Load rotating attachment for lift trucks

Abstract

A load rotating attachment for a lift truck provided with an elevating carriage has a back plate sub-assembly including an upright wall adapted to be secured to the carriage adjacent and forwardly thereof. A front plate sub-assembly has an upright wall juxtaposed to the back plate wall and pivotally mounted thereon for rotation relative thereto with the major planes of the walls in parallelism. An upright framework is fixed to and extends above the back plate wall and supports a hydraulic ram thereon. A fixed upright of the framework serves as a guide track for a movable guide having a roller arm with guide rollers supported thereon for tracking on the guide track. The piston rod of the ram is pivotally connected to a drive link which in turn is pivotally coupled between and to said movable guide and to the rotatable front wall for bodily travel and pivotal motion in a path extending partially around and radially offset from the pivotal mounting of the front and back walls. This produces a 180.degree. rotation of the front wall and associated load-carrying forks. The forks are removably attachable for mounting in load carrying attitude on the front wall in either its 0.degree. or 180.degree. position to provide left-hand or right dumping of the load. The front and back plate walls have spacers disposed therebetween for maintaining the walls generally in parallelism against load induced bending moments exerted on said front plate assembly. Rotational lock-up and fork and carriage safety mounts are also provided.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.