JP7670455B2 - Attachment for low-lift truck and low-lift truck equipped with said attachment - Google Patents

Description

This relates to an attachment for a low lift truck and a low lift truck equipped with said attachment.

Low-lift trucks used for loading and unloading work are known. For example, the low-lift truck disclosed in Patent Document 1 is electric, yet can be used by people without a forklift license, and is easy to handle. This low-lift truck includes a vehicle body, a battery storage section provided at the front of the vehicle body and raised and lowered by a lift cylinder inside the vehicle body, a pair of left and right forks extending forward from the battery storage section, and a steering handle rotatably attached to the top of the vehicle body. This low-lift truck has a battery removal opening that can be opened and closed on the top surface of the battery storage section, and the battery is removed from this battery removal opening. In addition, in the low-lift truck 100 disclosed in FIG. 7, the battery removal opening 4a is located on the side of the battery storage section 4, and the stored battery is removed from the battery removal opening 4a by sliding it left and right after the cover 4b is opened.

However, low-lift trucks can subject the loaded pallets and loads to vibrations and centrifugal forces when traveling and turning during loading and unloading. This can cause the loaded load to bounce off the forks or shift from the appropriate loading position, resulting in the load falling over. On the other hand, a forklift can be equipped with attachments or devices that have stabilizers to prevent loads from falling over, as disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, for example, to prevent the load from falling over. By clamping the load with these attachments and devices, the forklift can prevent the load from falling over while traveling during loading and unloading.

However, these attachments and devices for preventing cargo from shifting are designed for forklifts and are not intended to be used with low-lift trucks. Furthermore, such attachments and devices require operations for clamping the cargo to be performed separately from the cargo handling operation, and a separate electrical circuit must be installed and electrically connected in order to mount the attachment or device on the cargo handling vehicle. This goes against the ease of use that is an advantage of low-lift trucks. Therefore, in this respect as well, the above-mentioned attachments and devices cannot be applied to low-lift trucks.

JP 2011-230526 A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 06-336399 JP 2000-327285 A

Therefore, the problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide an attachment for a low lift truck that can secure a load while maintaining the ease of handling of the low lift truck.

In order to solve the above problems, the attachment for a low lift truck according to the present invention comprises:
Low lift trucks,
A pair of left and right forks extending in the front-rear direction and capable of ascending and descending;
A vehicle body that does not move up and down due to the lifting and lowering of the forks;
The attachment is
A coupling portion that is coupled to a vehicle body;
A fixing portion disposed above an object to be loaded onto the forks;
An intermediate portion provided between the connecting portion and the fixing portion,
The fixing portion is characterized in that the load placed on the forks is raised by lifting the forks, thereby fixing the load.

The attachment preferably comprises:
Low lift trucks,
a battery storage unit disposed at the front of the vehicle body and storing the battery;
A lifting unit that lifts and lowers the battery storage unit,
A fork extends forward from the battery compartment;
The battery storage section has a battery removal opening,
The lifting unit is configured to lift and lower the forks by lifting and lowering the battery storage unit,
The connecting portion has a pair of left and right first plates extending in the up-down direction,
A pair of left and right first plates are connected to the sides of the vehicle body by connecting members,
The middle portion is composed of a pair of second plates on the left and right sides, and is formed so as not to block the battery outlet when the attachment is connected to the low lift truck.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The vehicle body has a plurality of female threads in the vertical direction for connecting to the connecting portion,
The connecting material is composed of multiple bolts,
The pair of left and right first plates have a plurality of bolt holes in the vertical direction so that the height at which they are connected to the vehicle body can be adjusted based on the height of a load placed on the forks.

The attachment preferably comprises:
A pair of left and right second plates are formed in a U-shape or an inverted U-shape and are integrally formed with the pair of left and right first plates,
A pair of left and right first plates and a pair of left and right second plates each form an approximately square shape, and when the attachment is connected to the low lift truck, a battery outlet is located on the inside of the approximately square shape.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The fixing part is configured to extend in the left-right direction above the rear end of the pallet loaded on the forks so as not to come into contact with a load placed on the pallet when the pallet is loaded on the forks, and fixes the pallet when the forks are raised.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The intermediate portion has a pair of left and right extension portions extending in the front-rear direction,
A fixed portion is connected to the extension portion for placement above a loaded load.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The cross-sectional shape of the lower part of the fixing part is hollowed out in an arc shape so as to fix a load whose upper surface is formed in an arc shape in cross section.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The fixing portion has a fixing portion main body and a resilient portion provided along the lower surface of the fixing portion main body and having resiliency.

The attachment preferably comprises:
The fixing part has a circular fixing part having a circular hole penetrating vertically, and when a loaded load having a cylindrical upper part is raised by lifting the forks, the inner surface of the circular hole surrounds and fixes the cylindrical upper part of the load.

In order to solve the above problems, the low lift truck according to the present invention comprises:
The present invention is characterized by comprising the above-mentioned attachment.

The low lift truck attachment of the present invention can secure the load while maintaining the ease of handling of the low lift truck.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a low lift truck according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the low lift truck shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a pallet fixed by the attachment shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a side view showing a low lift truck according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 5A is a side view showing a modified example of the attachment shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of part B. FIG. 5A is a side view showing another modified example of the attachment shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing a part of the attachment. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a conventional low lift truck.

The low-lift attachment and the low-lift truck equipped with the attachment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the X-axis indicates the front-rear direction, the Y-axis indicates the left-right direction, and the Z-axis indicates the up-down direction. In addition, each axis is perpendicular to each other.

First Embodiment
1 and 2 show an attachment 10 and a low lift truck C according to a first embodiment of the present invention. First, the configuration of the low lift truck C according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the low lift truck C includes rear wheels 1, a vehicle body 2, a steering handle 3, a battery storage section 4, a pair of left and right forks 5, a pair of left and right front wheels 6, a swing arm 7, and a lift cylinder 8.

The rear wheels 1 are composed of a central driving wheel 1a and driven wheels 1b provided on the left and right of the driving wheel 1a. The vehicle body 2 is provided on top of the rear wheels 1, and the steering handle 3 is provided on the rear surface of the vehicle body 2 so that it can turn. On both sides of the vehicle body 2, multiple internal threads 2a (four in this embodiment) are provided in the vertical direction for connecting the attachment 10.

The battery storage section 4 stores a battery (not shown) inside. The drive wheels 1a are driven by the power of the battery. The battery storage section 4 has a battery removal opening 4a and a cover 4b on the side, and the battery can be removed or stored by sliding it left and right when the battery removal opening 4a is open.

A pair of left and right forks 5 extend forward from the battery storage section 4. A pair of left and right front wheels 6 are driven wheels and are connected to the left and right forks 5 via swing arms 7. The front wheels 6 are moved backward when the forks 5 are raised.

The lift cylinder 8 is provided inside the vehicle body 2 and is connected to the battery storage unit 4 via a connecting member. The lift cylinder 8 corresponds to the "lifting unit" of the present invention. The lift cylinder 8 is a hydraulic cylinder that can be expanded and contracted up and down by operating a button provided on the steering handle 3, thereby lifting and lowering the battery storage unit 4. The left and right forks 5 are raised and lowered in conjunction with the lifting and lowering of the battery storage unit 4. The lift cylinder 8 in this embodiment is merely an example, and the lifting unit of the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicle body 2 does not move up and down due to the operation of the lift cylinder 8.

The user operates the steering handle 3 to raise and lower and rotate the lift cylinder 8 to load the object to be loaded onto the forks 5, and tows the low lift truck using the steering handle 3. The low lift truck C is configured to assist the user in operating and towing the steering handle 3 with battery power. This allows the user to operate the steering handle 3 and tow the low lift truck C with light force.

Next, the configuration of the attachment 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The attachment 10 in this embodiment is configured to secure a pallet P (cargo) loaded on the forks 5. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the low lift truck C further includes an attachment 10. The attachment 10 has a connecting portion 11, an intermediate portion 12, a fixing portion 13, and a pair of left and right stoppers 14.

The connecting portion 11 has a pair of left and right plates 110 (corresponding to the "first plates" of the present invention) that extend in the vertical direction. The left and right plates 110 have multiple bolt holes 111 (four in this embodiment). The bolt holes 111 are aligned with the female threads 2a of the vehicle body 2, and the connecting portion 11 is removably connected to both side surfaces of the vehicle body 2 by bolts 112.

The middle section 12 has a pair of left and right plates 120 (corresponding to the "second plate" of the present invention). The pair of left and right plates 120 are formed in a U-shape or an inverted U-shape when viewed from the side, and are integrally formed with the pair of left and right plates 110. The pair of left and right plates 110 and the pair of left and right plates 120 form an approximately square shape, and a battery removal hole 121 is formed on the inside of the approximately square shape. The battery removal port 4a and the cover body 4b are arranged on the inside of the square shape, i.e., in the battery removal hole 121, when the attachment 10 is connected to the low lift truck C. This allows the low lift truck C to store and remove the battery when the attachment 10 is connected to the vehicle body 2.

2, the fixing portion 13 extends in the left-right direction and is disposed at the lower front surface of the intermediate portion 12. That is, the fixing portion 13 is disposed above the rear end of the pallet P loaded on the forks 5 so as not to come into contact with the load W placed on the pallet P when the pallet P is loaded on the forks 5. The fixing portion 13 has a fixing portion main body 130 and an elastic portion 131. The fixing portion main body 130 is fixed to the front surface of the intermediate portion 12 by welding or the like, and the elastic portion 131 is fixed to the lower surface of the fixing portion main body 130 by bolts or the like. The material of the elastic portion 131 in this embodiment is rubber, but this is merely an example. The material of the elastic portion 131 in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it does not damage the pallet P loaded on the forks 5 and the load W placed on the pallet P and can be appropriately fixed.

The pair of left and right stoppers 14 are formed as plates with the upper front portions inclined forward, protruding forward from the plate 120 and fixed to the lower inner surface of the plate 120. As a result, the stoppers 14 can prevent the pallet P from contacting the middle portion 12 when the forks 5 are inserted into the fork holes of the pallet P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the low lift truck C inserts the forks 5 into the insertion holes of the pallet P, and then raises the forks 5 using the lift cylinders 8, clamping the pallet P with the underside of the fixed part 13 and the upper surfaces of the left and right forks 5. The pallet P can be properly raised because the stoppers 14 prevent it from contacting the front surface of the middle part 12. In addition, because the underside of the fixed part 13 is covered by the elastic part 131, the pallet P is properly fixed and is prevented from being damaged by the underside of the fixed part 13.

Second Embodiment
Next, an attachment 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Note that a description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment of the low lift truck C will be omitted. Also, detailed description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment of the attachment 10 may be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment 10 according to this embodiment is connected to the vehicle body 2 of the low lift truck C. The attachment 10 according to this embodiment is configured to secure a load W (cargo) loaded on the forks 5. The attachment 10 has a connecting portion 11, an intermediate portion 12, and a fixing portion 13.

As in the first embodiment, the connecting part 11 has a pair of left and right plates 110 that extend in the vertical direction, and the left and right plates 110 have multiple bolt holes 111. As in the first embodiment, the connecting part 11 is removably connected to both side surfaces of the vehicle body 2 by bolts 112.

The middle section 12 has a pair of left and right extensions 122. The pair of left and right extensions 122 extend forward continuously from the left and right plates 110. The upper ends of the plates 110 are configured to be higher than the upper surface of the load W to be loaded, and the front ends of the extensions 122 are positioned forward of the center in the fore-and-aft direction of the load W to be loaded on the forks 5.

The fixed part 13 extends in the left-right direction and is fixed to the underside of the front of the extension part 122. The center of the fixed part 13 in the front-rear direction is located above the center of the load W in the front-rear direction to be loaded. Similarly to the first embodiment, the fixed part 13 has a fixed part main body 130 and a resilient part 131, and the fixed part main body 130 is fixed to the underside of the extension part 122, and the resilient part 131 is fixed to the underside of the fixed part main body 130.

The attachment 10 has the above-mentioned configuration, so that when the forks 5 are raised by the user, the load W loaded on the forks 5 is clamped by the fixing parts 13 and the upper surfaces of the left and right forks 5. This prevents the load W from collapsing due to vibrations or centrifugal force even while the low-lift truck C is traveling.

The attachment 10 according to the above embodiment can clamp the pallet P or load W loaded on the forks 5 with the fixing parts 13 simply by raising the forks 5 in the same way as a conventional low lift truck C. Moreover, the attachment 10 according to the above embodiment can be used simply by connecting it to the low lift truck C with the bolts 112 without providing a separate electrical circuit. Therefore, the attachment 10 can fix the loaded load W while maintaining the ease of handling of the low lift truck C.

Furthermore, since the attachment 10 according to the above embodiment does not block the battery outlet 4a, the battery can be removed and stored with the low lift truck C connected to the attachment 10. Note that, although the load W is directly loaded on the upper surface of the forks 5 in FIG. 4, a pallet P may be loaded on the forks 5, and the load W placed on the pallet P may be fixed with the fixing portion 13. In this case, the pallet P is fixed by being clamped between the lower surface of the load W and the upper surface of the forks 5.

Although the embodiment of the attachment according to the present invention has been described above, the attachment according to the present invention and the low lift truck equipped with the attachment are not limited to the above embodiment. In addition, the attachment and low lift truck according to the present invention may be implemented by combining the above embodiments with each other, for example, by the following modified examples.

- The length of the fixing portion 13 in the front-rear direction in the second embodiment may be a length that covers the upper surface of the load W loaded on the low lift truck C, and is not particularly limited. Also, the number of fixing portions 13 in the second embodiment may be multiple. In this case, the extension portion 122 may extend to the front of the load W, and there may be two fixing portions 13, which may be provided on the underside of the front and rear of the extension portion 122, respectively.

The plate 110 may further have one or more bolt holes 111. In this case, the connecting part 11 is connected to the vehicle body 2 by selecting a bolt hole 111 from the multiple bolt holes 111 that is aligned with the female thread 2a, thereby changing the height of the attachment 10 relative to the vehicle body 2. This allows the height of the lower surface of the fixing part 13 to be changed according to the height of the load to be fixed. Also, in this case, by making the shape formed by the plates 110 and 120 in the first embodiment, for example, an inverted U-shape, it is possible to prevent the lower part of the plate 120 from blocking the battery outlet 4a even if the height of the attachment 10 is changed.

As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the cross-sectional shape of the lower surface of the fixing portion 13 in the second embodiment may be a shape in which the cross-sectional shape of the lower part is hollowed out in an arc shape so as to fix a load W whose upper surface is formed in an arc shape in cross section. In this case, when a cylindrical load W is placed on the left and right forks 5 of the low lift truck C as shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the forks 5 can be raised to fix the load W with the upper surfaces of the forks 5 and the lower surfaces of the fixing portion 13.

6A and 6B, the fixing part 13 may have a circular fixing part 132. The circular fixing part 132 has a circular hole 133 that penetrates vertically and is provided in front of the extension part 122. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6A, the low lift truck C places a cylindrical load W upright on the forks 5 or a pallet P loaded on the forks 5, and the forks 5 are raised to surround and fix the upper part of the load W with the inner surface of the circular hole 133. In this case, the inner surface of the circular hole 133 of the circular fixing part 132 may be made of a flexible member 134 having flexibility. Furthermore, the fixing part 13 may have, for example, a flat plate above the circular fixing part 132. In this case, the fixing part 13 clamps the cylindrical load W with the lower surface of the flat plate and the upper surface of the forks 5. The plate may be made of an elastic member having elasticity.

C Low lift truck P Pallet 1 Rear wheel 1a Drive wheel 1b Driven wheel 2 Vehicle body 2a Female screw 3 Steering handle 4 Battery storage section 4a Battery outlet 4b Lid body 5 Fork 6 Front wheel 7 Swing arm 8 Lift cylinder (lifting section)
10 Attachment 11 Connection portion 110 Plate (first plate)
111 Bolt hole 112 Bolt (connecting material)
12 Middle portion 120 Plate (second plate)
121 Battery removal hole 122 Extension portion 13 Fixing portion 130 Fixing portion main body 131 Elastic portion 132 Circular fixing portion 133 Circular hole 134 Flexible member 14 Stopper

Claims (10)

An attachment for use with a low-lift truck that does not have a mast,
The low lift truck is
Left and right forks extending in the front-rear direction and capable of being raised and lowered by the power of the lifting unit;
A vehicle body that does not move up and down due to the lifting and lowering of the forks,
The attachment comprises:
A coupling portion coupled to the vehicle body ;
A fixing portion disposed above an object to be loaded on the forks;
An intermediate portion provided between the connecting portion and the fixing portion,
the connecting portion has left and right first plates for connecting to side surfaces of the vehicle body,
the intermediate portion has left and right second plates,
The fixing portion extends to the left and right and has its left and right ends fixed to the left and right second plates, and when the forks are raised, the load placed on the forks is raised, and the load is fixed from above and below by the power of the lifting portion. The vehicle body has a plurality of female threads in the vertical direction for coupling to the coupling portion,
The left and right first plates are
The vehicle body is configured to be connected to the vehicle body by a plurality of bolts, the vehicle body extending in a vertical direction and having a plurality of bolt holes in the vertical direction,
The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising one or more bolt holes for adjustment, and the height of the fixed portion is adjusted by connecting the attachment to the vehicle body via any one of the bolt holes based on the height of the load. The left and right second plates extend continuously from the first plate in the front-rear direction,
3. The attachment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing portion is connected to the left and right second plates at positions disposed above the loaded load. The attachment according to claim 3, characterized in that the cross-sectional shape of the lower part of the fixing part is hollowed out to have an arc-shaped cross section when viewed from the front so as to fix a load whose upper surface when viewed from the front is formed to have an arc-shaped cross section. 5. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion comprises a fixing portion main body and a resilient portion provided along a lower surface of the fixing portion main body and having resiliency. An attachment for use with a low lift truck,
The low lift truck is
Left and right forks extending in the front-rear direction and capable of being raised and lowered by the power of the lifting unit;
A vehicle body that does not move up and down due to the lifting and lowering of the forks,
The attachment comprises:
A coupling portion coupled to the vehicle body;
A fixing portion disposed directly above the end of the pallet to be loaded onto the forks;
An intermediate portion provided between the connecting portion and the fixing portion,
The attachment is characterized in that the pallet loaded on the forks is raised by the lifting of the forks, and the fixing section fixes the pallet from above and below with the forks by the power of the lifting section. 7. The attachment according to claim 6, wherein the fixing portion extends in the left-right direction and is disposed directly above the left and right forks and directly above ends of the pallet loaded on the left and right forks. The attachment according to claim 7, wherein the fixing portion extends in the left-right direction so as to straddle the left and right forks. The vehicle body has a plurality of female threads in the vertical direction for coupling to the coupling portion,
The connecting portion has left and right first plates extending in a vertical direction,
The left and right first plates are
The vehicle body is configured to be connected to the vehicle body by a plurality of bolts, the vehicle body extending in a vertical direction and having a plurality of bolt holes in the vertical direction,
An attachment as described in any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising one or more adjustment bolt holes, and the height of the fixed portion is adjusted by connecting to the vehicle body via any one of the bolt holes based on the thickness of the pallet. A low lift truck comprising the attachment according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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