Autonomously-guided industrial truck having three structural levels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12466712-B2
Application number	US-202217819374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2022
Priority date	Aug 16, 2021
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

An autonomously-guided industrial truck comprising a vehicle frame defining, in a plan view, a vehicle contour in sections. The vehicle frame comprises three structural levels, arranged one above the other in a vertical direction, each with its own contour. The three structural levels include a lower structural level in which a base structure is attached, an upper structural level with a covering, and a middle structural level comprising a frame structure for connecting the lower structural level and the upper structural level. The industrial truck includes at least one drive wheel assigned to the vehicle frame to stand below the vehicle frame on a driving surface and at least one scanner unit arranged completely within the vehicle contour such that a scanning plane of the at least one scanner unit lies at least in sections vertically in a region of the middle structural level.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An autonomously-guided industrial truck, comprising:
a vehicle frame for connection to a load unit or load bearing means, the vehicle frame defining a vehicle contour in horizontal cross-sections, the vehicle frame comprising three horizontal structural levels, arranged one above the other in a vertical direction, the three horizontal structural levels comprising:
a lower structural level in which a base plate is arranged, the base plate receiving a lower section of at least two scanner units and receiving a drive wheel of the industrial truck, the lower structural level having a first contour;
an upper structural level with a covering, the upper structural level having a second contour; and
a middle structural level comprising a frame structure for connecting the lower structural level and the upper structural level, wherein the middle structural level includes a region formed between the first contour and the second contour;
at least one drive wheel assigned to the vehicle frame to stand below the vehicle frame on a driving surface; and wherein the at least two scanner units are arranged within the vehicle contour and in the middle structural level, extending vertically upwards from the base plate such that a scanning plane of the at least two scanner units lie vertically in a region of the middle structural level; and wherein the at least two scanner units are arranged such that the scanning plane is completely covered in a range of three hundred sixty degrees (360°) along a horizontal direction relative to the industrial truck by the at least two scanner units.

2 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the first contour of the lower structural level and the second contour of the upper structural level are, at least in some of the sections, the same.

3 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , further comprising a pair of support rollers or drive rollers opposite each other in a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck, wherein the pair of support rollers or driver rollers are assigned to the vehicle frame and are fully accommodated within the lower structural level in relation to the vertical direction.

4 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 3 , wherein the pair of support rollers or drive rollers are designed as support rollers, wherein a single, controlled drive wheel is assigned centrally to the vehicle frame in relation to a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck to stand below the autonomously-guided industrial truck on a driving surface, and wherein the base plate comprises an opening for receiving the single, controlled drive wheel.

5 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 4 , wherein the pair of support rollers are part of support roller arrangements with a housing, wherein the housing defines, in at least some of the sections, the first contour of the lower structural level.

6 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 3 , wherein the at least two scanner units are arranged behind the pair of support rollers or drive rollers in a longitudinal direction of the industrial truck.

7 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the base structure comprises or is formed by a base plate.

8 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , further comprising two wheel arms, each of the two wheel arms being associated with at least one load wheel and each of the two wheel arms being firmly connected, in the region of the lower structural level, to the vehicle frame to extend backwards from the vehicle frame along a longitudinal direction of the industrial truck.

9 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the at least two scanner units have one or more of a scanning angle of two hundred seventy degrees (270°) or a scanning field range, in the vertical direction, of fifty millimeters (50 mm).

10 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , further comprising a load unit guided in a vertically-displaceable manner on the vehicle frame, for bearing a load.

11 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 10 , wherein the load unit has two fork prongs and a load stop connecting the fork prongs,
wherein the load stop comprises two recesses opposite one another in a width direction, and wherein the two recesses are aligned, in a maximally-lowered state of the load unit, with the middle structural level.

12 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 10 , further comprising lifting profiles for guiding the load unit, the lifting profiles extending in the vertical direction only in a region of the upper structural level.

13 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 10 , wherein the load unit has a monofork with a load stop,
wherein the load stop comprises two recesses opposite one another in a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck, and wherein the two recesses are aligned, in a maximally-lowered state of the load unit, with the middle structural level.

14 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the frame structure of the middle structural level
lies completely within and at a distance from the vehicle contour with respect to a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck.

15 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the frame structure of the middle structural level has a tapered shape in a front section of the vehicle frame, and wherein the frame structure of the middle structural level comprises at least two connecting struts extending in a longitudinal direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck between a the tapered shape of the front section and a rear section of the vehicle frame only in the upper structural level and not in the middle structural level.

16 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 15 , wherein two of the connecting struts delimit the frame structure of the middle structural layer in a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck.

17 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , further comprising an extension of eight hundred millimeters (800 mm) or less in width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck.

18 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein in the vertical direction:
the lower structural level extends up to a height of seventy five millimeters (75 mm) above the driving surface; the middle structural level extends from a height of seventy five millimeters (75 mm) up to a height of one hundred twenty five millimeters (125 mm); and the upper structural level extends from a height of one hundred twenty five millimeters (125 mm).

19 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the two scanner units comprise a pair of scanner units opposite one another in a width direction of the autonomously-guided industrial truck.

20 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the base plate comprises an opening for receiving a single, controlled drive wheel.

21 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the frame structure of the middle structural level surrounds an opening of the base plate.

22 . The autonomously-guided industrial truck of claim 1 , wherein the frame structure of the middle structural level has a tapered shape in a front section with respect to a longitudina

Assignees

• Jungheinrich Ag

Inventors

• Schüler Michael
• Lohmann Helmut
• Brunckhorst Holger
• Krenzin Marcel

Classifications

• B66F17/003

  for fork-lift trucks · CPC title

• B66F9/0755

  Position control; Position detectors · CPC title

• B66F9/063 Primary

  Automatically guided · CPC title

• B66F9/07513 Primary

  Details concerning the chassis · CPC title