Forklift and bearing wheel assembly thereof

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the field of forklifts, and particularly provides a forklift and a bearing wheel assembly thereof. The bearing wheel assembly comprises at least two stages of wheel carriers arranged front and back, the front and back adjacent wheel carriers are directly hinged or the bearing wheel assembly comprises a middle support, the front and back adjacent wheel carriers are hinged to the middle support, the hinge axes of the wheel carriers extend in the left-right direction, and each wheel carrier is provided with at least one bearing wheel. The forklift comprises the bearing wheel assembly. The front wheel carrier and the rear wheel carrier of the bearing wheel assembly are not rigid plane structures, so that when the vehicle runs on an uneven road surface, the front wheel carrier and the rear wheel carrier can swing up and down by a certain amplitude in a self-adaptive mode, it is guaranteed that bearing wheels installed on the wheel carriers can reliably touch the ground, the supporting effect is achieved, one or more bearing wheels are prevented from bearing large loads, and the service life of the vehicle is prolonged. The problem that bearing wheels are prone to damage is solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of fork trucks, in particular, relate to a fork truck and its load wheel assembly. BACKGROUND

[0002] As an important handling vehicle, fork trucks are widely used in stations, ports, airports, factories, warehouses and other occasions. The load wheels of the fork truck are usually installed under the two front forks, and the steering wheels are located behind the load wheels. The load wheels are generally passive steering.

[0003] The application patent application with the application publication number CN114394554A discloses a transport vehicle (i.e. a fork truck), which includes a lifting and transferring device and a power device. The front end of the lifting and transferring device includes a cargo fork, and the power device includes a driving member and a rudder wheel (rear wheel). The driving member can drive the rudder wheel to steer to realize the overall steering of the transport vehicle. A hydraulic cylinder is connected between the load-bearing frame and the power device. The action of the hydraulic cylinder can drive the load-bearing frame to lift to lift and lower the goods. The load-bearing frame is also connected with a support wheel (i.e. a load wheel). The support wheel and the load-bearing frame are connected through a connecting rod transmission mechanism. The connecting rod transmission mechanism includes a rocker connected to the load-bearing frame and a transmission rod (i.e. a top rod) connected to the rocker. The load wheel is connected to the transmission rod through a connecting rod. When the load-bearing frame rises, the transmission rod can drive the connecting rod through the rocker to push the connecting rod, so that the support wheel touches the ground to support.

[0004] The above-mentioned transport vehicle still has two main problems. First, although the left and right sides of the rudder wheel are respectively provided with two universal wheels, the main function of the universal wheel is to prevent the transport vehicle from overturning, which is equivalent to an insurance. Its essence is still a "three-wheel" vehicle type, which is not stable enough when transporting heavy goods. Second, although two support wheels are provided on the wheel frame, the two support wheels are installed on the same wheel frame. The transport road surface in some cases is not flat, and it cannot be guaranteed that all support wheels can reliably touch the ground. At this time, the support wheels that touch the ground bear a large load, which can easily cause the support wheels to be damaged.

[0005] The utility model patent with the authorized announcement number CN216549466U discloses a two-drive differential speed ground ox fork truck with scissor lifting. Compared with the above-mentioned transport vehicle, the rear end of the ground ox fork truck is provided with two driving wheels respectively located on the left and right sides. The two driving wheels are provided with a driving motor, so that differential steering can be realized. In essence, it is a "four-wheel" vehicle type, which can improve the stability when transporting goods.

[0006] The load wheel at the front end of the above-mentioned ground ox fork truck adopts a universal wheel, which can ensure the flexibility of steering. Specifically, two universal wheels are installed on the horizontal piece (i.e. the wheel frame) with a left-right interval. Similarly, when moving on an uneven transport road surface, it cannot be guaranteed that all load wheels can reliably touch the ground, and the problem of easy damage of the load wheel is still not solved. Utility Model Content

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a forklift that solves the technical problem in the prior art where the front load-bearing wheels of the forklift cannot reliably touch the ground, thus making them prone to damage. Another purpose of this invention is to provide a forklift load-bearing wheel assembly that can be mounted on a forklift to solve the same technical problem.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, one of the technical solutions for a forklift provided by this utility model is as follows:

[0009] A forklift includes a rear wheel assembly and a frame that is adjustable relative to the rear wheel assembly. Forks are provided on the left and right sides of the front end of the frame. The forklift also includes a load-bearing wheel assembly located on the bottom side of the front end of the forks. The load-bearing wheel assembly and the frame are connected by a linkage drive mechanism so that the load-bearing wheel assembly touches the ground when the forks are raised. The load-bearing wheel assembly includes at least two stages of wheel frames arranged front and rear. The front and rear adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged, or the load-bearing wheel assembly includes an intermediate support. The front and rear adjacent wheel frames are respectively hinged to the intermediate support. The hinge axis of the wheel frames extends in the left and right direction, and each wheel frame is provided with at least one load-bearing wheel. The rearmost wheel frame is hinged to the linkage drive mechanism.

[0010] As a further improvement, the front and rear adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged in the following ways: the rear wheel frame has a forward-facing U-shaped groove, a portion of the front wheel frame is inserted into the U-shaped groove, and this portion is hinged to the rear wheel frame; or the front wheel frame has a rearward-facing U-shaped groove, a portion of the rear wheel frame is inserted into the U-shaped groove, and this portion is hinged to the front wheel frame.

[0011] As a further improvement, the load-bearing wheels are omnidirectional wheels.

[0012] As a further improvement, the rear wheel assembly includes a frame, with drive wheels on the left and right sides of the frame. Each drive wheel is equipped with an independent drive motor. A telescopic drive mechanism for driving the frame to lift and lower is connected between the frame and the chassis. The bottom end of the drive mechanism is connected to a base, and the front and rear ends of the base are oscillatingly mounted on the frame via a swing shaft. The swing axis of the swing shaft extends in the front-rear direction.

[0013] As a further improvement, the two ends of the drive mechanism are hinged to the base and the frame, respectively, and the hinge axis extends in the left-right direction.

[0014] The utility model belongs to the improved invention creation, and its beneficial effect is: when carrying goods, in two or more than two levels of wheel frame before and after the load wheel assembly, aiming at the uneven road, each wheel frame can swing up and down relative to the hinge point, which is equivalent to a flexible load wheel structure, ensuring that the load wheels on each wheel frame can reliably land, ensuring that each load wheel can play a load bearing support role, avoiding that a load wheel bears a large load, thereby solving the problem that the load wheel is easily damaged due to overloading, and making the forklift suitable for heavy load occasions.

[0015] To achieve the above object, the utility model provides another technical scheme of forklift:

[0016] A forklift, including frame, the rear end of frame is equipped with rear wheel assembly, and the front end is equipped with load wheel assembly on the left and right sides respectively, the load wheel assembly includes at least two levels of wheel frame arranged in front and back, the adjacent wheel frames in front and back are directly hinged, and one wheel frame is hinged with the frame, or the load wheel assembly includes intermediate support, the adjacent wheel frames in front and back are respectively hinged with the intermediate support, and one intermediate support is hinged with the frame, the wheel frame hinge axis extends along the left and right directions, and at least one load wheel is arranged on each wheel frame.

[0017] As a further improvement, the adjacent wheel frames in front and back are directly hinged by the following ways: the rear wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing forward, and the front wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the rear wheel frame, or the front wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing backward, and the rear wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the front wheel frame.

[0018] As a further improvement, the load wheel is a universal wheel.

[0019] As a further improvement, the rear wheel assembly includes a rack, the left and right sides of the rack are provided with drive wheels, each drive wheel is provided with an independent drive motor, and the rack is swingably installed on the frame through swing shafts, and the swing axis of the swing shafts extends in the front and back directions.

[0020] The utility model belongs to the improved invention creation, and its beneficial effect is: when carrying goods, in two or more than two levels of wheel frame before and after the load wheel assembly, aiming at the uneven road, each wheel frame can swing up and down relative to the hinge point, which is equivalent to a flexible load wheel structure, ensuring that the load wheels on each wheel frame can reliably land, ensuring that each load wheel can play a load bearing support role, avoiding that a load wheel bears a large load, thereby solving the problem that the load wheel is easily damaged due to overloading, and making the forklift suitable for heavy load occasions.

[0021] To achieve the above object, the utility model provides the technical scheme of forklift load wheel assembly:

[0022] The application relates to a forklift load-bearing wheel assembly, which comprises at least two levels of wheel frames arranged in front and back, the front and back wheel frames are directly hinged, or the load-bearing wheel assembly comprises an intermediate support, and the front and back wheel frames are respectively hinged to the intermediate support; the wheel frame hinge axis extends in the left-right direction; and at least one load-bearing wheel is arranged on each wheel frame.

[0023] The utility model belongs to the pioneering invention creation, and its beneficial effect is: when carrying goods, in the two or more levels of wheel frames in front and back of the load-bearing wheel assembly, each wheel frame can swing up and down relative to the hinge point according to the uneven road surface, which is equivalent to a flexible load-bearing wheel structure, ensures that the load-bearing wheels on each wheel frame can reliably land on the ground, ensures that each load-bearing wheel can play a load-bearing supporting role, avoids that a load-bearing wheel bears a large load, and further solves the problem that the load-bearing wheel is easily damaged due to overloading, so that the forklift is suitable for heavy load occasions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a schematic view of the forklift embodiment 1 in the utility model when carrying goods;

[0025] Figure 2 It is an axonometric view of the forklift embodiment 1 in the utility model;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a front view of the forklift embodiment 1 in the utility model;

[0027] Figure 4 It is an axonometric view of the forklift embodiment 1 in the utility model from another perspective (with a hidden back cover plate);

[0028] Figure 5 It is a schematic view of the connection relationship between the load-bearing wheel assembly and the connecting rod transmission mechanism of the forklift embodiment 1 in the utility model;

[0029] Figure 6 It is Figure 5 A structure schematic view of the middle rocker;

[0030] Figure 7 It is Figure 5 A structure schematic view of the load-bearing wheel assembly;

[0031] Figure 8 It is a schematic view of the forklift embodiment 2 in the utility model when carrying goods;

[0032] Figure 9 It is an axonometric view of the forklift embodiment 2 in the utility model;

[0033] Figure 10 It is a front view of the forklift embodiment 2 in the utility model;

[0034] Figure 11 It is Figure 10 A structure schematic view of the load-bearing wheel assembly.

[0035] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] 1. frame; 2. fork; 3. frame; 4. drive wheel; 5. drive cylinder; 6. drive motor; 7. base; 8. swing shaft; 9. intermediate shaft; 10. articulated shaft; 11. universal wheel; 12. wheel frame; 13. connecting rod; 14. top rod; 15. rocker; 16. lifting frame; 17. intermediate support; 1501. first articulation; 1502. second articulation; 100. goods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] To provide a forklift with stronger carrying capacity and adaptability to uneven road surfaces, the basic technical concept of the present application is to design the load-bearing wheel assembly as a "flexible" wheel group with two or more wheel frames articulated front and rear, so that when the forklift is running on uneven road surfaces, the wheel frames can adaptively swing up and down by a certain angle, ensuring that the load-bearing wheels can reliably land to provide support. Based on the above concept, the present application will be further described in detail in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0038] Specific embodiment 1 of the forklift provided by the present application:

[0039] As shown in Figures 1-7 , the forklift provided by the present embodiment includes a liftable frame 1, and the fork 2 is arranged on the frame 1 and can be lifted up and down with the frame 1. Specifically, the forklift includes a rear wheel assembly, which serves as the driven wheel during the lifting, transporting and lowering of the goods 100 to achieve overall steering of the forklift. More specifically, as a more stable "four-wheel" vehicle, as shown in Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the rear wheel assembly includes a frame 3, and the frame 3 is provided with a drive wheel 4, which is configured with an independent drive motor 6, and differential steering can be achieved by controlling the rotation speed of different drive motors 6. However, it should be emphasized that in other embodiments, the rear wheel assembly can also be a "three-wheel" vehicle with a single rudder wheel. The frame 1 is provided with a fork 2 on the left and right sides of the front end, and the fork 2 is lifted synchronously when the frame 1 is lifted up and down, thereby lifting and lowering the goods 100 or pallets.

[0040] The forklift in the present embodiment also includes a load-bearing wheel assembly located at the front end of the fork 2. It is not difficult to understand that whether the frame 1 is lifted up or down, the load-bearing wheel assembly needs to be grounded to provide support. The load-bearing wheel assembly and the frame 1 are connected by a connecting rod transmission mechanism to make the load-bearing wheel assembly ground when the fork 2 is lifted up. Specifically, as in the prior art (CN114394554A), as shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6As shown, the linkage transmission mechanism includes a rocker arm 15, a push rod 14, an intermediate shaft 9, and a connecting rod 13. The intermediate shaft 9 is mounted on the frame 1 and can rise and fall with the frame 1. The rocker arm 15 is fitted onto the intermediate shaft 9. One end of the push rod 14 is hinged to the connecting rod 13, and the other end is hinged to the second hinge portion 1502 of the rocker arm 15. The first hinge portion 1501 of the rocker arm 15 can be hinged to the rear wheel assembly or other base (such as the base 7) that does not move up and down with the frame 1. The connecting rod 13 is hinged to the fork 2 via a hinge shaft 10. When the frame 1 rises, the second hinge portion 1502 of the rocker arm 15 can be rotated clockwise via the intermediate shaft 9. Figure 6 ) swings, and drives the connecting rod 13 counterclockwise through the top rod 14 ( Figure 5 The swinging motion prevents the load-bearing wheels from rising, ensuring they remain firmly on the ground for support.

[0041] Unlike existing technologies, such as Figures 5-7 As shown, the load-bearing wheel assembly includes at least two stages of wheel frames 12 arranged front and rear. The figure exemplifies a two-stage wheel frame 12 configuration, but it should be noted that, depending on the load-bearing capacity of the forklift, the wheel frames 12 can of course be configured with three or more stages. The adjacent wheel frames 12 are directly hinged together, and the hinge axis 10 of the wheel frames 12 extends in the left-right direction. Each wheel frame 12 is equipped with at least one load-bearing wheel, and the rearmost wheel frame 12 is hinged to the linkage mechanism (specifically, the connecting rod 13).

[0042] The front and rear wheel frames 12 are not rigid planar structures. When driving on uneven roads, the front and rear wheel frames 12 can adaptively swing up and down to a certain extent to ensure that the load-bearing wheels installed on each wheel frame 12 can reliably touch the ground to play a supporting role and avoid one or several load-bearing wheels from bearing a large load, so as to solve the problem of easy damage to load-bearing wheels.

[0043] Preferably, the load-bearing wheels can be casters 11. Compared with fixed-axis rotating rollers, casters 11 can make the forklift more flexible in steering.

[0044] As a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, among the adjacent wheel frames 12, the rear wheel frame 12 has a forward-facing U-shaped groove, and a portion of the front wheel frame 12 is inserted into the U-shaped groove. This inserted portion is hinged to the rear wheel frame 12, specifically by inserting a pin. This type of wheel frame 12 structure is more compact, eliminates the need for additional hinge plates, and allows for the installation of more load-bearing wheels within the same length (front-to-back direction).

[0045] As an equivalent alternative preferred embodiment, the direction of the wheel frame 12 in the above preferred embodiment can also be replaced, that is, the front wheel frame 12 is provided with a rear U-shaped groove, a portion of the rear wheel frame 12 is inserted into the U-shaped groove, and the inserted portion is hinged to the front wheel frame 12.

[0046] For the "four-wheeled" vehicle shown in the figure, to ensure that both drive wheels 4 can contact the road surface when turning on uneven surfaces, the frame 3 is actually hinged to the vehicle frame 1. Specifically, a telescopic drive mechanism that drives the vehicle frame 1 to rise and fall is connected between the frame 3 and the vehicle frame 1, which can be an electrically driven cylinder 5. Of course, other embodiments may also use a hydraulically driven hydraulic cylinder instead. The bottom end of the drive mechanism is connected to a base 7, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the base 7 is mounted on the frame 3 at both ends via a swing shaft 8, with the swing axis of the swing shaft 8 extending in the front-to-back direction. This allows the frame 3 to adaptively swing around the swing shaft 8 at a certain angle when the forklift turns on uneven surfaces, ensuring that both drive wheels 4 reliably touch the ground and smoothly complete the turn.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment, the two ends of the drive mechanism are hinged to the base 7 and the frame 1, respectively, and the hinge axis 10 extends in the left-right direction. This allows the frame 1 to adaptively level itself when traveling on uneven surfaces, ensuring the stability of the transported goods 100.

[0048] Specific embodiment 2 of the forklift provided by this utility model:

[0049] Unlike Example 1, as Figures 8-11 As shown, in this embodiment, the forklift frame 1 does not lift; instead, a liftable lifting frame 16 is mounted on the frame 1. Forks 2 are positioned on the left and right sides of the front end of the lifting frame 16, and the lifting of the lifting frame 16 can also be achieved using a drive cylinder 5. Specifically, the rear end of the frame 1 is equipped with a rear wheel assembly, and the front left and right sides are respectively equipped with load-bearing wheel assemblies. Similarly, the load-bearing wheel assembly includes at least two stages of wheel frames 12 arranged front and rear, and also includes a middle support 17. Adjacent wheel frames 12 are hinged to the middle support 17. The figure shows a case with only two stages of wheel frames 12 and one middle support 17, with the middle support 17 hinged to the frame 1. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that in other embodiments, the wheel frames 12 can also be configured with three stages, and correspondingly, two middle supports 17 are provided, in which case one middle support 17 needs to be hinged to the frame 1. Similarly, the hinge axis 10 of the wheel frames 12 extends in the left-right direction, and each wheel frame 12 is equipped with at least one load-bearing wheel, preferably a caster wheel 11.

[0050] The front and rear wheel frames 12 are not rigid planar structures. When driving on uneven roads, the front and rear wheel frames 12 can adaptively swing up and down to a certain extent to ensure that the load-bearing wheels installed on each wheel frame 12 can reliably touch the ground to play a supporting role and avoid one or several load-bearing wheels from bearing a large load, so as to solve the problem of easy damage to load-bearing wheels.

[0051] Similarly, the rear wheel assembly can adopt a differential drive assembly. Specifically, the left and right sides of the frame 3 are provided with drive wheels 4, and each drive wheel 4 is provided with an independent drive motor 6. In order to ensure that the forklift can smoothly turn on uneven road surface, the front and rear ends of the frame 3 are swingably installed on the vehicle frame 1 through swing shafts 8, and the swing axes of the swing shafts 8 extend in the front-rear direction. In this way, when the forklift turns on uneven road surface, the frame 3 can adaptively swing by a certain angle around the swing shaft 8, so that both drive wheels 4 can reliably touch the ground and smoothly complete the turning.

[0052] It should be noted that, regarding the load bearing wheel assembly, the above embodiment 1 gives a way of directly hinging the front and rear wheel frames 12, and embodiment 2 gives a way of hinging the front and rear wheel frames 12 through the intermediate support 17. Those skilled in the art can understand that, for the forklift with the vehicle frame 1 lifting in embodiment 1, the load bearing wheel assembly thereof can also adopt the way of hinging the front and rear wheel frames 12 through the intermediate support 17 as shown in embodiment 2. For the forklift with the lifting frame 16 in embodiment 2, the load bearing wheel assembly thereof can also adopt the way of hinging the front and rear wheel frames 12 as in embodiment 1, in which case only one of the wheel frames 12 is hinged to the vehicle frame 1. Such equivalent replacement can have the same effect and achieve the same result.

[0053] The specific embodiments of the forklift load bearing wheel assembly in the utility model:

[0054] The embodiment of the forklift load bearing wheel assembly is the load bearing wheel assembly described in the above embodiment 1 or embodiment 2 of the forklift, which will not be described in detail here.

[0055] Finally, it should be noted that the above only describes the preferred embodiments of the utility model, and is not used to limit the utility model, although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments without creative labor, or make equivalent replacement of some technical features. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the utility model shall be included in the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. A forklift, comprising a rear wheel assembly and a frame that is height-adjustable relative to the rear wheel assembly, with forks located on the left and right sides of the front end of the frame, the forklift further comprising a load-bearing wheel assembly located on the underside of the front end of the forks, the load-bearing wheel assembly being connected to the frame via a linkage transmission mechanism so that the load-bearing wheel assembly touches the ground when the forks are raised, characterized in that, The load bearing wheel assembly comprises at least two levels of wheel frames arranged in front and back, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged, or the load bearing wheel assembly comprises an intermediate support, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are respectively hinged with the intermediate support, the wheel frame hinge axis extends along the left and right directions, and at least one load bearing wheel is arranged on each wheel frame.

2. The fork truck of claim 1 wherein, The front and back adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged in the following manner: the rear wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing forward, and the front wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the rear wheel frame; or the front wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing backward, and the rear wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the front wheel frame.

3. A fork lift truck as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, The load bearing wheel is a universal wheel.

4. The fork truck according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The rear wheel assembly comprises a frame, drive wheels are arranged on the left and right sides of the frame, each drive wheel is provided with an independent drive motor, a telescopic drive mechanism for driving the frame to lift and lower is connected between the frame and the vehicle frame, a base is connected to the bottom end of the drive mechanism, and the base is swingingly mounted on the frame through a swing shaft at the front and rear ends, and the swing axis of the swing shaft extends along the front and back directions.

5. The fork truck of claim 4 wherein, The two ends of the drive mechanism are respectively hinged with the base and the vehicle frame, and the hinge axis extends along the left and right directions.

6. A fork truck comprising a frame, a rear wheel assembly mounted at a rear end of the frame, and load bearing wheel assemblies mounted at a front end of the frame on opposite sides of the frame, characterized in that, The load bearing wheel assembly comprises at least two levels of wheel frames arranged in front and back, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged, and one wheel frame is hinged with the vehicle frame; or the load bearing wheel assembly comprises an intermediate support, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are respectively hinged with the intermediate support, and one intermediate support is hinged with the vehicle frame; the wheel frame hinge axis extends along the left and right directions, and at least one load bearing wheel is arranged on each wheel frame.

7. The fork truck of claim 6 wherein, The front and back adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged in the following manner: the rear wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing forward, and the front wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the rear wheel frame; or the front wheel frame is provided with a U-shaped groove facing backward, and the rear wheel frame is partially inserted into the U-shaped groove and hinged with the front wheel frame.

8. The fork truck of claim 6 or 7 wherein, The load bearing wheel is a universal wheel.

9. The fork truck of claim 6 or 7 wherein, The rear wheel assembly comprises a frame, drive wheels are arranged on the left and right sides of the frame, each drive wheel is provided with an independent drive motor, the frame is swingingly mounted on the vehicle frame through a swing shaft at the front and rear ends, and the swing axis of the swing shaft extends along the front and back directions.

10. A forklift truck load wheel assembly characterized by, The load bearing wheel assembly comprises at least two levels of wheel frames arranged in front and back, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are directly hinged, or the load bearing wheel assembly comprises an intermediate support, the front and back adjacent wheel frames are respectively hinged with the intermediate support, the wheel frame hinge axis extends along the left and right directions, and at least one load bearing wheel is arranged on each wheel frame.

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