Confined space lowering and retrieving apparatus
OwnerDonald Willaughbyinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for use, in conjunction with a fall arrester or load winch means, when servicing a closed vessel having a top or side manway. The apparatus being adaptable for either exterior or interior mounting having universal, flexible supporting means. The apparatus further comprising a universal bracket means for operably receiving a fall arrester or load winch, mountable in a vertical position to the manway's cover flange.
Claims15
A portable suspension apparatus for moving a load, such as personnel or materials, through an opening in an enclosed vessel and raising or lowering of said load inside said vessel comprising:
- a) an enclosed vessel having a side wall defining the inside and outside of said vessel equipped with an annulus flange forming a manway;
- b) a suspension apparatus, passable through said opening and erected within said vessel, further comprising;
- a central frame member having means for attaching legs, pulleys and flexible members;
- at least two telescopic legs pivotally attached at one end to said central frame member and a telescopic spreader member adjacent the opposite end holding said legs in a spaced apart relationship while said legs are braced against said vessel's inside wall below said manway;
- an adaptor bar, attached to said central frame member;
- a jacking means for extension and retraction, attached at one end to said adaptor bar the opposite end braced against said inside wall, above said manway;
- a first set of at least two flexible members attached at one end to said central frame member their opposite end attached to said annulus flange;
- and
- a second set of at least two flexible members attached at one end to said spreader member their opposite end attached to said annulus flange;
- c) a mounting bracket for operable receiving a fall arresting and retrieving cable hoist means adapted to said manway annulus flange;
- d) a cable guide means for guiding said fall arresting and retrieving cable, including a pulley block attached to said central frame member, attached to said mounting bracket and extending through said manway;
- and
- e) an attachment means securing ends of said first and second flexible members to said annulus flange.
Apparatus for moving a load, such as personnel or materials, through a manway in the side of an enclosed vessel and the lowering, retrieving and fall arresting of such loads comprising:
- a) an enclosed vessel having a side wall defining the inside and outside of said vessel equipped with an annulus flange forming a manway;
- b) a load supporting means passable through said manway, and erected within said vessel;
- c) a flexible suspension means attached to said load supporting means and to said manway;
- d) an extension means attached to said load supporting means and to said side wall for tensioning said flexible means relative to said side wall;
- e) a bracket and pulley means vertically attached to said annulus flange for operably receiving a hoist means;
- f) a hoist removable mounted to said bracket and pulley means;
- g) a snatch block removable attached to said load supporting means;
- and
- h) a line means extending from said hoist means via said pulley means passing over said snatch block for connection to said load within said vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.