Patent ID: 8689939

Claim:
A step apparatus for heavy construction equipment and tree harvester having a leveling system for controlling a horizontal level of a cab and an upper frame, comprising: a step protector including a main body fixedly installed on one side of the upper frame, a step guide hole opened from an inside of the main body to an outside, a guide rail formed along a length direction of an inner side wall of the main body, and an insert hole formed on one side of the guide rail and open toward a vertically upward direction of the guide rail; a side step including a plurality of foot steps arranged at specified intervals on a step frame to form stairs, a step drawer formed on an upper part of the step frame and seated in the step guide hole, and a guide pin positioned adjacent to the step drawer and projected toward the side wall of the main body, wherein when the guide pin is slid along the guide rail, the step frame is seated in the main body or is drawn out from the inside of the main body; a folding actuator including a cylinder rod coupled to the step drawer to be extended and contracted, the folding actuator drawing the step drawer to the inside of the main body of the step protector; and a safety lever installed inside the cab to change a present mode to a safety mode or an operation mode; wherein if the safety lever is in the safety mode, the step frame is folded outside the main body of the step protector by the driving of the folding actuator, while if the safety lever is in the operation mode, the step frame is unfolded and seated inside the main body of the step protector by the driving of the folding actuator; wherein the folding actuator is rotatably fixed to a first mounting flange formed inside the main body, and the cylinder rod is rotatably fixed to a second mounting flange formed on one side of the step drawer; wherein a slit is formed adjacent to the step guide hole on a main body bottom part of the step protector, and one side of the step frame is slidable up and down along the slit; wherein a step support is attached to one side of the main body bottom part of the step protector and has an inclined support part adjacent to the slit; wherein when the step frame extends from a lower part of the main body of the step protector, the step frame is supported at a specified inclination angle by the inclined support part; and wherein a safety cover is disposed on a lower part of the step frame and seals the inside of the main body on the guide hole when the step frame is completely seated in the main body of the step protector.