WO1994013507A1

WO1994013507A1 - Handling of goods

Info

Publication number: WO1994013507A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/002523
Authority: WO
Inventors: Richard O'connell
Original assignee: Connell Richard O
Priority date: 1992-12-09
Filing date: 1993-12-09
Publication date: 1994-06-23
Also published as: AU5656294A; GB9225706D0

Abstract

Goods handling apparatus for use in a truck or trailer body comprises an upright support member (15) mounted for longitudinal movement within the truck and a carriage member (16) for goods mounted for movement along the support member, at least the carriage member (16) being power-operable. The support member may be mounted on a central rail (11) secured to the truck floor, the carriage member (16) having a goods-engaging arm attached thereto which can be swung to either side of the truck or over the rear thereof for loading/unloading purposes.

Description

HANDLING OF GOODS

This invention relates to the handling of goods particularly within a truck or trailer body, for example of the articulated type.

A wide variety of goods are frequently transported by road in trucks and, within the trucks, the goods may be arranged in stacks. Although tail-lifts are known for elevating goods from the ground to the floor of the truck, the handling of the goods within the truck during packing and removal is manual work which is frequently strenuous and the incidence of back injuries among personnel who carry out this work is relatively high. Legislation within the European Community is proposed, such legislation having as its purpose the regulation of goods handling practices in an attempt to reduce the level of injuries.

It is an object of the invention to provide power-operated goods handling apparatus particularly for use within trucks.

According to the present invention, goods handling apparatus for use in trucks comprises an upright support member mounted for longitudinal movement within >e truck and a carriage member for goods mounted for movement along the support member, at least the carriage member being power-operable.

The support member may be demountable and for this Diirpose the apparatus may include, attached to the truck, one or more longitudinally-disposed rails with which the support member can be removably engaged at a desired location. The carriage member may comprise a wheeled trolley to which a goods-engageable element is fastened in use.

The wheels may engage in or bear against running surfaces of the support member, which may for example comprise an elongate housing within which is accommodated at least part of the trolley, the housing having an open side or a longitudinal slot formed in a wall thereof or between walls thereof and through which the goods-engageable element may be attached.

Preferably, the support member is carried substantially centrally of the truck body for movement longitudinally thereof, and is mounted for pivoting about a vertical axis so that the goods-engageable element can be positioned to either side or to the front or rear, preferably by stepless movement thereof, although indexed movement may be preferred for some uses. Conveniently, the support member is carried on a central longitudinal rail or track mounted on or incorporated within the floor of the truck. However, the support member may be carried adjacent a side of the truck. The support member may be stabilized by supporting it at or towards its upper end.

The carriage member is moved along, that is, up and down, the support member preferably by means of an electric motor which may, for example, drive a screw-threaded rod carried longitudinally of the support member and on which the carriage member is threadedly engaged, whereby rotational movement of the rod in one sense causes the carriage member to ascend and in the other sense causes the carriage member to descend the support member. The electric motor may be carried at the upper end of the support member and may be in electric connection with the battery power supply to the truck, or with an independent power source.

The goods-engageable element fastened to the carriage member may comprise a substantially flat member on which goods may be lifted to a desired height; the member may be extendable substantially orthogonally to the support member to enable the goods to be stacked, the member being subsequently retracted and lowered in readiness for loading further goods.

The apparatus according to the invention may be operator-controllable via an electric switch connected to the motor, for example via a trailing flex which may enable the apparatus to be controlled from outside the truck or from a location within the truck which is remote from the actual handling zone.

The goods-engageable element may include jaws or other gripper means which may also be remotely controllable and which are suitable for gripping the goods or any pallet or other supporting surface, whereby goods can be stacked close to the wall of the truck, the gripper means then being released and the apparatus moved longitudinally of the truck, to form a further stack.

The apparatus is particularly but not exclusively intended for use with truck and other commercial vehicle tyres which are commonly transported in stacks up to eight high, the incidence of operator injury when handling such goods manually being significant.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a partially cut-away side elevation apparatus mounted in the floor of a truck,

Figure 2 is a partially cut-away front elevation of the apparatus of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a cross sectional plan along line III-III of Figure 1.

With reference to the drawings, a heavy-duty rail 11 is securely attached to the floor 12 of a truck or trailer body. The rail has an upper horizontal load-bearing surface 13 and side-extending profiled edge flanges 14.

The support member 15 for the load-carrying trolley 16 is rotatably mounted on a dolly 17 which has lateral rollers 18, which run about horizontal axes on the surface 13, and profiled side rollers 19, which revolve about vertical axes and engage the flanges 14 of the rail 11. The rollers 18 bear the weight of the support member 15 and the side rollers 19 give lateral stability, although optionally the upper end of the support member 15 may be supported, for example by engaging in a longitudinal trackway depending from the truck roof. The dolly includes an upstanding pillar 20 about which the support member 15 rotates via upper and lower tapered roller bearings 21, 22 respectively. Suitable handles or levers (not shown) may be attached for rotation and longitudinal travel of the support member 15, although such movements could be under power if desired.

The support member 15 is constituted by an elongate box housing, essentially diamond-shaped in plan (see Figure 3) , open at the front edge to permit travel of the trolley 16. The front walls 23, 24, which define the open front, are formed with outer return edge portions defining channels in which are engaged external rollers

25 of the trolley; the trolley also has internal rollers 26 which engage internal running surfaces of the housing constituted by the insides of the walls, the arrangement of the roller 25 and 26 being such as to provide for smooth travel of the trolley longitudinally of the housing, particularly when under load, with suitable force dissipation of forces to prevent any buckling or distortion of the housing. The support member 15 has an axial screw-threaded rod 27 attached at the upper end to an electric motor 28 and at the lower end to an electrically-operated clutch 29, the electrical connection arrangement being such that the clutch is disengaged when the motor is running but is engaged with the rod, to act as a brake, when the motor is stationary. The rod 27 is threadedly engaged with a bushing 30 carried by the trolley 16, for causing movement of the trolley up or down the support member.

The trolley 16 has a plate 31 attached to the front thereof. The plate can be of any convenient size and is used for mounting suitable load-engaging devices such as prongs, bars or hooks. A hook may be especially useful when the apparatus is used for raising a load from ground level over the tail of the truck for subsequent movement and storage within. Optionally, cabling and actuation means for a hook or other raisable and lowerable load-engaging device may be housed in the housing of the support member or mounted directly on the plate 31.

The invention also provides a method of handling goods in a truck or trailer body, the method comprising engaging the goods with a goods-engageable element, elevating said element bearing said goods under power to a predetermined height above the floor of said body, selectively positioning said goods to one side or another of a central longitudinal pathway of said body, moving said elevated goods-bearing element longitudinally of said body along said pathway, and depositing said goods at a predetermined location along said body either on the floor thereof or on previously-deposited goods to form a stack thereof.

Claims

1. Goods handling apparatus for use in trucks, the apparatus comprising an upright support member mounted for longitudinal movement within the truck and a carriage member for goods mounted for movement along the support member, at least the carriage member being power-operable.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, in which the support member is demountable.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the carriage member comprises a wheeled trolley.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, in which the wheels of the trolley engage in or bear against running surfaces of the support member.

5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the support member is carried substantially centrally of the truck body and is pivotably mounted about a vertical axis.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 5, in which the support member is carried on a central longitudinal rail or track mounted on or incorporated within the floor of the truck.

7. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, the support member including an electrically-drivable screw-threaded rod on which the carriage member is threadedly engaged, for movement of the carriage member relative to the support member.

8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the goods-engageable element comprises a substantially flat member which is movable between an extended position orthogonal of the support member and a retracted position.

9. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 7, in which the goods-engageable element comprises jaws or other gripper means or a hook attached to a retractable cable.

10. A method of handling goods in a truck or trailer body, the method comprising engaging the goods with a goods-engageable element, elevating said element bearing said goods under power to a predetermined height above the floor of said body, selectively positioning said goods to one side or another of a central longitudinal pathway of said body, moving said elevated goods-bearing element longitudinally of said body along said pathway, and depositing said goods at a predetermined location along said body either on the floor thereof or on previously-deposited goods to form a stack thereof.