What Is a Container Forklift?

Container forklift refers to a special type of forklift commonly used in container terminals and yards for handling and loading and unloading containers. The container can be lifted and transported by the spreader on the top of the mast, or lifted by the fork inserted into the fork groove at the bottom of the container. It is mainly used for auxiliary operations such as stacking empty containers. It can also be used for container loading and unloading or short-distance transportation at integrated terminals and yards with small container throughput (less than 30,000 TEUs / year). ^[1]

Container forklift is used to

Since the object of container forklift loading and unloading operations is mainly containers, the structural design and performance parameters should meet the following requirements:

1. The lifting height is determined by the number of stacking containers, and there is a certain working safety clearance.

2. In order to maintain a good operating vision, the cab seat should have a height adjustment function.

3 Lifting capacity is consistent with the total mass of various box types. For those working with forks only

There are many types of container forklift spreaders, which are mainly divided into two types, namely top lifting spreaders and side lifting spreaders. The former is mainly applied to various container forklifts, while the latter is usually only applied to empty container forklifts.

(A) top lifting spreader

The top lifting spreader locks the lifting holes of the four corner pieces of the top of the container through a rotary lock, thereby lifting the container from the top. In order to adapt to different sizes of box types, there are three types of spreader structure: fixed top lifting spreader, telescopic top lifting spreader and master-slave top lifting spreader. Among them, the telescopic structure is used most, and it can adapt to containers of various specifications. There are two ways to connect the top lifting sling and the forklift carriage: rigid connection and flexible suspension. The rigid connection method is to insert the inverted fork directly into the connection hole of the spreader and fix the spreader. The operation is simple and reliable, and the replacement is convenient. In order to meet the needs of various containers, in addition to being retractable, this spreader can also be moved to the left and right sides by 200mm ~ 300mm, and horizontally swing left or right by 3 ° ~ 10 °; some can also be in the vertical Swing up and down by 3 °.

(Two) side lifting spreader

The side hoisting sling is used to suspend the two top corner pieces of the empty container by two twist locks, and the side of the box is pressed against the vertical surface of the sling. It is lighter than the top lifting sling, easier and more reliable to load and unload than a fork, and also has functions such as a telescopic mechanism and a side shift mechanism. Side lifting spreaders are generally divided into two types: fixed and telescopic. ^[2]

(1) Considering that the container is generally full and not fully loaded, the lifting capacity should be consistent with the maximum total weight of each container type. Take 20t and 25t for 20ft and 40ft containers respectively.

(2) The load center distance refers to the distance between the front wall of the fork and the center of gravity of the cargo, which is more than half the width of the container, which is 1220mm.

(3) In order to improve the driver's sight, the position of the driver's cab is high.

(4) The lifting height is determined according to the number of stacking containers.

(5) In order to meet the needs of loading and unloading containers, in addition to standard forks, forklifts are equipped with special spreaders for top or side lifting.

(6) In order to facilitate the alignment of the box position and the fork groove at the bottom of the box, the entire shelf has the ability to move sideways. The fork can also be moved along the shelf left and right, about 100mm, to adjust the distance between the forks. ^[3]

The advantages of using container forklifts at container terminals and freight yards are: flexible mobility and large operating range; compared to other container machinery, its equipment purchase costs are low; by replacing attachments, it can be used to load and unload other pieces of cargo, achieving the effect of multiple uses of one machine.

Container forklifts also have some disadvantages: the commonly used front container forklifts have large lateral dimensions, a large aisle width (about 14m), and fewer stacking layers, which makes the utilization rate of the yard area and height low; front wheel pressure at full load Large, it has high requirements for the bearing capacity of the front of the wharf and the pavement of the storage yard passage; the view is blocked by the container when walking, which makes it difficult to operate the container. ^[2]