Abstract:
A multi-task capable work assist vehicle is designed for transporting an operator and items to be handled by the operator and for elevating the operator with such items supported upon a load tray elevated with the operator. Preferably the load tray is mounted for positioning along a telescoping mast which supports and elevates the operator. A load deck or load platform is provided on a body of the vehicle in addition to the load tray so that items such as packages, tools, parts, merchandise and the like can be carried by the vehicle. Load shelves may also be provided adjacent the load deck to add flexibility and capacity to the load carrying capability of the vehicle. Uses of the vehicle include order picking, in-house service maintenance, stock management, cargo delivery and the like. It is designed to be compact in size and highly maneuverable for use in narrow storage aisles and tight quarters.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/725,975 filed Oct. 4,1996, abandoned in favor of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/285,378 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,572, and entitled PERSONNEL CARRYING VEHICLE, which claims benefit of earlier filed U.S. Provisional Pat. Appl. Ser. No. 60/004,850, filed Oct. 5, 1995, and Ser. No. 60/025,970, filed Sept. 9, 1996, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application also claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Pat. Appl. Ser. No. 60/057,427 which was filed Sept. 2, 1997, and entitled LOAD TRAYS FOR PERSONNEL CARRYING AND MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLE and is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is also related to previously filed U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 09/060,661, and Ser. No. 09/060,662, both of which were filed Apr. 15, 1998, and are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to electric powered personnel carrying vehicles that are particularly useful in transporting items retrieved from shelves in a warehouse, or as a work platform which allows an operator to be raised approximately six feet or more into the air, for example to retrieve or place items of merchandise on shelves of a retail store and, more particularly, to load trays which can be utilized on such vehicles to support items to be handled by operators utilizing such vehicles. 
     Small parts picking is commonly done by personnel manually pushing carts equipped with several shelves and a low level ladder which the operator climbs for reaching stock items up to nine feet high. Higher elevation picking, up to 12 feet, is accomplished with large manual push-in-place mobile ladder stands. Both the carts and mobile ladder stands require the operator to climb up and down while manually holding the goods. 
     A compact aerial lift vehicle which can be used for parts picking is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,132. The vehicle is separable into several parts for storage and can be controlled by an operator supported upon a platform which can be elevated along a vertical post member removably mounted upon a body of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the aerial lift vehicle of the &#39;132 patent is of limited utility since only a small-sized basket is provided for the operator such that the operator must still manually hold items too large to fit into the basket. Further, there is no provision for supporting items on the body of the vehicle for transportation of those items utilizing the vehicle. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for an improved personnel carrying vehicle which includes a load tray mounted on and movable with an expandable mast of the vehicle so that an operator of the vehicle does not need to manually hold any items which can be handled by the operator utilizing the vehicle. Alternately, or preferably in addition to the mast mounted load tray, the vehicle would include a load deck or load platform for carrying items on the vehicle for transportation of the items. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The need is met by the invention of the present application wherein a multi-task capable work assist vehicle is designed for transporting an operator and items to be handled by the operator and for elevating the operator with such items supported upon a load tray elevated with the operator so that the operator does not have to manually hold items during travel, elevation or descent. Preferably, the load tray is mounted for positioning along a telescoping mast which supports and elevates the operator. A load deck or load platform may be provided on a body of the vehicle in addition to the load tray or alone so that items such as packages, tools, parts, merchandise and the like can be carried by the vehicle. Load shelves may also be provided adjacent the load deck to add flexibility and capacity to the load carrying capability of the vehicle. The utility of the vehicle is optimized by providing both a load tray and a load deck and/or load shelves on the vehicle which form preferred configurations of the vehicle. Uses of the vehicle include order picking, in-house service maintenance, stock management, cargo delivery and the like. It is designed to be compact in size and highly maneuverable for use in narrow storage aisles and tight quarters. 
     It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a personnel carrying vehicle comprising a self propelled, steerable body, a mast attached to and extending upwardly from the body, a personnel compartment attached to the mast and a load tray mounted to the mast for supporting items during travel of the vehicle and elevation or descent of the operator; to provide a personnel carrying vehicle comprising a self propelled, steerable body, a mast attached to and extending upwardly from the body, a personnel compartment attached to the mast and a load deck on the body of the vehicle for supporting items during travel of the vehicle; to provide a personnel carrying vehicle comprising a self propelled, steerable body, a mast attached to and extending upwardly from the body, a personnel compartment attached to the mast and a vertically movable load tray mounted to the mast for supporting items during travel of the vehicle and elevation or descent of the operator; and, to provide a personnel carrying vehicle comprising a self propelled, steerable body, a mast attached to and extending upwardly from the body, a personnel compartment attached to the mast, a load tray mounted to the mast for supporting items during travel of the vehicle and elevation or descent of the operator and a load deck on the body of the vehicle for supporting items during travel of the vehicle. 
     Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a personnel carrying vehicle including the invention of the present application; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle of FIG. 1 with the operator&#39;s platform or compartment and associated load tray in the raised position; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the vehicle of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of an upper section of a mast of the vehicle of FIG. 1 showing a preferred embodiment of the load tray and an arrangement for mounting the load tray to the upper section of the mast; 
     FIG. 5A is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 5 but with the load tray stowed in its vertical storage position; 
     FIG. 6 is a partially sectioned side view of the load tray mounting arrangement of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the load tray and load tray mounting arrangement of FIG. 5 with some parts removed for sake of clarity of illustration; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of an elevator assembly of the load tray mounting arrangement as viewed from the mast of the vehicle along the view line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a folding load tray embodiment of the present application; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of a personnel carrying vehicle including a load shelf arrangement of the present application; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view from the front of a personnel carrying vehicle illustrating the load shelf arrangement of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating clamping devices used for the load shelf arrangement of FIGS. 9 and 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a load tray retaining mechanism opened for receiving a removable load tray of the present application; 
     FIG. 12A is a perspective view of the open load tray retaining mechanism with a removable load tray received within the mechanism; 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the load tray retaining mechanism of FIGS. 12 and 12A without a load tray but with the mechanism shown in its closed, tray retaining position; 
     FIG. 14 is a plan view of the retaining mechanism of FIG. 12A in its closed position; and 
     FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of the retaining mechanism of FIGS. 12A and 14 with a tray received within the mechanism and the mechanism in its closed position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIGS.  1 - 4 , a personnel carrying vehicle  10  includes a self-propelled, steerable body  20  having a front  21  and a rear  22 . A pair of drive wheels  24  are mounted near the rear  22  of the body  20 , and a pair of caster wheels  26  are mounted near the front  21  of the body  20 . A load deck or platform  27  is removably placed at the forward end of the vehicle  10 . 
     A mast  30  is attached to and extends upwardly from the body  20 . As shown in FIG. 2, the mast  30  includes three nested sections  31 ,  32 , and  33 . A hydraulic cylinder is employed to extend the mast  30  from its retracted position, shown in FIG. 1, to its fully extended position as shown in FIG.  2 . While three mast sections are illustrated, the number of mast sections actually used can vary. 
     A personnel compartment  40  is attached to the mast  30 , and specifically to the outer or upper section  31  of the mast  30 . The personnel compartment  40  includes a floor  41  removably attached to the mast  30 , a rail member  42  mounted to the mast  30  and extending around the sides and front of the personnel compartment  40 , and a pair of gate members  43 ,  44  pivotally attached to the rail member  42  at  45  and  46 , respectively, and to the floor at  47  and  48 , respectively. The floor  41  is hinged at the front of the compartment to permit access to electrical connection terminal blocks and other equipment beneath the floor  41  without requiring the compartment  40  to be raised. The gate members  43 ,  44  are movable from a closed position, as shown in FIG. 1, to an open position wherein the gate members extend into the personnel compartment  40 . 
     As shown in FIGS.  1 - 3 , the rail member  42 , as well as the top of the mast  30 , is placed at approximately waist height of an operator  50  (FIG. 3) standing within the personnel compartment  40 . The mast  30  does not extend substantially above the rail  42 , thus giving the operator  50  unobstructed access to anything above the top edge of the rail  42 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the lower mast member  33  is attached to the body  20  and extends upwardly and forward of the vehicle at an angle of approximately 5° from the vertical, see FIG.  3 . As the mast  30  is extended, the personnel compartment  40  is moved upwardly and forwardly. 
     The personnel compartment  40  or operator&#39;s compartment benefits by the 5° tilt of the mast  30  in that the upper portion of the compartment, near the waist of the operator, is larger than the floor, thus accommodating the operator comfortably without increasing the length of the vehicle  10 . 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, a detachable rail guide assembly  60  is mounted on the body  20  between the front and rear wheels. A rail guide assembly  60  is mounted on each side of the vehicle and is used to assist in guiding the vehicle into and through an aisle between closely spaced storage racks. 
     The operator  50  is provided with a pair of control handles, a steering control assembly  70  and a traction control assembly  80 . When the vehicle is in operation, the operator must have one hand (the left hand as shown in FIG. 1) on the steering control, and the other hand (the right hand, as shown in FIG. 1) on the traction control, and both feet on the floor of the operator&#39;s compartment, and specifically on dead man switches DMSL and DMSR, shown in FIG.  2 . This ensures a four point stance, providing for operator stability and that the operator&#39;s hands and feet are within the operator&#39;s compartment anytime the vehicle is being moved or during lifting or lowering operations. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, a pair of traction motors  82 ,  83  are mounted in a traction motor compartment located inside the body  20  and beneath the floor  41  of the operator&#39;s compartment. A cover plate, which normally encloses the traction motor compartment, has been removed to reveal the contents of the compartment. The traction motors are connected to the axle of the wheels  24  through gear boxes  85 , only one of which is shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the center axis of each traction motor is below the axis of the wheels  24 , thus permitting the floor  41  of the compartment  40  to be positioned as close to the ground level as possible, at a height H, approximately 7 inches above the floor F, see FIG.  3 . 
     A load tray  90  may also be mounted on the mast  30 . As illustrated in FIG. 3, the load tray  90  may be attached to the mast  30  using an attachment strip  92  which extends downwardly from the top of the upper mast section  31  and is provided with spaced apart pin openings which permit easy attachment of the load tray  90  at different levels relative to the upper rail  42 . The load tray  90  may take various configurations. 
     The illustrated load tray  90  includes outside or peripheral members and a plurality of interior wires  93 . Generally, the interior wires  93  are designed to help support a load while at the same time, the wires  93  are arranged to facilitate the operator&#39;s view of any material on the load platform  27 . The attachment of the load tray  90  to the mast as illustrated in FIG. 3 permits the load tray  90  to pivot upwardly if it is inadvertently lowered onto an obstacle which has been placed on the load platform  27 . 
     Reference is now made to FIGS. 5,  5 A and  6 - 8  which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the load tray  90  of the present invention. The load tray  90  is shown connected to an attachment mechanism  100 , which includes a C-shaped member  110 , and an elevator or elevator assembly  120 . The C-shaped member  110  includes a back wall member  112 , side wall members  114  and a pair of partial front wall members  116 . The back wall member  112  includes several spaced apart openings or slots  118  and a chain inspection opening which allows access to cover plate  119 . 
     The elevator assembly  120  includes a main frame member or plate  122  that has mounted thereon several rollers, namely, a pair of upper rollers  124  and a pair of middle rollers  126 , which are placed between the back wall member  112  and the partial front wall members  116 ; these rollers  124 , 126  allow the elevator assembly  120  to move freely vertically while keeping the assembly within the track formed between the front and back wall members  116 ,  112 . The elevator assembly  120  also includes a pair of upper guide rollers  128  and a pair of lower guide rollers  130 . The rollers  128 , 130  engage the inner surface of the partial front wall members  116  and prevent twisting of the elevator assembly  120 . 
     Springs  140  extend between pins  142  attached to the C-shaped member  110  and pins  144  attached to the elevator assembly  120 . The springs  140  assist in overcoming the weight of the load tray  90  and elevator assembly  120 . The load tray  90  is supported on the elevator assembly  120  by a pin  150  that extends through openings  152  in brackets  154  that extend outwardly from the plate  122 . This arrangement allows the load tray  90  to be rotated from the horizontal position, where arms  156  engage the front wall members  116 , to a vertical position, for storage and for vertical repositioning. 
     The load tray  90  is supported in a selected position by a spring loaded support mechanism  160  which includes a load tray support pin  162 , a spring  164  to bias the pin  162  toward the slots  118  in the back wall member  112 , and an arm or link  157  that extends outwardly to an actuating mechanism  170  that is attached to the load tray  90  near or at the midpoint on the pin  150 . The actuating mechanism  170  is provided with a arcuate slot  172 . A pin  174  of the link  157  extends through the slot  172  while another pin  176  of the link  157  is coupled to the pin  162 . Thus, as the load tray  90  is pivoted upwardly toward the vertical position, the end of the slot  172  engages the pin  174  and withdraws the support pin  162  from one of the slots  118  with which the support pin  162  is currently engaged, thereby allowing the vertical elevation of the load tray  90  with respect to the operator&#39;s compartment  40  to be changed. 
     A shaft  180  extends downwardly from the elevator assembly  120 . A spring  182  urges the shaft  180  down. The spring biased shaft  180  serves two purposes: the first is to provide a cushion when the elevator assembly  120  reaches the bottom of its travel and is about to engage an end plate  185  at the lower end of the C-shaped member  110 ; and, the other is to provide additional resistance to the lowering of the load tray  90  in preparation for stowing the load tray  90  in a vertical position. 
     The C-shaped member  110  is provided with a cap  190  having a downwardly extending lip  192 . The load tray  90  is provided with a plate  195  for engagement with the lip  192 . As shown in FIG. 5A, the load tray  90  may be stowed in the vertical position by pushing down on the load tray  90 , placing the plate  195  behind the lip  192 , and allowing the springs  140 ,  182  to move the load tray  90  up so that the plate  195  is trapped behind the lip  192 . For removal from the stowed position, the load tray  90  is pushed down against the force of the springs  140 ,  182  and pivoted downwardly to one of its horizontal service positions along the mast  30 . 
     As shown in FIG. 8A, an alternate embodiment of the load tray  90 ′ is formed in three sections: a center section  90 A and a pair of folding outer sections  90 B,  90 C. A pair of hinges H are placed between the center section  90 A and each of the outer sections  90 B,  90 C to allow either or both of the outer sections  90 B,  90 C to be folded on top of the center section  90 A. In some load carrying situations, it might be necessary or desirable to place a tall object directly on the load platform  27  while placing smaller packages on the load tray  90 ′, or the operator may need less restricted access to an object or bin on the load deck, which is readily possible with the folding load tray  90 ′ as illustrated. While the outer or side sections  90 B,  90 C of the folding load tray  90 ′ as illustrated are hinged for folding, it is also possible to have any half of the load tray  90 , i.e., up to about 50% of the load tray  90 , hingedly supported relative to the other half of the load tray  90  which would accommodate a somewhat larger load on the load platform  27 . Thus, the front half or one side half of the load tray could be mounted to be folded onto the remaining half of the load tray. 
     Another type of load shelf is shown in FIGS.  9 - 11  wherein a load shelf  390  is placed in a fixed position and is supported by a pair of support members  400  extending upwardly from the load platform  27 . Openings  405  are provided in the load platform  27 , and below these openings  405  are receptacles  410  which receive the ends of the members  400 , see FIG.  9 . The vertical components  415  of the support members  400  adjacent to the mast  30  terminate in curved lower ends  416  and the remaining portions of the vertical components  415  are slanted to match the slant of the mast  30 . The curved lower ends  416  and angular slant of the remaining portions of the vertical components  415  provide room or clearance for the load tray  90  when stowed in an upright or vertical position as described above. The vertical components  417  at the left, or at the front of the vehicle, are straight, but also slanted to match the slant of the mast  30 . 
     The top sections  420  of the support members  400  are horizontal and are each provided with two fixed, elongated rings or enlargements  422  which properly position a load shelf  390  placed on the top sections  420 . The load shelf  390  is preferably made of heavy wire with vertical sides that extend upwardly. As shown, the spacing of the wires forming the load shelf  390  is approximately one and one-half inches, but any spacing can be used. Also, the floor of the load shelf  390  can be made solid, if desired. 
     Four clamping devices  430  are mounted on the load shelf  390 , see FIGS.  9 - 11 . The clamping devices  430  are molded from a plastic material and include an upper section that has the same diameter as the horizontal top sections  420  of the support members  400 . A strap  434  extends from one side of each clamping device  430  around the bottom of one of the horizontal top sections  420  and snaps to the clamping device  430  on the other side of the top section to hold the load shelf  390  securely in place. The rings  422  have a diameter larger than the inside diameter of the clamping devices  430 , making it impossible to install the clamping devices  430  on the rings  422 . This arrangement ensures that the load shelf  390  is properly positioned before being secured in place. 
     In FIGS. 9 and 10, second horizontal rail members  440  are also used. The rail members  440  are each provided with a pin  442  that protrudes from one end thereof, and a spring loaded pin  444  that extends from the other end thereof. One pin may be received into an opening in the vertical member  415 , the other being received into a corresponding opening in the vertical member  417 . Thus, a second load shelf  390 ′ may be installed on the intermediate rail members  440 . The second load shelf  390 ′ may be in addition to the load shelf  390  installed on the top rail or top sections  420 . As illustrated in FIG. 9, the vertical components  415 ,  417  of the support members  400  include holes  435  so that the shelf  390 ′ may be mounted at any one of the three locations corresponding to the holes  435 . Of course, all the holes  435  could be utilized to support up to three load shelves  390 ′ in addition to the load shelf  390  installed on the top rail or top sections  420 . While up to three load shelves  390 ′ are possible as illustrated, it should be apparent that the number of load shelves  390 ′ can vary from one to any reasonable number for a given application of the vehicle. 
     As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, recesses  450  are formed near the front of the load shelf  390 ′, one of the recesses  450  being formed on each side of the load shelf  390 ′. The recesses  450  have a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the vertical component  417  of the support members  400 , thus permitting the load shelf  390 ′ to be installed at any or all of the intermediate levels along the support members  400 . The recesses  450  also position the load shelf  390 ′ properly with regard to the mast  30  when the load shelf  390 ′ is installed on the rail members  440 . 
     The vertically movable load tray  90  also may be installed on the mast  30  while load shelves  390 ′ are installed on the vehicle. If the movable load tray  90  is horizontal and in its uppermost or highest position, it will be above the uppermost load shelf  390 . The movable load tray  90  may also be raised or stowed in its near vertical, or storage position, against the mast  30 , as shown in FIG.  5 A and earlier described in which case there is sufficient clearance between the movable load tray  90  and the vertical components  415  of the support members  400  and the load shelves  390 ,  390 ′. 
     An embodiment including a removable load tray elevator assembly  520  is shown in FIGS. 12,  12 A and  13 - 15 . A horizontal shaft  500  is secured to a tray  90 ″ with the shaft  500  being received into a retaining mechanism  510  mounted on the elevator assembly  520 . The retaining mechanism  510  includes a pair of fixed receptacles  525 , which are half or partial cylindrical members welded to the elevator assembly  520 . A rotatable member  530  is mounted for rotation to the fixed receptacles  525  and provided with a handle  540  so that it may be moved from a position shown in FIGS. 12 and 12A where it is open to receive the shaft  500 , to the position shown in FIGS.  13 - 15  where it is closed and encircles the shaft  500 , thus retaining the shaft  500 , and the tray  90 ″, securely to the elevator assembly  520 . In this embodiment, the elevator assembly  520  may be moved vertically by releasing a retaining pin  550 . 
     Having thus described the invention of the present application in detail and by reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.