Patent ID: 7080708

Claim:
A field adaptable safety protection system for a skid-steer machine including a loader having a pair of hydraulically operable lifting arms capable of raising and lowering an implement, and wherein the skid-steer machine includes an access door for entering a cabin, and includes a machine wiring harness having first and second mating connector plugs for electrically connecting a first group of electrical conductors from one electrical controller at one location to electro-mechanical loader control at another location, the field adaptable safety protection system comprising: a field mountable door sensing switch means having at least first and second terminals electrically connected to a pair of contacts, said field mountable door sensing switch means being arranged such that said pair of contacts may be in a first state with said door being in an open condition, and are in a second state with said door being in a closed condition; a field added wiring harness having a group of electrical conductors said field added wiring harness terminated at each end thereof with first and second connector plugs, respectively, adapted to respectively mate with said first and second mating connector plugs of said machine wiring harness, said a field added wiring harness capable of, (i) correspondingly connecting a selected group of said first group of electrical conductors from said one electrical controller to said electro-mechanical loader control through said field added wiring harness, (ii) connecting at least a selected one electrical conductor from said first group of conductors coupled through said first mating connector plug through said first connector plug of said field added wiring harness connector plug to a first electrical conductor having a terminating end adapted to be electrically connected to said first terminal of said field mountable door sensing switch means, and (iii) connecting a second electrical conductor having a terminating end adapted to be electrically connected to said second terminal of said field mountable door sensing switch means to at least a selected one electrical conductor of said first group of conductors coupled to said second mating connector plug of said machine wiring harness through said second connector plug of said field added wiring harness, where said field mountable door sensing switch means is operable to disable operation of the skid-steer machine loader lifting arm control functions with said access door being in an open condition.