Patent ID: 8905434

Claim:
A rollover protection apparatus, comprising: (a) roll bar assembly including a lower portion that is mounted to a vehicle frame and an upper portion which is pivotably mounted to the lower portion so that the upper portion is operable to pivot between a raised position and a lowered position, the upper portion being biased toward the raised position, (b) a releasable lock associated with the upper portion and the lower portion for securing the upper portion in the raised position, and, (c) a lock releasing device for releasing the releasable lock associated with the upper portion and the lower portion, such that when the lock releasing device is activated, the releasable lock releases so that an overhead obstacle is able to move the upper portion of the roll bar assembly toward the lowered position as the roll bar assembly passes under the overhead obstacle and whereby the upper portion, being biased toward the raised position, returns to the raised position after clearing the overhead obstacle, and, so that if the lock releasing device is no longer being activated, the lock returns to the locked position thereby securing the upper portion in the raised position.