An article of manufacture for providing constructions aid, and more specifically, an article of manufacture for a portable, self-supporting truss-lifting winch and support is disclosed.

A portable hoist system has an adjustable support strut mechanism, allowing for compact storage and portability, with the entire assembly retained as one unit. In one embodiment the support strut mechanism, which is connected on one end to a boom and at another end to a bracket, is foldable and adjustable using an adjustment pin and holes along the two-piece support strut mechanism. In one preferred form of the invention a winch of the hoist system is field-adjustable as to position on the hoist's boom, to overcome problems of space constraints.

Methods and apparatus for constructing refractory structures, e.g., glass furnace regenerator structures and/or glass furnace structures having walls formed of refractory block and buck stays externally supporting the walls are provided. Opposed pairs of supports are connected to at least a respective one of the vertically oriented buck stays with cross-support beams spanning the refractory structure between a respective pair of the supports. An overhead crane assembly is supported by the cross-support beams. In such a manner, refractory components of the refractory structure (e.g., refractory wall blocks and/or refractory checker bricks) may be installed using the overhead crane assembly.

A portable hoist assembly. The hoist assembly includes an attachment assembly to releasably attach the hoist assembly to a rooftop parapet wall or similar and a rotatable line pulling assembly (e.g., a winch) to pull lengths of line upward to hoist objects from the ground to the rooftop, and to release lengths of line downward to lower objects from the rooftop to the ground. The rotatable line pulling assembly is rotated using a power tool (e.g., a power drill) releasably coupled to its hub. The hoist assembly also includes a base support configured between the line pulling assembly and the top of the parapet wall to provide vertical support to the hoist. The hoist assembly also includes a separate ladder attachment assembly for attaching the hoist to a ladder.

A load lifting device is provided that includes a cart, a powered winch, and controls. The cart has a base with a plurality of rollers, an upright frame, and a winch arm. The base has a forward end and an aft end. The upright frame has a base end and a distal upper end. The base end of the upright frame is attached to the base proximate the aft end. The winch arm extends out from the upright frame proximate the upper end. The powered winch is controllable to selectively play out or draw in a lift line. The powered winch is attached to the winch arm and is in communication with a source of electrical power. The controls are configured for operating the powered winch to play out or draw in the lift line.

A portable derrick system for use in hoisting and lowering loads at a plurality of job sites, comprising, in combination: a boom subassembly, a boom head subassembly, a mast support subassembly, a mast head subassembly, a load-carrying line, a winch capable of cooperating with said line, power means for driving the winch, means for pivoting the boom assembly, means for controlling said pivoting means, the foregoing elements of the invention capable of being transported by humans to elevated positions such as, without limitation, rooftops and terraces, and wherein the aforementioned are capable of repeated assembly and disassembly at a plurality of job sites and serving to facilitate the elimination of the need for a street-level crane.

An improved building access system includes a turntable having an upper surface and a lower surface, a main tower attached to the turntable's upper surface, a boom tower pivotally attached to the turntable and disposed so as to form an angle with the main tower, and a balancing tower also pivotally attached to the turntable and also disposed so as to form an angle with the main tower. It also includes means for changing these angles between the main tower and, respectively, the boom tower and the balancing tower, and a cathead pivotally attached to the end of the boom tower which is opposite the end attached to the turntable. The inventive apparatus also includes pressure sensing devices located and disposed so as to measure the pressure at each mounting point where the main tower is attached to the turntable, along with one or more leveling rods disposed so that, as the boom tower is raised upwardly and the angle between the main tower and the boom tower decreases in value by an associated amount, the angle between the cathead and the boom tower decreases in value by the same amount. The turntable may further include at least one support arm configured so that the bending forces experienced by the turntable are transferred to a larger diameter support structure. The invention also includes an elongated beam member which is especially useful for forming box beams, which member has a pair of symmetrical planar side elements which are perpendicular to each other and which are also connected together by a diagonal element.

A portable davit includes a base having a mounting portion and a housing. The housing defines a cavity. An end of a mast is positioned within the cavity. A jib is coupled to another end of the mast. A connector is coupled to the jib. A hoist is coupled to a platform and includes a drive and a rope. An end of the rope is wound about the drive. Another end of the rope is coupled to the connector. The drive is configured to rotate relative to the platform in a first direction to decrease a distance between the platform and an end of the jib and to rotate relative to the platform in an opposite second direction to increase the distance between the platform and an end of the jib. Systems and methods of use are provided.

A method for installing and deploying concealed mounting points for a davit or jib crane on a roof patio or large balcony covered with stone pavers. Specifically, a metal plate assembly lower flange is affixed to the concrete roof slab with its contact points covered by waterproofing membrane. The metal assembly hard point upper flange holes correspond to the holes in the mounting base of the davit or jib crane. The metal assembly when installed is lower than the pavers supported by metal pedestal transition components. As such, the metal assembly hard point is concealed and covered by a removable cover plate that also sits on top of the metal pedestal transition components and is flush with the top of the pavers.

A portable davit includes a base having a mounting portion and a housing. The housing defines a cavity. An end of a mast is positioned within the cavity. A jib is coupled to another end of the mast. A connector is coupled to the jib. A hoist is coupled to a platform and includes a drive and a rope. An end of the rope is wound about the drive. Another end of the rope is coupled to the connector. The drive is configured to rotate relative to the platform in a first direction to decrease a distance between the platform and an end of the jib and to rotate relative to the platform in an opposite second direction to increase the distance between the platform and an end of the jib. Systems and methods of use are provided.