Wheel mud flaps for mast forklifts

Abstract

Mud flap (13) for a front wheel (4) of a front axle (3) of a forklift truck (2) with a lifting mast (5) on which a load-handling means (6) is guided in a height-adjustable manner in front of the front axle (3) of the forklift truck (2), and with a mudguard (7) of the front wheel (4) fastened to a body (9) or a frame (10) of the forklift truck (2), characterized in that the mud flap (13) has lateral fastening means for fastening to the lifting mast (5) of the forklift truck (2), so that the mud flap (13), in an assembly position fastened to the lifting mast (5), covers an area of ​​the front wheel (4) in front of the mudguard (7), overlapping the mudguard (7) or adjoining it.

Description

The invention relates to a dirt trap for the front wheels of the front axle of a forklift truck having a lifting mast, in particular having a lifting mast which can be adjusted in inclination. The invention relates in particular to a dirt collector for a front wheel of a front axle of a forklift, having a lifting mast on which a load-receiving means is guided in a vertically movable manner in front of the front axle of the forklift, and having a fender of the front wheel fastened to a body or a frame of the forklift.In particular, industrial trucks in embodiments as forklift trucks are often used on operating sites and thus also outdoors. In this case, it is necessary, in the case of poor weather conditions, in particular in winter in the event of snowfall and generally in the case of rain weather, to avoid the vehicle and the environment being contaminated and the load absorbed on the load-receiving means by dirt which is agitated by the wheels during travel. In the prior art, it is known for forklifts with a lifting mast arranged on the front side, on which a load-receiving means can be moved in a vertically movable manner, to arrange mudguards for the front wheels on the body or on a frame of the forklift.However, the movement space of the load-receiving means must be taken into account in the design of these mudguards. As a result, depending on various embodiments of the load-receiving means, as well as depending on various lifting towers arranged on a forklift truck, it may happen that a more or less large region of the front wheel cannot be covered by the fenders.In the vast majority of cases, forklifts with a mast in the embodiment as a counterweight forklift have a tilting device for the mast which, for securing the load and for facilitating the handling of loads, makes it possible to tilt the entire mast out of the vertical by a certain angle in relation to the forklift. This likewise results in the need to not cover a front region of the front wheel with the fender, since otherwise, if the lifting mast inclines to the rear, the front wheel could collide with the load-receiving means when the latter is driven downward on the lifting mast. Usually, the front half and a front third of the upper periphery of the front wheel of the forklift are not covered with the fender.A disadvantage of this prior art is that this results in a gap in the overlap of the front tires, through which dirt spin-on during reverse travel reaches the region of the lifting mast and also onto a front windshield of a driver's cab. Particularly under use conditions in which much of the vehicle is driven backwards, for example when storing weather-insensitive goods on storage surfaces in the open, this results in considerable adverse effects due to the need to clean the vehicle from these contaminants.As a provisional solution, it is known to attach rubber or plastic flaps to the mudguards, which rest on the front wheels and hang down to the front side of the wheels, or project forwards.A disadvantage of this prior art is that the covering of the front wheels by these rubber flaps or plastic flaps is not stable, since these can be carried along by the movement of the wheel and pulled under the fender during rearward travel, and rapid wear occurs until the rubber flaps or plastic flaps are ground through. If the rubber flaps or plastic flaps are sufficiently stiff and project forward, the movement space of the load-receiving means can be obstructed or disturbed.DE 28 52 781 A1 discloses a forklift with dirt traps on the front wheels.FR 2 598 697 A1 discloses a forklift truck in which a downwardly hanging spray protection flap is provided in front of the front wheel.DE 10 2010 026 402 A1 discloses a fender for a commercial vehicle, which fender has a rear leg to which a downwardly hanging splash guard is fastened such that it can be displaced in the vertical direction.DE 71 08 242 U discloses a wheel mudguard of a car to which a dirt collector consisting of rubber is fastened, which dirt collector loops on the roadway with a plurality of tongues.DE 87 04 723 U1 discloses a vehicle in which a brush strip is fastened laterally to a vehicle wing, which brush strip covers the space from the edge of the wheel.The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a dirt trap which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages and, in the case of a forklift with a lifting mast, prevents contamination of the lifting mast region and of a front window of the forklift during operation outdoors on the front axle.This object is achieved by a dirt trap having the features of independent claim 1 and by a fork lift truck having the features of claim 9. Advantageous refinements of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.The object is achieved according to the invention in that, in the case of a mud flap for a front wheel of a front axle of a forklift having a lifting mast on which a load-receiving means is guided in a vertically movable manner in front of the front axle of the forklift, and having a fender of the front wheel fastened to a body or a frame of the forklift, the mud flap has lateral fastening means for fastening to the lifting mast of the forklift, so that the mud flap, in an installation position fastened to the lifting mast, covers a region of the front wheel in front of the fender in a manner overlapping with the fender or adjoining the latter.This advantageously closes an existing cover gap in protecting against turbulent dirt which arises when a fork lift truck according to the prior art moves backwards outdoors in the case of wet or dirty ground conditions. The driver is prevented from being visually restricted by dirt which has thrown up and reaches a front screen. By connecting to the mast, the mud flap can be individually adapted to different mast assemblies and the respective load-receiving means, and the available distances can be optimally utilized by arranging the mud flap to the maximum possible extent on a movement space for the load-receiving means that is to be kept free. Advantageously, the dirt trap according to the invention can also be retrofitted subsequently. In particular, it is possible to produce a dirt trap according to the invention in a cost-effective manner and in a simple manner. In particular, the solution according to the invention does not lead to excessive wear, in that the dirt collector rests on a wheel and is subjected to abrasive wear as a result of the wheel rotations, and even to sanding. The invention can be used in all types of forklift trucks with different load-handling devices, not only with load forks, but also with grab clamps, roll mandrels or the like, for example. The dirt collector can be designed as a solid sheet or with other materials. The dirt collector does not necessarily have to overlap with the fixed fender, but it is sufficient if it substantially abuts against it.In a favorable embodiment, the lifting mast is a tilt mast that is adjustable in inclination.In particular in the case of a tilting mast tiltable about a horizontal tilting axis, the arrangement according to the invention of a dirt trap has a particularly advantageous effect. A tilting mast requires a relatively large gap of the fender fixedly attached to a frame, since the state in which the tilting mast is inclined rearward must also be taken into account. In this position, too, a movement of the load-receiving means over the full height of the lifting mast must be possible. This leads to a relatively large gap, through which dirt and dirt can be agitated, particularly in reverse travel and in corresponding weather conditions. The proposed embodiment maintains the full movement possibility of the tilt mast in that the dirt trap has an overlap with the fender and is thus arranged either above or below and no collision with the fixed fender arranged on a forklift truck body or a forklift truck frame occurs during a movement of the tilt mast. Instead, the dirt collector is pushed under the fixed fender, for example in an arrangement below the latter, if the lifting mast inclines accordingly. Advantageously, the dirt trap moves together with the tilting mast during a tilting movement and therefore its arrangement can be optimized with respect to the freedom of movement of the load-receiving means.The lifting mast can tilt about the front axle as an axis of rotation; in particular, the lifting mast can be supported directly on the front axle.The dirt collector is advantageously designed as a concentric cylindrical surface with respect to the front axle.This results in a geometrically particularly advantageous arrangement of a corresponding dirt collector which, in addition, corresponds to a simple geometric basic shape and is easy to produce.In a favorable embodiment of the dirt collector, the dirt collector moves under the fender during a tilting movement of the lifting mast.According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the dirt trap moves over the fender during a tilting movement of the lifting mast.In an advantageous development of the invention, a sealing element, in particular a brush seal, is arranged between the dirt collector and the fender.This closes a further gap, which can lead to unintended contamination of the vehicle.The dirt trap can be a rubber flap and / or a plastic flap.This offers the advantage that the elasticity of the material offers an additional adaptation possibility, in particular in the case of constricted or difficult space conditions.The object is also achieved by a forklift having a lifting mast on which a load-receiving means is guided in a vertically movable manner in front of a front axle of the forklift, and having mudguards for front wheels of the front axle which are fastened to a body or a frame of the forklift and having dirt traps for the front wheels, as have been described above.The forklift truck has the advantages of the dirt collector already mentioned above.Further advantages and details of the invention are explained in more detail on the basis of the exemplary embodiment shown in the schematic figures. This shows FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a detail of a front wheel region of a lifting mast fork lift according to the prior art, FIG. 2 shows a lifting mast fork lift with a dirt collector according to the invention in a side view, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a detail of a front wheel region of the forklift truck of FIG. 2.FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a detail of a front wheel region 1 of a lifting mast forklift 2 according to the prior art. In front of and on a front axle 3 with front wheels 4 a lifting mast 5 with a load-receiving means 6 is arranged. A fixed fender 7 having a front flanged elastic member 8 is fixed to a frame 9 and a body 10 of the forklift 2, respectively. In order to ensure the freedom of movement or a clearance of the load-receiving means 6 during a vertical movement on the lifting mast 5 in any case, in particular even if the lifting mast 5 is moved about a horizontal tilting axis into a position inclined to the rear by means of a tilting device, not shown, a certain free space remains in front of the elastic part 8, in which free space the front wheel 4 is not covered. When the forklift 2 is driven backwards, dirt can therefore be thrown up by the front wheel 4, as indicated by the arrow. A disadvantage of this prior art is that the elastic part 8, if it is designed to hang downward in order to largely cover the front wheel 4, is ground through by the front wheel 4. FIG. 2 shows a lifting mast fork lift 2 with a dirt collector according to the invention in a side view. Elements corresponding to the components of the illustration in FIG. 1 are provided with the same reference numerals. The forklift truck 2 with the lifting mast 5 corresponds in principle to that in the illustration of FIG. 1. The load-receiving means 6 in the form of a load fork 12 is arranged on the lifting mast 5 which can be tilted by tilting cylinders 11. The front wheel 4 of the front axle 3 is covered by the fixed fender 7 which is arranged on the frame 9 or the body 10 of the forklift 2. A dirt trap 13 according to the invention in the form of a rubber flap or a shaped part 14 is fastened to the lifting mast 5 by lateral fastening means and moves with the lifting mast 5 during a tilting movement of the lifting mast 5. When the lifting mast 5 inclines to the rear, the dirt collector 13 slides under the fixed fender 7 in the exemplary embodiment shown.As a result, the dirt catcher 13 can be optimally adapted to the required movement space of the load-receiving means 6. In the case of a reverse travel, a spin-up of dirt and water from the front wheel 4 is effectively prevented.FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a detail of a front wheel region 1 of the forklift 2 of FIG. 2 The tiltable lifting mast 5 with the load-receiving means 6 is arranged in front of and on the front axle 3 with the front wheels 4. The fixed fender 7 is fixed to the frame 9 or the body 10 of the forklift 2, and the dust collector 13 slides with its rubber flap 14 under the fixed fender 7, and the space between the fixed fender 7 and the dust collector 13 is sealed by a brush seal 15 as a sealing member 16. Instead of a rubber flap 14, a solid material, for example a plastic or a sheet metal, can also be used as a molded part. In the present exemplary embodiment, although this is not essential for the invention, the lifting mast 5 is directly supported on the front axle 3 and rotates substantially about it during a tilting movement.

Claims

Mud flap (13) for a front wheel (4) of a front axle (3) of a fork lift truck (2), having a lifting mast (5) on which a load-receiving means (6) is guided in a vertically movable manner in front of the front axle (3) of the fork lift truck (2), and having a fender (7) of the front wheel (4) fastened to a body (9) or a frame (10) of the fork lift truck (2), characterized in that the mud flap (13) has lateral fastening means for fastening to the lifting mast (5) of the fork lift truck (2), such that the mud flap (13), in an installation position fastened to the lifting mast (5), covers a region of the front wheel (4) in front of the fender (7) in a manner overlapping with the fender (5) or then to the latter.Dirt trap (13) according to claim 1, characterised in that the lifting mast (5) is a tilting mast.Dirt trap (13) according to claim 2, characterised in that the lifting mast (5) inclines about the front axle (3) as an axis of rotation, in particular the lifting mast (5) is supported directly on the front axle (5).Dirt collector (13) according to claim 3, characterised in that the dirt collector (13) is formed as a concentric cylindrical surface to the front axle (3).The dirt collector (13) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the dirt collector (13) moves under the fender (7) during a tilting movement of the lifting mast (5).The dirt collector (13) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the dirt collector (13) moves over the fender (7) during a tilting movement of the lifting mast (5).Dirt collector (13) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a sealing element (16), in particular a brush seal (15), is arranged between the dirt collector (13) and the mudguard (7).Dirt collector (13) according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the dirt collector (13) has a rubber flap (14) and / or plastic flap.Fork lift truck (2) having a lifting mast (5) on which a load-receiving means (6) is guided in a vertically movable manner in front of a front axle (3) of the fork lift truck (2), and having mudguards (7) for front wheels (4) of the front axle (3) which are fastened to a body (9) or a frame (10) of the fork lift truck (2), and having dirt traps (13) according to one of the preceding claims for the front wheels (4).

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