Box dumper

Claim 2

Apparatus mountable on a forklift-type vehicle and used for dumping the contents from open-topped containers, comprising a tilt frame having support arms swingably connected to the lift arms of said vehicle, said tilt frame including upper and lower spaced generally parallel frame members, an elongated rod slidably mounted at each side of said tilt frame, clamp means connected to said rod and adapted to selectively engage an opentopped container located on said support arms, means urging said elongated rods toward the lowermost position so that when said support arms are raised the means urging said rods will move said clamp means into engagement with a container carried by said support arms and when said support arms are lowered said rods will engage the lift arms of the vehicle and automatically release the container, and means for swinging said tilt frame relative to said lift arms, whereby a container will be automatically clamped when said tilt frame is moved upwardly to dump the contents from the container and the container will be automatically released when the tilt frame is returned to its lowered position.

Claim 3

The structure of claim 1 in which said clamp means includes a horizontal portion fixed at one end to said rod and said opposite end having a depending lip adapted to be received within the container.

Claim 4

The structure of claim 1 in which said clamp means includes a clamp arm swingably connected to said upper frame member, spaced depending fingers carried by said clamp arm, and means providing a pivotal connection between said clamp arm and the upper portion of said elongated rod, whereby movement of said rod will move said clamp arm about said swingable connection.

Claim 5

The structure of claim 3 in which one of said depending fingers is adapted to engage the rear portion of the container and another finger is adapted to engage the outer front portion of the container.

Claim 6

The structure of claim 3 in which said means pivotally connected the elongated rod to said clamp arm includes an arcuate slot in said arm, and pin means carried by said elongated rod and slidably received within said slot.

Claim 7

The combination of a forklift vehicle and a container dumping mechanism, said forklift vehicle having a pair of outwardly extending generally parallel lift arms, and means for raising and lowering said lift arms selectively, said container dumping mechanism including a tilt frame having a pair of outwardly extending support arms normally disposed generally parallel with said lift arms, means pivotally connecting said support arms to said lift arms adjacent to one end of each, said tilt frame having upper and lower generally parallel frame members with at least the upper frame member overlying said lift arms, an elongated rod slidably carried adjacent to each end of said upper frame member, guide means carried by said tilt frame and slidably receiving the lower portion of said elongated rods to maintain said rods generally in alignment with said lift arms, clamp means connected to each of said elongated rods adjacent to the upper end thereof, spring means urging said elongated rods downwardly, and means for swinging said tilt frame about said pivot, whereby when said tilt frame is swung upwardly said spring means will urge the clamp means into engagement with a container carried by said support arms to lock the container in position and when said tilt frame is swung downwardly said elongated rods will engage the lift arms of the forklift and automatically release the clamp means from the container.

Claim 8

The combination of a forklift vehicle and a container dumping mechanism, said forklift vehicle having a pair of outwardly extending generally parallel lift arms, and means for raising and lowering said lift arms selectively, said container dumping mechanism including a tilt frame having a pair of outwardly extending support arms normally disposed generally parallel with said lift arms, means pivotally connecting said support arms to said lift arms adjacent to one end of each, said tilt frame having upper and lower generally parallel frame members with at least the upper frame member overlying said lift arms, an elongated rod slidably carried adjacent to each end of said upper frame member, guide means carried by said tilt frame and slidably receiving the lower portion of said elongated rods to maintain said rods generally in alignment with said lift arms, clamp means connected to each of said elongated rods adjacent to the upper end thereof, spring means urging said elongated rods downwardly, and means for swinging said tilt frame about said pivot, whereby when said tilt frame is swung upwardly said spring means will urge the clamp means into engagement with a container carried by said support arms to lock the container in position and when said tilt frame is swung downwardly said elongated rods will engage the lift arms of the forklift and automatically release the clamp means from the container.