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The present invention relates to a modular forklift, in particular a modular electric forklift.
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The present invention relates to a modular approach to the design and construction of, in particular, an electronics module and a hydraulic control module for a modular forklift, in particular, for a modular electric forklift.
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In this description, a forklift is understood to be a land-based operating vehicle equipped with wheels (or tracks) and driven by electric motors, diesel or gas engines, which is used for the lifting and movement of goods within logistics warehouses or for loading and unloading goods from vehicles.
Background and scope of the invention
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Forklifts are becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to maintain as the introduction of numerous attachments and aids increase the complexity and require increasingly specific technical skills.
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It is well known that the maintenance of forklifts requires specialised labour and a long time to identify and repair faults.
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In particular, in the event of breakdowns in underdeveloped countries or in remote locations with unskilled labour, broken-down forklifts must be physically taken from their places of operation to specialised centres for maintenance and repair.
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One drawback of known forklifts is that their repair requires highly specialised labour.
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Another drawback of known forklifts is that even for skilled labour, the time required to identify and repair faults can be quite long. This leads to increased maintenance and repair costs as well as increased downtime.
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Another drawback of known forklifts is that before the fault can be found and repaired, they must be thoroughly cleaned and prepared, as the internal parts of used forklifts are often very dirty.
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Another drawback of known forklifts is that it is not always possible to ensure that original or manufacturer-certified spare parts are used during maintenance or repair work.
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Another drawback of known forklifts is that, in the event of a breakdown and/or accident, it is not always possible to tell whether original or manufacturer-certified spare parts were used in previous repair or maintenance work.
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In some cases, well-known forklifts are artfully complex and characterized by proprietary spare parts, aimed at forcing the end customer to turn to the parent company or exclusively to its network of authorised workshops. This aspect increases and exacerbates the drawbacks described above.
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In other cases, known forklifts are designed and built to minimize dimensions in order to operate in confined spaces. This requirement imposes construction choices that hinder maintenance. The components attached to the chassis are difficult to reach and the space for disassembly using common spanners is minimal, often forcing technicians to remove many components to reach the parts to be checked in the search for the fault. This entails considerable specialisation of the labour involved, long intervention times, the need to work in workshops with lifting bridges and specific equipment, transport costs and consequently prolonged downtime.
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Some manufacturers make forklifts subject to planned obsolescence by design, implementing proprietary technologies that require special software even for a simple diagnostic analysis in the event of a malfunction, effectively hindering extraordinary maintenance and forcing customers to sustain high maintenance costs.
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The purpose of the present invention is to provide a modular forklift, particularly an electric drive one, that eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art and is innovative and advantageous compared to traditional methods.
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In particular, the aim of the present invention is to provide a modular forklift that enables the removal and replacement of faulty modules.
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Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a modular forklift that allows quick, easy and safe removal and replacement of a faulty module from the forklift chassis.
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A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a modular forklift in which it is possible to replace a faulty module with a new functioning module.
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Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a modular forklift that does not require highly skilled labour to repair faults.
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This solution increases safety because each module has clearly marked anchorage points, lifting hooks and, thanks to quick couplings, avoids the possibility of error even for maintenance technicians with low specialisation.
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This solution avoids unnecessary and costly transfers to specialised workshops with specific equipment, facilitating the intervention and replacement of modules directly on site.
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This invention reduces by design the obsolescence of the entire machine, which years later will be easily upgradable to future technologies simply by replacing the module with a more up-to-date one.
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Such an innovative approach is, when analysed over the entire product life cycle, extremely less impactful from an environmental point of view for several reasons. Firstly, it is not necessary to move the entire forklift to be repaired from the site of use to a specialised workshop, but simply deliver a replacement module and collect the defective module. Secondly, at the end of the life cycle, the obsolete modules can be removed and simply replaced with the new upgraded modules, keeping the chassis unchanged, which at this point simply acts as a housing for the modules and as a counterweight.
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These and other objects are achieved by a modular forklift according to the invention having the features listed in appended independent claim 1.
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Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims 2 to 9.
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These and other objects are achieved by a hydraulic control module according to the invention having the characteristics listed in claim 10.
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These and other purposes are achieved by an electronics module according to the invention having the characteristics listed in claim 11.
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According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a modular forklift comprising a chassis capable of housing the traction module comprising the differential and the traction motor.
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A further module connected via quick couplings is the hydraulic steering, again with removal and replacement features facilitated by mechanical devices and quick couplings.
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The forklift is characterized by a fully modular design. In particular, the main modules are the hydraulic control module and the electronics module, each of which can be completely removed from said chassis.
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In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a hydraulic control module that can be installed in a specially designed forklift chassis. The module itself consists of an outer casing comprising within it an oil reservoir, a steering motor and a hydraulic motor configured to move the lifting mast and any other hydraulic functions of the forklift.
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In a third aspect, the present invention relates to an electronics module that can be installed in a forklift, comprising an outer casing comprising within it a plurality of electronic elements, such as inverters for motor control, contactors, fuses, cooling fans, and control units for all the forklift functions.
Brief description of the drawings
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Further features of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely illustrative and therefore non-limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
- Figure 1 is an exploded view of a modular forklift according to the present invention;
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the chassis according to the present invention;
- Figure 3 is a perspective view of the hydraulic control module according to the present invention;
- Figure 4 is a front view of the hydraulic control module in Figure 3;
- Figure 5 is a side view of the hydraulic control module in Figure 3;
- Figure 6 is a perspective view of the electronics module according to the present invention;
- Figure 7 is a side view of the electronics module in Figure 6;
- Figure 8 is a front view of the electronics module in Figure 6;
- Figure 9 is a sectional side view according to section B-B in Figure 8.
Detailed description of the invention
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A modular forklift according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
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The forklift 1, comprises a supporting chassis or module 10, a fork-holder element 40, a driver's cab 50, a battery 60, a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels.
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Preferably, the pair of front wheels are drive wheels and the pair of rear wheels are steer wheels.
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Preferably, the forklift according to the present invention is electric and has a removable electric battery, positioned in a special compartment of the chassis, between the axles.
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The traction motor is an integral part of the traction module, which also comprises the differential and is connected to it.
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The modular forklift 1 according to the present invention comprises a supporting chassis 10, on which a traction module comprising a differential with a traction motor connected thereto and a hydraulic steering module are mounted. The forklift 1 comprises a hydraulic control module 20 and an electronics module 30, each of which can be completely removed from the chassis 10 and replaced with a new one.
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The chassis 10 is only the support for the modules. The traction module interfaces with the differential, the traction motor. The power supply battery module is also easily removable. The rear hydraulic steering module also comprises a series of mechanical devices and quick couplings that make it easy to replace in the event of failure.
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In particular, the chassis 10 comprises a first compartment or housing 11 configured for insertion or removal of the hydraulic control module 10 and comprises a second compartment 13 for insertion or removal of the electronics module 30.
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The first compartment 11 is located at the front of the chassis 10 of the forklift 1.
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Advantageously, the second compartment 13, configured to house and interface with said electronics module 30, is located laterally and to the rear of said first compartment 11. This makes it easily accessible for replacement in the event of a fault.
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The hydraulic control module 20 comprises an outer casing 21 comprising within it an oil reservoir 24, a steering motor 22, a hydraulic motor 23 configured to move the lifting mast 40.
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The hydraulic control module 20 is completely removable from the top of the first compartment 11 by disconnecting the quick couplings.
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The hydraulic control module 20 comprises, at the top, a seat for the forklift 1 operator, a steering wheel, a control dashboard 25 of the lifting mast 40 and, the accelerator pedal and a parking brake 26 connected at the top of the module 20. This minimizes intervention time and interconnections with other parts of the forklift 1.
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In particular, the hydraulic control module 20 is completely removable at the top from said supporting chassis 10 and comprises hydraulic quick couplings with a valve sealing element. For example, push-pull couplings with a valve seal system. This prevents oil leakage during insertion and/or removal of the hydraulic module 20.
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The module is thus complete and designed to minimize connections to other parts of the forklift. Once removed, every part is visible and easily accessible, facilitating the identification of the fault and allowing the repair technician to resolve it in complete safety, maximizing ergonomics, cleanliness and accessibility of parts.
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The electronics module 30 comprises an outer casing 31 comprising within it all the electronic components. In particular, it comprises within it the following electronic elements: inverters for motor control, contactors, fuses, cooling fans, and control units for forklift functions.
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This module 30 is self-configuring and complete with remote diagnostics.
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Special slides guide the insertion of the coloured power connectors 32, which protrude from the bottom of the box-shaped casing 31.
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Two automotive type quick connectors 33, 34, located on the side handle the low power via relevant wiring, towards the hydraulic control module.
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Advantageously, the outer casing 31 comprises an electrical connection element 32 configured to transmit and receive electrical signals for traction of the forklift 1, for fork movement 41, to control the steering motor.
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Preferably, the electrical connection element 32 is arranged below said outer casing 31, so as to facilitate its insertion or removal from the second compartment 13 of the support chassis 10.
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In order to facilitate the connection of the electronics module and prevent errors, the electrical connection itself consists of a plurality of colour-coded connectors, each for a specific connection.
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No specialised personnel is required for replacing the module. A special slide guides the electronics module into position and the weight of the module itself facilitates the insertion of the power connections, avoiding any possibility of error. By way of non-limiting example, the comb connector attached to chassis 10 is made up of sections with different colour codes: the connector that is connected to the hydraulic control module 20 has a red colour, the connector that is connected to the traction module (electric motor and differential) has a black colour.
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In addition, a side connector 32, 34 is provided to receive power from a battery mounted on said chassis 10.
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Advantageously, the chassis 10 comprises a tag-NFC that is associated with a unique forklift identification code 1. For example, it can be associated with the serial number of the forklift 1.
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The hydraulic control module 20 and electronics module 30 also each include a tag-NFC that is associated with a unique identification code of the forklift 1 on which they are installed. For example, they can be associated with the serial number of the forklift.
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Each forklift module therefore has a unique code that describes its characteristics and is associated with the serial number of the forklift itself, again via a blockchain entry.
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Every subsequent change and maintenance is tracked and recorded in writing that cannot be altered in any way.
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This allows the electronics to self-configure optimally at all times, without the need for the intervention of specialised technicians.
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Furthermore, the entire history of the forklift, its evolution and maintenance over time is always clearly identifiable and tracked.
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In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a hydraulic control module 20 which can be installed in a compartment 11 of the chassis 10 of a forklift 1 and comprises an outer casing 21 comprising within it an oil reservoir 24, a steering motor 22, a hydraulic motor 23 configured to move the lifting mast 40.
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In a third aspect, the present invention relates to an electronics module 30 that can be installed in a compartment 13 of a chassis 10 of a forklift and comprises an outer casing 31 comprising within it the following electronic elements: inverters for motor control, contactors, fuses, cooling fans and the control units for all the forklift functions.
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The modular forklift according to the present invention has the following advantages.
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In the event of a breakdown, even in difficult countries with unskilled labour, the damaged module can be removed and replaced with a similar one so as to minimize downtime and eliminate travel from the construction site to authorized workshops of the entire forklift.
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Maximizing safety, the modules are extremely easy to handle and safe to move, because they are balanced, with clearly identified anchorage points and specially designed for this purpose. By disconnecting the entire module, the repair technician is not exposed to accidental forklift movements in either traction or accidental forklift handling, effectively minimizing the likelihood of an accident due to faulty or damaged machinery.
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Once a module is removed, each component is easily accessible, without the encumbrance of the chassis and cab, simplifying cleaning, fault identification and maintenance.
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It provides an ecological advantage in that it is not necessary to move the entire defective forklift with an equipped crane truck to the authorised workshop, but it is sufficient to move only the single defective module with a simple van.
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Combating obsolescence, in the future it will be possible to upgrade the forklift to new technology by simply replacing the obsolete module with a new upgraded one.
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Naturally the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment previously described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but numerous modifications can be made to it in detail, within the reach of the person skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention itself, as defined in the appended claims.