Articulating Enclosed Lift Apparatus and a Method of Operating the Same

An articulating enclosed lift assembly, comprising:

• an adjustable work platform comprising a base, a power-driven lift coupled to the base, and an operator platform disposed on the lift;
• and
• a guardrail system coupled to the operator platform, the guardrail system defining a plurality of boundaries that substantially establishes a safety zone on the operator platform;
• and
• a flexible enclosure comprising an extendible frame and a flexible containment material, wherein the flexible containment material includes at least one re-sealable access panel, the flexible containment material being disposed proximate to sides of the extendible frame and sealed to the base of the adjustable work platform and along a top edge of the extendible frame;
• and
• wherein the flexible enclosure and the base define a working space below a ceiling as the top edge of the extendible frame engages an opening in the ceiling,
• wherein the operator platform of the adjustable work platform is selectively movable by the power-driven lift to place the operator platform in a desired vertical position within the flexible enclosure and allow at least a portion of the guardrail system to extend through the opening.

An articulating enclosed lift assembly, comprising:

• an adjustable work platform comprising a base, a power-driven lift coupled to the base, and an operator platform disposed on the lift;
• and
• a guardrail system coupled to the operator platform, the guardrail system further comprising,
• a plurality of guardrail system posts, wherein each of the guardrail system posts are coupled to the operator platform, wherein at least one of the guardrail system posts is retractable from an initial configuration to a retracted configuration,
• a plurality of guardrail system rails disposed between at least a majority of the guardrail system posts, wherein at least one of the guardrail system rails is connected to the at least one of the guardrail system posts in the initial configuration but can be disconnected from the at least one of the guardrail system posts when in the retracted configuration;
• and
• a flexible enclosure comprising an extendible frame and a flexible containment material, wherein the flexible containment material includes at least one access panel and is disposed about sides of the extendible frame, fixed to the base of the adjustable work platform, and attached to a top edge of the extendible frame;
• and
• wherein the flexible enclosure and the base define a working space below a ceiling as the top edge of the extendible frame engages an opening in the ceiling,
• wherein the operator platform of the adjustable work platform is selectively movable by the power-driven lift to place the operator platform in a desired vertical position within the flexible enclosure.

A method of operating an articulating enclosed lift assembly comprising a base, a lift mounted to the base, an operator platform mounted to the lift, an extendible frame mounted to the base, and a flexible enclosure material sealingly fixed to the base and to a top part of the extendible frame, the method comprising the steps of:

• selectively extending the top part of the extendible frame from a disengaged position relative to an opening in a ceiling;
• engaging the top part of the extendible frame relative to the opening in the ceiling in a sealed position that establishes a working space bounded by the base and the flexible enclosure material sealingly fixed to the base and in the sealed position engaging the opening in the ceiling;
• and
• selectively moving the operator platform with the lift within the working space to a desired vertical position.