Universal load handling apparatus

Claim 1

IN LOAD HANDLING APPARATUS ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON A VEHICLE, A LOAD HANDLING UNIT, POWER-OPERATED LIFTING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR LIFTING AND LOWERING SAID UNIT, AND MEANS FOR TILTING SAID UNIT RELATIVE TO SAID LIFTING AND LOWERING MEANS, SAID LOAD HANDLING UNIT COMPRISING A REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTION, A FRONT LOAD HANDLING SECTION ARRANGED FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION AND AN OPEN POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTION, AND ACTUATING MEANS FOR EFFECTING SAID OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE FRONT LOAD HANDLING SECTION RELATIVE TO THE REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTION, EACH SAID FRONT AND REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTIONS HAVING A BOTTON EDGE, AND QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE MEANS MOUNTING SAID FRONT SECTION AND ITS BOTTOM EDGE FOR MOVEMENT THROUGH A PREDETERMINED OPENING AND CLOSING PATH RELATIVE TO THE REAR LOAD HANDDLING SECTION AND ITS BOTTOM EDGE IN WHICH THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE FRONT SECTION FOLLOWS AN ARCUATE PATH FROM ITS MAXIMUM OPEN POSITION DOWNWARDLY TO ADJACENT A SWEEP PLANE INCLUDING THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE REAR SECTION AND THEN CONTINUES IN A SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT LINE MOVEMENT ALONG SAID PLANE UNTIL THE TWO CUTTING EDGES ARE IN PROXIMATE RELATION, THE QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF VERTICALLY SPACED FIXED PIVOTS ON THE REAR SECTION, THE LOWER FIXED PIVOT BEING SPACED ABOVE AND BEHIND SAID BOTTOM EDGE OF THE REAR SECTION AND THE UPPER FIXED PIVOT BEING SPACED ABOVE THE LOWER FIXED PIVOT TO DEFINE THE FIXED LINK OF THE QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE MEANS, SAID FIXED LINK LYING IN A PLANE INCLINED AT A SMALL ANGLE OFF PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SWEEP PLANE, LOWER RIGID NON-EXTENSIBLE ARM MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE REAR SECTION ON SAID LOWER FIXED PIVOT AND PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE FRONT SECTION ON A THIRD PIVOT DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE UPPER END OF THE FRONT LOAD HANDLING SECTION TO DEFINE BETWEEN SAID LOWER FIXED AND THIRD PIVOTS THE ROCKER LINK OF SAID QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE MEANS, AND UPPER RIGID NON-EXTENSIBLE ARM MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE REAR SECTION ON THE UPPER FIXED PIVOT AND ALSO PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE FRONT SECTION ON A FOURTH PIVOT SPACED ABOVE SAID THIRD PIVOTS TO DEFINE BETWEEN SAID UPPER FIXED AND FOURTH PIVOTS THE CRANK LINK OF SAID QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE MEANS, THE SPACING BETWEEN THE THIRD AND FOURTH PIVOTS ON THE FRONT SECTION DEFINING THE COUPLER LINK OF THE QUADRILATERAL LINKAGE, THE STRAIGHT LINE LENGTH OF SAID COUPLER LINK BEING ABOUT ONE HALF THE LENGTH OF THE FIXED LINK AND EQUAL SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE SPACING OF THE FIXED LOWER PIVOT FROM THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTION, THE CRANK LINK HAVING A STRAIGHT LINE LENGTH OF ABOUT NINE-TENTHS THE LENGTH OF THE FIXED LINK AND THE ROCKER LINK HAVING A STRAIGHT LINE LENGTH ABOUT ONE AND ONE-THIRD THE LENGTH OF THE FIXED LINK, THE STRAIGHT LINE DIMENSIONS OF SAID FOUR LINKS BETWEEN THE FOUR PIVOTS AND THEIR RELATION TO THE BOTTOM EDGES OF THE TWO SECTIONS CAUSING THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE FRONT SECTION TO FIRST FOLLOW AN ARCUATE PATH IN THE CLOSING OF THE FRONT SECTION OF THE REAR LOAD HANDLING SECTION AND THEN TO ENTER SAID SWEEP PLANE AT A DISTANCE FROM THE INTERSECTION OF THE SWEEP PLANE AND FIXED LINK PLANE EQUAL TO GREATER THAN THE LENGTH OF THE FIXED LINK, THEREAFTER FOLLOWING SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG SAID SWEEP PLANE, UNTIL THE TWO SECTIONS ARE IN CLOSED POSITION AND THEIR BOTTOM EDGES ARE IN PROXIMATE RELATION.