JP2013163553A - Tilting device of forklift - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tilting device of a forklift which can be simplified/generalized and further can be manufactured less expensively.SOLUTION: A tilting device includes a movable arm 16 which can vertically move the whole device by vertically moving by virtue of a lift chain 17 between a lifting base 14 and forks 15 pivotally supported by the lifting base such that a tilting motion can be performed and further by supporting the lifting base at a predetermined uplifted position, tilt drivers 18 disposed between the movable arm and both of the lifting base and forks sandwiching the movable arm, and support rollers 19 disposed at root parts of the forks so as to come just under fulcrums C of the respective forks. The tilt drivers each include a roller follower 28 pivotally supported at a lower part of the movable arm and roller receivers 29, 30 each provided on the lifting base side and the fork side respectively to allow the roller follower to roll thereon. At least either of the roller receivers respectively disposed on the lifting base side and the fork side is formed on a downwardly oblique face 30a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a tilt device that adjusts the angle (tilt amount) of a fork in a forklift (manned, unmanned, etc.).

  In general, when a pallet or the like is lifted and transported by a fork during a cargo handling operation by an unmanned forklift or the like, the fork is lowered at the base end portion (base portion of the fork) to prevent the transported cargo from falling. It is usually done to move so as to tilt. Such an operation of tilting the fork is referred to as a tilt operation.

  Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like, this tilting operation is such that a fork is supported so as to be movable up and down via a lift bracket (elevating base) so as to be tiltable with respect to the vehicle body. The mast is tilted by expansion and contraction of a fluid pressure cylinder (actuator) interposed between the fork and the fork and the lift bracket. The fork is directly rotated by expansion and contraction of the fluid pressure cylinder (actuator).

JP 2010-30771 A

  However, as in Patent Document 1, in the case of using a fluid pressure cylinder (actuator) dedicated to tilt operation, the control device and the like are also required, which complicates the device and invites an increase in cost. There was a problem.

  By the way, when scooping up a load (upright piano, etc.) with a small fork insertion gap placed on the floor, etc., in the case of a manned forklift, the operator slightly adjusts the vertical position and tilt amount of the fork. In the case of an unmanned forklift, there was a problem that such an operation was impossible.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tilt device for a forklift that can simplify and generalize the device and reduce the cost.

A tilt device for a forklift according to the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.
A lifting base that moves up and down along a mast standing in front of the vehicle body;
A fork that is pivotally supported by the elevating base so as to be tiltable and extends forward of the vehicle body;
A movable arm that moves up and down between the elevating base and the fork and moves the entire apparatus up and down by carrying the elevating base at a predetermined rising position;
A lift chain for moving the movable arm up and down;
A tilt driving unit provided between the movable arm and a lifting base and a fork sandwiching the movable arm;
A support roller provided at the base of the fork and located immediately below the pivot point of the fork;
With
The tilt drive unit includes a rolling element pivotally supported at the lower part of the movable arm, and rolling element receivers provided on the elevating base side and the fork side for the rolling element to roll, and the elevating base side, At least one of the rolling element receivers on the fork side is formed on an inclined surface that falls downward,
It is characterized by that.

Also,
The lifting base is held by a roller follower from four directions of a rectangular mast.

Also,
The lifting base is characterized in that the fork is pivotally supported by a long hole that is long in the vertical direction.

Also,
The movable arm is characterized in that the rolling base bears the lift base by abutting against a lift receiver attached to the lift base side.

Also,
The support roller is provided at one place in a middle portion in the left-right direction of a finger plate that couples a pair of left and right forks.

Also,
The forks are separated and independently provided on the left and right sides corresponding to tilt drive portions provided on both the left and right sides of the gate-type movable arm.

  According to the tilt device for a forklift according to the present invention, without using a dedicated actuator for the tilting operation, a lift cylinder or the like that is normally provided is effectively used to adjust the vertical position and tilt amount of the fork for manned and unmanned forklifts. Regardless of the adjustment, it is possible to simplify and generalize the apparatus and reduce the cost. Also, depending on the position of the support roller in the left and right direction and the number of installed in the left and right direction, the position to match the left and right inclination of the ground etc. can be changed to the tip part or root part of the fork, further enhancing versatility It is done.

It is a side view at the time of the earthing | grounding of the tilt apparatus part which shows Example 1 of this invention. It is a top view of a tilt device part similarly. FIG. 3 is a front view of the tilt device section. It is a side view at the time of a raise of a tilt device part similarly. It is the whole unmanned forklift side view. It is a side view at the time of the earthing | grounding of the tilt apparatus part which shows Example 2 of this invention. It is a top view of a tilt device part similarly. FIG. 3 is a front view of the tilt device section. It is a side view at the time of the earthing | grounding of the tilt apparatus part which shows Example 3 of this invention. It is a top view of a tilt device part similarly. FIG. 3 is a front view of the tilt device section.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a forklift tilt device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a tilt device unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention when grounded, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tilt device unit, FIG. 3 is a front view of the tilt device unit, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of the entire unmanned forklift.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the unmanned forklift of the present embodiment, a pair of left and right drive wheels 11 driven by a driving device (not shown) is mounted on the front portion of the vehicle body 10, while a pair of left and right steering wheels is mounted on the rear portion. 12 is mounted, and the vehicle body 10 can run freely by the drive wheels 11 and the steering wheels 12.

  A mast 13 is erected on the front portion of the vehicle body 10, and an elevating base (lift bracket) 14 is supported on the mast 13 so as to be movable up and down. A fork 15 is pivotally supported on the elevating base 14 so as to be tiltable, and extends forward of the vehicle body 10.

  A movable arm 16 is mounted between the elevating base 14 and the fork 15 so as to be movable up and down. The movable arm 16 supports the elevating base 15 at a predetermined ascending position so that the entire apparatus (the elevating base 14 and the fork 15 can be moved). 15) can be moved up and down. The movable arm 16 is moved up and down by a lift cylinder (not shown) via a lift chain 17.

  A tilt drive unit 18 is provided between the movable arm 16 and the elevating base 14 and the fork 15 sandwiching the movable arm 16. Further, a support roller 19 composed of a double roller is mounted at the root of the fork 15 and is located just below the pivot point C of the fork 15. When the support roller 19 contacts the ground or the like, the root of the fork 15 is The fork 15 and the lift base 14 are loaded by being slightly lifted from the ground or the like. In the figure, 20 is a balance weight.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the elevating base 14 formed in a rectangular frame shape is held by a roller follower 21 from four directions so as to elevate along a mast 13 having a rectangular cross section. The roller follower has needle rollers incorporated therein, and is not particularly limited thereto, and other rolling elements may be used.

  Further, a tension publication 22 is fixed to the left and right side portions of the elevating base 14, and a support bracket 23 projects forward from the front center of the tension publication 22. On the other hand, the pair of left and right forks 15 are connected by a finger plate 24, and a bifurcated support bracket 25 is fixed to the rear surface of the finger plate 24 at both left and right portions. The tip of the support bracket 25 on the fork side and the tip of the support bracket 23 on the lift base side are connected by a support shaft 26 to form a pivot point C of the fork 15. In addition, the support shaft insertion hole 23a in the support bracket 23 on the lifting base side is formed as a long hole that is long in the vertical direction (see the balloon in FIG. 1). The support roller 19 described above is formed of a double roller, and is positioned directly below the left and right pivot points C and attached to both left and right portions of the rear surface of the finger plate 24 via brackets 27.

  The movable arm 16 is formed of a gate-type arm and is suspended by lift chains 17 at two central positions of the horizontal arm portion 16a. The left and right vertical arm portions 16b are provided in a pair of left and right so as to straddle the support bracket 23 on the lifting base side, and three roller followers (rolling elements) 28 are juxtaposed at the lower part thereof. . Then, the roller follower 28 in the middle at the predetermined rising position of the movable arm 16 abuts the horizontal lower surface (lifting receiver) 23b of the support bracket 23 on the lifting base side to carry the lifting base 14 and lift the entire apparatus. It is supposed to be.

  The tilt drive unit 18 includes the above-described three roller followers 28 of the movable arm 16, and roller receivers (rolling member receivers) 29 provided on the lifting base side and the fork side, respectively, so that the roller followers 28 roll. 30 and at least one of the lift base side and fork side roller receivers (rolling element receivers) 29, 30 is formed on a downwardly inclined surface 30a. In the illustrated example, two roller receivers 29 on the lift base side are provided on the front surface of the left and right bilateral publication 22 corresponding to the roller followers 28 located on both sides of the middle roller follower 28 in the movable arm 16. A fork side roller receiver 30 is provided on one of the left and right sides of the rear surface of the finger plate 24 with an intermediate member 31 corresponding to the middle roller follower 28 in the movable arm 16. The elevating base roller receiver 29 is formed with a flat surface, while the fork roller receiver 30 is formed with an inclined surface 30.

  With this configuration, the unmanned forklift according to the present embodiment is driven and controlled by the unmanned conveyance system by the remote operation of the travel of the vehicle body 10 and the lifting and lowering of the fork 15 to perform a required cargo handling operation.

  In the raising / lowering operation of the fork 15, when the movable arm 16 is pulled up by the lift chain 17 from the state shown in FIG. 1, the roller follower 28 sandwiched between the roller holder 29 on the raising / lowering base side and the roller receiver 30 on the fork side is also integrated. To rise. At this time, since the middle roller follower 28 of the three roller followers 28 on one side rolls upward on the downwardly inclined surface 30a of the roller receiver 30 on the fork side, the fork 15 is centered on the pivot point C. Turn (tilt) counterclockwise.

  As a result, the tip of the fork 15 is lifted (tilted), and the fall of the load scooped up on the fork 15 is prevented in advance. The amount of tilt of the fork 15 at this time can be adjusted by the amount of shim (not shown) mounted on at least one of the roller receiver 29 on the lifting base side and the roller receiver 30 on the fork side.

  Eventually, when the middle roller follower 28 of the three roller followers 28 on one side rises to the lift receiver 23b in the left and right support brackets 23 (see the state shown in FIG. 4), the middle roller follower 28 The tilting surface 30a stops rolling, and the tilting operation of the fork 15 is stopped, and the elevating base 14 is carried on the movable arm 16 through the middle roller follower 28. Thereafter, the entire apparatus (the elevating base 14 and the fork 15) Is lifted and cargo handling work is performed.

  On the other hand, when the movable arm 16 is lowered by the lift chain 17 from the state shown in FIG. 4, first, the support roller 19 attached to the root portion of the fork 15 contacts the ground or the like (see the state shown in FIG. 1). At this time, even if the ground or the like is inclined in the left-right direction, the respective support shaft insertion holes 23a of the left and right support brackets 23 through which the respective support shafts (pivot support points C) 26 of the pair of left and right forks 15 are inserted are formed in the vertical direction. (See the blowout shown in FIG. 1), the left and right support rollers 19 can be brought into contact with the ground to prevent the load on the fork 15 from being tilted left and right. Is done.

  When the movable arm 16 is further lowered, the roller follower 28 is lowered between the roller receiver 29 on the lifting base side and the roller receiver 30 on the fork side. At this time, the middle roller follower 28 of the three roller followers 28 on one side rolls downwardly on the downwardly inclined surface 30a of the roller receiver 30 on the fork side, so that the fork 15 is centered on the pivot point C. Is allowed to rotate clockwise (tilt), and its tip is grounded to the ground or the like.

  As described above, the tip of the fork 15 is lowered due to the unbalance of the weight with the support roller 19 as a fulcrum, but the load of the elevating base 14 is applied to each support shaft (pivot) of the fork 15 provided immediately above the support roller 19. Since it acts on the fulcrum C) 26, it is not affected by the imbalance around the support roller 19, and no large force acts on the tip of the fork 15.

  For this reason, most of the load is applied to the support roller 19 made of a double roller, so that the resistance when the fork 14 is slid under the pallet can be reduced. In this way, since the tip of the fork 15 can be grounded to the ground or the like, even a load (upright piano or the like) placed on the ground or the like and having a small insertion gap of the fork 15 can be easily scooped up.

  Further, the base of the fork 15 is slightly lifted from the ground or the like by the support roller 19. This is because, if the entire lower surface of the fork 15 is grounded to the ground or the like, the convex portion of the ground or the like comes into contact with the vicinity of the root of the fork 15 and the tip of the fork 15 is lifted from the ground or the like. This is to prevent contact with the upper surface of the hole. In other words, since there is a small gap at the base of the fork 15, only the support roller 19 and the tip of the fork 15 can always be in contact with the ground or the like in the case of some unevenness on the ground or the like.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the vertical position and the tilt amount of the fork 15 can be adjusted even in an unmanned forklift by effectively using a lift cylinder or the like that is normally provided without using an actuator dedicated to the tilt operation. Therefore, the cost can be reduced along with the simplification and generalization of the apparatus.

  Moreover, since the raising / lowering base 14 is hold | maintained by the roller follower 21 from 4 directions of the mast 13 of a rectangular cross section, raising / lowering operation | movement is performed smoothly and the reliability of an apparatus increases. Further, the movable arm 16 can carry the lifting base 14 with the roller follower 28 having the lower surface of the support bracket 23 attached to the lifting base 14 as the lifting receiver 23a, so there is no need to provide a dedicated lifting receiver 23a. Thus, the apparatus can be further simplified.

  FIG. 6 is a side view of the tilt device unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention when grounded, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the tilt device unit, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the tilt device unit.

  This is an example in which the support roller 19 in the first embodiment is provided at one place in the middle portion in the left-right direction of the finger plate 24 that connects the pair of left and right forks 15, and the other configuration is the same as in the first embodiment, and is the same in the drawings The same reference numerals are given to the members, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  By the way, when the base portion and the tip portion of the fork 15 have different inclinations in the left-right direction, when the support rollers 19 are in both the left and right portions as in the first embodiment, the inclination of the support roller 19 that is heavy is applied. One of the front ends of the fork 15 may float to match.

  Therefore, if the support roller 19 is provided at one place in the middle in the left-right direction of the finger plate 24 as in this embodiment, the tip of the fork 15 can be grounded in accordance with the inclination of the ground or the like.

  9 is a side view of the tilt device unit according to the third embodiment of the present invention when grounded, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the tilt device unit, and FIG. 11 is a front view of the tilt device unit.

  This is an example in which the forks 15 according to the first embodiment are separated and independently provided to the left and right together with the finger plates 24 corresponding to the tilt driving portions 18 provided at both the left and right portions of the gate-type movable arm 16. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant description is omitted.

  According to this, both the front-end | tip part and root part of a pair of left and right forks 15 can be grounded according to inclinations, such as the ground.

  Since the forklift tilt device according to the present invention can adjust the vertical position and tilt amount of the fork without using an actuator dedicated to tilting operation, it can be effectively applied to an unmanned forklift.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Car body 11 Drive wheel 12 Steering wheel 13 Mast 14 Lifting base 15 Fork 16 Movable arm 16a Horizontal arm part 16b Vertical arm part 17 Lift chain 18 Tilt drive part 19 Support roller 20 Balance weight 21 Roller follower 22 Tension publication 23 Support bracket 23a Support Shaft insertion hole 23b Horizontal bottom surface (lift receiver)
24 Finger plate 25 Bifurcated support bracket 26 Support shaft 27 Bracket 28 Roller follower 29 Roller base side roller receiver 30 Fork side roller receiver 30a Inclined surface 31 Intermediate member C Fork pivot point

Claims (6)

A lifting base that moves up and down along a mast standing in front of the vehicle body;
A fork that is pivotally supported by the elevating base so as to be tiltable and extends forward of the vehicle body;
A movable arm that moves up and down between the elevating base and the fork and moves the entire apparatus up and down by carrying the elevating base at a predetermined rising position;
A lift chain for moving the movable arm up and down;
A tilt driving unit provided between the movable arm and a lifting base and a fork sandwiching the movable arm;
A support roller provided at the base of the fork and located immediately below the pivot point of the fork;
With
The tilt drive unit includes a rolling element pivotally supported at the lower part of the movable arm, and rolling element receivers provided on the elevating base side and the fork side for the rolling element to roll, and the elevating base side, At least one of the rolling element receivers on the fork side is formed on an inclined surface that falls downward,
A tilt device for a forklift characterized by that.   The forklift tilt device according to claim 1, wherein the elevating base is held by a roller follower from four directions of a rectangular mast.   The forklift tilt device according to claim 1, wherein the elevating base pivotally supports the fork with a long hole that is long in the vertical direction.   The forklift tilting device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the movable arm supports the lifting base by a rolling element coming into contact with a rising receiver attached to the lifting base side.   5. The tilt device for a forklift according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the support roller is provided at one location in a middle portion in the left-right direction of a finger plate that connects a pair of left and right forks.   The said fork is isolate | separated into left and right and it is provided independently corresponding to the tilt drive part provided in the both right and left parts of the gate type movable arm, The Claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Forklift tilt device.

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