said at least another pivotable hook-shaped hinge. A technical benefit may include that this provides more robustness when switching between the different positions of the shade member. Although it is conceivable to let said at least another hook-shaped hinge be lockable to another locking member, similarly to the previously discussed interlocking between the previously mentioned hook-shaped hinge and locking member, it may suffice that only one of the hook-shaped hinges are locked to a locking member.

In some examples, the mounting arrangement comprises at least one spring device, such as a gas spring, wherein the spring device accumulates potential energy when the shade member is pivoted towards the stored position and wherein the spring device releases potential energy when the shade member is pivoted away from the stored position. A technical benefit may include that less effort is needed from the operator to move the shade member from its stored position to any one of its deployed positions.

In some examples, the spring device has a first end connected to a remote connection point of the mounting arrangement, and a second end connected to said another pivotable hook-shaped hinge. A technical benefit may include that this may provide increased safety to an operator when the operator wants to lock the shade member in one of its positions, with reduced risk of interfering with the action of the spring device.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided an industrial vehicle comprising a cabin for an operator and the industrial vehicle sun protector of the first aspect, including any example thereof, wherein the mounting arrangement of the industrial vehicle sun protector is installed in the cabin. The second aspect of the disclosure may seek to address the same matters as the first aspect, and technical benefits may include the technical benefits discussed in connection with the first aspect, including any example thereof.

In some examples, in the stored position, the shade member is held in parallel with and adjacent to the roof of the industrial vehicle. A technical benefit may include that in the stored position, the shade member may be kept adequately out of the way, not forming an obstruction to the operator, while still allowing the shade member to be moved to deployed positions in which it provides good sun protection.

In some examples, the industrial vehicle further comprises another industrial vehicle sun protector such that the industrial vehicle comprises two oppositely disposed industrial vehicle sun protectors attached to the roof thereof. A technical benefit may include that the operator is protected from the sun from two directions, thus being less dependent on the current orientation of the vehicle.

In some examples of the first aspect or the second aspect, the rigid shade member may comprise a single piece of material. In some examples, the rigid shade member may be made from a molded material. A technical benefit may include that it provides a robust shade member which can easily be produced.

Operating an industrial vehicle may sometimes be a challenge for an operator as far as ambient conditions are concerned. High temperatures and direct sunlight may cause unnecessary inconvenience to an operator. To block the sun rays in an effective way throughout the working day is highly desirable. On the other hand, when there is no need to block any sun rays, it is desirable that any shading device used to block the sun can be conveniently stored and kept out of the way so that it avoids obstructing the operator's freedom to move around in the cabin. The present disclosure suggests providing an industrial vehicle sun protector in which a rigid shade member is pivotably connected to a mounting arrangement such that it can be pivoted at least <NUM>° from a stored position to different selectable deployed positions. This allows for convenient storage of the shade member when not needed, while also allowing for adjusting the shade member based on the position of the sun when the operator wishes to block the sun rays.

<FIG> are perspective views of an industrial vehicle <NUM> equipped with an industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> according to one example, wherein a shade member <NUM> of the industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> is illustrated in different positions. The industrial vehicle <NUM> in this example is a paver. It should, however, be understood that the industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> may be mounted to other types of industrial vehicles as well. Furthermore, in <FIG> there is actually mounted two industrial vehicle sun protectors <NUM>, one for the left side of the vehicle <NUM> and one for the right side of the vehicle <NUM>. It should, however, be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to two sun protectors being mounted to a vehicle. In other examples, the industrial vehicle may be provided with an industrial vehicle sun protector on only one side, for example on a driver side where the operator/driver will spend most of the time in the vehicle.

<FIG> illustrates a state in which the shade member <NUM> of the industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> is in its stored position. In this example, in the stored position, the shade member <NUM> may be held in parallel with and adjacent to the roof of the industrial vehicle <NUM>. In particular, as indicated by the dotted lines, the shade member <NUM> may, in the stored position, extend along the inside of the roof, i.e. within the driver's cabin of the vehicle <NUM>. <FIG> illustrates a state in which the shade member <NUM> is in a deployed position and extends at <NUM>° relative to the stored position. In <FIG>, the shade member <NUM> has been moved even further to another deployed position, at <NUM>° relative to the stored position. Finally, in <FIG>, the shade member <NUM> is in another deployed position, which may suitably be the most deployed position, extending at <NUM>° relative to the stored position.

<FIG> is a front view of a cabin of the industrial vehicle <NUM>, wherein different deployed positions 12a-12c of the shade member are illustrated. The deployed positions 12a-12c shown in <FIG> may correspond to those of <FIG>. As can be seen in <FIG> different positions 14a-14c of the sun during the day are illustrated. <FIG> illustrates when the sun is at its highest position 14a, around noon. Although the roof of the vehicle will protect the operator from being directly hit by sun rays, it may be advantageous to move the shade member to a fully deployed position 12a (corresponding to <FIG>), which is here illustrated as a substantially horizontal position. In this fully deployed position 12a, a large shade area is created around the vehicle <NUM>. Hereby, the operator will be exposed to less heat radiation from the ground. Furthermore, oftentimes the operator may lean outside to have a view on the front of the vehicle <NUM>, for example while unloading material in a hopper area. The fully deployed position 12a may thus allow the operator to still be in the shade even though he/she is leaning out through a lateral opening of the vehicle. Later in the afternoon the sun has moved to a slightly lower position 14b and the operator may now change to another deployed position 12b (corresponding to <FIG>) to obstruct the sun rays from hitting the operator. The operator will normally select the deployed position at which the sun rays hit the shade member as perpendicularly as possible. As time passes, and the sun has moved further down to an even lower position 14c, the operator may again change to a different deployed position 12c (corresponding to <FIG>). It should of course be understood that the deployed positions 12b and 12c may also be used early in the morning and later in the morning, as the sun rises from lower position 14c to position 14b.

It should be understood that although specific angles for the deployed positions have been discussed in relation to <FIG>, other angles are also conceivable. For instance, in a general example, a pivoting of the shade member from the stored position to any one of the different selectable deployed positions may result in an angular displacement which is greater than <NUM>°. For example, a pivoting of the shade member from the stored position to any one of the different selectable deployed positions may result in an angular displacement of the shade member within a range of <NUM>° - <NUM>°. For instance, said different selectable deployed positions may comprise at least three discrete predefined positions:.

Turning now to <FIG> the industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> will be discussed in more detail. It should be noted that <FIG> is a view seen from an opposite side compared to the views in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> are different close-up views of the industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> mounted to a roof <NUM> of the industrial vehicle, wherein different positions of the shade member <NUM> are illustrated. The industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> may, for example, be the one illustrated in connection with <FIG>, and the industrial vehicle may, for example, be the vehicle illustrated in <FIG>.

The industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> is configured to protect an operator located in the cabin of an industrial vehicle. The industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> shown in <FIG> comprises a mounting arrangement <NUM> configured to be installed in the cabin of the industrial vehicle. The industrial vehicle sun protector <NUM> also comprises the rigid shade member <NUM> configured to obstruct the passage of sun rays therethrough. The shade member <NUM> is pivotably connected to the mounting arrangement <NUM> such that the shade member <NUM> is pivotable between a stored position and different selectable deployed position. For instance, the different selectable deployed positions may be the positions illustrated in <FIG>, however, other deployed positions are of course also conceivable. Furthermore, the number of deployed positions, may be fewer than the three shown in the previous figures, i.e. two deployed position, or may be more, such as four, five of even more deployed positions. In some examples, the deployed positions may be steplessly selectable, while in other examples, the deployed positions may be discretely selectable. In any one of the above examples of different deployed positions, the adjustment from one of the deployed position to another one of the deployed positions allows for protecting the operator from sun rays at different positions of the sun. A pivoting of the shade member <NUM> from the stored position to any one of the different selectable deployed positions results in an angular displacement of the shade member <NUM> greater than <NUM>°.

As can be seen in <FIG>, the mounting arrangement <NUM> may comprise one or more hook-shaped hinges <NUM> to enable the pivoting of the shade member <NUM>. In the illustrated example the mounting arrangement <NUM> has three hook-shaped hinges <NUM>, but other number of hinges are also conceivable. The shade member <NUM> is fixedly connected to the hook-shaped hinges <NUM> and follows the movements of the hook-shaped hinges <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, each hook-shaped hinge <NUM> has a first end portion <NUM>, a second end portion <NUM>, and an intermediate portion located between the first end portion <NUM> and the second end portion <NUM>. The first end portion <NUM> and the second end portion <NUM> extend at an angle relative to each other. The fixed connection between the shade member <NUM> and each hook-shaped hinge <NUM> may be located at the second end portion <NUM> of the hook-shaped hinge <NUM>. The mounting arrangement <NUM> further comprises a locking member <NUM> (best seen in <FIG>). At least one of the hook-shaped hinges <NUM>, in this case the central hook-shaped hinge <NUM>, may cooperate with such a locking member <NUM>. More specifically, the hook-shaped hinge <NUM> may be pivotably connected to the locking member <NUM> and may be lockable to the locking member <NUM> in different rotational positions relative to the locking member. As can be seen in <FIG>, the pivotable connection <NUM> between the hook-shaped hinge <NUM> and the locking member <NUM> may be located at the first end portion <NUM> of the hook-shaped hinge <NUM>.

The different lockable positions of the hook-shaped hinge <NUM> to the locking member <NUM> correspond respectively to the stored position and the different selectable deployed position of the shade member <NUM>. In <FIG>, a fully deployed position of the shade member <NUM> is illustrated, extending substantially horizontally out from below the roof <NUM>. The hook-shaped hinge <NUM> allows the shade member <NUM> to be located under the roof <NUM>, extending substantially horizontally in its stored position and in parallel with the adjacent roof <NUM> (see <FIG>), and then be swung around the edge of the roof and out through the cabin via a lateral opening of the cabin into any one of the deployed positions (see e.g. <FIG> and <FIG>). As best seen in <FIG>, the locking member <NUM> may be provided with a pattern of holes or recesses that present a plurality of receiving areas <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> for receiving a locking pin. In the present example, the locking member <NUM> is substantially plate-shaped and three such receiving areas <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> can be seen. The two receiving areas <NUM>, <NUM> located close to each other correspond to the first and the second deployed positions, while the third recessed area <NUM> corresponds to the fully deployed position, i.e. the position shown in <FIG>.

As can be seen in <FIG> the shade member <NUM> has been moved to the fully deployed position, and a locking pin <NUM> is indicated as extending through the hook-shaped hinge <NUM> and into the third receiving area <NUM> (that receiving area is shown in <FIG>) of the locking member <NUM>, thereby locking the shade member <NUM> in this fully deployed position. Although not seen in the drawings, the locking member <NUM> has a corresponding receiving area for locking the shade member <NUM> in the stored position (i.e. the position in <FIG>).

As best seen in <FIG> and <FIG>, the mounting arrangement <NUM> may comprise at least one spring device <NUM>, such as a gas spring. In the illustrated example, the mounting arrangement <NUM> comprises two spring devices <NUM>, one spring device <NUM> for the respective outer hook-shaped hinge <NUM>. Thus, in the illustrated example, the central hook-shaped hinge <NUM>, which cooperates with the locking member <NUM>, is not associated with a spring device <NUM>.

The spring device <NUM> may accumulate potential energy when the shade member <NUM> is pivoted towards the stored position. The spring device <NUM> may release potential energy when the shade member <NUM> is pivoted away from the stored position. This facilitates moving the shade member <NUM> from the stored position towards the selectable deployed positions. The spring device <NUM> may have a first end connected to a remote connection point <NUM> of the mounting arrangement <NUM> (in this example the remote connection point is at a beam <NUM> extending along or forming part of the roof <NUM>), and a second end <NUM> connected to one of the hook-shaped hinges <NUM>.

As best seen in <FIG>, the shade member <NUM> may suitably be provided with one or more handles <NUM>, <NUM> in order to facilitate for the operator to move the shade member <NUM> between its different positions. For instance, there may be provided a first handle <NUM> at a distal end <NUM> of the shade member <NUM>, i.e. the end which is opposite to the end connected to the one or more hook-shaped hinges <NUM>, which in turn could be referred to as a proximal end <NUM>. Such a first handle <NUM> may be grippable from the outside of the vehicle, as well as from the inside of the vehicle. The first handle <NUM> may, for example, be gripped when the shade member <NUM> is in its stored position. A second handle <NUM> may be provided on the shade member <NUM> on the operator-facing side <NUM>, i.e. the side opposite to the sun-facing side <NUM> of the shade member <NUM>. The second handle <NUM> may be conveniently be gripped by the operator from within the cabin when the shade member <NUM> is in one of the deployed positions. Other or further handle locations are also conceivable. From this disclosure, it can be understood that in the stored position, the operator-facing side <NUM> may face upwardly towards the roof <NUM>, while the sun-facing side <NUM> will face downwardly away from the roof <NUM>. As the shade member is pivoted through the deployed positions to the fully deployed position, the sun-facing side <NUM> will get closer and closer to facing upwardly in the straight vertical direction, while the operator-facing side <NUM> will get closer and closer to facing downwardly in the straight vertical direction. It should also be noted that in the deployed positions, the distal end <NUM> of the shade member <NUM> may be the portion of the shade member that is located furthest from the longitudinal center (roll axis) of the vehicle, while the proximal end <NUM> may be the portion of the shade member <NUM> that is located closest to the longitudinal center of the vehicle. However, in the stored position of the shade member <NUM>, the distal end <NUM> may be located closest to the longitudinal center of the vehicle, while the proximal end <NUM> is located furthest therefrom.

From this disclosure, it may also be understood, that the path traveled by the distal end <NUM> when the shade member <NUM> is moved, is a path that follows an arc of a circle. For instance, when moving the shade member <NUM> from its stored position to its fully deployed position, the distal end <NUM> of the shade member <NUM> may follow a path which substantially corresponds to half a circle.

It should also be understood that for a hinge-shaped hook <NUM> to which the second end <NUM> of a spring device <NUM> is connected, the pivot axis of such a hinge-shaped hook <NUM> may be offset from the connecting point between the spring device <NUM> and the hinge-shaped hook <NUM>, whereby a linear movement of the spring device <NUM> is transferred into a pivoting movement of the hinge-shaped hook <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An industrial vehicle sun protector (<NUM>)
for the protection of an operator located in the
cabin of an industrial vehicle, comprising:
- a mounting arrangement (<NUM>) configured to be installed in the cabin of an industrial vehicle,
- a rigid shade member (<NUM>) for obstructing the passage of sun rays therethrough, the shade member being pivotably connected to the mounting arrangement such that the shade member is pivotable between a stored position and different selectable deployed positions, wherein adjustment from one of the deployed positions to another one of the deployed positions allows for protecting the operator from sun rays at different positions of the sun,
characterized in that
a pivoting of the shade member from the stored position to any one of the different selectable deployed positions results in an angular displacement of the shade member greater than <NUM>°.