FORKLIFT EQUIPMENT FOR MOVING WORKSHOP LOADS

Forklift equipment for moving a load by a forklift truck is disclosed. The forklift equipment comprises a frame, a coupling group comprising a first and a second housing for the insertion or extraction of a relevant first and second fork of the forklift truck, and a supporting member, arranged below the plane defined by the first and the second housing to allow the lifting of the load by the forklift truck.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure concerns forklift equipment for moving and transporting workshop loads or machinery, such as drawers, cabinets or lockers, wherein the forklift equipment is couplable with a forklift truck, or a vehicle in general, for lifting and moving loads.

BACKGROUND ART

In warehouses and manufacturing and distribution centers, it is often required to transport loads such as materials, goods, but also workshop equipment or machinery over short and long distances.

Usually, the transportation of goods can be carried out either manually or automatically, by using forklift trucks and the like. A forklift truck is an industrial vehicle having two power-operated horizontal forks, that can be raised and lowered for loading, transporting, and unloading loads.

In the case of transportation of goods by a forklift truck, the goods can typically be loaded and/or unloaded from the forklift truck manually by the operator. In particular, during the loading step, the operator places the goods on top of platforms, such as wooden pallets and the like, while, during the unloading step, the operator has to unload them from the forklift truck.

However, currently, when workshop equipment or machineries, such as a workshop drawer or cabinet, needs to be moved, for instance, within the warehouse, this is done only manually by an operator, who pushes directly the workshop equipment in a desired direction, by moving it from its original position.

Therefore, such equipment cannot be transported over long distances since this would require a considerable amount of effort and time for the operator, along with a high risk of injuries. In fact, due to the typical weight and size of the workshop equipment, the manual handling of such equipment often leads to risks of injury for the operator.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the subject matter disclosed herein is directed to forklift equipment for moving a load, such as workshop equipment, such as a drawer, a locker, or a cabinet, by a forklift truck. The forklift equipment comprises a frame, and a coupling group, connected to the frame. The coupling group comprises a first housing and a second housing, parallel arranged, into which the forks of the forklift truck can be inserted, to allow moving the forklift equipment. The first housing and the second housing defines a plane. The forklift equipment comprises also a supporting member, connected to the frame, for supporting the load. The supporting member is arranged between the first housing and the second housing of the coupling group and below the plane defined by the first housing and the second housing of the coupling group.

In another aspect, the subject matter disclosed herein concerns that the supporting member has one end comprising a safety edge, to prevent the load from sliding along the direction of the supporting member.

In another aspect, disclosed herein is that the frame comprises a main portion, a front portion, and a rear portion. The front portion is connected to the first housing and the second housing, defining an opening, which allows the load to be introduced into the forklift equipment. The rear portion has one end connected to the first portion and the other end connected to the main portion. Also, the front portion and the rear portion of the frame define a containment volume, in which the load can be contained.

In another aspect, the subject matter disclosed herein is directed to a method of moving a load with forklift equipment couplable with a forklift truck, where the inserting of the forks of the forklift truck through the relevant first housing and second housing of the forklift equipment is carried out. Then, the forklift equipment is positioned in correspondence with the load to be moved, and the supporting member of the forklift equipment is placed underneath the load. Finally, the forklift equipment is raised with the forklift truck for lifting the load from the ground.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In warehouses or manufacturing and distribution centers, goods have to be moved either manually or automatically. The transportation of workshop equipment or loads, such as drawers, cabinets, or lockers, requires manual handling by an operator. Thus, a considerable amount of effort and time of the same operator is needed. The present subject matter is directed to equipment for moving and transporting workshop loads, wherein the equipment is removably couplable with a forklift truck, or a vehicle in general, for lifting and moving the loads, avoiding it to fall on the ground. In this way, the workshop loads can be safely transported over long distances.

Referring now to the drawings,FIG.1shows an embodiment of a forklift equipment, indicated with reference number1, to be coupled to a forklift truck2. The forklift equipment1comprises a frame10, a coupling group11, connected to the frame10, and a supporting member12, which is connected to the coupling group11, as better specified below.

According to the present disclosure, the forklift equipment1is a frame with a cross-section of a rectangular parallelepiped. However, in some embodiments, the cross-section of the forklift equipment1may be different. Hereafter, for ease of reference only, the forklift equipment1may also be referred to as equipment1.

As shown inFIGS.1,2, and3, the frame10comprises a main portion100, a front portion101, and a rear portion102, which is connected to the front portion101.

The main portion100is connected to the rear portion102of the frame10. In particular, the main portion100comprises a connecting beam104, which is open at its ends and it develops along a direction parallel or substantially parallel to an axis Y of a Cartesian reference system XYZ (shown inFIG.1).

The front portion101defines an opening103which allows workshop equipment or load3, such as a cabinet, drawer, or locker, to be introduced into the forklift equipment1. However, also other loads or workshop machinery may be introduced into the equipment1. In the present embodiment, the front portion101has a substantially rectangular shape. However, in some other embodiments, the shape of the front portion101may be different.

The rear portion102has one end connected to the front portion101, and the other end connected to the main portion100. According to the present disclosure, the rear portion102is substantially L-shaped. However, in other embodiments, the shape of the rear portion102may be different. Furthermore, both portions101,102of the frame10define a containment volume V, in which load3can be contained.

The coupling group11comprises a first housing110and a second housing111, arranged parallel to each other. The housings110,111have one end connected to the front portion101of the frame10and the other end connected to the main portion100of the frame10.

According to the present disclosure, the housings110,111are hollow through beams, to allow the insertion through each one of them of a relevant fork210,211of the forklift truck2. More specifically, the first housing110is open at its ends allowing the insertion or extraction of the first fork210of the forklift truck2. Similarly, the second housing111is open at its ends allowing the insertion or extraction of the second fork211of the forklift truck2.

In particular, each housing110,111develops along a direction parallel or substantially parallel to an axis X of the Cartesian reference system XYZ mentioned above, i.e., perpendicular to the direction of the connecting beam104of the main portion100. Also, in the present embodiment, the two housings110,111have the same lengths, but, in some other embodiments, they may have different lengths compared to each other.

Furthermore, the two housings110,111define a plane parallel or substantially parallel to the plane XY of the Cartesian reference system XYZ shown inFIG.1.

As shown inFIG.2andFIG.3, the first housing110and the second housing111allow the coupling between equipment1and the forklift truck2, in such a way that equipment1can be transported, lifted, or lowered by the forklift truck2.

The supporting member12is connected to frame10and it develops along a direction parallel to the first110and second111housing, i.e., parallel or substantially parallel to the axis X of the same Cartesian reference system XYZ mentioned above.

According to the present disclosure, the supporting member12is arranged between the first110and second111housing. In particular, the supporting member12lies on a different plane as compared to the plane defined by the two housings110,111. However, in some other embodiments, the supporting member112may be located in other positions.

With particular reference toFIG.2, the distance between the supporting member12and the ground is lower than the distance between the two housings110,111, and the ground. This allows the supporting member12to be positioned underneath the load3while being enclosed by the frame10of equipment1.

Furthermore, the supporting member12has one end120shaped in such a way as to allow the supporting member12to prevent the load3from falling to the ground. In particular, in the present embodiment, the end120has a safety edge or edge121that prevents the load3from moving along the direction of the X-axis, namely to slide, during the loading, the transportation, or the unloading of the load3by the forklift truck2.

The forklift equipment1operates as follows.

More specifically, referring toFIG.4, according to the present disclosure, the flowchart of a method4of moving the load3with the forklift equipment1is shown.

At first, equipment1is coupled with the forklift truck2. In fact, when the load3, such as the drawer shown inFIG.1,2, or3, has to be moved, the first fork210and the second fork211of the forklift truck2are inserted (step41) in the first housing110and second housing111respectively. In particular, an operator O drives the forklift truck2in such a way as to insert the forks210,211into the respective housings110,111. In this way, the forklift truck2can move the forklift equipment1over long distances, if necessary, by raising and/or lowering it.

Then, the forklift equipment1is positioned (step42) in correspondence with the load3to be transported. Subsequently, the operator O drives the forklift truck2to place (step43) the supporting member12underneath the load3.

Furthermore, the forklift equipment1is raised (step44) by lifting the forks210,211of the forklift truck2just enough for lifting the load3from the ground. Therefore, the load3is prevented from sliding and then falling from the forklift equipment1due to the presence of the safety edge121of the supporting member12.

In particular, the operator O controls the forklift truck2for lifting or lowering the forks210,211and, thus, the forklift equipment1, which contains the load3, with respect to its original position.

Then, the operator O drives the forklift truck2for transporting (step45) the forklift equipment1containing the load3over short or long distances to the desired position.

Once the desired position has been reached, the forks210,211are lowered (step46) by the forklift truck2driven by the operator O until the load3, and, then, the supporting member12, reach the ground.

Subsequently, the supporting member12is extracted (step47) from underneath the load3. Therefore, the load3is no longer contained within equipment1.

Finally, equipment1is decoupled from the forklift truck2by removing (step48) the forks210and211of the forklift truck2from the first housing110and second housing111respectively.

An advantage of the present disclosure is that thanks to the use of the forklift equipment, the workshop equipment can be transported over long distances, reducing the amount of effort and time for the operator.

Another advantage of the present disclosure is the reduction of risks of injury for the operator since any manual handling of the workshop equipment by the operator is avoided.

While aspects of the invention have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications, changes, and omissions are possible without departing form the spirt and scope of the claims. In addition, unless specified otherwise herein, the order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments.

Reference has been made in detail to embodiments of the disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the disclosure, not limitation of the disclosure. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “some embodiments” means that the particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in some embodiments” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment(s). Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.