The present invention relates to a carriage assembly to be movably coupled to a mast assembly of a materials handling vehicle comprising a lifting carriage and a fork carriage mounted to the lifting carriage and capable of lateral movement relative to the lifting carriage.
Materials handling vehicles are known comprising a carriage assembly movably mounted to a mast assembly of a materials handling vehicle comprising a lifting carriage and a fork carriage mounted on the lifting carriage for lateral movement relative to the lifting carriage. A fork-supporting member of the fork carriage may be formed having a fork-receiving hook. It is known to form the fork-supporting member having the fork-receiving hook using a hot rolling process involving a specifically designed hot rolling die. The cost of the die is expensive and the cost of manufacturing the hot rolled material from which a plurality of the fork-supporting members are formed decreases with volume.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for manufacturing a fork carriage comprising: providing a fork-supporting bar having first and second fork-receiving hooks, wherein the second fork-receiving hook is of a larger size than the first fork-receiving hook; based on a size of one or more forks desired to be mounted on the fork-supporting bar, positioning the fork-supporting bar such that one of the first and second fork-receiving hooks corresponding to the size of the one or more forks is located outwardly to receive the one or more forks on the one fork-receiving hook; and coupling a reinforcement bar to a first side of the fork-supporting bar opposite a second side near the one fork-receiving hook.
The method may further comprise selecting a size of the reinforcement bar based on a desired amount of weight to be supported by the one or more forks.
The fork-supporting bar may comprise an H-shaped bar.
Coupling the reinforcement bar to the fork-supporting bar may comprise welding the reinforcement bar to the first side of the fork-supporting bar opposite the second side near the one fork-receiving hook.
The reinforcement bar may be vertically offset relative to the fork-supporting bar such that upper and lower surfaces of the reinforcement bar are vertically offset relative to upper and lower surfaces of the fork-supporting bar.
Coupling the reinforcement bar to the fork-supporting bar may comprise making a first fillet weld between a side surface of the reinforcement bar and an upper corner of the fork-supporting bar. Coupling may further comprise making a second fillet weld between a bottom surface of the reinforcement bar and a lower side surface and a lower corner of the fork-supporting bar.
The reinforcement bar may span generally the entire length of the fork-supporting bar.
The method may further comprise machining notches in the one fork-receiving hook.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a carriage assembly is provided, which is adapted to be movably coupled to a mast assembly of a materials handling vehicle. The carriage assembly may comprise: a lifting carriage comprising a lifting carriage upper member including structure for laterally shifting a fork carriage; and the fork carriage mounted on the lifting carriage upper member. The fork carriage may comprise fork carriage upper and lower members and fork carriage first and second side members, wherein the upper and lower members may be coupled to the fork carriage first and second side members. The upper member may comprise a fork-supporting bar having an outer fork-receiving hook and a reinforcement bar mounted to a first side of the fork-supporting bar opposite a second side near the fork-receiving hook.
Notches may be provided in the outer fork-receiving hook.
The reinforcement bar may be vertically offset relative to the fork-supporting bar such that upper and lower surfaces of the reinforcement bar are vertically offset relative to upper and lower surfaces of the fork-supporting bar.
The reinforcement bar may be coupled to the fork-supporting bar via a first fillet weld located between a side surface of the reinforcement bar and an upper corner of the fork-supporting bar.
The reinforcement bar may be further coupled to the fork-supporting bar via a second fillet weld located between a bottom surface of the reinforcement bar and a lower side surface and a lower corner of the fork-supporting bar.
The reinforcement bar may span generally an entire length of the fork-supporting bar.
The reinforcement bar may have a vertical height greater than a vertical height of the fork-supporting bar.
The fork-supporting bar may comprise an H-shaped bar.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed that the present invention will be better understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing Figures, in which like reference numerals identify like elements, and wherein:
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
With reference to
With reference to
The fork carriage 30, constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, comprises first and second vertical members 30A, 30B and upper and lower generally horizontal members 30C, 30D, as seen in
The fork carriage upper member 30C, constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, comprises a fork-supporting bar, which, in the embodiment illustrated in
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, the fork carriage 30 and its upper member 30C are constructed such that the first fork-receiving hook 202 is positioned outwardly away from the mast assembly 100, as shown in
Because the reinforcement bar 50 is vertically offset relative to the H-shaped bar 200, a first fillet weld 60 (shown in
In the illustrated embodiment as shown in
Further during manufacturing, a plurality of notches 202A are machined into the first fork-receiving hook 202 to receiving corresponding mating structure (not shown) on the forks 140A and 140B.
As seen in
The fork carriage 30 is mounted to the lifting carriage 20 by positioning the fork carriage upper member 30C over the lifting carriage upper support member 20C such that an inner cavity 203 of the H-shaped bar 200 is fitted over an upper surface of the support member 20C including the linear bearings 123, as shown in
When the first internal cylinder within the lifting carriage upper support member 20C is supplied with hydraulic fluid, the first ram 120 is moved outwardly, causing the fork carriage 30 to move laterally to the right in
As noted above, the H-shaped bar 200 is a hot-rolled section, which is expensive to manufacture. In order to reduce the expense of designing and producing two separate hot rolling dies to produce two separate fork-supporting bars with different profiles, the H-shaped bar 200 has been designed with the first and second fork-receiving hooks 202 and 204 to allow the H-shaped bar 200 to be used in the manufacture of separate fork carriages for supporting forks of different sizes and/or different maximum loads.
A fork carriage 130 constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
The fork carriage upper member 130C, constructed in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, comprises a fork-supporting bar, which, in the embodiment illustrated in
In the second embodiment illustrated in
Further during manufacturing, a plurality of notches 202A are machined into the first fork-receiving hook 202 to receiving corresponding mating structure (not shown) on the forks 140A and 140B.
A protection shield 30F is welded to the H-shaped bar 200 and the fork carriage first and second side members 30A and 30B, so as to provide protection for the rams 120 and 122 of the lifting carriage upper member 20C, which rams 120 and 122 are positioned behind the protection shield 30F, and to increase the overall strength of the fork carriage upper member 130C.
A fork carriage 230 constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, is illustrated in
The fork carriage upper member 230C, constructed in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, comprises a fork-supporting bar, which, in the embodiment illustrated in
A reinforcement bar 250 is welded to the H-shaped bar 200 and positioned adjacent to a side of the H-shaped bar near the first fork-receiving hook 202 to provide structural reinforcement to the H-shaped bar 200. In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
Further during manufacturing, a plurality of notches 204A are machined into the second fork-receiving hook 204 to receiving corresponding mating structure (not shown) on forks to be mounted to the second fork-receiving hook 204.
A protection shield 30F is welded to the H-shaped bar 200 and the fork carriage first and second side members 30A and 30B, so as to provide protection for the rams 120 and 122 of the lifting carriage upper member 20C, which rams 120 and 122 are positioned behind the protection shield 30F.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/747,209, filed Jun. 23, 2015 and entitled “CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY FOR MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/017,328, filed Jun. 26, 2014, and entitled “CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY FOR MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME,” the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2851182 | Gehring | Sep 1958 | A |
3356241 | Varilek | Dec 1967 | A |
3424328 | Gideonsen et al. | Jan 1969 | A |
3819078 | Walsh | Jun 1974 | A |
3974927 | Schuster | Aug 1976 | A |
4043472 | Hoyt | Aug 1977 | A |
4056170 | Chelin | Nov 1977 | A |
4065015 | Radakovich | Dec 1977 | A |
4125199 | Abels et al. | Nov 1978 | A |
4173425 | Dixon et al. | Nov 1979 | A |
4355947 | Wiblin | Oct 1982 | A |
4392773 | Johannson | Jul 1983 | A |
4406575 | Gaibler | Sep 1983 | A |
4505635 | Shinoda et al. | Mar 1985 | A |
4607997 | Asano | Aug 1986 | A |
4657471 | Shinoda et al. | Apr 1987 | A |
4961681 | Threatt | Oct 1990 | A |
5052881 | Keffeler et al. | Oct 1991 | A |
5217343 | Bostad et al. | Jun 1993 | A |
5338148 | Rönnblom | Aug 1994 | A |
5368435 | Bostad et al. | Nov 1994 | A |
5707201 | Hamlik | Jan 1998 | A |
5807060 | Hamlik | Sep 1998 | A |
5897288 | Green | Apr 1999 | A |
5913654 | Kaup | Jun 1999 | A |
6279686 | Kaup | Aug 2001 | B1 |
6390763 | Prentice | May 2002 | B1 |
6881023 | Sullivan | Apr 2005 | B1 |
7246685 | Tyree | Jul 2007 | B2 |
7380826 | Schönauer | Jun 2008 | B2 |
7588409 | Foroni | Sep 2009 | B2 |
7909563 | Prentice | Mar 2011 | B2 |
7993094 | Tygard | Aug 2011 | B2 |
8353388 | Rice et al. | Jan 2013 | B2 |
8403618 | Prentice et al. | Mar 2013 | B2 |
20030156935 | Mondani et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20060104783 | Schroder | May 2006 | A1 |
20080152471 | Polvilampi | Jun 2008 | A1 |
20140262550 | Santi | Sep 2014 | A1 |
20150375976 | Kuck et al. | Dec 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
106255660 | Dec 2016 | CN |
3432207 | Mar 1985 | DE |
102005007106 | Oct 2005 | DE |
202010016367 | Feb 2011 | DE |
102010052757 | May 2012 | DE |
102012109295 | Apr 2014 | DE |
0774441 | May 1997 | EP |
0785167 | Jul 1997 | EP |
1024109 | Aug 2000 | EP |
1160191 | Dec 2001 | EP |
1711428 | Mar 2012 | EP |
2444362 | Apr 2012 | EP |
2447203 | May 2012 | EP |
2712839 | Apr 2014 | EP |
2614028 | Feb 2015 | EP |
2266700 | Nov 1993 | GB |
2479327 | Oct 2011 | GB |
03070617 | Aug 2003 | WO |
2006037841 | Apr 2006 | WO |
2015200289 | Dec 2015 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Michael A. Riegelman; Requirement for Election/Restriction; U.S. Appl. No. 14/747,209; dated May 10, 2016; United States Patent and Trademark Office; Alexandria, Virginia. |
Michael A. Riegelman; Office Action; U.S. Appl. No. 14/747,209; dated Jun. 9, 2016; United States Patent and Trademark Office; Alexandria, Virginia. |
Michael A. Riegelman; Final Office Action; U.S. Appl. No. 14/747,209; dated Sep. 23, 2016; United States Patent and Trademark Office; Alexandria, Virginia. |
Michael A. Riegelman; Advisory Action; U.S. Appl. No. 14/747,209; dated Dec. 23, 2016; United States Patent and Trademark Office; Alexandria, Virginia. |
Michael A. Riegelman; Notice of Allowance and Fees Due; U.S. Appl. No. 14/747,209; dated Jan. 30, 2017; United States Patent and Trademark Office; Alexandria, Virginia. |
Faymann, L.; International Search Report and Written Opinion; International Application No. PCT/US2015/037128; dated Aug. 31, 2015; European Patent Office; Rijswijk, Switzerland. |
Agnes Wittman-Regis; International Preliminary Report on Patentability; International Application No. PCT/US2015/037128; dated Dec. 27, 2016; WIPO; Geneva, Switzerland. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20170217744 A1 | Aug 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62017328 | Jun 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14747209 | Jun 2015 | US |
Child | 15493528 | US |