Patent ID: 7578648

Claim:
A work machine, comprising: a frame; a front latch system carried by said frame at a front end of said work machine, said latch system including a pair of laterally spaced, generally vertically oriented plates with said pair of plates respectively containing a pair of laterally spaced, generally horizontally oriented slots, each said slot defined by an upper edge and a lower edge, said upper edge being longer than said lower edge and extending forward of said lower edge; a pair of lateral plates being respectively joined to and extending laterally outward from said pair of vertically oriented plates at respective locations below said slots; and a loader including a pair of laterally spaced braces, each said brace having a front end configured for contacting the ground when said loader is detached from said frame, and a cross member coupled between said braces, said cross member being received within said slots of said front latch system; and a pair of guide brackets attached to said braces, each bracket including a ramped guide surface configured to co-act with one of said lateral plates during attachment of said loader to said frame.