New Toyota technology averts truck tipovers, reduces load spills
To control forklift rear end stability, four sensors monitor forklift height, load weight, vehicle travel speed, and yaw rate (angular speed). ;When data fed into software is analyzed and indicates instability, a signal engages a swing lock cylinder that stabilizes and/or locks the rear axle to keep all four tires on the floor.; Toyota's System of Active Stability (SAS) also regulates the forward tilt angle of the mast and the rear tilt speed, overriding operator manual controls to help prevent instabi
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/1/1999
Traverse City, Mich.--Technology breakthroughs in lift trucks are rare these days. But Toyota clearly has an innovation that will enhance forklift operator safety: Sensor-driven, safety-enhancing equipment that averts tipovers and reduces load spills. Company execs unveiled the innovation to business editors at a hands-on demonstration and press event here recently.According to OSHA statistics, 24% of all lift truck-related deaths are caused when the forklift overturns, says Brett Wood, Toyota national product planning manager. "That's a large percentage; it equates to over 40 lives a year."
He expects some of those lives may well be saved with the new technology.
Onboard sensors tell the forklift how to avoid the risks of a truck tipover when, for example, the forklift takes a corner too sharp or fast and one or more of its four wheels might leave the ground. Software on the truck processes stability data from four sensors, and, if necessary, signals a cylinder to lock the rear axle--increasing the truck's lateral stability and helping keep all wheels on the ground (see graphics).
Additional sensors monitor the forklift's raised mast motions and regulate forward tilt angle of the mast and rear tilt speed. The sensor system overrides the operator's manual controls if necessary to reduce the dangers--when the mast is raised--of a load spill with the forks too far forward or too far backward as well as the risk of forward tipping of the vehicle.
System of Active Stability, or SAS, is what Toyota calls its package of software, eight sensors, and other components. Toyota says the patented SAS technology "is the first in the world to actively monitor and control the movements of a lift truck to help prevent the vehicle from tipping. The built-in system also helps reduce the chance of injury and product damage from loads falling from forks that have been inclined too far forward or backward."
Invented, developed, and tested since September 1998 in Japan on some 20,000 forklifts, the technology will be available for now in the U.S. solely on Toyota's new 7-Series of IC (internal combustion) forklifts. Later on, Toyota's counterbalanced electric forklifts will get the technology. For now, Toyota has no plans to share the technology with other manufacturers or to license it; one such request in the U.S. has been rebuffed.
The cost of this safety system will add roughly 4% to the price of the forklift, or between $400 and $800, depending upon the particular 7-Series model, says Dr. Shankar Basu, group vp and general manager. But forklift operators on these trucks may boost their productivity and cycle time by about 8% for a cost savings of more than $2 per hour, Toyota says.
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