JPH0131584Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention relates to a tail-type steering mechanism for a forklift.

Prior Art In the case of current small forklifts, it is difficult to maintain a large distance between the front of the engine hood 31 and the steering wheel 1, as shown in FIG. Since it interferes with the front part of the hood, the front part cannot be made into an integral structure, and therefore, the front part of the hood is generally surrounded by a toe board 31a fixed to the frame side.
The above-mentioned interference problem can be solved by using a tilt type steering mechanism, but this is accompanied by the inconvenience of having to tilt the steering wheel each time the engine hood is opened.

Purpose of the invention In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tail-type steering mechanism for a forklift that can automatically tilt the steering wheel forward when the engine hood is opened.

Structure of the invention In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is structured as follows.

A steering column is attached to the front protector so that it can be tilted forward and backward, and the rear end portion of the steering wheel provided at the upper end of the steering column is arranged so that it falls within the opening and closing rotation trajectory of the engine hood when the steering column is in its normal position. In the forklift of this configuration, the steering column is always biased by a spring so as to tilt forward from a normal position to a position outside the opening/closing rotation locus of the engine hood. Furthermore, a locking lever is provided on either the steering column or the front protector, which is removable from a locking portion formed on the other, and which always engages with the locking portion to hold the steering column in a fixed position. is provided. Further, the locking lever is connected so as to be interlocked with a locking lever that locks the engine hood in the closed position, and is released from the locking portion when the locking lever is operated to the side that releases the lock of the engine hood. The steering column is configured to be unlocked.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, 1 is the steering wheel, 2 is the steering column, and 3 is the front protector 4.
The gearbox is fixed to the bottom of the Reference numeral 5 denotes a steering shaft that penetrates inside the steering column 2 and includes a universal joint 6 in the middle, and the lower side of the universal joint 6 is exposed from the steering column 2 and is connected to the gears (not shown) of the gear box 3. connected.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a column holder having a U-shape in plan view fixed to the front protector 4, and the column holder 7 has a lower portion that projects concentrically with the center of rotation of the universal joint 6 on both left and right sides of the lower end of the steering column 2. The provided pin 8 is rotatably supported. In other words, the steering column 2 is connected to the pin 8
It is capable of tilting forward and backward using the front protector 4 as a fulcrum, and is always biased in the forward tilting direction by a spring 9, and the maximum forward tilt position is regulated by a stopper 10 provided on the front protector 4. One side plate of column holder 7 (left side in this example)
A plate-shaped column support 11 is disposed between the steering column 2 and the steering column 2, and the lower end of the column support 11 is rotatably supported by the pin 8, and the rear part of the upper end is rotatably supported by the pin 8. It has an arc-shaped long hole 12. The steering column 2
A protrusion 14 with a nut 13 is formed at a position facing the elongated hole 12 of the column support 11, and the protrusion 14 is inserted from the elongated hole 12 with a spacer 15 interposed between the column support 11 and the protrusion 14. By tightening the lock bolt 17 with the lock handle 16 for adjusting the tilt angle inserted into the shaft hole side of the nut 13, the steering column 2 can be locked at a desired tilt angle with respect to the column support 11. There is.

Further, a locking lever 18 is rotatably attached to the approximate center of the column support 11 with a pin 19, and the locking lever 18 locks a locking pawl 20 formed at the tip of the locking lever 18 to the column holder 7. The column support 11 is locked or released from the column holder 7 by engaging and disengaging the locking groove 21 formed at the upper end of the side plate. The locking lever 18 is urged by a spring 22 in a direction to engage the locking pawl 20 with the locking groove 21, and is connected to a lock lever 24 for engine hood locking via a wire cable 23. By releasing the lock lever 24, the lock lever 24 is removed from the locking groove 21. lock lever 2
4 is rotatably attached to a bracket 26 formed by cutting and raising a part of the floor plate 25 with a pin 27, and has a hook portion 28 at the upper end that can be engaged with and detached from a lock pin 32 provided at the lower front end of the engine hood 31. It has an operation handle 29 approximately in the center, and further has a connection piece 30 with the wire cable 23 penetrating the floor plate 25 and hanging down at the lower part. Note that 33 is a stopper that holds the lock lever 24 in the locked position.

This embodiment is configured as described above,
The effect will be explained below. Under normal conditions, that is, when the engine hood 31 is locked in the closed position by the lock lever 24, the locking lever 18
The locking pawl 20 of the column holder 7 engages with the locking groove 21 of the column holder 7 to lock the column support 11 into the column holder 7.
Therefore, at this time, the tilt angle of the steering column 2 can be adjusted as desired by loosening the lock bolt 17.

In this state, when the lock lever 24 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure to open the engine hood 31 and the hook portion 28 is disengaged from the lock pin 32,
The locking lever 18 is rotated through the wire cable 23 in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure against the spring 22 to remove the locking pawl 20 from the locking groove 21 of the column holder 7, so that it is tilted forward by the spring 9. The steering column 2, which is biased in the direction shown in FIG. Therefore, in this state, the front of the engine hood 31 and the steering wheel 1
Since the distance between the engine hood 31 and the engine hood 31 is widened, interference with the steering wheel 1 is prevented when the engine hood 31 is opened with the hinge 34 serving as its support point as the center of rotation (see imaginary line in FIG. 4). At this time, the locking pawl 20 of the locking lever 18 is in a state where it rides on the edge of the side plate of the column holder 7.

Furthermore, when closing the engine hood 31, the hook portion 28 of the lock lever 24 is engaged with the lock pin 32 of the engine hood 31, and the steering column 2 is tilted backward against the spring 9.
Since the locking pawl 20 of the locking lever 18, which is always receiving the biasing force in the engagement direction from the spring 22, is engaged in the locking groove 21 of the column holder 7, the steering column 2 is in a steady state before tilting forward. It is returned to and held in position.

In this embodiment, the connection means between the locking lever 18 and the locking lever 24 is a wire cable 2.
3 may be replaced by a link, and in some cases, a limit switch and a solenoid valve may be used together. Furthermore, the locking lever 18 may be provided on the column holder 7 side.

Effects of the invention As mentioned above, when opening the engine hood, the present invention allows the steering wheel to be automatically tilted forward out of the opening/closing rotation trajectory of the engine hood by simply performing the lock release operation of the engine hood. This solves the problem of interference between the front of the engine hood and the steering wheel without causing any complications. As a result, the front surface of the engine hood can be made into an integral structure, which increases the strength of the engine hood, reduces the number of inner ribs, and reduces noise by improving the sealing of the engine compartment. Serviceability is improved by abolishing the conventional toe board.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan sectional view, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line - - in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 shows the relationship between the engine hood and the steering wheel. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing relative positions, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example. 1... Steering wheel, 2... Steering column, 7... Column holder, 8... Pin, 9... Spring, 11... Column support, 17
... Lock bolt, 18 ... Locking lever, 20 ...
...Latching pawl, 21...Latching groove, 23...Wire cable, 24...Lock lever, 31...Engine hood.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A steering column is attached to the front protector so that it can be tilted forward and backward, and the rear end portion of the steering wheel provided at the upper end of the steering column is arranged so that it falls within the opening and closing rotation trajectory of the engine hood when the steering column is in its normal position. In the forklift configured as described above, the steering column is always biased by a spring to tilt forward from the normal position to a position outside the opening/closing rotation locus of the engine hood, and either the steering column or the front protector is is provided with a locking lever that is removable from a locking portion formed on the other side and that always engages with the locking portion to hold the steering column in a fixed position. A forklift that is connected to a lock lever that locks the engine hood in a closed position, and that can release the locking of the steering column by the locking lever when the lock lever is operated to the side that releases the lock of the engine hood. Tailored steering mechanism.