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US 9,309,098 B2Granted
Pallet fork with improved visibility and versatility
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsKarl E. Lindenmuth, Richard K. Oswald, Daniel E. Peschel, Andrew L. Vering, Rayme J. Collins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pallet fork includes a structural frame, a fork bar, a swing bar, and a pair of fork tines. The fork tines can be fixed or swinging through the removal of the swing bar. The swing bar can be conveniently stored onboard the pallet fork when it is inoperative. The structural frame is arranged for enhanced visibility by an operator to the fork tines to improve productivity and operator comfort.
Claims12
A pallet fork comprising:
- a structural frame supporting a fork bar and a swing bar, the fork bar and the swing bar each having a longitudinal axis and the longitudinal axis of the fork bar being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swing bar;
- a fork tine mounted to the fork bar and swingable relative thereto;
- a lock mechanism on the fork tine which can selectively engage with the swing bar, and when engaged with the swing bar, the fork tine cannot swing relative to the fork;
- and
- the swing bar being removable from the structural frame and disengaged from the lock mechanism.
2 more elements
A method of making a fork tine swingable in a pallet fork comprising:
- removing a swing bar positioned parallel to a fork bar which supports the fork tine by sliding the swing bar out of a structural frame in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fork bar, the removal of the swing bar disengaging the swing bar from a lock mechanism mounted to the fork tine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.