Device for moving at least a part of a vehicle in a sideward direction

A device for providing sideward displacement of a vehicle having vertically adjustable members such as a forklift truck, comprising at least one displacement member attached to said vertically adjustable member, said displacement member being pivotably movable from an active position to an inactive position, said device including a pedal to move the displacement member from said inactive position to said active position upon raising said adjustment member to a raised position, whereby lowering of said adjustable member causes contact of said displacement member with the ground, and whereby continued lowering of the adjustable member permits pivoting of the displacement member towards its inactive position to simultaneously displace at least a portion of the vehicle in a sideward direction.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to device for use in vehicles such as 
forklift trucks and pallet carts for displacing the vehicle or one end 
thereof in a sideward direction. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Many wheeled vehicles such as forklift trucks and pallet carts are changing 
the orientation of one set of wheels, such as, for example, the rear 
wheels, while front wheels or those wheels which are associated with the 
lifting mechanism are designed to rotate in a fixed plane. It is difficult 
to steer a vehicle of this type in confined spaces, such as where 
squeezing the vehicle in between other vehicles is required or when trying 
to maneuver pallet carts in narrow spaces. Typically, in commonly 
occurring designs, the vehicle is maneuvered back and forth by changing 
the steering wheels. This is a difficult maneuver, and requires a 
significant amount of time to reach the correct position so that, for 
example, the forklifts can engage or disengage a pallet. 
It has been proposed to equip such vehicles with a particular driving 
design or means which displaces a vehicle in a sideways or lateral 
direction. Complicated apparatus including the use of a plurality of 
wheels and axles have been proposed. However, these designs have been 
utilized only to a very limited extent because of the complexity and cost. 
It would be a great advantage to provide a simple and inexpensive means for 
moving wheeled vehicles in a lateral direction. It is accordingly an 
object of the present invention to provide such a drive for lateral 
displacement, which can be used in a plurality of applications. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It has now been discovered that the above and other and objects of the 
present invention may be accomplished by the following device. 
Specifically, it is been discovered that vehicles such as forklift trucks 
and pallet carts can be moved in a sideways direction by the device of the 
present invention. 
The device is intended to operate with vehicles having a vertically 
adjustable member, such as a forklift truck. At least one displacement 
member is attached to the vertical adjustment member. The displacement 
member is pivotably movable from an active position to an inactive 
position. The device includes a means for moving the displaced member to 
said active position upon raising the vertically adjustable member. Upon 
lowering the vertically adjustable member, the displacement member in its 
active position contacts the ground or whatever surface the vehicle is on. 
At this point, the displacement member is supporting that end of the 
vehicle. Movement of the vehicle in a lateral or sideward displacement is 
accomplished by movement of the displacement member in the direction 
toward its inactive position. This step can be repeated several times and 
can include sideward displacement members at both ends of the vehicle for 
simultaneous or sequential movement of the vehicle to accomplish sideward 
displacement of the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As shown in FIG. 1, the device shown generally by the reference 10 may be 
described as a pallet cart or a forklift truck or any of the vehicles 
which are intended to transport pallets. In the preferred embodiment shown 
in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 includes at least one vertically movable load 
handling member, in the present instance, two lifting forks 11 and 12 
which can be raised or lowered by conventional means and are controlled by 
a handle 13 which may operate hydraulic or mechanical lifting mechanisms 
for each or both lift forks 11 and 12. Alternatively, the device can be 
motorized and of the type known as forklift trucks. 
At the front end of forks 11 and 12 are wheels 14 and 15 to provide forward 
movement of the vehicle 10. These wheels typically are provided with an 
axle which operates in a fixed plane and does not allow for change of 
direction. The device is also provided with a pair of wheels 16 located 
between the lifting forks and at the rear end of the device. Handle 13 is 
employed to steer the device by changing the axis of wheel pair 16. 
At the front end of the lifting forks 11 and 12, four supporting legs 17, 
18, 19 and 20 are located. These legs 17-20 function as displacement 
members as will be described hereinafter. Each of the four legs or 
displacement members 17-20 are supported on pivot axles 21, 22, 23 and 24. 
These displacement members 17-20 pivot about axles 21-24 and are 
controlled by individual longitudinal rods 25, 26, 27 and 28 in such a way 
that turning of a rod 25-28 results in pivoting of the corresponding 
supporting leg 17-20 about the axle 21-24. 
Typically, during transport of a pallet on the pallet cart 10, the lifting 
forks 11 and 12 are elevated, so as to carry the pallet. The supporting 
legs 17-20 are maintained in their inactive position, as shown in FIG. 4. 
Particularly shown in FIG. 4 is one leg 19 which has been pivoted about 
axle 23 and is contained in an inactive position under the fork 12. Each 
of the other three legs 17, 18 and 20 are stored in a similar manner. 
Once the steering of the cart 10 has reached a desired position, the front 
end with the wheels 14 and 15 often times will not reach the position 
which is desired. At this time, supporting legs 17 and 19 or supporting 
legs 18 and 20 are lowered to their actuating position as shown in FIG. 3. 
The lowering of the supporting legs 17 or 19 to the operating or active 
position shown in FIG. 3 is accomplished by a foot operated pedal 33 which 
is, for example, connected to rod 27. Rotation of the rod 27 by the pedal 
33 is accomplished by a slew bracket 30, 31 and 32 to thereby transfer a 
rotation of the rod 25, for example. Likewise, a pedal 29 is connected to 
rod 26, so that turning of the rod 26 is accomplished by actuation of 
pedal 29 to transfer a corresponding rotation of rod 28 due to the 
operation of slewing brackets 34, 35 and 36. 
In operation, the cart 10 is placed in a position by using the handle 13 to 
direct the pair of wheels 16. Since wheels 14 and 15 do not allow for 
maneuverability, the supporting leg system is employed in part a sideward 
movement to the vehicle. The lift fork 12, for example, is raised and a 
set of legs, such as 17 and 19 or 18 and 20 are lowered as shown in FIG. 
3, depending upon which direction a position correction is desired. The 
foot pedal 33 which is connected to rod 27 affects a pivoting of 
supporting legs 17 and 19. The rotation of the rod 27, actuating by the 
pedal 33 through slewing brackets 30, 31 and 32, is transferred into a 
corresponding rotation of rod 25. In a similar manner, a pedal 29 is 
connected to rod 26, so that a turning of the rod 26 caused by an 
actuation of pedal 29 will transfer a corresponding rotation of rod 28 
through slewing brackets 34, 35 and 36. 
When the supporting leg is in its active position, that is in contact with 
the ground or the base, as is seen in FIG. 3, a connecting line 37 extends 
between the contact point 38 on the ground 39 and a pivot axis 23. This 
line 37 forms an acute angle .alpha. with the perpendicular to the base 
39. As shown in FIG. 3, a supporting foot 40 is pivotable supported above 
an axle 41 on the leg 19. Thus, the connecting line is defined as a 
straight line through the axles 23 and 41. An acute angle with the 
perpendicular, is obtained for all lines through axle 23 and a point on 
the supporting foot 40. 
When the supporting legs, such as legs 17 and 19, have been extended to 
their active position, the ends of the supporting legs are situated a 
short distance above the floor or base 39. The lifting forks 11 and 12 are 
thereupon lowered. As the lifting forks 11, 12 continue to be lowered 
after the supporting legs 17 and 19 contact the floor or base 39, because 
of friction between the supporting legs and the base, a displacement of 
the front end of the pallet cart 10 will place in a lateral direction 
during simultaneous pivoting of the two support legs 17 and 19 in a 
direction toward its inactive position. During this lateral displacement 
of the cart 10, the wheels 14 and 15 will slide against the floor 39. 
Because the back pair of wheels 16 are steerable using the handle 13, the 
rear end of the cart can normally be easily positioned in the correct 
location. Of course, it is possible to provide supporting legs of the type 
described at the rear end of the cart as well. 
The present invention is useful in a variety of vehicles which contain 
vertical adjustment mechanisms such as forklift devices. For example, many 
carts are designed with vertically adjusted gas or hydraulic suspensions 
under one or both sets of wheels. The supporting legs would then be 
pivotably movably beyond the perpendicular to the base so as to provide 
for side displacement of the vehicle in both directions. 
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated 
and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention and 
changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the 
following claims.