Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
  • E02F9/00—Component parts of dredgers or soil-shifting machines, not restricted to one of the kinds covered by groups E02F3/00 - E02F7/00
  • E02F9/20—Drives; Control devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66F—HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD
  • B66F9/00—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes
  • B66F9/06—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks
  • B66F9/065—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks non-masted
  • B66F9/0655—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks non-masted with a telescopic boom
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66F—HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD
  • B66F9/00—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes
  • B66F9/06—Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks
  • B66F9/075—Constructional features or details
  • B66F9/07572—Propulsion arrangements
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02F—DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING
  • E02F3/00—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines
  • E02F3/04—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven
  • E02F3/28—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven with digging tools mounted on a dipper- or bucket-arm, i.e. there is either one arm or a pair of arms, e.g. dippers, buckets
  • E02F3/283—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven with digging tools mounted on a dipper- or bucket-arm, i.e. there is either one arm or a pair of arms, e.g. dippers, buckets with a single arm pivoted directly on the chassis
  • E02F3/286—Dredgers; Soil-shifting machines mechanically-driven with digging tools mounted on a dipper- or bucket-arm, i.e. there is either one arm or a pair of arms, e.g. dippers, buckets with a single arm pivoted directly on the chassis telescopic or slidable

Definitions

• a device in a vehicle adapted Ibo handle loads .
• the invention concerns a device for a vehicle intended for handling loads, such as an industrial truck, comprising a movable arm connected to the vehicle, to which a tool intended to carry a load is connected, and an arrangement to control movements of said tool.
• Vehicles intended for handling loads exist in many different forms, including for example digging machines, tractors, so- called front-loaders and industrial trucks. Such vehicles can either be driver-controlled or driver-less, remote controlled.
• the invention is suitable for all types of vehicles intended for handling loads, but is particularly suitable for vehicles of the truck type, such as an industrial truck for example, i.e. a vehicle which is used in warehouses, at industrial sites, loading yards and such for handling loads. For this reason the invention will subsequently mainly be described in connection with vehicles of such truck type without this limiting the invention to such vehicles.
• the aim of the invention is to develop devices of the type mentioned in the introduction to make improved movement patterns of the tool included in the device possible and thereby to achieve a more flexible handling of the load.
• the device comprises a member for pivoting the arm relative to a chassis of the vehicle
• the tool is displaceably arranged relative to the chassis of the vehicle in the direction of the arm's main longitudinal extension
• the device comprises means for displacing the tool
• control arrangement is designed to co-ordinate the pivoting member's pivoting of the arm and the displacement means' displacement of the tool to achieve a movement of the load carried by the tool along an optionally placed curve having an optional appearance in relation to the vehicle in the vertical plane.
• the tool is pivotably arranged relative to the arm about a second substan- tially horizontal axis, where the device comprises means for pivoting the tool relative to the arm and the control arrangement is designed to control the pivoting means' pivoting of the tool for adjustment of the tool's orientation.
• control arrangement is designed to co-ordinate the pivoting means' pivoting of the tool with the pivoting member's pivoting of the arm and with the displacement means' displacement of the tool to achieve a desired, ordered orientation of the tool during its movement.
• the tool can accordingly be adjusted to assume such an orientation during movement, which remains constant or varies during the movement, so that the load carried by the tool has the desired orientation at each point in time during the movement.
• control arrangement is designed to co-ordinate said pivoting movements and displacements to maintain a substantially constant orientation of the load carried by the tool when moving the load. It follows from this that it is necessary that said second horizontal axis is parallel aligned with said first horizontal axis. Due to the design of the control arrangement it is accordingly possible to move the load along an optional curve in the vertical plane while maintaining the load's orientation. This reduces the risk of releasing the load from the tool during movement inter alia.
• the tool is connected to the arm via an arrangement for replaceable attachment of tools to the arm. It is subsequently possible to change the tool for adaptation to the load that is to be handled.
• the arm is connected to the vehicle on one longitudinal side of the vehicle in its normal driving direction.
• the arm is therefore positioned so that it does not result in an impairment of the view of the driver of the vehicle.
• Fig 1 is a side view of a device on a vehicle intended for handling loads according to a first embodiment of the invention
• Figs 2-6 are side views of the device shown in Fig 1 schematically illustrating different movement patterns that are possible to achieve with a device of the inventive type
• Fig 7 is a side view of the device shown in Figs 1 -6 schematically illustrating the carrying of a load in a possible position relative to the vehicle, and
• Fig 8 is a perspective view of a device on a vehicle intended for handling loads according to a second embodiment of the invention, shown diagonally from the front, partly in cross-section.
• Fig 1 illustrates a device on a vehicle intended for handling loads according to a first embodiment of the invention.
• the ve- hide 1 illustrated in all of the figures is an industrial truck with a driver's seat F, a chassis 2 and wheels 3 connected to the chassis in the vicinity of each corner of a rectangle in the horizontal plane, where, for example, two are individually controllable to drive the vehicle forward and all four wheels are, for example, individually controllable to control the vehicle.
• this type of vehicle is only one possible type of vehicle to which the invention can be applied and consequently any other types of vehicle can be used.
• the device comprises a movable arm 4 connected to the vehicle 1 to which a tool 5 ' intended to carry a load is connected.
• the tool can be any type of tool or instrument, where the choice of tool is suitably made on the basis of what kind of load is to be handled.
• tools in the form of a gripping tool, holding device, scoop or such can be used.
• the tool 5 illustrated in Fig 1 is a fork tool having two forks, which, as illustrated in Fig 1 , is well suited to handling a load L placed on a so-called loading pallet 6.
• the arm 4 is pivotably mounted on the tool about a first substantially horizontal axis 8.
• the axis 8, about which the arm 4 is pivotable is arranged on the rear end of the vehicle in the vehicle's normal driving direction.
• the inventive device also comprises means to pivot the arm 4 relative to the vehicle's chassis 2 about axis 8.
• the pivoting means can for example include different types of motors, such as electric motors, adjusting means and such to provide said pivoting.
• the pivoting means advantageously includes hydraulic drive means, such as a hydraulic motor or hydraulic cylinder. According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig 1 this hydraulic drive means is arranged in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 9 that is connected to the vehicle's chassis 2 and to the arm 4.
• One end 1 1 of the piston rod 10 of the hydraulic cylinder 9, is pivotably connected to the arm 4 via a fastening member 12 and pivotably connected to the chassis 2 at a schematically indi- cated fastening point at 13.
• the arm 4 can therefore be brought to pivot about the axis 8.
• the tool 5 is displaceably arranged relative to the chassis 2 of the vehicle in the direction of the arm's 4 main longitudinal ex- tension and the device comprises means 17 for displacement of the tool.
• the arm 4 has an elongated beam-like configuration, as illustrated in Fig 1.
• the displaceability of the tool in the embodiment illustrated in Figs 1 -7 is realized by the fact that the arm includes at least two parts 14, 15, 16 that are displaceable in relation to each other along the arm's main longitudinal extension, where the tool is connected to a first 16 of the displaceable parts and a second 14 of the displaceable parts is connected to the vehicle's chassis 2, and the displacement means 17 is arranged to displace the arm's first and second displaceable parts 16, 14 in relation to each other for displacement of the tool 5 relative to the vehicle's chassis 2.
• the displaceable arm parts 14, 15, 16 are telescopically received in each other and displaceable relative to each other.
• Figs 1 -7 illustrate that the arm 4 has three displaceable parts 14, 15, 16, but it is possible to use two parts or more than three parts as desired.
• the displacement means can for example be arranged in the form of different types of motors which are arranged to displace the parts 14, 15, 16 in relation to one another.
• the displacement means includes a hydraulic drive means, preferably a hydraulic cylinder, that is schematically indicated by point 17.
• One end of the hydraulic cylinder is hereby connected to the arm part 14 and its other end, for example one end of the hydraulic cylinder's 17 piston rod, is connected to arm part 16.
• the arm's 4 length can therefore be adjusted by displacement of parts 14, 15, 16 relative to one another, whereby the tool 5 connected to the arm part 16 is displaced relative to the vehicle's 1 chassis 2.
• the device comprises an arrangement, schematically indicated at point 7, to control movements of the tool 5.
• the control arrangement 7 is designed to co-ordinate the pivot- ing member's 9 pivoting of the arm and the displacement means' 17 displacement of the tool so as to achieve a movement of the load carried by the tool 5 along an optionally placed curve having an optional appearance in relation to the vehicle in the vertical plane.
• the control arrangement 7 includes, for example, a programmable computer, that can be reprogrammed if necessary.
• the device in such a case even preferably comprises means to detect the arm's 4 angle relative to the chassis 2 and means to detect the tool's 5 displacement relative to the chassis, to send these detected values to the control arrangement 7, that is suitably arranged to calculate suitable control signals based on these values and send suitable control signals to the pivoting means 9 and displacement means 17 so as to achieve the desired movement of the tool 5 and thereby the desired movement of the load carried by the tool 5.
• Operating devices such as, for example, one or more control levers, steering wheels, knobs or such can be arranged at the driver's seat F of the vehicle 1 to allow the operator to feed in desired movements of the tool 5, whereby signals corresponding to that input are sent to the control arrangement 7 to co-ordinate the arm's 4 pivoting and the tool's 5 displacement in accordance with the input to achieve the desired movement of the tool 5.
• a great advantage with the inventive device as compared with the prior art lies in the fact that the co-ordination of the pivoting means' 9 pivoting of the arm 4 and the displacement means' 17 displacement of the tool 5 takes place at the control arrangement 7. It is therefore possible to feed in the desired movement of the tool 5 and the load carried thereupon via suitable input means, such as for example the above-mentioned operating devices, whereupon the control arrangement 7 then takes care of said co-ordination to achieve the desired movement of the tool.
• the operator of the device therefore avoids troublesome manual co-ordination of the movements in different directions with different pivoting means, displacement means and such to achieve the desired movement of the tool, for example, via a large number of operating devices.
• Fig 2 illustrates some of the movement patterns, which are possible to achieve using a device of the inventive type.
• This raising movement of the tool 5 can for example be carried out above the vehicle 1 , as illustrated in Fig 2, or at an optional distance d horizontally from the vehicle 1 , i.e. at an optional distance in front of the vehicle in its normal driving direction, as illustrated in Figs 4 and 5.
• the excellent flexibility of the movements of the tool 5 and thus the positioning of the load L carried by the tool 5 makes it possible, for example, to transport the load L with the vehicle 1 while the load L is positioned directly above the vehicle, which is synonymous with' above the driver's seat F in the vehicle illustrated in Figs 1 -7, as illustrated in Fig 7. This is for example particularly advantageous in situations where space is limited, which is often the case in warehouses and such.
• the tool 5 is advantageously pivotably arranged relative to the arm 4 about a second substantially horizontal axis 21 .
• the tool's 5 pivoting movement about axis 21 is indicated with arrows I and II in Fig 1 and with an arrow III in Fig 3.
• the axis 21 is arranged on a member 24 that is at an angle to the arm's 4 main longitudinal extension.
• the device advantageously comprises means to pivot the tool relative to the arm 4.
• the control arrangement 7 is therefore suitably designed to control the pivot- ing means' pivoting of the tool 5 to adjust the tool's orientation, i.e. the orientation of the tool's angle relative to the horizontal plane, which in the preceding embodiment can be equated with 3n adjustment of the angle of the fork tool's 5 forks 22 relative to a horizontal plane.
• the control arrangement is preferably arranged to co-ordinate the pivoting means' 23 pivoting of the tool 5 with the pivoting means' 9 pivoting of the arm and with the displacement means' 17 displacement of the tool so as to achieve a desired ordered orientation of the tool during its movement.
• the orientation of the tool can thereby for example be ordered via the above- mentioned operating devices.
• the control arrangement 7 is arranged to co-ordinate said pivoting movements and displacement movements, i.e. the pivoting means' pivoting of the tool, the pivoting means' pivoting of the arm and the displacement means' displacement of the tool, to maintain a substantially constant orientation of the load carried by the tool during the movement of the load.
• the load carried by the tool 5 can maintain a substantially constant angle relative to the horizontal plane, which, for example, can be the ground 20 on which the vehicle is located as illustrated in the diagrams, under movement, due to the pivoting means' pivoting of the tool relative to the arm.
• the pivoting means can for example comprise different types of motors, such as electric motors, adjusting means and such to provide said pivoting of the tool 5.
• the pivoting means preferably includes a hydraulic drive means, such as a hydraulic motor or a hydraulic cylinder for example.
• a hydraulic drive means such as a hydraulic motor or a hydraulic cylinder for example.
• the hydraulic drive means is arranged in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 23.
• the hydraulic cylinder 23 is connected to the arm 4 via the member 24 and is pivotably connected to a fastening element 26, by the end 25 of its piston rod, and the fastening element is pivotable about axis 21.
• the arm 4 is connected to the vehicle 1 on one longitudinal side of the vehicle in the vehicle's normal driving direction.
• the arm 4 does not hereby constitute any limitation of the forward view of a driver of the vehicle 1 when driving the vehicle forwards in its normal driving direction, which has otherwise been a problem in known industrial trucks, that have a substantially vertical lifting mast, for raising and lowering the tool, placed in a view-impairing position directly in front of the driver's seat.
• Fig 8 illustrates a device for a vehicle intended for handling load according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• the only thing that differentiates the embodiment according to Fig 8 from the embodiment discussed with reference to Figs 1 -7 is the placement of the arm 4, which according to the embodiment in Fig 8 is placed at the other longitudinal side of the vehicle as seen in its norrrial driving direction compared with the embodiment according to Figs 1 -7.
• the tool 5 is according to the embodiments of the invention il- lustrated in Figs 1 -8 connected to the arm via an arrangement 27 for attaching tools.
• the arrangement 27 is preferably an arrangement for replaceable attachment of tools to the arm 4, more particularly in the vicinity of the arm's 4 free end that is distant from the vehicle's chassis 2 and which is freely movable by pivoting the arm 4 about axis 8, to make replacement of the tool 5 possible with the aim of adapting the tool according to the type of load that will be handled.
• the arrangement 27 is arranged in the vicinity of the arm's 4 free end that is distant from the vehicle's chassis 2 and comprises a member 24 connected to said end of the arm arranged to extend towards the vehicle's centre as seen in its normal driving direction to maintain an attaching point, schematically indicated at point 29, for the tool at the attaching arrangement substantially centered relative to a horizontal longitudinal axis of the vehicle in said normal driving direction through the vehicle's centre of gravity.
• each of the above-described hydraulic cylinders 9, 17, 23 with its own hydraulic system or with a common hydraulic system to control the hydraulic cylinders and thereby control movements of the tool 5 and thereby the carried load related with each respective cylinder.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Forklifts And Lifting Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

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• 2002
  • 2002-07-15 SE SE0202202A patent/SE526096C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2003
  • 2003-06-23 US US10/521,653 patent/US20070003395A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-06-23 EP EP03733789A patent/EP1539631A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-06-23 WO PCT/SE2003/001074 patent/WO2004007337A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-06-23 AU AU2003242148A patent/AU2003242148A1/en not_active Abandoned

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