Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See Section 10, Rule 13]

AN ADJUSTABLE FOOTSTEP ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE

BY
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LIMITED, A COMPANY REGISTERED UNDER THE INDIAN COMPANIES ACT, 1913, HAVING ADDRESS AT MAHINDRA RESEARCH VALLEY (MRV), MAHINDRA WORLD CITY, PLOT NO.41/1, ANJUR P.O., CHENGALPATTU, KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT, TAMILNADU – 603004, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED

AN ADJUSTABLE FOOTSTEP ASSEMBLY FOR A VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to an adjustable footstep assembly for a vehicle. In particular, the present disclosure relates to the adjustable footstep assembly for an off-road vehicle such as tractor and construction equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A footrest assembly is essential component of an off-road vehicle such as agriculture and haulage vehicles. This footrest assembly is required to climb on to the vehicle and get down from the vehicle. Due to the usage condition, low ground clearance, and height of an operator, the foot step may vary with respect to the field and application, for example in the haulage vehicles, the foot step height will be constant with ground as vehicle will run on road, but however on the off-road condition like puddling field or any other agriculture field, ground clearance will vary from on road condition due to properties of soil which may lead to foot step failure or transmission skid failures.
In puddling application, the vehicle may sink into the filed due to the soil condition where a footstep may struck into the mud and water, resulting in damage of the footrest assembly. Further, in potato planting application while seed bed preparation footstep is fouling with bund, the seed bed may get damaged. To avoid damage to the seed bed, the footstep from footrest assembly is generally removed. Furthermore, when vehicle moves from one field to another, the footstep may get damaged with bund. Moreover, due to huge variation in anthropometry of operators, a fixed footstep position is not suitable because it may lead to poor ergonomics.
Therefore, there is a need for an adjustable footrest assembly that may adjust the position of footrest to suitable heights based on usage conditions and enhance the ergonomics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, an adjustable footstep assembly for a vehicle including an agricultural vehicle, a haulage vehicle, or a construction equipement is provided. The adjustable footstep assembly includes a guide block having at least two sleeves. The adjustable footstep assembly also includes a slider sliding along the guide block in a vertical direction relative to the guide block. The slider has a plurality of holes along a length of the slider. The adjustable footstep assembly further includes a footrest fixedly coupled to a lower end of the slider. The adjustable footstep assembly includes a locking assembly having a pin for each sleeve and a handle removably coupled to the pin. The pin is co-axially disposed with a spring within the sleeve of the guide block. One end of the spring rests on a flange of the pin and another end of the spring abuts against a collar of the sleeve. The pin is pulled against a spring force to selectively engage or disengage with the hole of the slider for adjusting a height of the footrest.
According to the present invention, the adjustable footstep assembly has an adjustment indicator on the slider.
According to the present invention, the guide block has a window for visual indication of the adjustment indicator.
According to the present invention, the guide block has a base removably coupled to the vehicle.
According to the present invention, the slider has a solid shaft welded at an upper end of the slider and a metal cap removably coupled to the solid shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a tractor;
FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an adjustable footstep assembly associated with the tractor of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the adjustable footstep assembly; and
FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional view of the adjustable footstep assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth relating to specific components to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle (100) including an agricultural vehicle, a haulage vehicle, or a construction equipement. It should be noted that vehicle (100) may include any other type of off-road vehicle such as harvester, bulldozer, and the like, without limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle (100) includes an adjustable footstep assembly (102). The adjustable footstep assembly (102) is mounted on a transmission housing of the vehicle (100). The adjustable footstep assembly (102) includes a guide block (104) fixedly coupled to the vehicle (100). The guide block (104) defines a hollow square prims shape with four faces. The front face of the guide block (104) has a window (106) for visual indication of an adjustment indicator (108). The guide block (104) has a substantial triangular shaped base (130) on rear face to removably couple the guide block (104) on to the the vehicle (100). The base (130) may be removably coupled with the help of mechanical fasteners such as screws, bolts, rivets, and the like. In another embodiment, the base (130) may be fixedly coupled with the vehicle (100) by welding process.
The guide block (104) has at least two sleeves (110) fixedly coupled to the guide block (104). The sleeves (110) are welded to the lateral face of the guide block (104). The sleeve (110) has a cylindrical shape. The sleeve (110) includes a collar (112) at one end. It should be noted that the guide block (104) may have any number of sleeves (110) without limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
The adjustable footstep assembly (102) also includes a slider (114) slidably engaged with the guide block (104). The slider (114) has a substantially square shaped cross-section along its length. The slider (114) defines an upper end and a lower end. The slider (114) has a solid shaft (115) (as shown in FIG. 4) welded to the upper end. The solid shaft has external threads thereon. The slider (114) also has a metal cap (117) having an internal thread. The metal cap (117) is removably coupled to the solid shaft (115) to prevent free fall of the slider (114) due to gravity. The slider (114) has a front face, a rear face, and a pair of lateral faces similar to the guide block (104). The slider (114) slides along the guide block (104) in a vertical direction relative to the guide block (104). The slider (114) has a plurality of holes (116) along the length of the slider (114). The holes (116) are positioned at the lateral faces of the slider (114). In the illustrated embodiment, the slider (114) has five through holes (116). It should be noted that the slider (114) may have any number of holes (116) without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The slider (114) also has the adjustment indicator (108) for visual indication of height adjustment. In the illustrated embodiment, the adjustment indicator (108) includes height position as +2, +1, N, -1, -2. Further, these height positions are visible through the window (106) provided on the front face of the guide block (104). It should be noted that the adjustment indicator (108) may have any other type of adjustment indicator without limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
The adjustable footstep assembly (102) further includes a footrest (118) fixedly coupled to the lower end of the slider (114). The footrest (118) is welded to the slider (114). The footrest (118) may be fastened to the slider (114) without any limitation. The footrest (118) may be adjusted with the help of guide block (104) and slider (114) as per application requirements and ergonomics.
Referring to FIG. 4, the adjustable footstep assembly (102) includes a locking assembly (120) having a pin (122) for each sleeve (110). The pin (122) has a cylindrical shape. The pin (122) defines a flange (124) proximate one end. In the illustrated embodiment, the locking assembly (120) has two pins (122) corresponding to the number of sleeves (110). These plurality of pins (122) are used to hold the slider (114) firmly with the guide block (104) when the operator stands on the footrest (118).
The locking assembly (120) also has a plurality of springs (126). In the illustrated embodiment, the springs (126) are helical springs. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the locking assembly (120) has two springs (126) corresponding to the number of sleeves (110) and number of pins (122).
The locking assembly (120) also includes a handle (128) removably coupled to the pins (122) with the help of plurality of fasteners (132) corresponding to the pins (122). In the illustrated embodiment, the handle (128) is fastened to the pins (122).
The pin (122) and the spring (126) are co-axially disposed within the sleeve (110) of the guide block (104). One end of the spring (126) rests on the flange (124) of the pin (122) and another end of the spring (126) abuts against the collar (112) of the sleeve (110). Further, the pin (122) may be pulled against a spring force to selectively engage or disengage with the hole (116) of the slider (114) to adjust the height of the footrest (118).
This proposed invention helps to adjust footstep height with respect to the field applications like puddling, ploughing, haulage, and the like, to avoid the footstep assembly damage and part failure. The height adjustment of footrest provides easy entry and exit for the operator in a vehicle cabin. This invention has provision to adjust the footstep height with respect to different tyre size. Further, the operator may adjust the footstep height position as per his/her comfort thereby achieving better comfort with the requirements of IS standards. This invention also includes the adjustment indicator on the slider for visual indication of the operator. Further, this visual indication provides better clarity on which height position operator should adjust the footrest for maximum comfort. Moreover, this adjustable footrest assembly can be retro-fitted on all types of agricultural vehicles and haulage vehicles.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
Any discussion of devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
, Claims:
1. An adjustable footstep assembly (102) for a vehicle (100) including an agricultural vehicle, a haulage vehicle, or a construction equipement, the adjustable footstep assembly (102) comprising:
a guide block (104) having at least twosleeves (110) ;
a slider (114) sliding along the guide block (104) in a vertical direction relative to the guide block (104), the slider (114) has a plurality of holes (116) along a length of the slider (114);
a footrest (118) fixedly coupled to a lower end of the slider (114); and
a locking assembly (120) having a pin (122) for each sleeve (110) and a handle (128) removably attached to the pin (122), the pin (122) isco-axially disposed with a spring (126) within the sleeve (110) of the guide block (104), one end of the spring (126) rests on a flange (124) of the pin (122) and another end of the spring (126) abuts against a collar (112) of the sleeve (110), the pin (122) is pulled against a spring (126) force to selectively engage or disengage with the hole (116) of the slider (114) for adjusting a height of the footrest (118).
2. The adjustable footstep assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjustable footstep assembly (102) has an adjustment indicator (108) on the slider (114).
3. The adjustable footstep assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guide block (104) has a window (106) for visual indication of an adjustment indicator (108).
4. The adjustable footstep assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide block (104) has a base (130) removably coupled to the vehicle (100).

5. The adjustable footstep assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the slider (114) has a solid shaft (115) welded at an upper end of the slider (114) and a metal cap (117) removably coupled to the solid shaft (115).