Upright for a lift truck
AssigneeClark Material Handling Company
InventorClark C. Simpson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An upright for a lift truck includes a first group of mast sections in a first stagger arrangement where a first mast section of the first group of mast sections is fixed to the lift truck. The upright further includes a second group of mast sections in a second stagger arrangement that is reverse nested inside the first stagger arrangement. Further, the upright includes a drive system for telescopingly extending and retracting the second mast sections relative to the first mast section.
Claims11
An upright for a lift truck, comprising:
- five separate mast sections wherein each mast section of said upright provides a lift stage;
- a carriage assembly mounted for translational movement along one of said five mast sections;
- and
- a drive system for telescopingly extending and retracting said five separate mast sections.
An upright for a lift truck, comprising:
- a first group of mast sections including a first mast section and a second mast section in a first stagger arrangement, said first mast section being fixed to the lift truck;
- a second group of mast sections including a third mast section, a fourth mast section and a fifth mast section in a second stagger arrangement nested inside said first stagger arrangement;
- and
- a carriage assembly mounted for translational movement along said fifth mast section;
- and
- a drive system for telescopically extending and retracting said mast sections relative to said first mast section.
In a lift truck having (a) steerable and drive wheels for propelling and maneuvering said truck over a surface, (b) an upright and carriage system for handling loads and (c) a power source and drive system for propelling said truck and operating truck systems including said upright and carriage system, the improvement comprising:
- a five stage upright including first, second, third, fourth and fifth mast sections all nested in overlapping relationship, said first and outermost mast section being fixed to the lift truck;
- and
- a carriage assembly mounted for translational movement along said fifth mast section.
A method of manufacturing an upright with an improved load center and a reduced overall fore/aft dimension, comprising:
- providing a five stage upright with only five mast sections;
- providing a first group of said mast sections in a first stagger arrangement;
- providing a second group of mast sections in a second stagger arrangement reverse nested inside said first stagger arrangement.
The method of claim 23, including staggering said first and second group of mast sections in a same direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.