JPH07144895A - Pusher device for forklift - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the runaway of a load due to the push-out by a face plate in a pusher device. CONSTITUTION:A pallet holding clamp unit 15 is provided under a central part of a face plate 7. The clamp unit 15 is provided with a pair of right and left clamp arms 18, tips of which are projected forward from the central part of the lower surface of the face plate 7, and at the time of inserting forks 4 into a pallet, these clamp arms 18 are inserted into fork insertion ports of the pallet. Under the condition that the clamp arms 18 are inserted, the clamp arms 18 are operated by a clamp cylinder 20 to hold a central beam of the pallet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pusher device for a forklift for pushing a load loaded on a fork together with a pallet forward.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional pusher device for a forklift known as one of the attachments of a forklift is an upright device that moves up and down together with a fork in front of a finger bar for hooking a fork fixed to a lift bracket that moves up and down along a mast. Equipped with a face plate. This face plate is moved in the front-rear direction via a pantograph mechanism that is expanded and contracted by a push cylinder, and is generally used in such a form that the load on the fork is pushed forward by the face plate together with the pallet. Incidentally, a push-pull device is known as a device similar to the above-mentioned pusher device, but this is a device mainly used for loading and unloading sheet pallets,
The two are different in that the pusher device is mainly used for loading pallets made of wood, resin or iron.

[0003]

By the way, the conventional pusher device is mainly used for loading and unloading work such as truck loading and freight vehicle loading. In this case, since the pallet pushed out together with the load by the face plate is subject to the frictional resistance of the upper surface of the loading platform, there is no fear of runaway, but for example, the load is pushed down to a slippery place such as a roller conveyor and pushed forward. When carrying out cargo handling work, if the face plate is operated incorrectly, the luggage may run away.

In view of the above problems, the present invention can prevent runaway of a load by temporarily fixing the pallet loaded with the load to the face plate when the face plate pushes the load. It is a technical problem to be solved to provide a pusher device for a forklift truck.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, the invention of claim 1 is a mast, an elevating member capable of ascending and descending along the mast, a fork supported by the elevating member, and the elevating member for pushing the load on the fork together with the pallet forward. A pusher device for a forklift having a face plate attached so as to be movable back and forth, characterized in that a clamp unit capable of gripping the pallet is provided below the face plate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the pusher device for a forklift according to the first aspect, the clamp unit is attached to the face plate, and the clamp holder is openably and closably attached to the clamp holder.
The front end of the clamp plate protrudes forward of the face plate and can be inserted into the fork insertion port of the pallet, and a pair of clamp arms for opening and closing the clamp arms. The holding direction of the pallet is a feature.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the pusher device for a forklift according to the second aspect, the clamp arm is slidably attached to the clamp holder in the vehicle width direction, and the actuator is attached to the clamp holder. It is characterized by being connected in a bridging manner.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the pusher device for a forklift according to the third aspect, the clamp holder is attached so as to be freely movable in the vertical direction with respect to the face plate, and when the face plate is retracted, the lifting / lowering operation is performed. It is characterized in that the clamp guide member provided on the member raises and returns to the initial position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the pusher device for a forklift according to the first aspect, the clamp unit is attached to the face plate, the clamp holder is attached to the clamp holder so as to be movable up and down, and the tip is A clamp arm that protrudes forward of the face plate and can be inserted into a fork insertion port of the pallet and an actuator that moves the clamp arm up and down are provided, and the clamp arm has a descending direction as a gripping direction of the pallet. It is characterized by that.

[0010]

In the pusher device according to the invention of claim 1 configured as described above, when the face plate pushes the load on the fork forward together with the pallet, the pallet is gripped by the clamp unit provided on the face plate. By fixing the pallet to the face plate side, the runaway of the luggage due to the pushing out of the face plate is prevented.

In the pusher device according to the second aspect of the invention, when the fork is inserted into the fork insertion port of the pallet, when the fork is inserted sufficiently deeply,
A pair of left and right clamp arms are inserted into the fork insertion openings of the pallet. Therefore, in that state, the clamp arm is operated in the closing direction or the opening direction to grip the pallet girder and fix the pallet to the face plate side. When such a method of gripping the girders of the pallet is adopted, the entire upper surface of the pallet can be effectively used as a luggage loading surface.

In the pusher device according to the invention of claim 3, when the pair of clamp arms holds the pallet,
It is freely displaced with respect to the pallet. That is, the grip is performed on the basis of the pallet to prevent an excessive force from being applied to the pallet.

In the pusher device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the clamp arm follows the vertical movement of the pallet when the pallet is held. As a result, the vertical relative movement between the pallet and the face plate that may occur when the fork is moved up and down while holding the pallet is absorbed.

In the pusher device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the clamp arm presses the deck board of the pallet from above to fix the pallet to the face plate side. At this time, the entire surface or almost the entire surface of the pallet can be effectively used as a luggage loading surface.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. An outline of a pusher device for a forklift according to the present embodiment is shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1 and the side view of FIG. Forklift mast 1 as shown
A pair of upper and lower finger bars 3 fixed to a lift bracket 2 that can be moved up and down along a pair of left and right forks 4
Is hooked via a hook 5, and the lift bracket 2 and the finger bar 3 constitute an elevating member.

The face plate 7 in the form of a lattice for pushing out the load on the fork 4 is arranged in front of the finger bar 3 in an upright state, and the finger bar 3 is also provided.
Is supported by a columnar holder 6 having a groove upright on the left and right ends of the front surface of the fork via a pair of left and right expandable pantograph mechanisms 8 and can be moved back and forth on the fork 4 by a pair of left and right push cylinders 9. There is.

The end of the link forming the pantograph mechanism 8 on the holder side is attached so that its upper end can be moved up and down through a roller 11 rolling in the holder 6, and its lower end can be rotated by a pin 10 on the holder 6. It is movably attached. Further, the end portion of the link on the face plate side moves up and down via a roller 14 that rolls in a grooved columnar rail member 12 whose upper end side is fixed to the left and right end portions on the back side of the face plate 7 in an upright state. The rail member 12 is rotatably attached to the rail member 12 by a pin 13.

In the pusher device as described above, however, the lower end of the center of the face plate 7 on the back side is for holding a pallet, specifically, the central girder 26a of the pallet 26.
A clamp unit 15 for gripping is disposed between the forks so as not to interfere with the left and right forks 4. The clamp unit 15 will be described below. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 3 and the side view of FIG.
5 includes a clamp holder 16 arranged below the back surface of the face plate 7. The clamp holder 16 is formed in a substantially U-shape in plan view with the front side opened, and includes a columnar arm support shaft 17 extending horizontally.

A pair of left and right clamp arms 18 are axially slidably fitted to the arm support shaft 17 so as to be slidable in the axial direction so that the clamp arms 18 can be opened and closed and are prevented from rotating. A key, a spline, or the like can be used to prevent the clamp arm 18 from rotating with respect to the arm support shaft 17, and a flat surface 18a is simply set at the rear end of the arm, and the flat surface 18a is the front surface 16a of the clamp holder 16. It can also be achieved by configuring so as to be in sliding contact.

The tip of the clamp arm 18 is protruded forward through the lower surface of the face plate 7 by a predetermined amount, and the fork 4 is moved to the pallet 26 in the initial state where the face plate 7 is pulled toward the vehicle body most. When it is inserted into the fork insertion port 27 of the
It is designed to be inserted in 7. A clamp pad 19 made of a cushioning material such as rubber is fixed to the surface of the clamp arm 18 facing the tip. That is, in the present embodiment, the closing direction of the clamp arm 18 is set as the gripping direction, and the center girder 26a of the pallet 26 is gripped. The vertical thickness of the clamp arm 18 is set so as not to exceed the thickness of the fork 4.

In this embodiment, the hydraulic clamp cylinder 2 is used as an actuator for moving the clamp arm 18 in the axial direction along the arm support shaft 17 to open and close it.
0 is used, and the clamp cylinder 20 is connected to both clamp arms 18 in a bridging manner. That is, the clamp cylinder 20 is arranged in parallel with the arm support shaft 17 above the base portions of the left and right clamp arms 18, and the base end portions and the rod end portions of the brackets 21 are provided on the brackets 21 erected on the top surfaces of the base portions of both clamp arms 18. The parts are fixed to each other so that they can be operated on the driver's seat.

Further, the clamp holder 16 is provided with two right and left rods 22 standing upright, and the rods 22 are mounted on a cylindrical rod guide 23 vertically fixed to the back surface of the face plate 7. The lower end of the clamp holder 16 is regulated by being vertically movably inserted and the flange 22a at the upper end portion thereof being in contact with the upper end surface of the rod guide 23.

That is, the clamp unit 15 according to the present embodiment employs a floating support mechanism in which the clamp arm 18 can freely move vertically and horizontally. As a result, the clamping action of the central girder 26a of the pallet 26 by the clamp arm 18 is performed on the basis of the pallet, and the relative movement between the pallet 26 and the face plate 7 can be absorbed while the pallet 26 is held.

On the other hand, a clamp guide member 24 for pushing up the clamp arm is provided at the center of the lower front surface of the finger bar 3. The clamp guide member 24 is composed of a substantially L-shaped plate having an inclined guide surface 25 which is inclined downward to the front at the tip thereof, and when the face plate 7 is pulled back, the clamp holder 16 rides up to clamp the clamp arm 18. The initial position suitable for insertion into the fork insertion port 27, that is, the upper surface of the clamp arm 18 is returned and held at a position substantially flush with the upper surface of the fork 4.

The pusher device for a forklift according to this embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation and effect will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the initial state in which the face plate 7 is pulled back to the vehicle body side,
The clamp arm 18 rides on the clamp guide member 24, and is held in an initial state where it is substantially level with the upper surface of the fork 4. Therefore, the flange 22a of the rod 22 is separated from the upper end of the rod guide 23. In this state, when the fork 4 is inserted into the fork insertion port 27 of the pallet 26 loaded with the loads W as shown by the solid line in the figure, the left and right clamp arms 1 are inserted when the fork 4 is fully inserted.
The tip of 8 is inserted into the fork insertion port 27 of the pallet 26.

Thereafter, as indicated by the phantom line in the drawing, the lift bracket 2 is lifted to lift the load W by the fork 4, and then the clamp cylinder 20 is operated, whereby the left and right clamp arms 18 are moved in the closing direction to move the central girder. Hold 26a. Thus, the pallet 26 is the face plate 7
Fixed on the side.

Next, a case where the transported cargo W is lowered onto the roller conveyor 28 and pushed forward as shown in FIG. 7 will be described. As shown by the solid line in the drawing, after the pallet 26 has landed on the roller conveyor 28, the face plate 7 is slightly lowered together with the fork 4, but at this time,
The clamp arm 18 remains fixed to the pallet 26 side and moves upward with respect to the face plate 7.
That is, the relative movement between the pallet 26 and the face plate 7 is absorbed, and the pallet holding surface is not damaged. In this state, when the push cylinder 9 is operated to move the face plate 7 forward to push out the load W, the load fixed to the face plate 7 side is not separated from the face plate 7 as indicated by a phantom line in the drawing.
The roller conveyor 28 is pushed out and its runaway is avoided.

When the clamp cylinder 20 is operated to release the pallet grip by the clamp arm 18 after the load is pushed out, as shown in FIG. 8, the clamp arm 18 together with the clamp holder 16 is attached to the flange 22a of the rod 22 by its own weight. Moves down to a position where it comes into contact with the upper end surface of the rod guide 23. Thereafter, when the face plate 7 is pulled back to the vehicle body side, the clamp holder 16 rides on the inclined guide surface 25 of the clamp guide member 24 at the time when the face plate 7 approaches the vehicle body side, and is returned to the initial position.

As described above, according to the pusher device of the present embodiment, when the load W is pushed to a slippery place such as the roller conveyor 28, the runaway can be reliably prevented and the work can be performed safely. . Further, since the clamp arm 18 is inserted into the fork insertion port 27 of the pallet 26 to grip the central girder 26a, the entire upper surface of the pallet can be used as a loading surface for loading. Moreover, since the clamp arm 18 adopts the floating support structure which can freely move to the left and right and up and down, when the pallet 26 is gripped, the pallet reference operation can be performed and the face plate in the pallet gripping state can be performed. Since the relative movement between the pallet 7 and the pallet 26 can be absorbed, it is effective in preventing damage to the pallet.

According to the pusher device of this embodiment,
By installing the clamp unit 15 of the pallet 25 on the face plate 7, the pallet of the cargo at the recessed position when the face plate 7 is pulled back is clamped by the clamp arm 18 in addition to the work of pushing out the cargo W described above.
It is also possible to apply it to the work of grasping and then pulling out.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified as follows within the scope of the invention. (1) Regarding the gripping method of the clamp arm 18, as shown in FIG. 9, the opening direction of the clamp arm 18 may be set as the gripping direction and the inner surface of the left and right side girders 26b of the pallet 26 may be gripped. . (2) As shown in FIG. 10, the clamp arm 18 may be closed in the gripping direction and the left and right side girders 26b may be gripped from the outside. However, in the case of the above (1) and (2), the clamp holder 16
Is arranged above the fork 4 so as not to interfere with the fork 4, and the clamp arm 18 is bent downward by that amount so as to dive under the clamp holder 16. (3) As shown in FIG. 11, after the clamp arm 18 is inserted into the fork insertion port 27 of the pallet 26, it is changed to a method of pressing the inner surface of the lower deck board 26c, or as shown in FIG. The method of directly pressing the upper surface of the upper deck board 26c may be changed. In this case, the clamp arm 18 is attached to the clamp holder 16 via the guide rod 29 so as to be movable up and down, and is operated by the clamp cylinder 20. Particularly, in the method of pressing the inner surface of the lower deck board 26c after inserting the clamp arm 18 into the fork insertion port 27 of the pallet 26, the entire upper surface of the pallet can be used as a luggage loading surface as in the above-described embodiment. Further, since the lower deck board 26c having a small plate thickness can be held without fear of damaging the pallet 26, the holding surface can be wide. (5) Further, as shown in FIG.
May be rotatably attached to the clamp holder 16 via the pin 30, and the clamp cylinder may be operated by the clamp cylinder 20. (6) Further, although not shown, the clamp arm 1
A motor may be used instead of the clamp cylinder 20 as an actuator as an operation source of 8, and the rotation thereof may be converted into a linear motion to drive the clamp arm 18. (7) If necessary, the clamp arm 18 may be modified so that it can move freely in the front-rear direction with a certain stroke.

[0032]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
When pushing the load on the fork forward with the pusher device and the load is placed on a place where the load is slippery like a roller conveyor, the clamp unit is operated to push the pallet to the faceplate side while pushing it out. As a result, runaway of luggage can be prevented and the safety of cargo handling work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pusher device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a clamp unit.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a clamp unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory side view showing an operation mode of the clamp unit when picking up a load.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a plan view of an operation mode of the clamp unit when picking up a load.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a side view of an operation mode at the time of pushing out a load.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a side view of an operation mode at the time of pulling back.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified example of a clamp arm.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another modification of the clamp arm.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing still another modification example regarding the clamp arm.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing still another modification example of the clamp arm.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing still another modification of the clamp arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... Lift bracket 4 ... Fork 6 ... Holder 7 ... Face plate 8 ... Pantograph mechanism 15 ... Clamp unit 16 ... Clamp holder 17 ... Arm support shaft 18 ... Clamp arm 20 ... Clamp cylinder

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A mast, an elevating member capable of ascending and descending along the mast, a fork supported by the elevating member, and an elevating member for pushing a load on the fork together with a pallet forward to and fro. A pusher device for a forklift truck including a face plate attached to the forklift truck, the pusher device for a forklift truck including a clamp unit capable of gripping the pallet at a lower portion of the face plate. 2. The clamp unit is attached to the face plate, and the clamp holder is openably and closably attached to the clamp holder, and a tip of the clamp unit projects forward of the face plate and is inserted into a fork insertion port of the pallet. 2. The pusher device for a forklift according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of clamp arms capable of opening and closing, and an actuator for opening and closing the clamp arms, wherein the clamp arms have a closing direction or an opening direction as a gripping direction of the pallet. 3. The pusher device for a forklift according to claim 2, wherein the clamp arm is slidably attached to the clamp holder in a vehicle width direction, and the actuator is connected to the clamp holder in a bridging manner. . 4. The clamp holder is attached to the face plate so as to be freely movable in the vertical direction, and when the face plate is retracted, the clamp holder is lifted and returned to an initial position by a clamp guide member provided on the elevating member. The pusher device for a forklift according to claim 3, which is configured. 5. The clamp unit is attached to the face plate, and the clamp holder is attached to the clamp holder so as to be movable up and down. The tip of the clamp unit protrudes forward of the face plate to a fork insertion port of the pallet. The pusher device for a forklift according to claim 1, further comprising an insertable clamp arm and an actuator that moves the clamp arm up and down, and the clamp arm has a descending direction as a gripping direction of the pallet.