Patent Publication Number: US-2021179405-A1

Title: Operating machine with improved stabilisers

Description:
This invention relates to operating machine equipped with improved stabilizers. 
     More in detail, the invention relates to stabilizers which allow an improved visibility for the operator in the cabin of the loading apparatus and of the load itself. 
     There are prior art telehandlers, consisting of a vehicle equipped with a chassis movable on wheels, a driver&#39;s cab and an operating arm which can be extended telescopically which are mounted on the chassis or on a rotary tower mounted on the chassis. 
     At the distal end of the arm there is an apparatus for lifting or moving loads, such as, for example, a fork, a cage, a lateral transfer unit, a winch, etc. 
     In order to lift and move loads at great heights and with a significant “range” it is necessary to stabilize the vehicle, raising the wheels above the ground. 
     There are prior art stabilizers for telescopic handlers of the so-called “scissor lift” type, consisting of two stabilizing units, provided at the front and at the rear of the vehicle and mounted on its chassis close to the wheels (ref.  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 ). 
     Each stabilizing unit comprises a pair of arms rotatable and extendable telescopically, with one or two sliding members, which have respective distal ends, designed to be rested on the ground by means of supporting feet, and proximal ends, hinged to a supporting frame T. 
     In practice, the stabilizing arms B are positioned crossed relative to each other and, during the lifting, move like a pair of scissors. 
     Once the operations for moving the loads have been completed, the stabilizers are moved to the non-operating configuration (shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) in which they have the minimum overall dimensions, thus lowering the machine until resting the wheels on the ground. 
     As mentioned, these scissor stabilizers have a relative frame T, or supporting structure, which is part of the telehandler chassis and to which are hinged the arms B and the hydraulic cylinders C which actuate the lifting and lowering of the arms B; further cylinders are used for the extension and retraction of the arms. 
     In practice, each arm B is hinged to the supporting frame by a pin P positioned at the upper side of its first segment S 1 , in which the “sliding member” or second segment S 2  is inserted in a slidable fashion (see  FIG. 3 ), and it is also hinged to one end of the cylinder C by another pin again located at the upper side of the first segment S 1 , but further away from the free end of the latter relative to the first pin P. 
     In other words, each arm B is coupled in a rotary fashion at the top to the frame T and to an actuating cylinder C, which lowers or raises it, at separate and spaced points at the same upper side of its first segment S 1 . 
     This configuration is without doubt effective and has been the standard in the sector for several years, so much so that it can be said that it is currently the only known way of making scissor stabilizers for telehandlers. Since the front stabilizing unit of known type constitutes an obstruction located immediately in front of the chassis of the vehicle, it becomes an obstacle for the view of the operator O who tries to observe the apparatus or the load when they are very close to the ground and in front of the machine (see  FIG. 2 ). 
     For example, this limitation is very much felt when the operator O has to place forks under a pallet which carries the load resting on the ground or a load must be placed on the ground, and therefore in a very lowered arm condition. 
     In other words, the maximum observation angle A formed by the direction of view of the operator O relative to the ground, defined by the closest point on the ground which can be observed by the operator in the cabin, is too limited in order for the maximum efficiency of use of the machine to be achieved. 
     There is therefore a long felt need by the market to improve the visibility of the load and of the apparatus when they are close to the ground. 
     The technical purpose which forms the basis of the invention is to provide a telehandler equipped with stabilizers which allow the above-mentioned need to be met. 
     The aim is attained by the invention 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 a front view of a prior art telehandler, with the stabilizers retracted and raised; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the telehandler of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the telehandler of the preceding drawings, with the stabilizers extended; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a telehandler according to the invention, with the stabilizers retracted and raised; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the telehandler of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the telehandler of the two preceding drawings, with the stabilizers extended; and 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the telehandler according to the invention, with the arms retracted and wherein the operating arm is not illustrated. With reference to the accompanying drawings, reference numeral  1  denotes in its entirety a self-propelled operating machine made according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     The machine  1  shown in the drawings is a rotary telehandler, equipped with a chassis  100  movable on wheels, with a telescopic lifting arm  10  mounted on a rotary platform  11  located on the chassis, which moves on wheels and which also houses the driver&#39;s cab  12 . 
     Moreover, the arm  10  is equipped, at its distal end, with a loading apparatus  13 . 
     However, it is possible for the invention to be used with a different type of operating machine, generally equipped with moving elements which in any case include a lifting arm and an apparatus, such as, for example, a telehandler of the fixed or articulated type. 
     The term apparatus  13  relates to both an accessory for engaging a load, such as a fork, a lateral transfer unit, a winch, a gripper, etc. and an accessory for lifting persons and possibly also a load, such as a cage. 
     Still more in detail, the arm  10  can be equipped with an attachment device, also of the type normally in use in the telehandlers manufactured by the Applicant, which allows the replacement of the apparatus  13  and the connection thereof to the hydraulic and electronic apparatuses of the machine  1 . 
     Hereinafter, for reasons of simplicity of description, reference will be made to the particular but non-limiting case wherein the machine  1  according to the invention is a telehandler. 
     The arm  10  of the telehandler  1  proposed is articulated to the rotary platform  11 , so as to be able to oscillate vertically, under the actuation of a hydraulic cylinder; moreover, the arm  10  is extensible and retractable, under the actuation of one or more further cylinders and, more precisely, comprises a plurality of segments inserted one in the other, coaxial with each other and designed to translate along the axial direction. 
     The telehandler  1  includes stabilizers  2  designed to be mounted on the vehicle  1  and equipped with a plurality of stabilizing arms  21 ,  22 ,  23 . 
     The stabilizers provided in the system according to the invention are of the so-called “scissor-like” or “X” type, and include two stabilizing units  2  located at the front and at the rear of the chassis  100 , close to the wheels. 
     More specifically, each stabilizing unit  2  includes two telescopic stabilizing arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  and a supporting frame  24 , fixed or incorporated with the chassis  100 , to which the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  are individually hinged, in a cross configuration, so as to be able to move in a counter-rotating fashion, like a pair of scissors. 
     In practice, the frame  24  is preferably an integral part of the chassis  100  and the stabilizing arms are connected directly to the chassis; however, the case in which the supporting frame is bolted to the chassis instead of being joined by welding is not excluded. 
     Still more in detail, the two arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  connected to the same frame  24  are mounted one in front of the other, so as to move in parallel planes, generically vertical. 
     The stabilizers of the system proposed are designed to pass from extended operating configurations, wherein they stabilize the machine, raising the wheels above the ground, to a retracted rest configuration, in which the wheels are returned to the ground, and vice versa. 
     In practice, the stabilizing arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  are movable between a raised position, in which they are distanced from the ground (see  FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 ), and in particular freely allow driving of the vehicle  1 , and lowered operating positions (such as that shown in  FIG. 6 ), in which they rest on the ground. 
     The arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  include a first segment  21 , or “sleeve”, which is hollow and in which is contained in a slidable fashion a second segment  22 , or “sliding member”, which is equipped, at the distal end, with a supporting element, that is, the foot  23 . 
     In practice, each segment  21 ,  22  may comprise a rectilinear beam, which is hollow and with a quadrangular cross section. 
     In this case, the beam of the second segment  22  is inserted with the possibility of sliding in the beam of the first segment  21 , which will obviously have a larger cross-section. 
     In detail, the first segment  21  is hinged at an end of a first linear actuator  3  designed to rotate the first segment  21  about the first pin  25  to allow the lowering or the raising of the respective stabilizing arm  21 ,  22 ,  23 . 
     The first actuator is preferably a hydraulic cylinder  3 . 
     In detail, the first segment  21  of each arm  21 ,  22 ,  23  is connected to the supporting frame  24  by a first hinge  25 . 
     In practice, for the movement of the arm  21 ,  22 ,  23  about the first hinge  25 , use is made of said first hydraulic cylinder  3 , the thrust of which is also used for lifting during the stabilizing step. 
     Each first cylinder  3  is connected, by a second hinge  31 , to the supporting structure  24  and, through a third hinge  32 , to the first segment  21  of the respective arm  21 ,  22 ,  23 . 
     The first and the third hinge  25 ,  32  are positioned in two distinct points of the length of the first segment  21 , the first being further inside, that is closer to the proximal end of the first segment  21 , and the third further outside, that is, closer to the distal end. 
     In practice, the hydraulic cylinders  3  of a same stabilizing unit  2  are actuated with a pushing action to move the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  to the ground and raise the vehicle  1 , whilst they are actuated with a retraction action when the vehicle  1  is returned to rest on the wheels and the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  are raised in the rest position. 
     Preferably, in the rest configuration, the first actuators  3  are arranged oblique with respect to a plane parallel to the ground. 
     To be more precise, in the rest configuration in which there is a complete raise of the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23 , both the first hydraulic cylinders  3  (or in any case the first actuators) are arranged with an orientation which is oblique, i.e. incident, with respect to an ideal plane parallel to the ground and therefore horizontal if the ground is horizontal. 
     The invention includes second actuators, for example comprising hydraulic cylinders (not shown), designed to move individually the second segments  22  between a completely closed position and extended positions. 
     More precisely, for the purpose of extending the sliding member  22  to the outside of the sleeve  21  of each arm  21 ,  22 ,  23 , use is made of a hydraulic cylinder, inserted between the sliding member  22  and the sleeve  21  and connected to each other at opposite ends. 
     According to an important aspect of the invention, shown in  FIGS. 4 to 7 , the first segment  21  of each arm  21 ,  22 ,  23  is hinged to the supporting frame  24  by a first pin  25  located at the lower side of the first segment  21 . In other words, the first segment  21  rotates about an axis which is located under or in any case at its lower side, that is to say, the exact opposite with respect to the prior art. 
     In the case of fixed telehandlers this feature is applied at least to the pair of arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  of the front unit, whilst for the rotary telehandlers  1 , as shown in the drawings, the “inverted” arrangement of the axis of rotation of the first segment  21  is preferably adopted both in the front and rear units. 
     Obviously, when terms are used in this description such as “upper” or “lower” or other terms relative to the orientation, they refer to the normal conditions of use of a telehandler  1 . 
     The supporting frame  24  comprises at least two main plates  241 ,  242 , of which an outer plate and an inner plate facing towards the chassis  100 , parallel with each other and generically vertical, between which are positioned the first segments  21  and, preferably, also the first actuators  25  of the unit  2 . 
     Thanks to its specific configuration, the stabilizing unit  2  according to the invention is not so high, with the consequence that the observation of the apparatus  13  or the load close to the ground by the operator O in the cabin  12  is less obstructed than in the prior art. 
     This is immediately clear from what is illustrated in  FIG. 5 , where it can be seen that the operator O, when in the cabin  12  of the telehandler  1  according to the invention, is able to better see the apparatus  13  compared with that of prior art machines (that is, compared with what is shown in  FIG. 2 , which refers to the prior art) and that the maximum observation angle A* is greater than that of the prior art. 
     Since the hinge of the first pin  25  is positioned beneath the first segment  21 , the relative position of the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  is raised relative to those of the prior art, with the consequence that the stabilizing unit  2  is more compact in height, so that, in the closed configuration of the stabilizers  2 , the first hydraulic cylinders  3  according to the invention form with the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  a smaller angle than that of the cylinders of the prior art (compare  FIGS. 1 and 4 or 7 ). 
     In detail, in the rest configuration of the stabilizers  2 , the cylinders  3  form with the aforementioned plane parallel to the ground, an angle greater than zero degrees and less than 35 degrees; preferably, this angle is substantially equal to 20 degrees. 
     Furthermore, in the rest configuration, that is the full lifting configuration, the arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  are crossed with each other. 
     In this way, with the same lateral width of the stabilizers  2  in the rest configuration of full lifting and full retraction thereof (i.e. lateral with respect to the machine  1  longitudinal axis), it is possible to mount longer arms  21 ,  22 ,  23  with respect to the prior art, in particular as regards the first segments  21 . 
     In line with this configuration, preferably, the frame  24  includes an upper side  243 , or “roof”, oblique relative to the central axis of the chassis  100  and inclined downwards in the front direction. 
     This oblique side, which may be defined by a plate  23 , connects the top of the two main plates  241 ,  242 , which are offset relative to each other, in the sense that the top or upper edge of the outermost plate  241  is lower than that of the inner plate  242 . 
     Is also possible to provide a third central plate  244 , interposed between the first and the second plate  241 ,  242 , which divides the actuation spaces of the two stabilizing arms  21 ,  22 ,  23 , to which it is connected at the respective pins.