LOAD PART FOR AUTONOMOUSLY-GUIDED INDUSTRIAL TRUCK

Abstract

The present invention relates to a load part (10) for an autonomously-guided industrial truck having a longitudinal direction and a width direction (B), comprising a pair of fork prongs (12a, 12b) extending substantially horizontally and arranged next to one another in the width direction (B), or a mono fork extending substantially horizontally and having two extension sections and a connecting section, and a load stop (14) connected to the pair of fork prongs (12a, 12b) or the extension sections and extending substantially in the vertical direction above the fork prongs (12a, 12b) or the mono fork. According to the invention, the load stop (14) has a cutout (22a, 22b) on at least one of its outer sides in the width direction (B) adjacent to the corresponding fork prongs (12a, 12b) or extension section. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an industrial truck equipped with such a load part.

Claims

1. Load part (10; 200) for an autonomously-guided industrial truck (100) having a longitudinal direction (L) and a width direction (B), comprising: a pair of fork prongs (12a, 12b) extending substantially horizontally and arranged next to each other in the width direction (B); or a mono fork (212) extending substantially horizontally and having two extension sections (212a, 212b) as well as a connecting section (212c), and a load stop (14; 214) connected to the pair of fork prongs (12a, 12b) or to the two extension sections (212a, 212b) and extending substantially in the vertical direction above the fork prongs (12a, 12b) or the mono fork (212), characterized in that the load stop (14; 214) has a cutout (22a, 22b; 222a, 222b) on at least one of its outer sides in the width direction (B) adjacent to the corresponding fork prongs (12a, 12b) or extension section (212a, 212b).

2. Load part (10; 200) according to claim 1, characterized in that the load stop (14; 214) on its two outer sides has cutouts (22a, 22b; 222a, 222b) formed symmetrically in the width direction (B).

3. Load part (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fork prongs (12a, 12b) each comprise, in relation to the width direction (B), an inner (16) and an outer (20) web as well as a cover plate (18) connecting the two webs (16, 20), wherein the respective inner web (16) is formed with a larger cross-section than the respective outer web (20).

4. Load part (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fork prongs (12a, 12b) each comprise a web (16), arranged on the inside in relation to the width direction (B), and an “L”-shaped cover plate (18).

5. Load part (10) according to one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the connection between the load stop (14) and the fork prongs (12a, 12b) is present only in the region of the respective inner web (16).

6. Load part (200) according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the extension sections (212a, 212b) of the mono fork (212) are each formed at least in sections as a web connected to the load stop (214), wherein the two webs are connected by means of a cover plate (218) which forms the connecting section (212c).

7. Load part (10; 200) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vertical extension of the at least one cutout (22a, 22b; 222a, 222b) is approximately 50 mm.

8. Autonomously-guided industrial truck (100) comprising: a vehicle body (102) having at least one steered drive wheel; and a load part (10; 200) according to one of the preceding claims arranged in a vertically-displaceable manner.

9. Industrial truck (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it further comprises a pair of wheel arms (106) extending from the vehicle body (102), each carrying at least one load wheel; and the load part (10; 200) is arranged above the load arms (106).

10. Industrial truck (100) according to one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that, on at least one side and preferably in a symmetrical arrangement on both sides in the width direction (B), it comprises a scanner unit (108) having a substantially horizontally-aligned scanning plane (E), wherein the at least one cutout of the load part (10; 200) is at a vertical height of the scanning plane (E) when said load part is in a fully-lowered state.

11. Industrial truck (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the scanning plane (E) is at a vertical height of approximately 100 mm above a driving base, and a fork height in the fully-lowered state is approximately 75 mm.

12. Industrial truck (100) according to one of claims 10 and 11, characterized in that it further comprises a control unit which is configured to control a vertical displacement of the load part (10; 200) in such a way that, in a movement state of the industrial truck (100) with the load part (10; 200) raised, said load part is always located at at least a predetermined height difference above the scanning plane (E).

Description

[0024] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become even more apparent from the following description of an embodiment, when viewed together with the accompanying figures. These show, In detail:

[0025] FIG. 1 an isometric view of a load part according to the invention for an autonomously-guided industrial truck;

[0026] FIG. 2 the load part from FIG. 1 in a front view,

[0027] FIG. 3 a simplified view of an industrial truck equipped with such a load part in an isometric view, and

[0028] FIG. 4 an alternative embodiment of a load part according to the invention in an isometric view from below.

[0029] In FIG. 1, a load part according to the invention for an autonomously-guided industrial truck is initially shown in an isometric view and is generally denoted by reference sign 10. The load part 10 here comprises a pair of fork prongs 12a and 12b extending substantially horizontally in a longitudinal direction L and arranged next to one another in a width direction B, as well as a load stop 14 connected to the pair of fork prongs 12a and 12b and extending substantially in the vertical direction above the fork prongs 12, 12b.

[0030] In this case, the load stop 14 is provided on its two sides in the width direction B with respective profiles 14a and 14b, which enables a coupling to a vehicle body 102, which is illustrated only in FIG. 3, of an industrial truck 100 to be equipped with the load part 10 in the manner of roller webs.

[0031] As can be seen especially from the rear view of FIG. 2, the two fork prongs 12a and 12b are each formed with an inner web 16, which is connected to the load stop 14 in the region of the fork root of the respective fork 12a, 12b. Furthermore, an “L”-shaped cover plate 18 initially extends outwards from the respective inner web 16 in the width direction B and then vertically downwards, wherein the vertically-extending part thereof forms an outer web 20. In this way, the coupling of the inner web 16 having a larger cross-section to the load stop 14 achieves sufficient rigidity of the connection between the fork prongs 12a, 12b and the load stop 14, while the cover plate 18 is used for slip-free and tilt-free carrying of pallets, and the outer web 20 effects only an inner stiffening of the respective fork prong 12a, 12b. Furthermore, this embodiment of the two fork prongs 12a and 12b allows the possibility of lowering the fork prongs via load arms of a corresponding industrial truck, so that, in the lowered state of the load part, the load arms lie between the webs of the fork prongs in order to reduce the height of the fork prongs above the driving base in this state.

[0032] As can be seen both in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 2, the load stop 14 has two cutouts 22a and 22b on its two outer sides in the width direction B, respectively adjacent to the corresponding fork prongs 12a and 12b, the function of which is explained in more detail further below with reference to FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the two cutouts 22a and 22b can have, for example, a vertical extension of 50 mm and an extension in the width direction B of 50 to 150 mm.

[0033] FIG. 3, lastly, shows, in a simplified manner, an autonomously-guided industrial truck 100 according to the invention, which comprises the load part 10 from FIGS. 1 and 2 arranged in a vertically-displaceable manner by means of roller webs 104, which in turn are associated with the vehicle body 102 of the industrial truck 100. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the load part 10 is lowered completely vertically and rests directly on a pair of wheel arms 106 extending from the vehicle body 102 that are largely concealed in the illustration of FIG. 3. The load wheels supported by the wheel arms 106, like the at least one steered drive wheel and any support wheels to be provided, are omitted in the simplified illustration of FIG. 3 for reasons of clarity.

[0034] On its outer sides in the width direction B, the industrial truck 100 comprises scanning units 108 which are symmetrically opposite one another and from which only one can also be seen in FIG. 3, while the other is concealed. Together, the respective scanning regions S1 and S2 of the two scanner units 108 form a substantially horizontally-aligned scanning plane E.

[0035] In the embodiment according to the invention of an autonomously-guided industrial truck shown in FIG. 3, the scanning plane E in the fully-lowered state of the load part 10 is situated above the two forks 12a and 12b and in the region of the cutouts 22a and 22b of the load part 10. Thus, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 3 on the basis of the contours of the scanning regions S1 and S2, an at least partial coverage of the region above the two forks 12a and 12b, as well as a nearly complete surrounding view outside the outer contours of the industrial truck 100, can be achieved by the scanner units 108. For this purpose, the vertical extensions of the two sections 22a and 22b are matched to the vertical width of the scanning plane E and can, for example, be approximately 50 mm. Accordingly, the upper sides of the forks 12a and 12b are at a fork height of approximately 75 mm above the driving base, so that conventional Euro pallets can also be detected by the scanner units 108 in the surroundings of the industrial truck 100.

[0036] Furthermore, the industrial truck 100 can be configured, in a loaded state—especially when a pallet is gripped and raised by the load part 10—to always lift a pallet far enough that the scanning plane E extends completely below the load part and the carried pallet, and thus a problem-free surrounding view is again possible, because the two scanning fields S1 and S2 cover the region around the industrial truck 100 in the same way as in the state from FIG. 3.

[0037] Furthermore, by lowering the forks 12a and 12b, the stated fork height of approximately 75 mm in the unloaded state can be minimized, because the forks now no longer extend in this state to a height at which human workers could thus injure themselves in the region of their shins or knees in the event of a collision.

[0038] Finally, FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a load part according to the invention in an isometric view obliquely from below, which is generally denoted by the reference sign 200 and which could be used in the industrial truck 100 in a similar manner to the load part 10 from FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, components of the load part 200, which correspond to those from the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 or fulfill an equivalent function, are each denoted by the same reference sign, increased by 200, and the explanation thereof is partially omitted in the following with reference to the above explanation of the corresponding components in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0039] In contrast to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the two fork prongs 12a and 12b, the load part 200 comprises a mono fork 212 with two extension sections 212a and 212b, as well as a connecting section 212c connecting the extension sections 212a and 212b at a front end thereof. As a result of this construction, an industrial truck with the load part 200 is generally used when objects such as lattice carts or rolling containers are to be transported, i.e., for example, in supermarkets or similar installations.

[0040] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the extension sections 212a and 212b of the mono fork 212 are each formed in sections as a web connected to the load stop 214, wherein the two webs are connected by means of a cover plate 218, which in turn forms the connecting section 212c. In this case, however, the cover plate 218 extends, starting from the extension sections 212a and 212b, initially by a stretch in the same direction as these, before, after an in each case slightly angled transition region, the connecting section 212c is ultimately connected.

[0041] Also in the region of the load stop 214, a slight modification has been made compared to the embodiment from FIGS. 1 and 2 and results from the fact that the cover plate 218 does not extend beyond the webs in the width direction B to the outside. Instead, extensions 214c are provided outside the webs in the width direction B, which extensions delimit the cutouts 222a and 222b and extend in the vertical direction up to the underside of the webs. Thus, in this embodiment, the two extension sections 212a and 212b do not directly adjoin the cutouts 222a and 222b, but are still to be regarded as adjacent to them in the sense of the present invention.

[0042] In the embodiment of FIG. 4, these cutouts 222a and 222b fulfill the same function as the cutouts 22a and 22b in the embodiment from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, so that the above-described improvements with regard to a scanning region to be covered in an industrial truck equipped therewith can also be achieved with the load part 200.