Brackets for vertically storing the mast removed from a forklift
Corporate Data(In brief)
- Name
- Fukushima Komatsu Forklift Co., Ltd.
- Business lines
- Sales & maintenance of industrial vehicles and materials handling equipments (including forklifts)
- Capital
- 50 million yen
- No. of employees
- 80
- Head Office
- 18-90, Aza-Okuchihara, Takakura, Koriyama-shi, Fukushima Pref.
- Established
- 17 December, 1970
- Miscellaneous
Problems found before improvements
In the process of overhauling the transmission and the lift cylinder of the forklift, the mast must be removed from the forklift before overhauling them.
To temporarily keep the removed mast safe, the operator first removes and tilts the mast, and then puts it horizontally on the floor with the assist of the overhead traveling crane.
The conventional procedures for tilting and putting the removed mast horizontally on the floor to temporarily keep it safe: First, the back rest mounted on the mast for free vertical movement, and the finger bar (or the carriage plate), which is built in the forks, shall be removed from the mast (See Fig. 1); 
Next, with the overhead traveling crane holding the removed mast, the operator tilts the mast carefully, while sliding its bottom end until he/she safely lays it on the floor.
This operation may be highly hazardous because it needs a skilled crane operation and the occasional manual support of the mast by the operator (See Fig. 2).
Another issue is that the horizontal storage of the mast requires a wider space which may hinder the effective use of the workplace (See Fig. 3). 
Brackets for supporting the vertical standing of the removed mast of the forklift has been developed that ensure the safe storage of the mast and saving space to make the workplace more spacious and practical.
Improvements
The newly designed brackets for vertical standing of the removed mast of the forklift consist of a pair of identical parts as shown in Figure 4. 
The procedures for keeping the removed mast vertically with the support of the new brackets are:
- Remove the hydraulic piping between the forklift and the mast.
- Hold the mast using the overhead traveling crane.
- Remove the mast from the forklift.
- Insert forks into the brackets and tighten the screws of the brackets to fix the forks and the brackets (See Fig. 5).
- Release the mast from the hold of the overhead traveling crane to keep it vertical (See Fig. 6).
Beneficial effects
The brackets ensure the safer and simpler standing and storing of the mast, obviating the need for manual operation, thus improving security of the operator.
Using the brackets saves the time conventionally required for removing the finger bar (or the carriage plate) from the mast.
Vertical storage of the mast saves the space. Wider space is available for efficient use of the workplace.
top