DE2149410A1 - Front and side loader - Google Patents

Description

Clark Equipment Company in Buchanan, Michigan (V.St.A.)

Front and side loader.

For storage of materials and products in warehouses, factories, and port and other storage facilities, large storage rack assemblies are often provided, separated by storage streets that are used for transporting, depositing and removing loads of material or products in the rack assemblies on the two Serving sides of the camp road. Loading and unloading of the shelves involves moving the loads in both directions along the warehouse line and moving the loads laterally into and out of the shelves on either side of the warehouse road. Side loaders require an extension mechanism that can move the load from a central transport position to a laterally extended position beyond the side of the vehicle. The minimum extension distance or stroke of the mechanism corresponds to the lateral dimension of the pallet and / or load plus a few additional inches of clearance in the warehouse line between the moving vehicle and the

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Storage shelf arrangement. Most of the devices used to transport loads are capable of this Failure to meet demands in an appropriate manner. For example, if -a common pantograph-like Device is used for such long strokes, its height in the retracted state is so great that the ability of the apparatus to deposit loads on an upper floor of the storage rack assembly is restricted near the ceiling. When a single stage telescopic assembly is required for the large Hub is used, the length of the telescopic assembly in the retracted state is essential larger than the width of the vehicle, while a two-stage telescopic arrangement is unduly entangled and becomes costly. A known device provides a combination of two basic devices and consists of a single-stage telescopic device and a pantograph-like arrangement, the the first-mentioned device supplies part of the required stroke and the pantograph-like device reaches out to contribute the rest of the hub. Such arrangements are less than satisfactory Properties, also with regard to their economic efficiency.

Furthermore, the storage lanes between the racking arrangements have been made relatively wide in order to be able to carry out the longitudinal and lateral work phases with forklifts in order to allow a certain lateral manipulation of the forklift when placing a load in the racking arrangement when removing a load from the same. However, this reduces the storage space available for a given footprint. The previous forklifts also did not have the ability to do this either

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a load for picking up and setting down a load in front of and directly on the ground to be able to move to more than one side or to transfer a load from one side to the other to be able to. The performance was limited. It was an exact positioning of the forklift and the use of special shelf arrangements instead of the usual shelf arrangements with shelves.

The invention is therefore concerned with the creation of a side loading device for forklift trucks, which enables the vehicle to move full-size pallet loads in relatively narrow warehouse aisles to move and the operating phases of load pick-up and load transfer directly on the front and also to be carried out on both sides of the vehicle. The vehicle should also pick up and set down loads and they can be transferred from one side to the other near the ground or at any height.

Another object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a forklift truck, that can be mounted on a conventional forklift and little or no change in structure or Requires actuating mechanism of the forklift. It should be relatively simple to design and manufacture and can work effectively on conventional shelf arrangements having shelves.

The invention also aims to provide a lift truck that can handle loads on both sides and on the front without any side support outside the forklift can handle a pallet load at the right angle and precisely without precise positioning of the Pick up forklift and in a straight line at right angles to the longitudinal center line of the Remove the vehicle from the shelf or into it

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can settle.

Finally, a forklift or the like should be achieved that loads pallets on both sides of the vehicle and can remove loads from storage spaces or deposit them in them, and which retracts sufficiently in the transverse direction so that the forklift can be moved in narrow warehouse streets while the loads are pivoted in theirs Positions are held, and the loads can also pivot while he is in the warehouse road is located.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a forklift on which the lifting carriage attachment according to the invention is appropriate;

Figure 2 is a top view of the lift truck of Figure Ij

Fig. Z> is a partial top view, in which the attachment is shown in a storage road between two shelf assemblies in two different positions;

Figure K is a front view of the lift truck of the previous figures;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of the header showing the lift mast and front wheel are indicated in dash-dotted lines;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of the device in two working positions;

Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged partial views of the operating device.

In the drawing (Fig. 1), the reference number 10 denotes a lift truck as a whole, the one

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Housing 12, front and rear wheels 14 and 16, respectively, a steering wheel 18, a seat 20 and a lifting mast 22 comprises on the front, on which a lifting carriage 24 and the attachment according to the invention are attached are, which is designated as a whole with 26. The forklift shown in the drawings on which the Attachment according to the invention is used, is assumed to be known for the present description and may be of any known construction, for example battery powered Electric motor or with a gasoline engine. The details of the forklift are therefore not detailed more detailed.

The lift mast 22 and the lift carriage 24 attached to the front of the forklift truck can can also be assumed to be known for the present description. The lifting mast shown consists of an outer mast part 30 and one inner mast part 32, which are arranged telescopically one inside the other are, as well as a hydraulic cylinder 34, which actuates the inner mast part and the lifting carriage arranged in front of the mast. The inner and the outer mast parts are constructed from laterally spaced channel-shaped members or rails. Of the The lift truck shown has a two-stage lifting system, although the attachment according to the invention can also be used on other systems. The lifting carriage 24 is mounted so that it is on the Rails of the inner mast part can move vertically. The mast and the lifting carriage become hydraulic Driven by hydraulic fluid, which is connected to the hydraulic via a number of (not shown) System of the vehicle connected hydraulic hoses to the hydraulic actuators on the mast

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and is fed to the attachment. The actuators on the mast and on the attachment are controlled from the driver's cab via control valves in the hydraulic system controlled.

The side loading device 26 comprises a pantograph-like mechanism, which is designated as a whole by 40 and the two pivot arms 42 and comprises. The swivel arm 42 has a lower arm part 46 which is pivotably mounted on a shaft journal 48 on the lifting carriage, and an upper arm part 49 which is slidably mounted in the rear end of a jib 50 projecting forward. The swivel arm 44 has a lower arm part 52 which is slidably attached to the rear end of the boom, and an upper arm part 55 * which is slidably arranged on a frame 54 which has a loop guide 56 on which the upper arm part 53 is supported by a shaft journal 58 is appropriate. The arm portions 52 and 53 of Sohwenkarms 44 are interconnected via a rotatable shaft 60 which is mounted on the swing arm 42 in the center thereof, said arm members to each other opposite ends are attached to the shaft and with this form a fc rigid assembly, so that the arm parts rotate together with the shaft 60. The pivot arms of the pantograph-like mechanism move out of a vertical position in which the two pivot arms 42 and 44 are substantially parallel to one another, to one of the two laterally extended positions that are in the Pig. 4 and 6 are shown. The lower end of the arm part 46 of the pivot arm 42 is pivotably connected to the lifting carriage carrier 62 via the horizontally arranged shaft journal 48. The upper end of the arm part 52 of the pivot arm 44 is pivotable via the horizontally arranged shaft journal 74 with the lower end of the boom 50

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tied together. The upper end of the arm part 5j5 is over the shaft journal 58 with the sliding guide 56 tied together. Since the lower ends of the pivot arms 42 and 44 are pivotable about fixed shaft journals 48 and 74 and the upper ends of the two pivot arms slidable in the vertical guide rails 56 or 78 are stored, the boom retains a vertical position when the pantograph-like Mechanism moved from its middle position to an extended position (Fig. 4).

One of the main features of the present pantograph-like mechanism is that on the Shaft 60 on both sides of the pivot arm 42 offset arrangement of the arm parts 52 and 53 of the Swing arm 44. This allows the swing arm to be vertically centered from right to left to pass and to extend sideways from the middle position by the same amount to both sides, while the boom maintains its vertical position over the entire range of motion. The operation of the pantograph-like mechanism 40 is accomplished by a hydraulic cylinder 80, its lower end is mounted on the lifting carriage via a pin 82 and its upper end via the piston rod 84 is connected to the arm part 49 of the pivot arm 42 at a distance from the shaft 60. if the hydraulic cylinder extends, the pantograph-like mechanism moves to the left of the driver, and when the hydraulic cylinder retracts, the pantograph-like mechanism becomes first returned to the middle position and then extended to the driver's right-hand side, where the range of motion is the same in both directions. The hydraulic cylinder is made from the hydraulic

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cal system of the vehicle via not shown Flexible hydraulic lines are supplied and controlled via control units arranged in the driver's cab.

The frame that can be moved in the inner part of the mast 54 moves with the lifting carriage 24 from the position of FIG. 4 to the upper end of the mast, when the lifting carriage 24 and the device 26 when placing or picking up loads in the different vertical positions required for this. With that in the present device realized kind of a pantograph-like

P mechanism, a load can be fully extended to the left side position shown in Fig. 4, fully retracted to the center and extended sideways to the right. Weight lies in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The same workflow can be carried out with one on the right-hand side of the Forklift located load. The load-bearing boom 50 can be in various Way to be executed. The illustrated embodiment is made of spaced plates which are welded onto an inner frame. The result is a strong rigid construction,

L · which can carry the load in the various extended positions, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. During operation of the present apparatus, the boom remains in the forward facing position and moves between the rightmost and leftmost positions shown in FIG.

The lifting fork designated as a whole by 90 comprises two prongs which are spaced apart from one another 92 and 94, which are adjustably connected to the upper and lower fork carriers 96 and 98, which in turn

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sit on a pivot pin 100, which is in a bearing 10? rotatable in the front end of the boom 50 is stored. This embodiment allows the fork arrangement to move 180 ° between the positions shown in FIG to be pivoted positions shown. A device is preferably also provided, by means of which the fork tines are lowered to the ground and off without moving the lifting carriage 24 this can be raised. A suitable device for tilting the forks Fig. 8 shows. The device pivots the fork tines from a substantially horizontal one Position on the floor in a slightly tilted backward position for carrying and stabilizing * the Load. The device comprises a part 110 which is pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis 112 is attached to the pivot 100. A bearing block 116 is attached to the pivot pin 100 a hydraulic cylinder 114 attached, which when the cylinder is actuated by over the lines 118 and 119 brought about hydraulic fluid swings the fork tines upwards.

The fork assembly can be operated so that the prongs can be pivoted to either side from the forward facing position. This is done by the hydraulic device 120, which is shown in FIG. 7 and comprises two hydraulic cylinders 122 which are connected to a shaft via a chain 126 wound around a pinion 127 by 180 °. The pinion 127 is fixedly connected to the upper end of the shaft 124, which is rotatably supported in a bearing 102 and is fixedly connected to the pivot pin 100. The ends of the chain 126 are with the piston rods 128 of the two

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parallel cylinder via pins 129 or the like Fasteners connected. The two cylinders (only one of which is visible) move the Chain sections on the opposite Sides of the pinion in different directions when hydraulic fluid enters the ends of the cylinders is let in or drained from it. The rotation of shaft 124 and trunnion 100 the fork swivels into each of the various angular positions within the range of 180 ° desired position between the two side positions. The cylinders 122 are in the boom 50 mounted behind the trunnion 100 and via the lines 1 ^ 0 and 132 and the solenoid control valve Ij54 connected to the hydraulic system of the vehicle. They are controlled via the control units provided in the driver's cab operated by the driver. The two cylinders are over with a cross web 1J56 of the boom Threaded projections I4o and lock nuts 1 ^ 8 and 142 connected, which can be adjusted and move the cylinder in question in the longitudinal direction and thereby set the chain 126 on the sprocket. The two cylinders 122 and the chain 126 form one Pull pressure device for the rotating pinion 127 and the pivot pin 100 when the pistons of the two cylinders in opposite directions according to the actuation of the control elements move.

When operating the present front and side loading device, starting with lowered Lifting carriage with device and forks pointing forward, as in FIGS. 1 and 2, moves the Lift truck forward and guides forks 92 and 94 under the load. The cylinder 114 is then actuated to move the forks upward

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and keep them on the fork while they are is carried by the lift truck. The hydraulic device in the lifting mast then lifts the lifting carriage with the device up to a suitable transport height above the ground. The load then becomes too move to the point where it is to be deposited, for example on a shelf arrangement on a the sides of a warehouse road. If now the load is to be deposited in one of the upper shelves the lifting carriage is raised from the mast to the height of the selected shelf. Then the Cylinder 122 actuates to pivot the fork assembly towards the point where the load is should be discontinued. At the same time, the cylinder 80 of the pantograph-like mechanism 40 is actuated to retract boom 50 in the opposite direction, causing the fork assembly and the To bring load into the position shown in Fig. 2 on the right side. When the burden is not in the correct position to be pushed into the shelf, the Forklift truck easily moved forwards or backwards in the warehouse street and the lifting carriage upwards or moved down to get the desired position. When this is achieved, will the cylinder 80 is actuated to remove the load from the position shown by the letter A of FIG to advance into the position indicated by the letter B. When operating the pantograph-like Mechanism moves the load sideways in a straight line so that the driver can accurately approach the load can bring the desired location. The load is then on the shelf by lowering the lifting carriage

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and forward tilting the prongs of the fork assembly deposited and then the fork under the load pulled out by actuation of the cylinder 80, the pantograph-like mechanism from its according to Flg. 3 to move the extended position to the right into the extended position on the left, so that the fork assembly comes to position A, i.e. is right in front of the vehicle. While the forks are still in the sideways position, the forklift can easily be moved without being adversely affected by the discharged device. The same The work flow is carried out when depositing loads on the other side of the warehouse road, and to the Removal of a load from a shelf or another load-bearing structure is the The workflow is simply reversed.

The lifting carriage 2k is mounted with respect to the vertical movement on the lifting mast 22 via a number of conventional lifting carriage rollers, the lifting cylinder of the lifting mast providing the upward force for lifting the load; however, a significant moment arises when the fork assembly 90 is in one of its lateral positions, as shown in FIG. In order to achieve a satisfactory operation of the lifting carriage 24 on the lifting mast 22, this torque must be distributed or compensated in order to avoid excessive deformation stress on the lifting mast and to facilitate the movement of the lifting carriage on the lifting mast. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing, the moment forces are evenly transmitted to both sides of the outer mast part, through a system of balance shafts and -ritzein, which as

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The whole is designated by 150. The balancing system comprises shafts 152, pinions 15, ^2, J and 155 mounted on opposite ends thereof, and racks 15, 56 and 157 mounted on and extending the full length of the vertical supports forming the outer mast portion. The pinions 15 ^ and 155 are keyed to the ends of the shaft so that the two pinions and this shaft can be rotated together. The shaft is mounted in a vertical part of the lifting carriage. The pinions of each shaft run in the two racks I56 and 157 * while the lifting carriage moves up or down with a side load, thus distributing the torque evenly to the two sides of the mast. The use of the system of balance shafts in combination with the fork lift mast serves to rotate the opposing forces so that the forces are aligned and parallel to the mast parts, which can easily absorb additional forces in their direction, which they would otherwise of the torque resulting from a laterally displaced load. It is true that only three sets of heads and sprockets are shown in the drawing; however, a greater or lesser number of shafts and pinions may be used if necessary.

As an alternative to the operation described above , the lateral alignment of the load can also be carried out before the forklift enters the warehouse line, so that the only operations that have to be carried out in the warehouse street are lifting the load and moving it sideways for insertion or Pulling them out

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is. Furthermore, the forklift, the lifting carriage and the device can essentially be in operated in the manner described above to remove the load from an extended lateral position Transfer position to the other without driving the forklift out of the warehouse road.

The above-described operation can be carried out on a base that is only slightly wider than the width of the vehicle and the device, and without the need for a lateral support structure or special outriggers to stabilize the forklift and / or the device attached to it. The balancing or alignment system 150 distributes the load evenly on the mast so that no undue deformation stress is exerted on it. The compensation system is not limited to use with a front and side loading device of the type described above. It can be used in any arrangement of a lifting carriage on a lifting mast in which the lifting carriage has to carry unevenly distributed loads , ie loads that are laterally offset with respect to the lifting mast.

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Claims (18)

Claims rorder- and side loading device for a ^ Hwtfmast having vehicles with a The lifting slide mounted on the lifting mast, characterized in that the lifting slide (24) has a it has connected, horizontal forwardly projecting arm (50), the front end of which movable in both directions essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of the lifting carriage (24) is that a pivot device is arranged at the front end of the boom (50) and that one Load carrying device (90) is mounted on the pivoting device and can be pivoted so that it is forward and can be straightened on both sides. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the load carrying device (90) two spaced apart, substantially horizontally arranged forks (92,94). 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized characterized in that a vertical pivot pin (100) is attached to the front end of the boom (50) carrying the load carrying device (90). 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a pantograph-like Mechanism is provided which is connected to the lifting carriage * (24), supports the boom (50) and its center position can be extended and retracted on both sides via a drive. 5 · Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the drive as a hydraulic cylinder (80) is formed, which is outside the center line on the pantograph-like mechanism and on the lifting 209815/1 169 2U9410 slide (24) or on the boom (50) engages. 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by the following features: a) the pantograph-like mechanism connects the rear end of the boom (50) with the lifting carriage (24); b) the pantograph-like mechanism has a first and a second pivot arm (42,44) on; c) a shaft (60) is provided which has the two pivot arms (42, 44) in the vicinity of their center connects and which is mounted in the first pivot arm (42); d) the second pivot arm (44) has one with one end of the shaft (6o) firmly connected and itself substantially upwardly extending arm portion (55) and one to the other end of the shaft (60) fixed connected and extending on the other side of the first pivot arm (42) substantially downward Arm part (52) on; e) a swivel arm is pivotable on the boom (50) and displaceable on the lifting carriage (24) stored, while the other pivot arm is slidable on the boom (50) and pivotable on the lifting carriage is stored; f) it is on either side of the center line of the pantograph-like mechanism Drive provided, which pivots the two pivot arms (42, 44) against each other. 7 «Device according to claim 6, characterized in that that the lifting carriage (24) carries a vertically arranged guide track (56). 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 * characterized in that that means (58) are provided which the upwardly extending arm portion (53) of the second pivot arm (44) slidable with the 209815/1169 l · ' 2U9A10 - 17 - Connect the guideway (56). 9. Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the boom (50) at his rear end above or below a vertically directed guide track (78) and means (72) are provided which connect one of the swivel arms to the guide track (78) in a displaceable manner. 10. Device according to claim 9 *, characterized in that the vertically directed guideway (78) is arranged at the top of the boom (50). 11. Device according to one of the claims and 6, characterized in that the hydraulic cylinder (80) with a lateral distance outside the Pivot bearing (48) of the first pivot arm (42) is mounted at (82) on the lifting carriage and on the the same side of the first pivot arm (42) at (84) engages on this. 12. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that that the lifting carriage (24) is mounted on a lifting mast (22) so as to be vertically movable and can raise and lower a load on a load carrying device (90). 13. Device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the pivoting device consists of one at the front end of the boom (50) arranged pivot pin (100) and on the pivot pin (100) engages a drive (120), to pivot the load carrying device (90) about the pivot pin (100). 14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 15 *, characterized in that an auxiliary device (110, 112, 114) is provided which can tilt the load bearing device (90) relative to the pivot pin (100) by a small amount. 209815/1189 2H9410 - Io - 15 · Device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it is a Has load balancing system (150), the two laterally spaced, on the lifting mast (22) fixed racks (156,157) * in these racks (156,157) running pinions (154, 155) and comprises at least one shaft (I52) mounted in the lifting carriage (24) and connecting the pinions. 16. Load balancer for a Vehicle with a lifting mast and a lifting carriage movable thereon with a load-carrying device which has to carry laterally offset loads compared to the lifting mast, especially with a front and side loading device according to claims 1 to 15, characterized in that they have two lateral Gear racks (I56, 157) * attached to the lifting mast (22) * in these gear racks (I56, 157) running pinion (154, 155) and at least one shaft (152) mounted in the lifting carriage (24) which connects the pinions (154,155). 17. Load balancing devices according to claim 16, characterized in that they have two vertical, toothed racks arranged at a distance from the same on both sides of the center line of the lifting mast '(22) (156,157) includes that between the racks (I56, 157) on the lifting carriage (24) a horizontal arranged shaft (152) is mounted and that at the ends of the shaft (152) attached pinion (154,155) Comb on the racks (156,157). 18. Load balancing device according to claim 16 or 17 *, characterized in that several Pinion pairs are arranged one above the other and each connected to one another by a shaft. 209815/1169