Device for handling hollow cylindrical articles

Claim 1

A HANDLING DEVICE FOR HANDLING A HOLLOW ARTICLE AND FOR TILTING THE ARTICLE BETWEEN HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL AXIS POSITIONS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A GENERALLY L-SHAPED FRAME HAVING FIRST AND SECOND LEGS WHICH ARE INTERCONNECTED AT ONE END AND WHICH EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AND TERMINATE IN FREE ENDS REMOTE FROM EACH OTHER, AN ARBOR CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID SECOND LEG AT A LOCATION SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY FROM THE LATTER''S CONNECTION TO THE FIRST LEG, SAID ARBOR EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID FIRST LEG AND IN THE SAME DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE SECOND LEG, SAID ARBOR HAVING AN OPPOSITE FREE END FOR INSERTION IN THE HOLLOW ARTICLE TO BE HANDLED, ARTICLE HOLDING MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR HOLDING THE ARTICLE ON THE ARBOR IN ALL POSITION THEREOF, FIRST RIGID LINK MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID FIRST LEG TOWARD SAID REMOTE END THEREOF, SECOND RIGID LINK MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID SECOND LEG TOWARD SAID REMOTE END THEREOF, AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE SUSPENSION MEMBER HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS CONNECTED RESPECTIVELY TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND RIGID LINK MEANS AND EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN ABOVE THE FRAME, AND DRIVING MEANS IN DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FLEXIBLE SUSPENSION MEMBER AND SUSPENDING THE FLEXIBLE SUSPENSION MEMBER, RIGID LINK MEANS, FRAME, ARBOR AND ARTICLE HOLDING MEANS AS A UNIT FROM ABOVE, THE PIVOTAL CONNECTIONS OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND RIGID LINK MEANS TO THE FRAME ALLOWING ONLY PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE LENGTH OF THE FLEXIBLE SUSPENSION MEMBER TO THEREBY RESTRAIN SAID FIRST AND SECOND LINK MEANS AND THE FRAME AGAINST ROTATION TRANSVERSE TO SAID FLEXIBLE SUSPENSION MEMBER.