Project Objective
Design, build, and test a seat positioning system that performs as a one-touch process, and integrates into the current Hyster-Yale forklift hood system by June 2017, with a prototyping budget of $1000.
Team
The project team is
Customer/Market Requirements
The project sponsor requires a device that will allow the opening of a forklift hood to be opened with one action. Device must release hood latch, move seat to the forward position, and decline the seat back to a forward position.
Design Challenges
The design team is focused on building a lightweight structure that allows the seat to be moved as mentioned above, while being easy to operate and robust.
Outcomes
The team has developed a conceptual design that utilizes cables to activate the existing levers when the main hood latch is released. The cables will translate force from the main latch to the two seat positioning levers and release their respective locks. A spring will then push the free seat into position.
We attatched levers to the existing seat levers controlling the seat sliding and backing. Our levers are activated by the motion of the hood raising, in turn activating the seat levers.
Figure 1 is a side view of the seat showing the release mechanism attached to the side of the seat.
