JPH1111893A - Vehicle body structure of fork lift - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the longitudinal length of a forklift vehicle body while the configuration remains simple. SOLUTION: A fork lift 10 is structured so that a counter-weight 16 is installed behind a left and a right rear pillar 28 supporting a head guard 24, wherein each rear pillars 28 is inclined with respect to a vertical plane so that its upper part is positioned more backward about the vehicle body than the lower part. A seat frame 34 to support the driver seat 22 is attached to the rear pillars 28 with possibility of elevating and sinking, and an engine hood 20 to enclose the engine or battery is fixed to the seat frame 34.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a forklift body structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional forklift, generally,
A hood covers an upper part of the engine, the battery, and the like, and an operation seat is fixed on an upper surface of the hood. At the time of maintenance of the engine or the like, the hood is rotated upward and rearward about the rear end portion as an axis and retracts to perform maintenance.

A head guard is provided above the driving seat for the purpose of protecting the occupant sitting on the driving seat from falling objects and the like. The head guard is supported by a total of four pillars standing upright from the vehicle body. Here, a pair of left and right rear pillars on the rear side are erected substantially vertically or slightly upward toward the front from near the rear end of the hood so as not to interfere with the rotating hood,
Counterweights are arranged behind these rear pillars.

[0004]

In order to position the head guard vertically above the occupant seated on the driver's seat,
It is necessary to arrange the lower end of the rear pillar that is substantially vertical or inclined forward to some extent behind the driver's seat, and the counterweight is arranged behind such a rear pillar. It was inevitably longer, which was a problem in making the vehicle more compact.

[0005] As another problem, it is necessary to lay out such that the steering does not exist on the rotation trajectory of the hood about the rear end portion, which is a bad effect in reducing the length in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. I was In order to avoid interference with the steering or the like, for example, it is conceivable to cut out the front part of the hood or to provide a tilt mechanism in the steering, but the structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases accordingly.

In particular, when an LPG cylinder is installed above a counterweight as in an LPG vehicle, it is necessary to avoid interference between the LPG cylinder and a driving seat mounted on a hood, and furthermore, the entire length of the vehicle body It becomes difficult to shorten the length of the structure, and the structure becomes complicated.

[0007]

Therefore, according to the present invention, an operation seat is disposed above a hood covering an engine or a battery, and a head guard is disposed above the operation seat. A pair of left and right rear pillars that support the rear hood are erected near the rear end of the hood, and a counterweight is disposed behind the rear pillar. It is characterized by being inclined with respect to the vertical plane so as to be located on the side.

Further, the invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the seat frame supporting the driving seat is mounted on the rear pillar so as to be able to move up and down.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the hood is fixed to the seat frame, and moves up and down along the rear pillar together with the seat frame.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a shock absorber is interposed between the seat frame and the vehicle body.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the upper portion of the rear pillar is located relatively rearward, the head guard supported by the rear pillar is extended relatively rearward, and the rear pillar Since the lower side is located relatively on the front side, the counterweight located on the rear side of the rear pillar can be relatively located on the front side. As a result, it is possible to reduce the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction by arranging the counterweight relatively on the front side while reliably extending the head guard to the rear side of the driving seat.

[0012] Further, since the rear area of the lower portion of the rear pillar is relatively larger than that of the rear pillar, for example, the fuel neck of the engine vehicle is positioned rearward of the rear pillar, that is, outside the cab surrounded by the head guard and the pillar. It becomes possible to arrange. Therefore, for example, as compared with the conventional structure in which the fuel neck is disposed immediately below the operation seat in the cab, the fuel neck is relatively far from the operation seat, so that safety and odor are improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the driving seat is
Ascending and descending along the rear pillar, that is, ascending and descending in the cab surrounded by the head guard and the pillar, there is no risk of interference with a member located outside the cab, for example, an LPG cylinder disposed on the upper surface of the counterweight. Therefore, it is not necessary to extend the length in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in order to avoid interference with the LPG cylinder, and it is not necessary to add a retractable swing mechanism or the like to the LPG cylinder. Can be shortened.

Further, since the driving seat is attached to the rear pillar via the seat frame, the load applied from the driving seat to the hood is smaller than that in the conventional case where the driving seat is directly fixed on the hood. Therefore, the hood can be simplified and downsized.

According to the third aspect of the invention, for example, when performing maintenance of the engine or the like, the operation seat and the hood may be moved up and down along the rear pillar together with the seat frame. At this time, since the driver's seat and the hood move up and down in the driver's cab along the rear pillar, there is no possibility that the driver's seat or the hood will interfere with, for example, a steering located in front of the hood. In other words, as compared to the conventional hood with a rotating hood,
In particular, since the movement locus in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is reduced, the degree of freedom in layout is increased, and the vehicle itself can be made compact with a simple structure.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the shock absorber is interposed between the seat frame and the vehicle body, it is possible to effectively attenuate engine vibration, road surface vibration, and the like transmitted to the driver's seat, thereby improving ride comfort. Is improved.

Further, since the shock absorber is provided, the seat frame can be safely and smoothly moved up and down along the rear pillar.

[0018]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a forklift to which the vehicle body structure of the present invention is applied, wherein a fork 12 and a mast 14 are disposed on the front side of the vehicle body, and a counterweight 16 is disposed on the rear side of the vehicle body. The side frames 18 extend on both left and right sides of the vehicle body. An engine, a battery, and the like (not shown) are housed between the two side frames 18, and the engine hood 20 is attached to the two side frames 18 so as to cover the engine and the like.
It is arranged over the top.

A driving seat 22 is disposed above the engine hood 20. A head guard 24 is disposed above the driving seat 22 to protect a passenger seated on the driving seat 22 from falling objects such as loads. Has been established. The head guard 24 has a structure in which frame members are arranged in a lattice shape, and is supported toward the vehicle body by four front pillars 26 and rear pillars 28 erected from the vehicle body at four front, rear, left, and right corners. .

In this embodiment, a pair of left and right rear pillars 28 erected near the rear end of the engine hood 20 are arranged in a vertical plane so that the upper part thereof is located on the rear side of the vehicle body from the lower part. Are inclined by a predetermined angle θ.

Therefore, in the region below the operation seat 22, the rear pillars 28 relatively protrude forward, and the counterweights 16 disposed on the rear side of the rear pillars 28 can be disposed relatively forward. .
On the other hand, in the region above the rear pillar 28, the rear pillar 28
Is located relatively rearward, and the rear pillar 2
The head guard 24 fixed to the upper end of the head 8 is extended relatively rearward. As a result, the counterweight 16 can be disposed relatively frontward while the head guard 24 is reliably extended to the rear side of the driving seat 22, and the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction can be effectively reduced.

Further, the head guard 24 and the pillar 2 are provided in an area above the counter weight 16 which is an empty space.
The operator's cab K surrounded by 6 and 28 is protruding, and the operator's cab K having a sufficient size is secured by effectively utilizing the empty space.

Further, the rear pillar 28 includes the driving seat 2
2 is inclined at substantially the same angle as the backrest portion 22a, and is located slightly behind the backrest portion 22a in a side view, that is, behind the occupant seated on the driving seat 22, so that it does not obstruct the occupant. .

The front pillar 26 on the front side is also inclined so that the upper side is located on the rear side, similarly to the rear pillar 28, that is, the entire cab K is inclined slightly backward. Excellent appearance quality.

By the way, the engine type forklift 1
0, a fuel tank (not shown) is provided inside the side frame 18, and a fuel neck 30 for replenishing the fuel tank with fuel is provided on the upper surface of the side frame 18. The fuel neck 30 is located on the rear side of the rear pillar 28 and is exposed to the outside via a notch 32 formed on the front side of the counterweight 16.

Here, the fuel neck 30A in the conventional structure is provided immediately below the operation seat 22 in the operator's cab K as shown by the phantom line in FIG. It was exposed.
In this case, the operation seat 22 is located immediately above the fuel neck 30A, and there is a problem in terms of safety and odor. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the lower side of the rear pillar 28 relatively protrudes forward, and the rear pillar 28
Is relatively wide, the fuel neck 30 is positioned rearward of the rear pillar 28, that is, the cab K
Outside. As described above, since the fuel neck 30 can be kept away from the operation seat 22, safety and odor are improved.

Further, as a characteristic structure of this embodiment,
A seat frame 34 that supports the driving seat 22 is attached along the rear pillar 28 so as to be able to move up and down. That is, the seat frame 34 is fixed to the lower surface side of the driving seat 22 via the four rods 36 and is fixed to the upper surface side of the engine hood 20 via the rods 36. Therefore, the driving seat 22 and the engine hood 20 move up and down along the rear pillar 28 together with the seat frame 34.

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the seat frame 34 includes a support portion 34a which is bent in a substantially U-shape in accordance with the lower shape of the operation seat 22, and a support portion 34a.
Arm 34b extending left and right from both ends of the arm 34b, a total of four through holes 34c through which the rod 36 is inserted and fixed are formed in the support portion 34a, and a rectangular stopper portion is provided at the outer end of the arm portion 34b. 34d are formed.

An inwardly protruding engagement pin portion 34e is formed at the inner end of the arm portion 34b, and a shock absorber 38 is attached to the engagement pin portion 34e. The shock absorber 38 is interposed between the seat frame 34 and the vehicle body. The shock absorber 38 attenuates engine vibrations and road surface vibrations transmitted to the driver's seat 22 to improve ride comfort. Is safely and smoothly performed.

On the other hand, an opening 28a extending in the longitudinal direction is formed on the inner wall surface of the rear pillar 28, and this opening 28a
A guide rail 40 is joined and fixed to the inner surface of the guide rail 40. The stopper portion 34d of the seat frame 34 is disposed inside the guide rail 40 via the opening 40a of the guide rail 40, and moves up and down inside the guide rail 40. In addition, a lid member 41 (see FIG. 3) for closing the lower end of the opening 40a is joined to the guide rail 40, so that the seat frame 34 does not move downward any more.

The rear pillar 28 has a first lock member 42 for holding the seat frame 34 at the most lowered steady position and a second lock member 44 for holding the seat frame 34 at the most retracted position. And are respectively swingably mounted.

As shown in the lower part of FIG.
When the lock member 4 is locked at the normal position, the first lock member 42 has its lower arm 42b facing the inside of the guide rail 40 through the notch 40b by the urging force of the spring 42a, and Are facing each other. To release the lock, the upper arm 42c of the first lock member 42 may be pressed to retract the lower arm 42b from within the guide rail 40. In addition, the seat frame 3
When 4 descends, the stopper portion 34d pushes the inclined lower arm 42b and enters the steady position shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the seat frame 34 is locked in the retracted position as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3, the second locking member 44 is engaged with the locking claw 44b by the spring 44a.
Faces the inside of the guide rail 40 via the notch 40c, and is engaged with the lower surface of the stopper portion 34d. To release this lock, the upper arm 4 of the second lock member 44
4c may be pressed to retract the locking claw 44b from within the guide rail 40. When the seat frame 34 rises, the stopper portion 34d pushes the lower surface of the locking claw 44b and enters the retracted position.

For example, when the maintenance of the engine or the like is performed, the lock of the first lock member 42 is released, and the operation seat 22 and the engine hood 20 are slid upward along the rear pillar 28 together with the seat frame 34, The lock member 44 locks the retracted position. As a result, the upper portion of the engine and the like is opened, and maintenance can be easily performed.

As described above, the driving seat 22 and the engine hood 20 slide up and down along the rear pillar 28 together with the seat frame 34, that is, move up and down in the driving cab K, so that the operation is performed in the conventional manner. The range of movement, particularly in the vehicle front-rear direction, is smaller than that of rotating a hood to which a seat is fixed. As a result,
Since the degree of freedom in the layout of each member is increased and, for example, there is no possibility that the engine hood 20 interferes with the steering 46 or the like located ahead, the length in the vehicle front-rear direction can be reduced with a simple structure.

Also, in an LPG vehicle having an LPG cylinder 48 as shown by a phantom line in FIG. 1 mounted on the upper surface of the counterweight 16, an elevating body such as the engine hood 20 and the driving seat 22 is mounted on the LPG cylinder 48. Since there is no risk of interference, there is no particular need to change the layout.

Further, the load on the operation seat 22 is applied to the vehicle body via the shock absorber 38 and the rear pillar 28, and the load on the engine hood 20 is reduced. Therefore, the engine hood 20 is simplified and downsized. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the engine hood 20
Is fixed to the seat frame 34. However, for example, only the driving seat 22 may be fixed to the seat frame 34, and the hood may rotate around the rear end. In this case, with the operation seat 22 retracted upward together with the seat frame 34, the hood is rotated rearward and upward to open the upper portion of the engine and the like.

Although the engine type forklift 10 has been described here, the present invention can be similarly applied to a battery type forklift.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a forklift to which a vehicle body structure according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the seat frame mounting structure of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view corresponding to the vicinity of the rear pillar in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 16 ... Counterweight 18 ... Side Frame 20 ... Engine Hood 22 ... Drive Seat 24 ... Head Guard 28 ... Rear Pillar 30 ... Fuel Neck 34 ... Seat Frame K ... Drive Cab

Claims (4)

[Claims] An operation seat is disposed above a hood covering an engine or a battery, a head guard is disposed above the operation seat, and a pair of left and right rear pillars supporting the head guard is provided at a rear end of the hood. Standing nearby,
In a vehicle body structure of a forklift in which a counterweight is disposed on a rear side of the rear pillar, the rear pillar is inclined with respect to a vertical plane such that an upper part thereof is located on a rear side of the vehicle body from a lower part. The body structure of the forklift. 2. The vehicle body structure of a forklift according to claim 1, wherein a seat frame supporting the driving seat is mounted on a rear pillar so as to be able to move up and down. 3. The body structure of a forklift according to claim 2, wherein the hood is fixed to the seat frame, and moves up and down along the rear pillar together with the seat frame. 4. The vehicle body structure of a forklift according to claim 2, wherein a shock absorber is interposed between the seat frame and the vehicle body.