Patent Publication Number: US-2006006303-A1

Title: Industrial truck with a liquefied petroleum gas bottle holder

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2004 032 169.8 filed Jul. 2, 2004, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates to an industrial truck with a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottle holder that has a linear guide, a pivot bearing, and a bottle holder.  
      2. Technical Considerations  
      An industrial truck is described in JP 2000086183 A. In this industrial truck, the bottle receptacle is fastened to an extensible slide of a linear guide that is in the form of a telescoping extension. By means of an additional linking guide in which the pivot bearing can move, when the linear guide reaches the terminal stop, a combined longitudinal and pivoting movement of the bottle holder is generated to move the bottle holder into a position in which the bottles can be replaced.  
      It is an object of this invention to provide an industrial truck of the general type described above but in which the bottle of liquefied petroleum (LP) gas can be changed in an ergonomically advantageous manner.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In a first embodiment of the invention, a linear guide is mounted so that it can pivot with the bottle holder around a stationary horizontal axis.  
      The linear guide plus the bottle holder that is movably mounted in it can pivot as a whole around a stationary horizontal axis from the operating position into an ergonomically advantageous position and back again.  
      In one advantageous configuration of the invention, it is beneficial if means are provided to assist the pivoting motion from the replacement position into the operating position. These means can be in the form of pneumatic springs or torsion springs.  
      In a second realization, the linear guide can be rigidly fastened to the vehicle and the bottle holder can be mounted on the extensible end of the linear guide so that it can pivot around a stationary horizontal axis when the linear guide is in the fully extended position.  
      Here again, extremely simple means can be used to replace a LP gas bottle in an ergonomically advantageous position.  
      In one non-limiting configuration of this realization, the bottle holder is mounted in its center of gravity so that it can pivot by 360 degrees. Therefore, it requires only a minimum effort to move the bottle holder into the replacement position and back again.  
      It is particularly advantageous if two LP gas bottles can be fastened in the bottle holder.  
      In one embodiment, the linear guide advantageously has one stationary slide and two extensible slides, which results in a compact construction and still makes a large range possible.  
      The LP gas bottle holder can be appropriately located on the counterweight in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Additional advantages and details of the invention are explained in greater detail below with reference to the two exemplary embodiments of the invention that are illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers identify like parts throughout.  
       FIG. 1  is a side view of the rear area of an industrial truck with a first realization of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a side view as in  FIG. 1  with the LP gas bottle holder in the replacement position;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective drawing of the empty LP gas bottle holder;  
       FIG. 4   a  is a perspective view of the full LP gas bottle holder in the operating position;  
       FIG. 4   b  is a perspective view of the full LP gas bottle holder with a partly extended linear guide;  
       FIG. 4   c  is a perspective view of the full LP gas bottle holder with a fully extended linear guide;  
       FIG. 5  is a side view of the rear area of an industrial truck with a second exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a side view as in  FIG. 5  with the linear guide fully extended;  
       FIG. 7  is a side view as in  FIG. 6  with the bottle holder in the replacement position for the rear bottle in the direction of travel; and  
       FIG. 8  is a side view as in  FIG. 6  with the bottle holder in the replacement position for the forward bottle in the direction of travel. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      As used herein, the term “LP” means liquefied petroleum. The term LPG means “liquefied petroleum gas”.  
      The exemplary industrial truck illustrated in the figures is in the form of a front-seat fork-lift truck provided with a rear counterweight  1  on which there is a LP gas bottle holder  2  that is oriented in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In this exemplary embodiment, the LP gas bottle holder  2  is configured to hold one LP gas bottle  3  in a forward (front-end) position in the direction of travel, and one LP gas bottle  4  in the rear (rear-end) position in the direction of travel.  
      FIGS.  1  to  4   c  show a first exemplary embodiment of the invention, and FIGS.  5  to  8  show a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 1  shows the LP gas bottle holder  2  in a position between the fully retracted state (operating position) and the replacement position shown in  FIG. 2 , in which the LP gas bottles  3  and  4  are lowered behind the counterweight  1  and can then be removed in an ergonomically advantageous manner.  
      The structure of the LP gas bottle holder  2  illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4   a  to  4   c .  FIG. 3  shows the LP gas bottle holder  2  from the rear in the replacement position, whereby the LP gas bottles  3  and  4  are both removed.  
      The exemplary LP gas bottle holder  2  shown in  FIG. 3  comprises a linear guide with three slides  5   a ,  5   b , and  5   c , each of which includes two telescoping rails that are parallel to each other and are cross-connected with each other. The slide  5   a  represents the “stationary” base slide, from which the two slides  5   b  and  5   c  can be extended. The slide  5   c  that can be extended the farthest carries a double-basin shaped bottle support  6 . The linear guide can be pivoted together with the bottle support  6  around a stationary horizontal axis H. For this purpose, the first slide  5   a  of the linear guide is provided with extensions  7   a ,  7   b , through which a pivot bearing S and thus the horizontal axis H extends.  
       FIG. 4   a  shows the operating position of the LP gas bottle holder  2 , in which the LP gas bottles  3  and  4  are in the bottle support  6  (and are fixed there in a conventional manner that is not shown), and in which the linear guide is fully retracted. In this case, the LP gas bottles  3  and  4  are located in a space-saving manner on the counterweight  7  of the industrial truck (operating position).  
       FIG. 4   b  shows a position in which the linear guide is partly extended (slide  5   b ). In the position illustrated in  FIG. 4   c , the linear guide (slides  5   b  and  5   c ) is fully extended. In this position, the entire LP gas bottle holder  2 , after the release of an interlock, can be pivoted around the horizontal axis H downwardly into the changing position illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in which position it can also be optionally locked.  
      After the LP gas bottles  3  and  4  have been changed, to facilitate the pivoting movement upwardly from the changing position, in this exemplary embodiment a pneumatic spring  8  ( FIG. 3 ) is fastened to the counterweight  1 , which spring  8  is operatively connected to the LP gas bottle holder  2 . In place of a pneumatic spring, a torsion spring (e.g., a leaf spring) can also be used.  
      FIGS.  5  to  8  show a second exemplary embodiment of the invention. Functionally-equivalent parts are identified by the same numbers as in FIGS.  1  to  4   c . In this second exemplary embodiment, the LP gas bottle holder  2 , analogous to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention, has a surface-mounted linear guide that is rigidly connected with the counterweight  1  and includes one stationary slide  5   a  and two extensible slides  5   b  and  5   c . The bottle support  6  is thereby also connected with the farthest extended slide  5   c  of the linear guide  5  but in the form of a pivoting mounting of the bottle support  6  in its center of gravity. The bottle support  6 , when the linear guide is in its fully extended position, can therefore pivot around a horizontal axis H, which is stationary (in this position), while the linear guide remains in its position.  
      For this purpose, a pivot bearing S is provided between an extension  9 , which is fastened to the slide  5   c  of the linear guide, that can be extended the farthest and the bottle support  6 .  
      After the unlocking of the pivot bearing S, the bottle support  6 , beginning from the position illustrated in  FIG. 6 , can be pivoted without the application of significant force around the horizontal axis H into the position illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8  and locked there, thereby making it possible to easily replace the forward bottle  4  ( FIG. 7 ) or the rear bottle  3  ( FIG. 8 ).  
      It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the concepts disclosed in the foregoing description. Accordingly, the particular embodiments described in detail herein are illustrative only and are not limiting to the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.