Container transporter

• US 5,201,629 A
• Filed: 04/09/1991
• Issued: 04/13/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Trust Company of New York (Bank of America Corp.)
• Original Assignee: CLARK Material Handling Company
• Inventors: Hodgman, John, Simpson, Clark
• Primary Examiner(s): Huppert, Michael S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KEENAN, JAMES W
• Application Number:
  US07/682,758
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 414/608, 414/630, 414/631, 414/632, 414/634, 414/635, 414/636, 414/637, 414/638, 414/619, 414/626, 414/914, 301/124 R, 301/124 H, 301/125, 296/84.1, 296/190, 180/89.2, 180/296, 180/306, 180/905, 187/9 R, 187/9 E, 187/17
• US Class Current: 414/632
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07545 Overhead guards
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07554 Counterweights
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/186 Container lifting frames

Abstract

A self-propelled, counterbalanced, container transporter vehicle having a frame, a counterweight supported at the rear, an elevating upright, carriage pick-up and lift frame assembly for lifting, transporting and stacking containers in which a tower structure supports a cab providing an operator'"'"'s station with controls for hydraulically raising and lowering the upright, the cab has a wide angle front window area that partially wraps around the operator'"'"'s station to permit a horizontal line of sight to the maximum extension of the lift frame and is sloped back to afford high angle vision to the maximum vertical extension of the upright for high stacking containers. In addition, the tower structure is positioned rearwardly of the center, and projects upwardly to a height that provides an elevated line of sight from the cab through the upright, the inner rail section of which is shorter than the outer rails to allow a better view through the upright and beneath a container in the transport, partially elevated position and the outer rails being mounted on the frame closer together to narrow the track width of the vehicle for better spotting containers on the tarmac.

Claims

1. In a container transporter vehicle having ground engaging front and rear wheels to propel and maneuver it over a surface, a counterweight supported at the rear of the vehicle, load lifting means supported at the front of the vehicle for picking up, transporting, lifting, and spotting standard ISO shipping containers having a maximum lift height capable of stacking up to four containers on the surface, an improvement comprising a tower structure projecting upwardly from the vehicle intermediate the front and rear wheels thereof spaced longitudinally a greater distance from the load lifting means than from the counterweight, a cab containing an operator'"'"'s station defining an eye level position from which up to four containers may be viewed in stacked relation to each other, said cab being mounted on the tower structure and having a front window inclined rearwardly relative to the load lifting means, the longitudinal axis of said window extending above and below the eye-level position in the cab providing a vertical range of vision encompassing the stacked shipping containers from the eye-level position, said load lifting means comprising parallel outer rails, parallel inner rails mounted on rollers extensible upwardly from the outer rails, hydraulic cylinder means connected between the outer and inner rails for extending or collapsing the inner rails within the outer rails, first and second pumps hydraulically powering the cylinder means, the output of the first pump confined to the hydraulic cylinder means to provide a first lift speed, the output of the second pump connected normally to a separate function associated with operating the vehicle and valve means including pressure differential sensing means for measuring the difference in pressure between the two outputs for diverting the output of the second pump to augment that of the first when the pressure differential exceeds a predetermined setting to provide a second lift speed.

2. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein an engine propels the vehicle and operates its various functions, and a third pump is driven by the engine, said third pump being hydraulically connected to the hydraulic cylinder means and normally operates a separate function of the vehicle, said valve means including speed sensing means for sensing the speed of the engine for diverting the output of the third pump to the hydraulic cylinder means when the engine speed exceeds the predetermined setting, the output of the third pump augmenting that of the first and second pumps to provide a third lift speed.

3. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the tower structure is located rearwardly of a medial position between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle.

4. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the window is comprised of a vertically elongated trapezoidal center panel joined on each side by right and left panels at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the center panel whereby the window wraps around the front of the operator'"'"'s station.

5. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the vehicle has a frame comprising a pair of side rail members, a cross member structurally connecting the side rail members, said cross member being a hollow fabricated structure and providing an axle housing, drive elements for propelling the vehicle within the housing, the front wheels rotatively mounted on opposite ends of the axle housing driven by said drive elements, the rail members and axle housing being integral with each other, such that the ground clearance of the frame is reduced whereby the line of sight from the eye-level position in the operator station over the axle housing is increased to include the area where the containers are stacked.

6. The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the frame side rail members each have a bracket arm integral therewith, each bracket arm defining a pivotal mounting for said load lifting means below the axis of said axle housing and hydraulic cylinder means extending between the tower structure and the load lifting means for tilting it forwardly or rearwardly from a vertical position whereby the mounting locations of the load lifting means are spaced apart no wider than the side rail members providing an unobstructed horizontal line of sight from the eye-level position in the operator station laterally of the load lifting means to the ends of said container.

7. The improvement as defined in claim 6 wherein the bracket arms project forwardly and downwardly for mounting the outer rails of the load lifting means below the axle housing.

8. The improvement as defined in claim 7 wherein one outer rail of the load lifting means is closed off throughout its length, but open at the top, to provide a tubular passage, means connecting the engine exhaust to the tubular passage so that the exhaust gasses are vented out through the top of the rail thereby minimizing noise and exhaust levels in the cab.

9. Improvement as defined in claim 8 wherein the inner rails have upper and lower ends, said lower ends terminating above the bottom of the outer rails in the lowered position thereof whereby the line of sight from the eye-level position in the operator'"'"'s station between the outer rails is enhanced in the lowered position of the inner rails.

10. In a container transporter vehicle having front and rear ground engaging wheels for propelling and maneuvering the vehicle over a surface, a counterweight supported at the rear of the vehicle, an upright supported at the front of the vehicle capable of being elevated or collapsed in stacking shipping containers, a lift frame of rectangular configuration sized to fit over a container lifted by the upright, engagement means at each corner of the lift frame for attaching the lift frame to containers, an improvement comprising a tower structure projecting upwardly from the vehicle at a longitudinal position approximately medially between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle, a cab containing an operator station mounted on a tower structure, a window in the front of the cab inclined rearwardly at an angle from vertical extending above the operator'"'"'s normal head position to afford an unobstructed line of sight of the lift frame engagement means in the elevated position of the upright, said front window having a central trapezoidal panel, a right and left panel adjoining said center panel at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the center panel, the joints between said panels forming narrow seams such that the window wraps continuously around the front of the operator'"'"'s station providing a substantially unobstructed view to the front and sides, said vehicle having a frame comprised of parallel side rails, a cross member connected adjacent to the front of the side rails providing structural support for the side rails, said cross member being fabricated as a hollow structure providing an integral drive axle housing of the vehicle frame, aligned axle hubs rotatably mounted at opposite ends of the housing, and means for mounting the wheels to the hubs that propel the vehicle, said upright comprised of a pair of outer rails, a pair of inner rails extensible from and collapsible into the outer rails, the outer rails and the inner rails being partially overlapped with each other at their lower ends to provide a wider viewing area between the outer rails when the inner rails are fully collapsed, and when extended, being overlapped at their upper ends by substantially the same amount to provide greater stiffness in the fully extended position of the upright.