Patent Publication Number: US-2020277172-A1

Title: Telehandler with improved cab

Description:
This invention relates to a telehandler equipped with an improved cab. More in detail, the invention relates above all to a cab which is able to provide a better visibility to the operator of the telehandler whilst guaranteeing a level of protection in accordance with the highest standards required by the regulations in the sector and by the market. 
     Currently, the prior art cabs C of the telehandlers T are equipped with a protective grille G located above the roof which protects the operator in the event of a fall of objects on the cab C (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     For example, the grille G is designed to protect the operator in cases in which the load or a part of it falls from the gripping equipment, such as a fork F or the like, when this is carried by the operating arm B above the cab C. 
     Still more in detail, the protective grilles have been designed to satisfy the international standard FOPS (“Falling Object Protective Structures”) which specifies the tests which the protective structures must be able to pass. 
     The reason why a grille G is used and not a continuous plate positioned above the roof is that, in order to perform his work correctly, the operator must be able to directly observe the load during the operating steps in which it is carried above the cab C by the operating arm B. 
     However, this solution is not completely effective since the grille G is in any case an element which obstructs the view of the operator, even if it does not completely prevent it. 
     For this reason, the need has been felt for a long time in the market of self-propelled operating machines for a solution which, whilst maintaining the same standard of protection from falling objects and materials, allows an improved view to be provided to the operator of what is located above the roof of the cab. 
     The technical purpose which forms the basis of the invention is to provide a telehandler equipped with a cab for telehandlers which is able to satisfy the above-mentioned need. 
     The technical purpose is achieved by the telehandler made according to claim  1 . 
    
    
     
       Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the non-limiting description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of the proposed telehandler, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an axonometric view of a telehandler equipped with a cab according to the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is an axonometric view of the cab according to the invention. 
       With reference to  FIG. 2 , the numeral  1  denotes a cab for telehandlers or other types of self-propelled operating machines, made according to the invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-section view of a protective cover with which the cab of  FIG. 2  is provided. 
     
    
    
     The proposed cab  1  is designed for use both with a telehandler of the fixed type and of the rotary type, that is to say, equipped with a rotatable platform mounted on the carriage (or frame) equipped with wheels. 
     The cab  1  according to the invention does not have a protective grille but is equipped with a roof  10  which is defined by a transparent or semi-transparent protective cover  11  (that is, not totally opaque) designed to withstand the falling of material which is dangerous for the safety of an operator who is on board the cab  1 . 
     In other words, the roof  10  is defined by a cover  11  which is not completely broken through by objects and materials which fall on the roof  10 , thereby preventing serious physical injury to the operator. 
     More specifically, the protective cover  11  has been designed to satisfy the FOPS criteria according to UNI EN ISO 3449:2009, level II and, under the maximum stress specified by this standard, the cover  11  can deform and/or break down but does not allow the weight to pass through or bend and thus enter the space occupied by the operator. 
     In this way, the operator who is on board the proposed cab  1  can observe directly, that is to say, without obstructions, the load and/or the equipment carried by the operating arm when they pass above the cab  1  and at the same time is protected from the accidental falling of objects and materials, for example part of the load, to satisfy, lastly, the market requirements already described during the discussion of the prior art. 
     More specifically, the protective cover  11  is designed to withstand an impact of an object which has a kinetic energy substantially equal to 11600 Joules, produced, for example, by an object which weighs substantially 238 kg and falls substantially from 5 metres. 
     More generally speaking, the cover  11  is designed to withstand an impact greater than 11000 J and, for example, produced by an object weighing at least 230 kg falling from a height of at least 4 metres. 
     The protective cover  11  may be made from two or more layers made of glass and polycarbonate, alternated with each other and joined by an adhesive substance interposed between them. 
     Preferably, the cover  11  includes two glass layers which define an outermost surface and an innermost surface of the cover, between which there is at least one inner layer made of polymeric material. 
     More in detail, the cover  11  may include a plurality of inner layers, made of polycarbonate and polyurethane. 
     More specifically, it is preferable that there are three inner layers made of polyurethane and two made of polycarbonate, alternated with each other. 
     Preferably, each glass layer has a thickness of between two and four millimetres and/or each polycarbonate layer has a thickness of between twelve and eighteen millimetres and/or each polyurethane layer has a thickness of between 0.5 millimetres and one millimetre. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, shown schematically in  FIG. 3 , the cover  11  comprises the following succession of layers: a glass layer  110  of 3 mm, a polyurethane layer  111  of 0.76 mm, a polycarbonate layer  112  of 15 mm, a polyurethane layer  113  of 0.76 mm, a polycarbonate layer  114  of 15 mm, a polyurethane layer  115  of 0.76 mm and a glass layer  116  of 3 mm. 
     According to the preferred embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the protective cover  11  extends forwards forming also the windscreen  12 . 
     In other words, the windscreen  12  and the roof  10  are integrated in a single central and continuous cover  11 , which is mounted, at the opposite edges, on two suitably shaped side uprights  13 ,  14 . 
     It is clear, therefore, that the telehandler which comprises the cab  1  according to the invention has performance levels which cannot be obtained from prior art telehandlers, with obvious advantages in terms of operating convenience and effectiveness and with the full safety of the operator.