JPH1182178A - Cylinder holding member and cylinder replacing device using cylinder holding member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cylinder replacing device that can replace a cylinder in a lower position so as to extremely facilitate cylinder replacing work in an industrial vehicle such as a forklift truck. SOLUTION: A cylinder support 8 is constituted by arranging a cylinder placing base 33 on the upper side, and the cylinder placing base 33 functions as an extension member of the cylinder support 8. In case of fording the cylinder placing base 33 on the cylinder support 8, the cylinder placing base 33 is rotated in the direction of an arrow mark (e), with a joint pin 41 as a rotary shaft, and an unillustrated fixing pin is fitted into a hole 18a of a connecting plate 18 to fold and fix the cylinder placing base 33. With this constitution, at the time of cylinder replacing work, the cylinder placing base 33 is opened to move a cylinder into a lower position, thus facilitating cylinder replacing work.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial vehicle such as a forklift using LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) as a fuel, and more particularly to a cylinder holding member for holding a cylinder on a vehicle, and a cylinder for attaching and detaching a cylinder to and from a vehicle. It relates to an exchange device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among industrial vehicles such as forklifts, there are vehicles using LPG as fuel. This LP
G vehicles have relatively clean exhaust gas,
In recent years, it has secured a solid market share because of its excellent properties, such as cost and other features, which are equal to or better than those of gasoline-powered vehicles. However, LPG vehicles have significant disadvantages over other types of vehicles.

That is, each time fuel is supplied, it is necessary to replace the LPG cylinder.
The weight of the cylinder filled with PG was at least 20 kg or more, which was a burden on the operation. Especially in the case of counterweight type forklifts, in most cases, due to the layout, cylinders have to be mounted on the weights, and not only the mounting position is raised, but also the weight of the forklift becomes an obstacle, and replacement work is required. Was extremely difficult.

[0004] Conventionally, there has been proposed a cylinder exchanging apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. This figure is a view of the forklift from the rear, and the upper part of the forklift is omitted. As shown in the drawing, rear pillars 61 and 62 are provided upright on both sides of a rear portion of the forklift. A cylinder bracket 63 is fixed to the rear pillar 61, and a cylinder support 65 on which a cylinder 64 is mounted is rotatably attached to the cylinder bracket 63. That is, the cylinder support 65 (the cylinder 64) is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow a around the support shaft 63 'of the cylinder bracket 63.

[0005] Usually, the cylinder 64 is held on the weight 60 by the other end 65 'of the cylinder support 65 being fitted and locked in the lock portion 62' of the rear pillar 62. Then, when replacing the cylinder 64, the lock portion 6
By unlocking the lock 2 'and rotating the cylinder support 65 around the support shaft 63' by 180 degrees, the cylinder 64 (the cylinder support 65) is moved to the position shown by the dotted line, and the cylinder 64 is replaced at this position. Is going.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned conventional cylinder changing device, the cylinder support 65 is simply moved 180 degrees in the horizontal direction.
The cylinder 64 shown in FIG.
Is still a high position. Therefore, the replacement operation of the cylinder 64 having a weight of 20 kg or more was still a difficult operation.

[0007] There has also been proposed a cylinder replacing device in which the cylinder support 65 is rotated by 180 degrees, and is tilted vertically from the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. However, in this case, the replacement work of the cylinder becomes easy, but it is still at a high position and is not complete.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cylinder exchanging apparatus capable of exchanging cylinders at a lower position and performing the cylinder exchanging operation extremely easily.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cylinder holding member mounted on a vehicle and holding a cylinder, wherein the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and The member can be achieved by providing a cylinder holding member having a folding structure that can extend the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered.

Here, the vehicle is an industrial vehicle such as a forklift, for example, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).
It is intended for industrial vehicles that use as fuel. The cylinder holding member is a member for mounting the cylinder and holding the cylinder on the vehicle, and is made of, for example, a strong material that can withstand a weight of 20 kg or more. The cylinder is fixed to the cylinder holding member by a belt or the like on the vehicle.

Further, the cylinder holding member has an extension member,
When the cylinder is mounted on the vehicle, the extension member is in a folded state. When replacing the cylinder, the extension member is deployed and the cylinder is replaced.

Here, when extending the extension member,
For example, the operation is performed with the cylinder holding member lowered, but various methods for lowering the cylinder holding member are conceivable. For example, the cylinder holding member may be positioned 180 degrees horizontally with respect to the vehicle.
After rotating the cylinder in the vertical direction, the cylinder holding member is rotated at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction of the vehicle, and the cylinder holding member is positioned obliquely downward with respect to the vehicle. Conceivable.

[0013] With this configuration, the cylinder holding member can be moved to a lower position, and for example, cylinder replacement work can be performed extremely easily. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the folding structure is a structure in which the extension member is rotated by 180 degrees with one end of the cylinder holding member as a rotation axis.

With this configuration, the other end of the cylinder holding member is gripped at the time of cylinder replacement work, and the extension member is connected to the one end of the cylinder holding member as a rotation axis by 180 degrees.
And the extension member can be extended in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder holding member.

According to a third aspect, in the first or second aspect, the extension member is provided with a fixing means,
The fixing means is configured to fix the extension member when the extension member is folded by the cylinder holding member.

Here, as the fixing means, fixing by a fixing pin, fixing by tightening a screw or the like can be considered. For example, in the case of fixing with a fixing pin, a hole is provided in the cylinder holding member, a fixing pin provided in the extension member is inserted into the hole, and the extension member is fixed to the cylinder holding member. Also,
In the case of fixing by screwing, a tapped hole is provided in the cylinder holding member, and a screw provided in the extension member is fastened to the tap hole to fix the extension member to the cylinder holding member.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connecting member which is attached to a vehicle and is rotatable in a horizontal direction, and which is attached to the connecting member, holds a cylinder and is orthogonal to the horizontal direction. In a cylinder changing device having a cylinder holding member rotatable in a direction in which the cylinder is held, the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and the extension member can extend the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered. This can be achieved by providing a cylinder changing device that is a folding structure.

The present invention is an invention in which the cylinder holding member having the above configuration is applied to a cylinder changing device. That is, the connecting member is attached to the vehicle so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction,
The cylinder holding member is attached to the connecting member, and is mounted so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the connecting member. Therefore, with this configuration,
The cylinder holding member attached to the connecting member is rotated together with the connecting member in the horizontal direction, for example, 180 degrees, to move the cylinder holding member to the side of the vehicle, and further, the cylinder holding member is moved downward (in the vertical direction). The cylinder can be lowered to an even lower position by tilting it at an angle and extending the extension member in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder holding member while rotating and moving from this state.

With this configuration, when replacing cylinders, it is possible to perform the operation at a lower position than in the prior art, and it is possible to provide a cylinder exchanging apparatus with extremely high workability.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, to solve the above-mentioned problems, a connecting member mounted on a vehicle and rotatable at a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal direction, and a cylinder mounted on the connecting member, In the cylinder changing device having a cylinder holding member for holding the cylinder, the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and the extension member has a folding structure capable of extending the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered. This can be achieved by providing a cylinder changing device.

This embodiment is also an invention in which the cylinder holding member having the above configuration is applied to a cylinder changing device. That is, this example has a connecting member that can rotate at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction, and by rotating the cylinder holding member attached to this connecting member, the cylinder holding member moves downward. Set to a tilted state. In this state, the cylinder can be lowered to a lower position by extending the extension member in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder holding member while rotating the cylinder.

Therefore, with such a configuration, when replacing the cylinder, the operation can be performed at a lower position than in the related art, and a cylinder replacement apparatus with extremely high workability can be provided.

Claims 6 and 7 correspond to claims 2 and 3 described above, wherein the folding structure is such that, for example, the extension is performed by using one end of the cylinder holding member as a rotation axis. This is a structure that rotates the member by 180 degrees.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the extension member is provided with fixing means, and the fixing means fixes the extension member when the extension member is folded by the cylinder holding member.

Each of the above descriptions applies to the cylinder changing device in the above example. With this configuration, the same effect as described above can be given to each cylinder replacement device.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which a forklift is embodied as a vehicle. <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a forklift to which the cylinder changing device of the embodiment is applied. The cylinder changing device 1 is provided on the weight 3 at the rear of the forklift 2 and is attached to the rear pillar 4. The rear pillar 4 forms a support post behind the head guard 6 that covers the driver's seat 5. The cylinder changing device 1 mainly includes a connecting member (shown in FIG. 2 described later) attached to the rear pillar 4 and a cylinder support 8 on which a cylinder 7 is mounted. The LPG filled in the cylinder 7 is moved by the forklift 2 or
It is used for fuel of an engine which is a power source for driving the fork 9 or the like.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the above-mentioned cylinder replacing apparatus 1 in detail, and is a view of the forklift 2 as viewed obliquely from behind. The rear pillars 4 are provided on the left and right sides of the forklift 2 (hereinafter, referred to as rear pillars 4a and 4b). A bracket mounting plate 10 is mounted on one of the rear pillars 4a, and a tip holding member 13 to be described later is mounted on the other rear pillar 4b.
Is provided. The cylinder 7 is mounted on a cylinder support 8 as a cylinder holding member, and is provided with two belts 12.
a, 12b.

The above-mentioned bracket mounting plate 10 is constituted by a pair of upper and lower parts with respect to the rear pillar 4a (the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b (the bracket mounting plate 1
0b is located at a position that is not visible in FIG. 2).
a, for example, by welding. Also,
A bracket 11 as a connecting member is rotatably mounted on the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the mounting structure of the bracket 11 and the mounting structure of the cylinder support 8.
First, the mounting structure of the bracket 11 will be described. As described above, the bracket 11 is mounted on the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b (the bracket mounting plate 10b is in a position where it cannot be seen in FIG. 3).
For example, a mounting lever 11a integrally formed with the bracket 11 with respect to the pin 14 fixed to the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b (not shown in FIG. It is mounted by penetrating the hole of the same mounting lever 11a) provided. With this configuration, the bracket 1
1 is rotatably mounted on the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b.

Next, the mounting structure of the cylinder support 8 will be described. As shown in the figure, the cylinder support 8 has, for example, two housing frames 15 and 16 as a basic configuration, and both the housing frames 15 and 16 are made of a metal plate. The front ends of the housing frames 15 and 16 are formed in an L-shape, and the L-shape is used to attach the cylinder support 8 to the bracket 11.

FIG. 4 is a diagram specifically illustrating this mounting structure. A pipe-shaped connecting rod 19 is fixed between the L-shaped portions. The housing frames 15 and 16 are integrated (integrated unit) by the connecting rod 19 and the connecting plates 17 and 18. The holes 15 ′ and 16 ′ formed in the L-shaped portion (the holes 15 ′ are not visible in FIG. 3) are continuous with each other through the pipe hole of the connecting rod 19. The long-axis bolt 20 is inserted through the bracket 11 so that the holes 15c 'and the holes 11c' of the bracket 11 are aligned with each other. A screw is cut at the end of the long-axis bolt 20, and the bracket 11 is attached to the housing frame 15,
An L-shaped part 16 and a connecting rod 19 are interposed and attached with a washer 22 and a nut 21. With this structure, the cylinder support 8 is integrally and rotatably attached to the bracket 11. This rotation direction is a vertical direction.

On the other hand, a lock portion 23 is provided on the horizontal plate 11c of the bracket 11. The lock portion 23 includes an L-shaped lever 24 integrally formed on the horizontal plate 11c, and a lock pin 2 penetrating into a hole 24 'formed in the L-shaped lever 24.
5, a compression spring 26, a flat washer 27, and a pin 28 provided around the lock pin 25. To assemble the lock portion 23, the lock pin 25 is inserted into the hole 24 ', then the compression spring 26 and the flat washer 27 are inserted into the lock pin 25 in this order, and the hole 2 formed in the lock pin 25 is formed.
It is assembled by inserting a pin 28 into 5 '. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the lock portion 23 after assembly, and FIG. 5 shows a lock mechanism including the L-shaped portion of the housing frame 16.

The L-shaped portion (housing frame 16) shown in FIG.
Has lock holes 30 and 31 formed therein, into which the lock pin 25 is fitted. The lock hole 30 is a hole into which the lock pin 25 fits when the cylinder support 8 is set in a horizontal state, and the lock hole 31 is a hole into which the lock pin 25 fits when the cylinder support 8 is set at a predetermined angle. It is.

This lock mechanism is composed of the lock pin 25 described above.
By pulling the knob 25a attached to the lock member 25 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 5 against the urging force of the compression spring 26, the tip of the lock pin 25 is removed from the lock hole 30 or 31. When the knob 25a is released, the tip of the lock pin 25 is fitted into the lock hole 30 or 31 by the urging force of the spring.

On the other hand, the cylinder support 8 of the present embodiment is constructed in a foldable structure that can be extended as shown in FIG. That is, a cylinder mounting table 33 as an extension member is provided in the housing frames 15 and 16 of the cylinder support 8 (in the description of FIGS. 3 and 4 described above, the cylinder mounting table 3 is used).
3 is omitted). The cylinder mounting table 33 includes two pipes 34, 35, a coupling plate 36 for integrating the pipes 34, 35 into an integrated unit, and pipes 34, 3
5 comprises coupling plates 37 and 38 provided at both ends, and curved plates 39 and 40 on which the cylinder 7 is placed. The curved plates 39 and 40 are curved surfaces corresponding to the curvature of the peripheral surface of the cylinder. The attachment of the curved plates 39, 40
Curved plates 39 and 40 are attached to pipes 34 and 35 by welding. Also, the pipes 34 and 35 and the coupling plates 36 to 38
Are also connected by welding.

A hole 36a is formed in the center of the coupling plate 36, and the joining pin 41 is fitted into the hole 36a. As shown in the drawing, after the joining pin 41 is fitted into the hole 36a, the connecting plate 17 of the cylinder support 8 is
Is fitted into the hole 17a provided in the hole. That is, the joining pin 41 is a pin for rotatably connecting the cylinder mounting table 33 and the cylinder support 8. When the cylinder mounting table 33 is assembled on the cylinder support 8, the connecting pin And a connecting pin 4
1 is fitted and fixed with nuts 42a and 42b. At this time, two nuts 42a and 42b are used to fix the joining pin 41.
Use The reason why the two nuts 42a and 42b are used is to secure the fixing of the joining pin 41. However, since the nuts 42 a and 42 b reach only the positions where the joining pins 41 are threaded, the cylinder mounting table 33 is rotatably attached to the cylinder support 8.

If the fixing is sufficient, the double nut structure is not always necessary, and the fixing may be performed with one nut. This is the same in the embodiment described later.
On the other hand, the coupling plate 38 is provided with a fixing member 44 as fixing means. The fixing member 44 includes a fixing pin 44
a, a compression spring 44b, a washer 44c, and a pin stopper 44d. Further, a fixing member mounting bracket 45 is provided upright on the coupling plate 38, and the fixing member mounting bracket 45 has a hole 45a formed on the upper surface. When the fixing member 44 is attached to the fixing member mounting bracket 45, as shown in FIG.
The fixing pin 44a is fitted into the hole 45a of the fifth
b, the washer 44c is sequentially inserted into the fixing pin 44a, and with the tip of the fixing pin 44a protruding below the coupling plate 38, the pin stopper 44d is inserted into the hole 44 of the fixing pin 44a.
a ′. With such a configuration, the fixing pin 44a receives a force in a direction in which the fixing pin 44a is disengaged from the fixing member mounting bracket 45 by the urging force of the compression spring 44b, and the fixing pin 44a is held by the pin stopper 44d.

Since one end of the cylinder mounting table 33 is connected to the cylinder support 8 by the joining pin 41,
As shown in FIG. 7, it is configured to be rotatable with respect to the cylinder support 8. That is, when the cylinder mounting table 33 is stored in the cylinder support 8, the cylinder mounting table 33 is rotated around the joint pin 41 in the direction of arrow e shown in FIG. 7 and fixed on the cylinder support 8. Specifically, by rotating the cylinder mounting table 33 in the direction of arrow e,
A fixing pin 44a extending below the cylinder mounting table 33 (FIG. 7)
Omitted. The tip of FIG. 6 abuts on the I portion of the housing frame 15. An unillustrated taper is formed in the portion I of the housing frame 15, and the tip of the joining pin 41 smoothly slides on the connecting plate 18 and fits into the fixing hole 18a.

The fixing pin 44a may also be tapered at a portion that comes into contact with the portion I of the housing frame 15, or the housing frame 15 may not be provided with a taper and may be formed at the fixing pin 44a side. Only a taper may be provided. This is the same in the embodiment described later.

Next, a cylinder replacement process by the above-described cylinder replacement device 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the LPG in the cylinder 7 installed horizontally on the weight 3 is gradually consumed by driving the forklift 2. Thereafter, when the LPG in the cylinder 7 becomes empty, the tip holding member 1
Unlock 3 and hold the key-like other end 8c, for example,
Pull the cylinder support 8 in the direction of arrow c. By this operation, the cylinder support 8 rotates about the pin 14 in the direction of arrow c. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the cylinder support 8 has been moved to the side of the forklift 2 by the turning operation of the cylinder support 8 in the direction of the arrow c.
Is abbreviated). At this time, the lock pin 25 of the lock portion 23 is in a state of being fitted into the lock hole 30 of the L-shaped portion provided in the housing frame 16 (see FIG. 4).

Next, the cylinder support 8 is turned downward by a predetermined angle (for example, 60 to 75 degrees) in a vertical direction (a direction orthogonal to the above-mentioned arrow c direction). Therefore, first, the lock pin 25 is removed from the lock hole 30. This operation
As described above, the knob 25 a is pulled in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 to remove the lock pin 25 from the lock hole 30. Then, it is lowered downward by a predetermined angle (in the direction of arrow b) while holding down the cylinder support 8.

FIG. 9 shows the movement of the lock unit at this time. When the cylinder support 8 is rotated in the direction of arrow b and the cylinder support 8 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the lock pin 25 is automatically fitted into the lock hole 31. That is, as described above, when the lock pin 25 is pulled in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 to remove the lock pin 25 from the lock hole 30 and rotate the cylinder support 8, the tip of the lock pin 25 slides on the outer surface of the L-shaped portion. 31 and is automatically fitted into the lock hole 31 by the urging force of the spring (the position of the housing frame 16 (the cylinder support 8) at this time moves to a position 16 '(8') shown by a dotted line in FIG. ).

However, at this time, the cylinder 7 is located on the side surface of the forklift 2 and is still at a high position for performing the replacement work of the cylinder 7. Then, in order to extend the cylinder support 8, the folded cylinder mounting table 33 is unfolded. Specifically, the cylinder mounting table 3 is attached to the cylinder support 8.
3 to remove the fixing pin 44a fixing the fixing pin 4.
4a is pulled up against the urging force of the compression spring 44b to unlock the fixing pin 44a.

Next, when the cylinder mounting table 33 is rotated in the direction of arrow e 'shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the fixing pin 44a slides on the connecting plate 18 and further comes off the housing frame 15. Then, when the cylinder mounting table 33 is completely unfolded (rotated by 180 degrees), the cylinder mounting table 33 is extended to the cylinder support 8. That is, the state shown in FIG. 6 is obtained. However, the joining pin 41 is in a state where the cylinder support 8 and the cylinder mounting table 33 are joined together.
It is assumed that a cylinder 7 (not shown) is mounted on the top.
Thus, when the cylinder support 8 is completely extended,
The tip of the cylinder mounting table 33 reaches near the surface of the ground.

After the cylinder support 8 is extended, a lock mechanism for locking between the cylinder support 8 and the cylinder mounting table 33 may be provided. For example, a mechanism similar to that of the fixing member 44 may be used. This is the same in the embodiment described later.

Thereafter, the belt 1 wrapped around the cylinder 7
After removing 2a and 12b, the cylinder 7 is lowered from the cylinder mounting table 33 (the cylinder support 8). At this time, the position of the cylinder 7 is a low position, and is a position where the replacement operation of the cylinder 7 can be easily performed.

On the other hand, a new cylinder 7 is
When mounted on the cylinder, the cylinder mounting table 33 is at an extremely low position, and the cylinder 7 can be easily mounted. After installing a new cylinder 7, the cylinder mounting table 3
7, the tip of the fixing pin 44a is fitted into the hole 18a of the connecting plate 18, and the cylinder mounting table 3 is rotated.
3 is fixed to the cylinder support 8.

Further, when the lock pin 25 shown in FIG. 5 is pulled and the cylinder support 8 with the cylinder mounting table 33 folded back is returned to the original horizontal position, the lock pin 25 is automatically fitted into the lock hole 30. Thereafter, the cylinder 7 is moved onto the weight 3 by holding the other end 8c of the cylinder support 8 and rotating the cylinder support 8 in a direction opposite to the above-mentioned arrow c direction. Can be installed.

In this embodiment, the structure of the cylinder support 8 is configured as described above. However, even when the cylinder support 8 is lowered in the vertical direction, a structure in which a damper is used to reduce the weight applied to the cylinder support 8 may be used. Good.

FIG. 10 is an assembly diagram for explaining the configuration in this case. Dampers 51 and 52 are cylinder supports 8
Is used to descend vertically, dampers 51, 52
Are mounted as a pair between the housing frames 15 and 16 and the bracket 11. The mounting of the housing frames 15 and 16
By disposing metal fittings 53 having pins 53a and 53b standing on the left and right between the housing frames 15 and 16,
The dampers 51 and 52 are attached to a and 53b. Specifically, the L-shaped fitting 5 provided at the tip of the damper 51
The pin 53a is inserted into the hole of the flat washer 51b.
After fitting, the E-ring 5 is inserted into the groove provided in the pin 53a.
1c is press-fitted and attached. Similarly, the mounting of the damper 52 is performed by using the L provided at the tip of the damper 52.
After the pin 53b is fitted into the hole of the mold fitting 52a and the flat washer 52b is further fitted, E is inserted into the groove provided in the pin 53b.
The ring 52c is mounted by press fitting.

On the other hand, the mounting structure on the bracket 11 side includes a mounting plate 11 extending below the bracket 11.
The pins 59a and 59b are erected on the left and right sides of the d.
It is attached by fitting holes of L-shaped fittings 51d and 52d provided at the other ends of the first and the second 52. Specifically, after inserting the pin 59a into the hole of the L-shaped fitting 51d and further inserting the flat washer 51e, the E-ring 51f is press-fitted into the groove provided in the pin 59a, and the damper 52 is attached. The pin 59b is inserted into the hole of the L-shaped bracket 52d, and the flat washer 52e is further inserted.
The E-ring 52f is press-fitted into the groove provided in b.

In the figure, a lock pin 25, a compression spring 26, a flat washer 27, and a pin 28 provided around the lock pin 25 are the same as those described with reference to FIG. The long-axis bolt 20 for fixing the bracket 8 to the bracket 11 has the same configuration as described above. The bracket mounting plate 10 on which the bracket 11 is mounted on the bracket mounting plates 10a and 10b is the same as that of FIG. 3 described above.
0b to the rear pillar 4 via the bracket holder 10 '.
a. The bracket holder 10 ′ is attached to the rear pillar 4 a by using the bracket holder 1.
It is attached by screwing a screw (not shown) into screw holes 10a 'to 10d' provided in 0 '.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, it may be detachably fixed to the rear pillar 4a by using the same structure as the bracket holder 10 'as in FIG. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 10, it may be fixed directly to the rear pillar 4a by welding or the like as in FIG. Alternatively, the bracket mounting plate 10 may be directly fixed to the rear pillar 4a with bolts or the like. The number of dampers provided between the housing frame and the bracket is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more. <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Also in this embodiment, a description will be given using a forklift shown in FIG. 1 as a vehicle to which the cylinder changing device of the present invention is applied. Therefore, the same members as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 11 is a view of the forklift 2 of the present example as viewed obliquely from behind. FIG. 12 shows a cylinder support 48 and a bracket 54 as a cylinder holding member of the present embodiment.
It is a figure explaining attachment structure of 54a and 54b. As shown in both figures, both of the brackets 54a and 54b are
The outside of the vehicle is inclined at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction. A pipe 55 forming a connecting member is rotatably attached to the brackets 54a and 54b via the bolts 56 between the brackets 54a and 54b. Further, since the brackets 54a and 54b are inclined at a predetermined angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction as described above, the pipe 55 is also inclined with respect to the rear pillar 4a.

On the other hand, also in this embodiment, the cylinder support 48
Is constructed in a foldable structure that can be extended as shown in FIG. That is, similarly to the above, the cylinder mounting table 33 as an extension member is provided on the housing frames 15 and 16 of the cylinder support 48, and the cylinder mounting table 33 is composed of two pipes 34 and 35 and these pipes 34 and 35. It comprises a connecting plate 36 for forming an integrated unit, connecting plates 37 and 38 provided at both ends of the pipes 34 and 35, and curved plates 39 and 40 for mounting the cylinder 7.

A hole 36a is formed in the center of the coupling plate 36, and a joining pin 41 is fitted into the hole 36a. As in the above-described embodiment, the joining pin 41 is inserted into the hole 36a. After the fitting, the fitting is fitted into a hole 17a provided in the connecting plate 17 of the cylinder support 48.
That is, the joining pin 41 is a pin for rotatably connecting the cylinder mounting table 33 and the cylinder support 48. When the cylinder mounting table 33 is assembled on the cylinder support 48, the connecting pin 41 With a spring 42 interposed
The joining pin 41 is fitted and fixed with nuts 42a and 42b.

Further, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the coupling plate 3
8 is provided with a fixing member 44 as fixing means. The fixing member 44 as fixing means includes a fixing pin 44a, a compression spring 44b, a washer 44c, and a pin stopper 44d.
It is composed of The specific configuration is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and further description is omitted.

Next, a description will be given of a cylinder replacement process by the above-described cylinder replacement device. First, as shown in FIG. 11, the LPG in the cylinder 7 placed horizontally on the weight 3 of the forklift 2 is gradually consumed by driving the forklift 2. When the LPG in the cylinder 7 becomes empty, the other end 48c is detached from the tip holding member 13, and the cylinder support 48 is pulled in the direction of arrow c. With this operation, the cylinder support 48 rotates in the direction of the arrow c with the pipe 55 as the rotation axis.

The cylinder support 48 is rotated in the direction of the arrow c by the above-described operation, and is rotated on the weight 3 by a predetermined angle, for example, 180 degrees, and moves to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG.
In this movement, since the brackets 54a and 54b are attached at a predetermined angle (θ), the cylinder support 48 is lowered by simply supporting the cylinder support 48 by hand or pressing it lightly by the weight of the cylinder 7 and the cylinder support 48, for example. be able to.

However, at this time, the cylinder 7 is located on the side surface of the forklift 2 and is still at a high position for performing the replacement work of the cylinder 7. Therefore, also in this example, the cylinder mounting table 33 is deployed so as to extend the cylinder support 48. Specifically, the fixing pin 44a is lifted up against the urging force of the compression spring 44b to release the fixing pin 44a fixing the cylinder mounting table 33 to the cylinder support 48, and the lock of the fixing pin 44a is released.

Next, when the cylinder mounting table 33 is rotated in the direction of arrow e 'shown in FIG. 14, the tip of the fixing pin 44a slides on the connecting plate 18 and further comes off the housing frame 15. Then, when the cylinder mounting table 33 is completely developed (deployed by 180 degrees), the cylinder mounting table 33 is extended to the cylinder support 8.

In this state, the belt wrapped around the cylinder 7 is removed, and the cylinder 7 is lowered from the cylinder mounting table 33. At this time, the position of the cylinder 7 is extremely low near the surface of the ground, and the replacement work of the cylinder can be performed extremely easily as compared with the related art.

On the other hand, a new cylinder 7 is
When mounted on the cylinder, the cylinder mounting table 33 is at an extremely low position, and the cylinder 7 can be easily mounted. After installing a new cylinder 7, the cylinder mounting table 3
3 in the direction of arrow e shown in FIG.
Is fitted into the hole 18 a of the connecting plate 18, and the cylinder mounting table 33 is locked to the cylinder support 8.

Then, the cylinder 7 is moved onto the weight 3 by rotating the cylinder support 8 in the direction opposite to the above-mentioned arrow c with the other end 48c of the cylinder support 48, for example. A cylinder 7 can be installed in the tank.

As described above, according to the present invention, the cylinder can be replaced at a lower position, and the cylinder 7 can be replaced very easily. In addition, the cylinder holding member and the extension member are not limited to the structure of the cylinder mounting table and the cylinder support as shown in the embodiment, and the extension member extends the cylinder holding member and lowers the cylinder position. Other structures may be used as long as they are folding structures. For example, there is a structure in which the cylinder holding member and the extension member are each made of a plate material, and the side surface (upper surface) of the cylinder of the extension member is provided with a depression in accordance with the outer peripheral curvature of the cylinder. Also, the rotation axis of the extension member in the cylinder holding member is not limited to the end of the cylinder holding member, and may be closer to the center side of the cylinder holding member, and may not be the center of the width of the cylinder holding member. , Or one of them. Further, the rotation of the extension member in the cylinder holding member may be a structure other than that by the pin as in the embodiment. For example, a structure using a bolt or a structure in which a convex portion is provided on one of the holding member or the extension member and a concave portion is provided on the other. Further, the fixing means is not limited to the one using pins, and another structure may be used. For example, there is a structure using a column that is biased by a spring and has a tapered surface on one side. Furthermore, the structure for supporting the rotation of the cylinder holding member with respect to the vehicle is not limited to a structure such as a lock by a pin, a support by a damper, or an inclined bracket as in the embodiment, and another structure may be used. For example, a structure that employs a ratchet mechanism between a bracket and a cylinder holding member may be used. Furthermore, the extension member may be extended after the cylinder holding member is rotated or slid to the rear of the vehicle instead of the side of the vehicle. Further, the extended state is not limited to the linear extension of the cylinder holding member in the longitudinal direction as in the embodiment, but may be an extension in any other direction. For example, there is an extension direction that makes an L-shaped state at 90 ° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cylinder holding member. That is, the rotation angle of the extension member with respect to the cylinder holding member is not limited to 180 °. In short, it is only necessary that the cylinder position be lowered by extension. Furthermore, the connection position of the pillar of the cylinder holding member in the vehicle may be reversed left and right in the embodiment. Alternatively, it may be connected to a part of the vehicle other than the pillar. For example, there is a structure in which a pillar different from the pillar is erected and connected to the pillar.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, when replacing a cylinder, the cylinder can be moved to a lower position beside the vehicle, and the folded extension member can be further expanded and lowered to a lower position. The cylinder replacement operation can be performed very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a forklift to which a cylinder changing device according to an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the cylinder changing device according to the first embodiment, and is a view of the forklift as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a mounting structure of a bracket and a mounting structure of a cylinder support.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a mounting structure of a cylinder support.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a structure of a vertical lock mechanism after assembly.

FIG. 6 is a diagram specifically illustrating the structure of the cylinder holding member of the present example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state where a cylinder support is rotating.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state where the cylinder holding member is rotated by 180 degrees from a mounting position of the forklift.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a vertical lock mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram when a damper is used for vertically lowering a cylinder support.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a cylinder replacement device according to a second embodiment, and is a diagram of a forklift viewed from diagonally behind.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state where the cylinder support is rotated by 180 degrees.

FIG. 13 is a diagram specifically illustrating the structure of a cylinder support.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state where the cylinder support is rotating.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a conventional cylinder replacement device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cylinder exchange device 2 forklift 3 weight 4, 4a, 4b rear pillar 5 driver's seat 6 head guard 7 cylinder 8 cylinder support 8c tip 10 bracket mounting plate 10a ', 10b' pin 11 bracket 11b ', 11c' hole 11b, 11c side Plate 12a, 12b Belt 13 Tip holding member 15, 16 Housing frame 17, 18 Connecting plate 17a, 18a Hole 19 Connecting rod 20 Long axis bolt 21 Nut 22 Spring washer 23 Lock member 24 L-shaped lever 24 'hole 25 Lock pin

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder holding member attached to a vehicle for holding a cylinder, wherein the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and the extension member can extend the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered. A cylinder holding member having a simple folding structure. 2. The cylinder holding member according to claim 1, wherein the folding structure is a structure in which the extension member is rotated by 180 degrees about one end of the cylinder holding member as a rotation axis. 3. The extension member or the cylinder holding member is provided with a fixing means, and the fixing means is provided with respect to the cylinder holding member when the extension member is folded by the cylinder holding member. The cylinder holding member according to claim 2, wherein the cylinder is fixed. 4. A connecting member attached to a vehicle and rotatable in a horizontal direction, and a cylinder holding member attached to the connecting member and holding a cylinder and rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction. In the cylinder changing apparatus having the above, the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and the extension member has a folding structure capable of extending the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered. . 5. A cylinder exchange device having a connecting member attached to a vehicle and rotatable at a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal direction, and a cylinder holding member attached to the connecting member and holding a cylinder. 3. The cylinder changing device according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder holding member has an extension member, and the extension member has a folding structure capable of extending the cylinder holding member so that the position of the cylinder is lowered. 6. The cylinder changing device according to claim 4, wherein the folding structure is configured to rotate the extension member by 180 degrees with one end of the cylinder holding member as a rotation axis. 7. The extension member is provided with fixing means,
6. The cylinder changing device according to claim 4, wherein said fixing means fixes said extension member to said cylinder holding member when said extension member is folded by said cylinder holding member.