Material or article handling – Vertically swinging load support – Shovel or fork type
Patent
1989-09-14
1992-01-28
Spar, Robert J.
Material or article handling
Vertically swinging load support
Shovel or fork type
414701, 414708, E02F 343
Patent
active
050838946
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for maintaining the attitude of a bucket, fork or the like secured to booms at a predetermined angle inclusive a horizontal plane, wherein the apparatus is installed on a working machine in the form of a loading/unloading vehicle having booms and a bucket or booms and a fork carried thereon such as a shovel loader, wheel loader or the like vehicle.
BACKGROUND ART
Since a working machine in the form of a loading/unloading vehicle having booms supporting a load carrier, for example a bucket or a fork carried thereon such as a wheel loader, shovel loader or the like has advantageous features that it is designed and constructed in smaller dimensions, it can turn with a small radius and it can be purchased at an inexpensive cost, it has been widely utilized in many field sites of civil engineering works.
As shown in FIG. 9, this kind of loading/unloading vehicle is so constructed that booms 1 are vertically turned by means of a boom cylinder 3 (rising of the booms 1 being referred to as "lift") and a bucket 2 is turned to the tilt side (representing turning movement of the bucket to the vehicle body side (excavating side)) or to the dump side (representing reverse operation to the tilting operation, i.e., turning movement of the bucket to the gravel dump side). Thus, as the booms 1 and the bucket 2 are turned in that way, gravel or the like is excavated (scooped), loaded or dumped.
To assure that a next gravel scooping operation is performed at a high efficiency after gravel is loaded on a dump truck or dumped in a hopper by operating a shovel loader or the like working machine, it is required that during rearward movement of the vehicle, the booms 1 are lowered while correcting an angle of the bucket 2 from the downward attitude so as to allow the bottom surface 2a of the bucket 2 to extend horizontally (representing turning movement of the bucket 2 to the tilt side). To meet this requirement, an operator is required to visually confirm rearward movement of the vehicle as well as operation in the front area so as to allow the bottom surface 2a of the bucket 2 to horizontally extend on the ground surface, as represented by solid lines in FIG. 9. Accordingly, he is required to perform a steering operation by turning a handle as well as a lever actuation for turning the bucket 2 to the tilt side or stopping it. However, to perform these operations, a highly skilled technique is required. Further, since such operation for causing the bottom surface 2a of the bucket 2 to extend horizontally is manually performed by his visual confirmation, a scooping operation to be performed during a next cycle is accomplished at a low efficiency.
To solve the foregoing problem, a bucket leveler mechanism has been heretofore used. The bucket leveler mechanism essentially comprises a lever detent mechanism for immovably holding a bucket actuating lever at a full stroke position on the tilt side, a solenoid for releasing a lever detent in the lever detent mechanism from the immovable state and permitting the bucket actuating lever to be restored from the full stroke position to a neutral position and a proximity switch LS for detecting that the bucket cylinder 4 expands to a predetermined cylinder length with which the bottom surface 2a of the bucket 2 extends horizontally (see FIG. 10).
With such bucket leveler mechanism, when the bucket actuating lever is actuated to the full stroke position on the tilt side during rearward movement of the vehicle after gravel is loaded or dumped, it is immovably held by the lever detent .mechanism, whereby the bucket 2 automatically continues to turn to the tilt side from the position where it assumes a downward attitude, even though an operator's hand is released from the bucket actuating lever. When the bucket cylinder 4 expands to a predetermined cylinder length during turning movement of the bucket 2 and thereby the proximity switch LS is actuated, this cylinder length is detected by the proximity switch LS which in t
REFERENCES:
patent: 3547293 (1970-12-01), Borer et al.
patent: 3659734 (1972-05-01), Fuzzell
patent: 4037519 (1977-07-01), Miller et al.
patent: 4377043 (1983-03-01), Inui et al.
patent: 4844685 (1989-07-01), Sagaser
patent: 4923362 (1990-05-01), Fryk
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 9, No. 268 (M-424) (1991), 10/25/85, JPA-60 112 936 (Komatsu Seisakusho KK) 19-06-1985 & Abstract.
Fukuda Masao
Ikari Masanori
Hienz William M.
Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho
Spar Robert J.
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