Reservoir tank support structure

A reservoir tank is disposed in a housing between a front protector and a front panel removably mounted to the front protector, by a support device. The support device supports the reservoir tank in such a way that the position of the tank can be adjusted. When the front panel is removed and the reservoir tank is moved towards the front of the forklift, the operation of adding brake fluid can be carried out with ease as there are no obstacles above the reservoir tank.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a structure for supporting a reservoir 
tank for storing brake fluid and the like which can be used in a forklift. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Forklifts are normally provided with a reservoir tank for storing brake 
fluid that is to be supplied to the brake master cylinder. 
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1 and 2, the reservoir tank 1 is mounted 
to a plate 7 welded to a front protector 5 arranged between headguard 
front pillars 3. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, this reservoir tank 1 is 
comprised of a cup-shaped body 9, a cover 11 and a brake fluid outlet or 
nozzle 13, the nozzle 13 being connected to a brake master cylinder (not 
shown) through a reservoir hose 15. The tank 1 is fixed through a tank 
cradle 17 to a plate 7 by bolts 19. Further, an upper plate 21 is arranged 
above the tank 1 as a front pad to cover electrical components, etc. that 
may be mounted to the front protector 5. 
The reasons the tank 1 is mounted in a relatively narrow space in this 
fashion are, (1) to protect the tank 1 from dust and rain, (2) to keep it 
from interfering with the steering post 25 in which the shaft of the 
steering wheel 23 is inserted and, (3) to keep it from interfering with 
the leg of an operator when operating the brake pedal 27. 
However, with the above configuration it is extremely difficult to add 
brake fluid to the tank 1 because it is in a comparatively remote position 
in front of and below the driver's seat. Although when adding fluid the 
operations of removing the cover 11, adding the fluid, replacing the cover 
11, etc., must be carried out, such operations are impeded by the steering 
post 25, front protector 5 and/or the upper plate 21. Also, as the tank 1 
is exposed to the outside, the protection from rain and dust is not 
sufficient. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a structure 
for supporting a reservoir tank that can facilitate the operations 
involved in adding brake fluid. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a structure for 
supporting a reservoir tank that can protect the tank from rain and dust 
and maintain the brake fluid in a clean condition. 
In order to achieve the above and other objects the structure for 
supporting a reservoir tank of the present invention comprises a front 
protector disposed in front of a driver's seat, a front panel removably 
mounted to a front surface of the front protector to define a housing for 
the reservoir tank between the front protector and the front panel, a 
support bracket located in the housing and secured on the front surface of 
the front protector, and a tank plate for supporting the reservoir tank, 
mounted to the support bracket for movement between a retracted position 
adjacent to the front protector and a projected position away from the 
protector. 
With this construction the front panel is removed and the tank plate 
mounting the tank reservoir can be moved towards the front of the vehicle. 
In this way, the operation of adding brake fluid can be carried out with 
extreme ease as there are no obstacles above the reservoir tank if the 
tank is moved out to the forward projected position. Further, the tank 
plate is normally in the retracted position and the front panel is mounted 
to the front protector, the reservoir tank being substantially surrounded 
by the front panel and front protector, to thereby be protected from rain, 
dust, etc. 
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become 
apparent from the following detailed explanation in conjunction with the 
attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Here, reference should be made to the drawings, particularly to FIG. 3, 
wherein the reservoir tank support structure of the present invention is 
shown. A front protector 30 is mounted to between the front pillars 32 of 
the head guard forward of the driver's seat of a forklift, and a front 
panel 34 is removably mounted by bolts 36 to a front upper surface of the 
front protector 30. Therefore, a space is defined by the front protector 
30 and the front panel 34, this space being utilized as a housing 38 for 
the reservoir tank 40. Also, a front pad 42 is mounted at a rear upper 
surface of the front protector 30, this front pad 42 covering the tank 40 
projecting from the front protector 30 as will be described below. The 
reservoir tank 40 for holding brake fluid to be supplied to a brake master 
cylinder (not shown) is disposed within this housing 38, and is supported 
by a reservoir tank supporting device 44 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. 
This tank supporting device 44 mainly comprises a support bracket 46 
mountable to a front upper surface of front protector 30, and a tank plate 
48 rotatably supported to support bracket 46 and able to mount a tank 40. 
Support bracket 46 is of a generally L-shape and comprises a horizontal 
portion 46a and a vertical portion 46b extending upwardly. A support 
spindle 50 for rotatably supporting the tank plate 48 is mounted at an 
upper surface of the horizontal portion 46a and a hook 52 for hooking one 
end of a coil spring 54 is mounted to a lower surface of the horizontal 
portion 46a. The horizontal portion 46a also has a threaded hole 56 for 
threaded engagement with a guide bolt 58 that is for guiding tank plate 
48. The vertical portion 46b has a pair of bolt holes 60 that match with 
bolt holes in the front protector 30. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the 
support bracket 46 is fixed to the front protector 30 by nuts 64 tightened 
on bolts 62 that pass through these bolt holes 60. 
Tank plate 48 is comprised of a horizontal portion 48a and a vertical 
portion 48b. A bushing 66 into which the support spindle 50 of support 
bracket 46 is inserted is mounted in an upper surface of horizontal 
portion 48a through a hole in horizontal portion 48a, and a bolt 67 is 
mounted in a lower surface thereof for hooking the other end of coil 
spring 54. Horizontal portion 48a also has an arc shaped guide slot 68 for 
passing through guide bolt 58 mounted to support bracket 46. Bolt holes 70 
for mounting tank 40 are provided in vertical portion 48b. 
As seen in FIGS. 4 to 6, tank plate 48 is rotatably supported to support 
bracket 46 by nesting bushing 66 of tank plate 48 on the support spindle 
50 of support bracket 46 fixed to front protector 30 and engaging a snap 
ring 72 into a groove around the periphery of the top end of spindle 50. 
The guide bolt 58 is next passed through the guide slot 68 of tank plate 
48 and threaded into the threaded portion of threaded hole 56 of support 
bracket 46. When the guide bolt 58 is tightly threaded into the threaded 
hole 56, the tank plate 48 is fixed to the support bracket 46. If the 
guide bolt 58 is loosened, the tank plate 48 can be rotated within the 
range of the guide slot 68, between the retracted position (position 
represented by solid lines in FIG. 6) and the projected position (position 
represented by broken lines in FIG. 6). The coil spring 54 is mounted 
between the bolt 67 extending down from support plate 48 and hook 52 of 
support plate 46, this spring 54 acting to pull the tank plate 48 to the 
rear of the vehicle when the tank plate is in a retracted position and to 
rotate the tank plate 48 towards the front of the vehicle when it is in a 
projected position. 
The reservoir tank 40 is comprised of a cup shaped body 40a, a cover 40b 
and a nozzle 40c. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a ring bracket 74 is wrapped 
around the cup shaped body 40a, the end of the bracket 74 being clamped by 
a bolt 76 and a nut 78 to fix the body 40a to the ring bracket 74. Ring 
bracket 74 has a mounting plate 80, the mounting plate 80 having bolt 
holes 82 that match the bolt holes 70 in the vertical portion 48a of the 
tank plate 48. Accordingly, the ring bracket 74, and in turn the tank 40, 
can be fixed to the tank plate 48 by nuts 86 threaded onto bolts 84 passed 
through these bolt holes 70 and 82. A reservoir hose 88 to the master 
cylinder (not shown) is connected to nozzle 40c. 
As described above, the tank plate 48 affixing the tank 40 is normally 
pulled towards the front protector 30 by the coil spring 54, and fixed 
there by the guide bolt 58. In this condition, although the tank 40 is 
disposed within the housing 38 between the front protector 30 and the 
front panel 34, due to space limitations the rear portion of the tank 40 
protrudes from a rectangular opening 90 arranged in the front protector 
30. This protruding portion of tank 40 is covered by a front pad 42 as 
shown in FIG. 3. Further, a window may preferably be provided in a portion 
of front panel 34 facing tank 40 to allow confirmation of brake fluid 
level in the tank 40. 
When carrying out an operation to add brake fluid, the front panel 34 is 
first removed. Next, the guide bolt 58 is loosened to release the fixed 
condition of tank plate 48 and support bracket 46. However, guide bolt 58 
should not be removed from threaded hole 56 of support bracket 46 at this 
time. The tank plate 48 is then rotated forward (arrow A in FIG. 6) around 
the support spindle 50 until reaching the projecting position where guide 
bolt 58 touches the rear end of guide slot 68. During this rotation, the 
coil spring 54 between the support bracket 46 and the tank plate 48 passes 
its dead point to urge the tank plate 48 forward, and maintains it in the 
projecting position. Accordingly, there is nothing that will get in the 
way above the tank 40, and the removal of the cover 40b, the addition of 
brake fluid and replacement of the cover 40b can be easily carried out. 
When the tank plate 48 is subsequently pushed back against the force of 
spring 54, the tank plate 48 will be pulled rearwards as soon as the coil 
spring 54 passes dead center again, the tank plate automatically returning 
to its retracted position. The guide bolt 58 is then tightened in threaded 
hole 56 of support bracket 46 to fix tank bracket 48. Finally, by mounting 
the front panel 34 to the front protector 30, the tank 40 is again 
disposed within the housing 38 where it is essentially unaffected by rain, 
dust, etc. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the reservoir tank support device 
of the present invention. This support device 44' differs from the first 
embodiment in that the vertical portion 46b' of support bracket 46' 
extends downwardly and in that there is no coil spring between support 
bracket 46' and tank plate 48. In this case, if the guide bolt 58 of tank 
plate 48 is not tightened, the tank plate can move, but it is advantageous 
in that the construction is simple. In other aspects this embodiment is 
essentially the same as the first embodiment and similar portions are 
labelled with the same reference numerals and explanation thereof being 
dispensed with for brevity. 
It is thought that the present invention and many of its attendant 
advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will 
be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and 
arrangement thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the 
invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form 
hereinbefore described being merely a preferred or exemplary embodiment 
thereof.