The object of the invention is the lifting device presented in the preamble to claim 1. Many kinds of lifting devices are used to lift and transport different goods and loads. If the lifting device includes a horizontal boom and a carriage moving in the guide rails of the boom, the lifted load can simultaneously also be transported to another place. Lifting devices and cranes have been presented in the publications JPH1 1246174A,

FR2528815A1 , JPH0881 180A, FR2741331A1 , W09322157, FR682177A,

WO2012085327A1 and US4249853A.

The purpose of this invention is to create a new lifting device with the help of which the load to be lifted can be transported laterally. The lifting device according to the invention is characterised in what has been presented in the characteristics section of claim 1.

The lifting device includes a boom, a boom supporting part, a carriage moving in the guide rails of the boom and a lifting member attached to the carriage. The lifting member can be a winch or a hoist to which a lifting hook, for example, has been attached. In the lifting device according to the invention, the boom moves laterally in the guide rails of the supporting part and, correspondingly, the carriage moves laterally in the guide rails of the boom. According to the invention, the boom can move laterally to its extreme position to both sides of the supporting part such that it forms a protrusion beam from the supporting part to either side of the supporting part. Correspondingly, the carriage that moves laterally in the guide rails of the boom can move such that, in its extreme position, it is at the end of the protrusion beam formed by the boom. According to the invention, the carriage can move such that it always moves in the same direction as the boom. Thereby, when the boom moves in relation to the supporting part such that it forms a protrusion beam to either direction as viewed from the supporting part, the carriage moves in the boom towards the end of the protrusion beam. According to the invention, it can be arranged that, when the boom has reached its extreme position, i.e. the protrusion beam is at its longest, the carriage has at the same time reached its extreme position at the end of the protrusion beam. This way, the load to be lifted moves laterally at the same time.

When the boom is in the middle of the supporting part, i.e. the ends of the boom on both sides of the supporting part are equally long, the carriage and the load supported by its lifting member are also in the middle below the supporting part. When the boom is moved in the guide rails of the supporting part in either direction, the carriage also moves in the guide rails of the boom in the same direction. Thereby the load supported by the lifting member of the carriage moves in the same direction. According to the invention, it is advantageous that when the boom and the carriage have reached their extreme position, the load supported by the lifting member of the carriage is also at the end of the protrusion beam formed by the boom.

The simultaneous movement of the boom and the carriage is achieved, for example, by pushing the boom or the carriage by hand, or their movement can be achieved such that the drive wheels of the belts, ropes, cables or the like that are moving them have been attached to one another by, for example, gear wheels, belts or other similar transmission members. Thereby, by rotating the drive wheel or the like, the boom and the carriage are caused to move simultaneously in the same direction. When the boom is moved from the middle position to the side, the carriage that was in the middle moves to the end of the boom. Thereby the distance travelled by the carriage from the middle to the end of the protrusion boom is greater than the movement of the boom. Therefore, the movement of the carriage must be approximately two times faster than the movement of the boom. The speed difference can be arranged by, for example, altering the lengths of the belts or the dimensions of the wheels located in connection with them or such that the pulley that drives the belt of the carriage is arranged to rotate approximately two times faster than the pulley driving the belt of the boom. Thereby the gear wheels of the belt drive wheels can be dimensioned such that the diameter of the gear wheel driving the pulley of the boom is approximately two times larger than the diameter of the gear wheel driving the pulley of the carriage. Depending on the proportions of the equipment parts, the ratio between the diameters of the gear wheels driving the belt drive wheels can also be something other than one to two, however.

The lifting device according to the invention can be used in a variety of situations and for different lifting applications. The lifting device according to the invention can be located in a warehouse for the purpose of moving or loading different stored goods. It can also be used in production facilities for moving products from one work phase to another or for handling products in assembly. In this case, the boom supporting part can be attached to the guide rails with which the lifting device can be moved to the desired spot at the location. It can also be arranged that the boom supporting part installed in place or moving along the guide rails is rotatable around a vertical axis, in which case the turnable boom of the lifting device can be directed in any direction desired. In this way, it is possible to achieve a very good reach for the boom of the lifting device in different directions, which is advantageous because the load can then be moved to any point within the boom's reach.

As it is possible to make the lifting device according to the invention simple and light- weight, it can be advantageously used also in vehicles, trailers or boats for loading and handling cargo. In a vehicle, the lifting device can be installed in a frame that rests on the vehicle frame. Most advantageously, the frame thus rests on the floor of the vehicle.

Especially when used in a vehicle, the lifting device can be installed such that the boom supporting part can be tilted and turned downwards for maintenance.

According to the invention, the lifting device can be equipped with electric motors that move the boom, carriage and lifting member in connection with the carriage, such as a winch. The motors can also be arranged to be remote controlled, if required. At its simplest, the lifting device according to the invention is, however, manual without motors. In this case, the boom and carriage can be moved sideways by pushing them by hand. The lifting member can thus also be a manual winch or hoist. The boom and carriage can be equipped with a latching device that prevents them from moving accidentally. When the manual boom and carriage need to be moved, the latching of the latching device located in the carriage, for example, is opened. By pushing the carriage, the boom also moves because their movements are coupled to one another, for example with gear wheels.

According to the invention, the lifting device consists of a boom supporting part, a boom, a carriage and a lifting member in connection with the carriage, in which lifting device the essentially horizontal boom is located in the guide rails of the boom supporting part and the carriage is located in the boom's guide rails such that the boom can move sideways in the guide rails of the boom supporting part and the carriage can move sideways in the guide rails of the boom. The boom is placed in the guide rails of the boom supporting part so that the boom can move in opposite directions to both sides of the boom supporting part, in which case the boom can form a protrusion beam on either side of the supporting part. The movements of the boom and the carriage have been connected to one another with a belt, cable or the like such that when the boom moves, the carriage moves simultaneously with the boom and in the same direction as the boom at a speed that is approximately two times the speed of the boom. The supporting part of the lifting device can be installed in connection with the roof of a vehicle, trailer or the like and the lifting device has a rotating axle with which the boom of the lifting device can be turned in the desired direction, in which case the boom moving in both directions in the guide rails of the supporting part can be moved so that the loading and/or unloading of the cargo of a vehicle can be carried out through the vehicle's back door or, optionally, through either side door of the vehicle. The lifting device can be manually operated, in which case the interconnected movement of the carriage and boom is achieved by pushing the boom or carriage by hand. To the lifting device's carriage, there is connected a latching device, which locks the movement of the carriage and boom when the boom or carriage is not being moved. The lifting device has at least one belt with which the carriage has been attached to the supporting part through the turning wheels located at the ends of the boom so that when the boom is moved, the carriage also moves in the same direction, essentially at twice the speed, or when the carriage is moved, also the boom moves in the same direction at a speed that is approximately half of the speed of the carriage.

The lifting device has a belt or the like attached to the opposite ends of the boom, which has been led through a drum located in the supporting part and rotating the drum with an electric motor or in some other way causes the boom to move and by rotating the drum in opposite directions, the boom is caused to move in opposite directions so that, in its extreme position, the boom forms a protrusion beam on either side of the supporting part.

The lifting sling or cable of the lifting member located in connection with the carriage in the lifting device is led through the turning wheels at the ends of the boom to the drum located in the lifting device's supporting part, in which case by rotating the drum, the lifting sling and the lifting hook attached thereto can be raised or lowered, but moving the boom and/or the carriage does not alone raise or lower the lifting sling and the lifting hook attached thereto.

The rotating members of the belt moving the boom and of the belt moving the carriage can be connected to one another with gear wheels such that the diameter of the gear wheel moving the carriage is approximately two times the diameter of the gear wheel moving the boom.

In the following, the invention is described using examples with reference to the appended drawings, in which Figures 1-3 are schematic side views showing the boom and carriage of the lifting device according to the invention in different positions.

Figure 4 shows a sectional side view of the operating diagram of the lifting device

according to the invention.

Figures 5-8 are schematic side views showing the movements of the boom and carriage of the lifting device according to the invention attached to a vehicle. Figures 9-11 are schematic views showing the movements of the boom and carriage of the lifting device according to the invention attached to a vehicle, seen from the back of the car.

Figures 12-14 are schematic views showing the movements of the boom and carriage of the lifting device according to the invention attached to a vehicle, seen from the top of the car.

Figure 15 is a schematic top view of a lifting device attached to a vehicle, whose boom can be turned.

Figures 16-18 are schematic top views showing the movements of the boom and carriage of the lifting device attached to a vehicle.

Figure 19 shows a sectional side view of the operating diagram of a manual lifting device. Figure 20 shows a sectional side view of the latching device of a manual lifting device. Figure 21 shows a sectional side view of the operating diagram of the lifting device

according to the invention.

Figure 22 shows a sectional side view of the operating diagram of the lifting device

according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a lifting device 10 according to the invention. The lifting device in Figure 1 contains a boom supporting part 20, in whose guide rails there is a horizontal boom 30, a carriage 40 that moves in the guide rails of the boom 30 and a lifting member 50 attached to the carriage. The lifting member 50 is, for example, a winch with a lifting hook 51. In Figure 1 the boom 30 is in the middle of the supporting part 20 such that the parts of the boom 20 on each side of the supporting part 20 are equal in length. In this case also the carriage 40 that moves in the guide rails of the boom 30 and the lifting member 50 attached to it are in the middle of the boom supporting part 20. From the position shown in Figure 1 , the boom 30 can move in both directions as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

In Figure 2, the boom 30 installed in the guide rails of the supporting part 20 has moved left in Figure 2 to its extreme position, whereby the boom 30 forms the protrusion beam supported by the supporting part 20. At the same time, the carriage 40 moving in the guide rails of the boom 30 has also moved in the same direction, i.e. left in Figure 2. When the boom 30 is in its extreme position, also the carriage 40 is in its extreme position, i.e. at the end of the boom 30. If a load was lifted with the lifting device 10 in the position shown in Figure 1 , where the boom 30 and the carriage 40 were in the middle, the load has moved to the side in Figure 2 as the carriage 40 and the lifting member 50 are now at the end of the boom 30 forming the protrusion beam.

Figure 2 also shows the lengths of the paths of both the boom 30 and the carriage 40 as they travel from the situation of Figure 1 to the situation of Figure 2. Figure 2 shows that when the boom 30 has travelled the distance (a), the carriage 40 has simultaneously travelled the distance (b). The distance (b) that the carriage 40 has travelled is

approximately two times as long as the distance (a) travelled by the boom 30. The ratio of distance (b) to distance (a) can even be slightly larger than two depending on the dimensions of the parts of the lifting device 10.

Figure 3 shows the corresponding movements of the boom 30 and the carriage 40 from the middle position to the right in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows that the movements of the boom 30 and the carriage 40 correspond with the movements shown in Figure 2 in the opposite direction.

Figure 4 shows the functioning of the lifting device according to the invention 10 as a simplified schematic. In the situation of Figure 4 both the boom 30 and the carriage 40 have travelled slightly left from the lifting device's middle position. The movement of the boom 30 is achieved with the rotating drum and the belt 31 or similar attached to both ends of the boom 30. Correspondingly, the movement of the carriage 40 is achieved with a second rotating drum and a belt 32 or similar attached to different sides of the carriage 40. To both rotating drums, there are attached gear wheels, which are in contact with one another such that they rotate in opposite directions at the same time. Thus, when rotating either of the rotating drums also the other rotating drum rotates by means of gear wheels, in which case both the boom 30 and the carriage 40 move. Figure 4 shows that the diameter of the gear wheel 21 that drives the belt 31 of the boom 30 is larger than the diameter of the gear wheel 22 that drives the belt 32 of the carriage 40. Thus, the drum driving the belt 31 of the boom 30 attached to the larger gear wheel rotates more slowly. If the diameter of the gear wheel 21 of the boom 30 is two times as large as the diameter of the gear wheel 22 of the carriage 40, the carriage moves two times as fast as the boom 30. When the boom 30 and the carriage 40 are moved, the hook of the lifting member 50 located in connection with the carriage 40 does not rise or fall. The lifting motion of the lifting member 50 is achieved with a rotating drum 23 that coils the lifting member's lifting sling 33 or cable.

Figure 5 shows a schematic side view of a vehicle 60, such as a van, that has a lifting device 10 according to the invention. The supporting part 20 of the boom of the lifting device 10 is attached to a support frame 61 that rests on the floor of the cargo space of the vehicle 60. The support frame 61 and the boom supporting part 20 are located at the back of the cargo space.

In Figure 5 the lifting device 10 is entirely in the cargo space of the vehicle 60, in which case the boom 30 has been pushed as far as possible towards the front of the car, i.e. to the right in Figure 5. In this case also the carriage 40 moving in the boom 30 and the lifting device attached to it are at the front of the car's cargo space.

In Figure 6 and 7, the boom 30 of the lifting device 10 has been moved outwards from the cargo space of the vehicle 60. In Figure 6 the boom 30 is partially outside such that the parts of the boom 30 on both sides of the supporting part 20 are equal in length. In this situation, the carriage 40 has moved to the centre of the boom 30. When the boom 30 is pulled completely outside the cargo space of the vehicle 60 to its extreme position, also the carriage 40 moves to the extreme end of the boom 30.

Figure 8 shows a maintenance situation where the boom 30 that is completely inside the cargo space of the vehicle 60 has been lowered for maintenance.

Figures 9-11 show the lifting device 10 placed transversely in the vehicle 60. In this case, the lifting device 10 fits inside the vehicle 60 when the boom 30 is in the middle of the car. The boom 30 and the carriage 40 moving in it can thus be pushed from both sides out of the side doors from the cargo space of the vehicle 60.

Figures 12-14 show a top view of the corresponding movements of the boom 30 as shown in Figures 9-11. The lifting device 10 fits inside the vehicle 60 when the boom 30 is in the middle of the car and the boom 30 can be pushed from both sides out of the side doors from the cargo space of the vehicle 60. In addition, the lifting devices 10 shown in Figures 12-14 are equipped with a rotating axle 34 such that the boom 30 can be turned in the desired direction. The rotating axle 34 makes the lifting device 10 even more versatile as the carriage 40 in connection with the boom 30 and its lifting member can reach almost every area of the cargo space. In Figure 15 the boom 30 has been turned around the rotating axle 34 to a 45° angle.

Figures 16-18 show a top view of the corresponding lifting device 10 as is shown in Figures 12-15 attached to the cargo space of the vehicle 60. In these figures, the boom 30 of the lifting device 10 has, however, been turned in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 60. Thus, by using the lifting device 10 with the rotating axle 34, it is possible to select whether to load and/or unload the vehicle 60 through either side door or through the back door.

Figure 19 shows a lifting device 10 according to the invention where there are no electric motors for moving the boom 30 or carriage 40, i.e. this lifting device 10 is a simple manual version. The lifting member 50 can thus also be a manual hoist. Moving the boom 30 or carriage 40 of the lifting device 10 takes place by grabbing hold of the carriage 40 handle 41 and pushing the carriage 40 in the desired direction. As the belts 31 and 32 of the boom 30 and carriage 40 are connected to one another with gear wheels 21 and 22, also the boom 30 moves when the carriage is pushed, at a speed of approximately half of the carriage's 40 rate of travel. So that the carriage 40 will not begin moving accidentally, a latching device 42, whose functioning is described in Figure 20, has been attached to the handles 41. When the carriage 40 has been locked into place, the boom 30 is also locked into place.

Figure 20 shows a schematic view of the structure of the carriage 40 latching device 42. The latching device 42 has a latch tip 43, which latches against a toothed bar 45 or a similar member, such as for example a perforated panel, pressed by springs 44. When the latching device 42 needs to be opened, either one of the handles 41 are pulled

downwards, in which case the latch tip 43 detaches from the toothed bar 45 or similar, such as a perforated panel. The carriage 40 can thus be pushed in the desired direction. When the handle 41 is released, the springs 44 push the latch tip 43 back into the latched position and the carriage 40 is locked in place. The lifting device 10 of Figure 21 has a boom 30 that moves to the right or left in Figure 21 while supported by the boom supporting part 20. A belt 31 or similar has been attached to the fasteners 25a and 25b located at opposite ends of the boom 30, which belt or similar has been led through the drum 24 located in the boom supporting part 20. When the drum 24 is rotated with an electric motor or in some other way, it causes the boom 30 to move. By changing the rotation direction of the drum 24, the boom 30 can be moved right or left in Figure 21 such that in its extreme position the boom 30 forms a protrusion beam from the boom supporting part 20 either to the right or left in Figure 21.

In connection with the boom 30 in Figure 21 there is a carriage 40 that moves right or left in Figure 21 while supported by the boom 30. The movement of the carriage 40 has been arranged such that belts 32a and 32b have been attached to the carriage 40. The first belt 32a has been led through the turning wheel 28a located at the left end of the boom 30 in Figure 21 and the ends of the belt 32a have been fastened to the boom supporting part 20 with a fastener 26a and to the carriage 40 with a fastener 27a. Similarly, the second belt 32b has been led through the turning wheel 28b located at the right end of the boom 30 in Figure 21 and the ends of the belt 32b have been fastened to the boom supporting part 20 with a fastener 26b and to the carriage 40 with a fastener 27b. Also a single belt can be used instead of belts 32a and 32b, the ends of which are fastened to the supporting part 20 with fasteners 26a and 26b and, at the carriage 40, this belt is fastened to the carriage 40. The arrangement of the belts 32a and 32b or a single corresponding belt as shown in

Figure 21 causes, when the boom 30 is moved left in Figure 21 , the carriage 40 to move in the same direction, i.e. left in Figure 21. Similarly, when the boom 30 is moved right in Figure 21 , the carriage 40 moves in the same direction, i.e. right in Figure 21. Most advantageously, the lengths of the belts 32a and 32b or the length of a single belt corresponding to these, the location of the turning wheels 28a and 28b and the fastening points of the fasteners 26a, 26b, 271 and 27a are located in such a way that the movement of the carriage 40 is appropriately fitted to the movement of the boom 30. In this case, it is advantageous for the carriage 40 to reach the end of the boom 30 when the boom 30 moving in the same direction has reached its extreme position and forms the protrusion beam formed from the boom supporting part 20 either to the right or left in Figure 21.

In Figure 21 , the lifting sling 33 or similar of the lifting member 50 located in the carriage 40 has been led through turning wheels 28a and 28b in the boom 30. The other end of the lifting sling 33 has been fastened with a fastener 29 to the boom supporting part 20 and the opposite end of the lifting sling 33 has been coiled onto the drum 23. This arrangement of the lifting sling 33 means that when the boom 30 and the carriage 40 move, the elevation of the hook 51 or similar of the lifting member 50 does not change. The hook 51 of the lifting member 50 can be lifted such that the drum 23 of the lifting sling 33 is rotated, for example, with an electric motor and the lifting sling 33 is coiled onto the drum 23.

Correspondingly, the hook 51 of the lifting member 50 is lowered such that the drum 23 of the lifting sling 33 is rotated in the opposite direction and the lifting sling 33 is coiled off the drum 23.

The lifting device 10 of Figure 22 corresponds partly with the lifting device of Figure 21 but the lifting device 10 of Figure 22 is completely manual. Thus, the boom supporting part 20 of the lifting device 10 does not have a lifting sling 33 drum 23 or a drum 24 rotated by an electric motor or in some other manner. The boom 30 of the lifting device 10 of Figure 22 is moved by pushing by hand such that the boom 30 reaches the desired point in relation to the boom supporting part 20. The boom 30 is either at the middle of the supporting part 20 or the boom 30 forms a protrusion beam on either side of the supporting part 20. When the boom 30 is moved, the carriage 40 moves in the same direction at a speed that is most advantageously approximately two times the speed of the boom 30. Thereby, when the boom 30 reaches its extreme position and the boom 30 forms the longest protrusion beam possible, the carriage 40 is located at the end of the protrusion beam formed by the boom 30.

In the lifting device 10 of Figure 22, the lifting member 50 is also a manual hoist or similar, in which case the hook 51 of the lifting member 50 is lifted by hand, for example using a hoist. The lifting device 10 of Figure 22 has belts 32a and 32b that move the carriage 40 or a corresponding belt attached to the carriage 40 and the boom supporting part 20 in the same manner as in Figure 21. Thus, when moving the boom 30, the carriage 40 moves in the same direction in relation to the boom 30.

As the lifting device 10 of Figure 22 does not have a belt 31 that regulates the movement of the boom 30 and the drum 24 attached thereto, in an inclined position the boom 30 may move of its own accord. To prevent the uncontrolled movement of the boom 30 and the carriage 40 attached thereto, a latching device 42 has been attached to the carriage 40. When the carriage 40 and boom 30 of the lifting device 10 of Figure 22 need to be moved, the locking of the carriage 40 is opened by pulling on the handle 41 of the latching device 42. After this, the carriage 40 and the boom 30 can be moved in either direction so that the carriage 40 and the lifting member 50 attached thereto are in the desired position for raising or lowering the load. When the handle 41 of the latching device 42 is released, the carriage 40 is locked in place. This allows the safe raising or lowering of the load using the lifting member 50.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10 Lifting device

20 Boom supporting part

21 Gear wheel

22 Gear wheel

23 Drum

24 Drum

25a Fastener

25b Fastener

26a Fastener

26b Fastener

27a Fastener

27b Fastener

28a Turning wheel

28b Turning wheel

29 Fastener

30 Boom

31 Belt

32 Belt

32a Belt

32b Belt

33 Lifting sling

34 Rotating axle

40 Carriage

41 Handle

42 Latching device

43 Latch tip

44 Spring

45 Toothed bar

50 Lifting member

51 Hook

60 Vehicle

61 Support framework