Fork movement assembly for lift trucks

A side shift assembly for a lift truck having a mast and a pair of forks, said assembly comprising:

• a) a carriage comprising a pair of horizontally spaced apart vertical members and a frame support member secured transversely to said vertical members, said vertical members being adapted to be movably secured within said mast, said frame support member defining a front face and an upper contact surface
• b) a side shift frame, said side shift frame comprising an upper cross member adapted to support said forks, said upper cross member defining:
• i) a planar front portion covering said front face of said frame support member, and
• ii) a lower contact surface adapted to engage said upper contact surface of said frame support member for sliding movement thereon;
• and
• c) a side shift operator means for movement of said side shift frame along said frame support member, said shift means being located in a portion of said frame support member.

A fork movement assembly for a lift truck having a mast and a pair of forks, each of said pair of forks having a hook portion located on a shank portion thereof, said assembly comprising:

• a) a carriage comprising a pair of horizontally spaced apart vertical members and a frame support member secured transversely to said vertical members, said vertical members being adapted to be movably secured within said mast;
• b) a side shift frame comprising an upper cross member, said upper cross member being slidably connected to said frame support member, said upper cross member being adapted to support said forks along said hook portion;
• c) a shift means for movement of said side shift frame along said frame support member, said shift means being located in a portion of said frame support member;
• d) a first fork shoe and a second fork shoe movably secured to said side shift frame, each of said fork shoes defining a fork contact surface adapted to engage said shank portion, said fork contact surface being located no further forward than a front face of said upper cross member;
• and
• e) a fork positioning means for moving said first fork shoe relative to said second fork shoe, wherein said first and second fork shoes are maintained at an equal distance from the center of said side shift frame, said fork positioning means being operatively connected to said fork shoes.