JP2000169097A - Fork positioner of forklift - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fork positioner of a new forklift capable of certainly preventing both shift cylinders from interrupting a field of view in simple structure. A front field of view is interrupted by a pair of the shift cylinders 38, 40 to slide forks 10, 12. SOLUTION: This fork positioner has a guide shaft 28 provided on an elevating carrier 14, cylindrical block guides 30, 32, 34, 36 in stalled on a back surface of each of forks 10, 12 and to externally fit on the guide shaft 28 free to slide and a pair of shift cylinders 38, 40 installed on the elevating carrier 14 on one end and to slide each of the forks 10, 12 along the guide shaft 28. A head end of the one shift cylinder 40 is installed on the block guide 34 through a second cylinder bracket 66, and both of the shift cylinders 38, 40 are arranged at the same height position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a forklift fork positioner, and more particularly to an improvement in a shift cylinder mounting structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a forklift fork positioner (shift fork device) according to a conventional example described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-59477.

At the front of the forklift, a lifting carrier 104 for supporting a pair of forks 102 is provided so as to be able to move up and down. The lifting carrier 104 has a cross section L
A pair of upper and lower finger bars 106 and 108 having a character shape
A pair of left and right side brackets 110 attached to both ends of both finger bars 106 and 108,
have.

A fork positioner according to a conventional example is mounted on the back surface of each fork 102, and is slidably fitted on the guide shaft 112. It is roughly constituted by a cylindrical block guide 114 and a pair of shift cylinders 116 and 118 supported at one end by the side bracket 110 and sliding each fork 102 along the guide shaft 112. The other ends of both shift cylinders 116 and 118 are attached to each fork 102 via cylinder brackets 120 and 122 attached to the back of each fork 102.

By operating the shift cylinders 116 and 118, the distance between the pair of forks 102 can be adjusted. In addition, a clamp function for clamping a load or the like between the forks 102 and the fork 10 while holding the load are provided.
2 can be realized in the horizontal direction.

Here, in this conventional example, both shift cylinders 116, 118 are viewed from the rear side of the driver's seat so that the shift cylinders 116, 118 do not obstruct the front view.
8 are arranged at the same height position as much as possible. Specifically, the cylinder bracket 120 of one shift cylinder 116 is appropriately bent so as to bypass the other shift cylinder 118 while the other shift cylinder 118
Is extended to the rear.

[0007]

However, in the fork positioner according to the above-mentioned conventional example, the other shift cylinder 118 must be displaced downward in the drawing in order to secure a space for bypassing the cylinder bracket 120. . For this reason, both shift cylinders 11
The height positions of 6,118 are slightly shifted, and further improvement is desired in terms of securing the view.

Further, since one of the cylinder brackets 120 is bent, the cylinder bracket 12
In addition to the increase in the number of machining steps of zero, it becomes very difficult to ensure the positional accuracy of the shift cylinder 116 connected to the cylinder bracket 120.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a novel forklift fork positioner having a simple structure and capable of more reliably preventing both shift cylinders from obstructing the field of view. It is intended to be.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a forklift fork positioner having a guide shaft provided on an elevating carrier for supporting a pair of forks, and being mounted on a back surface of each fork. A cylindrical block guide that is slidably fitted outside, and a pair of shift cylinders that are attached to the lifting carrier at one end and slide each fork along the guide shaft, and have the other end of at least one shift cylinder. , And is attached to the block guide.

The fork positioner according to the present invention is basically capable of adjusting the distance between a pair of forks by operating a shift cylinder, and has a clamp function for holding a load or the like between the two forks, and A side shift function of sliding the fork in the horizontal direction while holding it can be realized.

Since the other end of at least one shift cylinder is attached to a block guide projecting rearward from the back of the forklift, the cylinder bracket of one shift cylinder is connected to the other, as in the conventional example. There is no need to bypass the shift cylinder. That is,
With a simple structure that does not require a bending cylinder bracket or the like, both shift cylinders can be arranged at positions close to the guide shaft and at substantially the same height as in the invention of claim 5.

As a result, the area where the field of view is obstructed by the two shift cylinders when viewed from the rear driver's seat side can be reliably suppressed to the projection area of one cylinder, and a sufficiently wide field of view can be secured. Can be.

The invention according to a second aspect is characterized in that a straight cylinder bracket connected to the other end of the one shift cylinder is provided on the outer periphery of the block guide.

In other words, since the cylinder bracket is provided on the block guide projecting rearward from the back surface of the fork, it is not necessary to form a curve so as to bypass the other shift cylinder as in the conventional example, and it is straight. It can be shaped.

As a result, not only can the machining of the cylinder bracket be facilitated, but also the mounting position accuracy of one of the shift cylinders mounted via the cylinder bracket can be easily improved.

Here, the other end of the other shift cylinder is
For example, as in the invention according to claim 3, it is directly attached to the back surface of the other fork.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the elevating carrier comprises:
A finger bar having a substantially L-shaped cross section extending along the guide shaft is provided, and the shift cylinder is arranged on the opposite side of the horizontal piece of the finger bar with the guide shaft interposed therebetween.

That is, the finger bar is formed in an L-shaped cross section, which is advantageous in strength, and has a horizontal piece portion so as not to interfere with one of the shift cylinders attached to the block guide. It is arranged on the opposite side to the shift cylinder with the guide shaft interposed.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, both shift cylinders can be arranged at the same height at a position close to the guide shaft with a simple structure. The hindered range can be minimized.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, not only can machining of the cylinder bracket be facilitated, but also the mounting position accuracy of one shift cylinder mounted via the cylinder bracket can be easily improved.

[0022]

1 to 4 show a forklift fork positioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, an elevating carrier 14 for supporting a pair of cargo handling forks 10, 12 is provided at the front of the forklift body so as to be able to ascend and descend. The lifting carrier 14 includes a pair of left and right lift brackets 16,
18, a pair of upper and lower finger bars 20, 22 fixed to the front sides of both lift brackets 16, 18, and a pair of left and right side brackets 24, 26 fixed to both ends of both finger bars 20, 22. It is roughly configured. Each finger bar 20, 22 is formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section, which is advantageous in strength.

The fork positioner according to the present embodiment is supported by the elevating carrier 14 and has a total of four guide shafts 28 extending horizontally along the finger bars 20 and 22 at two upper and lower positions, and the back surfaces of the forks 10 and 12. Up and down 2
And a total of four cylindrical block guides 30, 3 which are fixed to the location and slidably fit over the guide shaft 28.
2, 34, 36 and side brackets 24, 26 at one end.
And each fork 10, 12 is connected to the guide shaft 2
8, a pair of shift cylinders 38 that slide along
40 and the main structure.

By operating the shift cylinders 38 and 40, the distance between the pair of forks 10 and 12 can be adjusted, and a clamp function for clamping a load or the like between the forks 10 and 12 and holding the load. A side shift function of sliding the forks 10 and 12 in the horizontal direction can be realized.

The configuration of each part will be described in detail. Each guide shaft 28 is fitted at one end into the support hole 42 of the side bracket 24, 26, and at the other end, each finger bar 20, 2
2 is fitted to a support bracket 44 provided at the central portion.

Between the outer periphery of each guide shaft 28 and the inner periphery of each block guide 30, 32, 34, 36, for the purpose of smoothing the sliding operation of the guide shaft 28,
A pair of slide bearings 46 and washers 48 are interposed. The block guides 30, 32, 34, 36 are provided with stoppers 50 for preventing the slide bearing 46 and the washer 48 from coming off, and a pin 51 for closing the lubricating oil introduction hole.

A U-shaped clevis 52 is provided at the base end (one end) of each shift cylinder 38, 40. Each clevis 52 and the cylinder bracket 54 provided on each side bracket 24, 26 They are connected and fixed via a clevis pin 56 that passes through both.

Also, U-shaped clevises 60 and 62 are integrally provided at the other ends of the shift cylinders 38 and 40, that is, at the tip of the piston rod 58, respectively.

Here, the tip of the first shift cylinder 38 for sliding the first fork 10 is connected to the first fork 10
The second shift cylinder 40 that slides the second fork 12 is fixed to the rear surface of the second fork 12 while being directly attached to the rear surface of the second fork 12.
The fork 12 is attached to an upper block guide 34 that protrudes rearward from the back surface.

More specifically, the first clevis 60 provided at the tip of the piston rod 58 of the first shift cylinder 38
And the first cylinder bracket 64 fixed to the back surface of the first fork 10 are connected and fixed via a clevis pin 68 that penetrates both 60, 64. On the other hand, the second
Upper block guide 3 fixed to the back of fork 12
A flat plate-shaped second cylinder bracket 66
The cylinder bracket 66 and the second clevis 62 provided at the tip of the piston rod 58 of the second shift cylinder 40 are connected and fixed via a clevis pin 68 that passes through both.

The second cylinder bracket 66 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
It supports the shift cylinder 40, has a straight shape without a bent portion, and is fixed to a lower rear position on the outer periphery of the upper block guide 34 projecting rearward from the rear surface of the second fork 12, and has a predetermined shape. It extends obliquely downward and rearward at an angle α (FIG. 4).

With such a configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, both shift cylinders 38 and 40 are moved in the horizontal direction at the same height position close to the upper guide shaft 28 and in the front-rear direction. It becomes possible to arrange them side by side.
As a result, when viewed from the rear driver's seat side, both shift cylinders 3
The area where the field of view is obstructed by 8, 40 is reliably suppressed to the projection area of one cylinder. Therefore, the opening 72 (the shaded region in FIG. 3) below both shift cylinders 38 and 40 is secured to a sufficient size. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the height H1 from the port 70 provided at the lower part of each shift cylinder 38, 40 to the lower finger bar 22 is the same as the conventional example shown in FIG. Is longer than the height H2, and a wider front view can be secured.

Here, the upper finger bar 20 is connected to the second cylinder bracket 6 provided on the block guide 34.
6a so that it does not interfere with
Shift cylinders 38, 4 with guide shaft 28 interposed
0 in the vertical direction, and in this embodiment,
It is arranged above. That is, the upper finger bar 20 is disposed so as to cover the guide shaft 28 from above, and in such a structure, for example, the horizontal piece of the upper finger bar is disposed on the lower side as in the conventional example shown in FIG. The same sufficient strength as in the case of performing the above can be secured.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment,
Since the second cylinder bracket 66 fixed to the block guide 34 has a straight flat plate shape, the mounting center position 40a of the second shift cylinder 40 is determined by the mounting angle α of the second cylinder bracket 66 and the second cylinder bracket 66. It is determined by the height L from the center of the block guide 34, which is proportional to the length of the bracket 66. For this reason, compared to the case where the cylinder bracket is bent as in the conventional example,
In addition to easy processing of the second cylinder bracket 66, the mounting position accuracy of the second shift cylinder 40 can be easily improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, finger bars 74 and 76 having a rectangular cross section can be used in place of the finger bars 20 and 22 having a substantially L-shaped cross section as in the first embodiment. However, in this case, it is necessary to increase the width A in the front-rear direction of the finger bars 74 and 76 to some extent in order to secure the same cross-sectional strength as in the case of the substantially L-shaped cross-section as in the first embodiment. As a result, the amount of front overhang increases and the allowable load decreases, which is disadvantageous as compared with the above embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a fork positioner of a forklift according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the fork positioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the fork positioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing one fork of the present embodiment alone.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modified example of the finger bar according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a fork positioner of a forklift according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 12 fork 14 elevating carrier 20, 22 finger bar 20a horizontal piece 30, 32, 34, 36 block guide 38, 40 shift cylinder 64, 66 cylinder bracket

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A guide shaft provided on an elevating carrier supporting a pair of forks, a cylindrical block guide attached to the back of each fork and slidably fitted on the guide shaft, and an elevating carrier at one end. And a pair of shift cylinders for sliding each fork along a guide shaft, wherein the other end of at least one of the shift cylinders is attached to the block guide. 2. The forklift fork positioner according to claim 1, wherein a straight cylinder bracket connected to the other end of said one shift cylinder is provided on an outer periphery of said block guide. 3. The other end of the other shift cylinder is attached to the back of the other fork.
Or a forklifter for a forklift according to item 2. 4. The lifting carrier has a finger bar having a substantially L-shaped cross section extending along the guide shaft, and the shift cylinder is opposite to a horizontal piece of the finger bar across the guide shaft. The fork lifter forklift according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the forklift is arranged in a forklift. 5. The shift cylinder according to claim 1, wherein said pair of shift cylinders are arranged at substantially the same height.
5. The forklift fork positioner according to any one of 4.