Loadhandling equipment, a vehicle incorporating the equipment and a method of raising a load with the equipment

Equipment enabling a vehicle to put down on the ground or to pick up a load and to tip said load, which has a lifting bar on a front face, said equipment including a deformable and tilting handling arm provided at one end with a hook adapted to interengage with said lifting bar of said load and adapted to assume the following positions:

• a transport position in which a front section is disposed at the front end of said equipment and oriented vertically or substantially vertically with said hook at the top and a longitudinal section is disposed to the rear of said front section and oriented horizontally or substantially horizontally with the front end of said longitudinal section connected to a base of said front section;
• a putting down on the ground or picking up position in which said hook is to the rear of said vehicle at a height enabling it to be interengaged with or released from said lifting bar of said load resting on the ground;
• and
• a tipping position to which said hook moves from said transport position by being pivoted upwardly and rearwardly by a tilting actuator about a transverse pivot axis situated to the rear of said equipment;
• said handling arm including a bracket which has a first branch which forms said front section and a second branch which is part of said longitudinal section and a link which provides the remainder of said longitudinal section, said link being articulated at the front to said second branch of said bracket about a transverse intermediate pivot axis and articulated at the rear about said transverse rear pivot axis, in which equipment:
• means providing articulation of said link about said transverse rear pivot axis are adapted to be released and means providing said articulation about said transverse intermediate pivot axis are adapted to be locked relative to said vehicle at the location they occupy in said transport position;
• and
• said equipment includes means for pivoting said link upward and forward about said transverse intermediate pivot axis after said means providing articulation of said link about said transverse rear pivot axis are released and said means providing said articulation about said transverse intermediate pivot axis are locked relative to said vehicle.