We, Jeffrey L. Brauer, a citizen of the United States, residing in Gallatin, Tenn.; Todd M. Scheriger, a citizen of the United States, residing in Gallatin, Tenn.; and Jonathan A. Pond, a citizen of the United States, residing in Gallatin, Tenn.; have invented a new and useful “Lift Truck Platform apparatus and Methods for Transporting Rolling Racks.”
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
All patents and publications described or discussed herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to material handling systems and more particularly to devices and methods for transporting rolling racks using a lift truck such as a forklift, pallet jack or a pallet truck.
Background Art
Lift trucks such as pallet trucks, pallet jacks and forklifts are known in the art for moving materials. Such devices generally include a moveable base having one or more arms extending outwardly from the base. The arms are vertically moveable for lifting and lowering materials. When the arms are in a raised position, the base may be moved by an operator, either manually or with the use of a motor, thereby transporting material that is supported by the arms.
One problem associated with conventional forklifts, pallet jacks and pallet trucks is encountered when trying to transport rolling racks. Rolling racks generally include racks or shelves that have roller wheels on the bottom. The wheels allow the racks to be easily moved along the ground. In many applications, such as in a warehouse or in a container truck, it is desirable to move multiple rolling racks at once. Such racks may be empty or may be pre-loaded with other types of materials. It is generally inefficient to roll individual rolling racks over great distances. Others have attempted to load rolling racks on pallets or other types of rack holding platforms for transport using forklifts or pallet trucks. However, rolling racks have a tendency to roll off of such conventional pallets and platforms, complicating the transport process.
What is needed then are improvements in the devices and methods for transporting rolling racks using lift trucks such as forklifts, pallet jacks and pallet trucks.
The present disclosure provides devices and methods for transporting rolling racks using a lift truck such as a pallet truck, pallet jack or a forklift.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for transporting one or more rolling racks using a lift truck having first and second forks extending therefrom. The forks may be attached to a vertically moveable carriage on the lift truck in some embodiments. The forks have a raised position and a lowered position. A lift truck platform apparatus having a platform is positioned on the first and second forks. In some embodiments, the platform includes a first fork channel shaped to receive the first fork and a second fork channel shaped to receive the second fork. A frame extends upwardly from the platform. A moveable clamp can be disposed at the top of the frame. The clamp can be configured to disengage from the rolling racks when the forks are moved to the lowered position and to engage the rolling racks when the forks are moved to the raised position.
In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method of transporting rolling racks on a lift truck having a lift truck platform and a moveable rack clamp. The method includes positioning the rolling rack on the platform and moving the platform relative to the rack clamp such that the clamp engages the rolling rack.
Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
It is understood that in the drawings, not all reference numbers are included in each drawing, for the sake of clarity. In addition, positional terms such as a “upper,” “lower,” “side,” “top,” “bottom,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” etc. refer to the apparatus when in the orientation shown in the drawing. The skilled artisan will recognize that objects in accordance with the present disclosure can assume different orientations when in use.
Referring now to the drawings, the present disclosure provides a lift truck platform apparatus, designated by the numeral 12. Referring to
The lift truck platform apparatus 12 includes a platform 30, or base, and a frame 20 extending upwardly from the platform 30. A clamp 70 is attached to the frame 20. Clamp 70 is generally moveable relative to platform 30. Platform 30 can be vertically moveable relative to clamp 70. The platform 30 can include a first outer wheel tray 32 operatively attached to first fork 102, a second outer wheel tray 34 operatively attached to second fork 104 and a middle wheel tray 36 operatively attached to first and second forks 102, 104 and spanning the gap between first and second forks 102, 104.
In some embodiments, first and second outer wheel trays 32, 34 and middle wheel tray 36 are all flat sheets of metal that are welded onto each respective fork. As such, each wheel tray is rigidly attached directly to the forks on lift truck 100. In other embodiments, it may be desirable to provide a lift truck platform apparatus 12 that is not welded directly onto the forks 102 and 104 of a lift truck 100. Instead, it may be desirable to provide a lift truck platform apparatus 12 that includes an attachment that can be mounted on and subsequently removed from the forks of an existing lift truck 100. An embodiment of such a lift truck platform apparatus 12 is seen generally in
In this embodiment, lift truck platform apparatus 12 includes a platform 30 having a plurality of channels 38 and 40 formed therein. In some embodiments, platform 30 may include a single piece of stamped or pressed metal. In other embodiments, platform 30 includes a plurality of metal sheets welded together. A first fork channel 40 can be defined on platform 30 and can be generally configured to receive a first fork 102 of a lift truck 100. First fork channel 40 may include a rectangular profile and can be open to the bottom of platform 30. Similarly, a second fork channel 38 can be defined on platform 30. Second fork channel 38 can be generally configured to receive a second fork 104 on a lift truck 100. Second fork channel 38 also may include a rectangular profile and can be open to the bottom of platform 30.
First and second fork channels 38 and 40 are separated by a middle wheel tray 36. Middle wheel tray 36 is generally forms a concave channel open to the top of platform 30. Middle wheel tray 36 can be generally configured to receive one or more wheels of a rolling rack 120. A frame 20 extends upwardly from middle wheel tray 36 in some embodiments, thereby bisecting platform 30 into a first side and a second side. One or more rolling racks 120 may be positioned on the first and/or second side of platform 30. Rolling racks 120 may include conventional rolltainers, or rolling carts, in some applications.
Also seen in
Also seen in
Platform 30, in some embodiments, includes a loading end 14 positioned along a lateral edge of the platform 30. Loading end 14 generally forms the end of platform 30 where rolling racks 120 are rolled onto the platform 30. An end flange 58 extends upward from platform 30 at the lateral edge opposite the loading end 14. The end flange 58 is configured to block passage of one or more rolling racks 120 through first and second outer wheel trays 32, 34 and middle wheel tray 36. One or more loading ramps 90a, 90b, 90c may be disposed adjacent a corresponding wheel tray in some embodiments to facilitate rolling of racks onto platform 30. In some embodiments, each loading ramp may be hinged relative to platform 30 or alternately welded to the platform 30. In additional embodiments, each loading ramp may be integral to each respective loading tray and may extend longitudinally no further than the lateral end of each wheel tray, as seen in
Regardless of whether platform 30 is welded directly onto the forks, as seen in
As seen in
As seen in
Also seen in
Each clamp rod 50a, 50b, 50c extends through a corresponding hole in platform 30. Each clamp rod 50a, 50b, 50c includes a lower clamp rod end 54a, 54b, 54c, respectively, or a clamp rod fitting as noted above, protruding below platform 30. Platform 30 may be raised and lowered using a lift truck 100. Referring to
Although the embodiments depicted in
Referring now to
For example, as seen in
In some embodiments, the distance between frame 20 and first outer wheel guide 42 is substantially the same or slightly greater than the distance between the inner and outer wheels on a rolling rack loaded on the first side of platform 30. Similarly, the distance between frame 20 and second outer wheel guide 42 is substantially the same or slightly greater than the distance between inner and outer wheels on a rolling rack loaded on the second side of platform 30.
As seen in
Other rolling racks 120b, 120c, 120d may also be retained on lift attachment 12 using clamp 70 in the lowered position. Multiple clamp recesses 72a, 72b, 72c, 72d, etc. may be formed in clamp 70 to accommodate side bars on rolling racks, thereby adding additional security and allowing clamp 70 to move to the lowered clamp position without interfering with side bars on the rolling racks. For example, second clamp recess 72b receives second side bar 122b, third clamp recess 72c receives third side bar 122c, fourth clamp recess 72d receives fourth side bar 122d, etc. Additional downwardly extending flanges on the U-shaped clamp 70 engage longitudinal bars on respective rolling racks to prevent relative movement between the lift attachment 12 and said rolling rack 120, such as tipping over, sliding, rolling, etc.
In some embodiments, clamp 70 moves from the raised clamp position, seen in
Preferably, clamp 70 along with first, second and third clamp rods 50a, 50b, 50c maintain their position relative to the platform 30 and frame 20 due to gravity. As the lift truck 100 raises platform 30 and frame 20, which preferably are in a fixed relationship, horizontal member 24 approaches clamp 70. As the platform 30 and frame 20 continue to rise, the horizontal member 24 engages and lifts clamp 70. Since clamp 70 and the clamp rods 50 are preferably fixed together, the continued raising by lift truck 100 of the platform 30 and frame 20 causes the clamp 70 to pull the lower clamp rod ends 54a, 54b, 54c from engagement with the ground 110. An operator can then move the lift truck 100 with the lift truck platform apparatus 12 securely supporting the rolling racks 120 and the clamp rods 50 raised off the ground 110. Alternately, fixtures, such as stoppers, washers, nuts, flanges and the like, can be attached at the lower clamp rod ends 54 proximate to the platform 30 to limit the relative vertical movement of the clamp rods 50 to the platform 30.
The present disclosure also provides a method of securing rolling racks on a lift truck platform. The method includes positioning the rolling rack or racks on the platform and moving the platform upward relative to a rack clamp such that the clamp engages the rolling rack. The lift truck platform may then be moved using a lift truck. The present disclosure also provides a method of releasing rolling racks from a lift truck platform. The method includes lowering the lift truck platform and moving the platform downward relative to a rack clamp such that the rack clamp disengages the rolling racks.
Thus, it is seen that the apparatus and methods disclosed herein achieve the ends and advantages previously mentioned. Numerous changes in the arrangement and construction of the parts and steps will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and are encompassed within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/518,972 filed Oct. 20, 2014, entitled “Lift Truck Platform Apparatus and Methods for Transporting Rolling Racks.” This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/518,972, which claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/554,314 filed on Jul. 20, 2012, which issued on Nov. 25, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,894,037, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/509,697 filed on Jul. 20, 2011, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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61509697 | Jul 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14518972 | Oct 2014 | US |
Child | 15362433 | US | |
Parent | 13554314 | Jul 2012 | US |
Child | 14518972 | US |