Foldable gantry

Abstract

A foldable gantry (10) comprising a beam (12) and a first leg assembly (14), the first leg assembly (14) being pivotally mounted at a first end (16) of the beam (12) such that the first leg assembly (14) can move between a first, stowed, position and a second, deployed, position.

Claims

1. A foldable gantry comprising: a beam configured to interface with at least one of a movable hoist and winch configured to lift at least one of a workman and a piece of machinery; and a first leg assembly, the first leg assembly being pivotally mounted at a first end of the beam such that the first leg assembly can move between a first, stowed, position and a second, deployed, position, wherein the first leg assembly comprises an upper leg part and a pair of outwardly extendable lower leg parts, the lower leg parts being moveable relative to the upper leg part between a first, closed and stowed, position in which the lower leg parts are closed and a second, open and deployed, position in which the lower leg parts are open, wherein the lower leg parts extend outwardly relative to one another in the second, open and deployed, position; wherein the lower leg parts are substantially parallel relative to one another and extend away from the upper leg part to a foot end of each lower leg part in the first, closed and stowed, position; wherein the lower leg parts are pivotally mounted to a pair of generally parallel spaced plates by shafts which pass through mounting holes in each of the spaced plates, which parallel spaced plates are mounted on opposite sides of the upper leg part; wherein stops extend between the spaced plates at positions towards the outer edges thereof, the stops being operative to act on the lower leg parts to restrain outward movement of the outwardly extendable lower leg parts; and, wherein the upper and lower leg parts of the first leg assembly are of a box-section material having a first dimension which is greater than a second dimension, and wherein the lower leg parts are oriented 90 degrees offset with respect to the upper leg part such that when the first leg assembly is assembled a gap exists between the spaced plates and the lower leg parts.

2. A foldable gantry according to claim 1 further comprising a second leg assembly, the second leg assembly being pivotally mounted at a second end of the beam such that the second leg assembly can move between a first, stowed, position and a second, deployed, position.

3. A foldable gantry according to claim 2 wherein a pivot point of the second leg assembly is offset with respect to a pivot point of the first leg assembly such that when the first and second leg assemblies are in their first, stowed, positions the second leg assembly abuts the beam and the first leg assembly abuts the second leg assembly.

4. A foldable gantry according to claim 2 wherein the second leg assembly comprises an upper leg part and a pair of lower leg parts, the lower leg parts being moveable between a first, stowed, position and a second, deployed, position.

5. A foldable gantry according to claim 4 wherein the lower leg parts of the first and second leg assemblies are pivotally mounted for movement between their first, stowed, positions and their second, deployed, positions.

6. A foldable gantry according to claim 2 wherein the second leg assembly is pivotally mounted to the second end of the beam by means of a shaft on which a wheel is mounted.

7. A foldable gantry according to claim 1 further comprising a tripod which is attachable to a second end of the beam.

8. A foldable gantry according to claim 7 wherein the tripod is attachable to the second end of the beam by means of an engagement part of the tripod, the engagement part being rotatable such that the beam can rotate about the tripod.

9. A foldable gantry according to claim 1, wherein the stops are fixed between the spaced plates to provide a maximum limit of the outward movement of the outwardly extendable lower leg parts.

10. A foldable gantry according to claim 1, wherein the stops are operative to act on the lower leg parts between the foot ends of the lower leg parts and the shafts to restrain outward movement of the outwardly extendable lower leg parts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the invention will now be described, strictly by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a gantry according to an embodiment of the present invention in a fully deployed configuration;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the gantry illustrated in FIG. 1 in a folded configuration;

(4) FIGS. 3 and 5 to 8 are schematic representations of the gantry illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 at different stages in a transition from the folded configuration shown in FIG. 2 to the fully deployed configuration shown in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a box section used to make the legs of the gantry of FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 8;

(6) FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a trolley for a hoist which may be attached to a beam of the gantry of FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 8; and

(7) FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a gantry according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention in a fully deployed configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(8) Referring to FIG. 1, a gantry according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown generally at 10. The gantry 10 has a beam 12 which, when the gantry 10 is in the fully deployed configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 adopts a generally horizontal orientation.

(9) A first leg assembly 14 is pivotally attached to a first end 16 of the beam 12 by means of a first pair of generally right-angled triangular cheek plates 18. As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 3, the cheek plates 18 are spaced apart and are generally parallel to each other, one of the pair of cheek plates 18 being positioned on one side of the beam 12, and the other one of the pair of cheek plates 18 being positioned on the other side of the beam 12.

(10) A first mounting hole 20 is provided towards the corner of each of the cheek plates 18 that joins the shortest side of the generally triangular cheek plate 18 to the longest side of the generally triangular cheek plate 18. A pin passes through the first mounting hole 20 of the first of the pair of cheek plates 18, though a bore provided at the first end 16 of the beam 12 and through the first mounting hole 20 of the second of the pair cheek plates 18, thereby pivotally mounting the pair of cheek plates 18 to the first end 16 of the beam 12.

(11) A second mounting hole 22 is provided in each of the cheek plates 18 towards the corner of each of the cheek plates 18 that joins the longest side of the cheek plate 18 to the second longest side of the cheek plate 18. A third mounting hole 24 is provided in each of the cheek plates 18 at a position intermediate the second mounting hole 22 and the shortest edge of the cheek plate 18. The second and third mounting holes 22, 24 are used to secure the first leg assembly 14 to the pair of cheek plates 18, by means of bolts 26, 28 which pass through the second and third mounting holes 22, 24 of one of the pair of cheek plates 18, through corresponding bores provided in the first leg assembly 14 and through the second and third mounting holes 22, 24 of the other of the pair of cheek plates 18. Each of the bolts 26, 28 is received by a complementary nut, thus securing the first leg assembly 14 in position between the cheek plates 18, thereby pivotally mounting the first leg assembly 14 to the beam 12.

(12) A fourth mounting hole 30 is provided towards the corner of each of the cheek plates 18 that joins the shortest side of the cheek plate 18 to the second longest side of the cheek plate 18. In the fully deployed configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the fourth mounting holes 30 of each of the cheek plates 18 align with a bore which extends through the beam 12. A retaining pin is inserted through the fourth mounting holes 30 of the cheek plates 18 and the bore of the beam 12 to retain the first leg assembly 14 in the upright position illustrated in FIG. 1.

(13) A second leg assembly 32 is pivotally attached to a second end 34 of the beam 12 by means of a second pair of generally right-angled triangular cheek plates 36. The cheek plates 36 are generally similar to the cheek plates 18, in that they are spaced apart and generally parallel to one another, being positioned on opposed sides of the beam 12. Each of the cheek plates 32 is provided with a first mounting hole (not shown) provided towards the corner of the cheek plate 36 that joins the shortest side of the generally triangular cheek plate 36 to the longest side of the generally triangular cheek plate 36. A second mounting hole 38 is provided in each of the cheek plates 36 towards the corner of each of the cheek plates 36 that joins the longest side of the cheek plate 36 to the second longest side of the cheek plate 36.

(14) A third mounting hole 40 is provided in each of the cheek plates 36 at a position intermediate the second mounting hole 38 and the shortest edge of the cheek plate 36. The second and third mounting holes 38, 40 are used to secure the second leg assembly 32 to the pair of cheek plates 36, by means of bolts 42, 44 which pass through the second and third mounting holes 38, 40 of one of the pair of cheek plates 36, through corresponding bores provided in the second leg assembly 32 and through the second and third mounting holes 38, 40 of the other of the pair of cheek plates 36. Each of the bolts 42, 44 is received by a nut, thus securing the second leg assembly 32 in position between the cheek plates 36.

(15) The second leg assembly 32 is pivotally attached to the second end 34 of the beam 12 by means of an axle or shaft on which a first wheel 46 is mounted. The axle or shaft passes through the first mounting hole of a first one of the pair of cheek plates 36, through a bore provided at the second end 32 of the beam 12 and through the first mounting hole of the second one of the pair of cheek plates 36. A second wheel 46 is mounted on a distal end of the axle or shaft and serves to hold the axle or shaft in position.

(16) Each of the cheek plates 36 is provided with a fourth mounting hole 48 towards the corner of each of the cheek plates 36 that joins the shortest side of the cheek plate 36 to the second longest side of the cheek plate 18. In the fully deployed configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the fourth mounting holes 48 of each of the cheek plates 36 align with a bore which extends through the beam 12. A retaining pin is inserted through the fourth mounting holes 48 of the cheek plates 36 and the bore of the beam 12 to retain the second leg assembly 32 in the upright position illustrated in FIG. 1.

(17) Each of the cheek plates 18, 36 is provided, on its inner face, with a stop of a resilient compressible material such as rubber or a resilient compressible plastics material. The stops may be generally cylindrical or generally conical in shape, for example. The purpose of these stops is twofold: firstly to act as stops for the first and second leg assemblies 14, 32 when they are moved from the stowed position of FIG. 2 to the fully deployed position of FIG. 1 to facilitate the deployment of the leg assemblies 13, 32 by ensuring that the first and second leg assemblies 14, 32 are correctly positioned with respect to the beam 12 so as to align with their respective bores, and secondly to act as dampers in use of the gantry 10 in its fully deployed configuration to damp any movement or vibration of the gantry 10. This damping effect arises from the compression of the resilient compressible stops by the underside of the beam 12 when the beam 12 is in its fully deployed position and the retaining pins are received in the mounting holes 30, 48 and the corresponding bores of the beam 12, which causes the stops to absorb or damp any vibration or movement of the beam 12 in use of the gantry 10.

(18) It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the first and second pairs of cheek plates 18, 36 are not symmetrically mounted on the beam 12, but rather the first mounting holes 20 of the first pair of cheek plates 18 align with a through bore in the beam 12 that is positioned at a higher level (when the gantry 10 is in the fully deployed upright configuration illustrated in FIG. 1) than the bore which receives the axle or shaft that is used to attach the second pair of cheek plates 36 to the second end 32 of the beam 12. In other words, the pivot point of the first leg assembly 14 is offset with respect to the pivot point of the second leg assembly 32. The reason for this is to permit the second leg assembly 32 to be rotated about the axle or shaft to a stowed position, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in which it rests against an upper surface of the beam 12. Similarly, the first leg assembly 14 is able to rotate about the pin passing through the first mounting holes 20 of the first pair of cheek plates 18 to adopt the stowed position illustrated in FIG. 2, in which the first leg assembly 14 overlies the second leg assembly 32. Thus, the gantry 10 can be folded into the stowed configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 for storage or transportation. As will be appreciated from FIG. 2, in this configuration the wheels 46 can engage with the ground to facilitate movement of the folded gantry 10.

(19) The beam 12 may be provided with a retractable handle at one or both ends thereof, to facilitate movement of the gantry 10. Each handle is moveable between a stowed position in which it is received in a hollow at the first or second end 16, 34 of the beam 12, and a deployed position, in which it extends outwardly of the first or second end of the beam 12. The handle is mounted at one end on a shaft which extends between sides of the beam 12. To move the handle from its stowed position to its deployed position it is rotated about the shaft until it abuts against the beam 12, which impedes further rotational movement of the handle about the shaft. To return the handle to its stowed position, it is simply rotated about the shaft in the opposite direction until it is received in the hollow first or second end 16, 34 of the beam 12.

(20) Referring now to FIG. 3, the construction of the first and second leg assemblies 14, 32 will now be explained in more detail.

(21) The first leg assembly 14 is made up of an upper leg part 50 and a pair of outwardly extendable lower leg parts 52. The upper leg part 50 is made of a box section material such as aluminium or steel. As is shown in FIG. 4, the box section material has a first dimension A (in this example the width of the box section material) that is slightly smaller than a second dimension B (in this example the depth of the material). The upper leg part 50 and the lower leg parts 52 are made of the same box section material, but the material of the lower leg parts 52 is rotated through 90 degrees with respect to that of the upper leg part, for reasons that will be explained below.

(22) First and second generally trapezoidal plates 54, 56 are attached to opposed sides of the upper leg part 50 by means of bolts 58, such that the first and second plates 54, 56 are generally parallel to each other and spaced apart. The plates 54, 56 are provided with mounting holes which align with bores of the upper leg part 50, and the bolts pass through the mounting holes of the first plate 54, the bores of the upper leg part 50 and the mounting holes of the second plate 56, and are secured by complementary nuts, to hold the first and second plates 54, 56 in position on the upper leg part 50.

(23) The upper leg part 50 may be provided with a plurality of spaced bores to permit coarse adjustment of the height of the gantry 10 by positioning the first and second plates 54, 56 a position at which the mounting holes of the plates 54, 56 align with bores of the upper leg part and securing them in positioning using bolts which pass through the mounting holes and the bores. It will be appreciated that positioning the first and second plates so that their mounting holes align with bores provided in an upper portion of the upper leg part will cause the gantry, when fully deployed, to be of lesser height than if the first and second plates 54, 56 had been positioned and secured using bores provided in a lower portion of the upper leg part 50.

(24) The lower leg parts 52 are pivotally mounted to the plates 54, 56 by means of shafts 60 which pass through mounting holes provided towards the shorter edge of each of the trapezoidal plates 54, 56 and through bores in upper end portions of the lower leg parts 52, which align with the mounting holes. Thus, the lower leg parts 52 are received between the first and second generally trapezoidal plates 54, 56 and are mounted for pivotal movement about the shafts 60 between a first, stowed, position and a second, deployed, position.

(25) As the box section material of the lower leg parts 52 is rotated through 90 degrees with respect to that of the upper leg part 50, a small clearance gap is formed between the outer surfaces of the lower leg parts 52 and the inner surfaces of the first and second plates 54, 56, to permit unimpeded movement of the lower leg parts 52 between the stowed and deployed positions. It will be appreciated that the use of such box section material for both the upper leg part 50 and the lower leg parts 52 helps to control manufacturing costs, as different materials are not required for different parts of the leg assemblies 14, 32, and the box section material can be purchased in bulk, but the difference between the width and depth dimensions of the box section material allows the required clearance to be provided between the lower leg parts 52 and the first and second plates 54, 56.

(26) The lower leg parts 52 may be biased towards the open (deployed) position shown in FIG. 3 by means of a compression spring or other biasing means. Stops 62 extend between the first and second plates 54, 56 at positions towards the outer edges thereof and serve to restrain the outward movement of the lower leg parts 52 to prevent the gantry 10 from collapsing due to the excessive outward movement of the lower leg parts 52.

(27) When the lower leg parts 52 have adopted their fully open deployed position, as illustrated in FIG. 3, locks 64 are engaged to impede movement of the lower leg parts 52 towards their closed stowed position. The locks 64 are biased by springs or other biasing means towards their locked position in which they impede closing movement of the lower leg parts 52 so that they cannot be accidentally disengaged. In order to disengage the locks 64 a force must be applied to overcome the biasing force of the springs or other biasing means, such that the lower leg parts 52 may be moved towards their stowed position. The locks 64 may be positioned such that they are also engaged when the lower leg parts 52 are in their stowed position to impede opening of the lower leg parts 52. Thus, in order to open the lower leg parts 52 and thus move them towards their deployed position the locks 64 may have to be disengaged.

(28) In the example illustrated in FIG. 3 the lower leg parts 52 terminate in lockable wheels 66, which permit the gantry 10 to be moved when it is in the fully deployed configuration illustrated in FIG. 1. However, it will be appreciated that the wheels 66 could be replaced with spikes, plates or other ground engaging means according to the application for which the gantry 10 is to be used. Alternatively, height adjustable may be provided in place of the lockable wheels 66, to permit fine adjustment of the height of the gantry 10.

(29) As can be seen from FIG. 3, the second leg assembly 32 has generally the same construction as the first leg assembly 14, and thus will not be described in detail here.

(30) The process for deploying the gantry 10 from its stowed or folded configuration as shown in FIG. 2 to its fully deployed configuration as shown in FIG. 1 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 8.

(31) In a first step, the folded gantry 10 is placed on a flat level surface with the wheels 46 engaging with the surface. The first leg assembly 14 is then lifted and rotated to a generally vertical position, as shown in FIG. 5. The locks 64 are disengaged if necessary and the lower leg parts 52 are then opened to their fully open deployed position, as shown in FIG. 3, causing the locks 64 to be engaged to lock the lower leg parts 52 in position and prevent them from closing.

(32) With the lower leg parts 52 locked in their fully open deployed position the first leg assembly 14 can be rotated further until the lower leg parts 52 rest on the surface, as shown in FIG. 6. The steps outlined above can then be repeated for the second leg assembly 32, such that on their completion the lower leg parts 52 of both the first and second leg assemblies 14, 32 rest on the surface, as shown in FIG. 7.

(33) As is shown in FIG. 8, one end of the gantry 10 is then rotated until the beam 12 meets the resilient stop located on the inner face of the one of the cheek plates 18, 36. In the example shown in FIG. 8 the first end 16 of the beam 12 is rotated in a clockwise direction about the pin that passes through the mounting hole 20, causing the second leg assembly 32 to rotate about the axle or shaft on which the wheels 46 are mounted, until the underside of the beam 12 comes into contact with the stops located on the inner faces of the cheek plates 36. Once the beam 12 has reached this position a retaining pin is inserted through the fourth mounting holes 48 in the cheek plates 36 and the aligned bore in the beam 12 to secure the second leg assembly 32 in its deployed position.

(34) The gantry 10 is then pivoted about the point at which the wheels 66 contact the surface to cause the first leg assembly 14 to rotate about the pin which passes through the mounting hole 20, until the underside of the beam 12 comes into contact with the resilient stop(s) provided on the inner faces of the cheek plates 18. Once the beam 12 has reached this position a retaining pin is inserted through the fourth mounting hole 30 in the cheek plates 18 and through the aligned bore of the beam 12 to secure the first leg assembly 14 in its deployed position.

(35) Alternatively, where space is limited, as a first step the first leg assembly 14 may be rotated through 270 degrees to its fully deployed position (as shown in FIG. 1) and secured in position by inserting the retaining pin through the fourth mounting holes 30 and the corresponding bore in the beam 12. The locks 64 can then be disengaged to deploy the lower leg parts 52, as described above. The second leg assembly 32 is then deployed by rotating it through 270 degrees to its fully deployed position (as shown in FIG. 1) and securing it in position by inserting the retaining pin through the fourth mounting holes 48 and the corresponding bore of the beam 12, and the lower leg parts 52 of the second leg assembly are deployed.

(36) Referring now to FIG. 9, a trolley for mounting on the beam 12 of the gantry 10 is shown generally at 100. The trolley 100 is made up of two generally parallel spaced plates 102, 103 between which rollers 104 and a handle 106 are mounted. The rollers 104 are mounted for rotation on shafts to allow the trolley 100 to move along the beam 12 of the gantry 10, when the trolley 100 is mounted on the beam 12.

(37) A portion 110 of the rearmost plate 103 of the spaced plates 102, 103 extends downwardly of the rearmost plate 103, and supports an outwardly extending shaft 112 on which a pulley wheel 114 is rotatably mounted in this example. It will be understood that an alternative load or hoist mounting point, such as a masterlink or the like, could be provided in place of the pulley wheel 114. A moveable plate 116 is also mounted for rotation about the shaft 112 such that it is able to move between an open position for engaging or disengaging the trolley 100 with the beam 12 and a closed position for securing the trolley 100 to the beam.

(38) In the closed position of the moveable plate 116, a hole 118 in an upper part of the moveable plate 116 aligns with corresponding holes 120 in the spaced plates 102, and a pin 122 is received in the aligned hole 118 and the aligned holes 120 of the spaced plates 102, to secure the moveable plate 116 to one of the plates 102, thereby securing the moveable plate 116 in its closed position.

(39) To install the trolley 100 on the beam 12 the pin 122 is removed and the moveable plate 116 is rotated to its open position. The trolley 100 is then positioned on the beam 12 with the rollers 104 engaging with the upper surface of the beam 12. Once the rollers 104 are correctly engaged with the upper surface of the beam 12 the moveable plate 116 is rotated to its closed position and the pin 122 is replaced, thereby securing the moveable plate 116 in its closed position and the trolley 100 to the beam 12. To disengage the trolley 100 from the beam 12 the process outlined above is reversed.

(40) In use of the gantry 10, it can be transported in its folded or stowed configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, to a work location, where it is deployed as described above. The trolley 100 is installed on the beam 12 and a winch may be attached by a quick-release bracket to the plates 56, 56 of the first or second leg assembly 14, 32, with a cable of the winch passing over a sheave mounted between one of the pairs of cheek plates 18, 36 and over the pulley wheel 114. The trolley 100 is locked in a desired position on the beam 12 by means of a pin which passes through a hole 124 in the plate 116 and engages with the beam 12, to prevent the trolley 110 from being pulled along the beam 12 by the cable. A load to be lifted or lowered, which may be, for example, a workman or a piece of machinery, is then attached to the cable and can be lifted or lowered using the winch. The gantry 10 itself can be moved on its wheels 66, which can be locked when the gantry 10 is in the correct position.

(41) Where a masterlink is provided in place of the pulley wheel 114 and a hoist replaces the winch, the trolley 110 and the load can be moved along the beam 12 towards either of the first and second leg assemblies.

(42) In an alternative embodiment, shown generally at 140 in FIG. 10, a tripod 142 may replace the first leg assembly 14, in which case an engagement part 144 of the tripod 142 may be attached to the first end 16 of the beam 12 by means of a pin that passes through a bore of the tripod 142. In certain embodiments the engagement part of the tripod 142 may be rotatably mounted on the tripod 142 to facilitate rotation of the entire gantry 10 about the tripod 142, for example to move a workman away from danger quickly. In this embodiment the second leg assembly 32 is able to fold into the stowed position shown in FIG. 2 for storage or transport, but the tripod 142 may be detachable from the first end 16 of the beam for storage or transport of the gantry 10.

(43) It will be appreciated that the gantry provides improvements over known gantry arrangements, in that it can be folded down for storage or transport, and quickly and safely transformed to a fully deployed configuration when required.