US 3,967,328 AGranted

Load lifting and transferring device with multiple powered belts

OwnerEllis V. Coxinventor

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Abstract

A device for loading and transporting patients or other objects from an irregular supporting surface. The device includes a main cabinet on which is supported a carriage including a belt for extension into lifting engagement with the article to be lifted. Adjacent each side of the cabinet are adjustable panels each of which also includes a carriage and carriage belt for engagement with the article lifted jointly with the belt on the cabinet. Powered arms within the cabinet position the joined carriages uniformly toward and away from engagement with the lifted article. The cabinet carriage and the panel carriages are pivotally connected to permit positioning of the panel carriages in an inclined manner to locate same according to the inclination of the load to be lifted. For powering the carriage and panel belts a system of cable reels is provided with certain of said reels mounted on the carriages and displaceable therewith during load pick up and retrieval. Mounted on said cabinet is a cable control reel which may be locked during forward extension of the carriages thereby imparting rotation to the forwardly advancing belts while conversely upon unlocking of the cable control the load supporting belt will remain immobile during retraction of the carriage with the loaded article in place on said belt.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A load-lifting and transporting device comprising in combination,

a wheel-supported base,
a cabinet adjustably carried by said base and positionable upwardly therefrom, roll means mounted on said cabinet adjacent one edge thereof,
a carriage supported by said cabinet and forwardly extensible past said one edge of the cabinet into engagement with the object to be lifted, said carriage including a plate hingedly mounted at one of its ends to the carriage, a belt entraining roller at the distal end of said plate, a power roll, a load contacting belt entrained on the power roll and plate mounted roller and having top and bottom runs, the bottom run of said belt in supported contact with the cabinet mounted roll means during extension and retraction of the carriage, said plate also supported by said cabinet roll means,
powered means concealed within said cabinet coupled with said carriage and imparting forward and rearward movement thereto, and
belt control means including fixed axis, cable reels mounted adjacent opposite sides of said cabinet, a carriage-mounted cable reel in driving connection with said carriage power roll, said belt control means further including a continuous cable a lower run of which directly interconnects the cabinet-mounted cable reels, an upper run of the cable additionally entrained about said carriage mounted cable reel, operator controlled locking means for locking one of said cabinet-mounted reels against rotation whereupon forward extension of the carriage toward an object to be lifted will cause rotation of said carriage-mounted cable reel and said carriage power roll and hence movement to the load contacting belt in a direction opposite to the forward movement of the carriage, subsequent unlocking of the locking means prior to carriage retraction permitting the carriage mounted cable reel, power roll and belt with loaded object thereon to remain in a fixed relationship to the carriage during retraction of same.

2 more elements

A load lifting and transporting device imparting lifting and lateral motion to an object to be transported, said device comprising,

a wheel supported base,
a cabinet adjustably supported on said base and including powered means,
a pair of panels hingedly mounted to and projecting laterally from opposite sides of the cabinet, each panel adapted for hinged movement about a horizontal axis,
adjustable means extending intermediate the cabinet and each panel for hingedly positioning each panel independently about its horizontal axis,
cabinet mounted carriage means slidably supported by the top wall of said cabinet and positioned thereon by said powered means,
panel carriage means slidably supported by each of said panels,
means interconnecting the cabinet and panel carriage means for transmission of fore and aft movement to the panel carriage means,
each of said cabinet and panel carriage means including,
a belt having an upper run for contact with the object being lifted,
a hinged plate underlying and supporting said upper belt run including a lead roller,
a belt powering roll,
means coupling each of said power rolls to one another in a universal manner,
belt control means on said cabinet including,
fixed axis reels mounted on opposite sides of the cabinet,
cable means entrained about and extending intermediate said reels,
a shiftable reel on the cabinet carriage means in driving connection with the power roll on the cabinet carriage,
said cable means also entrained about said shiftable reel,
reel locking means on said cabinet for locking one of the cabinet mounted reels against rotation whereupon forward extension of the cabinet carriage will impart rotation to the shiftable reel and belt power roll of the cabinet carriage to cause the upper run of the carriage belts to move simultaneously in a direction opposite to the forward movement of carriage travel during load engaging extension of the carriages, and
unlocking of said one cabinet mounted reel prior to retraction of the carriage permitting the shiftable carriage supported reel to remian inoperable during carriage retraction permitting the belt on each carriage to remain fixed on its respective carriage during retraction.

16 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.