Pipe handling apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING PIPE OR THE LIKE FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER COMPRISING, AN ELONGATED FRAME, BEARING STANDARDS SPACED LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID FRAME, A SHAFT ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID STANDARDS AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID FRAME, A FIRST PAIR OF SPACED PARALLEL ELONGATED CONVEYOR ELEMENTS EXTENDING LATERALLY AND RADIALLY OF SAID SHAFT, A SECOND PAIR OF SPACED PARALLEL ELONGATED CONVEYOR ELEMENTS EXTENDING LATERALLY AND RADIALLY OF SAID SHAFT AND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID SHAFT FROM SAID FIRST PAIR OF CONVEYOR ELEMENTS, SAID CONVEYOR ELEMENTS EACH HAVING AN INNER END AND AN OUTER END, MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR MOUNTING SAID INNER ENDS OF SAID CONVEYOR ELEMENTS ADJACENT SAID SHAFT FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CONVEYOR ELEMENTS ABOUT SAID SHAFT, MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR SELECTIVELY MAINTAINING SAID PAIRS OF CONVEYORS IN PIVOTED POSITIONS WITH RESPECT TO SAID SHAFT, A SPROCKET ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID OUTER END OF EACH OF SAID CONVEYOR ELEMENTS, SPACED PAIRS OF SHAFT SPROCKETS ROTATABLY FIXED TO SAID SHAFT AND RESPECTIVELY ALIGNED WITH SAID OUTER END SPROCKETS, ENDLESS CHAINS RESPECTIVELY ENGAGED WITH EACH OF SAID OUTER END SPROCKETS AND WITH AN ALIGNED SHAFT SPROCKET, ALIGNED SPACED LUGS ON THE CHAINS OF THE FIRST PAIR OF CONVEYOR ELEMENTS, ALIGNED SPACED LUGS ON THE CHAINS OF THE SECOND PAIR OF CONVEYOR ELEMENTS, THE FIRST-NAMED SPACED LUGS RESPECTIVELY BEING POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO THE LAST-NAMED SPACED LUGS IN OVERLAPPING BUT SLIGHTLY LAGGING RELATION LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CONVEYOR ELEMENTS WHEN SAID LUGS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY PASSING OVER SAID SHAFT SPROCKETS, WHEREBY SAID LAST-NAMED LUGS MOVE THE PIPE FORWARDLY OF SAID FIRST-NAMED LUGS TO PERMIT SAID FIRST-NAMED LUGS TO MOVE AROUND SAID SHAFT WITHOUT FURTHER CONTACT WITH THE PIPE.