JP3288966B2 - Attachment for handling drums in forklifts - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an attachment for loading and unloading drums mounted on a forklift, and more particularly to a method for grasping four drums arranged in a horizontal line.
The present invention relates to an attachment for loading and unloading drums, which can be deformed into a cross-shaped shape and, conversely, four drums placed in a cross-shaped shape can be grasped and deformed in a horizontal line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various attachments for drums have been used for loading and unloading drums with a forklift. For example, it has upper and lower claws that rotate and open and close, and apply the claws to the upper edge of the drum can, and by slightly moving up, the spring and lever mechanism automatically grab the ear of the drum can. 2. Description of the Related Art A drum picker including a picker and an arcuate contact frame that supports a lower portion of a drum can is known. There is also a drum picker for two cans in which two sets of the same picker unit are provided at intervals of the diameter of the drum.

With these drum pickers, one or two at a time
It can handle only drums. For example, when unloading drums from a container and transferring them to a pallet in an automatic warehouse, four or two unloading operations are required to place four drums on a pallet in a cross. It had to be done, and the cargo handling efficiency was low.

[0004] Further, four picker units are provided around the main pillar at 90 ° intervals, and a pillar is inserted from above into a gap formed in the center of four drums arranged in a cross shape,
Some pickers pick up the upper edge of the four drums by a picker. Inevitably, this configuration requires a space above the drum that is at least as high as the main column,
For example, it cannot be used in places where the height is limited, such as for a drum stacked in two layers in a container. In addition, the gap formed in the center of the four drums placed in the shape of a rice field is difficult to see from the driver's seat of the forklift, and there is a problem that it is difficult to insert the main pillar.

[0005] Further, there is also known an apparatus in which the left and right arms are horizontally moved in parallel by a cylinder to clamp a side portion of a drum can. However, since it clamps from the side, a space is required for inserting the arm. For this reason, there is almost no space for inserting an arm such as a drum can loaded in the container, and there is a disadvantage that the device cannot be used in such a narrow space.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and aims to improve the efficiency of loading and unloading drums from a narrow space. What did
The drums arranged in four rows can be grasped and taken out, and at the same time, the four drums can be deformed into the shape of a rice field while being grasped, and the four drums placed in the shape of a rice field can be removed. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an attachment for handling a drum can that can be gripped and deformed into four horizontal rows.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a positioner device suspended from a lift bracket of a forklift, and a pair of left and right main arms are attached to the positioner device so that the position can be adjusted in the left-right direction. A pickup arm, which rotates horizontally by 90 ° by an operating device, is pivotally mounted. A side bar is fixed to the pickup arm, and two pickup units are attached to the side bar with a diameter interval of a drum can.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an attachment for unloading a drum according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same attachment, which is deformed by 90 °. In the figure, 1 is a lift bracket of a forklift,
Although not shown, it can be moved up and down along the mast of the forklift body. Reference numeral 2 denotes a positioner device suspended and fixed to the lift bracket 1. Reference numerals 3 and 4 denote main arm carriers which are supported by the positioner device 2 so that the position in the left and right direction can be adjusted, and which support a pair of main arms 5 and 6.

The main arms 5, 6 have upright portions 5 ', 6'
And horizontal portions 5 ", 6", and upright portions 5 ', 6'
Are fixedly supported by the main arm carriers 3 and 4.
Reference numerals 7 and 8 denote a pair of left and right pickup arms pivotally connected to the tips of the horizontal portions 5 "and 6" of the main arms 5 and 6 by pins 18 and 19, respectively. It is possible. The pivot point, ie pin 1
The distance between the axes of 8 and 19 is 2 at the closest position.
It is set to match the axis of each drum. The main arm carriers 3 and 4 may be formed as one part of the main arms 5 and 6.

Reference numerals 9 and 10 denote actuators for the pickup arms 7 and 8. In this embodiment, cylinders are used, the bases of which are fixed to the main arms 5 and 6, and the rod ends project from the pickup arms 7 and 8. It is connected to links 7 ', 8'. Sidebars 11, 12 are fixed to the pickup arms 7, 8, respectively. A pair of pickup units 13, 14, 15, 16 are provided on the sidebars 11, 12 at the same interval as the diameter of the drum. Have been. Pickup units 13, 14, 1
Reference numerals 5 and 16 denote pickers 13 ', 14', 15 'and 16' each comprising a main column and upper and lower claws which are opened and closed by a spring and a lever mechanism, and a lower bumper 13 mounted on a lower portion. , 14 ", 15", 16 ", and the pickup unit itself has a known configuration.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a fixed bumper. An L-shaped frame is fixed to the lower surface of the positioner device 2, and a bumper member 17 'is stretched at a position where it contacts the two drums B and C at the center in the figure. Is being worn. The front position thereof substantially coincides with the lower bumpers 14 "and 15" of the pickup unit. In the drawings, A, B, C, and D indicate drums.

Next, the positioner device 2 will be described. Reference numeral 20 denotes a positioner frame which is suspended on the finger bar of the lift bracket 1. Reference numerals 21 and 22 denote guide bars supported up and down in the positioner frame 20, and brackets 23 fixed to the guide bars 21 and 22 on the upper and lower back surfaces of the main arm carriers 3 and 4.
Reference numeral 24 is fitted through a bush, and the main arm carriers 3, 4 are slidably supported.

Reference numerals 25 and 26 denote actuating devices, in which cylinders are used in this embodiment, the bases of which are fixed to the positioner frame 20 and the rod ends are connected to the main arm carriers 3 and 4, respectively. When the cylinders 25 and 26 are extended and contracted by this configuration, the main arm carriers 3 and 4 are slid along the guide bars 21 and 22 and the distance between them is adjusted.

Now, a description will be given of a loading / unloading operation of a drum can by a forklift equipped with the attachment having such a configuration. The case of loading and unloading from a container to a pallet will be described. However, it is also possible to carry out a drum can stored in a narrow space like a container, or to load a pallet into a container in reverse order.

First, the cylinders 25 and 26 are shortened, and the left and right main arms 5 and 6 are set to the closest positions. Then, the left and right pickup arms 7 and 8 are opened with the left and right cylinders 9 and 10 in the most extended state. By doing so, the pickup units 13, 14, 15, 16
Are arranged in a horizontal straight line, and at this time, the pitch and the interval between the drums (the diameter of the drum) are matched, so that the four drums A, B, C, and D arranged in a horizontal line can be picked up.

After the mast is vertically set in this position and the attachment is raised to a predetermined height (a height at which the picker of the pickup unit can grasp the upper edge of the drum can), the forklift is advanced and the pickup unit 13 is moved forward. , 14, 15, and 16 are respectively replaced with drums A, B, C,
Apply to D lightly. When the mast is slightly raised, the pickers 13 ', 14', 15 ', 16' automatically grab the ears of the drums A, B, C, D, respectively. At this time, the lower bumpers 13 ", 14", 15 ", 1
6 "are in contact with the lower portions of drums A, B, C, D, respectively.

Then, the mast is further raised slightly to completely separate the drums A, B, C and D. In this pickup operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the attachment of the present invention is configured such that the pickup arms 7, 8 are held within the thickness of the main arms 5, 6, and are horizontally rotated, and the thickness T is reduced. The pickup operation can be sufficiently performed in the space T 'between the drums stacked in the container and the container ceiling.

After picking up the four drums A, B, C, and D arranged in a row, the forklift is retracted. When the left and right cylinders 9 and 10 are reduced at appropriate positions, the left and right pickup arms 7 and 8 rotate around the pivot pins 18 and 19 in the closing direction, respectively, and the drums A, B, C, D is closed in the shape of a rice field.

FIG. 3 shows a state where the drums A, B, C and D are closed. At this time, the drums B and C also rotate, but since the central axes of the left and right pivot pins 18 and 19 are respectively on the central axes of the drums B and C, when the left and right pickup arms 7 and 8 are rotated, the drum cans are rotated. Since B and C only rotate about the center axis of the pivot point, drums B and C
There is no need to adjust the center-to-center distance.

When the drums A, B, C, and D are closed in the shape of a cross, the total width W (FIG. 3) is about the same as the width of three drums. It has the effect that it can be done easily. In this state, the forklift is taken out of the container. When the forklift goes out of the container, the forklift moves down the slope. At this time, the lower part of the drum can tends to touch the forklift side due to gravity. Lower bumper 1
Although 3 ", 14", 15 "and 16" are parallel to the traveling direction of the forklift, a fixed bumper 17 fixed to the lower portion of the positioner device 2 receives it.

When the four drums A, B, C, and D are carried to the position of the pallet, the mast is lowered and lands on the pallet. ', 15' and 16 'automatically release the grips on drums A, B, C and D respectively. And
When the cylinders 25 and 26 of the positioner device 2 are slightly extended and the main arm carriers 3 and 4 are slid and the main arms 5 and 6 and the pickup arms 7 and 8 are opened right and left, the pickup units 13, 14, 15, 1
6 is completely separated from drums A, B, C, D. Then, the forklift is retracted. In this way, the side 1
Four drums in a row can be dropped on a pallet in the shape of a cross.

[0022]

According to the present invention, four drums in a row can be picked up, closed, and can be stacked and unloaded on a pallet in a cross-shaped manner. Can be picked up, spread out in four horizontal rows, and loaded into a container. In this way, loading and unloading can be performed without having to grasp and change the four drums in a single operation, thereby improving the work efficiency of loading and unloading the drums.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an attachment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the attachment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the attachment of the present invention deformed by 90 °.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lift bracket 2 Positioner device 3, 4 Main arm carrier 5, 6 Main arm 7, 8 Pickup arm 9, 10 Cylinder 11, 12 Sidebar 13, 14, 15, 16 Pickup unit 17 Fixed bumper 20 Positioner frame 21, 22 Guide Bar 23, 24 Bracket 25, 26 Cylinder

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B66F 9/14 B66F 9/18

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A forklift is provided with a positioner device suspended from a lift bracket, and a pair of left and right main arms are attached to the positioner device so that the position in the left-right direction can be adjusted.
An attachment for loading and unloading drums in a forklift, wherein a pivoting pickup arm is pivotally mounted, a side bar is fixed to the pickup arm, and two pickup units are attached to the side bar with a diameter interval of the drum can. . 2. The attachment for handling a drum in a forklift according to claim 1, wherein the main arm is slid and set by an actuator along a guide bar provided in the positioner device. 3. The attachment for loading and unloading drums in a forklift according to claim 1, wherein a fixed bumper whose front surface position is substantially the same as the lower bumper of the pickup unit is provided below the positioner device.