# US 10,309,116 B2 · Device for lifting and transporting sheet material > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,309,116 B2 - Document ID: US10309116B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/306,397 - Filed: 2015-04-24 - Published: 2017-02-16 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2014-04-24 - Assignees: Quantum Workhealth Programmes Pty Ltd. - Applicants: Quantum Workhealth Programmes Pty Ltd - Inventors: Ricardo Carlei - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10309116B2 ## CPC - E04G 21/168: {used for tilting, e.g. from horizontal to vertical position or vice versa} - B62B 3/02: involving parts being adjustable, collapsible, attachable, detachable or convertible - B62B 3/04: involving means for grappling or securing in place objects to be carried; Loading or unloading equipment - B62B 3/108: {the objects being plates, doors, panels, or the like} - B66D 3/02: Manually-operated, e.g. lever-actuated, devices operating on ropes, cables, or chains for hauling in a mainly horizontal direction (B66D3/04, B66D3/12 take precedence) - B66F 9/087: {Monomasts} - B66F 9/14: laterally movable, e.g. swingable, for slewing or transverse movements - B66F 9/181: {by suction means} - B62B 5/026: {with spiders or adapted wheels} - B62B 2202/00: Indexing codes relating to type or characteristics of transported articles - B62B 2203/10: comprising lifting means - B62B 2203/20: using forks or tines - B62B 2203/30: using magnets or suction cups - B62B 2206/06: adjustable in height - B62B 2301/12: comprising counterbalancing means to increase stability - B65G 49/067: {Sheet handling, means, e.g. manipulators, devices for turning or tilting sheet glass (suction cups B65G49/061; combined with vertical conveyors C03B33/00 - C03B33/10; stacking and destacking B65G49/068)} - B65G 2249/04: Arrangements of vacuum systems or suction cups - E04G: SCAFFOLDING; FORMS; SHUTTERING; BUILDING IMPLEMENTS OR AIDS, OR THEIR USE; HANDLING BUILDING MATERIALS ON THE SITE; REPAIRING, BREAKING-UP OR OTHER WORK ON EXISTING BUILDINGS - B62B: HAND-PROPELLED VEHICLES, e.g. HAND CARTS OR PERAMBULATORS; SLEDGES (characterised by animal propulsion B62C; propulsion of sledges by driver or engine B62M) - B66D: CAPSTANS; WINCHES; TACKLES, e.g. PULLEY BLOCKS; HOISTS (winding or unwinding ropes or cables for feeding or storage purposes B65H; rope or cable winding or unwinding mechanisms for lifts B66B) - B66F: HOISTING, LIFTING, HAULING OR PUSHING, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. DEVICES WHICH APPLY A LIFTING OR PUSHING FORCE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF A LOAD ({invalid lifting devices A61G7/10; } mounting artificial islands on piles or like supports E02B17/00; scaffolding combined with lifting devices E04G1/22; lifting devices for sliding forms E04G11/24; lifting of buildings E04G23/06; shores or struts E04G25/00; lifts or other hoisting devices on ladders E06C7/12; props for mining E21D15/00) - B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D) ## Abstract A device for lifting and transporting sheet material includes a base portion; wheels on which the base portion is supported; a mast that extends upwardly from the base portion; a boom that extends from a first end outwardly from the mast to a second end; a supporting head that is configured to support sheet material; and a pivot coupling at the second end of the boom. The pivot coupling is arranged to couple the supporting head to the boom, and enable the supporting head to be rotated about a pivot axis between a first position in which sheet material supported by the supporting head is in a generally transverse orientation relative to the boom, and a second position in which the angle between sheet material supported by the supporting head and the boom is reduced. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device for lifting and transporting sheet material, the device comprising: a base portion including a mast sleeve; wheels on which the base portion is supported, such that the device is movable across a surface, the wheels including a first wheel set that supports the base portion at a bottom end of the mast sleeve and includes at least two wheels positioned at sides of the mast sleeve opposite from one another, the at least two wheels of the first wheel set independently rotatable about a common axis; a mast including a bottom end retained within the mast sleeve, the mast extending upwardly from the base portion; a carriage configured to slide along the mast; a boom that extends outwardly from a first end to a second end, the first end of the boom mounted on the carriage; a lifting mechanism to provide vertical support to the boom along the mast; a supporting head configured to support sheet material above the surface; a pivot coupling at the second end of the boom, the pivot coupling arranged to couple the supporting head to the boom, and enable the supporting head to rotate about a pivot axis between a first position in which the sheet material supported by the supporting head is in a generally transverse orientation relative to the boom, and a second position in which an angle between the sheet material supported by the supporting head and the boom is reduced; and a retaining mechanism adapted to releasably retain the supporting head in the first position, wherein the retaining mechanism includes: a first plate fixedly attached to the boom adjacent the pivot coupling, the first plate including two spaced apart holes; a second plate movable with the pivot coupling about the pivot axis; and a drop pin that moves with second plate, wherein when the supporting head is in the first position, the drop pin can be passed through a hole in the first plate to retain the supporting head in the first position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the pivot coupling includes a pin attached to one of the boom and the supporting head, and a tube attached to the other of the supporting head and the boom, and wherein the tube is rotatably supported on the pin. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the pivot coupling includes: a pair of brackets that each have one or more apertures, each bracket mounted to a respective one of the boom and the supporting head; and a pin, wherein the apertures in the brackets are aligned and the pin passes through the aligned brackets to couple the brackets to one another. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting head includes an inner portion attached to the pivot coupling, an outer portion including one or more elements that support the sheet material, and a rotary coupling that couples the inner and outer portions such that the outer portion is rotatable relative to the inner portion about an axis that is non-parallel to the pivot axis. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) A device according to claim 4, further comprising a second retaining mechanism such that the outer portion can be releasably retained in one or more rotational positions relative to the inner portion. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the mast is movable relative to the mast sleeve between a lowered position and a raised position. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) A device according to claim 6, wherein the mast can be secured in each of the lowered and raised positions. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) A device according to claim 6, wherein the mast sleeve includes one or more through holes, and the mast includes upper and lower holes, and wherein each of the upper and lower holes can be aligned with the through holes and a pin passed through the aligned holes to secure the mast relative to the mast sleeve. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the boom includes a slide mechanism between the first and second ends to adjust a length of the boom. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A device according to claim 9, wherein the slide mechanism is arranged so the outer end is movable between an inward position and an outward position. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) A device according to claim 10, wherein the boom includes an inner fixed portion, and an outer movable portion, and the slide mechanism is disposed between the fixed and movable portions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) A device according to claim 11, wherein the slide mechanism includes guides mounted on the fixed portion, and one or more rails to which the movable portion is secured, wherein the rails can slide through the guides to facilitate the movement of the movable portion. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism includes a winch, and a cable connected to the winch passes over a first pulley located at or near the upper end of the mast and under a second pulley supported by the boom, and the cable is secured or securable at or adjacent an upper end of the mast. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism includes a winch, and a cable that is connected to the winch extends over a pulley located at or near the upper end of the mast, and the cable is secured or securable to the boom. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein the mast sleeve is offset relative to the at least two wheels of the first wheel set, such that the mast is horizontally closer to one of the at least two wheels in the first wheel set than the other. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) A device according to claim 15, wherein the base portion includes a secondary support disposed between one of the at least two wheels in the first wheel set and the mast sleeve, whereby, when the supporting head is in the second position, the carriage can be lowered along the mast to bring the sheet material supported by the supporting head in contact with the secondary support. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A device according to claim 1, wherein a longitudinal direction of the mast sleeve and the common axis of the first wheel set are co-planar. ### Claim 18 A device for lifting and transporting sheet material, the device comprising: a base portion including a mast sleeve; wheels on which the base portion is supported such that the device is movable across a surface, the wheels including a first wheel set that supports the base portion at a bottom end of the mast sleeve and includes at least two wheels positioned at sides of the mast sleeve opposite from one another, the at least two wheels of the first wheel set independently rotatable about a common axis; a mast including a bottom end retained within the mast sleeve, the mast extending upwardly from the base portion; an assembly that is displaceable along the mast, the assembly including a supporting head configured to support sheet material above the surface, and a carriage sub-assembly to guide movement of the assembly along the mast, the carriage sub-assembly including a pivot coupling that couples the supporting head to the carriage sub-assembly, and enables the supporting head to rotate about a pivot axis between a first position in which the sheet material supported by the supporting head is in a generally parallel orientation relative to the common axis, and a second position in which the sheet material supported by the supporting head is transverse to the common axis; a retaining mechanism configured to releasably retain the supporting head in the first position, the retaining mechanism including a first plate that is fixedly attached to the boom adjacent the pivot coupling and includes two spaced apart holes, a second plate that is movable with the pivot coupling about the pivot axis, and a drop pin that moves with second plate, wherein when the supporting head is in the first position, the drop pin can be passed through a hole in the first plate to retain the supporting head in the first position; and a lifting mechanism to provide vertical support to the assembly along the mast. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) A device according to claim 18, wherein the carriage sub-assembly includes a boom to which the pivot coupling is connected, and wherein the boom spaces the pivot coupling from the mast. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) A device according to claim 19, wherein the carriage sub-assembly includes a carriage, and the boom is mounted on the carriage. ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) A device according to claim 18, wherein a longitudinal direction of the mast sleeve and the common axis of the first wheel set are co-planar.