Load handling in fork-lift trucks movable fork cover for forklift truck

Claim 2

Attachment apparatus for a forklift truck having a vertically movable fork apron carrying a pair of substantially identical spaced horizontal fork members adapted to support a load, the apparatus comprising an elongated cover member for enclosing one of the fork members, the cover member having a length as long as the horizontal length of the one fork member, the cover member having an open end and a closed end for enclosing the tip of the one fork member, means for mounting the cover member to the one fork member independently of the other fork member for movement of the cover member along the upper surface of the one fork member toward and away from the fork apron, means carried by the cover member operable for moving the cover member along the one fork member independently of the other fork member, and a skeg secured to the underside of the one fork member adjacent the fork apron and having a lower surface including a first portion faired into the surface of the one fork member adjacent the apron and a second portion substantially coplanar with the undersurface of the cover member.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each fork member has a vertical leg mounted to the fork apron and a horizontal leg extending forwardly of the truck from the apron, the cover member enclosing the horizontal leg of the one fork member, the cover member has side extensions which, when the cover member moving means is in a normal at rest condition thereof with the open end of the cover member spaced from the vertical leg of the one fork member, extend on opposite sides of said vertical leg, the extensions having upper surfaces disposed substantially in the Plane of the top of the cover member.

Claim 4

In a forklift truck having a vertically movable carriage including an apron and a pair of spaced lifting fork members, said fork members supporting respective portions of a load engaged therewith and extended in a cantilevered fashion forwardly of the truck from the apron to unsupported tip ends spaced from the apron, apparatus comprising an elongated cover member supported by one of the fork members substantially enclosing the one fork member from its unsupported end to adjacent its supported end, the cover member having a closed end enclosing the tip end of the one fork member and an open end disposed adjacent to and forwardly of the apron, the cover member including a portion disposed over and aligned with the length of the one fork member for engaging the adjacent portion of a load supported by the fork members, the cover member having guide means cooperating with the one fork member for guiding the cover member in load-bearing movement along the length of the one fork member, bearing means mounting the cover member to the one fork member wholly independently of the other fork member for load-bearing guided movement of the cover member along the one fork member, cover member moving power means connected to the cover member and the carriage operable for moving the cover member along the one fork member to move the portion of a load supported by the cover member relative to the portion of the load supported by the other fork member to move the load angularly about a vertical axis through the load, and means cooperating between the open end of the cover member and the supported end of the one fork member for preventing foreign bodies from wedging between the open end of the cover member and the one fork member sufficiently to hinder movement of the cover member toward the apron in response to operation of the power means.

Claim 5

In a forklift truck having a vertically movable carriage including an apron and a pair of spaced lifting fork members, said fork members supporting respective portions of a load engaged therewith and extended in a cantilevered fashion forwardly of the truck from the apron to unsupported tip ends spaced from the apron, apparatus comprising an elongated cover member supported by one of the fork members substantially enclosing the one fork member from its unsupported end to adjacent its supported end, the cover member having a closed end enclosing the tip end of the one fork member and an open end disposed adjacent to and forwardly of the apron, the cover member including a portion disposed over and aligned with the length of the one fork member for engaging the adjacent portion of a load supported by the fork members, the cover member having guide means cooperating with the one fork member for guiding the cover member in load-bearing movement along the length of the one fork member, bearing means mounting the cover member to the one fork member wholly independently of the other fork member for load-bearing guided movement of the cover member along the one fork member, cover member moving power means connected to the cover member and the carriage operable for moving the cover member along the one fork member to move the portion of a load supported by the cover member relative to the portion of the load supported by the other fork member to move the load angularly about a vertical axis through the load, and means cooperating between the open end of the cover member and the supported end of the one fork member for preventing foreign bodies from wedging between the open end of the cover member and the one fork member sufficiently to hinder movement of the cover member toward the apron in response to operation of the power means.