Pipe handling apparatus

Pipe handling apparatus comprising

• an elongated chassis,
• platform means having an upper surface and supported by the chassis for vertical movement relative thereto between an elevated position and a lowered position, the platform being adapted to nest within the chassis when in the lowered position,
• conveyor means mounted to the platform for vertical and horizontal motion relative thereto between an elevated expanded position and a lower collapsed position, the conveyor means being adapted to nest within the chassis when in the collapsed position so that the conveyor means is non-swivelable when nested within the chassis and cannot move in the horizontal plane when nested within the chassis,
• the conveyor means comprising channel means defining a trough which is at a lower level than the platform means upper surface when the conveyor means is nested wtihin the platform means, and
• the bottom surface of the trough comprising at least two co-planar longitudinally spaced endless belts rotatably supported by the channel means and driven in unison for longitudinally moving a pipe within the trough, so that when the conveyor means and platform means are nested within the chassis a pipe may be rolled across the platform means upper surface and into the conveyor means trough and onto the endless belts,
• carriage means for supporting the platform means and for reciprocating along the chassis,
• the chassis having two opposed sides and a pair of tracks on each of the two opposed sides, the tracks for supporting and guiding the carriage means within the chassis for longitudinal reciprocal motion therealong, each track having a channel along its length open to the interior of the chassis, the tracks on each side of the chassis comprising a pair of substantially horizontal upper and lower sections and a pair of ramped sections connecting the respective upper and lower sections, the tracks on one side of the chassis substantially mirroring the tracks on the other side of the chassis, and
• the carriage means having rollers movably mounted thereon for moving the carriage, the rollers receivable in and movable in the tracks' channels and confined therein.