Lift trucks

Claim 2

A lift truck comprising a truck body, wheels supporting the truck body, a driver''s station on the truck body and a pair of transversely spaced wheels at the front of the truck body; a fixed mast rigidly secured to the truck body and extending upwardly thereof to a level above the driver''s station, at least one upper transversely extending member secured to the front of the fixed mast adjacent the upper part thereof above the forward Field of view of the driver''s station, at least one lower transversely extending member secured in a fixed position with respect to the truck body at the front and adjacent the lower part of the fixed mast; a traverse carriage extending alongside the front of the fixed mast, rigidly interconnected upper and lower means on the carriage for slidably engaging the said upper and lower transversely extending members respectively, means for sliding the upper and lower means simultaneously from side to side of the truck body with respect to their respective transversely extending members, and upper and lower forwardly cantilevered members secured to the carriage at the level of the upper and lower transversely extending members respectively; a movable mast pivotably supported by the upper and lower forwardly cantilevered members at the level of the upper and lower transversely extending members respectively and pivotable about an upright axis, means for pivoting the movable mast on the upper and lower members from a forward facing position 90* to either side of the truck body and a load carriage for raising and lowering a load and supported at the front of the movable mast.

Claim 3

A lift truck as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver''s station is provided adjacent the front of the truck body and wherein the fixed mast comprises a plurality of upright posts secured in front of and behind the driver''s station to the truck body and interconnected at the top to define thereby an overhead guard.

Claim 4

Lift truck as claimed in claim 1 in which a chain is provided interconnecting the carriage and the fixed mast to cause upper and lower parts of the carriage to move sideways in unison.

Claim 5

Lift truck as claimed in claim 1 in which a rack is associated with each of the transversely extending members and an upright shaft is rotatably mounted in the carriage and pinions are keyed to upper and lower parts of the shaft for engaging the racks and traversing upper and lower parts of the carriage in unison.

Claim 6

Lift truck according to claim 1, wherein the means for slidably engaging the transversely extending members comprises a pair of transversely spaced rollers having a vertical axis of rotation and the transversely extending members comprise members having a U-shaped section for receiving the rollers.

Claim 7

Lift truck according to claim 5 wherein the means for slidably engaging the transversely extending members comprises a roller having a horizontal axis of rotation and the transversely extending members comprise a flat mounted adjacent the lower part of the fixed mast for supporting said roller edgeways.

Claim 8

Lift truck according to claim 1 in which a weight is mounted adjacent the front of the truck body and means are provided for moving that weight transversely at the same time as, but in an opposite direction to, the carriage to thereby provide a counter balance.

Claim 9

Lift truck as claimed in claim 7 in which a shaft is provided extending between the transversely spaced wheels at the front of the truck body, the weight is mounted slidably on said shaft and a chain is provided interconnecting the weight and the carriage.

Claim 10

Lift truck as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for sliding the carriage from side to side comprise an arm pivotably along a substantially horizontal axis and mounted at the front of the truck body, a roller secured to the arm and an upright slot in the carriage for engaging the roller on the arm.

Claim 11

Lift truck comprising a truck body, wheels supporting the truck body and including a pair of transversely spaced wheels at the front of the truck body, said pair of wheels being interconnected by a shaft, a driver''s station adjacent the front of the truck body; a fixed mast having upright posts secured in front of and behind the driver''s station to the truck body and interconnected at the top to a pair of transversely spaced posts being provided in front of the driver''s station, a transversely extending U-sectioneD member secured adjacent the top to said pair of posts, a transversely extending U-sectioned member secured adjacent the bottom of said pair of posts, a transversely extending steel flat secured adjacent the latter U-sectioned member; a traverse carriage extending alongside the front of the truck body and the front of the fixed mast, a pair of transversely spaced rollers rotatably mounted on vertical centres at an upper part of the carriage and received in the U-sectioned member adjacent the top of the posts, a pair of further transversely spaced rollers rotatably mounted on vertical centres at a lower part of the carriage and received in the U-sectioned member adjacent the bottom of the posts, a single roller mounted on the carriage rotatable on a horizontal centre for bearing edgeways on top of the steel flat; an arm pivotable along a substantially horizontal axis and mounted at the front of the truck body, a roller secured to the arm and an upright slot in the carriage for engaging the roller on the arm to thereby enable the carriage to be moved from side to side of the truck body; upper and lower forwardly cantilevered members secured to the carriage; a movable mast pivotably supported by the upper and lower members, means for pivotting the mast on the upper and lower members and a load carriage for raising and lowering a load supported at the front of the movable mast, whereby the load carriage can be turned to the front or to either side of the truck body.

Claim 12

Lift truck comprising a truck body, wheels supporting the truck body and including a pair of transversely spaced wheels at the front of the truck body, said pair of wheels being interconnected by a shaft, a driver''s station adjacent the front of the truck body; a fixed mast having upright posts secured in front of and behind the driver''s station to the truck body and interconnected at the top to a pair of transversely spaced posts being provided in front of the driver''s station, a transversely extending U-sectioneD member secured adjacent the top to said pair of posts, a transversely extending U-sectioned member secured adjacent the bottom of said pair of posts, a transversely extending steel flat secured adjacent the latter U-sectioned member; a traverse carriage extending alongside the front of the truck body and the front of the fixed mast, a pair of transversely spaced rollers rotatably mounted on vertical centres at an upper part of the carriage and received in the U-sectioned member adjacent the top of the posts, a pair of further transversely spaced rollers rotatably mounted on vertical centres at a lower part of the carriage and received in the U-sectioned member adjacent the bottom of the posts, a single roller mounted on the carriage rotatable on a horizontal centre for bearing edgeways on top of the steel flat; an arm pivotable along a substantially horizontal axis and mounted at the front of the truck body, a roller secured to the arm and an upright slot in the carriage for engaging the roller on the arm to thereby enable the carriage to be moved from side to side of the truck body; upper and lower forwardly cantilevered members secured to the carriage; a movable mast pivotably supported by the upper and lower members, means for pivotting the mast on the upper and lower members and a load carriage for raising and lowering a load supported at the front of the movable mast, whereby the load carriage can be turned to the front or to either side of the truck body.

Claim 13

Lift truck according to claim 10, further comprising a weight slidably mounted on the shaft interconnecting the front wheels and a chain interconnecting the weight and the traverse carriage to cause the weight to be slid sideways in a direction opposite to the carriage to counteract the effect of a sideways shift of a load on the movable mast.

Claim 14

Lift truck according to claim 1 wherein said means for sliding the upper and lower means comprises a drive means for sliding the carriage from side to side of the truck and a means mounted on the upper and lower means for synchronizing the sliding movement thereof with respect to the corresponding upper and lower transversely extending members.