Bi-planar cable cross reeving system

A bi-planar cross reeving apparatus including trolley assembly means movably mounted on a gantry crane apparatus for rectilinear movement therealong, and

• power drive means operatively coupled to said trolley means and said gantry crane apparatus, said power drive means acting selectively to cause movement of said gantry crane apparatus and said trolley assembly means, comprising
• single drum hoist means supported at an upperside portion of said trolley means for deploying therefrom four cable means,
• said four cable means having respective first ends secured to said single drum hoist means, wrapped selectively therearound, for downward deployment therefrom;
• material securing means disposed below said single drum hoist means for at times attaching to a working load;
• head block assembly means disposed at opposite ends of said material securing means for respectively receiving two rotatable sheaves;
• each of said rotatable sheaves being angled obliquely to a longitudinal axis of said material securing means;
• each of said four cable means being reeves through a respective sheave in rotatable frictional engagement therewith and thereafter directed upwardly to be individually secured at an underside portion of said trolley assembly means;
• adjustable anchor means disposed at said underside portion of said trolley assembly means for individually receiving and securing a jointed coupling which individually receives and secures respective second ends of each of said four cables;
• and
• brake means operably attached to each of said sheaves for at times stopping individual rotation thereof;
• said single drum hoist means being effective to payout and reel in said cable means to lower and raise said material securing means between a ground level and a preselected level of elevation;
• whereby selective operation of said adjustable jointed anchor and coupling means in cooperation with selective braking of said sheave means are effective to incrementally control roll, pitch, and skew of said material securing means about its centerline axis at any position thereof between said ground level and said preselected level of elevation.

A method of controlling vertical, horizontal and skew movement of working load material, raised and lowered by a gantry crane apparatus, comprising the steps of

• providing a portal frame system having a pair of lower side beams supporting four corner columns in turn supporting a pair of upper girders forming generally parallel tracks transverse to said lower side beams,
• providing wheel means rotatably supported beneath said portal frame system, drive means operatively coupled to said wheel means for causing movement of said portal frame system,
• providing trolley assembly means supported by said upper girders for horizontal movement therealong,
• providing spreader assembly means having securing means for attachment to said working load material,
• providing a single drum hoist means rotatably supported on said trolley assembly means for deploying therefrom a cable reeving system;
• providing a cable means secured to and depending from said single drum hoist means for connecting to said spreader assembly means and operable to raise, lower, or skew the spreader assembly means in preselected directional increments,
• deploying a first cable of said cable means downwardly for rotatable attachment to a first end of said spreader assembly means and upwardly for attachment to an underside portion of said trolley assembly means,
• deploying a second cable of said cable means downwardly for rotatable attachment to said first end of said spreader assembly means and upwardly for attachment to an underside portion of said trolley means,
• deploying a third cable of said cable means downwardly for rotatable attachment to a second end of said spreader assembly means and upwardly for attachment to an underside portion of said trolley assembly means,
• deploying a fourth cable of said cable means downwardly for rotatable attachment to said second end of said spreader assembly means and upwardly for attachment to an underside portion of said trolley means,
• providing individual jointed coupling means disposed between said individual adjustable anchor means disposed on said underside portion of said trolley means and each of said four cables to form a counter-acting moment couple for resisting torque in each of said four cables,
• moving said trolley assembly means to a position substantially overhead said working load material,
• lowering said spreader assembly means to an elevation substantially adjacent said working load material,
• rotating and/or skewing said spreader assembly means into position for attachment to said working load material,
• selectively and incrementally adjusting each of said cables to a position of controlled roll, pitch and skew about said working load material,
• securing said spreader assembly means to said working load material, and
• removing said working load material from a first to an alternate location.