Suction lifting device
AssigneeWinborne Company, Ltd.
InventorsJames F. King, Brodie T. Winborne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A suction lifting device for lifting and laying a layered plurality of individual slabs, bricks, stones and the like in unison to provide an exterior paved surface of a road, walk, roof or the like. A plurality of vacuum pucks are supported by the vacuum plenum of a frame through flexible tubular members which operably engage a similar number of slabs or bricks and move them in unison to a preselected and configured location. The frame is carried by a supporting means and a load-bearing member which can be mounted on a self-propelled apparatus.
Claims30
A suction lifting device comprising:
- a supporting means;
- a load bearing member carried by said supporting means;
- a frame having a vacuum plenum attached thereto;
- means movably connecting said frame to said load bearing member;
- a plurality of vacuum pucks adjacent said frame;
- a plurality of flexible tubular members connecting each of said vacuum pucks to said vacuum plenum;
- a puck alignment plate engaging said tubular members;
- means associated with said alignment plate to move said plate with respect to said frame and said pucks;
- seal means affixed at each of said pucks;
- a vacuum source;
- and means connecting said vacuum source to said vacuum plenum.
A suction lifting device for lifting arrays of objects such as concrete brick and the like comprising:
- a support base;
- a load bearing member carried by said support base;
- a frame having a vacuum plenum attached thereto;
- a retractable and flexible connecting means connecting said frame and plenum to said load bearing member;
- a plurality of vacuum pucks positioned adjacent same frame and plenum and planarly parallel thereto;
- two flexible tubular members engaging each of said vacuum pucks and said vacuum plenum;
- a puck alignment plate engaging said flexible tubular members;
- a plurality of air cylinders carried by said frame each having a vacuum hose extending to said vacuum plenum and a connecting rod operably connected to said alignment plate to move said plate from a position contiguous with said pucks to a position near said frame and back again;
- a seal carried by the bottom surface of each of said pucks within which a vacuum is formed to engage the load to be lifted;
- a vacuum source;
- and an air hose operable extending from said vacuum source to said vacuum plenum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.