Satellite for easy container loading
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by Jerry Rodwell
A NEW loading aid that should be of special use to the haulage industry was demonstrated to the Press this week.
The Satellite, made by Stanmill Co Ltd of Whitchurch, Hants, is a steel box with two forks protruding from it. This unit is fitted, instead of the normal forks, onto a fork–lift truck.
The apparatus can be lifted and lowered by two hooks on the back, that engage with the truck's carriage plate.
But the Satellite is, in fact, a motorized miniature lift truckon its own. When dropped to the ground, it can be driven forward by remote control from the fork-lift truck cab, to carry a load of up to 3 tonnes as much as 12m (40 ft) away from the stationary truck.
The idea is that the Satellite, picked up by the-truck and used as a normal pair of forks, is used to pick up the load. The load, and Satellite, arelifted together, and deposited, for instance, in the mouth of a 12-metre container. The truck carriage plate is lowered until the Satellite unhooks from it.
Then the Satellite, and its load, can be driven away, and steered, to the far end of the container, where it can be made to deposit the load, then reversed back to hook onto the truck for the next cycle.
Hydraulic drive
Drive and steering control are by hydraulic motors and cams, while control orders are sent to the Satellite electrically.
Two hydraulic hoses and one electric cable are connected from the truck to the Satellite via self-retracting hose reels.
The demonstration showed that even with the inexperienced fork-lift driver used, the load could be accurately positioned in the back of the container.
A typical time to approach the container, and unload two stacked pallets tothe ground in one operation was 2min 40sec. The Satellite has a low top speed, since to lose control of it at speed with a 3-tonne load could be disastrous.
Controls consist of a multi-position joy-stick to control steering — rather like a radio-control set for a model aircraft — and another stick-to control lifting and drop of the Satellite.
Speed of the unit is controlled by the third valve on the fork-lift truck.
Cost of the Satellite is to be around £3,000 including fitting to most fork-lift trucks.'
This demonstration showed that the machine is able to take the place of ramp loading of containers, can greatly reduce floor loadings as compared to a low-profile fork-lift, as it weighs only about 300 kg (7001b), and can place loads accurately in very confined spaces. It has its teething troubles — particularly poor return of the power hoses to the reels-but once "sorted" is bound to be a success.