Forklift truck with forks that are pivoted about a vertical axis by lateral movement of the fork assembly carriages

Claim 1

A LOAD HANDLING DEVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL VEHICLES INCLUDING ELONGATED GUIDE MEANS, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED GUIDE MEMBERS MOUNTED ON THE GUIDE MEANS AND ACTUATABLE IN EITHER DIRECTION THEREALONG, MEANS PIVOTAL CENTRALLY THEREOF AND PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT OPPOSITE ENDS TO DIFFERENT ONES OF THE GUIDE MEMBERS, LOAD CARRIER MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID PIVOTAL MEANS CENTRALLY THEREOF AND EXTENDING PARALLEL OF SAID GUIDE MEANS, MEANS FOR LATCHING THE LOAD CARRIER MEANS TO SAID PIVOTAL MEANS SO THAT SAID LOAD CARRIER MEANS CAN BE ACTUATED LONGITUDINALLY OF THE GUIDE MEANS WHILE IN PARALLEL RELATION THERETO AND MEANS FOR UNLATCHING SAID LATCHING MEANS FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID LOAD CARRIER MEANS UPON SUCH PARALLEL MOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIER MEANS SO THAT SAID LOAD CARRIER MEANS AND PIVOTAL MEANS ARE ACTUATABLE INTO TRANSVERSE RELATION TO SAID GUIDE MEANS AND LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID GUIDE MEANS WHEN N SUCH TRANSVERSE RELATION THERETO, SAID UNLATCHING MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE STOP MEMBER FIXED TO THE SAID GUIDE MEANS AND AT LEAST ONE TRIP LEVER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE OF THE SAID GUIDE MEMBERS AND DISPOSED TO ENGAGE THE SAID STOP MEMBER UPON A PREDETERMINED PARALLEL MOVEMENT OF THE SAID GUIDE NUMBERS.