US3314561A

US3314561A - Load carriage for industrial lift truck

Info

Publication number: US3314561A
Application number: US372985A
Authority: US
Inventors: Earl D Chaney
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-06-05
Filing date: 1964-06-05
Publication date: 1967-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1984-04-18

Description

APPi1 1967 E. D. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5, 1964 4 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY EARL 0. CHAMEY HIS ATTORNEY P 1967 E. o. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGZ INVENTOR. EARL D. CHANEY W 'MQ L HIS ATTORNEY April 18, 1967 E. D. CHANEY LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5, 1964 FIG?) INVENTOR.

EARL D. CHANEY HIS ATTORNEY April 13, 1967 E. D. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. EAR L. D. CHANEY BY MGM-9 1.

HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,314,561 LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Earl D. Chaney, 832 Windsor Road, Cumberland, Md. 21502 Filed June 5, 1964, Ser. No. 372,985 4 Claims. (Cl. 214514) This invention relates to a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck and, more particularly, to a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in which the load may be automatically loaded and unloaded from the load carriage and held in a locked position during movement of the load by the industrial lift truck.

Industrial lift trucks are employed to transport loads from one area to another as well as to vertically move the load. The standard industrial lift truck merely employs a pair of horizontal forks, which project forwardly from the truck, on which the load is supported. While the forks function satisfactorily for loads already mounted on a pallet or skid or in a box, for example, there are many other load configurations that cannot be handled by merely being supported by the forwardly projecting forks of the industrial lift truck.

Accordingly, various types of structures have been devised to permit the industrial lift truck to be utilized for transporting loads of various configurations. One type of attachment for use with an industrial lift truck has been a pair of curved clamping members, which are employed to grasp the curved surfaces of a cylindrical member. However, this structure has the disadvantage of being able to transport only a single cylindrical member at a time. For example, if tires were to be transported by this device, only one tire could be satisfactorily transported at a time and this would be prohibitive in cost.

Another type of load handling device for use with an industrial lift truck has utilized the horizontal lift forks but made them pivotal. The pivoting of the lift forks results in a larger load being accommodated than by the normally horizontal disposed forks. However, the disadvantage with the pivoted forks is that they can either clamp or support the load to be carried but not perform both functions at the same time. Therefore, a disadvantage of this structure is that clamping must be depended upon to provide all of the support for the load when the lift forks are pivoted from their normal horizontal position for functioning as a clamp. Again, for example, with tires as the load, the forks, when used as the clamping mechanism, can only move one tire at a time. Of course, more tires can be accommodated when the forks are disposed horizontal as a support. However, there is no mechanism for looking or holding the tires in position when transporting them with the forks horizontally disposed so that the tires could fall off the forks during movement.

Another type of attachment used with an industrial lift truck has been a container having a base and two verti cal fixed sides. However, the vertical sides can not func tion as a clamping mechanism since they are not movable. Again, with a stack of tires, for example, there would be no way to insure that the tires are held in position in transportation of the load unless the tires are the same size as the distance between the sides. Naturally, tires have varying diameters so that the structure with the bottom and fixed sides would not be readily adaptable for use in a tire warehouse, for example, where tires in stacks of many diameters must be handled.

The present invention satisfactorily solves the foregoing problems by providing a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in which loads of varying size may be accommodated. Furthermore, the present invention provides a clamping mechanism for retaining the load in position on the load carriage during transportation by the industrial lift truck. The present invention also includes means for mechanically unloading the load from the load carriage.

An object of this invention for use with an industrial lift be locked in position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in which the load may be mechanically removed from the carriage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in which loads of varying configurations may be locked in position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in which the load is centered on the load support platform.

Other objects of this invention will be readily perceived from the following description.

This invention relates to a load carriage adapted to be connected to an industrial lift truck having means for moving the load carriage in a vertical direction. The load carriage includes a base disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and adapted to support a load thereon. The load carriage has a pair of parallel members disposed on opposite sides of the base in planes substantially perpendicular to the plane containing the base. The members are adapted to be moved toward and away from each other and adapted to engage the load on the base when moved toward each other to hold the load in position. The load carriage has means to urge the load on the base off the base after the members are moved away from engagement with the load.

The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, of the load carriage of the present invention and connected to an industrial lift truck and taken along the line 1-1 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the load carriage of FIGURE 1 and showing a portion of the industrial lift truck;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 without the connection to the industrial lift truck; and

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the load carriage of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a base 1% of the load carriage of the present invention. The base 14] is disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and its front or forward portion functions as a load support platform, which is adapted to support a load carried by the load carriage. The edge of the front portion of the base 10 is tapered to permit the base 10' to slide under the load to be carried.

The load carriage includes a plurality of upstanding

vertical supports

11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 (see FIGURE 3). The bottom of each of the vertical supports 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 is attached to an angle member 18 at the rear of the base It). It should be understood that all of the connections between various members of the load carriage are preferably made by welding although other suitable means may be employed if desired. The top of each of the vertical supports 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 is secured to a substantially horizontal angle member 19.

A similar set of vertical supports 20-25 (see FIGURE 2) is spaced forwardly from the corresponding

vertical supports

11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17. The bottom of each of the vertical supports 2025 is attached to an angle member 26 (see FIGURE 1), which is secured to the base is to provide a load carriage truck in which the load may 3 in substantially parallel relation to the angle member 18. The tops of the vertical supports 26-25 are joined together by a substantially horizontal angle member 27, which is substantially parallel to the angle member 19 in the same horizontal plane.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the ends of the

angle members

19 and 27 are connected by parallel angle members 28 and 29. A rectangular frame is formed by the connection of the

angle members

19, 27, 28 and 29.

The vertical supports 11 and 12 are connected to substantially

horizontal angle members

38 and 31, which are vertically spaced from each other. The corresponding vertical supports and 21 are connected by similar substantially horizontal angle members (not shown), which are vertically spaced from each other.

The vertical supports 16 and 17 are secured to substantially

horizontal angle members

32 and 33, which are vertically spaced from each other. Similarly, the corresponding

vertical supports

24 and 25 have substantially horizontal angle members 34 and 35 (see FIGURE 1) connected therebetween and vertically spaced from each other.

The vertical supports 12, 14, 15, and 16 have spaced horizontally disposed

angle members

36 and 37 connected to their outer surfaces. The

angle members

36 and 37 are spaced a suflicient distance apart to permit an attachment 38 on a vertically movable member 39 of an industrial lift truck 48 to be disposed therebetween. The attachment 38 is secured to the

angle members

36 and 37 of the load carriage by suitable means such as bolts (not shown). Thus, whenever the member 39 is moved vertically within spaced channel members 41 (see FIG- URE 2) on the industrial lift truck 40, the load carriage is moved up or down depending on the direction of movement of the member 39.

The industrial lift truck may be driven by any suitable motive means such as an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, for example. The vertically movable member 39, which functions as an elevator, may be mechanically or hydraulically operated. However, since the load carriage employs hydraulic cylinders, it is preferable to utilize a hydraulic mechanism for raising and lowering the member 39. Of course, the truck 40 must have a suitable hydraulic pump, reservoir, and controls (not shown).

As shown in FIGURES 1, 2, and 4, the base 10 has flanges 42 on opposite sides of its front portion, which functions as the support platform. A movable frame 43 is positioned adjacent the rear of the support platform portion of the base 10 on which the load is supported. The frame 43 is disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane containing the base 10. The frame 43 is adapted to be moved toward the front of the base 10 and substantially parallel to the horizontal plane containing the base ill to urge the load from the base 10.

The frame 43 preferably has a lattice arrangement formed of a plurality of spaced horizontal members 44 attached to spaced vertical supports 45. The tops of the vertical supports 45 are connected to a substantially horizontal angle member 46 and the bottom of the vertical supports 45 are secured to a substantially horizontal angle member 47. A plurality of substantiallyhorizontal angle members 48 is disposed between the spaced vertical supports 45 to provide support for the frame 43.

The movement of the frame 43 is controlled by a hydraulic cylinder 49. One end of the cylinder 49 is pivotally connected to the angle member l Arod or pin 50 extends through apertures in bifurcated portions of the end of the cylinder 49 and an aperture in a flange 51, which extends downwardly from an angle member 52 (see FIGURE 3), to form the pivotal connection. The angle member 52 is attached to the

angle members

19 and 27. Suitable means such as cotter pins (not shown) extend through apertures in opposite ends of the pin 50 to maintain the bifurcated portions of the end of the cylinder 49 and the flange 51 connected.

At its other end, the hydraulic cylinder 49 has an extensible piston 53 secured to a continuous roller chain 54 by a member 55. Movement of the extensible piston 53 with respect to the cylinder 49 is controlled by the operator of the truck 40. Hydraulic fluid is supplied from the reservoir (not shown) on the truck 40 to the cylinder 49 through flexible hose 56 and removed from the cylinder 49 through flexible hose 57 for return to the reservoir on the truck 40 when it is desired to move the piston 53 outwardly with respect to the cylinder 49. When the piston 53 is to be retracted, hydraulic fluid is supplied to the cylinder 49 through the hose 57 and removed from the cylinder 49 through the hose 56.

The chain 54 meshes with sprockets 58 (see FIGURE 2) and 59 (see FIGURE 3), which are secured to substantially

horizontal pinion shafts

60 and 61, respectively. One end of the shaft 60 is supported in bearings 62 and 63 (see FIGURE 3). The bearing 62 is supported by a flange 64 on a member 65. The member 65 extends between the angle members 32 and 34 and is supported thereby (see FIGURE 1).

Similarly, the bearing 63 rests on a flange 66 of a member 67. The member 67 extends between the angle members 32 and 34 in spaced parallel relation to the member 65. The member 67 also is supported by the members 32 and 34.

A pinion 68 is secured to the pinion shaft 60 for rotation therewith and is disposed between the

bearings

62 and 63 in spaced relation thereto. The pinion 68 meshes with a rack 69, which has one end pivotally connected through a pin 70 to a flange 71 on one of the horizontal angle members 48 of the frame 43 (see FIGURE 1). The rack 69 passes between the members 65 and 67 (see FIG- URE 3) and is enclosed within a triangular shaped housing 72 (shown in phantom in FIGURES 1 and 2).

The other end of the pinion shaft 60 is supported in a similar arrangement and has similar connections. Each end of the pinion shaft 61 has a similar arrangement. None of these connections will be described in detail since each is exactly the same as that described for one end of the pinion shaft 60.

The connections between the frame 43 and the racks 69 provide the support to maintain the frame 43 in a plane substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane containing the base 10'. These connections also insure that the frame 43 moves substantially parallel to the horizontal plane containing the base 10.

Cooperating

members

73 and 74 are positioned on opposite sides of the base 1.6 for engaging the load on the base 10 to center the load and hold it in centered position. The

members

73 and 74 are disposed in planes substantially perpendicular to the plane containing the base 10. The surface of each of the

members

73 and 74 adjacent the side of the base 10 is planar. The height of the

members

73 and 74 is slightly less than the width of the base 10 whereby the load on the base 10 may be quite high.

The

members

73 and 74 are moved toward and away from the sides of the base 18 and each other by means of a hydraulic cylinder 75. One end of the hydraulic cylinder 75 is pivotally connected to an ear 76 of an angle member 77, which is secured to the

vertical supports

15 and 23, by a pin 78. The pin 78' extends through apertures in bifurcated portions of the one end of the cylinder 75 and an aperture in the ear 76 to form the pivotal connection. Suitable means such as cotter pins (not shown) extend through apertures in opposite ends of the pin 78 to maintain the cylinder 75 and the ear 76 connected.

The other end of the hydraulic cylinder 75 has an extensible piston 79. Movement of the extensible piston 79 with respect to the cylinder 75 is controlled by the operator of the truck 40. When it is desired to move the piston 79 outwardly with respect to the cylinder 75, hydraulic fluid is supplied from the reservoir on the truck 40 to the cylinder 75 through hose 80 and removed from the cylinder 75 through hose 8 1 for return to the reservoir on the truck 40. When the piston 79 is to be retracted, hydraulic fluid is supplied to the cylinder 75 through the hose 81 and removed from the cylinder 75 through the hose 8t).

The piston 79 has a bifurcated member 82 on its exposed end to permit pivotal connection of the piston 79 to an ear 83 of a connecting rod 84 through a pin 85. The

pin 85 extends through apertures in the bifurcated member 82 and an aperture in the ear 83 to form the pivotal connection. Suitable means such as cotter pins (not shown) extend through apertures in opposite ends of the pin 85 to maintain the piston 79 and the car 83 connected.

The upper end of the connecting rod 84 is pivotally connected to one end of a crank lever 86 by a pin 87 and the lower end of the connecting rod 84 is pivotally connected to one end of a crank lever 88 by a pin 89. Each of the crank levers 86 and 88 is formed with two spaced arms (see FIGURE 2) disposed on opposite sides of the connecting rod 84. The upper end of the crank lever 86 is fixed to a shaft 90. Similarly, the upper end of the crank lever 88 is fixed to a shaft 91.

The shaft 90 has circular throw cranks 92 and 93 attached at opposite ends thereof for movement therewith. Each of the throw cranks 92 and 93 (see FIGURE 2) comprises two spaced circular members.

The throw crank 92 is pivotally connected to a clevis rod 94, which is positioned between the two spaced circular members of the crank 92, by a pin 95. The throw crank 92 isconnected to a second clevis rod 96 by a pin 97, which is disposed diametrically opposite to the pin 95. The clevis rod 96 also is positioned between the two spaced circular members of the crank 92. Thus, when the crank 92 rotates in one direction, the

clevis rods

94 and 96 move toward each other while rotation of the crank 92 in the opposite direction moves the

clevis rods

94 and 96 away from each other.

The clevis rod 94 is pivotally connected to a bar or rod 98 by a pin 99. The other end of the bar 98 is attached to the member 74. The bar 98 rides in bearing sleeves 190 and 101 on the

vertical supports

17 and 16, respectively. Thus, when the throw crank 92 rotates c1ockwise (as viewed in FIGURE 3) with the shaft 90, the bar 98 is urged inwardly to move the member 74 toward the side of the base The clevis rod 96- is similarly connected to the upper portion of the member 73. Additionally, there are similar connections from the throw crank 93 to the

members

73 and 74. Furthermore, the shaft 91 is connected through throw cranks to the lowermost portions of the

members

73 and 74. Thus, there are four connections, two at the top and two at the bottom, from the connecting rod 84 to each of the

members

73 and 74. However, these connections will not be described in detail since each is the same arrangement as the connection through the bar 98.

When the extensible piston 79 of the hydraulic cylinder 75 is moved outwardly, the connecting rod 84 moves upwardly to rotate the

shafts

90 and 91 clockwise (as viewed in FIGURE 3). This results in the

members

73 and 74 moving toward the base 10 to engage the load on the base It to center the load thereon and maintain or hold it in its centered position. When the flow of the hydraulic fluid is reversed so that it is supplied to the cylinder 75 by the hose 81 and removed from the cylinder 75 through the hose 80, the connecting rod 84 moves downwardly causing the

members

73 and 74 to move away from the sides of the base 10 and cease to engage the load on the base 10.

Considering the operation of the present invention, the frame 43 of the load carriage is disposed in the position 6 of FIGURES 1 and 2 prior to a load being placed on the base 10. The

members

73 and 74 are spaced from the sides of the base 10 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

The industrial truck 40 is propelled to the area in which a load such as tires, for example, is located. The member 39, which functions as an elevator, is moved to position the base 10 on the floor of the loading area. The industrial truck 49 is next moved forwardly to advance the support platform portion of the base 10 underneath the tires. The tapered edge of the base 10 allows it to slide beneath the bottom tire.

The extensible piston 79 of the hydraulic cylinder 75 is then actuated to move the

members

73 and 74 toward each other and the sides of the base 10 until the tires are engaged by both of the planar surface of the

members

73 and 74. If only one of the surfaces of the

members

73 and 74 engages the tires, this member will move the tires until both members contact the tires whereby the load is centered on the base 10. By suitable mechanism (not shown) on the truck 40, the hydraulic fluid maintains the cylinder 75 in the position wherein the

members

73 and 74 are locked to maintain their planar surfaces in engagement with the tires. The member 39 is then moved upwardly to raise the base 10 from the floor of the loading area.

The industrial truck 40 is moved away from the loading area and driven to the unloading area. The member 39 is moved downwardly to rest the base 10 on the floor of the unloading area. The flow of fiuid to the hydraulic cylinder 75 is then reversed whereby the

members

73 and 74 move away from engagement with the tires.

After the

members

73 and 74 cease engagement with the tires, the extensible piston 53 of the hydraulic cylinder 49 is actuated by supplying fluid to the cylinder 49 through the hose 56 and removing fluid from the cylinder 49 through the hose 57. This results in the chain 54 advancing the frame 43 toward the front of the base 10. This advancement of the frame 43 in a direction parallel to the plane containing the base 10 urges the tires off the base It) and into the unloading area. As shown in FIG- URE 4, the height of the frame 43 is slightly greater than the height of the

members

73 and 74 to insure that the frame 43 contacts the entire height of the tires or other load disposed on the base 10.

The frame 43 is limited in its advancement toward the front by the amount of movement of the extensible piston 53 of the cylinder 49 so that it does not proceed beyond the tapered edge of the base 19. Since the piston 53 of the cylinder 49 can not extend beyond a certain distance, this limits the advancement of the racks 619.

After the tires have been pushed off the base 10 by the frame 43, the flow of fluid to the hydraulic cylinder 49 is reversed by supplying fluid to the cylinder 49 through the hose 57 and removing fluid from the cylinder 49 through the hose 56. This causes retraction of the piston 53 and the frame 43 is returned to its starting position. The member 39 then is actuated to raise the base 10 from the fioor of the unloading area. Finally, the industrial truck 41 is moved away from the unloading area to return to the loading area to begin another operation.

It should be understood that the number of vertical and horizontal members forming the upright supporting structure for the actuating mechanisms of the frame 43 and the

members

73 and 74 can be varied if desired; it is only necessary that there be sulficient structure to support the mechanisms. It also should be understood that the frame 43 could be a solid member if desired. It should be understood that the tires were given as one example of a load; any type of configuration or shape of load can be centered and maintained or held in position on the base 10 of the load carriage by the

members

73 and 74.

An advantage of this invention is that all steps of load ing and unloading are performed mechanically. Another advantage of this invention is that it insures that the load remains on the load carriage while the load is being transported to its unloading area. A further advantage is that the load carriage is adapted for use with any industrial lift truck. Still another advantage of this invention is that the load is maintained or held in position on the load carriage, irrespective of the shape or configuration of the load, during movement of the load carriage.

For purposes of exemplification, a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described according to the best present understanding thereof. However, it Will be apparent that changes and modifications in the arrangement and construction of the parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A load carriage adapted for use with an industrial lift truck having means for vertically moving said load carriage, said load carriage including a base disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and having its front portion functioning as a support platform adapted to form the sole support of a load thereon, said base having an upright structure mounted on its rear portion, a pair of members disposed on opposite sides of said base, means connecting said members to said upright structure, said connecting means adapted to simultaneously move said members toward and away from each other and said base, said members engaging the load thereon for automatically centering the load and holding it in its centered position when said connecting means move said members toward each other, a frame disposed between said members and adjacent one side of said upright structure and said support platform portion of said base, a plurality of substantially horizontally disposed means attached to said frame at spaced points in spaced planes and supported by said upright structure to maintain said frame in a plane substantially perpendicular to said base, means cooperating with said horizontal disposed means to advance and retract said horizontal disposed means substantially parallel to said base to move said frame substantially parallel to said base to urge the load off said base when said members cease to engage the load, said cooperating means being supported by said upright structure and being disposed within said upright structure, and said upright structure having means on its side remote from said frame for attachment to the vertically moving means of the industrial lift truck.

2. A load carriage for supporting without the aid of pallets a load of compressible material such as tires or the like and adapted for use with an industrial lift truck having means for vertically moving said load carriage, said load carriage including a base disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and having its front portion functioning as a support platform adapted to directly support a load of tires or the like thereon, said base having an upright structure mounted on its rear portion, a pair of members disposed on opposite sides of said base, each of said members being of a height slightly less than the width of said base and having one end terminate adjacent the plane containing said base, each of said members extending from the front edge of said support platform portion of said base to beyond the rear edge of said support platform portion of said base, a cylinder supported on'said upright structure, said cylinder having a piston movable in response to fluid pressure, means connecting said piston to each of said members whereby said members are connected to said upright structure, said members being moved simultaneously toward and away from each other and said base when said piston is actuated, means on said upright structure cooperating with said connecting means to permit said members to move only substantially parallel to the plane containing said base When said piston is actuated, said members engaging the load of tires on said support platform portion of said base for automatically centering the load of tires and holding the load of tires in its centered position with the tires compressed when actuation of said piston moves said members toward each other, a frame disposed adjacent one side of said upright structure and adjacent the rear edge of said support platform portion of said base, the width of said frame being substantially the same as the width of said support platform portion of said base, the height of said frame being at least equal to the height of each of said members, means mounted on said upright structure and connected to said frame to maintain said frame in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane containing said base and to the plane containing said members, a second cylinder supported on said upright structure, said second cylinder having a piston movable in response to fluid pressure, means connecting said second cylinder piston to said frame connecting means to move said frame substantially parallel to the plane containing said base when said second cylinder piston is actuated to urge the load of tires off said platform support portion of said base when said members cease to engage the load of tires to allow the tires to expand, and said upright structure having means on its side remote from said support platform portion of said base for attachment to the vertically moving means of the industrial lift truck.

3. The load carriage according to claim 2 in Which said base has a substantially rectangular shape and has a continuous surface.

4. The load carriage according to claim 3 in which said upright structure is substantially the same width as the width of said base.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,508,698 5/1950 Von Beren 2l46 2,560,438 7/1951 Gut-1n 2l4653 2,785,818 3/1957 Mercier et al 214514 2,841,302 7/1958 Reisman et al.

2,959,313 11/1960 Bettencourt et al. 214--653 3,021,024 2/1962 Nagin 214-514 3,121,502 2/1964 Schroeder 214-510 3,174,639 3/1965 Chase et al. 214653 GERALD M. FOR'LENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. B. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner,