Plate assembly for removing a section of underlying substrate

A plate assembly adapted to lift a cut section from an underlying concrete slab, the plate assembly comprising:

• a flat support plate configured for contacting placement onto the cut section so that a centerline of the support plate nominally aligns with a center of gravity (COG) of the cut section, the support plate comprising opposing first and second through-hole apertures that extend through a thickness of the support plate on opposing sides of the centerline;
• a support bracket affixed to the support plate to define an interior channel sized and shaped to receive insertion of a fork of a lifting mechanism, the support bracket comprising:
• a first angled plate comprising a first vertical web portion extending upwardly from the support plate on a first side of the centerline and a first horizontal web portion extending inwardly towards the centerline;
• a second angled plate comprising a second vertical web portion extending upwardly from the support plate on an opposing second side of the centerline and a second horizontal web portion extending inwardly in facing relation towards the first horizontal web portion;
• and
• a horizontal upper plate that adjoins and is supported by respective upwardly facing support surfaces of the first and second horizontal web portions of the first and second angled plates to define a recess within the interior channel configured to nestingly receive and retain the fork;
• first and second attachment mechanisms configured for insertion through the respective first and second through-hole apertures in the support plate to secure the support plate to the cut section;
• and
• a user handle which extends upwardly from a medial location of the support bracket configured to enable a human operator to place the support plate onto the cut section.

A method comprising:

• placing a plate assembly onto a cut section from an underlying substrate, the plate assembly comprising a support plate and a support bracket that extends from a medial portion of the support plate to define an interior channel, the support plate further having first and second through-hole apertures on opposing sides of the support bracket, the interior channel having a first pair of interior facing vertical surfaces to define an overall width of the interior channel, a second pair of interior facing vertical surfaces to define a recess having a reduced width smaller than the overall width, and a pair of spaced apart, downwardly facing horizontal surfaces disposed between the first pair of interior facing vertical surfaces and the second pair of interior facing vertical surfaces;
• securing the plate assembly to the cut section using first and second attachment mechanisms that extend through the first and second through-hole apertures and into the cut section;
• inserting a fork of a lifting mechanism into the interior channel to nest the fork into the recess between the second pair of interior facing vertical surfaces;
• and
• raising the fork of the lifting mechanism to contactingly engage a downwardly facing, horizontal interior surface of the recess and lift the plate assembly and the cut section from the underlying substrate.