JP2001151495A - Fork - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent damage to a loading device including a fork and a fork pocket in the fork which is mounted on a loading vehicle such as a forklift and is used for carrying a container or the like. SOLUTION: This fork is constituted of a vertical piece 2 and a horizontal piece 3. Particularly, the horizontal piece 3 is divided into a plurality of pieces 5 and each divided piece 5 is connected revolvable by a prescribed angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a fork which is mounted on a cargo handling vehicle such as a forklift truck and used for transporting loads such as containers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of fork, for example, those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are known. The fork 50 is provided with a vertical piece 51 and a horizontal piece 52 extending forward from a lower end thereof, and has a substantially L-shaped side surface.

[0003] Such a thing is used, for example, when carrying a load A such as a container shown in Fig. 7 and has a fork pocket B into which a horizontal piece 52 of a fork 50 is inserted. ing.

[0004]

However, when the horizontal piece of the fork is inserted into or pulled out of the fork pocket while turning the cargo handling vehicle, the horizontal piece of the fork is moved to the fork pocket. There was a fear that an excessive force would be generated on the side surface of the fork and the cargo handling device including the fork and the fork pocket would be damaged. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been made in order to solve the problem. A problem to be solved is to provide a fork including a fork and a cargo handling device and a fork which prevents damage to a fork pocket. To be.

[0005]

The fork according to the present invention basically comprises a vertical piece and a horizontal piece extending forward from a lower end of the fork and has a substantially L-shaped side surface. The feature lies in that the horizontal piece is divided into a plurality of pieces and the divided pieces are connected so as to be pivotable by a predetermined angle.

When the horizontal piece of the fork is inserted into or removed from the fork pocket while turning the cargo handling vehicle, when the horizontal piece of the fork hits the side surface of the fork pocket, each divided piece turns by a predetermined angle. Since the horizontal piece of the fork is bent by being moved, no excessive force is applied to the cargo handling device including the fork or the fork pocket. Therefore, these damages can be prevented.

It is preferable that an elastic body is provided between the divided pieces to return them to a straight state. With this configuration, when the load is released, each of the divided pieces is immediately returned to the straight state, so that the fork operation can be easily performed thereafter.

The horizontal piece is preferably tapered in width. By doing so, the weight is reduced toward the tip, so that the load on the connecting portion is reduced by that much, and it is easier to insert the fork into the fork pocket.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a fork of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an outline of a working state. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main part of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

The main part of the fork 1 is composed of a vertical piece 2 and a horizontal piece 3 and is applied to a cargo handling vehicle such as a forklift.

The vertical piece 2 forms a basic part of the fork 1, and in this example, has a fitting 4 on the back surface. The attachment 4 is a boss provided on the upper back surface of the vertical piece 2 and slidably inserted into an upper shaft (not shown) of the finger bar. It is adapted to be slidably engaged with a material (not shown).

The horizontal piece 3 extends forward from the lower end of the vertical piece 2 and has a substantially L-shaped side surface, and is divided into a plurality of pieces. Each of the divided pieces 5 is connected to be pivotable by a predetermined angle. In this example, it is divided into three parts, and is connected to the right and left by about two to three degrees (total about four to six degrees) in a rotatable manner.

That is, the last divided piece 5 of the three
Are integrally connected to the lower end of the vertical piece 2. Between each of the divided pieces 5, a corresponding concave portion 6 and a convex portion 7 are formed, and these are rotatably connected by a vertical connecting shaft 8. The connection shaft 8 has a flange 9 formed on the upper part, a lower part prevented from falling off by a retaining pin (roll pin) 10, and a grease hole 11 for supplying grease to the connection surface.

The concave portion 6 and the convex portion 7 are adapted so that if the divided pieces 5 rotate by a predetermined angle, they will not rotate any more.

An elastic body 12 is interposed between the divided pieces 5 to return them to a straight state. In this example, the elastic body 12 is made of rubber, and is provided on both left and right sides of the connecting shaft 8 between the divided pieces 5.

The horizontal piece 3 is so-called tapered so that the width C gradually becomes narrower toward the tip.

Next, the operation will be described based on such a configuration. When the cargo handling vehicle travels after the horizontal piece 3 of the fork 1 is inserted into the fork pocket B of the load A and lifted, the load A is transported. When the horizontal piece 3 of the fork 1 is inserted into the fork pocket B of the luggage A, or when the horizontal piece 3 is pulled out, it is sometimes performed while turning the cargo handling vehicle. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, when the horizontal piece 3 of the fork 1 hits the side surface of the fork pocket B, each divided piece 5 is swung by a predetermined angle by the connecting shaft 8 and the horizontal piece 3 of the fork 1 is bent. Therefore, no excessive force is applied to the cargo handling device including the fork 1 and the fork pocket B. Therefore, they will not be damaged.

When the load on each of the divided pieces 5 is released,
As shown in FIG. 3, each split piece 5 is returned to the straight state by the elastic body 12. Since the horizontal piece 3 is in a straight state, fork work thereafter can be easily performed.

In the above example, the horizontal piece 3 is divided into three pieces. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, two or four or more pieces may be used. The attachment 4 is a boss in the above example, but is not limited to this. For example, it is a hook that is provided above and below the back surface of the vertical piece 2 and is movably engaged with the upper and lower cross members of the finger bar. May be. The elastic body 12 is rubber in the above example, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, a compression type or tension type spring.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, as described above,
The following excellent effects can be obtained. (1) It is composed of a vertical piece and a horizontal piece. In particular, since the horizontal piece is divided into a plurality of pieces and the divided horizontal pieces are pivotally connected by a predetermined angle, damage to the cargo handling device including the fork and the fork pocket is prevented. You can do it. (2) Since the horizontal piece is divided into a plurality of pieces and each of the divided horizontal pieces is rotatably connected by a predetermined angle, if a part of the piece is damaged, only the part concerned needs to be replaced, and the whole is replaced. The cost can be reduced as compared with the case.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a fork of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an outline of a working state.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an outline of a conventional fork.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an outline of a working state.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a container provided with a fork pocket.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 50 ... fork, 2, 51 ... vertical piece, 3, 52 ... horizontal piece, 4 ... mounting tool, 5 ... split piece, 6 ... concave part, 7 ... convex part,
Reference numeral 8: connecting shaft, 9: flange, 10: retaining pin, 11: grease hole, 12: elastic body, A: luggage, B: fork pocket,
C: width.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fork having a substantially L-shaped side surface including a vertical piece and a horizontal piece extending forward from a lower end thereof.
A fork, wherein the horizontal piece is divided into a plurality of pieces, and the respective pieces are connected so as to be pivotable by a predetermined angle. 2. The fork according to claim 1, wherein an elastic body is provided between the divided pieces to return them to a straight state. 3. The fork according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal piece has a tapered width.