Auxiliary protective coil lifter saddle

A coil lifter adapted to lift a coil having a coil core, said coil lifter comprising:

• an upper housing adapted to be suspended over a coil of material;
• a pair of spaced lifter arms connected to and extending downwardly from said housing, each of said lifter arms having a front wall opposed to each other and a lifting surface at a lower end of each arm adapted to fit within a coil core, each of said arms having a lifting segment with a lifting surface;
• means for effecting movement of said arms relative to each other to open and close said arms about a coil;
• and
• a removable auxiliary protective coil lifter saddle mounted on said arm, said saddle comprising:
• a frame having a body with at least two opposite ends and a plurality of lugs, wherein at least one of said lugs attaches to a respective end of said body, said body and said lugs having upper surfaces and lower surfaces;
• and
• a pad having an upper surface and a bottom surface, said pad attached to said upper surface of said body and made of a soft resilient material, whereby a bottom surface of said body can be placed on the lifting surface of the arm and said lugs deformed so that said lugs depend from the body, and said respective bottom surfaces of said lugs abut against said lifting segment so that the inner surface of the coil rests on an upper surface of said pad.

In combination, an auxiliary protective coil lifter saddle adapted to be mounted on an arm of a coil lifter for transporting a coil of material having an inner surface defining a core, the arm having a lifting segment with a lifting surface and two side walls depending therefrom, and a wedge, said auxiliary protective coil lifter saddle comprising:

• a frame having a body with at least two opposite ends and a plurality of lugs, wherein at least one of said lugs attaches to a respective end of said body, said body and said lugs having upper surfaces and lower surfaces;
• a pad having an upper surface and a bottom surface, said pad attached to said upper surface of said body and made of a soft resilient material, whereby a bottom surface of said body can be placed on the lifting surface of the arm and said lugs deformed so that said lugs depend from the body, and said respective bottom surfaces of said lugs abut against the lifting segment so that the inner surface of the coil rests on an upper surface of said pad;
• and
• said wedge comprising a unitary tool having a tapered end and a striking head end, wherein to remove said auxiliary protective coil lifter saddle body from said lifting segment, said wedge tapered end is forced between said body bottom surface and said lifting surface and thereby separates said body from said lifting surface.