JP3947507B2 - Reach forklift truck - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to reach forklift trucks.

  As is well known, a reach forklift truck is a lift truck that is adapted so that the mast is displaced back and forth in the direction of the operating part by suitable support and drive means. The drive system and the further assembly are accommodated by the driving part, which is fitted with two parallel wheel arms. The rear end of the wheel arm supports one or two wheels. The driving part is driven by one or two wheels driven by a drive system. The driven wheel can also be turned about a vertical axis. The turning angle is controlled by the steering system. This enables operation along the vertical axis of the reach, forklift, and truck in standing work, and operation along a curve or direction change. The latter is valid only for 4-wheel trucks. In such lift trucks, it is also known to enable steering of supported rear wheels.

  Such a lift truck is known from DE 198 46 000 A1. The particularity of this known lift truck is that the battery block can be easily removed and inserted from the lift truck. As is well known, such lift trucks are powered by a battery that must be charged from time to time. Generally, the battery is removed for recharging purposes and a new charged battery is inserted into the lift truck. In this way, the operation of the lift truck is not interrupted. In this known lift truck, the battery block can be removed from the lift truck along its longitudinal axis. The battery block may be composed of a plurality of partitioned battery blocks positioned under the lift truck seat. Individual blocks can be removed on the side of the loading portion of the lift truck that passes through the mast.

  A characteristic size for such reach forklift trucks is the so-called passage width. This is determined by two radii. One radius extends from the center of the front axle to the rear corner of the driving part, and the other radius extends from the center of the front axle to the corner of the pallet received in its retracted position by the mast. Safety dimensions are added to these radii. The width of such a track passage determines the width required for the passage between adjacent racks. Obviously, this size should be as small as possible.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an improved reach and forklift capable of reducing the width of a passage.

  This object is achieved by the features described in claim 1.

  In the present invention, the battery is composed of two battery parts accommodated by a battery trough (battery storage container). As already mentioned, the division of lift truck batteries and their accommodation in battery troughs dimensioned accordingly are already well known. A particular feature of the present invention is that each battery trough is supported on a wheel arm.

  By positioning the battery on the wheel arm rather than on the driving part, the driving part can be greatly reduced. The size of the driving location cannot be reduced below the default value for ergonomic reasons. Thus, the size of the driving location is critical with respect to the size of the driving portion and the space between the retracted mast and the rear end of the driving portion. Therefore, an intermediate space may be secured between the mast in the reverse position and the driving part, but this is also necessary in order to be able to support the driver's right arm with a rest on this intermediate space. is there.

  The distance between the wheel arms is provided by the lateral size of the pallet. Accordingly, the battery trough is substantially flush with the inner ends of both wheel arms. Generally, the wheel arm has a width that is less than the lateral width of the battery, and the battery cells have standard dimensions. Thus, the battery trough according to the present invention will extend outward beyond a generally sized wheel arm. According to one embodiment of the invention, the width of the wheel arm is selected so that full trough support is achieved. This makes reach forklift trucks somewhat wider, but does not limit the ability to operate in tight spaces. If limited in any way, the possibility of accommodating pallets deviating from standard dimensions between the wheel arms with the mast in the retracted position would be limited.

  The length of the battery trough according to the invention is preferably such that the front of the trough is adjacent to the operating part and at the same time the other end extends substantially into an opening in the wheel arm where the support wheel is located. It is.

  The trough can be defined by a simple narrow box-shaped casing. According to one embodiment of the invention, the upper side of the trough is convex. This improves the appearance of reach forklift trucks.

  In the reach forklift truck according to the invention, it has already been mentioned that free space is ensured between the mast in the retracted position and the operating part below the arm rest. This free space can be used to improve the driver's visual position during stacking operations by turning the driver's seat around a vertical axis. For the reasons described above, the free space is as large as necessary in light of ergonomics in the driver's general sitting position. Therefore, this free space is not wide enough to turn the seat up to about 90 °, which is considered the most convenient position for the stacking operation. However, the seat can be turned to such a position if the mast is moved in any way. Thus, one embodiment of the present invention is that seat turning is related to mast position or displacement, and when the mast is retracted between both wheel arms, the seat automatically turns back to its initial position. It prescribes. In this embodiment of the invention, the driver can arbitrarily turn the seat as soon as permitted by the position of the mast. However, care must be taken only that the collision does not occur when the mast is retracted and the seat is automatically turned to its initial position as soon as the mast approaches the driving position and reaches the critical point.

  It can also be envisaged to provide an intermediate coupling between the mast and the turn of the seat, ie to automatically turn the seat about 90 ° when the mast is driven a predetermined stroke. Such a coupling between mast displacement and seat pivoting can be performed by a suitable transmission system. However, it is preferred that a separate drive means is provided for turning the seat, which can be coupled to the drive system for the mast.

  In any case, the ergonomics of the lift truck is improved by a pivotable seat.

  According to the present invention, the two battery troughs that individually accommodate the two battery parts are individually arranged on the wheel arm, so that the driving part is greatly reduced. As a result, the turning radius of the reach / forklift / truck is reduced, and the width of the passage can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples.

  The reach forklift truck shown in perspective in FIGS. 1 and 2 is well known primarily in the context of construction parts. This includes a driving part 10 in a housing 12 containing suitable drive means and assemblies for reach, forklift and truck operations. The driving part 12 is also provided with a driving place 14, which comprises a seat 16, shown only by the backrest, a steering handle 18, and a plurality of activation means and display devices not described in detail. The seat 16 is arranged so that the driver's viewing direction crosses the longitudinal axis of the truck, and the driver can support the right elbow with the arm rest 20.

  By way of example, the driving part 10 is placed on at least one driven wheel not shown. Parallel wheel arms 22, 24 are attached to the driving part 10, which support the support wheels 26, 28 at the rear end. The mast 30 is positioned between the wheel arms 22, 24. A detailed description of the mast structure is omitted. 1 and 2 together, it can be seen that the mast 30 can be moved between the displaced position according to FIG. 1 and the retracted position between the wheel arms 22, 24 according to FIG. The drive system for the mast is also not shown. The slide 32 can be raised and lowered along the mast 30 by suitable lifting means. The slide 32 supports forks 34 and 36 suspended on the slide 32, and the back portions of the forks 34 and 36 are engaged with the front surface of the slide. This point is also well known.

  On the wheel arms 22 and 24, square troughs 40 and 42 having a relatively narrow width are positioned. The width corresponds to the width of the wheel arms 22, 24. The wheel arms 22 and 24 adjacent to the driving part have covers 44 and 46 extending upward, whereby the troughs 40 and 42 are secured on the sides. The troughs 40, 42 contact the housing 12 of the operating part at one end. The troughs 40 and 42 individually store batteries. Both batteries are sufficient to guarantee the current supply of reach, forklift trucks. The attachment of the troughs 40, 42 is not shown in detail. It will be appreciated that this attachment must be sufficient to operate the reach forklift truck successfully.

  FIG. 2 differs from FIG. 1 only in that the battery troughs 40a, 42a have different contours than FIG. The upper surfaces 48, 50 are inclined toward the support wheels 26, 28, this inclination being realized by an arched bend. This gives the troughs 40a, 42a an aesthetic appearance. Furthermore, further safety is achieved in the event of a collision with a person. The space capacity of the troughs 40a and 42a is the same as that of the troughs 40 and 42 in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram relating to the reach forklift truck shown in FIG. The same reference numbers indicate the same parts. FIG. 3 shows that the battery troughs 40a and 42a are somewhat wider than the typical width of the wheel arms 22,24. In the actual configuration, a cover is used for the wheel arms 22, 24 that allows the troughs 40a, 42a to be fully up on the wheel arms 22, 24. This is illustrated in FIGS.

  Similar to FIG. 2, in FIG. 3, the mast 30 is fully retracted between the wheel arms 22, 24. A standard size (80 × 1200) pallet 50 is accommodated on a fork (not shown). Although the operating part 10 is very short, it can be seen that the mast is not completely retracted to this operating part and a free space 52 is secured. This free space is necessary to allow enough space for the driver's elbow. Free space is filled by the arm rest 20 (FIG. 2). The space below the arm rest can also be used as described below.

  In FIG. 3, the outline of the back surface of the mast 30 and the forks 34, 36 is indicated by 54. The length of the track with the pallet being received in the position according to FIG. 3 determines the space needs of the track, which is known to be decisive, ie the ability to operate in as little space as possible. This capability is much higher than when a battery, which is common in conventional vehicles, is accommodated by the driving part. This is independent of the fact that free space 52 must be reserved. This has a width of, for example, 200 mm.

  What is critical about the use of reach forklift trucks is the width of the passage. This is determined by radius R1 and radius R2. Both radii connect the intersection of the longitudinal axis of the truck indicated by M in FIG. 3 and the front wheel axle 56 with the outer corner (R1) of the pallet or the outer corner (R2) of the driving part 10. Adding a safety dimension to the sum of the radii R1 and R2 results in a passage width, which is much smaller than that of a conventional reach forklift truck, as already described with respect to the truck shown. For the above reasons, the track width B is somewhat larger than that of the conventional track, but this is not important because of the space-saving operation. Loads wider than the pallet 50 cannot be received between the wheel arms 22, 24, but this is always done in the fork position shown in FIG.

  The seat 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be pivoted about a vertical axis. This turning may be manually activated by the driver or may be driven by a drive system. In the position of the mast in FIGS. 2 and 3, the seat can be pivoted by a predetermined angle by means of a rotation axis indicated at 58 in FIG. The free space 52 limits the accommodation of the driver's legs. Both half straight lines 60 in FIG. 3 indicate the turning angle α1 on the seat to be turned. In the initial position, the driver's viewing direction is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the truck. As the seat turns, this changes to a value of 90 ° -α1, improving the visibility and ergonomics on the load. As the mast is displaced further away from the driving part, the seat can be sufficiently swiveled over an angle α2, which corresponds to approximately 90 ° or more, as shown by the half line 62. Rotation in the viewing direction of about 90 ° has the advantage that the driver has an improved viewing situation for stacking pallets and the driver does not have to turn his shoulders and head forcibly There is.

  The seat 16 is coupled to the position of the mast 30 through suitable means not shown in the drawing. When the mast is retracted to the end position shown in FIG. 2 or 3, care must be taken that the seat rotates back to the initial position without delay. It is also possible to provide an automatic coupling between the seat and the mast to achieve the desired seat position.

It is a perspective view of the reach forklift truck concerning one example of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing a reach forklift truck according to an improved embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram related to the lift truck shown in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Driving part 12 ... Housing 14 ... Driving place 16 ... Seat 22, 24 ... Wheel arm 30 ... Mast 34, 36 ... Fork 40, 42 ... Trough

Claims (8)

Reach forklift truck,
A driving part capable of being moved on the ground by one or two rear wheels and two front wheels, the two front wheels being supported on a wheel arm fixed to the driving part;
Provided with a driving location on the driving part having a seat and an activation element, the driver's viewing direction in the driving operation crosses the longitudinal axis of the reach forklift truck when sitting in the seat;
A stacked portion having a mast displaceable along the longitudinal axis;
A loading fork guided and driven along the mast;
Two batteries for supplying power to the various drive means for the reach forklift truck, the two batteries being individually accommodated by two battery troughs which are narrow box-shaped casings The battery troughs are respectively disposed on the wheel arms and supported by the wheel arms, and each battery trough has one end adjacent to the driving part and the other end substantially along the wheel arm. Reach forklift truck that extends to the front wheels . The reach forklift truck according to claim 1, wherein the upper side of the box-shaped trough is inclined by a slope toward the wheel arm. The reach forklift truck according to claim 2 , wherein the upper side of the trough is bent in an arch shape. Reach forklift truck according to one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the seat is pivotable about a vertical axis. The reach forklift truck according to claim 4 , wherein the seats can be locked in individual pivoting parts. The reach forklift truck according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein a swivel drive is provided for the seat. Pivoting of the seat, one of claims 4 to 6 the mast is related to the position or displacement of the mast such that the seat when it is retracted to the initial position back is pivoted automatically initial position Reach forklift trucks listed on The reach forklift truck according to claim 7 , wherein the maximum allowable turning position of the seat is related to the position of the mast.

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