AU729138B2 - Lifting and support frame - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 381064

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

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ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Furneys Building Plumbing Supplies Pty. Ltd.

50 George Street Mudgee New South Wales 2850

AUSTRALIA

Anthony Rob Furney Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Lifting and Support Frame Invention Title: ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION DETAILS [31] Application No(s) [33] Country P00133 AU [321 Application Date 29 May 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 LIFTING AND SUPPORT FRAME Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus used to lift and hold elongate objects and, in particular, the in-line connectors of heavy electric cables, and the cable itself.

Background Art Electric cables are frequently used to supply power to on-site mining equipment. Often these cables have the capacity to carry high values of current over long distances and the consequentially required quantity of conductor material, renders the cable physically very heavy.

Furthermore, where particularly long runs of cables are involved, the use of plugs and sockets, in-line connectors, or other joining -arrangements, are provided for convenience and portability of the cable.

However, when used on outdoor sites, these connectors are vulnerable to moisture and mechanical damage. This can be counteracted byi lifting and holding such connectors off the ground, a task which has usually entailed more than one person, due :both to the'weight to be lifted, and health and occupational safety rules. In one example, the cable is manually lifted, then blocks or other supports are pushed underneath the cable, to "chock" the cable up, to maintain a connector in an elevated 20 position.

Other equipment includes a block and tackle arrangement, but often a reliable overhead support is not available.

It is the object of the present invention to substantially overcome or ameliorate the above disadvantages by the provision of a lifting and support frame.

Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a lifting and support frame for elongate members, said frame comprising a base, and at least two cradles carried by a support which is connected with said base via a curved heel, wherein said frame is pivotable in a first direction about said heel with said base [N:\libe100487:GJH raised, to position said cradles under an elongate member in contact with the ground, and said frame is pivotable in a second, opposite direction about said heel to locate said base on the ground with said cradles and the elongate member raised clear of the ground and over said base.

Preferably, the frame includes a handle to increase the mechanical leverage of a force applied to said base and the handle is preferably pivotable between a raised, in use position engaged with said base, and a non-use position in which the handle is pivoted clear of said base.

In accordance with as second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of lifting and supporting an elongate member, the method comprising the steps of: positioning the at least two cradles of a lifting and support frame as described above under an elongate member; and raising said elongate member by pivoting said lifting and support frame about 15 said heel.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lifting and support frame of the preferred embodiment, ooe* Fig. 2 is the frame positioned ready to lift a cable connector, Fig. 3 is the frame positioned after the cable connector has been lifted, Fig. 4 is the frame in its final supporting position for the cable joint, Fig. 5 is a side view of the frame in the configuration of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a foreshortened perspective view of a typical mining site, showing two of the frames each supporting a corresponding one of two connectors.

0Iy [R:\LIBE02979.doc:avc -3- Detailed Description of the Drawings Referring to Fig. 1, the preferred form of the lifting frame 1 has a pipework body 3 and a pair of cradles 2 each formed from a curved steel strip.

The underside of each cradle 2 is connected to a corresponding one of a pair of first stanchions 6 and to a corresponding one of a pair of second stanchions 7. The first and second stanchions 6 and 7 together form a vertical support 5, which is located above a generally rectangular base 4.

Each of the first stanchions 6 curves to form a corresponding side of the base 4 via a curved heel 12 which has a load distributing curved plate 9.

1o The base 4 has an extension 10 which is inclined upwardly by a few degrees .above the horizontal as seen in Fig. 1. The extension 10 has a rear rail 11.

Extending between each of the first stanchions 6 is an upper cross rail 20, and within the base 4 are a front rail 22 and a slide 21.

The slide 21 provides an attachment point for a U-shaped handle 23, which can pivot through a range of movement bounded at one end (Fig. 1) by the upper cross rail and at another the other end (Fig. 3) by the rear rail 11. The handle 23 is provided with a locking pin 24 which can be releasably engaged with a sleeve 25 provided on rear rail 11, thereby locking the handle 23. The locking pin 24 and sleeve 25 are *.*engaged and dis-engaged by sliding movement of the handle 23 along the slide 21.

20 In operation, the frame 1 is positioned as seen in Fig. 2, so that cradles 2 and curved heels 9 are both in contact with the ground. In this position, a cable connector can be "scooped" up by cradles 2. The handle 23 is locked into its operating position abutting rear rail 11 and the operator (not illustrated) takes a hold of handle 23. The operator's foot is usually placed on the front rail 22, and the handle 23 is pulled downwardly towards the operator in the direction of arrow A. This pivots the entire frame 1 about the heels 9 and the cable connector 30 is lifted up and into the position as shown in Fig. 3. This easily and conveniently completes the lifting procedure.

IN:\libe100487:GJH Then the handle 23 is disengaged from the rear rail 11 and pivoted in the direction of arrow B into the standby position illustrated in Fig. 4. Thus, the frame 1 is placed in its support configuration in which, as best seen in Fig. 5, the centre of gravity of the connector 30 lies generally centrally above the base 4 in a very stable arrangement.

In the supporting configuration, the connector 30 is kept clear of any dirt, moisture, etc which may be present on the ground and the frame 1 is available for immediate use if the connector 30 needs to be lowered to permit the connector 30 to be dis-engaged, for example.

S10 The general arrangement of the cable 31 at a mining site is illustrated in Fig.

.o 6. Here each connector 30 (of say, ten connectors 30) is supported above the ground by a corresponding frame 1. Since each frame 1 has a low cost of fabrication, only a o. small capital cost is required to achieve the advantage of a readily available, one man operable, lifting and supporting device.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, three cradles 2 can be provided.

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Claims (12)

1. A lifting and support frame for elongate members, said frame comprising a base, and at least two cradles carried by a support which is connected with said base via a curved heel, wherein said frame is pivotable in a first direction about said heel with said base raised, to position said cradles under an elongate member in contact with the ground, and said frame is pivotable in a second, opposite direction about said heel to locate said base on the ground with said cradles and the elongate member raised clear of the ground and over said base.

2. A lifting and support frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frame includes a handle to increase the mechanical leverage of a force applied to said base.

3. A lifting and support frame as claimed in claim 2, wherein said handle 15 is pivotable between an in use position engaged with said base, and a standby position in which the handle is pivoted clear of said base in said second direction.

4. A lifting and support frame as claimed in any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein said base includes a transverse bracing member which defines a pivoting axis of said handle with respect to said base.

5. A lifting and support frame as claimed in claim 4, wherein'said handle is slideable along said transverse bracing member and includes a securing means releasably engagable with said base when said handle is in said use position.

6. A lifting and support frame as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said support comprises at least two stanchions, each of which carries a corresponding cradle.

7. A lifting and support frame as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a corresponding load distributing strip is connected to said heel and aligned with each said cradle. [R:LIBE102979.doc:avc

8. A lifting and support frame as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least said base and said support are constructed substantially from metallic pipework.

9. A method of lifting and supporting an elongate member, said method comprising the steps of: positioning the at least two cradles of a lifting and support frame as claimed in any one of the previous claims under an elongate member; and raising said elongate member by pivoting said lifting and support frame about said heel. 10o

10. A lifting and support frame, substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

11. A method of lifting and supporting an elongate member, substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

12. A system of supporting one or more cable connectors of an elongate 15 cable on a mining site or an outdoor site, said system comprising one or more lifting and support frames as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 or claim \DATED this Thirteenth Day of May 1997 Furneys Building Plumbing Supplies Pty. Ltd. Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON (N:\libe100487:GJH