FR2468475A3 - ELASTIC SUSPENSION SUPPORT ROLLER FOR HANDLING TROLLEYS - Google Patents

Abstract

Support roller with elastic suspension for industrial trolleys, comprising a fixing plate fitted with a swivel pad. It is mounted to pivot and can perform a pendulum movement, and is resiliently supported next to the pivot axis, with the interposition of a rubber spring 26 with a progressive characteristic curve.

Description

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  The invention relates to an elastic suspension support roller for industrial trucks, which comprises a fixing plate fitted with a pivoting bearing, is

pivotally mounted able to perform a hanging movement-

  and is supported elastically next to the pivot axis. The invention further relates to a handling trolley

equipped with such support rollers.

Industrial trucks with or without mast, especially short-stroke forklifts, consist of single or tandem rollers mounted on

  wheels, which are covered by the load carrier, a platform

fork shape or teeth.

  In the front frame of the chassis are normal-

  the battery and the steering control, and below

  this the drive mechanism which acts on a wheel.

  Like any three-wheeled vehicle, this carriage may overturn around axes coinciding with the lines connecting the drive wheel and the wheels at the other end of the vehicle. It is known to stabilize such carriages by support rollers arranged laterally on either side of the drive wheel. The tilting axes are thus moved from the point of contact of the drive wheel

outwards, which considerably increases stability.

  So that this does not however result in a rigid support at five points, it is known to mount the support rollers so that they can perform a pendulum movement and support them elastically. In this case, the fork of the support roller is suspended so as to be able to tilt on a marginal portion of a support plate mounted to rotate on the fixing plate; between the end of the plate

  diagonally opposite support and an extension of the

compression springs are arranged on the fork

  helical which are guided on a transverse medial journal

  the extension. This known embodiment has several drawbacks. On the one hand, torques are formed on the support plate which compromise the support and cause faster wear. By the way, if the springs

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helical compression allow a prestressing of the support roller to obtain a determined support pressure, so that one can follow the unevenness of the ground in the

  range of possible pendulum movement, the characteristic curve

  rectilinear ristics of the helical compression springs causes, when the vehicle is tilted above an inversion axis, too much movement, which

results in insufficient support. -

Unprotected, helical compression springs

  colds can also be soiled and damaged, which compromises their effectiveness. In addition, the downward-facing end of the pin may come into contact with uneven ground. Furthermore, in the known embodiment, it is common to mount two parallel coil springs; in the event of a reduction in the efficiency of one of the springs,

the result is a one-sided moment.

  The object of the invention is to improve the support rollers of the aforementioned type so that, when the handling carriage is horizontal, the support is first weak then, when the carriage tilts due to '' a unilateral charge

  or unevenness of the ground, the support force gradually increases

  vement. This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that

  that we mount a rubber spring with characteristic-

  progressive. This results not only in the introduction of a progressive spring characteristic with the consequence of a significantly improved stability of the handling carriage without increasing its own weight and without excessive wear of the tires of the support rollers, but also in a compact arrangement, without the need for guide pins,

especially in the known embodiment.

  It is particularly advantageous to place a pre-stressed rubber spring, which, even when it is moved away

of a stop, keeps its position.

  In addition, the rubber springs are practically insensitive to external influences. It is understood

that instead of the aforementioned material, one can also use

  read other materials with similar properties.

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  In the preferred embodiment, a pivot bearing is provided on the fixing plate, and at a certain distance from this bearing, a support for the rubber spring. This is made possible by the relatively small dimensions of the rubber spring. Thanks to this embodiment, the pivot bearing is also unloaded, because the support plate is

uniformly stressed.

In this case, it is preferable that an inclined arm is secured laterally to the fixing plate, with the pivot bearing at its end, and that on this arm, substantially at the height of the support plate, the rubber spring. is arranged substantially parallel to the plane of the support plate. This results in favorable leverage ratios. But above all, the rubber spring is very

  away from the ground and is therefore in a protected area.

In the preferred embodiment, the arm extends downward, at an angle to the support plate, of a length such that the pivot bearing is placed substantially at the height of the axis of the roller. We obtain

thus also with respect to the chassis of the handling trolley

  tention a favorable realization for a structure extended

  downward; in this case, the self-weight of the support roller already provides support on the ground. An abutment is suitably provided to limit the movement of the support plate, in particular a cantilevered spout in the

swivel bearing area, which engages a stop.

  This stop can be provided as a housing on the chassis or be constituted by a counter stop in the area of the pivoting bearing. Suitably, a hollow volume is arranged on the pivoting arm next to the support plate in which a retractable support rod for the rubber spring can slide. Such a support rod extends here practically parallel to the fixing plate, and

not down. Its sliding end is protected.

  Such a hollow volume can be achieved by the fact that the arm has lateral cheeks between which part of the

rubber spring is housed.

  It is also expected that the pivoting bearing is elongated and / or in several parts and that a pivoting takes place in a

direction parallel to the axis of the roller. It is well understood

tensed that, when we speak of a rubber spring, at least one rubber spring is arranged symmetrically by

relation to the middle of the roller axis (or of the roller axes).

  We can also consider an embodiment with a tandem roller, which is particularly advantageous, also in turns. In this case, the support roller located inside is for example unloaded while the roller outside the turn ensures progressive support of the handling truck. It has been found that the wear of the tires is substantially the same for the drive wheel as for the

  support rollers, which is important in that in this way the

  distance from the support surface of the support rollers and the

  chassis drive wheel remains substantially constant.

  For the preferred embodiment, the handling carriage carries a support extending downwards with added bearings for the pivot axis of the support roller, the top of this support constituting at the same time the stop for

at least one rubber spring.

  The invention will be clearly understood on reading the

  detailed description, given below as an example

  only, of preferred embodiments shown schematically in the drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a handling trolley, partially in section; Figure 2 is a side view of a support roller, partially in section; Figure 3 is a top view of the support roller according to Figure 2, partially in section, in the embodiment as a single roller; FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3,

in the realization as a tandem roller.

  The handling trolley of FIG. 1 is essentially known. It comprises a chassis 1, on which is mounted a load carrier 2 with two fork arms, which can move

  in height. Under this load carrier are arranged through-

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  diary of articulated levers 3,4, supports 5 for load support wheels 6,7. Under the chassis is provided a steerable drive wheel 8 which is arranged in the middle with respect to the pairs of wheels 6, 7 arranged on each side. This practically results in a three-wheeled vehicle with the reversal axes mentioned. The representation of Figure 1 is schematic, the drive and control means

known are not shown.

On each side of the steerable drive wheel

  a support roller 9 is provided; you can see the one on the first

  mier plan on figure 1. This roller is already in the realization

advantageous tion which has been described, so that we

  tera in Figure 2, in which identical parts bear

the same reference numbers.

The support roller is mounted in a fork 10 and can rotate about an axis 11. This fork is secured to a support plate 12 which is connected to a fixing plate 14 by a bearing 13 known per se. On the fixing plate is arranged laterally an arm 15 extending downwards, the lower end of which carries a pivot bearing 16 connected by a hinge pin 18 to a support 17 similar to a wall, oriented downwards and secured to the chassis 1. The arm 15 makes an obtuse angle of the order of 1200 with the plane of the support plate. This arm is reinforced by flanges on

Both sides.

The pivot bearing is formed on the two flas-

lateral sides 19, 20 of the arm, by added bearings, through which the pivot axis 18 passes. On the support 17 serving as a stop are fixed plates which have corresponding orifices for the pivot axis 18 and thus constitute added bearings 21, 22 for the axis

pivot 18.

  We see in Figure 1 that the pivot axis 18 is substantially at the same height as the axis 11 of the roller

support.

Thanks to its inclination, the arm 15 constitutes with the support roller assembly and the support plate a lever which can pivot under its weight in the opposite direction of

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  clockwise (in FIG. 2), so that the support roller 9 automatically pivots towards the ground 24. Substantially in the plane of the fixing plate is arranged, on a portion 25 of the arm 15, a rubber spring 26 consisting, for example, of a rubber spring element 27 between two front discs 28, 29. A support rod 30 is, for example, fixed on the disc 28 located outside, and this rod can slide freely through an orifice 31 in the portion 25, and enter a hollow volume 32 provided on the pivoting arm 15 to side of the support plate 14. The disc 29 of the rubber spring 26 is guided by a spherical bearing 33 on the edge of the opening

  31, which allows automatic alignment of the rod

  teuse 30 during a pivoting of the arm 15.

  The rubber spring element 27 can usually be connected to the two metal discs 28, 29 by vulcanization. The rubber spring referenced as a whole at 26 is, by its position on the support rod 30, prestressed so that the support rod 30 retracted, with the neighboring disc 29, presses, or, in a variant, against the portion 25 of the wheel support, either on the bearing 33, with a pressure which prevents that, when the support roller is folded down, the rubber spring can take an oblique position. In this position, the head of the support rod 30 separates completely from the support 17 serving as a stop, so that, when the wheel support is folded up, the head of the support rod 30 opposite the latter, and the disc 28 located in its area, support

completely against the support 17.

  The lateral flanges 19, 20 constitute a volume 34 open to the right in FIGS. 2 to 4, in which is

  protected part of the rubber spring

cabbage 27.

As seen in Figure 2, the pivot bearing-

  ment comprises on the flanges 19.20 projecting spouts, one of which is referenced at 35, which engages with a stopper, Such a spout can be placed on the flanges 19.20 at the bottom,

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or on a portion of the floor between them. In this case, the stop would be formed on the plates 21, 22. It can also be formed, for example, by the lower edge 36 of the support 17. This limits the pendulum clearance between this stop on the one hand, and the rubber spring 26

on the other hand.

  FIG. 3 represents a simple support roller 9, FIG. 4 represents an extension roller with the two rollers 9 ', 23. This results in particularly advantageous guidance in correlation with the pivoting bearing and the spring in

rubber 26.

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Claims (11)

IONS CLAIMS   1.- Support roller with elastic suspension for handling trolleys, which includes a fixing plate   fitted with a swivel bearing, is pivotally mounted   while being able to make a pendulum movement, and is resiliently supported next to the pivot axis, charac- terrified by fitting a rubber spring (26-29) with progressive characteristic curve.   2.- support roller according to claim 1, character-   risé in that there is provided a pivot bearing (16) on the fixing plate (14) and at a certain distance from this bearing a support (33) for the rubber spring.   3.- Support roller according to claim 2, charac- terized in that an inclined arm (15) is integral laterally Lement of the fixing plate (14), carries the pivot bearing (16) at its end, and in that one places on this arm (15), approximately at the height of the support plate (14 ), the fixing spring (26-29) substantially parallel to the plane of the support plate (14).   4.- Support roller according to claim 3, character- risé in that the arm (15) extends downward, at an angle with the support plate (14), of a length such that the pivot bearing (16) is disposed substantially at the height of the axis (11) of the roller.   5.- Support roller according to any one of the res-   dications 2 to 4, characterized in that there is provided a stop (35) serving to limit the movement of the support plate (14). 6.- Support roller according to claim 3, charac-   terized in that the arm (15) has lateral flanges (19,20) between which a part of the spring is disposed rubber (26-29). 7.- Support roller according to claim 6, charac-   terized in that there is provided on the arm (15) next to the support plate (14) a hollow volume (32) in which can introduce a support rod (30) for the rubber spring cabbage (26 to 29).   8.- Support roller according to any one of the res-   dications 1 to 7, characterized in that the pivot bearing-   ment (16) is elongated and / or in several parts and provision is made for pivoting in a direction parallel to the axis (11) pebble.   9.- Support roller according to any one of the res-   dications 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one rubber spring (26-29) is arranged symmetrically with respect to   in the middle of the axis (11), or of the axes of the roller or rollers.   10.- Support roller according to any one of the res-   dications 1 to 9, characterized in that it is produced under duplex pebble shape (9 ', 23).   11.- Support roller according to any one of the res-   dications 1 to 10, characterized in that a pre-stressed rubber spring (26-29) is placed on a support rod (30)   mounted so that it can move in the arm (15).