Patent ID: RE43024

Claim:
A fork lift comprising retractably extendible loading prongs for lifting loads from either side of a vehicle, and a mechanism for displacing said prongs over and across said vehicle, said mechanism for displacing said prongs comprising: a front transverse girder and a rear transverse girder, said transverse girders adapted to be rigidly secured to a chassis of said vehicle; a front mast and a rear mast, each of said masts extending generally horizontally and having a top and a bottom; means for simultaneously reciprocating said front and rear masts at their bottoms along said front and rear girders, respectively; a longitudinal beam coupled to said front and rear masts; means for reciprocating said longitudinal beam in a downward-upward motion along said front and rear masts; and a front upright and a rear upright, each of said uprights extending downward from said horizontal beam, wherein at least one of said retractable extendible prongs extends from each of said uprights.