US3788507A

US3788507A - Materials handling scoop

Info

Publication number: US3788507A
Application number: US00174867A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Voss
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-08-25
Filing date: 1971-08-25
Publication date: 1974-01-29
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-29

Abstract

This materials handling apparatus includes a scoop, having a push plate slidably mounted therein. Lazy tongs connected to the back of the scoop and to the push plate are extended and retracted by a hydraulic cylinder which can be operably connected to the hydraulic system of a fork lift truck. The scoop includes channel shaped shoes projecting from the bottom thereof for receiving the forks of a fork lift truck such that the entire assembly can be mounted on a fork lift truck.

Description

nited States Patent 1191 1 Kughler 214/514 11] 3,788,507 Voss' 5] Jan. 29, 11974 MATERIALS HANDLING SCOOP 3,516,641 6/1970 Ferguson 214/514 2,482,692 9 1949 uales 214 620 [76] Inventor: Herman Vlsta Tera 3,079,021 2l1963 OhOISl et al... 214/1 16 E Muskegon, Mlch- 49442 2,610,824 9/1952 Grier 214/82 x [22] Filed: Aug. 25, 1971 Primary Examiner-Robert J. Spar [21] 174867 Attorney, Agent, or FirmPrice, Heneveld, Huizenga & Cooper [52] US. Cl. 214/620, 214/82, 214/146 E,

. 214/514 151 161.0 ..'B66f 9/19 [57] ABSTRACT Field of a 1 146 This materials handling apparatus includes a scoop, 214/6 1, 510 having a push plate slidably mounted therein. Lazy 1 tongs connected to the back of the scoop and to the References Cited push plate are extended and retracted by a hydraulic UNITED STATES PATENTS cylinder which can be operably connected to the hy- 3,040,914 6/1962 161111866 6: al. 214/514 x draulic System a lift truck- The includes 2,707,573 5 1955 Balwics .Q 214/514 x Channel Shaped Shoes Projecting from the bottom 2,730,377 2 1957 Glenn, Jr et 1 2 4 20 X thereof for receiving the'forks of a fork lift truck such 3,640,414 2/1 972 Brodi 214/514 that the entire assembly can be mounted on a fork lift 3,488,870 1/1970 Holets et a1 214/82 X truck, 2,863,580 12/1958 Kamin 214/82 X 2,993,610 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 MATERIALS HANDLING SCOOP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to materials handling. It is particularly useful in handling scrap metal and the like which is to be charged into a furnace for reclamation or loaded onto a truck for removal.

Aluminum is often recovered .from scrap metal by charging the scrap into a furnace and thereby causing the aluminum to melt and drain off. In the past, the scrap has been laboriously shoveled into the furnace. One could use a front loader for this operation, scooping up the scrap'and then dumping it-onto a chute on which it would slide down into the furnace. However, such a piece of equipment is quite expensive and most factories cannot afford making such an investment for a piece of equipment having only a specialized use.

Thus this scrap handlingfproblem is one example of a specialized materials handlingproblem which cannot be economically solved by existing equipment.

SUMMARY oF THE INVENTION The. present invention constitutes a scrap handling attachment which can readily be attached to or re- 'moved from a conventional fork lift truck. Since a fork lift truck has numerous uses in most factory environ-' nected to three-way valve 70 which is mounted on fork lifttruck 100 and which is tied into hydraulic line 101. A pair of shoes 60 project downwardly from the bottom of scoop 10 for receiving the forks 102 and fork lift truck 100.

Scoop 10 includes a pair of sides 11 and a bottom 12,

all integrally formed of stiff sheet metal (FIGS. 1 and 2). It is open in front. A back or brace 13 extends across the rear of scoop 10 to brace the sides 11 and to serve as a mounting bracket forlazy tongs 40 (FIG. 2). Brace 13 is a generally C-shaped angle iron bracket (FIG. 3).

Push plate 20 includes a rigid, sheet metal plate 21 which is braced on its rear side by a generally C-shaped angle iron brace 22 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 4). Brace 22 is welded to plate 21 and'extends generally across the width of the back thereof. (The central portion is broken away in FIG. 4).

Welded to brace 22 and extending -perpendicularly away from the rear of plate 21 is a stabilizer flange 23 mounted at each side of' plate 21 (FIGS. 2 and 4). These are generally L-shaped brackets having a leg extending generally parallel to sides 11 and having a base extending generally parallel to bottom 12 (FIG. 4).

-Mounted near the front and rear of each stabilizer not needed such that the fork lift truck is freed for other assignments. H

The invention includes a scoop having intelligence thereon for securing it to'the forks ofa fork lift truck.

The scoop includes a'p'ush plate mounted therein alongwith a means for driving the push plate fore and aft in the scoop. Thus, materials 'such as scrap can be scooped up with the push plate in a retracted position, and can then be discharged from the, scoop by forcing theplate" forwardly. Preferably, the means for moving the push plate is hydraulic and can be readily tied into or disconnected from the hydraulic system of the fork lift truck. It is valsopreferable that the plate include rearwardly projecting "flanges with wheels thereon to stabilize the push platein it s fore and aft movement.

These and other features, obj ects and advantages of the invention'will be appreciated by reference to the written specification and appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or TH DRAWINGS PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the Preferred embodiment, the materials handling assembly 1 includes a scoop 10 having a push plate 20 slidably mounted therein (FIG. 1). A pusher assembly 30,. including lazy tongs 40 and hydraulic cylinder 50, is mounted'inscoop. ,10 for moving push plate 20 fore and aft therein; Hydraulic cylinder 50 is operablyconflange 23 on the leg thereof is a side roller assembly 24 including a pair of small rollers or wheels. These side rollers'24 roll against the sides 11 of scoop 10 to provide friction free movement .of push plate 20. Similarly,

each stabilizer flange 23 includes a pair of bottom rollers 25 (FIGS. 3 and 4), one being located near the front and one being located near the rear of stabilizer flange 23 on the base thereof. Each roller 25 includes two small wheels, and rollers 25 serve the function of providingfriction-free movement of push plate 20 along bottom 12.

Pusher assembly includes lazy tongs and hydraulic cylinder 50 (FIG. 1). Lazy tongs 40 are conventional and comprise a plurality of metal strips 41 hingedly joined by hinge pins 42 to form several parallelograms, in this case three (FIG. 2). There are two they force push plate 20 forwardly and when contracted, they draw push plate 20 rearwardly.

Hydraulic cylinder 50 is secured at opposite ends to the diametrically opposed hinge pins of one of the parallelograms of lazy tongs 40, preferably the rearmost to minimize its travel (FIGS. 2 and 4). Hydraulic cylinder 50 is a conventional hydraulic mechanism, having a bracket 53 at the head of its piston 54 which is secured to one hinge pin 42 (FIG. 4). The opposite end of cylinder 50 is securedby bracket 55 to a hinge pin 42 which is diametrically opposed to the hingepin 42 to which bracket 53 is secured. Cylinder 50 is oriented laterally with respect to scoop 10 rather than longitudinally such that upon expansion of cylinder 50, lazy tongs 40 contracts thereby moving push plate 20 rearwardly in scoop 10. When hydraulic cylinder 50 contracts as shown in FIG. 2, push plate 20 is moved forwardly, all the way to the front of scoop l0.

Hydraulic cylinder 50 is tied into the hydraulic system of fork lift truck 100 by means of a feed line or expansion line 51 which goes to the base of cylinder 50 and a relief line 52 which is secured to the head of cylinder 50 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The

lines

51 and 52 are joined to a three-way valve 70 which is mounted in the hydraulic line 101 of fork lift truck 100 ahead of the valve box 103. Valve box 103 is used to effect the lifting of forks 102 and the tilting of the fork tower 105. It has been found that three-way valve 70 should be positioned ahead of valve box 103, or in other words, upstream from valve box 103 on hydraulic line 101. It has been found that when three-way valve 70 is positioned downstream of valve box 103, the valves in valve box 103 are somehow operated by the operation of threeway valve 70. On the other hand, this does not occur when three-way valve 70 is positioned upstream from valve box 103.

Lines

51 and 52 are joined to three-way valve 70 by means of conventional quick-snap couplings 56 such that

lines

51 and 52 can be readily connected and disconnected (FIG. 1). Three-way valve 70 includes a lever 71 for effectuating its control and for thereby effectuating control of hydraulic cylinder 50 and lazy tongs 40.

Depending from the bottom of scoop 10 are a pair of shoes 60, positioned near the opposite sides 11 of scoop 10 (FIG. 4). Each shoe 60 comprises an elongated, generally channel-shaped bracket which is welded to the bottom 12 of scoop 10 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Being channel-shaped, each shoe 60 includes a base 62 and a pair of upwardly extending sidewalls 61. Each shoe 6 is sufficiently long that when forks 102 of fork lift truck 100 are received in shoe 60, wobbling of scoop 10 on forks 102 is prevented or at least minimized. The inside dimensions. of each shoe 60 correspond approximately to the outside dimensions of forks 102 such that a comfortable, non-sloppy fit is achieved between forks 102 and shoes 60.

OPERATION When a special materials handling operation has to be performed, such as charging scrap metal into a furnace, a fork lift truck 100 which has previously been used to load cartons of material, can be disengaged from this taskand can be driven into endwise alignment with the materials handling apparatus 1 of the present invention. The forks 102 are aligned with shoes 60 and fork lift truck 100 is driven forwardly until the forks 102 are received in shoes 60. With scoop 10 in position on forks 102, hydraulic cylinder 50 is tied into hydraulic line 101 by

lines

51 and 52 being coupled onto three-way valve 70 by quick-fit couplings 56. With these basic operations performed, the apparatus 1 is now ready to handle its assignment.

The operator of the fork lift truck 100 attacks a pile of scrap metal by driving fork lift truck forwardly until a quantity of scrap is scooped up into scoop 10. At this point, push plate is in its rearward position as shown in FIG. 1. Fork lift truck 100 is then driven over to the scrap furnace and if necessary, the forks 102 are elevated to the level of the furnace door. With the front end of scoop 10 positioned in front of the open furnace door. lever 71 of three-way valve 70 is pushed either forwardly or rearwardly, depending on the particular Way in which the three-way valve 70 is tied into the system, and push plate 20 is thereby propelled forwardly by the contracting action of cylinder 50 causing lazy tongs 40 to expand (FIG. 2). This forces the scrap out of scoop 10 and into the furnace. Push plate 20 is then retracted by forcing lever 71 to its extreme opposite position and once push plate 20 is so retracted, lever 71 is allowed to return to its normal upright position. Forks 102 are then again lowered in a conventional manner.

As push plate 20 is propelled forwardly and rearwardly, stabilizer flanges 23 prevent sloppy or wobbly movement thereof within scoop 10. The side rollers 24 between stabilizer flanges 23 and sidewalls 11 provide friction free contact therebetween and the bottom rollers 25 on the base of stabilizer flanges 23 cause push plate 20 to roll smoothly along the bottom 12 of scoop l0.

Wobbling movement of scoop 10 with respect to forks 102 is prevented by the relative length of shoes 60. This insures positive workability of the apparatus at all times.

Once such a specific scrap handling detail has been completed, the materials handling apparatus 1 can be readily disengaged from fork lift truck 100, thereby relieving that fork lift truck for the performance of other duties.

Lines

51 and 52 are uncoupled from three-way valve 70, shoes 60 are allowed to contact the flooriand fork lift truck 100 is driven in reverse until forks 102 slide out of engagement with shoes 60.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a relatively inexpensive materials handling apparatus which can be used in conjunction with a conventional fork lift truck. The necessity of using a special piece of apparatus such as a front loader, is eliminated. Thus, the apparatus of the present invention not only eliminates work that previously had to be done by hand, but also greatly increases the versatility of the fork lift truck.

Of course, it is understood that the above is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention and that many changes and alterations can be made thereof without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truck comprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receiving means on said scoop for operably engaging the forks of a forklift truck; a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally from one side of said scoop to the other; pusher means mounted on said scoop for moving said push plate fore or aft of said scoop; said pusher means includes a hydraulic cylinder and means for securing said hydraulic cylinder to the hydraulic system of said lift truck; said pusher means including lazy tongs; said scoop including means at the back of said scoop for mounting one end of said lazy tongs thereto; said lazy tongs being mounted at the other end to said push plate; said cylinder being secured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hinges of a given parallelogram section of said lazy tongs.

2. The scoop of claim 1 in which: said cylinder is connected laterally across said parallelogram with respect to the direction of movement of said push plate.

3. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truck comprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receiving means on said scoop for operably-engaging the forks of a forklift truck; a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally from one side of said scoop to the other; said push plate including a flange projecting rearwardly from each side thereof, in proximity with said sides of said scoop for stabilizing the movement of said push plate; pusher means mounted on said scoop for moving said push plate fore and aft of said scoop; said'pusher means including a hydraulic cylinder and means for securing said cylinder to the hydraulic system of said forklift truck; said pusher means including lazy tongs; said scoop including means at the back of said scoop for mounting one' .end of said .lazy tongs thereto; said 6 lazy tongs being mountedat the other end to said push plate; said cylinder being secured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hinges of a given parallelogram section of said lazy tongs.

of said fork lift truck.

Claims

3. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truck comprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receiving means on said scoop for operably engaging the forks of a forklift truck; a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally from one side of said scoop to the other; said push plate including a flange projecting rearwardly from each side thereof, in proximity with said sides of said scoop for stabilizing the movement of said push plate; pusher means mounted on said scoop for moving said push plate fore and aft of said scoop; said pusher means including a hydraulic cylinder and means for securing said cylinder to the hydraulic system of said forklift truck; said pusher means including lazy tongs; said scoop including means at the back of said scoop for mounting one end of said lazy tongs thereto; said lazy tongs being mounted at the other end to said push plate; said cylinder being secured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hinges of a given parallelogram section of said lazy tongs.

4. The scoop of claim 3 in which: said cylinder is connected laterally across said parallelogram with respect to the direction of movement of said push plate.

5. The scoop of claim 4 in which: said receiving means includes at least one channel shaped bracket secured to the bottom of said scoop and projecting downwardly therefrom; said bracket being sufficiently long to minimize lateral shifting of said scoop on the forks of said fork lift truck.