Abstract:
A lift for a fork tine assembly includes a generally upright frame having at least one handle grip portion at a rearward portion thereof. The handle grip portion is fixed relative to the frame. A lift mechanism is secured to the frame. The lift mechanism is capable of attaching to and raising and lowering at least one fork tine. A plurality of wheels support the frame. The at least one fork tine may be part of a first fork tine assembly that can be selectively removed from the lift and replaced with a different configuration fork tine assembly. An optional shelf is provided on the frame for convenience but may be pivoted out of the way when not in use.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Pallet lifts or pallet jacks are used to move pallets loaded with goods around a warehouse, store and/or in and out of trucks. Larger lifts can be used to move more pallets at one time; however, sometimes the larger lifts are too wide to be used in some applications. Some pallet jacks have long handles that pivot from a bottom rear edge of the base of the jack. The long handle can also make maneuvering in tight spaces more difficult. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0002]    A lift for a fork tine assembly includes a generally upright frame having at least one handle grip portion at a rearward portion thereof. The handle grip portion is fixed relative to the frame. A lift mechanism is secured to the frame. The lift mechanism is capable of attaching to and raising and lowering at least one fork tine. A plurality of wheels support the frame. The at least one fork tine may be part of a first fork tine assembly that can be selectively removed from the lift and replaced with a different configuration fork tine assembly. An optional shelf is provided on the frame for convenience but may be pivoted out of the way when not in use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pallet jack assembly and a plurality of alternate fork tine assemblies for use in the pallet jack assembly. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the lift of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the lift assembly and one alternate fork tine assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0006]      FIG. 4  is a bottom perspective view of the lift assembly and fork tine assembly of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  shows two of the alternate fork tine assemblies plus two more fork tine assemblies that could be connected to the lift of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the pallet jack assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 7  illustrates a pallet jack or lift assembly according to another embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 8  illustrates the pallet jack of  FIG. 7  with the shelf in the first deployed position. 
           [0011]      FIG. 9  is an enlarged view of the upper portion of the frame of the pallet jack of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 10  shows the upper portion of the frame with the shelf lifted to the unlocked position. 
           [0013]      FIG. 11  shows the upper portion of the frame of  FIG. 10  with the shelf in a second deployed position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 12  shows the upper portion of the frame of  FIG. 10  with the shelf in a first deployed position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    A modular pallet jack or lift assembly  10  generally includes a lift  12  and a fork tine assembly  14 . The lift  12  includes a frame  16  with upright handles  18 . Other handle arrangements could also be used, but the upright handles  18  shown reduce the footprint of the lift assembly  10  and increase the maneuverability of the lift assembly  10  in tight spaces. 
         [0016]    An actuator lever  20  proximate one of the handles  18  permits the operator to activate the lift  12 . Wheels  22  are mounted below the frame  16 . 
         [0017]    The fork tine assembly  14  includes a support structure  24  having a connection beam  26  projecting rearward therefrom. The support structure  24  connects to the fork tines  28 . The tines  28  are supported by pivoting wheels  30  (as is known). The tines  28  may have upper and lower portions connected in a known linkage arrangement. The lift  12  selectively lifts the connection beam  26 , thereby lifting the upper portions of the tines  28  relative to lower portions of the tines  28  and causing the wheels  30  to pivot downward. The fork tine assembly  14  is also connected by bolts  34  to lower ends of the frame  16  of the lift  12 . 
         [0018]    The modular lift assembly  10  permits the lift  12  to be connected with any of a plurality of fork tine assemblies  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The fork tine assemblies  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b  in  FIG. 1  each have a different spacing between the fork tines  28 ,  28   a ,  28   b . Other different features could be provided by the alternate assemblies. Thus, the fork tine assemblies  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b  can be disconnected and swapped with another one of the fork tine assemblies,  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b  and later reconnected, as needed. This saves the cost of having to purchase multiple lift assemblies. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  shows the lift  12 . The lift  12  houses the lift mechanism  32 , such as hydraulic, electric, etc, lift mechanism  32 . Panels on the frame  16  shield the lift mechanism  32  from view for an improved appearance and providing large surfaces for labeling or branding. An opening at the front of the lift  12  receives the connection beams  26 ,  26   a ,  26   b  of the fork tine assemblies  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b . A pair of bolt eyelets  36  at the base  38  of the frame  16  are configured to receive the bolts  34  ( FIG. 1 ) for connecting the fork tine assemblies  14 ,  14   a ,  14   b . A pair of generally vertical support members  40  extend upward from rear corners of the base  38 . The handles  18  are formed on portions of the generally vertical support members  40 . An upper portion  42  of the frame  16  defines an upper edge of the lift  12 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the lift assembly  10  and fork tine assembly  14   a  of  FIG. 1 . The connection beam  26  is received on the lift mechanism  32 . A pair of L-brackets  44  are pivotably connected at one end to the bolt eyelets  36  by bolts  34 . The L-brackets  44  are each pivotably connected at their junction to the respective tine  28 , and at the opposite end to a push rod  46  extending below the tine  28 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a bottom perspective view of the lift assembly  10  and fork tine assembly  14   a  of  FIG. 3 . As is known, the push rods  46  extend below each tine  28  to linkage adjacent the wheel  30 . In use, when the actuator lever  20  is activated, the lift mechanism  32  lifts the connection beam  26 . This raises the tines  28  and the junctions of the L-brackets  44  upward toward a position level with the base  38 . This causes the L-brackets  44  to rotate, thereby driving push rods  46  forward toward the linkage of the wheels  30 , pivoting wheels  30  downward and rearward. The tines  28  remain level as they are raised. As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the connection beam  26   a  has a projection  48   a  projecting downward from the connection beam  26   a . In this example, the projection  48   a  is cylindrical. The other connection beams  26 ,  26   b ,  26   c ,  26   d  are the same in this regard. The projection  48   a  is received in a socket ( FIG. 2 ) at an upper end of the lift mechanism  32 . Other connection mechanisms could be used. 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  shows two of the alternate fork tine assemblies  14   a ,  14   b , plus two more fork tine assemblies  14   c ,  14   d  that could be connected to the lift  12  of  FIG. 2 . As shown, the alternate fork tine assemblies can vary in tine spacing, number of tines, and wheel structure. 
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the pallet jack assembly  10  of  FIG. 1 . Again, the pair of bolt eyelets  36  at the base  38  of the frame  16  receive the bolts  34  for connecting the fork tine assembly  14 . The generally vertical support members  40  extend upward from rear corners of the base  38 . The handles  18  are formed on portions of the generally vertical support members  40 . The actuator lever  20  is proximate one of the handles  18 . The handles  18  are generally vertical and generally either within the footprint of the base  38  of the frame  16  or at least do not extend rearward of the frame  16  more than approximately 50% of the depth (front to back) of the base  38  of the frame  16 . This is significantly less than the pallet jacks with long pivoting handles connected at rearward bottom portions of the frame, thus increasing the maneuverability of the pallet jack assembly  10 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 7  illustrates a pallet jack or lift assembly  110  according to another embodiment having a deployable and stowable shelf  122 . The shelf  122  could also be mounted to the pallet jack assembly  10  of  FIGS. 1-6 . The lift assembly  110  generally includes a lift  112  and a fork tine assembly  114 . The lift  112  includes a frame  116  and an upper portion  118  extending upward from the frame  116 . The frame  116  is located adjacent the fork tine assembly  114 . 
         [0025]    At least one vertically extending reinforcement member  120  extends from the frame portion  116  and at least partially through the upper portion  118 . The upper portion  118  includes a shelf  122  that is movable between a stowed position ( FIG. 7 ) and a deployed position ( FIG. 8 ). The shelf  122  is surrounded by a pair of the vertically extending reinforcement members  120  and a pair of generally horizontal reinforcement members  124 . The shelf  122  is made up of a U-shaped member  126  and multiple cross members  128  extending across the U-shaped member  126 . However, other configurations for the shelf  122  would be applicable to this disclosure. 
         [0026]    The shelf  122  is pivotably attached to the upper portion  118  by hinges  130 . The hinges  130  secure the shelf  122  in the vertical stowed position and allow the shelf  122  to move to the deployed position. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the hinges  130  include a pair of arms  132  extending upward from the lower one of the generally horizontal reinforcement members  124  and an axle  134  extending between adjacent pairs of arms  134 . Distal ends of the U-shaped member  126  include elongated slots  131  ( FIGS. 11-12 ). Alternatively, the distal ends of the U-shaped member  126  could include the axle and the pair of arms  134  could include the slots. 
         [0027]    The shelf  122  is moved from the stowed position to the deployed position by lifting up on the shelf  122  as shown in  FIG. 4  which is allowed by the axle  134  moving through the slots  131  on the U-shaped member  126 . The shelf  122  can then be pivoted forward ( FIG. 11 ) or aft ( FIG. 12 ). 
         [0028]    A deployment arm  136  connects the shelf  122  to the upper portion  118  to maintain the shelf  122  in a generally horizontal configuration. The deployment arm  136  includes a first link  136 A and a second link  136 B. A first end of the first link  136 A is pivotably attached to the shelf  122  and a first end of the second link  136 B is pivotably and slidably attached to the upper portion  118  by a bracket  138 . Second ends of the first and second link  136 A,  136 B are pivotably attached to each other. The bracket  138  includes a slot  140  for accepting a pin  142  located on the first end of the link  136 B. The slot  140  allows the pin  142  and deployment arm  136  to move upward when the shelf  122  is moved in a vertical plane into and out of the stowed position. Although only a single deployment arm  136  and bracket  138  is shown, a second deployment arm  136  and bracket  138  could be located on the opposite side of the shelf  122 . 
         [0029]    In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.