REMOTE VIEWING APPARATUS FOR FORK LIFT TRUCKS

摘要

A fork lift truck (10) includes a fork level sensor (110) located in the forks (50), away from the vertical mast (40) of a lift truck for detecting the true level of the forks, and a vision system including a camera (90) which may take several forms. In one form, a single camera (92) is mounted in a housing (94) which may be moved to a protected location vertically either by sliding in the carriage assembly (70), or by means of a parallelogram device (300). In another form, multiple cameras are employed where a second camera (96; 98) which may either be mounted above the first camera (92) in the same housing (94) or mounted between the forks (50). Alternatively, the first camera (92) may perform multiple roles by being moved vertically from a first predetermined location below the bottom of the forks (50) to a higher elevation a second predetermined location relative to the forks. A video monitor (100) is provided for use by the operator which, in addition to providing a picture of the view observed by the camera, also provides a fork level indicator (150), a reticle (160) for assisting is adjusting the vertical elevation of the forks, and an indicator (171-174) showing the specific truck function selected (29, 175) by the operator.