Metal chain sling

A sling comprising:

• a plurality of metal chains placed in side-by-side parallel arrangement,
• a metal terminal at each end of the sling, with both ends of at least some of the chains being connected thereto,
• the metal chains being positioned with the links in a plurality of rows lateral to the length of the sling,
• each two adjacent links in each row being either parallel to one another or at an angle of approximately 90.degree. with respect to one another,
• the links in the rows being at an angle of approximately 45.degree., or at an angle of 135.degree., from the top bearing surface of the sling, and
• a flexible metal cable threaded in a serpentine manner through the center of all the links in a plurality of adjoining rows for most of the length of the sling.

A sling comprising:

• a plurality of metal chains placed in side-by-side parallel arrangement,
• a metal terminal at each end of the sling, with both ends of at least some of the chains being connected thereto,
• the metal chains being positioned with the links in a plurality of rows lateral to the length of the sling,
• all the links in nearly all of the rows being positioned so that each two links adjacent to one another in each row are at an angle of approximately 90.degree. with respect to one another,
• the links in the rows being at an angle of approximately 45.degree., or at an angle of 135.degree., from the top bearing surface of the sling, and
• a flexible metal cable threaded in a serpentine manner through the center of all the links in a plurality of adjoining rows for most of the length of the sling.

A sling comprising:

• a plurality of metal chains placed in side-by-side parallel arrangement,
• a metal terminal at each end of the sling, with both of the ends of the chain lengths being connected thereto, except for at least one of the chains which is not connected to the terminals,
• the metal chains being positioned with the links in a plurality of rows lateral to the length of the sling, and
• a flexible metal cable threaded in a serpentine manner through the center of all the links in a plurality of adjoining rows for most of the length of the sling.

A sling comprising:

• a plurality of metal chains placed in side-by-side parallel arrangement,
• a flat metal terminal at each end of the sling,
• a groove which extends nearly the width of the terminal in the end of each terminal,
• the end link at each end of at least some of the chain lengths being positioned in the terminal groove and connected thereto by pins passed through the terminals and the end links,
• the metal chains being positioned with the links in a plurality of rows lateral to the length of the sling, and
• a flexible metal cable threaded in a serpentine manner through the center of all the links in a plurality of adjoining rows for most of the length of the sling.

A sling comprising:

• a plurality of metal chains placed in side-by-side parallel arrangement,
• a metal terminal at each end of the sling, with both of the ends of at least some of the chain lengths being connected thereto,
• each metal terminal having substantially flat opposing faces, a plurality of spaced-apart grooves in each terminal, a chain end link in each groove and a pin passing through the terminal, grooves and end links to join the chains to the terminal,
• the metal chains being positioned with the links in a plurality of rows lateral to the length of the sling, and
• a flexible metal cable threaded in a serpentine manner through the center of all the links in a plurality of adjoining rows for most of the length of the sling.