CA1110559A - Goods-handling method and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehicles - Google Patents
Goods-handling method and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehiclesInfo
- Publication number
- CA1110559A CA1110559A CA306,484A CA306484A CA1110559A CA 1110559 A CA1110559 A CA 1110559A CA 306484 A CA306484 A CA 306484A CA 1110559 A CA1110559 A CA 1110559A
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Abstract
CANADIAN PATENT APPLICATION
OF
CLAES NORDSTROM
FOR
GOODS-HANDLING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND
UNLOADING OF TRANSPORT VEHICLES
Abstract of the Disclosure This invention relates to a load-handling apparatus which is intended to be used for loading and particularly unloading of palletized or other goods which in relation to a base on which the goods are deposited, like the pallet of palletized goods, define at least one open-ended through channel of restricted width and height, and particularly for loading and unloading of such goods on road and rail vehicles, ships, aircraft etc. and also for loading and unloading of goods in large goods containers. Characteristic of the load-handling apparatus according to the invention is that it comprises at least two elongated, relatively narrow and long sections one of which forms a lower supporting section while the other forms an upper lifter and conveyer section raisably and lowerably mounted on the supporting section and parallel therewith and forming together with the first-mentioned section an elongated unit which is narrower than the open-ended through channel and which in the uppermost position of the lifter and conveyer section has a greater height and in the lowermost position of the lifter and conveyer section has a smaller height than the open-ended through channel, and a mechanism operating between the two sections, by means of which mechanism the lifter and conveyer section after insertion of the elongated unit beneath the goods is raisable relative to the supporting section resting on the same base as the goods to lift the goods for permitting conveyance of the goods along the lifter and conveyer section, the lifting mechanism permitting depo-sition of the goods by lowering of the lifter and conveyer section such that the elongated unit can thereafter be retracted from the goods.
1a
OF
CLAES NORDSTROM
FOR
GOODS-HANDLING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND
UNLOADING OF TRANSPORT VEHICLES
Abstract of the Disclosure This invention relates to a load-handling apparatus which is intended to be used for loading and particularly unloading of palletized or other goods which in relation to a base on which the goods are deposited, like the pallet of palletized goods, define at least one open-ended through channel of restricted width and height, and particularly for loading and unloading of such goods on road and rail vehicles, ships, aircraft etc. and also for loading and unloading of goods in large goods containers. Characteristic of the load-handling apparatus according to the invention is that it comprises at least two elongated, relatively narrow and long sections one of which forms a lower supporting section while the other forms an upper lifter and conveyer section raisably and lowerably mounted on the supporting section and parallel therewith and forming together with the first-mentioned section an elongated unit which is narrower than the open-ended through channel and which in the uppermost position of the lifter and conveyer section has a greater height and in the lowermost position of the lifter and conveyer section has a smaller height than the open-ended through channel, and a mechanism operating between the two sections, by means of which mechanism the lifter and conveyer section after insertion of the elongated unit beneath the goods is raisable relative to the supporting section resting on the same base as the goods to lift the goods for permitting conveyance of the goods along the lifter and conveyer section, the lifting mechanism permitting depo-sition of the goods by lowering of the lifter and conveyer section such that the elongated unit can thereafter be retracted from the goods.
1a
Description
5~9 This invention relates to a goods-handling me-thod and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehicles, par-ticularly palletized goods but also other goods which like palletized goods permit the insertion of lift arms beneath the goods between ,said goods and a base.
It has been established by way of time studies that only about hal~ the terminal time for loading and unloading of road vehicles is a tolerably effective work time while the other half oE
the terminal -time is spent in waiting. The waste times and the effective work times are thus approximately equal,'and it goes without saying that the waiting time costs which the consumer has to pay in the price of the merchandise, are con-siderable.
Another disadvantage resides in that the goods handling operation proper is not carried out as effectively as is desired, because of aeficient methods and load handling equipment. The transported goods to a great extent are palletized or uniti7ed goods, and the load handling technique at the terminal proper has made use of this fact for effectivization of the goods hand-ling technique. ~ relatively small number of load carrying vehicles are also equipped with fixed conveying installations (roller conveyers, conveyer belts) which permit rapid transfer of goods between the terminal and the vehicle, but this solution involves considerable disadvantages. It may be mentioned by way of example that it is expensive to equip every individual vehicle with a fixed load handling apparatus which besides would often impede using the vehicle for goods which cannot be handled by means of load handling apparatuses of this kind. I-t can therefore RB/w~h be established that the vehicles but very rarelv are equipped with ~,, .
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' . " ~ ,' ' ' load handling apparatuses and therefore have to queue up waiting for assistance from the equipment of the goods terminal, which mostly is of such a type that loading and unloading will be both time-consuming and exacting.
The problem underlying the invention is that the loading and unloadin~ systems uti]ized at present require an expensive and relatively heavy equipment which is fixedly mounted on the vehicle platform; besides they are relatively slow and re~uire heavy manual work. By their fixed mounting on the vehicle they restrict the usefulness of the vehicle for tranporting goods of varying kind, such as gravel in alternation with palletized goods.
The alternative is handlingby industrial trucks which re-quire much more personnel and a considerably longer loading time per vehicle. Other alternatives have also been suggested.
For loading and unloading of containers from road vehicles there has been sug~ested a mobile conveyer comprising a frame and a longitudinally extensible, so-called "bellows t~pe" struc-ture , viz. a structure which can be extended to several times its collapsed length and is provided with a roller or wheel path which receives the goods from a conveyer on the frame and on which the goods can be conveyea onto the road vehicle where they aretransferred manually from the end of the "accordion conveyer"~
This device can also be used for unloading and then requires that the goods are lifted onto the "bellows type" conveyer.
variant of this loading apparatus includes instead of the "bellows ty~e" conveyer a pivotally mounted belt conveyer, the loading apparatus being positioned laterally of the vehicle with the conveyer pivoted so as to extend inwardly over the - ' ~ ' - -h.~j~59 platform. This conveyer requires that the vehicle platform is accessibl~ from the side and necessitates heavy manual work for lifting off and lifting on goods, on loadiny and unloading.
It has also been suggested to use belt conveyers which can be moved in over a vehicle platform longitudinally thereof either with a cantilever arm or an arm supported on the vehicle platform. Also in this case heave manual work is required for lifting the goods, at least when unloading is to be effected.
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which permits relatively rapid and easy loading and unloading of goods of the kind indicated in the foregoing. Said apparatus eliminates heavy manual work and does not bind the vehicle to the transport of unitized goods, such as palletized goods or goods equiva~
lent from the view point of handling.
According to the invention there is provided a load handling apparatus comprising a pair of elongate load handling members adapted to be inserted into a corresponding pair of through openings of restricted width and height provided in palletized or other goods to be lifted for permitting insertion of the lift forks of a forklift truck or other lifting means beneath the goods. The load handling members are in the form of two substantially identical elongate parallel units, each of which consists of a lower supporting section and an upper lif-ting sectlon raisably and lowerably mounted on the supporting section. The sup-porting sections of the two units are interconnected at .
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first end portions thereof by a transvexse connect.ing device so that the load handling apparatus forms a fork- . ...
like structure with the two units extending from the transverse co~necting device in parallel with ~nd laterally spaced from one another. The lifting sections of the two units are collectively raisable and lowerable and the fork-like structure forms an extension of a telescopically extensible conveyer. - /
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The invention is described in greater detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanyiny diagrammatic drawings in which:-Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a goods terminal witha warehouse and a number of loading docks;
Fig. 2 shows one of the loading docks in Fi~. 1 and fragmentarily a transport vehicle or trailer into which palletized goods are loaded in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 3 shows a variant of a loading dock and in con-nection therewith a verticall~ adjustable transfer conveyer and a load handling apparatus according to the invention;
Figs. 4 and 5 fragmentarily show two embodiments of an apparatus including a loading and unloading conveyer accord-ing to the invention, the cross-sectional height of which can be increased and reduced;
Fig. 6 shows a modification of the apparatus in Fig. 5~;
Fig. 7 shows a load handling apparatus with a main conveyer and two conveyer arms projecting therefrom;
Fig. 3 is a section on the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 shows a load handling apparatus with sloping front end;
Fig. lO is a diagrammatic view of a transport system in which a load handling apparatus according to the invention is included. -Fig. ] shows by way of example of the application of the invention a covered transport vehicle 1 in position at a loc~d-ing doc~ ~ to be loaded with palletized goods which are discharged ~; g, from a so-called automatic or roller compartment store 3 to , .
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which the goods are moved on a roller belt conveyer 4 and li~-ted b~ means of a so-called coordinate crane 5 and sorted into the roller compartments 6 of the store. Loading and unloading of the store can be con-trolled by computer in conventional manner. The bottle neck in the unloading operation is the transfer oE the goods from the conveyers (e.g. the roller coi,-veyers or roller tracks) to the transport vehicle (cargo truck, trailer, se~itrailer).
The idea underlying the invention is to make use of the platform of the truc~ (trailer, semitrailer) as an unloading point ~rhen the ~oods are moved onto the platorr?, ~hich m~Xes it yossible to use load handling (lifting and transrorting)aE~paratus o a l~ht-~ight construction. In other~lords, it is Fossible to use a relatively light-weight load handling construction for the majority of load handling cases. As will appear from the following this load-handling construction or apparatus can be attended to by one operator, e.g. the driver, because of its simplicity and flexible adaptability to conventional convevers on loading docks.
Fig. 2 illustrates an example of how goods carri-ed on pallets 7 are transferred from the loading dock 2 to the vehicle platform (here shown as an open platform) by e.g. electrical control pulses to electrical drive motors for the conveyers from a control stand 8, and Fig. 3 shows a load-handling ap~ara-tus 9 according to the invention placed on the vehicle platformO
As will appear from the following description, this load-handling apparatus may be embodied in different ways, all embodiments havin~ in common tha-t the apparatus can readilv be place~ on the vehicle latforrl and that after the loadina o the goods, it rmay easily be withdrawn -' q~l5,~
from the underside of the goods without changing the position thereof. In Fig. 3 there is sho~n bv way of example another type of loading dock 2' on which goods can be conveyed from two opposite directions to a reversible conveyer 10, turntable or -the like from which the goods are transferred to a vertically a~ustable conveyer 11 and from there to a loading dock 2~ which may be vertically adjustable and from which the goods are trans-ferred to the load-handling apparatus 9 according to the invention.
Fig. ~ shows an example of a load-handling lifter and conveyer apparatus according to the invention. This apparatus conlprises a subframe 15 and a conveyer 16 which is raisable and lowerable in relation to the subframe and may be in the form of a roller conveyer. One or more or all rollers 17 may be driven, e.g. by eIectric motors, and should preferably be ~ -drivable in opposite directions to permit both loading and un-loading. The subframe 15 may be in the form of a carriage having a number of supporting-rollers or ~lheels 18, which may advantage-ously be connected to drive means ~not shown~, The subframe 15 includes two laterally spaced beams 19 (only one shown in Fig. 4) which may be interconnected only at the rear ends and mav be open at the front (right-hand~ ends as shown in Fig. 4. The conveyer 16 may fundamentallv be of the same construction as the frame, and in the embodiment in Fig. 4 the load-handling apparatus can therefore be in the form of a fork with two elongated horizontal arms. The subframe 15 and the conveyer 16 are interconnected movably in relation to each other such as by means of a number of longitudinally spaced levers or links 21 which are pivotally connected to both the subframe and the -5,5~
conveyer. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 these links 21 consti-tute draw links by means of which the conveyer 16 may be raised in relation to the subframe lS by exerting a force on the conveyer 16 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the subframe 15. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 said force can be exerted by means of one or more hydraulic cylinders 22 which are supported in one or both beams 19 which may be for example inverted U-beams. The piston rod 23 has a head 24 which extends upwardly for exerting pressure against an abutment 25 fixed to the corresponding conveyer beam 20 when the piston rod 23 is retracted into the cylinder 22.
With the aid of a suitable stop means shown in the form of a stop abutment 26 secured to the subframe 15, and stop means 27 on the conveyer 20, which are adapted to cooperate with said stop abutment 26, the links 21 can be prevented from being raised into fully vertical position. This is advantageous in that lowering of the conveyer 16 (collapse of the load-handling apparatus) can be carried out by the weight of the conveyer 16 (or the weight of the con~-eyer 16 plus the weight of the load). In fully collapsed position of the load-handling apparatus the longitudinal beams of the conveyer 16, which may be in the form of beams of U-section, can rest against the upper side of the subframe 15. When the conveyer 16 is lowered the head 24 of the piston rod is accommodated between the flanges of the opposite inverted U-section beam 20 of the conveyer 16, and the stop means 26 can be accommodated in a similar way or can lie at the outer side of the opposite beam 20. Of course, the means 24 and 26 shall not reach with their ,: ,'' ~ ~' :
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upper ends above the conveyer rollers 17 when the load-handling apparatus 19 is collapsed, in order not to preclude using the load-handling apparatus in -the manner described in the ollowing.~, The load-handling apparatus 9 should be so dimensioned that its width and height (the height between the undersides of -the wheels 18 of the subframe 15 and -the upper sides of the rollers 17 of the conveyer 16) allows the introduction of the load-handling apparatus with its elongated conveyer and lifting arms into such channels 30 which are usually arranged in the subframes of pallets to facilitate handling of the pallets by forklift trucks, and it shall be possible to reali2e this introduction of the conveyer an~ lifting arms of the load-handling apparatus when the pallets 7 are positioned on a base.
When the load-handling apparatus is utilized for loading goods onto a vehicle pla-tform as shown in Fig. 3, the conveyer 16 of the load-handling apparatus should be raised relative to the subframe 15 to a height sufficient to allow the pallets 31 to go free from the vehicle platform when they are transferred to it. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 the loading dock 2' shall therefore be set to such a height position that ~he roller conveyer or roller track conveyer on the loading dock 2' has its loading plane on a level with that of the conveyer 16, i.e. on a level with the upper sides of the rollers 17 when the conveyer 16 is raised sufficiently relative to the subframe 15 of the loading apparatus to allow the pallets to go free from the vehicle platform. With the use of two load-handling apparatuses 9 oE an appropriate length for the vehicle platform the conveyers of the loading - :
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dock 2' can simultaneously transfer two double rows of pallets with goods thereon to the conveyers 16 of the two load-handling apparatuses 9. The conveyers 16 are then lowered onto the respective subframes 15. In this position the dimensions of the load-handling apparatuses shall be such that the pallets rest on the vehicle platform. As a result, the load-handling apparatuses on the vehicle platform can without any difficulty be withdrawn from the undersides of the pallets, and it is even conceivable for the load-handling apparatuses to be withdrawn from the vehicle platform on the support wheels 18 or by the conveyer rollers 17 if any one of these are driven.
If the rollers 17 are to be used for this purpose the height positions of the conveyers 16 are first so adjusted that the rollers 17 only engage the undersides of the pallets with driving friction while the pallets with the mc~jority of their weight rest on the vehicle platform.
The load-handling apparatus fragmentarily and schematically shown in Fig. 5 is a modification of the embodiment of Fig. 4 and differs therefrom in that hydraulic cylinders 35 are used for lifting -the conveyer portion 16 in relation to the subframe portion 15. It is readily seen from Fig. 5 how the conveyer 16 can be raised and lowered in re lation to the subframe 15.
The load-handling apparatuses shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are intended for so-called "short side handling" of palletized goods, which means that use is made of conventional pallet channels for insertion of conventional lift forks o~ fork lift trucks~ and which channels are wholly open downwardly .
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and at the short sides of the pallet.
According to the invention, the loading and unloading is carried out by means of the apparatus having a subframe and a raisable roller track or other conveyer track,which apparatus is moved ln or placed on the vehicle platform and can be vertlcally adjusted so that the pallets when placed or transferred onto the apparatus according to the inven-tion do not with their undersides touch the vehicle platform on which the apparatus is placed. Thus, the pallets with the goods thereon can be easily transported on the apparatus in the longitudinal direction thereof, and when the pallets have reached the intended position on the platform, the upper conveyer portion of the apparatus is lowered so that the pallets will stand on the platform and the apparatus which preferably is fork-shaped with elongated arms can then be withdrawn. For moving the load-handling apparatus in over the vehicle platform and for returning the apparatus from the vehicle platform use may be made of for example `a rack transmission, a hydraulic cylinder or other suitable means, ~.
instead of using driven wheels 18 or rollers 17 as described above.
To facilitate transfer of the fork-shaped load-handling apparatus to and from the vehicle platform the fork arms may be articulated so as not to jam when introduced into the channels of the pallets. It may also be suitable to use electronic guards, such as electromagnets or photocells, for guiding the load-handling apparatus onto the vehicle platform so that the pallets with goods or uni~ized loads thereon when .. .
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transferred -to the vehicle platform move in predetermined paths. To prevent injuries to persons a supervising sys-tem (for example photoelectrical) may be required to prevent transfer of ~oods should obstacles (such as the operator's feet, legs etc.) appear in the conveyance path.
The load-handling apparatuses described in the fore going are very flexible as they can be adapted to most of the goods conveyance systems on the market for transport vehicles of various kinds, including trucks, trailers, railway waggons, aircraft and ships, for unitized load-handling; for example, handling of goods on pallets of the type "Europa-palll-, container-loaded goods etc.
The full effective loading height of the transport vehicles can be exploited because the pallets move only some centimetres over the surface of the vehicle platform during the loading and unloading operations.
The load-handling apparatuses described in the fore-going can be adapted for handling of goods without making use of the channels of the pallets, in which case the pallets should be placed on longitudinal supports (for example beams) on the base, for example the vehicle platform! whereby channel-like spaces are obtained between the base and under~-sides of the pallets and handling operations equivalent to tha-t described above may be effected.
However, it is also possible to modify the load-handling apparatus according to the present invention so that it can be used for loading and unloading and can be removed from the loaded goods without it beiny necessary to make use of the ;.
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channels of the pallets or other artifically arranged channels Fig. 6 illustrates a load-handling apparatus 9a according to the invention, which is intended Eor this purpose.
In the embodiment illustrated the conveyer of the load-handling apparatus comprises two relatively movable parts. One part 16a may be a roller conveyer and has a fork-shaped front end portion 16b the arms 40a, b, c of which define intervening grooves 41 for a fork-shaped extension 16c of the conveyer.
The extension 16c can be projected and retracted with regard to the conveyer 16a, 16b. The extension conveyer 16c may com-prise a fork-shaped conveyer of the type illustrated in Fig. 5, the arms 42 of which are movable in the spaces 41 between the arms 40 of the conveyer portion 16b. This portion has at its front end, for example at the outer side arms 40 a, b, raisable and lowerable abutments 43 which can be projected to stop the conveyance of pallets and can be retracted for allowing the pallets to advance to the extensible conveyer 16c. This con-veyer is operable by means of a piston and cylinder unit 44 which may be of the hydraulic type and may have the form of a telescoping cylinder if a large stro~e length is desired. The fork arms 42 are provlded at their front ends with retractable abutments which may be the front rollers 17c of the extension conveyer 16c. In the normal position of the conveyer 16c its conveying rollers 17c are on a level with the rollers 17a, 17b of the conveyer 16a~ 17b. It should be observed, however, that the conveyer 16a, 16b can be of decreasing height towards the front end thereof, which applies also to the extension con-veyer 16c which, however, in an embodiment of the type shown :
in Fig. 5 can be lowered more at one end by its cylinders 35 (cf. F'ig. 5) if an inclina-tion is desired when the goods are discharged.
By raising the Eork conveyer 16c so that its rollers 17c lift a pallet on -the Eront portion 16b of the conveyer 16a s~id palle-t can -then be advanced away from the conveyer section 16b by means of the fork conveyer 16c by said last-mentioned conveyer being advanced under the action of its cylinder unit 44. As already mentioned, the front abutments 43 on the con-veyer section 16b can be lowerable for instance by means of a piston cylinder unit, or the abutments may be sufficiently low to permi-t the fork conveyer 16c to lift the pallet over said abutments 43. ~hen the fork conveyer 16c with the pallet supported thereby has been advanced to the contemplated deli-very position on the vehicle platform the upper conveyer sec-tion of the fork conveyer 16c is lowered with respect to the subframe (15 in Fig. 5) for delivery of the goods. It should be observed that the pallet can in this case rest on the fork conveyer 16c transversely thereof, which means that the pallet rests with its bottom boards 50 on the fork conveyer (cf. Fig.
3), but saidfork conveyer can also be used in the same way as has been described for the fork conveyers in Figs. 4 and 5. In the latter case the fork conveyer 16c can be moved away from a pallet deposited onto the vehicle platform in the manner earlier described, and in the former case (with the pallet placed transversely of the fork conveyer, i.e. so-called "long side handling") the Eork conveyer 16c cannot be entirely unloaded before it has been retracted from the delivered goodsD
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However, the fork conveyer 16c can be lowered with its con~
veying section (conveying section 16 in Fig. 5), and as already mentioned this section can be inclined in a forward direction to permi-t retrac-tion o the fork conveyer 16c without carrying the pallet along in its retraction movement. The rollers of the fork conveyer 16c may during the retraction movement be driven "forwardly" at the same ra-te as the fork conveyer is retracted in order that the goods shall be retained sufficiently exac-tly at the point intended for the deposition.
After a pallet has been deposited the fork conveyer 16c is returned for receiving the next pallet from the conveyer 16a, 16b.
The load-handling apparatus illustrated in F.ig. 6 can without any difficulty be used for unloading palletized goods if the pallets are positioned with their channels facing in the proper direction, that is, such that the fork conveyer 16c can be introduced into the channels, but if the pallets are transversely positioned (Fig. 6) it is necessary first to create a space for inserting the fork arms of the fork con-veyer 16c beneath the bottom boards 50 of the pallet, e.g.
by placing the pallets on longitudinal rails or like members on the vehicle platform 45 in order to so create the possibi-lity of inserting the arms 42 of the fork conveyer 16c beneath the bot-t.om boards of the pallets.
As an alternative of th.e load-handling apparatus illustrated in Fig. 6 use can be made of a load-handling apparatus 9b of the -type shown in Fig. 7, in which the fork conveyer 16c' comprises two cantilever arms which need not .. . .. ~
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necessarily be equipped with driven rollers and which are guided in grooves in the conveyer 16a, 16b and can be optionally inserted in the longitudinal, downwardly open channels o-f the pallets or in the channels defined by the bottom boards 50 oE
the pallets (cf. Fig. 3). In this case the arms 42' oE the fork conveyer 16c' can simply be of the same design as the arms of the conveyer section 16 in the load-handling apparatuses in Figs. 4 and 5. However, these arms 42' are raisable and lowerable at their rear ends for instance by means of hydraulic cylinders 51 with pistons 52 shown in Fig. 8 which engage a bottom plate 53 of the conveyer 16a/16b. To keep the arms 42' of the fork conveyer 16c' with loads supported thereon in canti-lever position the rear ends of the arms 42' are widened so as to form heads 54 which are guided in the grooves 41 and which in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 can be fixed on two different levels between the fork arms 40a, b, c of the conveyer 16a/16b, such as the arms 40a and 40b in Fig. 8. For this fixation use can be made of hydraulically operated wedges or guide rollers 60 which by the action of a hydraulic cylinder can be moved in opposite directions into guide grooves 61, 62 in the side walls of arms 40a, 40b. The hydraulic cylinder 51 as well as -the hydraulic cylinder 60' are housed in the arm head portion 54 which is of a suitable hollow construction herefor.
By means of the apparatus described, goods can be moved from the conveyer 16a/16b to an optional position on the vehicle pla-tform ahead of said conveyer in the following manner.
Palle~s are conveyéd on the conveyer 16 to a stop - :
position substantially in the same way as by means of the conveyer described with reference to Fig. 6. During this movement the arms 42' of the conveyer 16c' are lowered (or retracted) to a level such that the upper side of the conve~er is beneath the level of the rollers of the conveyer 16a/16b.
Pallets can be moved onto the conveyer 16a/16b supported on the vehicle platform 45 and into engagement with a raisable and lowerable abutment, for example a raisable and lowerable roller 65, on the conveyer section 16a. Then a pallet is moved over the lowered conveyer 16c' to a position in engagement with an abutment 66 at the front end of the conveyer section 16b. The conveyer 16c' can then be moved to an upper position behind`the frontpallet, and regardless of whether the pallet turns its long side or its short side towards the conveyer 16c' the arms 42' can be moved into the longitudinal, downwardly open channels of the pallet or into such transverse pallet channels which usually underneath at the long sides of the pallet are de~ined by bottom boards of the pallet. After in-sertion of the arms 42' in this way the fork head portions 54 are raised by the action of the hydraulic cylinders 51 so that the rollers 60 supported by the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 60' are moved into the upper guide grooves 61 in the arms 40a, 40b of the conveyer section 16b (Fig. 8). When the arms of the conveyer 16c' are raised in this way the pallet is lifted from the conveyer section 16b and is advanced by the forward movement of the conveyer 16c' under the action ~:
of the cylinders 44. Then the conveyer 16c' is lowered for placing the pallet on the vehicle platform 45, after which 1~
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' .' ' :' the conveyer 16c' can be retracted. If desired, the guide rollers 60 can be moved into the lower guide grooves 62.
Of course, it is possible to use instead of hydraulic cylinders for advancing the conveyer 16c or 16c' o-ther con ventional transmissions such as chains, racks, gear wheels etc. and the conveyers described naturally need not necessarily be roller conveyers.
Fig. 9 shows schematically an auxiliary apparatus in the form of a wedge-shaped sliding track 67 supported at the front end of a roller conveyer and adjoining a supporting conveyer surface which may be in the form of small rollers or, optionally, balls. The pallets supplied can slide on the sloping surface of the wedge, the outer end of which may optionally be pressed in beneath pallets placed on the vehicle platform by suitable means also in such cases in which the roller wedge cannot be inserted beneath the conveyer wi-thout the latter being lifted.
Finally, Fig. 10 shows a conveying system lncluding a connecting track 2 with a switch 70 for reversing the direction of mo-tion of the pallets, and in conjunction with the swi-tch 70 there is arranged a transfer conveyer 71 for conveying pallets or like goods to a vertically adjustable table 72. Said ~able 72 is carried on a frame which is operable in conventional manner by means of a hydraulic cylinder for moving the table 72 in horizontal position upwards and down-wards. From said table 72 the conveyer 16, 16a/16b, 16c or 16c' can be moved onto a vehicle platform or the like in correct level position. In this case the table 72 and its fra~e73 .
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constitutes parts of the load-handliny apparatus according to the invention.
I-t should be observed that an arm 16 in Fiys. 4 and 5 coulcl be used as a load-handllng apparatus in cer-tain simple cases without -Eorming a part of a fork.
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It has been established by way of time studies that only about hal~ the terminal time for loading and unloading of road vehicles is a tolerably effective work time while the other half oE
the terminal -time is spent in waiting. The waste times and the effective work times are thus approximately equal,'and it goes without saying that the waiting time costs which the consumer has to pay in the price of the merchandise, are con-siderable.
Another disadvantage resides in that the goods handling operation proper is not carried out as effectively as is desired, because of aeficient methods and load handling equipment. The transported goods to a great extent are palletized or uniti7ed goods, and the load handling technique at the terminal proper has made use of this fact for effectivization of the goods hand-ling technique. ~ relatively small number of load carrying vehicles are also equipped with fixed conveying installations (roller conveyers, conveyer belts) which permit rapid transfer of goods between the terminal and the vehicle, but this solution involves considerable disadvantages. It may be mentioned by way of example that it is expensive to equip every individual vehicle with a fixed load handling apparatus which besides would often impede using the vehicle for goods which cannot be handled by means of load handling apparatuses of this kind. I-t can therefore RB/w~h be established that the vehicles but very rarelv are equipped with ~,, .
- ~ :
, - ~
.. . .
.
: ': . ' ', :, ' :
' . " ~ ,' ' ' load handling apparatuses and therefore have to queue up waiting for assistance from the equipment of the goods terminal, which mostly is of such a type that loading and unloading will be both time-consuming and exacting.
The problem underlying the invention is that the loading and unloadin~ systems uti]ized at present require an expensive and relatively heavy equipment which is fixedly mounted on the vehicle platform; besides they are relatively slow and re~uire heavy manual work. By their fixed mounting on the vehicle they restrict the usefulness of the vehicle for tranporting goods of varying kind, such as gravel in alternation with palletized goods.
The alternative is handlingby industrial trucks which re-quire much more personnel and a considerably longer loading time per vehicle. Other alternatives have also been suggested.
For loading and unloading of containers from road vehicles there has been sug~ested a mobile conveyer comprising a frame and a longitudinally extensible, so-called "bellows t~pe" struc-ture , viz. a structure which can be extended to several times its collapsed length and is provided with a roller or wheel path which receives the goods from a conveyer on the frame and on which the goods can be conveyea onto the road vehicle where they aretransferred manually from the end of the "accordion conveyer"~
This device can also be used for unloading and then requires that the goods are lifted onto the "bellows type" conveyer.
variant of this loading apparatus includes instead of the "bellows ty~e" conveyer a pivotally mounted belt conveyer, the loading apparatus being positioned laterally of the vehicle with the conveyer pivoted so as to extend inwardly over the - ' ~ ' - -h.~j~59 platform. This conveyer requires that the vehicle platform is accessibl~ from the side and necessitates heavy manual work for lifting off and lifting on goods, on loadiny and unloading.
It has also been suggested to use belt conveyers which can be moved in over a vehicle platform longitudinally thereof either with a cantilever arm or an arm supported on the vehicle platform. Also in this case heave manual work is required for lifting the goods, at least when unloading is to be effected.
The object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which permits relatively rapid and easy loading and unloading of goods of the kind indicated in the foregoing. Said apparatus eliminates heavy manual work and does not bind the vehicle to the transport of unitized goods, such as palletized goods or goods equiva~
lent from the view point of handling.
According to the invention there is provided a load handling apparatus comprising a pair of elongate load handling members adapted to be inserted into a corresponding pair of through openings of restricted width and height provided in palletized or other goods to be lifted for permitting insertion of the lift forks of a forklift truck or other lifting means beneath the goods. The load handling members are in the form of two substantially identical elongate parallel units, each of which consists of a lower supporting section and an upper lif-ting sectlon raisably and lowerably mounted on the supporting section. The sup-porting sections of the two units are interconnected at .
. . .
-,' .~:: , : ' '~
first end portions thereof by a transvexse connect.ing device so that the load handling apparatus forms a fork- . ...
like structure with the two units extending from the transverse co~necting device in parallel with ~nd laterally spaced from one another. The lifting sections of the two units are collectively raisable and lowerable and the fork-like structure forms an extension of a telescopically extensible conveyer. - /
.
' ' .
The invention is described in greater detail hereinbelow with reference to the accompanyiny diagrammatic drawings in which:-Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a goods terminal witha warehouse and a number of loading docks;
Fig. 2 shows one of the loading docks in Fi~. 1 and fragmentarily a transport vehicle or trailer into which palletized goods are loaded in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 3 shows a variant of a loading dock and in con-nection therewith a verticall~ adjustable transfer conveyer and a load handling apparatus according to the invention;
Figs. 4 and 5 fragmentarily show two embodiments of an apparatus including a loading and unloading conveyer accord-ing to the invention, the cross-sectional height of which can be increased and reduced;
Fig. 6 shows a modification of the apparatus in Fig. 5~;
Fig. 7 shows a load handling apparatus with a main conveyer and two conveyer arms projecting therefrom;
Fig. 3 is a section on the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 shows a load handling apparatus with sloping front end;
Fig. lO is a diagrammatic view of a transport system in which a load handling apparatus according to the invention is included. -Fig. ] shows by way of example of the application of the invention a covered transport vehicle 1 in position at a loc~d-ing doc~ ~ to be loaded with palletized goods which are discharged ~; g, from a so-called automatic or roller compartment store 3 to , .
55~
which the goods are moved on a roller belt conveyer 4 and li~-ted b~ means of a so-called coordinate crane 5 and sorted into the roller compartments 6 of the store. Loading and unloading of the store can be con-trolled by computer in conventional manner. The bottle neck in the unloading operation is the transfer oE the goods from the conveyers (e.g. the roller coi,-veyers or roller tracks) to the transport vehicle (cargo truck, trailer, se~itrailer).
The idea underlying the invention is to make use of the platform of the truc~ (trailer, semitrailer) as an unloading point ~rhen the ~oods are moved onto the platorr?, ~hich m~Xes it yossible to use load handling (lifting and transrorting)aE~paratus o a l~ht-~ight construction. In other~lords, it is Fossible to use a relatively light-weight load handling construction for the majority of load handling cases. As will appear from the following this load-handling construction or apparatus can be attended to by one operator, e.g. the driver, because of its simplicity and flexible adaptability to conventional convevers on loading docks.
Fig. 2 illustrates an example of how goods carri-ed on pallets 7 are transferred from the loading dock 2 to the vehicle platform (here shown as an open platform) by e.g. electrical control pulses to electrical drive motors for the conveyers from a control stand 8, and Fig. 3 shows a load-handling ap~ara-tus 9 according to the invention placed on the vehicle platformO
As will appear from the following description, this load-handling apparatus may be embodied in different ways, all embodiments havin~ in common tha-t the apparatus can readilv be place~ on the vehicle latforrl and that after the loadina o the goods, it rmay easily be withdrawn -' q~l5,~
from the underside of the goods without changing the position thereof. In Fig. 3 there is sho~n bv way of example another type of loading dock 2' on which goods can be conveyed from two opposite directions to a reversible conveyer 10, turntable or -the like from which the goods are transferred to a vertically a~ustable conveyer 11 and from there to a loading dock 2~ which may be vertically adjustable and from which the goods are trans-ferred to the load-handling apparatus 9 according to the invention.
Fig. ~ shows an example of a load-handling lifter and conveyer apparatus according to the invention. This apparatus conlprises a subframe 15 and a conveyer 16 which is raisable and lowerable in relation to the subframe and may be in the form of a roller conveyer. One or more or all rollers 17 may be driven, e.g. by eIectric motors, and should preferably be ~ -drivable in opposite directions to permit both loading and un-loading. The subframe 15 may be in the form of a carriage having a number of supporting-rollers or ~lheels 18, which may advantage-ously be connected to drive means ~not shown~, The subframe 15 includes two laterally spaced beams 19 (only one shown in Fig. 4) which may be interconnected only at the rear ends and mav be open at the front (right-hand~ ends as shown in Fig. 4. The conveyer 16 may fundamentallv be of the same construction as the frame, and in the embodiment in Fig. 4 the load-handling apparatus can therefore be in the form of a fork with two elongated horizontal arms. The subframe 15 and the conveyer 16 are interconnected movably in relation to each other such as by means of a number of longitudinally spaced levers or links 21 which are pivotally connected to both the subframe and the -5,5~
conveyer. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 these links 21 consti-tute draw links by means of which the conveyer 16 may be raised in relation to the subframe lS by exerting a force on the conveyer 16 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the subframe 15. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 said force can be exerted by means of one or more hydraulic cylinders 22 which are supported in one or both beams 19 which may be for example inverted U-beams. The piston rod 23 has a head 24 which extends upwardly for exerting pressure against an abutment 25 fixed to the corresponding conveyer beam 20 when the piston rod 23 is retracted into the cylinder 22.
With the aid of a suitable stop means shown in the form of a stop abutment 26 secured to the subframe 15, and stop means 27 on the conveyer 20, which are adapted to cooperate with said stop abutment 26, the links 21 can be prevented from being raised into fully vertical position. This is advantageous in that lowering of the conveyer 16 (collapse of the load-handling apparatus) can be carried out by the weight of the conveyer 16 (or the weight of the con~-eyer 16 plus the weight of the load). In fully collapsed position of the load-handling apparatus the longitudinal beams of the conveyer 16, which may be in the form of beams of U-section, can rest against the upper side of the subframe 15. When the conveyer 16 is lowered the head 24 of the piston rod is accommodated between the flanges of the opposite inverted U-section beam 20 of the conveyer 16, and the stop means 26 can be accommodated in a similar way or can lie at the outer side of the opposite beam 20. Of course, the means 24 and 26 shall not reach with their ,: ,'' ~ ~' :
.~.
... .. . .
upper ends above the conveyer rollers 17 when the load-handling apparatus 19 is collapsed, in order not to preclude using the load-handling apparatus in -the manner described in the ollowing.~, The load-handling apparatus 9 should be so dimensioned that its width and height (the height between the undersides of -the wheels 18 of the subframe 15 and -the upper sides of the rollers 17 of the conveyer 16) allows the introduction of the load-handling apparatus with its elongated conveyer and lifting arms into such channels 30 which are usually arranged in the subframes of pallets to facilitate handling of the pallets by forklift trucks, and it shall be possible to reali2e this introduction of the conveyer an~ lifting arms of the load-handling apparatus when the pallets 7 are positioned on a base.
When the load-handling apparatus is utilized for loading goods onto a vehicle pla-tform as shown in Fig. 3, the conveyer 16 of the load-handling apparatus should be raised relative to the subframe 15 to a height sufficient to allow the pallets 31 to go free from the vehicle platform when they are transferred to it. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 the loading dock 2' shall therefore be set to such a height position that ~he roller conveyer or roller track conveyer on the loading dock 2' has its loading plane on a level with that of the conveyer 16, i.e. on a level with the upper sides of the rollers 17 when the conveyer 16 is raised sufficiently relative to the subframe 15 of the loading apparatus to allow the pallets to go free from the vehicle platform. With the use of two load-handling apparatuses 9 oE an appropriate length for the vehicle platform the conveyers of the loading - :
. ,, ' ', ' a5,5~9 ~
dock 2' can simultaneously transfer two double rows of pallets with goods thereon to the conveyers 16 of the two load-handling apparatuses 9. The conveyers 16 are then lowered onto the respective subframes 15. In this position the dimensions of the load-handling apparatuses shall be such that the pallets rest on the vehicle platform. As a result, the load-handling apparatuses on the vehicle platform can without any difficulty be withdrawn from the undersides of the pallets, and it is even conceivable for the load-handling apparatuses to be withdrawn from the vehicle platform on the support wheels 18 or by the conveyer rollers 17 if any one of these are driven.
If the rollers 17 are to be used for this purpose the height positions of the conveyers 16 are first so adjusted that the rollers 17 only engage the undersides of the pallets with driving friction while the pallets with the mc~jority of their weight rest on the vehicle platform.
The load-handling apparatus fragmentarily and schematically shown in Fig. 5 is a modification of the embodiment of Fig. 4 and differs therefrom in that hydraulic cylinders 35 are used for lifting -the conveyer portion 16 in relation to the subframe portion 15. It is readily seen from Fig. 5 how the conveyer 16 can be raised and lowered in re lation to the subframe 15.
The load-handling apparatuses shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are intended for so-called "short side handling" of palletized goods, which means that use is made of conventional pallet channels for insertion of conventional lift forks o~ fork lift trucks~ and which channels are wholly open downwardly .
- - -: , . . ~: ~ :
~ ~ , . ..
, - . . ., -~ - ~
' ~ ~
and at the short sides of the pallet.
According to the invention, the loading and unloading is carried out by means of the apparatus having a subframe and a raisable roller track or other conveyer track,which apparatus is moved ln or placed on the vehicle platform and can be vertlcally adjusted so that the pallets when placed or transferred onto the apparatus according to the inven-tion do not with their undersides touch the vehicle platform on which the apparatus is placed. Thus, the pallets with the goods thereon can be easily transported on the apparatus in the longitudinal direction thereof, and when the pallets have reached the intended position on the platform, the upper conveyer portion of the apparatus is lowered so that the pallets will stand on the platform and the apparatus which preferably is fork-shaped with elongated arms can then be withdrawn. For moving the load-handling apparatus in over the vehicle platform and for returning the apparatus from the vehicle platform use may be made of for example `a rack transmission, a hydraulic cylinder or other suitable means, ~.
instead of using driven wheels 18 or rollers 17 as described above.
To facilitate transfer of the fork-shaped load-handling apparatus to and from the vehicle platform the fork arms may be articulated so as not to jam when introduced into the channels of the pallets. It may also be suitable to use electronic guards, such as electromagnets or photocells, for guiding the load-handling apparatus onto the vehicle platform so that the pallets with goods or uni~ized loads thereon when .. .
' !
transferred -to the vehicle platform move in predetermined paths. To prevent injuries to persons a supervising sys-tem (for example photoelectrical) may be required to prevent transfer of ~oods should obstacles (such as the operator's feet, legs etc.) appear in the conveyance path.
The load-handling apparatuses described in the fore going are very flexible as they can be adapted to most of the goods conveyance systems on the market for transport vehicles of various kinds, including trucks, trailers, railway waggons, aircraft and ships, for unitized load-handling; for example, handling of goods on pallets of the type "Europa-palll-, container-loaded goods etc.
The full effective loading height of the transport vehicles can be exploited because the pallets move only some centimetres over the surface of the vehicle platform during the loading and unloading operations.
The load-handling apparatuses described in the fore-going can be adapted for handling of goods without making use of the channels of the pallets, in which case the pallets should be placed on longitudinal supports (for example beams) on the base, for example the vehicle platform! whereby channel-like spaces are obtained between the base and under~-sides of the pallets and handling operations equivalent to tha-t described above may be effected.
However, it is also possible to modify the load-handling apparatus according to the present invention so that it can be used for loading and unloading and can be removed from the loaded goods without it beiny necessary to make use of the ;.
: :~
- ~ .
~$~
channels of the pallets or other artifically arranged channels Fig. 6 illustrates a load-handling apparatus 9a according to the invention, which is intended Eor this purpose.
In the embodiment illustrated the conveyer of the load-handling apparatus comprises two relatively movable parts. One part 16a may be a roller conveyer and has a fork-shaped front end portion 16b the arms 40a, b, c of which define intervening grooves 41 for a fork-shaped extension 16c of the conveyer.
The extension 16c can be projected and retracted with regard to the conveyer 16a, 16b. The extension conveyer 16c may com-prise a fork-shaped conveyer of the type illustrated in Fig. 5, the arms 42 of which are movable in the spaces 41 between the arms 40 of the conveyer portion 16b. This portion has at its front end, for example at the outer side arms 40 a, b, raisable and lowerable abutments 43 which can be projected to stop the conveyance of pallets and can be retracted for allowing the pallets to advance to the extensible conveyer 16c. This con-veyer is operable by means of a piston and cylinder unit 44 which may be of the hydraulic type and may have the form of a telescoping cylinder if a large stro~e length is desired. The fork arms 42 are provlded at their front ends with retractable abutments which may be the front rollers 17c of the extension conveyer 16c. In the normal position of the conveyer 16c its conveying rollers 17c are on a level with the rollers 17a, 17b of the conveyer 16a~ 17b. It should be observed, however, that the conveyer 16a, 16b can be of decreasing height towards the front end thereof, which applies also to the extension con-veyer 16c which, however, in an embodiment of the type shown :
in Fig. 5 can be lowered more at one end by its cylinders 35 (cf. F'ig. 5) if an inclina-tion is desired when the goods are discharged.
By raising the Eork conveyer 16c so that its rollers 17c lift a pallet on -the Eront portion 16b of the conveyer 16a s~id palle-t can -then be advanced away from the conveyer section 16b by means of the fork conveyer 16c by said last-mentioned conveyer being advanced under the action of its cylinder unit 44. As already mentioned, the front abutments 43 on the con-veyer section 16b can be lowerable for instance by means of a piston cylinder unit, or the abutments may be sufficiently low to permi-t the fork conveyer 16c to lift the pallet over said abutments 43. ~hen the fork conveyer 16c with the pallet supported thereby has been advanced to the contemplated deli-very position on the vehicle platform the upper conveyer sec-tion of the fork conveyer 16c is lowered with respect to the subframe (15 in Fig. 5) for delivery of the goods. It should be observed that the pallet can in this case rest on the fork conveyer 16c transversely thereof, which means that the pallet rests with its bottom boards 50 on the fork conveyer (cf. Fig.
3), but saidfork conveyer can also be used in the same way as has been described for the fork conveyers in Figs. 4 and 5. In the latter case the fork conveyer 16c can be moved away from a pallet deposited onto the vehicle platform in the manner earlier described, and in the former case (with the pallet placed transversely of the fork conveyer, i.e. so-called "long side handling") the Eork conveyer 16c cannot be entirely unloaded before it has been retracted from the delivered goodsD
;
., ' ' ' ' .
: ~
However, the fork conveyer 16c can be lowered with its con~
veying section (conveying section 16 in Fig. 5), and as already mentioned this section can be inclined in a forward direction to permi-t retrac-tion o the fork conveyer 16c without carrying the pallet along in its retraction movement. The rollers of the fork conveyer 16c may during the retraction movement be driven "forwardly" at the same ra-te as the fork conveyer is retracted in order that the goods shall be retained sufficiently exac-tly at the point intended for the deposition.
After a pallet has been deposited the fork conveyer 16c is returned for receiving the next pallet from the conveyer 16a, 16b.
The load-handling apparatus illustrated in F.ig. 6 can without any difficulty be used for unloading palletized goods if the pallets are positioned with their channels facing in the proper direction, that is, such that the fork conveyer 16c can be introduced into the channels, but if the pallets are transversely positioned (Fig. 6) it is necessary first to create a space for inserting the fork arms of the fork con-veyer 16c beneath the bottom boards 50 of the pallet, e.g.
by placing the pallets on longitudinal rails or like members on the vehicle platform 45 in order to so create the possibi-lity of inserting the arms 42 of the fork conveyer 16c beneath the bot-t.om boards of the pallets.
As an alternative of th.e load-handling apparatus illustrated in Fig. 6 use can be made of a load-handling apparatus 9b of the -type shown in Fig. 7, in which the fork conveyer 16c' comprises two cantilever arms which need not .. . .. ~
` ' .
.~
.
necessarily be equipped with driven rollers and which are guided in grooves in the conveyer 16a, 16b and can be optionally inserted in the longitudinal, downwardly open channels o-f the pallets or in the channels defined by the bottom boards 50 oE
the pallets (cf. Fig. 3). In this case the arms 42' oE the fork conveyer 16c' can simply be of the same design as the arms of the conveyer section 16 in the load-handling apparatuses in Figs. 4 and 5. However, these arms 42' are raisable and lowerable at their rear ends for instance by means of hydraulic cylinders 51 with pistons 52 shown in Fig. 8 which engage a bottom plate 53 of the conveyer 16a/16b. To keep the arms 42' of the fork conveyer 16c' with loads supported thereon in canti-lever position the rear ends of the arms 42' are widened so as to form heads 54 which are guided in the grooves 41 and which in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 can be fixed on two different levels between the fork arms 40a, b, c of the conveyer 16a/16b, such as the arms 40a and 40b in Fig. 8. For this fixation use can be made of hydraulically operated wedges or guide rollers 60 which by the action of a hydraulic cylinder can be moved in opposite directions into guide grooves 61, 62 in the side walls of arms 40a, 40b. The hydraulic cylinder 51 as well as -the hydraulic cylinder 60' are housed in the arm head portion 54 which is of a suitable hollow construction herefor.
By means of the apparatus described, goods can be moved from the conveyer 16a/16b to an optional position on the vehicle pla-tform ahead of said conveyer in the following manner.
Palle~s are conveyéd on the conveyer 16 to a stop - :
position substantially in the same way as by means of the conveyer described with reference to Fig. 6. During this movement the arms 42' of the conveyer 16c' are lowered (or retracted) to a level such that the upper side of the conve~er is beneath the level of the rollers of the conveyer 16a/16b.
Pallets can be moved onto the conveyer 16a/16b supported on the vehicle platform 45 and into engagement with a raisable and lowerable abutment, for example a raisable and lowerable roller 65, on the conveyer section 16a. Then a pallet is moved over the lowered conveyer 16c' to a position in engagement with an abutment 66 at the front end of the conveyer section 16b. The conveyer 16c' can then be moved to an upper position behind`the frontpallet, and regardless of whether the pallet turns its long side or its short side towards the conveyer 16c' the arms 42' can be moved into the longitudinal, downwardly open channels of the pallet or into such transverse pallet channels which usually underneath at the long sides of the pallet are de~ined by bottom boards of the pallet. After in-sertion of the arms 42' in this way the fork head portions 54 are raised by the action of the hydraulic cylinders 51 so that the rollers 60 supported by the piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders 60' are moved into the upper guide grooves 61 in the arms 40a, 40b of the conveyer section 16b (Fig. 8). When the arms of the conveyer 16c' are raised in this way the pallet is lifted from the conveyer section 16b and is advanced by the forward movement of the conveyer 16c' under the action ~:
of the cylinders 44. Then the conveyer 16c' is lowered for placing the pallet on the vehicle platform 45, after which 1~
.. ,, ' ' . . : !
.' . ' ;, . . '. ': ' ~ ~ " '. . ' : , :
' .' ' :' the conveyer 16c' can be retracted. If desired, the guide rollers 60 can be moved into the lower guide grooves 62.
Of course, it is possible to use instead of hydraulic cylinders for advancing the conveyer 16c or 16c' o-ther con ventional transmissions such as chains, racks, gear wheels etc. and the conveyers described naturally need not necessarily be roller conveyers.
Fig. 9 shows schematically an auxiliary apparatus in the form of a wedge-shaped sliding track 67 supported at the front end of a roller conveyer and adjoining a supporting conveyer surface which may be in the form of small rollers or, optionally, balls. The pallets supplied can slide on the sloping surface of the wedge, the outer end of which may optionally be pressed in beneath pallets placed on the vehicle platform by suitable means also in such cases in which the roller wedge cannot be inserted beneath the conveyer wi-thout the latter being lifted.
Finally, Fig. 10 shows a conveying system lncluding a connecting track 2 with a switch 70 for reversing the direction of mo-tion of the pallets, and in conjunction with the swi-tch 70 there is arranged a transfer conveyer 71 for conveying pallets or like goods to a vertically adjustable table 72. Said ~able 72 is carried on a frame which is operable in conventional manner by means of a hydraulic cylinder for moving the table 72 in horizontal position upwards and down-wards. From said table 72 the conveyer 16, 16a/16b, 16c or 16c' can be moved onto a vehicle platform or the like in correct level position. In this case the table 72 and its fra~e73 .
.
' 5~D
constitutes parts of the load-handliny apparatus according to the invention.
I-t should be observed that an arm 16 in Fiys. 4 and 5 coulcl be used as a load-handllng apparatus in cer-tain simple cases without -Eorming a part of a fork.
~0 '. ' .
.
Claims
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A loading handling apparatus comprising a pair of elongate load handling members adapted to be inserted into a corresponding pair of through openings of restricted width and height provided in palletized or other goods to be lifted for permitting insertion of the lift forks of a forklift truck or other lifting means beneath the goods, said load handling members being in the form of two sub-stantially identical elongate parallel units each of which consists of a lower supporting section and an upper lifting section raisably and lowerably mounted on said supporting section, wherein the supporting sections of the two units are interconnected at first end portions thereof by a transverse connecting device so as to define a fork-like structure with the two units extending from the transverse connecting device in parallel with and later-ally spaced from one another, wherein the lifting sections of the two units are collectively raisable and lowerable, and wherein the fork-like structure forms an extension section of a telescopically extensible conveyer.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA306,484A CA1110559A (en) | 1978-06-29 | 1978-06-29 | Goods-handling method and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehicles |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA306,484A CA1110559A (en) | 1978-06-29 | 1978-06-29 | Goods-handling method and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehicles |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1110559A true CA1110559A (en) | 1981-10-13 |
Family
ID=4111810
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA306,484A Expired CA1110559A (en) | 1978-06-29 | 1978-06-29 | Goods-handling method and apparatus for loading and unloading of transport vehicles |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1110559A (en) |
-
1978
- 1978-06-29 CA CA306,484A patent/CA1110559A/en not_active Expired
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