Patent Publication Number: US-10308491-B2

Title: Sideplate for fork carriage

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Fork carriages for forklift trucks. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A typical forklift carriage sideplate is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Sideplate  1  includes rollers  4  that fit within mast channel  5  to enable the forklift carriage to be vertically movable. As shown in  FIG. 1 , sideplate  1  is a generally vertical element of a fork carriage. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present inventor has recognized that typical sideplates for forklift carriages are formed in a substantially linear manner for (1) ease of manufacturing and (2) load bearing capacity. The present inventor also recognized that sideplates may be shaped differently such that a portion of a sideplate is contained within a mast channel such that the portion is hidden from the view of an operator located at the operator station of the forklift. The present inventor also recognized that such shaped sideplates maintain an acceptable strength of the sideplate and do not substantially increase manufacturing difficulty. For example, such sideplates may be manufactured by casting, forging, additive manufacturing, welding, machining, or other suitable manner. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a prior art sideplate for a forklift carriage. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an orthogonal, rear view of a forklift carriage with sideplates. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a rear view of the carriage with sideplates of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , sideplate  30  and sideplate  35  are attached to frame  40  to form a carriage that supports front end equipment for a forklift truck. Frame  40  comprises a top horizontal crossbar  45  and a lower horizontal crossbar  50  that are connected by a left a vertical crossbar  55  a right vertical crossbar  60 . Each of the sideplates  30 ,  35  are secured to the top horizontal crossbar  45  and to the lower horizontal crossbar  50 . 
     Each of the sideplates  30 ,  35  carries a plurality of guides, such as rollers  65 , that facilitate moving the frame  40  in a vertical direction with respect to mast rails  70  and  75 . Each sideplate  30 ,  35  comprises a 1 st  upper portion  80 ,  85 , respectively, a 2 nd  intermediate portion  90 ,  95 , respectively, and a 3 rd  lower portion  100 ,  105 , respectively. The rollers  65  are attached to the upper portions  80 ,  85  and to the lower portions  100 ,  105  of the sideplates  30  and  35 . 
     Each roller  65  fits within a vertical channel  110  of mast rails  70  and  75 . The upper portions  80 ,  85  of the sideplates  30  and  35  are shaped and constructed such that when the rollers  65  are within the mast channels  110  the upper portions  80  and  85  are held externally of the mast channels  110 . Likewise, the lower portions  100 ,  105  of the sideplates  30  and  35  are shaped and constructed such that when the rollers  65  are within the mast channels  110  the lower portions  100  and  105  are held externally of the mast channels  110 . However, the intermediate portions  90  and  95  of the sideplates  30  and  35  are shaped and constructed such that when the rollers  65  are within the mast channels  110  the intermediate portions  90  and  95  are also within the mast channels  110 . 
     Sideplates  30  and  35  are shaped and constructed such that when the rollers  65  are within the mast channels  110  a distance “d” between an interior surface  115  of upper portion  80  and an interior surface  120  of upper portion  85  is less than a distance “D” between an interior surface  125  of intermediate portion  90  and an interior surface  130  of intermediate portion  95 . Optionally, a distance “dd” between interior surfaces of lower portions  100 ,  105  may be greater than distance “d”, equal to distance “d”, or less than distance “d”. Optionally, an exterior surface  135  of intermediate portion  90  does not contact the back wall  140  of mast rails  70  and an exterior surface  145  of intermediate portion  95  does not contact the back wall  150  of mast rails  75  when the rollers  65  are within mast channels  110 . Optionally, a wear plate, rubbing strep, dry lubricant, or wet lubricant may be included if there is contact between exterior surface  135  and back wall  140 , or between exterior surface  145  and back wall  150 . 
     A width “w” of the intermediate portions  90  and  95  is less than a width “W” of the mast channels  110 . Optionally, the interior surface  125  of intermediate portion  90  and the interior surface  130  of intermediate portion  95  are contained within each of the mast channels  110  such that when the rollers  65  are contained within the mast channels  110  the operator of a fork lift truck cannot see the interior surfaces  125  and  130  because they are blocked from view by the rear wall  155  of the mast channel  70  and by the rear wall  160  of the mast channel  75 . Thus, all or substantially all of the intermediate portions  90  and  95  are hidden from the view of an operator when an operator is located in the operator compartment of a fork lift truck. 
     Optionally, the upper portions  80  and  85  and the lower portions  100  and  105  may have a width that is equal to, less than, or greater than the width “w”. 
     Optionally, the intermediate portion  90  is considered to be within mast channel  110  when no part of intermediate portion  90  breaks a plane  72  formed by an inner edge  165  of the front wall  170  and an inner edge  175  of the rear wall  155  of mast channel  70 . However, transition portions  92  of the intermediate portion  90  that connect the intermediate portion  90  to the upper portion  80  and the lower portion  100  of the sideplate  30  will break the plane  72 . Likewise, and optionally, the intermediate portion  95  is considered to be within mast channel  110  when no part of intermediate portion  95  breaks a plane  77  formed by an inner edge  185  of the front wall  190  and an inner edge  195  of the rear wall  160  of mast channel  75 . Likewise, transition portions  97  of the intermediate portion  95  that connect the intermediate portion  95  to the upper portion  85  and the lower portion  105  of the sideplate  35  will break the plane  77 . In other embodiments, portions of, or all of, the interior surfaces  125  and  130  may break the plane  72  and  77 , respectively, preferably whilst maintaining “D” as a larger distance than “d”. 
     The foregoing is a detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the invention using specific terms and expressions. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, the invention is not limited by the above terms and expressions, and the invention is not limited to the exact construction and operation shown and described. On the contrary, many variations and embodiments are possible and fall within the scope of the invention which is defined only by the claims that follow.