A drying-yard tray lifter

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

A DRYING-YARD TRAY LIFTER

C. LORENZEN, Jr.' and C. E. BARBEE'

Demands for larger quantities of dried fruit
have made necessary the extension of existing
drying-yard areas or the development of new yards.
The shortage of farm labor and the difficulties
encountered in obtaining and setting up drying-
yard equipment have made a definite place for the
tray lifter. Its function is to eliminate addi-
tional trucks and track, and to save man-hours
of labor. It is designed for mounting on a truck
chassis although it may be adapted for use on the
conventional wheel tractor as well, and is capable
of handling a ton of trayed fruit,

CONSTRUCTION

The first sketch appearing on this page shows
the lifter loaded with trays; the second drawing
on page 1, together with those on pages 2, 3, and

4 show details of construction. A bill of ma-
terials also appears on page 4. The assembly
consists of a lifting frame, supported by rollers
on a fixed frame attached directly to the truck
chassis, and moved up and down by means of a hy-
draulic automobile jack. The lifting frame is
made of two vertical members, A, and two lifting

1The writers wish to acknowledge the assist-
ance of C . J. Hansen of the Pomology Division in
the development and testing of this equipment.

g
Associate in Agricultural Engineering and
Associate in the Experiment Station.

Associate in the Experiment Station, Division
of Agricultural Engineering.

arms, I, fastened together by the cross members
R, S, and T_. The joints between the vertical mem-
bers and the lifting arms are reinforced with the
plates 0. The bearing surfaces for the trays on

the lifting arms are increased by the use of 4-
inch strips, F, welded to the top edges of the
channels. These strips are extended and bent to
fasten to the lower edges of the channels to pro-
vide finished ends, V, to the arms. Roller
brackets, C and D,are attached to the lifting
frame. The rollers are cast-iron chain-tightener
rollers, John Deere no. G353-D or the equivalent.
These rollers are about as long as the width of
the channel flanges, and run on strips welded at
their ends to the fixed-frame members as shown
in the drawing detail.

The fixed frame is made of the two vertical
members, B, and the braces, Jl, with end fasten-
ings, N and 0^. The vertical members are bolted,
J, to the truck frame at a point such that the
lift support, P, welded across the rear of the
chassis, is directly below the channel cross mem-
ber of the lifting frame. The lower fastenings,
(i, of the fixed-frame braces, E, are provided
with bolts, W, and nuts, M, for adjusting the
position of the vertical members, B. Lift stop
blocks are welded to the lift frame to limit the
travel and steady the load.

Wooden blocks, H, are placed between the
truck frame and the rear axle housing to block
the springs, and are held in place by the stirrup
bolts, K.

Sizes and specifications of all parts of the

[1]

[\

1

m o.Zo*

J

U-l

t

-«

4"

»-

4 * channels 6.25 lbs. per foot

Center line of jack, a/>d
' neutral axis of lift support

Jtck ram.

4" x 6251b. channel or
4" x 7.7 /6. I beam

Jack base

Saddle blocks

i d'a ro^ 4"x 6.25 chorine/ used

for a// ' fieo 'ir y members
It ft support Jnc/ad/na jock support.

Jack Mounting Detail.

Scale J^- 1'

Au/o/notde tydrau/i'c jack
3ee jock mounting detail.

1x1x2* Lift stop block

2" standard pipe

scale g -I

Safety bolt

Fixed frome

j xZ" Y.4"pl°te.

'lit *4 yo kewe/ded to pipe

JL" 'x 3" N.C bo/t.

i(*

■L- standard pipe. Length
wilt vary depending upon
/ower po/nt of fastening.

Roller

Lifting frame

^Bracket and
roJ/er as sSowr?
in en/argred 'detail

p?r O/C.nut we/ded to pipe.

$/, rod we/ded to -^■'x2'r3'

p/a/e and t/ireaded /I fp.c.

7rc/ck frame.

Roller
brackets

rQo/ter Strip t/etd/t

Sca/e a " /

-Weld ro/ier strip at ends.
Boiler strip ■ seedetai/.

t+^weld

/*2" xl2'

X-

Lpwer brackets 2' wide as
indicated by doffed line

j-"f /at stock

£x3"d.C bo/t

3§ sUpipe /% /oog

Position of
top roller

Position of bottom roller.

Bracket and ro//er d'etat/.

scale -L"*/'
4

University of California

Division of Agricultural engineering

College of agriculture

Davis. Calif.

Plan No. C-532.
DRY- YARD TRAY LIFTER

APPROVED FOR DIVISIONS OF ACS ICUL TUBAL E MGIMEERIflC V^
DRAWN BY CL Jr. TRACED »Y Cl_. CHECKED BY CE-C. DATE

lifter except the hydraulic jack are shown in the
drawing and given in the bill of materials. All
joints are welded. The lengths of the cross mem-
bers of the frame may be varied to fit the par-
ticular truck chassis on which the lifter is
mounted. The hydraulic jack should have a capac-
ity of at least 3,000 pounds, and a minimum travel
of 6 inches. If a pump and ram are available,
they may be substituted for the hydraulic jack to
make the lifting operation automatic. A ball-
and-socket pad, U, at the top of the jack ram,
and the flexible jack mounting, are provided to
insure proper application of the lifting force
for different adjustments of the fixed-frame ver-
ticals, B_.

OPERATION

Trays stacked at the cutting shed can be
brought to the sulfuring house, then transported
to the drying yard. Trays may be spread on the
ground directly from the slow-moving truck or
tractor, and the operation reversed when bring-
ing in the dired fruit. A truck equipped with
compound low is desirable for this work.

Blocks, slightly higher than the lifting arms
when in their lowest position, are used to stack
the trays on; this permits the arms to be moved
in or out under the load.

Since the width of the lift is less than the
truck tread, separate sets of blocks must be pro-
vided for each row of stacked trays in the sul-
furing house. Since the length of the lifting
arms is longer than the width of the trays it
is necessary to have a space between the two
stacks of trays. Two 2x4 inch pieces will
serve the purpose. This space will also provide
better circulation during the sulfuring process.

H' D

BILL OF MATERIALS

Number and name of part

Material

Dimensions

Symbol in drawing

2 lift-frame verticals

structural channel

4" x 6.25 lb. x 65"

A

2 lifting arms

structural channel

4" x 6.2 5 lb. x 40"

I

1 cross member

structural channel

4" x 6.25 lb. x --*

R

1 cross member

standard iron pipe

2" nominal*

S

1 cross member

standard iron pipe

1-1/4 nominal*

T

2 fixed-frame verticals

structural channel

4" x 6.25 lb. x 55"

B

2 fixed-frame braces

standard iron pipe

1/2" nominal 60"

E

4 roller brackets

hot-rolled steel

1/4" x 3" x 12"

C

4 roller brackets

hot-rolled steel

1/4" x 2" x 12"

D

4 rollers

cast iron

-

4 roller strips

cold-rolled steel

1/4" x 1-1/4" x 12"

2 tray bearing strips

hot-rolled steel

1/4" x 4" x 44"

F

2 reinforcing plates

hot-rolled steel

1/4" x 4" x 8"

0

2 spring blocks

douglas-fir or hardwood

2" x — * x 36"

B

4 stirrup bolts

hot-rolled rod

1/2" x 30"

K

1 lift support

structural channel

4" x 6.25 lb. x --*

P

4 roller bolts

7/16" x 3" NC

4 safety bolts

7/16" x 3"

2 upper brace yoke bolts (mach.)

7/16" x 2-1/2"

2 lift stops

cold-rolled steel

1" x i" x 2"

-

2 chassis bolts

2 lower brace fastener bolts

2 upper brace yokes

3/4" x 1" NC
5/8" x 6" NC
1/4" x 2" x 26"

J
W

N

hot-rolled steel

2 lower brace plate

hot-rolled steel .

3/8" x 2" x 4"

4

2 lower brace plate bolts (mach..)
2 upper brace yoke anchor plates

1/2" x 1"
1/4" x 2" x 4"

hot-rolled steel

-

*Dimension will vary for different truck chassis,

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4m-8, -43(7429)