Electric Pallet Stacker

Overview

The electric pallet stacker is a pedestrian-controlled (walkie) truck that lifts palletised loads on a vertical mast and stacks them onto racking, stillages, or other pallets. It bridges the gap between a powered pallet jack, which only lifts a load clear of the floor, and a ride-on counterbalance forklift: the operator walks behind the truck, steers with a tiller, and uses thumb controls to raise the forks up the mast to around 3 m. Straddle legs reaching forward under the load give stability without the bulk of a counterweight truck, so the stacker stays narrow enough for tight aisles, lift trucks, and dock work while still handling a 1200 kg unit load.

How it works

The operator commands the truck through the Steering System system: a spring-return tiller arm carrying a control head with a butterfly throttle and lift, lower, and horn buttons. Throttle angle is read by a Hall sensor and sent to the Traction Controller, which drives the AC Drive Unit through a power bridge; the motor turns a two-stage gearbox and the steered polyurethane drive wheel, and a spring-applied electromagnetic brake locks the wheel whenever the tiller is released or raised vertical.

Pressing the lift button wakes the Pump Controller, which spins the DC pump motor inside the Lift System. The gear pump draws oil from the reservoir and feeds the single-acting cylinder, raising the fork carriage along the Mast Assembly; lift chains and guide rollers keep the two telescoping stages square, and the carriage rides on roller bearings. Lowering opens a proportional solenoid valve that meters oil back to the tank under load weight, giving controlled descent.

Energy is stored in the 24 V Battery Pack Li-ion pack, which carries its own management board and an on-board charger that plugs into a wall outlet. A Sensor Pack reports drive speed and mast height so the controllers can slow travel at full lift, and the LCD Control Display shows state of charge, lift height, and fault codes. Forward straddle-leg load wheels and sprung stabiliser castors keep the truck planted through turns and while stacking at height.