A truck mounted forklift

Abstract

A truck mounted forklift 100 has a U-shaped chassis 101, a driver’s station 109, a motive power unit 111 and a lifting mechanism 111 on the chassis. A skid steer drive mechanism has two driven front w

Claims

(1) A truck mounted forklift comprising a U-shaped chassis having a pair of forwardly projecting side bars bridged by a rear crossbar, a driver’s station mounted on the chassis, a motive power unit mounted on the chassis, and a lifting mechanism mounted on the chassis for engagement of a load between the side bars, and in which there is provided a skid steer drive mechanism comprising a pair of driven front wheels, one driven front wheel mounted adjacent the forwardmost end of one of the side bars and the other driven front wheel mounted adjacent the forwardmost end of the other of the side bars, and a dolly rear wheel mounted on the rear crossbar, the dolly rear wheel being rotatably mounted about a vertical axis offset from a central axis of the dolly rear wheel, and in which there is provided a releasable locking mechanism to releasably secure the dolly rear wheel in a fixed orientation about the vertical axis, the releasable locking mechanism comprising a hydraulically operated locking pin mounted on the chassis and a complementary locking pin receiver mounted on the dolly rear wheel.(2) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 1 in which there is provided a sensor on the hydraulically operated locking pin operable to detect when the locking pin is fully engaged in the locking pin receiver, and a locking pin indicator responsive to the sensor, the locking pin indicator being located in the driver’s station operable to display whether the locking pin is in either a locked configuration engaging the locking pin receiver or a released configuration free of the locking pin receiver.(3) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which there is provided a driver console in the driver’s station, forward of a driver’s seat, and in which there is provided a locking pin actuator switch on the driver console.(4) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 3 in which the locking pin indicator is located on the driver console in the driver’s station adjacent to the locking pin actuator switch.(5) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any preceding claim in which there is provided a locking pin actuator switch located outside the driver’s stationaccessible when the truck mounted forklift is mounted on the rear of a carrying vehicle.(6) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any preceding claim in which the locking pin is spring loaded biased towards a locked configuration.(7) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any preceding claim in which the hydraulically operated locking pin is provided with a charge feed to unlock the locking pin.(8) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 7 in which the charge feed is fed from the transmission pump of the forklift.(9) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any preceding claim in which the locking pin is chamfered to facilitate insertion of the end of the locking pin into the complementary locking pin receiver.(10) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any preceding claim in which the locking pin receiver comprises a locking plate held in a fixed relationship relative to the dolly rear wheel, the locking plate having a pair of locking pin receiving apertures.(11) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 10 in which the pair of locking pin receiving apertures are located diametrically opposed to each other on the locking plate.(12) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 10 or 11 in which the locking pin receiving apertures are located on the locking plate to cause the dolly wheel to be aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis of the forklift when the locking pin is engaged in either of the locking pin receiving apertures.(13) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 12 in which the central axis of the dolly rear wheel is forward of the vertical axis when the locking pin is engaged in the first locking pin receiving aperture, and the central axis of the dolly rear wheel is rearward of the vertical axis when the locking pin is engaged in the second locking pin receiving aperture.(14) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 13 in which when the locking pin is engaged in the first locking pin receiving aperture, the dolly rear wheel is stowed under the forklift forward of the aft-most point of the forklift.(15) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14 in which the locking plate is configured to promote location of the locking pin in the nearest locking pin receiving aperture when the locking pin is operated and abutting the locking plate.(16) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 15 in which the upper surface of the locking plate surrounding the locking pin receiving aperture is inclined downwardly towards the locking pin receiving aperture.(17) A truck mounted forklift as claimed in claim 15 or 16 in which the locking pin tapers towards a tip, and there is provided a channel recessed in the upper surface of the locking plate for receiving the tip of the locking pin, the channel configured so that it widens as it approaches the locking pin receiving aperture.16

Images